#Jack Lansbury

[thezombiegeekinthehawaiianshirt]

[tuttle-did-it]

‘Moving Violation’ (s7, e13) Murder She Wrote

David Lansbury (nephew of Angela Lansbury, Law & Order, Sex & The City)

Stephen Macht (Sliders, Suits, Castle, General Hospital, Millennium, Star Trek: DS9, Columbo, Cagney & Lacey, Alfred Hitchcock Presents)

Susan Clark (Webster, Airport 1975, Babe, Marcus Welby, MD, Columbo, Benny Hill Show)

Jack Colvin (The Incredible Hulk tv show and 70s/80s movies), Jeremiah Johnson, Child’s Play, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy ME, Six Million Dollar Man)

Episode aired Feb 3, 1991

[dangerousstrawberrypie]

Watching movies with my little brother is the best. Last night we were watching Gaslight and he came up with this gem.:

"This Gregory guy is an idiot. You married Ingrid Bergman! You're rich, you have a huge house, Ingrid Bergman fell in love with you, and you got married! You already won the lottery. But no, you want to get into it with the maid who's also a singing teapot."

[blackramhall]

Philipp von Ketteler

Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile John Guillermin (1978)

Manor Murder Mystery

[captainpirateface]

I'm a solid 9 today.

[hotvintagepoll]

this is a poll for a movie that doesn't exist.

It is vintage times. The powers that be have decided to again remake the classic vampire novel Dracula for the screen. in an amazing show of inter-studio solidarity, Hollywood’s most elite hotties are up for the starring roles. the producers know whoever they cast will greatly impact the genre, quality, and tone of the finished film, so they are turning to their wisest voices for guidance.

you are the new casting director for this star-studded epic. choose your players wisely.

Previously cast:

Jonathan Harker—Jimmy Stewart

The Old Woman—Martita Hunt

Count Dracula—Gloria Holden

Mina Murray—Setsuko Hara

Lucy Westenra—Judy Garland

The Three Voluptuous Women—Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall

The Agonized Mother—Mary Philbin (rip)

Dr. Jack Seward—Vincent Price

Quincey P. Morris—Toshiro Mifune

Arthur Holmwood—Sidney Poitier

R.M. Renfield—Conrad Veidt

The Captain of the Demeter—Omar Sharif (rip)

The First Mate of the Demeter—Leonard Nimoy (rip)

Mr. Swales—Ed Wynn (rip)

The Correspondent for The Daily Graph—Ethel Waters

Dracula in dog form—Frank Oz with a puppet

Sister Agatha—Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Westenra—Gladys Cooper

Dracula's solicitors—Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee

Van Helsing is described at length in the novel. He is Dr. Seward's old mentor, possessing "an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, an indomitable resolution, self-command, [....] and the kindliest and truest heart that beats." According to Mina, he is "a man of medium height, strongly built, with his shoulders set back over a broad, deep chest and a neck well balanced on the trunk as the head is on the neck. The poise of the head strikes me at once as indicative of thought and power. The head is noble, well-sized, broad, and large behind the ears. The face, clean-shaven, shows a hard, square chin, a large resolute, mobile mouth, a good-sized nose, rather straight, but with quick, sensitive nostrils, that seem to broaden as the big bushy brows come down and the mouth tightens. The forehead is broad and fine, rising at first almost straight and then sloping back above two bumps or ridges wide apart, such a forehead that the reddish hair cannot possibly tumble over it, but falls naturally back and to the sides. Big, dark blue eyes are set widely apart and are quick and tender or stern with the man's moods." Van Helsing tends to talk through funny stories and bizarre metaphors, is one of the first to consider the supernatural in Lucy's illness, and comes from Amsterdam.

[dathen]

Went a bit unhinged casting for an imaginary old Dracula movie made in the 50’s because why not

So far I’ve got:

Jeremy Brett as Jonathan Harker, with Audrey Hepburn as Mina

Angela Lansbury as Lucy

and Christopher Lee as Jack

Yes I was purposefully adding as many ‘played Dracula when they were older’ actors as I could think of (and then Peter Cushing can play Dracula because why not)

More pics of Jeremy Brett and Audrey Hepburn bc a) look how baby he is in that first pic oh my GOD and b) height difference!!

