Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

   As you may know, each Saturday at 3p (PST), I host the Forgotten Hollywood Radio Show. Each hour-long program on the Financial News and Talk Network features Standards from the Great American Songbook, movie music, vocal snipits from cinematic classics, and occasionally, memorable interviews. Previously, we’ve chatted with Debbie Reynolds and Art Laboe, among others. Joe Lyons provides an On the Backlot segment, with current news and notes regarding Hollywood’s golden past.

   On December 28th, we’ve secured a conversation with Jackie Goldberg, The Pink Lady. Her immense vitality belies the fact that she is 81-years young. As I reported in a previous blog, Goldberg is the energy behind Senior Star Power, an official 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity organization committed to providing a year-round theatrical arts complex in the Hollywood area that will feature performers who are at least 60 years of age. As Jackie puts it:

It’s our goal to offer active Seniors performance opportunities, and enhanced by workshops, mentoring programs, and master classes. Your tax deductible donations, contributions, and sponsorship can make the dream of a theatrical performing arts complex that will engage the entire Southern California senior community into becoming a reality!

Visit our website for more informationon how to contribute: www.seniorstarpower.org/donate

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   I invite you to listen to a most entertaining hour of radio with our very special guest… The Pink Lady. Her journey resembles the Forgotten Hollywood franchise trek (including a Book Series, Blog, weekly Radio Show, and Documentary currently in Production).

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   The Penn Museum, an archaeology and anthropology center, proudly offers touch tours for the blind and the visually impaired. The institution, part of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, began offering the tours last year in an effort to make their extensive collections more accessible.

   Most major US metro areas have at least one museum that offers some type of hands-on experience, from touching objects with bare hands or gloves to feeling replicas, according to Art Beyond Sight, a group that makes visual culture accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Such accommodations began well before the Americans with Disabilities Act. Museums that don’t offer tactile tours often have personal or audio guides for the blind.

   The free tours include a classroom lesson on how Egyptians prepared a body for burial. Students jiggle a gelatin mold of the brain — which is removed during the mummification process — and handle facsimiles of relics found in tombs. They also feel ancient linen, smell scented oils, and touch a reproduction of a mummy. Educators are already planning next season’s curriculum on ancient Rome.

   The Penn Museum has held hands-on tours twice each Monday — when the building is otherwise closed — for the past two Fall seasons. Overall, it’s engaged nearly 250 blind or visually impaired people, up about 32 percent from last year.

   I’m encouraged by this wonderfully sensible approach to education…

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   My wife Laurie will be spending this Saturday at the Howe-Waffle House, located at 120 Civic Center Dr. in Santa Ana, CA. Laurie will carry personally autographed copies of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History and Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History, unique literary gifts for family and friends. She also will be offering her quilted wares, handbags and blankets…  Great shopping ideas in time for the Holidays!    LAURIE PACHECO –>

  Holiday Open House and Boutique

Howe-Waffle House and Medical Museum

Saturday, December 7th, from 11 am to 4 pm

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Throughout the silent era, sheet music for cinematic-inspired tunes brought together the public’s fascination with the silver screen, and their love of popular music. Written by Tin Pan Alley songwriter Charles McCarron in 1915, Those Keystone Comedy Cops capitalized on the popularity of bumbling policemen who had been introduced by Mack Sennett just a few years earlier, but had already become audience favorites.

   Illustrated by Hungarian-born artist André De Takacs, this beautiful sheet music cover makes subtle reference to the world of moving pictures. The focal point includes a photo from the film In the Clutches of the Gang, featuring Ford Sterling and Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle. This tinted image mimics a movie screen, while the Keystone company logo glows behind dramatic silhouettes of stylized policemen. The silhouettes are also depicted on the two oversized billy clubs adorned with tassels that frame the image like theater curtains, evoking the elegant movie palaces of the era.

   This item is one of hundreds of pieces of silent-era sheet music donated to the Margaret Herrick Library by Robert Cushman, and archived in Special Collections. Other examples of silent-era sheet music may be viewed in the library’s Digital Collections. The library is also home to the Mack Sennett papers featuring scenarios, production materials, and photographs relating to the career of this prolific producer. While In the Clutches of the Gang is believed lost, the Academy Film Archive preserved a fragment of the production, recently discovered at the New Zealand Film Archive, as part of the New Zealand Project.

   This iconic music score is one the treasured artifacts to be featured in the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, scheduled to open in 2017.

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   Give the Holiday gift of a classic film Musical… and one of my favorites!  Just sayin…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   The Forgotten Hollywood Book Series enters its 2013 ride through the Holidays…

2100 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, CA

DECEMBER 7th
12:00 NOON – 4:00 PM

Afternoon With the Authors

Hollywood Heritage Museum sponsors their second Afternoon With the Authors… An  opportunity to hear authors speaking about their books, and to buy a book as a holiday gift for that special person who loves Hollywood History. You can also have your book signed by the author, and then have it gift wrapped FREE!

Robert S. Birchard

Tom Mix: King of the Cowboys  Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood

Stanley Dyrector

Shedding Light Hollywood Blacklist

Chuck Harter

Little Elf

Rosemary Lord

Los Angeles Then and Now  Hollywood Then and Now  

Mary Mallory

Hollywoodland

Manny Pacheco 

Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History   Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History

Darrell Rooney

Harlow in Hollywood

Marc Wanamaker

Early Paramount Studios

Donald Seligman

Los Feliz and the Silent Film Era

Charles Ziarko

MGM: Saving the Best for Last

Brian Taves

Thomas Ince: Hollywood’s Independent Pioneer

   Come on down and pick up a copy of your favorite Golden Age of Hollywood literary work.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Based on the overwhelming response to the sold-out World and American premieres of Too Much Johnson, the George Eastman House hosted a one-night-only screening of the movie in New York City. It was shown last Monday at the Directors Guild of America Theater.

   Thought to be destroyed in a fire, the George Eastman House, along with the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF), Cineteca del Friuli, and Cinemazero, announced in August the recovery of Mercury Theatre’s long-lost Too Much Johnson, directed by Orson Welles in 1938. The piece was produced the same year Welles directed The War of the Worlds radio broadcast. The nitrate work print of the film – left unfinished by the Mercury Theatre and never shown in public – was found in a warehouse by a staff member of Cinemazero, an art house in Pordenone, Italy. It was transferred to the George Eastman House in order to be preserved with a grant from NFPF.

   Too Much Johnson was originally intended to be used in conjunction with a stage adaptation of an 1894 play by William Gillette. The Mercury Theatre planned to show the three short films as prologues to each act of the play. The three-part comedy was meant to be presented with the accompaniment of music and live sound effects, but was never finished. Joseph Cotten was cast in the lead role, with supporting roles going to other  Mercury Theatre actors, including Arlene Francis, Mary Wickes, Orson Welles, and his wife Virginia Nicholson. The play ultimately opened without the visual aid on August 16th, 1938. The cinematic work provides a unique insight to the immense talent Welles had as a filmmaker.

   Too Much Johnson had a world premiere on October 9th, at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy; and its North American premiere on October 16th at the Dryden Theatre in the George Eastman House.

   We, in Hollywood, are looking forward to a West Coast premiere…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   It’s been a week since Laurie and I were at the Readers’ Favorite Awards Ceremony in Miami . As you know, Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History received a Gold Medal as a literary standard. I’m certainly proud of the 4th major accomplishment for my latest work, and my 9th overall accolade for the Book Series.

   You have already seen the photos taken by Laurie while we were on the trip. Now, I’d like to present the official Readers’ Favorite pictorial that documented special moments during the event. Special thanks to Michael Gard and Steve Gaynor, the official photographers. They took literally hundreds of pictures to make each author’s journey a special trek.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Jane Kean was a singer and actress whose career in show business spanned seven decades, and included nightclubs, recordings, radio and television, theatre and films. Among her most famous roles were as Art Carney’s wife on The Honeymooners; and the voice of Belle in the perennial favorite, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.

