Okay, okay, I’ll be the first to admit that Richard Libertini does not exactly possess a household name as of yet. But I’m betting that most of you recognize him in the photo at right. That’s from All of Me and he’s the guy who played the swami Prahka who continuously repeated ‘bakinbol, bakinbol’ – interpreted as ‘back in bowl.’ He was also the ever-exasperated Frank, boss to Chevy Chase’s Fletch. And then there was his role as Sidney in Robert DeNiro’s Awakenings. And his two appearances in The Bob Newhart Show, once as a doctor and once as psychotic patient Mr. Twillmer. So as you can see, it shouldn’t surprise you that Richard Libertini’s resume spans forty years and well over a hundred various roles in film and television.
Back in the mid-1980’s when I decided to become a collector of all-things-movies (a phase which thankfully didn’t last very long), I picked up a presskit for the film Fletch at a Dayton Mall memorabilia show. Among the items in the presskit were numerous glossy 8×10 photos to be used for publicity purposes for the film. One of the photos contained a shot of Richard Libertini, and since I had been enjoying his work here and there for quite a while, I decided to take a chance and sent it off to him on October 8, 1997. It came back on October 20 – signed, sealed, and delivered (along with two signed notecards).
He may not be a household word, but it’s guys like Richard Libertini who really add color and flavor to my autograph collection, ones who are fun to collect, and ones who will pop up in a film or show when you least expect it and you’ll get to hear me say “Hey, I have his autograph!”
There was another photo in the Fletch presskit that I got to use…coming up next…
I first saw him as the nutty ‘General Garcia’ in 1979’s “The In-Laws” costarring with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. The movie was a very good comedy, but Libertini made it memorable.
Bill
September 21st, 2008
Richard Libertini rules!! I’ve enjoyed his work since I was seven years old (in 1966), when I had to special-order the original cast LP for “The Mad Show.” This was an off-Broadway production based on Mad Magazine (still the wisest publication in America, essential reading for anyone who wants to know how the world really works). It starred Linda Lavin, JoAnne Worley, Paul Sand, MacInytre Dixon and Richard Libertini. The sketches are still very funny and the songs are great–written by Mary (daughter of Richard) Rodgers and Marshall Barer, better known for “Once Upon a Mattress.” Libertini is great in “All of Me” (still my favorite Steve Martin movie), but the line of his I remember is “fixbol, fixbol!”
Randy Skretvedt
September 22nd, 2008