Banksy reveals himself to the public and gives us an exciting glimpse into his day to day life
Finally! And such an ordinary chap.
Finally! And such an ordinary chap.
Many actors are superstitious. Some like Peter Bull kept a collection of Teddy bears to bring him good luck; others like Jack Lemmon said the words, “It’s magic time,” before filming each scene. But few have ever been quite as obsessed with superstitions and the occult as comedy genius, Peter Sellers.
Sellers’ introduction to the Occult came via fellow Goon, Michael Bentine, the “Watford-born Peruvian,” who had grown-up in a household where seances and table-turning were regularly practiced. Not long after they first met, Bentine told Sellers of his psychic abilities - how during the Second World War, when Bentine served in the Royal Air Force, he had been able to tell which of his comrades would die before a bombing mission. Bentine claimed if he saw a skull instead of his colleague’s features, then he knew this person would be killed. How often Bentine was correct in these predictions is not known. No matter, Sellers was greatly impressed by the shock-haired comic and was soon obsessed with all things paranormal.
From then on, Sellers collected superstitions, as easily as others collect stamps. He refused to wear green or act with anyone dressed in the color. If anyone gave him something sharp, he gave them a penny. He read his horoscopes every day so he would always know what he should do.
Sellers often said he had no idea who he was: “If you ask me to play myself, I will not know what to do. I do not know who or what I am.” This was his way of renouncing any responsibility for his actions. He claimed he found comfort and stability in consulting clairvoyants and fortune tellers, which again only underlines the fact he did know who he was - a control freak, who wanted power over his future. It was inevitable, therefore, that once under the spell of sooth-sayers and psychics, Sellers was open to fraudsters, tricksters and con-men.
The clairvoyant who had most influence over his life was Maurice Woodruff, the famed TV and newspaper astrologer, whose syndicated column reached over fifty million people at the height of his career. Woodruff received over 5,000 letters a week, asking for advice and had a Who’s Who of of celebrity clients, including composer Lionel Bart and actor Diana Dors. Woodruff had famously predicted the death of President John F. Kennedy and the end of the Vietnam War. Sellers was devoted to Woodruff, consulting him before he accepted any film roles, and regularly had tarot readings performed over the telephone. But Woodruff was heavily in debt and open to the persuasion of earning a little cash when film studios asked him to suggest film scripts to Sellers.
One famous tale, recounts how Woodruff was asked to suggest the initials of director Blake Edwards as being very important to Sellers. Unfortunately, Sellers failed to connect ‘B.E.’ with the famous Hollywood director. On return to the Dorchetser Hotel, his usual residence when in London, Sellers was smitten by the sight of a beautiful, young blonde-haired woman at reception. When he enquired who was this vision of loveliness, he was told Britt Ekland. Sellers recalled Woodruff’s prediction and married Ekland within weeks.
More on the paranormal Peter Sellers plus bonus clip after the jump…
Above, Iott and pals indulging in some good clean Third Reich fun!
Rich Iott, the Tea party favored Republican candidate for Ohio’s 9th Congressional district, found himself in the unenvious position yesterday of having to defend himself against The Atlantic’s revelation that he—get this—donned a NAZI UNIFORM to play act in WWII recreations a few years back. Not to fear, Iott’s got a whole mess of rightwing blowhards blogging in his defense, because, as Charles Johnson writes at Little Green Footballs, “this kind of thing really isn’t a problem for them.”
No, but it might be a problem for, I dunno, Jewish voters in his district and, let’s face it, anyone WITH HALF A BRAIN who MIGHT BE UNCOMFORTABLE voting for a politician whose judgement is so incredibly poor that he CHOSE to wear, and be photographed in, a Nazi uniform, for any reason whatsoever (professional actors aside).
It’s simply amazing to me how many skeletons (and now Nazi uniforms) are falling out of the Tea party candidate’s closets as we get closer to election day. To me, this idiot Iott and his NAZI UNIFORM are a STRIKING REMINDER OF WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH IN THIS COUNTRY.
Tea baggers, I ask you: Do you see yourself in the below clip (taken from UK sketch comedy series That Mitchell and Webb Look)? And if so, which character do you most identify with?
From the creator of Airplane, A Melodrama!:
There is an apocryphal story of Groucho Marx meeting the Pope. On being introduced, the Pope said ‘Thank You Mr Marx for all the humour you have put into the world.’
Groucho replied ‘And thank you for all the humour you have taken out of the world’.
‘Airplane, A Melodrama!’ is a re-edit of one of the funniest films of all time with all the gags taken out.
(via BB Submitterator)
PWSNT posts examples of white people using the “N” word on Facebook. Check out the fool selling his blood for $ and bitching about the nurse as if she is the reason for his problems and the 18-year-old idiot, racist serviceman representing Americans abroad…
Thank you Chris Campion of Berlin, Germany!
Wunderbar! If this guy was really running for office, I would vote for him!
A mashup of a 50s instructional film on dating and Star Wars. Quite funny.
You can be sure that the next chapter of media star Christine O’Donnell’s career—the one that starts after she loses her bid for a Senate seat—will be even bigger than the one she’s writing with the media’s help now.
But her campaign evokes the limits of populist-driven politics, which is where your man Jay Smooth comes in. Jay is the founder of NYC’s longest-running hip-hop radio show, WBAI’s Underground Railroad. He’s also a hip-hop generation activist and has also made a name as a grassroots common-sense political commentator for both his own Nil Doctrine and the Giant magazine blog.
It’s for the latter that he gives his perspective on why “I’m you” falls flat as a political meme.
It’s a time of the year even better than Christmas in the Metzger household, as my comedic heros, the legendary Firesign Theatre will once again be playing a three-day residency in Los Angeles, Oct 21,22,23, at the Barnsdall Gallery Theater and performing my personal favorite album of theirs, I Think We’re All Bozos On This Bus, in its entirety. YES!
Later this week, on October 8, the “4 or 5 crazy guys” will be performing at the Marin Center Showcase Theater, San Rafael, CA and Oct 9, at the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, CA. Don’t miss them if you are in the area(s)!!!
Get tickets at Firesign Theatre.com
