My Favorite Year
Directed by	Richard Benjamin
Produced by	Joel Chernoff
Written by	Dennis Palumbo
Starring	{{{starring}}}
Music by	{{{music}}}
Cinematography	{{{cinematography}}}
Editing by	{{{editing}}}
Distributed by	MGM
Released	October 1, 1982
Running time	92 min
Language	English
Budget
Preceded by	{{{preceded_by}}}
Followed by	{{{followed_by}}}
IMDb profile

My Favorite Year is a 1982 comedy film which tells the story of the early days of television, and a flamboyant film actor who is shepherded by a young intern through a week of overdrinking. The film was later turned into a musical version on Broadway. It stars Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell and Gloria Stuart. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (475x755, 60 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Richard Benjamin (born May 22, 1938 New York City, New York) American actor and film director. ... Joel Chernoff is a singer / songwriter and Messianic Jew, who is a founder member of the music group Lamb. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Airplane! is considered by some critics to be one of the funniest movies of all time. ... Roger Ebert, Peter OToole, and Jason Patric at the 2004 Savannah Film Festival Peter OToole (born August 2, 1932) is an Irish-born, British-based acclaimed and iconic film and stage actor. ... Mark Linn-Baker (left) as Larry with Bronson Pinchot (right) as Balki on Perfect Strangers. ... Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress and producer. ... Joseph Bologna (born December 30, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor of Italian extraction, who was raised Roman Catholic. ... Bill Macy (born May 18, 1922 in Revere, Massachusetts) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Walter Findlay, Bea Arthurs long-suffering husband on the television sitcom Maude. ... Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine on May 15, 1940 in New York City) is an American actress and singer. ... Selma Diamond (August 5, 1920 - May 13, 1985) was a Canadian-born comedic actress and TV writer. ... Harro5 08:12, July 28, 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Gloria Stuart in The Invisible Man (1933) Gloria Stuart (born on July 4, 1910) is an American stage, television and film actress. ...

The movie's background was based on the Sid Caesar show Your Show of Shows and its love story is about how a Mel Brooks-like comedy writer Benjy Stone woos and wins an upper class young lady K. C. Downing as his Anne Bancroft, with the assistance of the drunk yet aware Alan Swann as an Errol Flynn-ish charmer. Joseph Bologna's character, "King Kaiser," invokes the charm of Sid Caesar. The characters learn they are as brave as they need to be. Sid Caesar (born Isaac Sidney Caesar on September 8, 1922) is an Emmy-winning comic actor and writer, best known as the leading man on the 1950s television sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows. ... Your Show of Shows was a live sketch comedy television series appearing weekly in the United States, from 1950 until June 5, 1954, featuring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. ... Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is a Jewish-American actor, writer director, and theatrical producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedic parodies. ... Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress, born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano in The Bronx, New York to Michael and Mildred Italiano, both children of Italian immigrants. ... Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, one of his most famous roles Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 – October 14, 1959) was an Australian - American film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles. ... Sid Caesar (born Isaac Sidney Caesar on September 8, 1922) is an Emmy-winning comic actor and writer, best known as the leading man on the 1950s television sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows. ...

Plot details

Benjy Stone (Linn-Baker), who serves as the narrator of the story, tells of the summer he met his idol, Alan Swann (O'Toole). Benjy was working for NBC Studios in the mid 1950's as a writer for a variety televison show starring 'King' Kaiser (Bologna) (a not-so-subtle reference to shows like Sid Caesar's - Kaiser meaning 'Caesar' in other languages like Dutch and German, for example). As a special upcoming guest, they get the famous movie star Alan Swann (whose films seem to be cut from the same cloth as those of Errol Flynn's). However, when they realize that Alan is a roaring drunk, Kaiser is ready to just dump him - until Benjy intervenes and promises to keep him sober during the week leading up to the big show. Mark Linn-Baker (left) as Larry with Bronson Pinchot (right) as Balki on Perfect Strangers. ... Roger Ebert, Peter OToole, and Jason Patric at the 2004 Savannah Film Festival Peter OToole (born August 2, 1932) is an Irish-born, British-based acclaimed and iconic film and stage actor. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Joseph Bologna (born December 30, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor of Italian extraction, who was raised Roman Catholic. ... Sid Caesar (born Isaac Sidney Caesar on September 8, 1922) is an Emmy-winning comic actor and writer, best known as the leading man on the 1950s television sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows. ... Kaiser is the German title meaning Emperor, derived from the Roman title of Caesar, as is the Slavic title of Tsar. ... Caesar (Latin:CAESAR, IPA: kaɪsɑr [kae-sahr], common English IPA:siːzɚ [see-zr]) was originally a cognomen in ancient Rome, derived from cai- (of unknown meaning) from which Gaius also derives. ... Errol Flynn as Robin Hood, one of his most famous roles Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (June 20, 1909 – October 14, 1959) was an Australian - American film actor, most famous for his romantic swashbuckler roles. ...

As Benjy tails along with Alan, they learn a lot about each other - including the fact that they both have family they try to hide from the rest of the world. In Benjy's case, he tries to hide from his Jewish mother who is married to a former Filipino bantamweight boxer and his other various relatives. In Alan's case, he has a young daughter named Tess whom he hasn't seen in years, but he continues working to stay in America so he can secretly keep tabs on her. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... The term bantamweight usually refers to a class in boxing or boxers who weigh between 112 and 118 pounds. ... Boxer redirects here; for other meanings of boxer, see Boxer (disambiguation). ...

