Sensible Erection | Roadhouse!

Saturday, 4 February 2012

quote [ Ben Gazzara Dead at 81.
An intense actor whose long career included playing Brick in the original “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on Broadway, roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors, died on Friday in Manhattan. ]

I admired the guy, the press has only made a pass reference to his passing away. I hate Yahoo! Their article was only two paragraphs long. This one is a little more extended, but it is buried in the NY Times web site.

[art] [by jccv72@1:51pmGMT] [-2 Repost]

Comments

scabble said @ 1:59pm GMT on 4th Feb
I hear he treats objects like women.

RedRiverRat said @ 2:48pm GMT on 4th Feb
thats no way to treat an object.

landsky said @ 2:13pm GMT on 4th Feb [Score:1 Funny]

sanepride said @ 3:05pm GMT on 4th Feb
For gosh sake put some pants on grandma!

loomspace said @ 6:30pm GMT on 4th Feb
Always keep in mind that older women are hoping you remember them as they remember themselves..

KingPellinore said @ 7:14pm GMT on 4th Feb

sacrelicious said @ 6:00pm GMT on 4th Feb [Score:1 Funny]
wtf, Elaine Stritch? but all this time I've been giving Phyllis Diller credit for everything I've seen her in!

landsky said @ 2:16pm GMT on 4th Feb [Score:1 Interesting]

How Ben Gazzara almost guested on FRASIER

"One of my favorite casting stories is how Ben Gazzara almost guested on FRASIER. Gazzara has been a terrific distinguished actor for over 50 years. He’s appeared in hundreds of movies, including several John Cassevetes classics. His television work is extensive and impressive as well. He starred in several series including RUN FOR YOUR LIFE and ARREST AND TRIAL (a 60’s series that is not just basically LAW & ORDER, it IS LAW & ORDER).

There was an episode of FRASIER that was to introduce Martin’s partner. Frasier’s father, Martin had been a cop for the Seattle PD for thirty years. A list of possible actors was prepared and among the names the producers liked was Ben Gazzara. They were more excited when the casting director reported back that Gazzara was interested, just subject to a phone call.

So one of the executive producers got on the phone with him. Gazzara was perfectly charming. He was a fan of the show and would be delighted to play Martin’s partner.

Just one tiny thing.

He wanted to play him as Ben Gazzara.

Say what???

Gazzara didn’t want to play a character, he wanted to play the part as if he, the actor Ben Gazzara were Martin’s partner all those years. I kid you not. As if in between acting gigs Ben Gazzara was a police officer in Seattle. Now these are the nagging little logic problems writers have to face. How do you explain away that Martin's partner would slip out on weekends and vacations to appear in a hundred movies (some filmed in Europe) and star in long running TV series? And how do you make it believable that the rest of the time this noted thespian was investigating fruit stand robberies in Pike Place Market?

I still don't get it. I have enormous respect for Ben Gazzara and can only assume he didn't really understand the character he was offered or he really wasn't familiar with the show.

In any event, Mr. Gazzara did not get the part. You know how it is -- creative differences."

underdog said @ 2:17pm GMT on 4th Feb
Repost bro.

jccv72 said @ 4:05pm GMT on 4th Feb
I know, but it does disservice, it is even shorter than the one from Yahoo!

Mr. Langosta said @ 4:30pm GMT on 4th Feb [Score:3 Underrated]
Both of these posts were incompetent anyhow. Pick your allusion, show us how clever you are, but put the deceased's name in the title for fucks sake.

sacrelicious said @ 5:41pm GMT on 4th Feb
I can only speak for myself, but I trust my audience to be smart enough to read the first few words of the quoted text in an attempt to make sense of the post title.

mrcucumber said @ 8:40pm GMT on 4th Feb
So i guess just for you, we'll make an exception that the post title shouldn't actually title the post.

sacrelicious said @ 8:52pm GMT on 4th Feb
how does not spelling out explicitly what the post contains in the title make it not a title? I thought that's what the description and quoted text was for.

so I guess "Cat's Cradle" isn't really a title of the Vonnegut book because it's not a book about tricks you can do with string or cradles made for cats.

sacrelicious said @ 8:57pm GMT on 4th Feb
I remember once I needed to find the correct time in New York, so I picked up a copy of the New York Times. would you believe that it had no listings for either the hour or minutes in NYC? it was just a bunch if articles and shit! I mean, sure, it had the month, day and year, but I already knew that!

mrcucumber said @ 9:26pm GMT on 4th Feb
You're just being an idiot for idiots sake. Carry on.

sanepride said @ 9:40pm GMT on 4th Feb [Score:1 Insightful]
I'm guessing you had some help putting that royal scepter up your ass 'cause it would be awfully hard to get it so far up there by yourself.

happiest_sadist said @ 2:44am GMT on 5th Feb
I'm helping!