Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Birthday Suits: Giant Sized Edition

11/17 ~ Todays special boys and girls. Are you one of them?


Mischa, Marty and Rachel

1897 Frank Fay, aka Mr. Barbara Stanwyck. The theory goes that their troubled marriage was the basis of A Star is Born. That story is so big it's practically it's own franchise. I can't stop thinking about it today: Stanwyck through the lens of Gaynor, Garland, Streisand. Yummy!) Even if it's only an urban LA legend, I love to think about it. Fay, a popular comedic actor, was also the originator of the Harvey role (on stage) before Jimmy Stewart got to it.
1901 Lee Strasberg, the hugely influential acting teacher that helped popularize "The Method" Students included... well, basically a whose who of late 40s / early 50s giants of the silver screen.
1905 Mischa Auer, very tall actor of oversized comic turns. You'll remember him from the blissfully funny My Man Godfrey and best picture winner You Can't Take It With You (discussed right here).

<--- 70s cheesecake (Lauren) and 50s beefcake (Rock)

1925 Rock Hudson, Giant. In more than just the film title way. Did any actor ever have a better name?
1942 Martin Scorsese, auteur. diminutive only in heighth. supersized in acclaim (recently discussed here)
1943 Lauren Hutton Once Bitten by American Gigolo
1944 Danny DeVito actor/director/short funny guy. My personal favorites: The War of the Roses, Romancing the Stone and Living Out Loud
1944 Lorne Michaels SNL guru
1945 Roland Joffé director of The Mission, The Killing Fields and... oops, The Scarlett Letter
1948 Howard Dean just cuz

1958 Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio 80s actress of The Abyss, Scarface and The Color of Money fame. And Maid Marian in the unfortunate... oh, never mind.
1960 RuPaul At 6'7" the giantess of the list. Oh, Ru. You better work... on getting some more big screen cameos. It's been awhile. You also better work on a second season of Drag Race. That was so fun.
1966 Sophie Marceau Mel Gibson's rebound royal in Braveheart.
1978 Rachel McAdams giant movie star possibly hidden inside resistant actress. Or so the theory goes.
1978 Zoe Bell Death Proof's awesome hood ornament.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay, Howard Dean! Love that man... just cuz.

MrW said...

Might I add Germaine Dulac (*1882), one of the first women to direct motion pictures?

I don't know which is my favorite story about her masterpiece 'La coquille et le clergyman' (considered the first surrealist film ever, preceeding 'Un chien andalou' by one year): That its screenwriter was so enraged by what he saw that he kept interrupting the premier by shouting at the screen that the film's director was a cow or that it got banned in the UK for being "so obscure as to have no apparent meaning. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable."

Jack said...

re: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

I won't hear a word against "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves". Mark my words, there's a whole generation of young people just waiting for their chance to have the influence to turn that film into a classic.

NATHANIEL R said...

!!! Jack !!!! don't scare me like that.

that movie is atrocious. it's like everyone thinks they're in a different movie... the acting style is all over the place.

Jude said...

Cast of Nine on Oprah tomorrow!

Otto said...

I think the most awesome actor name is Holly Hunter. It's her real name, too.