Third Post Saturday Special.

Admirable attempt, I must admit but you are no Johnny Depp. Stick to your day job. Honestly, Jack Sparrow with kids? What were you thinking? Ah well, a cute photo none-the-less, eh? What is painted on their faces, though? They don't look like Indians -- they look like my little ponies that were turned into girls! Oi vey. Well, there you are folks. Some people try to impersonate actors and are epic fail, such as this dude. Better luck next time. I would say that he would have better luck impersonating Jesus.

Special Addition Second Post Saturday Special

Since I've been slacking a bit lately due to school work and life in general, I thought I'd grace you all with a second addition post. Don't count on this all the time, but I felt bad that I haven't posted anything since Wednesday. Kenneth Koch died in 2002. One of my favorite lines of his poetry is taken from his his poem "Permanently" and goes like this:

As the adjective is lost in the sentence,
So am I lost in your eyes, ears, nose, and throat --
You have enchanted me with a single kiss
Which can never be undone
Until the destruction of language.

I love to read and write! It doesn't matter if it's poetry or not, but in Koch's case it is poetry. I quite appreciate his poetry, if only for that poem "Permanently" which I was appalled we didn't go over in class since it's in our Post Modern Poetry book, after all. Ah well, I guess the professor and I must have differing taste.

A brief biography on Kenneth Koch:
Kenneth Koch was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 27, 1925. He studied at Harvard University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, and attended Columbia University for his Ph.D.

Many critics found Koch's early work obscure, such as Poems (1953), and the epic Ko, or A Season on Earth (1959), yet remarked upon his subsequent writing for its clarity, lyricism, and humor, such as in The Art of Love (1975), which was praised as a graceful, humorous book. His other collections of poetry include New Addresses (Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Poetry Award and a finalist for the National Book Award; Straits (1998); One Train and On the Great Atlantic Rainway, Selected Poems 1950-1988 (both published in 1994), which together earned him the Bollingen Prize in 1995; Seasons of the Earth (1987); On the Edge (1986); Days and Nights (1982); The Burning Mystery of Anna in 1951 (1979); The Duplications (1977); The Pleasures of Peace (1969); When the Sun Tries to Go On (1969); Thank You (1962); and Seasons on Earth (1960).

Koch's short plays, many of them produced off- and off-off-Broadway, are collected in The Gold Standard: A Book of Plays. He has also published Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry (Scribners, 1998); The Red Robins (1975), a novel; Hotel Lambosa and Other Stories(1993). Koch wrote the libretto for composer Marcello Panni's The Banquet, which premiered in Bremen in June 1998, and his collaborations with painters have been the subject of exhibitions at the Ipswich Museum in England and the De Nagy Gallery in New York. His numerous honors include the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, awarded by the Library of Congress in 1996, as well as awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Fulbright, Guggenheim, and Ingram-Merrill foundations. In 1996 he was inducted as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Kenneth Koch lived in New York City, where he was professor of English at Columbia University. Koch died on July 6, 2002 from leukemia. ..

This information was gleaned from: http://www.poemhunter.com/kenneth-koch/biography/. All the biographies I found on the man were extremely brief. Ah well, I guess you get the gist of him from that. On a side note, what kind of name is poem hunter? Poems aren't exactly hard to find nor are poets. How queer! Ah well, R.I.P. Kenneth Koch.

Morgan Freeman; An Acting god

I've always thought Morgan Freeman was awesome. He is in three of my favorite movies, after all: The Dark Knight, Wanted, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Not to mention I read somewhere that he made the most films of 2008 -- making him the hardest working actor of that year which is pretty impressive if you ask me. Plus, he's played God before. So to me -- Morgan Freeman is an acting god. Hands down.

Some facts:
Born: 1 June 1937
Where: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Awards: Won 1 Oscar and 1 Golden Globe
Height: 6' 2"

A short biography:
With an authoritative voice and calm demeanour, this ever popular African American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Born in June 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, the young Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. His first dramatic arts exposure was on the stage and he appeared in an off-Broadway production of "The Nigger Lovers" and also in an all-African American production of the exuberant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969).

Freeman first appeared on TV screens as several characters including "Easy Reader", "Mel Mounds" and "Count Dracula" on the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) show "The Electric Company" (1971). He then moved into feature film with another children's adventure, Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! (1971). Next, there was a small role in the thriller Blade (1973); then he played "Casca" in Julius Caesar (1979) (V) and the title role in Coriolanus (1979) (V). Regular work was coming in for the talented Freeman and he appeared in the prison dramas Attica (1980) (TV) and Brubaker (1980), the slow-moving Eyewitness (1981), and portrayed the final 24 hours of slain Malcolm X in Death of a Prophet (1981) (TV). For most of the 1980s, Freeman continued to contribute decent enough performances in films that fluctuated in their quality. However, he really stood out, scoring an Oscar nomination as a merciless hoodlum in Street Smart (1987) and, then, he dazzled audiences and pulled a second Oscar nomination as the patient and dignified chauffeur assisting moody pensioner Jessica Tandy in the delightful Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The same year, Freeman teamed up with youthful Matthew Broderick and fiery Denzel Washington in the epic Civil War drama Glory (1989) about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African American fighting brigade.

