HOLLYWOOD REMEMBERS MICKEY ROONEY

Even though most of the late Mickey Rooney's contemporaries are gone like Judy Garland and Spencer Tracy, much of Hollywood is remembering the legendary actor at his passing. Here is what some of Hollywood had to say:

Margaret O' Brien:
Mickey was the only one at the studio that was ever allowed to call me Maggie. He was undoubtedly the most talented actor that ever lived. There was nothing he couldn't do. Singing, dancing, performing ... all with great expertise. Mickey made it look so easy. I was currently doing a film with him, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- I simply can't believe it. He seemed fine through the filming and was as great as ever."

Rip Taylor:
"Mickey was such a friend and pro, that he even gave me advice, when I replaced him in Sugar Babies. .. As if it could ever be possible to replace Mickey. It was the treat of my life, to receive tips from the great Mickey Rooney."

Carol Channing:
"I loved working with Mickey on Sugar Babies. He was very professional, his stories were priceless and I love them all ... each and every one. We laughed all the time."

Mia Farrow:
"RIP Mickey Rooney. We can only be awed and grateful for so many great performances."

Piers Morgan:
"I remembered interviewing Mickey once and he told me to always get married in the morning. That way if it doesn't work out, you haven't wasted the whole day. Mickey Rooney RIP."

Tim Conway:
Back in 1970 Mickey Rooney was on my show The Tim Conway Comedy Hour; I enjoyed every minute we worked together. Not only was he a great actor but he made me look tall. RIP.

Ben Stiller:
"He was crazy and fun and a legend. I just worked with him on scenes for Night At The Museum 3. It was a honor to get to know him and even be in the same room with him."

HISTORY OF A SONG: HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

I have a lot of favorite Christmas carols - two of them being "White Christmas" and "A Marshmellow World". However, one Christmas song that never fails to make me cry is "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". When I hear the song I think of all of my family members that are gone that made the holidays what they were when I was a little child. Just writing this article about the famous 1940s song is bringing a tear to my eye. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis.

Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics, which has become more common than the original. The song was written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. In 2007, ASCAP ranked "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. The song was written while Martin was vacationing in a house in the neighborhood of Southside in Birmingham, Alabama, that his father Hugh Martin designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage. Located at 1919 South 15th Avenue, (just down the street from his birthplace at 1900 South 14th Avenue) the house became the home of Martin and his family in 1923.

The song first appeared in a scene in Meet Me in St. Louis, in which a family is distraught by the father's plans to move to New York City for a job promotion, leaving behind their beloved home in St. Louis, Missouri, just before the long-anticipated 1904 World's Fair begins. In a scene set on Christmas Eve, Judy Garland's character, Esther, sings the song to cheer up her despondent five-year-old sister, Tootie, played by Margaret O'Brien.

In 1957, Frank Sinatra asked Martin to revise the line "Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow." He told Martin, "The name of my album is A Jolly Christmas. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?" Martin's new line was "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." Martin made several other alterations, changing the song's focus to a celebration of present happiness, rather than anticipation of a better future. On The Judy Garland Show Christmas Special, Judy sings the song to her children Joey and Lorna Luft with Sinatra's alternate lyrics. The lyrics Judy Garland sang in Meet Me in St. Louis have been recorded with only slight variations by a number of artists, including Sinatra himself (in 1950 and 1963 single recordings), Doris Day (in The Doris Day Christmas Album), Ella Fitzgerald (in Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas), James Taylor (in October Road) and Luther Vandross (in This Is Christmas). [In 2001 the 86-year-old composer Hugh Martin, occasionally active as a pianist with religious ministries since the 1980s, wrote an entirely new set of lyrics to the song with John Fricke, "Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas"...

TCM CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will celebrate Halloween and Christmas this year with two all-new specials produced by DreamWorks Television and award-winning filmmaker and author Laurent Bouzereau and presented as part of TCM’s ongoing A Night at the Movies documentary series.

In October, TCM will premiere A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King, with the master storyteller himself discussing the classic horror films that influenced him the most. And in December, A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! will take viewers on a magical journey through some of the greatest holiday films ever made.

TCM’s A Night at the Movies specials are written, produced and directed by Bouzereau, who has been directing documentaries on the films of Steven Spielberg and other directors since 1994. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey (TNT’s Falling Skies) serve as executive producers. The series began in October 2009 with A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers, followed in December 2009 with A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics.

In A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King, which premieres on TCM Monday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. (ET), Stephen King discusses how he discovered terror at the movies. The best-selling author and filmmaker takes viewers on a journey through many aspects of the horror genre, including vampires, zombies, demons and ghosts. He also examines the fundamental reasons behind moviegoers’ incessant craving for being frightened. Along the way, he discusses the movies that have had a real impact on his writing, including Freaks (1932), Cat People (1942), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Jaws (1975), Halloween (1978) and The Changeling (1980), to name a few.

A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King will kick off an entire month of classic horror on TCM, with each Monday night’s lineup packed with memorable chillers. The offerings include Universal classics like Frankenstein (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941), Val Lewton thrillers like Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Hammer classics like Horror of Dracula (1958) and cult favorites from William Castle and Roger Corman, to name a few.

Premiering Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! will be a tinsel-filled journey through the most iconic holiday films of all time, including perennial favorites It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947). The special will look at variations within the genre, such as holiday romances, family movies and even thrillers. A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas will feature behind-the-scenes stories and personal Hollywood Christmas memories from the likes of Chevy Chase, Margaret O’Brien, Chazz Palminteri, Deborah Raffin, Karolyn Grimes, Zack Ward, Brian Henson, Joe Dante, Petrine Day Mitchum, authors Julie Salamon and Alonso Duralde, A Christmas Carol expert Michael Patrick Hearn and many more.

A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! will be accompanied by an entire month of great holiday films on TCM, including A Christmas Carol (1938), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and both the 1933 and 1949 versions of Little Women.

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PHOTOS OF THE DAY: 2011 TCM FILM FESTIVAL

The weekend of the 2011 TCM Film Festival has come and gone. It is my dream to one day go there and experience all of the fun. Luckily there are a lot of pictures from the event, and it is great to see all of the old stars:


MICKEY ROONEY

HERB JEFFRIES

PETER O'TOOLE

LESLIE CARON

MARGARET O'BRIEN,DICKIE MOORE,JANE POWELL

JANE WITHERS,ANN JEFFREYS,ANN RUTHERFORD

KIRK DOUGLAS

HALEY MILLS

JULIE ANDREWS