Paul Newman

Paul Newman

What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, the bell tolls for Paul Newman, actor, director, race car driver, entrepeneur, and blue-eyed devil. It sure as hell took the Academy long enough to recognize his talent. After several nominations, he finally got an honorary Oscar in 1985. As if to say "up yours," he then went out the next year and got one the old-fashioned way. He earned it.

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Paul Newman's screen performances were legendary. Even the highlights will take a while.

We begin with the mandatory roll call of classic movies in which he starred: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Hustler, The Color of Money, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hud, Torn Curtain, Fort Apache The Bronx, Exodus, The Verdict, Life And Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Towering Inferno, Lady L, Cool Hand Luke...okay, gotta stop somewhere. Add the 'guy' movies, Slap Shot (Hanson Brothers, eh?), Somebody Up There Likes Me (the story of boxer Rocky Graziano), Sometimes A Great Notion, and "Winning," where he indulged his passion for auto racing.

I once heard the definition of "a gentleman" was one who was at home in anyone's company. That fits Paul Newman perfectly. His co-stars were the cream of the crop Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Robert Redford, Sally Field, and wife JoAnne Woodward.

He ran with the giants, but never seemed to assimilate their personality. He and Woodward had fifty years together, though it was not the first marriage for him. By all accounts, he kept the common touch. Reportedly, his favorite movie was Slap Shot, the gritty, vulgar and hilarious story of a minor-league hockey team struggling to attract enough fans to remain solvent. Not exactly highbrow.

Much will be written of his penchant for racing cars, and his venture in merchandising, with his Newman's Own food brands, whose profits go to charity.

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The movie geek in me would recommend three lesser-known movies:

• The Young Philadelphians, with Paul as a up-and-coming Philiadelphia society lawyer who risks exposing a family scandal by defending an old friend accused of murder. Great cast, including Brian Keith, Barbara Rush, John Williams, and future TV stars Robert Vaughn (The Man from UNCLE) and Adam West (Batman). Don't miss a great turn on the witness stand by Richard Deacon. (You'd know him as Mel Cooley, the bald-headed producer from the Dick Van Dyke Show, and as the father of Wally's pal Lumpy Rutherford on Leave It To Beaver)
  
  
• Blaze, a mostly-true story of Louisiana politico Earl Long, and his relationship with stripper Blaze Starr (Lolita Davidovich) His controversial career included a term as governor and a time of commitment to the mental hospital.
  
  
• Absence of Mailce..not really obscure (one of his Oscar nominations) but somewhat overlooked now. Newman is tainted by a erronious newspaper article saying he is suspected of murder. Sally Field is the reporter, and Wilford Brimley is the Federal investigator with the all time classic line: "Come sundown...I'm going to have somebody's ass in my briefcase."
  

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It's better to laugh than cry, so to here's Paul Newman unleashing his secret weapon (The Hansen Brothers) in the rowdy comedy Slap Shot (1977) WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE

Maybe Paul Newman's natually laid-back persona hampered him from winning the multiple Oscars he so richly deserved. In 1985, after six nominations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to present him a lifetime Oscar, a tribute usually reserved for those at the end of their career. Some of his friends though he was being insulted... sort of a "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" vibe. Newman didn't take offense, at least not openly

"You don't kick people in the butt who are trying to be nice to you," he said.
But Newman also told a reporter "It's like pursuing a beautiful woman for years, then when she finally succumbs, you have to say, I'm sorry; I'm tired." His lawyer was more blunt: "They always treated him like he was second, and now they're acting like he's old and through."

For whatever reason, Newman latched on to his current project, updating one of his most memorable characters 25 years later. Fast Eddie Felson, the pool whiz kid from "The Hustler" was now an aged, usually wise, mentor to Tom Cruise in Martin Scorcese's "The Color of Money." One again, Newman recieved a nomination. He declined to attend the ceremony, announcing he was "too busy."

Of course, he won. Sometimes the good guys finish first, even after six tries.

Then again, screw him, he's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.