A side story involves Kaiser's run-ins with Karl Rojeck (Cameron Mitchell), whom he parodies on his variety show as 'Boss Hijack'. Rojeck makes some not-so-subtle threats to Kaiser, and accidents start happening while they're rehearsing for the show. Another side story involves Benjy trying to win the affections of his co-worker K.C. Downing, (Jessica Harper). The name Cameron Mitchell belongs to: The film actor Cameron Mitchell, who appeared in both highly acclaimed movies (the 1951 adaptation of Death of a Salesman) and critically panned movies (Space Mutiny, Frankenstein Island). ... Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress and producer. ...

On show night, Alan suffers a panic attack when he finally realizes that millions of people will be watching him live (he's used to working with a small crew and getting many takes to get his parts right). Running away from the show, Alan resorts to getting drunk again, but is confronted by Benjy, who angrily tells him that despite his faults, Benjy always thought of Alan as being the swashbuckling hero he sees on the big screen. As Benjy puts it when convincing Swann that he has courage inside him, "Nobody's that good an actor". As they walk off, they see that Rojack's men are beating up on Kaiser during the live broadcast of the show (where Kaiser is supposed to walk out as 'Boss Hijack'). Swann grabs a rope and swings into action (being dressed as a Musketeer for a skit later in the show), saving the day in front of a surprised audience. The movie ends with Benjy narrating how Alan finally got the nerve to see his daughter Tess the next day while Alan waves to the audience and takes a bow. DArtagnan and the Musketeers The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ...

Cast

• Peter O'Toole .... Alan Swann
• Mark Linn-Baker .... Benjy Stone
• Jessica Harper .... K. C. Downing
• Joseph Bologna .... King Kaiser
• Bill Macy .... Sy Benson
• Lainie Kazan .... Belle Carroca
• Anne De Salvo .... Alice Miller
• Basil Hoffman .... Herb Lee
• Lou Jacobi .... Uncle Morty
• Adolph Green .... Leo Silver
• Tony DiBenedetto .... Alfi Bambacelli
• George Wyner .... Myron Fein
• Selma Diamond .... Lil
• Cameron Mitchell .... Karl Rojeck

Roger Ebert, Peter OToole, and Jason Patric at the 2004 Savannah Film Festival Peter OToole (born August 2, 1932) is an Irish-born, British-based acclaimed and iconic film and stage actor. ... Mark Linn-Baker (left) as Larry with Bronson Pinchot (right) as Balki on Perfect Strangers. ... Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress and producer. ... Joseph Bologna (born December 30, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor of Italian extraction, who was raised Roman Catholic. ... Bill Macy (born May 18, 1922 in Revere, Massachusetts) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Walter Findlay, Bea Arthurs long-suffering husband on the television sitcom Maude. ... Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine on May 15, 1940 in New York City) is an American actress and singer. ... Lou Jacobi (born December 28, 1913 in Toronto, Canada) is a character actor. ... Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 - October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright, who penned most of his songs, plays, and movies with Betty Comden. ... Selma Diamond (August 5, 1920 - May 13, 1985) was a Canadian-born comedic actress and TV writer. ... The name Cameron Mitchell belongs to: The film actor Cameron Mitchell, who appeared in both highly acclaimed movies (the 1951 adaptation of Death of a Salesman) and critically panned movies (Space Mutiny, Frankenstein Island). ...

Nominations

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor (Peter O'Toole). The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Roger Ebert, Peter OToole, and Jason Patric at the 2004 Savannah Film Festival Peter OToole (born August 2, 1932) is an Irish-born, British-based acclaimed and iconic film and stage actor. ...

Broadway Musical

Lincoln Center Theater produced a stage musical version of My Favorite Year in 1992. The score for the musical was written by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics); the libretto was adapted from the film screenplay by Joseph Dougherty. Stephen Flaherty (born 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre in collaboration with Lynn Ahrens, and best known for the show Once On This Island, which was nominated for eight Tony Awards. ... Lynn Ahrens (born 1st October 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist who most frequently works with Stephen Flaherty. ...

Lainie Kazan reprised her role from the film on stage as Belle Steinberg-Carroca, Benjy's mother. Other cast members included Tim Curry as Alan Swann, Evan Pappas as Benjy, Lannyl Stephens as K.C., Tom Mardirosian as King Kaiser, Josh Mostel as Sy, and Andrea Martin as Alice. Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine on May 15, 1940 in New York City) is an American actress and singer. ... Tim Curry 2005 Timothy James Curry (born April 19, 1946 in Grappenhall, a district of Warrington, England) is an English actor, vocalist and composer perhaps best known for his role as mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). ... Andrea Martin (born January 15, 1947 in Portland, Maine) is an American actress and comedienne of Armenian descent. ...

The plot followed that of the film fairly closely, the most major change being that the character of Boss Rojeck and the accompanying gangster sketch subplot were dropped. A musketeer sketch for Swann replaces it. Additional plot threads were also added concerning King Kaiser and the show's writers, Alice and Sy.

The musical opened on December 10, 1992 and closed January 10, 1993, after 32 performances. Despite this short run, the show has since become a somewhat popular choice among community and high-school performing groups. 1992 (MCMXCII in Roman) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

A recording of the score featuring the original cast was released on the RCA Victor label. Sony BMG Music Entertainment is the result of a 50/50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment (part of Sony) and BMG Entertainment (part of Bertelsmann AG) completed in August 2004. ...

The songs include:

• "Twenty Million People"
• "Larger Than Life"
• "The Musketeer Sketch"
• "Rookie In The Ring"
• "Manhattan"
• "Naked In Bethesda Fountain"
• "The Gospel According To King"
• "Funny/ The Duck Joke"
• "Welcome To Brooklyn"
• "If The World Were Like The Movies"
• "Exits"
• "Shut Up And Dance"
• "Professional Showbizness Comedy"
• "The King Kaiser Comedy Calvacade" theme
• "The Lights Come Up"
• "Maxford House"
• "My Favorite Year"

External links

• My Favorite Year at The Internet Movie Database