(Clooney's) Jab at Heston mean & unfair

New York Daily News ^ | 1/27/03 | Bill O'Reilly

[kattracks]

George Clooney's mocking of Charlton Heston's fatal disease has largely been ignored by the press, which may be the result of Heston's status as the president of the National Rifle Association, an organization many in the media loathe. As first reported by syndicated columnist Liz Smith, Clooney opined at a National Board of Review event that "Charlton Heston announced again today that he is suffering from Alzheimer's."

When asked by Smith if the remark went over the line, Clooney replied: "I don't care. Charlton Heston is the head of the NRA; he deserves whatever anyone says about him."

Having had a major dustup with Clooney myself over the problems the United Way had distributing 9/11 charity donations, I know the actor can get very personal. He said nasty things about me, but almost everyone does as well, so that's not important.

However, the remarks directed at Heston are important because they are meanspirited and, perhaps, un-American. It is simply out of line to make fun of someone's personal tragedy because you disagree with his politics.

And then there's the press. Just imagine if a public figure like Clooney had mocked the paralysis of Christopher Reeve or the debilitating condition of Muhammad Ali. The media firestorm would have been ferocious; fear and loathing would have consumed newsrooms everywhere.

But because the press generally disagrees with Heston's politics, the verbal assault on him goes underreported. If you ever needed an example of media bias, this is it.

Most Americans, I believe, do not loathe those with whom they disagree. This country was founded on vigorous debate. But some people simply cannot tolerate differing points of view. Hi, there, George Clooney.

Charlton Heston is not commenting, and his spokesman, Bill Powers, had only this to say about Clooney: "Apparently, in some cases, class skips a generation." Powers, of course, is referencing singer Rosemary Clooney, George's late aunt.

An interesting question now is, will Clooney's increasingly verbose posture hurt his career? In GQ magazine, he called President Bush dim. In another interview he described the Bush administration as being "worse than 'The Sopranos.'" Both comments are certainly permissible in the intense discourse that politics often engenders, but there is a cumulative effect in verbal drive-by assaults.

It is my opinion that Alec Baldwin, an extremely talented actor, derailed his career by making emotional, poorly thought-out statements like those threatening Congressman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) during the Clinton impeachment. Baldwin is no longer on many radar screens, even in liberal Hollywood, and has lately been doing movies for cable television.

The outrageous conduct of Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War absolutely hurt her image among Americans, and she is a divisive figure to this day. Fonda, another talented actor, has not been able to sustain her career.

There is strong evidence that the perception of poor behavior does influence the entertainment choices of many Americans. The career of Woody Allen cratered after he married his stepdaughter. Michael Jackson took a huge career hit after allegations of pedophilia were settled in civil court.

Actions do, indeed, speak louder than words, and it would be foolish to compare the situations of Allen and Jackson with those of Baldwin and Clooney. But it is a mistake to think that barbed words don't matter. Many Americans bitterly resent statements of unfairness and cruelty.

Clooney's remarks about Heston were cruel, and, I predict, may well cause a vocational perfect storm, pun intended. George may be riding high now, but he had better watch it.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

Well said, Bill. Cowards like Clooney wait until their target is incapacitated, before striking from behind.

George? You're a pissant. Compare your mediocre record of 'accomplishment', with Mr Heston's towering achievements on stage, screen, paper, and in politics. No wonder all you can do is snipe from cover.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

I hope that they do try to make Kloony the "New Rush" of the Left. They could spend a billion dollars on this clown, and it would only make Rush, Hannity, and all the others stronger.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Or should we call him: k-looney?

[LiberationIT]

PTTT

[ZULU]

Charleton Heston - towering character actor and real American, defending constitutional rights while suffering from a tragic illness.

George Clooney - entertainment mediocrity, shallow non-entity, and typical Hollyweird freak. At least Heston's illness, however tragic, is limited to his waning days and, perhaps unfortunately, he is aware of its progress.

Clooney - a man with another type of mental disease, one which afflicts him in middle life, and of which he is, apparently, totally oblivious.

[expatguy]

I wish I had his email and his parents email. I might let them know exactly how I feel.

