My Father and the Man in Black Quotes
Saul Holiff: [On recording San Quentin]In England I set this show - it was an English concept, an English production, an English deal from beginning to end. If it hadn't been for Granada Television, there never would have been a San Quentin LP. [Original Source: CFPL Radio interview 1976]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: Well, listen Saul. I've got something else on my mind now. Have got it keeping me layin' awake thinkin' about, um, goin' to Israel. I would, uh, do much better, ah, job at, talkin' and showin' about Jesus and his life, you know. I don't know how you go about getting it on the networks, but it seems to me like if I had, um, Johnny Cash In Israel: Following In the Footsteps of Jesus, you know, for Christmas time.
Saul Holiff: Now that you have told me, I'll break my ass trying to bring it about.
Johnny Cash: Well, Saul, make sure they understand... we talked about me bein' an honest performer now. That Johnny Cash is not the same Johnny Cash that is around now, see? If I do a television special on Israel, I should do it about the life of Jesus, right? Don't you think so?
Saul Holiff: I would say that, in your own way, in a subtle manner, you will follow the footsteps of Jesus... but without hitting them over the head with it.
Johnny Cash: Right, uh-huh...
Saul Holiff: I think it should be labeled Johnny Cash in the Holy Land rather than Johnny Cash in Israel.
Johnny Cash: All right. Okay. Sure.
Saul Holiff: So, let me go to work on it...
Johnny Cash: Well, Saul, I really uh, do have a strong conviction. This is the only thing I want to do. [Original Source: Telephone call between Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff, May 1971]
Saul Holiff: Now that you have told me, I'll break my ass trying to bring it about.
Johnny Cash: Well, Saul, make sure they understand... we talked about me bein' an honest performer now. That Johnny Cash is not the same Johnny Cash that is around now, see? If I do a television special on Israel, I should do it about the life of Jesus, right? Don't you think so?
Saul Holiff: I would say that, in your own way, in a subtle manner, you will follow the footsteps of Jesus... but without hitting them over the head with it.
Johnny Cash: Right, uh-huh...
Saul Holiff: I think it should be labeled Johnny Cash in the Holy Land rather than Johnny Cash in Israel.
Johnny Cash: All right. Okay. Sure.
Saul Holiff: So, let me go to work on it...
Johnny Cash: Well, Saul, I really uh, do have a strong conviction. This is the only thing I want to do. [Original Source: Telephone call between Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff, May 1971]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: [after proposing to June onstage]I'd never seen Saul as happy as he was that night. 'How long has it been now?' he asked me. 'Three months since I had a pill, Saul,' I said. Then he said, 'Well, I heard that proposal out there and I want to be the first to congratulate you. You've lost a lot of time in the last seven years. You need June, and she needs you. You've proven everybody wrong, including me. I thought you would be dead by now.' And I said, 'I would have been, Saul, if God hadn't saved me.' 'Reconciliation with God doesn't mean reconciliation with man,' Saul said. 'You might consider playing some shows for a couple of promoters who went broke when you cancelled out on them.' 'Arrange them,' I said. [Original Source: Man In Black, by Johnny Cash]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: Well, I talked to June about those shows, and, uh, just about every show is going to have some work done on it. Uh, I would take out all the cussin' and the Hells, and the Damns, and the smart-ass remarks - before I'll ever agree to 'em being re-run.
Saul Holiff: M-hm.
Johnny Cash: I want to ask you about a special. Do they want a special with me?
Saul Holiff: Ah, the letter he wrote simply said, I've been in discussion with network, to be nameless at the moment, concerning a one-hour Johnny Cash special. I believe it's safe to say that I have an order for a special, subject to the creative theme for the special, um, so whatever he means by that, um, I'm not quite sure.
Johnny Cash: There's only one that I would like to do. I'd like to do a LIVE Gospel music special. The Jesus movement is really goin' strong for us. I would like to close with about a 10-minute sermon from Jimmy Snow, with an alter call, these people coming down to the altar, praying and raisin' their hands up, and then have the closing song over that, you know?
Saul Holiff: In other words, to put on film an actual uh, um, um, segment of a real, uh...
Johnny Cash: A real REVIVAL!
Saul Holiff: Revival.
Johnny Cash: I went to church yesterday, and the thing I saw in that church, if we could get that on network television, boy it would REALLY be something. Those women and men comin' on their knees, and raisin' their hands up, you know like they do to Jesus, and tears comin' down their face. It could be like a Johnny Cash Gospel Crusade, you know?
Saul Holiff: Lemme, lemme try it out on him, and let him go to the network and see if he can create some interest in it. [Original Source: Telephone call between Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff, August 1971]
Saul Holiff: M-hm.
Johnny Cash: I want to ask you about a special. Do they want a special with me?
Saul Holiff: Ah, the letter he wrote simply said, I've been in discussion with network, to be nameless at the moment, concerning a one-hour Johnny Cash special. I believe it's safe to say that I have an order for a special, subject to the creative theme for the special, um, so whatever he means by that, um, I'm not quite sure.
Johnny Cash: There's only one that I would like to do. I'd like to do a LIVE Gospel music special. The Jesus movement is really goin' strong for us. I would like to close with about a 10-minute sermon from Jimmy Snow, with an alter call, these people coming down to the altar, praying and raisin' their hands up, and then have the closing song over that, you know?
Saul Holiff: In other words, to put on film an actual uh, um, um, segment of a real, uh...
Johnny Cash: A real REVIVAL!
Saul Holiff: Revival.
Johnny Cash: I went to church yesterday, and the thing I saw in that church, if we could get that on network television, boy it would REALLY be something. Those women and men comin' on their knees, and raisin' their hands up, you know like they do to Jesus, and tears comin' down their face. It could be like a Johnny Cash Gospel Crusade, you know?
Saul Holiff: Lemme, lemme try it out on him, and let him go to the network and see if he can create some interest in it. [Original Source: Telephone call between Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff, August 1971]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: [Clearing his throat]Now there's a couple of things I want to say to you that I need to clear the air completely with you on.
Saul Holiff: Uh-huh.
Johnny Cash: First of all, I knew, way before we even did the film that there's a lot of people - maybe the MAJORITY of the people - are not gonna buy what I am saying in the film or what this film is sayin. So, you see, I don't really have to be told that because I know that.
Saul Holiff: Well, when I make a statement like that, that's what's known as trying to be honest, because first of all, if you take a hundred people, twenty- five of them are of Christian faith and twenty of them are Moslems, and ten... you know, that's what I meant.
Johnny Cash: But, but I knew that originally, see?
Saul Holiff: Yeah.
Johnny Cash: Well, I just felt like you didn't have a lot of interest in this film.
Saul Holiff: I'm one of the few people that try to say to you exactly what they think without meaning to be harmful. I'm not trying to break things down, I'm just trying to temper things a little bit by saying, not exactly what people think you want to hear.
Johnny Cash: Yeah, right.
Saul Holiff: I find that a lot of people tell you exactly what you want to hear.
Johnny Cash: Yeah. I know that. I don't need that either.
Saul Holiff: And that doesn't help.
Johnny Cash: No it doesn't. [Original Source: Telephone call between Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff, July 1972]
Saul Holiff: Uh-huh.
Johnny Cash: First of all, I knew, way before we even did the film that there's a lot of people - maybe the MAJORITY of the people - are not gonna buy what I am saying in the film or what this film is sayin. So, you see, I don't really have to be told that because I know that.
Saul Holiff: Well, when I make a statement like that, that's what's known as trying to be honest, because first of all, if you take a hundred people, twenty- five of them are of Christian faith and twenty of them are Moslems, and ten... you know, that's what I meant.
Johnny Cash: But, but I knew that originally, see?
Saul Holiff: Yeah.
Johnny Cash: Well, I just felt like you didn't have a lot of interest in this film.
Saul Holiff: I'm one of the few people that try to say to you exactly what they think without meaning to be harmful. I'm not trying to break things down, I'm just trying to temper things a little bit by saying, not exactly what people think you want to hear.
Johnny Cash: Yeah, right.
Saul Holiff: I find that a lot of people tell you exactly what you want to hear.
Johnny Cash: Yeah. I know that. I don't need that either.
Saul Holiff: And that doesn't help.
Johnny Cash: No it doesn't. [Original Source: Telephone call between Johnny Cash and Saul Holiff, July 1972]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Saul Holiff: I've kept my running up, and my weight is stable, and I'm now, going on two weeks tomorrow, without drinking any hard liquor. I've done some considerable planning for the fall, and the August and September tours are all set up and, um, emotionally, I'm somewhat confused. I'm still annoyed that I can't get my office work done; don't seem to be motivated enough, or whatever. The Sahara Tahoe date is just three weeks away, which is almost inconceivable. The kids seem to be enjoying being out of school. And I still would like to be able to get out and toss a ball around with them, just can't seem to do. I just need to re-order my priorities and get off my fat ass, and get out with the kids and do things with them, toss a ball around, get involved. Help a little bit around here. I feel guilty about it I guess. [Original Source: Saul's Audio Diary, July 1973]
Barbara Holiff: [Lake Tahoe]June criticized Saul for being absent whenever Johnny appeared for free with the Billy Graham Crusade. She questioned whether he had something against Jesus, and asked Saul if he was only interested in money. Saul told June he considered her remark anti-Semitic. He said he shouldn't be required to attend benefits he had not arranged. And then, giving five months' notice, your father resigned.
Saul Holiff: Here I am being told that all I'm interested in is money. Now that always strikes me as hilarious because the Cashes were always interested in money. And then - this is the strangest part - there was never one ill word, not even a suggestion that I would be leaving. On the contrary, I think they had looked upon me - I'm positive of it - as a good luck charm; it had something to do with being superstitious, I know that. [Original Source: Saul Holiff as quoted by Johnny Cash, The Biography, by Michael Streissguth]
Johnny Cash: Saul is a great family man and one of the wisest men I know. We've grown together for 12 years and now
Barbara Holiff: [Lake Tahoe]June criticized Saul for being absent whenever Johnny appeared for free with the Billy Graham Crusade. She questioned whether he had something against Jesus, and asked Saul if he was only interested in money. Saul told June he considered her remark anti-Semitic. He said he shouldn't be required to attend benefits he had not arranged. And then, giving five months' notice, your father resigned.
Saul Holiff: Here I am being told that all I'm interested in is money. Now that always strikes me as hilarious because the Cashes were always interested in money. And then - this is the strangest part - there was never one ill word, not even a suggestion that I would be leaving. On the contrary, I think they had looked upon me - I'm positive of it - as a good luck charm; it had something to do with being superstitious, I know that. [Original Source: Saul Holiff as quoted by Johnny Cash, The Biography, by Michael Streissguth]
Johnny Cash: Saul is a great family man and one of the wisest men I know. We've grown together for 12 years and now
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: [Why did you decide to produce a movie about the life of Jesus Christ?]Well, it's a, hmmm, it was a thing that I felt like, that would be the most meaningful, meaningful thing that we could con contribute with our lives. It was our lives have to say. The story of Christ is a story that needed very much to be told, I think, in a way, so people could relate to it. Christ was sent to earth as a human being. And if our film has that one thing, it has Jesus as human and believable.
June Carter Cash: [June, you had something to do with starting this whole thing in motion. How did that come about?]I had a dream, ha, ha. Well, I dreamed I saw John on top of a mountain, uh, holding a book in his hand, and I believe the book was the Bible, and just told him that dream, and, uh, it's nice now to see it in the film.
June Carter Cash: [June, you had something to do with starting this whole thing in motion. How did that come about?]I had a dream, ha, ha. Well, I dreamed I saw John on top of a mountain, uh, holding a book in his hand, and I believe the book was the Bible, and just told him that dream, and, uh, it's nice now to see it in the film.
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: Saul, There is one question that burns in our minds. Do you believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah as prophesied by the Old Testament? Do you believe in His Divinity? [Original Source: Letter from Johnny Cash to Saul Holiff; April 28, 1975]
Saul Holiff: John, I can't honestly answer your question about Jesus. Years of sounding off about things I haven't fully investigated has resulted in a need for a mental catharsis. [Original Source: Letter from Saul Holiff to Johnny Cash; May 20, 1975]
June Carter Cash: For Saul, Dear Lord, in your book of predestined, preordained, if it's not there - I wish you'd write down ol' Saul's name. Back when excuses had to fall it was Saul who took the call, and looked you straight in the face and followed Johnny every place, in bars, honky- tonks and ditches - ol' Saul caught the heavy pitches - and threw them back just as hard. He fought to keep John in the yard. [Original Source: Poem June Carter Cash to Saul Holiff, December 25, 1975]
Saul Holiff: John, I can't honestly answer your question about Jesus. Years of sounding off about things I haven't fully investigated has resulted in a need for a mental catharsis. [Original Source: Letter from Saul Holiff to Johnny Cash; May 20, 1975]
June Carter Cash: For Saul, Dear Lord, in your book of predestined, preordained, if it's not there - I wish you'd write down ol' Saul's name. Back when excuses had to fall it was Saul who took the call, and looked you straight in the face and followed Johnny every place, in bars, honky- tonks and ditches - ol' Saul caught the heavy pitches - and threw them back just as hard. He fought to keep John in the yard. [Original Source: Poem June Carter Cash to Saul Holiff, December 25, 1975]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Saul Holiff: I don't want to sound corny, but, uh, I gave Johnny up, Johnny didn't give me up. This is something that skeptics question because I don't know of any similar situation where someone gives up an act, a superstar. No I left Johnny voluntarily. I wanted to go back to school. I got out because I wanted out. So I could rebuild my self-respect, and be my own person again. [Original Source: CFPL Radio interview, circa 1976]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: We had long ago found an understanding friend in Saul. He had suffered much embarrassment because of some of my capers when I was on pills. But he was cool, level-headed, and always handled the most complicated of my business problems, without burdening me down with the details of what he'd gone through in straightening out some of the messes I got myself into from missing show dates. He had never relayed the embarrassing questions he must have had to answer when I'd been in trouble. [Original Source: Man In Black, by Johnny Cash 1975]
Saul Holiff: I would say he has all of the faults of a very successful entertainer. A big ego, uh, self-centred, self-serving, uh, I could just go on endlessly. Read The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and you've got it all in one nutshell. And on the other hand, he's, um bright. He respects a job well done. He's very demanding of himself. He's a perfectionist. Uh, he's inordinately clever. He's exceptionally well read, uh, so he's, he's got qualities you can't help but respect and admire. [Original Source: CFPL Radio interview 1976]
Johnny Cash: Saul suffered much embarrassment when I was on pills. But he was cool, level-headed, and always handled the messes I got myself into. Saul made many of the most significant moves of my career, and I owe him a lot. [Original Source: CASH: The Autobiography, by Johnny Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr 1997]
Johnny Cash: Saul stayed pretty well insulated from the fall-out. When I did something that left a mess-things broken, people abused, money squandered, laws broken, jail cells visited-his technique was to simply disappear. [Original Source: A Man Called Cash, by Steve Turner 2004]
Saul Holiff: Holiff grins and agrees: I had one of the best disappearing acts - when I'd had enough. I just felt that there was a dignity involved and I could only go so far. And when I couldn't go any further, I just le
Saul Holiff: I would say he has all of the faults of a very successful entertainer. A big ego, uh, self-centred, self-serving, uh, I could just go on endlessly. Read The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and you've got it all in one nutshell. And on the other hand, he's, um bright. He respects a job well done. He's very demanding of himself. He's a perfectionist. Uh, he's inordinately clever. He's exceptionally well read, uh, so he's, he's got qualities you can't help but respect and admire. [Original Source: CFPL Radio interview 1976]
