Antagonists, Villains, and Anti-Heroes, Oh My!

As Lucky Ladybug mentioned in her previous entry, she and I happened upon a few archived news articles about Simon that helped us understand a bit more about him.  We already knew before that he was an extremely talented actor who could fit in flawlessly in any genre, taking on roles of different kinds.  We also already knew that he was a Renaissance man---an actor of the screen, of the stage, and also a musician, as well.  And we also knew that with a filmography covering decades of media and bringing to life several vibrant characters (featuring an impressive group of heroes, anti-heroes, and villains), there’s guaranteed to be something in Simon’s credits to please even the pickiest TV or movie watcher, if not absolutely enamor them altogether.

I have mentioned in previous posts about several of Simon’s complex characters, including ones that you couldn’t help but sympathize with a little bit, even if they were in the wrong.  I normally don’t think too much of villain or anti-hero characters, yet I found myself curious about William Poole from Bonanza, siding with and worrying for Frank Epstein in Hawaii Five-O, laughing at Nick from Follow That Dream, crying for Adam Howard in The Big Valley, pitying Howard Walters in Perry Mason, and being intrigued by Lt. Schrank in West Side Story. 

Even someone like Stawski from The Sand Pebbles---a man who, at times, was an utter brute and, if he were real, would’ve gotten a slap upside the face if he ever crossed paths with me---managed to have me captivated during the times he wasn’t making me cringe.  My feelings of intrigue and curiosity for these villains and/or anti-heroes puzzled me initially, especially in the case of Stawski, who was a character that, normally, I would’ve detested immensely at his worst.  But I found that I couldn’t hate him; he did have his good moments, plus there was the fact that I was able to see past the brutishness of the character and appreciate Simon’s acting ability.  I decided not to overthink and try to analyze why I didn’t hate Stawski, so I just shrugged it off.

After Lucky Ladybug and I made our article archive discovery, we were both thrilled to find an article where Simon described how he brought his antagonistic characters to life---that he tried to make them as multifaceted as possible and showcase their good points.  And, suddenly, the lightbulb went off in my head and I realized that was why I couldn’t find it in me to hate Stawski; Stawski did have his good moments, and that definitely factored into my accepting the character.

It’s why I couldn’t bring myself to hate Adam Howard in The Big Valley, either.  Every fiber of my being was ready to loathe Adam for some of the things he had done.  But then he just had to launch into a heartfelt speech that had me in tears, and I couldn’t hate him anymore than I could Stawski.

It’s why I sided with Frank Epstein in Hawaii Five-O, believing him when there was (initially) no evidence to otherwise, despite his short temper and sharp tongue, and why I was so worried when it became clear he was heading for a trap.

It’s also why I find myself intrigued by Lt. Schrank, whose abrasive words I would normally find repulsive and would want nothing more to do with him---but then it seems that his words are just a product of his own frustrations and that he might not even mean them.  It doesn’t excuse him, but it opens up another way to look at his character.

For a while, before I read that article, I was initially worried about myself because of my inability to detest these antagonistic characters that I normally would detest (Frank Epstein is not included among these---he was vindicated, as the Hawaii Five-O episode later revealed, which earned from me a sigh of relief and an “I knew it…”).  Was I so charmed by Simon that I was letting my personal standards slip in regards to some of those nastier characters?  I didn’t want to think so, and after reading that article, I realized that I hadn’t; it was Simon’s intent to give those antagonistic characters another side to them and make them difficult to loathe.  In the article, he referred to it as a “trick.”  Well, it looks as though I’ve fallen for that trick, and on more than one occasion, yet!

And you know what?  I don’t mind at all.

~Crystal Rose

Into the West

It isn’t everyday that a movie/TV genre you previously thought was dull and boring eventually becomes a favorite.  I was never a fan of the Western genre for a number of reasons.  The whole “gunslinger” archetype made my eyes roll, someone always seemed to be feuding with someone else, and the landscape was noticeably lacking in greenery (guess I’m too used to seeing a carpet of grass around…).  I was convinced that nothing would ever change my mind.