   Jane, and her older sister, Betty, formed a comedy duo that worked the nightclub circuit throughout the 1940s and 1950s. The two appeared on Broadway in the short-lived 1955 musical Ankles Aweigh.  She had roles in Fats Waller’s Early to Bed in 1943, Call Me Mister (she replaced Betty Garrett), The Pajama Game, and Carnival! (replacing Kaye Ballard). Kean additionally had scenes in Take Me Along that starred Jackie Gleason. He remembered her years later when casting his weekly hour-long television program.

   Small screen audiences recall Kean was Trixie Norton in a series of Honeymooners episodes—in color and with music—on The Jackie Gleason Show from 1966–70. She succeeded Joyce Randolph, who played the part in earlier sketches, and on the 1955–56 sitcom. Kean played the role for more years than her predecessor. A memoir followed, entitled A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Honeymooners… I Had a Life.

   Other credits include The Phil Silvers Show, Make Room for Daddy, Love American Style, The Lucy Show, The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, and Dallas. A feature film highlight was the character of Miss Taylor in Walt Disney’s live-action musical with animation Pete’s Dragon. More recently, she co-starred with Charlotte Rae in the 2002 Los Angeles production of Kander and Ebb’s 70, Girls, 70 at the El Portal Theatre.

   The perky Jane Kean was 90.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

  Book Awards.com is listing Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History for its latest accolade from Readers’ Favorite. This is a great acknowledgment from the literary community.

   Here’s a link to the site:

http://bookawards.com/book-awards/book-awards-genre-non-fiction-music-entertainment.htm

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   Books-a-Million is a new store-chain selling the Forgotten Hollywood Book Series… Just in time for Black Friday holiday shopping.

   Here are the links to purchase both books:

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Son-Forgotten-Hollywood-History/Manny-Pacheco/9781937454142?id=5855078948477

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Forgotten-Hollywood-History/Manny-Pacheco/9781935359166?id=5855078948477

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   Finally, I’m now a member of the Association of Independent Authors. This group is a membership organization representing, advancing, supporting, and encouraging self-published (independent) authors. Their mission is to create a culture of excellence, teamwork and professionalism in a community environment where sharing and collaboration benefits each individual member and independent authors as a whole.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

(reporting from Miami)

   As promised, Laurie and I traveled to the Florida Keys; through Key Largo (the famed location of the famous Bogie-Bacall adventure), and into Key West. It was a flavorful day trip with great weather, little traffic, and busy tourist stops. In many ways, this may have been the best part of the whole East Coast excursion.

   While at the Southern most part of the contiguous United States, we visited the famed Ernest Hemingway House. It was filled with amazing artifacts and movie posters from adapted cinema of his work. The historic building is also home to over forty cats.

   The iconic writer’s prolific work includes The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, To Have and Have Not, and The Old Man and the Sea. The amazing cinema that followed featured the artistry of Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Ava Gardner, Errol Flynn, and Lauren Bacall.

   The boardwalk along Key West is a total tourist trap. After watching a magnificent sunset, we had key lime pie smothered in chocolate on a stick, a Key West fav. The only meal to enjoy later in the evening was sea food at the sumptuous Island Fish Co. in Marathon, FL.

   We then traveled back on a rain-slicked highway to our hotel in Miami. Tomorrow, we return to Southern California.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

(reporting from Miami)

   Today was an epic 24-hours in the Forgotten Hollywood journey! It began at the Miami Book Fest International.

                             DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN

First, I got to enjoy a panel discussion, which featured one of my personal inspirations: Doris Kearns Goodwin. The interview was televised on C-SPAN. What happened next was infinitely exciting. I mentioned my Forgotten Hollywood Book Series on the cable network, before I asked the iconic writer a question. Doris was gracious, attentive, and wonderful. Of course, I also spent time at the Readers’ Favorite booth with fellow award-winning authors.

