actors and actresses again ...

Perhaps only another list obsessive would get my compulsion for compiling lists, particularly of favourite actresses and stars - the kind of thing one does in the middle of the night when trying t get back to sleep ... here are my top 30 actresses, and maybe 100 in all, and a lesser amount of actors, but I am not listing everybody - there are some major omissions!

Sophia Loren / Monica Vitti / Lee Remick / Romy Schneider / Marilyn Monroe / Katharine Hepburn / Bette Davis / Judy Garland / Garbo / Dietrich / Ingrid Bergman / Susan Hayward / Audrey Hepburn / Anouk Aimee / Julie Christie / Faye Dunaway / Deborah Kerr / Jean Simmons / Elizabeth Taylor / Ava Gardner / Janet Leigh / Kim Novak / Anne Baxter / Ruth Roman / Joan Fontaine / Olivia De Havilland / Catharine Deneuve / Francoise Dorleac / Kay Kendall / Maggie Smith.

I could do A LOT more …

Barbara Stanwyck / Julie Harris / Wendy Hiller / Cate Blanchett / Tilda Swinton / Sarah Miles / Lauren Bacall / Ida Lupino / Mary Astor / Kathleen Turner / Genevieve Bujold /  Jeanne Moreau / Simone Signoret / Maureen O’Hara / Lilli Palmer / Joan Greenwood / Jane Fonda / Vivien Leigh / Uma Thurman / Julianne Moore / Annette Bening / Capucine / Cyd Charisse / Linda Darnell / Gene Tierney / Loretta Young / Irene Dunne / Margaret Sullavan / Gladys Cooper / Celia Johnson / Edith Evans / Flora Robson / Peggy Ashcroft / Angela Lansbury / Natalie Wood / Doris Day / Debbie Reynolds / Ingrid Thulin / Stephane Audran / Marie Laforet / Claudia Cardinale / Silvana Mangano / Gina Lollobrigida / Brigitte Bardot / Isabelle Adjani / Elsa Martinelli / Lana Turner / Vera Miles / Jan Sterling / Jo Van Fleet / Patricia Neal / Anne Bancroft / Dorothy Malone / Shirley Knight / Kay Walsh / Pamela Brown / Glynis Johns / Susannah York / Billie Whitelaw / Vanessa Redgrave /  Lynn Redgrave / Claire Bloom / Ann Todd / Rosamund John / Dinah Sheridan / Virginia McKenna / Anna Magnani  / Fanny Ardant / Isabelle Huppert / Delphine Seyrig / Alida Valli / Gena Rowlands / Genevieve Page / Geraldine Page / Jessica Tandy / Shelley Winters / Gloria Graham / Eleanor Parker / Ann-Margret / Glenda Jackson / Jean Seberg / Thelma Ritter/ Eve Arden / Agnes Moorehead / Belinda Lee / Rosanna Podesta / Paula Prentiss / Melina Mercouri / Suzanne Pleshette / Tippi Hedren / Eva Marie Saint / Lauren Hutton / Margaret Leighton / Charlotte Rampling / Jane Asher / Jane Merrow / Eileen Atkins / Vivien Pickles / Ruth Gordon.

Better stop there ….

Omissions? Where are Meryl, Glenn, Shirley, Joan, Joanne, Judi, Nicole, Julia, Diane, Kate, Barbra, Liza, Julie etc? Don't look for Leo, Al, Jack, Dustin, Daniel, or any of the current popular names either ...

Actors:

My Top 10:  Dirk Bogarde / James Mason / James Stewart / Cary Grant / Gary Cooper / Humphrey Bogart / Montgomery Clift / Robert De Niro / Ralph Fiennes / Peter Finch.

The heavyweights:  Olivier / Alec Guinness / Marlon Brando / Rod Steiger / Burt Lancaster / Gregory Peck / Robert Mitchum / Heath Ledger / Mark Ruffalo / Charlton Heston / Robert Redford / Warren Beatty / Donald Sutherland / George Segal / Farley Granger / Robert Walker / James Garner / Rod Taylor / Colin Farrell / Lee Marvin / Charles Laughton / George Sanders / Claude Rains / Clifton Webb / Vincent Price / Charles Bickford / Jack Carson / and Jack Lemmon for SOME LIKE IT HOT.

