tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post115624679559277505..comments2024-03-28T14:08:21.590-04:00Comments on Nicholas Stix, Uncensored: Bruno Kirby: Rest in Peace, PalNicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12372393717833610657noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-57777641286029873902020-08-10T13:46:10.852-04:002020-08-10T13:46:10.852-04:00City Slickers was SUCH a great, funny movie. I wat...City Slickers was SUCH a great, funny movie. I watch it today and I laugh at the same places as the first time I saw it. It's always a risk to do a sequel to something THAT successful. I am very much a Billy Crystal fan and yet, I can see why Bruno opted out of the sequel. It just didn't measure up. Loyalty is a big deal in ANY business and Kirby opting out must've caused hurt feelings. I wish they could've repaired this. They had wonderful chemistry together. I was shocked when I heard Bruno passed away. We lost a real talent that day.NickieBlueBirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16439796786386433113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-7860512307723201242019-11-22T21:07:18.666-05:002019-11-22T21:07:18.666-05:00"During or shortly after the making of City S...<i>"During or shortly after the making of City Slickers, Kirby and Crystal had a falling out, and not only would Crystal no longer work with Kirby, but neither would any of the many producers and directors associated with Crystal, or even friends of his friends."</i><br /><br />Where's your evidence for "neither would any of the many producers and directors associated with Crystal, or even friends of his friends"? Crystal may have cut Kirby loose, but where's the evidence that he actively (and successfully) blackballed him? Would Garry Shandling not count as a friend of Crystal? Funny that Shandling cast Kirby five times in his show after the supposed blackballing.<br /><br />Is it not entirely more likely that Kirby sank again without Crystal's help? Let's look at Kirby's career pre-Crystal: 1974, he does a brilliant job in the hugely successful "Godfather Part II". He didn't have a notable part again until "Good Morning, Vietnam" in 1987. That's 13 years later. He absolutely rocked that part, but it didn't do anything for his career, either. Two more years of unnotable parts followed before Crystal brought him along for "When Harry Met Sally" in 1989.<br /><br />That's when things, finally, began to change for him.<br /><br />He got a part in the Sean Penn/Robert DeNiro box-office bomb, "We're No Angels". Garry Shandling gave him a recurring role in his first HBO show, and he got a major part in "The Freshman" opposite Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando. All within 12 months -- after 20 years of acting, and despite appearing in several major films prior to that.<br /><br />The truth is that, despite being a brilliant actor, Kirby had limited roles open to him. That's just how Hollywood is. How many reviews of "City Slickers II" lamented his absence? How many audience members even noticed that Jon Lovitz had taken his part? It's a sad fact, because he really was brilliant and talented. Hollywood, and the public, are cruel.<br /><br />"City Slickers" was a Billy Crystal movie through and through. He may not have directed it, but he co-wrote the script (uncredited), telling many real-life stories from his life in the film. Crystal was the high-tide that raised all boats. Maybe Kirby didn't care for that, and just wanted to work.<br /><br />Whatever the reason for their falling out, there's no denying that, despite what you try and claim, the 16 years following the supposed blackballing were far more successful for Kirby than the preceding 20. He was in hugely successful projects like "The Basketball Diaries", "Fraser", "Homicide: Life on the Street", "Sleepers" (again with Robert DeNiro), "Mad About You", "Donnie Brasco", "The Larry Sanders Show", and "Stuart Little". In fact they were all in the 90s. That's a fairly successful decade for a character actor.<br /><br />If you want to point to a place where Kirby's career really hit its nadir, it was from 2000 onwards. Was Crystal really responsible for that?Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13086939028445362188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-48079466112483247842017-03-03T12:08:05.032-05:002017-03-03T12:08:05.032-05:00Wow some great information I never knew. Watching ...Wow some great information I never knew. Watching Godfather Epic 1&2 right now. Thought I'd google BK for information.Billy Crystal kinda lucky Overated..he was pretty good on SOAP..really lucky right place right timeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-79867741984716625022017-02-06T12:42:11.004-05:002017-02-06T12:42:11.004-05:00That was a very nice piece about Mr Kirby. I also ...That was a very nice piece about Mr Kirby. I also enjoyed his roles and was sad when he passed. <br /><br />Thank you for the inside baseball.