Michael Beck in Memphis in 1949. Beck went to Millsaps College in Mississippi on a football scholarship. He began acting in plays during his college years. Following college, Beck was selected to attend London’s Central School of Speech and Drama.
Beck was a very popular young actor with The Warriors (1979). However, his next three movies kind of slammed the door on his acting career. He played Sonny Malone in Xanadu (1980) with Olivia-Newton John and Gene Kelly. Xanadu was universally panned. Beck even state The Warriors (1979) opened a lot of doors in film, for me, which Xanadu (1980) then closed. However, at some point in the future, I may make a case for how this movie was a tribute to Gene Kelly and movies like Cover Girl (1944) and Singing in the Rain (1952) and most people missed the point. Kelly’s charterer is named Danny McGuire in Cover Girl (1944) and in Xanadu (1980). He had the same bad story as Cover Girl (1944). Sonny and Kira wear raincoats and carry an umbrella like in Singin’ in the Rain (1952).
Beck was next in Megaforce (1982) with Barry Bostwick. I think most people missed the point this movie was supposed to be humorous. His character Dallas wore a Confederate patch to id his nation. I mean really it was tongue in cheek. The entire movie was a laugh a minute and Beck’s character was the source of much of the fun. Finally, he was in Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983) as Koda but this movie could not overcome the age of star Richard Harris or the thin plot.
Beck continued to work in every decade including work on television. His most recent credit was in 2015.
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