She was Maid Marian’s lady-in-waiting, met the Invisible Man and the Frankenstein Monster, and worked with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Billy Wilder. She was rubber-faced character actress Una O’Connor, our latest Scene Stealer,
Read more →Character Actors
Wallace Shawn: The Arthouse’s Favorite Dinner Guest?
It is, to borrow a phrase from one of his better-known movie roles, “inconceivable” that filmgoers of all ages aren’t familiar with at least the voice, if not the leprechaun-like face, of comedic mainstay Wallace Shawn. Fans of art films know…
Read more →Stephen Stucker: Johnny, What Can You Make Out Of This?
In a movie like 1980’s Airplane!, where the jokes are zooming past viewers at a rate of several per minute and the starring cast includes veteran stars the likes of Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen and Robert Stack, it takes a…
Read more →Edith Massey: The Egg Lady Abides
Amid the taboo-shattering and polymorphously perverse chaos that is the John Waters universe, she was an oasis of…well, if not sanity, then certainly an off-kilter form of niceness. Few who have seen the director’s landmark 1972 “exercise in poor taste,” Pink Flamingos, …
Read more →Sydney Greenstreet: Favorite ’40s “Heavy”
It’s a rare accomplishment for an actor or actress to receive an Academy Award nomination for their very first film appearance. It’s even more rare for that first appearance to come at the rather advanced (for Hollywood) age of 61!…
Read more →Mike Starr: Beyond the Stereotype
One of the most recognizable character actors of the past three decades has to be Mike Starr. With his hulking 6’3″ frame Mike cuts an imposing figure. As a result, much of his TV and film work have typecast him…
Read more →Dick Miller: Roger Corman’s Go-To Guy
Iconic low-budget filmmaker Roger Corman (article) is famous for the array of top directors–among them James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Dante, Ron Howard, and Martin Scorsese–who got some of their first breaks working for him at the American International…
Read more →Joan Cusack: Friend to the Working Girl
“I was never the ‘babe,’ so I knew I’d never get those big roles. I’d always be the best friend or the quirky sidekick.” So said comedienne/actress Joan Cusack about a body of work that has garnered her many fans…
Read more →Margaret Dumont: Groucho’s Girl
A short tribute to classic character actress Margaret Dumont, comedic sidekick to the Marx Brothers, Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello and W.C. Fields. Author Gary Cahall takes a look into her career.
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