John Barry, who composed scores for James Bond films and many other movies, passed on 30 January 2011 at the age of 77. According to the BBC he died of a heart attack.
John Barry was born John Barry Prendergast in York on 3 November 1933. His father managed various cinemas throughout York, leading young John Barry to take an interest in movies. He showed a talent for music early, learning piano and trumpet. It was while serving in the military in Cyprus that Mr. Barry began performing as a musician. In the mid Fifties he served as an arranger for Ted Heath's Orchestra. In 1957 he formed his own band, The John Barry Seven. It was in 1959 that he broke into television, composing the theme to the series In 1960 he broke into movies, writing the score for the movie Never Let Go. Over the next few years he composed the score for the movie Beat Girl (1960) and the 1961 Girl on the Roof.
Eventually John Barry would come to the attention of the producers of a film called Dr. No, with whose score the producers were unhappy. John Barry gave them a new score (although Monty Norman would be credited with the "James Bond Theme"). John Barry's success with Dr. No would lead him to score most of the Bond films up to The Living Daylights (1987), as well as such films as Man in the Middle (1963), Zulu (1963), A Jolly Bad Fellow (1964), The Ipcress File (1965), The Knack...and How to Get It (1965), King Rat (1965), Born Free (1966), The Wrong Box (1966), The Quiller Memorandum (1966), Petulia (1968), The Lion in Winter (1968), They Might Be Giants (1971), King Kong (1976), The Deep (1977), The Game of Death (1978), The Black Hole (1979), Howard the Duck (1986), Dances with Wolves (1990), Chaplin (1992), The Scarlet Letter (1995), Playing by Heart (1998), and Enigma (2001).
Mr. Barry also composed extensively for television, including the themes for the shows The Human Jungle, Juke Box Jury, Vendetta, The Newcomers, Discs a Go-Go, The Persuaders, The Adventurer, and Great Mysteries.
John Barry was definitely one of the greatest film composers of all time. While "The James Bond Theme" itself is credited to Monty Norman, the scores of Dr. No and the further James Bond movies were all written by John Barry. Additionally, John Barry would compose such iconic scores as the ones for Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Mary Queen of Scots, and Dances with Wolves. His style was bigger than life, which made it perfectly suited for spy films such as the Bond movies, The Ipcress File, and The Quiller Memorandum. Few film composers achieved as much as John Barry did.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Resurrecting Dead Celebrities....For Commercials
In the Nineties there was a disturbing trend in American television commercials in using often long dead celebrities. The cycle began in 1987 with an advert in which Fred Astaire danced not with Ginger Rogers, but with a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner. Dirt Devil apparently thought the spot was successful, as they would follow it up with further commercials featuring the long dead Fred Astaire.
Sadly, it would not be long before other companies would follow Dirt Devil's suit in using dead stars to advertise their products. In a 1991 Diet Coke commercial, Elton John played for Humphrey Bogart, and Louis Armstrong. Diet Coke would follow up this ad with one featuring Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, and Groucho Marx. In 1997 John Wayne was featured in a commercial for Coors Light. The trend towards using dead celebrities in commercials would continue into the Naughts. In 2005 Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" sequence from the movie of the same name was used in a commercial for the Volkswagen Golf. Much to the relief of classic film buffs, the cycle appeared to end not long after that. Sadly, it would seem that another commercial recently debuted, featuring two more dead celebrities.
The offender is once again Volkswagen, this time using Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in an ad for the Jetta. Below is the offending commercial:
Personally, I had hoped that this particular trend in commercials had ended in the Naughts. Sadly, it seems as if Volkswagen wishes to revive it again. My objections to this spot and all the others which have gone before it are quite simple, and I believe that they are shared by most classic film fans. The first is that the use of a long dead celebrity in an advertisement is simply demeaning to that celebrity. This holds true of having Fred Astaire dance with a Dirt Devil and even more true of having John Wayne appear in something possibly as objectionable as an advert for light beer. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Humphrey Bogart, Groucho Marx, John Wayne, and the other stars who have been used in these adverts were very serious about their craft and are highly regarded by critics and fans alike. To use them in commercials for vacuum cleaners, cars, and beer is treating them as something of a joke, something they most certainly are not.
The second is that these commercials are obviously being made without the permissions of the stars. After all, the dead cannot exactly give permission to advertisers to use their image or their work in a commercial. It is quite possible that Gene Kelly would have objected to advertising Volkswagen cars and I think very likely the Duke would have objected to advertising Coors Light. Being a Coca-Cola drinker myself, I know I would be very unhappy if I was famous and after I died my image was used to sell Pepsi....
My hope is that this latest commercial featuring Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor will be the last commercial to use dead celebrities in their adverts. To me it is demeaning to the stars themselves and, given they cannot give permission for their images or work to be used, it is disrespectful as well. I must admit, I would think twice of buying any product in which the manufacturer used the image or work of one of my favourite stars from the past.
Sadly, it would not be long before other companies would follow Dirt Devil's suit in using dead stars to advertise their products. In a 1991 Diet Coke commercial, Elton John played for Humphrey Bogart, and Louis Armstrong. Diet Coke would follow up this ad with one featuring Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, and Groucho Marx. In 1997 John Wayne was featured in a commercial for Coors Light. The trend towards using dead celebrities in commercials would continue into the Naughts. In 2005 Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain" sequence from the movie of the same name was used in a commercial for the Volkswagen Golf. Much to the relief of classic film buffs, the cycle appeared to end not long after that. Sadly, it would seem that another commercial recently debuted, featuring two more dead celebrities.
The offender is once again Volkswagen, this time using Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in an ad for the Jetta. Below is the offending commercial:
Personally, I had hoped that this particular trend in commercials had ended in the Naughts. Sadly, it seems as if Volkswagen wishes to revive it again. My objections to this spot and all the others which have gone before it are quite simple, and I believe that they are shared by most classic film fans. The first is that the use of a long dead celebrity in an advertisement is simply demeaning to that celebrity. This holds true of having Fred Astaire dance with a Dirt Devil and even more true of having John Wayne appear in something possibly as objectionable as an advert for light beer. Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Humphrey Bogart, Groucho Marx, John Wayne, and the other stars who have been used in these adverts were very serious about their craft and are highly regarded by critics and fans alike. To use them in commercials for vacuum cleaners, cars, and beer is treating them as something of a joke, something they most certainly are not.
The second is that these commercials are obviously being made without the permissions of the stars. After all, the dead cannot exactly give permission to advertisers to use their image or their work in a commercial. It is quite possible that Gene Kelly would have objected to advertising Volkswagen cars and I think very likely the Duke would have objected to advertising Coors Light. Being a Coca-Cola drinker myself, I know I would be very unhappy if I was famous and after I died my image was used to sell Pepsi....
My hope is that this latest commercial featuring Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor will be the last commercial to use dead celebrities in their adverts. To me it is demeaning to the stars themselves and, given they cannot give permission for their images or work to be used, it is disrespectful as well. I must admit, I would think twice of buying any product in which the manufacturer used the image or work of one of my favourite stars from the past.
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Comedian Charlie Callas Pases On
Comedian Charlie Callas passed on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at the age of 83.
Charlie Callas was born on December 20, 1927 in Brooklyn. As a teenager he took up the drums. He served in World War II, after which he began playing with various bands, including Tommy Dorsey. While he performed he would engage in comedy routines. His comedy routines proved so popular that he turned to stand up comedy full time in 1962. It was only two years later that he received his big break, appearing on The Hollywood Palace in 1964. Throughout the Sixties he would appear on such shows as The Jimmy Dean Show, The Munsters, The Monkees, The Merv Griffin Show. The Johnny Cash Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Flip Wilson Show. He appeared in the film The Big Mouth.
In the Seventies Mr. Callas appeared on such shows as Love American Style, The Snoop Sisters, The Movie Game, The David Frost Show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Mike Douglas Show. He was a regular on the shows Switch and The ABC Comedy Hour. He appeared in the films Silent Movie (1972) and High Anxiety (1977). He was the voice of Elliot the Dragon in Pete's Dragon (1977). In the Eighties he appeared on such shows as Hollywood Squares, Hart to Hart, The Fall Guy, L. A. Law, D. C. Follies, It's Gary Shanlding's Show, and L. A. Law. . He appeared History of the World Part I (1981) Hysterical (1983), and Amazon Women on the Moon (1987). He provided his voice in the film Gallavants (1984).
From the Nineties into the Naughts he Charlie Callas appeared on the shows Silk Stalkings, The Ren and Stimpy Show, and Cybill. He appeared in the films Vampire Vixens from Venus (1995), and Dracula Dead and Loving It (1995). His last appearance on screen was in Horrorween (2011), due to be released this year.
Charlie Callas was a brilliant comedian with a gift for one liners. His delivery came at a mile at minute. He also had a gift for making the most unusual sounds, from the sound of a duck to the sound of a shotgun. He could also think very fast on his feet, able to extemporise the most hilarious lines on the spot. Mr. Callas was a very funny comic and he will be missed.
Charlie Callas was born on December 20, 1927 in Brooklyn. As a teenager he took up the drums. He served in World War II, after which he began playing with various bands, including Tommy Dorsey. While he performed he would engage in comedy routines. His comedy routines proved so popular that he turned to stand up comedy full time in 1962. It was only two years later that he received his big break, appearing on The Hollywood Palace in 1964. Throughout the Sixties he would appear on such shows as The Jimmy Dean Show, The Munsters, The Monkees, The Merv Griffin Show. The Johnny Cash Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Kraft Music Hall, and The Flip Wilson Show. He appeared in the film The Big Mouth.
In the Seventies Mr. Callas appeared on such shows as Love American Style, The Snoop Sisters, The Movie Game, The David Frost Show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, The Dean Martin Comedy Hour, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Mike Douglas Show. He was a regular on the shows Switch and The ABC Comedy Hour. He appeared in the films Silent Movie (1972) and High Anxiety (1977). He was the voice of Elliot the Dragon in Pete's Dragon (1977). In the Eighties he appeared on such shows as Hollywood Squares, Hart to Hart, The Fall Guy, L. A. Law, D. C. Follies, It's Gary Shanlding's Show, and L. A. Law. . He appeared History of the World Part I (1981) Hysterical (1983), and Amazon Women on the Moon (1987). He provided his voice in the film Gallavants (1984).
From the Nineties into the Naughts he Charlie Callas appeared on the shows Silk Stalkings, The Ren and Stimpy Show, and Cybill. He appeared in the films Vampire Vixens from Venus (1995), and Dracula Dead and Loving It (1995). His last appearance on screen was in Horrorween (2011), due to be released this year.
