STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: JUDY GARLAND

On November 6, 1935, Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm, had her first official portrait sitting for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). At just 13 years old, Judy was photographed by Clarence Sinclair Bull, a celebrated studio photographer renowned for capturing Hollywood’s most iconic stars. This session marked an important milestone in her career, showcasing MGM’s commitment to developing Judy into one of their premier talents.

RECENTLY VIEWED: PROJECT X

My son is not a movie person, so when this 15 year old kid wanted to watch a movie with the family, I jumped on it. The movie he picked is not for the faint of heart. It is n Fred Astaire musical. There are adult themes, langauage, and nudity. However, the movie Project X was a pretty good movie overall. Project X is a 2012 American found footage teen comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh, written by Michael Bacall and Matt Drake and produced by Todd Phillips. The film follows three friends—Thomas (Thomas Mann), Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B. (Jonathan Daniel Brown)—who attempt to gain popularity by throwing a party, a plan which quickly escalates out of their control. Kirby Bliss Blanton, Dax Flame, Brady Hender, Nick Nervies, Alexis Knapp, and Miles Teller also star.

The title Project X was initially a placeholder for a final title, but interest generated by the secretive title kept it in place. A nationwide open casting call was employed to find fresh faces. The majority of the cast were sourced from this casting call, but a few with prior acting credits, such as Mann, were accepted after multiple auditions. Filming took place on sets in Los Angeles over five weeks on a US$12 million budget. The film is presented as a home movie from the perspective of an attendee using a camera to document the night's events.

Project X was released theatrically in the United States on March 2, 2012, and grossed $102 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Criticism focused on the "loathsome" behavior of the lead characters and the disregard for the effects of drug use. Other reviews considered it funny and thrilling, and equated it to a modern incarnation of National Lampoon's Animal House. Following its release, organizers of various large-scale parties either referenced or used the film as inspiration, with some parties being directly named after the film.

Despite the criticism, Project X grossed $54.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $48 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $102.7 million, against a budget of $12 million.The film opened to $1.2 million in midnight takings from 1,003 theaters in the United States and Canada. Throughout its opening day, the film's release was expanded to 3,055 theaters, where it grossed a total of $8.2 million including midnight takings. The end of the opening weekend saw the film take a total of $21 million—an average of $6,891 per theater—finishing as the number-two-grossing film of the weekend behind the animated family film The Lorax ($70.2 million), and exceeding expectations that it would finish with a gross in the mid- to high teens. Project X was highly popular with males and youth; 58 percent of the opening-weekend audience for the film was male, and 67 percent of the audience was under the age of 25.

Again, if you have an issue seeing real life depicted on film, then do not watch the film. There were some general laughs and heart warming moments. Good or bad, this is how teenagers are today. The film is already 13 years old, but it resonates today. I enjoyed the film, but my son is NEVER allowed to have a party at our house...

MY RATING: 8 OF OUT OF 10

HISTORY BREAK: FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEMALE DJ

Mary Dee Dudley broke racial and gender barriers by becoming the nation’s first African-American female disc jockey. Dudley launched her daily 15-minute show, “Movin’ Around,” on station WHOD in Homestead, Pennsylvania. After six months, the show expanded from 15 minutes to an hour, and two years later to two hours.

Dudley, a native of Homestead, PA, was the daughter of William Goode & sister to ABC TV news reporter, Mal Goode. She attracted national attention when Ebony magazine spotlighted her show. Through her program, she interviewed national celebrities such as Cab Calloway, Jackie Robinson, and Sarah Vaughan.

On August 1, 1948, when WHOD went on the air for the first time, “Mary Dee” broadcasted her first 15-minute show to become the nation’s first African-American female disc jockey with a daily show. She broadcast on WHOD from 1948 to 1956.

When Mary’s show was expanded to show two hours, she brought in her brother, Mal, to run a daily Courier news segment. Mal was a reporter for the Pittsburgh Courier. Mal covered the Jim Crow segregation, poor housing, and prejudiced politicians. Mal Goode went on to become the first African-American news reporter for the ABC-TV Network.

