The days of our kind are numbered.
January 25, 2012 5:44 PM Subscribe
Nicol Williamson passed away on December 16th in Amsterdam from esophageal cancer at the age of 73. You might remember him as Merlin in Excalibur or Father Morning in Exorcist III.
Rest in Peace
He's a guy who should have been in about 1000 more movies... seriously, I see him in Excalibur and think I recognize him from other films, just because he was that good.
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posted by Huck500 at 5:56 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by Huck500 at 5:56 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh, so sad. He was excellent as Sherlock Holmes in "The Seven Per-Cent Solution"! I was just mentioning this to my friend last week. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075194/
posted by scolbath at 6:05 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by scolbath at 6:05 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
His Merlin took up one hell of a lot of my mental real estate when I was a kid.
posted by COBRA! at 6:05 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by COBRA! at 6:05 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
A dream to some ... A NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS!
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posted by freecellwizard at 6:12 PM on January 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
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posted by freecellwizard at 6:12 PM on January 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
Aw, that guy!
I used to love Excalibur. Has it survived the suck fairy?
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posted by Space Kitty at 6:22 PM on January 25, 2012
I used to love Excalibur. Has it survived the suck fairy?
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posted by Space Kitty at 6:22 PM on January 25, 2012
Ahnal Nathrac oothvas bethud dochiel dienvay.
posted by crunchland at 6:24 PM on January 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by crunchland at 6:24 PM on January 25, 2012 [5 favorites]
FUCK!
Although to be honest, I didn't know he was still alive.
Excalibur is and always will be my absolute favorite movie of all time. I've probably seen it 100+ times, and there are so many moments that still make me weep, to this day.
He had a reputation for being very erratic and throwing tantrums, including during his stage performances. Supposedly his Hamlet was great, although one night he just walked off stage saying that he was retiring. And apparently he and Helen Mirren hated each other because of a previous run together on a disastrous Macbeth, and they were not happy about playing opposite each other in Excalibur.
I hope that one day my love will bring him back to the land of dreams.
posted by Saxon Kane at 6:25 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Although to be honest, I didn't know he was still alive.
Excalibur is and always will be my absolute favorite movie of all time. I've probably seen it 100+ times, and there are so many moments that still make me weep, to this day.
He had a reputation for being very erratic and throwing tantrums, including during his stage performances. Supposedly his Hamlet was great, although one night he just walked off stage saying that he was retiring. And apparently he and Helen Mirren hated each other because of a previous run together on a disastrous Macbeth, and they were not happy about playing opposite each other in Excalibur.
I hope that one day my love will bring him back to the land of dreams.
posted by Saxon Kane at 6:25 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
He's a guy who should have been in about 1000 more movies... seriously, I see him in Excalibur and think I recognize him from other films, just because he was that good.
This, this, a thousand times this. The only other thing I actually saw him in was that wretched Spawn movie. (Speaking of which, John Leguizamo could be doing more and better stuff too. Get on that before you die, bro.)
Every other portrayal of Merlin is measured against Williamson's.
posted by Gator at 6:28 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
This, this, a thousand times this. The only other thing I actually saw him in was that wretched Spawn movie. (Speaking of which, John Leguizamo could be doing more and better stuff too. Get on that before you die, bro.)
Every other portrayal of Merlin is measured against Williamson's.
posted by Gator at 6:28 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
.
Nicol Williamson discussing his feelings about death.
Nicol Williamson as Hamlet.
posted by jiawen at 6:45 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Nicol Williamson discussing his feelings about death.
Nicol Williamson as Hamlet.
posted by jiawen at 6:45 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
The AV Club has a fine obituary.
Williamson also struck Evan Handler--possibly on purpose--during a performance of I Hate Hamlet, causing Handler to quit the play. Paul Rudnick wrote about the experience in the New Yorker.
posted by Ian A.T. at 6:46 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Williamson also struck Evan Handler--possibly on purpose--during a performance of I Hate Hamlet, causing Handler to quit the play. Paul Rudnick wrote about the experience in the New Yorker.
posted by Ian A.T. at 6:46 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
Here's a thing: Nicol Williamson reads The Hobbit.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:47 PM on January 25, 2012
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:47 PM on January 25, 2012
Ratcrap. I oughtta chase the links completely before I post stuff.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:50 PM on January 25, 2012
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:50 PM on January 25, 2012
All the bards and all the heroes
Of old time
There with Arthur and with Merlin
Weave again the bardic rhyme.
posted by steef at 7:18 PM on January 25, 2012
Of old time
There with Arthur and with Merlin
Weave again the bardic rhyme.
posted by steef at 7:18 PM on January 25, 2012
Oh wow, Excalibur is such a great movie. What a great actor, he will be missed.
posted by Dick Laurent is Dead at 7:28 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Dick Laurent is Dead at 7:28 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
CJorgensen: I loved his version of Merlin. I used to sneak down and watch Excalbur on HBO at night. This was back in the day when HBO would put breaks in long movies. They did that, right? I also watched Altered States over and over again.
