Bloofer Gent: Bruce Campbell
If you were around in the 1980s, you'll remember The Evil Dead, a low-budget horror about a group of students who go to a cabin in the woods, play a tape they've found, and get set upon by unspeakable horrors. Bruce played haplessly handsome lead character Ash Williams, and such was his appeal, even the evil dead couldn't keep him down. It was a role he filled in followup movies Evil Dead II (the one where he replaces his possessed hand with a chainsaw) and Army Of Darkness (the medieval one). In the 2010s he returned to the role as an older yet still wisecracking Ash in the TV series Ash Vs Evil Dead. It'll surprise no-one to learn Ash was voted one of the most iconic horror characters of all time.
Groovy.
But as appealing as Ash is, Bloofer Bruce was no one-hit wonder. Like many a horror great before him, he returned to the genre in other guises, in Maniac Cop, Darkman, From Duck Till Dawn 2, and Bubba Ho-Tep, where he plays an ageing Elvis impersonator (or is he really the King himself?) in a care home, taking on a malevolent mummy with a fellow resident who claims to be JFK. He also plays a scion of the Van Helsing line in one of my favourite horror comedies, Sundown: The Vampire In Retreat. Then there's the TV, a roster of cult classics: a major role in Burn Notice, plus roles in Xena: Warrior Princess, The X-Files, Fargo (where he played Ronald Reagan in two episodes), and so much more. He's unstoppable, and that's just how we like our gents.
Hail to the Bloofer king, baby! For making us laugh, making us wince, and showing us all your boomstick, Bruce Campbell, we salute you!
Hello stranger! Despite being around in the 1980s I never saw The Evil Dead, I was more obsessed with Vietnam movies in those days. I just googled Bruce and have discovered a spy series he was in called Burn Notice, I think I might have to track it down. xxx
ReplyDeleteBurn Notice is extremely silly. Not as silly as Ash Vs Evil Dead, but daft nonetheless. I did enjoy it though.
DeleteThank you for the introduction to the latest bloofer gent! Is it very bad of me that I wasn't aware of him? xxx
ReplyDeleteMim here - he's very muc h a cult figure, so if you're into 80s horror he's a legend, if you're not, he's possibly 'a bloke who's popped up in a few things you like'. I, of course, skew towards 'legend'!
DeleteAfter all these years, I've never seen any of the "Evil Dead" movies, but I did see "Bubba Ho-Tep" and enjoyed it very much. I actually saw a live screening of it at a local theater where Bruce Campbell himself made an appearance. He seems like a very funny and down-to-earth person.
ReplyDelete"Bubba Ho-Tep" is not only funny, it's inspiring. Imagine two depressed and possibly delusional nursing home residents who feel a renewed zeal for living as they cooperate to stop an evil entity. You can't help but cheer them on when you realize they need a sense of purpose in their sunset years.