Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Simply put, John Vernon was one of the best.
He was one of those guys who you could always count on to make the most of any sized role. I think most people immediately think of him as Dean Wormer in ANIMAL HOUSE, where he got some of the best lines in the film. “Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son,” has been one of those quotes I’ve been able to use endlessly since I first saw the movie. But boiling his career down to that one role does the man’s memory a disservice.
He worked in TV and features starting in the mid-‘50s, and he seems to have always been drawn to the sorts of projects that would warm the heart of any geek. He may have played more different characters inside the Marvel Universe than anyone else. He was the voice of The Sub-Mariner for the ‘60s animated show, while he was also Tony Stark on the IRON MAN show of the same era and Maj. Glenn Talbot on the HULK cartoon at the same time. In the mid-‘90s, he was the voice of Doctor Doom on the FANTASTIC FOUR cartoon and Dr. Strange on the SPIDER-MAN series. He also played Rupert Thorne in BATMAN – THE ANIMATED SERIES, so he got to play in the DC Universe a bit, too.
I think the first great role he had to play was in John Boorman’s POINT BLANK, as hard-boiled a film as I’ve ever seen. He worked for Hitchcock in TOPAZ. And then, in 1971, he was the Mayor in DIRTY HARRY, a role that seemed to cement him in the minds of casting directors, and that led to him being directed by Clint Eastwood in the classic THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES. I just picked up CHARLEY VARRICK the other day on DVD, and plan to watch it tonight before I sleep. It’s a wonderful grimy little Walter Matthau crime film, and Vernon’s great in it.
I only got a chance to meet him one time, and it was one of those great strange accidents that happen here in LA from time to time. I was with my wife, and we stopped at the grocery store out in Van Nuys. I didn’t feel like going in, so I was sitting in the car, listening to the radio. As I’m waiting, I see someone walking towards the store, about to pass right by my window, which was rolled down, and I recognized the face of John Vernon. I didn’t really mean to stop him, but I couldn’t help it. I yelped, “John Vernon! Holy cow!”
He stopped, right there by my window, and looked down at me over the top of his glasses. “Yes?”
”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stop you. I just love your work. I grew up on OUTLAW JOSEY WALES and ANIMAL HOUSE.”
He beamed. Huge smile. “That’s so nice of you. Do you know how rare it is that someone knows my real name?”
”Well, I’ll admit, the temptation to call you Dean Wormer was pretty strong...”
He laughed and asked me about myself, and we ended up chatting for about ten minutes before my wife came walking back out to the car. Before he left, he shook my hand, called me by name, and thanked me for making his afternoon. Silly, since I was the one who drove home glowing at how generous he was with his time. To me, autographs aren’t worth the time or the trouble for the most part. What really lasts is the memory of spending a few minutes talking to someone whose work you admire so much, and learning that they are not just a consummate professional, but also incredibly kind and charming.
John Vernon was 72 years old.
"Moriarty" out.
