george plimpton accent

Whats the matter?, Well, he said. The Paris Review was a testimony to his literary taste and his sense of glamour. Get a life. In that vein, here is an oral biography of George Plimpton. What will you be mad about ten years after youre gone?). From looking at Labovs study, I know today, as I didnt know yesterday, that linguists use the term rhotic to describe whether a person pronounces, or doesnt, the R sound before a consonant or at the end of a word. Losing, he knew, always makes a better story than winning. If you listen to Grossman (who is originally from Boston) starting about 15 seconds into the clip below, youll see that he uses a split-the-difference UK/US hybrid that is literally mid-Atlantic, in the sense of combining accents from both countries, but is different from the newsreel announcer voice: You should talk to William Labov [JF: I will try] , pioneering sociolinguist, whose landmark study into New York City speech led him to ask the same question you have. Finally I did. It took the form of a statement: I dont know writers who write about sex better than you. I rose to the bait and answered saying, Thank you. Whee!! The first minute is a cameo by Henry Ford II, who speaks in an utterly flat Midwest rather than Mid-Atlantic accent that no one would call elegant but that would sound perfectly natural in 2015. Queen Elizabeth doesnt say car, and neither did Franklin D. Roosevelt, nor did the newsreel announcers or movie actors of his day. You heard it and it. Well, perhaps it's more accurate to say that the book provided entertaining confirmation to millions of people that they -- like the author . [35], Plimpton was known for his distinctive accent which, by Plimpton's own admission, was often mistaken for an English accent. George Plimpton Dec 1, 2014 In which the venturous author, the rawest rookie pro football has ever known, recounts all the excruciating details of what happened when he called five plays as. For more than fifty years, his friends made a circle whose circumference was vast and whose center was a fashionable tenement on New York's East Seventy-second street. A friend of the New England Sedgwick family, Plimpton edited Edie: An American Biography with Jean Stein in 1982. On Sept. 26, George Plimpton died in his sleep, at the age of 76. For more than five decades, author and journalist George Plimpton delved deeply into an array of high-profile and often physically grueling experiences, including professional baseball, boxing . And being good at losing was one of Georges many gifts. [31][32][33] His firework, a Roman candle named "Fat Man",[31][32][33] weighed 720 pounds (330kg)[31] and was expected to rise to 1,000 feet (300m)[33] or more[31] and deliver a wide starburst. Quite sad, as he just had a daughter not many years back. You heard it and it could only be him. I just heard that George Plimpton has died. 2023 Cond Nast. NEW YORK -- George Plimpton, the self-deprecating author of "Paper Lion" and other sporting adventures and a patron to Philip Roth, Jack Kerouac and countless other writers, has died. Along with all the other things he does, George is an editor of the Paris Review, a literary quarterly published by the Aga Khan's uncle, Sadrudin, and his apartment is overstuffed with the comforts and legends of its use as a literary salon. Plimpton himself described it as a "New England cosmopolitan accent"[36] or "Eastern seaboard cosmopolitan" accent. Eerily enough, one of the messages on my answering machine was from George, with that distinctive accent of his: Hallo, its George Plimpton. This periodical has carried great weight in the literary world, but has never been financially strong; for its first half-century, it was allegedly largely financed by its publishers and by Plimpton. That was when Westbrook van Voorhis, the famous March of Time voice, did the intro narration of the pilot episode of The Twilight Zone. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. The Wikipedia entry is indeed delightful. I think the term Old Money or patrician pretty much says it. All rights reserved. Puss, and my father enjoyed nothing more than holding the beast high in the air and making strange, affectionate sounds in that distinguished voice: Yeanngghh, Puss Yeaannngh Puss Puss Puss.) He called my sister Puss, too, sometimes, though mostly I think with her it was Kiddo, which he also called me, though there was a period in which he occasionally called me Ernie, which was the dogs name. What was our problem? It was as if he was trying out again. [3], He was the son of Francis T. P. Plimpton[4] and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons and George Arthur Plimpton. It was as if some old gentlemans code prohibited us from interacting as human beings. The guys here in Detroit treated him like one of us. It is the kind of study . We had the book party for my selected poems, Sailing Alone Around the Room, at Georges house on Sept 10, 2001. From what other people had told me, I knew a little bit about itthat my father (and