Actors Who Remind Me of My Father

If you've been following this blog for a while (or at least have read my archives), you may remember a post I did called "An Ode to my Father". In the post I said:

I find that my interest in classic films stems mostly from my constant need to understand my father. The decades from the 1920s to the 1960s intrigue me the most because these are the years my dad lived through but also the decades of his life that I know little about. Watching these films and getting a taste of what those decades were like, I feel like I can better connect with him.

Something unique about my experience with classic films is that I see my father in many actors on screen. Perhaps it's familiarity but I think my dad's look is indistinctive. I've seen many men, mostly on TV and in film, share distinct characteristics with my father. One notable figure is Dan Rather, whom I always imagined as my television father when I was growing up. Rather's eyes, hair, the shape of his face and his build were all very similar to my dad's. And even though my mother and father were right next to me as we watched Dan Rather on the news every night, I always saw another version of him on screen.

This is a post I've been meaning to do for a long time: to round up all the classic film actors that remind me of my father and list the physical and non-physical attributes that create the similarities in my mind. I'm automatically endeared to these actors because of their resemblance to my dad. I like them even more if they happened to be talented actors with excellent films.

(image from Classic Film Scans)

Edward G. Robinson

It's mostly his hair style, the hunch of his back and his shorter height. His eyes, nose and mouth are almost exaggerated versions of my father's facial features. The suits Robinson wore fit him in a similar way that suits fit my dad: a little loose and a little long but still fitting to the frame.

Walter Matthau

It's the droopy jowls that do it. My father has a less exaggerated version of those same jowls. His thick dark hair and tan skin also remind me a bit of my dad.

Ernest Borgnine

My dad and Borgnine have similarly shaped heads, the same sort of hunch and similar builds. Their eyebrows today kind of match too. While their personalities are totally opposite from one another, Borgnine and my father share similar laughs.

Jack Lemmon

I can't quite point this one out except for the fact that my father's casual wear was very similar to what Jack Lemmon wore in numerous movies. Everytime I see Lemmon on screen I get a dad vibe from him.

John Garfield

My dad was a tough kid. He got into a fist fight with another kid and the fight resulted in my dad losing all hearing in one ear. My dad would also spend the summers by the seaport knitting fishnets for local fishermen. I like to think that when my dad was a teenager that he looked a bit like John Garfield. Sweet face with a tough edge.

Claude Rains

It doesn't hurt that Claude Rains played many fatherly type roles during his film career. His build, his eyes, his hair and more notably his chin remind me a lot of my father.

James Mason

I think James Mason's features remind me more of the men on my dad's side of the family than they do my dad specifically. It's mostly Mason's angular European face, thick hair, square face and gentile demeanor that remind me of the M. men.

George Sanders

The similarity isn't physical at all. I like to think my dad was like George Sanders when he lived in Europe. A well-dressed rogue, excellent at conversation and a bit elusive. Plus Sanders had some bad luck with the ladies and my dad did as well before he met my mother of course.

(from Classic Film Scans)

Glenn Ford

It is uncanny how similar Glenn Ford's face was to my fathers. The eyes, the nose, the mouth, the shape of the face, even the ears and the hair. It all works. I look at Glenn Ford and something within me calls out "dad?!".

Do any classic film stars remind you of your father or mother? Other family member? Friend? Acquaintance? Guy you saw on the subway? I'd love to hear your responses.

Across the Pacific (1942)

(from Film Noir Photos)

What an excruciatingly boring film. I could not get into it no matter how hard I tried. The story was convoluted, the characters were not interesting and I quickly lost interest. In my research of Bogart's connection with Ben Affleck (don't ask), I discovered that Bogie wore a toupee for many years. I spent most of the movie watching his hair. He wore a fedora throughout the film so the moments in which his head were exposed were what kept me watching this movie until the end.

Kate Gabrielle over at Scathingly Brilliant makes these beautiful Etsy Treasuries including one inspired by one of my favorite films Come September (1961). She gave me some advice on how to make them and since I have nothing to say about Across the Pacific instead of a big fat yawn, I decided to take elements from the film and turn them into a treasury. 

Brother Orchid (1940) and the Battle Between Selflessness and Selfishness

I'm going to Europe, see?

It's not easy being selfless in a society that rewards selfishness and promotes individualism. Take Little John Sarto (Edward G. Robinson) for instance. He's a top-notch gangster who has always gotten what he wanted by elbowing his way towards the big prize. He leads a group of gangsters, including Jack Buck (Humphrey Bogart), in a racket that coerces companies, both sellers and buyers, into joining "protection associations". If any buyer wants to buy from a seller, both parties have to be in the association. That means both parties have to kick back a fee to the association for this so-called "protection". What a great scam. Sarto needled his way into an already existing market and found a way to make money without doing anything other than intimidating people.

Check out that halo!

So when everyone turns on Sarto and he find himself badly injured and in front of a monastery, he is taken in by selfless, charitable men who want nothing but to see him get well. They want no compensation in any form. Just to see him heal. What's with this racket? How do they make a profit? They grow flowers, sell them, and any money leftover after overhead goes to charities. There is one particularly heartbreaking scene which I was hoping to provide as a clip to you but alas it was not meant to be. The brothers are giving Sarto (now Brother Orchid) a haircut when Brother Superior walks in and proclaims that he shall give all of the brothers a special treat since they earned 2 extra dollars off of their rose sales. They'll have watermelon for Thursday evening's dinner. Oh swell! Sarto/Orchid looks on with disdain. Watermelon? Big flipping deal. Then a young boy, shoeless and destitute walks in. The brothers take pity on him and give him the $2 for a new pair of shoes and scoff at the thought of watermelon. That scene just tore my heart right out of my chest.

Milking cows is an okay racket.

It also makes me terribly ashamed. I used to do a lot for other people but have become a bit battle hardened over time. For example, I used to go out with a group of friends to parties, dinners, and other outings. They would drink, I wouldn't and I would always try to drive the ones I could home to make sure they got there safe and sound. Even though it was out of my way, I would always offer and wouldn't take no for an answer. It would make me happy to be of help. However, most of those friends never did anything for me in return. They never pitched in for gas. They never offer me any means of transportation anywhere. And at one point I got fed up. I started to see them as leeches and instead of denying them rides, I started to refuse to go on outings altogether. How can I be like the monks? How can I offer kindness to others when all I see around me are opportunists? How can I get joy from simply helping out another person? I wish I could be like that again. I wish I could find what Brother Orchid did.

This film touched me in so many ways. It very quickly became a top favorite and I proceeded to watch it two more times, even though I have so many other films to watch. I couldn't put it in my Bogie marathon because this isn't about Bogie. It's about Edward G. Robinson's character. That's all that really matters.