Johnny Cash: Saul suffered much embarrassment when I was on pills. But he was cool, level-headed, and always handled the messes I got myself into. Saul made many of the most significant moves of my career, and I owe him a lot. [Original Source: CASH: The Autobiography, by Johnny Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr 1997]
Johnny Cash: Saul stayed pretty well insulated from the fall-out. When I did something that left a mess-things broken, people abused, money squandered, laws broken, jail cells visited-his technique was to simply disappear. [Original Source: A Man Called Cash, by Steve Turner 2004]
Saul Holiff: Holiff grins and agrees: I had one of the best disappearing acts - when I'd had enough. I just felt that there was a dignity involved and I could only go so far. And when I couldn't go any further, I just le
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Saul Holiff: It has now been twenty years since we parted company, and with the benefit of hindsight, and an awful long time to think, I realize now, more than ever, that if it hadn't been for your confidence, belief and trust in me so many years ago, I would probably still be back in London promoting hamburgers, clothes and mediocre rock and roll acts. Hope all goes well with you and your family. Sincerely, Saul. [Original Source: Letter from Saul Holiff to Johnny Cash; October 16, 1994]
Johnny Cash: It was so nice to hear from you after all these years. We often reminisce about the years we worked together, and always know that we think well of you, and speak kindly of you. I hope we can see you again. Your friend, Johnny. [Original Source: Letter from Johnny Cash to Saul Holiff; February 6, 1997]
Johnny Cash: It was so nice to hear from you after all these years. We often reminisce about the years we worked together, and always know that we think well of you, and speak kindly of you. I hope we can see you again. Your friend, Johnny. [Original Source: Letter from Johnny Cash to Saul Holiff; February 6, 1997]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Saul Holiff: He was as mercurial as they come. He was the quintessential enigmatic everything. He was kind, he was cruel, he was thoughtful, he was selfish. And he was smart! We had endless conflict. I was always guilty of underestimating him. [Original Source: Victoria Times-Colonist, September 13, 2003]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Harvey Glatt: [the Capitol, Ottawa 1966]Your father and I finally found him in the motor home. And, wow, we, we really had to help him all the way to the microphone!
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Robert Shelton: Mr. Cash came highly endorsed... but the hoarseness of his voice and the incohesiveness of his performance, suggest that another hearing is needed before his name can be mentioned in the company of reputable country minstrels. Robert Shelton, New York Times [Original Source: Troupe of Country Musicians Gives Program at Carnegie Hall, New York Times, May 11, 1962]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Saul Holiff: [On Johnny Cash - the person]He's not what he appears to be. In many cases, he's more than he appears to be and, in some cases, possibly less... and the fact that his marriage lasted so long. They had a lovely son together, who has done well. I would have to say overall it's a very happy story, you know, like a guy who prevailed against incredible odds and did extraordinarily well as have the people around him. I mean, I didn't come out of this suffering either. Everyone who knew him might have different views about how situations could have been handled differently but when you have as much power as he had, he was okay with people. He could have been like some of your horror stories you read about. He wasn't like that. On the other hand he'd step out of character and drive a hard bargain when you least expected, and be tough, so you never knew what was coming down. If he thought you were trying to be a smart-ass, it was curtains. [Original Source: Country Music News May 2007]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Saul Holiff: [recalling being terrified of having to tell an unruly crowd in Jacksonville, Florida, Johnny Cash was a no-show]I didn't think I was going to get out of that place alive. [Original Source: Winners Got Scars Too by Christopher Wren]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black
Johnny Cash: [Johnny on Saul's resignation]I don't think I wore him out-nobody did; he just had no need to keep working, so he didn't. But I certainly wasn't the easiest of clients. [Original Source: Cash: The Autobiography with Patrick Carr]
Movie: My Father and the Man in Black