 sj |
||
|
||
BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors
|
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Little Hawk Date: 29 Nov 07 - 07:52 PM Say, Spaw, there's something you oughta check out on the James Taylor thread up in the music section. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: catspaw49 Date: 29 Nov 07 - 08:46 PM Why? Are you the guy JT was trying to sell the prepaid sendoff to? Didja' buy? Spaw |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Neil D Date: 29 Nov 07 - 08:55 PM Frogprince mentioned Dylan as Alias in "The Ballad of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" as an especially bad performance and the movie as a garbled mess. I agree, but surprised he didn't mention Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid. Let me repeat: Kristofferson as Billy the Kid!?!?!? Not so much that the acting was so bad, but its the worst case of miscasting since John Wayne played Genghis Khan. Billy The kid was 5'2" and died at 21. Kristofferson was 6'4" and 37 when he played the role. With a full beard even. The saving grace of the movie, besides Coburn as Garrett, was the scene where Slim Pickens lies dying in his woman's arms with the sun setting over a lake and Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" playing over the scene. How Peckinpah got that one scene so right and everything else so wrong is unfathomable. The best actor of the Beatles was Ringo. Check out Tom Waits in the Jim Jarmusch film "Down By Law". Spaw, thanks for the info about Alan Arkin. One more reason to respect one of my favorite actors. He once starred as Inspector Clouseau in the 1968 movie of the same name and was every bit as good as Peter Sellers who had a franchise with that character. His performance in last year's "Little Miss Sunshine" was sublime. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: pdq Date: 29 Nov 07 - 08:56 PM Yes, Sheb Wooley was is Rawhide, but so was a young jazz piano player named Clint Eastwood. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Little Hawk Date: 29 Nov 07 - 09:02 PM I have to agree with everything you said about "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid", Neil. Kristofferson was horribly miscast in that movie, and Dylan was sort of doing his absurdist or minimalist thing...interesting for a real Dylan fan to watch, nonetheless, though you can't call it "acting". ;-) Spaw, I don't understand what you mean about JT's "prepaid sendoff". Not in this thread, not in the other thread either. I just don't get it. Please explain what that means, if you would. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Gorgeous Gary Date: 29 Nov 07 - 09:13 PM It probably says something about my taste in films that the first examples that pop to mind are Grade A cheese, but here goes... Sting in David Lynch's "Dune". Definitely a contender for worst! The BeeGees, Peter Frampton, Aerosmith, Earth Wind & Fire, Billy Preston and any other musicians associated with the travesty that was "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". I think the only folks who escaped that waste of celluloid with any respect whatsoever were Steven Tyler and the boys, who at least made a hit of their "Come Together" cover. And of course I must mention Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and James Brown's respective cameos in "Blues Brothers" (one of my all-time favorite movies) -- Gary |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: GUEST,Ze Buddha Date: 29 Nov 07 - 09:32 PM Actually, I much preferred Cab Calloway in the Betty Boop cartoons to the Blues Brothers. Aretha stole the whole movie in one scene in Blues Brothers, to my taste anyway. I don't remember the Ray Charles scene in the Blues Brothers, so that should tell you something right there. And I LOVE Ray Charles! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: catspaw49 Date: 29 Nov 07 - 09:37 PM I too like Andy Griffith in his dramatic role in "A Face in the Crowd." For those of you wth the Turner Classic Movie Channel (TCM), it is on tonight at 10:15 PM Eastern.......about 40 minutes from now. Helluva' good flick! Done before we met Sheriff Taylor of Mayberry. Spaw |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Nov 07 - 10:49 PM Oscar Levant was clever, though he always seemed to play some version of himself. I liked Streisand in a lot of her roles. They weren't all easy to watch because of the subjects, but she has overall done very well in film. Funny Girl, Hello Dolly, What's Up Doc?--what's not to love? Shirley Jones was quite an accomplished musical performer and a natural for lots of Broadway musical roles and then in films like Oklahoma and The Music Man. When she was cast against type in Elmer Gantry she won an Academy Award. It was on television last week and I caught most of it. She earned it. SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Jim Dixon Date: 29 Nov 07 - 11:00 PM Another example of Paul Simon's humor: his video of You Can Call Me Al with Chevy Chase. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Lonesome EJ Date: 29 Nov 07 - 11:24 PM Anyone see Marianne Faithfull in a 1969 Hamlet with Nicol Williamson? Quite good. