#Denny Lombardi

[just-in-case-iloveyou]

i never posted my Atta Boy photos (hell, i barely took any in LA), but i figured closing night of their tour was as good a time as any. i had the most amazing time, and everyone was so unbelievably sweet and funny and kind. these were two of the most incredible nights of my life, and i absolutely sobbed after both shows. i love them so much.

also, thank you forever @cherished-little-cannoli for joining me! 💖

all my own photos. please don't repost without permission or credit 🙏🏼

Bill Pullman was truly just the sweetest man. we chatted a bit about the show, and A Steady Rain, and you could just see how proud he is of Lew, and it's beyond wholesome. they're such a beautiful family. 💖

i'm including this photo from @pullman-lewis because Lewis is holding the letter i wrote him 🥹😭

i'm also devastated that i wasn't conscious enough to get a photo with Graham Patrick Martin, who showed up to support Lew. when i told him i love how they support each other's endeavors, he literally said, "besties for life!" 🥰

(GPM also remembered me from A Steady Rain 😭)

Jamie Wollrab and Josh Brolin were also there, but i didn't get photos with either of them. in my defense, i find Josh Brolin wildly intimidating (for no reason. he seems lovely). i did, however, talk to Jamie again, and he's an absolute gem! 😊

anyways, i'll go cry in a corner now.

#Atta Boy #Lewis Pullman #Eden Brolin #Freddy Reish #Dashiel Thompson #Bill Pullman #Graham Patrick Martin #Jamie Wollrab #Josh Brolin #Top Gun Maverick #Top Gun #Robert Bob Floyd #Bob Floyd #Outer Range #Rhett Abbott #A Steady Rain #Denny Lombardi

[denimbex1986]

'Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) was the author largely of books ubiquitously described as psychological thrillers, but the adjective is doing much more work than it usually does in such descriptions. The psychological depths tend to be far deeper than just a worry about being caught for assorted misdeeds. It’s no surprise that her works have proven appealing to all sorts of directors. When your first novel is adapted a year after publication by Alfred Hitchcock, you know you’re doing something right. Strangers on a Train is about much more than just a macabre plan. Wim Wenders’s The American Friend, Claude Chabrol’s The Cry of the Owl, and Todd Haynes’s Carol are all very good.

Tom Ripley is Highsmith’s best-known creation. Turning a Henry James plot into pulp fiction is not the sort of thing that’s usually advisable, but she did it extraordinarily well. The plot of The Ambassadors, an industrialist hiring a man to seek to induce her son to return to America from expat indolence, is cribbed here as a foundation. The James protagonist finds Europe much to his liking, as does Highsmith’s Ripley. When the European idyll is threatened, Ripley has a novel thought: Why not bump the young scion off and take his place?

This sounds like a preposterous plan to execute. And it is! That’s why it’s entirely engrossing. Her aim was, she wrote, “showing the unequivocal triumph of evil over good, and rejoicing in it. I shall make my readers rejoice in it, too.” Netflix‘s new series, Ripley, succeeds in replicating exactly this feat.

The trouble with prior screen adaptations of Highsmith’s Ripley stories has been that he’s always been made far too pleasant. If René Clément’s French language 1960 Purple Noon and Anthony Minghella’s star-studded 1999 The Talented Mr. Ripley are both credible adaptations in their own way, there’s something askew about both matinee idol Alain Delon or effortless everyman Matt Damon as Tom Ripley. Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich both had elements of the Ripley persona down in adaptations of later novels (Barry Pepper did not), but there still seemed to be elements of the portrait missing.

I’m sure I’m not the only reader to find the versatile con man who appears across five Highsmith novels initially repellent. He is not enthusiastic, loathing nearly all of the effort involved in his cons. And he is not loquacious or charismatic as we might expect from a grifter. In almost his very first deception at the start of The Talented Mr. Ripley (the subject of this adaptation), he himself notices the cracks in his crocodile grin: “When he looked into the mirror, he found that his face had turned down at the corners.” Most frauds will say nearly anything to wheedle their way into favor. Talk is normally very cheap when you have no regard for truth. Ripley can’t bring himself to muster more than the mildest of faint praise for execrable paintings by his main mark. Almost every decent person has told white lies with less hesitation.

Things are different in Ripley, the best adaptation of the novel to date, thanks in considerable part to the casting of Andrew Scott (familiar from a variety of things but most germane to this particular role as Moriarty in the BBC Sherlock series) as Ripley. Scott telegraphs unease and strain with great facility. Sometimes, he’s vaguely normally personable. At many other points, his strained effort seems entirely transparent. This sort of calibration captures in excellent fashion the frank distaste that Ripley feels for almost everyone in the source material, a difficult thing to pull off in a book largely composed of his own train of thought. He is terrifically bored by most of his targets and doesn’t work all that hard to conceal the fact. He succeeds somehow with most people. It’s reliably a surprise that only a few see through him.

If the promise of streaming television has been tarnished by countless long-winded series that have no idea how to pace themselves or end, this one makes excellent use of an eight-episode frame to tell the tale of the novel basically in full. Prior adaptations simply couldn’t do that within a feature film length. Purple Noon opens in media res. The Talented Mr. Ripley condenses a number of things. There are some minor emendations, most of which are actively good and almost all at least forgivable.

The book dedicates an enormous amount of time to Ripley’s scheming and improvising. His plans are usually not airtight. Much of the riveting character of the book is how easily he might be caught at almost any moment. A number of sequences whose dramatic tension is contained in their great length are presented in white knuckle effulgence here. Two very lengthy corpse disposals are engrossing. Conversations are lengthy, full of pregnant pauses. There’s even high drama wrought out of multiple bank scenes in which we find Tom feloniously drawing funds.

Steven Zaillian, who wrote the screenplays for Schindler’s List, The Gangs of New York, and The Irishman, provides an excellent script and credible direction. The work of cinematographer Robert Elswit (whose credits include There Will Be Blood) is great. Ripley’s early miserable life in New York is presented well. The tenements are squalid and subways sweltering. La Dolce Vita-era Italy looks all the more rapturous afterward, with shadows and light in various palazzi motivating almost anyone to murder. Locations across south Italy, Capri, and Venice are excellent.

Casting beyond Ripley himself is very strong. Johnny Flynn’s Dickie Greenleaf is a perfect, vaguely dim, but charismatic offspring of privilege. Maurizio Lombardi, perhaps familiar as a cardinal in The Young Pope, is a very strong inspector on the case. Playwright Kenneth Lonergan (who also co-wrote The Gangs of New York) is an ideal Herbert Greenleaf. The casting of Freddie Miles is one substantial deviation, here not the churlish porker of the novel (Philip Seymour Hoffman was about ideal) but rather an androgynous proto-Eurotrash wisp. Dakota Fanning’s Marge Sherwood, Dickie Greenleaf’s tedious paramour, is rendered more truly than any prior. She’s no stunning beauty but a rather average girl in “naive clothes” with “windblown hair and her general air of a Girl Scout.”

Now, Ripley is not exactly a fan of any women if Marge is particularly low on the list. Ripley is very deliberately rendered as sort of gay in the novel. He finds Dickie handsome and Marge repulsive. At a key juncture, he notes he “could have hit Dickie, sprung on him, or kissed him, or thrown him overboard.” This is not the range of options most people consider in a social dilemma, no matter their sexual orientation. Purple Noon basically omitted this element, while The Talented Mr. Ripley camped it up. Ripley replicates the novel’s deliberate ambiguity. He seems devoid of almost any active sexuality and likes almost no one, with exceptions for a handful of men.

What Ripley does like are the finer things in life. He thrills to travel, fine clothing, beautiful objects, and art. These things receive all sorts of close cinematic attention. There is a Hitchcockian cinematic focus on pens, an ashtray, and other talismans of the good life (that also might be used to kill).

Ripley contains a cameo from Malkovich (who portrayed Ripley in another earlier adaptation, Ripley’s Game) as a character from the next novel, and Zaillian optioned all five Ripley novels. Let’s hope that the viewers stream in, as it would be nice to see more of this Ripley.'

#Patricia Highsmith #The Talented Mr Ripley #Steven Zaillian #Ripley #Netflix #Andrew Scott #John Malkovich #Ripley's Game #Anthony Minghella #Purple Noon #Matt Damon #Dennis Hopper #Alain Delon #Sherlock #Moriarty #Freddie Miles #Eliot Sumner #Dickie Greenleaf #Johnny Flynn #Dakota Fanning #Marge Sherwood #Robert Elswit #Kenneth Lonergan #Maurizio Lombardi #Inspector Ravini #Philip Seymour Hoffman

[letrashbirb]

XDDDDDDD OH FUCK... OLD SHIT OF 2016 GO BACK !!!

#Random post #idk #bruh #Mordecai #Falco Lombardi #Dennis Flynn #A random data #Fuck that some shit birdies #Inspiration? idk

[glennk56]

Frank Medrano & Louis Lombardi both started their film careers together in the 1993 film, Amongst Friends as a pair of low level crooks in Brooklyn. I don’t know if they were already a duo doing comedy routines before this or if they were randomly paired up. But they would appear in 6 more projects together. Next was The Making of ‘...and God Spoke, also in 1993 as a pair of Teamsters on a movie set and also High Kicks a low budget video with dismal reviews, again in 1993. Next was the pilot for the TV version of Hardball, playing hecklers of the baseball team, which aired in 1994. In these appearances, Frank seemed to be dominant. Speaking more lines and getting more close-ups. Louis seemed to be just a ‘me too’ kind of character. In 1995, they appeared together in one scene of The Usual Suspects. In 1997, they appeared in Father’s Day and Suicide Kings, but didn’t share any scenes together. It seemed peculiar that both were hired for the films but not as a team. Suicide Kings, especially, since they were paired up, but not with each other. Louis was paired with Dennis Leary and Frank with Brad Garrett.

Since this time Louis Lombardi has become the more recognizable of the two, appearing as a regular in ‘24′ for 2 seasons and as a recurring FBI Agent in The Sopranos. Frank Medrano is known for the great scene in Shawshank Redemption.

#Louis Lombardi #Frank Medrano #1990s #fat actors

[shadowworldwanderers]

Masterlist

Stories on AO3

Old Intros

Introductory Pages:

Morvant-Adjacent Babies:

Sunny ‘Rose’ Sonnshine

Lilah Reed Nyx Bloom Chuck Dourif Helena Reese Matheson-Adjacent Babies: Emilie Mayson Adelaide Dean Deanna Louis Ellie Sutton Marisol Swinton Delilah Symonds

Merrilees Marston Candice Castor Samantha Marston Calleigh Dean Amanda Matthews Judith Ellison Desmond/Desdemona Mercury Matilda Westwood Alexia Mill Hannah Hardstone Willow Walker Barbara Dean

Jessike ‘Sike’ Logan Elvie Ellory Cassidy Cole Elen Ellis Carlie/Carl Connor Essie Ellory Jenni Oriel  Jessamyn ‘Jess’ Oriel  Jessika ‘Sika’ Oriel  Josie Oriel Jodie Oriel  Jazz Oriel   Jemima ‘Jem’ Oriel Jemma Oriel Jade Oriel  Jasmine ‘Mina’ Oriel  Jo Oriel  Janine Oriel Juliet Oriel     Coralee ‘Cora’ Matthews Millie Meadows Joey Jackson Josh Jackson Gia Wolfe Darla Wolfe Arlene Wolfe Brigitta Wolfe Donna Amato Gina Amato Jeanne Amato Aria Amato Willow Amato Carla Amato Fiona Amato Fiamma Amato Isla Amato Inga Amato Anton Allegro Vincenzo Lombardi Solina Ramirez Lolita Sanchez Marisol Espinoza Jodeyne Morrison Ellory Masterson

Mallory McMichaels

Raffaela Romero Malina Ramirez Lina Markov Candida Crowe Adelaide Marconi Emilie Porter Dervla O’Brady Ava Viva DiLorenzo Jessica Dallas Melissa Madison Katrina Archibald Abigail Novak May Southerlyn April Meadows Julie-Anne Callas Pippa Galston Thea Tallis Kate Isles Lily McQueen Jewel Estella Richardson Alexia-Mae Cathstone Eliza-Beth Leigh Izzy ‘Six’ Sexton-Richards Alice Anais Andrews Britta Roslin Julie Dark Alexandra Jane Castle Jodie Noelle Richards Tallie Marx Michaela Philippa Kingsman Love Aniston Jessie Cole Tali Rice Hollie Mann Madison Mitchell-Mann Roslyn Hall Cariad Hall Joe-Lee Parton Bobby Parton Jim Parton Sonny Parton Lupa Wolfe Anne Rose

Belle Rose Jade Orton Jennifer Orton Jessica Orton Mirabelle Orton Judith Amato Angel Croft Brittany Walker Julietta Day Shadow World Babies: Angelike Kirk Eliana Olivier Marisol ‘Sunshine’ Corazon Annabella Sciorra Gianna Fioretti Rhiannon Ellis Cara Sutton Kat Trellis Kimber Bell Marisol Lees Ria Leigh Delilah Daae Hanna Weiss Mindie Swallows Kismet Christian Juliette Loomis Vanessa Myers Arielle Sea Ellie Dewey Lace Belle Esme Innocent Katie Rollins Cherie ‘Cherry’ Garcia Jessie Wolfe Erin Willows Suzannah Davies Emilia Loss Melanie Jeffries Meredith Greylek Kelly Greylek (No relation to Meredith) Cassidy Rubirosa Candice Banks Kendra Copper Ariadne Todd Desdemona Hex Raven Rose Candace ‘Candy’ Caine Angelina Haven Mina Schiff Callie Dennis Esme Ross Susanna Johnson Consuela ‘Connie’ Sanders Raffaela ‘Raffi’ Angeles Ariel Warton Syren Sirena Hela Helios Anne Dread Rose Rayes Hope Evans Faith Hopkins Elizabeth ‘Eliza’ Eames-Olivet Alexandria ‘Alex’ Eames-Olivet April Dawson June May May Engel Augusta Haim Billy Wolfe Savannah Stanley Stanley Cyprus Kellie Cyrano Bella Wolfe Mina Marston Nadiya Corazon Annalise Sciorra Samantha Southhall Amelia Borstein Elena Greenwood Elizabeth Preston Suella Randall Marienne Rubirosa Lilith Morningstar Saralee Rayes Destiny Dracula Martha Curatola Solina Dracula

Valentine Dracula Queenie Annabeth Queen Lily Sharpe Isobel Rubirosa Rose Wolfe Lily Marigold Savannah Rider Marigold Rose Baby Baker Mami Morrison Sugar ‘Sweet’ Sunshine Melody Eros Allie Gayson-Enders Pippa Gayson-Enders Michaela Orville-Hampton Janet Orville-Hampton Mariposa Shadows Lolita Mayhew Tamberlyn Alexara Sukila  Arielle Denver Suzanne Denver Thalin Chelsea Heart Jessica Brisbin Henna Jenkins Dora Jessop Kathleen Shore Samantha Carson Sarah Carson Karen Nielsen Belinda Andrews Amelie Ellis Sister Tatjana Nichols Madison ‘Sugar’ Fuller Daniel Rabebe Angelika Rabebe-Cortez

Lady Liandrin MacBeth Juliet MacIntosh John-Ross Croft Annchi ‘Angie’ Croft Morgana Addams Angeline ‘Angel’ Verna Lane Eulalie Tamerlane Poe

#opening masterlist #shadow world #original creations #morvant verse #rhiannon's angels #matheson-verse #diner crew #oriel wolves

[news4usonline]

SB LVIII: Andy Reid’s title march 

LAS VEGAS - Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been there and done that. Reid celebrated with his team after leading the Chiefs to a 25-22 overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.  The win gives Reid and the Chiefs three NFL championships in the last five years. Kansas City has made four appearances in the Super Bowl under Reid’s watch. Reid is now 3-1 in Super Bowl games since he has been head coach of the Chiefs. 

