Until the day he dies, people will see Mandy Patinkin and say to themselves, "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die."
That was Patinkin's running gag in the movie "The Princess Bride." He said it so much in the film the phrase might end up on his own headstone.But that will be a ways down the road.
Patinkin's still on the stump, working hard and singing hard. And on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m., he'll be at Abravanel Hall in concert. Call ArtTix or 355-ARTS for ticket information.
Patinkin began singing in synagogues at age 8. He told Newsweek magazine that when he sings there is "a certain cry I get like the cry a cantor makes." On his recordings, his voice has been called "a fine clean tenor."
But whether he's in concert, on stage or just in the sound studio, he has the reputation as a driven perfectionist. "He's a standout worrier in a profession known for its neurotics," says journalist John Stark. "He is quite capable of worrying himself sick."
Before the first solo show of his career, Patinkin broke out in hives and welts. He thought at one point he'd have to be medicated.
"If you're coming to see me," he has said in the past, "don't ever tell me. If I know someone is coming, be it a cabdriver, the doorman or a relative, I'll freak."
Still, amid all the fretting, the singer has managed to control his jitters long enough to win a Tony for playing "Che" in Broadway's "Evita" and star in "Sunday in the Park with George" and "Falsettos."
At the video store, you can pick him up in the films "Ragtime," "Yentl," "Alien Nation," "Dick Tracy" and, of course, "The Princess Bride."
Accompanying Patinkin - both in person and on the piano - will be Paul Ford, the original pianist for Stephen Sondheim's "Passion," "Into the Woods" and "Sunday in the Park With George." He has worked with Patinkin on all four of his solo recordings.