CLASSIC ACTORS A-Z

CLASSIC ACTORS A-Z



DEFINITION OF SUBJECT


For the purposes of this game, a CLASSIC ACTOR (who may be either male or female) possesses the following qualifications:


1. Must have his/her own page on IMDb
2. Must be either deceased or, if living, over the age of sixty (i.e., born no later than 1958; I won't be picky about the month)
3. Must have at least thirteen acting credits--films & TV movies and series are both acceptable--listed on IMDb; voice-acting (e.g., for animated characters) credits are also acceptable, along with radio programs, stage plays, etc.


The Actor is described by the following CATEGORIES:


Titles of films (or theatrical productions)
Titles of TV or radio programs or series (including individual episodes);
Names of characters (roles played by The Actor;
Names of co-stars, directors or writers (for clarification, please give the title of the property in which these individuals worked with The Actor);
Personal info (includes physical attributes, birthplace, habits, hobbies, scandals, family members, etc,--but please try not to exceed fifty words per entry).


Two requirements on CATEGORIES:

One: No consecutive (back-to-back) entries of the same category (i.e., if letter A’s entry is a film title, letter B’s entry must come from a different category. This requirement applies to all the categories listed above, in order to allow each to get a fair share of use.

Two: All info, regardless of category, must be obtainable on IMDb, either on the actor's individual page, or on the page for the relevant film, TV program, etc.



INSTRUCTIONS

1. Player #1 chooses an Actor and posts his/her name in the Subject line.
2. Player #1 then lists one bit of info chosen from one of the categories listed above, starting with the letter A. Play then passes to Player #2.
3. Player #2, working with the same Actor, lists a different bit of info, in a different category (see CATEGORIES), starting with the letter B.
4. Play continues through the alphabet, with each player listing a single piece of info for that Actor per letter.
5. The player posting an entry for Z may either start the next round by posting the name of a new Actor, or declare the next round Up for Grabs (UFG).
6. When choosing a Title, ignore beginning articles (A, An, or The) and move that article to the end of the word or phrase. Example: A Question of Values should be entered not under A, but rather under Q (entered as Question of Values, A). This is standard alphabetizing practice in most libraries (and since I happen to work in one of those… 😉 ).
7. As a courtesy to other players and for clarification purposes, when listing the name of an Actor’s character, co-star, director, or writer (or any technical/creative artist, such as composer), please identify the work in which s/he appeared or with which s/he was associated.


NOTE: Entries for Q, X, Y, and Z may be difficult to find. If, after honest effort, a player cannot locate an appropriate item for any of those letters, s/he should simply state Not Found. (However, before giving up, see below: New help on X, Q and Z.) That same player may then take the next letter in the alphabet. This represents one of the only three exceptions to the rule of one letter per turn per player. The other exceptions, of course, occur as follows: when the player posting the entry for Z wishes to start the next round; or when at least twelve hours have passed since the player’s most recent posting. After that passage of time, anyone may post, even if s/he was the previous player.


TIPS FOR DIFFICULT LETTERS: If you find yourself stuck for a Q, you may use QUOTE—always providing that IMDb has posted at least one quote from, or about, the Actor currently in play, or from one of the Actor's works. Also: if you are stumped for an X, it is permissible to use a word such as eXcellent or eXceptional or eXciting, as long as you are specific. In other words, don't just state that the Actor or the work in question was/is eXceptional (that's probably a given in this game); tell us what you find exceptional about him, her or it. Lastly, if Y is not readily available, the poster may use “YOUTUBE”, as long as you can cite a specific sample of the Actor's work found there (it need not be an entire film or TV episode); feel free to post the URL of that sample.


New help on X, Q and Z: by all means, continue with the methods shown above—and remember that beginning articles ("a", "an", and "the" do not count, and are moved to the end of the word or phrase). However, if you cannot find examples of titles, names, etc., beginning with any of those three letters, you may choose one that contains the needed letter. Examples: for “X”, Rex, sex, text; for “Q”: relinquish, request, unique; for “Z”: haze, maze, Lopez. As you can see, this opens up a wealth of possibilities…but please, only for these three letters!
("Y" is not included, because it is found in so very many words). 

Questions, if no more than fifty words, may be asked publicly (while a game is in progress). Longer questions, to avoid interruptions in the game, should probably be asked via Private Message.







All set? Great! Let's get started (in the following post) with a favorite Classic Actor: BILL MURRAY.