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid (center) attends the NFL's Opening Night Kickoff to Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 5, 2024. The opening night ceremony took place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline Those wins came against San Francisco (twice) and against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that Reid used to coach. Reid won 130 games for the Eagles and guided teams to five NFC Championships during his tenure.  The only thing missing on Reid’s resume at the time was winning a Super Bowl. He doesn’t seem to have that problem as coach of the Chiefs Under Reid’s watch, Kansas City has played in four of the last five Super Bowls.  In beating the Niners, Reid and the Chiefs have strung together back-to-back championships, something that is somewhat of an out-of-body experience for the Kansas City coach. “It’s a little bit surreal. Back-to-back is rare for this football team and this organization,” Reid said. “I don’t know what a dynasty is. You guys have the thesaurus, so you can figure it out. It’s a great win because I know how hard it is to do and how hard the season was. The ups and downs of the season and how proud I am of the guys for just hanging with each other and staying positive with each other.”  “The young guys grew up, and nobody ever pointed fingers at the offense when the offense was growing. It all kind of came together during the playoffs and worked out well. Great leaders in Patrick , Chris , and Trav , the job that they’ve done,” Reid added. “They’re passionate players, and I love that, even if they chest bump me to the other side of the 50. I appreciate it. I just love that the guy wants to play and wants to be in there playing. He knows I love that, so he makes me feel young.”  Reid has posted an overall mark of 3-2 in the Big Game if you count his lone appearance in the Super Bowl as the former head coach of the Eagles. What a difference a team makes.  Reid is beloved and warmly embraced in Kansas City. Reid was run out of Philadelphia after not producing a Super Bowl winner. He knows what winning football means. He understands the building of a winning tradition.  After seeing quarterback Patrick Mahomes doing Patrick Mahomes as he led Kansas City on an improbable drive to lead his team to victory in the extra session, Reid talked to reporters about how tough it is to win one title, let alone to play in multiple championship games.  "Listen, I mean, this is a tough profession, which we all know, is competitive,” Reid said. “I mean, the parity in this league is ridiculous. And so, to watch your guys work and focus and all that, I mean, you just appreciate – I think the older you get, you probably appreciate that also. I mean, I appreciate the first one because it took me a thousand years to get into a Super Bowl."  “At least being able to hold that Lombardi Trophy. I appreciate every day that I have to do this. I work for a great owner and ownership family. Between Mark Donovan, Veach and myself, we’re lucky to be Kansas City Chiefs. And so, that part feels good. And then, we have a good locker room and we have good coaches,” he added. 

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid speaks to reporters after leading his team to a 35-31 win against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. The win against the Eagles in 2023 was the first of two straight for Reid and the Chiefs. Kansas City has now secured back-to-back Super Bowl victories. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline The Chiefs are repeat Super Bowl champions because of the improbable playmaking of Mahomes, and the timeliness of their defense. Reid, however, is the one who makes it all go for the Chiefs.  “He’s one of the best coaches of all time. I believe he's the best coach of all time,” Mahomes said. “I know he didn't have the trophies yet and I have a lot of respect for some of those great coaches. But the way he's able to navigate every single team he has, continue to have success no matter where he's at.”  “He brings out the best of me because he lets me be me. I think that's important, is he doesn't try to make me anyone else. I don't think I'd be the quarterback that I am if I didn't have Coach Reid being my head coach. And other than that, he wants to be the best person you can be. And that's something that I think is truly special,” Mahomes added.   Read the full article

#AndyReid #KansasCityChiefs #SuperBowlLVIII

[mirandamckenni1]

Liked on YouTube: Aubrey Plaza Replies to Fans on the Internet | Actually Me | GQ || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSaKfVfCp4 || On this episode of Actually Me, Aubrey Plaza goes undercover on the Internet and responds to real comments from Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and more. How often did she improvise as April Ludgate on Parks and Rec? What witchy thing did she do to prank her White Lotus castmates? Is she really named after a Bread song? Director: Kristen Rakes Director of Photography: AJ Young Editor: Ryan Jeffrey Celebrity Talent: Aubrey Plaza Producer: Kristen Rakes Associate Producer: Sam Dennis Line Producer: Jen Santos Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi & Peter Brunette Production Coordinator: Carolina Wachockier Casting Producer or Talent Booker: Luke Leifeste Camera Operator: Omar Elgohary Audio: Kari Barber Production Assistant: Eric Bittencourt Covid Supervisor: Carla Nora Post Production Supervisor: Rachael Knight Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Rob Lombardi Assistant Editor: Diego Rentsch Billy Ward Still haven’t subscribed to GQ on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2iij5wt Subscribe to GQ magazine and get rare swag: https://bit.ly/2xNBH3i Join the GQ Discord to talk men's fashion, watches, and more: https://ift.tt/u5SbfGP ABOUT GQ For more than 50 years, GQ has been the premier men’s magazine, providing definitive coverage of style, culture, politics and more. In that tradition, GQ’s video channel covers every part of a man’s life, from entertainment and sports to fashion and grooming advice. Welcome to the modern guide to style advice, dating tips, celebrity videos, music, sports and more. https://www.youtube.com/user/GQVideos

#IFTTT #YouTube

[britpop-ism]

#oc #melee #westballz #weston dennis #ssbm #smash bros #falco #falco lombardi #clown

[papermoonloveslucy]

MY THREE SONS at 60!

September 29, 1960

“My Three Sons” was a situation comedy produced at Desilu Studios. It premiered on ABC TV on September 29, 1960 and finished its first run on April 13, 1972, with 380 episodes making it the second-longest running live-action sitcom in TV history after “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett” (1952-66). 

Seasons 1 through 5 were aired in black and white on CBS.  In 1965 it moved to CBS when ABC declined to underwrite the costs of airing in color.  The series was initially filmed at Desilu Studios in Hollywood, but at the start of the 1967–68 season, the cast and crew began filming the series at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California due to Lucille Ball’s sale of Desilu to Gulf + Western, which owned Paramount Pictures. The sale also affected the filming location of another family sitcom, “Family Affair.”

Incredibly, “My Three Sons” ran concurrently through both “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” Both Steve Douglas and Lucy Carmichael (and later Carter), where single parents raising children. 

September 16, 1965 was a big night for CBS airing the very first episode of “My Three Sons” after moving from ABC titled “The First Marriage”. It was also the first episode of the series broadcast in color, something “The Lucy Show” did three days earlier with “Lucy at Marineland” (TLS S4;E1). The premise of the series is a widowed father (Steven Douglas) raising his three boys with help of his extended family.  Initially, the three sons were Chip, Robbie, and Mike, but in 1967 Mike was written out and replaced by Ernie, whom Steve adopted.  The extended family at first consisted of Bub, Steve’s father-in-law and the boys’ maternal grandfather, but in 1964, that character was replaced by Uncle Charley, Steve’s uncle and Bub’s brother. 

The leading role was played by film star Fred MacMurray, who the series was built around - including his hectic schedule. To suit MacMurray, scenes would be shot out of sequence and even alone on a soundstage and later edited to create a complete episode.  This was not MacMurray’s first time at Desilu. In 1958 he played himself on the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Hunts Uranium” set in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas. He was joined by his second wife, actress June Haver. MacMurray (1908-91) appeared in over 100 films in his career but is perhaps best remembered for the film Double Indemnity (1944), which Lucy references in this episode. MacMurray’s name was first mentioned by Ethel in 1953 in “The Black Eye” (ILL S2;E20) when flowers arrive for Lucy mistakenly signed “Eternally yours, Fred.”

Although Lucille Ball was their landlord (and ultimate boss) she never acted on the show, but many of the actors who appeared on Lucille Ball’s sitcoms did appear on “My Three Sons”.

From 1960 to 1965, MacMurray was joined by William Frawley as Bub O’Casey, the family’s live-in maternal grandfather. Of course, Frawley came to fame on “I Love Lucy” as the crusty landlord Fred Mertz. Frawley had worked with MacMurray in the 1935 film, Car 99. When Frawley had to leave  the show due to ill-health (and it was too costly to insure him) he was replaced by another Desilu alumni, William Demarest, as Uncle Charley. Like his previous co-star, Vivian Vance, Frawley was not especially fond of Demarest personally or as an actor. Demarest had, however, done three films with Lucille Ball. Frawley kept watching “My Three Sons” on his TV set bitterly. He never really got over being replaced by Demarest. On March 3, 1966, Frawley died of a heart attack.

For Christmas 1959, Frawley and Demarest both appeared with Lucy and Desi in “The Desilu Revue” (above with “December Bride’s” Spring Byington). At the time, Demarest was working on the Desilu lot appearing in NBC’s “Love and Marriage.”

On “My Three Sons” two of  Steve Douglas’ boys had been seen on “The Lucy Show”: Don Grady (Robbie Douglas) had played Chris Carmichael’s friend Bill and Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas) had played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold. Ted Eccles, who assumed the role of Arnold Mooney when Barry Livingston was busy on “My Three Sons,” also did an episode. 

The children of “The Lucy Show,” Ralph Hart (who played Viv Bagley’s son Sherman), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), and Candy Moore (Lucy Carmichael’s daughter Chris) were also on episodes of "My Three Sons.”

Other “Lucy” performers who were on “My Three Sons” include: 

Mary Wickes ~ Jeri Schronk (1964)

Doris Singleton ~ Helen & Margaret, 8 episodes (1964-70)

Shirley Mitchell ~ Sally, 2 episodes (1968) 

Barbara Pepper ~ Mrs. Brand (1966)

Verna Felton ~ Mub (1962)

Kathleen Freeman ~ Lady Checker (1967)

Jerry Hausner ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1964 & 1966) 

Reta Shaw ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1965) 

Elvia Allman ~ Maude Prosser (1967) 

Eleanor Audley ~ Mrs. Vincent, 9 episodes (1969-70)

Burt Mustin ~ Various Characters, 5 episodes (1962-70)

Olan Soule ~ Various Characters, 5 episodes (1963-70)

Alberto Morin ~ Professor Madoro (1967)

Herb Vigran ~ Caretaker (1967)

Maurice Marsac ~ Various Characters, 3 episodes (1964-72)

Tim Mathewson ~ Various Characters, 3 episodes (1962-63)

Bill Quinn ~ Doctors, 4 episodes (1964-66)

Barbara Perry ~ Mrs. Thompson & Mrs. Hoover, 3 episodes (1964-72)

Nancy Kulp ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962)

George N. Neise ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1960 & 1967)

Maxine Semon ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1964 & 1967) 

Roy Roberts ~Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1967) 

Lou Krugman ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1966 & 1967)

Richard Reeves ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1965)

Dorothy Konrad ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1961 & 1962)

Ed Begley ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1968)

Gail Bonney ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1970)

Rolfe Sedan ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1968 & 1971) 

Tyler McVey ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1962 & 1967)

J. Pat O’Malley ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1963 & 1964)

Paul Picerni ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1965 & 1967)

Sandra Gould ~ Various Characters, 2 episodes (1963 & 1964)

Richard Deacon ~ Elderly Man (1960) 

Mabel Albertson ~ Mrs. Proctor (1964) 

Joan Blondell ~ Harriet Blanchard (1965) 

Leon Belasco ~ Professor Lombardi (1966) 

Dayton Lummis ~ Dr. Blackwood (1963) 

Lurene Tuttle ~ Natalie Corcoran (1968)

Robert Foulk ~ Pop Action (1962) 

Dick Patterson ~ Bunny Baxter (1963)

Jamie Farr ~ Itchy (1964)

Larry J. Blake ~ Policeman (1968) 

Amzie Strickland ~ Cora Dennis (1968) 

Barbara Morrison ~ Mrs. Murdock (1969) 

Louis Nicoletti ~ Caddy Master (1962)

Frank Gerstle ~ Policeman (1964)

Gil Perkins ~ Painter (1963) 

Tommy Ferrell ~ Mr. Griffith (1964) 

Eve McVeagh ~ Clara (1966)

Remo Pisani ~ Pepe (1970) 

Dub Taylor ~ Judge (1963)

Frank J. Scannell ~ Emcee (1968) 

Ray Kellogg ~ Henshaw (1965) 

Romo Vincent ~ Charley (1964) 

Stafford Repp ~ Sergeant Perkins (1969)

Jay Novello ~ Vincenzo (1966) 

Leoda Richards ~ Restaurant Patron (1966)

CHILD STARS!

Other child stars who appeared on “My Three Sons” included Butch Patrick (“The Munsters”), Jay North (“Dennis the Menace”), Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, Angela Cartwright (“Make Room for Daddy”), Flip Mark (”Lassie”), John Walmsley (”The Waltons”), Tony Dow (“Leave It To Beaver”), Erin Moran (“Happy Days”), Maureen McCormick (”The Brady Bunch”), Ann Jillian (Gypsy), and Heather Menzies (The Sound of Music). 

On November 22, 1977, ABC TV (and Dick Clark Productions) brought together a reunion of two of television's favorite sitcoms "The Partridge Family" and "My Three Sons." Hosted by Shirley Jones and Fred MacMurray this would be the only time that the surviving cast members would get together to celebrate the series which included clips, a song from David Cassidy, and an update of what each cast member was doing in 1977.

Also in 1977, some of the stars of the series reunited on a morning program titled "The Early Show", including Stanley Livingston (Chip Douglas), Barry Livingston (Ernie Douglas), Tina Cole (Katie Miller Douglas), and Don Grady (Robbie Douglas).  

TRIVIA

In “Lucy Helps Danny Thomas” (TLS S4;E7) in 1965, there is a large framed photo of Fred MacMurray in the studio hallway.  He is joined by other Desilu stars like Jim Nabors (of “Gomer Pyle USMC”), Andy Griffith (of “The Andy Griffith Show”) and Danny Thomas (of “The Danny Thomas Show”). 

#My Three Sons #Lucille Ball #Desilu #1960 #TV #Desilu Studios #Fred MacMurray #William Frawley

[fearsmagazine]

Screamfest Horror Film Festival Announces Initial Lineup for 21st Edition

Screamfest® Horror Film Festival, the largest and longest-running horror film festival in the United States, announced their first-wave lineup of competitive features and shorts for its 21st edition. Running October 12th through 21st at the TCL Chinese Theater, Screamfest® welcomes audiences back to the big screen for a collective experience they won’t soon forget. Tickets can be purchased here: https://screamfestla.com

The Retaliators will open Screamfest® LA on October 12th for its North American premiere with a red carpet prior to the screening. The film follows an upstanding pastor who uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder. Directed by Bridget Smith and Samuel Gonzalez Jr. and written by the Geare brothers, The Retaliators also features a high-octane original soundtrack and cameos from some of the biggest names in rock music, including Five Finger Death Punch, Tommy Lee, Papa Roach, The Hu, Ice Nine Kills, Escape The Fate, and more appear on screen. Marc Menchaca (Ozark), Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me), and Joseph Gatt (Game of Thrones) star in this horror-thriller which reveals a game of revenge played using a new set of rules.

Considered the "Sundance of Horror," Screamfest® is proud to showcase new work from independent filmmakers from across the globe. Highlights from this year’s program include the World Premieres of Father of Flies, the haunting tale of family life and the supernatural and Teddy Grennan’s Wicked Games where a long weekend at a country estate is turned into a nightmare when a group of masked intruders invades the property. Little do they know one guest has a surprise for them.

Four films will be making their North American debuts at the festival. In addition to The Retaliators, Richard Waters’s dark folk horror Bring Out The Fear traps its protagonists in an unsolvable maze where a sinister presence awaits; Clare Foley stars in the sci-fi horror The Changed where an alien presence takes possession of the hearts and minds of her city; and Isolation depicts nine tales of terror which are woven together as remote people work to survive an increasingly deadly outbreak.

