Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 February 25

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February 25

Andy Griffith - American Actor

Why wasn't Andy Griffith mentioned or included in the memorial portion of the 2013 Academy Awards for Motion Pictures that aired on Sunday Feb 24, 2013? Andy Griffith was in motion pictures including 3 significant films and Andy Griffith died in 2012. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.140.16.228 (talk) 04:16, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

We'd just be guessing, since it's such a recent event (half an hour ago). Your best bet is to check with the Academy. Fwiw, Clooney did utter the disclaimer that the people mentioned weren't everyone who's died in the past year. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 04:32, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

He was primarily a TV actor/comedian. Andy Griffith wasn't much know for his films. I think the Academy is using the standard "person famous for their films" rather than "famous person who acted in at least one film". StuRat (talk) 04:43, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

It might have been an accidental oversight. While Griffith was primarily known for TV shows (esp. the Andy Griffith Show and Matlock) there were a few very well known films from early in his career A Face in the Crowd was a rare dramatic role, and well played, while the comedy No Time for Sergeants is similarly well known; IIRC that film had a big part in getting Griffith and Don Knotts together for the Andy Griffith Show. Still, as Jack notes, we cannot answer for the Academy, and as such, there is no way to answer "why" they didn't include him definitively. --Jayron32 05:11, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Both those films are over half a century old, and the Academy is also known for their short memories. StuRat (talk) 05:31, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

The OP is hardly the first to recognize this, and has a good point. I'm sure we'll hear an official answer soon, because it's enough of a dust-up for the Academy to answer it I think, Let's quit making stuff up until someone has a reference. Shadowjams (talk) 06:02, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Every year there are gripes about various individuals having been omitted. The guy who introduced it tried to kind of pre-empt that by saying something about additional ones who aren't shown. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:22, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

That's a fairly major oversight... the Academy honors their members. If there's a reason they neglected him it's because he wasn't a member, or it was an oversight, there's some odd politics, or something else weird, but it's certainly not because he was the everyday picture of matlock and his movies were old. Shadowjams (talk) 06:57, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Do you have a reference for that, or are you just making stuff up ? If the totality of Andy Griffith's career was his films, I don't see how he would be famous from that, just a minor actor. StuRat (talk) 07:09, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

But then, Jack Klugman got a mention. His TV/film ratio was comparable to Andy Griffith's, and like Griffith, he was far better known as a TV actor than a film actor. He made maybe one really memorable movie, 12 Angry Men, to compare with Griffith's A Face in the Crowd. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 18:57, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

But how comparable is A Face in the Crowd to 12 Angry Men? Nil Einne (talk) 05:46, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Here's a writeup about the same kind of issue in some recent Oscar shows.[1] Note: Various popups and vocal junk on this site, which I found randomly in Google. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:31, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps the Oscars went by the fact that Wikipedia listed Jack Klugman at ITN when he died, but didn't list Griffith? μηδείς (talk) 18:18, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

From 85th Academy Awards:

• Because over one hundred film professionals died in 2012, the Academy posted a supplementary online gallery to honor those who did not make the telecast, including Andy Griffith, Larry Hagman, Harry Carey, Jr., Ann Rutherford, David R. Ellis, Nagisa Oshima, Donna Summer, Alex Karras, Mel Stuart, Susan Tyrrell, Joyce Redman, and Gore Vidal.

So, the real question is: How do they decide who gets a mention in the live show and who gets relegated to the supplementary online gallery? -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 21:02, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

please help settle a dispute between friends.

the usa comedy series ...KING OF QUEENS.

was it filmed in front of a live audience ???

thanks.DAVE. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.144.169.233 (talk) 12:56, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

I Googled "King of Queens studio audience" and came up with a few reports of people having been in the audience for taping various episodes. Here's one example Foofish (talk) 17:26, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Most sitcoms are. If you film without a live audience, you either don't have laughter (I think The Office does this), or you have dreadful canned laughter, where, in the hands of an amateur, you get a laugh after every pause in the conversation, whether there was a joke or not. StuRat (talk) 17:59, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

And sometimes even if there is a live audience, the laughter is "sweetened" with a laugh track. Adam Bishop (talk) 11:42, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Can a person who is not famous have a star there? Kotjap (talk) 14:06, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Define "famous". --Jayron32 14:07, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

According to our article, the walk is made up of "a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others." So, I guess you could be a producer or "other" and not be known by the average person. If that's what you mean by "famous". Dismas|^(talk) 15:52, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

There's general fame and then there's very specialised fame. Most Nobel laureates, Oscar winners and Olympic champions are total non-entities as far as the general public is concerned. But by definition this is a "Walk of Fame", so the subject must be famed in at least some area of the film industry. But that's no guarantee some random person in the street has ever heard of them. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 18:49, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

To clarify somewhat, depending on your definition of the 'film industry' you don't necessarily have to be famous in it since there are 5 categories only one or two (depending on whether you count television) can IMO really be consider part of the film industry (music may be related, but I don't believe you have to have made any contributions to music in movies or TV to be considered for a star in the music category and even if you refuse to make music videos I doubt you'd be specifically excluded). Of course as our article notes Hollywood Walk of Fame#Bending the rules, there has been a bit of a history of bending the rules. However this only tends to happen for people famous in other walks of life. So if you're an Apollo astronaut (as mentioned by BB) or a famous basketball player or boxer perhaps you might have a chance of a star even if most people wouldn't associate you with your contributions to one of the categories. If you're not famous, your best bet is probably to concentrate one of the categories. Going by the statistics at Hollywood Walk of Fame#Description, the motion picture or film industry may in fact be your best bet, but it's difficult to say for sure without considering a whole host of other factors. Nil Einne (talk) 06:16, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

See Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame#Nomination_process. Besides having a nomination, you need to pay $30,000. RNealK (talk) 22:50, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

See payola. :) I doubt the Apollo astronauts had to make that payment, and it appears that although there are rules, the rules can be stretched if the committee decides to do so. But as noted by you all, fame (or perhaps more properly, "impact within the industry") is generally a requirement. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:19, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

Well the article notes that the fee is normally paid by the nominating organisation anyway. Nil Einne (talk) 05:26, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

In addition to the fee, you have to appear in person at the unveiling ceremony, something (as cited in the article) that George Clooney has refused to do. Zzyzx11 (talk) 05:48, 27 February 2013 (UTC)