Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

    An update on the demolition of Dick and Jerry Van Dyke’s childhood home…

   Actor Dick Van Dyke is taking steps to save his  former residence in central Illinois, which was slated for demolition. News stories about the threat to the two-story home in Danville, condemned because of its tumbledown condition, reached the 89-year-old actor during the summer. He announced over the weekend that the house will be restored as headquarters for a new foundation to provide scholarships to accomplished young performers.

JERRY VAN DYKE                   DICK VAN DYKE

   Organizers of the Dick Van Dyke Foundation hope to establish a museum in the home where Van Dyke and brother Jerry lived during high school after the family relocated from Missouri. After learning of the house’s dilapidated state, the star of Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, and The Dick Van Dyke Show recalled the happy memories in a tweet to his tens of thousands of followers.

    When the city condemned the home in December, officials didn’t know the Van Dyke connection, Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said in July. The property’s last owner died in 2011. Lance Kirkland, Dick Van Dyke Foundation board president, said in a news release that the organization is working with Todd Regan, executive director of the Walt Disney Birthplace, to launch the new foundation, which will seek nonprofit status.

   Good things happen to people who want fair results…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   According to an article written by the agency’s senior in-house historian, the CIA purposely held back information from the Warren Commission, Politico reports. John McCone, at the time the agency’s director, apparently failed to tell the commission about agency plots to murder Fidel Castro (including ones involving the Mafia). So, the commission never knew to ask whether Oswald had Cuban comrades that were set on assassinating President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. The commission notoriously concluded that Oswald acted alone, spawning many decades of conspiracy theories involving Castro, the Mafia, the CIA, the Soviets, and even President Lyndon B. Johnson.

   It seems the White House nudged McCone along: He shared the administration’s interest in avoiding disclosures about covert actions that would circumstantially implicate [the] CIA in conspiracy theories, and possibly lead to calls for a tough US response against the perpetrators of the assassination, reads the article, which was published in a CIA internal magazine in 2013, and declassified (with 15 redactions) last fall. McCone also apparently didn’t say that the CIA may have been communicating with Oswald before the killing, and was illegally reading his mail after he tried defecting to the Soviets in 1959.

   The article, by CIA historian David Robarge, calls McCone’s actions benign; but says, the cover-up played a big role in undermining the credibility of the commission.

   This is a story that definitely has legs in the eyes of conspiracy theorists.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that it has received a gift valued at more than $5 million from the late Oscar-winning Hollywood actress and United States Ambassador Shirley Temple Black and her family. This gift includes a substantial monetary contribution to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ capital campaign, as well as key artifacts from Shirley Temple Black’s indelible early career. To recognize this gift and honor the star’s legendary childhood contribution to entertainment, the Academy Museum’s education center will be named The Shirley Temple Education Studio.

   It will be the center of the Museum’s dynamic education program, which will draw upon the expertise of Academy members, artists, and scholars in a range of disciplines to explore cinema history and the collaborative process of filmmaking. The program will provide hands-on workshops in moviemaking techniques, as well as inspire creativity and critical thinking. A core feature will be its teen initiative, serving students from diverse backgrounds in the greater Los Angeles area.

   In addition to financial support, this generous gift includes unique objects such as: the miniature Oscar presented to Shirley Temple at the 1934 Academy Awards in recognition of her screen work that year; the tap shoes, and portable wooden practice-steps given to her by legendary dancer Bill Bojangles Robinson for their famed stair dance routine in 1934s The Little Colonel; the star’s first set-chair from Fox Studios; and the ornate Los Angeles public-school system desk she used for her daily lessons on the lot.

    The Academy is raising $388 million to support the building, exhibitions, and programs of the Academy Museum. The capital campaign was launched in 2012, and is chaired by Bob Iger and co-chaired by Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. The Academy has already secured more than $250 million in pledges from more than 1,300 individual donors globally.

   Shirley Temple’s ship has made port, and it’s definitely the Good Ship Lollipop!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   For the first time in AFI history, America’s highest honor for a career in film will be bestowed upon a composer. John Williams will receive the 44th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016.