The Europeans:  Alain Delon / Jean-Paul Belmondo / Jean-Claude Brialy / Jean-Louis Trintignant / Maurice Ronet / Jacques Perrin / Robert Hossein / Buno Ganz / Raf Vallone / Renato Salvatori / Marcello Mastroianni / Gerard Blain / Gerard Philipe / Jean Gabin / Max Von Sydow.

The British:  Albert Finney / Peter O’Toole / Alan Bates / Tom Courtenay / Ralph Richardson / John Gielgud / Trevor Howard / Harry Andrews / David Hemmings / David Warner / John Hurt / Michael York / Terence Stamp / Michael Craig / Stanley Baker / Stephen Boyd / Jack Hawkins / Nigel Patrick / James Fox / Peter McEnery / Tom Hardy / Tom Hollander / Alfred Molina / Ben Whishaw / Andrew Scott / Alan Cumming / Stewart Granger.

The lookers:  Jeffrey Hunter / Tab Hunter / Guy Madison / Fabian / Jean Sorel / Henri Vidal / Richard (AMERICAN GIGOLO) Gere /  Keanu (SPEED) Reeves / John Gavin / Channing Tatum.

Lists: 30 great male performances ...

Almost over with the Lists. Here's roughly 30 actors' performances we like a lot (again, not necessarily leading performances, maximum two each, not in any particular order, discussed previously at labels):

• Dirk Bogarde & James Fox – THE SERVANT (left)
  
• James Mason – A STAR IS BORN /  LOLITA
• James Stewart – VERTIGO / ANATOMY OF A MURDER
• Cary Grant – BRINGING UP BABY / NOTORIOUS
• Jack Lemmon & Tony Curtis – SOME LIKE IT HOT
• Robert De Niro – TAXI DRIVER / NEW YORK NEW YORK
• Ralph Fiennes - THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL / A BIGGER SPLASH
• Gary Cooper & Anthony Perkins – FRIENDLY PERSUASION
• John Wayne & Jeffrey Hunter - THE SEARCHERS
• Humphrey Bogart & Claude Rains - CASABLANCA
• Peter Finch – SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY / THE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE
• David Hemmings – BLOW-UP (its a great performance from a child actor barely noticed in bit parts till then)
• David Warner – MORGAN A SUITABLE CASE FOR TREATMENT
• Malcolm McDowell – A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
• John Hurt - THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT / LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND
• Heath Ledger – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN / THE DARK KNIGHT
• Tom Hanks - PHILADELPHIA 
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
• Alfred Molina & Gary Oldman - PRICK UP YOUR EARS
• Maurice Ronet – LE FEU FOLLET (right)
  
• Alain Delon – PLEIN SOLEIL
• Giancarlo Giannini - SEVEN BEAUTIES
• Bruno Ganz – KNIFE IN THE HEAD
• Melvil Poupaud – TIME TO LEAVE
• Richard Gere – AMERICAN GIGOLO
• James Dean – EAST OF EDEN / GIANT
• Marlon Brando – A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE / ON THE WATERFRONT
• Montgomery Clift – FROM HERE TO ETERNITY / WILD RIVER
• Rod Steiger - IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT / NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY 
• Jack Hawkins & Stephen Boyd – BEN HUR
• Burt Lancaster – THE LEOPARD
  
• Gregory Peck – THE BIG COUNTRY
• Robert Mitchum – HEAVEN KNOWS MR ALLISON
• Robert Redford - THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (his most charismatic performance?)
• Claude Rains - NOTORIOUS
• Liam Neeson & Peter Sarsgaard - KINSEY
• Joseph Fiennes - SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
• Tom Courtenay – BILLY LIAR / 45 YEARS
• Alan Bates -  A KIND OF LOVING
• Albert Finney – TOM JONES / UNDER THE VOLCANO
• Laurence Olivier – RICHARD III / SPARTACUS
• Ralph Richardson – LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT
• Max Von Sydow - THE SEVENTH SEAL / THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
• Clifton Webb - LAURA / WOMAN'S WORLD
• Peter O’Toole & Alec Guinness – LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. (Guinness is perfect as Prince Feisal, as he is as Marcus Aurelius in FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE)