His star continued to rise, and the 1990s kicked off strongly with roles in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and The Power of One (1992). Freeman's next role was as gunman "Ned Logan", wooed out of retirement by friend "William Munny" to avenge several prostitutes in the wild west town of Big Whiskey in Clint Eastwood's de-mythologized western Unforgiven (1992). The film was a critical and box-office smash and scored an acting Oscar for Gene Hackman, a directing Oscar for Eastwood, and the Oscar for best picture.

Freeman's work did not go unnoticed, more strong scripts came in, and he was back behind bars depicting a knowledgeable inmate (and obtaining his third Oscar nomination), befriending falsely accused banker Tim Robbins in the uplifting The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He was then back out hunting a religious serial killer in Se7en (1995), starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996), and was pursuing another serial murderer in Kiss the Girls (1997).

Further praise followed for his role in the slave tale of Amistad (1997), he was a worried US President facing Armageddon from above in Deep Impact (1998), appeared in the loopy Neil LaBute black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), and reprised his role as "Alex Cross" in Along Came a Spider (2001). Now highly popular, he was much in demand with cinema audiences, and he co-starred in the terrorist drama The Sum of All Fears (2002), was a military officer in the Stephen King-inspired Dreamcatcher (2003), gave divine guidance as "God" to Jim Carrey in the very funny Bruce Almighty (2003), and played a minor role in the uneven comedy The Big Bounce (2004).

However, 2005 was finally to be Morgan Freeman's year, when again he teamed up with good friend Clint Eastwood to appear in the heart-wrenching drama, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Freeman's on-screen performance is simply world-class as ex-prize fighter Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, who works in a run-down boxing gym alongside grizzled trainer "Frankie Dunn", as the two work together to hone the skills of never-say-die female boxer Hilary Swank. Freeman received his fourth Oscar nomination and, finally, impressed the Academy's judges enough to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

In addition to his film work, his commanding yet mellifluous voice has also led Freeman to be cast to narrate or host dozens of first-rate television specials covering topics from the American Civil War, the American Film Institute, blues music, the White House and many commemorative events involving the US film industry, most recently as the narrator of the American version of Marche de l'empereur, La (2005).

Films:

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (2009)

The Human Factor (2009)
stars as Nelson Mandela

The Last Full Measure (2009)
stars as Jimmy Burr

The Maiden Heist (2009) aka The Lonely Maiden

Rendezvous with Rama (2009)

Harry and the Butler (2008)

The Code (2008)

Moses Taite's War (2008)
stars as Moses Taite

The Dark Knight (2008)
stars as Lucius Fox

Wanted (2008) (2008)
stars as Sloan

Feast of Love (2007)
stars as Harry Stevenson

The Bucket List (2007)
stars as Carter Chambers

Evan Almighty (2007)
stars as God

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
stars as Capt. Jack Doyle

The Contract (2007)
stars as Frank Carden

10 Items or Less (2006)
stars as Him

Lucky Number Slevin (2006) aka Lucky Number S7evin
stars as The Boss

Unleashed (2005) aka Danny the Dog
stars as Sam

An Unfinished Life (2005) aka Ungezahmtes Leben, Ein (Germany)
stars as Mitch Bradley

Edison (2005) aka Edison Force
stars as Moses Ashford

Batman Begins (2005) aka Batman Begins: The IMAX Experience
stars as Lucius Fox

Million Dollar Baby (2004)
stars as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris

The Big Bounce (2004)
stars as Walter Crewes

Guilty by Association (2003) - VI
stars as Police Lieutenant Redding

Bruce Almighty (2003)
stars as God

Dreamcatcher (2003) aka Attrapeur de rêves, L' (Canada: French title)
stars as Col. Abraham Curtis

Levity (2003)
stars as Miles Evans

The Sum of All Fears (2002) aka Anschlag, Der (Germany)
stars as DCI William Cabot

High Crimes (2002)
stars as Charlie Grimes

Along Came a Spider (2001) aka Im Netz der Spinne (Germany)
stars as Alex Cross

Nurse Betty (2000) aka Nurse Betty - Gefährliche Träume (Germany)
stars as Charlie

Under Suspicion (2000) aka Suspicion
stars as Capt. Victor Benezet

Deep Impact (1998)
stars as President Tom Beck

Hard Rain (1998) aka Flood
stars as Jim

Amistad (1997)
stars as Joadson

Kiss the Girls (1997)
stars as Dr. Alex Cross

Chain Reaction (1996)
stars as Paul Shannon

Moll Flanders (1996)
stars as Hibble

Se7en (1995)
stars as Detective Lt. William Somerset

Outbreak (1995)
stars as Brig. Gen. Billy Ford

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
stars as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding

