“Beef” Rocks!
If you are a fan of classic 70’s movies, then you know this face:
It is, OF COURSE, BEEF!
Garrit Graham made an electric impression as “Beef”, the glam rock God in Director Brian DePalma’s rock masterpiece, “Phantom Of The Paradise!”
Here is a clip of Beef in concert, and then a look at the brilliant Singer/Songwriter who created him!
First and foremost, go buy this brilliant film on blu-ray and enjoy the great soundtrack…in fact, go buy that as well!
And now, here is the story of the voice behind Beef, the Phantom, and Barbara Streisand too!
Here’s a True Hollywood story for you: a terrific documentary about the Artist behind one of my favorite films of all time, and how it ended up with that Artist tweeting me!
Paul Williams Still Alive
Before you read anything, just watch this trailer:
“Paul Williams Still Alive” is a terrific new documentary about legendary songwriter and 70’s icon Paul Williams.
Here is what Rotten Tomatoes had to say about this terrific documentary: “He won Grammys and an Academy Award; wrote many #1 songs; starred in a Brian DePalma movie; put out his own hit records and albums; was a guest on The Tonight Show fifty times; and is the president of ASCAP…and you might not have heard of him.
In the 1970’s, Paul Williams was the singer / actor / songwriter that emotional, alienated teenage boys all over the world wanted to be, a sex symbol before MTV, when sex symbols could be 5″2 and sing songs about loneliness with the Muppets.
A wistful musical journey that will re-introduce a new generation to Williams’ soulful classics, “Paul Williams: Still Alive” is the charmingly self-narrated story of Stephen Kessler’s lifelong obsession with the former superstar-and what happens when the nostalgic filmmaker finally catches up with him.”
This is a great documentary – both as it looks at the colorful career of Williams, but also follows him now as well…
A Star Is Born! Evergreen!
And yes, Williams won an Oscar for the ballad “Evergreen”, along with Barbra Streisand, from the movie “A Star Is Born”….he also wrote songs that became huge hits for other artists, such as Three Dog Night’s “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, Helen Reddy’s “You and Me Against the World”, and the Carpenters’ “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainy Days and Mondays”…
“Paul Williams Still Alive” is a great, human, personal documentary about a great Artist…and if you want to get a sense of just how talented he was, check Williams out in one of the greatest movies EVER:
Phantom Of The Paradise – 1974.
This is one of my 5 favorite films EVER. It is Director Brian DePalma’s first masterpiece, a re-telling of “Phantom Of The Opera”, set in the world of rock’n’roll. Watch the vintage trailer:
The film is a wild and over-the-top look at the music industry, with a soundtrack that captures the essence of music in the 70’s – because Paul Williams wrote a soundtrack that name-checked it all!
Paul Williams stars as Record producer Swan – who steals both the music and the girl (Phoenix) from composer Winslow Leach. Disfigured Leach plans revenge on Swan and his rock palace, The Paradise, and becomes The Phantom.
William Finley stars as Winslow Leach, a talented yet naive songwriter who falls in love with young singer Phoenix, played by Jessica Harper. I had an interaction with her which I will share in a minute!
The film is a love story, a story of doomed love, and most of all, a raucous musical, because the singer who ends up singing The Phantom’s song is this guy:
Meet BEEF!
“Beef” is hilariously over-the-top: a mix of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust mashed into Kiss with a touch of Queen added for flavor. Garritt Graham is hilarious as “Beef”, and the music is actually terrific!
The film is full of great songs that parody everyone from The Beach Boys to David Bowie and Kiss – and includes the classic ballad sung by Harper, “Old Souls.”
“Phantom Of The Paradise” was a box office bomb when it was released, but thanks to home video, it has become re-discovered as one of Brian DePalma’s masterpieces…
When Alex and I got married, our first dance was to a song from this film, “Old Souls.” Here it is, a beautiful ballad sung by Jessica Harper in the movie…
“Our love is an old love, baby, it’s older than all our years…”
My Jessica Harper Encounter…
Last year my wife and I were having dinner and I saw Jessica sitting at a table nearby, talking to a friend! I got the courage to go over and excuse myself for interrupting them, but told her how my wife and I chose “Old Souls” as our first wedding dance. She was friendly and warm…and my interaction with the film took another funny twist as well:
Paul Tweets Me!
As part of the awareness caused by the documentary, Paul Williams now had a twitter account…so I decided to post this note @johnrieber:
@IMPaulwilliams “Phantom Of The Paradise” great soundtrack – we got married to ” Old Souls” as first song -kudos to Paul for Beef!
A day later, I got this reply on twitter:
Paul Williams @IMPaulWilliams
@johnrieber playing my song at yr wedding is heart payment for a songwriter John. Many thanks and blessings …
Hey, nice! So Paul is not only a great Artist, but he writes a nice note to boot! Buy some of the music, and of course the movies if you don’t already have them, and don’t forget:
Jessica Harper has had a long career, and one of my favorite films of her is this classic from 1980:
It’s a terrific comedy starring Peter O’ Toole – it was one of my ten films with the letter “M” – click here to see the trailer and more!
Back to “Phantom Of The Paradise”: it was directed by Brian DePalma, one of the greats of cinema….why? How about this list of films:
“Dressed To Kill”
“Carrie”
The Untouchables”
Mission: Impossible”
“Scarface”
I mean, there are many more as well! See a tribute to the Director that I posted on his birthday!
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Let me know if you’ve seen “Phantom Of The Paradise” – and feel free to share this on social media with your friends!
Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Art, Classic Rock, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Movies, Music, Obscure Movies, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, True Hollywood Mystery
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