The adventures of Gerard - 1970

This was one of those throwaway movies we enjoyed at the time - like De Broca's THAT MAN FROM RIO, dubbed and released as a supporting feature in 1964 and became a cult favourite over time. GERARD is maybe quite not in the same league, but is an amusing diversion to see now, a swashbuckling period piece about Napoleonic times it is at times brilliant in its comedic delivery, from quirky Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski, from stories by Conan Doyle, fleshed out by Peter McEnery as Gerard, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach as a rather camp Napoleon, Jack Hawkins, Mark Burns and more. It is brash, colorful (all those red costumes), looks good in widescreen, Claudia dances up a storm (but I think only Visconti and Zurlini have really showcased her properly).

Other notable Hussars include David Hemmings as Captain Nolan in the 1968 CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, and Malcolm McDowell in Lester's ROYAL FLASH in '75. GERARD in fact play like a Lester film, full of amusing moments and asides to the camera. We like of course Skolimowski's other films like DEEP END and KING QUEEN KNAVE, as per previous posts on them, (Jane Asher label). 
GERARD reminds me of another madcap comedy from that 1969-1970 era, which I will have seek out again: START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME, Bud Yorkin's delirious costume comedy set in the French Revolution, with Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland as twins, Hugh Griffith as Louis XIV and Billie Whitelaw as Marie Antoinette! Another fond memory ...

McEnery is ideal here. He seems to have stopped working in 2008 (according to IMDB) Born in 1940, he had a small part in the 1960 TUNES OF GLORY and was then Boy Barrett setting the plot of VICTIM in motion in 1961. He did two Walt Disneys: giving Hayley Mills her first screen kiss in  the very entertaining THE MOONSPINNERS (where he also tussled with Eli Wallach's panto villain, in 1964) and that FIGHTING PRINCE OF DONEGAL in 1966, long unseen now. Jane Fonda gets him in Vadim's oddball LA CUREE (THE GAME IS OVER) in 1966, and he is with Glenda and Diane Cilento in NEGATIVES, one I did not see, in 1967. Then he was the very entertaining MR SLOANE in the 1970 film of Orton's hit play. 

A lot of television followed, and I saw him on the stage three times: he was the first HAMLET I saw in Leicester, in maybe 1969, followed by SHADOW OF A GUNMAN by O'Casey at the Old Vic in the early 70s, and a rather good LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in 1989, with Dorothy Tutin, Susan Hampshire and Lila Kedrova. 

Like John Stride and those other British actors of his era, one would like to see more of him, 

Some more interesting careers ?

Another selection of thumbnail career portraits, in the style of one of our Sixties favourite magazines "Who's Who in Hollywood". 

Don Murray. In his late 80s now (born 1929), Murray started out in 1950, and got his big break co-starring with Marilyn Monroe in Logan’s BUS STOP in 1956 – he may have been fine, but it’s the character of the cowboy who is so annoying. He met his first wife Hope Lange here. He followed this with two I have not seen: BACHELOR PARTY and A HATFUL OF RAIN, and then two westerns which I liked as a kid: the engaging FROM HELL TO TEXAS in ’58, and the more sprawling THESE THOUSAND HILLS in 1959, with young Lee Remick, and that other 20^th Century Fox boy, Stuart Whitman. 
Gritty realism followed with THE HOODLUM PRIEST and the very Irish saga SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL in 1959. Maybe his last interesting role was as senator Brig Anderson in Otto’s ADVISE AND CONSENT in 1962, who commits suicide when his wartime gay affair is about to be exposed – and we get that first look at a gay bar in American film, as Brig reels back in horror, leaving his wartime buddy lying in the gutter. (review at Murray label).

He was back with Lee Remick in BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL in 1965, but now Steve McQueen was the lead, and it was the era of the new boys like Beatty and Redford. He did a rubbish British film in 1967: THE VIKING QUEEN – we avoided it at the time, but I have now ordered a copy as it seems delirious fun, a certified Trash Classic. Murray continued in a long career, in lesser films and lots of television (like KNOTS LANDING), but like many others had a good late Fifties era.