Charlie Callas was a brilliant comedian with a gift for one liners. His delivery came at a mile at minute. He also had a gift for making the most unusual sounds, from the sound of a duck to the sound of a shotgun. He could also think very fast on his feet, able to extemporise the most hilarious lines on the spot. Mr. Callas was a very funny comic and he will be missed.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Actor Bruce Gordon R.I.P.
Actor Bruce Gordon, who played gangster Frank Nitti on The Untouchables, passed on January 20, 2011, at the age of 94.Bruce Gordon was born February 1, 1916 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He made his debut on Broadway in the musical The Fireman's Flame in1937. He would go on to appear in such plays on Broadway as Arsenic and Old Lace (1941), King Richard II (1951),The Pink Elephant (1953), The Lark (1955), and Diamond Orchid (1965). He made his movie debut in The Naked City in 1948. He would have his first substantial film role with Love Happy (1949).
Throughout the Fifties Mr. Gordon appeared frequently on television. He played the lead in the 1958-1959 series Behind Closed Doors. In the Westingohouse Desilu Playhouse episode "The Untouchables" he played Al Capone's second in command and heir apparent Frank Nitti. When the episode was spun off into a series in 1959, Bruce Gordon was semi-regular in the same role. He also appeared on such shows as The Goldbergs, The Man Behind the Badge, You Are There, Studio One, The United States Steel Hour, Hallmark Hall of Fame, Kraft Theatre, M Squad, Zane Grey Theatre, Whirlybirds, Have Gun--Will Travel, Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond, Playhouse 90, The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, 77 Sunset Strip, and Gunsmoke. He also appeared in the films The Buccaneer (1958), Curse of the Undead (1959), and Key Witness (1960).
In the Sixties Bruce Gordon played Gus Chernak on the show Peyton Place. He appeared on such shows as Maverick, Peter Gunn, Death Valley Days, Route 66, Car 54 Where Are You, Naked City, The Defenders, Perry Mason, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., He & She, Get Smart, Mannix, Tarzan, Ironside, and Bonanza. He appeared in the films Rider on a Dead Horse (1962), Tower of London (1962), Slow Run (1968), and Hello Down There (1969).
From the Seventies into the Eighties Mr. Gordon appeared in such shows as Here's Lucy, Adam-12, The Doris Day Show, Banacek, The Fall Guy, and Simon & Simon, He appeared in the films Piranha (1978) and Timerider (1982).
Bruce Gordon was a versatile actor. In his long career he played cops and criminals, grocers and grandfathers. And he did all of them well. Although best known as Frank Nitti on The Untouchables, he should be remembered for much more.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Gladys Horton of The Marvelettes R.I.P.
Gladys Horton of The Marvelettes, the girl group who set the stage for the Motown girl groups to come, passed on January 26, 2011 at the age of 66. The cause was complications from a stroke.
Gladys Horton was born in Detroit in 1944. She took an interest in singing while still fairly young. She was only fifteen when she formed the Casinyets with Georgeanna Tillman, Katherine Anderson and Juanita Cowart. and Georgia Dobbins. A performance at a 1961 talent show led to one of their teachers arranging an audition for Barry Gordy at Motown. The label signed The Marvelettes, making them Motown's first girl group. It was in the summer of 1961 that Motown released their first single, "Please, Mr. Postman," which went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group would have another hit with "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789" in `1962.
From 1963 to 1964, none of The Marvelettes' singles reached the top forty, but they would make a comeback in late 1964 with "Too Many Fish in the Sea," which went to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in 1965 with "Don't Mess with Bill," which went to #7. They would have three more hit singles, "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game," "When You're Young and in Love," and "My Baby Must Be a Magician." Gladys Horton would leave The Marvelettes in 1967, in part to care for her disabled son. Miss Horton would later reunite with The Marvelettes in the Eighties, performing as Gladys Horton and The Marvelettes.
The Marvelettes would have an huge impact on the history of pop music. As Motown's first girl group, they paved the way for such groups as Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes, as well as girl groups on other labels, such as The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las. Much of the reason for the group's success was Gladys Horton's powerful voice. She sang lead on their major hits, including their first one, "Please, Mr. Postman." It is significant that the group's fortunes declined after she left in 1967. As a lead vocalist for one of the earliest girl groups, Gladys Horton will be remembered.
Gladys Horton was born in Detroit in 1944. She took an interest in singing while still fairly young. She was only fifteen when she formed the Casinyets with Georgeanna Tillman, Katherine Anderson and Juanita Cowart. and Georgia Dobbins. A performance at a 1961 talent show led to one of their teachers arranging an audition for Barry Gordy at Motown. The label signed The Marvelettes, making them Motown's first girl group. It was in the summer of 1961 that Motown released their first single, "Please, Mr. Postman," which went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group would have another hit with "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789" in `1962.
From 1963 to 1964, none of The Marvelettes' singles reached the top forty, but they would make a comeback in late 1964 with "Too Many Fish in the Sea," which went to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in 1965 with "Don't Mess with Bill," which went to #7. They would have three more hit singles, "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game," "When You're Young and in Love," and "My Baby Must Be a Magician." Gladys Horton would leave The Marvelettes in 1967, in part to care for her disabled son. Miss Horton would later reunite with The Marvelettes in the Eighties, performing as Gladys Horton and The Marvelettes.
The Marvelettes would have an huge impact on the history of pop music. As Motown's first girl group, they paved the way for such groups as Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes, as well as girl groups on other labels, such as The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las. Much of the reason for the group's success was Gladys Horton's powerful voice. She sang lead on their major hits, including their first one, "Please, Mr. Postman." It is significant that the group's fortunes declined after she left in 1967. As a lead vocalist for one of the earliest girl groups, Gladys Horton will be remembered.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
The Late,Great Jack LaLanne
Jack LaLanne, the man who advocated fitness and good nutrition for over seventy years, passed Sunday afternoon, 23 January 2011 at the age of 95. The cause was respiratory failure due to pneumonia.Jack LaLanne was born Francois Henri LaLanne in San Francisco, California on 26 September 1914. It was his older brother who nicknamed him "Jack." At age fifteen Mr. LaLanne was a troubled teenager and not particularly healthy. His mother took him to talk held by health food guru Paul C. Bragg at a local women's club. The talk literally changed his life. He began working out, studied Gray's Anatomy to learn about the muscles of the body, and improved his diet. He attended and graduated from Oakland Chiropractic College in San Francisco, but instead of opening a chiropractic practice, instead in 1936, at age 21, Jack LaLannne opened his first health spa. The spa was the predecessor to all modern health clubs, not only including a gym but a store and a juice bar as well. He designed the ancestors of modern exercise machines, complete with leg extensions and pulleys. He also encouraged women, the elderly, and even the disabled to exercise. There was a good deal of initial resistance to Mr. LaLanne's message of exercise and good nutrition, with many physicians believing him a charlatan.
Despite his naysayers, Jack LaLanne proved to be a success. It was in 1951 that The Jack LaLanne Show debuted on local television in San Francisco. In 1958 it went nationwide. Its success lie in the fact that Mr. LaLanne addressed each member of the audience as if they were in the studio with him.In the early days he often featured his white German shepherd Happy. The Jack LaLanne Show ran 34 years. It would later be rerun on ESPN and is now available online at YouTube and elsewhere.
Over the years Jack LaLanne would perform a number of incredible feats. At age 40 he swam the entire length of the Golden Gate Bridge under water and with 140 pounds of equipment strapped to him. At age 41 he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf while handcuffed. In 1976, in commemoration of the American Bicentennial, Mr. LaLanne swam one mile in Long Beach Harbour while handcuffed, shackled, and towing thirteen boats containing 76 people. At age 70 he swam one mile from the Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbour while handcuffed and shackled, and towing seventy rowboats, one with many people aboard.
Jack LaLanne would eventually have over 200 Jack LaLanne European Health Spas nationwide. He later licensed them to Bally. He also published several books on fitness and nutrition, as well as made videos and marketed a number of electric juicers. He also recorded a record album on fitness, released in 1959. Starting in 2007, he also appeared on Voice America Health and Wellness Radio Network on the radio show Jack LaLanne Live with his wife Elaine and his nephew Chris LaLanne. He also appeared in movies and TV Shows, including guest appearances on the shows Peter Gunn, Mister Ed, The Addams Family, Batman, Laugh In, The Simpsons, and Life with Bonnie. He appeared in the telefilm More Wild Wild West. He appeared in the films The Ladies Man (1961), The Happy Ending (1969), and Repossessed (1990).
It would not be exaggerating to call Jack LaLanne both a pioneer and a revolutionary. Almost fifty years before the fitness craze of the Eighties, Jack LaLanne was preaching fitness and nutrition to America. Thirty years before the first work out videos, he was guiding Americans through workouts on The Jack LaLanne Show. In fact, I dare say it would not be exaggerating to say that Mr. LaLanne virtually created the fitness craze. After all, for years he had been the only one telling Americans about working, nutrition, and good health. Even after the fitness craze of the Eighties established fitness as part of the American landscape, Jack LaLanne would be a pioneer. He showed Americans how to grow old gracefully, working out well into his nineties.
I can remember watching Jack LaLanne as a very young child, and even then I know why Jack LaLanne was so successful. He was no dumb jock by any means, but a man who was intelligent, charming, and personable, making you feel right at home watching his show. What is more it seemed as if he truly cared about his viewers, not encouraging to live healthier lives to sell more books, but instead to live better lives. A true pioneer who virtually crated the fitness industry, Jack LaLanne will be remembered for a long time to come.
Monday, 24 January 2011
My Video Tribute to Scarlett O'Hara
I have had Windows Movie Maker on this PC ever since I bought it six years ago, but I had never used it. This weekend I finally decided to make a video using it. A lot of my friends have made tribute videos of their favourite actors and actresses, so I thought I should join in on the fun. Of course, I then decided it would not be a tribute to an actress so much as a famous movie character--Scarlett O'Hara. I then decided that rather than going with some standard, I would go with power pop band's remake of The Monkees' "She." My reasoning is that if Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara had lived in the 1960's instead of the 1860's, he probably would have identified the song with her!
So here it is, my video directorial debut (at least using a PC--I have made videos with a camera)....
So here it is, my video directorial debut (at least using a PC--I have made videos with a camera)....
Sunday, 23 January 2011
The Comics Code Authority R.I.P.
