[The only other movie host I thought had "it" was George's father, Nick Clooney, who presented films on AMC for several years and was very casual, but also extremely professional. []
ABSOLUTMUNDO, Sir M.
But, a'course, that was wayyyy back when AMC actually aired mo'om pitchers WITHOUT insulting and condescending to their audience with the endless commercials and such. Which, in short, worked out quite okay for the rest of us to flock over to TCM - the very epitome of Class (in its presentations, features, inventiveness and taste).
(And, yep-per, we three caught that lovely clip of Bob announcing His Return; he looked royally rested and more like his handsomely energetic self than he has in years. Whatever he's been taking, we want some! )
We'll get back to ya manana, amigo but we have a hankerin' it's fairly recent.
Mayhap a coupla years ago when he started (but declined to finish) his run for office; part of his son's current political flick is sorta reaction to what his father had to deal with in deciding NOT to deal with the corruptive costs politics inevitably makes - and no one is ultimately immune to (no matter how 'charismatic', 'eloquent' or 'intelligent' ).
I don't know what happened to bob dorian, is he still alive?, i guess he was on the dull side, AMC was good back in those days probably better then TCM now, i think they showed more averge films, not repeat the big ones TCM does too often now,
Even with all our 5,000 year-plus matrix resources (even going back to studying with Hypatia at the fabled tragically-lost Library of Alexandria, we can’t quite identify the relatively recent vintage re the photo you queried us about, Sir M. However, the above was taken in May at Mr. Clooney’s first public appearance in Cincinatti following his recent illness and recovery. But these two clips are pretty tantalizing vis-à-vis his latest adventures …
As for Mr. Dorian’s deceptively-leisurely and always intelligently-served informatively entertaining panache,
there’s no better evidence for empowering example than this:
A Charismatic Last Name Doesn’t Necessarily Translate into Personality Department:
Whilst we wish the Head Honchos over thar at TMC all the luck in the unreel world in their magical-makeover attempt where the Young-un is concerned, it’s kinda like trying to bottle lightning and pop the cork to replicate the mysterious majesty that can’t be summoned, manufactured, borrowed or bought. They’ve got the [ Answer ] (if only their stubbornly-resistant hubris were humble enuff to Deepen the Question) right in front of them if and when Our Marvelously Irreplaceable Meester O decides to call it a cinematic nite:
When I think of Nick Clooney, I don't think of him as George's father or as an AMC host. No, my memory is of watching him at 4:00 in the afternoon for seven months when I was five turning six and he was the host of the strangest game show there ever was, "The Money Maze."
Contestants after answering questions would then shout out instructions to their spouses trapped inside a giant maze to try and direct them to points where if they reached them before time expired, they could win big prizes! And the winning team could then play the bonus round for $10,000 in which if the contestant could guide their spouse to hit six towers, a one and five zeroes and get them out in 60 seconds, they'd get the big payoff.
And my enduring memory of Nick remains his handling his bewilderment when a truly DUMB contestant named Warren during the bonus round hit one zero, two zeros and then came out of the maze without hitting the one. Now if he had hit the one that would have entitled him to a hundred dollars, but because he didn't hit the one, he came out with NOTHING.
If that wasn't bad enough the next day, Warren did it again. He hit the one, hit one zero tower, came out with thirty seconds left and that meant he and his wife had won a grand total of, as Nick said with total mock fanfare, "TEN BUCKS!" This prompted the most sarcastic round of applause I have ever heard a studio audience give a contestant, and it's a memory that's stayed with me ever since.
As most everyone’s aware by now, Royal Robert returned to TCM the latter part of last month, and there was as lovely interview he gave to The Washington Post’s Nick Thomas where he offered some nifty comments on his Sabbatical, Return and Future. Some excerpts:
On His Illness: [ “I had a few medical tests, got dental work done, and had some crowns put on some teeth, then took a much-needed rest. I’ve never really taken a vacation since I started working for TCM, so I was ready. Just this year, from January to June, I took 23 airplane trips and was quite exhausted. I was determined to keep away from airports! So I went absolutely nowhere – didn’t even leave Manhattan. I’ve lived in New York for 20 years and never spent so much time there. It was wonderful…
On His Return and The TCM Changes Afoot: “[ Drew is replacing Alec Baldwin on our Saturday-evening ‘Essentials’ program for 2012. She has a very busy film and TV schedule, and could only tape the interviews in October. So I spent the month doing those. She is a perfect co-host and very knowledgable about the Barrymore legacy and film in general …
As for Da Future: On Thursday, he holds out on TCM’s first Classic Cruise aboard the Celebrity Millenium from Miami bound for Key West and Cozumel with screenings, discussion and star guests. “We’ve never done this before, so it’s an experiment but it should be great fun.” ]
Speakin’ of which, get aloada this from one of his earlier acting appearances:
How fortunate for all of us (and film aficionados everywhar) that he heeded her visionary advice
)
'charismatic', 'eloquent' or 'intelligent' 
