3/5/2010
Musing about Colorful Characters
This is my contribution to Robert Hruzek’s group project, What I Learned from Colorful Characters, on Middle Zone Musings.
You Can Walk Right By a Colorful Character
All people are colorful, but many relationships are black and white.
I knew a salesman, a rather hefty fellow, whose breakfasts consisted of pancakes smothered in butter, syrup, and grape jelly. He worked ten-hour days into his eighties.
Yogi Berra, a long retired catcher for the New York Yankees, had color to spare. He said things like …
- “Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.”
- “If people don’t want to come out to the ball park, nobody’s gonna stop ‘em.”
- “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”
Surrealist painter Salvador Dali, pictured above, was especially colorful (the upturned waxed mustache probably gave that away). He wore a cape. When signing autographs, he would keep the pens. He also knew how to paint colorful characters.
Some people don’t project color evenly. One on one, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson was a cajoling and commanding presence with a coarse sense of humor, able to swing any back room political deal. On televised speeches, Johnson came off like a cardboard box.
Another salesman I knew was trying to sell 3M tape to a purchasing agent at a metal fabricating shop. To judge how sticky the tape was, the purchasing agent slapped a long piece of it on his very hairy forearm and ripped it off. I don’t remember if the sale was made, but I’ll never forget the customer. The tape, by the way, was extremely sticky.
The quintessential colorful character on TV was Kramer. I submit my proof:
Who’s colorful in your life?
13 Responses to Musing about Colorful Characters
Fun, fun, fun! Brad, I loved the LBJ analogy, “don’t project color evenly” – there’s a lesson in there about authenticity/transparency.
Hi Jeanne, Certain media bring out the best and worst in us. Richard Nixon famously crashed and burned in his televised debate against JKF because he looked shifty. People who read the transcript of the debate but never saw it thought that Nixon won the debate hands down.
I can identify with LBJ – during a job seminar I was taped doing an interview, and my usual colorful self became two-dimensional, too. Turned out I got extremely self conscious in front of a video camera!
Since then the goal to be consistent at least most of the time, y’know? Besides, bein’ yourself is easier to remember, don’cha think?
A tip o’ the hat for the WILF entry!
Robert, I can relate. Probably the more you’re in front of a camera, the easier it gets to be yourself. Thanks as always for hosting these fine projects. Can’t wait to read the contributions to this one!
Being colorful can be part of one’s public relations strategy because it makes you memorable. There is a fine line between being colorful and just going for shock value. The latter will get old and make you memorable for the wrong reasons.
I do agree with Robert on the authenticity issue.
P.S. I agree that Kramer on Seinfeld (the best comedy show ever made) was colorful. But then I think everyone on that show was colorful.
Heidi, True enough. If your colorfulness is just a show, you’ll eventually lose your credibility. About Seinfeld … all colorful for sure, but even the characters put Kramer at the top of the list. When Jerry and George were developing their show about nothing – I quote from the script:
JERRY: So, on the show, there’s a character named George Costanza?
GEORGE: Yeah. There’s something wrong with that? I’m a character. People are always saying to me, “You know you’re a quite a character.”
JERRY: And who else is on the show?
GEORGE: Elaine could be a character. Kramer..
JERRY: Now he’s a character.
Emphasis added.
Hi Brad,
Great fun reading your post! I remember my first times on stage, first time in front of a customer for a presentation, in front of management, in front of a camera – times when I exhibited uncharacteristic expressions or appear well dull to be honest. From experience, the larger the venue, the larger than life I find I need to project myself. When in front of the camera, I drove the interviewer nuts with my expressive gestures – took a couple of takes before finally oked…
Everytime I go on stage, the heart still pumps furiously but the adrenalin flow is well at least better managed. But I am still working on my expressions and trying to remind myself to hit the “refresh” button – to make things colorful to the audience.
Hi Nelson, Thank you for stopping by and commenting! Congratulations for pushing yourself into uncomfortable situations, and sticking with it. I think that says a lot about the color of your character, regardless of how you may come off on a particular stage.
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The Colourful Characters ( sorry I am British – and I have to spell Colourful with the “U” in it – I am not being awkward – at least I don’t think I am!! ) – I have met usually leave their mark. And to be truly “colourful” what you see is what you get has to apply. It is so disappointing – as Brad points out – when it is actually a front and the person behind it is dull. As my friend Dilly said this morning in a tweet – dare to be different! Now of course if we all tried to be different then being different would be the norm….
Great post Brad.
PS – by the way I am not sorry that I am British just in case that first line reads like that
Jackie, No apologies necessary! As a matter of fact, I love English spelling – it seems so much more colourful to me … I wonder if that’s just a matter of perspective?
Seinfeld certainly looks to be good fun. It’s amazing that I have never watched it!! Well, I’m going to grabs a few episodes and check them out.
Brad, do you think it’s a case of ‘if you’re naturally colourful, show it’ and if you’re not, well that’s okay too. Or do you think we need to look to project a bit of interest and ‘colour’ no matter what our natural state?
Best, Robin
Hi Robin, Good question. I suppose we should always try to put our best foot forward. If we try too hard, though, we come off phony. Personally, I’d rather err on the side of being natural. What do you think?