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- “I’m one of those people who thinks you can have a happy life and still be an artist.” — Shelley Duvall
- “There’s a difference between writing about something and living through it. I did both.” — poet/novelist Margaret Walker
- “I believe what Camus says. When the curtain rings down, your job is done.” — Warren Oates
- Physical Media Booklet Essay podcast interview
- “My voice isn’t an instrument I can just hang up on a hook.” — Audra McDonald
- “You can’t be on top all the time. It isn’t natural.” — Olivia de Havilland
- “If I don’t feel it, I can’t play it.” — James Cotton
- “I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.” — Lena Horne
- “But man has always succeeded in rising again.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- June 28, 1914: “But if ever a man went anywhere of his own free will, Franz Ferdinand went to Sarajevo.”
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Category Archives: Actors
“I’m one of those people who thinks you can have a happy life and still be an artist.” — Shelley Duvall
Here’s the piece I wrote when Duvall died: The “pink stuff” of Shelley Duvall. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a … Continue reading
“I believe what Camus says. When the curtain rings down, your job is done.” — Warren Oates
“My reason for being an actor, like most any other actor, is to really nail something important down, to really find something to say in my work. And I tell myself that if I am sincere about my work, I … Continue reading
“My voice isn’t an instrument I can just hang up on a hook.” — Audra McDonald
For Audra McDonald’s birthday My good friend Ted and I were once talking about Audra McDonald and her performance of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” in the live televised version of The Sound of Music, and what a powerhouse it was. You … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Music, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Audra McDonald, Liza Minnelli, Natasha Richardson
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“You can’t be on top all the time. It isn’t natural.” — Olivia de Havilland
It’s her birthday today. In The Heiress, Olivia de Havilland gave one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema. Her final moment, ascending the stairs, as the grifter Montgomery Clift bangs on the door screaming her name, is … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Henry James, Montgomery Clift, Olivia de Havilland
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“I don’t have to be an imitation of a white woman that Hollywood sort of hoped I’d become. I’m me, and I’m like nobody else.” — Lena Horne
It’s her birthday today. Mitchell and I – in yet another of our series of conversations – discuss Lena Horne. Weirdly, we had an enormous discussion about her one night when I was staying with him in Chicago. We watched … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Hediyeh Tehrani
I first encountered Iranian actress Hediyeh Tehrani’s work when I covered the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 (it was my first real “gig”). was assigned to review Fireworks Wednesday. This was my introduction to Iranian film. Fireworks Wednesday was intriguing … Continue reading
“Some of the time, when you’re walking out there where the air is thin, you just hope you can walk back again.” — Gena Rowlands
It’s her birthday today. The quote in the headline was Rowlands talking about playing Mabel in A Woman Under the Influence, but it could be said about many of her roles, particularly the ones she did in her husband’s films. … Continue reading
“I’d love to play someone who is extremely charming, but first I’ll have to learn how to be charming.”” — Kate Lyn Sheil
I’ve written enough about Kate Lyn Sheil’s projects I figured she’s due her own post. It’s her birthday today. Sheil is ubiquitous in the American indie scene – and there is still an indie scene, although distribution has changed. If … Continue reading
“People always think of me as Maria and I think of me as Maria all the time.” –Sonia Manzano
“I realized that I was going to end up being my own role model. I became what I myself needed to see growing up as a kid, and I think I succeeded as Maria by never forgetting that there was … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day, Television
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“I really genuinely look forward to coming to work every day.” — Treat Williams
It’s his birthday today. His death is such a loss! In Sydney Lumet’s Making Movies, he talked about the choice to cast Treat Williams in Prince of the City: I wasn’t sure whether we were in drama or tragedy territory … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
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