Its a joke to say 500 of my closest friends, but that would have been true with George1,000 of his closest friends, actually. **. The first minute is a cameo by Henry Ford II, who speaks in an utterly flat Midwest rather than Mid-Atlantic accent that no one would call elegant but that would sound perfectly natural in 2015. While I don't normally think of Lithgow as speaking with a Mid-Atlantic accent, he does a great job affecting one for the role. This kept his magazine fresh for 50 years. But he could easily have said, Alice, I have enough trouble raising money for my magazine.. [citation needed], In the movie Plimpton! At Harvard, Plimpton was a classmate and close personal friend of Robert F. Kennedy. He also served as editor of the Harvard Lampoon. One reader writes: I've wondered whether that "announcer English" was at least partly caused by poor loudspeakers and microphones. Interesting that the two competitors for his anchor chair were both fully vernacular speakers from the South and West: Mudd and Rather. "[25] He had a recurring role as the grandfather of Dr. Carter on the NBC series ER. With the evolution of talkies in the late 1920s, voice was first heard in motion pictures. Elaine Kaufman, owner of Elaines restaurant:Over the 40 years I knew him, George came in often, sometimes twice a week, usually on his way back from a cocktail party. His experience was captured in the book Out of My League. I just knew it was going to be something terrible. One of the magazine's most notable discoveries was author and screenplay writer Terry Southern, who was living in Paris at the time and formed a lifelong friendship with Plimpton, along with writer Alexander Trocchi and future classical and jazz pioneer David Amram. He joined us in Monte Carlo when we won the international [fireworks] competition. $ 9.19 - $ 32.19. And so it seemed only fitting to commemorate his death with the form he made his own.Meghan ORourke. The limited frequency response of the recording technology of the late 19th and early 20th centuries has left us with only a pale, and sometimes caricatural image of the original sound. Here's a look inside the space, where the Paris Review editor hosted legendary parties. That was the last party for a while., I just got back from a road trip from Michigan. Norman Mailer said that George Plimpton was the best-loved man in New York. My suspicion is that the shift might have begun in the switch away from the two paired styles in American movies, the classical acting of the British School and the rapid patter of popular American actors (Marx Brothers, Cagney, Powell and Loy, etc), and over to the Method Acting style of the Strasberg/Brando/Dean school. Peter even came with us on our honeymoon in Ravello, though George didnt. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yogaand his future in baseball. A similar phenomenon can be noted in the use, well into the 1980s, of the recorded sound of teletype machines in the background of newscasts, a sound still faintly evoked by the bip-bip-bip patterns of music that often introduces news broadcasts, even though teletype machines are long gone The subconscious association of this pattern of sound with news is fading fast with the passing of the years and will undoubtedly disappear entirely in the coming decade as surely as the over-enunciated style of radio speech of the 30s disappeared within a generation of its no longer being needed. No, my fathers voice was not an act, something chosen or practiced in front of mirrors: he came from a different world, where people talked differently, and about different things; where certain things were discussed, and certain things were notand his voice simply reflected this. Peter Matthiesen, author, co-founder of the Paris Review:I was in Liberia, of all places, and George met me in Monrovia. The Mid-Atlantic accent, or Transatlantic accent, is a . 3 people found this helpful . But for now, just one more category: 3) Changing technology, changing voices. Havent heard that term in years. That life couldnt contain him, hed burst its seams like it was an old coat two sizes too small. [35], Plimpton was known for his distinctive accent which, by Plimpton's own admission, was often mistaken for an English accent. And you are going to come with me. Besides, third is a very respectable showing! The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Read more. He is also credited with saving, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Plimpton! (A variation is the Locust Valley Lockjaw.). [41] She is the daughter of James Chittenden Dudley,[42] a managing partner of Manhattan-based investment firm Dudley and Company, and geologist Elisabeth Claypool. When George Plimpton Met the Best Bartender in Brooklyn Two New York Legends Collide By Tim Sultan February 26, 2016 The only other person that I had known who possessed a similar charisma to Sunny Balzano's was my first employer in New York: George Plimpton. These are some of the things my father could not say: Shit. Fuck. I love you. His curses were never actually curse-words, though it was perhaps because of this that they held such weight. Listen to Caruso singing or Bix Beiderbecke playing his cornet to hear how muffled was the recording of those sounds. I have a memory of George emerging out of the bush, with a terrible sunburn on his nose and face and legs; he was in safari gear, none of it hanging together very well, and over it all he was wearing a nice blue blazer. George Plimpton Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family . The last time I heard my fathers voice, it was over the telephone. Of the Murrow Boys, Eric Sevareid held on to the newsreel style the longest; relying on memory, Im betting that we