His performance as the indulgent Jewish father in Goodbye, Columbus could have easily been an empty stereotype, but he invested it with so much gravitas, love of family and generosity of spirit, not necessarily evident in the raw screenplay or the icy novella, that you end up admiring him as a man, a parent and a Jew. RIP
So when are you going to profile Jack Klugman? Or Tony Randall, for that matter?
I always though it would have been funny and ironic if Klugman had played the awful Jewish movie producer who wakes up with a horse's head in his bed in "The Godfather", given his well-known fondness for horses and gambling.
By the way, if you really want to see the full range of what Klugman could do as an actor in less than half an hour, check out the episode "In Praise of Pip" from the last season of "The Twilight Zone" in 1963. It was one of four notable appearances, Klugman made on that great series.
Never saw Klugman do "awful." He was the nice guy, the everyman. Too much empathy to play Jack Woltz, who was also a child molester in the original script. Note that he is seen giving a pony to the child-star he is molesting. She is in his home with her stagemother when consigliere Tom Hagen arrives for dinner.
His performance as the indulgent Jewish father in Goodbye, Columbus could have easily been an empty stereotype, but he invested it with so much gravitas, love of family and generosity of spirit, not necessarily evident in the raw screenplay or the icy novella, that you end up admiring him as a man, a parent and a Jew.
ReplyDeleteRIP
So when are you going to profile Jack Klugman? Or Tony Randall, for that matter?
ReplyDeleteI always though it would have been funny and ironic if Klugman had played the awful Jewish movie producer who wakes up with a horse's head in his bed in "The Godfather", given his well-known fondness for horses and gambling.
By the way, if you really want to see the full range of what Klugman could do as an actor in less than half an hour, check out the episode "In Praise of Pip" from the last season of "The Twilight Zone" in 1963. It was one of four notable appearances, Klugman made on that great series.
Never saw Klugman do "awful." He was the nice guy, the everyman. Too much empathy to play Jack Woltz, who was also a child molester in the original script. Note that he is seen giving a pony to the child-star he is molesting. She is in his home with her stagemother when consigliere Tom Hagen arrives for dinner.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know all that. That's why I said it would have been funny and ironic to see Klugman play Woltz.
ReplyDelete