The comic genius of 'Airplane'
Looks like I picked the wrong day to honor Lloyd Bridges. Actually, it's the perfect day. Today, Bridges would have been 295 years old. (Actually, just 95, but doesn't it seem like he's been around that long?)
Bridges is old school -- capital O and S. But his contributions to the 80s are worth a tip 'o the cap. "Love Boat" episodes. "Paper Dolls." Horny old "Vincent Kozinski" in "Cousins." (Dude, I loved him back in '78 playing Commander Cain in Battlestar Galactica!) And though they fell in the 90s, he kills me in "Joe Versus The Volcano" and "Hot Shots."
But any discussion of Bridges is incomplete without considering his role as "Steven McCroskey" in the "Airplane" movies. I have no idea whether he understood the comic genius of his role at the time, but Bridges was legendary in the original flick.
Alas, Bridges passed away in 1998. But somewhere up there, he's going to enjoy today's top 5 list.
TOP 5 MEMORABLE LLOYD BRIDGES LINES:
5. "Well, does it take more guts to twice traverse a staircase in a burning building, or to make a one-time leap into a volcano? Damned if I know, Kemosabe." (Joe Versus The Volcano)
4. "My eyes are ceramic. Caught a bazooka round at Little Big Horn. Or was it Okinawa? The one without the Indians." (Hot Shots)
3. "I'd rather have a case of the clap than a case of this wine." (Cousins)
2. "And I can sum it all up in just one word: courage, dedication, daring, pride, pluck, spirit, grit, mettle, and G-U-T-S, guts! Why, Ted Striker's got more guts in his little finger than most of us have in our large intestine, including the colon!" (Airplane II)
1. "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue." (Airplane)
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Lloyd Bridges, GENIUS! Love the man's work. He made the movie Cousins completely watchable. Without him, that movie would have stunk. Airplane!... too many good things to say about him in that one, your blog isn't big enough.
Posted by: Bassnote | January 15, 2008 at 02:30 PM
In the words of Bill Murray...
"Quien es mas macho: David Janssen, Lloyd Bridges o Jack Lord?"
"Es Lloyd Bridges, naturalmente."
Posted by: jane | January 15, 2008 at 03:11 PM
I was watching "The Big Lebowski" on cable last week (LOVE that movie!) and I actually thought how hilarious Lloyd would have been as the Dude's father.
Posted by: Jeff in Cuba | January 15, 2008 at 04:18 PM
Anybody remember "Joe Forrester"? Late 70s, I think. Bridges played a beat cop. An ad for the show featured him taking out an escaping perp by throwing his nightstick and causing the bad guy to trip over it. That's the kind of thing they don't teach you at the academy, damn it! Mostly because throwing any kind of weapon towards a criminal is almost never a good idea...unless you're Lloyd Bridges.
Posted by: Clark | January 15, 2008 at 04:47 PM
Not a week goes by that I don't use the "Looks like I picked a bad week to..." line. Classic!
Posted by: DC | January 15, 2008 at 10:27 PM
Don't forget his Seinfeld appearances in the 90's as Mr. Mandelbaum, the "athletic" trainer. Hilarious!
Posted by: malibu | January 16, 2008 at 11:54 AM
A great movie!
My favorite line from the movie:
Elaine: "We've got to get them to the hospital."
Striker: "A hospital! What is it?"
Elaine: "It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now."
Posted by: Sweet Lou | January 16, 2008 at 12:03 PM