RIP thread

[Durhamfootman]

it didn't even occur to me that Gene Hackman was still alive

[sussexpob]

it didn't even occur to me that Gene Hackman was still alive

He was a prolific film maker up to the point he suddenly stopped abruptly at the end of the 90s. He then moved into the middle of nowhere and was a total recluse. There have always been rumours that he was seriously ill and had serious mental health issues, hence the fact that he so suddenly retired and disappeared. Was also something maybe 1 or 2 years ago where he suddenly turned up in public for the first time in years at a petrol station, looking rather dishevelled and apparently not in the slightest way lucid. I can't remember the details, but remember the articles concerned about his well-being from the time.

I remember being shocked mostly by his age - he was 95 (so would have been 93/94 at the time). I didn't think he was that old.

[sussexpob]

I haven't seen many of his films but tended to play a similar character, Lex Luthor apart

By memory, he was a prolific actor in the 1990s, and I get the "same same" thing - he did a lot of those action/thriller type throw away 90s blockbusters like Crimson Tide/Enemy of the State, etc that were essentially the same script and character set in various different situations.

I get the feeling Hackman did enough for his artistic cred early in his career to focus on making as much wonga as possible in later years. And then every now and then, do a film that would remind people he was a better actor than working with the likes of Will Smith.

[sussexpob]

I say that, but Will Smith won an Oscar. I guess that shows how mad the modern world is - Will Smith won an acting award.

Surely I am going to wake up a la Dallas at some point, and realise that was a bad dream and never happened.

[Gingerfinch]

I say that, but Will Smith won an Oscar. I guess that shows how mad the modern world is - Will Smith won an acting award.

Surely I am going to wake up a la Dallas at some point, and realise that was a bad dream and never happened.

He was good In The Pursuit Of Happyness

[Arthur Crabtree]

Casting is the crucial factor. He's good at doing Will Smith type roles.

[Durhamfootman]

Jack Vettriano 73

Jack Hoggen to some

I have 3 of his prints in the house.... singing butler (obviously), waltzers, and dance me to the end of love.
We went to an exhibition of his original paintings at the Kelvingrove museum a few years ago (maybe even 10 years ago). The owners names were like a who's who of everything. Clearly you needed a few quid to buy one.
I'm not a fan of the more 'erotic' style of paintings, although I did think it was to his credit that he used the same model throughout. It was quite interesting watching her age over time. I think that's what is meant by 'muse'.

I couldn't tell you when he last painted anything

[Durhamfootman]

3 years ago today that Shane Warne died

hard to believe it was 3 years ago

[Arthur Crabtree]

I'd have said ten years ago.

[Durhamfootman]

I thought 2 years

[sussexpob]

Eddie Jordan, 76....

I listen to his and Dave Coulthard's Drive to Success podcast on occasions, and didn't know he was ill. Prostate Cancer ....

Very much a unique character. I dont know if a night out with him would be enjoyable, or end in a punch up with him.

[Durhamfootman]

it's a bad week to be 76

George Foreman

is the rumble in the jungle still the most famous fight in boxing? not a sport I follow really. Who doesn't have one of his grills?

[Arthur Crabtree]

I watched that, on BBC I suppose, with Harry Carpenter. I'd have been ten. Managed what few sportspeople do, his life had a second act and one which doesn't involve feeding off the sport. RIP.

[sussexpob]

The easiest way to demonstrate Foreman's legacy in boxing is the fact that many boxing experts point to Ali beating Foreman as the deciding factor in making Ali the greatest fighter of all time. Many forget that Ali was a huge underdog in that fight, and that there is a 5-6 year period in Ali's prime where Foreman was rated the lineal champion and considered the better fighter. Of course, Ali won their only fight, but I couldn't imagine a harder environment for a sportstar to walk into - the Congo public sided with Ali, painted Foreman the enemy - Foreman and his team made many accusations about their preparations being sabotaged, the ring being interfered with, his water being spiked.... it could be all sour grapes, but what is clear is Ali had the advantage of a fanatic crowd and Foreman had the opposite. Was that the difference in deciding who was the greatest of all time?

In the history of boxing, I cannot think of many, if any, fights as impressive as Foreman's utter dismantling of Joe Frazier inside a few minutes. A man who fought Ali to the ground and was famous for having one the hardest granite chins arguably ever, put on his back by the first proper punch Foreman landed.... and then again permanently a few moments later. Has there ever been such a mis-match in a fight between two hall of fame, top 10 all time fighters?

If there are more impressive performances, then Foreman has more of his own to throw into the discussion. Taking a generational talent and biggest boxer of the era like Holyfield, who was still undefeated and at his zenith, 12 rounds in a fight that shocked many people how close it was - when Foreman was well passed 40.....

I guess the winner in the end is that Moorer fight. Its beyond comprehension that Foreman, who IIRC was 46-47 at the time, beat a hall of fame level fighter at his peak, who was nearly half his age and who had yet to be defeated with wins against other HOF level talents on his CV..... this is the stuff you expect in Rocky films, not reality. Even his last fight, when he was nearly 50, he was not disgraced by Shannon Briggs, another standout generation talent half his age.

They don't build boxers like this man anymore. One of my personal sporting heros..... RIP Champ

[sussexpob]

Managed what few sportspeople do, his life had a second act and one which doesn't involve feeding off the sport. RIP.

Considering how many of his contemporaries fell into drinking, abuse, problems with the law, died young or were left with crippling or life changing injuries, he was very lucky.

Some of that is luck, some of that is him. He fought to nearly 50, boxers dont do that if they don't have money troubles.... but he reinvented himself from being an arrogant, troubled man that was beaten by Jimmy Young and for all intense and purposes was finished in boxing in the late 70s, only to return years later having kept himself fit, found religion, and changed his personality to be humble. By the time he retired, he had the air of a likeable gentle giant.

It was that transformation, which he put down to his diet, which ended with the grills and his fortune. But he was 50 at that point...

The only other boxer from that era that escaped later life problems was Ken Norton... all the rest suffered greatly.