Richard Beymer, now in his late Seventies (born 1938) was a child actor – he was Jennifer Jones’ son in De Sica’s INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE in 1954, and then after a lot of television, came his run of 20^th Century Fox movies in the late Fifties and early Sixties: George Stevens’ THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK in 1959, WEST SIDE STORY, Fox comedies HIGH TIME and BACHELOR FLAT (which we liked at the time), THE STRIPPER with Joanne Woodward and Carol Lynley in 1963 (review at Woodward label) and the lead in HEMINGWAY’S ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG MAN in 1962, as per recent review, below), plus FIVE FINGER EXERCISE and THE LONGEST DAY in 1962. Perhaps Beymer wasn’t distinctive enough, and Fox already had the likes of Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter under contract …. He continued keeping busy, returning to the limelight in David Lynch’s TWIN PEAKS in 1990, and it was interesting seeing him ageing well in items like MURDER SHE WROTE.

Dean Stockwell. Another child actor, born 1936, has clocked up over 200 credits according to IMDB. He was in ANCHORS AWEIGH with Gene Kelly in 1945, Losey’s THE BOY WITH GREEN HAIR in 1948, KIM with Errol Flynn, then came those “sensitive” roles in COMPULSION in 1959, SONS AND LOVERS in 1960, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT in 1962, RAPTURE in 1965, as well as TV roles in the likes of WAGON TRAIN, DR KILDARE. Later films include that terrific thriller AIR FORCE ONE, PARIS TEXAS, DUNE, TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., BLUE VELVET, THE PLAYER and more.

Brandon De Wilde (1942-1972). Another child actor, but less fortunate, in that he was killed in a traffic accident when aged 30, after being a child actor on Broadway when aged 9 in THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING, which role he repeated in the 1953 film.. We have already covered his career in detail, at label, and those films we like, such as ALL FALL DOWN and HUD, and those westerns like SHANE and NIGHT PASSAGE where he has some nice scenes with James Stewart.

Pamela Tiffin. Pamela, born 1942, was the delightfully daffy and attractive alternative to those blondes like Sandra Dee or Carol Lynley, and had some good years in the early Sixties. She started as a model and came to attention in SUMMER AND SMOKE in 1961, when we loved her in Billy Wilder’s ONE TWO THREE. Some zany comedy roles followed in COME FLY WITH ME, THE PLEASURE SEEKERS, STATE FAIR, THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL and HARPER in 1966. She the decamped to European comedies in Italy, co-starring with the likes of Marcello Mastroianni, before giving up acting to concentrate on family life.

Carol Lynley. Another young model, also born 1942, had a longer career, starting with Walt Disney in THE LIGHT IN THE FOREST in 1958, and then at Fox in that favourite, HOUND DOG MAN with Fabian and Stuart Whitman, THE STRIPPER, HOLIDAY FOR LOVERS, BLUE DENIM with Brandon De Wilde, RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE, THE LAST SUNSET. I did not want to see UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE where she co-stars with Jack Lemmon, and she was also in Otto’s THE CARDINAL in 1963, and the lead in his BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING in 1965, with Olivier (right) and Keir Dullea (also featured here, see label). She was later in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE in 1972 in hotpants, and was a long time companion of David Frost’s. She kept busy in lesser films (THE SHUTTERED ROOM wasn’t too bad), but then there was that 1965 cheapo version of HARLOW … reviews of some of these at Lynley label.

Vera Miles. Now in her late 80s and retired for years, Vera Miles is probably the biggest name featured here – it was a long if fairly ordinary career but her two each for John Ford and Hitchcock will ensure she is long remembered, as THE SEARCHERS, THE WRONG MAN, PSYCHO and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALLANCE will always be screened somewhere. She began in 1950 and early roles included some routine westerns, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS television shows (he had her under personal contract – like he had Tippi Hedren – and was building VERTIGO for Miles, but she had got pregnant by husband Gordon Scott – she had done one of his TARZAN pictures. She wears that unflattering wig in PSYCHO as she had done a downbeat war movie FIVE BRANDED WOMEN for Martin Ritt in Italy and had her head shaved for it. She is glamorous though in A TOUCH OF LARCENCY in 1960, and suitably nasty in AUTUMN LEAVES with Crawford in 1956, and BACK STREET in ‘61. Other leads included 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET, HELLFIGHTERS with Wayne in 1968, and lots more television.  

