A TRIBUTE TO GENE WILDER - EIGHT YEARS LATER

 It's hard to believe that Gene Wilder has been gone for eight years now. He was a superstar on and off the screen...

THEN AND NOW: ALAN ALDA & MIKE FARRELL

Here are the two stars of the iconic comedy Mash - Alan Alda and Mike Farrell. The first photo is from the set of Mash in 1975. Alan Alda was 39 and Mike Farrell was 36. Fifty years later almost, they reunited for another photo!

BEHIND THE SCENES: SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)

One of my all-time favorite comedies was the classic Some Like It Hot. My 11 year old daughter also loves the film. Here are some great behind the scenes photos from the making of this 1959 classic...

GO FUND ME: CHILD STAR TOMMY COOK

Child actor Tommy Cook, has been dealt some tough financial and health concerns. If you could donate, it would be appreciated.

Tommy Cook is an American producer, screenwriter and actor. He came up with the story for the 1977 American disaster-suspense film Rollercoaster, starring George Segal. Cook also voiced Augie Anderson and Biff on Hanna-Barbera's animated series The Funky Phantom and Jabberjaw. Cook played a villainous tribesboy opposite Johnny Weissmuller in Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, a "nice native lad" in Jungle Girl (a serial), and Little Beaver in the serial version of Adventures of Red Ryder.

Cook started his career on radio. He played Little Beaver on the radio series Red Ryder. He also played Alexander on Blondie and Junior on The Life of Riley. He had a starring role in the 1950 American drama film The Vicious Years.

On television, Cook appeared in a 1961 episode of The Tab Hunter Show. He had voice-over roles on animated series such as Kid Flash on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Augie on The Funky Phantom and Biff on Jabberjaw.

Cook returned to acting in 2017, making guest appearances on Better Things and Space Force.

You can donate HERE

HOLLYWOOD BEAUTY: AVA GARDNER

 va Gardner (1922-1990) was a stunning beauty. I can just look at these old photographs of her all day. It would be safe to say that she was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history. Here is the evidence...

BAD CINEMA: THE APPLE

The forgotten but campy The Apple is often considered the worst musical of all time. Apparently 1980 wasn’t exactly the best year to try a musical. Director Menahem Golan co-owned The Cannon Group with his cousin, Yoram Globus. They made some cheesy but popular films, like Breakin’, American Ninja, and Missing in Action. They were also responsible for disasters like Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and the famously bad 1990 version of Captain America that never made it to American theaters. 

The Apple somehow tries to combine a future version of the Eurovision Song Contest (here, the 1994 Worldvision Song Festival) and a parable of the dangers of the entertainment industry with, wait for it, The Bible. You have analogues for Adam, Eve, and The Devil (Mr. Boogalow, who owns a label, of course). You have variations on temptation scenes (title song The Apple, which includes a sort of tour of Hell with dumb as anything lyrics “It’s a natural, natural, natural desire/Meet an actual, actual, actual vampire”). The climax of the film is The Rapture. Seriously, this is a real movie. Utterly crazy doesn’t even really cover it. But sadly, it’s not an eminently rewatchable kind of crazy. It’s just terrible.

This futuristic retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, set in the distant year of 1994. Mr. Boogalow is a record company executive who is symbolically the devil. Catherine Mary Stewart and George Gilmour are two Canadian ingénues who try to revive the long-dormant art of the love song (so 1970s!). Mr. Boogalow quickly puts a stop to that by tempting Stewart to the disco scene. The movie pretty much hits its record industry target, and predicts American Idol (except that, instead of soulless disco songs, for the most part the contestants on that show sing soulless ballads). It's not the stupidest movie in the world. On the other hand, it is one of the most garish imaginable, with its goofy futuristic clothes (people in the future always tend to like shiny things a lot), and the songs are beyond horrible. I do not recognize any stars in the film, and maybe that is for the best for all involved...

MY BAD RATING: 9 OUT OF 10

JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG TIDBITS

According to producer/director Stanley Kramer, a young New York stage actor with a small part in "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961) held up production at one point. He was trying to understand his motivation in a brief shot which called for him to enter a room, cross to a table, and wait for Spencer Tracy to enter to hand him a folder. At 10:15 a.m., after sitting in his dressing room since 9:00 am, waiting to make his entrance, Tracy stormed onto the set and said, "Lookit, you come in the f***ing door and cross the f***ing room and go to the f***ing table because its the only way to get in the f***ing room. That's your motivation."

On the day Tracy gave his eleven-minute summation speech, the set at Universal Pictures was packed to the rafters with celebrities and studio executives. Kramer shot it in a single take, not because he thought breaking it up would necessarily lessen the impact of the words but because he knew he would get the maximum emotional payoff out of Tracy without having to start and stop. To be sure he had the coverage he needed without scheduling a reshoot, Kramer had the speech filmed with two cameras simultaneously from two different angles.