The Power of One (1992) aka Puissance de l'ange, La (France)
stars as Geel Piet

Unforgiven (1992)
stars as Ned Logan

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
stars as Azeem

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
stars as Judge Leonard White

Lean on Me (1989)
stars as Principal Joe Clark

Johnny Handsome (1989)
stars as Lt. A.Z. Drones

Glory (1989)
stars as Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
stars as Hoke Colburn

Clean and Sober (1988)
stars as Craig

Clinton and Nadine (1988) - TM aka Blood Money: The Story of Clinton and Nadine
stars as Dorsey Pratt

Fight for Life (1987) - TM
stars as Dr. Sherard

Street Smart (1987)
stars as Fast Black

Resting Place (1986) - TV
stars as Luther Johnson

The Atlanta Child Murders (1985) - TV
stars as Ben Shelter

Marie (1985) aka Marie: A True Story
stars as Charles Traughber

That Was Then... This Is Now (1985)
stars as Charlie Woods

The Execution of Raymond Graham (1985) - TM
stars as Warden Pratt

Teachers (1984)
stars as Lewis

Harry and Son (1984)
stars as Siemanowski

Death of a Prophet (1981)
stars as Malcolm X

The Marva Collins Story (1981) - TM
stars as Clarence Collins

Eyewitness (1981) aka The Janitor
stars as Lieutenant Black

Attica (1980) - TM
stars as Hap Richards

Brubaker (1980)
stars as Walter

Coriolanus (1979)
stars as Coriolanus

Julius Caesar (1979) - VI
stars as Casca

Hollow Image (1979) - TM
stars as Sweet Talk (Ralph Simmons)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1978) - TM
stars as Uncle Hammer

Out to Lunch (1974) - TM

Blade (1973)
stars as Chris

The Electric Company (1971) - TV
stars as Mark; Easy Reader; Mel Mounds the DJ; Count Dracula; Mad Scientist; the Cop

Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow? (1971) aka Barney
stars as Afro

Another World (1964) - TV aka Another World: Bay City
stars as Dr. Roy Bingham (1982-1984)

Recent Awards

1. Oscar (2005) Best Supporting Actor - "Million Dollar Baby"
2. Screen Actors Guild Award (2005) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - "Million Dollar Baby"
3. National Board of Review Awards (2003) Career Achievement Award
4. NAACP Image Award (1998) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - "Deep Impact"
5. NAACP Image Award (1997) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - "Amistad"

Information gleaned from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000151/bio, http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/artists/f/Morgan-Freeman/index-134045.html, and http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/morgan_freeman/filmography.html.

I love Morgan Freeman! He truly is an a talented and amazing actor! Good luck with your acting career in the future, Mr. Freeman. You are amazing!

Flawless Lucy Lawless

I guess it doesn't matter that I prefer Lucy Lawless with black hair since I'm not her husband or anything -- but in my personal opinion she is more gorgeous with black hair. Seeing her with blonde hair seems like a slap in the face to my childhood. She's Xena: Warrior Princess, she can't possibly have blonde hair. She's prettier when she has black, it just seems correct. With her blonde hair she just seems like another pretty face. Lame!

• Her full name: Lucille Frances Ryan (Lawless) (Tapert)
• Her birth date was March 29th, 1968

• Mt Albert, New Zealand was her birthplace.
• She is married to Robert Gerard Tapert
• She has three children:
  a daughter Daisy Lawless, and two sons Julius and Judah Tapert.
  

• Her height is 5'9.5
• Her natural hair color is blonde and her eyes are blue.
  
• She has four older brothers, and a younger brother and sister.
  
• She speaks English, German, French, and Italian

• In June 2004, Lucy was awarded Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honour List for 2004

• An active child of diverse interests and with many siblings, Lawless went on to study German, French, and Italian at Aukland University for a year before traveling through Europe with boyfriend and eventual first husband Garth.

• Lucy fractured her pelvis when she was thrown from a horse while preparing for a skit for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1996.

• Made her broadway debut in Grease in 1997 after a producer of the stage show saw her sing "I'm An Old Cowhand" on the Rosie O'Donnell Show and offered her the part of Rizzo.

• Lucy ended her OE experience with her last stop in Australia splitting rocks for a gold-mining company in Kalgoolie. She married her boyfriend Garth Lawless in 1988 and they went back to New Zealand where Lucy gave birth of her daughter, Daisy.

• Studied acting at the William Davis Center for Actors in Vancouver in 1991.

• Found international fame as Xena in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, which ran from 1995-2001.

• Lucy has a unique fashion sense that she credits her mother for. Her fans love her for it.

• Loves NZ fashion and promotes New Zealand to the world.

• Lucy Quotes: Her husband Rob Tapert

'Rob is the finest man I've ever known.'

• Her Children

'In addition to Daisy, who is experiencing all the joys and horrors of the early teen years, I have Julius Tapert, who's in the terrible twos. Then there's sweet little Judah Miro Tapert, my new baby. They're my greatest blessings.'

