Abe Vigoda was a mere whelp of 53 when "Barney Miller" first came on the air, yet he still managed to look, sound and act like Boris Karloff's older brother. Vigoda used to tell the story of his audition, how he came to it seeming exhausted, and the producer told him it was that exhaustion that got him the part.
Of course, Abe would say, the reason he was tired was because he had just got done with a five-mile run. I saw Vigoda in New York City about five years ago,when he was in his eighties, and he didn't look tired at all. He looked positively dapper.
4 comments:
When did "dapper" become the opposite of "tired"?
And you have the temerity to kick my ass at Word Twist.
Good day, sir!
Interestingly*, Walter Brennan, too, was always cast as an older guy, even when he was a mere whelp. The reason: Having been gassed in WWI, he simply had an older-looking countenance the rest of his life.
(* Not really so interesting.)
Walter Brennan always sounded like an old coot, too, which served him well on his brilliant spoken-word hit single, "Old Rivers."
For which Joan never, ever forgave him. Ka-POW!
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