Wednesday, March 31, 2021

"Is THIS Your Idea Of A Dish??????????????"


                                    That line should have become as iconic as Glenn Close saying, "I'm not going to  be  IGNORED, Dan!"  Because "Play Misty For Me," was a better film, and one of the late Jessica Walter's signature roles.   I prefer this 1971 film,  and Evelyn Draper, to  "Fatal Attraction" and Alex Forrest, because everything in the  1987 film, from the costume desgin, to the art direction, and acting seemed so calculated and deliberate.  Whereas Jessica Walter brought a frightening spontaniety to "Play Misty For  Me" that communicated genuine insanity, rather than Close's social agenda.


                                      You just could not  get enough of  Jessica!


                                       Same with her as Libby in 1966's "The Group," or TV's "Amy Prentiss."  Time  and time again, Jessica showed a far wider range than she was ever credited for.   She made the roles she got her own, but they proved her far more worthy of more and  better roles,which she never got.

                            
                                         Alas, on March 24, Jessica left us, darlings!!!!!!!!!  May she rest in  peace!  And she left behind a memorable series of  performances.

                                              
                                          There would have been no "Fatal Attraction," if not for Jessica.  To think, this was 50 years ago, this year!

                     
                                            Fond  farewell,  Jessica.


                                            Guys will think twice about meeting girls in bars, after seeing her  as Evelyn!


                                              Take a look  at  this clip!  Genuinely scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 comments:

  1. AMEN!

    Love, love, LOVED Jessica! So underrated when she was younger, never attained the stardom and offers she deserved. Agreed: as much fun as Fatal Attraction was, Jessica's chilling "God, you're dumb!" still beats Glenn's campier "I won't be IGNORED!".

    Irks me no end that all her sly subtle performances of the 70s and 80s were completely buried and forgotten in favor of the mystifying cult series "Arrested Development". She's excellent in that, sure, but the series is the definition of "acquired taste". The sort of thing the press falls all over praising but you never encounter anyone in real life who actually watched it and liked it. The only genuine laugh it ever gave me was the bitch slap rivalry between Jessica Walter and Liza Minelli (who was so staggeringly out of her depth on this show you couldn't take your eyes off her, as if Krusty The Klown stumbled into Fawlty Towers).

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  2. My Dear,

    I never saw Jessica's TV ventures,
    or maybe just in pieces. She was
    never showcased in a way that made
    me want to tune in--she should have
    had a show of her own. Even hosted
    SNL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    But then look at Betsy Palmer. She did
    Tennessee Williams on stage, and what is
    she remembered for? "Friday The 13th!!!!!!!!!!"

    An acotr never knows where his career will
    take him. Which is why I am still waiting!

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