May 30, 2011
Dear Mr. Pollard,
It is rare today in Hollywood for an actor such as you, to keep his personal life virtually “hidden.” It is rare, because with the internet, there is so much information at everyone’s fingertips. Information can be found just about any person’s age, creed, color, religion, sex, birth date or death date. This past week, I saw that you celebrated your 72nd birthday. However, I did a search on your name and found practically nothing about you. There was very little on my two main sources for celebrity info…Wikipedia and the Imdb. There was no fansite, no interviews, nothing.
This was surprising to me because you have been showing up in movies and TV for so many years. Anyone who has enjoyed your work knows your face. Perhaps they aren’t familiar with your name, but they know who you are. I showed my husband your picture the other day and asked, “Have you ever seen this actor?” His response, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen him.”
Not long ago I enjoyed watching “Bonnie and Clyde.” You received an academy award nomination for your portrayal of C.W. Moss, the dim-witted gasoline station attendant. I loved that character! I also enjoyed you in “Roxanne” where you had a little role, but you were very, very funny! I’m sure it was a great experience to work with the brilliant Steve Martin.
I think the best thing discovered about you that most people don’t know, is that Michael J. Fox adopted the “J” as homage to you. That’s right; Michael J. Fox was born as Michael Andrew Fox. The Screen Actors Guild rules say there can’t be more than one person with the same name in the guild. So when Michael Andrew Fox had to register his name, he could have picked Michael A. Fox, but decided to register his name as Michael “J” Fox. He said, “in honor of legendary character actor Michael J. Pollard.”
Now, Michael J., I applaud you for keeping your life top-secret, which is hard to do in this day and age. However, I want to thank you for sharing your talent with us for so many years. I hope you had a wonderful day last Mon. as you celebrated your 72nd birthday!
One of your fans,
Regards, Mrs Love
I found this bu accident, but Happy Birthday, Michael. I remember meeting Michael J. at the Paradise Grill in Santa Barbara in the early 90s and found a very likable gentleman. I said that I had not seen him since "Riders in the Storm" and wished he was working more because, though I am not an actor groupie, I always found his work of top caliber. Two days later, I watched him in another new movie. Steve schlah@gmail.com here
ReplyDelete