Hollywood Comes To The Library

On Friday, June 25th, the normally hushed halls of the Roanoke City Library echoed with the clash of swords and the crack and pop of a braided leather bullwhip. Rather than rushing – as one might expect – to “shush” the martial cacophony, librarian River Laker merely smiled a satisfied smile as the applause of nearly a hundred spectators added to the sturm und drang amongst the stacks. At Laker’s invitation, movie star and martial master Anthony De Longis brought a bit of Hollywood action to the Downtown Library and – if the roaring applause and lengthy Q&A session afterwards was any indication – the library’s patrons were both thrilled by what they saw and heard and all-too eager for more!

For two hours, De Longis dazzled and entertained a rapt crowd packed tight on the library lawn, moving freely back and forth between various weapons demonstrations, telling tales accumulated over 30 plus years as a working actor in the wilds of “Hollweird,” and taking questions and interacting with a captivated audience. Whether cracking whips, slinging swords or spinning stories, however, De Longis continually emphasized the importance of education, training and – particularly – the absolute necessity of reading and the study of history. Quoting freely from both Hamlet and 18th century German historians, De Longis balanced action with learning and spectacle with scholarship.

In Hollywood, the name Anthony De Longis sits near the top of a very short list of elite fight directors and action specialists. “Anthony’s the state of the art in stage and screen combat” says Dr. Joe Scartelli, Dean of Performing Arts at Radford University. In addition to his own numerous movie and television performances (science fiction fans know him from series standout performances on Highlander: The Series and as “First Maje Cullah” on Star Trek: Voyage) De Longis has worked both in front of and behind the camera with a veritable “Who’s Who” of elite Hollywood actors, extensively training both Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford with the bullwhip for their roles as “Catwoman” in Batman Returns and Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, respectively.

“Some people thought it a bit strange, at first,” says Laker, “the idea of having an action movie guy lecture and perform at the library. But anyone who looks at Anthony’s resume quickly spots an artist with not only a three decade-long film career, running the range from Roadhouse (he was the guy with the knife in his boot) to Fearless (where he crossed swords with kung-fu star Jet Li in the movie’s opening scene), but here’s a guy who’s done Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theatre, performing literary heavyweight roles like Iago in Othello. Anthony has worked for a number of years with the Los Angeles Opera, doing eight different runs with Placido Domingo. Add all that to the fact that Anthony continually conveys a love of learning and emphasizes that all the success he has achieved is rooted in study, practice and scholarship – what more could one ask of a library speaker? We were thrilled to have him both lecture and demonstrate at the Library, and we’re already trying to figure out a way to have him back!”

For more information about Anthony De Longis, go online to www.delongis.com