BORN ON THIS DAY: BILLY WILDER

The great director Billy Wilder was born on this day in 1906. Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many German films until Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933.

 Wilder immediately realized his Jewish ancestry would cause problems, so he emigrated to Paris, then the US. Although he spoke no English when he arrived in Hollywood, Wilder was a fast learner and thanks to contacts such as Peter Lorre (with whom he shared an apartment), he was able to break into American films. His partnership with Charles Brackett started in 1938 and the team was responsible for writing some of Hollywood's classic comedies, including Ninotchka (1939) and Ball of Fire (1941). The partnership expanded into a producer-director one in 1942, with Brackett producing and the two turned out such classics as Five Graves to Cairo (1943), The Lost Weekend (1945) (Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay) and Sunset Boulevard (1950) (Oscars for Best Screenplay), after which the partnership dissolved. (Wilder had already made one film, Double Indemnity (1944) without Brackett, as the latter had refused to work on a film he felt dealt with such disreputable characters.) 

Wilder's subsequent self-produced films would become more caustic and cynical, notably Ace in the Hole (1951), though he also produced such sublime comedies as Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960) (which won him Best Picture and Director Oscars). He retired in 1981. Once told Billy Bob Thornton that he was too ugly to be an actor and he should write a screenplay for himself in which he could exploit his less than perfect features. Thornton later collected an Oscar for his Sling Blade (1996) screenplay. Billy Wilder died in 2002...

FATS DOMINO: AIN'T THAT A SHAME

“Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino is like a rock skipping across a pond, each note creating ripples that dance in the air, tugging at your heartstrings with a playful yet poignant touch. When you hear the unmistakable opening notes, it’s as if a warm summer evening sweeps in, wrapping around you like a beloved old sweater. Domino’s voice, smooth and rich, carries a sense of familiarity that feels like home, yet there’s an ache beneath the surface.

The song’s rhythm is infectious, a swinging beat that invites you to sway along, your feet tapping in time with piano keys gleaming like the sun off a calm lake. And in that delightful groove lies a bittersweet tale—loving someone who doesn’t feel the same way can feel as disorienting as a carousel spinning a little too fast. The melody rises and falls like a gentle wave, echoing the fluctuations of young love, where joy and sorrow intermingle with dizzying precision.

As Fats pours his heart into the lyrics, “Ain’t that a shame,” rolls off his tongue like honey, each word dripping with the kind of regret that’s as sticky as spilled soda on a summer day. You can almost taste the wistfulness in the air, like the hint of rain before a storm. The piano tinkles like laughter and the horns pop out with zest, underscoring that despite the heaviness of lost love, life still carries on in vibrant colors.
It’s a celebration of those moments that linger—the memories that replay in your mind like an old black-and-white film, bittersweet yet beautiful. You can picture the scenes: a lost afternoon at the diner, a soda shared over stolen glances, the exhilaration of a first crush mixing with the heartbreak of reality. Each note is a gentle reminder; even in sadness, there’s joy to be found in the music of your memories.

In “Ain’t That a Shame,” Fats Domino paints a world where love is both a thrill ride and a tumultuous sea, capturing the essence of youthful longing with an authenticity that resonates today. You can’t help but smile through your own feelings as you hum along, enthralled in the ability of music to make sorrow sing, and heartbreak feel like a dance...

HOLLYWOOD TIDBITS: VICTOR/VICTORIA

The film's screenplay was adapted by Blake Edwards (Julie Andrews' husband) and Hans Hoemburg from the 1933 German film "Viktor und Viktoria" by Reinhold Schünzel. According to Edwards, the screenplay took only one month to write. There was also a 1935 remake named "First a Girl," made in the United Kingdom and directed by Victor Saville, about a woman who stands in for a female impersonator and becomes a hit. Julie Andrews watched the 1933 version to prepare for her role. The film had been planned as early as 1978 with Julie Andrews to star alongside Peter Sellers, but Sellers died in 1980 while Andrews and Blake Edwards were filming "S.O.B." (1981), so Robert Preston was cast in the role of Toddy that originally was envisaged for Sellers.

Reportedly, Andrews struggled with her role in this movie. Andrews has said of this, "There were so many things to be worked out. As someone who likes to be in control, I felt wobbly. There was something else, too. When you get older, you kind of get on to yourself. You know the tricks you play to get by, and you like them less and less if you care about your work. I was trying hard to get away from them, and was sometimes falling back."

The costume worn by Julie Andrews in the number "The Shady Dame from Seville" is in fact the same costume worn by Robert Preston at the end of the film. It was made to fit Preston, and then, using a series of hooks and eyes at the back, it was drawn in tight to fit Andrews' shapely figure. Additional black silk ruffles were also added to the bottom of the garment, to hide the differences in height. The fabric is a black and brown crepe, with fine gold threads woven into it, that when lit appears to have an almost wet look about it. Preston did the final musical number in one take, which explains why he was so clearly out of breath, physically stressed, and sweating profusely during the second half of the number.

Although Edwards' movies garnered numerous Oscar nominations over the years, this was the only time that he received an Academy Award nomination, for Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium. However, in 2004, he was awarded an honorary Oscar in recognition of his writing, directing, and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen...

BING CROSBY AND BOB HOPE: FRIENDS OR RIVALS?

Bob Hope worked with Bing Crosby for the first time in 1932 at the Capitol Theater in New York. Bing was already a big recording star and Bob was asked to emcee a show that Bing was going to do at the Capitol Theater. They actually, to entertain themselves, they just decided to do some bits together onstage, just some funny, silly little bits together. And they worked so well together — they really loved working together. They then didn't see each other for five years because Bing went back to Hollywood where he was making movies and Bob stayed on Broadway for another five years.