Enter Simon Oakland.

Though, it did take a while for him to get me to change my mind.  I never counted his “Cowboy” role from Get Smart as a Western (the character had been on his way to a costume party), and my eyes were otherwise drawn to Tony Vincenzo and General Moore.  It was sometime afterwards that I found out about a character called Mel Barnes, from the Bonanza episode “Justice Deferred.”

Out of sheer curiosity, I took at look at “Justice Deferred.”  Surprising though it was to see Simon playing a character so cruel and malicious (and yet thrilling to see him break the fourth wall in the opening credits—in the most adorable way possible), it was even more surprising for me to realize that I liked the episode, despite its Western genre.  I quickly wrote this off as a one-time thing.  Sometime after that, I looked at another Bonanza episode: “Thunder Man.”  Once again, Simon played a character that was cruel and malicious… but, this time, the character (William Poole) was also a wonderful singer.  “Thunder Man” still remains the only time I’ve ever heard Simon sing, but that alone cemented this episode as a favorite for me.  Poole has intrigued me so much as a character, as well, from his mysterious backstory to whether or not he was once a decent man who was corrupted by madness.

I conceded that I was now a fan of Bonanza.  Even then, I considered it to be a fluke—the one Western that I would like.  And, once again, Simon would prove me wrong.  First The Virginian episode “Letter of the Law” and then “The Secret” episode of The Big Valley warmed me up to the genre slightly more.  I found that, thanks to Simon’s wonderful acting, I could look past the feuds and the lack of greenery and enjoy the story.

However, there was still one more hurdle to get me to get past my dismissal of the Western genre—the “gunslinger” archetype.  Looking back, it was a weird quirk of mine; I couldn’t stand watching an Old West gun duel, yet if people were dueling with tamed monsters or a card game, I was all for it.  But I stayed away from shows like Gunsmoke just to avoid the archetype.

And then came my first watching of the “Overland Express” episode of Gunsmoke, in which Simon’s character (Jim Nation) was, for once, not a cold and malicious character.  And I was enamored.  The archetype wasn’t as bad as I thought, and it was a thrill to see Simon play a good guy, for once (and it was also amusing to see him trying not to break character at one point; he was smiling in amusement when one of the other characters was talking about greasing a wagon wheel with cheese).  Seeing other episodes of Gunsmoke, even ones where Simon wasn’t even in, eventually followed.

Sometimes, all it takes is one person to get us to see things in a different light, with a more open mind.  And I am forever grateful to Simon for introducing me to a genre that was intriguing after all.

~Crystal Rose

Teardrops: the Tear-Jerking Roles of Simon Oakland

A good actor is one who is able to instill a variety of emotions in those who see his work.  Simon Oakland definitely fits that description; he brought to life so many characters that evoked adoration, anger, shock, laughter, and tears.

A good tear-jerking role can be a wonderful catharsis for the viewer, and I have been moved to tears by some of Simon’s roles.  I mentioned in an earlier entry about Adam Howard, from “The Secret” episode of The Big Valley.  It was Adam’s heartfelt and heartbreaking speech where he lamented about his dream of having a son being all a lie—as he was certain that the son he had been raising wasn’t his—that made me feel for him and cry for him, despite whatever cruelties he was doing.  The interaction with the child in question was also very tear-jerking; Adam genuinely cares for the child, even despite all of his doubts that he is not the boy’s real father.  Adam himself seems torn up about it, too, his voice cracking up when the boy presents him with a hand-made wallet.