US premieres at the festival include Russia’s #Blue_Whale produced by Timur Bekmambetov, which follows Dana as she works to uncover the truth behind her sister’s suicide; Argentina’s fantasy horror film Nocturna: Side A- The Great Old Man’s Night which depicts one old man’s journey to rethink his past and present and question his reality; and Kratt by Rasmus Berivoo in which children stumble upon an instruction manual to create a supernatural being.

West Coast premieres at the festival include a joint production between the US, Mexico, and Venezuela, Exorcism of God which follows an American priest working in Mexico who, due to a botched exorcism, carries a dark secret with him; hailing from Ireland, Let the Wrong One In dives into the complications of family ties when a vampire is discovered in the family; Erik Bloomquist follows twins who spend a night at a remote inn to investigate their missing father in Night at the Eagle Inn; North American distribution rights to the Argentinian The Returned (Los Que Vuelven) - which follows a woman in 1919 prays to a mythical deity to resurrect her stillborn son - were acquired in a new venture between Peter Block of A Bigger Boat and Seth Nagel, Scott Einbinder and Garrick Dion of 5X Media; What Josiah Saw explores a farmhouse haunted by the past; Alone With You stars Emily Bennett, Emma Myles, and fan-favorite Barbara Crampton in a twisted tale of memory and horror unfolding over a romantic homecoming for a distant girlfriend; and When I Consume You by Perry Blackshear where two siblings get more than they bargained for when hunting a shadowy stalker.

The festival will also feature a Special Presentation of Daniel Farrands’s Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeyman starring Peyton List and Lydia Hearst, which follows the notorious killer through a little known chapter of her life in Deland, Florida.

“After a challenging year for cinema, we are excited to return to our home at the TCL Chinese Theatre for our latest lineup of frights,'' says festival founder Rachel Belofsky. “While last year’s drive-ins allowed us to continue to celebrate horror films as a community, we have missed the magic of the traditional theatrical experience.”

Formed in August 2001 by film producer Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a female-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that gives filmmakers and screenwriters in the horror and science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased in the film industry.

Please find the 2021 Screamfest feature line-up below:

Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeyman (US, 2021) - Special Presentation Written and Directed by Daniel Farrands Produced by Lucas Jarach, Daniel Farrands, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel, Luke Daniels, Daniel Davila Executive Producer(s) Nicolas Chartier, Jonathan Deckter, Lydia Hearst, Alan Pao Cast Peyton List, Lydia Hearst, Tobin Bell, Nick Vallelonga, Swen Temmel, Meadow Williams, Andrew Biernat Based on a little-known chapter in the life of America's most notorious female serial killer, "Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeyman" takes place in 1976 when 21-year-old Aileen (Peyton List) arrives in Florida attempting to escape her tragic past. Soon she marries wealthy yacht club president Lewis Fell (Tobin Bell) who offers her the chance to become part of Florida's high society. Ultimately, the victimized Aileen surrenders to her murderous impulses and wreaks havoc on the peaceful seaside community of Deland, Florida.

Alone With You (US, 2021) - West Coast Premiere Directed by Emily Bennett & Josh Brooks Written by Emily Bennett & Josh Brooks Produced by Andrew D. Corkin & Theo James Cast Emily Bennett, Emma Myles (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK), Dora Madison (BLISS, VFX), and Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, YOU'RE NEXT) Charlie (Emily Bennett) is setting the atmosphere in her sleek, two-story apartment in Brooklyn for a romantic homecoming for her distant girlfriend Simone (Emma Myles) who’s been away for work. There are past glimpses of visual tension between the two, so we’re led to feel that this meticulous setting of mood may be a peacemaking gesture. Enamored beyond all good sense, Charlie begins to experience a myriad of unsettling incidents, and the horrors of what has transpired are slowly revealed in the shards of Charlie’s resistant memory.

#Blue_Whale (Russia, 2021) - US Premiere Directed by Anna Zaytseva Written by Evgeniya Bogomyakova, Anna Zaytseva, Olga Klemesheva Produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Anna Shalashina, Igor Mishin Cast Anna Potebnya, Timofey Eleckii, Ekaterina Stulova, Diana Shulmina, Olga Pipchenko, Polina Vataga, Daniil Kiselev After her younger sister Julia commits suicide, troubled adolescent Dana decides to find out what led to her death. Examining her sister’s computer, Dana finds a secret chat group where adolescents are encouraged to kill themselves through a challenge called "Blue Whale". Dana’s investigation leads her ever closer to the truth, but to really discover what happened, she herself must play the deadly game. #blue_whale // #I_want_to_play_the_game is inspired by real events that happened in Russia in 2015 and 2017.

Bring Out The Fear (Ireland, 2021) - North American Premiere Written and Directed by Richard Waters Produced by Alison Scarff & Richard Waters Cast Ciara Bailey, Tad Morari, James Devlin Rosie and Dan are a couple in a doomed relationship. While taking a final walk in their favourite forest, they find it has trapped them in an unsolvable maze. The paths lead nowhere, the trees never end, the sun never sets, and a sinister presence stalks and torments them, trying to drive them insane... There is no escape. But what exactly are they hiding? This dark folk horror will leave you questioning what is real and what is malicious trickery.

The Changed (US, 2021) - North American Premiere Written and Directed by Michael Mongillo Produced by Taylor Warren and Eloise Asmuth Cast Clare Foley, Jason Alan Smith, Carlee Avers, Doug Tompos, introducing Olivia Freer, with Kathy Searle, and Tony Todd Something has taken possession of the hearts and minds of the populace. Kim (Clare Foley), Mac (Jason Alan Smith), and Jane (Carlee Avers) try to convince themselves it's paranoia, but before long the city is besieged by the changed. By the time they realize an alien intelligence has merged with their neighbor, Bill (Tony Todd), a horde of changed is amassing outside their suburban home.

Exorcism of God (US/Mexico/Venezuela, 2021) - West Coast Premiere Directed by Alejandro Hidalgo Written by Alejandro Hidalgo, Santiago Fernández Calvete Produced by Alejandro Hidalgo, Joel Seidl, Karim Kabche & Antonio Abdo Cast María Gabriela De Faría, Will Beinbrink, Joseph Marcell Peter Williams, an American priest working in Mexico, is considered a saint by many local parishioners. However, due to a botched exorcism, he carries a dark secret that's eating him alive until he gets an opportunity to face his own demon one final time.

Father of Flies (USA/UK, 2021) - World Premiere Directed by Ben Charles Edwards Written by Kirsty Bell Produced by Kirsty Bell, Phil McKenzie Cast Nicholas Tucci, Camilla Rutherford, Davi Santos, Page Ruth, Keaton Tetlow, Colleen Heidemann A haunting tale of family life. A vulnerable young boy finds his mother pushed out of the family home by a strange new woman, and he must confront the terrifying supernatural forces that seem to move in with her.

Isolation (US, 2021) - North American Premiere Directed by Larry Fessenden, Andrew Kasch, Dennie Gordon, Bobby Roe, Alix Austin & Keir Siewert, Christian Pasquariello, Alexandra Neary, Zach Passero, Adam Brown & Kyle I. Kelley Written by Larry Fessenden, Cody Goodfellow, Dennie Gordon, Zack Andrews & Bobby Roe, Kyle I. Kelley & Adam Brown, Keir Siewert, Zach Passero, Alexandrea Neary, Christian Pasquariello Produced by Nathan Crooker, James P. Gannon Cast Larry Fessenden, Dennie Gordon, Graham Denman, Damien Gerard, Bobby Roe Sunny Roe, Bodhi Roe, Adam Brown, Alix Austin, Hannah Passero Marieh Delfino, Alex Weed, Fine Belger, Hans Gurbig Woven together are nine tales of terror that follow isolated citizens from around the world as they confront their darkest fears in an attempt to survive an increasingly deadly outbreak.

Kratt (Estonia, 2020) - US Premiere Written and Directed by Rasmus Merivoo Produced by Rain Rannu, Tõnu Hiielaid Cast Mari Lill, Ivo Uukkivi, Jan Uuspõld, Paul Purga, Nora Merivoo, Harri Merivoo When children are left at Grandma's without smartphones they’re bored to tears. That is until Granny finds them loads to do. She also tells them about a magical creature named KRATT that’ll do whatever its master says. When they stumble upon an instruction on how to build one they don’t hesitate. All they have to do now is to buy a soul from the devil…

Let The Wrong One In (Ireland, 2021) - West Coast Premiere Written and Directed by Conor McMahon Produced by Trisha Flood, Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde, Michael Lavelle Cast Karl Rice, Eoin Duffy, Anthony Head, Mary Murray Let the Wrong One In follows young supermarket worker Matt, who is a little too nice for his own good. When he discovers that his older, estranged brother Deco has turned into a vampire, he's faced with a dilemma: Will he risk his own life to help his sibling, with blood being thicker than water? Or will he stake him before he spreads the infection further? The film stars upcoming Irish talent Karl Rice and Eoin Duffy, along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer icon Anthony Head, in the role of Henry; a taxi driver with a sideline in vampire hunting.

Night at the Eagle Inn (US, 2021) - West Coast Premiere Directed by Erik Bloomquist Written by Erik Bloomquist, Carson Bloomquist Produced by Erik Bloomquist, Carson Bloomquist Cast Amelia Dudley, Taylor Turner, Beau Minniear, Greg Schweers, Erik Bloomquist Fraternal twins spend a terrifying night at a remote inn to investigate the last known whereabouts of their father. As they dive deeper, the property's dark secrets ensnare them in a hellish labyrinth they must escape before dawn.

Nocturna: Side A - The Great Old Man’s Night (Argentina, 2021) - US Premiere Directed by Gonzalo Calzada Written by Gonzalo Calzada Produced by Alejandro Narváez, Javier Diaz Cast - Pepe Soriano, Marina Artigas, Lautaro Delgado Synopsis - Ulysses is a hundred-year-old man, he lives alone and is on the verge of death. The last night of his life, he will experience something that will force him to rethink his past, his present and his view about his reality.

The Retaliators (US, 2021) - North American Premiere - OPENING NIGHT Directed by Bridget Smith, Samuel Gonzalez, JR. Written by The Geare Brothers Produced by Allen Kovac, Michael Lombardi, Mike Walsh Executive Producer(s) Dan Lieblein Cast Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt, Jacoby Shaddix, Katie Kelly, Abbey Hefer, Ivan Moody, Zoltan Bathory In THE RETALIATORS, an upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder. A high-octane original soundtrack and cameos from some of the biggest names in rock music set the tone as this horror-thriller reveals a game of revenge played using a new set of rules. Marc Menchaca (Ozark), Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me), and Joseph Gatt (Game of Thrones) star. Five Finger Death Punch, Tommy Lee, Papa Roach, The Hu, Ice Nine Kills, Escape The Fate, and more appear onscreen and on THE RETALIATORS Original Soundtrack, coming soon via Better Noise Music.

The Returned (Los Que Vuelven) (Argentina, 2021) - West Coast Premiere Directed by Laura Casabe Written by Laura Casabe, Paolo Soria, Lisandro Colaberardino Produced by Alejandro Israel Cast Maria Soldi, Lali Gonzalez, Alberto Ajaka South America, 1919; a landowner's wife is desperate for a child of her own, having suffered through multiple miscarriages. She finds hope, however, in a seemingly outlandish plan: she'll pray to a mythical deity to resurrect her stillborn son. The plan works, but along with the child comes something else...something evil.

What Josiah Saw (US, 2021) - LA Premiere Directed by Vincent Grashaw Produced by Ran Namerode, Vincent Grashaw, Bernie Stern, Angelia Adzic Executive Producer(s) Cole Payne, Scott Haze Written by Robert Alan Dilts Cast Robert Patrick, Nick Stahl, Scott Haze, Kelli Garner, Tony Hale, Jake Weber Everyone in town knows about the haunted Graham Farm on Willow Road. You'll hear there's a bad history to it. Josiah and his youngest son, Thomas, are all that remain of this estranged family. But after experiencing terrifying visions from beyond, Josiah decides they must change their ways to right a great wrong. After being away for over two decades, Eli and Mary, Josiah's eldest children, are enticed to sell the property and reunite at the old farmhouse in hopes of closing this haunting chapter of their lives for good. Sins of the past will be paid in full.

When I Consume You (US, 2021) - West Coast Premiere Written and Directed by Perry Blackshear Produced by MacLeod Andrews, Perry Blackshear, Evan Dumouchel, Libby Ewing Cast Libby Ewing, Evan Dumouchel, MacLeod Andres, Margaret Ying Drake Siblings Daphne and Wilson Shaw practically raised one another. They’ve protected each other from everything life has thrown their way. Daphne’s professional life is soaring and she’s looking to adopt a child. Wilson is interviewing for a position at a local school, hoping to become a teacher. But Daphne has an unsettling, dangerous stalker whom she can’t seem to shake, and now threatens to destroy them both. They hunt for their tormentor through the shadowy streets of Brooklyn, honing their bodies and minds for a showdown. But this foe may prove to be more than they can handle. They will break and rebuild themselves if necessary to save each other, and protect the light they know is in this world for them... if only they can persevere.

Wicked Games (US, 2021) - World Premiere Written and Directed by Teddy Grennan Produced by Bennett Krishock, Heath Franklin, Burton Gray, Teddy Grennan, Christopher Walters Cast Christine Spang, Markus Silbiger, Michael Shenefelt, Conner Ann Waterman When Harley joins her new boyfriend for a long Halloween weekend at his country estate, they're invaded by a bank of masked freaks and forced to play a Wicked Game. To the intruders' unpleasant surprise, Harley's hard-boiled history has endowed her with a bag of tricks which give the game a surprise ending.

Standing out as one of the top tastemakers in the genre of horror, Screamfest has been a launchpad for top tier franchises and storytellers. Among the numerous films that have been discovered and/or premiered at the festival include box office hit The Wretched, Tigers Are Not Afraid, We Summons the Darkness, Pledge, The Master Cleanse, Tragedy Girls, American Mary, Paranormal Activity, 30 Days of Night, Trick ‘r Treat, and The Human Centipede.

Screamfest selects award winners at the close of the festival. Film entries are accepted in the categories of Best Feature, Directing, Cinematography, Editing, Special Effects and Musical Score. In addition, there are special categories for Best Animation, Best Short, Best Documentary and Best Student Film as well as a Screenplay competition.

Screamfest® takes the health and safety of its guests seriously and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test with a temperature check will be required for entry. Masks are required at all times while inside the venue. Hand sanitizer stations are placed throughout the theater and lobby with special cleanings in between screenings. Screamfest® will comply with all LA County regulations and policies are subject to change.

For more information or the latest news, visit screamfestla.com

#film news #movie news #festival news #screamfest #selections #lineup #2021

[just-in-case-iloveyou]

my heart still races when i look at these photos. what an absolutely fucking incredible night this was. i can't explain what it meant to me.

all my own photos. please don't repost without permission or credit 🙏🏼

i'm gonna post my excited rants later.

#A Steady Rain #Jamie Wollrab #Lewis Pullman #Shaun Sipos #Denny Lombardi #Joey Doyle #Outer Range #Rhett Abbott #Luke Tillerson #Robert Floyd #Robert Bob Floyd #Bob Floyd #Major Major #Miles Miller #Harrison Knott #The Starling Girl #Catch-22 #Graham Patrick Martin #The Closer #Major Crimes #Rusty Beck #Top Gun #Jake Seresin #Mickey Garcia #Jake Hangman Seresin #Mickey Fanboy Garcia #Top Gun Maverick #Bill Pullman

[denimbex1986]

'****

Ever since Patricia Highsmith’s novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, was published in 1955, the “suave, agreeable, and utterly amoral” Tom Ripley has been no stranger to our screens.

Over the decades, actors like Denis Hopper and John Malkovich have assumed the role, but audiences will probably be more familiar with Matt Damon’s turn as one of literature’s most famous psychopaths in 1999.

