On every episode we choose a celebrity who died between 1 and 10 years ago. We then go through a series of structured categories. We start by rating the first line of their NYT obituary on a scale of 1–10. We then look at their life stats, we speculate on their inner lives, and we ultimately answer the question "Would I want that life?" Each category helps weigh the desirability of a given life. Our approach is that of an empathetic biography. Our dead celebrities cross many categories of fame, including film, TV, sports, music, politics, literature, and more. Our goal is to make serious topics fun.
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The Masterclass Act
His mother was a former family court judge, and his father worked for the Xerox corporation. The New York Times once said “He does terminal uncertainty better than practically anyone.” He was a sleepy-looking man with uncombed hair who favored rumpled clothes. He was perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation. He earned Oscar nominations for his performances in “The Master”, “Doubt”, and “Charlie Wilson’s War”, and won as Best Actor for “Capote” in 2005. Today’s dead celebrity is Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode features Michael Warburton as guest host, and was produced by Megan Palmer. Sign up for our newsletter at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 44 “Inner Soprano” (James Gandolfini) and Episode 35 “Likable Villain” (Alan Rickman).
Links:
Transcript of this episode
New York Times Obituary for Philip Seymour Hoffman
Mimi O’Donnell’s Vogue article
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Charlie Rose in 2002
Top 10 Philip Seymour Hoffman performances
Bill Burr on Philip Seymour Hoffman
Famous & Gravy official website
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Dead or Alive Quiz Game
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