Two more of Simon’s tear-jerking roles can be found in two separate episodes of Hawaii Five-O: “Strangers in Our Own Land” and “The Reunion.”  In the former, Simon’s character, Benny Kalua, seems absolutely broken and devastated upon hearing about the death of a friend with whom he had a love-hate relationship. Though we find out later that he has things to hide, one cannot help but feel for him initially.  And one can’t help but feel even more for his character in “The Reunion,” Frank Epstein.  Frank is a veteran of the Second World War, who had been interred in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp with two other companions.  Tortured by the cruel and calculating commandant, Frank eventually lost his leg before it was all over.  Bitter and vengeful after all of these years, Frank is shocked and enraged to see the very same commandant in Hawaii, though the man insists he is mistaken.  Eventually, though, it’s revealed that Frank was right, and that the commandant—still as cruel and calculating as ever—has led him right into a trap.  Thankfully, he’s able to hold his own against the commandant until Steve and Danny arrive, but the commandant taunts Frank, hoping to get him to kill him while Steve is desperately trying to convince him not to.  As the commandant cruelly reminds Frank of all he had inflicted upon him, poor Frank can do little more than stare into his worst enemy’s face and blink back tears of rage—and the viewers can do little more than wish they could help him.  Alas, the version of this episode I saw cuts off before we see what Frank’s final decision was (and if anyone reading this happens to know what that is, by all means, please tell me!).

But, by far, my favorite of Simon’s tear-jerking roles was the Wagon Train episode, “The Donna Fuller Story.”  Simon plays what must be one of the most adorable roles of his career: Alonzo Galezio, a cheerful and animated winemaker from Sicily, looking to make a fresh start in the United States, bringing barrels of his best wine and grape plants.  He falls head-over-heels for Donna Fuller, a prim and proper widow, who happens to be the head of a group of ladies determined to see the consumption of alcohol eradicated.  Initially, Alonzo is unaware of her stance on this, and she is unaware of his career, and she is initially attracted to him.  However, once she finds out that he is a winemaker, she drops him cold, and you can see the poor man’s heart just shattering to pieces, unable to fathom why she does this.  Even after she reveals her reasons, he desperately tries to get her to see that he is a good man, even if he does make wine, but she will hear none of it.  And then, it gets worse; in her group’s crusade to eradicate all alcohol on the wagon train, they end up getting to and destroying all of the barrels of wine that Alonzo had brought, and a good number of the grape plants.  Simon plays the role with such believability as Alonzo breaks down and narrates his tale of how being terrorized by the mafia had forced him to flee to America, and now he finds himself ruined again at the hands of a mob, his dreams all but shattered.  By the end of it, you just want to hug him and tell him that it’ll somehow be okay (and, thankfully, it is).

It’s just another testament to how powerful an actor Simon was—that a young lady such as myself can cry for an angry and bitter man or an adorable winemaker whose world has been turned upside-down.  But they are good tears, most definitely, each one an appreciation of an actor who was the master of his craft.

~Crystal Rose

Sympathetic Villains: More than Meets the Eye

Lucky Ladybug already did a musing on Simon’s villain characters who deserve no sympathy; I decided to a musing on those villain/antagonist characters who, despite the things they’ve done, either make you feel sorry for them or end up redeeming themselves in some way.

There’s Nick, the shady casino owner from Follow that Dream, for starters.  He’s definitely not a nice person, trying multiple plots to get rid of Toby Kwimper, whom he considers to be a thorn in his side.  True, Nick doesn’t really have any sympathetic traits; nor does he redeem himself in any way.  But the sheer level of backfiring that his plans undergo make him an incredibly ineffective villain—and one you can’t help but laugh at.

But once we deal with sympathetic villains, it’s a whole new game; Simon never fails to tug on the heartstrings, even when playing a villain.  William Poole, from “The Thunder Man” episode of Bonanza confides that his girlfriend was killed in an accident involving one of his demolition charges.  Whether or not he was being truthful is debatable (granted, he isn’t the most trustworthy of people), but if he is, then it certainly explains his descent into madness—a madness that is revealed in its entirety at the episode’s end, when he declares himself to be above the powers of Heaven and Earth.  At any rate, Poole is a madman, and one has to wonder if, underneath the madness, he was once a nice, decent person.

