Riddle me this:

[joegoda]

Frank Gorshin, who shall always be the Riddler to me has passed into that great Enigma. He finally knows the answers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050518/ap_en_ot/obit_gorshin

When I was a child, doing childish things, I was a member of a gang in my home town. We truely did run around and terrorize other folks and even had a few rumbles. and all of this pre teen, true and true.

The gang I was in called itself the Riddlers, because we had decided to not be sane, and easy task for me. And yes, we wore green.

Frank, I'll miss you. When you weren't being devilish, you were a man of impeccable taste, gentlemanly and quiet. Though I think you were far under-rated and under used, you have remained in my mind in the same calibre as Lemmon, Matheau, Cagney, and Stewart.

Hats off to you, Gent. I sing you up.

Comments

[tapestry01.livejournal.com]

I always saw Frank Gorshin's Riddler as a milestone in television drama. Up until then, bad guys in the movies and TV committed crimes... but sort of felt bad about it later. Movie directors were hesitant to show villians in a completely bad light, and the characters either decided the law didn't apply to them, or they justified their actions with rationalizations. The Riddler was different. Decades before amoral characters like in "Natural Born Killers," the Riddler was a person without any morals or conscience. Here was a bad guy who knew he was a bad guy and enjoyed it-- he had fun stealing things and hurting people.

As far as movie villians go, I would compare Gorshin's Riddler with Jimmy Cagney's character in "White Heat" or Powers Boothe's Jim Jones in "The Guyana Tragedy." They set the standard for movie bad guys that was hard to top.

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is sad news indeed. I admired him greatly and don't think he ever really got the star billing his talent deserved. He was recently here for a one man show and I was too damned busy to go. Add that to my small list of regrets.

One class act. He'll be missed. hmmm...I'll bet her and Tommy are out there in the Summerlands telling each other the most outrageous jokes in all sorts of voices. That's a nice image.

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

Ok.. I'll bite.. Tommy who? Regardless, I hope to find him once again. I suspect that deep in my psyche, he lives on in some twisted, demented sense of humor I have. I can certainly say that it was from him that I developed my affection for 'demons with a sense of humor'

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

Tommy Atkins; the dear faire friend of mine who passed away last week. If you read for that day on my flist, you'll see eulogy after eulogy to him; one of life's true gentleman without being in the least boring or mundane.

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

Then, without a doubt, he and Frank are having a heck of a time. I hope they raise a glass to us, as we raise one to them.

[shackrlu.livejournal.com]

That is very sad news indeed.. he will be missed. I had really wanted to see him in Goodnight Gracie last year at the PAC.. now I really wish I had.