Blogathon

Announcement: 6th Annual WHAT A CHARACTER! BLOGATHON

WAC2017

Announcing the SIXTH ANNUAL What A Character! Blogathon
December 15-17, 2017

When you think about your very favorite classic movies, what makes them your favorites? The films worth watching multiple times, endlessly discussing, or just chilling out with…what makes them the cinematic equivalent of comfort food? Sure, great writing is key, but those lines are just words without the right actors delivering them. Beautiful costumes are great, but without the right actors wearing them, they’re just clothes. Stunning, authentic art direction and set design are wonderful, but empty, without the right actors inhabiting that world. And gorgeous cinematography can only hold your eye for so long, without the right actors being lit. And so on.

Chances are, it’s not just the perfect leads that win your go-to films their place in your heart — it’s their pals and sidekicks as well. The wise-cracking best friend or fellow chorine, cranky boss, sympathetic bartender, confirmed spinster secretary, intrepid cop, jealous girlfriend, second-in-command racketeer or bomber pilot, workaholic director…faces familiar from their appearances in many films over the years, their names — not so much. To take a couple obvious examples, what would Casablanca be without Dooley Wilson, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall, Madeleine LeBeau, John Qualen, and Leonid Kinskey? How about My Man Godfrey without Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Gail Patrick, Jean Dixon, Alan Mowbray, and Mischa Auer? Probably pretty good films, but just not the same, not as lovable, not as classic.

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Ritz 3 Alice Brady Carole Lombard William Powell My Man Godfrey

Thus the objective of the What A Character! Blogathon has always been to shed the spotlight on these lesser-known but equally talented thespians, whose names usually appeared below the title, but who always elevated any kind of material from Oscar-winning to the most tired, often without saying a word. Please join us- Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club/ @Paula_Guthat, Aurora of Once Upon A Screen/ @CitizenScreen, and yours truly Kellee of Outspoken & Freckled/ @IrishJayhawk66 – for the SIXTH year in a row of paying tribute to the versatility and depth of supporting players.
If a salute to lesser-known but essential Hollywood thespians is right up your movie alley, please review the guidelines below, then leave me a comment below.

  • Let at least one of the hosts know which character actor is your choice.
  • Don’t take it for granted we know exactly who you are or where your blog resides – please include the title and URL of your blog, also your Twitter handle if you have one.
  • We will not accept repeats (previously published posts), or duplicates, since there are so many greats worthy of attention, but your choices are not limited to classics. You can choose any character actor from any era and from the medium of television, which has featured talented regulars since the beginning, and continues to do so.
  • Publish your WAC! post on either December 15, 16, or 17, 2017. Let us know if you have a date preference; otherwise, we’ll split publicizing duties equally among the three days.
  • Please include [one of] the WAC! 2017 event banner[s] included in this post on your blog to help us promote the event. Please also include the banner in your What A Character! post.
  • Please send any of us the direct link to your post once you have published it. Searching on social media sites can lead to missed entries. My contact info: prattkellee@gmail.com / twitter~ @IrishJayhawk66 ~or, simply leave a comment below
  • HAVE FUN and spread the word!

Thank you to TCM for the tagline inspiration and to all you bloggers and film fans for your ongoing participation and support for six years running!

Participating blogs and their choice of actors:

Caftan Woman – John Alexander

Movie Movie Blog Blog – Bruce Altman

Taking Up Room – Eve Arden

The Last Drive In – Martin Balsam

Old Hollywood Films – Beulah Bondi

Wide Screen World – Alan Hale, Sr.

The Old Hollywood Garden – Edward Everett Horton

Real Weegie Midget Reviews – Ian McShane

In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood – Agnes Moorehead

Wolfian Classic Movies Digest – Eugene Pallette

Carole & Co. – Nat Pendleton

Outspoken & Freckled – ZaSu Pitts

The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog – Michael Ripper

The Dream Book Blog – Elizabeth Russell

A Shroud of Thoughts – William Schallert

Cinematic Scribblings – Haruko Sugimura

Hometowns to Hollywood – Clinton Sundberg

Once Upon a Screen – Mary Wickes

Silver Screenings – European Character Actors in Casablanca

Silver Scenes – TBA

~Kellee

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43 thoughts on “Announcement: 6th Annual WHAT A CHARACTER! BLOGATHON”

  3. Am I William Powell – the silent version? His early career was as a supporting player but he became known as ‘the picture stealer’ as he was so mesmerising. Am thinking of Beau Geste from 1926, starring Ronald Colman. Powell played the coward Boldini.