Montgomery Clift had difficulty with his lines, cues, and timing. He told Kramer he didn't know if he could actually get through the scene. Kramer did his best to reassure him, but it was Tracy who eventually helped Clift through it. Perhaps drawing on his own years of alcoholism, Tracy spoke to the younger actor with sympathy but with firmness, even relaxing his own dictum about sticking strictly to the script: "Just look into my eyes and do it. You're a great actor and you understand this guy. Stanley doesn't care if you throw aside the precise lines. Just do it into my eyes and you'll be magnificent." Clift spent four days getting through the seven-minute sequence, stumbling through and performing each take differently. At the end of his last take, the set broke out into spontaneous applause. "Monty's condition gave the performance an aura as though it were being shot through muslin, the way the words tumbled out and the disjointed, sudden bursts of lucidity out of a mumble," Kramer said later. "It was classic! It was one of the best moments in the film!" Some film historians and critics have since suggested that Kramer knew exactly what he was doing by casting such broken and erratic performers as Judy Garland and Clift in roles that called for expressions of pain, embarrassment, and terror...

RIP: PETER MARSHALL

Peter Marshall, who won four Emmys hosting the first incarnation of the long-running game show Hollywood Squares, has died at the age of 98, TVLine has confirmed. Marshall died on Thursday of kidney failure at his home in Encino, California “surrounded by loved ones,” his family said in a statement.

After an early career in comedy and on Broadway, Marshall signed on to host what was then titled The Hollywood Squares in 1966, after Bert Parks hosted the initial pilot for NBC. Marshall thought he would only spend 13 weeks as the host, but that turned into 16 years, with Marshall emceeing the show — which featured celebrities like Paul Lynde answering trivia questions as “squares” in a giant tic-tac-toe board — from 1966 to 1981. Along the way, he won four Daytime Emmys for his hosting work.

After Hollywood Squares’ initial run ended, Marshall went on to appear in the 1982 film musical Annie and on TV shows like CHiPs, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. He later returned to Hollywood Squares for a week in 2002, serving as the center square and also hosting an episode.

Hollywood Squares returned to TV in 1986 with a new version hosted by John Davidson, with Joan Rivers serving as the permanent center square. After that version ended in 1989, the format was revived once again in 1998, with Tom Bergeron as host and Whoopi Goldberg as the center square. That version wrapped up in 2004.

Peter Marshall also appeared in movies in Annie (1982) as the radio singer. In recent years he hosted many nostalgia shows on PBS...

RIP: GENA ROWLANDS

Gena Rowlands, the wife and muse of John Cassavetes whose unvarnished abilities found in such films as Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night and Gloria put her in the pantheon of acting legends, died Wednesday. She was 94.

Rowlands died surrounded by family members at her home in Indian Wells, California. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2019.

Rowlands received Oscar nominations for her performances in A Woman Under the Influence (1974), where she played an isolated, emotionally vulnerable housewife who lapses into madness, and Gloria (1980), where she sparkled as a pissed-off child protector who rails against the Mob.

She lost out to Ellen Burstyn of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Sissy Spacek of Coal Miner’s Daughter in those Academy Award races. Her greatness wasn’t formally acknowledged by the Academy until she received an honorary Oscar at the 2015 Governors Awards.

“You know what’s wonderful about being an actress?” Rowlands said at the ceremony. “You don’t just live one life — yours — you live many lives.”

Cassavetes directed his wife in A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria as well as in Shadows (1959), A Child Is Waiting (1963), Faces (1968), Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), Opening Night (1977) and Love Streams (1984). He wrote all but one of those dramas as well, and together, the couple kick-started the independent film movement in America.

Survivors include their son, writer-director Nick Cassavetes, for whom Rowlands starred as a lonely widow in Unhook the Stars (1996) and as an elderly woman with dementia in The Notebook (2004). She also appeared in her son’s She’s So Lovely (1997), based on a script from John Cassavetes.

Her daughters, Zoe Cassavetes and Xan Cassavetes, are writer/directors as well.

At her best when playing beleaguered heroines, Rowlands often downplayed her corn-fed Midwestern beauty, subverting her good looks when the part called for it — as in Opening Night, when she portrayed the aging and insecure stage actress Myrtle Gordon.

Rowlands attended the University of Wisconsin but left to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in in New York. It was there that she met Cassavetes, an alum a year ahead of her who spotted Rowlands in a student production of J.B. Priestley’s Dangerous Corner.

Four months after they met, she and Cassavetes were married in 1954 and were together until he died from cirrhosis in February 1989. He was 59.

Rowlands‘ first professional stage appearance came in a Provincetown Playhouse drama. She also did live TV and was cast by producer-director Joshua Logan in 1956 to play a young woman who falls in love with an older man (Edward G. Robinson) in Paddy Chayefsky’s Middle of the Night.

After 18 months with the play, Rowlands signed with MGM and made her feature debut as Jose Ferrer’s confident wife in the drama The High Cost of Loving (1958). She went on to perform in the Dalton Trumbo Western Lonely Are the Brave (1962) with Kirk Douglas, in The Spiral Road (1962) opposite Rock Hudson and in Tony Rome (1967) with Frank Sinatra.

