Sgt_Markoff

re: Ionesco, thanks for that pickup. I can't claim to have read him widely; but one comedy I think is mind-blowingly hilarious is 'The Bald Soprano'. Its one of the only dozen or so books I've read in my entire life which had me convulsed and red-faced with laughter. And you know, its not easy to make Sergeant Markoff laugh, I promise you.

I'm very much a fan of Inge. A fine string of hits. Makes it look easy. An overlooked gem is 'dark at the top of the stairs'. I love his Kansas settings!

she can dig her spurs into my side anytime

"I'm shocked! Shocked to discover gambling going on in this nightclub!"

How about Bo Hopkins? Seems like he was always just shy of being really big Steve Forrest, or Frederic Forrest, Robert Forster does anyone remember Michael Parks? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Parks

High praise indeed. I largely concur with you. I suppose given my picks in this thread, I do prefer the more seasoned, older actresses like Stanley who have this kind of command and also the lack of vanity in taking ungainly roles. Its therefore perplexing why I don't find the same qualities in Crawford for example; but dames like Roz Russell or K.Hep or Davis, or Ginger Rogers... all seem a very different type of actress than is, Kim Stanley. Amazing too, is Kim Stanley's only other notable performance in Chayefsky's 'The Goddess'. Look at how she aged. To me, the chagrin Stanley must have suffered in her career makes her more intriguing than all the more glamorous names.

I second the remarks of fair MissWonderleyIII. LiamCasey, kudos on your stage career. Thank you for keeping tradition alive. Question: do you do your own blocking or does your director provide his blocking for you to follow?

3 hours ago, Vautrin the Iron Fist in the Iron Glove opined: I thought this achievement had suffered shipwreck in the age of digital; something about how the record companies are now saying that every time a song is downloaded it counts as an album sale or some underhanded nonsense like that

--MissWonderleyIII Maybe his 'RIP' thread needs to be edited by the OP then, its probably in 'General Discussions' and therefore EASY TO FIND

Indeed. St Exupery's Little Prince for example

Kim Stanley in 'Seance on a Wet Afternoon'

Those are two good picks! Not to hijack the OP's thread--actually I'm still trying to grasp what his question is. Its a juggernaut whatever he's asking for. In the meantime, what about Tom Selleck, Bruce Davison, Bruce Boxleitner, John Ritter, Richard Hatch, William Katt, Harry Hamlin, and Dirk Benedict.

A lot of the British 'kitchen sink' dramas originated from plays. 'Billy Liar' for example. p.s. Uncle Joe, hi there. Say, does this list-making of mine weary you? I agree its silly to just itemize things this way without ever reaching a point where a conclusion can be drawn. We're of like mind on that score. Nothing is more mundane; yet this highly picayune predilection is rife in the ranks of filmgoers, isn't it? Its almost like a reflex. Something should be done about it.

Oy! Lest us not forget Eugene Ionesco. Frenchman. His comedies are split-your-sides funny.

p.s. William Gillette also wrote 'Too Much Johnson' famous early Joseph Cotton comedy

I've been wondering myself lately, what classic television actors hovered all their careers on the edge of being A-list movie actors without ever quite making it? Who should have made it bigger?

another modern: Tom Stoppard. I've seen his 'Fool for Love' adapted on PBS and its grand. I dont know who wrote it but I've seen Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in 'The Gin Game'. Oh! Those Brits John Mortimer and Harold Pinter. And ...Simon Gray? Wonderful talents. Blazing, in the case of Gray. Huge mention must also be made of 'The Singing Detective' by Dennis Potter which is my favorite mini-series either American or British. Favorite of all time. Its stunning. Same author also gave us 'Pennies from Heaven' which is fun but not quite as good. Bob Hoskins stars.

In the 1800s, the legendary William Gillette famously played Sherlock Holmes in America for years, became thoroughly identified with Holmes, and also looked so uncannily like Doyle's description of Holmes that his face became synonymous with the detective's. Eventually Gillette wrote a play of his own, a pastiche of several Holmes tales called 'The Mystery of Alice Faulkner' (or something like that) and its actually a heckuva fun Holmes romp. He and Doyle corresponded about it. The Mercury Theater gave a fine production of this play, with Welles as Holmes.