Dudley left WHOD in 1956 to work in Baltimore, Maryland. After leaving WHOD, she was hired to work for station WHAT in Philadelphia, where she hosted a Monday thru Saturday gospel music show called “Songs of Faith.” She stayed on air with WHAT for eight years. Dudley died in 1964...

PHOTOS OF THE DAY: FINAL PHOTOS OF THE STARS - 2025 EDITION

Here is another addition of the last photos of celebrities. Some people may think it is morbid, but it is proof that celebrities are just like us....

Bunny Berigan (with a band member). Photo was from May of 1942 and Bunny died on June 2, 1942

Angela Lansbury on December 31, 2021. She died on October 22, 2022.

.

Red Skelton in October of 1996. He died on September 17, 1997

Robert Redford from Christmas 2024. He died on September 16, 2025.

Chris Farley on December 17, 1998. He died a day later of an overdose.

Ryan O'Neal with his daughter Tatum on April 20, 2023. He died on December 8, 2023.

Past editions:

APRIL 4, 2024

OCTOBER 31, 2022

OCTOBER, 31, 2016

OCTOBER 30, 2013

RECENTLY VIEWED: HUBIE HALLOWEEN

In the heart of Salem, Massachusetts—where Halloween spirit runs as deep as the town’s spooky legends—lives Hubie Dubois, a man-child with a thermos full of gadgets and a heart full of good intentions. Played by Adam Sandler in one of his most eccentric roles to date, Hubie is the self-appointed guardian of Halloween, though the townspeople treat him more like a punchline than a protector.

Hubie Halloween is a film that doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is: a silly, slapstick comedy wrapped in orange and black. Directed by Steven Brill, the movie leans into the absurd with gusto. Sandler’s Hubie speaks in a mumbly voice reminiscent of his earlier characters, and the plot—if you can call it that—follows a series of strange disappearances on Halloween night that only Hubie seems to take seriously.

The film is packed with familiar faces from the Happy Madison universe. Kevin James plays a mullet-wearing cop, Julie Bowen is the sweet love interest who inexplicably adores Hubie, and Steve Buscemi and Rob Schneider bring their usual offbeat energy. There’s even a cameo from Shaquille O’Neal that’s as bizarre as it is hilarious.

What Hubie Halloween lacks in narrative depth, it makes up for in festive charm. The town is decked out in Halloween decor, the costumes are colorful and creative, and the soundtrack is filled with spooky-season staples. It’s a movie that feels like a Halloween party—chaotic, loud, and not particularly meaningful, but fun if you’re in the right mood.

That said, the humor is hit-or-miss. Much of it relies on juvenile gags—fart jokes, food fights, and people screaming in exaggerated terror. If you’re not a fan of Sandler’s brand of comedy, this movie won’t change your mind. But beneath the silliness, there’s a surprisingly sweet message about kindness, bullying, and the importance of being true to yourself, even when the world laughs at you.

Hubie Halloween isn’t a great film, but it’s not trying to be. It’s a seasonal treat—like candy corn or a plastic pumpkin full of cheap chocolate. You might not crave it year-round, but when October rolls around, it hits the spot...

MY RATING: 5 out of 10

REFLECTIONS: JAMES MASON ON ALFRED HITCHCOCK

James Mason on Alfred Hitchcock: "You can see from the way he uses actors that he sees them as animated props. He casts his films very, very carefully and he knows perfectly well in advance that all the actors that he chooses are perfectly capable of playing the parts he gives them, without any special directorial effort on his part. He gets some sort of a charge out of directing the leading ladies, I think, but that's something else."

Eleven years after being mentioned in "Rope" (1948) as making an excellent villain, Mason was finally cast by Sir Alfred Hitchcock as such in "North by Northwest" (1959).

Mason suffered a severe heart attack shortly after filming ended.

In 1952, Mason purchased a house previously owned by Buster Keaton. There he discovered reels of nitrate film of some of Keaton's work that was considered lost, including "The Boat" (1921). He arranged to have the decomposing films transferred to safety stock, saving them from oblivion.

