“Forgotten Hollywood”- Little Tramp Mask…

April 30th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`For fans of classic cinema, and particularly, Charlie Chaplin… A whole new array of protection masks are now available on the Red Bubble website. Twenty-five selections to choose from…

   

    

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Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- An Island in the Stream…

April 28th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Films that debuted on a streaming service without a theatrical run will be eligible for this year’s Oscars, but only for 2020.  The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the change for the 93rd Academy Awards as a response to how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the film industry. It is an unprecedented move.

“`Oscar eligibility has been a major issue since stay at home and social distancing orders led to both the cancellation of major film festivals and the closure of movie theaters. Previously, a flick needed a minimum seven-day theatrical run at a Los Angeles County commercial theater in order to be eligible.  Now, productions that had a previously planned theatrical release, but are made available on a home video on demand service, may qualify for all categories.

“`Once theaters re-open, the exemption will end. Many expect cinemas nationwide to reopen by June or July. If that happens, the film academy will expand qualifying theaters beyond Los Angeles County to include venues in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Atlanta.

“`Earlier this month, the academy donated six million dollars to help motion picture employees and their families during this crisis. The 93rd Academy Awards are still scheduled to be held in Los Angeles on February 28, 2021.

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Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Sondheim Virtual Celebration…

April 26th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Josh Groban, Nathan Lane, and Jake Gyllenhaal are among the theater that honored cherished composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim with an online birthday concert. Sondheim actually turned ninety on March 22nd, but plans to celebrate were put online after  Broadway shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.                            STEPHEN SONDHEIM –>

“`The celebration this weekend coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Sondheim’s Broadway show, Company, and served as a fundraiser for Artists Striving to End Poverty. Beginning fashionably late, the tribute opened on YouTube about an hour after the scheduled start time.

“`With an intimate vibe to the event, musicians and singers dressed in t-shirts, wore minimal makeup, and stood in front of simple backdrops. It was hosted and produced by Raúl Esparza, who starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of Company in 2006.

“`Sondheim’s productions include  A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, and A Little Night Music. He also worked alongside Leonard Bernstein as the lyricist for West Side Story.

“`Happy birthday to the one-and-only Stephen Sondheim.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Goodbye to Brian Dennehy…

April 16th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Brian Dennehy was a fine character actor; with a tough guy image, he made a perfect police detective on screen. He was busy in cinema and on television.

“`Dennehy earned a football scholarship in high school. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1958, and served on Okinawa until 1963.  After the military, he became a stock broker before the acting bug bit him.

“`He appeared in plenty of notable productions, including Semi Tough, Foul Play, 10, First Blood, Gorky Park, Silverado, Cocoon, The Man from Snowy River, and Legal Eagles. On television, Brian guest-starred in Kojak, Lou Grant, M*A*S*H, Dallas, Knots Landing, Dynasty, Cagney and Lacey, Miami Vice, The West Wing, and The Good Wife. He was a winner of one Golden Globe, two Tony Awards and recipient of six Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

“`The dependable Brian Dennehy (above) was eighty-one.

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“`A quick reminder to watch my latest appearance on Celebrating Act 2 with John Coleman and Art Kirsch. We discuss ways to hunker down with a classic film.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Not Found in the Credits…

April 12th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Every once in a while, we watch a motion picture, and someone famous pops up. They are absent in the opening credits. What gives?

“`There are too many times this has happened, but here are a few notable examples…

~ Gene Hackman / Young Frankenstein. Hackman appeared in one of his few comedic roles as Harold (the blind man). In Bride of Frankenstein, Boris Karloff as the Monster encounters an old blind hermit who thanks God for sending him. He teaches the creature words like friend and good and shares his supper with him.  In Young Frankenstein, Harold ravages the fiend with blundering love.

            GENE HACKMAN   PETER BOYLE                        JACK NICHOLSON

~ Jack Nicholson / Broadcast News. Nicholson’s role is no cameo. He is all over the movie playing the veteran news anchor. Though not credited in the opening of the movie, he does appear in the end credits. Jack lends able support to Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks.

~ Jerry Lewis and Jack Benny / It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. In an epic comedy filled with dozens of the top funnymen of the day, Lewis and Benny chose to just show up. Lewis plays the troublemaker, running over Spencer Tracy’s chapeau;  Benny, the peacemaker, is rebuffed by Ethel Merman.  Truth be told, Bob Hope respectfully turned down the part that went to Benny. The two comedic icons blended in well with the other clowns in the film.

 

                          JERRY LEWIS                                       JACK BENNY

“`Let me provide credit to these screen giants, who offered pristine work whether or not their names appeared on screen.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Whip it Good…

April 10th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Disney Theme Parks remain closed.  And like other companies, they are offering something to families financially struggling. And it happens to be quite yummy.

