Orson Welles also comes to mind, though I noticed he spoke in this mode more often during his early days, on and off screen. For such admissions to escape my fathers lips, they always had to be a little removed somehow. **. (Newsreels ran in movie theaters, of course: what better critique of the high newsreel style than the new movies that jarred against it?). The last time I heard my fathers voice, it was over the telephone. So it went in late 1960 at one of George Plimpton's legendary soirees at 541 E. 72nd St., New York. The Dudleys established the 36-acre (15ha) Highstead Arboretum in Redding, Connecticut. George Plimpton, the New York aristocrat and literary journalist whose career was a happy lifelong competition between scholarly pursuits and madcap attempts -- chronicled in self-deprecating.
An Evening With George Plimpton - 2000 - YouTube [3], He was the son of Francis T. P. Plimpton[4] and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons and George Arthur Plimpton. They spoke in this manner, and it seemed perfectly natural, evocative of a background spent among the gentry of the northeast.
Documentary Shows George Plimpton's Best Story Was His Own : NPR - NPR.org Share; Copied! In the "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" episode of The Simpsons, he hosts the "Spellympics" and attempts to bribe Lisa Simpson to lose with the offer of a scholarship at a Seven Sisters College and a hot plate; "it's perfect for soup! Plimpton was an optimist, a teller of amusing and amazing stories. In all my years, Ive never heard this accent in person. We were going to go looking for strange birds.
What accent does Logan have in the show? : r/SuccessionTV **, In this case, Mid-Atlantic refers to speech in which the attributes of British English and American English meet halfway. All rights reserved. [citation needed]. When George Plimpton Met the Best Bartender in Brooklyn Two New York Legends Collide By Tim Sultan February 26, 2016 The only other person that I had known who possessed a similar charisma to Sunny Balzano's was my first employer in New York: George Plimpton.
[citation needed] In 1958, prior to a post-season exhibition game at Yankee Stadium between teams managed by Willie Mays (National League) and Mickey Mantle (American League), Plimpton pitched against the National League.
George Plimpton Detroit Lions | The Pop History Dig Plimpton, along with former decathlete Rafer Johnson and American football star Rosey Grier, was credited with helping wrestle Sirhan Sirhan to the floor when Kennedy was assassinated following his victory in the 1968 California Democratic primary at the former Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. She was also the great-granddaughter on her father's side of Oakes Ames (18041873), an industrialist and congressman who was implicated in the Crdit Mobilier railroad scandal of 1872; and Governor-General of New Orleans Benjamin Franklin Butler, an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts. Its a shot from a YouTube video that itself is a fascinating time-capsule portrait of language change. Plimpton and Dudley were the parents of twin daughters Laura Dudley Plimpton and Olivia Hartley Plimpton. Ive lived in Boston for 30 years and have never heard a George Plimpton accent; so I guess it must be a Larchmont accent, *Originally posted by Carnac the Magnificent! He saw athletes as heroes he. I knew that between the time Id asked Plimpton to do the auction and the night itself, he had probably received five invitations for a better evening, but he would never have reneged.
