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- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: The Merry Wives of Windsor
- “I don’t think you go to a play to forget, or to a movie to be distracted. I think life generally is a distraction and that going to a movie is a way to get back, not go away.” — Tom Noonan
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- Review: Hamlet (2026)
- “Those evils that inflame the imagination and make the heart sick, ought not to leave the head cool.” — William Hazlitt
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Category Archives: Actors
“I don’t think you go to a play to forget, or to a movie to be distracted. I think life generally is a distraction and that going to a movie is a way to get back, not go away.” — Tom Noonan
It’s Tom Noonan’s birthday. He just died last year, a huge loss. Most well-known for playing supernatural-style “heavies” in movies such as Manhunter and Robocop 2, he got his start in the 1960s experimental theatre scene in New York City, … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Tom Noonan, What Happened Was
5 Comments
“I prefer a national film to an international film.” — Jean-Paul Belmondo
It’s his birthday today. I wrote about him on my Substack. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged France, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, newsletter
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“I never wanted to be this famous. I never imagined this life for myself.” — Kristen Stewart
It’s her birthday today. “Really, I’m incredibly disjointed and not candid. Just in general, my thoughts tend to come out in little spurts that don’t necessarily connect. If you hang around long enough, you can find the linear path. But … Continue reading
“I’d marry again if I found a man who had fifteen million dollars, would sign over half to me and guarantee that he’d be dead within a year.” — Bette Davis
“I was thought to be ‘stuck up’. I wasn’t. I was just sure of myself. This is and always has been an unforgivable quality to the unsure.” It’s her birthday today. First up: For Film Comment, I wrote a piece … Continue reading
“The only thing an actor owes his public is not to bore them.” — Marlon Brando
“Sending Marlon Brando to acting class was like sending a tiger to jungle school.” – Stella Adler “You can’t always be a failure. Not and survive. Van Gogh! There’s an example of what can happen when a person never receives … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Elia Kazan, Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
38 Comments
“I never retired.” — Doris Day
“I like joy; I want to be joyous; I want to have fun on the set; I want to wear beautiful clothes and look pretty. I want to smile, and I want to make people laugh. And that’s all I … Continue reading
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in the Berkshires
Re-posting my lengthy piece on the production I saw of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2016, in honor of the anniversary of the play premiering on Broadway. On the evening of July 4th, I took the Mass Pike … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Elia Kazan, Tennessee Williams
64 Comments
“If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.” – Joan Crawford
Today is Joan Crawford’s birthday. Some links first: World-Class Acting: On Joan Crawford and Sudden Fear Here are the re-caps of Feud: Bette and Joan I did for The New York Times. Lots of discussions of Joan Crawford’s career and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Clark Gable, Dana Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Johnny Guitar, Otto Preminger, Sudden Fear, Vincente Minnelli
10 Comments
The night we performed for William Hurt
It’s William Hurt’s birthday today. Back in the day, when Twitter was still a thing, I would often write long stories which occasionally went viral. My story of meeting William Hurt was one of them. When I deactivated my account, … Continue reading