美国国家公共电台 NPR Actor Martin Landau Of 'Mission: Impossible' Dies At 89

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And now a moment to remember Martin Landau, who also died this weekend at the age of 89. He was an Oscar-winning actor in his own right and guided younger stars. NPR's Andrew Limbong has more.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE¹: Movie stars when Martin Landau was coming up were handsome and rugged². Think Rock Hudson. Martin Landau was not that. He told WHYY's FRESH AIR in 1990 that he was skinny, kind of weird³ looking.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

MARTIN LANDAU: I was intrinsically a character actor, but not easy to cast.

LIMBONG: One of his earliest roles was as a henchman in "North By Northwest." Landau, with his slicked-back hair and wide grin, is pretty spooky in it, forcing booze on Cary Grant.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "NORTH BY NORTHWEST")

LANDAU: (As Leonard) It'll be easier if you take this yourself. Otherwise it'll be necessary for us to insist.

LIMBONG: Landau's filmography is littered with these types of roles - villains⁴ or thugs or, as he put it, mindless heavies in movies with titles like "Death Blow: A Cry For Justice" and "Sweet Revenge." Eventually the life of a character actor wore thin on Landau.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

LANDAU: I was somewhat frustrated⁵. And my creativity was - I felt was being thwarted⁶. But I kept my, you know, sanity⁷ in a sense and waited for a good role.

LIMBONG: He was 60 when he landed that role as Abe Karatz in the Francis Ford⁸ Coppola movie "Tucker: The Man And His Dream."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAM")

LANDAU: (As Abe Karatz) I went into business with you for one reason - to make money. That's all. How was I to know that if I got too close I'd catch your dreams?

LIMBONG: He'd continue to play complex characters in Woody Allen's "Crimes And Misdemeanors" and in Tim Burton's "Ed Wood," where he turned those looks that had kept him from roles into an Oscar-winning performance.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ED WOOD")

PATTI TIPPO: (As Nurse) Oh, my goodness, you gave me the willies. You look like that Dracula guy.

LANDAU: (As Bela Lugosi) My name is Bela Lugosi, and I wish to commit myself.

TIPPO: (As Nurse) For what reason?

LANDAU: (As Bela Lugosi) I have been a drug addict⁹ for 20 years. I need help.

LIMBONG: Martin Landau was versatile¹⁰. He could ham it up in a B-movie, find a delicate note in a complex character, or, like in "Ed Wood," do both at the same time. Andrew Limbong, 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 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 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》

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

7 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

10 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。