The late Ralph Bellamy had one of the longest careers in Hollywood, acting in films from 1931 through 1990.
The Oscar-nominated star appeared opposite such icons as Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Maureen O’Hara, Lucille Ball, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, John Houseman, Claude Rains, Béla Lugosi, George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Donald Pleasence, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Jason Robards, Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, and Rosalind Russell.
But one of Bellamy’s most fondly remembered parts was playing elderly, infirm billionaire Albert Dennison opposite Mark Morales a.k.a. “Prince Markie Dee,” Damon Wimbley a.k.a. “Kool Rock-Ski,” and Darren Robinson a.k.a. “Buff Love” a.k.a. “The Human Beat Box.”
That’s right, The Fat Boys.
At the helm of Disorderlies was Michael Schultz, a solid director that is responsible for some of my favorite low budget comedies of the seventies and eighties including Cooley High, Scavenger Hunt, Car Wash, Krush Groove, The Last Dragon, Carbon Copy, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Spirit tv movie with Sam Jones. Schultz has continued to direct dozens of television series, most recently Arrow, Chuck, and Hart of Dixie, as well as direct theater.
Grossing over ten million dollars in 1987, Disorderlies quickly became a staple on cable and the svelte challenged hip-hop trio channeled The Three Stooges in their only big screen film. Without a doubt, I’d have been happy to see more of their adventures (Even Kid N’ Play got four films), but any chance of that ended in 1995 when Darren Robinson passed away from complications after falling off of a couch.
The Fat Boys as we know it are dead, but Disorderlies lives.
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