"I'm a character actor: the public never knows what it's getting by way of a Mason performance from one film to the next. I therefore represent a thoroughly insecure investment."

RIP: JUNE LOCKHART

June Lockhart, the beloved actress whose warmth and grace lit up American television screens for decades, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2025, at her home in Santa Monica, California. She was 100 years old.

Born on June 25, 1925, in New York City to actors Gene and Kathleen Lockhart, June was destined for the stage. Her professional debut came at age 8 in a Metropolitan Opera production, and she later appeared in MGM’s A Christmas Carol (1938), acting alongside her parents.

Lockhart became a household name through her iconic roles as Ruth Martin in Lassie (1958–1964) and Dr. Maureen Robinson in Lost in Space (1965–1968). Her portrayal of nurturing, intelligent mother figures endeared her to generations of viewers and cemented her legacy as one of television’s most cherished matriarchs.

Beyond acting, Lockhart was passionate about journalism, politics, science, and space exploration. She maintained close ties with NASA and was proud to have inspired future astronauts through her work on Lost in Space. Her daughter, June Elizabeth, shared, “Mommy always considered acting as her craft, her vocation, but her true passions were journalism, politics, science and NASA”.

June Lockhart was also a Tony Award winner and appeared in numerous films and television shows, including Meet Me in St. Louis, Petticoat Junction, Gunsmoke, and Bewitched. Her career spanned over eight decades, a testament to her talent and enduring appeal.

She is survived by her daughters, Anne Kathleen and June Elizabeth, and granddaughter Christianna. Her family was by her side at the time of her passing, and they described her final days as joyful and engaged—reading The New York Times and LA Times daily, ever curious and informed.

June Lockhart’s legacy lives on in the hearts of fans, colleagues, and the many lives she touched through her artistry and intellect. She will be remembered not only as a gifted performer but as a woman of substance, curiosity, and compassion...

ELSA LANCASTER GETS A GRAVESIDE MARKER!

On October 28th, the occasion of her 123rd birthday, just a few days before Halloween, the beloved Bride of Frankenstein herself, Elsa Lanchester, is finally receiving a long-overdue graveside marker. Nearly 40 years after her death, fans will now have a place to pay their respects to one of classic Hollywood’s most iconic and memorable actresses.

Lanchester, who brought to life the unforgettable “Bride” in Universal’s 1935 Bride of Frankenstein, passed away on December 26, 1986, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills. After suffering multiple debilitating strokes in her later years, she was cared for by the Motion Picture Fund, which became executor of her estate. Her actor husband Charles Laughton had preceded her in death and the couple had no children.

After her death, Lanchester’s resting place remained anonymous — and unmarked.
For decades, biographers and fans believed her ashes had been scattered at sea. But as it turns out, that wasn’t the full story.

Enter Scott Michaels, founder of Dearly Departed Tours, known for his meticulous research into Hollywood’s darker corners as shown on his popular YouTube channel. In his words, “I did a little digging (as it were) and found out that Elsa wasn’t scattered at all.” Michaels discovered that Elsa Lanchester’s cremated remains were quietly interred at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, in a rose garden vault and recorded under her married name, Elsa Lanchester Laughton.
Scott Michaels is using his YouTube and social media platform to crowd source for funds to cover the cost of the modest marker via Spotfund.com.

Michaels has previously led the charge to remember and mark the graves of other notables, including Susan Cabot, Donald "Shorty" Shea, Johnny Arthur, Jonathan Hale, Thelma Pelish, William Anderson, Ken Weatherwax and The Mighty Michu.

An official marker unveiling ceremony will be held at Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, where horror fans, film historians, and members of the Hollywood community are invited to gather and celebrate Elsa’s legacy. The event will coincide with the Halloween season — a perfect time to remember the actress who gave cinematic life (and one unforgettable hiss) to the Bride of Frankenstein.

