“Forgotten Hollywood”- Honors for David McCullough…

October 5th, 2016

Manny P. here…

   Acclaimed author David McCullough can add a quirky new title to his resume: honorary park ranger. The two-time Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner became an honorary ranger in a ceremony Tuesday afternoon in Boston. It’s the highest civilian honor awarded by the National Park Service, reserved for noted individuals who have made exceptional contributions.

   McCullough has been nicknamed a citizen chronicler, and is known for 11 books about luminaries ranging from John Adams and Theodore Roosevelt to Harry Truman and the Wright Brothers. His familiar story about our second president was adapted into an award-winning HBO production that starred Paul Giamatti.

david-mccullough-1-13-14-012   He’s also being presented with the Saint-Gaudens Medal, awarded to people who have made significant contributions to the arts. The Saint-Gaudens Memorial selected McCullough. They run a national historic site in Cornish, New Hampshire, named for the famed American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.   MANNY PACHECO / DAVID McCULLOUGH —->

   I’m proud the eloquent McCullough owns copies of the Forgotten Hollywood Book Series. His influence led to my paperbacks being added to the New York Public Library system. David is a genuine scholar and an iconic American historian.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- The Billie Burke Award…

October 3rd, 2016

Manny P. here…

   Winners will soon be announced for the 2016 Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award. The Ziegfeld Club, one of New York City’s first performing arts charities to benefit women, is proud to announce a Second Annual award to honor a female composer in musical theatre.

   The recipient will be honored in November, 2016 at the New Amsterdam Theatre, and will receive a prestigious grant of $10,000, plus a year of professional mentorship. The recipient will be selected by an expert panel chosen by The Ziegfeld Club Board of Directors. Two honorable mentions will also be noted.

   The grant which aims to celebrate an emerging female composer, or composer / lyricist who compellingly demonstrates financial need, professional initiative, and outstanding artistic promise in musical theatre was inspired by a noticeable lack of female composers being produced on Broadway today. The Ziegfeld Club enables the recipient to put the grant to the best use possible to help further the composer’s creative endeavors.

billie-burke   Billie Burke was an American actress remembered for her sparkling comic technique and distinguished career on stage and screen. Making her stage debut in 1903, Burke starred in dozens of Broadway and West End plays, as well as silent and talking films. In 1914, Burke wed Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the Broadway impresario whose legendary series of Ziegfeld Follies—featuring statuesque show girls with elaborate feathered headdresses. Upon Ziegfeld’s death in 1932, Burke continued to honor her husband’s legacy through the establishment of The Ziegfeld Club Inc. in 1936. She also produced the 1934 and 1936 editions of the Ziegfeld Follies.           BILLIE BURKE —->

   She was a beloved character actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and was nominated for a 1939 Academy Award for her performance in Merrily We Live. The recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she is recognizable to generations as Glinda, the Good Witch in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz; and the dizzy wives of Lionel Barrymore and Roland Young in Dinner at Eight and the Topper series of films.

   The recipient of last year’s inaugural Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award was composer / lyricist Masi Asare, who in addition to the cash prize, received a years mentorship from Tony Award winners composer Jeanine Tesori and producer Daryl Roth.

    This is an accolade of note that may shape Broadway for decades to come.

Until next time>                               “never forget”