Last week on 20 January 2011 DC Comics made the momentous announcement that they were leaving the Comics Code Authority. The next day Archie Comics announced that they were also leaving the Comics Code Authority. Archie Comics also stated that their decision was not influenced by DC Comics, as they had made their decision to leave a year ago. DC and Archie were the last two members of the Comics Code Authority. With their departure, then, the Comics Code Authority is effectively defunct. For those who are wondering, the Comics Code Authority was a body for self censorship founded by members of the Comic Magazine Association of America. It was established in 1954, a year when public outcry against violence contained in comic books reached its peak. It was the year that the book Seduction of the Innocent, the famous attack on comic books by Dr. Fredric Wertham, was published. It was also the year that a hearing was held on comic books by the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, headed by Senator Estes Kefauver. As shocking as it might seem now, comic books were even burned in some areas.
Despite the moral panic over comic magazines in 1954, it was important to remember that at no point was there any threat of government censorship of the medium. Kefauver's hearing on comic books was itself inconclusive. That having been said, the industry was under fire from the public at large to the point that creating a self censorship body must have seemed like a wise move at the time. The Comic Magazine Association of America itself described the Comics Code as "...the strictest in existence for any communications media (sic)." The Comics Code in its original form was indeed strict. It forbade the use of the words "horror," "terror," or "crime" in titles, and even forbade the portrayal of vampires and werewolves.
Over the years the Comics Code would be revised. In 1971 the Code was revised to allow "...vampires, ghouls and werewolves... when handled in the classic tradition such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and other high calibre literary works written by Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, Conan Doyle and other respected authors whose works are read in schools around the world" and "... corruption among public officials...as long as it is portrayed as exceptional and the culprit is punished." The Comics Code would be revised again several times over the years, each time growing less strict than it had originally been.
Indeed, various comic book companies began publishing magazines for more adult audiences, an example being DC Comics and its Vertigo imprint. These more adult titles were not submitted to the Comics Code Authority for approval. In 2001, Marvel Comics abandoned the Comics Code in favour of their own ratings system. It was then perhaps only a matter of time before DC and Archie would abandon the Code.
While many may claim that the Code had little authority in the past several years, its passing is still significant. The Comics Code in its original form was indeed strict, more so even than the Motion Picture Association's Production Code in the Thirties and Forties. It is not without good reason that many blame the Comics Code Authority to reducing comic books to little more than children's literature for many, many years following its implementation. Indeed, the changes wrought by the Code in the industry were enormous. The vast majority of horror titles disappeared almost overnight. Batman went from battling such dead foes as Two Face and Catwoman to fighting aliens and travelling through time.In the wake of the Comics Code sales dropped to the point that many comic book companies went out of business (in fact, what is now known as Marvel very nearly did). Even as the Comics Code weakened over the years, it remained as a reminder of a dark period in comic book history, when the industry was under attack from all sides. That the Comics Code Authority no longer exists in then significant. It shows that the comic book industry at last feels safe enough to be free from what perhaps the strictest self censorship body in the world.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Costume Designer Theoni Aldredge R.I.P.
Theoni V. Aldredge, who designed costumes for films from Stella (1955) to The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), passed on January 21, 2010 at the age of 78.
Theoni V. Aldredge was born Theoni Athanasiou in Greece on August 22, 1932. She decided to become a costume designer after seeing the movie Caesar and Cleopatra (1946). When she was around 17 she immigrated to the United States where she attended the Goodman School of Drama, at that time part of the Art Institute of Chicago. She married Tom Aldredge in 1953.
Miss Aldredge first designed costumes for Stella (1955). She would go onto to design costumes for such films as Never on Sunday (1960), The Three Sisters (1966), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), The Great Gatsby (1974), Network (1976), The Cheap Detective (1978), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Rich and Famous (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Moonstruck (1987), Other People's Money (1991), Addams Family Values (1993), and First Wives Club (1996). She won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on The Great Gatsby.
Theoni V. Aldrege also worked on Broadway. She designed costumes for such plays as Sweet Bird of Youth, The Best Man, The Devil's Advocate, Mr. President, Any Wednesday, P. S. I Love You, Happily Ever After, Little Murders, Weekend, That Championship Season, A Chorus Line, Annie, 42nd Street, Dreamgirls, Chess, and Nick and Nora.
Theoni V. Aldredge was born Theoni Athanasiou in Greece on August 22, 1932. She decided to become a costume designer after seeing the movie Caesar and Cleopatra (1946). When she was around 17 she immigrated to the United States where she attended the Goodman School of Drama, at that time part of the Art Institute of Chicago. She married Tom Aldredge in 1953.
Miss Aldredge first designed costumes for Stella (1955). She would go onto to design costumes for such films as Never on Sunday (1960), The Three Sisters (1966), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), The Great Gatsby (1974), Network (1976), The Cheap Detective (1978), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Rich and Famous (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Moonstruck (1987), Other People's Money (1991), Addams Family Values (1993), and First Wives Club (1996). She won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on The Great Gatsby.
Theoni V. Aldrege also worked on Broadway. She designed costumes for such plays as Sweet Bird of Youth, The Best Man, The Devil's Advocate, Mr. President, Any Wednesday, P. S. I Love You, Happily Ever After, Little Murders, Weekend, That Championship Season, A Chorus Line, Annie, 42nd Street, Dreamgirls, Chess, and Nick and Nora.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Actor Paul Picerni Passes On
Actor Paul Pircerni, who was a regular on the TV series The Untouchables and appeared in the movie House of Wax (1953), passed on 12 January 2011. He was 91 years old. The cause was a heart attack. Paul Picerni was born on 1 December 1922 in New York City. During World War II he joined the United States Army Air Force, where he served as a bombardier. He made his film debut in 1946 as an extra in In Fast Company. He had bit parts in Beyond Glory (1948) and Twelve O'Clock High (1949). Mr. Picerni appeared in several films in 1950, including The Secret Fury, Dial 119, and Breakthrough. In 1950 he also graduated from Loyola University in Los Angeles, California with a bachelor of arts.
Paul Picerni began the Fifties starring in more substantial roles. He appeared in such films as I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951), Fort Worth (1951), and Mara Maru (1952). In 1953 he played the hero in the classic horror film House of Wax opposite the great Vincent Price. He finished out the Fifties appearing in such films as The Beat From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), His Majesty O'Keefe (1954), The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954), To Hell and Back (1955), Miracle in the Rain (1956), The Big Caper (1957), The Brothers Rico (1957), Majorie Morningstar (1958), and The Young Philadelphians (1959). Mr. Picerni appeared on television frequently in the Fifties, in such shows as The Lone Wolf, Dragnet, Fireside Theatre, Mr. and Mrs. North, The Red Skelton Hour, Studio 57, Climax, Goodyear Television Playhouse, Four Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Zorro, Maverick, and The Loretta Young Show. In 1959 he appeared as Tony Liurgi in the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse episode "The Untouchables." When the episode was spun off into the TV Series The Untouchables the following year, Mr. Picerni was cast as Treasury Agent Lee Hobson. He appeared on the series from 1960 to 1963.
Throughout the Sixties Paul Picerni appeared on such shows as Perry Mason, The Fugitive, The Big Valley, Batman, Combat, Hogan's Heroes, The Virginian, Hawaii Five-O, and The F.B.I. He appeared in such movies as Fury River (1961), The Age of Violence (1964), The Scalphunters (1968), Che! (1969), and Airport (1970). In the Seventies Mr. Picerni appeared in such shows as The Immortal, Love American Style, Here's Lucy, Emergency, Marcus Welby M.D., Adam-12, Gunsmoke, Kolchak the Night Stalker, Mannix, Barnaby Jones, and Kojak. He appeared in the films Kotch (1971), The Fearmakers (1971), Capricorn One (1977), Escape to Athena(1979), and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979). From the Eighties into the Naughts, Mr. Picerni appeared in such shows as Trapper John M.D., Quince M.E., Sledge Hammer, and Diagnosis: Murder. He appeared in the film Three Days to Vegas (2007), his last appearance on film.
Paul Picerni was a versatile actor. Gifted with the good looks of a leading man, he was actually a skilled character actor. Throughout his long career, Paul Picerni played everything from lawmen like Agent Hobson on The Untouchables to gangsters to Catholic priests to medical doctors. And he performed all of those roles quite well. If he appeared frequently on television, it is perhaps because he was an actor who could be counted upon in any guest part he was given.
Monday, 17 January 2011
Ricky Gervais and the Golden Globes
Today the news media, not to mention such social networkings sites as Twitter, were all abuzz with Ricky Gervais' performance as host of the Golden Globes ceremony last night. The majority of opinion was that Mr. Gervais was overly rude and disrespectful to the people the show was meant to honour. Indeed, he made reference to Robert Downey Jr.'s past problems. He joked about the age of the cast of Sex and the City 2. He even announced that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the folks who hand out the Golden Globe Awards) "took bribes." HPFA president Phil Berk stated that when one hires a comedian like Mr. Gervais, one must expect outrageous humour. He went onto say, "The HFPA would never condone some of his personal remarks. Overall, however, the show was among the best we've ever had." Despite the stance of the HPFA, however, the consensus of most of the press and many others is that Ricky Gervais should be fired as the show's host.
My own thought is that to a large degree the controversy over Ricky Gervais' hosting duties on the Golden Globes Awards is a tempest in a teapot. While I certainly do not condone many of Mr. Gervais' comments and I would not blame anyone if they took a horse whip to him, in the end I do not see that they are all that newsworthy.
First is the fact that I do not think the Golden Globe Awards themselves are newsworthy. In fact, I did not even bother to watch the ceremony last night (Ghost World was on KPLR--I only know of Ricky Gervais' remarks from coverage on television and internet). After all, it is hard for me to see how anyone could take the Golden Globes seriously. They are not given by the industry itself, as the Oscars or the various guild awards are. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association are simply a small group of journalists (only about 80 to 90 in all) who report entertainment news. To me this gives the Golden Globes about as much clout as the People's Choice Awards. It should then not be surprising that the Golden Globes are not a good forecast of the Oscars, no more than the various critics associations' awards. Finally, I guess I need not point out that the Golden Globes is nearly as well known for its scandals as it is for its awards (just read my first post on the subject). It seems to me that Hollywood and the media place an importance on the Golden Globes ceremony that it does not deserve.
Second, as HFPA president Phil Berk pointed out, when one hires a comedian like Ricky Gervais, one expects outrageous humour. Much of Mr. Gervais' comedy comes from being rude, disrespectful, and even hurtful. It is unrealistic to think that he would pull any punches simply because he is hosting an awards ceremony. Quite simply, the news media and Hollywood should not be shocked that Mr. Gervais insulted many celebrities. Being shocked at Mr. Gervais being insulting is like being shocked at there being water in the ocean.
