Hell Can Wait

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 I slept fitfully last night, and when I finally fell asleep I woke up in Satan's office.  (I've been there before).  He was signing papers and then he saw me. 'Paul'!  He flipped through a Rolodex.   'I see you're, er, ...ah,... just visiting.  Oh, well...' and his smile was as an arc-light.  'Soon enough'!  He slapped me on the back.  'Nothing new, I'm afraid, but...an imp appeared and whispered into his master's ear.  'Really'? said his majesty, and he turned and looked at me.  'I forgot about this.  A truly - hideous - punishment, we're just trying to figure out what sin to apply it to'. His smile was now as bright as the sun.
Did...my God...did he just... wink at me?

 Photo of Laird Cregar as Satan in Heaven Can Wait, 1943.
 
Laird Cregar was a tremendously talented actor who had a very brief career.  His first film role was in 1940, uncredited.  At that time he was sleeping in a friend's car.  Gaining Hollywood's attention from his performance on stage as Oscar Wilde, he was soon cast in big budget movies.  Equally at home in comedic or extreme roles, I recommend I Wake Up Screaming if you wish to see a total psychopath detective frame an innocent man.  He plays the most affable devil of all time in Heaven Can Wait.  6'3" and 310 lbs, he embarked on a crash diet assisted by amphetamines, causing stomach problems that led to an operation.  A few days later he died of heart failure.  He was openly gay and didn't care who knew it.  Darryl Zanuck linked him romantically with Dorothy McGuire after a boyfriend of Cregar's was murdered in an unsolved Hollywood killing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bacon_(actor)

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