FINAL RESTING PLACES: BILLIE HOLIDAY

One of the greats of jazz was the amazing Billie Holiday. Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", "Fine and Mellow", and "Lady Sings the Blues". She also became famous for singing "Easy Living", "Good Morning Heartache", and "Strange Fruit". Billie, who had an addiction to alcohol and drugs, was arrested on a few occasions for drug possession. As her health declined in the 1950's, so did the quality of her voice and career. In 1959, she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, and died from pulmonary edema and heart failure caused by the cirrhosis on July 17 of that year. As she was dying in the hospital, Billie was once again arrested for drug possession and police were guarding her hospital room until the end. She is buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx, NY...

THE STORY BEHIND MOMMIE DEAREST

One of the most campiest of films, Mommie Dearest, made the leap from book to the silver screen in 1981. Surprisingly it came out only four years after Joan Crawford died. According to Faye Dunaway, producer Frank Yablans promised her in the casting process that he wished to portray Joan Crawford in a more moderate way than she was portrayed in Christina Crawford's book. In securing the rights to the book, Christina's husband David Koontz was given an executive producer credit, though he had no experience producing films. Dunaway likewise demanded that her own husband, photographer Terry O'Neill, be given a producer credit so he could advocate for her on set. According to Yablans, the two husbands jostled over Dunaway's portrayal of Crawford: “I had two husbands to deal with, David driving me crazy that Faye was trying to sanitize Joan, and Terry worried we were pushing Faye too far and creating a monster.”

 
In 2015, actress Rutanya Alda (Carol Ann) published a behind-the-scenes memoir, detailing the making of the film, "The Mommie Dearest Diary: Carol Ann Tells All." In it, she describes the difficulty of working with Dunaway, whose method approach to playing Joan seemed to absorb her and make her difficult to the cast and crew. In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Alda stated, "People despised Faye...because she was rude to people. Everyone was on pins and needles when she worked, and relaxed when she didn't."

 

Alda described the process of acting opposite Dunaway very unfavorably by claiming that she manipulated the director to deprive the other actors of screen time and required the members of the cast to turn their backs when not in the shot so she would have no audience. She also claimed that Dunaway was "out of control" while filming the scene where Joan attacks Christina in front of a reporter (Jocelyn Brando) and Carol Ann has to pull her off. Alda was hit hard in the chest and knocked over several times, while Jocelyn Brando, who was scripted to help Alda pull Dunaway off of Diana Scarwid, refused to get near her for fear of being injured.

For decades, Dunaway was famously reluctant to discuss "Mommie Dearest" in interviews. In her 1997 autobiography, she only briefly mentions the film by stating that she wished that director Frank Perry had had enough experience to see when actors needed to rein in their performances.

 
In 2016, Dunaway expressed regret over taking the part and blamed it for causing a decline in her Hollywood career. She also claimed that the performance took a heavy emotional toll on her, stating: “At night, I would go home to the house we had rented in Beverly Hills, and felt Crawford in the room with me, this tragic, haunted soul just hanging around.… It was as if she couldn’t rest.”

 
By coincidence, Joan once said in an interview in the early 1970s that of the current young actresses, only Faye Dunaway had "what it takes" to be a true star...

RECENTLY VIEWED: JURASSIC WORLD - REBIRTH

This weekend I dragged my kids to the latest Jurrassic World movie. Actually they wanted to go. I had seen every Jurassic Park/World movie in move theaters since the first one in 1993. Jurassic World Rebirth is a 2025 American science fiction thriller film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp. A standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion (2022), it is the fourth Jurassic World film and the seventh installment overall in the Jurassic Park franchise. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Ed Skrein.

Work on the film began shortly after the release of Jurassic World Dominion, when executive producer Steven Spielberg recruited Koepp to help him develop a new installment in the series. Koepp previously co-wrote the original Jurassic Park film (1993) and wrote its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Development of Rebirth was first reported in January 2024. Edwards was hired as director a month later, and casting commenced shortly thereafter. Principal photography took place in Thailand, Malta, and the United Kingdom from June to September 2024.

Jurassic World Rebirth premiered on June 17, 2025, at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, and was released in the United States and Canada by Universal Pictures on July 2. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some deeming it an improvement over the previous entries. It has grossed over $322 million worldwide against a budget of $180 million, making it the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2025.

I won't bore you or spoil the movie with plot details, but the film includes dinosaurs. The dinosaurs as awlays, are the main attaction in the film. What changed from the prior six movies is I did not care for the characters as much as I did in the prior six films. Scarlett Johansson was the lead in the film. I like her personally, but her character had not personality. Almost any actress could have been plopped down into her generic role. The standout actor to me was Mahershala Ali. He played Duncan, one of Scarlett's friends that came along on her mission. I hate to say this, and I have never said it before, but the franchise is getting tired. I will never stop watching these movies because I love them. Yesterday I rewatched the 1993 original film, and it was just so amazing. This most recent film is good, but the film is no longer amazing. I'm glad I went to see the film, but the movie made me a little bit sad. It made me think of some of the prior films in the series that really made me excited...

MY RATING: 8 out of 10

BETTE DAVIS AND THE BABY JANE MAKE UP

"A director is a ringmaster, a psychiatrist, and a referee."

Early on, Bette Davis made the decision to create her own makeup for her character in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) "What I had in mind, no professional makeup man would have dared to put on me," said Davis. "One told me he was afraid that if he did what I wanted, he might never work again. Jane looked like many women one sees on Hollywood Boulevard. In fact, author Henry Farrell patterned the character of Jane after these women. One would presume by the way they looked that they once were actresses, and were now unemployed. I felt Jane never washed her face, just added another layer of makeup each day."