<br />MM<br /><br />BTW, Crystal is a whacked out REgressive and can kiss my butt.MMinWAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03791810228821770464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-51279973829342575532017-01-29T14:37:19.998-05:002017-01-29T14:37:19.998-05:00How sad. Ending friendships are always hard,but to...How sad. Ending friendships are always hard,but to deny a man his livelihood is just inexcusable. <br />I remember how I found out about Bruno's death. I was watching the Oscars. Funny,I don't remember if Billy was hosting, but they were doing the montage of all the people who had passed that year.<br />Bruno received the loudest and longest applause.I thought to myself, I'm so glad he was so respected.<br />Thank you for explaining what had happened. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-45392356817911407342016-09-06T22:42:28.027-04:002016-09-06T22:42:28.027-04:00@William H. Goldman, God bless you sir for having ...@William H. Goldman, God bless you sir for having the courage to say what needed saying 10 years ago! - Buzz Kyler, Fort Worth, TexasAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551642369736930837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-47343993358721390162016-04-01T05:45:19.038-04:002016-04-01T05:45:19.038-04:00rest in peace, my ASS. you killed Bruno while he w...rest in peace, my ASS. you killed Bruno while he was Dying of Leukemia. I RESPECT CRYSTAL AS AN ARTIST, AND A FELLOW JEWISH PERSON, BUT DETEST THE WAY HE TREATED HIS SUPPOSED FRIEND. GROW UP, BILLY. STOP BEING A PUTZ, WHICH YOU SURELY ARE. COME ON, LANTZMAN. MAKE YOUR FELLOW LANTZMANS PROUD OF YOU. STOP ACTING LIKE A SCHMECKEL, OR SCHMECKELOVITCH, THE WORST KIND. DO THE RIGHT THING BILLY, FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE. WILLIAM H. GOLDMAN NATIVE FLORIDIAN, NOW LIVING IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA WITH MY WIFE OF ALMOST SIX YEARS, PAMELA SUE GREEN GOLDMAN, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. MAY GOD GRANT US SEVERAL MORE YEARS TOGETHER AS HUSBAND AND WIFE. LA CHIAM, BILLY CRYSTAL AND WIFE JANET GOLDFINGER.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-67948166045097503882013-07-05T07:23:12.662-04:002013-07-05T07:23:12.662-04:00I saw an interview with Bruno Kirby where he talke...I saw an interview with Bruno Kirby where he talked about City Slickers I. He said that he would never "do that show again because he had the director telling him what to do on the one hand and 'someone else' always telling him what to do on the other." Given Billy Crystal's reputation, I figured out Bruno's meaning was "Crytal clear" -- that Bruno Kirby had suffered incessant criticism from Crystal throughout the filming of the movie. <br />A couple of men who wrote a book on how stars treated their fans said that Crystal was nasty to them. They wondered if it was just them and they just rubbed Crystal the wrong way, so they watched his interaction with other fans. They were trying to be objective. The answer was "nope, it was just Crystal being his impatient dismissive self." Too bad for Bruno Kirby.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-72589162902496240182013-05-09T01:30:57.308-04:002013-05-09T01:30:57.308-04:00I used to work at the Hollywood Improv (1979). Whe...I used to work at the Hollywood Improv (1979). When I first saw Bruno having a drink at the bar I went up to him and told him how great he was in Godfather II. He was very grateful, asked my name and over the course of 10+ years I would occasionally be at an event where he was and he always came over to me to say Hello and ALWAYS remembered my name. A Classy and talented man.Brucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08104531604797774212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-70238983028741603122011-03-12T03:25:40.043-05:002011-03-12T03:25:40.043-05:00I came across your wonderful tribute after witness...I came across your wonderful tribute after witnessing an equally wonderful tribute (Of sorts.) recently. <br />Grabbing a quick bite to eat in a dismal lounge in LAX I noticed Lynn Sellers sitting on the other side of the restaurant seating area. Figuring that she wouldn't remember me, my father worked with her in the late 80's, I didn't bother to go over and introduce myself as it would only disturb the magazine article that she seemed to be engrossed in.