Eugene O'Neill, for me, is America's supreme stage talent. Tennessee Williams, next in line. Arthur Miller. William Inge. I have a few modern playwrights I admire as well: Tina Howe, for example. Her 'Painting Churches' is superb. Classic playwrights? The Europeans? I've read a heckuva lot of 'em but how many I seen adapted? Disparate number. They can be choppy reading. Anyway well... Luigi Pirandello is fun. Marguerite Duras. Frederich Durenmatt. Sarte: more fun to read than experience, perhaps? Camus: not very well known as Camus' stage plays. They're very fine. Brits: George Bernard Shaw, I am not much a fan of. Surpringly, Goldsmith is very readable: 'She Stoops to Conquer', 'School for Scandal'. Oscar Wilde, his foursome of smash hits. Irish: geez too many. Let's see...whoever wrote 'Shadow of a Gunman'; cant even recall his name. And William Synge of course. 'The Playboy of the Western World'. Samuel Beckett. Acquired taste. I like his stuff; but don't often muse or reflect on him. The Greeks? I wouldn't care to open that Pandora's Box...

Hilarious, sad, awful, and pathetic all at the same time. Scathing article in the Atlantic Monthly about how 'self-consciousness' and foppish egoism has ruined method acting; making it into a sham and a pose. It's now something you merely 'ape' in order to generate buzz about your dedication; without actually ever digging deep or following any method. So typical of this entire digital era: everything just veneer. https://tinyurl.com/y62pa3jw Test: ****!

"Cheese it"--not only means "let's get out of here" it can also mean "YOU get out of here, I don't want you here". There's a race car movie with Tony Curtis and the usual triangle between the lead driver, Curtis (the navigator) and a girl mechanic on the team. One lunch, she brings sandwiches out to their car and she deliberately, specifically gives Curtis a cheese sandwich she chose for him. Ham for the guy she likes and cheese for him. Meaning, a snub. Telling him she doesn't want him. 'Cheese' was synonymous with 'aversion'.

I've used these expressions for various characters I've met: she's a "flibbertygibbet" (or) he's a "hobbledehoy" a guy with a wild reputation, I might call a "rakehell" or a "ne'er-do-well" a country breakfast might include a serving of 'side-meat' an old **** expression: s'alright When you want to scoff: "rotsaruck" ..."Tell it to the Marines"..."Tell it to Hanoi" (Vietnam version) Ahhh, your father's moustache! Ahhh, your sister's out on patrol!

turns out 'Houses of the Holy' was designed around Giant's Causeway, Ireland. I thought for sure that was the Plain of Jars, Laos.

Indeed. I certainly admire Froese but yeah not sure how many others might. Still this is a good start. I'm hoping for something mega-recognizable like a Grateful Dead cover, or a Led Zeppelin cover. I was considering 'Cheap Trick Live at Buddokan' but that was several years later. Pin Floyd too--had to investigate the location for the 'splashless diver' photo by Hipgnosis on WYWH. Nope. California rather than Asia. Anyway thanks for the skull-sweat!

Darg, it still a dead-end you're roaming off down. First, you're returning to comparing marble-sized items (you happen to recall 'ONE instance') when the concepts we're treating are (in comparison) the size of bowling balls. Cole Man said that in general, the two shows took different approaches. This is generally self-evident. Its a truism. It doesn't mean there was *never* a popculture witticism dropped on the DVD show. Why insist on absolutes? Its not that kind of a discussion. Secondly, I'd ask where does your trail lead to? Would you really try to claim that the humor of the Dick Van Dyke Show was somehow less funny than the humor of the Jerry Seinfeld Show? By what measure? According to what? How could anyone even say such a thing? Both series were very popular. It's totally subjective to choose one over the other. Therefore, its merely circumstantial evidence (when you cite 'popculture buzz' in support of a subjective claim like this. Doesn't help the case. But really, how do any of these points --even if they were successfully carried-- somehow refute the honest, unsolicited opinion of Seinfeld himself when he generously and accurately praises the amazing production capacity of his predecessors? Do you think the guy (a modern expert in comedy) didn't understand the implication of his own remark?