Card of the Week - Burt Lancaster Doesn't Take Any Crap
Here at Gobsmack’d Greetings, we are big fans of moxie. People who handle their scandal, take care of business, and take no prisoners. One of our card lines, the Anecdote card line, comes from biographies, documentaries and cool tales of awesomeness told late at night by people who remain nameless.
Today is a big day for people who have historically taken care of their business. In 1709, Bartolomeu de Gasmao, in an attempt to make an airship, exhibited the power of using hot air for lift in the Portuguese court, in 1876, Thomas Edison received his patent for the mimeograph and in 1908, the Wright Brothers had their first public flight in Le Mans, France.
So this week, we celebrate Burt Lancaster. Burt was an intelligent, attractive, and strapping actor. He believed in being prepared, knowing what was what, and taking care of business. When he was paired with a Method actor in a production, they disagreed on whether to practice stage combat (Burt’s plan) or actually spar (the Method actor’s plan). After a bit of rehearsal, the Method actor took Burt by surprise when he hit him in the face. Burt’s knee jerk reaction was to punch the Method actor in the stomach. Burt punched him so hard, it caused the Method actor to throw up.
Here at Gobsmack’d we abhor violence, whether it is invading Russia in the middle of winter in a poorly thought out campaign or shoving someone with your shoulder when you get on the bus. Be fair, be polite and have some integrity. But I think we all can get behind not necessarily needing to be punched in the face to pretend to be hit in the face for a scene. Particularly if you are, you know, a professional actor. And no one likes a sucker punch.
So if you admire the cut of someone’s jib, their moxie and their low crap taking tolerance, this might be the card to show it.
This week’s card of the week celebrates Burt Lancaster. He didn’t take any crap.
