Tag Archives: Christopher Lloyd

Whatever Happened To Klinton Spilsbury?

28 May

Last night, I was flipping through the channels and came across The Legend of the Lone Ranger, the 1981 reboot of the classic character. At the time, it seemed to have a lot going for it. Jason Robards starred as President Ulysses S. Grant. Christopher Lloyd played the bad guy. Matt Clark was the corrupt sheriff. Merle Haggard sang the theme song and narrated the film. Richard Farnsworth showed up as Wild Bill Hickok. Heck, the entire thing was based on a famous character that many people loved.

However, there was a problem. John Reid and his alter ego the Lone Ranger was played by an unknown actor named Klinton Spilsbury, and it did not work out well.

Through the years, I have heard the story that his lines were later dubbed by James Keach. I have also heard that this was Spilsbury’s first and last starring role in a movie. There are not many times that one role destroys an entire career.

The Legend of the Lone Ranger has gone down as one of the biggest disasters in movie history, and a lot of that has been placed at the feet of Spilsbury. However, I have never considered it to be that bad. Yes, it is corny, and the plot is a little strange. But, that can be said about a lot of movies. Could it have been better? No doubt. I am just not sure that the Man in the Mask should have taken all of the blame.

Despite all of that, this post is not about the movie. It is about Klinton Spilsbury. What happens to someone when their entire career is derailed by one movie? As it turns out, nobody really knows. Through Google, I found out that he went to Europe to be a model and later tried to restart his acting career. When Johnny Depp made another Lone Ranger disaster in 2013, media members found Spilsbury, but he refused to talk to them. I cannot blame him for that.

Klinton Spilsbury was a first-time actor working for a first-time director. On top of that, the studio sued Clayton Moore, the most famous Lone Ranger, for continuing to appear as the character. In short, this movie had a ton of problems.

Klinton Spilsbury disappeared from the public eye. Wherever he is, I wonder if he has put the Lone Ranger behind him. Who is that Masked Man? Well, the answer is complicated.

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Movie Wisdom – Ellen Barkin Edition

13 Aug

At times, movies can offer words for us to live by – bits of wisdom that we would do well to take with us after the credits roll. Throughout the life of this blog, the movies of several performers have been analyzed for such nuggets. These have been Burt Reynolds, Don Knotts, Kevin Costner, Paul Newman, George Peppard, Don Johnson, Jodie Foster and Tommy Lee Jones.

Usually, these take place after I have watched a movie and thought to myself, “Hey, that was a pretty good line.” The other day, I caught the end of one of the all time great movies, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, and thought to myself, “Hey, that was a pretty good line.”

Then, I thought about whose career could be analyzed for more words of wisdom. I haven’t seen that many Peter Weller movies, and the rules state that I must have seen a movie to use it. Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Lloyd were options. However, one person has appeared in a couple of movies that I can watch over and over. For that reason, this post explores the wisdom within the movies of Ellen Barkin.Ellen Barkin

From Diner

If you don’t have good dreams you got nightmares.

From Eddie and the Cruisers

There’s nothing can’t be fixed.

From The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

You can check your anatomy all you want, and even though there may be normal variation, when it comes right down to it, this far inside the head it all looks the same.

Don’t be mean; we don’t have to be mean, cuz, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

Pictures don’t lie.

History is-a made at night. Character is what you are in the dark.

From The Big Easy

New Orleans is a marvelous environment for coincidence.

From Wild Bill

You ought to know better than to touch another man’s hat.

Whiskey’s good for a man… helps him put things in perspective.

A man that cheats at cards ain’t got no religion.

From Ocean’s Thirteen

The moment you become embarrassed of who you are, you lose yourself.

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