You Will Be Missed – Curtis, Penn, Stuart and Giraldo

We lost four prominent members of the entertainment community last week and they all deserve praise. Allow me to offer a few words on their contributions.

Tony Curtis – He never won an Oscar (although he was nominated for The Defiant Ones (1958)), but he was one of the great Hollywood stars. You know, the kind who lived a jet-set life and seemed as if he was getting married all the time (six marriages). My favorite among his roles is predictably enough Some Like It Hot where he not only plays a musician who has to go into disguise as a woman but also finds the chance to spoof Cary Grant. I also remember watching reruns of The Persuaders as a kid… and who can forget that famous scene in Spartacus where Laurence Olivier declares his bisexuality to Curtis. When he finally succumbed to a heart attack two days ago, his daughter Jamie Lee Curtis said: “My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages. He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world. He will be greatly missed.” The clip above reunites Curtis with Roger Moore from The Persuaders. Tony Curtis was 85.

Arthur Penn – Famous as a film director, Penn actually cut his teeth in television, something he talks about in the clip above. He broke through with the Oscar-nominated drama The Miracle Worker in 1962, but gained fame with the violent Depression-era gangster movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), which was panned by some critics, but elevated by others such as Roger Ebert who actually built his status on the wisdom of having praised this film at a time when it was not popular. Penn’s subsequent career never quite matched the promise of that movie and in the end he was back in television. Still, as Ebert wrote in 1967: “This is pretty clearly the best American film of the year. It is also a landmark. Years from now it is quite possible that ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ will be seen as the definitive film of the 1960s.” Arthur Penn was 88.

Gloria Stuart – In the interview above, Stuart says Titanic (1997) was the frosting on her cake. It is easy to understand why she felt this way. Stuart gave Hollywood an honest shot in the 1930s, appearing primarily in James Whale’s pictures, but eventually semi-retiring because she felt she wasn’t accomplishing what she hoped for. She did come back to Hollywood however, working in television from 1975. In 1997, James Cameron gave her the part of old Rose in Titanic and she received an Oscar nomination the following year. Leonard Maltin wrote the following about his friend: “No life is perfect, but hers was varied and rewarding. And just when she’d stopped thinking about acting, Titanic came along. I spoke to her on the phone when she was awaiting a callback from the casting director, and she asked me to cross my fingers for her. When she got the part she was elated; as it turned out, that was just the first step in a parade of unexpected joys, from an Oscar nomination to the enduring friendship of her costar and director.” Gloria Stuart was 100.

Roast of Joan Rivers

Greg Giraldo – Trolls and Fairies

www.comedycentral.com

Roast Master Kathy Griffin

Zombie Paparazzi Game

South Park

Greg Giraldo – One of the most evil but resourceful standup comedians has left us. Giraldo passed away after a drug overdose, leaving three children and two ex-wives behind. I didn’t know much about him, but he was a popular figure on the roast circuit, appearing on most of Comedy Central’s popular roasts of famous people. He was cruel as hell, seeming to take delight in tormenting his victims… but his talent was special. Few comedians are able to handle the challenge of being mean but ingenious and genuinely funny, but Giraldo made it look easy. His appearances on these shows made me laugh out loud. He made us all think “did he just say what I think he said!?”. I can’t think of anyone outrageous enough to replace him on those roast shows. The clip above shows him at the Joan Rivers roast. Greg Giraldo was 44.

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