• On Playing Xena:

'Xena doesn't rely on a man for help, and she doesn't come across as stupid. I loved playing her. It gave me a husband, a beautiful family and a home. It is probably the best role I will ever play in terms of scope and range.'

• Lucy loves Fishing:

'It's become a passion -and it's a sport I share with my husband. Rob loves the sea.'

• On fans being nasty:

"I really hated the things they said about my beloved husband, who's one of the most wonderful, kindest men on the planet and the one who came up with the ideas that got them excited in the first place.

• On the benefits of Ren Pics had on the NZ filming industry

"I'm really proud of the kind of company those Pacific Renaissance producers set up. I do wish they had got more recognition. I got plenty of recognition for everything I've done, more than enough. I got paid and I get all this underserved kudos. But I do mind that my husband never got the kind of credit that he should have. He employed 800 people sometimes - and for years and years and years."

• On what she wants out of life:

"I would rather do two movies a year and raise my kids because that would be an interesting career. I don't know how financially lucrative that would be. But if the right thing doesn't pop then the decision is to do nothing." Does she consider herself funny? Usually? I don’t even consider myself usually. Soccer mom, that’s what I consider myself. Yeah, I think I’m a funny person. I started out in comedy. You know I remember the moment I realized the value of comedy is when I was eight years old and I was sitting in class and I realized that if I just acted really stupid, I could get away with a lot of stuff. And it would diffuse a lot of tension and the teachers would focus on you. I just found out the value of being a funny dunce at times.

• On her cooking skills

I’m a terrible cook of all foods. I have no interest. I’m really good at cooking 20 minute meals that are really nutritious, pretty darn tasty and only using one pot because I don’t like cleaning up. My husband’s a chef and he makes unbelievable, ungodly mess and he doesn’t like cleaning up either. You know when you first get married, you strike some dumb deals where you go oh, I’ll cook and you clean, you go okay, that sounds fair and then you just regret it forever. I’ve renegged on that bet actually.

• What does Lucy take seriously...

I don’t take business seriously, I take acting seriously. I take my job really seriously, but a lot of the job is not about acting, but I don’t take business seriously.

All this information was compiled from: http://www.lucylawless.info/lucy.php. I've always liked Lucy Lawless and I will forever remember her as Xena. My friend Ashley and I used to pretend to be Xena and Gabriella. I always got stuck with Gabriella because I was a blonde. It wasn't fair. I wanted to be Xena, because we all know she's the one that was more awesome.

Ah well. Kudos to you, Miss Lawless, and good luck on the continuation of your acting career.

A Tribute To Heath Ledger

I loved Heath Ledger. He was an extremely talented individual, I believe, which could further be proved through his role as the Joker. He was a phenomenal Joker, if you ask me. I guess the SGA Awards must have agreed for they gave him a Posthumous award that Gary Oldman accepted on behalf of him (to be quite honest I didn't really recognize Oldman until he started speaking.)

A mini-bio:

Heath Andrew Ledger was born on April 4, 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, the son of French teacher Sally and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer, whose family established and owned the well-known Ledger Engineering Foundry.

Heath attended Mary's Mount Primary School and later Guildford Grammar School, where he had his first acting experiences, starring in a school production as Peter Pan at age 10. His parents separated when he was 10 and divorced when he was 11. Ledger's older sister, Kate, an actress and later a publicist, with whom he was very close, inspired his acting on stage, and his love of Gene Kelly inspired his successful choreography leading to Guildford Grammar's 60-member team's "first all-boy victory" at the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (an annual Australian music and dance spectacular for high schools). Heath's and Kate's other siblings include two half-sisters, Ashleigh Bell (b. 1989), his mother's daughter with her second husband and his stepfather Roger Bell, and Olivia Ledger (b. 1997), his father's daughter with second wife and his stepmother Emma Brown.

Heath was an avid chess player, winning Western Australia's junior chess championship at the age of 10. As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at Washington Square Park.

Whilst academically, Ledger was quite adept, he did not enjoy the routine and staidness of high school, choosing to leave at age 16, driving across the Nullarbor desert in a car with best friend Trevor DiCarlo to the bright lights of Sydney, hoping to become an actor.

Whilst he got a few small bit parts here and there early on, mixing this with work as a waiter, his first major role was in a Perth TV production called "Sweat", revolving around a sports institute training a group of Olympic-level athletes. In this series, Ledger portrayed a gay cyclist.

His next major production was in a Fox Broadcast Company cable production called "Roar", filmed in the Australian state of Queensland. Whilst this program was short-lived, it opened Ledger to movie heavyweights in the United States.

Ledger made his cinematic debut in the 1997 Australian movie titled "Blackrock". Around the same time, he also had a short-term role on long-running Australian soap "Home And Away", playing a high school bully who targeted popular long-time figure Sally Fletcher, after she rejected him following a drunken one-night stand.

Among his most noteworthy liaisons, Ledger dated American actress Heather Graham for almost a year between 2000 and 2001, before engaging in a long-term relationship with fellow Australian actor Naomi Watts, who was 10 years older than him. Their relationship took place between 2002 and 2004, the relationship ending reportedly due to Ledger's reluctance to settle down.

