MovieChat Forums > Jim Backus Discussion > First post for the great comic actor

First post for the great comic actor


He had a great voice, great timing. He was brilliant at light comedy.

Occasionally he acted in serious roles. He was good as the father in Rebel Without a Cause.

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Russell Johnson describes him as a naturally funny fellow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWvXlCHhMBo

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But Mr. Howell became his signature character.

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....and as the rich drunk guy who agrees to "fly" Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett in his private light plane, in "Its a Mad Mad Mad World." (1963, the year before Gilligan's Island hit the airwaves.)

When Hackett and Rooney wake the rich drunk up in the country club from an overnight bender, at first he is "booze blind"...and cannot see.

As he says: "I cawn't seeyuh!"

And again: "I cawn't see..."(getting better mentally)

And again: "I...I CAWN'T SEE!"

And then he opens the curtains to bright daylight and a stunt man takes a masterful backwards fall...

On board his small plane, he offers the controls "temporarily" to Hackett and Rooney while preparing himself another cocktail ("Drunk flying.")

And then his stunt man steps in AGAIN for some truly masterful bouncing around the rear cabin as Hackett and Rooney make the plane jerk up and down in vertical lifts and drops. The stunt man's head POUNDS against the wall and "Backus" is unconscious.

Leaving Hackett to pilot the plane and ask Rooney: "What are YOU? The STEWARDESS?!!"

But its Jim Backus great role that sets it all up(plus that great stuntman he had...)

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Hey, excellent post that really brings Backus as an actor to life.

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Thanks.

I'm reminded that Rooney expertly mimics Backus as he says his lines:

Backus: I cawn't see!

Rooney: He cawn't see!

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I concur. Good post, and the reason I always brightened up when Jim Backus appeared on screen. :-)

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Mr. Howell became his signature character for anyone who didn't know him as the voice of Mr. Magoo first. :-) Even though Gilligan's Island started when I was still only seven years old, I was already a devoted Mr. Magoo fan.

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Well quite honestly, I had seen Mr. Magoo but had no clue Backus did the voice. However Mr. Howell was more than a voice. He had the mannerisms and the physical presence.

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No question. A lot has to do with what character a viewer first identifies an actor with. I certainly had nothing against Mr. Howell ... I enjoyed Gilligan's Island for a time as much as anyone. At this point it's too silly for me, but I ate it up as a kid. In a different way, though, I never liked Ironside because as a youngster it felt like they "stole" Perry Mason. LOL Same thing for Chuck Connors from The Rifleman to Branded. I watched Branded for a couple of shows and didn't care for the change.

By later years, I didn't have that subconscious rejection of a change in roles. I was a teen when Bill Bixby did The Magician, and My Favorite Martian was long forgotten. Then on to The Incredible Hulk and so forth. :-) Or Michael Landon from Bonanza to Little House.

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I know most these shows through reruns.

I still find Gilligan's Island hilarious. It's so stupid but that's the point. It's not trying to be anything more than what it was. It has to be viewed as a farce in terms of an art form.

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Part of it probably has to do with me seeing virtually all of it in first run and then five or six times through in syndication when it was just the three networks and three or four local stations, and ALL the independent station had was rerun syndication. Only so many times I can see the Tarzan-like movie actor abandon them to save his reputation. LOL I still don't trust him in other guest star roles because of that. ;-)

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Only so many times I can see the Tarzan-like movie actor abandon them to save his reputation.


Hahaha. I hate that one too. "Gilligan's Island" just seems to be one of those shows like "I Love Lucy" which has survived decades in reruns. It says something about the genius of the premise and the characters.

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I don't know if you've seen it ... tonight I stumbled across a Fox Late Night show from 1988 that had the entire cast on for a half hour segment. As those things happen, it was over too soon and lacked any real depth, but it was cool to see the cast all together one last time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2PJSgZQG_w

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Interesting. I've never seen that. I thought they were never able to get all 7 together again.

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Especially since Tina Louise always seemed to have such an attitude about being eternally identified with Ginger. I guess she's the last one still alive. Just turned 89. Wow.

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Yes, I've always heard Tina Louise wanted no part of remakes or reunions because she was angry how she became typecast. I was surprised to see her on that. But notice she insisted they play clips from her new film. Lol.

Look at another actress, Sally Field, who played a flying nun. She was never typecast and went on to become an academy award winner. I think the problem was all in Tina's head.

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And Gidget the year before The Flying Nun. Yes, both of those roles could have typecast her. I think a decision which may have helped her out is she only did TV movies after The Flying Nun for a few years. Not another series, and no guest star roles on TV. Then a few years later she had one feature film role, then Smokey and the Bandit, and it was all incredible success from there on.

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Right. I forgot those Gidget movies. Was Field Gidget on tv or did she do a movie?

I dunno, if I was Tina Louise's agent she could have done supporting roles in dramatic films to dispel the image.

One thing I think is funny, Tina said Ginger was supposed to be a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball. Ginger had red hair, but she was always too aloof to get down and dirty and play madcap like Lucy.

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Sally was Gidget in a TV series. Various actresses had the role in movies, including Sandra Dee .

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First thing I think of when someone talks about him is Mr. Magoo

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Mr. Howell may be his best remembered role.

Mr. Magoo was arguably his signature role. I'm not sure he had a signature role.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm pleased my thread generated some traffic. I can't believe I'm the first to post here. He was a unique and wonderful performer.

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👍

And thank you for helping to build up MovieChat's long term archives.

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Don't forget his role in "The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon", a mid-1970's ABC Afterschool Special.

You have no idea how many times this movie was screened at my school for assemblies.

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