EVENT DETAILS
Graveside Marker Unveiling for Elsa Lanchester (The Bride of Frankenstein)
■ Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, North Hollywood, CA
■October 28, 2025 – 11:00am
■ Open to the public – fans and press welcome
Scott Michaels
Founder, Dearly Departed Tours Online
■ info@dearlydepartedtours.com
■ www.dearlydepartedtours.com

THE LAST DAYS OF AL JOLSON

Seventy five years ago...Al Jolson, Harry Akst and Martin Fried arrived in San Francisco on October 23, 1950, taking an afternoon flight from Los Angeles. Jolson was scheduled to appear as a guest on the Bing Crosby Radio Show and after booking into St. Francis Hotel they had a seafood dinner at Fisherman's Wharf.

On returning to their hotel, they played cards for a while before Jolson said: "I'm feeling a bit tired. Think I'll just have a lie down . . . Do Jolie a favour, Marty, willya? Call room service and get me some bicarbonate of soda - I have a little indigestion."

Harry decided to call for the house doctor. There were two, but both were on call. Remembering a name his physician had given him, Al told Harry: "Look up Dr. Kerr and ask him to come over."

Dr. Kerr answered the call: "It'll take some time to get there."

"You don't understand, doctor. This is Al Jolson and it's an emergency," said Harry.

Jolson waved his hands: "You crazy bastard! You want everybody to read in the papers tomorrow morning that Al Jolson had to get a doctor for indigestion?" T

he doctor heard and assured him: "Don't worry, I'll be there in half an hour."

Al turned to his friend, "Harry, I'm not going to last." Harry recalled, "My heart jumped. I looked down and saw he had been taking his pulse. I said: 'Al, don't talk that way. It'll pass. It's nothing but indigestion.'"

The hotel nurse arrived first. "Don't tell me this is the patient . . ." she started cheerfully - Al was still tanned from Palm Springs.

"Nurse," said Al, "I've got no pulse."

She took his wrist: "You've got a pulse like a baby."

The house physician also arrived about the same time as Dr. Kerr. "I'm a little embarrassed about this, gentlemen," Jolson said as the two doctors got ready to examine him.

First they asked him what he had done that day and what he had eaten. "Pull up a couple of chairs and let's talk," Jolson told them. Two chairs were brought and Dr. Kerr told him how much he admired him: "I saw you in London in 1929."

Al joked: "You know, President Truman only had one hour with General MacArthur. I had two."

Suddenly Al reached for his pulse. "Oh, I'm going," he said sadly, before sinking back on his pillow, his eyes closed. The World's Greatest Entertainer, Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson only 64 years before, was gone...

HOLLWYOOD BEAUTY: ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY

One of the most beuatiful women to ever grace movies and television was the stunning Elizabeth Montgomery. These six examples just start to demostrate her beauty...

MY FATHER, HARPO MARX

Bill Marx, son of Harpo Marx: "By the time he settled down with my mom and started raising a family, he was in his fifties and financially secure enough not to have to work every day. And so he spent a lot of his time playing with... and getting to know... his kids. And this became his 'second childhood.'"

"My dad was the most child-like adult I've ever known. Not 'child-ish' - an unattractive quality that suggests a certain selfish insensitivity. That wasn't Dad at all. No, he took the world in the way a child does - with lots of wonder and very little judgment.... with the delight of someone for whom everything is new and delightful. The great comedy parodist of song, Allan Sherman, wrote in his autobiography, 'A Gift of Laughter,' 'Harpo Marx had the good sense to never grow up.'"

"Dad once told a friend he wanted to have as many kids as he had front windows in our house on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills... so that he could see them waiving at them when he got home from work. It's still a nice image."

"My mom remembers waking up one night to find herself alone in bed. She searched the house to find out where my dad was. She looked into my 4-year-old sister, Minnie's room and found him in there, on the floor, playing jacks with her. He had insomnia, needed some action and decided to wake her up and play with her (Despite the fact that it was 3 in the morning, she was delighted)."