<br />Suddenly, in one of those weird syncronicity moments, that I feel our awareness of separates us from the animals, the bartender turned up the lounge television that had been at a murmer so that the busboy could hear the audio. After the limo scene from This Is Spinal Tap ended the bartender verbally recreated the outtake of Mr. Kirby singing in his underwear for the already amused busboy, sharing his opinion that it was a crying shame that the funniest scene in the film was cut. As the description and opinion finished, Mrs. Sellers packed up her magazine and other small effects with a very large smile on her face.<br />As a child of an entertainment family you quickly learn how little onscreen presence and tabloid persona has to do with the individual behind them. From my own experience in that dingy airport lounge coupled with the wonderful comments in, and in response to, your piece whatever Billy Crystal may or may not have done to Mr. Kirby's career is irrelevant: I have yet to tell, hear or read a complimentary annecdote about Billy Crystal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-6514403522324092352010-01-14T22:11:54.033-05:002010-01-14T22:11:54.033-05:00Thanks for that.
Mr. Bruno Kirby gave me much happ...Thanks for that.<br />Mr. Bruno Kirby gave me much happiness. Sweet memories, always.GGGALLOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06176402801977662243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-73232196530261506322009-11-26T17:47:56.612-05:002009-11-26T17:47:56.612-05:00I was definitely a fan of Bruno Kirby, and loved t...I was definitely a fan of Bruno Kirby, and loved the chemistry he and Billy Crystal had in their films together, with "When Harry Met Sally" being my favorite. When Bruno didn't appear in "City Slickers 2" with Billy, or any movie after that, I wondered what had happened, b/c they were so good together. I agree that none of Billy's movies since those two have been as good (although I agree that "Monster's Inc" came the closest...I enjoyed that one.) It's unfortunate that things happened as they did and that this duo, and their friendship, never recovered. :(starry118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-79069393255788032212008-03-16T16:21:00.000-04:002008-03-16T16:21:00.000-04:00I am trying to get a message to Billy Crystal--you...I am trying to get a message to Billy Crystal--you may know how I can do that. Here's the message:<BR/><BR/>Mr. Crystal,<BR/><BR/>Congratulations on your major league at bat—more so, congratulations on doing it at 60 years of age. I’m sure every adult senior baseball player, especially those, like me, who are in our 60s, 70s, and beyond enjoyed the experience with you. <BR/><BR/>I would like to send you a copy of my book, Baseball: Never Too Old to Play “The” Game, which captures the essence of the experience and challenge of continuing to play baseball while growing older at the same time. Your love of baseball and your ability to continue to cross the white lines are consistent with the themes that run through the book. I’m sure you will enjoy it, as have other baseball fans and senior players around the country. <BR/><BR/>I am 62 and have been playing about 75 games each year in local leagues and in tournaments around the country and the world. There is baseball to be played and continuing to play is not about age. As Satchel Paige said, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” <BR/><BR/>Please let me know where I can send a book. <BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>Al Spector<BR/><BR/>www.aaspector.com<BR/>BballNever2Old@aol.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-89081089447023819982007-10-13T19:18:00.000-04:002007-10-13T19:18:00.000-04:00Jonathan, the scene in the limo wasn't cut, but th...Jonathan, the scene in the limo wasn't cut, but there is another, quite lengthy, scene which was cut whereby the band get him stoned. This was cut from the theatrical version but included in the deleted scenes in the Spinal Tap DVD releaseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24200494.post-1156943500790230792006-08-30T09:11:00.000-04:002006-08-30T09:11:00.000-04:00Nice tribute. I had no idea that the limo scene wa...Nice tribute. I had no idea that the limo scene was cut from the theatrical release of "Spinal Tap." I thought I recalled seeing it on VHS in the 90s. I'm almost sure I did.<BR/><BR/>I always thought Kirby was wasted in "Donnie Brasco." It was a relatively important part but it didn't seem like he was asked to draw upon his talents.Jonathan Pottshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433924194960127561noreply@blogger.com