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You met Gardner Mc Kay - Write us your story... |
This is a new column, which I hope - with your contribution - will grow into a large new specific page. If
you have met Gardner McKay, here you can leave some words to tell your
story. Here is a story - It comes from Jem, a lady living today in Florida. She met Gardner while studying at the Art Students League in New York City in '55. |
Anecdotes |
For those who like to read ... and want to know more about Gardner McKay, I gathered here a few quotes and phrases ramdomly from newspaper articles which - to my opinion - will give you another light on his personality. (Again, forgive my poor english). |
Gardner's McKay fascination for sailing started very young as we learn that, when living in Southport, Connecticut, at two years old, he once dragged a bushel basket with wired handles down the pier, launched it and climbed aboard. It was not long before the basket was half full with water, when an old man nearby, John Doxy, spotted him and saved him by the seat of his pants! A
fan she ... was. Gardner
to court. FBI
agents at the front-door. |
Robert
Florey, one of the directors of the series, a frenchman, tells that
" if McKay had been around in the silent days, on his looks alone
he'd have been a sensation, another Douglas Fairbanks."
Jerry
Wald, a movie producer who was thinking of hiring him for a new picture,
declared that "McKay has qualities of Gable, Tyrone Power, Errol
Flynn, Gary Cooper - rolled into one. Never mind the acting. You can't
be Brando the first time at bat. McKay was wooden. So was Gable. But Gable
improved over the years. And TV speeds up the process. What really matters
about McKay is that he has what by definition makes a star - inner
illumination".
Roy
Huggins, head of Fox TV in those days, saw in him a "Henry Fonda
aura of virility and gentleness". He added: "The word for Gardner
is oblique"..."His life style is ambiguity. He's the Faulkner
of actors. You can't help liking the big kid but figuring out what Gardner
is saying is like trying to get a firm grip on whipped cream."
Dominick
Dunne, main producers of the TV series has said that "there was
that remoteness and mystery about him that real stars have, and, for the
brief time that it lasted, he was a star". (...) " He
knew how to wave to he screaming throngs better than anyone else I ever
knew, and his handsome face got even handsomer with every rush of admiration
he received." |
Once described by a girlfriend: "Highstrung, intelligent, sensitive. He careens between moods of wild exuberance and withdrawn silence". He also "tries hard to make a good impression and he seems to be striving at all times to be totally sincere and honest". |
Acting and Stardom During the take over of 3 rd season shooting, between two scenes, McKay took a detached at himself and his profession and said" Acting has helped me - tap some emotions, some reactions... but, man, who can say I love you in front of a camera?" A
propos de son refus de continuer une carrière dacteur, il
disait plus tard: Je nétait pas un acteur. Je nai
jamais mis acteur comme profession sur mon passeport . Cela
a été une expérience fascinante. Vous connaissez
létreinte de la célébrité. Jai
eu ce moment à Paris, ce moment à la Presley, lorsquon
dit: Cest lui ! (en français dans le texte) .
I'm not a real actor. Show me a two-page speech from Antigone,
and I'd be sick... But thanks to acting I'm not as locked up or guarded
as I once was... I used to be - sometimes now I was popular but mostly
- it was rough, I was a loner. The story of my life is - I was always
The New Boy".
"Hollywood
actors are jealous of nothing, except other actors. I never liked the
word "actor". I did not manage to accept it. When I wrote plays,
I had opportunity to love actors, but not to be one. I love dogs, but
not to be one..."
"It's
not I was too good for Hollywood, only it was too bad for me. Hollywood
wanted: - Change or fail - . I'll do neither." |
Looking back... |
Talking of his young years, he said " Father's death shaped me up
a lot. Before I was pretty silly in many ways, a sort of prankster. Suddenly
I turned serious, even a little gloomy".
Years later, when the TV series has ended and about his decision to stop:
"At the time, I knew I was committing suicide"... "I split.
I was exhausted, I didn't need carloads of people asking for my authograph.
I was living in a dream world".
"True greatness in art is brought about by hard work and accident".
In
1973, after the premiere of "Me" in Los Angeles, a journalist
reports the following phrase from McKay : "They (the critics) are
not greeting me for having wrote the play, but to have directed it. This
town respects always more the performer than the creator". |
Miscellaneous |
On the very first day of the shooting of the first season, the sound engineer reported he was extremely surprised to see Gardner Mckay come on the set and presented himself to all the staff; and that he called him by his name the next day. For the technician, it was the first time in thirty one years of trade an actor was behaving like that. It was an example amongst others, of Gardner McKay's kindness and consideration towards all. While
interviewing Gardner McKay, journalist Mike Wallace asked him: "
In the Life Magazine (july 1959), you were compared as a new Apollo.
How did you feel?" - "I'm not greek!", replied McKay shruggingly.
It casted a chill and stopped suddenly the journalist's impulse!
There are more to come... ©micreb france 2002-2012 - All rights reserved |
l
Home page l Details of
the series l All the episodes l Scripts
l McKay's biography l McKay's
filmography & works l Guest stars
l |
English
version launched on 15 th august 2003 - Copyright © capitainetroy.com
2003-2012 - All rights reserved
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