                                                                 w/ author DEEPAK MENON

Back at the Airport Regency Hotel,  all of the talented authors were given their appropriate accolades in a star-studded evening that included actor and director, Eriq LaSalle.  The entire team at Readers’ Favorite made us feel quite special, and the event was filled with magic. I was additionally interviewed by a local college cable program, and I got discuss my upcoming projects, which include the Forgotten Hollywood Documentary, my Forgotten Hollywood Radio Program, and a third book in the FH series.

                   w/ READERS’ FAV CEO DEBRA GAYNOR

Finally, I was awarded my Gold Medal from Readers’ Favorite in the Non Fiction:  Music and Entertainment category for Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. All-in-all, this was indeed a special day for Laurie and me…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

(reporting from Miami)

   According to a wonderful email I received from Turner Classic Movies:

TCM is proud to present �What Dreams Are Made Of: A Century of Movie Magic at Auction, as Curated by Turner Classic Movies,� an auction of top-tier collectibles from the storied history of Hollywood. Featured items range from the iconic statuette of the Maltese Falcon from the 1941 film to the cape and cowl worn by Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Returns.

   The black figurine is one of two known cast lead statuettes made for John Huston’s screen version of the movie, but the only one confirmed by Warner Brothers‘ archives as having been in the film. The figurine bears the same name as the flick starring Humphrey Bogart as private eye Sam Spade. The 45-pound, 12-inch-tall prop has a bent right tail feather; damage incurred during filming. Actress Lee Patrick, who played Spade’s secretary, Effie, dropped it when she handed the item to Bogie.

   The statuette’s owner purchased it privately in the 1980s. It’s been exhibited at the Warner Brothers Studio Museum, Pompidou Centre in Paris, and Museum of Modern Art in New York. A portion of proceeds will go to The Film Foundation, a nonprofit established by Martin Scorsese in 1990 to protect and preserve motion picture history. For the link to make a bid or for complete information on items being auctioned… click on:

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/21427/?go_to_top=0&keep_login_open=1#?go_to_top=0&keep_login_open=1%2F

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

(reporting from Miami)

   Laurie and I visited the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, the former estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in present-day Coconut Grove. The early 20th century Vizcaya estate includes: many Italian Renaissance gardens; a native woodland landscape; and a historic outbuildings compound. The landscape and architecture were influenced by Veneto and Tuscan Italian Renaissance models, and it was designed in a Mediterranean Revival architecture style, with Baroque elements. The  property originally consisted of 180 acres of shoreline Mangrove swamps and dense inland native tropical forests.

   Deering built Villa Vizcaya between 1914 and 1922. Being a conservationist, he sited the development of the estate portion along the shore to conserve the forests. After the extensive gardens were completed in 1923, Deering’s health began to weaken. Nonetheless he traveled and entertained guests, including the silent film stars Lillian Gish and Marion Davies. Deering was described in his later years as a reticent man with impeccably proper manners, leavened by a sense of humor. He wasn’t a Jay Gatsby type figure of the Roaring Twenties era.

                            JAMES DEERING

   Vizcaya has provided the setting for many motion pictures, both credited and uncredited. Deering enjoyed watching silent films in the courtyard, and had a particular interest in the works of Charlie Chaplin. External shots of Villa Vizcaya, for example, can be seen in the movies Tony Rome (starring Frank Sinatra); Ace Ventura:  Pet Detective; Airport ’77 (a scene featuring James Stewart); Any Given Sunday; The Money Pit; and Iron Man 3.

