Wish I’d thought of this in time to do this post for the morning of the Fourth, but better late than never . A few years ago, in 2009 and 2010, when I worked for the Tribune syndicate and its online site, Zap2it.com, I set upon a project to ask Hollywood types about their favorite Founding Fathers.
Click through to read the entire stories, but here are some highlights:
“NCIS: LA” star LL Cool J:
You know what, that’s a good question, interesting question. My favorite Founding Father .. wow. Benjamin Franklin was brilliant. I think I will go with Benjamin Franklin first. I would go with Jefferson and then Adams, but I would go with Franklin.
“When he talked about wealth … his ‘Poor Richard’s Almanack’ was amazing. Him being a scientist; him being an author; him being a businessman; him being an entrepreneur; him being a guy who understood how important it was to be conservative when it came to a dollar, and conserve your wealth.
I just thought he was a very wise guy. I would go with Franklin.
Walton Goggins of “The Shield,” “Justified,” “The Hateful Eight” and HBO’s upcoming “Vice Principals,” via Facebook:
OK, this one’s easy.JOHN ADAMS. Why? The sacrifice that this man made over the course of his life for our REPUBLIC, from representing the British officers accused in the BOSTON MASSACRE to procuring funds for our fledgling uprising from the Dutch — a man among men; a just man with a moral compass pointing due North.”
And from “Shield” star Michael Chiklis, seen most recently in Fox’s “Gotham,” also via Facebook:
Being from the Boston area, I’m going to have to go with a local boy, John Adams, for many reasons, not the least of which was he stood to lose the most. When someone supports a cause because they believe in it, in spite of the fact that they risk life, liberty, family and personal wealth, that is the definition of courage and integrity.
Adam Baldwin of “Independence Day,” “Firefly,” and, currently, “The Last Ship” on TNT:
My favorite Founding Father would be John Adams or James Madison. Madison wrote the Constitution, gotta love that guy. Or George Washington, because he was a great general. I also like (Alexander) Hamilton.
I can’t nail it down to one. Look, I’m an individualist. You need a band of brothers with divergent viewpoints that distill down to the most wonderful document ever created in the history of man. Those guys all got together. What did you expect me to say, John Hancock?
Franklin is too much of a partier, although he does have one of my favorite sayings of all time. He said that beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. That’s the quote.
Veteran actor Gary Graham of “Alien Nation,” “JAG,” “Star Trek: Enterprise” and much more, via Facebook:
And though I am tempted to say Jefferson, Franklin or Madison … I think I’ll chose Patrick Henry, for so eloquently stating the grave consequences at stake: ‘I know not what course others will take, but as for me … give me Liberty or give me death.‘”
Matt Iseman, currently the host of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”:
I’m going with someone I consider to be an underrated Founding Father — James Madison. I’m a big fan of the Federalist Papers, where he convincingly lays out the argument for our republican government as we know it today (relax, politicos, that’s republican with a small ‘r’).
Yes, I might’ve gone with Alexander Hamilton, but I prefer to picture my Founding Fathers like Clint Eastwood in ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales,’ and Hamilton lost in a duel with Aaron Burr, so he’s out.
Madison is also considered the Father of the Constitution, which, in my mind, means he slept with Lady Liberty and gave birth to a lil’ democracy known as the U.S. of A.
Furthermore, his wife, Dolley Madison, inspired delicious pastry snacks. And, he went to Princeton, so I like to think I might run into him at reunions — If I have enough beers.
Hearing Iseman’s answer, Graham replied:
Matt — HAAAAA! Fantastic post. I’m with you on Madison. I’m a HUGE fan of his … as well as the Federalist Papers. Should be mandatory reading in schools.”
John Walsh, formerly of “America’s Most Wanted”:
Thomas Jefferson. He was a renaissance man. He has such great side interests — architecture and farming, all the different things he was involved in. The dichotomy, of course, was that he owned slaves, but he was conflicted about that.
He sorta got drafted into (the Revolution). I’m not making a parallel between myself and Thomas Jefferson, but sometimes you do what you have to do. Life takes you in the strangest, strangest ways. There’s no real plan.
