Mean old man?

[clark]

Uh! These are all such great suggestions! Thank you all!

Ha! The first thing I see in my mind's eye is a skinny old man in well worn black clothes, sort of a Scrooge-like figure...  I don't know if that helps at all, but even if the clothes aren't black, they need to be well worn and maybe carefully mended. (playing on one definition of mean--a penny pincher, a skinflint) He should have a cranky look to his face, too.   Any help?

Definitely helpful! Though he isn't skinny the worn then mended dark clothes will be great.

A cane he can vaguely shake at people.

I know he will love that.

Oooooooo!!!! Disgruntled Sea-captain.. not a pirate, maybe a skipper.. 

toodles!

Oh! This is perfect! He was in the navy and I remember him saying he would like to add something sailing like into the garb. Thanks for bringing that up!

Maybe an uptight village elder who yells at the flippant young folk? The cane is a must.

Hmmm...he's only just turned 50 so village elder is probably not the best choice. Though the yelling at young folk is a must, as well as the cane.

The old man part can come from well worn clothes, maybe ill-fitting and a bit mismatched. The mean part? That's all character - I don't think the garb alone could pull off that part of it. Affectations like a cane or pipe could help.

Good point about the character, though that will be no problem. The mismatched clothing is a good idea. As for the pipe, I'm not sure, I'll have to ask him. Though, I'm sure that even if he doesn't use it he'll love just having one on his person.

definitely some scragly facial hair,
I agree that the cane is a must. I don't think he needs to be bent over or crochety.
I don't necessarily agree with the well worn clothes, he could be a man of means who dresses well and looks down on anyone who doesn't.

By the time fest season is here he'll have his beard back! (Had to shave it off for a job at an oil refinery.) Though I would love to see an old man of means who is 'cruel' I'm afraid that he is more the type to have worn clothing. Besides, a man of means' clothes would be expensive and he already has a hard time buying me and my mother bodices.

A recommendation about character - unless your dad wants to be avoided like the plague, I'd advise him playing the "mean old man" bit so over-the-top and ridiculously that people can tell from a single sentence that it's a character, not somebody having a bad day and taking it out on everybody around them.  It's like somebody playing a jerk; to them, it might be an act, but if it's too accurate an act, it's just as annoying as somebody who's actually a jerk.  I'd make the mean comments about others so absurd that they're comical, along the lines of "You know what the problem is with kids today? They're too young!"

His actual personality is the over-the-top mean old man so no worries there.

Throw in whippersnapper & wet behind the ears as epithets for youngsters.

oh and some "back in my day"

Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch should supply a lot of material along those lines.

I'm sure he'll love to use those!

The two old Muppets in the balcony are some good inspiration too, on the funny side of crotchety and old.

Those two are actually his inspiration for being a mean old man.

He could wear a rediculously long beard and big bushy eyebrows. Maybe carry an ear trumpet tied to his belt. You could probably fashion one yourself for pretty cheap from a funnel and some tubing and a bit of paint. He could make a fun gag out of being hard of hearing and mis-hearing what is said, etc.

Maybe he could be a mean old man but stil have an eye for the wenches? A dirty mean old man would be a lot more fun says the wench in me. 

It's funny that you mention an ear trumpet because he said he doesn't care what he wears as long as he has on of those! While he has naturally bushy eyebrows he's never been one for the long bushy beard. As for having an eye for the wenches that's already covered. It will be especially funny if my mother is around...then again, she would probably agree with what ever 'compliment' he gives to a wench.

Dustin Hoffman always tries to sum up the character he is playing in one sentence. In an interview, he said the sentence that summed up his 100 plus year old character, Jack Crabb in "Little Big Man" was this... "I haven't had a decent crap in 40 years". Keeping that thought should make one rather mean and ornery! 

I'll definitely have to tell him that one! That will surely inspire a bad attitude.

[clark]

Double post!

Now I need to figure out what clothes he is actually going to wear. I'm sure he'll want to go with something along the lines of a sailor but it seems that would be more about the accessories. So maybe start with the basics, black boots, black pants, white shirt, then some sort of coat and/or sleeveless doublet? Then just go on to add accessories like the cane, ear horn, maybe a compass, spyglass, a few pouches, whatever mug he happens to buy that day. Any other suggestions of what we could add or change to this?

[will paisley]

Double post!

Now I need to figure out what clothes he is actually going to wear. I'm sure he'll want to go with something along the lines of a sailor but it seems that would be more about the accessories. So maybe start with the basics, black boots, black pants, white shirt, then some sort of coat and/or sleeveless doublet? Then just go on to add accessories like the cane, ear horn, maybe a compass, spyglass, a few pouches, whatever mug he happens to buy that day. Any other suggestions of what we could add or change to this?

A hat.  Most important accessory of all.  My standard garb is low-key pirate, and my leather tricorn is the difference between being a pirate and being a guy in some funny clothes.  I can go into a restaurant after faire in complete garb, minus the hat, and people have no idea that I even went to faire. However, I could go to that same restaurant wearing jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt with the hat on, and everybody I pass will say "pirate!"

[Aunty Lou]

The garb should be also out-of-fashion.  Long sleeveless academic's gown with ratty fur, Tudor cap like Thomas More, square-toe shoes.  If there were a way to make moths fly out of his drawstring bag, and a few "Bah!  Humbug!'s thrown around, so much the better!

[shadowcat546]

HI.
Waldorf and Statler are the two cranky men in Muppets. ( my banker has them in plush sitting on the counter and was impressed I remembered them)

cranky gruff--pirate:....Blackbeards Ghost--Peter Ustinov.......
and charles laughton in the pirate movies: Abbott  /costello meet Captain  Kidd (which is rare, but might be on YouTube or Turner Classic movies)
Captain Kidd,  1945
and treasure island ---Long john silver
I can almost place which book I've read which purposefully has mis-hearings in it....
How about a skit from Caroll Burnett show with mis-hearings?  Or Laughin  with Arte Johnson and  ruth buzzi

good luck.  ----Shannon

[VIII]

"... uphill,... both ways,... in the SNOW!"

[TKM]

ok, perfect. i know a guy who did this one year, and a few key lines of dialog were just gold.

"You crazy kids and your modern medical science! Why, back in my day, we didn't have leeches! We had to cut a vein and just let the blood drip out! When we got sick, we didn't know we had serpents in our bellies. We just thought god hated us!"

use that...

[Tipsy Gypsy]

"Get thee off my lawn!"