Talk:Edmund Gwenn

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[edit] How hard is comedy?

It is popular (but presumably mistaken) to attribute to him

Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.

This may be based on the following, which would be easy to quote misleadingly: (I've fixed the formatting from where i found it at KCET "Life and Times" transcript, 6/30/03.)

Patt Morrison: Although there are contradictions sometimes, the most dramatic role may be something that's easy to get into, but you may have heard this. Edmund Kean, the English actor, on his deathbed, his relatives gathered around waiting for his last words, he said "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard". Do you find that to be the case?

Jack Lemmon: There's no question about it. Also that line was repeated by Edmund Gwenn, you know, "Miracle on 34th Street", who played Santa Claus.

Patt Morrison: Yes.

Jack Lemmon: He also repeated that to George Seaton who wrote and directed that film. George told me that personally. He was with him when he died at the actors' home.

Patt Morrison: I see. A transmission of --

Jack Lemmon: He remembered it. He said to George -- he had told George that he didn't like this at all. He didn't look forward to anything and that disturbed him. Maybe he now should have been within himself more religious or whatever, but anticipating at least some peace, something beyond, and it disturbed him. George said, well, I guess dying can be very hard, and he said, yes, but not as hard as comedy, and he died right then and there.

(His "Personal Quotes" on IMDb quotes him as Lemmon does, but says only that he "reportedly" told Seaton, so (despite Seaton having had 20 years to repeat the story elsewhere) Lemmon's 2nd hand version may be the best basis.)

Good that we don't so attribute, but if no one else does it, i'll work something about the confusion in sometime.
--Jerzy•t 23:34, 20 July 2007 (UTC)