I was going to do this post that was all about photographing TV football guy John Madden for TIME last week, while on the set of an Errol Morris TV commercial that Morris was filming. It sounded like it would make a good post, being there in the shadow of the man who really has balanced Art and Commerce and everyone knows it...and that is documentary film maker and TV commercial director Errol Morris, not John Madden. But..I did kind of walk away from the shoot thinking that Madden was really an actor, deep inside, who has created this character that all of America ( well the football-loving part of America ) can relate to. After watching Madden perform for the video cameras...there was no question. He stepped amidst my Kino Flo lights and I whispered to him " Wow...I didn't realize you were such an actor," and he whispers back " I'm not...I'm just being myself, " and we both knew he was lying as he digs in, takes direction, and delivers this John Madden character. It seemed like a timeless performance. That shot can be seen below.
Above, a great Diane Arbus shot I saw for the first time yesterday at Fraenkel Gallery in SF. Click on it and see it big. Below, Madden.
3 comments:
Know what you mean. I once had the opportunity to see Madden record a months worth of radio commentary. The copy was written for him but he had an instinct for what worked. I recall him doing a quick read and then throwing out stuff that didn't fit his sense of who he was.
Madden usually would record these near his Bay Area home but because he also has a home in Pebble Beach he grabbed everyone and headed down there to a studio he found in the yellow pages. The studio was in Monterey CA and was so small that we all had to go outside do drink our coffee together.
Arbus was the original Sartorialist. (Or was Sander...?)
That is a great image; never seen it before.
Johm Madden was a great sport narrator until their bosses push him into the line with his commentaries, what a shame.
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