[MadIvan]

I once had the pleasure of seeing Charlton Heston on stage in London, playing Thomas More in "A Man for All Seasons". Without the benefit of microphones, his voice carried throughout the theatre. He has definite stage presence.

Now, let's try and imagine George Clooney trying to be Sir Thomas More.

OK, you can stop laughing now. ;)

Class does sometimes skip a generation. Talent too.

Regards, Ivan

[DoughtyOne]

I don't begrudge actors and actresses making a lot of money, until they trash the nation that made it possible. I'm sure Clooney would much rather have a rapist in the White House than George Bush. I guess he'll just have to bear up for another two to six years. I hope he can get the opportunity to bear up under it for the next twenty.

[RonDog]

I wish I had his email and his parents email. I might let them know exactly how I feel.

See CNN.com:

Legendary actress, singer Rosemary Clooney dies

June 30, 2002 Posted: 11:39 AM EDT (1539 GMT)

BEVERLY HILLS, California (CNN) -- Legendary singer and actress Rosemary Clooney died Saturday night from complications related to lung cancer, her spokeswoman said.

Clooney, 74, was at her home in Beverly Hills surrounded by her family, including her five children, grandchildren and her husband.

Services will be held in Beverly Hills and Kentucky and are pending, according to an official statement from spokeswoman Linda Dozoretz.

In February, Clooney was awarded a lifetime Grammy for her career that spanned seven decades. She was unable to accept the award in person because she was still recovering from lung cancer surgery.

Known for her distinctive, rich voice, Clooney's career humbly began in Cincinnati singing duets on the radio with her younger sister for $20 a week, according to the actress' Web site.

Clooney's childhood was turbulent and short-lived. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky on May 23, 1928. Along with her sister Betty and brother Nick, Clooney was shuttled between her alcoholic father and her mother who traveled constantly. Eventually, the two daughters moved to Cincinnati when Rosemary was 13.

After collecting soda bottles for money to survive, the two sisters successfully auditioned for a spot on Cincinnati's WLW Radio in 1945.

Clooney's first single record, "Come On-a-My House," became a big hit in 1951. It also started her career as a star and headliner. Three years later, in 1954, she co-starred in the classic movie "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby.

Clooney married Jose Ferrer in 1953, and the couple had five children by 1960. Several years later, they divorced. She remarried an old friend, Hollywood dancer Dante DiPaolo in 1996.

In June 1968, Clooney had a brush with history when she was at the celebration at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles with two of her children the night her friend and presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy was killed. One of her children summed it up at the time by saying, "Mamma went nuts."

After that event, her life and career began to fall apart.

Rosemary spoke openly about her subsequent nervous breakdown, hospitalization, drug use and diagnosis of a drug-induced psychosis.

"The whole country was having a nervous breakdown in the late 1960s," she later reflected. "I just had mine in public."

Clooney's friendships with legends such as Crosby, Tony Bennett and Bob Hope helped reignite her career. She was invited to perform with them, and also became known to a younger generation for her voice in Coronet paper towel commercials in the 1980s.

In addition to her husband, DiPaolo, and five children, Rosemary Clooney is survived by ten grandchildren; her brother, Nick, sister Gail Clooney Darley; nephew George Clooney, nieces Cathi Campo and Ada Clooney.

The family asked that any donations be made to the Rosemary Clooney Fund for Support of Pulmonary Research, c/o Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905.

[HHFi]

According to the Box Office Mojo web site, Clooney's much-hyped "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (with fellow political genius Julia Roberts) opened at a lowly #8, earning a paltry $2.8 million on Saturday, or substantially less than half the Saturday take of "Kangaroo Jack," the movie about a rappin' kangaroo that's already been in theaters for over a week. Perhaps George should hire that rappin' kangaroo to make all his public statements for him. And his career decisions, as well.

[RonDog]

Charlton Heston is not commenting, and his spokesman, Bill Powers, had only this to say about Clooney: "Apparently, in some cases, class skips a generation."

It did not skip HIS generation.

See Heston's classy announcement of his condition, from the BBC:

Friday, 9 August, 2002, 19:44 GMT 20:44 UK

Heston suffers Alzheimer's signs

Alzheimer's affects an estimated 4 million Americans

By David Willis
BBC News in Los Angeles

The veteran American actor, Charlton Heston, has announced that he is suffering from a condition consistent with Alzheimer's Disease.

