george plimpton accent

And he told everyone that night, and for many years after, that hed diverted me from a career of filling prescriptions. **. In fact, my dads farewells seemed loquacious in comparison to his mothers. George Plimpton, the New York aristocrat and literary journalist whose career was a happy lifelong competition between scholarly pursuits and madcap attempts -- chronicled in self-deprecating. The picture at the top of this post is of the same Westbrook Van Voorhis who epitomized FDR-era announcer-speak but didnt fit the sensibility of the early-cool-cat-era Twilight Zone. George Plimpton | Sport | The Guardian The presentation was called Freedom of the American Road and was made 60 years ago, in 1955, as part of the campaign to build support for the new Interstate Highway system. . Everything he did was like this, just a bit odd. You heard it and it. Hed have that and a scotch on the rocks, his favorite drink. I hope not. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, the writer James Salter said of Plimpton that "he was writing in a genre that really doesn't permit greatness. George Plimpton is beautifully connected. Norman Mailer said that George Plimpton was the best-loved man in New York. A few days after, I went to a Paris Review party and showed off my damaged nose and two black eyes to George. Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak - YouTube "[44], In 2006, the musician Jonathan Coulton wrote the song entitled "A Talk with George", a part of his 'Thing a Week' series, in tribute to Plimpton's many adventures and approach to life. As an old film buff, I am used to this voice, though it figures unevenly in old movies. He came from a family where such endearments were not expressed, and phone conversations were curt. If you are in the big league, God help us all. He liked the fact that I had broken my nose in defeat. In early 1959, George Plimpton was preparing to watch an execution in Cuba. It was so violent that it brought a lot of people to the windows. To me, Mid-Atlantic English is the nom juste for a related but distinct phenomenon (which is also mentioned in Wikipedia). (Every now and then he also called me Sweet Prince, as in Goodnight, Sweet Prince.), Of course, my fathers voice was odd not just in what it said, but in what it couldnt. Bill and I met in Rome, several months after the Paris Review was startedwe were, as they say, courtingand he drove me to Paris so George and Peter [Mathiessen] could look me over. Being, And Appreciating, George Plimpton - krvs.org And you are going to come with me. And later I woke upat 6 a.m. Later I called up George, I said, What happened?, I thought it over, he said, and I took mercy on you. **. I think the term Old Money or patrician pretty much says it. George Plimpton The Movie Database (TMDB) 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. Norman Mailer, author:George had a rare gift. **. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. **. He was immensely generous in every waygenerous about sharing the work and about giving one a chance to edit things. The risky pleasures of Plimpton's classic of participatory sportswriting, Paper Lion. 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. We all just had our own regional accentor non accent, like the flat midwest speak. What fine manners he had! In it Van Voorhis has the formal delivery that would have seemed familiar to many mid-century listeners but which in retrospect we know was on the way out. News children today have no concept of the Mid-Atlantic accent. Get a life. Hear Stories By George Plimpton. 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 . 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. [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. 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. In this campaign, Plimpton touted the superiority regarding the graphics and sounds of Intellivision video games over the Atari 2600.[24]. Your transparent jealousy is very unbecoming, Carnac. Even the manliest actors, such as Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable sometimes slipped into this voice-coach mode. We made $15,000-20,000. Were taking off from Teterburo, N.J., at 4 a.m. tomorrow. Speaking of which, didnt the young Jackie Kennedy have something of this, along with a kinda dreamy, airy, Monroe-esque (though many degrees less contrived) essence to it? George Plimpton - Wikipedia It is the kind of study . Charles McGrath, editor of the New York Times Book Review:I dont think George had played golf in years, but he used to save up oddball tips for me and others. 08:37 Dinner at Elaine's. by George Plimpton. H.V. See below!) I havent heard that he is dead, but if so RIP George. When Muhammad Ali was fighting, George Plimpton was always there. Yes indeed, George Plimpton is a man for all seasons. Documentary Shows George Plimpton's Best Story Was His Own : NPR - NPR.org After St. Bernard's School, Plimpton attended Phillips Exeter Academy (from which he was expelled just shy of graduation), and Daytona Beach High School, where he received his high school diploma,[16] before entering Harvard College in July 1944. Listen to Caruso singing or Bix Beiderbecke playing his cornet to hear how muffled was the recording of those sounds. He rounded first as if he were about to go for a double, then glided back to the base, with fans waving and cheering. Actors Nathan Lane (from Jersey City, NJ) and Robin Williams (grew up in SF Bay area) often adopt this accent. This book is the party that was George's life-and it's a big one-attended by scores of famous people, as well as. In the April 1, 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated, Plimpton pulled off a widely reported April Fools' Day prank. Oh now, Im joking, Carnac ( see? [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. 'Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself' review George Plimpton | About the Film | American Masters | PBS 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". Shadow Box. We worked at the Paris Review on the Rue Garanere for several years together. YESTERDAY IS NOT FAR AWAY. He majored in English. Whom is it spoken bymerely the elite, old-money types? He could have been a fight trainer, a fight manager! rejoiced in the name of Euphemia van Renssalaer Wyatt. "I've decided to stay over here in . 