Not-Quite-One-Hit Wonders
I don't remember noticing it at the time, but twenty years ago today, Yul Brynner and Orson Welles both died.
There's little question about who was the more important or influential artist; Welles wins, hands down.
He had one of the world's all-time great voices, both for radio and film. He got famous scaring the dickens out of the country with his 1938 radio adaptation of "War of the Worlds" (who the heck is Tom Cruise?). He wrote, produced, directed and starred in plays and movies. A lot of his work appears on "Best Of" lists, like "The Magnificent Ambersons," "Touch of Evil," "Lady from Shanghai," and on and on. He even closed out his career bringing gravitas to television commercials of all things, letting us know beyond doubt with that voice of his that Paul Masson would "sell no wine before its time" (however misguided that phrase apparently was). But for all that work, he's mostly remembered now for his first film, and no wonder; it was "Citizen Kane."
Yul Brynner came to Broadway and then Hollywood from his native Mongolia. He did not have Welles' talent, range or innovative ambition, but he was an exotic, and he remained one.
He started out with roles in second-string pieces and probably would have remained there, except that he shaved his head one day for the lead role in "The King and I" and became a star on the spot. He grew his hair back for at least one turkey and possibly more, but he wised up fast and the hair disappeared. From that point on, he was the King of Siam. He did a lot of interesting stuff - he was the jealous second-best Prince of Egypt in "The Ten Commandments," the mysterious black-clad leader of "The Magnificent Seven," even a robot killer in "Westworld," but he could never get away from King Mongkut. He was still playing the role onstage in his 60s.
In some respects, each of these men was a one-hit wonder, continuing to produce good and even great work but never really topping their initial burst upon the world stage. Must have frustrated them both. On the other hand, most people never get it quite so perfect even once.
Benshlomo says, Will you reflect more often on what you did, or on what you didn't do?
There's little question about who was the more important or influential artist; Welles wins, hands down.
He had one of the world's all-time great voices, both for radio and film. He got famous scaring the dickens out of the country with his 1938 radio adaptation of "War of the Worlds" (who the heck is Tom Cruise?). He wrote, produced, directed and starred in plays and movies. A lot of his work appears on "Best Of" lists, like "The Magnificent Ambersons," "Touch of Evil," "Lady from Shanghai," and on and on. He even closed out his career bringing gravitas to television commercials of all things, letting us know beyond doubt with that voice of his that Paul Masson would "sell no wine before its time" (however misguided that phrase apparently was). But for all that work, he's mostly remembered now for his first film, and no wonder; it was "Citizen Kane."
Yul Brynner came to Broadway and then Hollywood from his native Mongolia. He did not have Welles' talent, range or innovative ambition, but he was an exotic, and he remained one.
He started out with roles in second-string pieces and probably would have remained there, except that he shaved his head one day for the lead role in "The King and I" and became a star on the spot. He grew his hair back for at least one turkey and possibly more, but he wised up fast and the hair disappeared. From that point on, he was the King of Siam. He did a lot of interesting stuff - he was the jealous second-best Prince of Egypt in "The Ten Commandments," the mysterious black-clad leader of "The Magnificent Seven," even a robot killer in "Westworld," but he could never get away from King Mongkut. He was still playing the role onstage in his 60s.
In some respects, each of these men was a one-hit wonder, continuing to produce good and even great work but never really topping their initial burst upon the world stage. Must have frustrated them both. On the other hand, most people never get it quite so perfect even once.
Benshlomo says, Will you reflect more often on what you did, or on what you didn't do?
posted by benshlomo at 10:10 AM
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