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    2. Cazbar- That angle works just fine. Looking forward to your entry! Please provide your twitter handle, if you have one. I assume thatwilliampowellsite.wordpress is the url where you’ll be posting? Thanks for joining!

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      1. Ace! Yes that’s my url. I don’t have a Twitter. Well not one connected to this site – I only use my personal one to grumble at the local train operator when services are running late! 😉👍 Not very relevant to Hollywood’s golden age! 😜

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  5. A thought occurs to me. (Be afraid…be very afraid…:-D) How about an overview of all (or at least some..) of the cameos made in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”?

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  7. I’m not sure if my request went through. Or for that matter whose blog I posted the request. I would like to cover some (if not all) of the cameos on “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”.

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  11. I have written Two award-winning books and have been honored by the Los Angeles Press Club for my forgottenhollywood.com blog site. My paperbacks share America’s story through the eyes of 37 character actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Claude Rains, Frank Morgan, Peter Lorre, Cesar Romero, Marjorie Main, Basil Rathbone, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, and Lon Chaney Jr. A third book in the series is due out in the Summer of 2018, and features Edward Arnold, Gig Young, Keye Luke, John Qualen, and Charles Bickford. With over 58 character actors / supporting players featured in my book series, I would love to participate. I am also a Southern California radio broadcaster, doing Traffic Reports on KNX 10-70 News Radio.

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      1. Forgive me, I did not realize that this was posted twice… Please delete the comment you deem repetitive… lol

        I recently wrote a blog that I could reprint for the Blog-a-thon… about noted crooners who have appeared in war-films. It was called Pop Singers in War, and featured the appearances of Fabian, Tommy Sands, and Paul Anka in the movie, The Longest Day. Since they were not stars, it makes for an interesting read… My motivation was the fact that Harry Styles was a co-star in the recent Dunkirk. Does this offer a unique angle in the Blog-a-thon?

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  12. I am the author of the Forgotten Hollywood Book Series. Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History was written in 2009; Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History in 2012. Road to Forgotten Hollywood is due out in 2018. I have many chapters that captures America’s story through the eyes of 58 character actors / supporting players of Hollywood’s
    Golden Age. They include seldom told tales about Claude Rains, Walter Brennan, Frank Morgan, Lionel Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Marjorie Main, Cesar Romero, Ward Bond, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney Jr. My upcoming work includes Gig Young, Edward Arnold, Keye Luke, Charles Bickford, and Wendy Hiller.

    My award winning-book series, and award-winning blog at http://www.forgottenhollywood.com have been recognized by the Los Angeles Press Club, and are housed at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the Louis B. Mayer Library at the American Film Institute,; and the Library of Congress.. My prestigious readership includes David McCullough, Margaret O’Brien, and Dyan Cannon.

    I am also a Southern California radio broadcaster, and can be heard on KNX 10-70 News Radio each week.

    I would love to participate in some capacity, since I have established myself as a noted Hollywood historian, particularly in the field of the lives of Character Actors.

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  13. Thank you for the heads-up… I have a great angle to tell the story of Woody Strode. Please fill me in… I simply right my story on my Forgotten Hollywood Blog Site between December 15 – December 17, and you will send readers to the particular blog in question?

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    1. Lucky you… Woody Strode was still available so I’ve got you on our list, secured with Woody. Great choice! Yes, please publish sometime between Dec 15-17 and alert one of us 3 hosts as soon as you publish. That way, that day’s host will include you in the daily promo piece and we’ll even tweet out your link, too to promote it. When we cross-promote like that, it’s a nice way to bring more readers to your blog. For specific rules (i.e. include our banner and links to the 3 hosts on your piece), be sure to read details on this announcement. Thanks again for joining! … Kellee

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  20. Greetings Kellee –

    Below are the links to my official: WHAT A CHARACTER! BLOGATHON Blog Post on the great WOODY STRODE. Per you instructions, I included links to each of the administrator websites and this year’s What a Character Banner in the post.

    http://www.forgottenhollywood.com/hollywood-history/forgotten-hollywood-what-a-character-woody-strode.php

    http://www.forgottenhollywood.com

    https://twitter.com/raideoman1

    Also, if possible, could you remind folks that I have written two AWARD-WINNING books in the Forgotten Hollywood Series, available on Amazon.

    Thank you for affording me to opportunity to participate…

    My warmest regards,

    Manny Pacheco
    Forgotten Hollywood

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    1. Manny- us three hosts divy up the entries across the 3 days. Yours will be included in Aurora’s Day Two post, which will be published later this afternoon. She has your link and info. Thanks so much for participating!

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