Wednesday, October 26, 2016

The funnier articles on LB: Reputation? Pah!

I'm reminded that Mr. B (and John) were not the most protective of their reputations and careers in terms of publicity, so I decided after reading a funny note on Lionel Barrymore's Pants in Key Largo that I'd link a few of the funnier (sometimes irresponsible) articles I've found on Mr B here. Trust me, some are quite amusing! Some are just dense, few actually mean. And the few that mention Lionel Barrymore was only a ham--well, suh, my card! :)

Lionel Barrymore's Pants (Uncredited)
I liked this piece from Calliope Crashes (found it after a few google search clicks past page one, sorry guy!). In part, I like it because it reminded me how Key Largo sent me spinning off into Lionel-Land on research and so forth. It's also pretty amusing, and yeah, in that film in particular LB has some serious pants going on!

Eleanor Roosevelt gets LB Fired 
When Eleanor Roosevelt Got MGM to Fire Lionel Barrymore From a Pro-Bomb Epic
This article from The Nation in May of 2013 tells a semi-well known story of Mrs. Roosevelt asking that Lionel Barrymore be replaced in the part of FDR for an upciming film, because of her perception he was anti-Roosevelt. While he was more conservative politically than (conceivably) John was, LB notes himself in We Barrymores that even if he did stump for Al Smith in a speech rather grandiosely, the response would have been as good as he gave. Indeed, during that period (1944ish), some newspapers excoriated democratic party wonks for commenting negatively on Barrymore's disability. It was a weird time, folks!

Hot Cross Bunny (Warners, Bugs Bunny)
DailyMotion video of cartoon
In this cartoon, the inimitable Bugs imitates several tropes and types after he is threatened with having a chicken brain transplanted into him. He imitates LB as Mayor of the Town and Dr Gillespie :), complete with glasses, snuffles, snorts, and wheelchair. (It helps if you have heard LB's extensive radio work. The scene is at about the 3 minute mark.

More to come as I dig them out. Some are tedious, though...perhaps it's best to leave with Bugs and Lionel, wheeling away!
 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment