I just received the deeply saddening news that actor William Finley-- the Phantom of the Paradise himself-- died yesterday following surgery. Finley was a ridiculously talented character actor who excelled at playing the weirdest of the weird-- which he LOVED doing (He told me that he hated playing normal characters, especially lawyers). His long-standing association with Brian De Palma produced some extraordinary performances: as Woton, the Vincent Price-ian anti-hero of WOTON'S WAKE, Winslow Leach/The Phantom in PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, Dr. Breton in SISTERS, and the disfigured madman in THE BLACK DAHLIA. Bill was also exceptionally good in EATEN ALIVE ("Why don't you just put a cigarette out in my EYE?!?"), THE FUNHOUSE, and every other damn thing he was in. He was a dear man and I enjoyed interviewing him and dining with him immensely. He should have been the modern Peter Lorre... Amazing actor, and a wonderful man.
First heard about this when it broke on a PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE "Phan Page" on Facebook. I'd always hoped to have the pleasure and the privilege of meeting Mr. Finley, one of my cinematic character actor heroes...I'm so sad that now this will never be. My condolences to all his friends and family...
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteI'm planning a tribute photoblog to both William and POTP and wanted to collect as much info as I could and since learning the tragic news,I was as amazed as much as impressed at how movie fans (spelled phans in this case) went out of their way to send condolences and share memories!
As a Winnipegger, I'm glad to be able to say that I DID have the opportunity and the HONOR to meet William Finley and get both books of Goethe's FAUST autographed! He was surprised to see someone with the Faust story, rather than the POTP album. Most importantly, I got to say THANK YOU!
Would you be willing to post your interview with Mr. Finley? I'm sure his fans would love to hear or read it! THANKS for this post!
Hi again; Just read over the post more carefully. Did William ever play a lawyer? I have GOT to see that movie! But he's right....CHARACTERS are more fun! Loved Otto in Murder a la Mod and he never said a thing. Not in lines. All the dialogue was internal. Only GOOD actors can pull that off!
ReplyDelete