Ledger's next high-profile union came when he met former "Dawson's Creek" star Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain. Ledger and Williams moved in together in Brooklyn, New York soon after and had a daughter together, Matilda Rose, born on October 28, 2005 in New York City.

Ledger and Williams also shared a beachside apartment in Sydney, Australia, however Ledger demanded his father sell the home in a tearful phone call the night of the Australian premiere of Brokeback Mountain". At the premiere, Australian photographers had squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols, in apparent payback for Ledger spitting on paparazzi photographing Ledger some months earlier whilst he was in Sydney filming the drug addict movie "Candy". The incident so humiliated Ledger, that he only returned to Australia at Christmas for a short holiday with his family.

In September 2007, it was confirmed publicly that Ledger and Williams had split, and Ledger was now renting an upscale apartment in Manhattan from 'tween queen Mary-Kate Olsen. Prior to Ledger's death, there were rumors that Ledger was romantically involved with Olsen, and the fact that she was one of the people called when Ledger was found motionless in his bed only fueled these rumors. Ledger was also linked to Danish supermodel Helena Christensen, and teen Australian model Gemma Ward, though there was no confirmation of any union in either case.

Some of the bigger awards Ledger won throughout his acting career included the "ShoWest Award for the Male Star of Tomorrow" in 2001, for his performance in The Patriot.

He also received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, both for his performance in Brokeback Mountain.

Hauntingly, one of Ledger's final projects was to create and act in a music video set to the late British singer-songwriter Nick Drake's song "Black-Eyed Dog", a song about depression. Drake died at just 26 from an overdose of anti-depressants. Ledger's video was shown only twice, first at the "Bumbershoot Festival" in Seattle in 2007; and secondly, as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of "Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake", a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake, also in 2007.

Ledger will fondly be remembered from his short, but exemplary body of work, and will always be known as an actor with immense talent. Rest in peace.

This information was compiled from a biography of Heath written by AJ Brady. Man that man does not shut up. I actually shortened the biography to include what I thought were the more important parts. Yes, I loved Heath, but I'm not here to tell you his life story. If you want to read that, do that on your own time. Apparently AJ Brady has too much tme on his hands.

For the full article you can go here: http://www.helium.com/items/1129666-biography-heath-ledger.

Some trivia about the Australian Heart-throb:

• He and his older sister, Kate Ledger, are named after the two main romantic characters of the Emily Brontë novel, "Wuthering Heights".

• Concentrated on drama and sports in school. When asked to choose between the two, he picked drama. Attended a private all-boys school called Guildford Grammar.

• Was a men's-fashion judge at the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November 2001.

• Most of his wardrobe was designed by his friend Shem.
• Was of Irish and Scottish ancestry.

• Chosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world (#79) 2007.

• In 2006, took a year off from acting to raise his daughter Matilda while his girlfriend at the time, Michelle Williams, worked.

• Was good friends with Joaquin Phoenix.

• "Brooklyn seems to me the closest thing in America to Europe. The neighbors and locals are beautiful people. It's like a village." -- a personal quote

These can be found on: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/bio.

Seriously, such a gifted actor. I was sad the day I found out about his death. Although, I can't say I shed tears like some of my friends did. It was sad, yes, but I didn't personally know him. I think it's different -- yes, actors are people, but they're not your people until you're one of them or you're famous. At least, that's an opinion of mine. . .

I was so excited when I read that he was friends with Joaquin Phoenix! I love Joaquin Phoenix. I don't know why, but ever since Gladiator my best friend and I have had a crush on him. My ex bashed him as "funny looking", but honestly a man does not have to be hot to be sexy. Voices can go a long way . . . I won't say anymore on that or else we'll get to a pet peeve of mine and I'm sure you don't want to hear me rant.

Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry I hadn't posted anything for the past three days. I was really slacking! Then again, I do have college and a play that I'm in not to mention a life. So yes, that is time consuming as one may imagine. R.I.P. Heath! We miss you! (Even if we never really knew you.)

In Memory of Richard Harris <3

I love Richard Harris! Harris died of Hodgkin's disease on October 25, 2002, aged 72, two and a half weeks before the U.S. premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He was replaced as Dumbledore by fellow Irish-born actor Michael Gambon as I'm sure you can all remember. That was the saddest thing, in my humble opinion. I mean, yes, he was getting up there -- but he made the perfect Dumbledore. Even as a zombie, he'd make a better Dumbledore than Michael Gambon who claims to have read the books, but I have my doubts. After all, Dumbledore is eloquent and sophisticated and he made Dumbledore violent. Dumbledore would have never shook Harry the way Gambon did to Daniel Radcliffe. Honestly. Anyway, aside from his role as Dumbledore in the first and second Harry Potter films (the Sourcer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets respectively) he also played in several other films. Before I get to that, I'm going to give you a mini-blurb as I have on the other celebrities I've included thus far (Eva Green and JK Rowling).

