Entertainment

Ned Beatty, titanic character actor of ‘Network,’ dies at 83

Published

3 years ago

June 14, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — Ned Beatty, the Oscar-nominated character actor who in half a century of American movies, including “Deliverance,” “Network” and “Superman,” was a booming, indelible presence in even the smallest parts, has died. He was 83.

Beatty’s manager, Deborah Miller, said Beatty died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by friends and loved ones.

After years in regional theater, Beatty was cast in 1972′s “Deliverance” as Bobby Trippe, the happy-go-lucky member of a male river-boating party terrorized by backwoods thugs in “Deliverance.” The scene in which Trippe is brutalized and forced to “squeal like a pig” became the most memorable in the movie and established Beatty as an actor whose name moviegoers may not have known but whose face they always recognized.

“For people like me, there’s a lot of ‘I know you! I know you! What have I seen you in?’” Beatty remarked without rancor in 1992.

Beatty received only one Oscar nomination, as supporting actor for his role as corporate executive Arthur Jensen in 1976′s “Network,” but he contributed to some of the most popular movies of his time and worked constantly, his credits including more than 150 movies and TV shows.

Beatty’s appearance in “Network,” scripted by Paddy Chayefsky an directed by Sidney Lumet, was brief but titanic. His three-minute monologue ranks among the greatest in movies. Jensen summons anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) to a long, dimly lit boardroom for a come-to-Jesus about the elemental powers of media.

“You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won’t have it!” Beatty shouts from across the boardroom before explaining that there is no America, no democracy. “There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.”

He was equally memorable as Otis, the idiot henchman of villainous Lex Luthor in the first two Christopher Reeve “Superman” movies and as the racist sheriff in “White Lightning.” Other films included “All The President’s Men,” “The Front Page,” “Nashville,” and “The Big Easy.” In a 1977 interview, he had explained why he preferred being a supporting actor.

“Stars never want to throw the audience a curveball, but my great joy is throwing curveballs,” he told The New York Times. “Being a star cuts down on your effectiveness as an actor because you become an identifiable part of a product and somewhat predictable. You have to mind your P’s and Q’s and nurture your fans. But I like to surprise the audience, to do the unexpected.”

He landed a rare leading role in the Irish film “Hear My Song” in 1991. The true story of legendary Irish tenor Josef Locke, who disappeared at the height of a brilliant career, it was well reviewed but largely unseen in the United States. Between movies, Beatty worked often in TV and theater. He had recurring roles in “Roseanne” as John Goodman’s father and as a detective on “Homicide: Life on the Street.”

On Broadway he won critical praise (and a Drama Desk Award) for his portrayal of Big Daddy in a revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” a role he had first played as a 21-year-old in a stock company production. His more recent movies included “Toy Story 3” (as the duplicitous stuffed bear Lotso) in 2010 and the villainous tortoise mayor in “Rango.” He retired in 2013.

Ned Thomas Beatty was born in 1937 in Louisville, Ky., and raised in Lexington, where he joined the Protestant Disciples of Christ Christian Church. “It was the theater I attended as a kid,” he told The Associated Press in 1992. “It was where people got down to their truest emotions and talked about things they didn’t talk about in everyday life. … The preaching was very often theatrical.” For a time he thought of becoming a priest, but changed his mind after he was cast in a high school production of “Harvey.”

He spent 10 summers at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, and eight years at the Arena Stage Company in Washington, D.C. At the Arena Stage, he appeared in Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and starred in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” Then his life changed forever when he took a train to New York to audition for director John Boorman for the role of Bobby Trippe. Boorman told him the role was cast, but changed his mind after seeing Beatty audition.

Beatty, who married Sandra Johnson in 1999, had eight children from three previous marriages.

Entertainment

Dr. Phillips Center Brings Nashville Night in Orlando to Judson’s Live

Published

2 weeks ago

April 2, 2024

FNN NEWS

Orlando, Fla. – From the backs of napkins to the bright lights of Music City. Every song has a story– and country music’s top hit-makers are sharing theirs at Judson’s Live beginning April 20, 2024.

Nashville’s most celebrated songwriters who have worked with Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker, to name a few, will take the Judson’s Live stage as part of Nashville Night in Orlando.

“The series has packed venues across Central Florida and we are excited to bring the event and its audiences to Judson’s Live,” says Kathy Ramsberger, president & CEO of the Dr. Phillips Center.

Judson’s Live is the art center’s newest and most intimate music room offering a front row experience to celebrate songwriters, enjoy music and learn about the inspiration behind some of Nashville’s biggest hits.

