Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

   Wes Craven, whose A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream movies made him one of the most recognizable names in the horror films, has died. His specialty was the Slasher genre of cinema.

    Craven left the academic world for a lucrative role as pornographic film director. In a recent documentary, Craven admitted he made many hard core X-rated films under pseudonyms. While his role in Deep Throat is undisclosed, most of his early known work involved writing, film editing, or both.

   A prolific director and editor, Craven was credited with reinventing the teen horror genre with the 1984 release of A Nightmare on Elm Street starring a then-unknown Johnny Depp. The movie led to several sequels featuring the Freddy Krueger character.                          WES CRAVEN –>

   Besides his work in horror films, Craven also directed the drama Music of the Heart, which earned Meryl Streep one of her many Oscar nominations. He also directed a segment in The Twilight Zone movie.

   Wes Craven was 76.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Julien’s Auctions announces the sale of property from the estate of Luise Rainer. The items in the collection feature an array of fine European antiques, Old Master and Contemporary fine art, career memorabilia, furniture, and personal effects from the actress and her longtime home in London’s trendy Eaton Square. They will be offered in an  anticipated Fall auction.

   Aside from her acting talents, Rainer had a very discerning eye for traditional European antiques and built a massive collection of 17th and 18th century Continental case pieces over the many decades. This auction also features memorabilia and photographs from Rainer’s storied career, including a solid 14K gold 1936 Motion Picture Critics of America medal, sterling monogrammed dresser sets, personal effects such as clothing and shoes, a George Hurrell black-and-white photograph portrait, and a series of black-and-white photographs of Rainer with her good friend Albert Einstein.

   All of the property in the auction is featured in a full color limited edition catalogue available for purchase at www.juliensauctions.com.

EXCLUSIVE PRESS PREVIEW
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PDT
Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills Gallery
9665 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills
(across from Saks Fifth Avenue)
Parking garage on-site

BEVERLY HILLS PUBLIC EXHIBITION
Wednesday, September 23rd –
Wednesday, September 30th, 2015
Daily 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PDT
Free to the Public — Closed Saturday and Sunday

LIVE AND ONLINE AUCTION
Wednesday, September 30th, 2015
STREET ART AUCTION
Session I: 7:00 p.m. PDT

Thursday, October 1st, 2015
STREET ART AND FINE ART
Session II: 10:00 a.m. PDT
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF LUISE RAINER
Session III: 2:00 p.m. PDT

 Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills
9665 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 150
Beverly Hills, California 90210

For inquiries, please email info@juliensauctions.com or call 310-836-1818.

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   Luise Rainer was the first actress to win back-to-back Academy Awards, the first in 1936 for her performance as Anna Held in The Great Ziegfeld; and the second in 1937 for her performance as O-Lan in The Good Earth. After an increasingly rocky relationship with Hollywood, this American/Viennese star spent her time between Switzerland and England and finally settled in England in the 1990s. She lived for over a century.

   This is a rare opportunity to own items from a true classic Hollywood legend.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Spike Lee, Gena Rowlands and Debbie Reynolds are the season’s first Oscar winners. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced  on Thursday that the filmmaker and the two actresses will receive honorary Academy Awards on November 14th at its annual Governors Awards ceremony in Hollywood.

   Lee and Rowlands will receive honorary Oscars for their career achievements. Each has two previous nominations. Lee’s came for his original screenplay for 1989’s Do the Right Thing and for his 1997 documentary feature, 4 Little Girls. Rowlands’ nods were for lead actress in 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence and in 1980’s Gloria.

DEBBIE REYNOLDS

   Reynolds, a Best Actress nominee for 1964’s The Unsinkable Molly Brown, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her more than fifty years of work promoting awareness and treatment of mental health issues.

   Congratulations to these longtime filmmakers!

Until next time>                               “never forget“

Manny P. here…

   The house used as the home of psychotic killer Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs is up for sale. The owners are asking $300,000 for the home, which also features an in-ground pool and a vintage caboose as a pool house.

   A production crew took six weeks to turn the three-story house into the squalid home of the killer played by Ted Levine. The crew spent three days shooting in the foyer and dining room of the home near Perryopolis, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

   The Silence of the Lambs won five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Anthony Hopkins played Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a crazed, cannibalistic psychiatrist whose macabre clues help Clarice Starling, the rookie FBI agent played by Jodie Foster, track down and kill Buffalo Bill in his home. By the way, the basement dungeon where the serial fiend kept one would-be victim, and where he eventually met his demise, doesn’t exist. Those scenes were shot on a sound stage

   The real estate agent is hopeful the 1910 home’s spooky pedigree will attract rather than repel buyers. You can celebrate your purchase of this lovely four-bedroom Victorian with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.  OUCH!

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   Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History has surpassed 3300 books sold; a milestone. My initial paperback  exceeds all projected sales, and purchases keep climbing. The La La Land souvenir shop along Hollywood Blvd., and across the street from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, is the exact reason for my latest accomplishment.