Davis' garish makeup made her look something akin to a grotesque version of an aging Mary Pickford gone to seed, and she loved it. She took pride when Farrell visited the set one day and exclaimed, "My God, you look just exactly as I pictured Baby Jane." The outrageousness of Davis' appearance caused some concern for director Robert Aldrich and the producers, who feared it might be too over-the-top. However, as time went on, they came to see that Davis' instincts for the character were right.

Aldrich on Davis: "Now Davis is a tough old broad and you fight. But when you see what she puts on the screen you know it was worth taking all the bull."

In a 1972 telephone conversation, Crawford told author Shaun Considine that after seeing the film she urged Davis to go and have a look. When she failed to hear back from her co-star, Crawford called Davis and asked her what she thought of the film. Davis replied, "You were so right, Joan. The picture is good. And I was terrific." Crawford said, "That was it. She never said anything about my performance. Not a word."

During the filming of "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964), Crawford said to visiting reporter and author Lawrence J. Quirk, "She acted like 'Baby Jane' was a one-woman show after they nominated her. What was I supposed to do? Let her hog all the glory, act like I hadn't even been in the movie? She got the (Oscar) nomination. I didn't begrudge her that, but it would have been nice if she'd been a little gracious in interviews and given me a little credit. I would've done so for her."

The public was well aware of the longstanding feud between these divas. So this was very much stunt casting; meant to play off the real life drama; and it worked; this movie was a critical and box office smash. They were meant to repeat this formula in "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte," but problems with the director and Davis caused Joan to be replaced by Olivia De Haviland at the last minute.
"There's no doubt in the world that Crawford was sick, seriously sick. If she'd been faking either the insurance company would never have paid the claim or she would never have been insurable again. Insurance companies are terribly tough, there's no such thing as a made-up ailment that they pay you off on."

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: MORE PATRIOTIC HOLLYWOOD

 o celebrate the 4th of July/Independence Day, here is some more photos from classic Hollywood celebrating the holiday...

Jane Russell

Liberace

Anita Page

Shirley Jones

Andy Griffith

Debbie Reynolds

MY INTERVIEW - GINNY SIMMS

One of the first interviews I had the honor to do was with the great singer Ginny Simms. It was 1992, and I was 18 years old. Ginny Simms was living quietly in Palm Springs. It was a phone interview because this was before the internet, and I did not record it, but I found some of the transcripts...

MY QUESTION: What are your greatest memories of your time in Hollywood

GINNY SIMMS: I have so many great memories. My fondest memories was all the talented people I got to know and work with like Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and George Murphy. I got to know a lot of the brilliant songwriters like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. It was an amazing time.

MY QUESTION: Speaking of Judy Garland, as we all know she dealt was some horrible things in Hollywood. Did you ever see the darker side of Hollywood?

GINNY SIMMS: The darker side was definitely there. I had to deal with Louis B Mayer, who thought I would be his girlfriend if he got me roles. I liked singing more than acting, but I once went out to dinner with him, not knowing that after that I would be known as his girlfriend, but he was a horrible person. It was a tough time in Hollywood for women, and it probably is tough. 

MY QUESTION: You started out with Kay Kyser and his orchestra, what are your memories of those years?

GINNY SIMMS: Kay Kyser was a wonderful human being. He really was. I am still friends with his wife Georgia (Georgia Carroll). He was like a father figure to me, and he was one of the nicest people I got to know when I first left Texas. Harry Babbitt, who I sang with was another really nice soul. 

MY QUESTION: Would you ever consider making a record today in 1992?

GINNY SIMMS: Oh heavens know. I basically retired in the late 1950s. My voice is not as clear as it used to be. My health is only so-so. I am mostly in a wheelchair now due to my heart, but I still get around. I love going on my porch and enjoying my garden. I sing once and a while to my old records, but only in private.

I wish I had more of this interview. Sadly, Ginny Simms died on my birthday - April 4, 1994. If you get a chance, listen to some of her singing. She is very underrated as vocalist. I'll never forget this interview I did with her!

THE LAST DAYS OF FARRAH FAWCETT

Farrah Fawcett spent her final days in quiet resilience, surrounded by those she loved most. By 2007, her battle with anal cancer had intensified, requiring aggressive treatments, including chemotherapy and alternative therapies in Germany. She kept a strict daily routine mornings often began with a gentle walk when she was able, followed by meditation and quiet reflection. Despite her deteriorating condition, she maintained a meticulous appearance, never wanting to appear weak. She documented her journey through the 2009 documentary “Farrah’s Story,” determined to raise awareness and inspire others facing similar struggles.

Her relationship with her longtime partner, Ryan O’Neal, deepened in these last years. He became her primary caretaker, ensuring she was as comfortable as possible. Their bond, though tumultuous over the decades, found solace in their shared love. O’Neal often read to her, recounting memories of their best times together. Their son, Redmond, who was in and out of legal troubles due to drug addiction, weighed heavily on her mind. Even from her hospital bed, she expressed her deepest wish for him to find stability and happiness.

Farrah endured painful treatments, but she fought bravely, refusing to let illness define her. Some days were better than others; on her stronger days, she would spend time looking through old photographs, reminiscing with close friends like Alana Stewart. Despite the grim prognosis, she never lost her sense of humor. In private moments, she joked about how she wanted to be remembered not for her suffering, but for her spirit.

In her final hours, her breathing became labored. The room was filled with whispered prayers and quiet goodbyes. Redmond, allowed a temporary release from jail, held her hand, promising her he would try to turn his life around. Her last words reflected love and peace. She asked those around her to celebrate her life, not mourn her death. On June 25, 2009, Farrah Fawcett passed away at 62, leaving behind a legacy of strength and unwavering determination...