美国国家公共电台 NPR Michael Parks, TV And Movie Character Actor, Dies At 77

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The character actor Michael Parks has died at 77. He appeared in TV shows and in movies for decades and was known for his roles in "Twin Peaks" and also "Kill Bill." NPR arts correspondent Mandalit del Barco reports on just how far he came.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE¹: California native Michael Parks didn't begin acting² until after years of fruit picking, truck driving and firefighting. In the 1960s, he played on numerous TV shows, and he was seen by some in Hollywood as the next James Dean. Most notably³, he starred as the brooding ex-newspaperman riding a Harley - a sort of "Easy Rider" - on the TV series "Then Came Bronson."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY")

MICHAEL PARKS: (Singing) Going down that long, lonesome highway, going to live life my way.

DEL BARCO: That's Parks singing the theme song, which became a hit on the Billboard⁴ and Hot Country Songs charts. Parks recorded pop, jazz and gospel albums, too, but mostly stuck to acting. He even starred in the role of Adam in John Huston's 1966 epic⁵ "The Bible." Over the decades, he racked up more than a hundred film and TV credits as villains⁶ and anti-heroes, but he didn't have a major breakthrough until later in his career when he became a favorite actor of directors Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and David Lynch, who cast him as a murderous French-Canadian drug runner on "Twin Peaks."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TWIN PEAKS")

PARKS: (As Jean Renault) Maybe you will be the last to die. Maybe you brought the nightmare with you.

DEL BARCO: Parks played a Texas Ranger⁷ in "From Dusk Till Dawn," a role he reprised in Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KILL BILL")

PARKS: (As Earl McGraw) This ain't no squirrely amateur. This is the work of a solid dog.

DEL BARCO: Parks also played a Mexican pimp in that movie, and Tarantino also directed him in "Django Unchained" and "Grindhouse." Filmmaker Kevin Smith was also a fan, casting him as a bad guy in two horror films, "Red State" and "Tusk⁸." Smith says Parks was a genius and called him a Yoda of acting. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

4 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

5 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

6 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

8 tusk   

n.獠牙，长牙，象牙

参考例句：

• The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
• A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。