Book 30 (of 52) – I Must Say: My Life As A Humble Comedy Legend

I Must Say: My Life As A Humble Comedy Legend - Martin Short

I Must Say: My Life As A Humble Comedy Legend – Martin Short

When I saw that Martin Short’s memoir, I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend, was on sale on the Kindle bookstore, I decided to pick it up despite not being that big of a Martin Short fan.  Sure, I enjoyed him in films such as Three Amigos! and Innerspace, but he wouldn’t have come to mind when I thought of my favorite comedians.  After reading the book, that certainly has changed.

Short chronicles his life, going from Hamilton, Ontario to Toronto and then to New York and Los Angeles, enjoying professional success while suffering personal tragedy, including the loss of a brother and both parents by the time he turned 20.  He also writes lovingly of his wife, who also died early, and that chapter, I must admit, hit me harder than I would have expected.  He does such a good job of conveying the relationship between him and his wife that you really feel the punch in the gut when she finally succumbs to cancer.

Since finishing the book, I’ve watched the only live-action film of his streaming on Netflix that I hadn’t previously seen, the forgettable Three Fugitives.  I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more of his work going forward.

 

You Ought To Be In (10) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we start with the 14 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen.

Amy Adams

I was first introduced to Amy Adams back in 2001 via the direct-to-video sequel to Cruel Intentions.  Things were quiet until 2008, when I saw her in Enchanted, which started a four year run with at least one film per year.  2010 was big Amy Adams year for me, where she starred in 4 different movies that I saw that year.  The last movie I saw featuring her was last year’s Man of Steel.

Jessica Alba

My first movie exposure to Jessica Alba was the 2000 indie thriller Paranoid.  2004 kicked off a 4 year run of at least one film per year.  2009 was my high water mark in Jessica Alba films, when I saw 3 of them.  Her run as Sue Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise accounted for 2 of the 10 films.  2010’s Valentine’s Day, which I saw in 2011, was the last film I saw starring Alba.

Dan Aykroyd

My first Dan Aykroyd film was likely 1984’s Ghostbusters.  My best Aykroyd years were 1988 and 1996, when I saw 2 of his films in each year.  2002 was the last year I saw an Aykroyd-starring vehicle, 200’s Stardom.

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