Entertainment desk
< August 4	<< Jul \| August \| Sep >>	August 6 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Entertainment Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

August 5[edit]

classics[edit]

In of newspaper actor/actress biographies there would often be a line about so-and-so being "classically-trained". What does it actually mean, and why are so so many British actors (off the top of my head: Ian McKellen, Kenneth Branagh...) like this when compared to Americans? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.240.186.7 (talk) 00:35, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It means they started out learning and performing Shakespeare and the like, not doing TV commercials for Twinkies. StuRat (talk) 03:25, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a website that touches on it: [1]. Keilana|^{Parlez ici} 03:33, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Also, I believe the culture for actors here (UK) is very different to that of USA. From my actor friends, there seems to be a feeling of "selling out" if you actually make money from being an actor, as that's not what it's about. Rather, it's about the love of art and all that nonsense (personal opinion obviously). Anyway, it seems to be a dream of many to perform in one of Shakespeare's lead roles (like Richard III (play)) in a small theatre like one in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I might even go into the fact that one of the requirements in american acting seems to be good look... but then I'm stereotyping, and that's not really fair! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Worm That Turned (talk • contribs) 07:57, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder how they feel about Patrick Stewart then - not only making money off of it, but going from doing Shakespeare, from what I recall, to Star Trek. (Of course, if he'd become one of the doctors in Doctor Who instead, perhaps all would be forgiven for his "selling out" :-)209.244.187.155 (talk) 20:22, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

But he has kept up the classical acting as well: that might be mitigating. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 20:33, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that mitigation was what I was trying to get across. As long as the actor stays humble and lets other actors believe that his first passion is theatre, then he'll keep the respect of other actors. Patrick Steward is (I believe) a fellow of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and currently playing in Hamlet, against David Tennant - current Doctor... I personally wonder what they think of Michael Caine, who is undoubtably a fine actor, but is not classically trained and even admits doing bad films 'just for the money' (remember to sign this time....)--WORM | MЯOW 07:37, 6 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Tennant is also a member of the RSC - he did two seasons with them earlier in his career. Exxolon (talk) 00:13, 7 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Laurence Olivier was undoubtedly a classically-trained actor, arguably the finest ever, and his great passion was the theatre. He was the inaugural artistic director of the Royal National Theatre, so his credentials are impeccable. He also made some great movies - but he also made some absolute stinkers (The Prince and the Showgirl and The Jazz Singer come to mind), and when asked why he stooped so low, he said he needed the money. I think there's a lot of tosh spoken about humility and acting for purely altruistic reasons. Actors are humans too, and they have to feed their families etc; there's nothing wrong with accepting a very well-paid role (whether it's theatre, film, or daytime TV soaps) if it's a way of furthering one's acting skills. I can't imagine someone like Olivier taking on a project he believed would be awful, but one never knows with these things, and most aspects of a production are, or prove to be, out of the actors' hands. Respect comes from one's personal qualities as a human being, not whether one chooses to only take on low-paying work and spurn all more lucrative offers on some dubious and unrealistic principle. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:08, 6 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Star Trek was far from Patrick Stewart's first prominent TV job! —Tamfang (talk) 05:53, 7 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There are various ways for actors to approach their roles; in method acting they focus on an emotional identification with the character etc., in a "classical" actor's training the foundation is technique, get the accent right, where do you breath in a twenty line soliloquy, that kind of thing (of course there is a lot of overlap between the different styles). The difference is perhaps best exemplified by the famous story about Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman on the set of Marathon Man; when Olivier saw how Hoffman prepared himself for the role of an exhausted long distance runner by actually running for hours before every scene, he asked: "But Dustin, why don't you just pretend?" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.171.56.13 (talk) 10:52, 6 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You can learn more at the Classical acting article. NewzealanderA (talk) 23:08, 20 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

baywatch[edit]

Can you please tell me where to find all seasons of baywatch on internet for free. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.37.5.171 (talk) 12:36, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'd think it unlikely they're out there in a form that's not copyright-infringing, but you might check Hulu. I don't know how extensive their back catalog has become. — Lomn 13:07, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Try Mininova or isoHunt. 20I.170.20 (talk) 17:05, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Why does Chuck Lorre use Sheldon and Leonard names in his shows?[edit]

Just curious if anyone knows the relationship between Chuck Lorre and Sheldon Leonard?Pizanadu (talk) 17:51, 5 August 2008 (UTC) The reason I'm asking is because on Two and a Half Men, Judith's parents are named Sheldon and Lenora. On The Big Bang Theory, the 2 main characters are Sheldon and Leonard.[reply]

Tom Shales seems to think that he did it as an homage to Leonard, which seems plausible. Recury (talk) 20:19, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The Little Gym song[edit]

At The Little Gym, they sing some songs that use melodies from other songs, with their words. My daughter wants to know what the real words are to one of their songs, and I can't remember, even though I feel like I know it. Unfortunately, I don't know how to write music, so I can't tell you what the melody is. The words are:

How do you do,
you Funny Bugs,
How do you do?
*clap* *clap*

How do you do,
you Funny Bugs,
How do you do?
*clap* *clap*

Oh, we'll get you on the run,
and we'll have lots of fun

How do you do,
you Funny Bugs,
How do you do?
*clap* *clap*

I know that's not much to go on, but I thought I'd try anyway. Mokey (talk) 18:49, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any chance that you could use something like this online labelled keyboard to work out some of the notes? Just to give us a lead? Perhaps if you could work out how to play a tiny bit of the tune, you could tell us which notes (by letter) you used. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 20:31, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Is it If You're Happy And You Know It? -- KathrynLybarger (talk) 20:41, 5 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

O_O It fits perfectly. Obviously we'll have to wait until Mokey replies, but I'm impressed. 79.66.32.107 (talk) 15:48, 6 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]