Sunday, September 09, 2018

Better than Ever

I love all these social media tributes to Burt Reynolds.  Save for one scene in Silent Movie or the one time I saw Gumball Rally, I'm fairly sure I never saw him in anything ever.

Truth be told, four days ago, I couldn't have told you if he was alive or dead. I always found him skeevy - like Hugh Hefner skeevy.

But back in my younger days, my Sea World day, I worked with a pair of fraternal twins, Joe and John Mansfield. It was almost certain they had to be gay. I think.  To say they were over the top, would be the biggest understatement ever.

It was either a 'twins thing' or they rehearsed a LOT at home. They were always in sync (bye bye bye).  They jumped up on a stage at Geauga Lake once and immediately broke into Donny & Marie singing "A Little Bit Country / Rock and Roll".  They had an entire crowd laughing.

As this was the days before everyone had cable (yes, I know - don't say it), they had somehow had access to some station that had Grease 2, which is really the reason I know the movie. I saw them act out "Cool Rider" before ever seeing Michelle Pfeiffer straddle a ladder and sing it.

And on their laserdisk player (yes, I know!), they had Starting Over, "starring" Reynolds, Jill Clayburg and Candice Bergen.  I never actually saw the movie, just the two minutes that are below.

From my take is that Bergen and Reynolds has been married and she left to find a singing career, only that she's the only one who thinks she can sing. And now she wants him back...............and tries to accomplish it via song.  Naturally.

I know I'm me, so it doesn't surprise me that I know all the words.  The 87 times the Mansfield twins played it didn't help. And I haven't seen the clip in maybe a decade and a half.   ....and still know all the words.

Of course, Joe in particular, loved Candice's move at the 1:05 mark......and he did it to perfection.

I do wonder what ever became of them. I never felt they could survive separate from one another, but too much for many to take together.

Anyhoo.........this clip was the first thing I thought of when I heard Reynolds kicked it.






Song by: Candice Bergen

5 comments:

Travel said...

You have never seen "Smokey and the Bandit?" I can sing as well as she does.

David G said...

Thanks for the earworm. Thanks so much.

anne marie in philly said...

ain't gonna watch.

google the twins and see what happens.

burt was a hairy bear, but yeah, sleazy; never got into him as an actor (or anything else).

Fearsome Beard said...

I had a pubescent crush on him. Well having said that and looking back at that period, I had a pubescent crush on any half way decent looking male star. However Burt had that Cosmo centerfold out there which others didn’t. That centerfold got a lot of use.

Mark in DE said...

I remember him from "Smokey & The Bandit" and then "Boogie Nights", but I was never a "fan". Like you I find him skeevy, especially some of the interviews they've played recently on TV.

Have you tried researching the Mansfield twins on the 'net?