|
|
Post by topbilled on Nov 3, 2022 15:34:20 GMT
I've done my best to avoid B pictures. Why should I go into them now and call it television?
***
Quote comes from Robert Preston, who explained why he never took a role on a TV series (though he did do some high-profile TV movies at the end of his career).
|
|
|
|
Post by mrminiver on Nov 10, 2022 6:36:15 GMT
I've done my best to avoid B pictures. Why should I go into them now and call it television?
***
Quote comes from Robert Preston, who explained why he never took a role on a TV series (though he did do some high-profile TV movies at the end of his career).
Admittedly I'm not very familiar with Preston's career other than the obvious. Seems like a hypocritical statement based on his bio. When did he make this statement? Looks like almost half his career was on TV. I get the sentiment but it's not a reality for most. You still need to pay the bills. Plenty of TV that was much better than a lot of film over the years. I'm assuming this must be a quote from early in his career since his first TV credit is from 1949. Perhaps he didn't realize the actual world he lived in or overestimated his worth? |
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Nov 10, 2022 15:04:09 GMT
I've done my best to avoid B pictures. Why should I go into them now and call it television?
***
Quote comes from Robert Preston, who explained why he never took a role on a TV series (though he did do some high-profile TV movies at the end of his career).
Admittedly I'm not very familiar with Preston's career other than the obvious. Seems like a hypocritical statement based on his bio. When did he make this statement? Looks like almost half his career was on TV. I get the sentiment but it's not a reality for most. You still need to pay the bills. Plenty of TV that was much better than a lot of film over the years. I'm assuming this must be a quote from early in his career since his first TV credit is from 1949. Perhaps he didn't realize the actual world he lived in or overestimated his worth?
I don't know when the quote/interview occurred, but I suspect that it was in the 1960s, when a lot of his contemporaries had seen their movie careers diminish and were forced to take starring roles on television. He never had his own weekly series, though he did appear in a TV miniseries in 1979 and did a few high-profile TV movies in the 1980s.
He was luckier than most. He experienced a career resurgence in the 1960s which meant good movie roles were still coming his way...and that renewed success carried him into the 70s and 80s.
It was probably fashionable for some stars to keep looking down on TV. But I agree with you, that as the television evolved, some very fine work was being done in the new medium. Some miniseries and TV movies are better than what wound up showing at the local cinema. |
|
|
|
Post by dianedebuda on Nov 11, 2022 0:16:06 GMT
IIRC, that was the sentiment of many entertainers during the 50s & 60s. If you were in movies, it was a step backwards to appear on TV in anything other than a Johnny Carson-type show. And TV performers looked at it as a stepping stone to get into the movies. Funny thing was that there were some real quality shows as well as junk being shown then.
|
|
|
|
Post by mrminiver on Nov 20, 2022 11:11:21 GMT
Yes. He didn't make any films from 1952 to 1955, and during that time he was guest-starring a lot on those live anthology series...probably because most of them were produced in New York where he was doing stage work. And as you say, they paid the bills.
I don't know when the quote/interview occurred, but I suspect that it was in the 1960s, when a lot of his contemporaries had seen their movie careers diminish and were forced to take starring roles on television. He never had his own weekly series, though he did appear in a TV miniseries in 1979 and did a few high-profile TV movies in the 1980s.
He was luckier than most. He experienced a career resurgence in the 1960s which meant good movie roles were still coming his way...and that renewed success carried him into the 70s and 80s.
It was probably fashionable for some stars to keep looking down on TV. But I agree with you, that as the television evolved, some very fine work was being done in the new medium. Some miniseries and TV movies are better than what wound up showing at the local cinema. Seems like were reliving the same thing, doesn't it? Especially if we're considering streaming channels as TV. More work to be had for TV than actual films. Also the fact that there are far better series than actual films being made these days. |
|
