Since I have been slacking on posting regularly and I need to beat Irene, I have decided to post again today. I already told her I would post my 'Top Ten Favorite Actors' a while ago so I thought it was about time I did 😁 Keep in mind that many of my favorites are also Irene's favorites, and since she already wrote about them I'm not going to do it a second time.
(These are in no particular order)
1) Montgomery Clift
In 'Red River' one of my favorite scenes with him is when he meets a fancy gunslinger and soon-to-be new ranch hand named Cherry who thinks he's all that . Well, let's just say Matt proves that Cherry is NOT all that and that he, Matthew Garth, is...well...ALL THAT!
My second favorite scene from that movie is at the very end when John Wayne who plays Thomas Dunson (practically a father to Matthew who goes a little cray cray) and him get into a fist fight. But that's just because I love it when someone who needs a good socking finally gets one! There's really nothing more satisfying.
He also plays the main character (Father Logan) in 'I Confess' by Alfred Hitchcock and he expresses the amount of inner-turmoil perfectly! (Amazing movie by the way. If you haven't seen it, you should)
In short, Montgomery Clift is one of those quiet and chill people that steal my heart. Every. Single. Time. 😊
2) Jack Hogan
Now if any of you have ever seen the TV show "Combat!" (if you haven't then you'll never really live until you do) then you undoubtedly know this charming fellow. I've never really seen him play a main role in movies or anything, but he often showed up in other TV shows at the time as a guest star and also, obviously, played Pvt. William G. Kirby in "Combat!" (only one of the best shows EVER!), who just so happens to also be my favorite character. For those of you who started watching the show but stopped somewhere in the first season (Are there any? If there are, are you even human?), Kirby is not a total jerk through all five seasons. In fact, I think that's why I love him so much. At the beginning of season 1 no one likes Kirby, and I mean NO ONE. But as the show progresses you see him really develop into a good person. But, what makes Jack Hogan so amazing, is that he managed to still keep Kirby's feisty, complaining, and sometimes obnoxious personality, while somehow also being extremely endearing. That's talent! I never really liked the loud mouth obnoxious types (even the ones that aren't bad), but Jack Hogan managed to somehow break the mold for me.
Another thing I'm going to mention is that whenever he guest starred on another show he ALWAYS played a bad guy, so that made him look even MORE appealing in "Combat!" than he already was.😍
3) Kent McCord
Sooooo, since Irene already stole Martin Milner I thought I'd give a section to this guy, who really is just as near and dear to my heart as the cranky old cop himself! (In reference to Officer Pete Malloy played by Martin Milner in Adam-12)
Kent McCord played Officer Jim Reed in the show Adam-12. In the beginning of the show Jim is completely green, having just gotten out of University, and he is partnered with Pete who has had many years experience. Well obviously at the beginning of the show Jim is very nervous and well, cute, especially since Pete is leaning on the sarcastic side of things (don't get me wrong, I love Pete just as much) and it's sometimes hard for Jim to tell when his superior is being serious or not. Anyway, as the show progresses they become great buddies and as Jim starts to feel more comfortable around Pete you see a more joking side of him. While in the beginning of the show Jim never even dreamed of teasing Pete you often see him making jabs at him later on the show. The word I would use to describe Kent McCord in Adam-12 is 'adorable'. That's right, he is just an adorable person that you love to love!
Recently Irene showed me a Dragnet episode where he plays an Undercover Police Officer who is accused of a crime and just looking at him made me nervous! THE FEELS MAN!!! Literally the whole time I was just saying, "Jim! This is so unlike you!". That's when you know you have a good actor. 😎
4) Peter LawfordPeter Lawford. Ahhhhh yes, Peter Lawford! What a beautiful human being! I first saw Peter Lawford in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' 1945 portraying the character David. Now to say I didn't really appreciate him would be a lie, because I truly did, but I did not realize just how much I appreciated him until I watched it for the third time with our friends. For some reason that time he just really stood out! His character has a major crush on the main girl Gladys who has a major crush on Dorian and if that's not putting it badly than I don't know what is! Anyway, Gladys refuses to marry him but being the good chap that he is David tries to convince her not to marry Dorian (he's a total creep). If I remember correctly he says, "Even if you're not going to marry me I won't let you marry him!". How unselfish is that? Really, he's just a beautiful person.
