Cool News

PARADISE has a new headliner tonight...

Published at: April 16, 2012, 12:53 a.m. CST

 

The Phantasmagoric Phantom of the Paradise, WILLIAM FRANKLIN FINLEY, has finally captured his headline gig in paradise. Finley the quirky, idiosyncratic character actor in Sisters, Eaten Alive, The Fury, Silent Rage, Tales from the Crypt, Funhouse, Dressed to Kill, Simon, The Black Dahlia, & as the lead in 1974's The Phantom of the Paradise has passed on. He went to Columbia University with Brian De Palma and started acting in some of Brian's school shorts setting forth on the road to a career in strange, weird cinema. Old Father Geek here has all his features, and will view my fave, PARADISE tonight cause I'm sure he's rock'n it hard with "Faust" tonight...

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  • April 16, 2012, 12:56 a.m. CST

    by Kev

    He was in Hardy Boys kinda playing the same character also.

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  • April 16, 2012, 1:20 a.m. CST

    very sad news

    by JADSTERSDAD

    Finley was great in all his roles, but superb in Phantom. He will be missed. Condolences to his family.

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  • April 16, 2012, 1:20 a.m. CST

    Paradise is one of the favorite films of all time

    by gotilk

    and by far my favorite DePalma. RIP. Very sad. He was in The Fury? Wow. It's been so long, but I remember liking that one a lot as well.

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  • April 16, 2012, 1:23 a.m. CST

    Oh no :(

    by CherryValance

    I also love THE PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE. I'll watch it now too. Poor Winslow. RIP

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  • April 16, 2012, 4:11 a.m. CST

    Never Thought I'd Get To Meet The Devil

    by MARCEL_THE_NEGRO_PROJECTIONIST

    Never thought I'd get to meet the devil, Never thought I'd meet him face to face, Thought he always worked alone, That he seldom wrote or used the phone, So I walked right up to meet him at his place... William, is, of course, in heaven now. Rest in peace, Winslow.

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  • April 16, 2012, 7:57 a.m. CST

    WHO?!

    by 1badmutherf@cker

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  • April 16, 2012, 9:26 a.m. CST

    Sad news, one of my favorite films....

    by maverick68

    nm

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  • April 16, 2012, 11:03 a.m. CST

    Il A VENDU SON AME AU DIABLE...

    by fathergeek

    Winslow Leach, jeune compositeur inconnu, tente desesperement de faire connaitre l'opera qu'il a compose. Swan, producteur et patron du label Death Records, est a la recherche de nouveaux talents pour l'inauguration du "PARADISE", le Palais du Rock qu'il veut lancer. Il vole la partition de Leach, et le fait enfermer pour trafic de drogue. Brise', defigure, ayant perdu sa voix, le malheureux compositeur parvient a s'evader. Il revient hanter le "PARADISE"... ...from the rare 2004 French DVD liner notes...

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  • April 16, 2012, 11:05 a.m. CST

    For those who don't speak french:

    by Jaster Mareel

    Winslow Leach, a young unknown composer, trying desperately to make known the opera he composed. Swan, producer and label boss Death Records, is looking for new talent for the inauguration of "PARADISE", the Palace of the Rock wants to launch it. He steals the partition of Leach, and confined him for drug trafficking. Breeze ', disfigured, having lost his voice, the unfortunate composer managed to escape. He returns to haunt the "PARADISE" ...

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  • April 16, 2012, 1:44 p.m. CST

    I Hugged WINSLOW LEACH!!!!!

    by Joanna Oznowicz-Davis

    Recalling a post I wrote after PhantomPalooza (2005) Despite an early-on crush on Swan, which I SOOOOO regret now, for any number of reasons, I always gravitated towards Winslow. I liked the kid's gumption. His 'damn the torpedoes' approach. A fellow phan and I got to talking about the sins and virtures of Winslow and I decided I like him better 'fatally flawed' than faultless. There are a lot of things I'm more careful of, from the business side of the creative world (ie publishing work) because of Winslow and William, and I would have loved to hear any stories he had about those early days.... Oh yes... and I DID meet William. My 'Marcia Brady moment' (with a Brian De Palma twist) and I have both books of Goethe's Faust signed by him and gave a quick hug and a THANK YOU for the impact he, via Winslow, had on me. One other moment I remember, from Phan pal 2, with crystal clarity, is the part of Faust where Winslow KICKS it into high,....the entire audience joined in! I hope William heard that! Chances are, that scene will be repeated at a memorial screening of his movies, (Esp. PotP of Course!) though with a slightly more somber tone. GROUP HUG {{{phriends and Family}}}

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  • April 16, 2012, 2:41 p.m. CST

    I Thought That This Was the Thunder in Paradise Movie....

    by Afzal

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