“`Dole is a co-partner with Disney, and they have a food stand right by The Tiki Room in Adventureland at Disneyland in Anaheim.  The Dole Whip is a popular desert at the theme park. Now you can make one at home. Here is the recipe:

“`Start with a kitchen blender and a star-tipped piping bag. Add the following ingredients:

  • one cup of pineapple juice (frozen)
  • one banana (peeled and frozen)
  • two-and-a-half teaspoons of powdered sugar
  • a quarter to half a cup of unsweetened coconut milk

“`Add it all into a blender and blend until smooth. Here is a video that walks you through it:

 

 

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Mad Man Drucker…

April 9th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Mort Drucker was the Mad Magazine cartoonist who spoofed politicians, celebrities, and popular culture. Besides Mad, Drucker drew for Time Magazine, and DC Comics.

“`Drucker was born in Brooklyn in 1929, and he began working professionally as a cartoonist on Bert Whitman’s newspaper strip Debbie Dean in 1947 thanks to the recommendation from legendary cartoonist, Will Eisner. He assembled his portfolio of comics work over the next ten years.

MORT DRUCKER

“`Mad Magazine was a cultural institution for many baby boomers. Drucker joined Mad in the mid-1950s, and he stayed there well into the twenty-first century.  Few major events or public figures escaped his satire.  Being drawn by Mort became a show business rite of passage, with Michael J. Fox once telling Johnny Carson that he knew he had made it when he appeared in a Drucker cartoon.

“`Some of his illustrations, including a Time cover drawing of Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong playing table tennis, are featured in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D. C.  His admirers included Peanuts creator Charles M Schulz and Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas.  The latter personally asked Drucker to draw the poster for his 1973 flick, American Graffiti. In 2017, Drucker was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.

“`Mort Drucker was ninety-one.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Memorable Faces on Screen…

April 8th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`Allen Garfield was the veteran character actor who was cast in classic 1970s films. He was a dependable addition to any production.

“`The New Jersey-born Garfield started out as a boxer and a sportswriter. While covering sports for the New Jersey Star-Ledger,  he studied acting at night, and he was eventually accepted by the Actor’s Studio. There he became a student of Lee Strasberg.  Performing with naturalism and a method-style commitment, Garfield found he could transfer journalism into acting.   ALLEN GARFIELD –>

“`Garfield would end up appearing in some of the best films of a generation, including The ConversationThe Candidate, The Owl and the PussycatNashville, Bananas, the redux of The Front Page, The Stunt Man, Gable and Lombard, Beverly Hills Cop IIand The Cotton Club.

“`Allen Garfield was eighty.

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“`Honor Blackman was the Bond Girl with the suggestive name. She strutted around in Goldfinger as Pussy Galore. Blackman also co-starred in the weekly British series, The Avengers.

HONOR BLACKMAN

“`An avowed anti-Monarchist, Blackman refused the honor of being named a Dame for the United Kingdom. Outspoken, bold, and fearless, she embodied the feminist fight of the mid 1960s. More recently, she even had a falling out with Sean Connery.

“`Honor Blackman was ninety-four.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Act 2 Film Fest Closures…

April 6th, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`My latest visit with John Coleman and Art Kirsch on Celebrating Act 2 finds us discussing how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting live celebrations of cinema. Here is the link:

“`I invite you to check out the Celebrating Act 2YouTube page at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVU6lof8FyCZ84RH5f9fHWw

Until next time>                               “never forget”  

“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Head For Medicine…

April 3rd, 2020

Manny P. here…

“`The United States top infectious disease specialist is getting his own bobblehead.  The newest creation from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee shall feature Dr Anthony Fauci wearing a suit as he makes motions showing how the nation needs to collectively flatten the curve in the coronavirus pandemic.

“`The origination of the bobblehead stretches back to the seventeenth century. By the 1950s, bobbleheads had a substantial surge in popularity, with items made of either plastic or bisque porcelain. Major League Baseball began promoting their players with their own bobblehead. Early bobbleads included Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris.

“`The bobblehead museum plans to donate twenty percent of each Fauci replica that is sold to the American Hospital Association, in support of that group’s effort to get masks and other personal protective equipment for health care workers. The doctor has offered his appreciation for the eventual donation.

“`Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has served as an adviser to every president since Ronald Reagan. The current chief executive has called him a star on his administration’s coronavirus task force.

“`The museum in Milwaukee picked Fauci because many people see the plain-speaking expert on the coronavirus as a hero, We agree!

Until next time>                               “never forget”