[droughtofapathy]

Cabaret's Shifting Lead Placement

Welcome to another rambling theatre history lesson with DroughtofApathy. Today we're going to examining the fascinating history of Cabaret's ever-changing lead roles.

Ground rule: Tony eligibility for Lead Actor/Actress is first determined by "above-the-title" billing in the show's opening night Playbill. It was a far stricter guideline in the past, as you'll see. These days, many lead roles aren't put above the title (ex. Hadestown, Kimberly Akimbo, etc.) but will be placed in lead categories either because it's obviously a lead, or because producers lobby for it. Conversely, actors can have "above-the-title" billing and be in featured roles, usually because they're major names like Angela Lansbury and Elaine Stritch, who were both Madame Armfeldt in the 2009/2011 revival of A Little Night Music. In which case, producers will usually submit them as featured.

When Cabaret opened on Broadway in 1966, Jill Haworth (Sally), Jack Gilford (Herr Schultz), and Bert Convey (Cliff) got top billing with Lotte Lenya (Fraulein Schneider) in the coveted "and" slot just below. Note who's missing. That's right. When the show premiered, Joel Grey (Emcee) was just a regular old featured role.

Left: opening night playbill billing. Right: post-Tony rebilling with Joel Grey's ascension.

At the 1967 Tonys, Jack Gilford (Herr Schultz) and Lotte Lenya (Fraulein Schneider) were nominated as Leading Actor/Actress, respectively, while Joel Grey and Edward Winter (Ernst Ludwig) were both in Featured. Jill Haworth (Sally) was not nominated, but would have been eligible for Lead as she had "above-the-title" billing. At the time, Joel Grey was just another working actor. Not so after Cabaret. His performance elevated both the role and his billing, thus transforming the Emcee into a Leading Role from then on.

Subsequent productions would focus more on Sally and the Emcee, while Schultz and Schneider (and the non-singing Cliff) would become featured roles. However, the "above the title" Tony ruling was far stricter back in the day, leading Sally (this time Alyson Reed) to once more be featured in the 1987 revival.

Left: opening night Playbill billing. Right: poster billing

In 1987, Joel Grey was given the sole "above-the-title" billing with Alyson Reed in the next featured spot. Though Sally was, like 1966, technically a lead role, she was nominated in featured at the Tonys that season. (Grey was not eligible as he was reprising his role.) In this production, Regina Resnik (Schneider) and Werner Klemperer (Schultz) both got fancy featured billing and nominations in their respective categories. As Cliff, Gregg Edelman got the "and" billing, but in this case it was less elevated than either Resnik or Klemperer (note the boxes). Edelman was still early-career at this point, and not yet a "name" but Cliff was still considered an elevated role in the company.

By 1998, however, the roles as we currently think of them had finally slotted into place. Alan Cumming (Emcee) won for Best Actor, Natasha Richardson (Sally) for Best Actress and Ron Rifkin (Schultz) for Featured Actor. Mary Louise Wilson (Schneider) was nominated in Featured Actress. Richardson also received left-side billing, as she was a larger name (arguably) than Cumming at the time.

Left: opening night Playbill billing. Right: lobby poster billing

But though nominations seemed to make sense, it still didn't jive with billing placement. In the 1998 production, Richardson, Cumming, and Rifkin all had "above-the-title" with Wilson in the featured "and" slot. Despite this placement, Rifkin went in for Featured. Producers can lobby the Tony committee for actor placement if they think it fitting, and these days we're a lot more fast-and-loose with the definitions. Note however, how Wilson has "above-the-title" billing in the lobby board. This was presumably a contractual renegotiation that happened post-Tonys. Note how Denis O'Hare (Ernst) and Michele Pawk (Kost) have their own line below John Benjamin Hickey (Cliff). All three were/are modest, but known, names in the theatre world, about equal to one another, at least at the time.

By 2014, the old couple (Schultz and Schneider) no longer would get top billing. Alan Cumming only built upon Joel Grey's foundation to fully elevate the Emcee role into the undisputed leading man, with Sally the star-vehicle leading lady. Between the 1998 and up until the recent revival, the older couple's story--and Cliff's importance--had taken a backseat.

Left: opening night Playbill billing. Right: poster billing.

