Alan Rickman, You Were a Gift to Screen and Stage

A terribly sad thing has come to pass.

Alan Rickman has passed away at the age of 69.  I am not usually one to get wrapped up in celebrity deaths, though there have been a few that have hit me harder than expected.  But Alan Rickman's passing feels like a quiet injustice to the best faculties of my heart.

Antony in
Antony and Cleopatra

Aside from being a gifted actor in most every role he had, Alan Rickman was also an appreciator of the Bard.  All I can do, in my small way, is to pay tribute here to a man who furthered the rich culture of Shakespeare in our world.

Achilles in
Troilus and Cressida

Alan Rickman studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and there studied Shakespeare.  He was also a performer in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and appeared in adaptations of Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Troilus and Cressida, as well as the 1978 TV movie of Romeo and Juliet.

If you are up for a good Alan Rickman binge-watch tonight (as I am), I also loved him desperately in Sense and Sensibility as the noble and quietly love-struck Colonel Brandon. And of course, there is Die Hard, Truly, Madly, Deeply, Love Actually and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, to name a few.

And for your enjoyment and reflection, I'll end with his moving reading of Shakespeare's 130th Sonnet - coinicdentally my favorite sonnet.  His distinct voice and impeccable diction draw such increased beauty from the words.  It is my favorite rendition of this poem.  Rest in peace; you were an incredibly moving performer, and you will undoubtedly be missed.

(I also fee the desire to note that David Bowie - who also passed this week - included in his final album [Black Star] a re-recording of "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore,"  which, while not Shakespeare, is taken from a play of the same name by his contemporary, John Ford.  I don't know why I feel the need to note this here, aside from the fact that I feel such a connection to these men through their love of 17th century playwrites; for me personally it deepends the chasm their passing has created in our culture.)