tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post5769293043382823080..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: R.I.P. Peter O'TooleBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43295162900255434272013-12-25T16:29:02.080-08:002013-12-25T16:29:02.080-08:00Peter O'Toole leaves a tremendous void in this...Peter O'Toole leaves a tremendous void in this world. Ever since seeing him in VENUS, I could not forget him and watched many of his movies and television work. Even as an old man, he had such a big impact on me. I honestly think the world will never see a man like him again.Ann Jelennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17129240561968614872013-12-17T19:46:21.503-08:002013-12-17T19:46:21.503-08:00Hamid: To each his own, but obviously I'd imag...Hamid: To each his own, but obviously I'd imagine a tasteful pause where O'Toole could be recognized by the audience. Something that acknowledged he was there. A legend in the room. Rather than someone forgotten as soon as Whitaker took stage. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10395972583735581122013-12-17T17:55:29.539-08:002013-12-17T17:55:29.539-08:00@Hamid,
Now, you have to admit that Dick Cheney w...@Hamid,<br /><br />Now, you have to admit that Dick Cheney was terrific as The Great Goblin in <i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i>, a role he played without make-up or CGI.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45476086217735686552013-12-17T17:48:37.614-08:002013-12-17T17:48:37.614-08:00I was very sorry to learn of Peter O'Toole'...I was very sorry to learn of Peter O'Toole's passing. I did get to meet him (For me the upside is that now my O'Toole autograph, which is framed on my living room wall) shoots up in monatary value), and got to see him play Henry Higgins in <i>Pygmalion</i> on Broadway from the second row, a production that included Lionel Jeffries and Sir John Mills in the cast. Amanda Plummer is now that cast's sole survivor.) I could listen to that voice read the phone book. <br /><br />(My younger brother one-ups me here though. He worked on <i>My Favorite Year</i>, and so not merely met, but worked with O'Toole. Duncan called me the moment he heard O'Toole had died, just devastated. He loved him, and has only joyous memories of working with him. I don't think he actually realized O'Toole was mortal; he was too godlike.) <br /><br />However, I disagree that O'Toole's Alan Swann would have been the worst <i>SNL</i> host ever. Remember, Swann pulls through at the end, does the show and saves the day. It ends in a personal triumph for him. Ask Lorne Michaels; I'm sure he'd tell you he'd much rather have Alan Swann host than have Louise Lasser or Steven Seagal back.<br /><br /><i>The Stunt Man</i> is one of my favorite movies also. (O'Toole received one of his Oscar noms for it), and I've had a VHS copy of it for around 3 decades. Great, great movie. I met Steve Railsback once, and while we did talk about Manson, most of our conversation was about <i>The Stunt Man</i>. Do I need to say how immensely proud of that movie Railsback is?D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64636488586134785342013-12-17T07:59:16.944-08:002013-12-17T07:59:16.944-08:00Hamid: I think it depends how they do it. I rememb...Hamid: I think it depends how they do it. I remember Candice Bergen accepting one of her Emmys for MURPHY BROWN and saying she'd expected it to go to "my hero, Helen Hunt" and thinking that was rather nice. (Bergen eventually refused to be put forward for those Emmy any more, apparently feeling she'd won enough for that character.) You can openly admire the work of other nominees without playing fake-humble.<br /><br />wg<br /><br />Wendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49885304767886223212013-12-16T19:53:59.588-08:002013-12-16T19:53:59.588-08:00The number of DVDs I own could fit in a lunchbox. ...The number of DVDs I own could fit in a lunchbox. Lawrence of Arabia and My Favorite Year are two of them. O'Toole is truly one of the giants.