It’s fascinating what qualifies as news in 2016. While Justin Trudeau and his family were getting the royal treatment in Washington, American media were giving almost as much attention to a 77 year old actor named Jonathan Goldsmith.
Until very recently, we might have recognized his craggy face and salt and pepper beard, but there probably weren’t very many of us who could come up with his name. A Mexican brewery called Dos Equis used Jonathan as a pitchman, boldly declaring him to be ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’.
His resume on the Internet Movie Database shows that in a 40 year period beginning in 1963, he had more than a hundred speaking parts in movies and TV shows. He died more than once in Gunsmoke, and John Wayne killed him off in his last picture called The Shootist.
In those Mexican beer commercials, which won a few awards, Jonathan’s most memorable line was “Stay thirsty my friends”. Not quite up there with Bogie declaring that “We’ll always have Paris”, but as long as the cheques cleared the bank, I’m sure Jonathan didn’t complain.
I confess that when I first saw the commercial, I wondered aloud “Who is that man?” Dos Equis got an amazing amount of airtime and ink with the news that Jonathan is being replaced with someone younger, and probably cheaper. I think I know the feeling.
Mr. Goldsmith has been a working actor for several decades, in a business where most people don’t work very much at all. He got headlines for getting fired this week! Chances are some casting director saw the story and called his agent and he won’t be collecting unemployment benefits for long.
Now, if only we could find a way to dispose of the Kardashians.
I’m Roger Currie