2) Truman v. Kaltenborn, 1949. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yogaand his future in baseball. (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? He did not appear last year, or the year before, and we feared he was done with us. I havent heard that he is dead, but if so RIP George. His father co-founded the law firm Debevoise Plimpton. Was it him? In no way do I recall Plimpton talking in a way that is typically associated with LLa style which, as I understand it, is associated with unclear pronunciation of most consonant cluster. Plimpton had a quasi-Brit patrician accent, which in no way corresponds with the official descriptions of LL that Ive read on the Net. Nevertheless, its a strange thing that one of the great voices of modern storytelling had limitations, restrictions, words, and phrases it was incapable of uttering, matters it could not express: death, love, tragedy. He Was Shot by John Wayne. In his July 1936 obituary, the New York Times described George Arthur Plimpton (13 July 1855-1 July 1936) as an "internationally known publisher and collector, college trustee and philanthropist." As the materials in the George A. Plimpton Papers testify, those four areas of activity dominated Plimpton's public and private lives. Read more. Never heard of this decidedly imprecise term. I think he came down [to the shooting of Paper Lion in] Florida once. Heres a sampling for today, with more planned in the days ahead. Havent heard that term in years. Youll get another shot at the big time, trust me. What exactly is a Boston Brahmin accent? Read more in this thread (long). George was not vainhe didnt care a whit about his image. [47][48] During my fight, my nose got badly broken in the second round, but I did last all four scheduled rounds, though I lost. Plimpton embedded with the Detroit Lions for their three week training camp, an adventure which culminated with him playing quarterback in their annual intra-team preseason scrimmage. It includes clear pronunciation of each and every consonant cluster. NYC speech in the sixties, in some ways, flipped prestige markers. It includes clear pronunciation of each and every consonant cluster. Ill try to give a representative range, and I am grateful for the care and thought that have gone into these responses. expelled from the very expensive, very WASP-y Philips 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. Queen Elizabeth doesnt say car, and neither did Franklin D. Roosevelt, nor did the newsreel announcers or movie actors of his day. [citation needed], In 1963, Plimpton attended preseason training with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League as a backup quarterback, and he ran a few plays in an intrasquad scrimmage. (The filmmakers assembled his voice-over from recorded speeches and other archival footage.) What will you be mad about ten years after youre gone?). Next up: some sociological explanations of why someone like George Gershwin might have tried to speak like Westbrook Van Voorhis. Shadow Box: An Amateur In The Ring -- George Plimpton On Boxing In His League: Being George Plimpton | The Nation The journal, which had operated out of his home, moved downtown. (He intended to face both line-ups, but tired badly and was relieved by Ralph Houk.) Larchmont Lockjaw? [13], Plimpton's son described him as a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant and wrote that both of Plimpton's parents were descended from Mayflower passengers.[14]. Among other challenges for Sports Illustrated, he attempted to play top-level bridge, and spent some time as a high-wire circus performer. [31][32][33] His firework, a Roman candle named "Fat Man",[31][32][33] weighed 720 pounds (330kg)[31] and was expected to rise to 1,000 feet (300m)[33] or more[31] and deliver a wide starburst. Plimpton appeared in the 1989 documentary The Tightrope Dancer which featured the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. Shootout at Rio Lobo", "The Smaller the Ball, the Better the Book: A Game Theory of Literature", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Plimpton&oldid=1137974740, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 10:19. Why Did William F. Buckley Jr. Talk Like That? - Slate Magazine For it was George Plimpton the writer, not the editor nor the celebrity, who was honored here . 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. Those of us whose families are from Larchmont (that would be me) just call it lockjaw. 