<br /><br />Peter O'Toole is dead. Dick Cheney still slouches towards Bethlehem. No justice.The Mutthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09149977320388415139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25117588087587270312013-12-16T15:46:08.194-08:002013-12-16T15:46:08.194-08:00Johnny, I have to disagree. I always cringe when a...Johnny, I have to disagree. I always cringe when a winner mentions the other nominess. It's so patronising. The worst example was when Helen Hunt said in her Oscar acceptance speech that when she'd seen Judi Dench's performance, she told her husband "that lady's going to win the Academy Award. And in my mind, tonight she has". Truly awful!Hamidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3860996143441628842013-12-16T15:22:36.888-08:002013-12-16T15:22:36.888-08:00It kind of broke my heart when the 74 year old Too...It kind of broke my heart when the 74 year old Toole, clearly being given his last chance to win a competitive Oscar for his acting, lost it to Forest Whitaker. I swear you could see the disappointment in his eyes as the name was announced.<br /><br />And Whitaker -- undoubtedly deserving of recognition -- giddy with excitement, didn't acknowledge O'Toole. I really wished he'd given part of his acceptance speech over to the unlucky nominee. Of course, it's easy to have these thoughts from the comfort of my armchair, I'm sure Whitaker doesn't even remember what he said on stage.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80416485865561965152013-12-16T08:37:32.276-08:002013-12-16T08:37:32.276-08:00Rewatching Peter O'Toole is on my Becket list....Rewatching Peter O'Toole is on my Becket list.Waynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70106255448703860992013-12-16T08:07:07.557-08:002013-12-16T08:07:07.557-08:00"That was a movie. THIS IS REAL LIFE!"
..."That was a movie. THIS IS REAL LIFE!" <br /><br />(Pause)<br /><br />"What...is...the difference?"<br /><br />-- MY FAVORITE YEAR<br /><br />RIPJake Mabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01908036270824377919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81508224972590510932013-12-16T08:03:24.920-08:002013-12-16T08:03:24.920-08:00He lived a full life, no question about it, and hi...He lived a full life, no question about it, and his drinking led to some serious problems, in his work and personal life. We know all that. We also know that to find a better actor, we might have to go somewhere on this planet or another planet where we have never been. It's hard to imagine a better performance than his Lawrence and yet, here we are, discussing other films where he probably was even better!Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61519827195140261012013-12-16T07:55:58.318-08:002013-12-16T07:55:58.318-08:00That was great, Ken. A fine tribute to a great act...That was great, Ken. A fine tribute to a great actor. He will be missed.VincentSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24695299526613318922013-12-16T07:52:29.802-08:002013-12-16T07:52:29.802-08:00I loved him in MY FAVORITE YEAR, too. But I'm ...I loved him in MY FAVORITE YEAR, too. But I'm surprised no one has mentioned LION IN WINTER, which is my favorite movie that he was in.<br /><br />I was fortunate enough to see him on stage some years back in productions of PYGMALION and MAN AND SUPERMAN. Unfortunatley, the performance I narrowly missed but really wanted to see was JEFFREY BERNARD IS UNWELL, in which he played the long-time notoriously alcoholic Spectator columnist. The title is what they ran when his column failed to appear...<br /><br />A friend of mine, a Scottish folksinger named Alex Campbell who died in the mid-1980s, had memories of drinking with O'Toole, though he never went into details. I can only imagine...<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91535406350509438862013-12-16T06:48:37.104-08:002013-12-16T06:48:37.104-08:00Loved reading that post Mr. Levine. ThanksLoved reading that post Mr. Levine. Thanksbarriowolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03529526264443377334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52151013659746388992013-12-16T05:55:31.305-08:002013-12-16T05:55:31.305-08:00can a legendary major asshole please die