"In Dad's autobiography, 'Harpo Speaks', he mentions a list of rules we Marxes lived by. It wasn't a gag - Dad really did live by those rules and expected us to do the same. It wasn't that hard - his rules were all about being true to yourself and doing what was best for yourself."

Harpo Marx Family Rules

1. Life has been created for you to enjoy, but you won't enjoy it unless you pay for it with some good, hard work. This is one price that will never be marked down.
2. You can work at whatever you want to as long as you do it as well as you can and clean up afterwards and you're at the table at mealtime and in bed at bedtime.
3. Respect what the others do. Respect Dad's harp, Mom's paints, Billy's piano, (son) Alex's set of tools, (son) Jimmy's designs, and Minnie's menagerie.
4. If anything makes you sore, come out with it. Maybe the rest of us are itching for a fight, too.
5. If anything strikes you as funny, out with that, too. Let's all the rest of us have a laugh.
6. If you have an impulse to do something that you're not sure is right, go ahead and do it. Take a chance. Chances are, if you don't you'll regret it - unless you break the rules about mealtime and bedtime, in which case you'll sure as hell regret it.
7. If it's a question of whether to do what's fun or what is supposed to be good for you, and nobody is hurt whichever you do, always do what's fun.
8. If things get too much for you and you feel the whole world's against you, go stand on your head. If you can think of anything crazier to do, do it.
9. Don't worry about what other people think. The only person in the world important enough to conform to is yourself.

BING CROSBY: THE HOLLYWOOD YEARS - PART 9

RIP: DIANE KEATON

Diane Keaton, who remained one of Hollywood's quirkiest and most beloved actors decades after her Academy Award-winning performance in the movie Annie Hall, has died aged 79.

Her film producer confirmed her death to on Saturday

In one of her memoirs, Keaton wrote about aging and love in Hollywood and becoming a parent late in life. She was also upfront about some of her insecurities; she fretted about aging, her hair thinning, her eyes drooping. But Keaton told me that later in life, she had finally come to accept that all flaws are beautiful.

She was born Diane Hall in Los Angeles in 1946, the daughter of real estate broker and civil engineer Jack Hall. Her mother Dorothy was once crowned Mrs. Los Angeles.

Keaton said her mom cheered her on as she pursued her dreams of becoming a singer and performer in New York. After studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1960's, Keaton ended up an understudy in the original Broadway production of the rock musical Hair.

"It was wild. It was unexpected," she said. "But I could see that I really wasn't a hippie. I knew that I wasn't a hippie in Hair."

Keaton famously refused to go onstage nude for the final scene of Hair.

Then, along came Woody Allen, with whom she had a romantic relationship. Allen cast her in Play It Again, Sam, his play, then his movie. Also his film comedies Sleeper, Love and Death, Manhattan, and, of course, Annie Hall.

Keaton's kooky, quirky role as Annie Hall and her "lah-de-dah" charm won her a best actress Oscar in 1978. She thanked Woody Allen in her acceptance speech and later, for her entire career. She stood by him throughout the controversy over allegations that Allen once molested his daughter, which the director denies.

"That's never going to change," Keaton said of her support for Allen. "He's my very, very good friend."

In Annie Hall, Keaton showed off her comedy and singing chops. But she also had dramatic film roles, most famously in The Godfather trilogy. Her character marries into the Corleone mafia family.

Diane Keaton never married, though in films, she was one of the very few older American actresses who still got leading romantic roles. That was something actress Carol Kane, Keaton's long-term friend, raved about at the time.

"She's playing the love interest a lot," Kane said. "You know, kind of passionately kissing and swooping into the bedroom…at an age when most people just sort of say, 'OK, well, that part is over.' I mean, she just gets more and more beautiful because she's more and more herself."

For years, Keaton acted in such films as Looking For Mr. Goodbar, The First Wives Club and Baby Boom. She directed the documentary Heaven in 1987. She also wrote books about her life, about architecture, photography and beauty; she collected photos of beautiful men, she renovated beautiful houses, and as a single mother, raised two beautiful children. When she turned 50, she adopted her daughter, Dexter and five years later, her son Duke.

