"When my father would come home from the track after a good day," said Peter O'Toole, leaning against the bar, "the whole room would light up; it was fairyland. But when he lost, it was black. In our house, it was always either a wake...or a wedding."
My Esquire, purchased from the double maduro - double corona chomping used magazine vendor on the upper west side, is yellowed and crumbly. Gay's profile of O'Toole, and it reeks of beer, cigarettes, whiskey and how I like to think I'd handle that kind of success at 31, can be read here. It's a pisser of a story.
Brilliant, simply brilliant. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBoth Talese and O'Toole are truly one of a kind. Second time I've read that this week.
ReplyDeleteTalese is such a great writer.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFriday Belt for the Holidays???
--Matthew
Horse player and drinker...my kind of guy!
ReplyDeleteI still remember seeing Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen one year when it was re-released. Quinn yelling" No prisoners" was our childhood war-cry forever.
Smitty - There's another Talese piece that is outstanding. We talked about it when I was able to interview him thanks to Antonio Ciongoli. I'll put it up soon. I told Gay I thought it was the best thing I had ever read and explained why. It's never been republished. Talese said he'd have to take a look at it again. I was so proud.
ReplyDeleteMason- Shit, I thought I was first.
Matthew- The Friday Belt packed on 20+ pounds and caused untold grief on Thursday mights with aches and pain Friday morning. It just wasn't worth it. But we'll see. I do have an idea…
I watched Lawrence, or "Rence" as I was fond of calling it, at least 40x one Summer. I was writing my 1st screenplay about the British spy, Major Andre, and confessed to a writer friend that I was stealing the structure from LOA. He said everybody did it 'cause no one noticed. What amazed me, was that viewing after viewing, it never got old.
That 1963 shot is excellent. It tells more about the man and his origins than any art directed shot would today, all the while retaining a sense of mystery. No small feat.
ReplyDeleteA photo such as this of an actor/celebrity would almost certainly not get shot today, let alone published. Perhaps it was just before he got famous and the photographer had greater leeway with an unknown.
-DB
I came to O'Toole via Audrey in How to Steal a Million. He was, to me, impeccably dressed. And those eyes. They never lost their intensity.
ReplyDeleteSome friends are working on a Major ANdre film right now. Looks funny,
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/79040464