Monday, May 17, 2021

RIP: Norman Lloyd

Norman Lloyd passed away last week having reached the astonishing age of 106!

He was one of the last great links to Hollywood's past as he had worked with Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin, three of cinema's greatest names. He also worked in stage and on radio - there's an interesting episode of the Listener's Playhouse called "No Program Tonight" which is a metatextual journey through a radio cast rebelling against their director's hackneyed script. And I suppose Star Trek fans will remember him best as Jean-Luc Picard's mentor Richard Galen.

He was an invaluable resource for information on Alfred Hitchcock because he worked with him as an actor and as a producer (the latter role on Alfred Hitchcock Presents). I was very pleased that he appeared on the DVD extras for Hitchcock's Saboteur to discuss his role in that film as the antagonist, and vividly explained how the movie's climactic fall from the Statue of Liberty was created. He also had a terrific anecdote about working with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin's film Limelight.

He had a long and interesting career. Rest in peace Mr. Lloyd.

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