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Letitia Van Allen
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Buck Loner

John Huston as Buck Loner in the 1970 film

Role: Owner of Buck Loner Academy, a third-rate acting school built on land he and Gertrude Breckinridge inherited from their father in Westwood, Calif.; a traditional dirty old man

Background: Former western radio ("The Singin' Shootin' Radio Cowboy") and B-movie star on the order of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry

Relationships: Uncle to Myron Breckinridge; Myra is his nemesis

Physical characteristics: "Fat -- no, gross! -- with breasts even larger than mine. He is huge and disgusting and old" (per Myra, p. 12) 
 

Notable: Has frequent sessions with masseuse; tape records thoughts during the sessions; horse's name was Sporko

In the end:  With Myra's proving that she is entitled to half the value of the property on which the acting school is built, he has to pay her off; he also make her co-director of the acting school.

Why Myra has it in for him:  He cheated Myron out of his inheritance and represents all that she desires of the post Forties culture -- a permissive slovenliness of mind and art

Quotes:

"Never knew that boy of Gertrude's had such an eye for feminine pulchritude." (p. 13)

"These boys and girls are a cross-section of the youth of this country, no better, no worse. What they have got that is unusual and which may disqualify them from attending your Business School at Harvard is the overwhelming desire to be in show business, to have their names and faces known to all the world, to see themselves beloved by strangers, and that, believe me, is the only truly gratifying life any human can have, once they get the bug, that is, like I did, and like they have." (p.48)

"I genuinely want to see these boys and girls happy because -- you may laugh and probably will -- I believe in love and I try to create that sort of atmosphere here where they are as much as possible screened from the harshness of the world, which they get quite enough of working as waitresses in drive-ins and so on, not to mention the unhappy often broken homes they come from." (p.50)

"What matters is making people happy and while the kids are here they are happy. Now there is, I am willing to admit, a real letdown come June when our kids realize that the outside world of show biz is a big cruel place with maybe no place for them." (p. 116)

"I accept the fact that this is my nephew Myron with his balls cut off like a year old steer God help us all." (p. 224)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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