Category Archives: Actors

“All my life I have been happiest when the folks watching me said to each other, `Look at the poor dope, wilya?” — Buster Keaton

It’s Buster Keaton’s birthday today. As a small boy with a talent for acrobatics (and a high tolerance for pain), Keaton performed with his parents in a family act (an act notorious for its wild violence) before launching off on … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , | 10 Comments

R.I.P. Kris Kristofferson

I paid tribute to this legend on my Substack.     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 link to my Venmo account. … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Music, RIP | Tagged | Leave a comment

Substack: Interview with Jeremy Richey about Sylvia Kristel

Today is Sylvia Kristel’s birthday, the Dutch actress mostly known for the notoriously soft-core Emmanuelle (1974)- but she did a lot more and worked with some of the greatest directors and actors of her era (70s). In his book about … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies | Tagged | Leave a comment

R.I.P. Maggie Smith

I’m sometimes inconsistent in my tributes here but it doesn’t mean I don’t have thoughts about those I didn’t write about! James Earl Jones died on September 9 and I didn’t write anything here because I was in Scotland and … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, RIP, Theatre | Tagged | 2 Comments

“Our humour is armour… a shield used to deflect doom and gloom.” — John Lynch on Irish-ness

It’s the birthday of the fine Irish actor John Lynch. He hails from Northern Island (County Armagh), and made a very striking debut in Cal, based on the novel by Bernard MacLaverty, a novel of “the Troubles”. Lynch plays a … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged | 10 Comments

“I am the old story. L’histoire ancienne. But an old story can still be a good story, no?” — Anna Karina

It’s the birthday of French New Wave star Anna Karina, muse to many, fascinating onscreen persona, director of her own films. Anna Karina died in 2019, and you felt the loss in an almost palpable way, particularly in the New … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“More Than This / There Is Nothing”: Bill Murray in Lost in Translation for Sofia Coppola Month

This piece originally appeared on Jeremy Richey’s awesome blog Moon in the Gutter, as part of his “Sofia Coppola Month” back in May 2013. He had guest writers take on all number of topics, and I wrote about Bill Murray … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Groundhog Day was one of the greatest scripts ever written. It didn’t even get nominated for an Academy Award.” — Bill Murray

Yup. (It’s Murray’s birthday today.) I have often said that it’s interesting to consider what films made today might be considered classics to future generations. Something like Casablanca was not a “prestige picture”, it was not filmed with a ponderous … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Television | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

“People get surprised by my choices. But that comes from me looking for something new.” — Maggie Cheung

Maggie Cheung inspires a passionate – almost monastic – love and fascination in her devoted worldwide fanbase. Her fanbase has maintained itself for over three decades, even with her deciding not to work as much in the last 20 years. … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“I didn’t think then, and I still don’t, that I was actually sick.” — Frances Farmer

“She’ll come back as fire To burn all the liars And leave a blanket of ash on the ground.” — Nirvana, “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle” It’s her birthday today. When Nirvana’s album In Utero came out … Continue reading

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre | Tagged , , | 22 Comments