“Forgotten Hollywood”- Saving Dick Van Dyke’s Home…

October 12th, 2015

Manny P. here…

    An update on the demolition of Dick and Jerry Van Dyke’s childhood home…

   Actor Dick Van Dyke is taking steps to save his  former residence in central Illinois, which was slated for demolition. News stories about the threat to the two-story home in Danville, condemned because of its tumbledown condition, reached the 89-year-old actor during the summer. He announced over the weekend that the house will be restored as headquarters for a new foundation to provide scholarships to accomplished young performers.

           

JERRY VAN DYKE                   DICK VAN DYKE

   Organizers of the Dick Van Dyke Foundation hope to establish a museum in the home where Van Dyke and brother Jerry lived during high school after the family relocated from Missouri. After learning of the house’s dilapidated state, the star of Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, and The Dick Van Dyke Show recalled the happy memories in a tweet to his tens of thousands of followers.

    When the city condemned the home in December, officials didn’t know the Van Dyke connection, Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said in July. The property’s last owner died in 2011. Lance Kirkland, Dick Van Dyke Foundation board president, said in a news release that the organization is working with Todd Regan, executive director of the Walt Disney Birthplace, to launch the new foundation, which will seek nonprofit status.

   Good things happen to people who want fair results…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Story Oliver Stone Might Embrace…

October 11th, 2015

Manny P. here…

1040274-6-20151011140747-cia-yes-we-covered-up-the-jfk-killing   According to an article written by the agency’s senior in-house historian, the CIA purposely held back information from the Warren Commission, Politico reports. John McCone, at the time the agency’s director, apparently failed to tell the commission about agency plots to murder Fidel Castro (including ones involving the Mafia). So, the commission never knew to ask whether Oswald had Cuban comrades that were set on assassinating President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. The commission notoriously concluded that Oswald acted alone, spawning many decades of conspiracy theories involving Castro, the Mafia, the CIA, the Soviets, and even President Lyndon B. Johnson.

   It seems the White House nudged McCone along: He shared the administration’s interest in avoiding disclosures about covert actions that would circumstantially implicate [the] CIA in conspiracy theories, and possibly lead to calls for a tough US response against the perpetrators of the assassination, reads the article, which was published in a CIA internal magazine in 2013, and declassified (with 15 redactions) last fall. McCone also apparently didn’t say that the CIA may have been communicating with Oswald before the killing, and was illegally reading his mail after he tried defecting to the Soviets in 1959.

   The article, by CIA historian David Robarge, calls McCone’s actions benign; but says, the cover-up played a big role in undermining the credibility of the commission.

   This is a story that definitely has legs in the eyes of conspiracy theorists.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Shirley Temple’s Legacy Gift…

October 10th, 2015

Manny P. here…shirley

   The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that it has received a gift valued at more than $5 million from the late Oscar-winning Hollywood actress and United States Ambassador Shirley Temple Black and her family. This gift includes a substantial monetary contribution to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ capital campaign, as well as key artifacts from Shirley Temple Black’s indelible early career. To recognize this gift and honor the star’s legendary childhood contribution to entertainment, the Academy Museum’s education center will be named The Shirley Temple Education Studio.

   It will be the center of the Museum’s dynamic education program, which will draw upon the expertise of Academy members, artists, and scholars in a range of disciplines to explore cinema history and the collaborative process of filmmaking. The program will provide hands-on workshops in moviemaking techniques, as well as inspire creativity and critical thinking. A core feature will be its teen initiative, serving students from diverse backgrounds in the greater Los Angeles area.

   In addition to financial support, this generous gift includes unique objects such as: the miniature Oscar presented to Shirley Temple at the 1934 Academy Awards in recognition of her screen work that year; the tap shoes, and portable wooden practice-steps given to her by legendary dancer Bill Bojangles Robinson for their famed stair dance routine in 1934s The Little Colonel; the star’s first set-chair from Fox Studios; and the ornate Los Angeles public-school system desk she used for her daily lessons on the lot.

    The Academy is raising $388 million to support the building, exhibitions, and programs of the Academy Museum. The capital campaign was launched in 2012, and is chaired by Bob Iger and co-chaired by Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. The Academy has already secured more than $250 million in pledges from more than 1,300 individual donors globally.

museum_shirley_temple

   Shirley Temple’s ship has made port, and it’s definitely the Good Ship Lollipop!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- AFI to Honor John Williams…

October 8th, 2015

Manny P. here…

250px-AFI_LOGO   For the first time in AFI history, America’s highest honor for a career in film will be bestowed upon a composer. John Williams will receive the 44th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016.

800px-John_Williams_Hollywood_Bowl

JOHN WILLIAMS

   Perhaps best known for his enduring collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, his scores are among the most iconic and recognizable in film history, from the edge-of-your-seat Jaws motif, to the emotional swell of E.T. The Extraterrestrial, and the haunting elegies of Schindler’s List. Always epic in scale, his music has helped define over half a century of the motion picture medium. Three of Williams’ scores landed on AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores — a list of the 25 greatest American film scores of all time — including the unforgettable Star Wars soundtrack, at #1. Other films include Saving Private Ryan, Seven Years in Tibet, AmistadThe Lost World, Rosewood, Sleepers, Sabrina, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, NixonFar and Away, JFK, Hook, Always, Born on the Fourth of July, SupermanThe Accidental Tourist, Empire of the Sun, The Witches of Eastwick, Presumed Innocent, the Indiana Jones trilogy, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

   With five Academy Award wins and 49 nominations in total, Williams holds the record for the most Oscar nominations of any living person. His storied career as the composer behind many of the greatest American films and television series of all time boasts over 150 credits across seven decades.