I turned out fine.
I thought I was the only one!?! For me, these movies and others like them (I'm looking at you, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) were on Showtime. I was 14 and would curl up in front of the TV in the basement of our house in Richland, Wash. I am afraid it scarred me in ways I won't fully uncover for years.
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posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:29 PM on January 25, 2012
I turned out fine.
I thought I was the only one!?! For me, these movies and others like them (I'm looking at you, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands) were on Showtime. I was 14 and would curl up in front of the TV in the basement of our house in Richland, Wash. I am afraid it scarred me in ways I won't fully uncover for years.
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posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:29 PM on January 25, 2012
I even taped these shows to VHS so I could watch them at other times. In the 80s it felt like HBO had like 20 films they played over and over again. I bet I've seen Excalibur like 100 times as well. It does survive the test of time. It's still good to this day and had Patrick Stewart.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:39 PM on January 25, 2012
posted by cjorgensen at 7:39 PM on January 25, 2012
Anál nathrach, orth’ bháis’s beTHUD...
posted by Quasimike at 7:44 PM on January 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Quasimike at 7:44 PM on January 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Such an amazing performance as Merlin in a film full of memorable performances. Though after it's hard to think of Nigel Terry without remembering his turn as John in The Lion in Winter.
Excalibur proves that magic is green. I wonder if that's where Mage got the inspiration?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:50 PM on January 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Excalibur proves that magic is green. I wonder if that's where Mage got the inspiration?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:50 PM on January 25, 2012 [2 favorites]
Bloody hell, that's a bit of bad news. I always liked Williamson; he was one of those actors who could just submerge themselves in a part. My dad - a fan of everything from Hitchcock and Hollywood musicals to Pasolini and Fassbinder - was of the opinion, which I don't necessarily disagree with, that Williamson and Alan Bates are about the two best British actors of their generation.
posted by Len at 9:34 PM on January 25, 2012
posted by Len at 9:34 PM on January 25, 2012
Oh, dear. :-(
Another great one bites the dust.
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posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:39 PM on January 25, 2012
Another great one bites the dust.
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posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:39 PM on January 25, 2012
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posted by codswallop at 12:58 AM on January 26, 2012
posted by codswallop at 12:58 AM on January 26, 2012
Damn! I had just re-watched Excalibur for the first time in at last 10-15 years, and it was better than I remembered. I was thinking to myself, just how awesome Merlin was in it, and thinking I should look him up.
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posted by Snyder at 1:21 AM on January 26, 2012
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posted by Snyder at 1:21 AM on January 26, 2012
This scene always cracked me up.
fellion, that's exactly the scene I thought of when I saw this post. I loved that movie, in large part because of his Merlin.
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posted by Ghidorah at 3:47 AM on January 26, 2012
fellion, that's exactly the scene I thought of when I saw this post. I loved that movie, in large part because of his Merlin.
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posted by Ghidorah at 3:47 AM on January 26, 2012
Lacrimae Mundi.
posted by dragonsi55 at 4:47 AM on January 26, 2012
posted by dragonsi55 at 4:47 AM on January 26, 2012
I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.
We first met Nicol Wiliamson in one of Amsterdam's best beer cafes, some fifteen years ago, when my husband discretely pointed out that Merlin was drinking alone at the next table. The bar was small enough and quiet enough to engage him in conversation, and when the bar closed, he invited us back to his house. We were new in town, we didn't know many people, and this turned out to be the first of several epic drinking sessions over the following few months.
Nick was larger than life, immensely entertaining, and we greatly appreciated the kindness and generosity he showed to us. I used to think of him as Old Nick, because a night's drinking with him was as exciting and as punishing as a night's drinking with the Devil himself. And he had the best tunes, whether it was Sing, Sing, Sing at maximum volume on the old stereo, or a ribald song in a robust tenor banged out on the piano. In his cups he could give the impression that his intensity and immense talent were about to consume him and all about him. I sometimes suspected that at heart this must have made him quite lonely.
He had made Spawn a year or two before, and while we made some consoling and complimentary noises, it was clear that he was disenchanted with how his film career had ended up. But the man we knew showed no loss of vitality, nor of talent, and he clearly still had much to offer.
Anyway, we fell in with a different crowd, and fell out of touch with Nick. We both regret that, but life's like that sometimes. It's deeply upsetting to read that he died in relative poverty, because when we knew him, he was the owner of a fabulous canal-side mansion, with a wine cellar containing an entire vintage of St Emillion.
