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(1935–2006). American actor.
Appearances can be deceiving, of course, and Boyle was in
fact far from ordinary, a man who among other things was a fierce anti-war
activist and a close friend of John LENNON, who was the best man at his
wedding. And, although for the most part his acting career is a matter of
unchallenging roles portrayed with effortless competence (such as his work for
the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond [1996-2005]),
he did provide us with two of the most stunning performances ever seen in the
history of science fiction film.
First, in Young
Frankenstein, his work as the Frankenstein monster, in my opinion, stands
with that of Boris KARLOFF as the only two significant portrayals of that
pivotal character. The genius of his approach is that he recognized a
newly-created monster, despite his adult body, would approach the world like a
child, so that his performance was uniquely, and endearingly, childlike.
Oblivious to the tv
sketch-comedy shtick offered by cohorts Harvey Korman,
Cloris Leachman, and Marty
Feldman, Boyle and Gene WILDER carry on with a gentle drama about a father
figure compassionately guiding his charge to maturity, with a famous scene—Wilder and Boyle
performing "Puttin' on the Ritz"—which is both hilarious and poignant. Young
Frankenstein remains the only version of Mary Shelley's story with a happy
ending, and the only version that we would want to have a happy ending.
His second brilliant performance came in an episode of The X-Files, "Clyde Bruckman's
Final Repose," where he was cast as a man with the unique ability to foretell
how a person will die. In defiance of expectations, Boyle's character regards
this power neither as a blessing nor as a curse; it is simply a part of his
life that he long ago accepted, so that he can calmly announce his latest
predictions even while fully aware of his own impending death. In a world
overly impressed by passionate histrionics, only rarely has such understated
work garnered an Emmy Award, but even the most undiscerning of viewers could
recognize how what singular talent it required to take such an
extraordinary person and make him seem so ordinary.
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