10 QUESTIONS WITH KENNETH MARS

As part of a recurring feature I was doing then, about 10 years ago I did a “10 Questions” piece with the now late, great comic actor Kenneth Mars (The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Fletch, The Little Mermaid and more). I thought I’d pull that piece from the vaults to mark his passing…

1. What is your favorite piece of music?
The operas La Boheme and Madame Butterfly, and anything by Gilbert and Sullivan.

2. What is your favorite film?
Anything by Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen’s Crimes & Misdemeanors, The Producers, and What’s Up Doc?.

3. What is your favorite TV program, past or current?
Current: Will and Grace. Past: He & She

4. What do you feel has been your most important professional accomplishment to date?
Acting in the film Desperate Characters, directed by Frank Gilroy.

5. Which project do you feel didn’t live up to what you envisioned?
A play which I wrote and produced in Los Angeles called Oh, Doctor. The audience just didn’t turn out for it.

6. What is your favorite book?
The novel Moby Dick and short stories by Paul Bowles.

7. If you could change one thing about Hollywood, what would it be?
The fact that the restaurants close so early here – there is no night life the way there is in New York.

8. If you could change one public perception of yourself, what would it be?
That I am only a comedic actor – I would like to be considered for more dramatic roles.

9. What is your next project?
Re-writing Oh Doctor as a musical, writing an autobiographical novel called Irish as Paddy’s Pig and a theatre piece called Lucy and Cabbage in Nod.

10. What is the one project that you’ve always wanted to do, but have yet to be able to?
Acting in a Gilbert & Sullivan musical.

If you enjoyed this interview, please take a moment to DONATE.

You can also find more of my interviews by clicking HERE.

Comments: None