The Roger E. Mosley Thread

For discussions about the cast & crew, including guest stars

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
J.J. Walters
Founding Father
Posts: 4196
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Suburbia, USA
Contact:

The Roger E. Mosley Thread

#1 Post by J.J. Walters »

aka Theodore "T.C." Calvin ....
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

User avatar
J.J. Walters
Founding Father
Posts: 4196
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Suburbia, USA
Contact:

#2 Post by J.J. Walters »

Any of you guys ever seen Leadbelly (1976)? Easily Roger's best work, and a powerful movie. I used to have it on tape, but that was "gone" a long time ago. I would love to get this on DVD, if it ever makes it there.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

User avatar
rubber chicken
Master Location Sleuth
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:53 am
Location: Great Lakes region

#3 Post by rubber chicken »

I haven't seen Leadbelly, but would like to. I've seen The Mack, in which Mosley plays the brother of the lead actor. His character is similar in a way to TC, working towards a better community by fighting drugs and working with people etc. And of course in Magnum P.I. he's a good role model too, involved with coaching, helping young kids and being an all around good influence.

It almost works out imagining that he's a younger TC, but not quite.

Looking through his imdb filmography, I'm now going to try and find Stay Hungry which looks like a fun time - along with Mosley there's Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his early roles.

Here's what one poster says about the film:

"Just caught this movie on cable tv, and I'm still in shock! : O
I mean this was "The Flying Nun" in the buff!
Arnold Schwarzenegger jammin' on his violin with hillbillies? Was I dreaming?
Robert Englund kicking butt sans Freddy Kruger mask.
And T.C. from Magnum P.I. giving a massage to a beautiful naked redhead but wishing he was raising chickens instead!
Surreal."

I have to see this now, no question.

User avatar
Klaus
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:15 pm
Location: Austria

#4 Post by Klaus »

The R. E. Mosley scene in "Stay Hungry" is hilarious. Being an Arnold fan I saw the movies countless times, but the massage scene is one of the funnies "T.C" scenes I´ve ever seen! :D

User avatar
eegorr
Vice Admiral
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:34 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ (it's a dry heat... LOL!)

#5 Post by eegorr »

Klaus wrote:The R. E. Mosley scene in "Stay Hungry" is hilarious. Being an Arnold fan I saw the movies countless times, but the massage scene is one of the funnies "T.C" scenes I´ve ever seen! :D
I ordered "Stay Hungry" on DVD earlier today -- I'm really looking forward to seeing it!

User avatar
Klaus
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:15 pm
Location: Austria

#6 Post by Klaus »

eegorr wrote:
Klaus wrote:The R. E. Mosley scene in "Stay Hungry" is hilarious. Being an Arnold fan I saw the movies countless times, but the massage scene is one of the funnies "T.C" scenes I´ve ever seen! :D
I ordered "Stay Hungry" on DVD earlier today -- I'm really looking forward to seeing it!
Tell me how you liked it, eegorr!

User avatar
rubber chicken
Master Location Sleuth
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:53 am
Location: Great Lakes region

#7 Post by rubber chicken »

On the Sleuth channel today I happened to catch Roger E. Mosley on Rockford Files. The episode was "Dirty Money, Black Light" and was the last show of season three, originally airing 4-1-77.

The episode also had Martin Kove, the Cobra Kai Sensei from Karate Kid, and Stuart Margolin, the encyclopedia salesman from Magnum P.I.'s "By Its Cover" (3.21). Though it looks like Stuart was a regular on the show.

I only caught part of the show, but it looked like Mosley had a rather important part as a boxing trainer who was also a loan shark. It was played well and he even made Rockford get in the ring with one of his boxers. Needless to say Rockford didn't fair too well. Mosely was about to shoot Rockford at the end of the show when the cops came in and arrested him.

Just thought I'd mention, always fun to catch things like this.

User avatar
Klaus
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:15 pm
Location: Austria

#8 Post by Klaus »

Wasn´t there a prison film where Mosely starred in, too?

User avatar
rubber chicken
Master Location Sleuth
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:53 am
Location: Great Lakes region

#9 Post by rubber chicken »

I don't know whether he did a prison film, but I watched Stay Hungry last night! What a confused movie, hehe. I wish Mosley was in more of it - he shows up maybe three times - but he does indeed play his part well. The massage scene is even more hilarious when watching from a Magnum P.I. perspective.

In a post above I mentioned how his character in The Mack is somewhat like his TC character and this role is even more so. How he reacts to being put in the massage scene situation is the same way TC could have reacted in a Magnum P.I. episode, although naked call girls sadly wouldn't have been allowed. Spoilers below if you're planning on seeing the movie and don't want to know what happens...

SPOILERS....
----------------------------------------
The situation is this: Mosley (character's name is Newton) works as a massage therapist and late one night his boss Thor brings two call girls back to the gym where Newton and Thor both work. Thor is a demanding fellow who might be out of his gourd and prone to violence. He makes Newton take one of the girls into the massage room intending that Newton and the girl do unmentionable things to each other.

