Tuesday, April 8, 2008

"All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players." (AYLI)

Today Rhoda had no luncheon date and no date to lunch with any of her friends, relatives, or City of Hope members. Instead, she had a Canasta game scheduled in our kitchen. Unfortunately the venue had to be changed because the apartment underneath ours is being "re-modeled" and the noise of a hammer reverberates as though it were happening in our place. So, I suggested that she call the girls and switch the game to some other place where it would be quiet. Consequently the game is being played in the Clubhouse, and I'm here free to write my blog in silence because the hammering has stopped. I thought perhaps that I might go to a movie, but there is nothing showing that appeals to me. And speaking of movies I've got to nominate the Greatest Actor in the History of the World. So, let's get to it.



SUPER STAR DEFINITION - By our definition, a "Super Star" is a movie actor or actress who can "open" a movie, someone whose fans rush to see their latest film on opening weekend. They have a proven track record of box office hits. They are frequently household names. It also helps if they have gotten critical acclaim and/or Oscar nominations. A "Super Star" can be identified by his/her first name like "Mel" or Julia" or "Harrison." Of course, there have been many "character" actors such as Robert Duvall who are wonderful actors, but they do not qualify. If we go back aways to the Greek and Roman theaters, the actors wore masks so we do not know who they were, and the dialogue was somewhat stilted by authors like Aristophanes and Sophocles. Then there were the great actors, Edmund Kean and Will Kemp of Shakespeare and the Globe Theater...but actors in those days were mostly "declaimers". They would "orate" their lines.

In our lifetime, we have to include actors by our definition: Such as Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Jack Nicholson, Humphrey Bogart, John Travolta, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Marlon Brando. However my choice for the Greatest Actor in History is Charlie Chaplin. People can watch his films over and over again and never get tired of his antics.

Picking the Greatest Actress is a trickier problem. I like Ingrid Bergman, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Judy Dench, and a host of others; but my first choice will be Kathryn Hepburn. She won three Oscars. Who has a better choice?



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3 comments:

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Mike Herbstman said...

The greatest actor who ever lived was struck down of all recognition because of one mistake. Unceremoniously, his name was stricken from all Hollywood archives. He was never given a chance for redemption. Up to the time of his lapse in the memorization of his script, he was afforded many honors for a man of his talent.
It was the opening night on Broadway, where our stalwart hero was given the opening line following a very loud cannon shot. His line, "Hark, the cannon roar" after months of rehearsal, our hero's first words were.."What the f--- was that?"
If not for that unfortunate occurance, I would have nominated him.

Anonymous said...

Y'know I can't disagree with your choice of #1 inventor and #1 actor. These are good questions.