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View Full Version : RIP: Paul Scofield

vicki
03-21-2008, 01:14 AM
The great Paul Scofield is dead at 86 (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/movies/20cnd-scofield.html?ref=theater). He was so amazing in the film version of "A Man for all Seasons," he even managed to rivet the attention of my rowdy and incurious ninth grade class. Pretty astonishing, given that the entire two hours contained no explosions, nudity or gratuitous sex. And hardly any cussing, either.
jtb1951
03-21-2008, 09:57 PM
And he was an incredibly gifted stage actor, especially in Shakespearean roles, with his performance of King Lear acclaimed by his peers with the highest praise. He also turned in a marvelous performance in the film production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. A great talent, indeed.

John.
Strawberry Curls
03-21-2008, 10:43 PM
And he was an incredibly gifted stage actor, especially in Shakespearean roles, with his performance of King Lear acclaimed by his peers with the highest praise. He also turned in a marvelous performance in the film production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. A great talent, indeed.

John.I saw this and just sighed. Back at the dawn of time (actually the summer of 1967) I was touring England with a girlfriend and we got to Stratford on Avon and had tickets to see Scofield in a play by Shakespeare. For the life of me I can't remember which one, but the performance was cancelled because the poor man came down with shingles. We saw Coriolanius instead, that I do remember. That, and the disappointment, this was the year after the release of A Man For All Seasons and we had so looked forward to seeing him perform live. But, on the up side, I had never seen, or read Coriolanius, so it was unique seeing an unfamiliar play in that place with trained English Shakesperian actors.
vicki
03-22-2008, 08:42 AM
Oh, that must have been a dreadful disappointment! To be so close to seeing him perform and then to be denied--on account of shingles. Gah! :..(

John, the obit talked about his Lear making you actually sympathize with the bad daughters. I wish they had some kind of recording of it--I'd love to see that!