I gave u...<b>can a legendary major asshole please die</b><br /><br />I gave up waiting on Cheney to kick the bucket. After surviving so many heart attacks, I concluded he must've stopped off at a crossroads in Mississippi many years ago.Hamidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65623837298444333482013-12-16T05:10:21.382-08:002013-12-16T05:10:21.382-08:00"I'm not an ACTOR, I'm a MOVIE STAR!&..."I'm not an ACTOR, I'm a MOVIE STAR!"<br /><br />Oh, darling man, you were surely both.<br /><br />I haven't been this gutted since Cary Grant died, I love them both so much. Such class, mystery, wit, and oh, the beauty of those eyes, even in old age.<br /><br />We've lost a lot of legends this year, in many fields, many of whom had a good long run (some into their 80's and 90's), but their loss is still such a drag. I live in a world with no Ray Manzarek, no Lou Reed, no Ray Harryhausen, and now no Peter O'Toole... can a legendary major asshole please die, too, balance out the scales, like? And could 2014 please suck a little less hard? Because that would be awesome.<br /><br />Cheers, thanks for the obit, it made me cry AGAIN,<br /><br />StormStormnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80581562936968836722013-12-16T03:38:24.870-08:002013-12-16T03:38:24.870-08:00Sad news. He was one of my favorite actors and I h...Sad news. He was one of my favorite actors and I have lost count of how many times I have watched Lawrence of Arabia and my Favorite Year.Barry Traylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14134880916215990198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7232684244368978032013-12-16T01:03:48.535-08:002013-12-16T01:03:48.535-08:00I'm ashamed to say I've yet to see Laurenc...I'm ashamed to say I've yet to see Laurence of Arabia. Just one of those epics, like Spartacus and Gone With The Wind, I keep meaning to see but haven't got round to yet.<br /><br />I guess I should also be ashamed that the first thing I saw Peter O'Toole in was Supergirl, when I was a kid. On the other hand, thanks to Supergirl, I had my first childhood celebrity crush on the heavenly Helen Slater in a short red skirt.Hamidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33433889600863118032013-12-15T21:13:47.385-08:002013-12-15T21:13:47.385-08:00@ Sean F and Steve -
Totally agree about the Ruli...@ Sean F and Steve - <br />Totally agree about the Ruling Class, and Steve - i was also one of the few who went to see Stunt Man when it was released. Very few of us in the theater in San Francisco. Still one of my favorites.MacGilroynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32098283297925005402013-12-15T17:16:11.499-08:002013-12-15T17:16:11.499-08:00My favorite was BECKET.My favorite was BECKET.404https://www.blogger.com/profile/00064577649967514295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-928036453837276302013-12-15T16:00:41.481-08:002013-12-15T16:00:41.481-08:00"Consumate professional"
When he turned..."Consumate professional"<br /><br />When he turned up...<br /><br />http://youtu.be/R_CoggWEjeMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42408768927812580302013-12-15T14:25:34.617-08:002013-12-15T14:25:34.617-08:00Sadly, my first recollection on hearing the news w...Sadly, my first recollection on hearing the news was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMku4dgBbVc" rel="nofollow">this sketch</a> from the '80s satirical puppet show <i>Spitting Image</i>.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82920166947509125342013-12-15T13:53:29.347-08:002013-12-15T13:53:29.347-08:00Before people revisit Lawrence of Arabia, I sugges...Before people revisit Lawrence of Arabia, I suggest they read The seven pillars of wisdom. O'Toole's portrayal of Lawrence' shock after he was captured by the Turks is masterful. Knowledge of the book is key to understanding his performance.<br /><br />Vale Peter O'Toole.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09092985199027690430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32383106177777460132013-12-15T13:29:58.566-08:002013-12-15T13:29:58.566-08:00One of my favorite movies is O'Toole's &qu...One of my favorite movies is O'Toole's "The Ruling Class", a 1972 British black comedy. O'Toole is terrific as the insane heir to a peerage, a clear satire of the British class system. The opening scene alone is priceless. I recommend that you try to see this marvelous, little-seen film.joanneinjaxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1600984375499563702013-12-15T13:14:38.103-08:002013-12-15T13:14:38.103-08:00My Favorite Year is a forgotten gem, and just watc...My Favorite Year is a forgotten gem, and just watching him tumble downstairs in a wheelchair is a scream. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00093035236072033148noreply@blogger.com