Next lot to include Tuesday Weld, Carolyn Jones, Paula Prentiss, Barry Coe, Farley Granger, Earl Holliman,  and some Europeans and British ....

People We Like - continued ... some British actors

Douglas Hodge, and as Grimes in the current DECLINE AND FALL. (He was a terrific Zaza in LE CAGE AUX FOLLES a few years back).

Rory Kinnear, and as the Frankenstein monster in PENNY DREADFUL.  (also recently in THE IMITATION GAME, SKYFALL, SPECTRE, and theatre including another HAMLET and THE THREEPENNY OPERA). 

Patrick Baladi may have started off playing Nancy in a school production of OLIVER! but is kept busy now, in the current LINE OF DUTY among others - we like him in  the STELLA series with Ruth Jones, where he looked good wearing leathers, and he marries a man in Tom Hollander's REV.

Hugh Bonneville, now that he has left the Earl of Grantham behind at DOWNTON ABBEY, seems to be having fun, amusingly dragging up in PADDINGTON (right), and being hilarious in DAVID WALLIAMS & FRIEND, as well as BBC series W1A, and that surprise turn in DA VINCI'S DEMONS. Looking forward to PADDINGTON 2. 

Daniel Boys, actor and singer, recently seen in the BOYS IN THE BAND revival.

Then of course there's Tom Hollander, and Aidan Turner (POLDARK and handsome! - see Poldark label.)

Hamlet, 2017

Can we take on yet another HAMLET? I missed Benedict Cumberbatch's over-hyped one last year, but will definitely want to see his SHERLOCK co-star Andrew Scott as the Dane in the current production, sold out at the Almeida Theatre, but on its way to London's West End in June, at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Scott is a fascinating actor, he was Moriarty to Benedict's Sherlock in that TV series. 

Modern versions of Shakespeare don't usually work for me (though I liked Ken Branagh's LA DOLCE VITA era ROMEO AND JULIET last summer - review at Theatre label), but this new one, directed by Robert Icke seems a fresh interpretation .... as per these comments

Celebrity Hamlets are a rite of passage for stars wishing to test their metal against The Bard's most introspective and challenging central character. 

This technologically sound production grounds the intrigue in a modern Danish court complete with rolling news and modern surveillance. Whilst it's not necessarily a new idea the live camera work picks up on subtle flashes of Scott's genius, from 'The Mousetrap' scene that's played within the auditorium itself and allows a close-up view of the murderous reactions to the filmed fencing that brings his downfall. Characters are wiretapped adding to the paranoia whilst the Ghost appears via CCTV, but the addition of guns create more problems than they solve.

Juliet Stephenson is a radiant Gertrude finding life in the poetry and carefully maintaining the post-wedding exuberance that Icke extends to hang over much of the first act played through a clinically Nordic set that allows split scenes to operate on multiple levels.

We will be booking it for June then, when it opens. It is four hours long with two intervals, so I think a matinee will be a better bet than sitting in the theatre from 7pm to 11pm, and then getting home. I did that with the David Tennant HAMLET some years ago, and it was quite a slog, and we emerged into a blinding snowstorm! Doing this long HAMLET twice a day must be quite a marathon on matinee days, just saying. 

My collection of HAMLETs include Peter McEnery, Michael York, Alan Bates, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Dillane, and David Tennant's understudy., plus the films by Olivier, the Russian 1964 one, Tony Richardson's 1968 one with Nicol Williamson, Zeffirelli's with Mel Gibson, Derek Jacobi for the BBC, and the Ken Branagh all-star marathon of 1996. 

RIP, continued ....

