George Segal (1934-2021)

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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

George Segal (1934-2021)

#1 Post by Ribs » Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:33 pm


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domino harvey
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Re: Passages

#2 Post by domino harvey » Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:54 pm

One of the great unsung 60s/70s actors. Highly recommend him in Rollercoaster, which conforms a would-be rote thriller into a highlight reel for his star persona

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Passages

#3 Post by knives » Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:04 pm

He’s got to be the king of unlikely sex symbols of the ‘70s with him leading so many sincere romances with the appropriately titled Loving being my favorite. I also adore him in King Rat for a rare purely dramatic role.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Passages

#4 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:14 pm

His perf in California Split is one of the best addict performances ever, and he helps earn the esoteric revelation in part because of his subtlety in embodying a realistic addict. Segal also gives one of my favorite comic movie lines ever:
SpoilerShow
"God damn it lady, you don't throw oranges on an escalator!"

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swo17
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Re: Passages

#5 Post by swo17 » Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:17 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Tue Mar 23, 2021 8:54 pm
One of the great unsung 60s/70s actors. Highly recommend him in Rollercoaster, which conforms a would-be rote thriller into a highlight reel for his star persona
Seconded. I also love The Hot Rock

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: Passages

#6 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:26 pm

California Split is probably my favorite American film of the 70s in great part to his performance. Don’t forget his manic mamma’s boy in Where’s Poppa? A real loss.

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deathbird
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Re: Passages

#7 Post by deathbird » Tue Mar 23, 2021 10:25 pm

Porno Password!

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bearcuborg
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Re: Passages

#8 Post by bearcuborg » Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:52 pm

I love many of the films everyone listed, but I’d like give a shout-out to The Owl and the Pussycat.

beamish14
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Re: Passages

#9 Post by beamish14 » Wed Mar 24, 2021 12:33 am

I'm hugely fond of Segal's performance in Irvin Kershner's Loving from 1970 opposite Eva Marie Saint. It's quietly shattering, and he really makes you empathize with someone who's essentially a complete asshole. I'll always remember him as another smarmy lothario in Amy Heckerling's Look Who's Talking, too.

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JSC
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Re: Passages

#10 Post by JSC » Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:26 am

Also, a shout out for his unusual roles in The Quiller Memorandum and Mike Hodges' The Terminal Man.

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Fiery Angel
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Re: Passages

#11 Post by Fiery Angel » Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:22 am

Segal effortlessly made forgettable comedies like The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (an HBO mainstay circa '77), Fun with Dick and Jane, The Last Married Couple in America, and A Touch of Class (why did Glenda Jackson win the Oscar and Segal not even get nominated?) watchable. RIP.

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Randall Maysin
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Re: George Segal (1934-2021)

#12 Post by Randall Maysin » Wed Mar 24, 2021 12:32 pm

His only Oscar nomination is for his not very good turn in Virginia Woolf. Imdb sez there's basically no recognition at all for his best work--Loving, Born to Win, the Altman, Rollercoaster, Stick...I just loved his face, what a wonderful, empathic, likable, expressive, attractive, but not excessively or alienatingly so, face for a movie star he had when he was young. He didn't age too great, and neither did his career unfortunately. I liked his gracefulness and the lightness of his, however cranky sometimes, persona--he had a bit of a ritziness to him that was very pleasant (and reminds me a little of Saeed Jaffrey....maybe its just me!!). If Pauline Kael's dream of a true revitalization of the American film musical in the 70s had actually happened, he might have been a good pick to star in some (I don't actually know if he can sing or dance...). I loved his guest appearance on "Larry Sanders", bemoaning his later career. ("What's happening with your new film...?" "It's in the can." "When is it being released?" "I don't know"...and so on for the rest of his new straight-to-video movies, and several of his ex-wives!) Rest in peace.

beamish14
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Re: George Segal (1934-2021)

#13 Post by beamish14 » Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:51 pm

Randall Maysin wrote:
Wed Mar 24, 2021 12:32 pm
His only Oscar nomination is for his not very good turn in Virginia Woolf. Imdb sez there's basically no recognition at all for his best work--Loving, Born to Win, the Altman, Rollercoaster, Stick...I just loved his face, what a wonderful, empathic, likable, expressive, attractive, but not excessively or alienatingly so, face for a movie star he had when he was young. He didn't age too great, and neither did his career unfortunately. I liked his gracefulness and the lightness of his, however cranky sometimes, persona--he had a bit of a ritziness to him that was very pleasant (and reminds me a little of Saeed Jaffrey....maybe its just me!!). If Pauline Kael's dream of a true revitalization of the American film musical in the 70s had actually happened, he might have been a good pick to star in some (I don't actually know if he can sing or dance...). I loved his guest appearance on "Larry Sanders", bemoaning his later career. ("What's happening with your new film...?" "It's in the can." "When is it being released?" "I don't know"...and so on for the rest of his new straight-to-video movies, and several of his ex-wives!) Rest in peace.

He really had a complete 180 as an actor that was cemented with Fun with Dick and Jane, much like Leslie Nielsen (although not to quite the same extreme). I'm not really partial to it, but my niece and nephew are obsessed with The Goldbergs, which has been a consistent ratings success for quite a while now.

Are there any fans of Bye Bye Braverman here? It's interesting in that he's part of an ensemble of Jewish actors, and it's one of his few roles where he plays an explicitly Jewish character.

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colinr0380
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Re: George Segal (1934-2021)

#14 Post by colinr0380 » Wed Mar 24, 2021 2:02 pm

Following beamish14, I also want to put in a word for his great role in recent years in The Goldbergs series as the playboy grandfather. His attempt to reignite his grandson's sense of childlike wonder through the unfortunate choice of Howard The Duck is a highlight.

Segal's character also got a great send off in the Roland Emmerich disaster film 2012. And I would really love to see his starring role in the Michael Crichton adaptation The Terminal Man get a Blu-ray release.
Last edited by colinr0380 on Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Mr Sheldrake
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Re: George Segal (1934-2021)

#15 Post by Mr Sheldrake » Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:32 am

Blume in Love is another Segal title I’d love to see come to blu-ray. Bye Bye Braverman is another. I saw that when it came out and loved it but it has virtually disappeared. Even Sidney Lumet disparaged it.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: George Segal (1934-2021)

#16 Post by beamish14 » Thu Mar 25, 2021 10:17 am

Mr Sheldrake wrote:
Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:32 am
Blume in Love is another Segal title I’d love to see come to blu-ray. Bye Bye Braverman is another. I saw that when it came out and loved it but it has virtually disappeared. Even Sidney Lumet disparaged it.
Braverman is out on a pretty decent-looking Warner Archive DVD, and it's screened a number of times on Turner Classic Movies.

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