Charles Dickens' classic short story A Christmas Carol has been, by my count, adapted for the screen 16,542 times. OK, not really, but it sure seems that way, doesn't it?Every year when the holidays roll around, it seems like there's yet another variation on the oft-told tale of Mr. Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, et al. From the 1901 silent short Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost to Robert Zemeckis' in-the-works mo-cap version (wherein Jim Carrey will play not only Scrooge, but all three ghosts of Christmas), it's amazing how many famous actors (and quite a few actresses) have played the crotchety old miser and the other beloved characters, either on film or on television:
- Ebenezer Scrooge: Francis X. Bushman, Seymour Hicks, Reginald Owen, John Carradine, Alastair Sim, Ralph Richardson, Fredric March, Vic Damone, Basil Rathbone, Mr. Magoo, Ondine, Sterling Hayden, Albert Finney, Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, Henry Winkler, Hoyt Axton, Scrooge McDuck (naturally), George C. Scott, Jack Elam, James Whitmore, Cosmo Spacely, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Murray, Buddy Hackett, Michael Caine, James Earl Jones, Susan Lucci, Jack Palance, Tim Curry, Cicely Tyson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick Stewart, Vanessa Williams, Derek Jacobi, Simon Callow, Dean Jones, Tori Spelling, Kelsey Grammar, Tom Everett Scott, Wallace Shawn and Larry the Cable Guy.
- Bob Cratchit: Jack Cassidy, Mel Tillis, Mickey Mouse, David Warner, George Jetson, Alfre Woodard, Kermit the Frog, Martin Sheen, Michael York, Richard E. Grant and Rhys Ifans.
- Jacob Marley: Leo G. Carroll, Patrick MacNee, Basil Rathbone, Royal Dano, Alec Guinness, Theodore Bikel, Tom T. Hall, Goofy, Jamie Farr, Statler and Waldorf, Martin Sheen, Edward Asner, Katherine Helmond, Nicolas Cage, Dinah Manoff, Jason Alexander and Christopher Lloyd.
- The Ghost of Christmas Past: Arthur Treacher, Steve Lawrence, Edith Evans, Patricia "Magenta" Quinn, Paul Frees, Jiminy Cricket, Roscoe Lee Browne, Robbie Coltrane, David "Buster Poindexter" Johansen, Martin Sheen, Joel Grey, Kathy Griffin, Jane Horrocks, Gary Coleman, Jane Krakowski, Lisa Kudrow and Jamie Kennedy.
- The Ghost of Christmas Present: Pat Hingle, Bernard Lee, Paul Frees, Willie the Giant, Edward Woodward, Ted "Isaac" Lange, Carol Kane, Pat McCormick, Martin Sheen, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Gambon, William Shatner, Jesse L. Martin and Penn Jillette.
- The Ghost of Christmas Future: Robert Shaw, Pegleg Pete, Geoffrey Holder, Kevin McDonald, Geraldine Chaplin and Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson.
- Mrs. Cratchit: Hermione Baddeley, Minnie Mouse, Susannah York, Jane Jetson, Miss Piggy, Martin Sheen and Juliet Stevenson.
- Tiny Tim: Morty Mouse, Astro the Dog, Robin the Frog, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox.
1 comment:
I have over 100 video versions of A Christmas Carol. It is the largest privately owned collection in the country. I am always looking to make acquaintance with those who have a similar obsession with the second greatest CHRISTmas story ever told. Bill9189athotmaildotcom
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