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ArchivesBrick & Hud.
I recently rented two Paul Newman films, namely "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" (1958) and "Hud" (1963). In the first film, Newman's character is called Brick Politt and his character in the second film is called Hud Bannon. Both characters' first names are names that are not featured in this database, and I wondered what their origin could be. Perhaps one of you does?
Here's potentially useful information:
Brick: I have no clue to what this name's possible origin could be. Paul Newman's character was born and raised in the south of the United States. He has a brother named Gooper, so perhaps both Brick and Gooper are surnames.
Hud: Born and raised in Texas, Hud *could* be short for Hudson. But I don't think so, personally - could Hud also be a typical southern nickname for the name Henry?
That's it - thank you for your input. :)
Lucille
Here's potentially useful information:
Brick: I have no clue to what this name's possible origin could be. Paul Newman's character was born and raised in the south of the United States. He has a brother named Gooper, so perhaps both Brick and Gooper are surnames.
Hud: Born and raised in Texas, Hud *could* be short for Hudson. But I don't think so, personally - could Hud also be a typical southern nickname for the name Henry?
That's it - thank you for your input. :)
Lucille
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Replies
Thank you both for the explanations! :)
Made ya look. ;)
Made ya look. ;)
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I don't know why it was chosen for the particularly character, but Hud as in Hudson was originally a medieval English nickname, usually for Hugh but sometimes also for Richard.
As for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Brick's brother is called either Gooper or Brother Man in the play and film; his father is Big Daddy and his mother is Big Mama. I don't think that Tennessee Williams meant people to think that any of those were actual birth certificate names. I think he meant viewers to assume that this is a family where everyone is normally called by a familiar nickname which has no relationship to their given name. So I think Brick was chosen as being a good nickname for a character who is presented as at least trying to be muscular and masculine.
P.S. Brick is a rare English surname, but Gooper is not. I suppose you might have to be raised in American culture to understand this, but Gooper is the sort of nickname that would naturally end up being given to guys who were considered silly, stupid, and/or clueless in the American South when Williams wrote the play.
As for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: Brick's brother is called either Gooper or Brother Man in the play and film; his father is Big Daddy and his mother is Big Mama. I don't think that Tennessee Williams meant people to think that any of those were actual birth certificate names. I think he meant viewers to assume that this is a family where everyone is normally called by a familiar nickname which has no relationship to their given name. So I think Brick was chosen as being a good nickname for a character who is presented as at least trying to be muscular and masculine.
P.S. Brick is a rare English surname, but Gooper is not. I suppose you might have to be raised in American culture to understand this, but Gooper is the sort of nickname that would naturally end up being given to guys who were considered silly, stupid, and/or clueless in the American South when Williams wrote the play.
This message was edited 10/19/2007, 2:34 PM
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Similarly, I remember as a child a very silly comic in the weekend supplements called Brick Bradford ... the eponymous Brick was the captain of a craft called the Time Top which resembled the orangey-brown bulb of an enema syringe and in which he could travel the universe, revisit Earth in the age of the dinosaurs (which always tried to eat the Time Top) etc. And, yeah, nothing if not muscular and masculine!
This would be early to middle 1950s. It was an American production, clearly syndicated, so could have appeared earlier over there. All hail to the Zeitgeist!
This would be early to middle 1950s. It was an American production, clearly syndicated, so could have appeared earlier over there. All hail to the Zeitgeist!
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I do have a thought, but you'd really have to ask Tennessee Williams and Larry McMurtry to get the real dirt. You might even have to ask one Henry Willson.
My thought is, these word names, used by TW and LM, respectively, were probably meant to be just what they are: rugged-sounding monosyllables that represent rugged men. TW and LM were writing these works at around the same time that Rock Hudson first became noticed. It was around 1948 that Roy Scherer Fitzgerald's agent, Willson, changed Roy's name to Rock Hudson. TW wrote Cat On A Hot Tin Roof in 1954-55, just as Rock Hudson came to fame in Magnificent Obsession (1954). LM wrote Horseman, Pass By around 1961; Rock Hudson had already starred in Giant (1956) by then.
Authors often draw inspiration from pop culture as it's happening; authors who write for the stage or screen, in particular, would likely pay attention to up-and-coming actors. I would submit that it's not quite a coincidence that Rock Hudson came along just before Brick and Hud.
But that's just my theory.
ETA changed the phrase to 'rugged-sounding' from 'tough-sounding'
ETA2 Stone Phillips was born in Texas in 1954. More coincidence?...
My thought is, these word names, used by TW and LM, respectively, were probably meant to be just what they are: rugged-sounding monosyllables that represent rugged men. TW and LM were writing these works at around the same time that Rock Hudson first became noticed. It was around 1948 that Roy Scherer Fitzgerald's agent, Willson, changed Roy's name to Rock Hudson. TW wrote Cat On A Hot Tin Roof in 1954-55, just as Rock Hudson came to fame in Magnificent Obsession (1954). LM wrote Horseman, Pass By around 1961; Rock Hudson had already starred in Giant (1956) by then.
Authors often draw inspiration from pop culture as it's happening; authors who write for the stage or screen, in particular, would likely pay attention to up-and-coming actors. I would submit that it's not quite a coincidence that Rock Hudson came along just before Brick and Hud.
But that's just my theory.
ETA changed the phrase to 'rugged-sounding' from 'tough-sounding'
ETA2 Stone Phillips was born in Texas in 1954. More coincidence?...
This message was edited 10/19/2007, 12:50 PM
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