Joe Palakopolous (known by his nickname of Mr. Pal), from “The Canada Run” episode of The Untouchables, is another interesting case.  While he is a nasty sort, manipulating the head of a local church, Father Gregory, into being an unwitting pawn in his scheme to smuggle whiskey from Canada, there is no denying that Mr. Pal does donate a great portion of his wealth to Father Gregory to help him set up a soup kitchen that the hungry in town desperately need, plus other additions to the church.  Father Gregory is touched by his generosity, and becomes horrified and sad when he discovers Mr. Pal’s true motives.  And yet, there is still a part of Father Gregory that pities Mr. Pal—one that the audience might also end up sharing.

Also take the case of Mel Grayson, from the “Puzzlelock” episode of Ironside.  Grayson is a nasty fellow, having killed his wife and covered his tracks expertly.  However, as cold and calculated as his plan was, Grayson does have one shred of decency—he does not want anyone else to be arrested in his place, either.  This eventually proves to be his undoing, as his desperation to clear names ends up with him falling right into Ironside’s hands.

However, my favorite kind of villain/antagonist characters that Simon plays are the ones that eventually redeem themselves—or, at least, are well on the road to doing so.  An interesting example here is Stawski, from The Sand Pebbles.  When sober, Stawski is, in fact, a reasonably amiable and decent man—welcoming Steve McQueen’s character, Holman, aboard and later coming to the aid of a Chinese worker who ends up badly injured in an engine room accident.  Unfortunately, those good traits seem to vanish once alcohol hits his bloodstream, leaving behind an obnoxious and almost primal man.  He shamelessly chases after the local girls, and while some of them return his affections, he still insists on chasing after the one girl who wants nothing to do with him.  When Stawski ends up antagonizing another one of the workers, Po-Han, who happens to be a friend of Holman’s, it ends with a boxing match between Stawski and Po-Han.  Stawski acts horribly towards Po-Han as the fight begins, taunting and intimidating him—and then unleashing the no-holds-barred beatdown once Po-Han tries fighting back.  Po-Han does, eventually, emerge victorious, and Stawski retreats to the background.  It’s here that Stawski appears to be on the road to redemption.  He’s noticeably less boisterous; when a fight breaks out feet away from where he’s standing, rather than joining it, he merely looks away, as though he’s disgusted with the whole thing.  And though he initially is among the group of sailors who insist that Holman should turn himself in to a mob that’s after him, he eventually relents with the rest of them.  And when Holman attempts to single-handedly run the engine room to try to get them out of the river, Stawski is the first one to go and help him, taking orders from Holman without complaint and apparently letting go of their feud.

Simon plays both sides of Stawski amazing well.  Decent-Stawski made me almost cheer.  Obnoxious-Stawski made me visibly cringe.  They almost seem like two different characters; it’s absolutely amazing.

Another antagonistic character with redeemable qualities that Simon played is Adam Howard, from “The Secret” episode of The Big Valley.  Adam is very vengeful and spiteful, determined to drive a group of ranchers to ruin because he believes one of them to have had an affair with his wife—and that the son he has been raising isn’t really his.  The actions Adam takes detestable—having the man in question beaten up, and then cutting off the ranchers’ water supply.  The latter action absolutely infuriated me, as it resulted in the death of a calf.  And yet, Adam’s interaction with the son-that-may-not-be-his is too poignant for words—that, in spite of his suspicions, he unconditionally cares for this child.  And Adam’s heartbreaking confession that he had wanted a son so badly—and that he’s devastated that this dream he thought had come true may in fact be all a lie—moved me to tears.  As the episode’s events draw to a close, Adam heads down the road of redemption, as well—traversing it at a fairly quick pace, I’m pleased to say.

It’s simply amazing how one man can bring to life so many antagonistic characters that draw a variety of emotions.  Nick made me laugh.  Adam made me cry.  Stawski made me cringe and fume.  And William Poole made me stare in shock.  All of these varied antagonists are once again proof of Simon’s incredible acting talent.

~Crystal Rose