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Lonesome EJ Date: 29 Nov 07 - 11:26 PM On the other hand, Sid Vicious was absolutely terrible as Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 29 Nov 07 - 11:32 PM Speaking of "A Face in the Crowd", Andy Griffith's well-known 1956 Martin D-18 was a prop in that movie. The prop department bought the guitar new, painted it black, and glued sequins to it. When filming was over, Griffith "rescued" the guitar, removed the sequins, sanded off the black paint, and had John D'Angelico refinish it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Jim Dixon Date: 30 Nov 07 - 12:29 AM Diana Ross was wonderful in "Lady Sings the Blues." Of course, it helps that she was playing a singer. How about Scatman Crothers? He had a memorable small role in "The Shining." |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 30 Nov 07 - 12:54 AM I kind of liked calypsonian, Sir Lancelot, in a half dozen or six movies in the '40s & '50s. They were smallish roles--one was as a deckhand-- and in one his songs moved the plot forward. They (the films) turn up on Turner movies from time to time. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Nov 07 - 01:19 AM How about Tiny Tim? He appeared in several films, though I don't think I've seen any of them. Did he always play himself, or someone transparently like him? SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Severn Date: 30 Nov 07 - 01:27 AM Sheb Wooley didn't only do Pete the scout in "Rawhide" and the Principal in "Hoosiers", he was also in a horrible film called "Hootenanny Hoot" which was an attempt to do for the Folk Scare what some of the Rock & Roll movies did for th 50's. Still in country, Ferlin Husky and Don "Wildwood Weeds" Bowman starred in the truly horrible "Hillbillies in a Haunted House" and "Las Vegas Hillbillies" which had Sonny James, as well. Robert Mitchum actually had a hit record with the theme song from "Thunder Road" which featured Keely Smith of Louis Prima fame as a love interest. He also issued an album of calypsos under his name during that craze, for an example of doing it the other way round. Robert Guilliomme was in a black folk trio called The Pilgrims in the 60's with an album, I think, on Columbia. I even saw Limelighter Lou Gottlieb in a bad comedy as a Guru type.Did it have Peter Sellers in it? ("I Love You Alice B. Toklas"?, maybe?) And his bandmate Alex Hassilev was on the submarine crew in "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming", a crew commanded by..... Theodore "You speak 16 tongues and whaddaya get" Bikel, a fine actor award winning in film and Broadway and member of the Newport Folk Festival Board of Directors. He was in anything from "The African Queen" to My Fair Lady" to "I Bury The Living" speaking every dialect known to man, most of them convincingly. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: catspaw49 Date: 30 Nov 07 - 03:32 AM Theo Bikel and Alan Arkin starred together in "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming." And let's not forget Hamilton Camp! Along with other good performances, he gave us an absolutely hilarious turn as wired up discount stereo store owner Del Murdock in an episode of "WKRP in Cincinnati." Spaw |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Newport Boy Date: 30 Nov 07 - 04:17 AM This looks like it could run and run. I'd also choose Burl Ives, Johnny Cash & Harry Belafonte. I saw Ewan MacColl on stage at Stratford East before I first heard him sing at Soho Square. The theatrical background was always evident in his singing. Extending the style boundaries a little, how about Paul Robeson. Best in his stage roles, although some of the films were not bad, and his singing was top-class. A current favourite is John Telfer. A few extracts from a BBC biog when he joined the cast of "The Archers": "He went on to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has appeared in more than 35 plays with the Bristol Old Vic Company. These include Titus Andronicus, The Golden Pathway Annual, Comedians, All My Sons, A Midsummer Night's Dream – which transferred to The Old Vic London – and most recently the premiere of Black/White. He played Mortimer and Westmoreland in the recent Henry IV parts 1 and 2." He has written music for stage, television and radio, and a CD of his songs and occasional music for Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory productions is now available. John also fronts a big band, singing standards, and is lead singer and keyboard player with rock band afgm (Afewgoodmen). The band released their third album in October 2004 and are looking for a record deal." Full biog here: John Telfer biog The only thing I don't like about John is that he was the dream man of both my wife and my daughter in the early 80's. Glad to say they've both gone off him now. Phil |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: ard mhacha Date: 30 Nov 07 - 04:45 AM Mario Lanza, he was able to blast out the odd song, but what a bloody awful actor. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Dick The Box Date: 30 Nov 07 - 04:48 AM Interesting that most replies are centred around film and TV. What about the stage? There are a lot of stage productions that use music (as opposed to musicals which are a different kettle of fish). My first introduction to this was "The Mysteries" back in the early 80s. The obvious name from that production was John Tams who is a fine musician and a good actor. I think you wil find that the crossover of actors and musicians has been much more widespread on the stage, but of course the ephemeral nature and scale of stage productions means that fewer people see them and there is no lasting record. In those days there was no formal training available (I think) but that is now changing. My son Jared has recently graduated from Rose Bruford college with an actor/musician degree. He is a fine actor and also a talented multi-instrumentalist. There are many more like him and the theatre is changing with more and more productions using music as an integral part of the production i.e. the run of Brecht's "The Resistable Rise Of Arturo Ui" based at the Watford Palace that has just finished. Hopefully the right people will get the jobs in future but I doubt it while Hollywood feels that a big name is better than acting talent! Richard Ashe |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Folk Form # 1 Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:26 AM Whatever possessed Richard Harris, one of the finest actors and brawlers of his generation, to try his hand at singing? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: George Papavgeris Date: 30 Nov 07 - 07:00 AM I agree with Gorgeous Gary - Sting in "Dune" was beyond bad, he managed to make an important role weirdly irrelevant. On the other end of the spectrum, I was impressed by the acting of Will Young in "Moulin Rouge". |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Teribus Date: 30 Nov 07 - 07:13 AM Absolutely amazed that no-one from the UK side of the pond has mentioned John Tams excellent portrayal of Daniel Hagman, the "dead shot" ex-poacher turned Rifleman, in the Richard Sharpe Series. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Peter Kasin Date: 30 Nov 07 - 07:55 AM For best, my votes go to Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Alan Arkin, Bobby Darin, Paul Robeson, and Cher. Impossible for me to pick one from that bunch. All of them had and have outstanding natural acting ability. Honorable mention to Burl Ives as Big Daddy in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Chanteyranger |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Severn Date: 30 Nov 07 - 08:16 AM Then Theo Bikel gets to stay home with his Oscar and Tony nominations, Chanteyranger? But then, an album called "An Actor's Holiday" tells you his favorite side of the fence, I guess. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Big Al Whittle Date: 30 Nov 07 - 08:31 AM Fred Astaire made some good films not dancing. My favourite was Ghost Story. The most 'got it wrong' was probably Paul Simon in One Trick Pony - what does HE know about being an unsuccessful musician! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: GUEST,Neil D Date: 30 Nov 07 - 08:48 AM Johnny Nash was an accomplished actor years before he wrote and recorded "I Can See Clearly Now". |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: fat B****rd Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:02 AM I enjoyed Artie Garfunkel in "Bad Timiing" but Jagger was bloody awful in "Ned Kelly" |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Roger the Skiffler Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:05 AM Adam Faith in "Never let Go" -dreadful acting. Improved some later on tv (not much of a singer either!). RtS No actor & dreadful singer myself. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Wesley S Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:11 AM Didn't one of the Clancy Brothers show up in a few movies? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Peter Kasin Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:17 AM Right, Severn, Bikel! Knew I'd forget one or two. Chanteyranger |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: GUEST,number 6 Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:31 AM The Dave Clark 5 ... in "Catch us if you can" ... just a pop group playiung a pop group .. silly period flick, but all in fun. Paul Jones .... in "Privilege" ... ok, part in a what could have been an interesting movie. biLL |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Becca72 Date: 30 Nov 07 - 09:32 AM Speaking of Chevy Chase...I believe he was the drummer in Steely Dan (or one of their offshoot groups) in the very early 70s. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Midchuck Date: 30 Nov 07 - 10:08 AM I thought the 1984 movie of "Dune" was mostly junk. But Sting NAILED the character of Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. IMO. Peter |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: PoppaGator Date: 30 Nov 07 - 10:24 AM Hey ~ I liked "Hootenanny Hoot" when I stumbled upon in on TCM a year or so ago. Just as in other pop-music quickie productions of that era, the plot was stupid and irrelevant, and the non-musician actors were a bunch of no-talent nobodies. But the movie included plenty of uninterrupted performances of songs, all of which were at least interesting, and most of them pretty good. I was particularly struck that Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two were presented as a "folk group." Other performers in the film were more representative of the early-folk-scare-era: The Brothers Four, Judy Henske...I should remember more names, but can't at the moment. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 30 Nov 07 - 11:17 AM Sheb Wooley was also one of the bad guys in 'High Noon' Johnny Cash did several dramatic turns on TV in TV westerns in their day. And, later, 'Little Houses on the Prairie' and TV movies. Merle Travis was an NCO in 'From Here to Eternity'. Tennessee Ernie was in 'Best Years of Our Lives' (well really only as a singer), and, sans mustache, a Randolph Scott oater. Dick Haymes did lots of 20th musicals in the '40s. Johnny Johnston, a band singer of the 40s, wanting to become a dramatic actor, passed on singing the title song to 'Unchained' in which he was a co-star. Bad career move! Everyone except him has had a hit with 'Unchained Melody', and his dramatic career ended there too. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Folk Form # 1 Date: 30 Nov 07 - 11:21 AM Joe Strummer in Mystery Train. Not much of a actor and not much of a singer, if truth be told. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: PoppaGator Date: 30 Nov 07 - 11:27 AM Geez, I just watched "Best Years of Our Lives" a few evenings ago, and failed to notice Tennessee Ernie's appearance. Dang! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: GUEST,Neil D Date: 30 Nov 07 - 01:04 PM I think John is thinking of a different movie because he describes "Best Years of Our Lives" as a Randolph Scott oater. It's not. It is actually a very fine film starring Frederick March about men returning from WWII. It does, however, fit this category because it features Hogie Carmichael as a tavern owner. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Big Al Whittle Date: 30 Nov 07 - 01:05 PM Jerry Reed was in Smokey and the Bandit. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 30 Nov 07 - 02:47 PM Furry Lewis was in "Smokey and the Bandit" as well. He mainly sang and played guitar on his front porch. Not exactly what ya'd call "acting". |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: GUEST,Neil D Date: 30 Nov 07 - 03:14 PM Roger Daltrey is a decent actor. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Stilly River Sage Date: 30 Nov 07 - 03:27 PM There are also a few actors known mostly for dramatic or comedic roles (in contrast to musicals) who are damned fine musicians. James Mason, Jack Lemon, SRS |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 30 Nov 07 - 04:23 PM To Guest,NeilD: I don't believe that what I wrote indicates that 'Best Years...' is a Randolph Scott western. Please read again. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: PoppaGator Date: 30 Nov 07 - 04:40 PM JOTSC, if you had added a single word ~ "and, sans moustache, in a Randolph Scott oater" ~ it would have been more clear that you were talking about two different movies. Adding a second additional word, "also," would have made doubly sure that you'd be correctly understood. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Severn Date: 30 Nov 07 - 04:51 PM Now, we've previously paid tribute to Levon Helm and Cissy Spaceck in "Coal Miner's daughter. In the early part of the movie in the original hometown, you'll find amongst the locals a bunch of people, prformers amd otherwise, connected with the operations of June Appal Records. I recognized Nimrod Workman and his daughter in the crowd, so I checked the credits at the end in the theatre and some more showed up. Any of you who know the June Appal people or have the movie, check it out. You couldn't look much more strikingly Appalachian than Nimrod! |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: John on the Sunset Coast Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:10 PM I have re-read the offending sentence several more times. If you take out the parenthetic phrase, and the apositive [is that the right term?] descriptor 'sans mustache' then the sentence reads: "Tennessee Ernie Ford was in 'Best Years of Our Lives", and a Randolph Scott oater." I do not see any way to interpret that as indicating that BYOL is a Randolph Scott movie. Had there been no 'and' in the sentence ...different meaning as per NeilD. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: mrdux Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:17 PM Dexter Gordon was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award -- and won a handful of other Best Actor awards -- for his role as a jazz sax player in 'Round Midnight (1986)(loosely based on sort of a combination of Bud Powell and Lester Young). A pretty amazing performance, and a pretty decent movie. Hoagy Carmichael had a fairly prolific acting career. My favorite role was as Cricket, the laconic, wisecracking piano player in To Have and to Have Not (1944), in which he had at least one fun scene with Lauren Bacall. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: BEST/WORST--- Musicians as Actors From: Richard Bridge Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:29 PM 100 |