StevenK

Richard Wright of Pink Floyd

What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, the bell tolls for keyboardist Richard Wright, founding member of Pink Floyd, and author of several classics, including "Us and Them" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Wright died of cancer at the age of 65. (His family is requesting privacy as to any additional information about his death.) Petty infighting removed him from his rightful place. Even if there were a Pink, it wouldn't have been him.

In Have a Cigar, Pink Floyd spoofs a comment by a record company exec, who, upon meeting the band, asks "Which one's Pink?" Even if there had been a definitive front man for the band, Richard Wright wouldn't have fit the bill. But it's hard to dispute the idea that his experimental keyboard stylings were the pistons under Pink's hood.

Musicians universally despise the "they sound like so-and-so" comment. They spend years crafting their art, and some aspiring journalist hears a few cuts, and brands them as a soundalike cover band. With Pink Floyd, there was virtually no obvious predecessor. But there was the everpresent sound of Richard Wright's keyboard, binding the parts together, its majesty infused with psychedelic tranqility.

Unlike bandmates, Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, and Roger Waters, Wright tended to escape the solo attention that came with being a rock star. As Pink Floyd emerged from the mid-Sixties London counterculture, Wright gradually shied from his place in the spotlight once Barrett left the band due to mental and emotional quirks, and especially with the unrivaled success of Dark Side of the Moon. The album spent fourteen years on the Billboard Top 200, the Bible of music industry retail sales.

The next Pink Floyd LP, Wish You Were Here featured a song Wright composed on Barrett's honor: Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Wright had a public falling out with the band, and was exiled from the inner circle after the release of The Wall, though he later made contributions to projects and tours by other Floyd members.

Live 8, the 2005 charity show, featured a reunited Floyd (minus Barrett) performing live in London for the first time in over two decades.

Shameless Plug: On my Steven Kelly Page at WABX.net, you'll find instructions for the "Dark Side of the Rainbow" synchronization of Pink Floyd and The Wizard of Oz

And here, some video of Richard Wright's contributions to the Floyd.

What might they have done had they not fallen from grace with each other?

On the other had, screw him; he's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.

StevenK

Don LaFontaine

Don LaFontaine, Scary Voice Guy

What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, the bell tolls for Don LaFontaine, arguably the most prominent voice-over actor of our time. In a world where dramatic inflection and a commanding tone of voice are the tools to succeed, his work set the gold standard for the rest of us wannabees.

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No apologies here. This is simply a case of hero worship. The voice of over five thousand movie trailers, Don LaFontaine's name still will mean little to anyone outside of the world of voice actors. The prominent pop culture image is probably the recent Geico "we hired an actor" TV commercials, in which Don LaFontaine spoofed himself as "That announcer guy from the movies." He repeated the story of the woman whose cars flooded, in the phrasing and inflection of his movie trailers.

In cyber-speak, the term is SVG: Scary Voice Guy. In the radio industry, we call them Voice Gods. They are those men and women who appear for a few seconds between the songs, and speak in tones of satin sheets, or rumbling thunder. They implore us to listen to FUNKY-109.6 because they play the best music or the most music or most of the best music or the greatest memories, or the best variety of songs while you work or play or listen all day...you know the drill.

On television, they'll make sure you're aware of an all new episode of LOST or the season premiere of House; or the old familiar "Very Special Episode" of your favorite show. It's their job to alert you that someone will die tonight on Desperate Housewives, or that tomorrow night, the E.R. doctors face a crisis like none before.

Every trade has its heroes. Ballplayers have a few beers and talk of being the next A-Rod or Brett Favre. Radio people sit around and try through slurrred lips to say "This..is CNN" like James Earl Jones.

There are thousands of people who did what Don LaFontaine did for a living, but few as successful. Most toil in anonymity. Sometimes, though, the voice becomes so well known, so omnipresent, that it achieves its own status in the culture, even as their names remain unknown. John Facenda, the longtime voice of NFL films, ("...the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, warrors clad in loins of green and gold") broke through that wall. So did Ernie Anderson, ("The Luhhh-vvve Boat") and Peter Thomas, who delighted in telling of the various waitresses or cabdrivers who would hear his voice, and exclaim 'oh my, you're Exxon!' or 'Hey, it's Mr. American Express.'

