Monday, May 18, 2009

The Ring Thing (continued)


There's simply no doubt in my mind whatsoever that you are all desperate for more posts about Cyril Ring - the actor whose name is instantly recalled whenever folks gather to discuss the character of Harvey Yates in The Cocoanuts. (See here and here.)
So here's the latest from my fellow Cyril obsessive, Mary O'Benar:

Per yours and Lolita's postulations that Cyril soldiered on because he cared deeply about his craft, I've found one item which may support that: in 1921, Cyril's among a handful of younger actors who create an after-hours review to entertain the theatrical community. Seems to be a rather innovative project, and it's under the aegis of several heavy-hitting guilds/clubs; Lambs, Friars.
That puts Cyril in the big leagues, and functioning with respect and support. If so, then to stick to acting decades after hitting bottom becomes quite tragic.
Cyril's face-time from all those films can't add up to more than 3 hours altogether, maybe less. From this distance, it does seem terribly futile as the work of a lifetime, but, in the end, impossible to know how Cyril saw it.
Cyril's last film part was in 1951, and that's the same year he came into a good inheritance. I did find that he was manager of a very good Hollywood restaurant in the late 1950s - huge bar, established regular hangout for famous movie folk - but I've no idea if he'd been doing that when still working in movies.
If it turns out he was the archetypal 'waiter between acting jobs' for 30 years, that truly would be tragic!

4 comments:

Lolita of the Classics said...

Thanks for the update, Matthew!
I always find it fascinating to dig deeper into the small characters in the film industry - that's where you find the interesting and often sad stories.
Like in my post on the Mack Sennett short "Run Girl Run" - I simply had to look up the "Big Student".
See here: http://lolitasclassics.blogspot.com/2009/05/run-girl-run-1928.html

teydison said...

replica bags prada replica bags hermes replica bags

stetheigh said...

replica bags in london replica prada nylon bags zeal replica bags reviews

Unknown said...

x4p42q5b76 b6o57s5g46 v9v00l8p06 x9j92x8y95 x2l04j2j43 t0d47q8z80