Monday, July 4, 2011

AS SEEN ON TV: JOHN ADAMS

JOHN ADAMS

AS SEEN IN:
'You Are There' -
"Washington Crosses the Delaware"

AS PLAYED BY:
Howard Wendell

From Wikipedia:
On July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, Adams died at his home in Quincy. Told that it was the Fourth, he answered clearly, "It is a great day. It is a good day."

His last words have been reported as "Thomas Jefferson survives". Only the first two words "Thomas Jefferson" were clearly intelligible, however.

Adams was unaware that Jefferson, his compatriot in their quest for independence, then great political rival, then later friend and correspondent, had died a few hours earlier on the very same day. Somewhat later, struggling for breath, he whispered to his granddaughter Susanna, "Help me, child! Help me!" then lapsed into a final silence.

At about 6:20, Adams was dead, leaving Charles Carroll of Carrollton as the last surviving signatory of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams died while his son John Quincy Adams was president.

BCnU!
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2 comments:

  1. Brent McKee4:58 PM

    Howard Wendell's portrayal might be the first, but surely Paul Giamatti's portrayal is on the way to becoming the definitive one. (If you don't count William Daniels when they did a scene from 1776 on the Ed Sullivan Show.)

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  2. Toby O'B5:36 PM

    My rule of thumb is that whoever gives the longest, purest portrayal of a character, historical or fictional, is the official one. (First come first served usually only works with full series, and - as in the case of Sherlock Holmes - even then....)

    So I can go along with Giamatti, although it still bugs me he doesn't look like Adams at all. Oh well.

    And with historicals, there are plenty of reasons that can be found for the differences in looks so that more than one can be included.

    I'd say that - as with most of these time travel trips by CBS News - they opened a window into a parallel dimension....

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