Tony Booth, actor and Tony Blairâs father-in law
Interesting closing quote from Vanity Fairâs obit:
I asked him what his favorite year was; his answer was pure Hefner, minus the centerfolds. âProbably the summer of â42,â he replied. âI was 16 years old and had just begun to realize the possibilities of what it was like to be alive. It was a time of tremendous creative output for me. I did all manner of things, cartoons, stories and plays, radio plays, and songs. That was a kind of microcosm or rehearsal for the reinvention of myself later on. I fell in love with a girl that summerâŚit was an intensely romantic, and very sweet time.â
Ralphie May has a story in the book I Killed about how he won a contest and got to open for Sam Kinison. At first that seemed like a big deal but the audience only wanted to see Kinison and heckled May until he broke down and started screaming back at them.
Kinison them came out and apologized to the audience and thatâs when May realized heâd been a sacrificial lamb, but he did such a good job at it Kinison wanted him to be a regular opener.
Died of cirrhosis of the liver. Shit.
In an article for the Irish Times in 2014, Hughes wrote about his friends became âuncomfortableâ when he stopped drinking after it made them âquestion their own habitsâ.
He wrote: âWhat is it about the Irish and boozing? Does it come from our grand tradition of needing to speak with a drink in our hand? Maybe it comes from the fact that alcohol was put out of our reach when we were kids. We all want what we canât have.â
His friends became âuncomfortableâ? Insert Alan Rickman flipping table here.
This feels a bit like losing a friend.
Itâs sad, but we knew it was coming. Iâm glad his suffering is finally over.
A true Canadian icon.
Iâm surprised I didnât catch that he was Morrie and Teitleman both. Thought I knew all crossover cast there.
The Irish Rover was the song that got him an invitation to being a full member of the Dubliners.
Forgot about this thread.
I met him in a pub in Portugal once, nice guy.
He was great in Soap. Benson (the show) suffered from problems that had nothing to do with Guillaumeâs acting. He shined in Sports Night despite Aaron Sorkin (sorry I canât stand him).
From Soap:
Doorbell
Benson âYou want me to get that?â
As a person of color, I liked Benson because he went from being a domestic servant to being the Lt Governor.
As implausible as that is in real life, representations of possible economic upward mobility were as important to the Black community as they were rare.
