Posthumous glory
Matthew d'Ancona 4:53pmAt the risk of trivialising a tragic death, I have been musing over Heath Ledger’s now-posthumous performance as the Joker (see my earlier post as well as this article detailing the potential fate of Ledger's incomplete film projects) and the impact that death can have upon the reception of art, literature and entertainment. Here is my thumbnail list of posthumous precedents. There must be many, many others. Which would Coffee Housers add?
- James Dean, uniquely, received posthumous Oscar nominations for both East of Eden and Giant;
- Peter Finch’s Oscar win for Network;
- Clark Gable in The Misfits;
- Oliver Reed in Gladiator;
- Bela Lugosi in Plan 9 From Outer Space;
- Brandon Lee in The Crow;
- Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut;
- Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood;
- Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey; Persuasion;
- Kafka: The Trial; The Castle;
- F Scott Fitzgerald: The Last Tycoon;
- E.M. Forster: Maurice;
- John Kennedy Toole: A Confederacy of Dunces;
- Sir Philip Sidney: The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia;
- Puccini: Turandot;
- Mozart’s Requiem;
- Mahler’s 10th; and
- Bartok’s Viola Concerto.
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Pete Hoskin
January 23rd, 2008 5:10pm Report this commentMehmet Emin Toprak was posthumously awarded the Best Actor award at Cannes for his delicate performance in Uzak (2002). Like Ledger he was only 28 when he died.
nostalgic
January 23rd, 2008 6:32pm Report this commentHardly in the same league is he?
dexey
January 23rd, 2008 7:26pm Report this commentJohn Lennon's career blossomed after his death and he got an airport named after him.
Max Kaye
January 23rd, 2008 8:39pm Report this commentThere are a number of so-called stars and celebrities I'd happily award if only they'd depart already.
Oscar Miller
January 23rd, 2008 11:13pm Report this commentRiver Phoenix didn't exactly get posthumous glory, but he was very talented and showed great promise - all snuffed out at only 23.
Oscar Miller
January 23rd, 2008 11:23pm Report this commentJoe Orton - whose death was like the last (or maybe first) act of one of his plays.
sarah standing
January 24th, 2008 6:39am Report this commentSpencer Tracey for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Ralph Richardson for Greystoke
Keeley O'Lomb
January 24th, 2008 10:58am Report this commentI don't think it's fair to include Kafka in this list, genius and visionary though he was, because he deliberately suppressed his own work, whereas the others merely had the misfortune to die either during work in progress, or just after they'd completed a work that was due to be released in the normal way.
john problem
January 24th, 2008 12:01pm Report this commentEzra Pound's music.
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