Now, the killer con man returns to our screens with Netflix’s new limited series, Ripley. Created and directed by screenwriter extraordinaire Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Moneyball, The Irishman) and starring Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Fleabag, All of Us Strangers), it’s a stylish and suspenseful Hitchockian thriller that’s sure to divide audiences.

When we meet Tom Ripley, he’s working as a con man in 1960s New York City. Holed up in a depressing apartment, he ekes out a meagre living by running scams – all while dodging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), who are tight on his tail.

But Tom’s luck soon turns around when he’s approached by a private detective on behalf of Mr Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan), a wealthy ship-building tycoon. Hesitant, Tom meets Mr Greenleaf, who incorrectly believes that Tom is close with his son, Dickie (Johnny Flynn) – a trust fund brat who’s run away to Italy to sail, paint, and generally avoid his responsibilities.

Being the opportunist that he is, Tom doesn’t correct him, and soon Mr Greenleaf is offering him a strange job: to travel (all expenses paid) to Atrani on the Amalfi Coast – where Dickie and his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning) have settled – to convince him to return to the U.S.

However, once Tom arrives in Italy and manoeuvres his way into Dickie good graces, he finds himself captivated by the young heir’s opulent and carefree lifestyle. Soon, he resolves to take it for himself by whatever means necessary – and what follows is a tense and unsettling tale of murder and deceit.

What’s immediately apparent is that Zallian’s series is a far cry from Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film. While its predecessor is glossy and glamorous – portraying the Almalfi Coast with a vibrant intensity – Ripley is quiet, cerebral, and shot in black and white. From the first scene, it feels like an ode to noir films of the 40s and 50s – with plenty of swishing trenchcoats and footsteps echoing down deserted streets.

Though, that’s not to say that Ripley isn’t rich and vivid in its own way. Masterfully aided by cinematographer Robert Elswit, Zallian takes his time to linger on textural details – the cracked walls of Italian villas and the swirling surf of the Mediterranean. It’s a piece of art that really takes its time – which will undoubtedly frustrate as many viewers as it delights.

With that said, the stylistic elements never feel overly-indulgent or unjustified, with each quirk serving a purpose. For example, Zallian deploys a Wes Anderson-esque device of dramatising letters by having actors deliver them in monologue while staring deadpan at the camera. This might seem pretentious at first, but it’s an effectively unnerving way to breathe life into some of the more bland bureaucratic notices that threaten to expose Ripley’s web of deceit.

The closed-in nature of the black-and-white lens and the voyeuristic camera angles – which frequently give the impression of watching characters from unseen hidey holes – also build a sufficiently suspenseful atmosphere throughout.

Despite the commendable behind-the-camera work, what ultimately makes Ripley work so well is Andrew Scott’s enthralling performance. At over seven hours long, it’s a slow burn, and there are points when the narrative can feel a little too meandering. This is particularly true in the early episodes before the excellent Maurizio Lombardi arrives on the scene as Inspector Ravini, who ups the ante when he starts investigating the strange goings on around Tom.

However, at these sluggish points in the story, Scott’s performance holds the viewers’ attention. Providing a bleak contrast to Damon’s 1999 portrayal – who’s all good looks and winning charm with a violent fury bubbling underneath – Scott’s version is more grounded. He’s bratty, entitled, and, quite frankly, creepy. Plus, despite the unsettling dead-eyed stare, he’s also clumsy and bumbling at times – skating by just as often on sheer luck and coincidence as a genuine talent for manipulation and deception.

The scenes when Tom thinks on his feet are some of the most entertaining to watch. With nothing more than a half-second pause, Scott gives just enough so that we know he’s fibbing, without it feeling like other characters would see right through him. Despite his objective terribleness, touches like this establish an allegiance with us and Ripley, making it all the more tense when Ravini and a suspicious Marge get close to uncovering his crimes.

That said, this version of Ripley is undoubtedly more difficult to like than previous iterations, which might be enough to put some viewers off completely. Fans of the lucid filmmaking of the 1999 effort and the shock spectacle of last year’s Saltburn – with which this will certainly be compared – also might not gel with Zallian’s bleak, subdued outlook.

But ultimately, Ripley is a stylish, slow-burning psychological thriller. It’s nail-biting and enthralling in a quiet and disturbing way. Throughout the series, Zallian builds a house of cards that feels like it’ll come crashing down at any moment, leaving viewers entranced and on edge.

While the pacing can certainly drag, it’s more than made up for by the exquisite cinematography and direction, as well as Scott’s enrapturing performance. Lovers of psychologically complex noir are sure to be pleased with this new addition to the Ripley canon.'

#Andrew Scott #Ripley #Netflix #Anthony Minghella #Robert Elswit #Patricia Highsmith #John Malkovich #Fleabag #Sherlock #All of Us Strangers #Steven Zaillian #Dennis Hopper #Kenneth Lonergan #Dakota Fanning #Marge Sherwood #Dickie Greenleaf #Johnny Flynn #Maurizio Lombardi #Inspector Ravini

[publicidadesp]

Saiba como assistir a 20 novelas clássicas no streaming, de 'Tieta' a 'O Rei do Gado'

Se ao longo da pandemia os serviços de streaming têm se mostrado fiéis companheiros dos que só querem distrair a cabeça depois de mais um dia em casa, uma das plataformas guarda mais do que séries e filmes e tem uma centena de histórias que dão conta de garantir o entretenimento de anos —novelas, muitas delas clássicos.

Nos universos disponíveis no Globoplay, fala-se português na Índia, o nordeste se confunde com a Inglaterra e uma obra de Shakespeare ganha vida na São Paulo de 1920.

Fica até difícil saber por onde começar, mas jornalistas da Folha ajudam com seus achados preferidos a seguir. Aperte o play e boa maratona.

*

ALEXANDRA MORAES

Bom Sucesso 2019. Autores: Rosane Svartman e Paulo Halm. Com: Antônio Fagundes, Grazi Massafera e Rômulo Estrela. 12 anos Surpresa recente, a novela entrelaça a vida da costureira pobre Paloma (Grazi Massafera) e do editor rico Alberto (Antônio Fagundes). Com bons diálogos, bons atores e vilões devidamente detestáveis, é um folhetim cativante que consegue, além do mais, a proeza de incorporar pequenas citações literárias sem se fazer insuportável.

O Cravo e a Rosa 2000. Autores: Walcyr Carrasco e Mário Teixeira. Com: Adriana Esteves, Eduardo Moscovis e Leandra Leal. Livre Adaptação de “A Megera Domada”, de Shakespeare, para o Brasil dos anos 1920, a novela narra o romance cheio de arranca-rabos entre a modernete Catarina (Adriana Esteves) e o caipira Petruchio (Du Moscovis). Penúltima novela de Walter Avancini, em parceria com Dennis Carvalho, extrai sua graça de um elenco impecável —Leandra Leal, Suely Franco, Drica Moraes, Eva Todor, além da dupla inspirada formada por Ney Latorraca e Maria Padilha.

Kubanacan 2003. Autor: Carlos Lombardi. Com: Marcos Pasquim, Adriana Esteves e Danielle Winits. Livre Trama-irmã de “Uga Uga” (2000), é a primeira novela de Carlos Lombardi a entrar na plataforma, que se beneficiaria muito de outros clássicos do autor, como “Bebê a Bordo”, “Perigosas Peruas” e “Quatro por Quatro”. Neste aqui, acompanhamos as aventuras do Pescador Parrudo e sua turma de descamisados em uma república bananeira dos anos 1950. Cheia de reviravoltas caóticas, a novela é um ótimo programa de humor, coroado pela presença da dupla Nair Bello e Lolita Rodrigues.

Meu Pedacinho de Chão 2014. Autores: Benedito Ruy Barbosa. Com: Bruna Linzmeyer, Irandhir Santos e Osmar Prado. 10 anos Uma joia de Luiz Fernando Carvalho e Benedito Ruy Barbosa, com direção de arte e cenografia primorosas. A novela se passa na Vila de Santa Fé, em que se misturam o visual escapista e os bem brasileiros desmandos do coronel Epaminondas Napoleão (Osmar Prado), que vão ser desafiados com a chegada da professora Juliana (Bruna Linzmeyer).

Top Model 1989. Autores: Walther Negrão e Antônio Calmon. Com: Malu Mader, Taumaturgo Ferreira e Nuno Leal Maia. Livre Na esteira da popularização da figura das top models no final dos anos 1980, a novela sobrevoava o universo da moda com a história de Duda (Malu Mader), escolhida para dar cara e corpo à grife de Alex Kundera (Cecil Thiré). A paixão da modelo pelo encrencado Lucas (Taumaturgo Ferreira) acaba eclipsada pelo verdadeiro sucesso da novela: o núcleo familiar do pai solo Gaspar (Nuno Leal Maia), irmão de Alex, com cinco filhos e uma praia permanentemente à sua disposição.

LAURA MATTOS

Brega & Chique 1987. Autor: Cassiano Gabus Mendes. Com: Marília Pêra, Glória Menezes e Marco Nanini. 12 anos A abertura da novela, com um homem desfilando nu de costas, ao som de “Pelado”, do Ultraje a Rigor, dá o tom de comédia dessa trama antológica das 19h. Duas mulheres, uma socialite (Marília Pêra) e outra humilde (Glória Menezes) tinham, sem saber, o mesmo marido. Ele dá um golpe que faz com que a rica empobreça e a pobre enriqueça, gerando confusão e cenas hilárias, como a de Marília Pêra andando toda esnobe na feira, até que alguém acerta uma laranja podre em seu casaco de vison.

Caminho das Índias 2009. Autora: Glória Perez. Com: Juliana Paes, Rodrigo Lombardi e Márcio Garcia. 10 anos Português virou a língua da Índia, e o Brasil passou a falar “Are baba”. Herdeira do estilo de Janete Clair, para quem a verossimilhança era um detalhe, Glória Perez mescla os dois países nesse enredo que parte do dilema amoroso de Maya (Juliana Paes), dividida entre o homem escolhido pelos pais para ela se casar, Raj (Rodrigo Lombardi), e a paixão por um dalit, que, no sistema de casta da Índia, é considerado impuro. Destaque para as cenas de Tony Ramos, no papel de um comerciante indiano, reverenciando vacas, sagradas no país.

Celebridade 2003. Autor: Gilberto Braga. Com: Malu Mader, Cláudia Abreu e Fábio Assunção. 12 anos O universo de celebridades de todos os escalões é o pano de fundo dessa história marcada por um delicioso antagonismo entre Malu Mader, no papel da ex-modelo e empresária Maria Clara Diniz, e Cláudia Abreu, que vive com sangue nos olhos a invejosa Laura Prudente da Costa. Depois de sofrer por capítulos e mais capítulos, Maria Clara estapeia Laura no banheiro, em uma cena memorável. Boas risadas ficam por conta de Darlene (Deborah Secco), manicure que faz de tudo para ficar famosa.

Laços de Família 2000. Autor: Manoel Carlos. Com: Vera Fischer, Carolina Dieckmann e Reynaldo Gianecchini. 12 anos Mãe e filha se apaixonam pelo mesmo homem (Gianecchini), médico jovem e de bom coração. Clássica Helena de Manoel Carlos –o autor dá esse nome às protagonistas–, a mãe (Vera Fischer), que conheceu o rapaz primeiro e começou a namorá-lo, abre mão da paixão em favor da filha, Camila (Carolina Dieckmann). O tom dramático se acentua quando a moça descobre ter leucemia, e o tratamento é marcado por uma cena que se tornou histórica na TV, com Dieckmann tendo o cabelo raspado, aos prantos.

Senhora do Destino 2004. Autor: Aguinaldo Silva. Com: Suzana Vieira, Renata Sorrah e Carolina Dieckmann. 10 anos O que dizer de uma novela com duelos, incluindo tapas, chutes e muito xingamento, entre Suzana Vieira e Renata Sorrah? Por favor, não perca. Quando jovem, Maria do Carmo (Suzana Vieira) migrou do Nordeste para o Rio com seus cinco filhos pequenos, e, na chegada, teve a caçula, ainda recém-nascida, sequestrada por Nazaré (Renata Sorrah). A mãe passa a vida atrás da filha, até que a reencontra, já adulta, e sem fazer ideia de ter sido sequestrada. Tem que encarar o drama de conquistar seu amor como filha ao mesmo tempo que enfrenta a fúria de Nazaré.

SILAS MARTÍ

A Indomada 1997. Autor: Aguinaldo Silva. Com: Adriana Esteves, Claudio Marzo e Eva Wilma. Livre Numa sátira da pasteurização do mundo globalizado, Aguinaldo Silva inventou um vilarejo nordestino com hábitos britânicos, levando o five o’clock tea ao sol tórrido dos engenhos de açúcar. Eva Wilma é a vilã Maria Altiva de Mendonça e Albuquerque, talvez um dos maiores papéis de sua sólida carreira. Se não se tornou um clássico como “Tieta”, o enredo é um dos mais deliciosos passados nesses microcosmos de Brasil, uma terra teimosa atolada no passado, construídos pelo autor.

O Rebu 2014. Autores: George Moura e Sérgio Goldemberg. Com: Patricia Pillar, Sophie Charlotte e Tony Ramos. 14 anos Uma festa de gala, de convidados entretidos com drinques e flertes, para de repente quando um corpo aparece boiando na piscina. Os “whodunnits” não são novidade nas novelas brasileiras, este então menos ainda, porque é o remake de uma trama da década de 1970. A diferença está na forma como o diretor José Luiz Villamarim fez uma releitura noir e arrepiante do enredo com atores muito à vontade em papéis camaleônicos. Nesses meses de confinamento, em que sonhamos com a ideia de uma festa, vale lembrar que toda a ação dos 36 episódios se passa numa noite de esbórnia, com flashbacks elucidando mistérios ao longo do caminho. Os vestidos, a maquiagem, os cabelos permanecem impecáveis, e os drinques, na temperatura exata.

O Rei do Gado 1996. Autor: Benedito Ruy Barbosa. Com: Antônio Fagundes, Glória Pires e Patricia Pillar. 10 anos Depois da explosão que foi “Pantanal”, na extinta TV Manchete, Benedito Ruy Barbosa se tornou o rei do dramalhão rural nas novelas. Seu rei aqui nasceu entre pés de café para trocar tudo pelo posto de chefão pecuarista, bem num momento em que Brasília ardia em discussões sobre a reforma agrária e o Movimento Sem Terra crescia. Carlos Vereza era um político honesto, Antônio Fagundes era o dono das cabeças de boi e Patricia Pillar se torna a mulher do rei. É mais um retrato de uma época que não acabou. Em tempo, na ressaca das queimadas que arrasaram nossas paisagens, a Globo promete estrear neste ano um remake de “Pantanal” escrito pelo neto do roteirista.

Sassaricando 1987. Autor: Silvio de Abreu. Com: Paulo Autran, Tônia Carrero e Eva Wilma. 10 anos Esta novela delirante, ótimo remédio para os blues da pandemia, só pode ser levada a sério pelo talento de muitos atores que deixam saudades. Estamos na São Paulo do alvorecer da redemocratização, o trio Rebeca, Penélope e Leonora –Tônia Carrero, Eva Wilma e Irene Ravache– formam uma espécie de “Golden Girls” dos Jardins, solteironas empoderadas à procura de um milionário. Paulo Autran, no papel de Cicinho, é o tal para as três senhoritas em questão. O remake, “Haja Coração”, não chega aos pés. Veja a Tancinha original, uma Cláudia Raia no auge de sua exuberância cômica, e os garotos que a rodeiam, no auge, bem, só da exuberância física mesmo –um Alexandre Frota pré-política e pornô e Rômulo Arantes, talvez o mais belo rapaz a aparecer numa tela de TV.