"It's an unconventional life, it's true," she told me. "But I don't really see it that way, because I just think everybody has a pretty– is there a life that doesn't have a story that isn't pretty astonishing? I've never come across anybody who hasn't. I just worked my way into the life that I have because I had a goal and it was very simple: I wanted to be in the movies."

REIMAGINING CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD THROUGH THE LENS OF AI

In the golden age of Hollywood—roughly the 1920s through the 1960s—cinema was a spectacle of glamour, storytelling, and star power. Studios like MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. churned out films that defined generations, while icons such as Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe became immortalized on silver screens. Fast forward to today, and a new kind of star is emerging—not human, but algorithmic: artificial intelligence. 

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool for automation or data analysis; it’s becoming a creative partner. In the context of classic Hollywood, AI offers fascinating possibilities:

Restoration and Remastering: AI-powered tools can upscale old footage to 4K, colorize black-and-white films with stunning accuracy, and even reconstruct damaged audio. This allows new audiences to experience classics like Casablanca or Sunset Boulevard in ways never before possible.

Voice and Face Recreation: Deep learning models can now recreate the voices and likenesses of long-deceased actors. While ethically complex, this technology has been used to bring back characters in franchises like Star Wars, and could theoretically allow for new performances from classic stars.

Scriptwriting and Style Emulation: AI can analyze the narrative structures and dialogue patterns of classic films to generate new scripts in the same style. Imagine a noir thriller written in the voice of Raymond Chandler, or a screwball comedy echoing the rhythm of His Girl Friday.
Reviving the Studio System—Virtually

Classic Hollywood operated under a studio system where actors, directors, and writers were contracted to specific studios. Today, AI could simulate this model in a digital space:

Virtual Production Studios: AI can generate sets, costumes, and even entire scenes, reducing the need for physical production. This democratizes filmmaking, allowing indie creators to emulate the grandeur of old Hollywood on a budget.

Digital Casting: With AI-generated avatars and voice synthesis, filmmakers can "cast" virtual actors tailored to specific roles, potentially reviving archetypes like the suave leading man or the femme fatale.
Ethical and Artistic Questions

The fusion of AI and classic Hollywood raises important questions though like does recreating a classic actor’s performance with AI honor their legacy or dilute it? Who owns the digital likeness of a deceased star? Their estate? The studio? The public? Can an AI-generated film evoke the same emotional depth as one crafted by human hands?

These questions are not easily answered, but they’re essential as we navigate this new frontier. AI doesn’t just replicate the past—it reinterprets it. By blending the aesthetics of classic Hollywood with modern technology, we’re not just preserving history; we’re creating a new genre of cinematic nostalgia. It’s a space where Bogart might share a scene with a virtual actor, or where a 1940s-style musical could be generated entirely by code.

In the end, AI may not replace the magic of classic Hollywood, but it can certainly help us rediscover it—and perhaps even reimagine it for the future...

STAR FRIENDS: PAT BOONE AND OZZY OSBOURNE

Pat Boone, the famously clean-cut pop crooner, paid tribute to his friend and former next-door neighbour, the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne.

“I am stunned. I can’t believe that my former next-door neighbor and good friend has passed suddenly,” Boone wrote on Facebook following the news of Osbourne’s death in July at the age of 76.

Osbourne and his family spent several years living next to Boone in Beverly Hills, striking up an unlikely friendship. Later, Boone’s jazzy big band cover of the Ozzy classic “Crazy Train” served as the theme song for the hit reality series, The Osbournes. (Yes, Boone recorded a whole album of metal covers, 1997’s In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy.)

“When he and Sharon and the kids lived next-door to me for a couple of years, we weren’t rock stars comparing careers – we were just friends and neighbors getting along just fine,” Boone wrote, adding: “Others may celebrate his incredible rocking style and hard rock music — but I’ll always remember his warm friendliness as my next-door neighbor. God bless you, Ozzy.”