About Mr. Harris:

• Richard St John Harris was born in Limerick on the 1st of October, 1930 and is one of the county's most famous children - other Limerick celebrities including ex-President Eamon De Valera, Angela's Ashes author Frank McCourt, and Rose Fitzgerald, mother of John F. Kennedy. Harris still calls the village of Kilkee his home, and still, when time allows, drinks in the Charlie St George on Limerick's Parnell St (which boasts a photo-plastered Dickie Harris Corner). As a lad, he studied at Crescent School (now Crescent College Comprehensive), where he excelled at both literature and rugby, then the Sacred Heart Jesuit college. His main dream was to play rugby for Ireland - as a boy he'd make his own ball from rags and rehearse glorious length-of-the-pitch tries. And he did come close, joining the legendary Garryowen club and, in 1951, winning a Munster senior cup medal. He played a rough game for a rough team - so rough that the name Garryowen has been given to the tactic of kicking the ball high in the air and descending en masse upon the poor unfortunate who tries to catch it.

• Harris left school to work in the Mount Kenneth flour mill his family had run for generations. His was a famous name in Limerick. His forefather, James Harris, had been the Secretary of the Harbour Board, as well as a Market Trustee, and a shareholder in the Commodore, a (Catholic) riverboat that would regularly run against the Privateer, a Protestant-owned vessel. James had furthermore earned respect when, in 1868, he'd saved the French aeronaut Chavalier, whose balloon was holed while he attempted an ascent from a yard in Roche's Street. James offered the use of his own, bigger yard at Steamboat Quay, and Chavalier took successfully to the sky.

• At the mill, Richard was required to study the ins and outs of different types of grain, and the book-keeping and administration required to run a business. Being a local character and something of a show-off, he disliked this inglorious life and, so the story goes, spent much of his time shooting rats with a pellet gun.

• In his late teens, two events occurred that would change him utterly. First, he contracted tubercolosis, which eventually ended his sporting ambitions. Then came the curious pull of acting. Having gone to Dublin with three friends, to see the Ireland-Scotland rugby international, Harris intended to spend the evening at a dance-hall, pick up a girl and, along with his mates, "show Dublin girls what sexual monsters we Limerick boys are". But along the way, something unexpected seized his attention, a poster for Pirandello's Henry IV, starring Michael MacLiammoir. MacLiammoir was a mighty figure in Irish theatre, a larger-than-life character who was both exuberantly Irish and openly gay. Harris could not resist and, instead of doing his bit for the sexual reputation of Limerick boys, he saw the play, and was hooked.

• Harris had always dreamed of being a Big Man, particularly a film star. As a youngster, along with his friends, he'd "mitch" school to visit one of Limerick's many picture-houses. There was the Astor, the Carlton, the Coliseum, the Tivoli, the Athenaeum, and more. The Commissionaire of the Royal cinema, Dennis Hayes - the local expert on all things cinematographic - recalled how the young Harris would pester him with questions. He also remembered one occasion when, unable to prevent unruly kids from throwing sweets and wrappers off the balcony onto the crowd below, he asked Harris to patrol the upper tiers while he went for a cigarette. Harris demanded half-price admission for the next week's show and, deal made, Hayes departed for the pub. On his return, he was shocked to hear only the murmur of the projector. Harris was rough, and respected.

• With his rugby ambitions thwarted and his desire to act inflamed, Harris began to socialise with the local College Players, and attend their workshops. They recognised his charisma and innate talent immediately, when he rehearsed the part of Ellis in Strindberg's Easter. He rose quickly through the theatre ranks and in 1955, ever ambitious, he left Ireland for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Graduating from here, he moved on to Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop.

• Throughout his theatre education and afterwards, Harris worked on the London stage, making his debut in 1956 in The Quare Fellow, and picking up film work where he could. He made his debut in 1958, in Alive And Kicking, where three old ladies escaped from a retirement home to an island off the Irish coast. Then came Shake Hands With The Devil, starring James Cagney, where the IRA fought the Black And Tans in 1921 Dublin. Next was The Wreck Of The Mary Deare, with Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston, then Night Fighters, another Irish drama, this time set in 1941, with the IRA plotting a campaign to coincide with a Nazi invasion.

• In the meantime, Harris had married Elizabeth Rees, with whom he would have three children, all of whom would enter the film industry. Damian would direct Deceived and The Rachel Papers, and Jamie would become an actor (he'd be nominated as Best Actor at Cannes for Fast Food, Fast Women), as would Jared, who'd appear in Lost In Space but predominantly in art-house classics like Happiness and Dead Man.

• The Sixties brought immediate and tremendous success. The Long And The Short And The Tall, where Harris fought with Laurence Harvey as their lost platoon struggled through the jungle, was followed by a meaty role in Alistair MacLean's epic The Guns Of Navarone. Then came another eye-catching performance, as Seaman John Mills in Mutiny On The Bounty, with some critics even saying that the physical and openly emotional Harris outshone Marlon Brando's angsty rebel Fletcher Christian.

