Who are your Role Models?

[Paisley]

I don't mind if people say they don't have role models. There's more than one way to find direction.

 

[High Pockets]

There seems to be an underlying current in this thread from at least three posters that if one has listed a role model or mentor type that one is somehow "insecure" and those who are "secure" don't engage in looking outwards from themselves, and are somehow already at the highest level of Maslow's Hierarchy

Historically speaking, even the greats of the past have cited their borrowings of others in their rise.

Couple this underlying current with what was stated in the 'manliness' thread about how manly men don't have to shout out how manly they are...Seems this truism has manifested itself here! lol

If in reference to my previous post, the above observation is an interesting one indeed.

 

[Steve]

Real figures:

Orson Welles
- An uncompromising artist in radio, theatre, and film. He is an inspiration to me.

Bruce Lee
- I've yet to see his speed equaled by a present-day martial artists. He's another inspiration.

Theodore Roosevelt
- My favorite president, and a man's idea of a man. Forceful, but thoughtful.

Muhammad Ali
- May 25th, 1965. KO'd Sonny Liston; first minute, first round.

Stanley Kubrick
- Innovative, daring, constantly pursuing perfection in his craft.

Stephen Fry
- One of few in the entertainment industry who chooses to treat language as an art form.

Henry David Thoreau
- "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Cathartic.

Sam Javanrouh
- A powerhouse visual artist.

Bogie
- A blend of quiet reserve that hides a streak of spontaneity.

Cary Grant
- Style and substance. Enough said.


Fictional characters:

Sherlock Holmes
- Not necessarily a certain film interpretation, but the literary version.

Michael Weston
- Just...cool.

Indiana Jones
- Because I've always wanted to be him.

 

[Chasseur]

I've always admired the life and thinking of Raymond Aron.

Not a role model but a style model, Jean Gabin

 

[LizzieMaine]

A few more that I admire very much:

Frances Perkins -- Secretary of Labor under FDR, and the first woman to serve in a Cabinet. An "independent woman" long before it was fashionable.

Mary Margaret McBride -- The Oprah of the forties, and perhaps the most effective saleswoman radio ever had.

Gertrude Berg -- At one time one of the most powerful women in broadcasting. Creator and writer of the long-running serial "The Goldbergs," and someone who fought every battle that could be fought to maintain her vision of what the program should be.

Dorothy Killgallen -- The real-life inspiration for all those snappy-talking newspaperwomen played by Glenda Farrell or Jean Arthur.

And a couple of fellas of unquestioned integrity:

Jackie Robinson -- A great ballplayer and an even greater man.

Fred Rogers -- Perhaps the most genuinely *good* public figure of the 20th Century.

 

[Warden]

Geoff Boycott,

Say it like it is Geoff or perhaps it is his introverted nature I like.

Harry

 

[Martinis at 8]

...or even Steve McQueen...

...the appeal of Bond but dang, he's always so world weary and dour, though that's more the books...

I think McQueen was indeed cool! I drive a Mustang Bullitt, and I love motorcycles. However, McQueen doesn't make it in my Top 10 simply because I have not borrowed anything off of him.

I think you are correct about Bond. I have read all of the Fleming. I do find the fictional style of Bond very interesting, however, as a fictional character there was nothing about Bond I borrowed. Bond is a civil servant, and is therefore not self-sovereign. He is constantly berated by his superiors and unappreciated by them. He also gets his butt kicked regularly, though he triumphs in the end.

However, there are several things I borrowed from The Saint novels by Leslie Charteris regarding his character Simon Templar and have adopted these principals in my 1-man business. (1) Templar is of independent means and is self-employed. (2) His decisions are not influenced by financial duress. (3) He only takes the work that he deems worthy. (4) If his work proves profitable for his client, then it is profitable for him. (5) Justice and the law often are not the same.

 

[Miss Golightly]

My main role model would have to be Audrey Hepburn (no surprises there!) - for her poise, determination, good manners, grace and elegance.

 

[Spitfire]

A role model do not have role models!lol

 

[Martinis at 8]

A role model do not have role models!lol

Actually most of them do/did.

 

[scottyrocks]

Bugs Bunny. Quick thinker. Great sense of humor. Does what he wants. Doesnt let others take advantage of him. Does not always come out on top, although he does most of the time.

