Balls and Walnuts
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Peter Boyle, RIP
This morning, I caught the news of actor Peter Boyle’s death on CNN. CNN’s writers hardly softened the sting of Boyle’s passing with the words, “best known as the dad in ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’.” You know, I don’t care if ‘Raymond’ has been on for ten years. I’ve never watched it, and that’s not how I want to remember Boyle.
I’m old enough to remember that Boyle got his big break in the 1970 movie Joe, but I think I first saw him in Diary of a Mad Housewife. (The movies my folks took me too . . . jeez louise.) He’s had one busy career ever since, but I suspect he shunned attention from the press. Based on that IMDB link, he gave precious few interviews, and sadly, I haven’t been able to find a single one online.
You can always count on Wikipedia for biographical info, however:
“Boyle was a native of Norristown, Pennsylvania and was of Irish descent. He served in the United States Army, but his military career was shortened by a nervous breakdown. Boyle was also a member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or De La Salle Brothers, a Catholic teaching order, and taught drama at their school in Pittsburgh before turning to acting. He graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia in 1957. He was briefly part of The Second City Chicago ensemble, and he studied acting with famed acting coach Uta Hagen. He had a brief scene in the critically acclaimed 1969 film Medium Cool.”
There’s more, of course.
I prefer to remember Boyle like this:
. . . as The Monster in Young Frankenstein. Genius casting by Mel Brooks, of course, but would YF have been the same with any other actor in that role? I don’t know. I doubt it. For a part with few spoken lines, Boyle was brilliant. Too bad that, at the end of the movie, he got the short end of the stick.
My favorite character of Boyle’s: Clyde Bruckman in the X-Files episode “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.” Boyle played a psychic able to see everyone’s death, including his own, yet incapable of doing anything to change fate. I give credit to the writers too, of course, but Boyle’s performance captured the perfect balance of humor and poignancy — an ideal state I think all drama should aspire to.
Peter Boyle was a star in every sense of the word: a shining light, an actor who grabbed the audience’s eye the moment he appeared in a scene. As I write this, I’m choked up — I’m really not kidding. I’m going to miss him very much.
D.
Sweeeeet meeesteeerie of life at last I’ve found you!!!
I, too, will remember Peter Boyle best as Clyde – it was the first time I really noticed him, and started watching for him in other roles. Much as I loved him, though, it wasn’t enough to get me to watch even a single episode of ‘Raymond’.
He will indeed be missed.
Or, to quote Boyle’s rendition of “Putting on the Ritz,”
SxKitten: yeah, I felt the same way about ‘Raymond.’ Oh, well; if it meant Boyle could leave more money to his family, then mazel tov to them all.
I’ve seen maybe a full episode of ‘Raymond’. The only thing I remember seeing Peter Boyle in was Outland, where he was the Company man running the mine in the wild wild west of Io.
I liked him in the movie The Dream Team
I always said he reminded me of my Dad, and it’s strange that they died on the same date.
“Joe” was the first memory I have of Peter Boyle. A friend of mine insisted I see it. Boyle was wonderful in that movie, as he was in all his roles. I watched “Raymond” and thoroughly enjoyed it. Peter Boyle played the part of Raymond’s father very well.
Coming out of lurkdom to agree with Lee. Whether you like Ray Ramano or not, Peter Boyle was absolutely brilliant on that show. Not every episode was great, and I have probably seen fewer than half of them, but the ones that featured his character heavily in the main storyline were always hilarious.
Okay, for you guys, I’ll watch an episode 🙂