The Gun Counter

Somehow, I've run into Sam Elliot a lot in movies recently.

Does he ever live to the end of a movie? I've seen:
- Roadhouse
- Rough Riders
- Ghost Rider (so sue me - it's fun)
- The Desperate Trail

Can't remember if he made it through Tombstone, but my recollection is no.

He did make it through The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky.

Is part of his contract that he has to die?

Yeah, he made it through Tombstone. The last time we see him, though, is in Tucson on the train heading to California.

He also made it through We Were Soldiers. "Today is a good day, Sergeant Savage."

MOST of his parts he lives through; especially when teamed up with Tom Selleck. Guess Selleck protects him. From what I've heard Elliot is one of the Hollywood bunch who does his job, goes home, and shuts up.

He makes it through The Big Lebowski and the Ang Lee hulk movie that every one pretends never happened.

He made it through most of the Louis L'Amour books-to-movies. Daybreakers, Sacketts, The Quick and the Dead, and Conagher.

He makes a pretty good cowboy for somebody who grew up as a SoCal surfer.

And I may someday forgive him for being married to Katherine Ross.

And he survived Gettysburg too.

And while Katharine Ross was absolutely beautiful, she's a child of the 60s in every sense, and a total flake.
I give them both kudos for moving to Montana, and spending their free time shutting the hell up, raising their family, and minding their own business.
It explains how they've stayed married for 30 years.
Hollywood as a whole could learn a lesson.

The entire United States, as a whole, could learn a lesson!

I don't know much about him personally or his politics. Maybe that's why I like him. I've always thought movie stars should not be celebrities. They should be like racehorses - you bring them out to perform, then put them away and ignore them.

I don't follow much about most actor's politics, unless they're such utter Pepe LePeuw's that the stench is inescapable and omnipresent.
(Jane, Sean, take a bow.)
Paul Newman was the role model they should aspire to: spend your money where you see fit, but keep your piehole firmly corked.
Personal business is personal.

The problem most of them have is that like most cute three-year-olds, when everyone sees them, smiles, and coos, they think it endows them with some magical power to act up and sound off about things far beyond their abilities to comprehend, and like most hyper-successful businessmen, they confuse bank balances with IQ points. Worst of all, both of these traits are combined in the young superstars, who possess some genuine talents, but haven't had to do any appreciable work to achieve success other than being pretty or talented. Not that studio moguls and the star system of the '30-60s were any better, but if they would assign most of these preening jackholes to digging sewer trenches on the backlot 12 hours a day between films, it might help their outlook and sensibilities just a tad. Or at least make them too tired to be out doing coke off hookers at 3AM and making public asses of themselves. At the very least, if we'd start treating opinions from actors like we do the answers from beauty pageant contestants - as mainly fodder for comic monologues and objects of ridicule - it would be a step in a long overdue direction.

Aesop wrote:The problem most of them have is that like most cute three-year-olds, when everyone sees them, smiles, and coos, they think it endows them with some magical power to act up and sound off about things far beyond their abilities to comprehend, and like most hyper-successful businessmen, they confuse bank balances with IQ points. ..

That's my problem with celebrities (as opposed to the subset, movie stars). Once someone gains celebrity from whatever source (music, pulchritude, wealth, big screen, or whatever), they think it gives them some sort of authority in whatever area catches their eye.

My kids (homeschooled) were once asked to name three celebrities. They confabbed and came up with two: Abraham Lincoln and Babe Ruth.

I'm thinking if no one could name a single celebrity, all of life would be much better.