Blake Edwards, a writer and director who was hailed as a Hollywood master of screwball farces and rude comedies like “Victor/Victoria” and the “Pink Panther” movies, died Wednesday night in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 88.
An anecdote from Edwards life:
A lifelong depressive, Mr. Edwards told The New York Times in 2001 that at one point his depression was so bad that he became “seriously suicidal.” After deciding that shooting himself would be too messy and drowning too uncertain, he decided to slit his wrists on the beach at Malibu while looking at the ocean. But while he was holding a two-sided razor, his Great Dane started licking his ear, and his retriever, eager for a game of fetch, dropped a ball in his lap. Trying to get the dog to go away, Mr. Edwards threw the ball, dropped the razor and dislocated his shoulder. “So I think to myself,” he said, “this just isn’t a day to commit suicide.” Trying to retrieve the razor, he stepped on it and ended up in the emergency room.
A harlequin Great Dane
No, this is not Blake Edwards' Great Dane. The photo is from Wikipedia.
Anecdote from the New York Times.
Thanks to Ann for the link to the story.
our Great Dane is sleeping at my feet as I write this. As a Great Dane lover, I just had to thank you for this inspiring story.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course the Golden Retriever would want to place ball. TBTD -- thanks be to dogs
ReplyDeleteer-- that is "play" not place
ReplyDeleteKittKatt, you're quite welcome. And isn't it fitting that Ann, the primary person to whom you owe the thanks, appears in the comments?
ReplyDeleteRésumé
ReplyDeleteRazors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
Drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.
(Dorothy Parker)
It was the obvious poem to quote.
Farewell, Blake, and rest in peace.
Perfect, Cathy, except guns are lawful here and in many other places.
ReplyDeleteI guess they are, and quite possibly they were lawful in some circumstances when Parker wrote her poem (??), but her celebration of the awful, grimly humorous dance of suicide (as she saw it) seemed fitting given that Blake Edwards was rescued from killing himself by two anarchic clowns in the shape of his dogs and the ironic comedy of stepping on his own razor blade.
ReplyDelete(I hope that don't sound pretentious.)
Cathy, I wondered what planet Parker was on when she wrote the poem. With the change of that one word, the poem would be perfect. I know. Nitpicking. I have moods when I am a tad literal-minded. Not often, but when I do, I want things to be right. :-)
ReplyDelete"Dogs Make Everything Better" [Lovely "I Haz a Hotdog" LOLpics to this]
ReplyDeleteJCF, create that picture for us, please.
ReplyDelete