Quite simply, between the relative unimportance of the Golden Globe Awards and the fact that Ricky Gervais was only doing what one would expect him to do, I fail to see why so much of the coverage of the awards focused on his hosting. Ricky Gervais insulted people? This is news? Next the press will be reporting that it is summer and it is hot....
My own thought is that to a large degree the controversy over Ricky Gervais' hosting duties on the Golden Globes Awards is a tempest in a teapot. While I certainly do not condone many of Mr. Gervais' comments and I would not blame anyone if they took a horse whip to him, in the end I do not see that they are all that newsworthy.
First is the fact that I do not think the Golden Globe Awards themselves are newsworthy. In fact, I did not even bother to watch the ceremony last night (Ghost World was on KPLR--I only know of Ricky Gervais' remarks from coverage on television and internet). After all, it is hard for me to see how anyone could take the Golden Globes seriously. They are not given by the industry itself, as the Oscars or the various guild awards are. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association are simply a small group of journalists (only about 80 to 90 in all) who report entertainment news. To me this gives the Golden Globes about as much clout as the People's Choice Awards. It should then not be surprising that the Golden Globes are not a good forecast of the Oscars, no more than the various critics associations' awards. Finally, I guess I need not point out that the Golden Globes is nearly as well known for its scandals as it is for its awards (just read my first post on the subject). It seems to me that Hollywood and the media place an importance on the Golden Globes ceremony that it does not deserve.
Second, as HFPA president Phil Berk pointed out, when one hires a comedian like Ricky Gervais, one expects outrageous humour. Much of Mr. Gervais' comedy comes from being rude, disrespectful, and even hurtful. It is unrealistic to think that he would pull any punches simply because he is hosting an awards ceremony. Quite simply, the news media and Hollywood should not be shocked that Mr. Gervais insulted many celebrities. Being shocked at Mr. Gervais being insulting is like being shocked at there being water in the ocean.
Quite simply, between the relative unimportance of the Golden Globe Awards and the fact that Ricky Gervais was only doing what one would expect him to do, I fail to see why so much of the coverage of the awards focused on his hosting. Ricky Gervais insulted people? This is news? Next the press will be reporting that it is summer and it is hot....
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Godspeed Susannah York
Actress Susannah York passed yesterday at the age of 72. The cause was bone marrow cancer.
Susannah York was born Susannah Fletcher in London on 9 January 1939. When she was five years old her mother and father divorced. Her mother would later marry a Scottish businessman and they moved to Scotland. She trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Miss York made her television debut in 1959 on ITV Television Playhouse. She made her film debut in There Was a Crooked Man (1960). Also in 1960, she appeared in Tunes of Glory.
The Sixties would be the height of Susannah York's career. In 1961 she appeared in Loss of Innocence, before playing the lead in The Greengage Summer. During the decade she appeared in such films as Freud (1962), Tom Jones (1963), Scene Nun, Take One (1964), The 7th Dawn (1964), Sand of the Kalahan (1965), Kaleidoscope (1966), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Sebastian (1968), The Killing of Sister George (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), and Courtly Love (1970). On television she appeared as the storyteller on Jackanory for the episode "The Children of Green Knowe," as well as episodes of Armchair Theatre and ITV Play of the Week.
In the Seventies Miss York appeared in such films as Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971), X, Y, and Zee (1972), The Maids (1975), That Lucky Touch (1975), Sky Riders (1976), Long Shot (1978), Superman (1978), The Awakening (1980), and Superman II (1980). She was a regular on the TV series Prince Regent and appeared on Armchair Theatre. In the Eighties she appeared in such films as Late Flowering Love (1981), Yellowbeard (1983), Prettykill (1987), Mio Min Mio (1987), A Summer Story (1988), Melancholia (1989), and Fate. She was a regular on the series We'll Meet Again.
From the Nineties to the Naughts, Susannah York appeared in the films The Higher Mortals (1993), So This is Romance (1997), The Book of Eve (2002), Maude (2007), and Franklin (2008). She was a regular on the TV series Devices and Desires, Trainer and Holby City. She appeared on the shows Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Casualty, Missing, and Doctors.
Susannah York also had a career stage She appeared on the West End in The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs and in Paris in Appearances. She played in productions of Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor. She also wrote two children's fantasy novels: In Search of Unicorns and Lark's Castle.
Susannah York was a versatile actress who appeared in everything from drama to comedy. Her range was extensive, playing everything from mothers to royalty. Few actresses could play as many different roles as she could. If Susannah York became one of the more celebrated actresses of the Sixties, it was due to her enormous talent.
Susannah York was born Susannah Fletcher in London on 9 January 1939. When she was five years old her mother and father divorced. Her mother would later marry a Scottish businessman and they moved to Scotland. She trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Miss York made her television debut in 1959 on ITV Television Playhouse. She made her film debut in There Was a Crooked Man (1960). Also in 1960, she appeared in Tunes of Glory.
The Sixties would be the height of Susannah York's career. In 1961 she appeared in Loss of Innocence, before playing the lead in The Greengage Summer. During the decade she appeared in such films as Freud (1962), Tom Jones (1963), Scene Nun, Take One (1964), The 7th Dawn (1964), Sand of the Kalahan (1965), Kaleidoscope (1966), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Sebastian (1968), The Killing of Sister George (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), and Courtly Love (1970). On television she appeared as the storyteller on Jackanory for the episode "The Children of Green Knowe," as well as episodes of Armchair Theatre and ITV Play of the Week.
In the Seventies Miss York appeared in such films as Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971), X, Y, and Zee (1972), The Maids (1975), That Lucky Touch (1975), Sky Riders (1976), Long Shot (1978), Superman (1978), The Awakening (1980), and Superman II (1980). She was a regular on the TV series Prince Regent and appeared on Armchair Theatre. In the Eighties she appeared in such films as Late Flowering Love (1981), Yellowbeard (1983), Prettykill (1987), Mio Min Mio (1987), A Summer Story (1988), Melancholia (1989), and Fate. She was a regular on the series We'll Meet Again.
From the Nineties to the Naughts, Susannah York appeared in the films The Higher Mortals (1993), So This is Romance (1997), The Book of Eve (2002), Maude (2007), and Franklin (2008). She was a regular on the TV series Devices and Desires, Trainer and Holby City. She appeared on the shows Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Casualty, Missing, and Doctors.
Susannah York also had a career stage She appeared on the West End in The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs and in Paris in Appearances. She played in productions of Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor. She also wrote two children's fantasy novels: In Search of Unicorns and Lark's Castle.
Susannah York was a versatile actress who appeared in everything from drama to comedy. Her range was extensive, playing everything from mothers to royalty. Few actresses could play as many different roles as she could. If Susannah York became one of the more celebrated actresses of the Sixties, it was due to her enormous talent.
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Facebook Blows It Again with Their New Profile
I have probably complained more about Facebook than other site in this blog. I must admit that as a social network site it is very useful in staying in touch with old friends, acquaintances through business or one's pursuits, and even making new friends. Obviously as much as I have complained about Facebook there is a downside.to the site. Quite simply, that downside is that Facebook consistently and regularly makes changes which reduce the functionality of the site.
Facebook's latest scheme to apparently drive every one of its users away is a new profile design. Sadly, this new design seems as if it was made to reduce social interaction than people rather than encourage it. Below is a screen cap of the old profile design:
Quite frankly, what had become the old profile for hardly ideal. Facebook had done away with profile boxes, the one means people had of personalising their profiles (and,. yes, I complained about that too). That having been said, it was superior in most ways to the new profile. One's latest status update (basically what one was thinking or doing at the time) was displayed prominently at the top of the profile. This is very important, as it encouraged interaction between friends on Facebook. Friends could comment on someone's status and often lively conversations would emerge. In fact, I know a good number of people who actually use their status to host discussions.
While you cannot see it on this screen cap, below the information box on the left sidebar was the friends' box. On the profile one could control which friends were displayed. This was particularly handy in that one could reach his or her closest friends' profiles, those he or she interacted on a regular basis swiftly and easily. Another advantage of the old profile was that it was not crowded with images and other junk. It was very easy to read.
Below is a screen capture of the new profile:
As you can see, the status update is not at the top as it was on the old profile. Indeed, to even see someone's latest status update, one has to scroll down his or her profile! This would actually seem to discourage personal interaction. Certainly commenting on someone's status, let alone holding discussions under someone's status, becomes more difficult. So what is at the top of one's profile? One's birthday, one's work and education information, one's current location and one's hometown. Now most of my friends, even those I only know online, already know where I work, or at least what I do for a living. Most of my friends, even those I only know online, already know where I live. Indeed, a good many of them have my street address! For those who don't know what I do for a living or where I live, they could simply click on Info as they always have. Quite frankly, having one's work, home, and education information at the top of one's page is useless, as it can be accessed through Info. The status update should be there. By the way, I deleted my work and education information in protest of the new profile design.
Now they could have simply place the status update below the birthday, work, education, and home information, but I suppose that would have been too nice of Facebook. Instead what is below the birthday, work, education, et. al. information is a row of pictures in which one is either tagged or which are from one's galleries. You can't see it on this screen capture as I deleted the row of pictures. My reason for doing so is that these pictures simply make the page look crowded. For that matter, so does the birthday, business, home, et. al. information at the top.
Although you can't see it in this screen capture, the Friends' box is still in the same place it was on the old profile. There is just one problem. One cannot edit who is shown in the box! This makes it more difficult to get to the profiles of those friends one interacts with the most, as they may or may not be featured in the box. Like not featuring the status update at the top of the page, this would seem to hinder personal interaction. True, one can create Friends Lists for his or her closest friends, but why should he or she have to?
As I have said before, Facebook seems as if it has a death wish. They seem to be determined to drive away every one of their users. They have consistently made changes that have been unpopular with users, and have done so with a frequency that is alarming. It seems quite apparent that they do not listen to user feedback. Is it any wonder Facebook's user satisfaction rating is a little bit above the IRS?
The shame is that Facebook was a very good idea. It has more users than any other social networking site. It is for that reason I hold out the blind hope that they might listen to complaints and change the new profile design, despite the fact that they have a long history of not responding to users' complaints about the site. If you want to give feedback on the new profile design, you can do so here. You can also complain to Facebook's Twitter, which is here. It's a long shot, but maybe if they receive enough complaints, they'll change the new profile design so it is more like the old one.
Facebook's latest scheme to apparently drive every one of its users away is a new profile design. Sadly, this new design seems as if it was made to reduce social interaction than people rather than encourage it. Below is a screen cap of the old profile design:
Quite frankly, what had become the old profile for hardly ideal. Facebook had done away with profile boxes, the one means people had of personalising their profiles (and,. yes, I complained about that too). That having been said, it was superior in most ways to the new profile. One's latest status update (basically what one was thinking or doing at the time) was displayed prominently at the top of the profile. This is very important, as it encouraged interaction between friends on Facebook. Friends could comment on someone's status and often lively conversations would emerge. In fact, I know a good number of people who actually use their status to host discussions.
While you cannot see it on this screen cap, below the information box on the left sidebar was the friends' box. On the profile one could control which friends were displayed. This was particularly handy in that one could reach his or her closest friends' profiles, those he or she interacted on a regular basis swiftly and easily. Another advantage of the old profile was that it was not crowded with images and other junk. It was very easy to read.
Below is a screen capture of the new profile:
As you can see, the status update is not at the top as it was on the old profile. Indeed, to even see someone's latest status update, one has to scroll down his or her profile! This would actually seem to discourage personal interaction. Certainly commenting on someone's status, let alone holding discussions under someone's status, becomes more difficult. So what is at the top of one's profile? One's birthday, one's work and education information, one's current location and one's hometown. Now most of my friends, even those I only know online, already know where I work, or at least what I do for a living. Most of my friends, even those I only know online, already know where I live. Indeed, a good many of them have my street address! For those who don't know what I do for a living or where I live, they could simply click on Info as they always have. Quite frankly, having one's work, home, and education information at the top of one's page is useless, as it can be accessed through Info. The status update should be there. By the way, I deleted my work and education information in protest of the new profile design.
Now they could have simply place the status update below the birthday, work, education, and home information, but I suppose that would have been too nice of Facebook. Instead what is below the birthday, work, education, et. al. information is a row of pictures in which one is either tagged or which are from one's galleries. You can't see it on this screen capture as I deleted the row of pictures. My reason for doing so is that these pictures simply make the page look crowded. For that matter, so does the birthday, business, home, et. al. information at the top.
Although you can't see it in this screen capture, the Friends' box is still in the same place it was on the old profile. There is just one problem. One cannot edit who is shown in the box! This makes it more difficult to get to the profiles of those friends one interacts with the most, as they may or may not be featured in the box. Like not featuring the status update at the top of the page, this would seem to hinder personal interaction. True, one can create Friends Lists for his or her closest friends, but why should he or she have to?
As I have said before, Facebook seems as if it has a death wish. They seem to be determined to drive away every one of their users. They have consistently made changes that have been unpopular with users, and have done so with a frequency that is alarming. It seems quite apparent that they do not listen to user feedback. Is it any wonder Facebook's user satisfaction rating is a little bit above the IRS?
The shame is that Facebook was a very good idea. It has more users than any other social networking site. It is for that reason I hold out the blind hope that they might listen to complaints and change the new profile design, despite the fact that they have a long history of not responding to users' complaints about the site. If you want to give feedback on the new profile design, you can do so here. You can also complain to Facebook's Twitter, which is here. It's a long shot, but maybe if they receive enough complaints, they'll change the new profile design so it is more like the old one.
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Director Peter Yates R.I.P.
Peter Yates, who directed the classic Steve McQueen movie Bullitt (1968) passed Sunday, 9 January 2010.
Peter Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire on 24 July 1929. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He acted for a time, as well as drove a race car and managed other race car drivers. He worked as a dubbing editor on foreign films before serving as assistant director on The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). He would serve as an assistant director or second unit director on such films as A Touch of Larceny (1959), Sons and Lovers (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and A Taste of Honey (1961).
He made his directorial debut with Summer Holiday in 1963 and then directed One Way Pendulum (1964). Mr. Yates then moved into directing television, including episodes of The Saint and Danger Man. He returned to movies with Robbery (1967), then directed Bullitt (1968). The movie would be a box office success and would set the course for action movies for the next ten years. He would go onto direct Murphy's War (1971), The Hot Rock (1972), Mother, Jugs, and Speed (1976), The Deep (1977), Eyewitness (1981), An Innocent Man (1989), and Run of the Country (1995). His last movie was Curtain Call (1998).
Peter Yates was born in Aldershot, Hampshire on 24 July 1929. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He acted for a time, as well as drove a race car and managed other race car drivers. He worked as a dubbing editor on foreign films before serving as assistant director on The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). He would serve as an assistant director or second unit director on such films as A Touch of Larceny (1959), Sons and Lovers (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and A Taste of Honey (1961).
He made his directorial debut with Summer Holiday in 1963 and then directed One Way Pendulum (1964). Mr. Yates then moved into directing television, including episodes of The Saint and Danger Man. He returned to movies with Robbery (1967), then directed Bullitt (1968). The movie would be a box office success and would set the course for action movies for the next ten years. He would go onto direct Murphy's War (1971), The Hot Rock (1972), Mother, Jugs, and Speed (1976), The Deep (1977), Eyewitness (1981), An Innocent Man (1989), and Run of the Country (1995). His last movie was Curtain Call (1998).
Monday, 10 January 2011
Actor Aron Kinkaid Passes
Actor Aron Kinkaid, who appeared in beach movies in the Sixties and went onto become a voice actor in cartoons, passed on January 6, 2010 at the age of 70. The causes were related to his heart.
Aron Kinkaid was born Norman Williams in Los Angeles, California on June 15, 1940. His father was a second lieutenant in the U. S. Army who died during World War II. His mother would remarry and move the family to Oakland, California. Mr. Kinkaid graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and afterwards served in the Coast Guard Reserve. He made his television debut in 1952 in This is the Life. Throughout the Fifties he also appeared in the show The Star and the Story. He appeared in small parts in the films The Fall of Nineveh (1957), The Wasp Women (1959), and Spartacus (1960).
In the Sixties Mr. Kinkaid had a regular role in the last season of Bachelor Father. He appeared in such TV shows as Thriller, Our Man Higgins, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, The Patty Duke Show, Get Smart, and The Beverly Hillbillies. He appeared in such films as The Girls on the Beach (1965), Ski Party (1965), Beach Ball, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), The Happiest Millionaire (1967), and The New Wife (1968). In the Seventies and Eighties he appeared in such shows as Lassie, The Smith Family, and Mr. Merlin. He appeared in the telefilms Planet Earth and Brave New World. It was during this period that Aron Kinkaid began doing voice work, starting with The Smurfs. He provided voices in the Eighties revival of Jonny Quest, Transformers, and DuckTales He appeared in the films The Proud and Damned (1972), Gable and Lombard (1976), and Silent Night Deadly Night (1984).
In the Nineties Aron Kinkaid provided the voice of Killer Croc in Batman: The Animated Series. Mr. Kinkaid also an artist who painted landscapes. He sold his painting through galleries in Laguna Beach, California.
Aron Kinkaid was born Norman Williams in Los Angeles, California on June 15, 1940. His father was a second lieutenant in the U. S. Army who died during World War II. His mother would remarry and move the family to Oakland, California. Mr. Kinkaid graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and afterwards served in the Coast Guard Reserve. He made his television debut in 1952 in This is the Life. Throughout the Fifties he also appeared in the show The Star and the Story. He appeared in small parts in the films The Fall of Nineveh (1957), The Wasp Women (1959), and Spartacus (1960).
In the Sixties Mr. Kinkaid had a regular role in the last season of Bachelor Father. He appeared in such TV shows as Thriller, Our Man Higgins, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, The Patty Duke Show, Get Smart, and The Beverly Hillbillies. He appeared in such films as The Girls on the Beach (1965), Ski Party (1965), Beach Ball, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), The Happiest Millionaire (1967), and The New Wife (1968). In the Seventies and Eighties he appeared in such shows as Lassie, The Smith Family, and Mr. Merlin. He appeared in the telefilms Planet Earth and Brave New World. It was during this period that Aron Kinkaid began doing voice work, starting with The Smurfs. He provided voices in the Eighties revival of Jonny Quest, Transformers, and DuckTales He appeared in the films The Proud and Damned (1972), Gable and Lombard (1976), and Silent Night Deadly Night (1984).
In the Nineties Aron Kinkaid provided the voice of Killer Croc in Batman: The Animated Series. Mr. Kinkaid also an artist who painted landscapes. He sold his painting through galleries in Laguna Beach, California.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Actress Jill Haworth Passes On
Actress Jill Haworth, who originated the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway and starred in the movie Exodus (1960), passed on 3 January 2011 at the age of 65.
Jill Haworth was born in Sussex, England on 15 August 1945. She studied ballet while young (her mother had been a ballerina). She was only 15 when Otto Premminger cast her as Karen in Exodus. Following Exodus she appeared in such films as Ton ombre est la mienne (1962), Les mystères de Paris (1962), À cause, à cause d'une femme (1963), The Cardinal (1963), In Harm's Way (1965), It! (1967), and Horror House (1969). She appearedo n television in such shows as The Outer Limits, The Rouges, Burke's Law, 12 O' Clock High, Run for Your Life,. Rawhide, and Mission: Impossible. It was in 1966 that she first played Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway.
From the Seventies into the Eighties, Miss Haworth appeared in such shows as Bonanza, The F.B.I., Barretta, and Vega$. She appeared in the films Tower of Evil (1972), The Mutations (1974), and Strong Medicine (1981). Her last appearance on screen was in Mergers and Acquistions in 2001.
Jill Haworth also appeared on stage in the off Broadway shows Seduced and Tunnel Fever or The Sheep is Out.
Jill Haworth was born in Sussex, England on 15 August 1945. She studied ballet while young (her mother had been a ballerina). She was only 15 when Otto Premminger cast her as Karen in Exodus. Following Exodus she appeared in such films as Ton ombre est la mienne (1962), Les mystères de Paris (1962), À cause, à cause d'une femme (1963), The Cardinal (1963), In Harm's Way (1965), It! (1967), and Horror House (1969). She appearedo n television in such shows as The Outer Limits, The Rouges, Burke's Law, 12 O' Clock High, Run for Your Life,. Rawhide, and Mission: Impossible. It was in 1966 that she first played Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway.
From the Seventies into the Eighties, Miss Haworth appeared in such shows as Bonanza, The F.B.I., Barretta, and Vega$. She appeared in the films Tower of Evil (1972), The Mutations (1974), and Strong Medicine (1981). Her last appearance on screen was in Mergers and Acquistions in 2001.
Jill Haworth also appeared on stage in the off Broadway shows Seduced and Tunnel Fever or The Sheep is Out.
