Inductee #5 - Kurt Russell

Well, our host's Kurt Russell fascination was victorious. Russell didn't just win, he swept.

First, some DHMC news. The two probationary members of the club, who never fully attained full membership (they celebrated NYE in Alleghany the two years following their initial probationary acceptance) were granted full Damn Handsome Man Club membership, along with all of the responsibilities that accompany that honor (celebrate damn handsomeness, hang with us on New Year's). The total membership of our club is now....drum roll please...six.

Anyways, back to Kurt Russell. You can't deny his body of work. For us, it all revolved around Backdraft, Tombstone, and Miracle. He was a grumpy firefighter who sacrificed his life for a friend, a messiah-like cowboy ass kicker who was not only coming, but bringing hell with him, and Herb Brooks. Dude...Buffalo had Mike Ramsey, Rammer was an Olympian. Score.

The rest of his body of work may not meet the greatness of Tombstone, but it is nevertheless excellent. Stargate ruled. Escape from-take-your-pick were great. Breakdown was excellent action fare...featuring J.T. Walsh no less. Add those to his face off with Mel in Tequila Sunrise, Ray Liotta in Unlawful Entry, and Tango and Cash, and you've got a nice little career. Throw in comedic turns in Overboard, Bird on a Wire, and the classic Used Cars, and you now have the required impressive overall body of work. We'll leave out his child acting work, not because we didn't like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes or his appearances on Gilligan's Island or Lost in Space, but because if we acknowledged those performances in the context of DHMC, it could lead to odd Ginsbergian boy fondness connotations that we are just not comfortable with. We celebrate mansomeness in men over fifty, and, other than a brief mistake with Mel Gibson, do not cross the silver anniversary threshold (although, invariably, every year we do go tete-e-tete over whether or not Brad Pitt deserves immediate entry).

As for the also rans, Sam Elliott made a surprise appearance, but no one was sure about his overall body of work beyond Roadhouse (best damn cooler in the business) and Tombstone. No one can deny his utter damn handsomeness, but, Terry Funk ass kickings aside, questions abounded which ultimately led to his inability to garner enough votes. Coming in third was Bruce Willis. We attribute his poor showing to his lack of a role requiring bearded status (although, someone thought he was adequately scruffy looking in 12 Monkeys).

Anyhoo...big picture is, Kurt Russell is in.

IMDB Entry
Wikipedia Entry