O/T - Toad is back on the screen...in "DRIVE"

Maybe a little O/T, but Toad from American Graffiti (Charlie Martin Smith) is a character on a new TV show... Drive.
He's kinda been out of sight for awhile... and has a cool part on TV.

I watched the 2 hour series kick-off last night (pretty cool show by the way, about a cross-country race)... and I was thinking, "Where do I know that guy from...?"

Then it hit me... "It's Toad..!"








JOE

 

Man, I wanted to catch that last night ...

But half my campus had a blackout that lasted through the night.

 

He sure has gotten older and put on some weight but there's no mistaking him.

 

...The lady (play'd Shirley on "Laverne & Shirley) who is taking care of the girls baby was also on American Grafitti, she play'd Steves girlfriend on Grafitti. The baby's mom on Drive is the neighbor girl on "Two and a half men"....Can't think of their names rite now...

 

Ummm...you didn't miss much....

But I thought it was Toad soon as I saw him, 1st time I've seen him in anything since he was blasted to bits in an elevator in The Untouchables movie...

 

Cindy Williams...?

I must have missed that part. I was at the Evergreen Tavern when it started, about 8 miles from home. I left during a commercial to come home and watch it. My coupe is fast, but not that fast...

JOE

 

Thanks! That explains why he doesn't look like and aged version of Ron Howards brother.

 

He was also on Law and Order SVU last week playing a Sheriff in Oregon. Good to see him back on the screen, but he will always be Toad to me. Typecasting sucks don't it?

 

Man! Toad sure has gotten old. He and I were about the same age in 72.

 

thought he looked familiar, but i couldn't place it....

not a bad show, I'll give it a couple more episodes before I decide to stick with it...

the new ride for Tully is freakin bad ass....

 

Yeah I knew it was Toad, years ago I was in Yellowstone park and had a waitress have her cook ask if I was him, she was shy I guess, had another guy i worked with tell me i looked like him also. Not so much anymoe tho, This is the only pic I have on my puter taken last July after a guy beat the shit out of me for telling him to slow down in front of my house

 

Ha...! You look like his stunt double... No shit...!

That pic made me laugh... sorry.

Here's one for you...





JOE

 

the show is actually pretty good. Toad does a good job.

 

Wish I had that sign then!!!

 

Charles Martin Smith also played the Postmaster in Whoville in "The Grinch That Stole Christmas".
He has pretty much always been busy in Tv and films since "American Graffiti". A real working actor.

 

And the waitress in the dinner that told her to hide the gun, was the owner of the store in Jericho. That got killed ......

 

Charles Martin Smith has done rather well for himself. Actor, producer,and in 1986 he started his directing career with a movie called Trick or Treat where he also had a small part as a high school principal.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001747/

If I was a writer for Drive, I'd have to work in a reference to Old Harpers somewhere in the dialogue.

 

"24" meets Canonball Run...It was OK. I'm glad to see Toad makin some $ in the spotlight again.

 

Darn, I missed the first show...

Knew I was forgetting something.

 

She played Rose on 2 1/2 men. They wrote her off the show by having her move.

 

That's a good way to put it...

If they keep rotating cars, that would make it interesting. Like how the contractor got the Charger.
If the father daughter team get a '40 ford coupe and the Mom and the blond get a deuce sedan (gotta be a sedan so she can keep the baby seat ), that would keep us gearheads interested.

I'm not a big TV fan, but this show might be one I'll make time for... especially if it has some good racing action.

Now, if they could only get Bo Hopkins, Paul LeMat and Candy Clark to give up their full-time autograph signing gig...

JOE

 

The last five minutes of episode #3 brought back memories of late Friday nite runs through Cleveland on my way from Great Lakes Il to Rochester, NY. And, the speed limit was only 55 back then.

 

Charles Martin Smith is a good actor IMO. He was also in a documenetary type movie that he studied wolves in Canada or Alaska. All I remember is he kept making tea so he could piss alot to mark his territory. Pretty funny.

 

That was Never Cry Wolf, He was the only human in most of it. Also ate a lot of rats. He was also in the beginning of Deep Impact as an astonomer who confirmed the discovery of the asteroid

 

Ron Howards brother was Cha-ka on Land of the Lost.

I always laugh when I see Toad. I think of him slamming the Vespa into the restaurant.

 

The guy has always resented the fact that "Toad" has stuck with him for all these years. I would think it was good that people remember you, but I guess being stereotyped is a bad thing in Hollywood.

 

What channel was that on?

 

I wonder if he is still getting royalties from AG? I bet he wouldn't resent the Toad moniker if that was the case. I actually found a DVD of AG here in India and bought the damned thing, I couldn't believe it. Gonna watch it tonight, I don't think it will be in Hindi....

 

Damn, guy---We've all gotten older and put on some weight since American Grafitti was released!!!!