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Definition: Superbly cast. History: The term was common in the late 1950s to 1970s during the decline of the studio system and the rise of casting directors. Director Blake Edwards attributed the definition to the idea that “good casting directors deal directors winning hands.” Others have claimed it was an acronym for “Art of Casting, Esq.,” the tagline on the business card of pioneer casting director Artie Mars. Mars was the first proponent for an Oscar category for casting directors, but sadly was disassociated from aces after he cast the sci-fi adventure “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” (1961). In “Voyage,” Mars dealt a hand that included headliner Walter Pidgeon, until then unemployed for five years; Michael Ansara, Cochise in TV’s “Broken Arrow,” who stretched into a marine biologist; Frankie Avalon, cinema’s favorite beach boy, who characteristically played himself under a fictitious name; Peter Lorre, whose head was so ballooned by age and booze he belonged in a Mardi Gras parade; and former Oscar-winner Joan Fontaine, who was so disgusted by the experience she vowed never again to appear in a motion picture. (Joan would renege, albeit to no one’s great joy.) Related Terms: H-2-4 nickpick richardloo spats at an Iowa picnic |