Mona Abboud remembers George Plimpton - Orlando Sentinel Puss, and my father enjoyed nothing more than holding the beast high in the air and making strange, affectionate sounds in that distinguished voice: Yeanngghh, Puss Yeaannngh Puss Puss Puss.) He called my sister Puss, too, sometimes, though mostly I think with her it was Kiddo, which he also called me, though there was a period in which he occasionally called me Ernie, which was the dogs name. Middle class? George Plimpton Dec 1, 2014 In which the venturous author, the rawest rookie pro football has ever known, recounts all the excruciating details of what happened when he called five plays as. Was this sheer affectation? He was "George Plimpton"-editor, host . * [28], Plimpton was a demolitions expert in the post-World War II Army. He had, for instance, a series of antiquated phrases and terms of affection. My dad and I could not lose each other, but we could never quite find each other, either. Several weeks later at a book party, he spotted two writers who had played in that game. If you listen to Grossman (who is originally from Boston) starting about 15 seconds into the clip below, youll see that he uses a split-the-difference UK/US hybrid that is literally mid-Atlantic, in the sense of combining accents from both countries, but is different from the newsreel announcer voice: You should talk to William Labov [JF: I will try] , pioneering sociolinguist, whose landmark study into New York City speech led him to ask the same question you have. (This is not to belittle Lowell Thomas, but to recognize the artifice that served him so well in his career). And bolstering this last point, a reader who grew up in Depression-era Chicago writes: All I can think of is that people were imitating FDR. After several problems with transporting and preparing the fireworks, Plimpton and Grucci became the first competitors from the United States to win the event. In that vein, here is an oral biography of George Plimpton. He was one of her original supporters and had published an article about her work in The Paris Review. There was intellectual heft in the Plimpton genes too: one Ames was a Professor of Botany, another was Governor of Massachusetts, another relation was a publisher, and yet another a writer-philanthropist fascinated with the subject of how the great figures of the past were educated Young Georges educational path was precisely that of a Hed ask what was new in fireworks business and doodle around the facility with my dad, and he would always leave with a package of fireworks, to put on his own show. George . Consider his duties as host of Mousterpiece Theatre (my first intro to my father as celebrity), a childrens TV show in which he debated the adventures and psyches of Donald Duck and Goofy in that marvelously serious voice: Is Donald Duck really a strident existentialist and a hero? How wonderfulwhat fun!to have a constant reminder emerging from your lips that life was absurd, and identity, too; all of it a great game to be played at, enjoyed. He very much approved. These interviews are a collaborative effort, and, I believe, a fascinating contribution to literary history. I think the term Old Money or patrician pretty much says it. The list of authors interviewed is extraordinary, and stretches from Hemingway years ago to Amy Hempel (in the 50th anniversary issue that has just been published). A lordly accent acquired at St. Bernard's and burnished later at Cambridge, in England, enhanced his distinguished aura, as did elevated stature and a silver head of hair which might have encouraged a career in politics but mercifully did not. Were taking off from Teterburo, N.J., at 4 a.m. tomorrow. The Paris Review was a testimony to his literary taste and his sense of glamour. #1 was Who Was the Last American to Speak This Way, #3 is Class-War Edition, and #4 is The Origin Story., Who Was the Last American to Speak This Way. How widespread, numerically and geographically? The film used archival audio and video of Plimpton lecturing and reading to create a posthumous narration. Above all, he was a gentleman, one of the lasta figure so archaic, it could be easily mistaken for something else. A little before my time, but Kennedy certainly didnt, even if his vernacular was more formal than Brandos. 1 draft choice of the Lions in 1965. *Originally posted by Phlosphr * [32] When lit, the firework remained on the ground and exploded, blasting a crater 35 feet (11m) wide and 10 feet (3.0m) deep. My fathers voice was like one of those supposedly extinct deep-sea creatures that wash up on the shores of Argentina every now and then. After running the pilot, Rod Serling realized the narration needed a less pompous sounding and more natural voice himself. The Sidd Finch story was accompanied by a series of photos which managed to convince even the eagle-eyed fans .
George Plimpton: what kind of accent? - Straight Dope Message Board What was our problem? Bill Buckley, Gore Vidal, George Plimpton. Ever. Realizing that I probably didnt know anyone, George took me around the room to introduce me to his guestsWilliam Styron, Norman Mailer, Robert Stone, and Gay Talese among them. And so fuck was definitely out of the question, but what about I love you? Ill pick you up., I had a hard time sleeping that night, as you might imagine.
George Plimpton Biography - life, family, children, wife, school, son Harvard (where he edited the Lampoon), Kings College, Wed gone to dinner and the maitre d comes over and says, Felix, I got a call for you from Monaco., I pick up the phone, and I hear Georges Bostonian accent. I only wish I could not tell him again, just one more time. George Plimpton is beautifully connected. This kept his magazine fresh for 50 years.
My Father's Voice | The New Yorker George Plimpton | The New Yorker The s. Of the Murrow Boys, Eric Sevareid held on to the newsreel style the longest; relying on memory, Im betting that we could actually watch the transition away from that to a more vernacular style in the long career of Walter Cronkite.