Tomas Milian (1933-2017), aged 84.  Tomas Milian, an American actor born in Cuba; was trained at the Actors Studio. He appeared in a few plays on Broadway in the 1950s. Italian director Mauro Bolognini noticed him and that was the starting point of a rich cinematographic career in Italy, 
where he played in all manner of genres. 
We like him as the rich young guy propositioning Jean-Claude Brialy in Bolognini's 1959 saga of Italian youth LA NOTTE BRAVA (below), and he is Romy Schneider's husband in the Visconti episode of BOCCACCIO 70 (right) in 1962, and Claudia Cardinale''s brother in TIME OF INDIFFERENCE in 1964, and with Belmondo in MARE MATTO. He was Raphael in THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY in 1965.

He progressed to Spaghetti Westerns (DJANGO KILL in 1967) and Italian giallo thrillers, and the lead in Antonioni's IDENTIFICATION OF A WOMAN in 1982. Later films included TRAFFIC in 2000, Spielberg's AMISTEAD, Stone's JFK. He continued working, 120 credits in all, until 2014. Quite an acting career. More on Tomas at label ....

Christine Kaufmann (1945-2017), aged 72. She had a promising European and maybe international career, which she temporarily gave up when she became the second Mrs Tony Curtis (they co-starred in TARAS BULBA in 1962). Other titles included TOWN WITHOUT PITY in 1961, and some peplums THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII with Steve Reeves (below), 1959,and CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS with Belinda Lee. She later appeared in films like BAGDAD CAFE, and clocked up 110 credits. 

Lola Albright ( 1925-2017), aged 92.  I featured her only a month or so ago, in a review of some interesting careers - see Lola Albright label.

Some interesting careers ....

Hope Lange / Tom Tryon / Keir Dullea / Lola Albright. 

We are fascinated here at The Projector as to how some acting careers pan out, who gets the breaks and who keeps working into old age.  Here are some interesting ones .... maybe more later. 

If you were asked who co-starred with Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Montgomery Clift, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, would you come up with the answer? And if told it was Hope Lange would you be any the wiser?

Hope Lange (1933-2003) was one of 20^th Century Fox’s players who came to prominence in the mid-50s and had a good career into the 1960s, maybe not individual enough to be a top line star, but a pleasing presence (rather like Vera Miles) in several hits of the time. She studied dance with Martha Graham, and was the young ingénue in BUS STOP in 1956, having scenes with Monroe, and then was Selina Cross in the Fox hit PEYTON PLACE in 1957, when she was also in the western THE TRUE STORY OF JESSE JAMES, with Robert Wagner and Jeff Hunter,  and in IN LOVE AND WAR, and then Montgomery Clift’s love interest in THE YOUNG LIONS in 1958. She was the lead and top-billed in a favourite of ours, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING in 1959, teamed with Stephen Boyd, with Joan Crawford in the supporting cameo role as her boss. 

She was the main lead opposite Elvis in the Fox meller WILD IN THE COUNTRY. Her scenes were cut out though from HOW THE WEST WAS WON in '62. Then Bette Davis had a supporting role in the 1961 A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES  where Lange starred with her then amour Glenn Ford, after her marriage to BUS STOP star Don Murray. She then married directed Alan J. Pakula, and had a successful TV series from the film of THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR, among other television roles. Later films included the 1974 DEATH WISH and BLUE VELVET.

Keir Dullea, born in 1936, now 80, was a very individual young actor with those striking looks and eyes, and in interesting films like DAVID AND LISA in 1962 (for which he won the Golden Globe as “Most Promising Male Newcomer”), THE HOODLUM PRIEST, the comedy western WEST OF MONTANA and the lead in Preminger’s BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING in 1965 (where co-star Noel Coward famously said "Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow"), plus the Lana Turner classic MADAME X in 1966, and THE FOX in 1967. He is immortalised for posterity as Dave Bowman, the surviving astronaut in Kubrick’s 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY (and certainly looks better now than his co-star Gary Lockwood – see below). 

The 1969 DE SADE (see review – Dullea label) is a hoot now,

Dullea also did several stage roles and we saw him on stage in London in 1976, as that annoying cowboy in a revival of BUS STOP, with Lee Remick as a world-weary Cherie. - right.

