PETER BOYLE DIED

This from Forbes:

Peter Boyle, the actor who played the hilariously grouchy father on "Everybody Loves Raymond" as the final note of a distinguished career that also included a memorable role in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein," has died. He was 71.

This is one of many obits *HERE*.

I could never watch him without thinking of the “disguise” he wore in a great movie. I’m talking about when he was in the 1972 movie The Candidate which starred Robert Redford. Boyle played the clever, manipulative campaign manager who, much to his and everyone else’s surprise, got a sure loser (Redford) elected.

Boyle co-starred in that movie. It was the role of a lifetime. Yet hardly anyone in the general public knew he was even in it. Why? Because he wore a heavy beard throughout so no one could recognize his face. What a disastrous career decision that was.

I wear a beard because I’ve grown old and I want to hide all the evidence of a misspent life that has warped my face. The beard is my disguise. It prevents people from seeing the person I really am.

But an actor makes his living for the most part by getting recognized by the public. I think the beard Boyle wore did serious harm to his career.

But that’s just my opinion.