Thankfully, during lousy 21st century times, 20th century comedy heroes are, at long last, getting some love in several recently released (or soon to be released) movies. The Great Buster: A Celebration, on the festival circuit now, was covered in last weekend's post.
A movie about Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy's 1940's touring years will be out in January. Love, Gilda, remembering the most endearing of comediennes, Gilda Radner, was released last weekend.
© Magnolia Pictures 2018
Love, Gilda profiles the life and times of the actress-comedienne-singer and stalwart activist on behalf of those suffering with cancer. For more about Love, Gilda, listen to Alan Zweibel, her friend and frequent writing partner on Saturday Night Live, discussing the film on a memorable and highly recommended episode of Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.
It is unfortunate that Gilda's husband Gene Wilder, who passed in 2016, did not live to see this film.
Tough to pick a single favorite Gilda sketch (for this writer, that would be The Judy Miller Show). There are lots of very funny sketches both from her five SNL seasons and in the Gilda Live show from 1980.
Another memorable appearance was one of her last, on Late Night With David Letterman in 1986. Gilda's megawatt personality and impromptu musical comedy mojo light up the proceedings - and she brings her neighbors from Connecticut there to Studio 8H to share in the fun.
To be shown at the British Film Institute in October and to be released by Entertainment One UK across the pond in January, Stan & Ollie, about the post-moviemaking touring days of Laurel & Hardy. Film historian Trav S.D. has penned a post about the film, The Buzz on Stan & Ollie.
John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan star as the comedy team of comedy teams. Here's the trailer.
While Laurel & Hardy fans and dyed-in-the-wool classic comedy buffs are not thrilled with the bit in the trailer regarding Zenobia, which is totally inaccurate, the scuttlebutt from those who have seen Stan & Ollie remains that, for the most part, the film is historically on point. L&H and Hal Roach Studio experts Richard L. Bann and Randy Skredtvedt were consulted in the making of the film. We'll see Stan & Ollie, hopefully on the big screen, when it gets an official theatrical release in the states.
In Stan & Ollie, the leads clearly do their best to get beyond impersonation and into the hearts, minds and souls of two iconic actors of a previous generation. This, and the recent passing of comedian-actor Will Jordan, got the pop culture vultures at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog thinking about professional mimics and impressionists, many of whom were hilarious.
Those who are soon approaching retirement age in 2018 will remember seeing impressionists and stand up comics regularly on such programs as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace and The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Impressionists were all over TV in the halcyon 20th century days of olde, as were WB cartoons featuring Hollywood caricatures!
Mimicry is rapidly becoming a lost art, due to such 21st century realities as a conspicuous lack of larger-than-life movie stars - Humphrey Bogart, Mae West, W.C. Fields, Jack Benny, Greta Garbo, Edward G. Robinson, Peter Lorre, Jimmy Cagney, Groucho Marx, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Robert Mitchum - as were found from the 1930's into the 1960's. Now those who remember these 20th century entertainment icons are dwindling in numbers - unless they watch Turner Classic Movies and/or have a strong interest in movies, music and books created before their birth.
One of the best mimics, Will Jordan, known for, among dozens of impressions, his very funny take on the not larger-than-life Ed Sullivan. Alas, his routines were so good that other comedians were known to "borrow" material from Will, as noted in Kliph Nesteroff's book The Comedians. As much of Jordan's living was made performing his act for sales meetings and corporate events, there's not that much footage of his impressions, other than Ed Sullivan.
Another one of the greatest of impressionists - when he wasn't singing, dancing, acting, playing the piano, drums and vibes - was entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr.
Also in the old school showbiz universe, Bobby Darin, who used the Sinatra concert staple One For My Baby and One For The Road as a framework for his movie star impressions. His Clark Gable is tops, even better than George Clooney's Gable-inspired performance in Brother Where Art Thou.
At one point, those who did dead-on impersonations got their own TV show, The Kopykats. Beginning as an offshoot of Kraft Music Hall, the impressionist-packed variety program ran from 1970 through 1972 and featured a rotating cast of extremely talented mimics.
Among the last impressionists standing would be John Byner and (Jay Ward Productions historian) Keith Scott, who keep coming up with new celebs and politicians to impersonate, and are as funny as ever.
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