mother) had been right by Bobbys side in California when he was shot, that my father had tackled Sirhan Sirhan to the ground, and wrestled the gun from his handbut not a word of it came from my dad himself. [33] A later attempt, fired at Cape Canaveral, rose approximately 50 feet (15m) into the air and broke 700 windows in Titusville, Florida. He has the same type of patrician upper-class New Yorker accent as Jane Wyatt. "[25] He had a recurring role as the grandfather of Dr. Carter on the NBC series ER. It was a hot, sweltering day. Except at parties. Even Orson Welles on occasion. In 1966, George Plimpton's book Paper Lion, recounting his attempt to play football with the Detroit Lions, allowed millions of Americans to vicariously live out their childhood dream of playing in the NFL. It sounds like Somerset Maugham, was a favorite putdown. Heres a sampling for today, with more planned in the days ahead. The coach for the Writers team announced that Plimpton would pinch-hit for the first batter of the game, Daily News sports columnist Mike Lupica, and the crowd roared. In 2013, the documentary Plimpton! If you are in the big league, God help us all. He had a small role in the Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting,[22] playing a psychologist. It was horrifying.. I had made about five thousand egg and tuna sandwiches. He was smooth. This book is the party that was George's life-and it's a big one-attended by scores of famous people, as well as. She is the product of a line of the original Dutch settlers of New York and grew up in Tuxedo Park and the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan, very exclusive. George Plimpton gives an auction winner a star-studded walk through the legendary NYC eatery Elaine's. People two or three deep stood looking out at the East River. A heuristic approximation! He plays the 'fancy pants' to our outhouse Americana," Flaherty asserted. This kept his magazine fresh for 50 years. I knew that between the time Id asked Plimpton to do the auction and the night itself, he had probably received five invitations for a better evening, but he would never have reneged. Hed have that and a scotch on the rocks, his favorite drink. He was previously married to Sara Whitehead Dudley and Freddy Medora Espy. Even the most basic conversation was often a struggle. Its something different, and Ive not encountered that in the mid-Atlantic. Angelo Dundee, trainer for Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard:George was such a great guy. That he died in his sleep was impressive. Above all, he was a gentleman, one of the lasta figure so archaic, it could be easily mistaken for something else. On Saturday Night Live, even the great impersonator Dana Carvey couldnt get it quite right. May a diseased yak squat in your hot tub. One reader writes: I've wondered whether that "announcer English" was at least partly caused by poor loudspeakers and microphones. Ill try to give a representative range, and I am grateful for the care and thought that have gone into these responses. [47][48] Macklem . The responses fall into interesting categories: linguistic descriptions of this accent; sociological and ethnic explanations for its rise and fall; possible technological factors in its prominence and disappearance; explanations rooted in the movie industry; nominees for who might have been the last American to talk this way; and suggestions that a few rare specimens still exist. He was so open to life and all its new and unexpected situations. The journal, which had operated out of his home, moved downtown. He grew up in New York City with bona fide WASP credentials; became the longtime editor of the Paris Review, working with many of the great novelists of the day; contributed to the New Journalism. Typical of George to laugh about something others saw as a defining traithe never took himself all that seriously. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. Thanks for the scores of replies that have arrived in the past day, in response to my post asking why the stentorian, phony-British Announcer Voice that dominated newsreel narration, stage and movie acting, and public discourse in the United States during the first half of the 20th century had completely disappeared. It includes clear pronunciation of each and every consonant cluster. One of the magazine's most notable discoveries was author and screenplay writer Terry Southern, who was living in Paris at the time and formed a lifelong friendship with Plimpton, along with writer Alexander Trocchi and future classical and jazz pioneer David Amram. George Plimpton (1927-2003) George Plimpton was the editor of The Paris Review from its founding in 1953 until his death in 2003. He had the bearing of Gen. MacArthur, but the soul of Charlie Chaplin. Yes indeed, George Plimpton is a man for all seasons. Plimpton's remarkable life is showcased in a documentary that is. If you are in the big league, God help us all. And the role of Katharine Hepburn, whose Locust Valley Lockjaw accent was a cousin of announcer-speak: I was just discussing this not a week ago with a friend who has done voice work in film and television, and can adopt this accent in an instant to evoke that period, much to my amusement. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. I feel that his work on this and many other language-related matters should be far more widely known than it is. When Muhammad Ali was fighting, George Plimpton was always there. [26] He also appeared in an episode of the NBC sitcom Wings. Now, in George, Being George, 200 friends, lovers and rivals detail Plimpton's remarkable exploits. He could as easily have been my grandfather as father. Shadow Box. . **Your transparent jealousy is very unbecoming, Carnac. With the help of the New York Mets organization and several Mets players, Plimpton wrote a convincing account of a new unknown pitcher in the Mets spring training camp named Siddhartha Finch, who threw a baseball over 160mph, wore a heavy boot on one foot, and was a practicing Buddhist with a largely unknown background. . After several problems with transporting and preparing the fireworks, Plimpton and Grucci became the first competitors from the United States to win the event. Everything he did was like this, just a bit odd. George Plimpton. Orson Welles also comes to mind, though I noticed he spoke in this mode more often during his early days, on and off screen. Congratulations Carnac, for posting about George Plimptons death at 3:44 PM. That was the last party for a while., I just got back from a road trip from Michigan. His response was "no, just affected.". Its a shot from a YouTube video that itself is a fascinating time-capsule portrait of language change. Lewis Lapham, editor, Harpers Magazine:Georges immense enthusiasm was his primary characteristic. Famed participatory journalist George Plimpton (1927-2003) was a writer, editor, amateur sportsman, actor, and friend to many. As Poling puts it, George was known as an unrivaled raconteur and, in making a film of his life story, it only seemed natural to allow him to tell it.. Of the Murrow Boys, Eric Sevareid held on to the newsreel style the longest; relying on memory, Im betting that we could actually watch the transition away from that to a more vernacular style in the long career of Walter Cronkite. Bill Buckley, Gore Vidal, George Plimpton. News children today have no concept of the Mid-Atlantic accent. The primary reason [for the accent] was primitive microphone technology: "natural" voices simply did not get picked up well by the microphones of the time, and people were instructed to and learned to speak in such a way that their words could be best transmitted through the microphone to the radio waves or to recording media. George Plimpton, Out of My League: The Classic Account of an Amateur's Ordeal in Professional Baseball, 2016, Little He very much approved. He was a Wasp (both of his parents came from old New England families, and had ancestors on the Mayflower). (And, OK, Im not a linguist, but Im married to one!) In finally hearing the great storyteller tell the one story he would not tell, I could hear, too, his long, reverent silence on the subjectand it reveals his integrity as a journalist, and as a man. Plimpton was .the public face of the New York intellectual: tweedy, eclectic and with a plummy accent he himself described as "Eastern seaboard cosmopolitan." . Hes just trying it out and will come back and write a book about his experiences. As a result, this American version of a posh accent has all but disappeared even among the American upper classes. With a little more practice, you could give us boys in the big leagues a run for our money. Harris trained himself as a young man to lose his native Bronx accent - to the point that he was asked if he were British. Oh now, Im joking, Carnac ( see? Vault. Never heard of this decidedly imprecise term. You can. Talking about sports with Georgeor, even better, reading George about sportswas more fun than sports themselves. Hed ask what was new in fireworks business and doodle around the facility with my dad, and he would always leave with a package of fireworks, to put on his own show. They spoke in this manner, and it seemed perfectly natural, evocative of a background spent among the gentry of the northeast. Plimpton's most memorable writings involved him inserting himself into a daunting situation about which he knew . 