tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post6901430485550504326..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Hire the villainBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6171740571543216602016-02-24T12:38:07.630-08:002016-02-24T12:38:07.630-08:00• Gene Hackman was excellent as the blind man in Y...• Gene Hackman was excellent as the blind man in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN.<br /><br />• William Conrad was always serious, yet he mocked this seriousness as the narrator of ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, plus had fun being silly on variety shows like SONNY AND CHER.<br /><br />• Speaking of Basil Rathbone and Jack Benny, Rathbone and other dramatic actors loved being on the Benny radio show because they could do comedy. Rathbone, playing himself, couldn't resist stepping into wet cement in Jack's front yard because he felt he was denied footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater.<br /><br />• On the other hand, Hugh Laurie usually played a clueless boob in mostly British films and TV shows (he was also a comic villain in 101 DALMATIANS) but he's known primarily in the U.S. as a heavy or a curmudgeon or both.Greg Ehrbarhttp://www.cartoonresearch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35782600215846152562016-02-24T08:35:53.858-08:002016-02-24T08:35:53.858-08:00Jack Elam. Anything pre-Support Your Local Sherif...Jack Elam. Anything pre-Support Your Local Sheriff was villainous, pretty much anything after was comedic.Carolynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54027810854948325552016-02-24T05:38:22.925-08:002016-02-24T05:38:22.925-08:00I believe the other half of this equation is the f...I believe the other half of this equation is the fact that comedians *always* make the scariest villains, as @Mike Doran was hinting at above. Robin Williams, Bill Irwin, Martin Short...creeeeeeepy!!Gerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12361836428885324631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6869620372365188452016-02-24T02:46:57.726-08:002016-02-24T02:46:57.726-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Haxibonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05179986527399959939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21725813419777624422016-02-23T19:31:18.808-08:002016-02-23T19:31:18.808-08:00I immediately thought Abe Vigoda. I remember readi...I immediately thought Abe Vigoda. I remember reading an interview with him where he said after The Godfather he would be walking down the street and get stopped by police officers. They would recognize him as a "criminal" but didn't immediately register that he was a bad guy in a movie. He had no hard feelings about it and they would be apologetic after realizing their mistake. But he did like it better after he was on Barney Miller because when the cops saw him on the street the would call out to him "Fish!"iamr4manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03886388328762709050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60669974819674793382016-02-23T17:27:42.790-08:002016-02-23T17:27:42.790-08:00The villain-comic traffic runs both ways.
Over th...The villain-comic traffic runs both ways.<br /><br />Over the years, the various <i>Law & Order</i> series have often employed funny people to play their bad guys.<br /><br />Among others:<br /><br />Chevy Chase<br /><br />Martin Short<br /><br />Carol Burnett<br /><br />Larry Miller<br /><br />Chris Elliott<br /><br />Jane Krakowski<br /><br />Lewis Black<br /><br />Stephen Colbert<br /><br />Christopher Lloyd<br /><br />Bob Saget<br /><br />Joan Cusack<br /><br />Anne Meara<br /><br /> ... several others I mentioned the first time I tried to post this ...Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48603100576506431372016-02-23T07:30:15.174-08:002016-02-23T07:30:15.174-08:00How about Leslie Nielsen? Early on, he was always ...How about Leslie Nielsen? Early on, he was always cast as a heavy/villain in TV shows. He's a terrific example. Gary Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04063974316335323136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77799609964467649692016-02-23T07:13:29.529-08:002016-02-23T07:13:29.529-08:00"Kosmo13 said...
>>>Re: the gunsel t..."Kosmo13 said...<br />>>>Re: the gunsel thread on the Maltese Falcon: A great trivia question is to name the character in the book they left out of the movie (for obvious reasons). <<<<<br /><br />Gutman's daughter?"<br /><br />Yup. If there were such a thing as Maltese Falcon Fan Fiction, the tale of Rhea Gutman would make a cool topic.<br /><br />A lot of people think she was a loose end in the plot. Hammett wasn't a loose end kind of writer, so I think he was hinting at something else. We're not dealing with a Raymond Chandler, who didn't know who killed the chauffeur :-)Earl Boeberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07300222007927549893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68250129322486534512016-02-23T06:33:08.625-08:002016-02-23T06:33:08.625-08:00Gunsel would have been intended by Hammett as an e...Gunsel would have been intended by Hammett as an even more inflammatory insult in 1929 that just "young homosexual killer". Basically, it's a young male kept as a sexual companion by an older man. Hammett's insult doesn't even acknowledge that Cook is dangerous; only that he's the passive plaything of his boss.Aaron Sheckleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22312954338853868352016-02-23T02:56:21.089-08:002016-02-23T02:56:21.089-08:00I also enjoyed Gene Hackman in THE BIRDCAGE and th...I also enjoyed Gene Hackman in THE BIRDCAGE and thought him funny in that.Barry Traylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14134880916215990198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-55105061288441382082016-02-22T23:37:03.152-08:002016-02-22T23:37:03.152-08:00There were two phrases in The Maltese Falcon that ...There were two phrases in The Maltese Falcon that were misunderstood, especially by the censors. As noted, the first was gunsel. The other was "the gooseberry lay." To be on the gooseberry lay means to hide in the bushes waiting to steal clothing from a clothesline. The censors thought it meant something dirty and made them remove it from the movie. But gunsel, which meant a young homosexual killer, was allowed to stay in.Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16086588865524733872016-02-22T19:43:25.995-08:002016-02-22T19:43:25.995-08:00In the silent era, William Powell was best known f...In the silent era, William Powell was best known for playing villains. It wasn't until talkies, when audiences first heard his rich, urbane voice, that Powell was cast as a good guy, and perhaps Cary Grant's only rival in romantic comedy.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5581375509232386662016-02-22T18:39:38.739-08:002016-02-22T18:39:38.739-08:00@ScottyB: Colantoni also played the private-eye f...@ScottyB: Colantoni also played the private-eye father in "Veronica Mars".Liggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30683454530042344702016-02-22T18:08:00.729-08:002016-02-22T18:08:00.729-08:00Scottyb mentioned Dabbs Greer. Also on "Littl...Scottyb mentioned Dabbs Greer. Also on "Little House on the Prairie," Kevin Hagen played kindly Doc Baker. On one episode of MASH, he played a colonel who didn't care how many of his men died retrieving dead bodies, and another where he's sent to chew out Hawkeye but turns out to be a sweetheart. And he pulled it off beautifully.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24369124648737283662016-02-22T14:24:00.579-08:002016-02-22T14:24:00.579-08:00To J Lee:
Hey, bub... Funny you should mention S...To J Lee: <br /><br />Hey, bub... Funny you should mention Sheldon Leonard, since today is his boithday. He was born Feb. 22, 1907. <br /><br />Incidentally, it's a sign that you have too much trivia taking up brain cells when you know Sheldon Leonard's birthday off the top of your head. Pat Reederhttp://www.hollywoodhifi.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89958932708066725802016-02-22T13:47:38.243-08:002016-02-22T13:47:38.243-08:00Sheldon Leonard was probably the prototype for tra...Sheldon Leonard was probably the prototype for transitioning from straight dramatic bad guy to source of television comedy -- even before he began doing comedy guest star bits on TV, the writers for The Jack Benny Program cast Sheldon as the race track tout who'd give Jack tips on everything except for horse races.J Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15175515543694122729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75758293068775617802016-02-22T12:35:52.895-08:002016-02-22T12:35:52.895-08:00>>>Re: the gunsel thread on the Maltese F...>>>Re: the gunsel thread on the Maltese Falcon: A great trivia question is to name the character in the book they left out of the movie (for obvious reasons). <<<<<br /><br />Gutman's daughter?Kosmo13noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64451515511626776002016-02-22T12:24:16.938-08:002016-02-22T12:24:16.938-08:00I think a really good villain and a really good co...I think a really good villain and a really good comedian have quite a bit in common. Both have a way of relating with the audience. And a really good villain must be a lot more fun to play than the average good guy. Maybe that sense of fun is what gives those actors such versatility? <br /><br />My favorite Rickman evil villain was The Sherriff of Nottingham in the 1991 Costner version of Robin Hood. It was a fun movie with a great cast (yes, I know it has critics; I said fun, not "Great Art"), but Rickman stole every scene he was in. McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28389345107496769932016-02-22T11:18:12.840-08:002016-02-22T11:18:12.840-08:00THE JANUARY MAN wasn't a comedy, but the role ...THE JANUARY MAN wasn't a comedy, but the role Alan Rickman played in it was so hilarious, it's one of the reasons that is one of my all time favorite movies. Diane D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78364348622190625322016-02-22T11:11:49.871-08:002016-02-22T11:11:49.871-08:00And Kurtwood Smith is back to playing a villain in...And Kurtwood Smith is back to playing a villain in AGENT CARTER. Doing it rather well, too.Charles H. Bryannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57748656304127815102016-02-22T11:01:43.624-08:002016-02-22T11:01:43.624-08:00@Chris: It's one of those words like "de...@Chris: It's one of those words like "decimate"; it doesn't mean what people think it means, but it gets used so often in a different way that eventually it assumes that meaning. Like you, though, I laugh when I hear it used in an old gangster movie as an interchangeable word with "gunman".Aaron Sheckleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48555166226962919482016-02-22T10:44:21.867-08:002016-02-22T10:44:21.867-08:00Re: the gunsel thread on the Maltese Falcon: A gre...Re: the gunsel thread on the Maltese Falcon: A great trivia question is to name the character in the book they left out of the movie (for obvious reasons).Earl Boeberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07300222007927549893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40969441453818315662016-02-22T10:07:40.562-08:002016-02-22T10:07:40.562-08:00I first remember Kurtwood Smith as the villain in ...I first remember Kurtwood Smith as the villain in Flashpoint(1984).<br />Mitchell McLeannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14041054866679624642016-02-22T09:59:08.155-08:002016-02-22T09:59:08.155-08:00While it wasn't comedy, Dabbs Greer was my fav...While it wasn't comedy, Dabbs Greer was my favorite bad guy/good guy. Going from playing the snakiest, vile creatures on TV Westerns to being Rev. Alden on 'Little House on the Prairie' was pretty amazing to see. It was even cooler to see his little flashes of temper as the Rev that could remind you of his TV days as a soulless varmint.ScottyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7755558182603322072016-02-22T09:54:14.617-08:002016-02-22T09:54:14.617-08:00@KenLevine: Another topic might be the opposite: a...@KenLevine: Another topic might be the opposite: actors first/best known for great comedic roles who did 180s into strictly-dramatic TV roles, and quite nicely. Enrico Colantoni ('Just Shoot Me!' into 'Flashpoint') is usually the first off the top of my head. (He also made a great alien in the film 'Galaxy Quest'.)ScottyBnoreply@blogger.com