Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

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  • Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

    Watched this film last night for first time. Very biting, very funny, very edifying all at same time.

    But what really moved me was Zero's performance (kind of autobiographical, I guess). Totally Oscar worthy IMO. Son of a gun never got nominated for anything I don't think. I know, it's probably due to him being blacklisted himself, but still. Not even The PRODUCERS.
    Who is like him today?
    "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
    - Screenwriting Friend

  • #2
    Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

    Zero was a huge Broadway star before he started acting in movies. I had the pleasure of seeing him twice on a Broadway stage. And, yes, the Blacklist is his story, as well.

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    • #3
      Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

      I believe Zero Mostel was supposed to play the Larry David role in WHATEVER WORKS back when Woody originally wrote it (the 70s I think?)... so Larry David I guess?

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      • #4
        Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

        Larry David's fun, but Zero was a force of nature. I saw him in Ionesco's "Rhinoceros" with Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson and he nearly tore the theatre down.

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        • #5
          Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

          Never got to see Zero on stage (another reason to envy Jake ) but he sure was a force of nature. Great in THE HOT ROCK as well.
          "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
          - Screenwriting Friend

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          • #6
            Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

            I also have a funny story about Zero in "Fiddler on the Roof". My mother and I went to see it the week it opened in NY. As a teenager in the 30s, my mother worked on Broadway, so ever since then we'd been able to get excellent tickets whenever we wanted them, and we went to the theatre virtually every week.

            So...my mother wore a hearing-aid, and hearing-aids back then weren't the high-tech things one can get today. It created a lot of feedback, and out of respect for the performers (and as we were in the second row), my mother would turn it off.

            Anyway, Zero was standing on the apron of the stage doing his thing, everyone laughed, and there was a silent beat...during which my mother turned and loudly said to me, "What did he say?" I cringed, because Zero was scowling down at us, the sweat pouring off him. I thought he'd kill us both.

            But the show went on.

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            • #7
              Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

              Hahaha. A scowl from Zero must've been a sight to see. He was animated as hell.
              "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
              - Screenwriting Friend

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              • #8
                Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

                He was scary. I thought for a moment he'd murder my mother.

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                • #9
                  Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

                  Originally posted by roscoegino View Post
                  Never got to see Zero on stage (another reason to envy Jake ) but he sure was a force of nature. Great in THE HOT ROCK as well.

                  And he killed in THE PRODUCERS, the original version.
                  "A screenwriter is much like being a fire hydrant with a bunch of dogs lined up around it.- -Frank Miller

                  "A real writer doesn't just want to write; a real writer has to write." -Alan Moore

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                  • #10
                    Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

                    That's a great story, Jake.

                    HH

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                    • #11
                      Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

                      If possible, see the play, "Zero Hour," parts of which can be seen on Youtube.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Zero Mostel in THE FRONT

                        From wikipedia:

                        On 13 January 1960, while exiting a taxi on his way back from rehearsals for the play The Good Soup, Mostel was hit by a number 18 (now the M86) 86th Street crosstown bus, and his leg was crushed. The doctors wanted to amputate the leg, which would have effectively ended his stage career. Mostel refused, accepting the risk of gangrene, and remained hospitalized for four months. The gamble paid off, but for the rest of his life the massively-scarred leg gave him pain and required frequent rests and baths.

                        He trooped it too.
                        "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
                        - Screenwriting Friend

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