Anyway, later on I was watching 'The Longest Day' with the fam and this character showed up. A British soldier wearing a beret and knitted sweater and smoking a pipe. He seemed awfully familiar and as soon as he started talking I knew. Only one person has a voice like Peter Lawford, and that's Peter Lawford! Seriously, I could listen to him talk all day. His voice is just so sooooooooothing...Anyway, I also saw him in a clip from 'Good News' with June Allyson where they're singing the 'Varsity Drag' song and Irene did a spot on impersonation of him singing the first line 😎
Now this eccentric man is definitely one of the most British people I have ever had the pleasure of watching on screen. I believe he's most well known for his role in 'Pygmalion' as well as Sir. Percy Blakeney in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', but I love him most for his role as Professor Horatio Smith in 'Pimpernel Smith' which is a WW2 remake of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. He is the perfect quirky and forgetful Professor who always has to be reminded of things by his very trustworthy students *not*. I of course liked him in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' too where he plays a rather vacant English Aristocrat who isn't really vacant and is actually helping the French Aristocrats escape the guillotine (sorry if that's a spoiler), but in 'Pimpernel Smith' his role as the Professor of Archaeology who takes a bunch of his students to Germany for a 'dig' is really the perfect match for him. I think it also has something to do with the fact that Leslie Howard actually directed the movie himself so he really got to choose exactly how he wanted the character portrayed. Professor Smith is probably one of my favorite movie characters.
Fun fact: His son Ronald Howard played Sherlock Holmes! (They looked so much alike!)
😊
VIC MORROW!!! That right there explains every feeling I have for him! Of course I know him for his role as Sgt. Saunders in "Combat!" but he isn't just Sgt. Saunders...He's so much more! (And by so much more I mean his character in the Bonanza episode 'The Avenger'). Of course I did not know him in real life but the vibe I get every time I watch him act is that he really is a very stoic and no-nonsense type, but still very lovable...obviously...
I remember in one particular "Combat!" episode everyone is in a terrible mood and he's all sunshine and rainbows (maybe it's because he was the only one who liked rain? Its a slim chance, but still) and every time I watch that scene I'm reminded of what a great guy Sgt. Saunders is! I mean, Vic Morrow would have to be great as well in order to portray such an astounding character, so let's not forget that.
In one episode his acting ability got me to cry (I believe that actually happened more than once...Yes...And I'm not ashamed of it!). It was called 'The Little Carousel' and there is a young French girl who is a Nurse and she makes friends with Sgt. Saunders. I'm not going to spoil anything in case you want to watch it, but if you have any kind of intelligence at all you probably already know what happens...
And last of all I just want to mention his great way of getting Lt. Hanley back in shape in 'Hills are for Heroes' because it was priceless! Absolute gold! 💖💛
7) Charles BronsonOne word. Legit. This guy is legit! Now I'm not just saying this. Every single time I see Charles Bronson in a movie or even TV show he is either my favorite character, or very near being my favorite character. Namely, 'The Magnificent Seven'. His role as Bernardo O'Reilly has always been my favorite, even as a little girl, and I don't think it's ever going to change. There's just something so endearing about a guy that kids are attracted to. Is it just me who thinks that? I don't think so! (I know so)
There is one moment in the movie that I remember particularly. (I say this pretending I haven't watched it over a hundred times). All the other guys are sitting around the table eating the yummy good that the Mexicans made for them and Bernardo comes in and tells them that the rest of the villagers are practically eating nothing. They of course then feel bad and end up giving all the food to the kids. I just really like that scene because it's the first real look at his character. Later on there's another scene where the town is having a big party and he's sitting alone whittling a whistle and when he blows into it a cute little Mexican girl turns around and looks at him with big brown eyes and he of course gives her the whistle. This is really just the setting for his later to be child attraction. Later on three boys become his biggest fans and it's the cutest thing ever.
While Charles Bronson's best role to me was Bernardo O'Reilly a couple honorable mentions are: Danny the Tunnel King from 'The Great Escape' and Joseph Wladislaw from 'The Dirty Dozen'.