Mr Heston, 78, won an Oscar in 1959 for his performance in Ben Hur and has appeared in more than 100 films.

In a taped statement played to the media at a hotel in Beverley Hills, Mr Heston said he was neither giving up nor giving in.

If I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway

Charlton Heston

"I wanted to prepare a few words for you now because when the time comes I may not be able to".

Charlton Heston found fame as an actor starring in such films as El Cid, Planet of the Apes and as Moses in The Ten Commandments.

Political figure

He said: "For an actor there is no greater loss than the loss of his audience. I can part the Red Sea, but I can't part with you, which is why I won't exclude you from this stage in my life."

Heston in his Oscar-winning role of Ben Hur

"If you see a little less spring in my step, if your name fails to leap to my lips, you'll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please laugh anyway," he continued.

In 1998, Mr Heston became a political figure when elected president of the National Rifle Association.

He led the fight against gun control and successfully fended off moves for tighter regulation of firearms.

[Do Be]

Why not just C-Looney. Or See Looney. Or See the Looney. Or cLooney or Looney. It because he is a looney who doesn't have a Clue. He is a Clueless Looney. Why they call him Clooney.

[jazzlite]

I am a Kentuckian and I can tell you that George Clooney's public comments are a great disappointment to me. His parents are the generation ahead of me and are lovely people as far as I know. I have loved listening to Nick Clooney's radio broadcasts..He is very knowledgeable about fine music, especially from the 30s and 40s and is very nonpolitical in his radio banter. George's Mother, a real beauty, actually dated a friend of ours in her youth. It is hard for me to imagine that they are not distressed and embarrassed about George's poor handling of his political views and about his disrespect of anyone with differing views. And, we all loved and were very proud of Rosemary..In fact, I gave my young daughter Rosemary Clooney CDs for Christmas, at her request. Elder abuse is a serious problem in this nation and verbal or psychological abuse can be as serious as physical abuse. Charleston Heston is one of the world's greatest actors and is still very handsome and smart, in spite of his infirmities. Anyone who would make light of painful and serious physical conditions afflicting a person simply on the basis of differing political opinions is a bit like Hitler himself. Unfortunately, political correctness has one goal and that is not to protect people but instead, to stamp out any opposing political view or value. It is disgusting and sick and I hope George wakes up in time to use his influence for the cause of freedom. I think he needs to come home to KY for awhile so that he can be reprogrammed out of the Hollywood cult which has, evidently, ruined him. Let's hope it is not permanent.

[RonDog]

Here is the contact information for George's FATHER, from the website for WSAI (1530):

NICK CLOONEY

Nick Clooney admits he spent a substantial fraction of his early years in movie theaters. Along with his older sisters Rosemary and Betty, Nick was raised on the World According to Hollywood.

"And now, it's paying off," says Nick, whose interest in and love for films has never waned. "We'd sit in the Saturday darkness of the Russell Theater in Maysville, Kentucky and when we came out, hours later, we would be the characters we had just seen. Movies didn't just provide escape for us. They set goals."...[more]

-- snip --

Nick Clooney writes for The [Cincinnati] Post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Write to him in care of The Post at 125 E. Court St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

E-mails sent to Nick at postliving@cincypost.com will be forwarded to him via regular mail.

[ricpic]

Thanks for the post about Rosemary Clooney.

I always thought of her as a real earth mother type.

Sorry to hear about her breakdown.

[RonDog]

Sorry to hear about her breakdown.

Me, too.

Maybe George can make fun of HER affliction as well. </ sarcasm>

[MarkDel]

Good article. Clooney couldn't live up to Heston in any way shape or form...not as an actor or a man.

The funny thing in the article was the comment if someone had made fun of Muhammad Ali!!! The funny thing is that I make fun of that traitorous Communist scumbag Ali on a regular basis. Sorry if that sounds cruel, but he deserves it...I hate that man with every bone in my body as he represented all that was wrong about the 1960's and the 1970's, and it makes me sick the way he is hero worshipped by the media.

[Muleteam1]

Loony Clooney.

[Bluntpoint]

There is nobody who can play George Clooney like George Clooney in George Clooney films. What range he has.