Vale Tudo 1988. Autor: Gilberto Braga. Com: Regina Duarte, Glória Pires e Antônio Fagundes. 14 anos Já na abertura, a voz de Gal Costa cantando os versos de Cazuza em “Brasil” dão a entender que nada mudou neste país desde que a maior novela de todos os tempos estreou no fim da década de 1980. Regina Duarte, antes de sua incursão bolsonarista, faz a sofrida mãe da vilã Maria de Fátima, vivida por uma Glória Pires nefasta. Mas não há vilã maior que a Odete Roitman de Beatriz Segall, aqui desfilando impropérios escritos no auge das habilidades do roteirista Gilberto Braga. É um retrato tóxico da mesquinharia da nossa elite embalado no melhor do melodrama.

ÚRSULA PASSOS

Caça Talentos 1996. Autores: Denise Bandeira, Mauro Wilson, Ronaldo Santos e Gilberto Loureiro. Com: Angélica, Eduardo Galvão e Helena Fernandes. Livre Angélica chegou à Globo com uma novela para si. Ela é a fada Bela, que, como uma espécie de Ariel, a sereia, pode perder seus poderes e se apaixonar. Por Merlim! A novela passava logo após o programa matinal da loira, ou seja, na hora do almoço da garotada. Certeiro. Você, jovem de 30 anos, acaba de fazer o gesto de dedo de uma mão na cabeça e dedo da outra no peito para chamar a magia, não é?

O Clone 2001. Autora: Glória Perez. Com: Giovanna Antonelli, Murilo Benício e Daniela Escobar. 10 anos Não há garota adolescente do começo dos anos 2000 que tenha passado ilesa às modas da trama de Glória Perez, como a pulseira-anel de Jade (Giovanna Antonelli). A Dolly (a ovelha, e não o refrigerante) ainda estava viva e a Globo já estava clonando o Murilo Benício anos antes de um certo escritor depois laureado com o Nobel criar um romance sobre clones.

Cordel Encantado 2011. Autores: Duca Rachid e Thelma Guedes. Com: Bianca Bin, Cauã Reymond e Bruno Gagliasso. 10 anos Gravada numa região próxima àquela onde seria feita, em 2016, “Velho Chico”, entre Sergipe, Alagoas e Bahia, a novela dirigida por Amora Mautner tinha visual deslumbrante. O tema do cangaço também está ali. E o vilão, vivido por Bruno Gagliasso, consegue despertar enorme ojeriza ao fazer de tudo para impedir que o casal protagonista, Cauã Raymond e Bianca Bin, fique junto. Dos principais aos secundários, todos os personagens são muito bem pensados e inesquecíveis, como a Ternurinha de Zezé Polessa, o turco Farid de Mouhamed Harfouch e o gago Quiquiqui de Marcello Novaes.

Tieta 1989. Autores: Aguinaldo Silva, Ricardo Linhares e Ana Maria Moretzsohn. Com: Betty Faria, Joana Fomm e José Mayer, Reginaldo Faria. Livre Nada melhor do que acompanhar a afrontosa Betty Faria nesses tempos em que parte do mundo parece querer viver em Santana do Agreste. Não à toa a conservadora da história escrita nos anos 1970 por Jorge Amado se chama Perpétua.

A Vida da Gente 2011. Autora: Lícia Manzo. Com: Fernanda Vasconcellos, Marjorie Estiano e Rafael Cardoso. 10 anos O clique para o talento estrondoso de Marjorie Estiano veio neste novelão familiar de Lícia Manzo. A atriz vivia uma jovem à sombra da irmã talentosa mas que acaba ficando com seu namorado e com sua filha depois que a irmã sofre um acidente e entra em coma. Isso sem ser vilã. E, claro, a irmãzinha vai acordar. Quer trama mais gostosa que essa?

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The enduring bond between Jackie Robinson and the man who guided him to the majors

CLYDE SUKEFORTH IS SMILING. He’s holding a Brooklyn Dodgers cap in one hand and pointing to the sky with the other.

He’s one of the characters in the Norman Rockwell painting “Tough Call,” although you can barely see him poking out behind the three umpires at home. The men in black are deciding whether to call off the game at Ebbets Field, and Sukeforth is representing optimism, while his counterpart, Pittsburgh manager Billy Meyer, is playing up the foreboding conditions. Painted by Rockwell for the April 23, 1949, cover of The Saturday Evening Post, this masterpiece of Americana now hangs in the art gallery of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

There’s a certain magic to the painting, and also to the notion that Sukeforth is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year. He’s not in the Hall of Fame, per se, but he certainly belongs in Cooperstown.

For one thing, his father was once an actual cooper. More important, this humble, athletic, smart, thoughtful and resolute man from Lincoln County, Maine, changed the course of baseball history in many ways — most of them good, one not so much if you were a Dodgers fan in 1951. Sukeforth was, in the words of the great writer Jimmy Breslin, the “third-base coach of history.”

Clyde Sukeforth is in the Hall of Fame not as a player, but as a painting. In the famous Norman Rockwell composition “Tough Call,” Sukey can be seen peeking out from behind the umpires, laughing and pointing to the sky. Bottom of the Sixth illustration © SEPS licensed by Curtis Licensing Indianapolis, IN

The proof of his reach in the game is in the sacred enclave adjacent to the Hall of Fame’s gallery. That’s where the plaques are, and Sukeforth would have been a wonderful guide for the folks strolling among them. He saw Babe Ruth pitch for the Red Sox in the 1918 World Series. He caught Eppa Rixey, Waite Hoyt and Dazzy Vance. He played with Edd Roush, Harry Heilmann, Hack Wilson, Al Lopez and Leo Durocher. He played for Casey Stengel and Max Carey and against Hall of Famers too numerous to mention. He was traded for one (Ernie Lombardi), replaced by another (Billy Herman) and took a job away from Rogers Hornsby.

Heck, he could have even corrected one of the plaques. It’s the one that says Hack Wilson hit 56 homers for the Cubs in 1930. “Hack really hit 57,” Sukeforth once recalled. “He hit one up in the Crosley Field seats so hard that it bounced right back. The umpires figured it must have hit the screen. I was in the Reds’ bullpen and we didn’t say a word.” Or he could have pointed to the plaque for Dennis Eckersley and admitted he might have been wrong about him.

But there are three plaques in particular that speak for Sukeforth. If not for him, Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente might never have been waved home to Cooperstown. And then there’s Branch Rickey, who always wanted “Sukey” by his side.

This year, and this season of the year, seems an appropriate time to point skyward toward Sukeforth. After all, the iconic script of the Dodgers is still fresh in our minds. What’s more, it was 75 years ago that Rickey dispatched his most trusted adviser to Chicago to ask a young shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs to come to Brooklyn to discuss his future … and the future of baseball. “Had it not been for Clyde,” says Branch Barrett Rickey III, Rickey’s grandson, “it might have been a whole different scenario. He planted the seeds of trust.”

On Oct. 23, 1945, the Dodgers announced in Montreal that Jackie Robinson would be playing the next season for the Royals, Brooklyn’s top farm club. That paved the way for the breaking of baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, when the Dodgers manager wrote the name ROBINSON into the lineup — playing first, batting second. The manager that day was Clyde Sukeforth.

The two men were inextricably linked by history, but there was a stronger connection than that — friendship. In a letter he sent to Sukeforth in 1972, Robinson wrote, “Whenever there were problems in the earlier days, I could always go to you, talk with you, and receive the warm and friendly advice that I always did.”

This fall also marked the 60th anniversary of the Pirates’ victory over the heavily favored Yankees in the 1960 World Series. Yes, Bill Mazeroski won Game 7 on Oct. 13 with his walk-off homer off Ralph Terry, but the Pirates’ first championship in 35 years owed much more to the shared vision of Rickey and Sukeforth.

Baseball is full of improbable stories, but there are few as unlikely and lovely as Sukeforth’s. Who could make this up? He was a small catcher (5-foot-10, 155 pounds) from Washington (pop. 800) in Lincoln County, Maine, who found his way to the majors by chance and ended up batting .354 for the Reds in 1929. He overcame a hunting accident that left him with diminished vision in his right eye, and he suffered a personal tragedy that he took with him to his grave.

In 1945, when he was a 43-year-old Dodgers coach and the team was hurting for players because of the war, he strapped on his gear once again … and hit .294 in 18 games. It was later that very summer when Rickey sent Sukeforth on his top-secret mission.

What else? He could claim that no manager ever had a higher winning percentage in the history of baseball — he was 2-0. (“Quite a record,” he said.) He was the man who had to decide who was the better choice to face Bobby Thomson before the Shot Heard ‘Round the World.

Sukeforth spent 10 seasons in the big leagues as a backup catcher for the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers. AP Photo

When he got the blame for that, he went to Pittsburgh and took revenge by stealing a young Dodgers minor leaguer named Clemente. And had the Pirates been a little less stingy, he might also have signed a Brooklyn kid named Koufax.

Sukeforth wasn’t just a baseball man either. Temporarily retired, he was asked to serve as one of Maine’s delegates to the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The convention nominated John F. Kennedy for president, which means that JFK was elected 26 days after Mazeroski, another favorite son, danced down the third-base line at Forbes Field. That’s one more Hall of Famer he could tell you about.

Fortune just seemed to follow Sukey around. When he was 75 years old and still doing a little scouting, his second wife, Grethel, won the Maine Lottery. He led a charmed life, all right, but it wasn’t just a matter of happenstance. As Rickey famously said, “Luck is the residue of design.”

By the way, he first said that to Sukeforth.

IF YOU’RE DRIVING east on Main Street in Waldoboro, turn right on Route 220. That’s Friendship Road. Hidden in the oak trees a few miles down on the left is Brookland Cemetery. According to the sign, it’s “a place of serenity and beauty for quiet reminiscence and meditation.”

In the far right corner of the cemetery, about where first base would be, there’s a granite tombstone partially obscured by a flowering hosta plant. Etched at the top is the name SUKEFORTH, and at the bottom are two names:

CLYDE L. 1901-2000 HELEN M. 1901-1938

The tombstone says nothing else. But it also says a lot. Clyde was alive for every year of the 20th century, and Helen died much too young. The only hints that an important person is buried there are on the ground in front of the tombstone: a weathered baseball inside a cup and a clay sculpture of a locker room.

I happened to be there by chance. My twin daughters were nice enough to invite me on an early-September vacation to Maine, and the Airbnb they chose was in Waldoboro. Once I saw on Google that it was the hometown of Clyde Sukeforth, I was intrigued. I could still recall his Maine accent in the compelling interview Ken Burns did with him for his “Baseball” documentary series, but I really didn’t know all that much about him. That’s when I willingly fell down the rabbit hole.

The simple tombstone that Clyde Sukeforth shares with his first wife, Helen, makes no mention of the indelible mark he made on baseball history. Steve Wulf/ESPN

Waldoboro is right along U.S. Route 1, 63 miles up the coast from Portland. Bisected by the Medomak River, which flows into the Atlantic, and named for Gen. Samuel Waldo, it began life in the 1700s as a port and shipbuilding center and subsequently attracted a variety of mills and factories. Most of those are gone now, but it’s still a vibrant community of 5,000 that’s popular with all sorts of artisans and all kinds of fishermen.

In his later years, Sukeforth was one of the latter. He lived a little farther down Friendship Road in the Back Cove area of Waldoboro, in a yellow Cape Cod cottage on the eastern shore of Muscongus Bay. “I came up to visit him in the ’90s,” says his grandson Branch, who’s now the president of the Pacific Coast League. “He had this wonderful contraption with which he could pull in his lobster traps. I ate so many lobsters on his picnic table that it was years before I had another one.”

The North Star of Waldoboro is Moody’s Diner on Route 1. Famous for its pies and celebrated by Maine humorist Tim Sample, Moody’s has been serving comfort food since 1927 — the year after Sukeforth broke into the majors with the Reds. One of its more famous patrons was Hall of Famer Ted Williams, who ate here on his hunting and fishing trips with Maine sportswriter Bud Leavitt Jr. There’s an old photo of Sukeforth in his Dodgers uniform hanging on the wall next to an article about him — “The Godfather of New England Baseball,” written by Bud Leavitt. You can easily imagine Ted, Bud and Clyde sitting in a booth after a day in the woods.

For all the restaurants, dugouts, train cars and ballparks Sukeforth sat in, this is where he belongs. Clyde Leroy Sukeforth was actually born a few miles north of Moody’s, straight up Route 220, in Washington on Nov. 30, 1901. His father, Perl, was a farmer and a cooper who shoveled snow to make extra money and played baseball in what little spare time he had. The time and the place were such that Clyde and his sister, Hazel, would walk 3½ miles, each way, to a one-room schoolhouse that also served as a one-teacher high school. He once told an interviewer, “There were two things you could do. You could take your ball and glove and play catch with the neighbor’s kids, or you could dig a can full of worms and go fishing on the trout brook. That was it!”

He followed the Red Sox not on the radio but by stagecoach — that’s how the Boston Post arrived at sunset every evening. He got to see the Babe in person when his uncle took him to Game 4 of the 1918 World Series — Ruth pitched eight innings and hit a two-RBI triple as the Red Sox beat the Cubs 3-2 to take a 3-1 lead in a Series they won in six games.

Sukeforth abandoned school for a while to work for a lumber company, but he was a good enough player to dream of one day playing in the majors and a good enough catcher to be recruited by semipro teams despite his diminutive frame. “I wasn’t big enough to be too good,” he once told Brent Kelley of Sports Collectors Digest, “but I thought what there was of me was pretty good.”

One of the teams was sponsored by the Great Northern Paper Company, and its roster was supplemented by college players. A few of them were from Georgetown University, and they took a liking to Sukeforth. Then they took him back with them when the summer ended.

In a way, friendship is how he got from Washington, Maine, to Washington, D.C.

ONE OF THE highlights of the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is the Great Wall, a vast array of the signatures of players who have used the Louisville Slugger bats made by Hillerich & Bradsby since Honus Wagner signed a deal with the company in 1905.

The signatures are burned into wood panels, just as they would be on the barrel of a bat, and the names are arranged in alphabetical order by decades, so CLYDE SUKEFORTH 1927 is right between WILLIAM G. STYLES 1921 and ERNIE SULK 1930. Even in that sea of names, Sukeforth’s signature stands out because of its graceful precision. He signed it as a member of the Reds, but it seems to presage the style of script on the uniform he wore for close to 20 years.

PJ Shelley no longer works for the museum, but when he was the director of programming there, he would conduct a tour called “The Signature Wall Spotlight” to tell the stories behind names visitors might not recognize. One of them was Clyde Sukeforth, whom he called the “Forrest Gump of baseball.”

“Just like Forrest, Clyde was a small-town kid who was there when it happened,” Shelley says. “He was in the room for the fateful meeting between Rickey and Robinson. He wrote Jackie’s name on the lineup card on April 15, 1947. He was on the field when Norman Rockwell was taking in a game at Ebbets Field. He chose Ralph Branca because Carl Erskine bounced a curve. He was scouting for the Pirates when he noticed a Dodger minor leaguer with a really good arm.

“It is a beautiful signature, but what makes it even more beautiful is that he could sign it to attest that he was a witness to so much of baseball history.”

Just as Gump found his calling at Alabama, Sukeforth found his at Georgetown. “I loved the school,” he said years later. He was a catcher and a left fielder, and he got a chance to see Walter Johnson of the Senators beat the Giants in the seventh game of the 1924 World Series. But he left after two years thanks to the old-boy network — Tommy Whelan, a former Georgetown athlete (and Canton Bulldogs teammate of Jim Thorpe), scouted for the Reds, who signed him in the fall of ’25 for $1,500 and $600 a month. “I wanted to play ball,” Sukeforth once said. “That’s all I wanted to do.”

Louisville Slugger signed Sukeforth to a bat contract in 1927. His graceful signature is among the nearly 9,000 autographs featured on the Great Wall at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

The Reds sent him to Nashua, New Hampshire, in the New England League for the 1926 season, though they did call him up to Cincinnati for one at-bat in late May. Even though he struck out, Sukeforth said, “The highlight of my career was the first day I put on a big league uniform.” He also inspired the mascot for the Nashua Millionaires to become a catcher. That mascot was Birdie Tebbetts, who caught for 14 seasons in the big leagues and managed for another 11.

