Golly, I love this photo.
John Cullum, my husband, was in costume, on the set for the movie "1776," that Peter Hunt directed. Was this photo a shot from the movie?
The candle on the table, the shoulders seen on each side of John indicated that other cast members were sitting with him -- the photo said it was John as "Rutledge," the senator from South Carolina, listening to John Adams while thinking about his own vote.
I guess I love the photo because the look on John's face was so real -- so typical -- my husband was thinking, planning, contemplating what? My private thought was that my husband, while waiting for his cue as Rutledge, was thinking about the song he was about to sing.
John told me that this scene in the movie had been done as a long shot -- cameras and lights repositioned for the medium shot and filmed again -- the set up was again changed for the closeups -- he'd already sung "Molasses to Rum" twice. He told director Peter, "Better get it this time, I've just got one more "G" in me."
(JC told me just now that if I listened to the film again, I'd hear how he "slipped into the high note, that "G." He's a Baritone -- a G can be tricky.)
Wife, fan, lover of John Cullum, loves that photo of the man she fell in love with at first sight, the guy who had evolved from a very good looking, handsome, leading man on a stage, a leading man who could rivet an audience -- into a man who could truly star in a show and draw thousands of theatergoers. Yes, wife Em WAS, IS enthralled by this John in that moment, in that marvelous film, stunned, by the power in him, artist, musician, singer, actor performer that he is.Hey, I'm a blogger -- why am I jabbering about private thoughts?
I'm doing it to remind you that people with whom you are intimately involved change, grow up as you change, and viewing them freshly grows you up too.
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8 comments:
Em, great piece, very introspective and amazingly interesting.
He looks like Elvis Presley in that photo
What a beautiful story Emily.You and John seem such a loving couple.
Blogs started as public diaries, so ruminate about private thoughts all you want, I say. Not only is it retro, it's real. Blogs are everywhere, and whatever we write, the most unique thing we each have that we can share is ourselves. That said, I marvel, too, at how my husband keeps changing and I keep finding new ways to see him, and although it seems there's a risk in all that of growing apart somehow the love grows.
Great post, thank you for sharing:)
SO GREAT THAT KNOWLEDGE IS SO SPECIAL !!
Miss 'Em
You have no Idea
How special you are to #NYC #USA!!
got to call the historic society !!
This was such an inspirational post. And you're not the only one who is stunned by his performance. When I watched 1776 with my husband on the 4th he told me his favorite performance was Rutledge, hands down. He was blown away by "Molasses to Rum." Your husband sings beautifully.
To tie such a great film (I was the one that commented on the BluRay and there were several extra scenes that were not in the original DVD. It looks spectacular!) to an essay about changes and growth between intimate people is very uplifting. It stopped and made me think.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and especially for the picture.
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