They all had their hook.

So did Don LaFontaine. His catch phrase, "In a world where..." came from his work voicing movie trailers: "In a world where men and women were slaves...," or "In a world where the rules have been abandoned," ... or whatever circumstance was relevant to that movie. It was a subject of frequent parody in the industry, so if imitation really IS the sincerest form of flattery, he was flattered like no other.

A few years ago, a friend of his put together a trailer parody of the voice gods on their way to an awards show. Click the video to see "Five Guys In A Limo." You'll recognize the voices, if not the faces.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, this is hero worship. I admit to more than a little good-natured departmental envy when Don LaFontaine's voice recently popped up here on the Hill in some bits he recorded for our corporate partner station, HOT 96. I think I heard them all, at least I damn sure tried. Genius like that, right here in my own back yard, is not something to be ignored.

Then again, screw him, he's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.

StevenK

 

Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed

What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, the bell tolls for Jerry Reed, country singer/songwriter, occassional movie pal of Burt Reynolds, and (insert regret here) NOT my boss.

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They say laughter can take you a long way on this earth, and make your journey not only more pleasant, but longer. Jerry Reed made it to 71. Lord know he made us laugh.

During my garage band days, I hung aroung Memphis and knew a few session musicians, and that's how I came to meet Jerry Reed. I didn't know what to think when he grabbed my bicep and felt it.

"Son!", he said in his best When You're Hot You're Hot voice, "What'cha been eatin?" He then offered me a job as a bodyguard, although it was probably more in jest than not. Back then, I had more granite and less filler material. More than a few times, I've wondered what might have been waiting on the road not taken.

Jerry Reed was one of those special singers who found a niche outside of the normal boundaries. After having established himself as a sucessful songwriter and session picker, he crossed over from country to pop stardom. It was an odd time musically, that era of homogenized AM Top 40, when radio played the popular songs, regardless of arbitrary categories. Jerry's song might be preceded by Diana Ross and followed by Led Zeppelin.

He was part of the "Country when country wasn't cool" club. You might even give him credit for being one of the ones who helped make it cool, with novelty songs like "Amos Moses," "Lord, Mr. Ford," and "Tupelo, Mississippi Flash(an homage to Elvis Presley, in appreication for Elvis having covered Jerry's "Guitar Man") keeping him in he public eye.

In 1974, he made "W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings," his first of several films with Burt Reynolds, then the biggest star in movies. Jerry played a guitarist in a band managed by Burt. Something must have clicked, because they followed it up two years later with "Gator." The fun was just beginning

In 1977 came "Smokey and the Bandit." The movie became a national phenomenon at the height of the CB radio craze, and yielded a mega-hit, "East Bound and Down" for truck-drivin' Jerry. The sight of Sally Fields alongside Burt in the black TransAm also became legendary. Jackie Gleason boiled and bitched as the sheriff who chases them as they try to make good on a bet to smuggle a truckload of Coors beer to Atlanta. (Younger readers may not know that until 1981, Coors was sold only west of the Mississippi, which added to its mystique)

A sequel followed, then a disappointing third "Smokey" film, minus Burt, who was refered to but never actually seen as the TransAm peeled across the screen.

Jerry Reed got his own chance to star in 1979's "Hot Stuff." Also starring Suzanne Pleshette and Burt's pal Dom DeLouise, the movie told of Miami cops who fence stolen goods through a pawn shop in order to trap theives. "Hot Stuff" was better than it was received, but disco had come fully into fashion, and audiences evidently had grown tired of good ol' boys. Even the title made people think of the Donna Summer song of the same name, which had no connection to the movie.

Jerry went back into the studio and recorded another hit album, including one of his biggest songs, "The Bird." Jerry sang of buying a talking bird from a con man. Naturally, at the first opportunity, the bird flies the coop. And the same era yielded perhaps his crowning song, a lament familiar to every divorced man: "She Got The Gold Mine; I Got The Shaft."

His legacy is that of a man who left you feeling better and happier. that's a good life to live. He was wrong, you know. WE got the gold mine.

Then again, screw him, he's dead. Let's go look for
crocodiles.

StevenK