Synopses & Reviews
In this superb collection of essays edited by Luc Sante, author of
Lowlife, and Melissa Holbrook Pierson, writers as diverse as John Updike, Patti Smith, and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Simic pay to homage the famous and the lesser known actors (some megastars, some lesser lights) who illuminate our Hollywood dreams.
From a side-splitting tribute to Elmer Fudd to an earnest lament at the absence of great fat actors today, O.K. You Mugs is a dazzling anthology that focuses on those remarkable talents who gave some of the most memorable performances in the history of Hollywood. These essays are sure to delight any reader who claims to care about the movies.
Including:
- Jacqueline Carey on Margaret Dumont
- Dana Gioia on Movie Fat Men
- David Hajdu on Elmer Fudd
- Greil Marcus on J.T Walsh
- Patti Smith on Jeanne Moreau
- Charles Simic on Gene Tierney
- John Updike on Doris Day
Review
"O.K. You Mugs ends up celebrating the word as much as the image." Time Out New York
Review
"[A] stylish ode to characters bigger than life." Library Journal
Review
"I plead for a follow-up volume." The San Diego Union-Tribune
Synopsis
O.K. You Mugs is a smart and stylish anthology of original writings on character actors some famous, others not who have left indelible marks on the movies and our imaginations.
About the Author
Luc Sante is the author of
Low Life, Evidence, and
The Factory of Facts and coeditor, with Melissa Holbrook Pierson, of
O.K. You Mugs: Writers on Movie Actors.
Melissa Holbrook Pierson is the author of the acclaimed Dark Horses and Black Beauties and The Perfect Vehicle. She lives in Kingston, New York, with her husband, writer Luc Sante, and their son.
Table of Contents
Timothy Carey by Chris Tsakis
Mitchum Gets Out of Jail by Dave Hickey
Endless Melody Starring by Jonathan Williams
Barbara Payton: A Memoir by Robert Polito
Dana Andrews, or the Male Mask by Geoffrey O'Brien
Liz Taylor by Ginny Dougary
Warren Oates, 1928-1982 by Melissa Holbrook Pierson
Jeanne Moreau by Patti Smith
The Decline of the Actor by Manny Farber
Madhur Jaffrey by Patricia Storace
Tom and Jerry Graduate From High School by Ron Padgett
J.T. Walsh by Greil Marcus
Dan Duryea by Frank Kogan
Shined Shoes by Stuart Klawans
Suzie Creamcheese Speaks by John Updike
With Gene Tierney in Paris by Charles Simic
Golly: On Jean Authur by Mark Rudman
Thelma Ritter by Linda Yablonsky
Rogues' Gallery by Luc Sante
Elmer Fudd by David Hajdu
Warner Bros.' Fat Men by Dana Gioia
Franklin Pangborn: An Apologia by Siri Hustvedt
Robert Carlyle by Malu Halasa
Margaret Dumont by Jacqueline Carey
Angelo Rossitto by Michael J. Weldon
Afterword by Chris Offutt