Pushing the Envelope: Memorable Oscar Acceptance Speeches

Bob Hope (left) attempts to jokingly steal Marlon Brando's 

Best Actor Oscar for On the Waterfront.

By Michael Lyons

Cheers, jeers, and tears.  This has all happened at The Academy Awards.  The show has always brought the unexpected with it.

From emotional moments to kitschy dance numbers and political statements, there have been so many unforgettable moments on The Oscars telecast, but one thing has remained consistent: memorable acceptance speeches from the winners.

With the 94th Academy Awards scheduled for this weekend, it's the perfect time to reflect back on just some segments of the acceptance speeches we can't forget:

"I may have the baby right here!"

 - Eva Marie Saint (who was nine months pregnant at the time), Best Actress, On the Waterfront

"...it is a long journey to this moment..."

 - Sidney Poitier, Best Actor, Lillies of the Field

"I'll just say what's in my heart: Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump.

 - Mel Brooks, Best Original Screenplay, The Producers

Carmine (right) and Francis Ford Coppola

"I want to thank my son Francis Ford Coppola for being up here because without him I wouldn't be here. However, if I wasn't here he wouldn't be here either, right?"

 - Carmine Copolla, Original Dramatic Score, The Godfather II (1974) 

"Well, I guess this proves there are just as many nuts in the Academy as anywhere else."

 - Jack Nicholson, Best Actor, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

"...I can't deny the fact that you like me.  Right now, you like me!"

 - Sally Field, Best Actress, Places in the Heart (1984)

"I would like to thank anyone who ever punched or kissed me in my life and everybody who I ever punched or kissed."

 - John Patrick-Shanley, Best Original Screenplay, Moonstruck (1988)

"They forget, they forget to ask you to go out there and you...you do all these...things.  Like, for instance, you go out there and do these one-arm push-ups..."

 - Jack Palance (before leaving the podium to do one-arm push-ups on stage), Best Supporting Actor, City Slickers (1991)

"You broke my streak."

 - Al Pacino (who had been nominated eight times before winning), Best Actor, Scent of a Woman (1992)

"This moment is so much bigger than me.  This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll.  It's for the women who stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Viveca Fox.  And, it's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because a door tonight has been opened."

 - Halle Berry, Best Actress, Monsters Ball (2001)

"Call your mom, call your dad.  If you're lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call 'em.  Don't text.  Don't e-mail.  Call them on the phone.  Tell 'em you love 'em, and thank them, and listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you."

 - J.K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor, Whiplash (2014)

And, we should thank these and other Oscar winners who have inspired us with their gratitude and have allowed us to dream our own dreams.

Happy Oscar Weekend!

*For more of my articles, visit my website, Words From Lyons: Words From Lyons

**And...my new book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!: Drawn to Greatness

Green Peace: The 70th Anniversary of "The Quiet Man"

Left to right: Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne

in The Quiet Man

 By Michael Lyons

 

“No one would dispute that The Quiet Man has earned the right to be called a classic. But it's gone further than that. It's a film that people love, which is only fitting because so much love went into it.”

-Leonard Maltin, The Making of The Quiet Man (1992)

 

And all of that love is up there on the screen in director John Ford's magnificent film.  From a pitch-perfect script to a cast that allows every character to shine through the screen and a setting that could increase tourism to Ireland.

The Quiet Man is a wonderful film.

It finds itself connected to and shown around St. Patrick's Day, thanks to its rich immersion into the country and culture in Ireland.  And, it is perfect for this time of year, but it's also an excellent film.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of The Quiet Man, so if the time of year isn't the perfect time to watch or revisit this fantastic film, this milestone certainly is.

Directed by John Ford, the legendary director responsible for most of Hollywood's classic Westerns, The Quiet Man was a change of pace for him and a very personal one at that.  Ford wanted to celebrate his Irish heritage, so he bought the story rights to The Quiet Man in 1933.

The film is a leisurely-paced story that is never dull but filled with many relatable moments and messages. Ford's frequent collaborator John Wayne plays Sean Thornton, an Irish-born American who returns to Innisfree, the small town of his birth in Ireland.  While there, he falls for the fiery read head Mary Kate Danaher (the radiant and feisty Maureen O’Hara) and causes quite a commotion in the community, upsetting Mary Kate’s brother Will (Victor McLaglen, perfect as a blustering, but lovable lout), a bullying farmer and landowner, which results in a final fight between the two of them that goes on for almost ten minutes!

Throughout it all, The Quiet Man is loaded with colorful characters that we come to know as close friends and neighbors by the film’s end.

 

This is thanks to one of the finest supporting casts ever assembled. The amazingly impish Barry Fitzergald gives new meaning to scene-stealing as Michaeleen “Oge” Flynn, the village matchmaker and bookmaker; stalwart actor Ward Bond is quietly understated (and very funny) the knowing village priest and Mildred Natwick perfectly proper as the spinster widow Tilane.

Left to right: Barry Fitzgerald and John Wayne

in The Quiet Man

With a good portion of the film produced on location, The Quiet Man brings the majesty of Ireland to life.  From scenes of a train pulling into a small station, sheep crossing a rolling green field, a “wee humble cottage," and the winding streets of a small village, the Emerald Isle is on full display here with scenes that look more like beautiful paintings.

