Jon Voight

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“It’s Almost More Comfortable For Me To Be Joe Buck Now Than It Is For Me To Be Me”

September 13, 2013 in Books, Excerpts, Film, Videos | Permalink

Jon Voight is at least two things in life: a racist a-hole and a brilliant actor. In the aftermath of David Frost’s death, when I was done sitting shiva, I got my hands on a copy of The Americans, a book of transcribed interviews from the TV presenter’s conversations with prominent U.S. citizens. (If you’re interested, there are quite a few 1¢ used copies at Amazon.) It features talks with all manner of accomplished Americans: Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams, Clare Booth Luce, Helen Hayes, Johnny Carson, Dennis Hopper, James Baldwin, etc. I think my favorite one is with Voight. In one exchange, he explains how he readied himself for Midnight Cowboy and responded to its astounding success. An excerpt:

“David Frost:

How long did you prepare yourself for the part in Midnight Cowboy?

Jon Voight:

I had read the book about five years earlier, so I just was sitting around thinking about it for a long time. It was probably the only part I really wanted to do. I turned down an awful lot of things. But finally when we got to it, and they gave me the role, we had a couple weeks’ preproduction shooting in New York. I had a week with a voice coach in New York, fellow by the name of J.B. Smith who did a lot of accents. And then I went  down to Texas and I spent a week in Texas. And then when I came back, we rehearsed it for fourteen or eleven days, and then started shooting.

David Frost:

How much of you is there in the character in Midnight Cowboy?

Jon Voight:

I really don’t know. I think it’s very easy for me to be Joe Buck. It’s almost more comfortable for me to be Joe Buck now than it is for me to be me. I like him a lot. But he goes on his own steam, as a character does when it takes off.

David Frost:

What kind of experiences did you have in Texas?

Jon Voight:

Well, I did very cliché things in a way. I’d say, ‘I’m going out tonight to a bar, and I’m going to sit there and talk with the people.’ Now they have liquor bars in Texas, and then they have beer bars, and I went to a beer bar. And I sat there, and there was one guy sitting there, and somebody listening to the jukebox, and me. And I’m waiting for a conversation to start up so I can just maybe get into the accent a little bit. And half an hour goes by, and he doesn’t say anything. And we’re nodding to the music and tapping out a few things and looking at each other. ‘I’ll have another beer, please.’ He looks up at me. Like we had some kind of thing going. I don’t know what it was.

(Laughter.)

And then finally I said, ‘You in cattle?’ He said, ‘Oil.’

David Frost:

He ad-libbed.

Jon Voight:

Yeah. ‘Oil.’ ‘Oil, oh.’ ‘Yeah.’ Another half hour.

(Laughter.)

It was like that. I mean it was a whole night like that, see. And it was funny. We talked about the water.

(Laughter.)

I said, ‘The water’s hard here in this part of Texas.’ He said, ‘Yeah, it’s good for your second teeth, though.’

(Laughter.)

And then I went to a boot shop and worked there with a bunch of people, and I really got to love them.They knew that I was an actor in town and some of the local characters would stop by the boot shop in Stanton, Texas. They were terrific guys. They’d be these old guys that’d come in. They have nothing to do, see, and they’re just sitting by the drugstore up the street. And they’d come in and say something about the weather. They say, ‘The wind’s down.’

(Laughter.)

I can’t really represent them properly because they make jokes about the wind, and they’d come in with a little thing they had to say. And it was really sweet. Really nice people. And I talked with this fellow by the name of Otis Williams, who was maybe nearly seventy. He used to be a bronc buster in the rodeo. We talked for long periods of time, and he wanted me to go to a rodeo with him, and I wanted to go, but I knew that we had to leave shortly, and I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it. I found out later that he’d gotten tickets for me, and really was excited about the fact that I might go, and I feel kind of disappointed that I didn’t. Anyway, I was leaving that day, and I said, ‘Well, Otis, I’ll see you, I’m gonna go. You know, maybe I’ll be back in New York. Maybe I’ll come up and see the rodeo. I’d like to. But, you know, if I don’t, it’s been real good talking.’ So I walked out of the store, and I’m getting in my car. And Otis comes out of the shop with his saddle, and he’s walking away. And it’s like he wanted to say goodbye, because he probably knew that I wasn’t going to see him again, right?

So I walked over toward the car, and Otis walked this way and said, ‘Yep.’ And he looked at me and I said, ‘Yep.’ And we stood there for a long time. And he’s looking and trying to think of something nice to say. And I didn’t know what to say either, but here we were along in the street of this old ghost town of a place, this old cowboy and me. And I’m standing there, and he finally looks up and says. ‘There’s a lot of good horseflesh up there.’

(Laughter.)

It was really touching.

David Frost:

And good for your second teeth, too. Jon, what’s it been like after the fantastic success of Midnight Cowboy? You’ve become a sort of youth-sex, or sex-youth, symbol? Did the reaction knock you out when it first happened?