The Reds called Sukeforth up for good in 1927, the year he signed his Louisville Slugger contract, but he spent ’27 and ’28 as the backup to Bubbles Hargrave. “We had good pitchers, but we didn’t score many runs,” he said. “We had bad hitters like me.”

But then, out of the blue and with a little more playing time in ’29, Sukeforth hit .354 in 84 games, striking out just six times. He choked up on his big, heavy Louisville Slugger, and, in typical Maine fashion, on his own accomplishments. “I legged a few,” he once told an interviewer who asked about that season.

Modesty aside, he was a good hitter and a better catcher, and for the next two seasons, Sukeforth was the Reds’ regular backstop. The Reds were pretty bad — Rixey and Roush were at the end of the line — but at 30, Sukeforth still had a few good years left.

That rabbit hole I fell into led me to Bill Francis, a researcher at the Baseball Hall of Fame who was kind enough to send me clippings from Sukeforth’s biographical folder in the extensive library there. It’s usually a delight going through the old newspaper clippings, but every once in a while, a little item can take your breath away. This one is from The Washington Post on Nov. 18, 1931:

Clyde Sukeforth Shot In Eye While Hunting Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 17 (A.P.) – Surgeons believed today there was a chance to save the sight of the right eye of Clyde L. Sukeforth, 29, Cincinnati Reds first-string catcher, accidentally shot yesterday while hunting rabbits near here. One of the shotgun pellets penetrated Sukeforth’s eye, the physicians said. Surgical dressings will be removed Friday.

Actually, he and some friends were hunting birds, not rabbits. As Sukeforth later put it, “The bird jumped up before one of our fellows expected it and he took a quick shot at it. He got the wrong bird.” Sukeforth was hospitalized for several weeks because some of the pellets were lodged in his brain, and one of them had gone through his right eye. For the rest of his life, he would have trouble reading newspapers with the eye, but he seldom complained. In his usual fashion, he said, “I wasn’t a world-beater before then, and the accident didn’t help any.”

Just before the 1932 season, the Reds sent Sukeforth, Tony Cuccinello and Joe Stripp to the Dodgers for Wally Gilbert, Babe Herman and Ernie Lombardi, which might rank among the worst Dodgers trades in history, except for one thing: It brought Sukeforth into the fold.

When he married Helen Miller of Cincinnati on Dec. 8, 1933, Sukeforth was coming off a season in which he hit just .056 in 39 plate appearances. He had only one RBI in ’34, and the Dodgers optioned him to Toledo before the ’35 season. He decided to hang ’em up and return to Maine with Helen. But then in 1936, the Dodgers offered him a player-manager’s job with their Class D team in North Carolina — the Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets. Even with one good eye, Sukeforth hit .365 with seven home runs as the Triplets finished third in the Bi-State League.

From there, he went to Clinton, Iowa, to lead the Owls to a first-place finish, and in 1938, his Elmira Pioneers won the Class A Eastern League championship. At least, that’s what Baseball Reference says.

The clips tell a much different story. This is from the Elmira Star-Gazette on July 16, 1938:

Pioneer Pilot Proud Papa of Daughter Mrs. Clyde Sukeforth, wife of the manager of the Pioneers, gave birth to a daughter Thursday at Waldoboro, Me., by Caesarian operation. Manager Sukeforth, who was at her side, reported that mother and baby are doing nicely. Clyde will join the Pioneers here Sunday in time for the double bill with Wilkes-Barre. Pitcher Lew Krausse had been in charge of the team during his absence.

Seventeen days later, the Star-Gazette had to print this:

In respect to the memory of Mrs. Clyde Sukeforth, wife of the Elmira manager who died Saturday at their Waldoboro, Me., home the flag at Dunn Field was at half-staff during Monday’s game with Hartford. Flowers were sent by the Elmira club and a group of Elmira fans.

A more complete story of that 1938 season is buried in another, somewhat later, clip. It seems that the Elmira Pioneers had won the pennant in 1937 but had gotten off to a slow start because of a few bad apples. When Sukeforth threw them out, a delegation of Elmira fans went to Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail and demanded that Sukeforth be fired. MacPhail told them, “If I yank Sukey out of Elmira, I’ll yank the ballclub with it.”

After the midseason birth of his daughter, and secure in the belief that Helen and the baby would be fine, Sukeforth rejoined the team. But within a few hours of his arrival, he received a telegram that said his wife had died of complications from the cesarean.

Stop.

Imagine taking the train back to Maine, making the funeral arrangements, cradling a baby who had just lost her mother, your wife. Helen’s own mother would take care of the child for the time being, which was the rest of what looked to be a disappointing season.

Somehow, though, Sukeforth turned the team around. The Pioneers finished in third place, then surprised their doubters by winning the Eastern League championship. He even hit .348 in 12 games that year. How did he do it? Maybe it was being a catcher — you’re accustomed to shaking off the pain. Maybe it was being a Mainer — you’re accustomed to shaking in the cold dark of night. Or maybe it was the forging of the two roles into someone willing to bear an enormous responsibility.

Sukey had always been a great teammate. Now he was about to become the right man in the right place at the right time.

CLYDE SUKEFORTH TAKES off his fedora and breaks into a smile. In one of the opening scenes of the 2013 movie “42,” Sukeforth, played by Toby Huss, has just been informed by Branch Rickey, inhabited by Harrison Ford, “I’m going to bring a Negro ballplayer to the Brooklyn Dodgers.” They are sitting in the Dodgers’ offices in the spring of 1945. “I don’t know who he is,” says Rickey, “or where he is, but he’s coming.”

In real life, Rickey was in his third season as the Dodgers’ general manager. He had left the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the ’42 season to take the reins from Larry MacPhail, who had gone off to work in the War Department. “The Mahatma” inherited a team that was, in his own words, “dangerously veteranized,” and they proved him right by finishing seventh in 1944. But among his assets were two former Cincinnati teammates, Leo Durocher and Clyde Sukeforth — Leo was managing the Dodgers and Sukeforth the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers’ top farm team.

After spending one more year (1939) in Elmira, Sukeforth had beaten out Rogers Hornsby for the Royals job. He’d also won over fans and journalists. As A.W. O’Brien wrote in a Feb. 15, 1941, profile for the Montreal Standard, “Sukey is a rugged battler himself — although you’d never think it to look at the quiet-mannered, parson-like figure who walks to the third base coaching line in a semi-apologetic fashion.”

In that piece, O’Brien drops in on Sukeforth at his farm on Blueberry Hill, a knoll overlooking Waldoboro. We meet his hunting dog, Martha, and his neighbor, former teammate and fellow catcher Val Picinich. There’s plenty to do — Sukeforth rises at 6 every morning and calls it a day at 10 p.m. — and plenty to talk about: hunting, fishing, blueberries, the weather and baseball. But the passage that brings a smile is this one:

As might be expected, much of Sukey’s life is wrapped up in his small, dark-haired daughter, Helen, now two-and-one-half years old. She is unusually intelligent, full of pep and already keenly interested in her dad’s work.

Her dad’s Montreal team would win the International League championship in 1941 and finish with the league’s second-best record in ’42. When Rickey took over, he asked Sukeforth to serve on the Dodgers staff.

After Toby Huss, wearing fedora, landed the role of Clyde Sukeforth in the movie “42,” he studied up on his character. “I started reading about him and realized he was like the Zelig of baseball,” Huss says. “I came to love the dude.” Legendary Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Rickey too had been a marginal catcher from a small town, and he liked having Sukeforth around. He also liked the smelt fish that Sukeforth had brought him from Maine. “They understood each other,” says Branch III. “That’s why they were often bridge partners. That’s why they worked so well together.”

While the opening scene in “42” rings true, Rickey had actually been thinking about integrating baseball for quite some time, and the Dodgers provided him with the opportunity. As Lee Lowenfish points out in his magnificent biography “Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman,” Rickey set about restocking the minor league system by staging tryouts all over the land under the watchful eyes of scouts like George Sisler, Rex Bowen, Tom Greenwade, Wid Matthews, Lee MacPhail and Sukeforth. Out of those tryouts would come Duke Snider, George Shuba, Carl Erskine and Ralph Branca. Rickey also asked them to surreptitiously scout the wartime exhibitions between Negro League players and major leaguers who were in the armed forces.

It was mid-August of ’45 when Rickey called Sukeforth into his office. Here’s how Sukeforth remembered the meeting 50 years later in an interview for the Hall of Fame:

“He called me in and he said, ‘I want you to go to Chicago on Friday and see a game between the Kansas City Monarchs and the Lincoln Giants. Pay particular attention to a shortstop named Robinson, especially his arm.’ He also said, ‘I want you to identify yourself and tell him who sent you.’

“I got to the ballpark very early, picked up a scorecard and I noticed Robinson’s number was 8. So I sat down and was waiting. He came out with a couple of the boys and I hailed him … and I delivered my message. He was thunderstruck. He couldn’t conceive of why Mr. Rickey was interested in him.”

One slight problem: Robinson had hurt his arm and wasn’t playing. Here’s how Robinson described the same encounter in his autobiography, “I Never Had It Made”:

“Sukeforth said he’d like to talk with me anyhow. He asked me to come see him after the game at the Stevens Hotel. Here we go again, I thought. Another time-wasting experience. But Sukeforth looked like a sincere person, and I thought I might as well listen.”

In 1945, during Jackie Robinson’s lone season in the Negro Leagues, Branch Rickey sent Sukeforth to scout Robinson and to implore the Kansas City Monarchs shortstop to return with him to Brooklyn to meet with the Dodgers’ president. Sporting News via Getty Images

Before Robinson arrived, Sukeforth slipped the bellman $2 so that he and Jackie could ride up in the elevator together. Once up in his room, Sukeforth told him that Mr. Rickey wanted to talk to him in Brooklyn and that if Jackie could meet Clyde in Toledo, where he had another scouting assignment, they could take the overnight train to New York together. Robinson agreed, even though he still wasn’t sure what the invitation was about — the Dodgers did have a Negro League team, the Brown Dodgers, that played at Ebbets Field.

They sat together in the same Pullman car, eliciting any number of stares. “The more we talked,” Sukeforth said, “the better I liked him. There was something about that man that just gripped you. He was tough, he was intelligent and he was proud.”

Upon arrival, they spent the night in separate hotels and then met at the Dodgers’ offices at 215 Montague St. at 10 a.m. on Aug. 28. Sukeforth took Robinson up to Rickey’s fourth-floor office and introduced him: “Mr. Rickey, this is Jack Roosevelt Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs. I think he is the Brooklyn kind of player.”

There were only the three of them in the room, not counting the fish in Rickey’s aquarium. “Oh, they were a pair, those two!” Sukeforth would later relate to Jules Tygiel for his book “Baseball’s Great Experiment.” “I tell you the air in that office was electric.”

As the only other man in the room where the fateful meeting between Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson happened, Sukeforth had unique insight into their relationship. “They were a pair, those two!” Sukeforth said. “The air in that office was electric.” Curt Gunther/Keystone/Archive Photos/Getty Images

According to Sukeforth, “Mr. Rickey opened the conversation by saying, ‘All my life I’ve been looking for a great colored ballplayer. I have reason to think you may be that man. But I need more than a great ballplayer. I need a man that will turn the other cheek and take the worst possible abuse that a person can be exposed to. If some guy slides into you and calls you a black so-and-so, you could come up swinging and you would be justified. But you would set the cause back 20 years.'”

Robinson promised Rickey that there would be no such incident. “Well, I thought the old man was going to kiss him,” Sukeforth said. Robinson signed a contract right then and there to play for Montreal — $600 a month with a $3,500 signing bonus. That was large by Rickey’s thrifty standards, but then again, it wasn’t just to play baseball. Said Sukeforth, “Robinson was carrying the whole colored race on his shoulders, the next generation maybe. That’s quite a lot to put on one man’s shoulders.”

Rickey also asked Robinson and Sukeforth to keep quiet about it until the time was right. That came nearly two months later, on Oct. 23, when the press corps in Montreal was alerted that there would be a major announcement. Some of the writers were hoping it would be the news that Babe Ruth was going to be the next Royals manager. But then in walked Jackie Robinson.

In his very first game for the Royals, in Jersey City, Robinson had four hits, one of them a three-run homer, and two stolen bases. Things weren’t nearly that easy for him in the ’46 season — manager Clay Hopper, a Mississippian, hated the idea of integration in the beginning, and the fans in Louisville treated him brutally. But after the Royals won the pennant and then beat Louisville for the International League championship because of Robinson’s heroics, the fans in Montreal carried him around on their shoulders. In the clubhouse afterward, Hopper pulled him aside, shook his hand and said, “You’re a great ballplayer and a fine gentleman. It’s been wonderful having you on the team.”

On April 18, 1946, Robinson broke the baseball color barrier when he started at shortstop for the Montreal Royals in Jersey City, N.J. — and rewarded Sukeforth’s faith in him, going 4-for-5 with a three-run homer and two stolen bases. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Sukeforth, meanwhile, was serving as Rickey’s aide-de-camp. In that 1946 season, he took turns coaching for Durocher, scouting for Rickey and organizing the Dodgers’ new Class B club in Nashua. Rickey took a special interest in that team because that’s where he sent two other Black players, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella, to start their careers. Sukeforth was the scout who discovered Newcombe when he was pitching for the Newark Eagles, and he had his trust as well. Newcombe came up with a sore arm in an October 1945 exhibition at Ebbets Field, and Sukeforth had come to his rescue. “I’ll never forget,” said Newcombe. “This man walked in, this white man, and I was in there crying because I thought my baseball career was over.” Sukeforth soothed his pain by telling him the Dodgers still wanted to sign him.

The Dodgers began their 1947 spring training in Havana with one big question mark and a smaller one. If the answer to the first was, Yes, Robinson was ready for the majors, then the next question was, Where do we put him? He had played shortstop for the Monarchs and second base for the Royals, but the Dodgers already had Pee Wee Reese and Eddie Stanky at those positions. “I was told I must learn to play first base,” he wrote. “This disturbed me because I felt it might mean a delay in reaching the majors.”

There is a wonderful scene in “42” in which Toby Huss as Sukeforth is hitting ground balls to the late Chadwick Boseman, who plays Robinson, at first base. As Sukeforth twirls the bat and hits fungo after fungo to test Robinson at first, he carries on a running monologue:

“You know, Mr. Rickey wants you to play ‘conspicuous’ baseball … to be so good that the Dodgers demand to have you on their team … that’s it! … So I thought about it for a while … and I looked up ‘conspicuous’ in the dictionary. … It means to attract notice or attention.”

At which point, Boseman makes a diving stop to his right, and Huss says to himself, “Conspicuous.”

Huss, a versatile character actor who can do a wicked impression of Durocher’s good friend Frank Sinatra, laughs when he’s asked about the scene. “All credit to our coaches,” he says. “I think I hit .067 in Little League. As for Chadwick, he was a beautiful person and a wonderful actor, but he could hardly throw a baseball when they began filming. Somehow, we pulled it off.”

That they did. “That’s my favorite part of the movie,” says Dennis Zimmerman, a sales associate for Past & Present Motor Cars in Winter Garden, Florida. His word should count for something — he’s one of Sukeforth’s four grandchildren.

After manager Leo Durocher was suspended for the 1947 season, Sukeforth stepped in as Dodgers skipper on Opening Day and wrote Robinson’s name into the Brooklyn lineup — and into the history books. Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images

CLYDE AND JACKIE ARE SHAKING HANDS and smiling in the dugout, each with a foot on the field. The photograph was taken on Opening Day at Ebbets Field, April 15, 1945, and they look as though they’re sharing a secret. Flanking them are four men who aren’t smiling: Ed Stevens and Howie Schultz, two first basemen who aren’t playing because Jackie is, and Jake Pitler and Ray Blades, two coaches who aren’t managing because Clyde is. In the background, leaning over the dugout, are a phalanx of Brooklyn kids who want to get a closer look at history.

