In his ambitious new book, George Packer describes the rise of “organized money” in business and politics and the collapse, or unwinding, of “the Roosevelt Republic that had reined for almost half a century.” Packer’s nimble prose moves the story along, although the book suffers from disorganization and an odd mixture of short profiles of several celebrities and longer … [Read more...]
Asner’s ‘FDR’: A date that will live in boredom
Let’s start with the stipulation that I really do not care for one-person shows, which are almost invariably undramatic recitations of facts, delivered to unseen characters in a series of phone calls, often with no theatrical context. There are a few exceptions -- Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain, Vincent Price’s Oscar Wilde -- but Ed Asner’s Franklin Roosevelt is not among them. … [Read more...]
Asner as FDR: From one liberal icon to another
He has played a slave ship captain in Roots, Pope John XXIII, adventurer Carl Fredericksen in Pixar’s Up and, of course, Lou Grant, the role that earned him five of his seven Emmy Awards. But for Ed Asner, 81, the opportunity to become Franklin Delano Roosevelt for a couple of hours each night was too good to resist. Around the Kansas City household where young Ed grew up, … [Read more...]