“Michael and his bear co-star hugging him ...
... it seems the animal is giving him advice about his screenplay.
© Fame & Frame by Pat York
This photo was taken in St. Croix on the set of The Island of Dr. Moreau. The two of them would swim during the lunch hour with the huge creature always on a leash.
One afternoon I was walking by and suddenly saw his co-star run over without his leash and hug Michael. Some people are convinced this is a trick with Adobe Photoshop, but it is not.”
Catching J.D. Salinger
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REVIEW: 'Lisztian Loves'
John von Rhein
Classical music critic
Chicago Tribune
Paganini was in fact the common denominator between the Ravinia programs on Thursday and Wednesday– more precisely, Franz Liszt's transcription of the famous Paganini solo-violin Caprice No. 24 that serves as the basis for Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody.
The veteran pianist Andre Watts took to the Martin Theatre stage on Wednesday to perform Liszt's "grande etude after Paganini" as one of the segments of "Lisztian Loves," an unusual recital given as part of the festival's summer-long observance of the composer's bicentennial. What made the show so interesting was that the generous array of familiar and rare Liszt solo pieces performed by Watts was tied together by a theatrical narration delivered by actor Michael York, who played Franz Liszt. Here was the aged, ailing, weary virtuoso-composer, looking back at his life and loves as he contemplated his own approaching mortality.
Written and conceived by Harry Clark and directed by Troy Hollar, the show was built around the talents of Watts and York, both of whom made it an absorbing evening of music and theater, cleverly interwoven. The pianist was in terrific form, his playing licked by Lisztian flame. Liszt's music had given the young Watts his first big successes, and he remains one of our foremost Lisztians. York did not appear to be in the best physical health but this actually helped him create a believably frail but still feisty Liszt – peppery of mind and tongue, a legend in winter grandly strutting his final hours on a world stage once was his sovereign domain.
This was more than a clever impersonation: Liszt himself stood in front of us. Rocking gently in time with the music, he listened along with the rest of us while Watts thundered and sighed at the keyboard. And then Liszt, too, burst into applause, as if recalling the bravura thunderbolts with which he had once enthralled all of Europe.
jvonrhein@tribune.com
'Lisztian Loves' premiere brings Liszt to life
Chemistry between Actor Michael York and Pianist André Watts was Vigorous
At the end of Sunday's performance of "Lisztian Loves," Michael York leaned against the chair on stage and watched André Watts play Franz Liszt's "En reve."
The British actor smiled as the American pianist played with a silky shimmer.
As the final note clung in the air at the Berger Performing Arts Center, Watts returned York's smile.
The chemistry the pair had Sunday afternoon felt built on years of collaboration and friendship, not the hours they shared preparing for the world premiere of Chamber Music Plus cellist/playwright Harry Clark's new work. (Read the entire review on the Arizona Republic Newspaper web site).
Prayers: A Personal Selection
Recording produced by Michael York and composer Michael Hoppe
Review: Listeners feel the emotional depths of each prayer as Michael York's voice rises to a crescendo of praise and then drops to a meditative tone. With a selection of 24 prayers ranging from various Bible passages from the King James Version to well-known prayers like The Prayer of St. Francis and The Serenity Prayer, this production treats listeners to a variety of meditations upon the majesty of God. York evokes both the urgency of confessing and of waiting for the Lord’s answer to a particular petition. Michael Hoppe offers a dynamic original musical score for each prayer. Overall, this is an excellent addition to one’s Christian audio library.
Please access this link for further details and the latest reviews of Prayers: A Personal Selection.
Big-Screen Bruegel : A new film applies 21st-century technology to an Old Master
"Modern art pushes you away," says the Polish filmmaker and multimedia artist Lech Majewski. "With the Old Masters, you had to get right up next to the painting to follow what was going on. Those paintings created a whole universe that invited the viewer in."
Getting up close to a painting is exactly what Majewski does in his new film, The Mill and the Cross, which takes its inspiration from Michael Francis Gibson's book of the same name, a reading of Pieter Bruegel's 1564 The Way to Calvary. (Gibson, who has written for ARTnews, also collaborated with Majewski on the film's screenplay.) Bruegel's painting vividly depicts the social whirl that surrounds Christ's impending crucifixion, placing the event in what was for the painter the present day.
Majewski's film is a far cry from such melodramatic movie renderings of artists and their lives as Lust for Life or Moulin Rouge. Rather than telling the story through the framework of an artist's personal trials and tribulations, Majewski focuses on how Bruegel made the painting, showing the artist sketching, discussing his work, and scouting locations. We also see many of the characters whom Bruegel painted as they get caught up in both the drama of the crucifixion and the stark realities of life under the Spanish Inquisition.
"I want the viewer to live inside the painting," Majewski says about his film, adding that he wants us to meet the people in the picture "as they are painted." Aiding him is a stellar group of actors. Bruegel is portrayed by Rutger Hauer; Nicholas Jonghelinck, an art collector and patron of Bruegel's, is played by Michael York; and Charlotte Rampling is an arresting Virgin Mary.