Rowlands also won three Emmy Awards (from eight nominations), with one for playing the first lady in 1987’s The Betty Ford Story and another for portraying a waitress in a diner who is romanced by another Cassavetes regular, Ben Gazzara, in 2002’s Hysterical Blindness.

Her more recent film appearances came in Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth (1991) — the first film she made after Cassavetes‘death — Silent Cries (1993), Hope Floats (1998), The Weekend (1999), The Skeleton Key (2005) and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014). She retired from acting in 2014....

THE BATTLE FOR TONY BENNETT'S ESTATE

The fight for the control of Tony Bennett's million dollar estate has The latest drama between intensified in recent daye. The 70-year-old son Danny, and his sisters unfolded when he requested more time to respond to a lawsuit filed by his sisters—a plea that was swiftly rejected by their legal team.

Antonia and Johanna, through their lawyer, firmly declined Danny's request for an extension, arguing that it would "delay the production of information to which they are entitled."

The sisters have been seeking a comprehensive accounting of the estate, but it seems their requests have gone unanswered. According to court documents Danny's attorney, who was only recently retained, cited the need for additional time. In his words:

"I am insufficiently familiar with the case to determine how best to respond to the Petition. In addition, I have planned vacation time during the last two weeks of August, as does my partner."

Despite these explanations, Antonia and Johanna's lawyer insisted that their clients are owed an accounting and would only agree to the extension if Danny provided the requested financial details within 45 days.

In the face of mounting pressure, Danny turned to the court for a decision, pleading for additional time to respond to the lawsuit.

Following the iconic singer's passing on July 21, 2023, at the age of 96, Danny was appointed as the trustee of Tony's trust—a role that has now become the center of a fierce family conflict.

In June, Antonia and Johanna reportedly accused their brother of mishandling their father's estate.

Their lawsuit states that Danny allegedly failed to provide them with the accounting of the estate's financial activities, particularly regarding the proceeds from the sale of Tony's music catalog and brand deals.

The sisters expressed their disbelief upon learning that their father's estate reportedly holds only $7 million, despite their belief that he had amassed over $100 million in earnings over the past 15 years.

Adding fuel to the fire, the lawsuit also highlighted a significant disparity in financial gifts within the family. Antonia and Johanna allege that Danny received $4.2 million in gifts from their father—an amount that far exceeds what the other three siblings have received.

The heartbreak of seeing the legendary singer's name drawn into a legal battle must be overwhelming for Susan Benedetto, who paid a moving tribute to Tony shortly after his passing in July last year.

At the time, The Blast noted that in a heartfelt statement shared on Instagram, Susan, alongside Tony's son Danny, expressed deep gratitude to all who supported him throughout his life and career.

"Thank you to all the fans, friends, and colleagues of Tony's who celebrated his life and humanity and shared their love of him and his musical legacy," the joint statement read.

Reflecting on his extraordinary journey, Susan and Danny reminded followers of Tony's humble beginnings as a singing waiter in Queens, to his final, unforgettable performances at Radio City Music Hall in 2021. "Tony delighted in performing the songs he loved and making people happy," they shared.

SOURCE

A TRIBUTE TO ROBIN WILLIAMS: TEN YEARS LATER

It is not fair that Robin Williams is not part of our lives anymore. It is even more tragic that it has been ten years since he left us...

HOLLYWOOD SCANDALS: CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND HIS WOMEN

Long before Leonardo DiCaprio was dating only models half his age, silent film actor Charlie Chaplin was busy wooing women way younger than him. He was married four times in total, and all of his wives were young, to say the least. In 1918, when he was 29, he married a 16-year-old teen named Mildred Harris; they were divorced by 1920. Then in 1924, he married 16-year-old Lita Grey, which only lasted three years. Basically, these marriages lasted just long enough for them to become legal adults. Gross.

Chaplin took a little break from walking down the aisle for the next decade or so. Then in 1936, he wed actress Paulette Goddard, who was at least in her 20s (though he was in his 40s by then). That one didn’t stick either. The fourth time was apparently the charm: In 1943, when Chaplin was 53, he married an 18-year-old named Oona O’Neill. She was a legal adult, so that was a step in the right direction, although the age gap had progressed substantially by this point; the man was old enough to be her grandfather. They stayed married until his death in 1977.

If that isn’t scandal enough for you, Chaplin was also banned from the U.S. in 1952 due to communist leanings and did not return until 1972 to collect an honorary Oscar. The tabloids must have loved him!

THE BOX OFFICE STARS: 1953

For the year 1953, television was continuing to take a sizable chunk of the audience away from the movies, but there were still some legendary stars among the top ten stars of 1953...

1. GARY COOPER 

2. DEAN MARTIN/ JERRY LEWIS

3. JOHN WAYNE

4. ALAN LADD

5. BING CROSBY
6. MARILYN MONROE 
7. JAMES STEWART
8. BOB HOPE
9. SUSAN HAYWARD
10. RANDOLPH SCOTT