Sorry, Road Rash, you only get two out of four–Arthur Penn directed Alice’s Restaurant and Bonnie and Clyde.
carnivorousplant, Last I’ve heard is that he hasn’t inherited the Huntington’s.
Jomo Mojo, I saw Arlo play at the Sheldon (just down the road from SLU, behind the Fox) in… oh probably 1996. He was awesome… He was back in St. Louis this past year, but I didn’t see the announcement until the day after the show. I was truly saddened… 
Anyway, I sang what I thought was a stirring rendition of Alice’s Restaraunt for my girlfriend, but she just told me to stop talking in “that stupid voice and singing that stupid song.” Some people just have no culture.
Tenebras
I saw Arlo a year or so ago. He played the series I volunteer for, so I got to work his merchandise booth. (No free stuff. ) His daughter, a very talented singer in her own right, is touring with him.
Does anyone know the deal with Arlo and Huntington’s? There’s a 50% chance that he has it, and it probably would have shown up by now if he did. Has he ever been tested?
Dr. j
Oh suck! I just went and checked Arlo’s touring schedule, and he’s going to be back at the Sheldon this November, but I’ve moved! Ain’t that just the way?
Anyhow, in case anybody is interested:
Tenebras
Never seen the movie, but I got the cd this summer. It was awesome.I playrd it over and over for days.
Maybe Aurthur Penn is who I am thinking about. I saw a documentary on one of these peoples and it talked about these movies. Off to google I go…
Arlo Guthrie decided not to take the test according to one brief blurb:
http://rattler.tamucc.edu/dept/media/vhlC.html
See “Confonting the Killer Gene” on that page.
The test hasn’t been around all that long (10 years or so), and, as you observed, Arlo Guthrie is now in his 50’s and it would likely have shown up, though onset in later life is not unknown.
Yes, Arthur Penn directed “Alice’s Resturaunt” and “Bonnie and Clyde”. I think his best is “Little Big Man”, a favorite movie of mine. “Alice’s Resturaunt” is a close second.
I saw Arlo about 4 years ago in Gruene, Texas. He was the most interesting performer I have seen by far. Typically by the time the 3-4 hour stretch is coming to a close for most concerts I just want it to end. With him, however, I wanted him to continue most of the night. Very charismatic, funny, and just a nice guy. He was up in the DC area recently but I missed that show. Yes, he performed Alice’s Restaurant there. I have been looking for it on DVD but can’t seem to locate it in a retail store. I really don’t want to order it because I like instant gratification.
HUGS!
SQrl
One wonders if his son wants the test.
I’m a big fan, see him every time I can. The last time I made it to a concert, his son and the son’s band were the opening act and the backup band, and two of his daughters were the backup singers. It was a fun show. Arlo puts on a great act, very warm, funny and genuine. I really recommend attending if he is in your area. He sings a lot more than just Alice, in fact, very rarely Alice. I have been introduced to a lot of really great music from his concerts.
As for the movie, I really didn’t like it much. It was more sad than funny. No one had a real relationship. Alice and Ray were estranged. What’s-his-name, the kid with the mental illness, was symptomatic of the rest of the characters. Look at the funeral scene. Everyone is spread out, standing alone, no connection at all. At the end, Ray is raving about moving even further away from civilization, running further away from the fact that none of them can connect.
It is true that every woman Arlo saw hit on him, and he turned them down, but I didn’t see this as moral. I saw it more as symptomatic of the alienation of the entire movie. He didn’t want to make even that fleeting and superficial a connection with anyone. Later, of course, he found his true love, and made a real connection, but this was unique in the entire movie.
On the slightly brighter side, I remember reading one time where Arlo mentioned that whenever his wife, Jackie, attended his concerts, she was told by many fans that she couldn’t possibly be Arlo’s wife because she wasn’t Chinese.
I own a copy of the movie, and it’s been a favorite of mine for a long time. It actually made Roger Ebert’s list of the best movies for the year it came out, as I recall. There’s also a soundtrack to the film, which has a great version of the song with some very intricate fingerpicking.
The film is great, and says some interesting stuff. At the end, when Ray is on a drunken rant he says that wouldn’t it be great if they could all just live NEAR each other? That way they could see each other when they wanted to, and not see each other when they didn’t.
Well, doesn’t that sort of describe… life? At least as most people live it? The scene suggested to me that people like Ray are always searching, and not knowing when they have actually found something.
By the way, James Broderick played Ray in the film, and he is Mathew Broderick’s father.
I’ve seen Arlo perform twice. He did “Alice” one time, and didn’t the second time. He tells lots of funny stories during his shows, and I’d definitely catch his show when he comes around.
Finally, “Alice” is the first song I learned to fingerpick on the guitar. It was one I always wanted to be able to play, but never thought I could. It’s got a couple of tricky fingerings in there, but is lots of fun!