‘Sorting Hat’ Pronounced Dead at 98; Requiescat in Pace, Leslie Phillips

November 8, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Leslie Phillips, CBE, actor, voice artist, and UK legend, died yesterday, aged 98. Though a star in over 150 movies, mostly bawdy comedies, he is best known to Americans as the voice of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter movies, a part he voiced in the film adaptations of Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and the second Deathly Hallows.

Phillips’ participation in the Potter movies was somehow very fitting. The repertoire company of UK greats that were assembled for the eight Hogwarts blockbusters, after all, was somehow reminiscent of the troupe that made the Carry On film series, 31 movies over forty years, one of the most successful franchises in British history. Only the adaptations of Ian Fleming’s James Bond adventures has gone on longer. Leslie Phillips starred in three of the first Carry On romps — Jim Dale, a voice much more familiar to American Potter-philes, was in eleven of these politically incorrect farces — and his “Ding-Dong!” “Well, hello!” and “I say” catch-phrases helped make the franchise as popular as it became.

At Phillips’ death, Dale is one of the only surviving Carry On stalwarts, Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, and Joan Sims having died years ago. Phillips refused to move to Hollywood even though he had had some success in a 1957 Gene Kelly musical because he feared becoming a “poor man’s David Niven.” He wound up instead after a long career in English comedies as the voice of Godric Gryffindor’s headdress, the iconic Sorting Hat at Hogwarts. No doubt his fans in the UK recognized his voice — “Ding Dong!” — and were delighted at his appearance in the Warner Brothers films, a link to the grand tradition of Pinewood Studios.

Read all about him in the Daily Mail obituary or his Wikipedia page and watch a documentary about the Carry On films made on the occasion of the 40th anniversary party for cast and crew in 1998. I couldn’t help but think while watching that of the much slicker productions made for the Harry Potter 20th anniversary reunion last year. If any of you have Leslie Phillips memories to share, please do — especially those who think, as I do, that his voice role in the Potter films was a hat-tip from Leavesden Studios to Pinewood.

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Movie Thoughts

Dobby’s Grave Pilgrimage Site Preserved

November 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment

It turns out that Harry Potter fans believe they have found the location of Shell Cottage and Dobby’s grave on the coast of Wales — and turned it into something of a pilgrimage site. Read the Daily Star twitter thread above and follow the links there for the whole story.

If you find the idea of making pilgrimage to the real-world locations of fictional events where make-believe personages ‘lived,’ or, in the case of Dobby, ‘died’ exotic, peculiar, fascinating, or preposterous, check out this podcast, ‘So What Is a Harry Potter Pilgrimage?‘ featuring Beatrice Groves, who in addition to her other areas of expertise happens to know an astonishing amount about religious and literary pilgrimages.

And then go to PotterPilgrimage.com — I kid you not! — and schedule your own tour of the UK’s Hogwarts Saga principal points for homage, reflection, or imagination re-shaping. Enjoy — and let us know what you left as a token at Dobby’s grave on your visit!

Filed Under: Beatrice Groves, Hog Pro Notes, Reading Writing Rowling Podcast

Rowling Goes to War with Latest Anomie

October 25, 2022 by 1 Comment

 

Rowling today tweeted a six part take-down of Laura Elliot, a writer who accused Rowling of asking the Society of Authors to issue a statement about the “You’re Next” tweet she received consequent to the Salman Rushdie attack. While that tweeted bit of terrorism was never a credible threat in my opinion, Rowling was well within her rights to ask Twitter to take it down, which is to say, “to do their job,” at least as they understand policing their platform. In a nutshell, Elliot was slandering Rowling, Elliot had blocked Rowling from responding privately, Rowling gave Elliot both barrels in public, which unleashed that part of The Presence’s 14 million twitter followers who support her to dump on Elliot. Elliot retreated from the field of battle but did not retract her accusation or apologize. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Twitter

J. K. Rowling and Ngaio Marsh

October 23, 2022 by 3 Comments

We know from Rowling’s interviews with fellow authors Val McDermid and J. J. Marsh that she both loves and re-reads Ngaio Marsh among the ‘big four’ of crime authors:

Val McDermid: How did that love affair with crime start for you?

JKR: Probably…I know I was reading Christies when I was quite young. All of the Big Four – Marsh, Allingham, Christie and Sayers – I’ve read and loved….

Val McDermid Interviews Robert Galbraith at Harrosgate Festival

J. J. Marsh: Are there any books you re-read?

JKR: Lots and lots.  When I’m working, I find it incredibly difficult to read new books (although when I’m between my own novels, I devour other people’s).  So if I’m writing, I re-read.  I’ve re-read all of Jane Austen so often I can actually visualize the type on the page; I love Colette, Katherine Mansfield, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, E. F. Benson and P. G. Wodehouse, all of whom are always beside my bed.  I read a lot of diaries and biographies, too; Chips Channon’s also a fixture on the bedside bookshelves, as is the afore-mentioned Secrets of the Flesh, and everything by Frances Donaldson is eminently re-readable.

J. J. Marsh — J. K. Rowling Interview, August 2013

This post attempts to argue that we have some non-textual evidence to suggest that to Rowling, Ngaio Marsh is a special case, certainly among crime authors. Join me after the jump to find out more!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes, Nick Jeffery

Chestnut Hill Harry Potter Conference: Today and Tomorrow in Philadelphia

October 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment

The annual peak of Potter Punditry, at least with respect to gatherings, is this weekend in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, a suburb just north of Philadelphia, where Chestnut Hill College hosts the 2022 edition of ‘The Harry Potter Conference.’ I am home in Oklahoma this October but Hogwarts Professor Louise Freeman is representing and presenting, not to mention moderating a panel or two, and I suspect long time friends of this weblog, David Martin, David Gras, Lorrie Kim, Lana Whited, Kathryn McDaniel, and the local group, the Potterdelphians, may be there in addition to the Chestnut Hill hosts and conference co-ordinators, Karen Wendling and Patrick McCauley.

There will be the obligatory “special section” on ‘J. K. Rowling and the Transgender Community,’ which promises to be a struggle session for the non-Woke from the Cultural Revolution, alas, but Professor Freeman’s talk there should break things up a bit. The Plenary Speaker, also on this theme, will be offering a “revolutionary strategy” to “cultivate an all-inclusive Human Rights movement.”

The good news is that this year you don’t have to pay for the trip to and from Philadelphia and for at least an overnight stay in the City of Brotherly love; you can attend much of the Harry Potter Conference’s 11th edition online:

The Harry Potter Conference is a non-profit annual academic conference hosted by Chestnut Hill College (Philadelphia, PA). This interdisciplinary conference provides a forum for scholarly presentations arising out of J.K. Rowling’s literature. The conference is open to the public (registration required). The 2022 Conference is mainly IN PERSON with supplemental ONLINE ONLY sections planned for international (non local) and invited speakers. The IN PERSON sections will be live-streamed, allowing for online viewing, while the ONLINE ONLY sections will be fully online. There are large screen viewing options for in-person attendees to view the online presentations. We are asking that you indicate your intention to attend the conference ONLINE or IN PERSON by selecting that ticket type, though all attendees will be given permission for online viewing in case your plans change. 

You can register here for those online possibilities. It’s a fun gathering and a great place to meet a host of like-minded and not-so-like-minded serious readers. Check it out if you’re in the area, if you can join in via the streaming option provided, or just surf the website for the talks scheduled. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes