Return of the New York Humidity

Here I am trying to enjoy the last days of my visit to New York. After 2 1/2 weeks of cool spring-like weather today brings hints of the sweltering summer to come. Going outside at 8:30am I was reacquainted with the muggy, humid, cut-with-a-knife type weather that is the east coast in June.

I stepped out and tried taking a deep inhale of what I thought would be cool morning air. What I got instead was warm sweathouse suffocation. Two more pulls on the outdoor air told me what the developing sweat on my forearms already knew, Summer has arrived early and I want no part of it.

So I changed all plans for that outdoor cruise across the hudson today and instead made sure my father's AC (air-conditioner) worked to perfection. I've found that the Tuner Classic channel (TNT) is having a War Movie Marathon and by this evening I hope to be frozen in front of the television full of nostalgic american WWI and WWII trivia answers. I've already watched "The Red Badge of Courage" with Auddie Murphy. Just so happened to be about a young civil war soldier who overcomes his cowardice and finds the courage to fight with a passion never before known to him. I also watched part of the movie "Sargeant York" starring Gary Cooper. I didn't see it all but it had some familiar character actors that gave it a great classic feel.

Oh, the gentleman in the picture is one of those character actors you've seen many times in old movies but may not know his name. He also starred in a few Twilight Zone episodes. He was in The Red Badge of Courage as well. He always plays the Country guy and plays it to perfection. Like a mountain hillbilly with good common sense. His name is Arthur Hunnicut.

I've updated this blog to include more information about Mr. Arthur Hunnicut. I was watching another western (Shoot Out) and spotted him playing his usual character. I felt he deserved more than just a few lines to accompany his picture.

Arthur Hunnicut
1910-1979
Mini biography

Lean, tall American character actor known for playing humorously wise rural roles. He attended Arkansas State Teachers College in his native state, but was forced to drop out in his third year due to lack of funds. He joined a theatre company in Massachusetts, then migrated to New York, where he began to find acting roles on Broadway and on tour. He played in numerous productions, including the leading role in Tobacco Road, a part his rangy country persona was made for. He took a few roles in small films in the early 1940s, then returned to stage work. In 1949, he came back to Hollywood permanently and began a long career as a reliable supporting player. His wonderfully written and vibrantly played role in the Howard Hawks Western The Big Sky (1952) won him acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor. He continued playing similar characters, almost always sympathetic, for remainder of his career. He was stricken with cancer of the tongue and died in 1979.