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- “When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.” — Dorothy Thompson
- “Art is theft, art is armed robbery, art is not pleasing your mother.” — Janet Malcolm
- “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
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Category Archives: Actors
“I did Google myself recently. Without a lubricant.”
It’s Carrie Fisher’s birthday. I saw her one-woman show Wishful Drinking on Broadway last year, and it was fantastic. Based on the book of the same name. I’ve always been a fan. I could listen to her talk for days … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Jean Arthur
I’m one day late. She, the wonderful actress, who has a permanent spot in my banner is “my kind of actress”, which may deserve some explanation. “My kind of actress” is an actress who seems to be alive, on a … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth
She was a newbie (pretty much) when she appeared as Judith, the wife of the hated flier MacPherson (Richard Barthelmess), in Only Angels Have Wings (directed by Howard Hawks), but she’s terrific in the part. The part is deceptively simple, … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day
Tagged Cary Grant, Howard Hawks, Only Angels Have Wings, Rita Hayworth
6 Comments
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Sir John Falstaff…”
It is difficult to imagine anything like this ever being on television today, let alone a popular show like The Dean Martin Show, aimed at a broad audience. The “skit” is languorous, it takes its time, it is self-conscious in … Continue reading
Orson Welles on Acting: “Hamming Has No Target, Its Only Aim Is To Please.”
Excerpt from This is Orson Welles, a book-long interview between Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich: PB: How about radio acting, Orson – would you say that it’s similar to the acting required for movies? I mean, in the sense that … Continue reading
Trixie’s Note: Yeah. Keep Hopin’ There, Fella
In 1942, with the United States’ entry into WWII, Joan Blondell embarked on an exhausting 6 month USO tour, singing, doing skits, and dancing with as many soldiers as she possibly could. Married to Dick Powell at the time, the … Continue reading
The Narcissist At Home: Julian In American Gigolo
Who are we when we are alone and we feel totally private? Private moments are difficult to capture on film. You know it when you see it. Perhaps the most classic example is Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle, talking to … Continue reading
Yet Another Reason to Love Joan Blondell
Joan secured a job in a circulating library at Broadway and Eighty-ninth for eight dollars a week. Her shift was typically 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., then again from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., which was perfect for attending midday … Continue reading
R.I.P., Tony Curtis
“All they had to tell me was New York. I was raised in that city. I should have done it as the first movie I ever made.” – Tony Curtis on his fantastic performance as Falco in Sweet Smell of … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, RIP
8 Comments
“You Know, She’s Such a Liar, She May Even Be Fat!” Alexandre Dumas, Fils, On the Rail-Thin Actress Sarah Bernhardt
Well, I know what book I’m going to read next. Sarah Bernhardt strolls through many of the biographies I read of that period, making cameo appearances in her crazy outfits, causing jealousy, envy and awe in everyone she met, especially … Continue reading