Stan Laurel
Olliver Hardy
Lou Costello
Rodney Dangerfield
Robin Williams

Kate Hepburn
Mae West
Goldie Hawn
Faye Ray
Irene Ryan

ok,
but Randy that is the very reason I included him on my list.
Tom Hanks is a guy who totally redefined himself professionaly at something like the age of 37.
when Hanks was 35, he was a big name and was on the hollywood walk of fame.
yet he was a complete waste of an actor.
appeared in stupid tv shows and did really unoriginal comedic movies.
if he had retired at that point, we would remember him as a bad version of Ben Stiller.

then he makes a distinct career move and stops playing the leading role in comedies.
started with Philadelphia.
horrible movie, but he deserved all the critical acclaim that he recieved for his portrayal of human filth.
then went on to Appolo 13 with RHoward, Saving Private Ryan. The Green Mile, Road to Perdition, Cast Away, Catch Me if You Can, ......
he was awesome in all of those films and really defined them.
can you imagine what any of those films would be like if another actor had played his lead role?
would be like Gladiator without Russel Crowe.
this is a guy that made 2 hours of a man talking to a volleyball seem interesting.

anyway, I just think that few ppl have reinvented themselves as an actor that late in life.


Repent

Repent he's made more bad movies than good and the ones he's gotten acclaim for were not very good. He's decent but no the best of alltime. Repent, you don't believe it yourself. Right?

jimmy stewart
katherine hepburn

more modern....

al pacino
meryl streep

Forgot about Jimmy Stewart....he's on my departed list!

Timm,
Although I love great comedic actors, I think you're correct about Jimmy Stewart. What about Henry Fonda?

I don't remember alot of Fondas' movies. I liked Gregory Peck very much.

henry fonda was an excellent actor. i like his role in mr roberts.. also like greg peck, esp in to kill a mockingbird. one of my favorite books, and they did an excellent job in putting it on the screen.

Yeah..those were 2 of my favorite movies

Don't remember so many Fonda movies but one of my all time favorite movies is The Grapes of Wrath. Fonda was terrific in that one.

No mention of Sean Connery?
Or Morgan Freeman?
Jack Nicholson in a 3 way tie with thise two.
And Happy Thanksgiving to all D Trailers.

This is a decent Top 10, agree with some of it,

http://www.theboxset.com/topten.php?list_id=10

There's about a dozen that have yet to gain so much as a notation here, and I'll put my own list together.. But at the top is the most versatile and gifted actor the screen has known over its' first 100 years..

A career that spanned 6 decades, 100 films, and includes some of the greatest films in American cinema..

BURT LANCASTER (1913-1994)



The Killers (his first film and a first rate thriller.. with Ava Gardner);

From Here to Eternity (endures as one of the best WWII films; his 1st Oscar nom.. with Deborah Kerr in one of the most famous scenes ever shot);

The Rose Tattoo (from Tennessee Williams' stage play.. with Anna Magnani);

The Rainmaker (as 'Starbuck'; with Kate Hepburn);

Sweet Smell of Success (one of the least seen classics in American film; searing script by Ernest Lehman and Cliff Odets; the movie that made Barry Levinson go into film; incredible performances from Lancaster and Tony Curtis);

Gunfight at the OK Corral (one of the quintessential American Westerns, with his long-time best friend and frequent co-star Kirk Douglas);

Elmer Gantry (as fine a film as you'll ever see and the one that earned him his
Oscar; from the Sinclair Lewis novel with a wonderful turn by the brilliant Jean Simmons);

Birdman of Alcatraz (a quiet, introspective performance for his 3rd Best Actor nom);

The Train (a highly under-appreciated Frankenheimer-helmed thriller with Burt as a stationmaster single-handedly plotting to blow up a Nazi transport);

The Swimmer (from the Cheever story, one of the most stunning, disturbing and devastating portrayals of suburban alienation and emptiness EVER put on film. A logical companion to "The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" and "A Letter to Three Wives" featuring a performance by Lancaster that will haunt viewers);

Go Tell the Spartans (before 'Apocolypse Now' and 'Full Metal Jacket' came this honest portrait of early US involvemwent in Vietnam);

Atlantic City (Burt's 4th Best Actor nod and another feather in his cap as 'Lou', the aging 'has-been/never was' gangster in Louis Malle's bittersweet tale)

Local Hero (a late career role as quirky Knox Oil chief 'Happer' in Bill Forsyth's warm, funny and utterly wonderful 'little' film... Also features a terrific Peter Riegert [Boone in Animal House] in the 'title' role... RUSH to rent if you've never seen it)

Rocket Gibraltar (a bit of a cult favorite, you can hear tributes from Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman and Kevin Spacey when they talk about their experience making this family ensemble drama-comedy with screen icon Lancaster)

Field of Dreams (in his last 'big' role, Lancaster steals the show as Moonlight Graham as he introduces himself to a whole new generation of American filmgoers)

also forgot to add a bit of movie trivia with this post.
to kill a mockingbird was the first movie for another fine actor, and another who could arguably be named the best. i don't believe it was a speaking role(i don't remember him saying a WORD), but robert duvall was an excellent boo radley.

this is tough Randy.
b/c nothing you are saying is incorrect.
if you look at his resume,
he has done more BAD movies than good ones.
you are absolutely right.
but he has gone on an unparrelled streak in the last 10 years that simply is not very common.
how many good actors totally reinvent themselves at that age?

is he one of the 5 best pure actors?
Im not sure, but he brings a presence and humanity to most of his recent roles that other actors simply could not.



Repent

I'm just glad " Local Hero " made it into this thread.

I'll take John Turturro.

Well done A.S., another Local Hero fan. Above and beyond the frequent laughs, ("There's a lunatic on the roof of the building. Shoot. Shoot to kill"), note the great score by Mark Knoefler..


A vote for the great Turturo... (Wait till Aiden Quinn hears about this..)

De Niro ..How the man wasn't nominated for his role in "THE FAN" (Gil Renard ..the one n' only)will always be a mystery to me.

no particular order...

actors

Lancaster
Crowe
DeNiro
Brando
Nicholson ... 3 wins, 2 BA, 1 BSA. Sure nom/likely win coming for Departed.

actresses

Hepburn. won so many and two were 50 years apart. can't top that, i guess.
V. Leigh
Bergman
B. Davis
N. Wood