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Andreas Katsulas Dies
- Thread starter Dyabolikal
- Start date
We_Are_One
Member
"To absent friends, .. in memory still bright."
Joseph DeMartino
Moderator
Amy posted this link to the newsgroup a short time ago. The video is by John Hudgens who did the B5 music video and the touching tribute to Rick Biggs. There is nothing else I can add to Amy's comment, so I won't:
http://www.zteamproductions.com/b5stuff/Andreas.html
Be sure to have a box of tissues on hand, and possibly a stiff drink.
Amy
http://www.zteamproductions.com/b5stuff/Andreas.html
Be sure to have a box of tissues on hand, and possibly a stiff drink.
Amy
A_M_Swallow
Regular
Good bye Andreas Katsulas, you leave a big hole behind you.
AnlaShokGrey
Regular
He did perform Shakespeare. He did "Measure for Measure" in French, with the Peter Brook company, and he played Snout the Tinker in Joseph Papp's early 80s New York Shakespeare Festival production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which was filmed by ABC Television. He also played other Shakespearean roles during his career with the Loretto-Hilton Co. in St. Louis, and in college.
tlsmith1963
Regular
I just heard about it on Jerry's show, and I went all tingly inside.
Thank you, Andreas.
Is there any way I can just listen to Jerry's comments about Andreas on his show? I went to his website & couldn't find a link.
Tammy
AnlaShokGrey
Regular
Sadly, you have to be a premium member to have access to Jerry's show archives. I'm thinking of joining just for a month so I can listen to him talk about Andreas a little. I think it would be nice to hear.
AnlaShokGrey
Regular
It's impossible to condense Andreas Katsulas into a few paragraphs of text.
Besides the loss of a tremendously talented actor, we've also lost an intelligent, quick-witted, kind, patient, funny, uniquely attractive and incredibly charming man who had a great joie de vivre, and whose love for his family, his friends, and his life was unparalleled. This much was eminently clear from the short time I got to spend with him, and talk with him.
The measure of a man is greatly revealed by what those left behind say about him. Anywhere you go on the internet in these days following his death, there is overwhelming evidence of the love the fan community felt for Andreas off the screen as well as on it, mainly due to the generosity of spirit he showed in dealing with the fans when he attended the occasional convention. No one has a bad word to say about him, because there _are_ none. When he was around at a convention, people were having fun, because he so clearly was, too. There, he was all smiles and laughter, something we didn't get to see much from him on screen. And what a smile! I remember fondly how he laughed himself through one funny story after another, cracking himself up to a nearly ridiculous degree; laughing so hard at one point that he asked me to finish explaining the plot of the infamous 'joke script' to the audience, after which he continued with the story of how that series of pranks unfolded. But even more than the humor, and the unexpected gentleness, I think that the big surprise for many who met Andreas at conventions was that he did _not_ speak like G'Kar -- G'Kar's crisp, 'standard English' became Andreas's thoroughly midwestern speech -- but he was no less delightful for that, no less a pleasure to see, no less a treasure to listen to.
While he'll probably be remembered by most of the public as a "Hollywood bad guy," he played a range of roles on screen that belied that narrow descriptor. In "King of America," "Communion," "Milo Milo," "A Piece of Eden" and others, he showed us his range from comedy to pathos, while even his bad guy roles showed breadth, ranging from the comic ("Jane Austen's Mafia!," "Sunset," "Hot Shots Part Deux!") to the complex ("The Sicilian," "Serie Noir," "Next of Kin") to the absolutely chilling ("Someone to Watch Over Me," "Death of the Incredible Hulk," "The Fugitive"). Of course, none of these roles can hold a candle to the emotions, the travails, the energies and the colors he got to play in G'Kar. G'Kar was, quite simply, the role of a lifetime. And Andreas's nuanced portrayal made G'Kar _live_.
