The best Peter Pan actor of all time.

[Staiduk]

OK - so I was just watching one of my All Time Favourite Films - Hook. This 'sequel' to the Peter Pan story stars Robin Willams (at his absolute best) as Peter; and the superb Dustin Hoffman as Captain James Hook. The movie is an utter feast for the senses; a delight for the eyes. The sets are gorgeous; the music magnificent and the acting far beyond anything you see nowadays. Robin Williams might be known as a hyperactive clown and physical comedian; but he has solid skill as a dramatic actor. He brings both his powerful acting chops and insane comedy to this magnificent role. I personally feel that Dustin Hoffman was one of the very few American actors that could possibly have balanced William's superb performance; bringing Captain Hook so lusciously to life.

Do you get the idea that I totally, utterly and in every other way absolutely love the movie Hook?

But the thing is; I grew up in the late '60's and early '70's. I remember another Peter Pan; one which leaves Robin Williams - great as he was - totally in the dust. An actor of extraordinary talent and charm; indeed one of the greatest stage performers that ever strode the boards: Sandy Duncan.
Does anyone else remember Sandy Duncan? I haven't heard her name spoken for at least twenty years. She was absolutely wonderful. She was cute, perky and energetic; a phenomenal dancer, wonderful singer and brilliant actor. She came alive on stage like no other actor I've ever seen before or since. This thirty-something woman played an eternal pre-pubescent boy with such enthusiasm and delight no man, woman or child could resist falling completely under her spell. (I am older now; and occasionally reflect that as a highly skilled dancer; Ms. Duncan also had two of the hottest legs I've ever seen...but I digress.)

Does anyone else remember the great Sandy Duncan? If not; you're likely too young to have seen the TV broadcast of the stage rendition of Peter Pan; she was utterly magical in that role.

Dunno where I'm going with this really; I just remembered and You-Tubed Sandy Duncan and was happy to find that my childhood memories of this extraordinary actress were accurate. Ms. Duncan is as appealing now as she was then; forty years can't erase the memory of that one magnificent performance.

As I said; YouTube has faithfully recorded Sandy Duncan's great Peter Pan. Here is a clip; I hope you enjoy it as much as I (and if you've never heard of Sandy Duncan before now; I hope you are as enraptured by her as I was when I was a boy):

Cheers!

(ETA: ) Watch the clip and regret; for this is an age of stage/screen co-operation that will likely never be seen again. The Stage has always been the most powerful and magical medium for entertainment. Film - for all its special effects and wonder - cannot compare with the delight of real actors on a real stage; performing to please a real live audience. In the '70's and '80's; TV networks understood this; and filmed spectacles like this rendition of Peter Pan. Nowadays; they do not - preferring to give viewers their shallow and cheap modern alternatives. This is an age of entertainment that will not be seen again and I, for one, greatly mourn its passing.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

I always had a thing for Miss Sandy. She was a cutie, that's for sure!

 

[Staiduk]

I always had a thing for Miss Sandy. She was a cutie, that's for sure!

A cutie and a hottie. :lol: And my God what a singer!
Edit: But you know; while Miss Sandy was incredibly cute; she is one of the rare performers for whom her mere physical beauty (which was considerable) was nothing compared to her powerful stage presence. I'm not sure that I have the words to describe it but watching Sandy Duncan on stage was an awe-inspiring experience. We tend to think of 'great' actors as men reciting 'Hamlet' in thunderous tones; but the lovely and sweet Sandy Duncan showed us what real acting truly is. We kids believed in Peter Pan - we truly believed that clapping our hands wildly would save the life of poor Tinkerbell. We believed it because Peter Pan - Sandy Duncan - told us it was real - and to this day I believe her implicitly.
I miss her. She's still alive; living out her old age somewhere in the United States but I miss the youthful vigour and fun exuberance of her Peter Pan of 1979. She belonged to a class all her own - an actress that understood and revelled in the imagination of children.

This one-time child loves you; Sandy Duncan, and I will as long as memory serves.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Yeah. I always thought Meg Ryan was a Sandy Ducan wannabe, with the face and petite figure and all. But she is/was miles behind Sandy with actual talent.

Meg is an actress whereas Sandy is an entertainer. There's really a big difference.

And I agree, how such a big sound can come out of such a small woman astounds me.

 

[RGClark]

I was also a big fan of Sandy Duncan. To a previous generation though the highly regarded stage actress Mary Martin (December 1, 1913 - November 3, 1990) was the definitive Peter Pan:

Bob Clark

 

[Staiduk]

I was also a big fan of Sandy Duncan. To a previous generation though the highly regarded stage actress Mary Martin (December 1, 1913 - November 3, 1990) was the definitive Peter Pan:


Bob Clark

Thanks Bob! Never heard of Mary Martin before but she was excellent in that clip; I'll do some Youtubing to find more of her. Thanks!

---------- Post added at 08:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:40 PM ----------

Yeah. I always thought Meg Ryan was a Sandy Ducan wannabe, with the face and petite figure and all. But she is/was miles behind Sandy with actual talent.

Meg is an actress whereas Sandy is an entertainer. There's really a big difference.

And I agree, how such a big sound can come out of such a small woman astounds me.

Agreed; though I wouldn't personally call Meg Ryan a wannabe of any kind; not with her success. As you say they're very different actresses: one is a stage pereformer; the other a dedicated film star and both women fill their respective niches superbly.
Thanks!

 

[Donamy]

Pretty hard to do all that flying with cables and only one-eye.

 

[RGClark]

Pretty hard to do all that flying with cables and only one-eye.

What I was marveling at was the young kids being willing to do it. I would have been way too scared at that age.

Bob Clark

 

[Artlav]

What I was marveling at was the young kids being willing to do it. I would have been way too scared at that age.

Well, at first you're all lit up and enthusiastic, then you dress up and discover that the costume scratches in a dozen places and don't sit right, then you find out that they won't spray you with pixie dust, but rig some scarily thin cables around your midsection, at which point it's already too late to back out...

 

[Ghostrider]

at which point it's already too late to back out...

And then you find out that the folks playing the bad guys have real swords. Sharp. And they're really going to totally kill you. Moreover, there's a bomb in the theatre and you have about 5 minutes to find and disarm it.

Then you wake up.

And it's worse.:lol:

 

[Notebook]

Well, there goes my childhood, but then again I was a big fan of Alice In Wonderland...

n.

 

[Staiduk]

Well, at first you're all lit up and enthusiastic, then you dress up and discover that the costume scratches in a dozen places and don't sit right, then you find out that they won't spray you with pixie dust, but rig some scarily thin cables around your midsection, at which point it's already too late to back out...

I think - having suffered as a child stage actor at my actress mother's insistance 40 years ago - that wires would be an exciting alternative to the drudgery that life on stage for a child usually is. At least they got to do something interesting.

 

[Andy44]

This thread makes me want to eat Wheat Thins...