2) Truman v. Kaltenborn, 1949. But he could easily have said, Alice, I have enough trouble raising money for my magazine.. And they founded this thing called the Paris Review and published poetry and short story writers and did interviews. Plimpton, George 1927-2003(George Ames Plimpton) Source for information on Plimpton, George 1927-2003: Concise Major 21st Century Writers dictionary. Too old-fashioned. His dish was Spaghetti Bolognese. But looking back on it, its funny, too. The Sidd Finch story was accompanied by a series of photos which managed to convince even the eagle-eyed fans . Anyhow, I asked Terry Gross from Fresh Air and George Plimpton to be auctioneers. George Plimpton (1927-2003) was a journalist and the first editor-in-chief of The Paris Review. And I, of course, was looking them over, too. George Plimpton. Alan Alda, portraying my dad in the movie version of Paper Lion (his book on playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions), didnt bother with his voice at all. **. The presentation was called Freedom of the American Road and was made 60 years ago, in 1955, as part of the campaign to build support for the new Interstate Highway system. We worked at the Paris Review on the Rue Garanere for several years together. When he was on the scene, everything was a big happeningan event. 3 people found this helpful . (What else happened that year??? Get book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature in your in-box. **. A lordly accent acquired at St. Bernard's and burnished later at Cambridge, in England, enhanced his distinguished aura, as did elevated stature and a silver head of hair which might have encouraged a career in politics but mercifully did not. #1 was Who Was the Last American to Speak This Way, #3 is Class-War Edition, and #4 is The Origin Story., Who Was the Last American to Speak This Way. In the 50s Plimpton and staff came to New York, where they kept the Review going for half a century. It was scary, because he was never mad, and to see this normally benevolent, white-haired figure of civility fill with pink steam, to hear this gentle man, who loved nothing more than to tell lighthearted stories and laugh, suddenly shout-whisper Dammit at some injustice on the other end of the telephone was unsettling. It was so tiny that if you saw him in it, you couldnt believe hed be able to get himself out of it. I think he came down [to the shooting of Paper Lion in] Florida once. Youd be on the phone with him and get to the end of the conversation, and youd say I love you, Dad, and at most, hed reply, without subject or object, Love, like he was signing a letter. [citation needed]. My suspicion is that the shift might have begun in the switch away from the two paired styles in American movies, the classical acting of the British School and the rapid patter of popular American actors (Marx Brothers, Cagney, Powell and Loy, etc), and over to the Method Acting style of the Strasberg/Brando/Dean school. Were taking off from Teterburo, N.J., at 4 a.m. tomorrow. Rose Styron, wife of William Styron and former Paris Review editor:My husband Bill was with George when he started the Paris Review. He had a way of putting it all together, of understanding fighters in the ring; he was a good analyst of boxing. She would not even say goodbye. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. Look out, Wilson! But he would do this in the most charming and agreeable way. Kim Noble, one of the announcers on the NPR affiliate in Kansas City, KCUR, speaks with a very affected Connecticut Lockjaw accent. Its strange to think, but he would have been eighty-five this year: fourteen years older than my mom, fifty years older than me. The Left Bank really became East 72nd Street. Thurston Howell III had the Larchmont Lockjaw accent. Its our anniversary. Yes he is gone. [41] She is the daughter of James Chittenden Dudley,[42] a managing partner of Manhattan-based investment firm Dudley and Company, and geologist Elisabeth Claypool. George Plimpton. He could have done whatever he wanted. He came from a family where such endearments were not expressed, and phone conversations were curt. Shoot! hed hiss, when he was mad. George Plimpton writer, publisher, amateur lion tamer died in 2003 after 50 years as the founding editor of The Paris Review. The most recent was about how to extend the swing though impact, and the trick, George said, was to station an imaginary dwarf several feet in front of your ball and then (you have to re-create those broad Plimptonian vowels here) smack the dwarf in the ass. I dont know whether it works, because I cant think of it without laughing. It was always as if one were setting out with him on a special adventure. For it was George Plimpton the writer, not the editor nor the celebrity, who was honored here . All the good guys have got to go. Showdown in the Pits. It was so violent that it brought a lot of people to the windows. He called his computer the machine. At dinner, when offered seconds, he would often decline by saying, Thank you, no, Ive had a gracious plenty. He called my mom Puss (this was also the name of our fat, raccoon-striped cat, though he was Mr. Think of the accent of Jane Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies. I can understand your frustration, but celebrities die every day. Havent heard that term in years. As an old film buff, I am used to this voice, though it figures unevenly in old movies. Plimpton appeared in the 1989 documentary The Tightrope Dancer which featured the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. *Originally posted by cuauhtemoc * A few days after, I went to a Paris Review party and showed off my damaged nose and two black eyes to George. He was 76. Plimpton played Tom Hanks's antagonistic father in Volunteers. How do I know you're not George Plimpton? Self-help author and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has a unique accent that, . The clenched jaw tight-bite bit: the lockjaw dentiloquist. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. What exactly is a Boston Brahmin accent? By George Plimpton. [2], In 1975, in Bellport, Long Island, Plimpton, with Fireworks by Grucci attempted to break the record for the world's largest firework. With a little more practice, you could give us boys in the big leagues a run for our money. The Cuban revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, had just marched on Havana and ousted the US-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista. He looked for ways in which he could make himself a ridiculous figure, and not only on the football field, but in all walks of life. 2) The Role of Broadway and Hollywood, and the Shift from Jimmy Cagney to Marlon Brando. Ken Auletta, author:Sometime after age 70, when his reflexes dulled, George took to the sidelines in the Artists and Writers softball game in Easthampton, N.Y. Each year his name was announced, and each year he was hailed by the crowd, who paid more attention to him than to the game. Plimpton appeared in the 1989 documentary The Tightrope Dancer which featured the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. After her transformation, I noted that Mia sounds precisely like her mother, Maureen OSullivan, who had that patrician manner of speaking on and off screen. "[27], Plimpton was a member of the cast of the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery (200102). In 1955 or 56, he went back to New York. **Oh, I suppose we should all just lavish praise upon Carnac the Magnificent now for bringing this to your attention, is that it? History / Biographical Note Biographical Note. Paul McCartney and his then-girlfriend Heather showed up. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007. Plimpton died on September 25, 2003, in his New York City apartment from a heart attack later determined to have been caused by a catecholamine surge. What stood in our way? Even the manliest actors, such as Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable sometimes slipped into this voice-coach mode. For such admissions to escape my fathers lips, they always had to be a little removed somehow. In 1992, Plimpton married Sarah Whitehead Dudley, a graduate of Columbia University and a freelance writer. To me, Mid-Atlantic English is the nom juste for a related but distinct phenomenon (which is also mentioned in Wikipedia). Bill and I met in Rome, several months after the Paris Review was startedwe were, as they say, courtingand he drove me to Paris so George and Peter [Mathiessen] could look me over. If you were making a speech in a large hall, or speaking on the radio, you needed to enunciate very clearly and use a lot of emphases to be sure your audience could understand what you were saying. Sign up for the Books & Fiction newsletter. When George Plimpton Met the Best Bartender in Brooklyn Two New York Legends Collide By Tim Sultan February 26, 2016 The only other person that I had known who possessed a similar charisma to Sunny Balzano's was my first employer in New York: George Plimpton. Plimpton also appeared in the closing credits of the 2006 film Factory Girl. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. George Plimpton boxed with Archie Moore, played quarterback for the Detroit Lions, and played percussion for the New York Philharmonic. At one point, there was a tremendous Wagnerian thunder and lighting storm. expelled from the very expensive, very WASP-y Philips He thought Castro might come. After his discharge, Plimpton returned to Harvard and finished his undergraduate education. One thinks of the glorious character actress, Kathleen Freeman, as the voice coach Phoebe Dinsmore in Singing in the Rain: Round tones, Miss Lamont. In Woody Allens Radio Days, Mia Farrow has an impossibly thick Brooklyn accent until she takes voice lessons and becomes a successful radio purveyor of celebrity gossip. At the time, he was getting ready to pitch for the Yankees,and we would throw pitches across 72nd Street in preparation. The flipped prestige markers point here is fascinating. The opposing team: the Detroit Lions. After running the pilot, Rod Serling realized the narration needed a less pompous sounding and more natural voice himself. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, directed by Tom Bean and Luke Poling, was released. By George Plimpton. After the technology improved the need to speak so histrionically went away, and so did "announcer English.". That phony-baloney feigned British pronunciation thing. The conservative thinker may have shared an accent with some other men of the same age and social class, but his mannerisms and gestures made him entirely uniqueand occasionally prone to.
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