You couldn't help but feel comfortable around Andreas, he was so comfortable in his own skin and so un-Hollywood. Thus, soon after we met, I was speaking so conversationally that I ended up sort of putting my foot in my mouth. I was telling him that I thought his agent ought to try to get him cast on "The Sopranos," since he had such an impressive resume of mobster performances to his credit, and that as an added plus, he'd already worked with several of the cast. I recalled Lorraine Bracco in "Someone to Watch Over Me"; we talked about my father's cousin (a friend of Andreas's from college) who coaches James Gandolfini; and then I tried to remember the name of "that crappy movie you did with the guy who plays Paulie Walnuts - I think it was 'New York Cop'...?" I suddenly realized what I'd said, and quickly added, "Uh, but of course _you_ were great in it. In fact, you manage to elevate any material that you're given." That's what I think when I look at his body of work: not all of it was Great Cinema, but Andreas managed to elevate any material that he performed. As Stanislawski said, "there are no small parts; only small actors." Andreas made every part, every line, every rubber-foreheaded character a big, well-crafted performance.
Although, we admirers only have his work on screen to look back upon. His wealth of experience on the stage is lost in the mists of time, with few exceptions. His performance as Snout the Tinker in Joe Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is, happily, preserved on video, and there's a rumor of a French language tv production of "Measure for Measure," performed by the Peter Brook company with Andreas as Claudio, although an actual copy has eluded me thus far. But what I wouldn't have given to have seen him play the bound Prometheus, chained to the wall of the ruined castle of Darius the Great at Persepolis, in Peter Brook's landmark production of "Orghast" in Persia. If Andreas was masterful on screen, I imagine he must have been awe-inspiring to see on the living stage.
Andreas was a particularly bright spark of star stuff. His absence will be keenly felt.
It was a hard way to go. It pains me to think of how he must have suffered, although I'm sure that he fought well, and bravely. And I'm equally sure that what he would want us to remember is the vital, strapping man he was when he was at the top of his game. That's the man the filmed record will recall, and so, then, shall we.
Gone, gone far too soon. And how we miss him already!
Fans all over the internet have been talking about what episodes they've been watching since hearing the news, talking about which G'Kar scenes they simply _had_ to see again. But I haven't watched any of Andreas's work again yet. I'm still too raw, and I fear that seeing him, hearing his voice, watching his great and subtle bits of physical business (and for such a big guy, he could move with astonishing grace and agility), will simply overwhelm me and open the floodgates. And I'm not ready for that yet. Will I find it in my heart to be able to open up and grieve fully? Perhaps, but not today.
Beloved by so many. Mourned by all.
Beannacht leat*, Andreas. May you walk well in the places where we can't yet join you. Save a place for us; and we'll raise a glass to you.
Amy
*("Blessed be" in Gaelic)
(As a postscript, I'm providing a link to a memorial page I created. I'd actually been playing around with the graphic for some time, since meeting Andreas and insisting that I could do a much better website for him than the one he had - to which he replied that he'd never even seen his own website as he didn't own a computer! - so all I did this week was add the text, and embed a sound file in the page. The song is an old one written by the band Renaissance, and the performance is mine, from a long-ago house session that we happened to record. It seemed to fit the mood well enough. The page is at: http://www.fjordstone.com/andreas.)
Besides the loss of a tremendously talented actor, we've also lost an intelligent, quick-witted, kind, patient, funny, uniquely attractive and incredibly charming man who had a great joie de vivre, and whose love for his family, his friends, and his life was unparalleled. This much was eminently clear from the short time I got to spend with him, and talk with him.
The measure of a man is greatly revealed by what those left behind say about him. Anywhere you go on the internet in these days following his death, there is overwhelming evidence of the love the fan community felt for Andreas off the screen as well as on it, mainly due to the generosity of spirit he showed in dealing with the fans when he attended the occasional convention. No one has a bad word to say about him, because there _are_ none. When he was around at a convention, people were having fun, because he so clearly was, too. There, he was all smiles and laughter, something we didn't get to see much from him on screen. And what a smile! I remember fondly how he laughed himself through one funny story after another, cracking himself up to a nearly ridiculous degree; laughing so hard at one point that he asked me to finish explaining the plot of the infamous 'joke script' to the audience, after which he continued with the story of how that series of pranks unfolded. But even more than the humor, and the unexpected gentleness, I think that the big surprise for many who met Andreas at conventions was that he did _not_ speak like G'Kar -- G'Kar's crisp, 'standard English' became Andreas's thoroughly midwestern speech -- but he was no less delightful for that, no less a pleasure to see, no less a treasure to listen to.