   Our evening concluded with a meet and greet of fellow authors who represent the Class of 2013 of Readers  Favorite awards recipients. Writers included Lori Costew, Catherine Stack, Judy Brizendine, Kaitlyn Deann,  Irina Argo, Kenneth Pottie, Darlene Quinn, A.A. Jones, and Deepak Menon. Genres include modern fiction, biography, health, and children’s books. All the scribes were engaging sorts. In other words… my kind of folks. I was right at home with the festivities.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

(reporting from Miami, Florida)

   I’m thrilled to be spending almost a week in sunny South Florida. My wife Laurie and I are staying at the Airport Regency Hotel in Miami. I’m here to accept a Gold Medal on Saturday for my work Son of Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History from Readers Favorite in the Non Fiction / Music and Entertainment category. Events include a couple of Meet & Greets at the hotel; and a three-day Street Fair culminating at the Miami Book Fair International.

   The Venetian Pool is an aquatic facility unlike any other in the country. It opened in 1924 as the Venetian Casino, part of the grand plan developer George Merrick had for the City of Coral Gables. His vision was to embody a sense of true hometown living. In its early days, the Venetian Casino was the destination for many celebrities, such as Johnny Weismuller and Esther Williams, both noted cinematic swimmers. Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra also visited this wonderful place. Today, it’s included in the National Register of Historic Places, the only swimming pool to have such a designation.

      JOHNNY WEISMULLER (in photo)   

   The Coral Castle is an egineering marvel compared as a smaller version of Stonehenge and Great Pyramids of Egypt. It’s a structure created by the Latvian emigrant eccentric Edward Leedskalnin (1887–1951). He spent 28 years building and sculpting the Coral Castle. Standing 5 foot tall and barely 100 pounds, Ed used primative tools that he created to move tons of coral rock. He was also known for his obscure theories on magnetism.

   The locale has been featured in Reader’s Digest and the National Enquirer. In 1984, the Coral Castle was placed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   This just in from the folks who have brought us The Happiest Place on Earth. In time for the Holidays, Walt Disney Studios is offering guests a special event in celebration of the upcoming release of Saving Mr. Banks. The event gives visitors the chance to see the film in a theater on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, and then an opportunity to walk in Walt’s footsteps on a tour of the lot. The limited engagement features one show each night at 7p and runs from December 13th through December 19th. Tickets are $50 each.

   Saving Mr. Banks looks to be delightful cinematic faire that examines the making of the iconic motion picture, which starred Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Ed Wynn, and in her final screen role, Jane Darwell. Julie accepted the lead part of Mary Poppins when she was passed over to play Eliza Doolittle in the movie version of My Fair Lady. She had starred in the latter Broadway production. However, Warner Brothers decided they needed a name draw for the film musical, and cast Audrey Hepburn, despite her own vocal limitations. Her singing was later dubbed by Marnie Nixon. Ironically, Andrews captured the Oscar for Best Actress the following award season, while Hepburn didn’t receive nary a nod.

   In the current production, Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney; Emma Thompson plays author P.L. Travers, the creator of Mary Poppins; Kristopher Kyer co-stars as Dick Van Dyke; and B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman are the famed composers, The Sherman Brothers. The flick also features Victoria Summer as Julie Andrews in her film debut performance.

   The Walt in Walt’s Footsteps tour after the reserved seating screening includes photo ops with Mickey Mouse, Mary Poppins, and a chance to see sets from Saving Mr. Banks: Walt’s office and Travers’ home. Guests will also visit the Walt Disney Animation building and Legends Plaza to see the many historical plaques, including Disney, Van Dyke, Andrews, and many more. Folks will also receive a 50th Anniversary Mary Poppins DVD.

   To purchase tickets to this limited and exclusive engagement, call 1 (800) DISNEY6 or visit:

http://elcapitantickets.disney.com/WebTixsNet/SearchPage.aspx?635204165639375000&autosearch=1&hidecriteria=1

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   After seven decades in show business, Angela Lansbury finally will receive her due. It’s the kind of moment traditionally given to stars who should have been recognized by film award’s groups long ago. In Lansbury’s case, few actors can match her commitment to Hollywood. The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had previously announced  the actress was to receive an Honorary Oscar for contributions to the cinematic industry. She will receive the award at the fifth annual Governors Awards this evening.                  ANGELA LANSBURY ———–>