He has kept busy with 84 credits and is still working now. Like Michael York, Terence Stamp and others he shows how actors can keep working as they get older, and the next crop of actors take over.

Tom Tryon (1926-1991) aged 65, clocked up 39 acting credits before becoming a best-selling author. The tall dark and handsome actor was very individual in early roles like I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE in 1958, and in THE UNHOLY WIFE, THREE VIOLENT PEOPLE, THE STORY OF RUTH (see below), MARINES LETS GO, THE LONGEST DAY. 
He was the lead as THE CARDINAL for Otto Preminger in 1963, and also in Otto’s IN HARM’S WAY in 1965. There were lesser roles after that for the gay actor, who had been a marine in the South Pacific during the war, but his novels which were filmed including THE OTHER, HARVEST HOME,  CROWNED HEADS – a great read, which included the short story FEDORA (which became Billy Wilder’s last interesting film) brought him a lot more success and money than acting! He would have been the sailor marooned on a desert island with Marilyn Monroe in SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, in 1962 – if the film had been completed.

Lola Albright, born 1925, now in her early 90s – Considered one of the most stylish, sultriest and beautiful actresses in Hollywood, with one of the throatiest, smokiest and most distinctive voices in the business, she starred with Kirk Douglas in the 1949 hit CHAMPION, after uncredited appearances in THE PIRATE and EASTER PARADE, and a bit part in THE TENDER TRAP in ‘55. From 1958 to 1961 she played nightclub singer Edie Hart in the popular TV series PETER GUNN. She also made TV guest appearances on ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS (1955) – he should have made her a Hitchcock blonde. She played Constance McKenzie in the TV series PEYTON PLACE (1964) after Dorothy Malone became ill. Lola received critical acclaim for her performances in A COLD WIND IN AUGUST in 1961, and was in Rene Clements’ LES FELINS with Alain Delon in 1964, and was terrific as Tuesday Weld’s mother in the hilarious LORD LOVE A DUCK in 1966. A great example of a stylish actress under-used by Hollywood, but who kept busy with lots of television work.

Next:  Richard Beymer? Don Murray ? Tuesday Weld? Carol Lynley? Pamela Tiffin ? Vera Miles ?

RIP, continued ...

Two more titans of British television depart, and another music legend and one of our most esteemed journalists/critics, as this busy year runs away .....

Andrew Sachs (1930-2016) aged 86. The nation mourned at the passing of Manuel, the dim waiter "from Barcelona", at the centre of FAWLTY TOWERS tv series, a classic of British television, endlessly repeated and loved (there were only 12 episodes). Sachs' perfect creation was the equal of John Cleese's Basil, particuarly in episodes like "Basil the Rat". His many other roles included QUARTET, and a lot of television series including CORONATION STREET, HOLBY CITY, EASTENDERS, etc. 

Peter Vaughan (1923-2016) aged 93. One of the most recognisable character actors who kept busy into his 90s with his role in GAME OF THRONES. Also notable for OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH, PORRIDGE, and a slew of film and television roles - and stage too: he originated the role of Ed in Orton's ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE in 1964. His air of menace was just right for so many productions and kept him busy. Films included STRAW DOGS, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, BRAZIL,  
His first wife was the marvellous Billie Whitelaw, another favourite of ours. 

Greg Lake (1947-2016), aged 69 - another major musician from my misspent youth: Greg Lake, bassist and founding member of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, one of the great progressive rock bands of the late 60s and 70s. Lake has died at 69, just 9 months after the passing of Emerson .....  ELP were very popular then (I had their album "Pictures At An Exhibition"), and he co-wrote (with King Crimson's Peter Sinfield) that Christmas anthem we will be hearing this season: "I Believe in Father Christmas".

AA Gill (1954-2016), aged 62. AA (Adrian) advised us only 3 weeks ago that he had cancer, and now it has taken him 3 weeks later. We have always liked his witty, trenchant TV reviews for "The Sunday Times" where he was also restaurant critic, with all those witty, erudite reviews in that dazzling prose. He was also the scourge of the television producers ("Tristams") and wrote moving reports from world crisis spots,like Syria or Darfur. AA will be much missed, The "Sunday Times" editor said he was the soul of the paper. He was also author of several books, including one on The Ivy restaurant. Today's paper features his last writing on his cancer diagnosis and treatment. We should all be so strong facing life's challenges, 
"AA Gill is away" indeed.