Durocher was supposed to be the manager. He had quelled a player revolt over Robinson in spring training and had Rickey’s full confidence. But he also had a messy personal life that offended some righteous and powerful people who prevailed upon commissioner Happy Chandler to do something. Which he did, suspending Durocher for a year — on April 9. When the commissioner gave the news to Rickey, the general manager responded by shouting, “You son of a bitch!” Rickey, who never swore, said it again.

After mulling over possible choices and consulting with Sukeforth and Blades, Rickey decided to ask Dodgers scout Burt Shotton if he wanted the job. Shotton was a curious choice for the grand experiment — he hadn’t managed full-time since 1933, when he led the Phillies to a seventh-place finish, and he was so old-school that he managed in street clothes like Connie Mack. And because he lived in Florida, he was going to be late for the Opening Day game in Brooklyn against the Boston Braves, so Rickey asked the coaches to choose an interim manager from among themselves. They chose Sukeforth.

That’s why it was Sukeforth who wrote ROBINSON 1B between STANKY 2B and REISER CF on the lineup card. In a 1987 interview with C. Eric Lincoln for the Baseball Research Journal, Sukeforth recalled, “I took the lineup card up to home plate that day, handed it to the umpires and to the Braves manager, [Billy] Southworth. Nothing was said that I can remember. So much noise. That’s what I remember. I handed them the cards and walked back to the dugout. The Dodgers took the field and that was it. The season started. Simple as that. At least for me.”

In his first three at-bats against Johnny Sain, Robinson grounded out to third, flied out to left to end the third and hit into a double play to end the fifth. But then, with the Dodgers trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Stanky led off with a walk and Robinson laid down a sacrifice bunt that turned into a two-base error that started a three-run rally. Final score: Dodgers 5, Braves 3, Skeptics 0.

“The more we talked,” Clyde Sukeforth said of Jackie Robinson, “the better I liked him. There was something about that man that just gripped you. He was tough, he was intelligent and he was proud.” Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

After a day off, the Dodgers trounced the Braves 12-6, and Sukeforth turned over the reins to Shotton. That little interlude between Durocher and Shotton was too complicated to work into the script of “42,” so the poetic justice of Sukeforth writing Robinson’s name on the first lineup card is lost in the film. Art can’t always imitate life.

But life can sometimes imitate art. “I actually tested for the Leo Durocher part,” Huss says. “They gave it to Chris Meloni, but then the director, Brian Helgeland, said they might have another part for me — Clyde Sukeforth. I read the script and thought, ‘This looks interesting.'”

Huss also fell down the rabbit hole. “I started reading about him and realized he was like the Zelig of baseball. So I decided I had to fly to Maine. I started at the library in Washington, and they put me in touch with the Waldoboro fire chief, who knew Sukeforth because the chief was involved in the Little League. He said that Sukeforth would come to their games with a lawn chair and a stopwatch. He’d also bring them all sorts of equipment that was sent to him because of who he was.

“The fire chief — Bill Maxwell was his name — told me that one time he was going through some of the baseballs that Clyde had given him, and there were autographs on them. He said he went up to him and said, ‘Clyde, Reggie Jackson signed this ball!’ And you know what Clyde told him? He said, ‘Ah, that’s OK, the kids won’t mind.'”

Huss, who happened to grow up in Marshalltown, Iowa, the home of the notoriously bigoted Hall of Famer Cap Anson, also visited Sukeforth’s house on the water and the Brookland Cemetery.

“I came to love the dude,” Huss says. “When I went to his gravesite, there were three baseballs there — one pretty old, one that had been there for a while and one that was relatively new. When I left, there were four baseballs.”

Helen Sukeforth was her father’s pride and joy — and, just like her father, doesn’t make a big deal about his links to baseball history. But she remains an avid fan of the game her father loved. Courtesy Zimmerman family

THEY’RE ALL SMILING, Clyde Sukeforth in his Dodgers uniform, 9-year-old Helen Sukeforth in her pigtails and Burt Shotton in his bow tie. It’s 1947, and they had every reason to be happy. The Dodgers would take the pennant, and Robinson would hit .297 with a league-leading 29 stolen bases and win the Rookie of the Year Award. They’d lose the World Series in seven games to Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees, but they won over America.

Sukeforth described his arrangement with Shotton this way: “I was Mr. Shotton’s legs and he had the brains. What a combination. He did a marvelous job leading us to a pennant that year.”

But the season was not without incident. In “Baseball’s Great Experiment,” Jules Tygiel describes a September game when Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola spiked Robinson in the second inning. When Robinson came to bat in the third, he said something to the catcher, Garagiola said something back, and that led to an “angry teeth-to-teeth exchange.” Sukeforth came out of the dugout to restrain Robinson and calm things down.

Durocher returned to start the ’48 season, but he was figuratively traded to the Giants after 72 games, and Shotton was brought back. Which is why Sukeforth ended up in one of Rockwell’s most famous paintings. The artist and a photographer showed up at Ebbets Field on Sept. 14 to do their research, and because Shotton couldn’t go onto the field in his street clothes, Sukey was the Dodgers’ field representative. In the painting, Rockwell accentuated his features, making him look more like Ichabod Crane than Clyde Sukeforth, but it’s him all right. In the background, you can see that 42 was now playing second base and that the Pirates second baseman is Danny Murtaugh. (More about him later.)

The scoreboard says the score is PITTS 1 and BKLYN 0 in the bottom of the sixth. While the tableau is open to interpretation, The Saturday Evening Post actually provided an explanation: “In the picture, Clyde Sukeforth, a Brooklyn coach, could well be saying, ‘You may be all wet, but it ain’t raining a drop!’ The huddled Pittsburgher — Bill Meyer, Pirate manager — is doubtless retorting, ‘For the love of Abner Doubleday, how can we play in this cloudburst?'”

Apparently, the Dodgers felt they should keep playing, while the Pirates wanted to go home with a 1-0 victory.

Shotton managed the Dodgers to another pennant in 1949, but again, they lost to the Yankees. Sukeforth, Rickey’s jack-of-all-trades, continued to help with the scouting. Sometime during the 1950 season, the Dodgers reached out to the Baltimore Elite Giants to inquire about second baseman Jim Gilliam. Because the Negro League team needed a new bus, a deal was made: $4,000, plus $1,000 for the bus, in exchange for Gilliam and a pitcher named Joe Black.

According to Jimmy Breslin, “There would come a day when Sukeforth told Rickey that he had the greatest luck imaginable: He got two World Series players for $5,000.

“Rickey answered, ‘Luck is the residue of design.'”

The Wait-‘Til-Next-Year Dodgers needed all the luck they could get. They were 0-7 in World Series, the last two under Rickey, who left for Pittsburgh at the end of the 1950 season after a power struggle with owner Walter O’Malley. But hope springs eternal, and on Oct. 3, 1951, Dem Bums faced Durocher and the Giants in a playoff game at the Polo Grounds for the right to meet the Yankees in the World Series. Charlie Dressen was now the Dodgers’ manager, and Sukeforth was his bullpen coach.

You could fill a library with the literature written about the game. But it came down to this: Don Newcombe took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth but then gave up two singles and a one-out double. With first base open, Bobby Thomson due up and Willie Mays on deck, Dressen called Sukeforth in the bullpen to see which of his two relievers was the better choice, Erskine or Branca. Erskine had just bounced a curve, so Clyde told him, “Branca.”

When Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen needed a reliever to face Bobby Thomson in the ninth inning of the 1951 NL pennant playoff, he called Sukeforth in the bullpen. Sukeforth sent in Ralph Branca, who gave up Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Dressen might have ordered an intentional walk, but he didn’t. Thomson swung at Branca’s 0-1 pitch, and the ball landed in the lower deck of the left-field seats. New York Herald Tribune columnist Red Smith ended his game story with, “Ralph Branca turned and started for the clubhouse. The number on his uniform looked huge. Thirteen.”

At least that’s the way the story of the Shot Heard ‘Round the World goes. Sukeforth called it something different in his interview with Eric Lincoln: “The guy hits this popup — I swear it was a popup — that lands in the front row of the grandstand and that’s all she wrote.”

In the days following the loss, Dressen, who maybe should have walked Thomson, hung Sukeforth out to dry. Asked why he had brought in Branca, Dressen replied, “Sukey said he was ready to go.” After all that Sukeforth had done for the Dodgers, he was left with no other choice than to fall on his sword. “Had I stayed in Brooklyn, I would have had to live it down,” he would come to say. His resignation was announced on Dec. 5, 1951, and Billy Herman was hired in his place.

Sukeforth wasn’t too upset, though. He had already put in a call to Branch Rickey. And he had just married Grethel Winchenbach, a 35-year-old widow from Waldoboro. Seemed only natural for the ex-catcher. Her maiden name was Pitcher.

Sukeforth was featured — as a coach — in the first modern baseball card set, the 1952 Topps series. Courtesy The Topps Company, Inc.

CARD NO. 364 in the Topps 1952 collection belongs to Pittsburgh Pirates coach Clyde Sukeforth, who’s wearing a kind of Where-am-I? smile. That card set is probably the most valuable one in history, partly because it has beautiful portrait-like images of 407 players, but mostly because No. 311 is Mickey Mantle’s first card for Topps, which went for $2.8 million in 2018. In pristine condition, Sukeforth goes for about $1,500.

On the back of the card, it says, “”When he isn’t busy on the playing field, Sukey is used as a trouble-shooter for Pirates farm clubs.”

Actually, the Pirates’ manager, Billy Meyer, thought his “Tough Call” partner was trying to take his job. Asked in spring training what responsibilities Sukey would have, Meyer said, “Why, that’s easy to answer. Isn’t he supposed to be my successor?”

Since the Pirates were coming off two horrendous seasons, that would have been a reasonable assumption but for two things. One, Sukeforth wanted no part of being a major league manager — too much bother. Two, Rickey wasn’t looking for any quick fixes. He needed to find players, and he called Sukeforth “a keen judge of baseball talent, one of the best.”

Courtesy The Topps Company, Inc.

The 1952 Pirates were one of the worst teams in baseball history, finishing 42-112, 54½ games behind the Dodgers. Meyer resigned and was replaced by Fred Haney, but the Pirates still couldn’t escape last place in ’53 or ’54. In the middle of that ’54 season, Rickey sent Sukeforth, who was still a coach, to Richmond to check out Montreal pitcher Joe Black to see if he might be worth acquiring. Sukeforth dutifully showed up for pitchers’ batting practice to chat with Black. His attention, though, was drawn to another player taking BP.

In Bruce Markusen’s biography of Roberto Clemente, “The Great One,” Black recalls, “[Clyde] came to me and said, ‘Who’s that pitcher who hits all the balls out?’ I said, ‘What pitcher?'”

It turns out that the Dodgers were trying to hide Clemente because the size of his signing bonus made him eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft at the end of the season. In his 1994 interview with Sports Collectors Digest, Sukeforth picks up the story:

“They were having their infield and outfield practice and there was this kid out there — real great arm. You couldn’t help noticing him. He wasn’t playing, though. … The next four nights I was out there watching him in batting practice and his form was a little bit unorthodox, but he had a good power stroke. … So I wrote Mr. Rickey. I said, ‘Joe Black hasn’t pitched but I have you a draft choice.'”

If not for Clyde Sukeforth, whom writer Jimmy Breslin called the “third-base coach of history,” Pirates great Roberto Clemente might never have been waved home to Cooperstown. MLB Photos/MLB via Getty Images

When the scouts all met at Rickey’s farm outside of Pittsburgh toward the end of the season to decide who the first pick in the draft should be, everyone seemed to have his own choice. Rickey then asked, “Do you have a candidate, Clyde?” And Sukeforth answered, “Clemente is definitely our man.” Rickey trusted Sukey, but he also wanted verification. So the 72-year-old Rickey flew to Puerto Rico to watch Clemente play for Santurce in the winter league, where he was locked in a race for the batting title with one of his teammates, center fielder Willie Mays. On Nov. 22, 1954, the Pirates stole Clemente from the Dodgers for $4,000.

With the blessings of Bing Crosby, a part-owner of the team, Rickey had already begun a youth movement. In that same year, the Pirates signed a 17-year-old shortstop from Tiltonsville, Ohio, named Bill Mazeroski. Pittsburgh had just given the shortstop job to former Duke basketball star Dick Groat, so Rickey had Mazeroski switch to second base. The Pirates were nurturing outfielder Bob Skinner and pitchers Bob Friend and Vern Law. (Law, from Idaho, had signed with the Pirates because Crosby made a phone call to his mother.) They also picked pitcher Elroy Face off the scrapheap and suggested he learn how to throw a forkball.

But there was a pitching prospect from Brooklyn they missed out on, someone Branch Rickey Jr. and Sukeforth were especially high on: Sandy Koufax. For her definitive, eponymous biography of Koufax (subtitled “A Lefty’s Legacy”), Jane Leavy talked to Sukeforth in the last year of his life. “How hard did he throw?” said Sukeforth. “Harder than anybody we had. He has what you look for in qualities. I mean, the good Lord was good to him.”

In the summer of ’54, Sukeforth arranged for Koufax to have a private audition at Forbes Field. Groat was a witness. “As I walked through the gate,” he told Leavy, “I saw all the Pittsburgh brass — Branch Rickey Sr., Clyde Sukeforth, Rex Bowen, George Sisler, Fred Haney — and there’s a young boy throwing, great body, a marvelous delivery.”

Catching Koufax that day was Pirates coach Sam Narron. Here’s how author Roger Kahn described the session:

“Koufax threw harder and harder until a fastball finally broke Sam Narron’s thumb — a thumb that was protected by a catcher’s mitt. Rickey said quietly to Sukeforth, ‘This is the finest arm I’ve ever seen.'”

After their success with the Dodgers, Branch Rickey and Clyde Sukeforth again found success in Pittsburgh, where Rickey built the Pirates into a winner under the watchful eye of Bing Crosby, a co-owner of the team. AP Photo/Frank Filan

Alas, Rickey’s nemesis, Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, was more generous with his money than Pirates owner John Galbreath, and Koufax signed with Brooklyn. The Pirates again finished last in 1955, and Rickey and Sukey had to watch as the Dodgers, who had Robinson, Campanella, Newcombe, Gilliam, Black and Koufax, finally won a World Series, in seven games over the hated Yankees.

Because of health problems, Rickey turned over the GM reins to Joe L. Brown at the end of that season. Still, the old man remained on the board until August of 1959.

When the Pirates fired Bobby Bragan as the skipper after 103 games in 1957, Clyde was offered the job. Once again, he turned down a chance to become a major league manager. “I don’t ask for a great deal out of life,” he once told Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “but I do want contentment. I could never find it as a manager. I have a happy home life, own a farm in Waldoboro, and among the things I grow are Christmas trees.”

But he did leave the Pirates a present to put under their tree. He convinced Brown and a reluctant Rickey that coach Danny Murtaugh, another guy from that Rockwell painting, was the right man for the job. (World Series titles in 1960 and 1971 would prove him right.)

At the end of the ’57 season, Sukeforth announced his retirement. “I started in baseball in 1926,” he told Biederman, “and I feel it’s about time I retire to my family and my farm. … I made a promise to my wife and daughter and I intend to keep it.”

So he took some time off and watched from afar as the Pirates turned things around. He became involved in Democratic Party politics, which was ironic given that Jackie Robinson had become a backer of the Republican Party. Then the Pirates won their first championship in 35 years, and JFK began his New Frontier. Sukeforth’s daughter became an adult and moved to Texas, his wife was now the postmistress of Waldoboro … and Sukeforth got the itch again.