Friday, 7 January 2011
The Avengers Turns 50
It was fifty years ago tonight, on 7 January 1961, that the greatest television show of all time (in my humble opinion) debuted. The Avengers was an espionage series which centred upon a top professional (John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee) and a talented amateur (his partner of the moment) who protected the United Kingdom (and often the world) from various threats. Alongside Danger Man, The Avengers was one of the shows which precipitated a spy craze in the United Kingdom, preceding the release of Dr. No by a year and ten months. It would also prove phenomenally successful, running nine years--longer than any spy drama on British or American television. Worldwide it could possibly be the most famous spy drama of all time.The Avengers ultimately stemmed from a suggestion of Howard Thomas, managing director of the television company Associated British Corporation (ABC), to Sydney Newman, Head of Drama, that perhaps they should develop thriller series, not unlike the movies of Alfred Hitchcock or the novels of Ian Fleming, which were then popular. Mr. Newman then created Police Surgeon, a show starring Ian Hendry as Dr. Geoffrey Brent, a surgeon who worked for the London Metropolitan Police and often got entangled in their cases. Police Surgeon met with only middling success at best, yet it was clear from letters sent by viewers that its star Ian Hendry was popular. Sydney Newman then created a new vehicle for Ian Hendry. In this new series Ian Hendry would play a different character, yet one who was also a surgeon. Dr. David Keel was investigating the murder of his fiancée, Peggy, at the hands of a drug ring, when he met a mysterious figure named Steed (Patrick MacNee) who investigating the same drug ring. The two became partners and continued to fight crime together even after they solved the drug ring case.
As the first season of The Avengers progressed, the series gradually took shape as we know it today. From the beginning, John Steed claimed to be a secret agent, a fact which would be well established later in the series. In other respects, however, The Avengers differed somewhat from the show we now know. At the beginning of the series, John Steed dressed in a trench coat, much as Dr. Keel did, but it was during the first season that he started to dress in his familiar bowler, suit, and umbrella. It must also be pointed out that at the start of the series, while Keel and Steed were definitely partners, Ian Hendry was definitely the star. As the show progressed, however, John Steed began to play a larger and larger role until he was actually featured in episodes without Dr. Keel. In the early days of the show most episodes were grounded somewhat in reality, although somewhat tongue in cheek. Eventually, however, Dr. Keel and John Steed would encounter the sort of outré cases which the show would become famous. "Dead of Winter" involved a Nazi war criminal trying to create a new Fascist part and cryogenic suspension. "The Deadly Air" centred on germ warfare. Sadly, only one episode, of the first season of The Avengers, intact, "The Frighteners," as well as the first twenty minutes of the first episode "Hot Snow."The Avengers proved to be extremely popular, so that there would be no question it would continue. It was even decided to add a female partner to the team, although it would not be Catherine Gale, but Venus Smith (more about her later). Any plans for the second season of The Avengers would soon be put on hold, however, as the actor's union Equity went on strike, bring film and television work to a halt. Worse yet, during the strike Ian Hendry decided to leave The Avengers to pursue a movie career. Dr. David Keel's place as Steed's partner would be taken by two women, who would each be featured in different episodes. The aforementioned Venus Smith (played by Julie Stevens, later a children's show host) was a nightclub singer with a gift for resourcefulness but little in the way of a background in espionage or investigation. Steed's other new partner would be rather more interesting. She would be Mrs. Catherine Gale.
Cathy Gale (played by Honor Blackman) had a doctorate in anthropology and was a expert photographer. She was skilled in the use of firearms and the use of the martial art of judo. Quite simply Mrs. Gale was a female character as never seen before on British or American television. Quite simply, she was the first female action hero in the history of either British or American television. Often clad in her leather fighting suit (assumed by the public to be black, although in actuality it was green which showed up as black in monochrome), Cathy Gale became the more popular of John Steed's new characters. Indeed, by the second season Venus Smith was gone and Cathy Gale was Steed's sole partner.It was in its second season that The Avengers would become the show we now know. While the episodes featuring Venus Smith were generally standard espionage and crime thrillers, episodes featuring Cathy Gale could often be downright bizarre. Indeed, the first episode of the second season aired, "Mr. Teddy Bear," featured an assassin going by that particular nom de guerre because he often communicates through such toys. "Warlock" involved a new formula for fuel and a group practising black magic. "The Golden Eggs" featured egg shaped containers which held a deadly virus. In its third season The Avengers would feature even more strange adventures. "November Five" involved a group intent on re-enacting the Gunpowder Plot, only this time with a nuclear device. "The Grandeur of Rome" involved a group intent on reviving the Roman Empire. "Espirit de Corps" involved a plot to return the Stuarts to the throne of Scotland.
If The Avengers had proven successful during its first season, it proved even more so in its second and third seasons. The British press was often filled with news on The Avengers. Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman were the celebrities of the day. Before the third season had even ended there was talk of bringing The Avengers to the big screen. While the movie never came to fruition, an American television network expressed interest in bringing The Avengers to the United States. The Avengers fad led Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman to record a novelty song , "Kinky Boots (referring to the footware that Mrs. Gale often wore)." Although not a hit, the song may have inspired the name for classic rock band The Kinks.
By the end of its third season The Avengers was one of the most popular shows in the United Kingdom, if not the most popular. Unfortunately, it was after the second season that Honor Blackman stated her intention not to return to The Avengers for a career in film. Her decision made headlines in the United Kingdom, and for many it seemed impossible that the show could continue without Cathy Gale. With a deal with an American network a possiblity, ABC took The Avengers off the air so that they would have time to revamp the show as a filmed series (previously it had been shot on videotape). Julian Wintle was brought in as the show's new producer. He brought in Brian Clemens (who had already written several episodes of the show) and Albert Finnell as story editors and associate producers of the series.
Naturally the producers started work on creating a replacement for Cathy Gale. John Steed's new partner was initially named Samantha (Mantha for short), but eventually bore the name Emma Peel (suggested by press officer Marie Donaldson with the idea that Steed's new partner would need Man Appeal--M Appeal). Emma was the young widow of pilot Peter Peel and the daughter of a rich shipowner. She was skilled in both karate and judo (and later kung fu). It would later be established that she became chairman of her father's company, Knight Industries, at the young age of 21. She was knowledgeable in everything from thermodynamics to firearms. Initially British actress Elizabeth Shepherd was cast as Mrs. Peel. After watching rushes for the episode "Town of No Return," however, the producers realised she was ill suited for the part. Twenty more actresses were tested for the part until casting director Dodo Watts pointed the producers in the direction of Diana Rigg, a young actress who had given an impressive performance in the episode "The Hothouse" of Armchair Theatre--Diann Rigg. In the end, Diana Rigg was cast in the role of Mrs. Emma Peel. Emma Peel would be a very different character from Cathy Gale. She was younger and hence more carefree. It was partly for that reason that Emma Peel would not wear the leather fighting gear of Mrs. Gale, instead preferring stretch jersey.It would be with its fourth season that The Avengers finally reached the United States. As early as 15 December 1963, when The New York Times devoted an article to the show, America had taken notice of The Avengers. It was only a matter of time before the series would reach the States. The National Broadcasting Company had shown some interest in The Avengers, but expressed its doubts that such an outré series, especially on so British, could succeed in the United States. Eventually the producers secured a deal with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC-US hereafter), consistently the third rated network, to begin showing The Avengers starting in January 1966.
If audiences had thought The Avengers had been a bit out there in its second and third seasons, it would be more so in its fourth season. John Steed and Emma Peel would face increasingly bizarre menaces, often of a science fiction nature. In "The Cybernauts" Steed and Mrs. Peel battled remote controlled, extremely powerful robots. "A Touch of Brimstone (never aired in the United States during the show's initial run)" featured a revival of the Hellfire Club, complete with a climax in which Steed engages in a sword duel and Mrs. Peel is clad in a black Edwardian corset and stiletto heeled boots. Perhaps the strangest episode was "Man-Eater of Surrey Green," in which John Steed and Emma Peel faced an alien, sentient man-eating plant capable of mind control. The fifth season would bring one of the biggest changes to the show.It was the first to be shot in colour. This was largely due to ABC-US, as the American networks were switching to colour In other respects, however the fifth season was similar to the fourth season. Indeed, if anything else episodes of The Avengers became even more way out. "From Venus with Love" featured murders by an extremely powerful laser. "The Winged Avenger" involved killings apparently committed by a comic book character. In "Who's Who" John Steed and Emma Peel find that they have switched bodies with two petty crooks.
One problem The Avengers faced in the United States was censorship. The standards of what was acceptable on British television was more liberal than what was considered acceptable on American television. ABC-US rejected "A Touch of Brimstone" entirely. In the episode "Honey for the Prince," Diana Rigg was dressed in a harem outfit and required to wear a jewel in her navel so as to get past the American censors (who were very sensitive about bellybuttons in the Sixties). The content of The Avengers would come under attack from other sources than ABC-US censors. In the 3 January 1969 issue of Time magazine, The Avengers was referred to as "a festival of sado-masochism and murder."
In its fourth and fifth seasons The Avengers was arguably at the height of its popularity. The series appeared in more than 120 countries. What is more, The Avengers had conquered the United States. Although a smash hit series, it was a cult show with a loyal following which critics loved. As the exquisite Mrs. Emma Peel, Diana Rigg was nominated for the Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series (incredibly, she lost to Barbara Bain of Mission: Impossible). The Avengers seemed as if it was poised to air for many more years. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Diana Rigg had decided to leave the series to pursue other projects. before the fifth season had even ended. Emma Peel had proven to be wildly popular in the United States and even in the United Kingdom. As a result it would be difficult to replace her. The producers went through 200 actresses before reducing it to three: Mary Peach, Tracy Reed, and Linda Thorson. Screen tests of each of the girls were shot and then sent to Dan Boyle, the head of ABC-US. Miss Thorson would play Steed's new partner, Tara King. Unlike Steed's previous partners, Tara was not technically not a talented amateur, but a professional. That having been said, in some respects she was the least experienced of Steed's partners. She was fresh from training as a spy. Tara was the daughter of a wealthy farmer who had not only attended an expensive finishing school, but also knew most skills associated with the outdoors.Not only was Tara younger and less experienced that Dr. Keel, Mrs. Gale, or Mrs. Peel, but the actress playing her also lacked experience. Linda Thorson was fresh from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and had never appeared before a camera. Worse yet, Miss Thorson's lack of experience was complicated by the way Tara was portrayed in the early scripts of the sixth season--little more than a damsel in distress. Unlike Cathy or Emma, Tara knew no martial arts. As a result writers may have thought of nothing better than to have Tara scream for help when threatened. Fortunately, as Miss Thorson's television acting skills improved, so too did Tara's fighting skills. By the second half of the sixth season, she fought almost as well as Mrs. Gale or Mrs. Peel.
