During last week’s list day, I made reference to 6 Relatively Obscure Bit Characters From 80s Movies That I Love, and asked if anyone could name the movies they’re from. A couple people could get one, but otherwise, no one posted. Is this a reflection of their difficulty or of my low traffic? Regardless, if you’re interested in the answers, they’re below the fold….
- Clarence Beeks – Trading Places: Both Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine noticed strange payments to Clarence Beeks in the Duke & Duke payroll, and it turned out that the Duke brothers used Beeks to do various jobs for them, as well as help them corner the Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice market. His name is exclaimed numerous times (Clarence Beeks!) and for some reason, my friends and I used to do this all the time. I don’t know why, but it was funny. I guess you had to be there.
- Enrico Pallazzo – The Naked Gun (Hint: Famous Italian opera singer) – At the baseball game in The Naked Gun, Lt. Frank Drebin sneaks onto the field under the guise of Enrico Pallazzo, a famous Italian opera singer hired to sing the national anthem. This leads to a hilarious rendition, as well as a fantastic callback when Drebin finally manages to save the Queen and a man in the crowd screams “It’s Enrico Pallazzo!” Classic. I was surprised that no one got this one, as it seems like a popular reference (it was referenced on a recent episode of Family Guy).
- Alonzo Mosely – Midnight Run – From one of the more underrated 80s movies, FBI Agent Alonzo Mosely was impersonated by DeNiro’s character, and his name features prominently all throughout the movie. Also, he apparently founded a film institute which created this awesome 100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers movie.
- Ed Traxler – The Terminator – This was a tough one, as he was a relatively small character. I considered using Lance Henriksen’s character for this, but Detective Hal Vukovich is much more obscure, and I’m pretty sure his name isn’t mentioned in the film.
- John Cocktoastin – Fletch – I was cheating with this one, as this was one of Fletch’s many made up names and it would have been much more obvious if I said the name the same way he did in the movie (plus, it’s pronounced differently a few times throughout the movie). Still, classic.
- Lazlo Hollyfeld – Real Genius – Former whiz-kid who had a breakdown and then moved into the college’s steam tunnels (with it’s only entrance being a closet). I thought this was one of the more obscure ones, but someone got it. Anyway, it’s one of my favorite 80s movies because of its flattering portrayal of geeks (back then, geeks weren’t cool like they are these days).