• Now the real breakthrough. This Sporting Life, directed by Lindsay Anderson (who go on to make the infamous If . . .), fitted easily in with the New Wave of British cinema and the likes of Look Back In Anger, Room At The Top and Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. Gritty and wholly realistic, it featured Harris as Frank Machin, a star rugby league player tempted by wealth and painfully unable to communicate with Rachel Roberts, with whom he lodges. It was an ideal role for such a physical player and won him an Oscar nomination.

• He could have gone all-out for stardom but, as befits a man first inspired by Pirandello, he balanced his career well, appearing onstage, in blockbusters, and in artier efforts. Hence there was Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (again with Heston), war drama The Heroes Of Telemark, colourful epic Hawaii, and he was Cain in The Bible. But there was also The Red Desert, Antonioni's weird tale of loneliness, fear and sexual desperation, Joseph Mankiewitz's frightening take on A Christmas Carol, entitled Carol For Another Christmas, and more Antonioni with Three Faces Of A Woman. It's worth noting that Harris was working with Antonioni before the hip and happening Blow Up.

• The late Sixties saw Harris hit unimagined heights. Camelot was an Arthurian musical popularised onstage by Richard Burton. Harris stepped into the lead role onscreen and enjoyed a huge hit. More importantly perhaps, the movie revealed him to be a singer of great feeling and, confidence raised, he stepped into the world of music. Harris had become friends with the songwriter Jimmy Webb, who'd recently scored hits with Glen Campbell's By The Time I Get to Phoenix (Webb would later provide Campbell with both Wichita Lineman and Galveston), and The Fifth Dimension's Up, Up And Away (Harris's second connection to balloons, trivia hounds). Over the next year, Webb would write and produce two albums for Harris, A Tramp Shining and The Yard Went On Forever, the first including the surreal epic Macarthur Park, later covered by Donna Summer, which went to Number 2 in America and sold millions.
  

• Harris released a string of singles from these two LPs, plus tracks from Camelot and, throughout 1968, enjoyed radio coverage that matched The Beatles'. For a while, he was the biggest actor/musician of all time, surpassing even the achievements of Frank Sinatra. Ever generous, he presented Webb with a Rolls Royce. By 1970, despite playing The Doctor role in the orchestrated, Lou Adler-produced version of Tommy, the hits had dried up and Harris returned to acting. He was an impressively stern and puritan Cromwell beside Alec Guinness's Charles I in Cromwell, then an appropriately rough rebel, fighting the cruel mining company in 1876 Pennsylvania in The Molly Maguires. Then, stepping back a further 50 years, came perhaps his signature role in A Man Called Horse. Here he was John Morgan, an English aristocrat taken by the Sioux, who grows to understand his captors and eventually, via an absurdly painful initiation, joins them. Despite arriving in a slew of reappraisals of Native American history (including Soldier Blue and Little Big Man), A Man Called Horse was a massive hit, and an obvious precursor of Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves. 1972 brought Bloomfield, the tale of a soccer star torn between money and integrity, which Harris co-directed (it was nominated for a Golden Bear at Berlin). He'd asked his Limerick friend Billy Whelan (who'd later write Riverdance) to provide the music, and would hold the film's premiere in Limerick's Savoy theatre.

• Yet, having started so brightly, the rest of the Seventies were something of a blur. There were some fine films - he was excellent as Fallon, a bomb disposal expert attempting to avert disaster on a liner, and as King Richard in the sweet and moving Robin And Marian - but most were unremarkable, and some, like the Jaws rip-off Orca, were downright wretched. Harris's health was suffering badly. He'd been divorced, then re-married to actress Ann Turkel (25 years his junior), but peace of mind eluded him. He drank heavily, later explaining how, whenever he visited New York, he'd go straight to PJ Clarke's bar, demand "my usual" from bar-keeper Vinnie and be served with 6 double vodkas. There were drugs too. In 1978, Harris suffered a near-fatal overdose of cocaine.

• Harris hit creative rock-bottom in 1981 when he played Bo Derek's dad in the appalling Tarzan, The Ape Man. But, having sworn off alcohol, this rugged survivor bounced back. Once again, Richard Burton and Camelot came to the rescue. Burton, himself a mess, had revived his career in 1980 by replaying Arthur onstage and touring the US. In 1982, a sick Burton asked Harris to take over for a final eight weeks on Broadway. He ended up sticking with the show for five years, eventually starring, directing, buying out the producers and making a very respectable profit. There was a further Burton connection when Harris played Inspector Maigret on TV, a role made available by Burton's death in 1984, but it was the stage that saved him throughout the Eighties. Aside from Camelot, there were successful productions of Man Of La Mancha and, recalling his initial inspiration, Pirandello's Henry IV. Harris would also be guest professor at Scranton University, directing and starring in Julius Caesar: A Work In Progress, mostly employing actors from the college.