Another complication in the Sixth season was Thames Television's (formerly ABC) decision to change the direction of the The Avengers. Even though the show was extremely popular, Thames Television felt the series had become too way out. For that reason, they wanted the show to move more towards reality. John Bryce, who had been story editor during the Cathy Gale years, was appointed the new producer. Briani Clemens and Albert Fiennell left, unhappy with the new direction of the show. As it turned out, however, Thames Television proved unsuitable as a producer. Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell were brought back on the show. They promptly scrapped the episodes Bryce had produced.
On the other side of the Pond The Avengers would also face a major problem. ABC-US decided to schedule The Avengers at 7:30 PM EST/6:30 PM CST. There it would air opposite Gunsmoke on CBS, then a top ten show, and the first half of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, then the number one show on American television. It seemed doubtful The Avengers would survive its sixth season.
As it was, the sixth season of The Avengers would prove to be its worst season. In comparison to the other seasons, there were only a few remarkable episodes. While Thames Television had wanted to shift the series more towards reality, The Avengers still featured some bizarre plots. During the season Steed and Tara investigated an academy meant to train teenagers for space travel ("Invasion of the Earthmen") and Tara fell victim to a love potion ("Love All"). The episodes would improve as the sixth season progressed, just as Tara would become more self sufficient, but it was perhaps too little too late. Critics who had once praised the show now attacked it.
Even had The Avengers maintained the quality it had in the days of Emma Peel and Cathy Gale, it is doubtful it could have survived its sixth season. The series was scheduled against two high rated shows in the United States, neither of which it could hope to beat in the Nielsens. Consistently ranking poorly in the weekly Nielsen ratings, it was on 3 April 1967 that ABC-US announced it had cancelled The Avengers. Unfortunately, The Avengers was an expensive show that Thames Television could not finance all alone. Without the money from ABC-US to help with costs, Thames Television pulled the plug on The Avengers.
That would hardly be the end of The Avengers. The series would enter syndication in the United States where it run for many years, and it would often be repeated in the United Kingdom. During its run The Avengers had produced a good deal of merchandising, including novels, comic books, toys, jigsaw puzzles, and games. Two years after the show had ended its run, a stage play based on the series opened in Birmingham. It starred Simon Oates as John Steed and Sue Lloyd as his new partner Hannah Wild It ran for ten days there before moving to London's West End, where it had a very short run. A more substantial revival of the series would be a radio show based on the series which ran in South Africa from 1971 to 1973. Around 83 serials of the radio show were produced, of which only 19 survive.
Perhaps the most famous continuation of The Avengers would the the TV series The New Avengers. Once more featuring Patrick Macnee as John Steed, this time he had two partners: Purdey (played by Joanna Lumley, later of Absolutely Fabulous) and Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt). The series ran for two seasons. The New Avengers would not be the only show which drew upon The Avengers for inspiration. In 1978 Brian Clemens wrote a pilot for CBS called Escapade which was directly inspired by The Avengers.In the pilot Granville Van Dusen played Joshua and Morgan Fairchild played Suzy, two secret agents who must investigate the sale of state secrets. The pilot did not sell.More recently, 1998 saw the release of a feature film adaptation of The Avengers starring Ralph Fiennes as John Steed and Uma Thurman as Emma Peel. The film was trounced by critics and openly despised by many fans of the series (Miss Thurman was not a popular choice to pay Emma Peel).
Since then The Avengers has continued in its popularity. It continues to air across the world. The entire series is available on DVD (including the remaining David Keel episode), and many episodes can be viewed online. Much of the reason for its success is that The Avengers was, quite simply, a historic show. Alongside Danger Man it was one of the earliest spy series on British television and in part helped precipitate a spy craze that would eventually spread to the United States. It is possible, then, had it not been for The Avengers, such shows as The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild Wild West might never have come to be. It was also the first show on British or American television to feature a female action hero in the form of Cathy Gale. Indeed, even though The Avengers had not yet aired in the United States (and the Mrs. Gale episodes would not air until the Nineties on A&E), it was Cathy Gale who inspired the creation of the TV show Honey West. The Avengers then paved the way for Charlie's Angels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, La Femme Nikita, and Alias. Of course, all of this would not have been possible if The Avengers had not been a well written, well directed, and well acted show. The Avengers was a quality production all the way, superior even then to much of what aired on British and American television. Some may think I exaggerate when I call it the greatest television show of all time. I don't.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Songwriter Gerry Rafferty Passes On
Songwriter Gerry Rafferty passed on 4 January 2011 at the age of 63. The cause was liver failure.
Gerry Rafferty was born in Paisley, Scotland on 16 April 1947. At age 15 Mr. Rafferty dropped out of St Mirin's Academy and went to work in a butcher shop. He spent weekends playing in a group, The Mavericks, with his friend Joe Egan. Messrs. Rafferty and Egan were later members of the band Fifth Column, which released one single in 1966. In 1969 Gerry Rafferty was a member of the folk group The Humblebums. The group recorded two albums before disbanding in 1971. In 1972 he released his first solo album, Can I Have My Money Back.
It was in 1972 that Gerry Rafferty and his old friend Joe Egan formed Stealer's Wheel. Signed to A&M Records, Stealer's Wheel would have a hit with the song "Stuck in the Middle with You." Gerry Rafferty would leave the band before they even released their first album. Prevented from recording for some time because of legal problems stemming from Stealer's Wheel, Mr. Raffety released his second solo album in 1978, City to City. Over the next twenty two years he would release seven more albums.
Gerry Rafferty was born in Paisley, Scotland on 16 April 1947. At age 15 Mr. Rafferty dropped out of St Mirin's Academy and went to work in a butcher shop. He spent weekends playing in a group, The Mavericks, with his friend Joe Egan. Messrs. Rafferty and Egan were later members of the band Fifth Column, which released one single in 1966. In 1969 Gerry Rafferty was a member of the folk group The Humblebums. The group recorded two albums before disbanding in 1971. In 1972 he released his first solo album, Can I Have My Money Back.
It was in 1972 that Gerry Rafferty and his old friend Joe Egan formed Stealer's Wheel. Signed to A&M Records, Stealer's Wheel would have a hit with the song "Stuck in the Middle with You." Gerry Rafferty would leave the band before they even released their first album. Prevented from recording for some time because of legal problems stemming from Stealer's Wheel, Mr. Raffety released his second solo album in 1978, City to City. Over the next twenty two years he would release seven more albums.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Character Actor Bill Erwin Passes On
Character actor Bill Erwin passed on December 29, 2010 at the age of 96.
Billl Erwin was born on December 2, 1914 in Honey Grove, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Texas, Austin in 1935. In 1940 Mr. Erwin studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He acted there as well as the Laguna Beach Playhouse and the La Jolla Playhouse. In 1941 he served as stage manager for Edgar Bergen during the ventriloquist's tour of the nation. He also made his movie debut in You're in the Army Now starring Phil Silvers. During World War II he served in the United States Army Air Force, where he rose to the rank of Captain.
Following the war Bill Erwin resumed acting. He appeared in the films The Velvet Touch (1948), Easy Living (1949), and Battleground (1949. He made his television debut in 1950 in the series The Silver Theatre.Mr. Erwin would appear often on television in the Fifties, in such shows as The Stu Erwin Show, Fireside Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Studio 57, Highway Patrol, Alfred Hitchock Presents, Cheyenne, Science Fiction Theatre, I Love Lucy, Big Town, Panic, Richard Drummond Private Detective, Trackdown, Make Room for Daddy, Sea Hunt. Man with a Camera, Sugarfoot, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Leave It to Beaver, Bat Materson, M Squad, Have Gun--Will Travel, and Micahel Shayne. He appeared in the films Double Dynamite (1951), Holiday for Sinners (1952), Fight for the Title (1957), The Shadow on the Window (1957), The Night Runner (1957), House of Numbers (1957), Jet Pilot (1957), Gun Fever (1958), and The Cry Baby Killer (1958).
Bill Erwin continued to appear often on television in the Sixties, in such shows as The Andy Griffith Show, Rawhide, Mister Ed, Maverick, 87th Precinct, Lassie, My Three Sons, Ben Casey, The Twilight Zone, The Unctouchables, Burke's Law, The Virginian, Get Smart, Death Valley Days, The Big Valley, Perry Mason, The Fugitive, The Invaders, The Wild Wild West, Mannix, and Mayberry R.F.D. He appeared such films as Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), The Brass Bottle (1964), Counterpoint (1967), and The Christine Jorgensen Story. In the Seventies Mr. Erwin was a regular on the short lived series Struck by Lightning. He appeared in such shows as Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., Barnaby Jones, Cannon, and Lou Grant. He appeared in such films as Candy Stripe Nurses (1974), Sixth and Main (1977), and Somewhere in Time (1980).
In the Eighties Mr. Erwin appeared in such TV shows as The Waltons, Dallas, The Jeffersons, Voyagers, Hart to Hart, Who's the Boss, Highway to Heaven, Married with Children, Moonlighting, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was a regular on Just the Ten of Us. He appeared in the films Dream On (1981), The Bear (1984), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), She's Having a Baby (1988), Silent Assassins (1988), and Home Alone (1990). From the Nineties into the Naughts, he appeared in such films as Night of the Warrior (1991), Unbecoming Age (1992), Dennis the Menace (1993), The Colour of Evening (1993), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Art House (1998), Forces of Nature (1999), and Cahoots (2001). He guest starred on such shows as Quantum Leap, The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, The John Laroquette Show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Drew Carey Show, The West Wing, Monk, Everwood, and My Name is Earl.
Bill Erwin had a remarkably long career. His last role was a guest shot on My Name is Earl in 2006, making his career around 66 years long. Indeed, he was 92 when he appeared on My Name is Earl. Mr. Erwin's carer was so long because he was a very versatile actor. He could play lovable characters, such as Arthur the bellhop in Somewhere in Time, or cantankerous old men, such as in his guest appearance on Seinfeld. In his career he played everything from Army sergeants to doctors to businessmen. Bill Erwin could play nearly anything.
Billl Erwin was born on December 2, 1914 in Honey Grove, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Texas, Austin in 1935. In 1940 Mr. Erwin studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He acted there as well as the Laguna Beach Playhouse and the La Jolla Playhouse. In 1941 he served as stage manager for Edgar Bergen during the ventriloquist's tour of the nation. He also made his movie debut in You're in the Army Now starring Phil Silvers. During World War II he served in the United States Army Air Force, where he rose to the rank of Captain.
