I WAS WAITING for the Lincoln Center library to open up this morning, a few minutes before 11--trying to fill the hours of yet another unemployed day with some bare modicum of social interaction--when who should I see but Sam Waterston, the excellent actor who plays the District Attorney on one of the 47 or so incarnations of Law & Order, walking right past me. For some odd reason, I found myself saying "Good Show" to the guy as he walked by dressed in a suit and a beige trench coat. He said "Thanks" and as he walked away, I felt the need to throw out another line, asking him if he was the narrator of the latest Ken Burns PBS documentary on America's national parks. I mean, I watched about 3-4 hours of the series, so I already knew he was, but I guess I wanted some verification to that effect, and he admitted that it indeed was him doing the voice-over. I further surprised / embarrassed myself by complimenting him on a job well done. This time there was no "Thanks" in return; old Sam just kept right on walking. And here I thought we were really hitting it off, just two New Yorkers shooting the breeze of a morning. Of course, looking back, can't really blame him: I probably looked like a stalker type in my shades, or just another street crazy or nosy nutjob to the esteemed thespian, whose best movie role was undoubtedly the journalist in The Killing Fields. I too would have walked away from myself had I been in his shoes. Lord knows I've tried, and we all know how painful that can be.
As Sam left the scene, I remembered that there was a terrific bordering on riveting Law & Order episode about three weeks ago dealing with the prosecution of a John Yoo-type scumbag for his depraved legal brief endorsing the use of harsh, okay-as-long-as-it's-not-fatal interrogation techniques by the last administration. Old Sam really made an impassioned stand against the use of torture in that show, and I would have loved to pick his brain on how close his own views were to those of the character he played. Oh well, now I have some material for next time, including some choice personal info I picked up on Wikipedia. Can you say Rupert Pupkin ??!!
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11 comments:
Next time you see him, just say that you loved him in Serial Mom and that the movie "inspired you."
Chris, I never saw that movie. But yes, I'll have some new material the next time we "bump" into each other. Maybe I can talk my way into being an extra on Law & Order; lord knows there must be dozens of openings considering how many different versions there are of that show.
you celeb stalker!!!
Nah, me and Sam are tight now.
Funny.....I never run into famous people, much less actors of any caliber, here in the Seattle area! Oh well...I miss the days of seeing the likes of Chris Walken and Roscoe Lee Brown milling around on the upper west side!
Hey, we're a regular TMZ here! Good to hear from you, Sher...
Chris Walken, btw, is from astoria, his family had a bakery there up until a few years ago; brother looked just like him, only more sullen.
When I get famous, Warden, we can shat all you want okay buddy? :-)
I hadn't stopped by here in a little bit as you hadn't posted anything in a while. A sabatical?
Ha, ha, "shat" is supposed to be "chat".
Hey Justin, I'm glad you didn't mean shat! But in terms of a sabbatical, it just sorta worked out that way.
Also, my computer kind of crashed in the last week. Can only use the Net in Safe mode, my 25,000 songs no longer playable, as I got a bad virus that prevents Windows Media or any other Music host from playing the files. Sucks big time, altho the MP3 files themselves are safe on my external hard drive. I ran every kind of Scan and antivirus thingies I could, no avail.
It's my own fault for stupidly going on a Napster-type site called MP3 Raid, where I caught the virus that fucked everything up. Luckily I burned a lot of disks with the great music I picked up on sites like Mustard Relics, Bleedin' Out, sIBLING, etc.
Barry , Next time you should show him your Pride & Joy
Hope all is well in Warden World
Last Sunday was pure Bliss Yankees Cowboys Win and a Giants Loss
Vin
Vin, glad to see you didn't become a Panthers fan. Giants looking vulnerable. Is Miles Austin the next Andre Reed, or better? Can Felix Jones stay healthy?
Cliff Lee looked like Steve Carlton last night, and that was no fluke. I don't see Yankees beating him in Game 4 or 5 in Philly either. Parade plans may be on hold.
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