After visiting some baseball pals in Florida, he agreed to help out with the Pirates’ minor leaguers, which is how he found himself managing their Class A affiliate in Gastonia of the Western Carolinas League in 1965. One of his players was an infielder from Sackville, New Brunswick, named Murray Cook. “What a grand old man he was,” says Cook, who went on to become the general manager of the New York Yankees, Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds. “There he was in his 60s, catching the pitchers, throwing batting practice, passing on his wisdom to us. I learned so much from Clyde.

“One day, though, one of our pitchers, Billy Queen, let loose with a wild pitch during a throwing session, and it conked Clyde in the head. Very frightening. He was lying on the ground, and the team doctor, who was a neurosurgeon, went over to look at him. When Clyde came to, the doctor told him he was taking him to the hospital because they might have to operate. Clyde told him that he couldn’t do that for religious reasons. He was a Christian Scientist, I guess.

“So he gathers himself and then the team, and he tells us, ‘Look, fellas, I’m going back to Maine to recuperate. If I’m not back here in three weeks, that means I’m dead.’ Well, a few weeks later, he shows up, rarin’ to go.”

To PJ Shelley, Sukeforth was Forrest Gump. To Toby Huss, he was Zelig. To baseball historian and Maine native Karl Lindholm, Clyde was Odysseus. This is what Lindholm, who has taught a course on the Negro Leagues at Middlebury College, wrote for the spring 2014 edition of the Baseball Research Journal:

“He was the mythical young man from the provinces who went to the city and participated in an epic drama, and then, after an extraordinary career full of high adventure, repaired to his Ithaka — Waldoboro — to live out his long life, a sage in the tranquility of old age in familiar and reassuring surroundings.”

“I wanted to play ball,” Sukeforth — with fellow Dodgers catchers Al Lopez and Ray Berres at spring training in 1934 — once said. “That’s all I wanted to do.” Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

When Sukeforth finally realized he was too old for a uniform, he became a scout for the Braves, covering New England and the Atlantic provinces. In 1972, Sukeforth ventured down to New York City to catch up with one of his old prospects.

It seems that the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands was having a special luncheon at Mama Leone’s to honor Jackie Robinson. Ralph Branca, Bobby Thomson and Joe Black were there. Sukeforth was asked to speak but declined. He did pose with Robinson, though. By the looks on their smiling faces, they picked up where they left off.

A few days later, Sukeforth received a letter from Robinson on the letterhead of the Jackie Robinson Construction Corp. of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Dated July 21, 1972, it read in part:

“While there has not been enough said of your significant contribution in the Rickey-Robinson experiment, I consider your role, next to Mr. Rickey’s and my wife’s — yes, bigger than any other person with whom I came in contact. I have always considered you to be one of the true giants in this initial endeavor in baseball, for which I am truly appreciative.”

Three months later, on Oct. 24, Jackie Robinson died at the age of 53.

SAME BEAUTIFUL HANDWRITING as on the bat. Dated Nov. 11, 1980, it’s a letter Clyde wrote on Braves stationery to another Rickey disciple, Rex Bowen. (In a very considerate gesture, Rex’s son Jack passed it along.)

In the letter, Clyde writes about going down to Texas to visit Helen and the grandchildren and the possibility of moving to someplace warmer, but Grethel isn’t keen on it, and besides, he’s got a dozen lobster traps and a Brittany Spaniel who’s becoming a really good bird dog. And then, from one bird dog to another, he gets around to baseball:

“I saw the two pitchers you mentioned on T.V., and they sure were impressive, especially so after watching the three millionaires on the Red Sox staff, namely Eckersley, Campbell and Torrez. Eckersley brings the stepping foot shoulder high even with men on base, and all three have the stiff front leg and fall all over the place.” (Note: Eckersley was coming off a 12-14 season and was still a few years away from refining his delivery and becoming a full-time reliever.)

Clyde and Grethel were comfortably settled in their house by the water. Clyde had invested wisely, and then, in 1977, came a windfall — Grethel won $150,000 in the Maine Lottery. There she is, holding up a number in a photo from the June 9 Biddeford Journal Tribune. With apologies to Red Smith, the number looks huge. Thirteen.

Now fully retired and a member of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, he resumed his boyhood allegiance to the Red Sox, tended to his lobster pots and tomatoes, and took his stopwatch to local baseball games, be they college, high school or Little League. Bill Maxwell, the firefighter who showed Toby Huss around Waldoboro, says, “I’d known Mr. Sukeforth most of my life. And because I was involved in baseball, I saw him a lot — it’s like it wasn’t a real game unless he was there in his lawn chair with his stopwatch, like he was still looking for a Hall of Famer. It meant something to be able to tell kids, ‘See that old guy over there? He discovered Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente.’

“One time, though, at an American Legion game, he was sitting in his chair on the first-base side when a foul ball hit him on the wrist. We all rushed over there, but he shooed us away. ‘Don’t make a fuss,’ he said. ‘I’ve been hit before.'”

Sukeforth might have lived his life out in footnote obscurity had not Ken Burns driven the four hours from Walpole, New Hampshire, to Waldoboro with his crew in 1992. He could not have told the story of the national pastime without Jackie Robinson, and he could not have told the story of Jackie without Clyde Sukeforth.

“It was a rainy day,” Burns recalls, “and we drove down a dirt road to his house on the water. We talked to a lot of people, obviously, for “Baseball,�� but Clyde stands out in my memory because he was so modest and decent and sweet. Here we were, interviewing one of the seminal figures in the game, and it was like we were talking to a Maine fisherman. He gave us 4½ hours, which is a lot, and he gave us a much clearer picture of what Rickey and Jackie were like.”

There were other guests. Murray Cook stopped by on his way up to New Brunswick. Helen had four children and 11 grandchildren, so there were games of catch and picnics when the family came to visit during the summer. Brian O’Gara, who’s now Major League Baseball’s vice president for events, dropped by in October of ’94: “I’m from Westbrook, Maine, and Frank Slocum, who knew Clyde from his days with the Dodgers and was then in charge of the Baseball Assistance Team, thought I should meet him. I met Clyde at the cottage, and it was like reliving baseball history through the eyes of your grandfather. The All-Star Game that year had been in Pittsburgh, so he was especially excited talking about his days with the Pirates.”

In October of 1995, the year after “Baseball” premiered, the Gibbs Library in Washington, Maine, mounted an exhibition dedicated to Sukeforth. As he looked at all the black-and-white photos covering the walls at the opening, he asked, “Why are you bothering with a second-string catcher?” At a later question-and-answer attended by local Little Leaguers, he was asked what the favorite moment of his career was.

“I liked every day of it.”

Because 1997 was the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s rookie year, Sukeforth was especially busy. The late, great Dave Anderson of The New York Times, who had known Sukeforth when he worked for the Brooklyn Eagle, came up to visit him that March at the Camden Health Care Center — he was recovering from a fractured pelvis suffered when he slipped on the frost on his front step. “I could be better, but I could be worse,” Clyde told Anderson. “That’s true of all of us, I suppose.” When Anderson asked him for the secret to his longevity, he said, “Getting up at 5 every morning and eating an apple every day. … My grandfather grew some of the finest apples. He had about 20 different types, but some of them faded out. There’s competition in that league too.”

Branch Rickey III also visited to film a piece for the Jackie Robinson Foundation. “Seeing him brought back so many memories, of my grandfather and father, of Ebbets Field and Forbes Field, of the way Clyde would lean in, of how soft his voice was.

“I remember ending our interview with three questions. The first one was, ‘What do you think the legacy of my grandfather is?’ Clyde answered, kind of in a monotone, ‘The Robinson thing.’

“The second one was, ‘What do you think his legacy should be?’ Clyde gave it some thought and said, ‘How far out in front of everybody he was, and not just in baseball.’

“And the third was, ‘What will you remember about him?’ His answer both stunned and thrilled me. ‘His compassion,’ he said.”

AS IF HIS accent isn’t enough to tell you he’s from Maine, Clyde Sukeforth is wearing a lumberjack shirt over a lumberjack shirt. It’s 1996, and he’s talking to the camera. The Hall of Fame had come calling.

As he rocks back and forth, Sukeforth recalls Robinson’s professional debut in Jersey City in ’46: “The day before, Frank Shaughnessy, the president of the International League, pleaded with Mr. Rickey, ‘Don’t bring that fellow over there — you’re going to have a race riot.’ Mr. Rickey never cut anybody off because he wanted to get the full complaint. He says, ‘Frank, Robinson’s going to play, and I’ll bet you everything I own or could borrow that when the game is over, he will be the most popular man in the ballpark.’ Well, that was an understatement.”

Ted Spencer, who was then the chief curator, and Bruce Markusen, the researcher who would conduct the interview, had driven up to Waldoboro from Cooperstown. Sukeforth was home at the cottage with Grethel.

Moody’s Diner, a Maine institution and one of Clyde Sukeforth’s favorite haunts, has been serving comfort food to local patrons — as well as luminaries like Ted Williams — since 1927. Facebook/@MoodysDiner1927

“Cold as hell, but it turned out to be a wonderful day,” Spencer says. “We stopped off at Moody’s — I had the cheddar sausage. Clyde gave us a great interview, but what sticks with me is his reaction when we brought up Rachel — he asked about her with genuine affection. I also remember this: After our interview, he was going to hunt some birds.”

“There he was,” Markusen says, “living at what seemed like the end of the earth, toward the end of an extraordinary life. But as significant as his role in baseball history was, you never got the sense that he thought he was significant. He was happy living off a dirt road, out of the spotlight.”

Lanny Winchenbach is a fisherman who lived next door to the Sukeforths at the time, and for a long time. “We were neighbors for 30 years,” he says. “I loved the guy. I’d look out my window and see him watching his grandkids playing catch with his great-grandkids, or splitting wood, or pulling in his lobsters, and I’d smile. I still laugh about the time he reached into the pocket of his hunting jacket to get some tobacco, only to discover that his dog had s— in it.

“There was one time my truck spun out on the ice going downhill, and I was sideways, afraid I was going to be T-boned by someone coming over the rise. I ran over to Clyde’s house, and he pulled out his four-wheel truck and towed me to safety.

“He was the definition of a good neighbor. I’d come home late at night, and he’d be looking out his kitchen window as if to make sure I got home OK. For a few weeks after he died, I kept looking at the window, half expecting to see him.”

Sukeforth left Winchenbach with something more than memories. “I have his stopwatch,” Winchenbach says.

ON A LATE-SUMMER afternoon, three softball players are getting in some swings at Clyde L. Sukeforth Memorial Field at the Waldoboro Recreation Complex. The left-handed batter has a nice stroke as he hits ball after ball from the pitcher into right field, where a woman deftly fields them and tosses them back toward the mound. Softball, yes, and just the three of them, but Sukeforth would appreciate the scene.

Grethel died on Sept. 30, 1999, at the age of 82. She was, by all accounts, a very nice woman who provided companionship to Clyde for 48 years. She knew, though, that when he died, he would be buried with Helen.

After Sukeforth died on Sept. 3, 2000, Anderson wrote his obituary for the Times, calling him “the Brooklyn scout and manager who accompanied Jackie Robinson through two of the Hall of Fame player’s milestones as the first African-American in modern baseball.” He would have chuckled at the “and manager” part.

Far from being forgotten, Sukeforth continued to be celebrated in the years after his death. The Washington General Store dedicated a pizza, The Number 11, for his Dodgers uniform number — meatball crumble, pepperoni, bacon, pickles, onion, tangy ketchup, mustard sauce, provolone and mozzarella. The Waldoboro Board of Selectmen made plans to dedicate the new field at the complex to Sukeforth. When it opened on May 1, 2010, Derek Zimmerman, one of his grandsons, threw out the first ball. Five years later, the state Little League tournament was held there.

Shortly after he was cast to play Jackie Robinson in the movie “42,” actor Chadwick Boseman met with Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow. Both Boseman and Huss were received warmly by Rachel, whom writer-director Brian Helgeland consulted about the script. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Toby Huss remembers the time Rachel Robinson visited the set of “42.” “When I was introduced to her as the man who was playing Clyde Sukeforth, she gave me just the warmest hug.”

Ken Burns also resurrected Sukeforth when he converted the footage he shot in 1992 for his 2016 documentary, “Jackie Robinson.” Both “Baseball” — the “Sixth Inning” is Sukeforth’s moment — and the later documentary are well worth the time, especially at this crucial juncture in history.

It’s kind of nice that Sukeforth keeps picking up acolytes. Tiger Cumming, a high school senior who does a sports column for The Lincoln County News, recently wrote about the man his Little League field is named after, quoting Sukeforth as saying that he “was not a good scout” and that he “could just pick out Hall of Famers.” Cumming added, “That sounds like good scouting to me.”

Another one is Alex Coffey, who covers the Oakland A’s for The Athletic. She first wrote about Sukeforth when she worked at the Hall of Fame in 2016 and then revisited him in Waldoboro in a touching piece she wrote for The Athletic this past spring.

“That part of Maine is a sacred place for me and my family,” she says. “We summered in Round Pond, right down the road. And because my dad, Wayne Coffey, was a sportswriter who loved and covered baseball, writing about Clyde was a dream assignment.”

For her piece, Coffey reached out to Helen Zimmerman, Clyde’s daughter. Now 82, and just like her father, Helen didn’t want to make a big deal about his links to baseball history. But she did recall him talking about his initial meeting with Robinson: “Jackie told him that white scouts didn’t hang around the Negro Leagues much. He assumed somebody was trying to be funny and was pulling a prank. Dad had a hard time convincing him it was legitimate.”

When I contacted Zimmerman, I discovered that the apple did not fall far from the tree, even though her Texas accent is about as thick as Sukeforth’s Maine accent. She has memories of going to Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, and seeing Robinson play. “But I’m a die-hard Rangers fan now,” she says. “Ever since Dad took us to the first Rangers game in Arlington.” Asked who her favorite Ranger is, she replied, “Isiah, of course.”

Sukeforth would have liked that too. A player known as “The Hawaiian Hustle,” Isiah Kiner-Falefa can play four positions, including catcher. He’s also proof that Jackie Robinson opened a world of possibilities — Isiah is of Samoan, Hawaiian and Japanese descent.

Dennis Zimmerman also remembers that first Rangers game in 1972. “Clyde took us down to the field and introduced us to the manager,” he says. “Ted Williams.” In later years, Dennis watched his own son, Dillan, become an elite pitcher. “I’m sorry my grandfather didn’t get to see him pitch. He played for the Perfect Game Baseball Academy in Orlando with Dante Bichette Jr., who was drafted by the Yankees.”

“I consider your role [in the Rickey-Robinson experiment], next to Mr. Rickey’s and my wife’s … bigger than any other person with whom I came in contact,” Robinson wrote to Sukeforth in 1972. AP Photo

Let’s see. Sukeforth’s great-grandson played with the son of Dante Bichette, who played in Milwaukee with Hall of Famer Robin Yount, who played for Del Crandall, who caught Johnny Sain, who was the first major league pitcher to face Jackie Robinson.

All roads lead to Friendship Road.

“I still remember driving with him through Waldoboro,” Dennis says. “He would wave at everybody. He never wanted to move south. He was a true Mainiac.”

He never wanted people to make a fuss over him either, and his tombstone reflects that. But as it turns out, his epitaph was written way back on Nov. 17, 1957, when Bob Cooke, the sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, wrote this upon Sukeforth’s retirement:

“Ball players, from one dugout to another, called him Sukey, and there was lots of affection in the nickname. Clyde would never talk about it, but he had a reputation for being everybody’s coach. Many a big leaguer, whether he was on the same team as Sukeforth or not, would come to him for advice and council. And there never was a player, who, having visited Sukey, didn’t come away the better for it.”

Clyde Leroy Sukeforth was a fortunate man, and baseball was fortunate to have him. As it turns out, luck can also be the residue of decency.

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