Entertainment

Day 2: Grammy Nominee Jelly Roll closed out Riptide Music Festival 2023

Published

5 months ago

December 4, 2023

Matt Wolff

MAIMI, Fla. (FNN) – Day 2 offered big names in the alternative/rock world, but also had Audacy bringing back a touch of their Chili Cookoff roots with Jelly Roll headlining. The recent CMA New Artist of the Year, also nominated for 2 Grammy Awards, brought the fire…literally.

Local band Girlfriend Material opened the day with some fun songs including Adam’s Sandler’s “The Chanukkah Song”. Next, Barns Courtney had the fans jumping early as he joined them in the GA section to close our his set.

AWOLNATION showed why they get a lot of airtime on 104.3 The Shark and had the crowd clapping as they played their hit song “Sail”.

Sublime with Rome, one of the longest running bands at Riptide, played hit after hit as lead singer Rome Ramirez showed his appreciation for the road that Sublime paved. Multiple times he sang their praises as he shouted “Long Live Sublime.”

As the sun started to set on the day and festival, Lovely the Band showed why they were invited back to Riptide.

If you’ve never seen The Dirty Heads play, you might not know exactly what type of band they are. When asked on the red carpet, frontman Jared Watson said “That’s what I love about our band. I don’t think there is anyone else like us…I’m proud of that. You can call it alternative, you can call it reggae rock but it’s not really either of them…” Call it what you want (I say reggae/rap/alternative), they were obviously a crowd favorite.

Jelly Roll, who celebrated his 39^th birthday on Sunday, closed out the festival singing all of his hits “Need A Favor” “Son of a Sinner”. He dropped in some cover medleys of old school country “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” and hip-hop “Boys in the Hood / Roughriders / Lose Yourself / Ms. Jackson / Just a Friend” as he shared stories of growing up being the youngest of 5. Jelly Roll is not your average man of god “I do not believe this is a concert. I believe this is family reunion of people that are human together…I believe that heaven has a smoking session and an open bar” he says right before he sang “Smoking Section”. He closed with his latest #1 Country Hit “Save Me” as sparkles rained down.

Entertainment

Day 1: Riptide offers good music and a whole lotta fun

Published

5 months ago

December 3, 2023

Matt Wolff

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (FNN) – Audacy’s Riptide Music Festival returned to Fort Lauderdale Beach yesterday with a solid lineup of bands you’d expect to see at a festival supported by 104.3 the Shark.

Photo by Matt Wolff / Florida National News

Jack Kays of Cincinnati, fresh off his tour, opened things on the Demesmin & Dover Stage. Little Image, a band from Austin, TX, who met in high school were first to play on the main Riptide Stage.

The Beaches (Canada) brought some girl power with their first US Billboard charted single “Blame Brett”. While LoveJoy didn’t rate their performance very high, the crowd was high energy and singing along to “Portrait of a Blank Slate”. Young the Giant (Irvine, CA) had the fans jumping up and down as they closed their set with “My Body”. Bleachers wasted no time as they jumped right in with “I Wanna Get Better”. Jack Antonoff, formerly of fun., was highly engaged with the crowded cracking NJ/Florida jokes, bouncing around, singing all their top songs including the live concert debut of “Modern Girl”. The Black Keys closed out a solid Day 1 of music with their hits “Gold on the Ceiling”, “Little Black Submarine” and “Lonely Boy.

Having been to dozens of music festivals with fans complaining about the crowds, it was a nice change of pace to not have to fight for every inch as the early sets weren’t as heavily attended as in the past. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. For the 2^nd time in a row, the main stage was set facing north instead of to the ocean. This gave a lot more room for GA/VIP to hang out.

Aside from a fun day of music, there were a ton of great activations lead by the Ford Beach House. Whether it was the cowboy hat giveaway, DJ/bands playing, a limbo contest for VIP upgrade or a dance contest to Wobble/Dougie/Gangnam Style, the fans were highly entertained during and in-between performances. Twin Peaks Sports Bar was next door showing todays big games and giving away food/drink coupons. Goya (cookies) and Jolly Time (popcorn) provided the snacks, while Celcius and El Bandido Yankee Tequilla offered free beverage samples. If you are a fan of cigars, Al Capone was giving away cigarillos wrapping paper and lighters.

There was no shortage of giveaways including hats, towels, bags, sunglasses, fly swatters/fans. If you like music, the beach and free stuff, Day 1 didn’t disappoint.

Day 1: See more event photos at Florida National News’ Facebook page.

Day 2 offers big names in the alternative rock world, but also has Audacy bringing back a touch of their Chili Cookoff roots with Jelly Roll headlining.

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Matt Wolff is a South Florida reporter for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com