 

[Miss Golightly]

I'm going to toss my hat in the ring for Dolly Parton.

I LOVE Dolly Parton! She's just so gutsy, warm, funny and genuine. I just saw her being interviewed this morning - I could listen to her all day! She hasn't forgotten her roots and has always given back to her community - such a great lady!

 

[Big_e]

Moe Howard of the Three Stooges. I like his take charge attitude even if he was gonna mess up. He didn't take it from anybody.
My mom. She always inspires me with her courage and dry wit. My brother says I have her stubborrness. I think he meant determination.
Ernest

 

[bettydarling]

I have no one role model per se, but admire certain qualities in people. Often people get caught up in the celebrity or representation of someone which is invariably just an image, not the real person. Sometimes people lose themselves in the attempt to emulate someone else.

I think people in your own circle, family, friends etc are the best 'role models', because you can look at them objectively. That said its no harm admire and artist, actor or celeb just don't idolise them. Someone did mention Stephen Fry, who I must admit I think is wonderful. I think his most endearing qualities are is his humour and humility, he is under no illusions as to his own short-comings and that is very admirable in my book. What a gent he he is.

I think there's a lot of truth in this quote too; “The youth, intoxicated with his admiration of a hero, fails to see, that it is only a projection of his own soul, which he admires” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 

[High Pockets]

Ol' Ralph was a pretty sharp guy.

 

[Viola]

I LOVE Dolly Parton! She's just so gutsy, warm, funny and genuine. I just saw her being interviewed this morning - I could listen to her all day! She hasn't forgotten her roots and has always given back to her community - such a great lady!

Yeah, I love her sense of humor combined with her charity work. She just seems like the sort of girl who's both nice and fun and not just one or the other, which seems like a rare jewel in the entertainment industy.

Besides, she's witty and she's definitely got her own style. And real musical talent, not just, ahem, physical gifts. Don't know how Nashville plans to replace her when she's gone - you can't just toss together another Jessica Simpson and call it good.

 

[get_atomized]

I suppose my heroes or role models would be: politically - Angela Davis, intellectually - Carl Sagan, artistically - Frida Kahlo, philosophically - Brian Eno

 

[AtomicEraTom]

No, I'm talking about the real-deal Clint Eastwood, not the charachters, even though I do also enjoy his movies.

Clint Eastwood the man or Dirty Harry/assorted Westerns Clint Eastwood? Just curious. And comparing him with the other celebrities you mentioned.

I guess if I'm going to use actors I should go with Paul Newman - that said, I'm not trying to look like him, I haven't got the blue eyes. lol

 

[Diamondback]

#2 on my list: gambler/gunslinger/sometime dentist Dr. John Holliday. May not have always been on the right side of society's view, but was able to balance his weapons skill with his intellect, and always did his damnedest to stand up for those he considered his own. (My read on his actions triggering the OK Corral fight is that he knew there was a day of reckoning coming--basically Tombstone was a powder-keg with the Clantons around kinda like the Balkans on the eve of WWI--and figured that giving them the Big One they wanted at that point was about the best for "minimizing collateral-damage risk" he was gonna get. He probably wouldn't have used these exact terms, but if my profile on him is right he would've agreed with the general premise.)

 

[Edward]

I LOVE Dolly Parton! She's just so gutsy, warm, funny and genuine. I just saw her being interviewed this morning - I could listen to her all day! She hasn't forgotten her roots and has always given back to her community - such a great lady!

I think I might have caught a few minutes of the same interview before I left the house - with Fern Britton on the BBC, yes? Indeed, Ms Parton is someone who I can very much admire as a person of integrity and great intelligence. Her artistic output is very much not to my taste, but she certainly has found an awful lot of people who do love it, and I can be sufficiently objective to see that she is very talented at what she does with it. And it's always nice to see someone with genuine integrity succeed in such a nasty business as the entertainmnt industry.

No, I'm talking about the real-deal Clint Eastwood, not the charachters, even though I do also enjoy his movies.

You know, it occurs to me I know very little about him that isn't really about his characters..... and in today's celebrity world where so many of the queue up to tell you what they had for breakfast, maybe that in itself is something to be admired.