While he'll probably be remembered by most of the public as a "Hollywood bad guy," he played a range of roles on screen that belied that narrow descriptor. In "King of America," "Communion," "Milo Milo," "A Piece of Eden" and others, he showed us his range from comedy to pathos, while even his bad guy roles showed breadth, ranging from the comic ("Jane Austen's Mafia!," "Sunset," "Hot Shots Part Deux!") to the complex ("The Sicilian," "Serie Noir," "Next of Kin") to the absolutely chilling ("Someone to Watch Over Me," "Death of the Incredible Hulk," "The Fugitive"). Of course, none of these roles can hold a candle to the emotions, the travails, the energies and the colors he got to play in G'Kar. G'Kar was, quite simply, the role of a lifetime. And Andreas's nuanced portrayal made G'Kar _live_.
You couldn't help but feel comfortable around Andreas, he was so comfortable in his own skin and so un-Hollywood. Thus, soon after we met, I was speaking so conversationally that I ended up sort of putting my foot in my mouth. I was telling him that I thought his agent ought to try to get him cast on "The Sopranos," since he had such an impressive resume of mobster performances to his credit, and that as an added plus, he'd already worked with several of the cast. I recalled Lorraine Bracco in "Someone to Watch Over Me"; we talked about my father's cousin (a friend of Andreas's from college) who coaches James Gandolfini; and then I tried to remember the name of "that crappy movie you did with the guy who plays Paulie Walnuts - I think it was 'New York Cop'...?" I suddenly realized what I'd said, and quickly added, "Uh, but of course _you_ were great in it. In fact, you manage to elevate any material that you're given." That's what I think when I look at his body of work: not all of it was Great Cinema, but Andreas managed to elevate any material that he performed. As Stanislawski said, "there are no small parts; only small actors." Andreas made every part, every line, every rubber-foreheaded character a big, well-crafted performance.
Although, we admirers only have his work on screen to look back upon. His wealth of experience on the stage is lost in the mists of time, with few exceptions. His performance as Snout the Tinker in Joe Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is, happily, preserved on video, and there's a rumor of a French language tv production of "Measure for Measure," performed by the Peter Brook company with Andreas as Claudio, although an actual copy has eluded me thus far. But what I wouldn't have given to have seen him play the bound Prometheus, chained to the wall of the ruined castle of Darius the Great at Persepolis, in Peter Brook's landmark production of "Orghast" in Persia. If Andreas was masterful on screen, I imagine he must have been awe-inspiring to see on the living stage.
Andreas was a particularly bright spark of star stuff. His absence will be keenly felt.
It was a hard way to go. It pains me to think of how he must have suffered, although I'm sure that he fought well, and bravely. And I'm equally sure that what he would want us to remember is the vital, strapping man he was when he was at the top of his game. That's the man the filmed record will recall, and so, then, shall we.
Gone, gone far too soon. And how we miss him already!
Fans all over the internet have been talking about what episodes they've been watching since hearing the news, talking about which G'Kar scenes they simply _had_ to see again. But I haven't watched any of Andreas's work again yet. I'm still too raw, and I fear that seeing him, hearing his voice, watching his great and subtle bits of physical business (and for such a big guy, he could move with astonishing grace and agility), will simply overwhelm me and open the floodgates. And I'm not ready for that yet. Will I find it in my heart to be able to open up and grieve fully? Perhaps, but not today.
Beloved by so many. Mourned by all.
Beannacht leat*, Andreas. May you walk well in the places where we can't yet join you. Save a place for us; and we'll raise a glass to you.
