Top Ten Anniversary: Scene Stealers

Moving on to the fourth in a series of Top Ten lists in order to celebrate ten years of Poseidon's Underworld, we come to some of my favorite attention-getters from movies and TV. This is yet another list that could have extended to include another ten people had I chosen to, but this is how it shook out. Many of these folks have been paid tribute here in longer more involved posts (is there any other kind?!) So click on his or her name to learn more if you wish! Alphabetically by their first names, we raise the curtain on these lovable mugs.

ALICE PEARCE - We just adore the uniquely zany Ms. Pearce who went from providing goofy support in movies like On the Town (1949), The Belle of New York (1952) and The Opposite Sex (1956) to making an indelible impression as the original Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched. I mean, it wasn't just her amazing rubber face. She had such a funny, distinctive voice to accompany her hilarious reactions. It was very sad to see this trooper dissipate before our eyes from illness as she was on the cusp of finally becoming truly known to audiences.

AGNES MOOREHEAD - It's quite possible that Ms. Moorehead could play practically any role handed to her, she was that gifted. Never conventionally beautiful, she could nonetheless - as shown here - get damned close when it was her desire to do so. The commanding voice, which was capable of so many inflections and dialects, served her well on radio and in her countless movie and TV roles from the haggard scrub woman Velma in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) to the outre and elegantly menacing Endora on Bewitched.  She did it all from nuns to murderesses and never phoned a part in no matter how minuscule it might be.

BURGESS MEREDITH - With an immediately recognizable voice, Meredith could nonetheless play a vast assortment of types, rarely in an understated way. Every once in a while a little of him could go a long way, but more often he was so absorbed in what he was doing you had to pay heed. His signature scene-stealing part was the zesty Penguin on Batman, but we we also startled by his part in Hurry Sundown (1967), his memorable turn on The Twilight Zone (where, admittedly, he didn't have to steal scenes as he was the only actor!) and his affecting role as the grizzled coach Mickey in the Rocky films, among many others.

FRANK MORGAN -- Mr. Morgan brought unabashed vivacity to so many colorful character parts (not the least of which was his turn as the title character - and others - in 1939's The Wizard of Oz) that it was downright shocking to see him underplay, as he did so wonderfully in The Shop Around the Corner. Like many a strong character actor, he could - regardless of his incredible distinctiveness - effectively play all sorts of roles from the serious to the inane. What I find, over and over, in posts like this one is how important a role the voice plays in crafting memorable roles like each of these people did time and again. It's practically a lost art today among the whisperers and mumblers.

GEORGE SANDERS - Debonair, slick and fascinating are only three words to describe the dazzling Mr. Sanders who could turn a witty phrase better than most anyone else in his (or any) day. I wouldn't say he was necessarily at home in elaborate period movies (at least not ones like Samson and Delilah, 1949), but in any role he made you pay attention to his wry expression and dulcet tones. His Oscar-winning turn in All About Eve (1950) is one of the best examples of his extraordinary way with a line, though he's also good in Rebecca (1939) and so many other movies.

GLADYS COOPER -- Once, believe it or not, England's most prized beauty (and one of the most photographed ones imaginable), Ms. Cooper aged into a startlingly captivating older woman who could send even those such as Bette Davis (in Now, Voyager, 1942) running for cover with one of her snarling glares. In The Song of Bernadette (1943) she was more dynamic. Expert at portraying craggy monsters, she was also adept at playing kindly, wry matrons such as in My Fair Lady (1964.) Off-screen, she was a delightful conversationalist with plenty of good humor.

LAURA HOPE CREWS -- The hysterical Aunt Pittypat of Gone with the Wind (1939) wasn't limited to such endearingly goofy characterizations. She lent able support to Garbo in Camille (1936), worked opposite Shirley Temple in the ill-fated musical The Blue Bird (1940) and was spellbinding as a selfish, needy, possessive mother in The Silver Cord (1933), a rare leading role for her.

PAUL LYNDE -- Probably one of my greatest personal inspirations ever (though I am attempting to avoid hitting the bottle like he did, which did him no favors!) Paul Lynde could take any little part and make it into a laugh riot. People tried to imitate his voice (still do!), but no one could ever "out-Lynde" Paul Lynde.) Apart from his many zany film roles and TV appearances (memorably as Uncle Arthur on Bewitched), he reigned supreme as the center square of Hollywood Squares, doling out double entendres and wacky wisecrackery on a daily basis.

VINCENT PRICE -- I must say again, the voice... He certainly had more than that with his regally sneering features and elegant bearing, but no one had a voice like that resonant sinusy articulate king of Poe horror films. And even though that was one of his chief claims to fame, he was so much more, playing Richelieu in The Three Musketeers (1948) or a merciless master builder in The Ten Commandments (1956.) He could be dangerous, but also could add liberal doses of tongue in cheek humor to his parts if called for. Like several people in this post, he played a Batman villain; in this case Egghead.

WARREN HYMER -- Who?? If you're not a fan of 1930s Hollywood movies, he may not resonate with you, but diehard buffs will recall him as the sidekick to many a star or as a goofy cop or gangster in many, many movies (such as One Way Passage, 1932, with William Powell and Kay Francis.) I certainly could never forget his dim-witted turn in Kid Millions (1934) with Eddie Cantor in which he placed a comedic kiss on the star's lips. Hard-drinking Hymer's career was severely derailed when he outrageously went into Columbia Picture's president Harry Cohn's office and urinated all over his desk!

BONUS!

I was almost done with this post when I realized that I had omitted one of the greatest scene-stealers of all time, who could shift focus from the stars by merely appearing on screen and popping her eyes (this before she started in with that raspy, no-nonsense voice of hers!) HATTIE McDANIEL -- Though highly limited to what roles were available to her thanks to the racial strictures of the time, McDaniel took the bowlful of lemons offered her and turned them into lemonade that extended all the way to a history-making Oscar statuette for her iconic role in Gone with the Wind (1939.) She famously quipped, when asked about the "demeaning" roles she played time and again, "I'd rather play a maid than be one." (Her weekly salary was 100 times that of a real domestic!) Facing oppression not only from audiences and the studios who hired her, but also from fellow people of color who felt she sold out, she nonetheless brought joy to film after film, worked alongside virtually every top star and was set to star in her own TV series when breast cancer claimed her at only age fifty-nine.