In 2014, the revival won no Tonys, but was nominated for both Featured Actor and Actress (Danny Burstein and Linda Emond, respectively). Cumming was not eligible as, like Joel Grey before him, he was reprising his role. This time, with a Tony in his pocket, and a much bigger name than 16 years prior, he got left-side billing. Emond and Burstein received equal line billing below the title, with Emond getting the left. Though they were roughly equal in the theatre world, and Burstein had a slight edge in terms of Tony noms, I'd guess Emond got the left owing to her larger screen presence/notoriety. In the poster, Bill Heck (Cliff) is left out of featured billing entirely, as are Aaron Krohn (Ernst) and Gayle Rankin (Kost).

Now we come to our latest revival, number four. Though it's still too early for nominations, we can assume Eddie Redmayne (Emcee) and Gayle Rankin (Sally) will be leads with all others featured. Historically, Schultz and Schneider are roles that receive nominations, and the Emcee a role that wins. Will that hold in a wildly over-crowded season?

Left: first preview Playbill insert. Right: billing poster outside the theater.

Once more deviating from past productions, the roles of Cliff (Ato Blankson-Wood), Ernst (Henry Gottfried), and Kost (Natascia Diaz) are plucked back out of the company to be given featured billing. This time, Steven Skybell (Schultz) is on even footing with Cliff, even slightly under with his right-side billing. This would be the least "elevated" billing any Schultz has ever gotten. Skybell is a respected theatre veteran but not quite a household name, even in theatre circles. Blankson-Wood, meanwhile, is a recent Tony nominee. It's all politics when it comes to billing.

Here, Bebe Neuwirth (Schneider) is given the coveted "and" poster billing, no surprise. Of the featured roles, she's inarguably the biggest name. A few decades ago, that might have been enough to get her above the title, but these days it's less common that a solidly featured role would get that (unless you're Patti LuPone in Company, and Bebe doesn't have quite the same sway or ego).

This, to me, seems like the most obvious case of industry politics and agent negotiation at play, and usually actors (and egos) aren't even involved in the conversation. Skybell and Neuwirth aren't on the same level, though their characters are. My guess here is that producers want to bill their sole two-time Tony winner separately, and Skybell's agents know he isn't big enough to dispute that.

Now, let's take a look at this marketing design. Redmayne's name is left-billed despite being above Rankin's head. While annoying for those of us audience members who might just see this as a design flaw, this is all contractual, negotiated to death. Redmayne also gets front-and-center positioning, while Rankin is in the background, off-center, but she gets left-side position, which isn't as minimizing as right-side would. Left-billing is given to the bigger name because English reads left to right. These are the kinds of things I think about when I see marketing ads and playbills.

[thealmightyemprex]

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @theancientvaleofsoulmaking

@themousefromfantasyland @amalthea9 @princesssarisa

@countesspetofi @barbossas-wench @filmcityworld1

[broadwaydivastournament]

Bernadette Peters in Caricature

I am so behind, so we're just going to plow right through these. Bernadette has not one, not two, not six, but eleven Hirschfelds, more than any other Diva left.

George M! With Joel Grey, Bernadette Peters, Nanette Fabray, Jack Cassidy - Tv Special 9/6/70

On The Town- Bernadette Peters, Phyllis Newman, Donna Mckechnie, Jess Richards, Remak Ramsay, Ron Husman. (10/31/71)

“Seven Sparklers In Fall Firmament”(Clockwise From Top Right) Peter Firth In Equus; Angela Lansbury In Gypsy, Gerladine Page, Richard Kiley And Sandy Dennis In Absurd Person Singular; Ben Gazzara In Hughie; Maureen Stapleton, Jack Lemmon, And Walter Matthau In Juno & The Paycock, Robert Preston And Bernadette Peters In Mack & Mabel; And Charlton Heston In Macbeth, 1974

Mack And Mabel With Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters, Lisa Kirk, And Robert Fitch, 10/6/74

Sunday In The Park With George, Bernadette Peters And Mandy Patinkin, 1984

Bernadette Peters In Sunday In The Park With George (6/8/84)

Bernadette Peters In Annie Get Your Gun (2/28/99)

Into The Woods With Joanna Gleason, Robert Westenberg, Tom Aldredge, Bernadette Peters, Barbara Byrne, And Chip Zien, 11/1/87

The Goodbye Girl: Carol Woods, Tammy Minoff, John Christopher Jones, Martin Short, Bernadette Peters (2/28/93)

Cameron Mackintosh With Characters From Shows He Has Produced. Last Revised 4/92

Rick Steiner With Characters From Six Of His Plays, Ink And Goauche 9/02

Bernadette also has a portrait at Sardi's, but heaven knows I can't find it just by googling, and it's not a week to ask me to do deep dives like I usually do. Check back in three-to-five business days.