I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen enough of his work in the movies, as it's hard to separate the myth from the man, so to speak. I think that's about to change. Not so very long ago, we watched him in Robin and Marian, and were amazed to discover that the man we used to drink with had held Audrey Hepburn in his arms, and Sean Connery on his shoulders. It's a fine film, with an excellent, subtly self-deprecating performance, and ample proof of his reputation as one of the finest of his generation.
I'm writing this with the help of my partner and fellow Mefite daveje, because we're both too choked to do this alone. Nicol Williamson was one of the most extraordinarily talented and charismatic individuals we have ever known, and we can't imagine meeting anyone like him ever again.
Rest in peace, Old Nick. We miss you.
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 5:14 AM on January 26, 2012 [14 favorites]
We first met Nicol Wiliamson in one of Amsterdam's best beer cafes, some fifteen years ago, when my husband discretely pointed out that Merlin was drinking alone at the next table. The bar was small enough and quiet enough to engage him in conversation, and when the bar closed, he invited us back to his house. We were new in town, we didn't know many people, and this turned out to be the first of several epic drinking sessions over the following few months.
Nick was larger than life, immensely entertaining, and we greatly appreciated the kindness and generosity he showed to us. I used to think of him as Old Nick, because a night's drinking with him was as exciting and as punishing as a night's drinking with the Devil himself. And he had the best tunes, whether it was Sing, Sing, Sing at maximum volume on the old stereo, or a ribald song in a robust tenor banged out on the piano. In his cups he could give the impression that his intensity and immense talent were about to consume him and all about him. I sometimes suspected that at heart this must have made him quite lonely.
He had made Spawn a year or two before, and while we made some consoling and complimentary noises, it was clear that he was disenchanted with how his film career had ended up. But the man we knew showed no loss of vitality, nor of talent, and he clearly still had much to offer.
Anyway, we fell in with a different crowd, and fell out of touch with Nick. We both regret that, but life's like that sometimes. It's deeply upsetting to read that he died in relative poverty, because when we knew him, he was the owner of a fabulous canal-side mansion, with a wine cellar containing an entire vintage of St Emillion.
I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen enough of his work in the movies, as it's hard to separate the myth from the man, so to speak. I think that's about to change. Not so very long ago, we watched him in Robin and Marian, and were amazed to discover that the man we used to drink with had held Audrey Hepburn in his arms, and Sean Connery on his shoulders. It's a fine film, with an excellent, subtly self-deprecating performance, and ample proof of his reputation as one of the finest of his generation.
I'm writing this with the help of my partner and fellow Mefite daveje, because we're both too choked to do this alone. Nicol Williamson was one of the most extraordinarily talented and charismatic individuals we have ever known, and we can't imagine meeting anyone like him ever again.
Rest in peace, Old Nick. We miss you.
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 5:14 AM on January 26, 2012 [14 favorites]
Elizabeth the Thirteenth: I am jealous of you in a way that I cannot even accurately express. What I wouldn't give to have had the chance to drink with Merlin! You're very lucky to have shared some amazing times with him. Thanks for sharing.
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:57 PM on January 26, 2012
posted by Saxon Kane at 2:57 PM on January 26, 2012
Thanks, Saxon Kane. I'm right this minute toasting the old goat with a glass of Highland Park cask-strength malt whiskey. He'd have appreciated that. Meanwhile, here's a tribute from a certain Brian Cox:
It was 1961 I was fifteen years old. I was on my way to my first ever job interview at the Dundee Repertory Theatre in( aptly enough) Nichol Street. The lady in the box office told me that I had to enter the theatre from the Stage Door in Rattray Street. As I mounted the narrow staircase to the main stage and auditorium. I became aware of some kind fracas going on on the landing above. I would have to cross this landing to get to where my meeting would be taking place. Suddenly I found myself in the middle of a fist fight between a rather effete red-faced bow -tied individual and a tall lean ‘viking’ blond....
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 3:21 PM on January 26, 2012
It was 1961 I was fifteen years old. I was on my way to my first ever job interview at the Dundee Repertory Theatre in( aptly enough) Nichol Street. The lady in the box office told me that I had to enter the theatre from the Stage Door in Rattray Street. As I mounted the narrow staircase to the main stage and auditorium. I became aware of some kind fracas going on on the landing above. I would have to cross this landing to get to where my meeting would be taking place. Suddenly I found myself in the middle of a fist fight between a rather effete red-faced bow -tied individual and a tall lean ‘viking’ blond....
posted by Elizabeth the Thirteenth at 3:21 PM on January 26, 2012
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I turned out fine.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:46 PM on January 25, 2012 [1 favorite]