...Played Edward VII's personal secretary in "Edward VII" and then played Edward VII himself in "Lillie". He was a much too young and handsome Eward. Timothy West should have played the part in both shows, just as Francesca Annis played Lillie Langtry in both shows.
shareLill was far more charming and vital than West's rather prosaic Edward.
shareWhich doesn't make him a better Edward.
The past is a series of presents. The present is living history we are privileged to witness
You think a charming, vital performance isn't better than a prosaic one?
News flash: that DOES make him a better Edward.
ROFLMAO!!!
...by Allen Andrews:
"PROFILE: 5ft 4in high, blue eyes, strong nose, receding chin covered permanently from the time of his twenties by a full beard. His speech was seducrtive. An American journalist wrote, 'He possesses one of the clearest, fullest and best modulated voices I have ever heard and its sympathetic tones excite a magnetic influence on the bearer'....Self-indulgent with women and food, he quickly became corpulent and acquired the nickname 'tum-tum'. He ahd great charm but allowed itnimacy only on his own terms, crushing any reciprocation of his informal advances."
I would say Lill did a better job of oozing the charm but he was hardly the physical type to play Edward and given that West had just played Edward in a series that introduced Francesca Annis as Lillie, it seems strange to me that a fairly tall, good looking actor like Lill would have been substituted for West.
The past is a series of presents. The present is living history we are privileged to witness
You started by saying that Lill's far more charming, vital performance "did not make him a better Edward," a preposterous comment on its face. Now you claim that Lill "was hardly (my emphasis) the physical type to play Edward..." That's not true, but what would that have to do with the quality of his performance? You must've also disagreed with casting Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote and Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. Shall I name more fine actors who brilliantly played historical figures they didn't resemble?
Lill's evocation of Edward was expert, capturing his regalness, lust for pleasure, and the seductiveness and magnetism you cite as salient qualities (which West distinctly lacked) but inexplicably ignore in assessing Lill's performance. As to your mention of height: at 5'9" West is nearly a half-foot too tall to play Edward by your own reckoning. And Lill's fine voice is much closer to that described than the West's.
Again, ROFLMAO! You do have difficulty substantiating your arguments, don't you? How's that logic going?