Jon Voight:

I suffered a lot of different reactions. When something like that hits, it hits very heavily for me. I was really unprepared for it. A lot of things happened. Like when I walk down the street, and somebody knows the work and understands it and likes Joe Buck maybe as much as I like him says, ‘Hey, terrific!’ And he walks on. That’s a great feeling.

I came in today to check something, and I walked out front, and a bus driver was driving by, and he said, ‘Hey, Joe! How you doing?’ I said, ‘Terrific!’ That kind of acceptance is really a nice thing to feel. But I’m an actor, and I feel that I have to keep trying other characters. Maybe Joe’s the only one I’ll ever feel that I ever fulfilled. But I just have to keep going and keep trying other things and getting interested in other things and trying to make those things work. I’ll succeed and I’ll fail and I’ll fool around a little bit.

David Frost:

You said something about when the movie first hit you almost wanted to hide.

Jon Voight:

Yeah, I did. I didn’t know what I could follow it with it was so big. I almost didn’t want to follow it. It says so many nice things that I really like, and it’s so powerful a movie. It’s like I want to take a break for a while. But I also want to prove that I’m fallible too. I was thinking of going back on the stage right away and just test my stage legs again. Somebody said, ‘Why don’t you do Streetcar, but I’m not right for it in many ways. I could build up to it, like I built up to Cowboy, and have a lot of fun doing it. I thought, why not? And then I thought, well, somebody’s going to say, ‘There he is. That’s Jon Voight. He’s a fifth-rate Marlon Brando’ And I’m going to say, ‘Hey! Wait a minute. Third-rate!’

(Laughter.)”

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“Where’s that Joe Buck?”:

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Well, Not Everyone Ages Like Betty White

August 30, 2012 in Politics | Permalink

Clint Eastwood: Help me find my shoes, sonny.

I’ll say nothing else except that, yes, Clint, Jon Voight is a great man.

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“I Said This Fellow Was Like An Angel”

February 12, 2012 in Excerpts, Politics, Urban Studies | Permalink

Sometimes you see someone like Jon Voight, a Birther who vilifies President Obama–not just criticizes him or vehemently disagrees with his politics–but labels him as Other and Evil. When you listen to Voight, you might imagine that there’s a degree of racism at play, and maybe the actor himself doesn’t realize it. Maybe he’s the kind of person who’s troubled by a person of color who is highly educated and successful. Perhaps he’s able to rationalize it by being friendly with minorities he believes to be on a lower social plane than he is, whom he sees as no threat to his ego. Perhaps he likes to imagine himself a protector of such people. Maybe in return he can assign “Magic Negro” qualities to them. Maybe when he hears a black voice in his head, it’s an uneducated, stereotypical one that takes him back to an earlier age in which he was more comfortable. Something tells me this recent anecdote he told CNN puddinghead Piers Morgan is more a world view than an isolated incident. Oh, and Morgan doesn’t really understand what the word “brilliant” means, does he?

_______________________

“Piers Morgan:

Midnight Cowboy was the movie that exploded you onto the scene, one of my favorite all-time movies. There’s a brilliant story about how you got this. Just tell me quickly. 

Jon Voight:

Well, it’s not a quick story. 

Piers Morgan:

It is going to have to be. Otherwise, we might get cut off again. 

Jon Voight:

Well, listen, I was told — I did a screen test and I was — with three other fellows, great actors. I was told it came down to another fellow and myself. And it was finally given to the other fellow. 

They finally came back around to me for some reason because they had a difficulty making this thing work. I get a call. They said, Jon, it’s come back to you. Be at your phone at 10:00 tomorrow morning. This is a Saturday morning. John Schlesinger will call you, invite you over to his place just to take a look at you, because it’s been a couple weeks since he’s seen you. And who knows. Good luck. 

So, of course, I couldn’t sleep that night. It rained that night. The wind was blowing against — blowing the rain against my apartment building. I got up early. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t — I was nervous. 

So I said, well, I’m going to go out and do some grocery shopping. I went out into this rain with my umbrella and I got some groceries. And coming back, I saw in the middle of the street this fellow who I had known who was a homeless man, black fellow, who said he was a boxer and he had kind of puffy eyes and stuff like that. 

I thought, yes, he’s a boxer all right. He was in the middle of the street. It was in the middle of the street, just lost. And the rain was coming down. I ran up to him and I said, George, George, you’ve got to get out of this rain. You’re going to get pneumonia. 

He was like that. I said, George, listen, I’m going to take you up to my apartment and I will give you a sandwich or something. I said, George, listen, you se that liquor store across the street? I’ll go get a bottle of scotch, a little bottle of scotch, and you can come up to my place and get out of the rain. He went, oh, OK. So I got the bottle of scotch, went up to my place. And George sat down. I made him a sandwich, tuna fish sandwich. I can still see this sad looking tuna fish sandwich. I said, George, you know, I’m waiting for a call that’s going to come at any time, and it could change my life because it’s a big movie. I’m a movie actor. I might get this part. 

