John Adames
John Adames | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Known for | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor recipient |
John Adames (also known as Juan Adames,[1]) is an American former child actor who played Phil Dawn, a six-year-old rescued from mobsters who killed his family, in the 1980 movie Gloria.[2][3]
Career[edit]
Adames was cast as Phil Dawn in Gloria after a five-week process where over 300 boys were interviewed for the role.[2] While his date of birth is not known, he was between five and seven years old when cast.[2]
His performance was criticized by reviewers.[1] According to critic Ray Carney, reviewers "came in apparently expecting him to be cute and cuddly in the Little Miss Marker mode. When he wasn't, they judged that Cassavetes had failed. What they overlooked was that Cassavetes deliberately worked hard to avoid sentimentality".[1] Eric Henderson of Slant magazine posited that the criticism was due to Adames' vocal delivery, which he compared to "what Paddy Chayefsky would sound like impersonating Alvin Chipmunk".[4] However, Roger Ebert praised Adames' performance, calling him "well cast" and having a "way of delivering his dialogue as if daring you to change one single word".[5] Adames did not have any subsequent film roles.[6]
Adames is known for being the recipient of the very first Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor in 1980, which he shared with Laurence Olivier for his role in The Jazz Singer.[4] If Adames was indeed between five and seven years old during filming, he would be the youngest person ever to win a Golden Raspberry Award, beating out Aileen Quinn, who won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress when she was 11.[7] This record is unlikely to be broken, as the minimum age to receive a Golden Raspberry Award was raised to 18 in 2023.[8]
Awards[edit]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Supporting Actor | Gloria | Won | Tied with Laurence Olivier | [4] |
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Performance by a Child in a Feature Role | Nominated | [9] |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Cassavetes, John; Carney, Raymond (2001). "The Making of Gloria (1979-1980)". Cassavetes on Cassavetes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-571-20157-0. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c "GLORIA (1980)". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ Brody, Richard (July 11, 2013). "Gloria". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c Henderson, Eric (March 14, 2003). "Review: Gloria". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 7, 1998). "Gloria movie review & film summary (1980)". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ "John Adames". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Ross (February 16, 2024). "20 Actually Great Movies Nominated for a Razzie Award". Lifehacker. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Taylor, Drew (January 25, 2023). "Razzies Apologize for Nominating Young Girl As Worst Actress". TheWrap. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ Lloyd, Christopher (October 30, 2023). "Reeling Backward: Gloria (1980)". by Christopher Lloyd. Retrieved December 5, 2023.