It is one of my favorite 80s movies of all time. It is one alot of people never heard of, but it is so good. I always look the cast up to see what ever became of them, and the actor who played Tommy D, Paul Land, found out he died in 2007 in a car accident, he was only 51. Died in New Jersey. I knew Ray Sharkey died of AIDs, but I didn't know that his only child, a daughter, went to jail for beating to death -her boyfriend's mother, with a baseball bat. Ray Sharkey slept with over 100 women after knowing he had AIDs, and infected alot of them, and they sued him, but he was broke, and died at age 40. What a life.
Posted by Logan 5 (Member # 1467) on :
That's horrific. I don't think I'll be able to watch him in anything again without thinking of this. Looking at his Wiki page it seems he was in denial right up to the end. Was his mental state all because of his obvious addiction problems? Who knows. He had it all and he threw it away, and even worse, he destroyed the lives of people who cared about him along the way.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Love The Idolmaker and Sharkey is excellent in it but if what you said is true, that´s just wrong in so many ways.
Posted by Leo Logan (Member # 9206) on :
It's also notable for being the directing debut of one Taylor Hackford, who would later go on to bring us An Officer and a Gentleman, Against All Odds, White Nights, Dolores Claiborne, The Devil's Advocate and Ray.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
I agree about The Idolmaker. It's a good undervalued and forgotten 80s film, deserving of rediscovery, and Sharkey is terrific in it. He certainly carries the film, which isn't particularly well directed by Taylor Hackford.
Posted by Riptide (Member # 457) on :
I finally just picked this up last week. Can't wait to watch it. A but blown away by the revelations of some of the cast. Wow.
Posted by April Fool (Member # 37390) on :
Riptide- let me know what you think of The Idolmaker. I think you'll love it.