   Williams will be honored at the gala Tribute on June 9th, 2016. The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute television special will air on TNT later that same month, followed by an encore presentation on Turner Classic Movies.

   Kudos to the magnificent John Williams!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Therapy Cable / A Vintage Moment…

October 6th, 2015

Manny P. here…

   I personally invite you to the TherapyCable Channel Circle of Insight program with host Carlos Vazquez, as he interviews the lovely and talented Ginger Pauley, a song-stylist and expert on everything vintage. I co-host this insightful program.

Circle of Insight logo   TCLogo   Circle of Insight - Ginger Pauley

   Here is the link (click or copy-and-paste) to watch this scintillating half hour of conversation:

http://therapycable.com/personal-stories-videos/personal-look-at-ginger-pauley.html

Forgotten Hollywood - Therapy Cable logo   TherapyCable is also home to my Forgotten Hollywood web-based television program. Let me personally offer my thanks to Dr. Vazquez for giving me the opportunity to co-host his fine Circle of Insight show.

`

——————————————————–

My Edmonds News logo

   Thank you to MY Edmonds News for writing such a rich review of my initial paperback – Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. The author is Wendy Kendall, a writer, project manager, and volunteer at the Edmonds Library. She writes:

Forgotten Hollywood coverManny Pacheco’s fascinating book shares incredible stories of the character actors and supporting players who brought American history to life on the screen during the days of old Hollywood. The author brings his additional insight, analyzing these actors’ body of work to show how they have also created history themselves… Enhancing his story about these actors and their historical works are some delightful pictures of them, their films, and also the real historical people and events…

Manny Pacheco is steeped in the world of Hollywood. He’s been a broadcaster in Los Angeles and Southern California for over three decades, and he’s a 30-year member of the Screen Actors Guild. A student of history and a movie fan, he’s blended his two passions in this book. He keeps very busy with an engaging website that also includes interviews, events, and articles. He also has other books, including Son of Forgotten Hollywood Book 2 published in 2012.

   Again, thanks Wendy for making my book a Recommended Read! Here are links to the complete review:

http://myedmondsnews.com/2015/10/recommended-reads-book-explores-forgotten-hollywood-stories/
http://myedmondsnews.com/category/columns/recommended-reads/

http://www.recommendreads.blogspot.com/

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Jim Thorpe, All Pennsylvanian…

October 5th, 2015

Manny P. here…

   The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Indian tribes and Jim Thorpe’s sons to move the remains of the athletic great from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma. Thorpe’s two surviving sons, and the Sac and Fox Nation have been seeking to bury Thorpe on American Indian land in Oklahoma.

1922_Jim_Thorpe_sketch   nav-logo

   The justices on Monday left in place a court ruling that ordered Thorpe’s body to remain in the Pennsylvania town that bears his name. His wife won the original agreement from two merging towns in Pennsylvania to build a memorial and name the new town after Thorpe. Police then seized Thorpe’s body during his funeral service in Oklahoma.

   Thorpe was a football, baseball, and track star who won the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics. He died in 1953 at age 64. A motion picture was made that was considered a fictionalized biography of his well-documented  life. Burt Lancaster starred as the athlete.

`

—————————————————— jack lalanne

   ME-TV.com is featuring one of the small screen’s finest daytime live shows during its Golden Age. And, the star is none other than exercise guru – Jack LaLanne.

   The Godfather of Fitness opened America’s first health club in 1936. The Jack LaLanne Physical Culture Studio — a gym, juice bar, and health food store — kickstarted the modern health movement. In 1951, the charismatic health expert brought his winning workouts to television. Wearing his signature jumpsuit and slippers, The Jack LaLanne Show ran for 34 years. His dog Happy was there to help, too. Jack LaLanne lived to be 96.

   Here is a link to watch these classic programs:

http://metv.com/shows/jack-lalanne/videos

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Remake of Liberty Valance…

October 1st, 2015

Manny P. here…

The_Man_Who_Shot_Liberty_Valance   Paramount Pictures wants to remake John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Classic film enthusiasts are crying foul.

   Based on a Dorothy M. Johnson short story, the motion picture starred James Stewart as a lawyer who arrives in the fictional town of Shinbone, which is being terrorized by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). John Wayne, in his last film for Ford, portrays a heroic cowboy who helps Stewart lead to modernize the community. The film was one of the last Westerns ever shot in black and white, and examined the legends created by the old West. Vera Miles, Andy Devine, Edmond O’Brien, and John Carradine are also part of the exquisite cast. In 2007, the movie was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

   The new film would be produced by Matt Jackson with Gabby Canton and Elizabeth Raposo overseeing the project for Paramount. There is talk to abandon the Western theme and modernize the story for audiences.

   This is one re-make that really doesn’t need to be made, in my estimation.

Until next time>                               “never forget”