Following the war Bill Erwin resumed acting. He appeared in the films The Velvet Touch (1948), Easy Living (1949), and Battleground (1949. He made his television debut in 1950 in the series The Silver Theatre.Mr. Erwin would appear often on television in the Fifties, in such shows as The Stu Erwin Show, Fireside Theatre, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Studio 57, Highway Patrol, Alfred Hitchock Presents, Cheyenne, Science Fiction Theatre, I Love Lucy, Big Town, Panic, Richard Drummond Private Detective, Trackdown, Make Room for Daddy, Sea Hunt. Man with a Camera, Sugarfoot, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Leave It to Beaver, Bat Materson, M Squad, Have Gun--Will Travel, and Micahel Shayne. He appeared in the films Double Dynamite (1951), Holiday for Sinners (1952), Fight for the Title (1957), The Shadow on the Window (1957), The Night Runner (1957), House of Numbers (1957), Jet Pilot (1957), Gun Fever (1958), and The Cry Baby Killer (1958).
Bill Erwin continued to appear often on television in the Sixties, in such shows as The Andy Griffith Show, Rawhide, Mister Ed, Maverick, 87th Precinct, Lassie, My Three Sons, Ben Casey, The Twilight Zone, The Unctouchables, Burke's Law, The Virginian, Get Smart, Death Valley Days, The Big Valley, Perry Mason, The Fugitive, The Invaders, The Wild Wild West, Mannix, and Mayberry R.F.D. He appeared such films as Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), The Brass Bottle (1964), Counterpoint (1967), and The Christine Jorgensen Story. In the Seventies Mr. Erwin was a regular on the short lived series Struck by Lightning. He appeared in such shows as Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., Barnaby Jones, Cannon, and Lou Grant. He appeared in such films as Candy Stripe Nurses (1974), Sixth and Main (1977), and Somewhere in Time (1980).
In the Eighties Mr. Erwin appeared in such TV shows as The Waltons, Dallas, The Jeffersons, Voyagers, Hart to Hart, Who's the Boss, Highway to Heaven, Married with Children, Moonlighting, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was a regular on Just the Ten of Us. He appeared in the films Dream On (1981), The Bear (1984), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987), She's Having a Baby (1988), Silent Assassins (1988), and Home Alone (1990). From the Nineties into the Naughts, he appeared in such films as Night of the Warrior (1991), Unbecoming Age (1992), Dennis the Menace (1993), The Colour of Evening (1993), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Art House (1998), Forces of Nature (1999), and Cahoots (2001). He guest starred on such shows as Quantum Leap, The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, The John Laroquette Show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Drew Carey Show, The West Wing, Monk, Everwood, and My Name is Earl.
Bill Erwin had a remarkably long career. His last role was a guest shot on My Name is Earl in 2006, making his career around 66 years long. Indeed, he was 92 when he appeared on My Name is Earl. Mr. Erwin's carer was so long because he was a very versatile actor. He could play lovable characters, such as Arthur the bellhop in Somewhere in Time, or cantankerous old men, such as in his guest appearance on Seinfeld. In his career he played everything from Army sergeants to doctors to businessmen. Bill Erwin could play nearly anything.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Godspeed Pete Postlethwaite
Actor Pete Postlethwaite passed on 2 January 2011 at the age of 64. The cause was cancer.Peter Postlethwaite was born on 7 February 1946 in Warrington, England, which is near Liverpool. As a teenager he actually booked The Beatles to appear at one of the village's halls. Mr. Postlethwaite trained to be a teacher at St. Mary's College, Strawberry Hill. Before going into acting, he taught drama at Loreto College, Manchester. He gave up teaching for acting, training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre. He began acting professionally at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. There he worked with Bill Nighy and Jonathan Pryce.
It was in 1975 that Pete Postlethwaite made his film debut in The Racer (1976). Over the next few years he appeared frequently on television, in the series Second City Firsts, Last of the Summer Wine, Going Straight, and Horse in the House. He appeared in the film The Duellists. In the Eighties he appeared in such shows as Coronation Street, Crown Court, Mitch, Summer Season, Tales of Sherwood Forest. and Zorro. He appeared in the films Fords on Water (1983), A Private Function (1984), The Dressmaker (1988),To Kill a Priest (1988), Distant Voices Still Lives (1988), and Hamlet (1990).
In the Nineties Mr. Postlethwaite appeared in such films as Split Second (1992)., Alien 3 (1992), Wateerland (1992), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Anchoress (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993), The Usual Suspects (1995), When Saturday Comes (1996), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Brassed Off (1996), Romeo +Juliet (1996), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Amistad (1997), When the Sky Falls (2000), and Rat (2000). He appeared on television in such shows as Betweeen the Lines, Murder, Lovejoy, Causality, Screen Two, The Sins, and Sharpe. In the Naughts he appeared in such movies as Cowboy Up (2001), The Shipping News (2001), Triggermen (2003), The Limit, (2004), Strange Bedfellows (2004), Red Mercury (2005), The Constant Gardner (2005), AEon Flux (2005), Solomon Kane (2009), The Omen (2006), Clash of the Titans (2010), Inception (2010), and The Town (2010). His last film appearance will be released this year, Killing Bono.
Throughout his career Mr. Postlethwaite continued to appear on stage.
When it came to acting roles Pete Postlethwaite was a very talented actor, a chameleon who adapt to any role. In Brassed Off he played Danny, the committed band leader trying to hold the town of Grimley's band together. In Romeo + Juliet he was a very convincing Father Laurence. In Distant Voices, Still Lives he played a drunk and a wife beater. In the TV series Sharpe he played Richard Sharpe's archenemy for a time, Obadiah Hakeswell, one of the most vile, most evil characters ever created in literature or on television. Mr. Postlethwaite could play anything, from the gentlest of people to the cruellest of villains. Although never a leading man, he will be remembered as one of the best actors from the Eighties to the Naughts.
Monday, 3 January 2011
The Late Great Anne Francis
Actress Anne Francis, perhaps best known as the lead actress in Forbidden Planet (1956) and as high tech detective Honey West in the TV series of the same name, passed yesterday at the age of 80. The cause was complications from pancreatic cancer.Anne Francis was born on September 16, 1930 in Ossining, New York. Her family moved to New York City, after which she was signed by the John Roberts Powers Agency as a child model. At age 6 she appeared on Broadway in a singing ensemble in White Horse Inn. At age 8 she appeared in a bit part in Everywhere I Roam on Broadway. As a child she also acted on radio shows, beginning with the children's shows Let's Pretend and Coast to Coast on a Bus. She later worked in radio on soap operas.
In 1946, when Miss Francis was 16, she went to Hollywood, where she was signed by MGM. Unfortunately, very little came of her grooming at the hands of the studio. She appeared in bit parts in This Time for Keeps (1947) and Portrait of Jennie (1948). She had a more substantial role in Summer Holiday (1948). Released from her contract with MGM, Anne Francis went back to New York. There she appeared in many early television shows, including Suspense, Believe It Or Not, Lights Out, and Kraft Theatre. It was following her performance in So Young So Bad in 1950 that Miss Francis was signed to a contract with 20 Century Fox. She stayed with 20th Century Fox for three years, making such movies as The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951), Elopement (1951), Dreamboat (1952), and Rocket Man (1954). She appeared in Susan Slept Here (1954) for RKO and in the TV shows Ford Television Theatre and Lux Televison Theatre.
Signed to MGM once more, Anne Francis entered what may have been the height of her career. She appeared in the films Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Battle Cry (1955), and The Blackboard JungleG (1955). It was in 1956 that Anne Francies appeared in what may be her most famous movie role, as Altaira Morbius, daughter of scientist Dr. Moribius, in the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet. Not only does the film continue to have a huge following, but it also remains one of the most respected adaptations of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Following Forbidden Planet, Miss Francis appeared in such films as The Rack (1956), Don't Go Near the Water (1957), The Crowded Sky (1960), and Girl of the Night (1960). She appeared in such TV shows as Studio One, Climax, Rawhide, and The Untouchables.
In the Sixties Anne Francis acted primarily on television. She appeared on such shows as The United States Steel Hour. Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Arrest and Trial, Death Valley Days, Ben Casey, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, The Invaders, Mission Impossible, and The Name of the Game.It was a guest appearance on Burke's Law as detective Honey West that would lead to the series of the same name. The television character of Honey West was based on a character in a series of novels by G.G. Fickling. While the character in the novels owed more to the hard boiled school in the Fifties, the television version of Honey West seems most likely inspired by Cathy Gale of The Avengers. On the TV show Honey West was a detective who used high tech devices usually reserved for spies and was skilled in karate. Honey West was historic as the first American action series to feature a woman in a lead role. The show won Anne Francis both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. While the series received good ratings, it was cancelled after ABC bought the right to broadcast episodes of the Emma Peel run of The Avengers. Apparently the network felt one female crime fighter was enough. Anne Francis also appeared in films in the Sixties, including The Satan Bug (1965), Brainstorm (1965), Funny Girl (1968), Impasse (1969), and The Love God? (1969).
In the Seventies Miss Francis' career was also primarily on television. She appeared on the shows Gunsmoke, Search, Columbo, Cannon, Ironside, Kung Fu, Ellery Queen, Barnaby Jones, Wonder Woman, Black Sheep Squadron, Hawaii Five-O, and Charlie's Angels. She appeared in the movies Vendetta (1972), Survival (1976), and Born Again (1978). In the Eighties she appeared on such shows as Dallas, Simon & Simon, Trapper John M.D., Crazy Like a Fox, Matlock, and The Golden Girls. Anne Francis appeared in the films Return (1985) and Little Vegas (1990). From the Ninties into the Naughts, Miss Francis appeared in such shows as Murder She Wrote, the Nineties revival of Burke's Law (reprising her role as Honey West), Fortune Hunter, Wings, Home Improvement, Nash Bridges, and The Drew Carey Show,. Her last appearance on screen was in Without a Trace in 2004.
Anne Francis was a very remarkable actress. While her role in Forbidden Planet was not particularly demanding, as Honey West she played what may have been the first liberated woman on American television. She also played a wide variety of other roles. She played the murderous Gervaise Ravel in two episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but years later she played Zipporah, the wife of Moses, in episodes of the TV series Greatest Heroes of the Bible. Although well known for her beauty and her curves, Anne Francis was much more than that. She was a very talented actress who made a lasting impact in television and film.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
The First Post of the Teens
Tonight I am a bit tired and I have to return to work tomorrow. For that reason I thought I would simply post a video. For the first video of the Teens I thought I would post "Real Love" by The Beatles. It was the last Beatles single ever released and the video is a bit of retrospective of the band's career. I think it's therefore fitting to start the decade with it.
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