Madison Arnold

Arnold, Madison (19- )

Arnold is an actor who in Freethought Today (March 1989), wrote

I never accepted religion, so I had nothing to reject as such. The history of “Christiansanity” (my own coinage of which I am proud!) is so brutal of mind, emotions, freedom, progress, science, and all that I hold precious, that by an standards of justice its leaders in almost any given period would be incarcerated for life, or worse! . . . As a kid I looked up and saw no god and I wondered where “he” got such a large notebook to write down X's when I am bad as I was told he did. One of the first unanswerable questions I asked was when I was eight years old. Some cousins of mine always said a prayer before eating:

God is kind,

God is good,

And we thank him [sic]

For our food.

At that time we always heard the children in Europe were starving, therefore we should not waste any food. Two questions arose in my mind. First, what I knew about poetry was that it had to rhyme, and “food” and “good” didn't rhyme, so I always said “Fud” with a silent sneer, and made it rhyme. Second: I once asked my aunt if god is good and we thank him for our Fud, why are the kids in Europe starving? I asked her if the kids in Europe were all bad. I remember her saying, “Be thankful that you have food,” but, of course, she couldn't deal with the rest of it.

Arnold was in the Harold Pinter-directed Man in the Glass Booth during Broadway's 1968-1969 season.

He has played roles in the following films:

Final - (2001) - Bill's Father

Claire Dolan - (2000) - Priest

Donnie Brasco - (1997) - Jilly

Looking for Richard - (1996) - Rivers

Midnight Murders - (1995) - Bud Warren

Presumed Innocent - (1990) - Sgt. Lionel Kenneally

Penn & Teller Get Killed - (1989) - Slot Player

The Lonely Guy - (1984) - Lonely Cop

Deadhead Miles - (1982) - Hostler

Hanky-Panky - (1982) - Cop at Subway

Escape From Alcatraz - (1979) - Zimmerman

Hail - (1973) - Sgt. Mazzola