Dana Delaney of “China Beach,” “Body of Proof” and Amazon’s “Hand of God” (BTW, I asked several women, and for whatever reason, didn’t get much of a response), picking a fellow wine connoisseur:
I would say Jefferson just because I like the fact that he was an oenophile. Also, people criticize Jefferson now, but I understand the whole thing, that he came from an elite class, was and wasn’t. He saw the value of his education, but he was also a man of the people. It was an interesting combination.
James Badge Dale of “24,” “The Pacific,” “Rubicon” and the recent Benghazi movie “13 Hours”:
John Hancock — he was the jerk who signed his name bigger (Editor: So, he said, King George could read it without his spectacles). No, Thomas Jefferson. I find him a very interesting man. The interesting thing about these men, the original band of brothers, is that they all had completely different opinions of what America is and what it should be and what is important and not important, and they were still able to come together and work together. I think there’s a real important message in there.
Joe Mazzello, also of “The Pacific,” along with “Justified” and “The Social Network”:
What was amazing about George Washington was that he had this crazy idea — ‘I’m going to give up power.’ They called him the king of America. No one thought it was real. They thought, ‘If this man gives up power, he’s the greatest man in the world. It’s just such an amazing thing.
Now, we take that for granted, yeah, every four, eight years, presidents go and then we get a new one. But up until through (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt, it wasn’t even a rule. Men just did that. He started that off. That can’t be overlooked, how amazing it was for him to say, ‘I’m going to do this. It’s my job, and I’m going to go back home and be a private citizen.’
That notion, it’s amazing. It was walking the walk. All of the guys, Jefferson and Adams and all of them, said, “We don’t want your tyranny. You can have it. Leave us alone. Let us be free.” Then George Washington walked the walk by saying, “I’m giving up power and handing it over to the next man,” and just started that tradition — something that is so mind-boggling.
Ed O’Neill of “Modern Family,” echoing Delany:
I would probably go to (Thomas) Jefferson, just because I thought he was brilliant, a vital guy, interesting guy, bon vivant. He knew a lot about wine.
Mike Vogel, of “Bates Motel,” “Under the Dome” and Syfy’s “Childhood’s End”:
Being from Philadelphia, I’m a fan of Jefferson and Franklin. You’re indoctrinated with all that. There’s something so amazing, being a massive history buff and growing up where I did in Pennsylvania. I was a mile away from George Washington’s headquarters before he crossed the Delaware. Every year, you’d take a field trip down to Independence Hall and Betsy Ross’ house and Ben Franklin’s placeand the history that exists there.
As for my favorite, I think Jefferson — his ideals, the conservatism that he espoused, at least as I know it, Jeffersonian democracy, I like. (James) Madison … when you look at the checks and balances that you had to go through just to get these guys to show up at a meeting of the federal government.
They had to take it through every level of their state governments, to make sure their state would be OK with them showing up, because they were so adamant about maintaining the rights of the state before turning it over to the federal level of government.
Mike Rowe, of “Dirty Jobs” and CNN’s “Someone’s Gotta Do It”:
The short answer for me was always John Adams. Adams was so contrary and so unlikable, so devoted to his wife. He was the only actual Founding Father who never owned a slave. He made principled decisions and was perfectly comfortable with the fallout — happy to be unpopular. But also, it’s hard to beat Ben Franklin.
Where do you draw the line in terms of time? Lincoln was so late. There’d be no union without (George) Washington. There probably wouldn’t be a union without Jefferson. There definitely wouldn’t be a union without Lincoln. There’d be something, but I don’t know what.
I’m kind of sad that no one mentioned Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, but he hasn’t gotten a lot of press.
Here’s a photo meme that appeared on the Facebook page I manage for Holy Cross apostolate Family Theater Productions in Los Angeles:
Images: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons, Family Theater Productions
Don’t miss a thing: head over to my other home at CatholicVote and like my Facebook page; also like the Patheos Catholic FB page to see what my colleagues have to say.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In