• Despite this stage success, Harris could not break back into films. Time having betrayed him, the world's favourite angry young roustabout was young no longer. Then came a break. Irish writer and director Jim Sheridan sent Harris a script of The Field, wanting Harris to play the minor priest-role. Harris read it, liked the lead role of Bull McCabe, a farmer fighting for land his family has worked for generations and said "No, no, no. If you do a picture about King Lear, I do Lear". Request refused. The producers had their first choice actor ruled out due to illness, and STILL no call came to Harris. So, arranging a meeting with Sheridan to discuss the priest role, Harris dressed as Bull McCabe and, during the conversation, slowly changed his voice and mannerisms to become the character. Suitably impressed, Sheridan gave him the role. And he was brilliant, tormented and unforgiving, well deserving his second Oscar nomination.

• Harris was back. He played a terrorist in Patriot Games, and the surly, seedy English Bob, kicked half to death by Gene Hackman in Clint Eastwood's acclaimed Unforgiven. He matched James Earl Jones in the apartheid drama Cry The Beloved Country, and was great as the mob boss persecuting Stephen Rea in Trojan Eddie. And there were more literary works, like Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, Smilla's Sense Of Snow and The Barber Of Siberia (the last two co-starring Julia Ormond). And the changing millennium saw Harris enter his fourth decade of hits, first as the murdered Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator, then as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the monumental Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.

• So Richard Harris got back on top and, as an (almost) reformed hellraiser, he had experience to share, in 2000 taking his modern-day counterpart Mickey Rourke under his wing. He could be kind and cantankerous, generous and ego-crazy, self-important and hugely professional.

• So Richard Harris was back on top, quite literally considering his quote on Viagra: "I was taking this woman out to dinner afterwards and couldn't zip up my trousers. I couldn't get it down. I wouldn't use it again. Your heart has to be good to take it". And, as an (almost) reformed hellraiser, he had experience to share, in 2000 taking his modern-day counterpart Mickey Rourke under his wing.

• 2002 would see Harris at the peak of his powers and near ubiquitous. He played the Abbe Farina, teaching Guy Pearce to be a gentleman and vengeful devil while imprisoned in The Count Of Monte Cristo. He revisited Ancient Rome with both The Apocalypse and Julius Caesar. And, of course, he would return as Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets.

• But this was to be the end. Diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, Harris entered London's University College Hospital in August, 2002, to undergo chemotherapy. He looked to be winning, even telling Potter director Chris Columbus that he'd kill him if he re-cast Dumbledore. But, on the 25th of October, he passed peacefully away - perhaps the only peaceful thing he ever did. Tributes came from everywhere. "He was an absolute professional who knew how to live life to the full", said his Potter co-star Alan Rickman. "(He was) a slightly mad Irishman and a truly gifted performer", added Clint Eastwood.

• He could be kind and cantankerous, generous and ego-crazy, self-important and hugely professional. Even gone 70, Richard Harris was one of the most exciting men onscreen. It's hard to believe he's gone.

Some Trivia about Mr. Harris:

• Was a pretty good rugby player in his day, still remembered in Limerick City for his tackling ability.

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• Only agreed to take the part of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) after his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he didn't.

• He was awarded the 1990 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in Henry IV.

• Was dyslexic.

• He hated making Caprice (1967) with Doris Day so much that he never watched the film.

Some Quotes by Mr. Harris:

• "There are too many prima donnas in this business and not enough action."

• "I'm not interested in reputation or immortality or things like that...I don't care what I'm remembered for. I don't care if I'm remembered. I don't care if I'm not remembered. I don't care why I'm remembered. I genuinely don't care."

• "No one gave me anything. I fought TB, I fought the devil. But I made people laugh. I don't want immortality. I've lived it all. I've done it all."

• "What I hate about our business today is the elitism. So-called stars ride in private jets and have bodyguards and dietitians and beauticians. Tom Cruise is a midget and he has eight bodyguards all 6 feet 10, which makes him even more diminutive. It's an absolute joke."

• "I can see the difficulties of making a movie. Directors and producers have to put up with a lot of rubbish from temperamental actors."

Information for this was collected from these sites: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/richard_harris_biog by Dominic Wills and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001321/bio.

Well, even if you don't care whether or not you live in infamy, Mr. Richard Harris, just as you died in peace may you rest in peace. You were absolutely amazing as an actor.

And I must admit I admire him a little bit more after all of those quotes. Especially since, not only does he not care about immortality, but he insulted Tom Cruise. I've never liked that prick.

Special Addition Second Post Friday Special

Can we say pervert? Who is this man and why does it appear that he's touching Ms. Rowling's boobs? It's certainly not her husband -- perhaps, it's not as bad as it looks. But man does it look bad. I thought that I'd make this a second post Friday special since this is an entertainment blog, and I already wrote on famous person today. ;) Enjoy and have a great day, kids. Remember, when taking photos do not appear as if you're touching your friends boobs unless you want it to be taken the wrong way. Even if he doesn't mean anything by this, I'm still labeling him a pervert! Get your hand away from her breasts! You're not famous, you don't have that right, bastard!