Friday, June 24, 2011

Oh, there's just one other thing...

Do you hear that, Fezzik? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when the six-fingered man killed my father. The Man in Black makes it now.
- Inigo Montoya

As anyone who’s ever wandered by here knows I’m a total sucker for a good Princess Bride quote or reference. And while I’m not making the sound of ultimate suffering, there’s a bit of … melancholy to this post.

Peter Fault, known best as “Grandpa” in the Princess Bride to anyone born after, oh, 1975, and before that as Lt. Columbo,
died today at age 83.

Grandpa in the Princess Bride seemed like the kind of grandfather we all might want. He’d come to visit us when we were sick and bring us presents we didn’t know we want.

The Grandson: A book?

Grandpa: That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you.

The Grandson: Has it got any sports in it?

Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

The Grandson: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.

Grandpa: Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.

I think I know what may be on my playlist sometime this weekend…


The Grandson: Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow.

Grandpa: As you wish.

6 comments:

suicide_blond said...

"Now this did happen once upon a time,When things were not so complex.
And how he worshiped the ground she walked,
And when he looked he became obsessed."
~ storybook love
rip grandpa
xoxo

Anonymous said...

i always did love this one. we had a drinking game for it in college; i'll have to find the rules...

FoggyDew said...

blond - If I ever get married, it would be a toss up between that song and Van Morrison's "Have I told you lately that I love you" to dance to. You know, if that's what she wanted.

magnolia - I imagine it had something to do with "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die." But you should still dig them out, just in case.

Alice said...

just READING those lines gave me the chills. i love this movie, i love the book, i love peter faulk as the grandpa.

The Grandson: Is this a kissing book?
Grandpa: Wait, just wait.
The Grandson: Well, when does it get good?
Grandpa: Keep your shirt on, and let me read.

FoggyDew said...

Alice - Decades down the road it's amazing how this little movie still has such an impact on many of us.

Relax Max said...

This is not from The Princess Bride, but it is a good suffering quote from Gangs of New York, when, after pinning the guy's hand to the table by putting his knife through the hand, Bill the Butcher tells the man, "Please don't make that sound again, Harvey."

I miss Falk too though. My memory predates even Columbo and still pictures Falk as Glenn Ford's mobster sidekick in the Bette Davis Apple Annie movie. You don't remember him in that. Well, ok.