Open Mouth, Insert Ego

On his new blog, Ed Gorman relayed Bob Sassone's critique of the following comment by Robert B. Parker upon the death of Spenser actor Robert Urich:

"This is a shock. It's too soon, and he was too young...He wasn't the perfect Spenser...Bob was not a great actor, but he was big and physical, and he looked good and he showed up to the set knowing his lines. A lot of people liked him in the role, but I can't even say in honor of his memory that he was quite right for the role. But then, who is?"

Agreeing with Sassone, I commented:

From what I've seen and heard of him, Parker is often insensitive. I suspect somewhere along the line he began to believe his level of success gave him the right to say whatever he wanted. And he does seem to be one of the more quoted authors.

But much of what Parker says has the ring of shallow macho bluster that seems to have originated in the Spenser books, seeped into Parker's professed outlook, and bled--in more sappy form--back into the books.

I've always been a fan of Parker's books, but I've tired of the man himself.

I didn't think Urich was the perfect Spenser precisely because...he seemed the nicest guy. Spenser, on the other hand, has more rough edges. If anything, I'd say Urich's likeability rubbed off on Spenser, creating the character seen on "Spenser: For Hire". To a lot of people, this was Spenser; no use in Parker denying it. His comment does seem incredibly stupid.