iGentikit | Norton of Morton

In which G.M. Norton considers just what makes the perfect gentleman and has a little fun creating his own.

The lovely Prussia of In Loco Parentis recently took the time to leave a comment on my homage to Grace Kelly and she got me thinking. Especially now your favourite protagonist has made 2013 the Year of the Gentleman.

Here is the part that really fired up my little grey cells.

“So I am sure a chap likes to carry himself assuming the air of George Sanders or channelling the wit of Terry Thomas and thus makes the mundane feel so much better. A man may not look like Gregory Peck or have the charm of Cary Grant but he can certainly use these people as inspiration.” 

Imagine what the perfect gentleman would look like and how he would behave? I thought Prussia had comprehensively covered it with the wit, urbane manner, charm and good looks of such legendary gentlemen.

But what if TT, George, Gregory and Cary were all somehow spliced together to make the ultimate chap. What would he look like? Dear reader, thanks to www.morphthing.com, I now hold the answer to that most searching of questions.

Do you recognise this handsome chap? If you look carefully, you will notice the gap in the teeth of Mr. Terry-Thomas, the nose of Gorgeous George, the strong dimple-clad jawline of Mr. Cary Grant and the mouth and general swarthy features of Mr. Gregory Peck.

Top left – Terry-Thomas, top right – George Sanders, bottom left – Gregory Peck, bottom right – Cary Grant

Upon spending time morphing the faces together into one, it struck me for the first time just how visually alike Gregory Peck and Cary Grant are. This is certainly the case in the pictorials above. What do you think?

To achieve the face from the famous four, it was first necessary for me to morph Terry-Thomas and George Sanders together and then repeat this process with Peck and Grant. Finally, I blended the two morphed faces together to make the final Perfect Gentleman.

So, what makes the perfect gentleman? Follow my Chivalric Code and even the most ape-like of men will see a remarkable transformation.

  1. Always be presentable
  2. Always open the door for a lady
  3. Never instigate a fight but end one if challenged
  4. Readily offer your coat or hand to a lady
  5. Defend a lady’s honour
  6. Offer a lady your seat
  7. Keep your word
  8. Be punctual
  9. Respect your elders
  10. Be polite and well-mannered

Please do help spread the word about Year of the Gentleman and if you witter on Twitter, take care to use the hashtag #yearofthegentleman
 
G.M. Norton
Protagonist of ‘Norton of Morton’