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The great and terribly troubled Brad Davis would have turned 68 years old today if we hadn't lost him in 1991 to AIDS. Do you guys think he would've had much more of a career if he hadn't died? It's hard to tell how much we romanticize him for dying young and how much his career crapped out because of his bad habits - what if he got clean? Would he have gotten out of the TV Movie Dungeon he'd found himself in? He'd taken such a big risk making Querelle in 1982 - any older readers know how that was taken at the time? Anyway it still feels all these years later like there was a lot we missed out on with Brad. Click back through our Brad Davis Archives for lots and lots of previously posted stuff. And, uh, good morning! (Kind of a downbeat note to start a week on, I guess.)
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2 comments:
I think of the legends who survived to grow old, and I recall that Marlon Brando's fat,slovenly and eccentric latter years just about canceled any compelling image I had of him when he was young and drop dead gorgeous. Part of the allure of a James Dean, Marylin Monroe and yes, Brad Davis, is that their mayfly careers inspire so much shoulda-woulda-coulda-been fantasies that often become larger than the lives they ever led... at least in our minds.
The question of whether "Querelle" was a good move and what the reaction was is a very good one. In my recollection it was surprising but welcome. Any one who chose to work with Fassbinder had more than just their image in the American markets in mind. IMHO it was a move on Mr. Davis' part to leave the closet behind, but it came too late due to his health (and demons) catching up to him. Perhaps he was straight, but had he survived he might have been considered a pioneer in portraying complex gay characters.
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