Just a thought.

After watching Vic Morrow in Blackboard Jungle I realized that while he did a good job of this character (I hated him) I was also disappointed. I wanted Sargent Saunders.

Do you feel that being successful in a long running TV program causes people to see the actor only one way and as one character and therefor they are not offered the parts or when they get them the public isn't happy with the results?

It would be interesting to know how the cast feels about this question as well.

By Dana Eugene Creasy (Deecee322) on Unrecorded Date:

As most everyone has heard, one of the things actors fear most is being "typecast", i.e. identified so closely with a role or series of roles or "types" that they are never cast in anything else. Examples are comic actors who never get a chance to play dramatic parts, even though they long to be taken as a serious actor. In many, many cases, the actor is quite competent at other roles and exhibits great depth and breadth in their abilities to convey a characterization. Some accept the situation and make the best of it, John Wayne being a perfect example. The Duke wanted to play other roles, in fact was indifferent to horses and only thought of them as he would any other prop in a picture. But, eventually, accepted his "role" in life, as it were, as the pre-eminent western star of his age.

The same happens to those of us on the production side, directors, technicians, etc. This is especially true with certain special effects people and film editors who are closely identified with specific genres or styles of work.

Having been an actor, producer, writer and lately network television executive, I have to say the desire for success on the part of the producing body (*not the same as the producer necessarily*), i.e. making money, is paramount in forcing people to fit into round holes like neat little round pegs. If it worked once, it's bound to work again, right? And, if it does... well, the heck with trying to change this formula! We're making money!

People tend to identify actors first, directors second, due to their high visibility, with specific roles, genres, etc. People would expect John Wayne to wear a cowboy hat and saunter around all the time. They were disappointed when they saw him wearing a an English tweed cap and wearing a Burberry trench coat, like an older, heavier Inspector Clouseau of sorts.

Probably one the best examples of this is Werner Klemperer, so identified with the role of Col. Klink, Kommandant of LuftStalag 13 on Hogan's Heroes from 1965-1972. Everywear he goes, people put on phony German accents, even go so far as calling "Heil Hitler" and giving the Nazi party salute. This is extremely insulting to a man who not only is a fine actor, excellent musician and conductor, but a Jew who served with some distinction in the US Army in War Two! He was born in this country! As he said, I was only playing a part. In that respect, think of how difficult it was for any Jew to wear a Nazi uniform in portraying a role. Actors have many methods (including "The Method") in working out a role, but they also have to learn to disassociate themselves with that role when it's over. Robert Clary, who played Cpl. LeBeau in Hogan's Heroes, was an inmate of a Concentration Camp and still has his number tatooed on his forearm. Yet, he wore SS uniforms in his role as an allied saboteur working out of Stalag 13! Imagine what went through his mind!

Sometimes, the general public criticizes those of us in the industry as being aloof and apart from their adoring audiences. Often times, it's because it's the only respite we get from such treatment.

I recall some years back when I was producing a show that had Michael Moriarty as a guest and commented to him about his role in "The Holocaust". To my surprise (at the time), he barely recalled his performance. That, my friends, is called survival. We must remain who we are inside, not become a caricature of what roles we have played or filled on a production.

Rick Jason was a man made up of many parts. Psychology tells us that the whole is the sum of those parts, while the science of Statistics refutes that formula, in that the whole often times exceeds the sum of the parts. In Rick's case, I believe he exceeded the sum of those parts. I believe had he simply rolled over and submitted blindly to the death throes of the studio system, he probably would have disappeared from view early on. However, by his insistences on freedom and choice in his contracts, it limited many of his opportunities. We were lucky to have been exposed to what we had of his performances, for it showed a depth of character that, in other circumstances and in other times, might have gone on to lofty heights.

But, all in all, Rick remains just a man... no more, no less, who believed in many things, not the least of which was family, integrity and professionalism. To that, we owe him our thanks and good wishes in the journey beyond.

Finally, to those of us (myself included) who bought his book before it was pulled from circulation, I ask you to consider Cindy's wishes in making a donation in Rick's name to the MP&TFF, a most worthy charitable cause. As he said in his book, his father questioned him on the wisdom of a career in a business where they had to have a home to take care of old actors. Show your appreciation for all the pleasure you've received over the years by making a generous donation to the fund. That's our best memorial to a man who touched so many lives.

By Katharine Bassett (Verity) (209.240.198.61) on Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 02:56 am:

Could you post an address for the MP & TFF?
Thanks....