Dirk 'Faceman' Benedict brings Columbo to Llandudno, Wales
- Thread starter Dusty Ayres
- Start date
Nothing says Columbo quite like LLandudno, Wales.
Dirk sure sounds full of himself at that link, I'm not quite sure he's earned that arrogance from what I've seen at least.
Dirk sure sounds full of himself at that link, I'm not quite sure he's earned that arrogance from what I've seen at least.
Benedict as Columbo? Wow, how time can change a man. It's hard to imagine the Dirk Benedict I grew watching, the one who played roguish, too-handsome charmers like Starbuck and Faceman, fitting into a role like Columbo, the rumpled, middle-aged, comfortably married detective. The only thing they have in common is the cigar.
True, there have been various interpretations of the Columbo of Prescription: Murder, and even Peter Falk's Columbo in the TV-movie adaptation of that play was a lot less rumpled and cuddly than he later became. But it would be hard to do an interpretation of Columbo today that wasn't influenced by Falk, I think. (Though now that I read the article, I see that Benedict wasn't familiar with Falk's Columbo, but ended up coming close anyway, perhaps through cultural osmosis. And the article's writer was familiar with neither the spelling of Falk's name nor the concept of fact-checking. Honestly, article writer, how hard can it be to type "Peter Faulk" into Google and let it suggest the correct spelling? Research is so easy these days that there's just no excuse for making such a glaring error.)
And I don't think it's arrogance for someone who's been typecast as a pretty face to say "I'm a good actor." I think it's more just standing up for himself, saying that he wants to be judged for his skill and not his appearance.
True, there have been various interpretations of the Columbo of Prescription: Murder, and even Peter Falk's Columbo in the TV-movie adaptation of that play was a lot less rumpled and cuddly than he later became. But it would be hard to do an interpretation of Columbo today that wasn't influenced by Falk, I think. (Though now that I read the article, I see that Benedict wasn't familiar with Falk's Columbo, but ended up coming close anyway, perhaps through cultural osmosis. And the article's writer was familiar with neither the spelling of Falk's name nor the concept of fact-checking. Honestly, article writer, how hard can it be to type "Peter Faulk" into Google and let it suggest the correct spelling? Research is so easy these days that there's just no excuse for making such a glaring error.)
And I don't think it's arrogance for someone who's been typecast as a pretty face to say "I'm a good actor." I think it's more just standing up for himself, saying that he wants to be judged for his skill and not his appearance.
It's nice that he got a job. Now maybe he'll shut the fuck up.
Dusty Ayres
Commodore
I would love to see this version of Prescription: Murder make a North American appearance, and appear here as dinner theater; it's time for a new version of Columbo anyway.
I find his attitude very annoying, since he himself is starring in a remake of sorts when he's doing this play.
You're pissing him off and kind of making his point for him...
I find his attitude very annoying, since he himself is starring in a remake of sorts when he's doing this play.
You're pissing him off and kind of making his point for him...
Nardpuncher
Rear Admiral
Yeah, people usually don't mention that they've been told they're good looking that many times. Kind of weird.
Hmm, well, kidding aside, there's no reason why the detective character in Prescription: Murder absolutely has to be male, provided you're not doing it as a period piece. It could be an interesting variation to explore, and Sackhoff certainly has the acting chops and the rough edges to pull it off. That could be interesting to watch. If it were set in the present, you wouldn't even need to change the references to Columbo's wife (since New York, the original setting of the play, and California, the revised setting of the TV movie and series, both recognize same-sex marriage even though neither currently performs it).
I would cry geeky tears if Peter Falk would rip Dirk Bennedict a new one for daring to reprise his classic role, turning a family friendly masterpiece into an abomination Or casting a girl.
The play just finished a run in Belfast. I didn't see it or any reviews for it but benedict seems to have charmed the local press (especially the female interviewers).
Curiously enough, he reckons that while he met Peter Falk on the set of Universal while Falk was making Columbo and Dirk BSG, he's never seen an episode of Columbo and that therefore his take on the character will be all his, not influenced by the original.
Despite the initial 'Huh?' that the thought of handsome Face/ Starbuck essaying rumpled Columbo, in the promo pics, he actually looks reasonably like the character. And I can imagine him saying 'Just one more thing' in that slightly odd delivery of his.
Incidentally, the part of Columbo was originally written for Bing Crosby.
Curiously enough, he reckons that while he met Peter Falk on the set of Universal while Falk was making Columbo and Dirk BSG, he's never seen an episode of Columbo and that therefore his take on the character will be all his, not influenced by the original.
Despite the initial 'Huh?' that the thought of handsome Face/ Starbuck essaying rumpled Columbo, in the promo pics, he actually looks reasonably like the character. And I can imagine him saying 'Just one more thing' in that slightly odd delivery of his.
Incidentally, the part of Columbo was originally written for Bing Crosby.
Not quite. The character first appeared in "Enough Rope," an installment of NBC's The Chevy Mystery Show written by Richard Levinson and William Link, and was played by Bert Freed. ("Enough Rope" was based on Levinson & Link's prose story "May I Come In," but that story ended just before the detective entered.) L&L then expanded "Enough Rope" into the play Prescription: Murder, which toured the country with Thomas Mitchell playing Columbo to critical acclaim. By the time the play was developed into a TV movie, Mitchell had passed away. L&L's first choice for the role was Lee J. Cobb, though Bing Crosby was also on their list of suggestions (because they were looking for someone reminiscent of Mitchell with his Irish charm). Both actors were unavailable or uninterested. An aquaintance of L&L, Peter Falk, was campaigning for the role, but L&L thought he was too young. Finally, the film's producer Richard Irving convinced them that Falk would be "passable" as Columbo. (Source: The Columbo Phile by Mark Dawidziak (The Mysterious Press, 1989), pp. 20-23.)
^ You didn't read the poster closely enough, it finished on Friday or Saturday past.