CELEBRITIES WHO READ OR HAVE READ HENRY MILLER

(12-24-2007) WATCHED ACTOR JOHN CUSACK SAY ON 'INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO TV SHOW' ON BRAVO CHANNEL THAT HE READ HENRY MILLER TO INSPIRE HIM TO PUT SOUL INTO HIS PERFORMANCES.
ROBERT REDFORD WENT INTO A LOT ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF READING HENRY MILLER IN HIS IN-DEPTH PLAYBOY MAGAZINE INTERVIEW YEARS AGO. HOW HE, REDFORD STARVED TOO IN ITALY WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO BE A PAINTER AND GOT HALLUCINATIONATORY FROM IT MAKING A SORT OF ANALYGY IN MY MIND TO MILLER'S PROSE POEM HALLUCINATORY STYLISTIC TURNS IN HIS WRITING. AL PACINO MENTIONED READING MILLER IN HIS OWN IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW IN THE SAME MAGAZINE.
FLORIAN STEINER TOLD ME THAT JACK NICOLSON WANTED TO MEET MILLER SO HE HELPED JACK WITH INFORMATION AND LO AND BEHOLD JACK TURNED UP AT MILLER'S HOUSE ONE DAY AND WAS WELCOMED IN(WHICH WASN'T ALWAYS THE CASE WITH UNEXPECTED GUESTS WITH MILLER).
MARTIN SCORCESE OFTEN PUT REFERENCES TO HENRY MILLER IN PASSING IN THE THE DIALOGUE OF SOME OF HIS MOVIES, I HAVE NOTICED.
AND I'LL NEVER FORGET WATCHING THE LATE NORMAN MAILER TALK FOR AN HOUR ABOUT THE INFLUENCE MILLER HAD ON HIM FROM HIS HARVARD DAYS WHEN HE WAS ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO THE THEN BANNED TROPIC OF CANCER BOOK THROUGH THE WIDENER LIBRARY. THAT WAS ON A SHOW I THINK WAS CALLED 'BOOK BEAT' OUT OF CHICAGO I THINK --HOSTED BY BOB CROMEY AND THE PRETEXT WAS MAILER'S THEN RECENTLY RELEASED GENIUS AND LUST WITH SELECTED EXCERPTS OF MILLER'S BOOKS THAT MAILER LIKED AND WHICH WERE GOOD BUT AS WITH WARREN BEATTY'S USE OF MILLER IN A CAMEO IN HIS FILM 'REDS' FOR WHICH HE WON THE DIRECTORS ACADEMY AWARD--MILLER UNBILLED IN THE MOVIE AND HIS PURPOSE AND REASON FOR BEING IN IT ARE NOT ESTABLISHED BY WARRREN...
...IN A SIMILAR FASHION, WHILE MAILER'S MILLER EXCERPTS ARE GOOD, MAILER'S COMMENTARY AND INTRODUCTION AND SPECULATION ARE OFF THE TRACK AND WRONG--SO IT'S BITTERSWEET LIKE WARREN'S USE OF HIM IN THE MOVIE 'REDS' BUT NOTEWORTHY NEVERTHELESS.
STEVE ALLEN WAS A BIG MILLER FAN AND HAD HIM ON HIS TV SHOW AS DID MERV GRIFFIN. I REMEMBER SEEING ELLEN BURSTYN ON THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW YEARS AGO WHEN I LIVED IN MASSACHUSETTS TELLING MERV EXCITEDLY HOW SHE HAD GOT THE PART OF JUNE/MONA IN THE UPCOMING MOVIE TROPIC OF CANCER OPPOSITE RIP TORN AND DIRECTED BY JOSEPH STRICK. I SAW THAT MOVIE AT THE HARVARD SQUARE THEATRE AND LIKED IT THOUGH THE CRITICS DIDN'T AND PAULINE KAEL OF ALL PEOPLE PANNED IT BUT NOT MILLER OR THE BOOK ITSELF WHICH SHE MADE A SPECIFIC DISTINCTION BETWEEN.
NEVER TO RARELY DO I FIND MYSELF AGREEING WITH THE ACADEMY AWARDS BY THE WAY WHICH LOOKS MORE LIKE A POPULARITY CONTEST THAN A QUALITY CONTEST VOTE TO ME--SO MUCH SO THAT I CAN'T STAND TO WATCH IT NOW.