by Nathaniel R
George Segal's brilliant "stuff" in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
Enduring actor George Segal passed away yesterday at the age of 87 from complications during surgery. We'll always remember him as Nick, the young affable professor that tries in vain to resist becoming a pawn in the George & Martha wars of that bitter masterpiece Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966). Or maybe we should call Nick "stuff" since that how Martha both fetishizes and reduces him. Taylor & Burton are best remembered but the entire quartet is completely brilliant with Segal adding subtle layers to give you a peak at what "stuff" this guy is made of. Or was at least before this hellish night.
Segal's very long career both before and after Woolf make that sole Oscar nomination, feel less like the anomaly it was, and more like a career honor with great foresight. After the jump 12 other key roles to understand his career...
BEFORE WOOLF
Michael Callan, Dean Jones, Telly Savalas, Stefanie Powers, Barbara Eden, George Segal and Inger Stevens
The New Interns (1964) - Golden Globe nomination "Most Promising Newcomer"
While his first film was The Young Doctors (1961) that was a vehicle for several far more established actors, including two time Oscar winner Fredric March and rising Ben Gazzara. His second film The Longest Day (1962) was Best Picture nominated but he didn't even have a character name in the credits. Curiously Segal didn't get the "introducing" sell (7th billed but highlighted) until his fourth released film, a sequel to another unrelated medical drama, in which he played a doctor yet again. (Hospital dramas were still popular in cinemas and not yet a "television only" genre.) This was his first true taste of fame.
Ship of Fools (1965)
Had the SAG Awards existed in the 1960s this would surely have been a major threat to win the "Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture" prize. The Best Picture nominated sea voyage drama dropped a combo of Oscar winners and rising stars (including Segal, 7th billed) into the same bought bound for Germany in the early '30s.
Segal and Courtenay, rising stars and very soon to be Oscar nominees
King Rat (1965)
In his first starring titular role, Segal played an amoral POW in Japan, thriving while other captives struggle, via his black market skills. The ensemble features three soon-to-be Oscar players (Segal, Tom Courtenay, and John Mills... plus Denholm Elliott who would have to wait until the 80s for recognition) but was only nominated in craft categories: Cinematography and Art Direction.
Then came Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) nominated for 13 Oscars and winning 5 (Actress, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costumes). Segal was the last surviving member of the much-lauded cast and crew and now the film is alive only in our cultural memory.
AFTER WOOLF
With Lee Remick
No Way To Treat a Lady (1968) - BAFTA nomination "Best Supporting Actor"
Awards are often about momentum and post Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? people were suddenly paying attention. Category Fraud has of course been with us forever (just not half as bad as it is now as it was formerly reserved mostly for child actors or "new" stars like Segal in this case). In this darkly comedic thriller he plays a detective hunting a serial killer (Rod Steiger) while dealing with drama between his mother (Eileen Heckart) and girlfriend (Lee Remick) who was a witness to one of the killer's murders.
Babs & George
The Owl and the Pussy Cat (1970)
In this hit romantic comedy, Segal played an author who falls for a prostitute (Barbra Streisand). The film is rarely discussed today (strange since the stars are big) but sets in motion two separate movie threads: Streisand as charismatic agent-of-chaos in the lives of a repressed man (next seen to much greater effect in What's Up Doc? but all over the place in her filmography) and Segal as the male lead in romantic comedies, a specialty of his... though it arguably prevented a stronger reputation as an actor since skills in that genre generally only pay strong dividends in the careers of women. (Double standards!)
with Susan Anspach and Kris Kristofferson
with Glenda Jackson for her second Oscar win
Blume in Love (1973) and A Touch of Class (1973) - Globe win "Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical"
1973 proved the star-power peak for then 39 year-old George Segal's career. He had two well-regarded romantic comedy hits in a single year and was nearing the A list as a leading man (though that didn't quite materialize). Blume in Love nabbed a WGA screenplay nomination and A Touch of Class (his fourth and final Best Picture nominated film) won his co-star Glenda Jackson her second Oscar.
with Elliott Gould whose career was in some ways quite similar
California Split (1974)
This Robert Altman directed buddy picture with Elliott Gould began its life as an intended debut project for Steven Spielberg (!). Segal and Gould play gamblers who egg on each others addictions and get in way too deep. The film received a WGA nomination for its Screenplay but its critical reputation has been something of a slow-burn.
with Natalie Wood in her last completed film
The Last Married Couple in America (1980)
This romantic comedy saw Segal and Natalie Wood as a happy couple suddenly contemplating affairs due to the sexual revolution. This was Natalie Wood's last completed feature (She never finished her scenes in Brainstorm, which was released posthumously after some reworking) and it unintentionally marked the end of Segal's leading man career. Perhaps he had spent too long in the romcom genre? The film was not a success in release and the 1980s proved to be Segal's least successful decade as an actor.
with Richard Jenkins, Patricia Arquette, Ben Stiller, Mary Tyler Moore, and Josh Brolin in "Flirting with Disaster"
with the cast of "The Goldbergs"
Flirting With Disaster (1996), Just Shoot Me (1997-2003), and The Goldbergs (2013-2021)
In the last three decades of his career -- he worked up until his death -- Segal reinvented himself as a funny elder MVP in supporting roles in movies and television. He was a wonderful scene partner to fiery Mary Tyler Moore in the hilarious Flirting with Disaster and found long running employment on the two popular sitcoms Just Shoot Me and The Goldbergs.