Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Completely Morbid Thought of the Week

I've been so sad about Paul Newman all week. Now, everyone has to go at some point ...that's the way of life. And no one could argue that Newman, at 83, didn't have a full one. But it got me to thinking about how few truly massive screen stars remain among us. I'm talking classic film stars that were with us before the cultural upheaval of the '60s which brought a large wave of new stars to the cinematic forefront (Nicholson, Redford, Fonda, Christie, Eastwood, Streisand, Dunaway, Deneuve, Beatty, and more...) many of them still working steadily. Though Newman's work in the 1960s (Hud, The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke) is his most revered he actually ascended in the mid50s just as he was entering his thirties. Films like Somebody Up There Likes Me and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof made him a star.


There are so few stars left from the days when cinema was BIG in that way... and I'm not just referencing CinemaScope. Many still-living once household name actors have very low profiles; Olivia DeHavilland, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Van Johnson, Karl Malden, Jennifer Jones, Mickey Rooney, Luise Rainer (all well into their 80s or 90s) aren't topics of conversation much anymore unless you're in the good, nay, glorious company of true cinephiles.

The truth of it is that most celebrated actors don't maintain the kind of decade after decade Name in Lights prominence that Paul Newman did to his very last. Shirley Maclaine and Sophia Loren who rose to fame roughly concurrently with Newman still walk the earth (in heels), god bless, both at 74. But the closing chapter I fear the most will be losing Elizabeth Taylor. La Liz, who is 76, has been internationally famous for sixty-two years now. To me she's the last of the Immortals. She's had so many health scares for so many decades that it became a joke to think of her as being perpetually at death's door. It's not at all funny anymore. I hope there's a great screening room in heaven. When Taylor finally arrives -- and I hope that's a long long time from now -- Newman, Monroe, Brando, the Hepburns, Bogie and Garland will undoubtedly have a seat ready for her: diamond encrusted, the one right between Richard Burton's and Montgomery Clift's.
*

18 comments:

Jason Adams said...

Nat, that was beautiful, and it made me tear up a little. Bless Liz; may she be with us well into triple digits! I wanna hear Willard Scott saying her name.

Dantaniel said...

Meh.

Brian Darr said...

Great piece. Cool Hand Luke screens at the Castro Theatre Tuesday as part of a previously-booked Conrad Hall series. I'll be paying my last respects there...

Anonymous said...

I agree - great piece !

I will be deeply saddened when Joan Fontaine passes on.

Again - great piece !

Glenn Dunks said...

*sigh*

I had a bad feeling that Liz would also go last weekend in a freaky Cat on a Hot Tin Roof double bow.

John T said...

There's another of that era that probably enjoys equal name recognition to Liz (Shirley Temple), and then of course there's the likes of Lauren Bacall, Sidney Poitier, Kim Novak, Jane Russell, and Debbie Reynolds as well. But you're right, there's really only one superstar and thespian of Liz's caliber.

Anonymous said...

This is a little off-topic but .....

A few years back I read an interview with Olivia de Havilland in which she said that she was working on her autobiography.

Any word on the release of the book ? For some reason I am aching to read it - she is truly a class act.

FDot said...

It is sad to know that few Golden Age luminaries are left. Thankfully, we have the ability to relive some of their great moments whenever we need to. I shed a few tears when I read of Anita Page's passing, but I know I'm just a DVD away from seeing her in her prime in Our Dancing Daughters when I need a pick-me-up.

At least while a star is alive, there is that notion that you could run into them or send a fan letter to tell them of your appreciation. I'm sad for all the stars I've come to adore but who passed on before I was aware of them. I would love to be able to tell William Haines or Joel McCrea how much I love their films, but sadly, I was never afforded that chance.

Anonymous said...

My sentiments exactly!!!!!

Cluster Funk said...

Ja, isn't Willard Scott close to Liz's age? If she reaches triple digis, what are the chances HE'LL still be around then?

Catherine said...

I third the Fontaine sentiment. I'll be deeply sad when she passes.

Anonymous said...

Kirk Douglas is the man. That motherfucker will outlive everyone.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, for me Kirk Douglas is one of the last monumental icons of that particular left, along with Taylor. Everybody knows frigging Spartacus. He's certainly amore important star than Montgomery Clift or even Richard Burton. Douglas is a Heston calibre star, without the NRA stuff to muddy his name.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Ernest Borgnine! He hasn't retired yet.

Benji said...

Yeah, Gloria Stuart, Luise Rainer and Karl Malden are the oldest ones alive, now in their late nineties.
I guess the De Havilland sisters have very good genes as both of them are still around...
But each death of this small group takes us further away from the "golden age", which is so sad... *sigh*

Anonymous said...

ernest borgnine - ick. he's one of the old farty brood (w tony curtis) who kept blasting "Brokeback" even though he refused to see it. what do you say about a guy who couldn't stay married to ethel merman for mre than 30 days. I hope l liz is around for at least 4 more years - she's a tough old sassy broad + her mother lived well into her 90's.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it weird that the entire male "star" cast of THE VIKINGS is still alive. Douglas, Curtis and Borgnine.

Anonymous said...

Ah. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

May just be the best movie ever made. So, yeah Paul Newmans death is sad, but I am glad Taylor is still strutting her stuff. It would be awesome if she was still acting, but we cant have everything!