Amy
*("Blessed be" in Gaelic)
(As a postscript, I'm providing a link to a memorial page I created. I'd actually been playing around with the graphic for some time, since meeting Andreas and insisting that I could do a much better website for him than the one he had - to which he replied that he'd never even seen his own website as he didn't own a computer! - so all I did this week was add the text, and embed a sound file in the page. The song is an old one written by the band Renaissance, and the performance is mine, from a long-ago house session that we happened to record. It seemed to fit the mood well enough. The page is at: http://www.fjordstone.com/andreas.)
GKarsEye
Regular
Wow, what a post, Amy!
For one thing you made me actually want to have been at a sci-fi convention!
Never seen him on stage, and of course it makes sense he'd be great there because B5 itself is presented very theatrically. It's actually what made it stand out for me back when it was on TNT and I didn't know what the hell a Babylon 5 was and I saw these two funky aliens, one with an orange rubber head and one with a retarded peacock-hairdo and once the laughter died down, I was wrapped up in how these seemingly larger-than-life characters were plotting the demise of a Caligula-type king. I felt like I was watching a play, and that's still one of the my favorite things about the show. How much better, then, to have actually seen a play with him!
Renaissance! Haven't listened to that stuff in a while. Great performance Annie... er, I mean, Amy.
For one thing you made me actually want to have been at a sci-fi convention!
Never seen him on stage, and of course it makes sense he'd be great there because B5 itself is presented very theatrically. It's actually what made it stand out for me back when it was on TNT and I didn't know what the hell a Babylon 5 was and I saw these two funky aliens, one with an orange rubber head and one with a retarded peacock-hairdo and once the laughter died down, I was wrapped up in how these seemingly larger-than-life characters were plotting the demise of a Caligula-type king. I felt like I was watching a play, and that's still one of the my favorite things about the show. How much better, then, to have actually seen a play with him!
Renaissance! Haven't listened to that stuff in a while. Great performance Annie... er, I mean, Amy.
tlsmith1963
Regular
I met Andreas too, Amy. I also noticed how nice & down to earth he was. Must have been that midwestern upbringing! I also can't watch B5 for awhile. If I saw him as G'Kar, I think I would tear up. In fact, I haven't watched my DVDs since Rick Biggs died. It's just so sad that we have all ready lost two of the main cast, & also the actor who played Zathras. It took quite awhile for Star Trek to lose any major cast members. Anyway, that was a great post.
Tammy
Tammy
AnlaShokGrey
Regular
Thank you, Tammy. I've seen the pictures of you and Andreas online - with you fake-choking him! 
With my post, I wanted to be sure that people knew that Andreas had a career beyond B5 and Trek. And, that he was not simply G'Kar, but a man with his own good qualities, too. I hope some will seek out his other material. Although no other role gave him the range of G'Kar, it's nice to be able to see him act with his own, quite distinct face.
With my post, I wanted to be sure that people knew that Andreas had a career beyond B5 and Trek. And, that he was not simply G'Kar, but a man with his own good qualities, too. I hope some will seek out his other material. Although no other role gave him the range of G'Kar, it's nice to be able to see him act with his own, quite distinct face.
wolfranger
Regular
I think it was a fitting tribute. Though Andreas Katsulas had a great many roles, for most of us he will always be remembered as G'Kar. He made us dislike G'Kar at first, but had us come to love and greive for the character when he took him to the opposite end of the spectrum. Another instance of great writing and great interpretation of the character by an actor. There's just not to many actors of his caliber around.
hypatia
Regular
Ah, some of us didn't even dislike him from the start.
He was the supressed underdog fighting... what turned out to be a more involved struggle than he'd counted on. I mean, he thought a nice quick death would be his way at one point early on.
He had no idea how his struggle would unfold. Far more trouble than a simple suicide mission.
I think it must be one of the richest characters he ever had a chance to "flesh out". I'm glad to hear he lived such a full life, actually. He lived a lot in the years he had.
He was the supressed underdog fighting... what turned out to be a more involved struggle than he'd counted on. I mean, he thought a nice quick death would be his way at one point early on.
He had no idea how his struggle would unfold. Far more trouble than a simple suicide mission.
I think it must be one of the richest characters he ever had a chance to "flesh out". I'm glad to hear he lived such a full life, actually. He lived a lot in the years he had.