FORGOTTEN ONES: ARTHUR LAKE

I almost guarantee that anyone under 50 even knows the name Blondie, let alone the actor who played Dagwood - Arthur Lakes. In the 1940s, Arthur Lakes was pretty much a household name. Arthur William (Silverlake) Lake Jr. was born on April 17, 1905, in Corbin, Kentucky, when his father Arthur Adolph Silverlake (né Timberlake; 1882–1920) and uncle Archie Glenn Silverlake (né Timberlake; 1882–1963) were touring with a circus in an aerial act known as "The Flying Silverlakes". His mother, Edith Goodwin (née Edith Blanche Fautch; 1888–1958) was an actress. His parents later appeared in vaudeville in a skit "Family Affair", traveling throughout the South and Southwest United States. Arthur first appeared on stage as a baby in Uncle Tom's Cabin; his sister Florence and he became part of the act in 1910. Their mother took the children to Hollywood to get into films, and Arthur made his screen debut in the silent Jack and the Beanstalk (1917). Florence became a successful actress achieving a degree of fame as one of the screen wives of comedian Edgar Kennedy.

Universal Pictures signed Lake to a contract where, as an adolescent, he played character parts in Westerns. At age 19 he began starring in a long series of comedy shorts for Universal, which ran through 1930. He signed with RKO Radio Pictures shortly after it formed in 1928. There he made Dance Hall (1929), and Cheer Up and Smile (1930). Moviegoers first heard Lake speak when he appeared as Harold Astor, the lead of the 1929 musical comedy On with the Show!, which is notable as the first all-talking feature film using the Vitaphone process, and as Warner Bros' first all-color film shot in two-color Technicolor. In the early sound film era, Lake typically played light romantic roles, often with a comic "Mama's Boy" tone to them, such as 1931's Indiscreet, starring Gloria Swanson. He also had a substantial part as the bellhop in the 1937 film Topper.

Arthur Lake is best known for portraying Dagwood Bumstead, the husband of the title character of the Blondie comic strip, in 28. Blondie features produced by Columbia Pictures between 1938 and 1950, co-starring Penny Singleton as Blondie and Larry Simms as Baby Dumpling (later known as Alexander). Lake also played Dagwood on the radio series, which ran concurrently with the film series from 1938 to 1950, earning Lake a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6646 Hollywood Blvd. (Many of the actors on the radio show noted Lake's commitment to the program, stating that on the day of the broadcast, Lake became Dagwood Bumstead.)

Far from feeling bitter about being typecast, Lake continued to embrace the role. He played Dagwood in a short-lived 1957 Blondie TV series, and often gave speeches to Rotary clubs and other civic organizations (eagerly posing for pictures with a Dagwood sandwich), well into the 1960s and beyond. He died in 1987.

In his book about the Black Dahlia murder case, author Donald H. Wolfe asserts that Arthur Lake was questioned by the Los Angeles Police Department as a suspect, having been acquainted with the victim through her volunteer work at the Hollywood Canteen. No charges were filed and Lake was one of many persons of interest in a case that remains unsolved.

Lake died of a heart attack in Indian Wells, California, on January 9, 1987, and is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in the Douras family mausoleum, along with actress Marion Davies and her husband, Horace G. Brown. Lake's widow Patricia was interred there upon her death in 1993...

THE END OF HOWARD STERN

Howard Stern, once the undisputed king of shock radio, is facing a dramatic decline in relevance and listenership—a fall from grace that has stunned fans and critics alike. Once commanding an audience of over 20 million daily listeners, Stern’s current numbers reportedly hover around a mere 125,000.

Stern rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s by pushing boundaries, challenging censorship, and redefining radio entertainment. His brash humor, celebrity interviews, and raw honesty made him a cultural icon. The move to satellite radio in 2006 was hailed as revolutionary, with SiriusXM betting big on Stern with a $500 million contract.

But as the years passed, Stern’s show began to change. Longtime fans noticed a shift from edgy, unpredictable content to more polished, celebrity-friendly interviews. Former staffer Steve Grillo, who interned on the show in the '90s, lamented the loss of the “old Howard,” calling the current version “a sad, pathetic version of what happened to this man”.