   My first book will soon go into its Third Print edition, which is another reason to celebrate.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Several television icons have died. Here are the sad details…

~ Yvonne Craig (right) was best known at Batgirl on the very cool Batman for one season. Another memorable role, from an episode of the original Star Trek: the green Orion Slave Girl who wanted to kill Captain Kirk. She began her career as a dancer, the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, with which she toured for three years.

   Her films include Gidget, The Gene Krupa Story, It Happened at the State Fair, Kissin’ Cousins, One of Our Spies is Missing, and In Like Flint. She guest-starred on the small screen in Mr. Lucky, Death Valley Days, My Three Sons, Dr. Kildare, Perry Mason, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., McHale’s Navy, The Big Valley, The Wild Wild West, Land of the Giants, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Love American Style, It Takes a Thief, The Mod Squad, Kojak, and The Six Million Dollar Man.

   Yvonne Craig was 78.

~ Bud Yorkin (right) was the savvy creator of All in the Family. Early in his career, he produced The Tony Martin Show and The Ford Show that showcased the talents of Tennessee Ernie Ford. Other early television ventures included The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Dinah Shore Show, The George Gobel Show.

   In 1958, Yorkin joined writer/producer Norman Lear to form Tandem Productions, which produced several motion pictures and television specials in the 1960s to 1971 with such major studios like United Artists and Warner Brothers. They collaborated on Good Times, Maude, The Jeffersons, and Sanford and Son. After splitting with Lear, he developed What’s Happening and Carter Country. As a director, he made The Thief Who Came to Dinner, Divorce American Style, and Inspector Clouseau.

   In 2002, Yorkin was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. He was 89.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier who became a canine star for his scene-stealing role in the Oscar-winning movie The Artist, has died. The beloved pooch was euthanized after a bout with prostate cancer.

   In The Artist, Uggie played the canine companion to Jean Dujardin’s fading silent-film star. The movie won Academy Awards for Best Picture, actor and director in 2011. His other screen credits included Water for Elephants and Mr. Fix It. He retired in 2012 in a ceremony at the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where he became the first dog to leave his paw prints in concrete alongside the prints of human stars.

   Uggie was a rescue dog, a cause that his owner championed. His owner made it a point to keep the dog in shape and feeling young with exercise, including using a treadmill.

   Uggie was 13.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Coleen Gray was an actress that appeared in fine cinema. Her list includes Red River, Nightmare Alley, and The Killing. She  won a 20th Century Fox contract in 1944.

   After appearing in State Fair in 1945, she became pregnant and briefly retired from acting. Upon her return, she had roles in Kiss of Death, Apache Drums, Kansas City Confidential, and Father is a Bachelor. She was a mainstay on television, guest-starring in Perry Mason (four times), Maverick, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mr. Ed, Rawhide, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, Family Affair, Ironside, The Name of the Game, and Branded. Gray was a regular on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives.    COLEEN GRAY –>

   She was active with the non-profit organization, Prison Fellowship, founded in 1976 by Chuck Colson, a convicted felon in the Watergate scandal. Prison Fellowship assists the church in ministering to prisoners and their families and victims. In 1964, along with actors Victor Jory, Gray testified before the United States Congress as part of Project Prayer, arguing in favor of a constitutional amendment allowing school prayer.

   Coleen Gray was 92.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   In conjunction with the website, Classic Movie Hub, I am giving away 6 paperbacks in the Forgotten Hollywood Book Series in their Summer Giveaway Twitter / Facebook online contest. The winners are from all over the country. Here’s the list:

* MIGUEL ALCALA / SAN DIEGO, CA

*ANDRES GARCIA / TULSA, OK

* CARL SCOTT / AJO, AZ

* VICKIE GLEASON / OWATONNA, MN

* JUDY ELIOT / CARSON CITY, NV

* SARA STEWART / SPOKANE, WA

   CONGRATULATIONS to these fine enthusiasts of classic cinema.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Downton Abbey, the PBS show, is getting its own float in the Rose Parade, two days before the premiere of its sixth and final season on January 3rd. PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger made the announcement Saturday at a bi-annual panel for television critics.

   She said that PBS has been accused at times of not having a sense of humor and whimsy, but the float plan will have those qualities. As for the specifics: It will have a lot of flowers on it, and it will contain a Downton Abbey theme. One of the show’s stars, Michelle Dockery, said she had never heard of the Rose Parade; but joked, there would be a lookalike of her riding the float.

   Funding for the float will come from the PBS marketing budget, unless a sponsor can be found. The Rose Parade is held every year on New Year’s Day in Pasadena, California.

   I hope they will toss free samples from their kitchen. Mrs. Patmore puts out a delightful spread…

~  ~  ~

   With Downton Abbey coming to an end, its executive producer is offering hope that a follow-up big-screen movie is at least a possibility. By ending the television drama several years shy of the 1929 Stock Market Crash, producer Gareth Neame said rich territory is left to be mined if a film is made. He told critics Saturday that it’s been discussed, but there’s no script or a firm plan.

Until next time>                               “never forget”