He said, [stereotypical voice] oh, I hope you get it. I pray you get it. With that, the phone rings. I said, come on, George. Let’s go over and see if this is the fellow. So I had a hall wall phone. I get on. I said hello. 

And I hear the voice says, hello, Jon, John Schlesinger here. Jon, you know, we’re looking at your screen test and we may come your way. But I would like to see you just for a few minutes. Do you think you could come over to my place and just have a little chat? 

I said, that’s fine, John. It’s raining. I’ll get a cab. He gives me the address. I hang up the phone. I said, George, it looks good. I’m going to go over and see him. I’m so glad, he says. I said, now you sit here. Don’t go outside. If you go outside, here’s a coat. I had an extra coat. I said — and just, you know, you can stay here. If I’m a couple of hours, you can stay here. But if you go, take the coat. 

So I leave George. I go over and see John Shlessinger. And John and I — John was as good as his word. He just wanted to say hello, just see how we were doing. We had a little laugh. We did get along. 

He said, Jon, I’ll call you within the hour. We’ll let you know the decision. I said, that’s just fine, John. So I went back. Got a cab both ways. Last money I had to get the cab, see. 

Get back to the place and George is sitting in the same place. I saw a couple bites out of the sandwich, nothing much out of the liquor. I put a glass out for him. I told him — I said, it looks good. We’re going to get a call in a second. He was excited. 

The phone rings. I go to the phone, saying, George, come on. So George is right there in front of me. I take the phone. I am looking right at George like I’m looking at you. I said hello. He said, hello, Jon, John Shlessinger here. It looks like we’re going to go with you. 

I said that’s wonderful, John. He said, yes. We’re going to have costumes on Monday and I’ll have somebody call you. Congratulations. I said thank you so much. He says, is there anything that you’re concerned about? Is there anything you’re concerned about? 

No, John, I said. John, I think you’ve done the right thing. I’ll be terrific in this part. I can’t wait to se you on Monday. Thank you so much. He said, well, very, very good, Jon. I’ll see you then. Hang up the phone. 

I said, George, I got the part. He said, [sterotypical voice] I prayed for it. I so glad. I prayed for you. I prayed for you. I knew you would get it. Then I said — for some reason I said, George, what’s the first thing I should do? George says call your mother. She would be so glad. 

I called my mother. I said, Hi, mom. I just got a great part. It’s going to change my life. Wonderful, Jon. Have you called your brothers? I said, no, but I will. 

And I think to this day, I said this fellow was like an angel. If he hadn’t been in my life — I was more concerned about his well- being, I wouldn’t have been relaxed and I would never have said what I said, which is I’m going to be terrific in this part. You made the right decision.”

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Decoder: Jon Voight’s Letter To President Obama

April 14, 2010 in Humor, Politics | Permalink

Angelina is starting to seem relatively well-adjusted. (Photo by Kristin Dos Santos.)

Jon Voight: Every loving American for peace and truth and the security of our nation must come out and join the Tea Parties in their states.

Decoder: Or they could stay home and watch the 2004 family comedy Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 on DVD. I play “Kane” and Scott Baio does some of his finest work yet.

Jon Voight: President Obama uses his aggression and arrogance for his own agenda, against the will of the American people when he should be using his will and aggression against our enemies.

Decoder: Al Qaeda and the Taliban might disagree.

Jon Voight: To think that this once great nation will be a third world country.

Decoder: A third-world country with iPads, frappacinos and high-speed internet access.

Jon Voight: Now the lie goes very deep and President Obama has been cleverly trained in the Alinsky method and it would be very important that every American knows what that method is. It is a socialistic, Marxist teaching and with it, little by little, he rapes this nation.

Decoder: Though I might be confusing him with Ben Roethlisberger. I know the charges were dropped, but when two different women have accused you of rape, wow, what’s going on there, Ben?

Jon Voight: The world looked up to us as a symbol of hope and prosperity now wonders what will become of the entire world if America is losing its power.

Decoder: Actually, people around the world have a much higher opinion of America since Obama became President. And applications for citizenship don’t seem to be down.

Jon Voight: The American people who understand exactly what is taking place have come together in the thousands, vowing to try to stay together as a unit of love and freedom for all men and women, from all walks of life.

Decoder: But really only some white people with a shaky grasp of history and the innate ability to blame their problems and insecurities on others.

Jon Voight: The opposition will continue their tactics.

Decoder: Running for office in free elections, thinking they should be able to govern if they get the most votes.

Jon Voight: They will lie and plant their own bullies amongst us.

Decoder: Strangely, those bullies will fit in seamlessly with many actual Tea Party members.

Jon Voight: Let us all stay in God’s light.

Decoder: Though you should remember to wear sunblock and a hat if you’re going to stay in God’s light for longer than 20 minutes. Sure, your body needs to produce Vitamin D, but you don’t want skin cancer, either.

More Decoders:

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