Elaine Stritch and Bernadette Peters in "A Little Night Music," 2010 - Squigs

Bernadette Peters and the new company of Hello, Dolly! 2018 - Squigs

Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason (my beloved), and the company of Into the Woods, 2014 - Squigs

Bernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell (my beloved), Jayne Houdyshell, Mary Beth Peil, and the company of Follies, 2011 - Squigs

[etakeh]

I wrangled a collection of Rankin Bass Christmas specials - not just Rudolph and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. No. I got the...other ones.

Thought I should watch them all, if they're as fun as the others.

They aren't, and I understand why they didn't become Christmas Classics.

Jack Frost - ok, with a good bit of "how to not be an ass when you've been friendzoned".

First Christmas Snow - boring. Nuns, orphans, sheep. Angela Lansbury I guess, but not worth it.

Leprechaun's Christmas Gold - ? I mean ? I thought it was going to be a cautionary tale, like, "don't pull up trees on mysterious islands", but it turned out to be more like "don't get tricked by banshee or your husband will go out for a pack of cigarettes and never come back".

Pinocchio's Christmas - this is when I started skipping the songs. What an annoying little shit. Geppetto has a wig.

Rudolph's Shiny New Year - I hate baby noises, and I don't like Jerry Lewis impersonations, even if they are by a cave man. "It's ok that people laugh at you, it means you make them happy" wow that was some bullshit.

But if you want to be fully horrified?

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

What the fuck even.

Only pain.

Romans stealing the livestock for slaves - yes, they use that word - never to be heard about again.

Nestor spending the night in a storm under the dead body of his mother. Awesome. "Whatever happens, you must be brave" she says.

I'm trying not to nitpick a dead donkey, but there was a sheltered cliff wall like 5 feet to their left.

Yes, that's his mom. "The lord works in mysterious ways," says the narrator.

It's ok though, he finds a cherub (?) and then finds Jesus.

Oh I should mention that the story is being told by his great-great-child of some type, who now works for Santa as a dray horse basically.

So anyway I don't think I can watch anymore. Sorry. There are so many and I just...can't.

(I did watch the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, which was bonkers enough to merit its own post though. Image-heavy let me tell you.)

[pilferingapples]

For the costume ask game: #1, #7, #14.

(From this post!) (and thank you for putting it together btw)

1. What's the latest movie you watched, and what did you think of the costumes in it?

Happily for this question, the movie I watched last was White Christmas, which has absolutely gorgeous costumes , including maybe THE Christmas Dresses of All Time! The twirl in all those skirts! the colors ! the fabric! Half the fun of the whole thing is watching those costumes happen:D

7. Who is your favorite costume designer?

I don't have an all time favorite, and there's so many doing such good work! --

but if there's one costume designer whose work I've recognized my whole life long , and fondly, it's William Ware Theiss XD Those dresses are the Finest Example of Sustained Anti -Gravity I've ever seen, sir, are you kidding me!!

14. If you could own any movie or TV costume piece (not necessarily to wear), which would it be?

Ooof. I know too much about how costumes work to want a lot of my favorite pieces-- Dorothy's ruby slippers would never sparkle in my room the way they did in Oz, you know?

BUT!!! I would happily take any of the excellent top hats from the Gentleman Jack set. That's something I could wear , and a good hat is hard to find! :D

(my second option would be any of Jessica Fletcher/Angela Lansbury's incredible scarves from Murder, She Wrote-- I KNOW those things could have aged well and a scarf works for anyone!)

[candlecove-weaintdeadyet]

The Laughingstock crew as search terms I've used for research

Percy

"Schott surname origin"

"History of amputation"

"History of prosthetics"

"Did 17th/18th century ships have cartographers"

"Vintage china dolls"

"Nightmares vs. night terrors"

"What did people keep in lockets before cameras were invented"

"Average height/weight of 13 year old male"

Janice

"Early 1970s child fashion"

"Rolling Stones debut album release date"

"When were camcorders invented"

"Cabin boy duties"

Poppy

"English to Scots Gaelic translator"

"Scottish accent pronunciation"

"PTSD term origin"

"Real antique tricorn hat"

"Scottish surnames"

Milo

"Hurdy-gurdy"

"European sumptuary laws"

"Indentured servitude as criminal justice" (not related to above)

"History of hair dye"

"History of cosmetics"

"POTC Captain Jack Sparrow best moments"

"Narcissistic Personality Disorder symptoms"

Dr. Heartfelt

"German word for (insert word/phrase here)"

"German lullabies"

"TF2 Medic tvtropes"

"Raggedy Ann"

"German Navy 18th century uniforms"

"Rapier"

"Parrying dagger"

"What did ship doctors do"

"Was heroin used as anesthesia" (answer: sort of, apparently)

Sea-Dog

"1960's plush dog"

"Keith David Husk"

"Hip flask origin"

"Boatswain duties"

"17th century wax earplugs"

"Dog breeds best suited to water"

Salty Jojo

"Jamaican surnames"

"were ship carpenters a thing"

Banana King

"Smartest parrot species"

"Can you eat banana seeds"

"17th century crutches"

"Pepper's Ghost effect"

Nathan

"ship gunner"

"how do cannons work"

"friction primer"

"golden age of piracy apprentices"

Calvery

"Russian voice actors"

"what did strikers do"

"17th century harpoon"

"Jim Henson muppets"

Ms. Laughingstock

"Ship figureheads golden age of piracy"

"1960's Barbie doll"

"17th century frigate"

"frigate cross-section"

"Angela Lansbury"

[fayegonnaslay]

60 Years of Vamps and Camps (1973)

Sue Lyon in Lolita, 1962.

Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemon in Irma La Douce, 1963.

Gloria Swanson in Fine Manners, 1926.

Sylvia Miles and Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy, 1969.

Tallulah Bankhead in My Sin, 1931.

Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8, 1960.

Jane Fonda in Klute, 1971.

Shelly Winters and Michael Caine in Alfie, 1966.

Claudette Colbert in ZaZa, 1938.

Angela Lansbury in Mister Buddwing, 1966.

Joan Blondell and Ginger Rogers in Broadway Bad, 1933.

[angelosearch]

Okay not to go all Charlie-Day-Murder-board on everyone but I keep seeing weird connections with FF8 and Celine Dion??

So first off, I have heard that Celine Dion was considered for Eyes On Me. I have not been able to stop thinking about this fact since I learned it. I would give ANYTHING to hear that version - love the original but would be fascinated to hear it in Celine's voice.

I think that version would give real Titanic vibes. In this context, Titanic's theme, My Heart Will Go On and Eyes on Me seem sonically similar. Funnily enough, River Phoenix (the actor Squall's hair/facial features are based off of) was considered for the role of Jack. Hmmm.

And then I just reblogged two gif sets showing cinematic similarities between FF8 and Beauty and the Beast. It's honestly so striking I wonder if Beauty and the Beast (1991) influenced FF8 (1999). And who sang Tale as Old as Time? Well, Angela Lansbury... BUT ALSO CELINE DION (arguably the more iconic version).

The simple answer is that FF8 is quintessentially a product of the 90s, just like all the things mentioned above... but gosh do I love using this red yarn

[vernalloy]

Celebrities if they reboot the Muppets as they were in the 70s:

Legally obligated

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Meryl Streep

Idina Menzel

Fun (in approximate order of interest)

Billy Porter

Patti LuPone

Andrew Rannells

Weird Al

Dolly Parton

Ariana DeBose

André De Shields

Jack Black

Sutton Foster

Mandy Patinkin

John Oliver

Patrick Stewart

Jeff Goldblum

Dave Bautista

Jonathan Groff

Alex Brightman

Neil Patrick Harris

Unlikely but please god please

Amber Gray

Grace McLean

John Darnielle

Impossible

Angela Lansbury

Chita Rivera