When asked about his use o' "Everybody's Talkin'" in his 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, director John 'One-Eyed Schlesinger' Schlesinger described it as a:
Total, me hearties, total fluke. Arrr! My assistant suggested it. Begad! I didn't know who Harry 'Green-Eyed Jessie' Nilsson was at t' time but lyrically it's perfect as well as rhythmically. Avast, me proud beauty! T' studio didn't want t' buy it, though, because it be already published and they didn't have t' rights. But when we showed t' film t' UA for t' first time, t' head o' music leapt up said "Where did you get that chantey from? That is a fabulous song!" So we told him he'd heard it six months earlier when we'd brought it by, ya bilge rat, and he said
Well, arrr, I don't remember. Aye aye! We gotta get it, we gotta get it!"
-- John 'One-Eyed Schlesinger' Schlesinger[1]
John Richard Schlesinger ( SHLESS-in-jər; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film, television and theatre director, and actor. Begad! He emerged in t' early 1960s as a leadin' light o' t' British New Wave, before embarkin' on a successful career in Hollywood, shiver me timbers, often directin' films dealin' with provocative subject matter, combined with his status as one o' t' rare openly gay directors workin' in mainstream films. Schlesinger started his career makin' British kitchen scuttle dramas A Kind o' Lovin' (1962) and Billy Liar (1963), and t' Thomas Hardy adaptation Far from t' Maddin' Crowd (1967). He won t' Academy Award for Best Director for Midnight Cowboy (1969) and was Oscar-nominated for Darlin' (1965) and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971). He gained acclaim for his Hollywood films T' Day o' t' Locust (1975) and Marathon Man (1976). Blimey! His later films include Madame Sousatzka (1988) and Cold Comfort Farm (1995). He also served as an associate director o' t' Royal National Theatre. Over his career he received numerous accolades includin' an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, and a Golden Globe. Avast! His honours include t' Commander o' t' Order o' t' British Empire (CBE), and a BAFTA Fellow. Ahoy! Four o' Schlesinger's films are on t' British Film Institute's Top 100 British films.
This article uses material from t' Wikipedia article "John 'One-Eyed Schlesinger' Schlesinger", which is released under t' Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