could actually watch the transition away from that to a more vernacular style in the long career of Walter Cronkite. From what other people had told me, I knew a little bit about itthat my father (and mother) had been right by Bobbys side in California when he was shot, that my father had tackled Sirhan Sirhan to the ground, and wrestled the gun from his handbut not a word of it came from my dad himself. The Curious Case Of Sidd Finch. Brown & Co. Re-issued George Plimpton Sports Books, 2016. As Poling puts it, George was known as an unrivaled raconteur and, in making a film of his life story, it only seemed natural to allow him to tell it.. I think that perhaps Harris' portrayal of Dr. Smith made the accent so identified with cowardly buffoonery that no one in the baby boom generation and later would want to use the accent as anything other than a joke. rejoiced in the name of Euphemia van Renssalaer Wyatt. It's a Scottish accent that's been modified somewhat for a mainstream audience that tends to associate them with Groundskeeper Willie. In fact, my dads farewells seemed loquacious in comparison to his mothers. And being good at losing was one of Georges many gifts. The guys here in Detroit treated him like one of us. She was also the great-granddaughter on her father's side of Oakes Ames (18041873), an industrialist and congressman who was implicated in the Crdit Mobilier railroad scandal of 1872; and Governor-General of New Orleans Benjamin Franklin Butler, an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts. Revolutionary musket, a stairwell and a housemaster), He had, for instance, a series of antiquated phrases and terms of affection. But he would do this in the most charming and agreeable way. Plimpton was an optimist, a teller of amusing and amazing stories. It sounds like Somerset Maugham, was a favorite putdown. Cambridge. The risky pleasures of Plimpton's classic of participatory sportswriting, Paper Lion. You heard it and it could only be him. That was when Westbrook van Voorhis, the famous March of Time voice, did the intro narration of the pilot episode of The Twilight Zone. For his grandfather, the publisher and philanthropist, see, Calvin Gay Plimpton and Priscilla G. Lewis were the parents of, He was widely reviled for years after the war by Southern whites, who gave him the nickname "Beast Butler." I mean, if George Plimpton wasnt my father and Id never met him, and I heard that voice emerge from his lips and matched it with his severe Roman features and his usual blue blazer, oxford shirt, and tie, I might have assumed that he was a little pompous or snooty or affected. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, directed by Tom Bean and Luke Poling, was released. **Get a life. By George Plimpton. But Labov said that in post-World War II New York, fancier people started becoming rhotic, and recovering their Rs. ), this isnt some kind of morbid contest to see who can be the first to inform the board of some celebritys death. [citation needed], Plimpton's studies at Harvard were interrupted by military service from 1945 to 1948, during which time he served in Italy as an Army tank driver. [40] They had two children: Medora Ames Plimpton and Taylor Ames Plimpton, who has published a memoir entitled Notes from the Night: A Life After Dark. December 17, 2022 Rafael Garca. Her mother, a writer and critic for Commonweal and Catholic World. Spoke in a mid-Atlantic accent, reflecting a privileged Upper East Side (in New York City) upbringing. Vault. Kaltenborn was a famous mid . He was stationed primarily in Italy, where he worked as a tank driver. George Plimpton was born on March 18, 1927 in New York City, New York, USA. *Originally posted by bordelond * I havent heard that he is dead, but if so RIP George. She was the daughter of writers Willard R. Espy[39] and Hilda S. Cole, who had, earlier in her career, been a publicity agent for Kate Smith and Fred Waring. Plimpton appeared in the 1989 documentary The Tightrope Dancer which featured the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. George Plimpton is beautifully connected. He also appeared in the 1996 documentary When We Were Kings about the "Rumble in the Jungle" 1974 Ali-Foreman Championship fight opposite Norman Mailer crediting Muhammad Ali as a poet who composed the world's shortest poem: "Me? Plimpton entered Harvard as a member of the Class of 1948, but did not graduate until 1950 due to intervening military service. By George Plimpton. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. Family (1) Spouse Next up: some sociological explanations of why someone like George Gershwin might have tried to speak like Westbrook Van Voorhis. He was a great addition to the human race. As a result, this American version of a posh accent has all but disappeared even among the American upper classes. It was so tiny that if you saw him in it, you couldnt believe hed be able to get himself out of it. What exactly is a Boston Brahmin accent? George . Return of the Big Bopper. Sometimes, we used to have quarrels, because he thought I took too many poems: Are you turning this magazine into a poetry magazine? he would say. Plimpton was married twice. He was respected by all. You can. He Was Shot by John Wayne. For instance: Mid-Atlantic English was the dominant dialect among the Northeastern American upper class through the first half of the 20th century. Even the most basic conversation was often a struggle. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. The Wikipedia entry for it is quite detailed. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 September 25, 2003) was an American writer. Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career. [5][6][7][8][9][10] His father was a successful corporate lawyer and partner of the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton; he was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, serving from 1961 to 1965. He thought Castro might come. Billy Collins, poet:Im one of these people who went from crashing Georges parties in the 70s to being invited in the 80s. Again with thanks to Jonathan Fields, here's the continuation of George Plimpton's famous interview of Ernest Hemingway from the Paris Review, Summer 1958. He appeared in the PBS American Masters documentary on Andy Warhol. She would not even say goodbye. Youd be on the phone with him and get to the end of the conversation, and youd say I love you, Dad, and at most, hed reply, without subject or object, Love, like he was signing a letter. We had the book party for my selected poems, Sailing Alone Around the Room, at Georges house on Sept 10, 2001. There was one more matter I never heard my dad discuss. Manhattan DVD. *Originally posted by cuauhtemoc * That is, until I saw the documentarythe assassination of his dear friend Bobby Kennedy. He very much approved. So it was that my father played himself not just in movies and on TV, but in life, too. He once said that, in writing Paper Lion, he wanted to reveal the "humor and grace" of football. Jean Harlow, one of my favorites, is all over the map with this, sometimes sounding like a tough streetwalker, other times like a society matron, and, oddly, slipping in and out of both dialects in the same role, or even in one sentence. [citation needed] Some of these events, such as his stint with the Colts, and an attempt at stand-up comedy, were presented on the ABC television network as a series of specials. He was very understanding of what we did and how we did it. By George Plimpton. Was it me? Robert Silvers, editor, the New York Review of Books:I met George on the Ile Saint-Louis in 1953 as I was leaving NATO headquarters. We were going to go looking for strange birds. Plimpton was .the public face of the New York intellectual: tweedy, eclectic and with a plummy accent he himself described as "Eastern seaboard cosmopolitan." . *Originally posted by CBCD * That made him a great storyteller. Too old-fashioned. He was an actor and writer, known for Good Will Hunting (1997), Nixon (1995) and Just Cause (1995). George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He looked like a very eccentric old Englishman. Mia had the perfect model! A lordly accent acquired at St. Bernard's and burnished later at Cambridge, in England, enhanced his distinguished aura, as did elevated stature and a silver head of hair which might have encouraged a career in politics but mercifully did not. [28], Plimpton was a demolitions expert in the post-World War II Army. Tom Nowatzke, fullback, Detroit Lions (In the 1960s, Plimpton briefly played with the Detroit Lions asresearch for the best-selling book Paper Lion, which was later made into a film):I was the No. With a little more practice, you could give us boys in the big leagues a run for our money. So we got together and, after some preliminaries, he popped the question that he was really there to ask. Ken Auletta, author:Sometime after age 70, when his reflexes dulled, George took to the sidelines in the Artists and Writers softball game in Easthampton, N.Y. Each year his name was announced, and each year he was hailed by the crowd, who paid more attention to him than to the game. He was "George Plimpton"-editor, host . I dont give a rats ass about informing anyone about the death of Plimpton. Jonathan Ames, author:Back in the fall of 1999, in preparation for my one and only boxing match, I read George Plimptons great book, Shadow Box, where he recounted his foray into the world of boxing and his famous encounter with Archie Moore. silk-stockinged New Englander - private schools (he was A heuristic approximation! Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. He has the same type of patrician upper-class New Yorker accent as Jane Wyatt. Alan Alda, portraying my dad in the movie version of Paper Lion (his book on playing quarterback for the Detroit Lions), didnt bother with his voice at all. We were bound to play the roles of father and son, unable to simply be ourselves. Call me back.. He called his computer the machine. At dinner, when offered seconds, he would often decline by saying, Thank you, no, Ive had a gracious plenty. He called my mom Puss (this was also the name of our fat, raccoon-striped cat, though he was Mr. If you listen to Grossman (who is originally from Boston) starting about 15 seconds into the clip below, youll see that he uses a split-the-difference UK/US hybrid that is literally mid-Atlantic, in the sense of combining accents from both countries, but is different from the newsreel announcer voice: You should talk to William Labov [JF: I will try] , pioneering sociolinguist, whose landmark study into New York City speech led him to ask the same question you have. He had it, as does/did William Buckley, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Julia Child. Plimpton was a writer-raconteur and dilettante in the best sense of the word: He co-founded an important literary magazine, the . He grew up in New York City with bona fide WASP credentials; became the longtime editor of the Paris Review, working with many of the great novelists of the day; contributed to the New Journalism. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also an accomplished birdwatcher. Typical of George to laugh about something others saw as a defining traithe never took himself all that seriously. For it was George Plimpton the writer, not the editor nor the celebrity, who was honored here . In 1955 or 56, he went back to New York. George Plimpton (1927-2003) George Plimpton was the editor of The Paris Review from its founding in 1953 until his death in 2003. Yes he is gone. Sidd Finch was a fictional character George had created for a Sports Illustrated story, supposedly the greatest and fastest pitcher in the world. And he told everyone that night, and for many years after, that hed diverted me from a career of filling prescriptions. In another cartoon in The New Yorker, a patient looks up at the masked surgeon about to operate on him and asks, "Wait a minute! Isnt that what they call it. When he found a story to be short of the mark, he rejected it no matter who the author wasan old friend, a Pulitzer winner, an unknown. I saw him [last] Wednesday night at a party; we rode home together, and he told me that he was planning to go down to Cuba, to revisit the site of his famous interview with Hemingway. Daniel Kunitz, managing editor of the Paris Review from1995-2000: I once heard George joking with William F. Buckley on the phone about how they had the last affected accents in New York. He was equally at home on a bicycle or getting out of a limousine with a Saudi Arabian prince. Vault. There was intellectual heft in the Plimpton genes too: one Ames was a Professor of Botany, another was Governor of Massachusetts, another relation was a publisher, and yet another a writer-philanthropist fascinated with the subject of how the great figures of the past were educated Young Georges educational path was precisely that of a That tension between what was in his heart and what his voice allowed him to express is the basic tension of language we all face, only heightened. Butch, he says, because he always called me Butch. H.V. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, which documents his life, adventures, and work as participatory journalist and editor of the Paris Review, my dad will be playing himself one more time. I only wish I could not tell him again, just one more time. He majored in English. (My dads been dead nearly ten years: not that he held many in his life, but what grudges could he possibly be holding on to now? I never thought that George slept. The Scout Is a Lonely Hunter. And I felt such love for my sweet old excited dad at that moment that I thought I would do him the favor of not telling him so, of leaving it unsaid. LL is typified, I think, but an almost clenching of the teeth while talking, producing a mushy sound, if you will. And he stood there ebullient and charming all night; he bid on many items himself. 2023 Cond Nast. How to find out, and whether you should care. expelled from the very expensive, very WASP-y Philips Ill pick you up., I had a hard time sleeping that night, as you might imagine. Plimpton was an omnipresence for much of American cultural lifeboth high and lowin the last third of the 20th century. He was also known for "participatory journalism," including accounts of his active involvement in professional sporting events, acting in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra[1] and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. This brings us back to the why things changed question. George Plimpton, who has died aged 76, became a best-selling author by not only writing about sporting heroes but by participating in those sports as well. He wrote, "I suppose in a mild way there is a lesson to be learned for the young, or the young at heart the gumption to get out and try one's wings". Hed have that and a scotch on the rocks, his favorite drink. The most recent was about how to extend the swing though impact, and the trick, George said, was to station an imaginary dwarf several feet in front of your ball and then (you have to re-create those broad Plimptonian vowels here) smack the dwarf in the ass. I dont know whether it works, because I cant think of it without laughing. Never heard of this decidedly imprecise term. George Plimpton. Plimpton was associated with the literary magazine in Paris, Merlin, which folded because the State Department withdrew its support.[why?] The Sidd Finch story was accompanied by a series of photos which managed to convince even the eagle-eyed fans . Labov suspected that WWII had something to do about it. On Saturday Night Live, even the great impersonator Dana Carvey couldnt get it quite right. He watched the first pitch sail high for a ball, and then hit a rope into left field. Mr. Plimpton was born in Manhattan in 1927 and raised in Huntington, L.I. I havent heard that he is dead, but if so RIP George. George Plimpton: what kind of accent? I just heard that George Plimpton has died. $ 3.99 - $ 27.44. Its something different, and Ive not encountered that in the mid-Atlantic. George was the one who read my name out to the commissioner. He could as easily have been my grandfather as father. He had it all going! [citation needed]. Plimpton also appeared in a number of feature films as an extra and in cameo appearances. Think of the accent of Jane Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies. George was not vainhe didnt care a whit about his image. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. He liked the fact that I had broken my nose in defeat. * Plimpton played Tom Hanks's antagonistic father in Volunteers. Ive lived in Boston for 30 years and have never heard a George Plimpton accent; so I guess it must be a Larchmont accent, *Originally posted by Carnac the Magnificent! If he couldnt be taken quite seriously, that was fine with him (he took himself lightly, and relished being in on the joke). Since all we have are recordings of those long-vanished voices, we do not and cannot know whether people spoke "this way" when they were not being recorded, although I would be willing to wager that they did not.