charlita | The Timothy Carey Experience

Today’s quote is not exactly a quote. It’s The Vagabond, a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Timothy’s character Morgan Morgan recites parts of it in John Cassavetes‘ Minnie and Moskowitz (1971). It also turns up in Fiore (1982), the screenplay that Tim wrote with his wife Doris. I think it expresses a side of his psyche that he rarely got to indulge. I truly believe Timothy was a gypsy at heart.

The Vagabond

Give to me the life I love,
Let the lave go by me,
Give the jolly heaven above
And the byway nigh me.
Bed in the bush with stars to see,
Bread I dip in the river –
There’s the life for a man like me,
There’s the life for ever.

Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around
And the road before me.
Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I seek, the heaven above
And the road below me.

Or let autumn fall on me
Where afield I linger,
Silencing the bird on tree,
Biting the blue finger.
White as meal the frosty field –
Warm the fireside haven –
Not to autumn will I yield,
Not to winter even!

Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around,
And the road before me.
Wealth I ask not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I ask, the heaven above
And the road below me.

As Morgan Morgan, Minnie and Moskowitz

In the Cowboy G-Men episode “Gypsy Traders” (1953), with Charlita

The Pic of the Day for your Monday takes another look at the Cowboy G-Men episode “Gypsy Traders,” first airing on February 28, 1953. Timothy and his fellow Gypsies, including Charlita and X Brands, are skeptical of the motives of federal crimebuster Pat Gallagher (Russell Hayden).

X Brands was a familiar face in Westerns, both on television (including two more Cowboy G-Men episodes with Tim) and in theaters, throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed Native Americans, although he was not one in real life. However, according to his granddaughter, he was so convincing in his portrayals that he was honored by several Native American tribes. She also states that he was born Jay X Brands, but dropped the “Jay” after his father died and became legally known as X. This was a tradition that the oldest son in the family had carried out for generations.