Grillo and others point to key changes—like the removal of beloved comedic segments and a more sanitized format—as reasons for the mass exodus of listeners. Reddit threads echo similar sentiments, citing 2009 as a turning point when Stern stopped inviting comedians for the news segment, a fan favorite.

In September 2025, Stern teased a major announcement with cryptic social media posts—“Fired? Retiring? Canceled?”—leading to speculation about the end of his show. Insiders later revealed it was a publicity stunt, a “desperate hoax” to reignite interest. With his massive contract nearing expiration and family health concerns reportedly weighing on him, Stern’s future remains uncertain

Howard Stern’s downfall is not just about ratings—it’s a cautionary tale about the risks of abandoning the core identity that built a loyal fanbase. As media evolves and audiences seek authenticity, Stern’s struggle to stay relevant underscores the challenge of aging in the spotlight. What is sad is I used to be a huge Stern fan, but those days are over with...

TV TIDBITS: CHEERS

When Ted Danson announced his departure from the series Cheers, NBC considered continuing the show with Woody taking over the bar. However, Woody Harrelson refused to continue without Danson, leading to the show's conclusion.

The character of Cliff Clavin wasn't in the original script. John Ratzenberger initially auditioned for the part of Norm and wasn't considered suitable. He then asked the writers if they had a "bar know-it-all" character and quickly improvised one. This impressed the producers so much that they created the part of Cliff Clavin for him.

Originally, Cliff was to be a police officer, but producers felt that making him a mailman would give him more access to information for his trademark "Little Known Facts." Many of Cliff's "Little Known Facts" were ad-libbed by Ratzenberger, with scripts written simply to cue him into the lines relating to his facts...

PEGGY ENTWISTLE: TRAGEDY AT THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

The advent of The advent of synchronized sound sent the picture industry reeling, as the big studios frantically re-tooled and acting careers were ruined and made overnight.

Still, the “talkies” took movies by storm. Since its initial construction as a real estate advertisement for $21,000 in 1923, the Hollywood sign has endured as one of the most recognizable landmarks in American history. Originally spelling out "Hollywoodland" and overlooking Los Angeles from the heights of Mount Lee, the sign has not only served as the nation's film and television industry's signature icon but also the site and subject of eclectic bits of show business history ranging from tragic to strange to thrilling. Suffice it to say that if the Hollywood sign could talk, it would have some stories to tell. But in the landmark's history spanning more than a century, what events and incidents have most durably stood the test of time as part of the cultural zeitgeist?

For generations, Hollywood has been notoriously littered with the shattered dreams of wide-eyed show business hopefuls who, for various reasons, fell short of realizing their lofty aspirations. Among the countless casualties in Tinsel Town's unforgiving wake was British actress Peg Entwistle. Born in 1908, Entwistle moved to New York in 1912 and began acting on Broadway at the age of 17. In 1931, she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in cinema, ultimately landing a contract with RKO and securing a role in the 1932 film Thirteen Women. But upon the film's disappointing reception by critics, and discovering that her performance failed to make the final cut, Entwistle was abruptly dropped from her studio contract.

Devastated and with little to no professional prospects on the horizon, Entwistle reached a breaking point. On September 16, 1932, she made her way to the Hollywood sign, climbed to the top of the "H," and leaped to her untimely death. Personal items, including her purse, coat, and shoe were discovered by a hiker the next day, and inside the purse was a suicide note. "I am afraid I am a coward," Entwistle wrote. "I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E." In the decades since the tragic incident, Peg Entwistle's death has attained legendary status and led to endless speculation, theories, and even assertions that her spirit haunts the Hollywood Hills. The young actress' suicide, however, would be just the first entry in a storied history of occurrences that would take place in the vicinity of Hollywood's famous landmark.ie mania to new heights, and H

According to Hollywood legend, a letter to Peg arrived the day after her death from the Beverly Hills Playhouse. She was offered the lead role in a play…about a woman driven to suicide...