When Bob went out to Hollywood in 1937, he got friendly again with Crosby on the Paramount lot and they became good friends. They entertained together at [the] Del Mar racetrack, where Bing was a part owner and Paramount executives saw their act onstage together and said, "Hey, these guys might work together in a movie."

So they geared up a movie that ended up being called Road to Singapore. This came out in early 1940 and it was just terrific. It was the highest-grossing film for 1940 in a year with a lot of big Hollywood films, and the audience responded instantly to the chemistry of the two of them on-screen together. They were relaxed, informal — they seemed to be friends authentically, not just movie characters. The movie was so much fun that it launched a series.

They were friends and they loved working together, but they were not close friends. They were very different personality types. ... Bob was someone who loved being famous and loved being out there as a star and he loved talking to fans and he was basically a happy guy. Bing was much more ambivalent about his stardom, I think. He was more reclusive. He didn't like the Hollywood scene; he moved up to Northern California halfway through his career. He didn't like showing up at things. There was a famous Friars Club Roast for Bob Hope in the late '40s and every major comedy star — from Milton Berle, George Jessel, etc. — were there. ... And [Bing] didn't show up. I think that bothered Bob a little bit.

I think there was a slight bit of resentment there. I think also Bob envied Bing in the early years, particularly. Bing was more successful and Bing was a smart businessman. Bob learned a lot from him. I think that there was a little bit of a rivalry. Like so many movie pairings, they were great on the screen but offscreen it might have been another story. They were friendly, but when Bing died in 1977, I do not think Bob Hope was one of his close friends, although Bing's wife Kathryn did invite Bob Hope to his funeral. Bing preferred the friendship of Phil Harris. With Harris, Bing could be himself. With Bob Hope, Bob always needed to have an audience and be "on". Bing did not need that...

THE BOX OFFICE STARS: 1957

 1957 was an interesting time in the movie industry. There were some changes to the top ten list, but here are the top ten movie actors/actresses for the year:

1. Rock Hudson
2. John Wayne

3. Pat Boone
4. Elvis Presley
5. Frank Sinatra
6. Kim Novak
7. Gary Cooper
8. William Holden
9. James Stewart
10. Jerry Lewis

         

RIP: LORETTA SWIT

Loretta Swit, who played Maj. Margaret Houlihan on the TV series "M*A*S*H," has died, a representative for her confirmed to CBS News. She was 87.

Swit died at her home in New York City, her rep, B. Harlan Boll, said in a statement to CBS News on Friday. She was believed to have died of natural causes.

Swit starred on stage and screen, but she was perhaps best known for her long-running role as the head nurse who was a foil to Alan Alda's Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce on "M*A*S*H," which aired for 11 seasons on CBS, from 1972 to 1983.

Swit won two Emmys for her performances on "M*A*S*H" and was nominated eight other times for her work on the show. She was also nominated for four Golden Globes.

As the show developed and incorporated more dramatic plot lines with the comedic ones, Swit wanted to portray Houlihan as more than the "Hot Lips" nickname her character was given while having an affair with Linville's Burns.

"Loretta Swit's portrayal of Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan was groundbreaking – bringing heart, humor, and strength to one of television comedy's most enduring roles," Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York, said in a statement. "Her talent extended well beyond that iconic character, with acclaimed work on both stage and screen that showcased her intelligence, versatility, and passion."

Apart from her acting career, Swit was an active supporter of animal welfare, serving on the boards of Actors and Others for Animals and The Wildlife Waystation and as a spokesperson for the Humane Society. In 2016, she founded Swit Heart Animal Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to ending animal cruelty. She used proceeds from her original artwork to raise funds.

In 2019, after a 21-year absence, she returned to the screen in the religious film Play the Flute, about a youth group. Swit was married to actor Dennis Holahan, whom she met on the set of M*A*S*H, from 1983 until their divorce in 1995.

Donations in her memory can be to Actors & Others for Animals or the Swit Heart Animal Alliance, which she set up to protect, rescue, train and care for animals and preserve their habitat. She recently created a fragrance and a necklace, the sales of which supported her efforts...

RIP: MARILYN HOWARD - DAUGHTER OF CURLY

Marilyn Howard Ellman, the youngest daughter of The Three Stooges star Curly Howard, died May 6 in Simi Valley of heart failure, her son Bradley Server told The Hollywood Reporter. She was 86.

With her parents divorced and her father often on the road at the height of his career in the early 1940s, Ellman only got to visit him maybe two weekends a month, her son noted. Later, she would spend time with him in the hospital after he had suffered a series of strokes, one of which forced him to leave The Three Stooges in 1946.

“My mom vividly remembers how much he loved animals,” Server said in a 2020 interview. “She would always play with a dog he had. And he absolutely adored this dog that stood by him until the end. You know, despite my grandfather’s big personality onscreen, I learned he was actually a shy, quiet man in private.”

Ellman was just 13 when her dad died at age 48 on Jan. 18, 1952, in San Gabriel, California. Curly had been replaced in the act by brother Shemp Howard, who joined another brother, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine.

Marilyn Howard was born in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 1938. Her dad — birth name Jerome Lester Horwitz — and mom, Elaine Julia Ackerman, were married for three years before they divorced in 1940. (Curly would have a second daughter named Janie with his fourth wife.)

After Curly’s death, she was adopted by her mother’s second husband, Moe Diamond, when she was 14.

Ellman graduated from North Hollywood High School and attended USC for two years before she worked as a procurement buyer in the electronics business. She would marry twice, and her survivors include her older son, Darren; daughter Andrea; granddaughter Elizabeth; and half-brother Michael...

SOURCE