George Plimpton | About the Film | American Masters | PBS Indeed, the police deposition the filmmakers managed to uncover may be the only time my dad ever spoke about the tragedy, publicly or privately. But he would do this in the most charming and agreeable way. Ken Auletta, author:Sometime after age 70, when his reflexes dulled, George took to the sidelines in the Artists and Writers softball game in Easthampton, N.Y. Each year his name was announced, and each year he was hailed by the crowd, who paid more attention to him than to the game. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, which documents his life, adventures, and work as participatory journalist and editor of the Paris Review, my dad will be playing himself one more time. George Plimpton was a literary man about town who did it all, from co-founding The Paris Review to boxing (and dribbling and quarterbacking) with the pros. (My dads been dead nearly ten years: not that he held many in his life, but what grudges could he possibly be holding on to now? "[44], In 2006, the musician Jonathan Coulton wrote the song entitled "A Talk with George", a part of his 'Thing a Week' series, in tribute to Plimpton's many adventures and approach to life.
George A. Plimpton Papers, 1634-1956 | Rare Book & Manuscript Library Get a life. That was when Westbrook van Voorhis, the famous March of Time voice, did the intro narration of the pilot episode of The Twilight Zone. Archie Moore, after all, had broken his nose. . By George Plimpton. Firstly, then-managing director of SI, Mark Mulvoy, gave Plimpton the liberty to create a hoax.Secondly, SI photographer Lane Stewart recruited his friend, Joe Berton to play the part of Sidd Finch. He has the same type of patrician upper-class New Yorker accent as Jane Wyatt. He hosted Disney Channel's Mouseterpiece Theater (a Masterpiece Theatre spoof which featured Disney cartoon shorts). He was also known for "participatory journalism," including accounts of his active involvement in professional sporting events, acting in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra[1] and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. We were both excitedId just come back from a weekend in Las Vegas, and hed just come back from celebrating the fortieth anniversary reunion of his Detroit Lions team at Ford Field, where the fans had given him a standing ovation, and he had raised his hatand for a moment we were no longer father and son, but just two big excited boys, each comparing adventures, and I could hear the pride in his voice, the happiness. You heard it and it. Plimpton didnt die. [17], In 1953, Plimpton joined the influential literary journal The Paris Review, founded by Peter Matthiessen, Thomas H. Guinzburg, and Harold L. "Doc" Humes, becoming its first editor in chief. Everything he did was like this, just a bit odd.
Being, And Appreciating, George Plimpton - krvs.org You should be very grateful. The Writers won the game with a home run in extra innings, but the highlight was Plimptons hit. Aldas version was always angry or consternated, like a character in a Woody Allen film, while my dad, though he certainly faced hurdles as an amateur in the world of the professional, bore his humiliations with a comic lightness and charmmuch of which emanated from that befuddled, self-deprecating professors voice. [Then] this August he showed up, pulled the shirt over his head, and said he was ready to bat. Here's a look inside the space, where the Paris Review editor hosted legendary parties. He looked like a very eccentric old Englishman.
Paris Review - Writers, Quotes, Biography, Interviews, Artists $ 9.19 - $ 32.19. The primary reason [for the accent] was primitive microphone technology: "natural" voices simply did not get picked up well by the microphones of the time, and people were instructed to and learned to speak in such a way that their words could be best transmitted through the microphone to the radio waves or to recording media. Katharine Hepburn spoke this way, on and off screen until she died. 2023 Cond Nast. These events were recalled in his best-known book Paper Lion, which was later adapted into the 1968 feature film starring Alan Alda. As Poling puts it, George was known as an unrivaled raconteur and, in making a film of his life story, it only seemed natural to allow him to tell it.. Back to Plimpton I dont remember the LL affect at all. A lifelong New Yorker, he never tasted a bagel or an olive, and he never chewed a stick of gum. After his discharge, Plimpton returned to Harvard and finished his undergraduate education. The enormously popular speech styles of Brando and Dean (and I could add Elvis Presley) clearly pushed vernacular style into a kind of mainstream acceptability, then desirability. That he died in his sleep was impressive.
George Plimpton - Rotten Tomatoes [29], His enthusiasm for fireworks grew, and he was appointed Fireworks Commissioner of New York by Mayor John Lindsay,[29][30] an unofficial post he held until his death. *Originally posted by cuauhtemoc * Besides, third is a very respectable showing! I think all the editors who worked at the magazine can recount a time when they ascended to his office to argue for a particular story that had been submitted, certain that George hadnt read it or hadnt read it closely enough, only to stand gape-mouthed as he reeled off, from memory, its every deficiency. What exactly is a Boston Brahmin accent?
George, Being George: George Plimpton's Life as Told, Admired, Deplored Tom Nowatzke, fullback, Detroit Lions (In the 1960s, Plimpton briefly played with the Detroit Lions asresearch for the best-selling book Paper Lion, which was later made into a film):I was the No. They were born to Plimpton and his second wife, Sarah Dudley, 26 years younger than he, who is chairwoman of the East Harlem Tutorial Program, for which he was a trustee. There was love thereactually, his inability to express it sometimes made him positively brim with itbut speak the words, his voice could not. That phony-baloney feigned British pronunciation thing. George Plimpton. It sounds like Somerset Maugham, was a favorite putdown. Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career. The guys here in Detroit treated him like one of us. He was very understanding of what we did and how we did it. Vault. I thought they were terrific. The 16th at Cypress Point is one of the famous golf holes of the world, certainly one of the most difficult and demanding par 3's. He also served as editor of the Harvard Lampoon. He got the personality totally wrong, too. Here are five things you may not have known about him. Over the years, we held a lot of dinner parties for him, and he brought a lot of people inmany, many writers. I just knew it was going to be something terrible. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. A few days after, I went to a Paris Review party and showed off my damaged nose and two black eyes to George. After St. Bernard's School, Plimpton attended Phillips Exeter Academy (from which he was expelled just shy of graduation), and Daytona Beach High School, where he received his high school diploma,[16] before entering Harvard College in July 1944. All rights reserved. In that regard, Plimpton is the perfect candidate, and the proof is in "George, Being George," the compulsively readable oral biography edited by his friend Nelson W. Aldrich Jr. 2) Truman v. Kaltenborn, 1949. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yogaand his future in baseball. And the many candidates for the crown of Last American to Speak This Way. Description above from the Wikipedia article George Plimpton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of . Future Poet Laureate Donald Hall, who had met Plimpton at Exeter, was Poetry Editor. He had it all going! **Those of us whose families are from Larchmont (that would be me) just call it lockjaw. Plimpton scowled, and said he was perfectly capable of running for himself. Timothy Seldes, George Plimptons literary agent:Whenever George wanted me to do something for him, he would call me up and say, Hello, Old Tim. One day, I got a call, and heard his voice, and my heart sank. Call me back.. [23] He was also notable for his appearance in television commercials during the early 1980s, including a memorable campaign for Mattel's Intellivision. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. George Plimpton (1927-2003) was a journalist and the first editor-in-chief of The Paris Review. *Originally posted by CBCD *
'Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself' review It was a hot, sweltering day. [19] Another sports book, Open Net, saw him train as an ice hockey goalie with the Boston Bruins, even playing part of a National Hockey League preseason game. . George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman.
Yes he is gone. But Labov said that in post-World War II New York, fancier people started becoming rhotic, and recovering their Rs. Even Orson Welles on occasion. I enjoy doing it. Thats it, George cried out. And George had written it straight. But the gentleman amateur - a Harvard. And I felt such love for my sweet old excited dad at that moment that I thought I would do him the favor of not telling him so, of leaving it unsaid. Sign up for the Books & Fiction newsletter. He was going to put on a reading of his play Zelda, Scott, and Ernest.
"Hut-Two-Three . . Ugh" A writer proves to be a Paper Lion at QB I dont give a rats ass about informing anyone about the death of Plimpton. In 1955 or 56, he went back to New York. He wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club, Pi Eta, the Signet Society, and the Porcellian Club. Shadow Box. A friend of the New England Sedgwick family, Plimpton edited Edie: An American Biography with Jean Stein in 1982. [2] His first wife, whom he married in 1968[38] and divorced in 1988, was Freddy Medora Espy, a photographer's assistant. Friends were almost always happy to see him because you knew he was bound to improve your mood. I have decided, he said, that I have got to jump from a plane. I do believe his accent was decidedly Swamp Yankee. Youll get another shot at the big time, trust me.
The Moth | The Art and Craft of Storytelling With such a useful explanation, why do I gripe about the name? We worked at the Paris Review on the Rue Garanere for several years together. From what other people had told me, I knew a little bit about itthat my father (and mother) had been right by Bobbys side in California when he was shot, that my father had tackled Sirhan Sirhan to the ground, and wrestled the gun from his handbut not a word of it came from my dad himself.