Two Bosie's ....

Interesting for us theatre folk to see two actors who have played Lord Alfred Douglas in David Hare's THE JUDAS KISS, together in a new revival of Tom Stoppard's TRAVESTIES, currently a sell-out at London's Menier Chocolate Factory, hopefully it will get a west end transfer. The witty play features wordplay on Oscar Wilde and dialogue from his THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. 

Tom Hollander was Bosie in the 1998 original production, with Liam Neeson, as Oscar, which I enjoyed back then, Tom was a very petulant Bosie, as was Freddie Fox in the Rupert Everett version a couple of years ago, which was brilliant too (more on that at Oscar, Rupert labels). They must have had a lot to talk about the part ... Busy year for young Fox - that recent CUCUMBER and PRIDE, and also Romeo this summer in that recent ROMEO AND JULIET, reviewed recently (Shakespeare label). Tom of course also also been very busy with THE NIGHT MANGER and DR THORNE,

Hunk de jour: Guy

Another person we like: Guy Madison - quite a lot about him on various sites. Here is his first role of a few minutes in the 1944 wartime drama SINCE YOU WENT AWAY. He was a real marine then, and had a career once he returned to Hollywood after the war.

I don't know SINCE YOU WENT AWAY, John Cromwell's film seems essentially of that era now, like CASABLANCA or MEET ME IN ST LOUIS. I have had to order it, for that great cast: Colbert, Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Robert Walker, Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moorehead, Nazimova, and er, Shirley Temple. Guy made quite an impression here as the young marine. 

Below: with Judy Garland, at a premiere, and with Judy again a decade or so later.

Guy (1922-1996) had a respectable career, gravitating towards westerns - one of the first films I saw, when aged 8, was his 1954's THE COMMAND - like Dale Robertson, also big in westerns then, Guy was ideal out west or in cavalry uniform. as in THE LAST FRONTIER.
He also had a long-runnng western series THE ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKOK. He is also good with Jean Simmons in the 1956 drama HILDA CRANE (review at Simmons label) and I like FIVE AGAINST THE HOUSE (also with gay Kerwin Matthews), and like Jeffrey Hunter, Tab Hunter, Robert Wagner, Tony Perkins etc he was a leading man of the 1950s, before the new crop arrived: Troy Donahue, Fabian, young Warren Beatty, Redford, etc. 
Like a lot of others he then did several costumers in Europe, as did his pal Rory Calhoun (who did a good one: Leone's THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES in 1961).  One of Guy's SLAVE OF ROME in 1961, is on YouTube, where he co-stars with Rosanna (HELEN OF TROY) Podesta:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiPJoCrbtQA

There are lots of pictures actually of Guy and Rory (1922-1999; mainly a B-movie actor (left), best known now for those two Monroe films at Fox: RIVER OF NO RETURN where Mitchum is the lead, and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE where he is teamed with Betty Grable), and with Susan Hayward in the musical sudser WITH  SONG IN MY HEART, 1952, which we like a lot. 

The boys went fishing a lot (and really caught fish, unlike BBM), both were clients of the notorious agent Henry Willson (Below with the boys). Guy was married for some years to the fragile actress Gail Russell, whom we like a lot, and he had 4 children by his second marriage. Rory was married to actress Lita Baron (usually a tough cookie in westerns), but like Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, and Tab and Tony Perkins, their friendship endured during their marriages.

Guy and Rory both did an intriguing-sounding 1949 western: MASSACRE RIVER. One to check out?  He seems a bit clunky jitterbugging though ... More Guy at label. 

Looking at MASSACRE RIVER now the chemistry between the boys is startling, with all that horseplay and fooling around, as Rory's trousers fall down and they grapple in the hot tub. The rest of it is standard 1940s horse opera. Guy had a good run in cavalry uniform, as here and THE COMMAND in 1954 (which I saw when I was 8, one of the first films I saw), THE LAST FRONTIER in '56, and others.