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. Whether on the football field or on a golf course or in a poem or an essay, the notion of human talent in whatever form excited him. Gay Talese, author:As a young man not long out of university, at 26, 27 years of age, George Plimpton went with his friends to Paris to be benighted in the tradition of Paris culture. Even Orson Welles on occasion. Would you admit to there being symbolism in your novels? We had the book party for my selected poems, Sailing Alone Around the Room, at Georges house on Sept 10, 2001. [3], He was the son of Francis T. P. Plimpton[4] and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons and George Arthur Plimpton. It came from a different era, shouldn't have still existed, but nevertheless, there it wasold New England, old New York, tinged with a hint of King's College King's English. 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. And being good at losing was one of Georges many gifts. Did he have the celebrated Boston Brahmin accent, or was it a psuedo-Brit affectation? What was our problem? George Plimpton was born on March 18, 1927 in New York City, New York, USA. George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. I had made about five thousand egg and tuna sandwiches. Middle class? Thats a common name for such an accent. Puss, and my father enjoyed nothing more than holding the beast high in the air and making strange, affectionate sounds in that distinguished voice: Yeanngghh, Puss Yeaannngh Puss Puss Puss.) He called my sister Puss, too, sometimes, though mostly I think with her it was Kiddo, which he also called me, though there was a period in which he occasionally called me Ernie, which was the dogs name. List of books by author George Plimpton - ThriftBooks The title of the PBS documentary - "Plimpton! 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. And his apartment, with those windows that looked out onto the East River, became a famous landmark in NYC. He modestly shrugged off the compliment, but his bright smile betrayed his pleasureand ours. Katharine Hepburn spoke this way, on and off screen until she died. In 1955 or 56, he went back to New York. George Plimpton - Biography - IMDb How George Plimpton's Sports Books Presaged the First-Person Media Age Youll get another shot at the big time, trust me. Plimpton appeared in the 1989 documentary The Tightrope Dancer which featured the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. In that regard, Plimpton is the perfect candidate, and the proof is in "George, Being George," the compulsively readable oral biography edited by his friend Nelson W. Aldrich Jr. He had the bearing of Gen. MacArthur, but the soul of Charlie Chaplin. He also served as editor of the Harvard Lampoon. [citation needed], Outside the literary world, Plimpton was famous for competing in professional sporting events and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. In the 50s Plimpton and staff came to New York, where they kept the Review going for half a century. I think it was an affectation people adopted because they thought it made them sound much more intelligent! After her transformation, I noted that Mia sounds precisely like her mother, Maureen OSullivan, who had that patrician manner of speaking on and off screen. When George Plimpton Met the Best Bartender in Brooklyn And so when it was time to say goodbye, we did so simplyno awkwardness, no strangled expressions of affectionand this is why, even though it was the last time we ever spoke, and I would never get the chance again, I do not regret not telling him that I loved him. In the "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" episode of The Simpsons, he hosts the "Spellympics" and attempts to bribe Lisa Simpson to lose with the offer of a scholarship at a Seven Sisters College and a hot plate; "it's perfect for soup! His experience was captured in the book Out of My League. What exactly is a Boston Brahmin accent? It was as if some old gentlemans code prohibited us from interacting as human beings. Look out, Wilson! He could as easily have been my grandfather as father. OK? 1) The linguists have a name for it: they call it Mid-Atlantic English. I dont like this name, for reasons Ill explain in a minute. Showdown in the Pits. Bill Buckley, Gore Vidal, George Plimpton. 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. Ill pick you up., I had a hard time sleeping that night, as you might imagine. George Plimpton | Military Wiki | Fandom **Those of us whose families are from Larchmont (that would be me) just call it lockjaw. Articles by George Plimpton - Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com Its a shot from a YouTube video that itself is a fascinating time-capsule portrait of language change. Too old-fashioned. Back to Plimpton I dont remember the LL affect at all. My dad could never say what he feltnot reallyand neither can any of us. *Originally posted by bordelond * The Cuban revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, had just marched on Havana and ousted the US-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista. These interviews are a collaborative effort, and, I believe, a fascinating contribution to literary history. That was when Westbrook van Voorhis, the famous March of Time voice, did the intro narration of the pilot episode of The Twilight Zone. They all sound just like George. The Wikipedia entry for it is quite detailed. 'Plimpton!' documentary looks at George Plimpton's lives And here for the full interview). [29], With Felix Grucci, Plimpton competed in the 16th International Fireworks Festival in 1979 in Monte Carlo. **Mid-Atlantic. Description above from the Wikipedia article George Plimpton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of . That was the last party for a while., I just got back from a road trip from Michigan. The s. When he was on the scene, everything was a big happeningan event. He died on September 26, 2003 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.