THE HANDSOMEST MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS

You know about Ernest Borgnine passing away.

Which is timely, as I was just watching RED over the weekend again. Borgnine has a small role in it, and I was impressed that he could still find work at his age (not realizing even then that he was already in his 90s when he made that film).

One of the interesting things about the reaction to it is that what people remember him from seems to depend on their age. For example, people around ten years younger than me tend to know him mainly from this movie.



Whereas I first saw him either on McHale’s Navy reruns or The Poseidon Adventure. To me he’ll always be either the exasperated and loudmouthed but likeable Navy captain or the loudmouthed NYPD cop who dotes on his wife and shouts at Gene Hackman (who himself is no slouch in the Shouting Dept).

One observation to add about his career:

I’ve always been struck by how he managed to become a pop-culture icon of sorts, mainly by being the anthithesis of the Hollywood hunk. Anytime you needed a joke about a big ugly guy, Ernest was typically the first pop-culture reference that came up. Even George Carlin made jokes about “nude pictures of Ernest Borgnine.”

I always wondered how Borgnine felt about that. I get the impression he had a sense of humor about it – and he could afford to, seeing as how he made a great living at it. And had an Oscar on his shelf.

Respect.

FUN FACT: I’ve seen a lot of movies with Borgnine in them – but I’ve never seen Marty, the one that won him the Oscar. I probably should one day, if anyone here cares to recommend it.

Hey good-lookin’,

This is dF

A GORGEOUS HUNK OF CORN-FED MAN

[Via Death Becomes Her]

Insert “corn on the cob” joke here.

Get me the butter,

This is dF

LISTEN TO IT #49: SIXTY-FOUR IS AWFUL OLD

Most people I know are big fans of Rufus Wainwright, but I’ve always been more partial to his dad, Loudon Wainwright III, one of a thousand “New Bob Dylan” artists from the 60s who ended up carving out his own small but successful niche in the folk singer/songwriter sector.

And like a lot of fans, I think LW3 is underrated as a songwriter and probably ought to sell more records than he has. That said, he has a knack for open and therefore brutal emotional honesty about family drama – not in an emo sense, but a way that cuts a little too deep to the bone for a lot of people. It's like listening to a work colleague talk about crazy their personal life is (albeit eloquently).

Luckily, LW3 has always had a sense of humor about it too to take some of the sting out. Even his new album – Older Than My Old Man Now, which reflects on the realization that he’s now lived longer than his father did – manages to find the light side of an otherwise sobering topic.

Here's the title track as proof.

Listen.

If it helps, Rufus also sings on the album. As does Rambling Jack Elliott. And Dame Edna Everidge. In a duet about sex. Oh yes.

From now on it’s all gravy,

This is dF