😎😎😎
Now pretty much everyone knows this wonderful fellow for his amazing role as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings', but I grew up knowing him as (besides Aragorn of course. I mean, I was born knowing who Aragorn was. Aragorn is like a brother too me!...I wish...) Frank Hopkins from 'Hidalgo'. Yes, a cowboy! And also yes, he is actually blond...ish...
Anyway, if you are a true fan of Viggo Mortensen or The Lord of the Rings then you know that Viggo Mortensen really loves horses and during his time off from filming the most amazing trilogy ever, he would go ride his horse. He would even wear a cowboy hat! So seeing him in Hidalgo should not come as a great surprise.
My farthest memories of Viggo Mortensen are of Aragorn of course, but I don't think I ever really appreciated how well he portrayed him until I got older. We just recently started watching the movies over again (extended addition!) and I swear when he's talking with Gandalf about Frodo in the halls of Rohan while everyone else is partying, he looks like deep down he's going to burst into tears! I kid you not. Thinking about it now and watching it for probably the millionth time I see how sad and melancholic he is through all the movies (If you've read the books or seen the movies you know why too), but Viggo Mortensen really gave off that vibe without outwardly doing anything a regularly sad person would do! (Like cry, for instance) Also, he really does give the impression of a humble king...😁
9) Edd Byrnes Okay so this one technically isn't one of my 'top ten favorite actors' but Irene stole most of my favorites and I had to come up with others that I really like and although I've only seen Edd Byrnes in I think two things, both of which he was guest starring in a TV show, one of the characters he played really stood out to me. It was in an episode of Lawman and I don't remember what it's called or what season it was, but he plays a young gunslinger who is on the run and sort of 'hitchhikes' with this group of obvious undesirables. So while they're on their way they run into this guy who is trying to get a doctor from town because his wife is dying. Edd's character says to just let him go (my words at the time being, "Awwww, he's not bad") but the others (one of which is actually Jack Hogan. Hah, figures) like his boots and coat, so obviously they shoot him. Anyway, Edd Byrnes's character decides to leave them and goes back to the dead guys house and ends up bringing the sick wife into town for a doctor. He pretends to be her husband who's a homesteader because he doesn't want anyone to know he's a gunslinger and the wife is temporarily blind. So, in short, this shady gunslinger turns out to be a really nice guy who just has a lot of hard rock on top. What really stuck out to me was just the way he acted the part and how he walked around like a gunslinger would, rather than a homesteader.
Anyway, that was more of an episode review but I don't care! That will probably always be one of my favorite episode characters of all time. 💓
10) Bobby CrawfordLast but certainly not least, my favorite young actor that I'm putting on here partly because I like him and partly because I want to make Irene laugh! (Did it work?) Yes, Bobby Crawford is going on this list. Why, you may ask? Well, the real question is, why not?
I first found out about Bobby Crawford when Irene started watching 'The Rifleman' with Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford (Bobby Crawford's younger brother) and he showed up in an episode. All I remember really is Irene saying that the little kid who fights with Mark is actually his brother. Anyway, time went on and we started listening to Johnny Crawford music and low and behold Bobby Crawford sang with him! Somehow we found out that he also played Andy Sherman, the little brother of Slim Sherman, in the show Laramie and well, he was an adorable little kid and acted way better than I could (or can). He showed great personality on screen as a spunky little brother and even though no one would admit it, he was the real reason we started watching the show in the first place. (Don't get me wrong, we love the show Laramie, but we wouldn't of known about it if it weren't for him)
A while later Irene told me about this Combat episode she wanted to watch (very innocently) called 'A Silent Cry' and I, being the wonderful sister I am, complied. Well, we were watching it, everything was going smoothly, the plot was moving on, then, just when I thought nothing was going to change, out of the woods jumped an 18 year old Bobby Crawford! (At least I think he was 18. He looked 18) To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Irene of course knew about this and so we watched the episode together in total bliss!
What can I say except, I like the boy very much! 😊😊😊
Whelp, that concludes 'Anna's Top Ten Favorite Actors'! I hope you enjoyed my rambling.
- Anna
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