 Ford won an Oscar for “The Quiet Man,” which was released on June 6, 1952 in London and Dublin and August 21, 1952 in the U.S.  The movie influenced an entire generation of filmmakers, most notably Steven Spielberg, who featured a scene from the film as part of a pivotal moment in “E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial.”

The Quiet Man movie poster.

 With its rich celebration of Ireland, it's no wonder that The Quiet Man is so closely entwined with St. Patrick's Day.  For many years, this author grew up watching the film on WPIX in New York on March 17th.  This year, Fathom Events brought The Quiet Man back to theaters for St. Patrick's Day and the film's 70th anniversary.

 

The Quiet Man is a tale of family, tradition, and life’s real treasures.  And like all wonderful films, appreciation for this classic grows with each passing year and every St. Patrick's Day.

As a reminder, my new book, "Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance" is now available at Amazon: Drawn to Greatness

And visit my web site: Words From Lyons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Good to be Bad: The Most Off-Beat Villains from the original "Batman" TV Show

Left to right: Vincent Price as Egghead and

West as Batman on the 1960s TV series, Batman.

 By Michael Lyons

Dark, brooding, gritty.  All words that have been used to describe director Matt Reeves' highly-anticipated The Batman, the latest film incarnation of the DC superhero that arrives in theaters this week.

However, if your preference for Batman is something somewhat lighter and a little more retro, you may consider binge-watching the classic 1960s Batman TV series.  It would help not just to satiate the need for all things Batman that's now gripping everyone, once again, but it would also serve as a lighter...much lighter... alternative to the new film, The Batman.

As anyone who has casually watched the 1960s TV version of Batman knows, the series which famously starred Adam West as the Caped Crusader and Burt Ward as Robin had a tone that was equal parts campy and equal parts parts fun.

The series also had an incredible cast of recurring, traditional Batman villains and actors who guest-starred, playing them, including The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Joker (Cesar Romero), The Riddler (played by both Frank Gorshin and John Astin, in different episodes) and Catwoman (portrayed by both Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt, in various episodes and Lee Meriwether in the feature film).

There were also a number of other, memorable, non-traditional Batman villains.  Each of them came with an offbeat, interesting, sometimes eyebrow-raising, villainous intent or power, and all of them were portrayed by an impressive roster of guest stars (the series was so popular that many actors and actresses were happy to be a part of it!).

Only the original Batman series could have gotten away with these criminal personalities.  Talk about light-hearted, at times comical, and as far from the tone of 2022's The Batman as you can get, these villains added so memorably to this classic TV series. 

  

It's the perfect time to look back at just some of them.

 

The Archer

Portrayed by Art Carney (yup, Ed Norton from The Honeymooners), who played the role of a villainous Medieval archer living in modern times.  He threatened Gotham City with his marksman skills and a Robin Hood-like outfit.  He also speaks in "Olde English"-like language, which Carney peppers with a Norton-like tone.

Black Widow

No, it wasn't Scarlett Johannson, it was none other than Hollywood legend Tallulah Bankhead as this villainess, who attempts to use giant spiders to off the Dynamic Duo.  As cool as that sounds, the full-throttle, throaty performance that Bankhead delivers is the best part.

The Bookworm

Roddy McDowall, of Planet of the Apes fame, is this bespeckled bad guy, who sports thick glasses, a headlamp, and incorporates books, or famous sayings, into all of his dastardly deeds.  Each one read with true, over-the-top relish by McDowall.

Chandell

This flamboyant, piano-playing villain was played by Liberace, who portrayed...well...Liberace, as a villian.

Egghead

Horror movie icon Vincent Price goes for it in an egg-shaped bald cap and egg-colored suits as this villain, who somehow incorporates eggs into all his nefarious actions against Batman.  Ridiculous? Yes.  Amazing to watch this actor in every campy scene? Absolutely!

King Tut

A mild-mannered Yale professor, who thinks he's King Tut?  Of course, he's a villain and played with great theatricality by talented character actor Victor Buono.

Louie the Lilac.

A villainous florist played to comedic perfection by Milton Berle.  He is also a gangster who wears a lilac-colored suit, and his minions are called "Flower Children."  Oh, how '60's and oh how fun!

Ma Parker

Inspired by real-life criminal figure Ma Barker, this jailbird matriarch, played by Shelly Winters, plans on using prisoners to take over Gotham City.  Ironically, the character seems like a close relative of Lena Gogan, the villainess she would play in Disney's 1977 film Pete's Dragon.

Shame

A parody of the famed film western, Shane, Cliff Robertson plays a wild-west cowboy committing crimes in modern-day Gotham City.  He is also has a henchman, a Mexican gunman who, for no reason, speaks with a British accent.  The best part of this villain is that Batman gets to deliver the line, "Shame on you, Shame."

Siren

This villainess has the power to sing a song at such a high note that men are forced to do what she says.  However, the best part is watching actress Joan Collins vamp it up in what seems like an audition reel for her later work on Dynasty.

These are just a few of the unbelievable villains that appeared on the Batman TV series.  Some of the others included the Mad Hatter, Lola Lasagne, Colonel Gumm, and Zelda the Great.

Their menace is nowhere near that seen in Paul Dano's Riddler and Colin Farrell's Penguin currently in The Batman, but the fun that these '60s-era TV villains and the Batman show provided cannot be denied.

So, look to the cartoon Bat-signal in the sky, shout "Holy tongue-in-cheek, Batman!" and "Pow!" you can make these villains part of your celebrations of all things Batman.