Among the things that set that film apart from other genre movies is the excellent cast made unforgettable by the direction of Ridley Scott. Most of us are quite familiar with the major players in BLADE RUNNER, but even the incidental characters stand apart. One character in the movie who remains foremost in my mind was Taffey Lewis. He runs a nightclub in an apparently rougher part of town--so seedy that the replicant Rachael, portrayed by the then-stunningly gorgeous Sean Young initially refuses an invitation to meet Deckard (Harrison Ford) there because she doesn't visit such sleazy places.
"The man's dry. Give 'im a drink."Taffey Lewis was played by a character actor named Hy Pyke who died in 2006 and left not much of a record in major films. This is a shame, because his brief few seconds on the screen in my favorite movie was an amazing bit of acting work.
So, the next time you have a beer or a glass of wine, raise a toast to Hy Pyke, who never reached a larger audience, but probably should have.
"Buzz off."
6 comments:
He exuded slime in this movie.
The slimiest. So slimy that he was a curious phenomena.
Ironic that the movie also had M. Emmett Walsh, who excels at playing slimeballs. In fact, the slimiest character ever to appear in ANY movie was portrayed by Walsh--the probation officer Earl Frank in the Dustin Hoffman movie, STRAIGHT TIME. He steals every scene he's in.
When I first moved to Los Angeles, I met and was hired, ( Ha thats a joke ) by Hy Pyke to perform in many of his, " Showcases " which is a nice word for you ain't gettin nothing baby!
Irronically, he convinced many a performer including myself to work for Free and his Character in, " Blade Runner " was extremely close to the man he was.
Not saying he was a jerk. Just one of the many people who make fame and money out of using people!
Don't wish him any wrong and did like his part in the movie, he was born to play it!
Hopefully, he was able to con his way into heaven, I'm sure he did!
I've known the type! Users come in many guises. I can see why he made such an impression in that film.
Advertising his bar...
http://www.redbubble.com/people/mbassman/works/15701945-taffey-lewis-bar-and-grill?grid_pos=1&p=t-shirt
Cool.
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