Newton doesn't want any part of this however (just how TC would react), but he's afraid of his boss or of simply being fired so he proceeds to tie the girl up (with very efficient knot skills by the way) and tapes her mouth. He then hilariously goes about giving her a massage and tan, while reading a magazine all in an anxious hyper manner.

Later Thor needs something in the room and threatens to break the door down so Newton lets him in - still wearing bug eyed tanning goggles - and says he and the girl sure are going to town etc. and acts like they're really having a great time. Meanwhile the girl is still tied to the table and tries to say Newton is crazy but Newton quickly covers her mouth.
----------------------------------------

I wouldn't really recommend the movie or even the scene to most people. (Not for kids and maybe not too tasteful for some). It's not great but has it's oddity value, if you're wondering whether it's for you I'd read the comments about it on IMDB. I got a kick out parts of it though and it was great to watch Mosely's scene as a Magnum P.I. fan. :D

User avatar
Klaus
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:15 pm
Location: Austria

#10 Post by Klaus »

If I remember right, Arnold was nominated for a Golden Globe for his great performance. He went down with his weight about 25 lbs. not to look too gigantic. Back then the mass audience had not seen much of those bodybuilder types and Arnie didn´t want to scare them. :lol:

He looks rather thin in this movies...

Mosley looks so young....and the scene, well, he´s really acting T.C. like. I suppose every actor is allowed to bring in some of his own values and person to the role. Like Back to to Future - would´ve been a whole different movie if Eric Stolz would´ve been Marty.

User avatar
rubber chicken
Master Location Sleuth
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:53 am
Location: Great Lakes region

#11 Post by rubber chicken »

You're right, IMDB says - Arnold Schwarzenegger won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture", even though his debut was in Hercules in New York (1970).

Arnold was very good, although he didn't really have to "act" that much since his part was so much like his own life. He did very well in it though, maybe his best real life type role as opposed to his larger than life action movie characters. And he gets to put forth some of his own philosophy in lines like "you have to burn to glow" and the recurring theme about complacency getting in the way of growing and achieving higher goals.

I agree with you saying that actors bring their own value and person to a role. I've come to the conclusion that there are very few times in an actors career (sometimes none) where they're really and truly playing someone different than themselves and not just presenting their own personality and idiosyncrasies in a way that fits the part. But then again that's why casting directors choose the people they do most of the time. It's the person that's put into the role not the role being put into the person.

I wish it was a tighter movie though, it could have been very good over all which would have made Arnold's part stand out even more, but it just isn't doesn't make it. I'd say the 5.5 rating on IMDB is about right, although it does have some lovable aspects.

User avatar
Klaus
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:15 pm
Location: Austria

#12 Post by Klaus »

I agree with what you wrote, rubber chicken.

Every actor play the same character so much differently, that´s why even a great screenplay could turn aout to be a bad movie if cast badly. E.g. I love Sly Stallone, big fan of his, but if he´d been in Beverly Hills Cop it´d been a bad choice.

Look at the pics of Eric Stolz as Marty McFly. He´s even wearing different clothing than M. J. Fox, not just a different size, but a whole different style. The producers replaced Stolz with Fox after a few weeks filming! Due to production cost this is a very unusual move. They said the scenes were good, but when Fox played them, they were AWESOME!

MPI is so great because Selleck plays him so lovable. He´s not perfect, he´s one of the guys who makes mistakes, doesn´t get all the women but is so honest and righteous.

Just imagine a young Eastwood play T. M. with the same screenplay...

User avatar
eegorr
Vice Admiral
Posts: 124
Joined: Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:34 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ (it's a dry heat... LOL!)

#13 Post by eegorr »

Klaus wrote:MPI is so great because Selleck plays him so lovable. He´s not perfect, he´s one of the guys who makes mistakes, doesn´t get all the women but is so honest and righteous.
This is how Selleck wanted Magnum to be, otherwise he would not have taken the gig.

The show's creators were looking for something more like the Lance White character he played in a couple of Rockford Files episodes.

User avatar
golfmobile
Chopper Pilot Wannabe
Posts: 1203
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 8:47 pm
Location: Atlanta area
Contact:

TC's chopper

#14 Post by golfmobile »

Do we need a "Transportation Sticky" for discussions of the chopper, the Ferrari, and other modes of transportation on the show? Just a thought . . . . anyway, I found this thread -- read down quite a few messages to where it talks about the log book for TC's chopper:

TC's MD500 since the show ceased production

golf
"Portside, buddy."

User avatar
SelleckLover
RENLEDUN, Protectrix of the Realm
Posts: 1017
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:56 pm
Location: Sunny Southern California
Contact:

#15 Post by SelleckLover »

Awesome find golf! I enjoyed reading the link!

Post Reply