An exclusive celebrity interview for Apollo Executive Review
Stuart Rowlands talks to Michael York
By Stuart Rowlands
If the answer is “YES!” to the question “do you want to act” and you are aged between 13 and 21, the National Youth Theatre, Britain's Premiere youth theatre company, is just the place for you!
For a sixteen year old schoolboy from Bromley, Kent, the school boar notice was a siren song to the start of a career that has spanned nearly 45 years and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. In fact Michael York has no plans to retire. In late December, a few days before Christmas, he has finally returned to his home high in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles overlooking the Sunset Strip, where this interview took place, after a charged but enjoyable 2008.
“My father had a successful career at Marks & Spencer” says Michael, by way of explaining his own personal work ethic, “But 60 was the mandatory retiring age in those days in Britain and the emotional stress of giving it all up was considerable.”
In a profession with no cut-off point, Michael is driven to stretch and practice the actor’s art constantly, almost without pausing to take a breath. Unsurprisingly, he looked a little weary but still slim and fit while recounting a 12-month work schedule that would stun an ox.
(Download PDF to read full article from Apollo Magazine)
A Conversation with Actor Michael York: Narrator for The Word of Promise® Audio Bible
With his distinctive rich, emotive baritone, Michael York’s professional career has spanned 46 years, with more than 60 screen credits, including “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Logan’s Run,” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” He has appeared in more than 80 television shows and numerous Broadway and regional theater productions. Drawing on his theatrical training and experience, as well as the MA in English he earned from Oxford University, he co-wrote A Shakespearean Actor Prepares, with theatrical director Adrian Brine.
York has also done more than 90 film narrations and audio books, including Thomas Nelson’s award-winning The Word of Promise® Audio Bible which features the work of over 600 actors, including Jim Caviezel, Richard Dreyfuss, Gary Sinise, Jason Alexander, Marisa Tomei, Stacy Keach and Jon Voight.
Paula K. Parker recently had an opportunity to talk with Michael York about the challenges and rewards of narrating the Bible. (Read full Interview at BuddyHollywood.com)
Stars lined up for new audio Bible
Michael York, Richard Dreyfuss, Jason Alexander and hundreds of others lent their voices to quite a creation: a 79-CD, elaborate audio portrayal of the Old and New Testaments.
Narrator Michael York logged more than 500 hours of recording time. Performing the Bible verbatim involved more than 1,000 actors, technicians and musicians. (Read the full article)
Honorary Satellite Award Opens Doors for Mary Pickford Documentary
Michael York and
Director Nicholas Eliopoulos
When director Nicholas Eliopoulos and his producer Elizabeth Wood Coldicutt received an Honorary Satellite Award for their documentary “Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies” at the International Press Academy’s annual award gala held in Dec. 2009, the statuette not only represented an acknowledgement of their years dedicated to the biopic but has also opened new doors for the project in 2010.
“National Public Radio has contacted us for an interview,” Eliopoulos said, “Turner Classic Movies is looking at a screener for their upcoming festival.”
Actor Michael York, who narrates the documentary with Pickford via archival audio, was also presented with the IPA prestigious “Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry” at this year’s awards presentation. Since 1997, IPA’s highest honor has been the Pickford statuette, a special life achievement award.
“Michael’s award and the Honorary Satellite for our project represents a real show of support and acknowledgement of the impact Mary Pickford had on the birth of American cinema. For my producers Elizabeth Wood Coldicutt and Thomas Coldicutt, and myself, the IPA’s recognition of our work could not have come at a better time.” (Read full article)
Bitte texte mich denn
(Download PDF to see more photos and read full article in German)
Michael York Shows His Blinkers
By
Alex Simon
This article originally appeared in the November 2005 issue of
Michael York became one of Great Britain’s most beloved exports starting in the 1960s when the young actor appeared in two of director Franco Zeffirelli’s classic Shakespearean adaptations: The Taming of the Shrew (1967) and Romeo and Juliet (1968).
Born Michael Hugh Johnson (he later borrowed his stage name of York from a popular brand of English cigarette) on March 27, 1942, in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England, York enjoyed a comfortable, middle class childhood, which was punctuated by a considerable amount of relocation as his business executive father moved up the corporate ladder. (Visit site to read full interview...)
Celebrity Profile from Examiner.com
February 10, 2009
In a career spanning nearly 50 years, English actor Michael York has surely covered the spectrum of dramatic genres—from romance and sci-fi to religious and comedic—Michael has done them all.
He is probably best known for his roles in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, the 1970’s science fiction epic Logan’s Run, and as Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers movies. (Visit Examiner site to read more...)
Michael York featured on BuzzBoard
To read Michael's post on why he can't live without his earplugs, visit BuzzBoard.
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