JOHN WILLIAMS

   Perhaps best known for his enduring collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, his scores are among the most iconic and recognizable in film history, from the edge-of-your-seat Jaws motif, to the emotional swell of E.T. The Extraterrestrial, and the haunting elegies of Schindler’s List. Always epic in scale, his music has helped define over half a century of the motion picture medium. Three of Williams’ scores landed on AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores — a list of the 25 greatest American film scores of all time — including the unforgettable Star Wars soundtrack, at #1. Other films include Saving Private Ryan, Seven Years in Tibet, Amistad, The Lost World, Rosewood, Sleepers, Sabrina, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Nixon, Far and Away, JFK, Hook, Always, Born on the Fourth of July, Superman, The Accidental Tourist, Empire of the Sun, The Witches of Eastwick, Presumed Innocent, the Indiana Jones trilogy, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

   With five Academy Award wins and 49 nominations in total, Williams holds the record for the most Oscar nominations of any living person. His storied career as the composer behind many of the greatest American films and television series of all time boasts over 150 credits across seven decades.

   Williams will be honored at the gala Tribute on June 9th, 2016. The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute television special will air on TNT later that same month, followed by an encore presentation on Turner Classic Movies.

   Kudos to the magnificent John Williams!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   I personally invite you to the TherapyCable Channel – Circle of Insight program with host Carlos Vazquez, as he interviews the lovely and talented Ginger Pauley, a song-stylist and expert on everything vintage. I co-host this insightful program.

   Here is the link (click or copy-and-paste) to watch this scintillating half hour of conversation:

http://therapycable.com/personal-stories-videos/personal-look-at-ginger-pauley.html

   TherapyCable is also home to my Forgotten Hollywood web-based television program. Let me personally offer my thanks to Dr. Vazquez for giving me the opportunity to co-host his fine Circle of Insight show.

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   Thank you to MY Edmonds News for writing such a rich review of my initial paperback – Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. The author is Wendy Kendall, a writer, project manager, and volunteer at the Edmonds Library. She writes:

Manny Pacheco’s fascinating book shares incredible stories of the character actors and supporting players who brought American history to life on the screen during the days of old Hollywood. The author brings his additional insight, analyzing these actors’ body of work to show how they have also created history themselves… Enhancing his story about these actors and their historical works are some delightful pictures of them, their films, and also the real historical people and events…

Manny Pacheco is steeped in the world of Hollywood. He’s been a broadcaster in Los Angeles and Southern California for over three decades, and he’s a 30-year member of the Screen Actors Guild. A student of history and a movie fan, he’s blended his two passions in this book. He keeps very busy with an engaging website that also includes interviews, events, and articles. He also has other books, including Son of Forgotten Hollywood Book 2 published in 2012.

   Again, thanks Wendy for making my book a Recommended Read! Here are links to the complete review:

http://myedmondsnews.com/2015/10/recommended-reads-book-explores-forgotten-hollywood-stories/

http://myedmondsnews.com/category/columns/recommended-reads/

http://www.recommendreads.blogspot.com/

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Indian tribes and Jim Thorpe’s sons to move the remains of the athletic great from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma. Thorpe’s two surviving sons, and the Sac and Fox Nation have been seeking to bury Thorpe on American Indian land in Oklahoma.

   The justices on Monday left in place a court ruling that ordered Thorpe’s body to remain in the Pennsylvania town that bears his name. His wife won the original agreement from two merging towns in Pennsylvania to build a memorial and name the new town after Thorpe. Police then seized Thorpe’s body during his funeral service in Oklahoma.

   Thorpe was a football, baseball, and track star who won the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics. He died in 1953 at age 64. A motion picture was made that was considered a fictionalized biography of his well-documented  life. Burt Lancaster starred as the athlete.

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   ME-TV.com is featuring one of the small screen’s finest daytime live shows during its Golden Age. And, the star is none other than exercise guru – Jack LaLanne.

   The Godfather of Fitness opened America’s first health club in 1936. The Jack LaLanne Physical Culture Studio — a gym, juice bar, and health food store — kickstarted the modern health movement. In 1951, the charismatic health expert brought his winning workouts to television. Wearing his signature jumpsuit and slippers, The Jack LaLanne Show ran for 34 years. His dog Happy was there to help, too. Jack LaLanne lived to be 96.

   Here is a link to watch these classic programs:

http://metv.com/shows/jack-lalanne/videos

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Paramount Pictures wants to remake John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Classic film enthusiasts are crying foul.

   Based on a Dorothy M. Johnson short story, the motion picture starred James Stewart as a lawyer who arrives in the fictional town of Shinbone, which is being terrorized by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). John Wayne, in his last film for Ford, portrays a heroic cowboy who helps Stewart lead to modernize the community. The film was one of the last Westerns ever shot in black and white, and examined the legends created by the old West. Vera Miles, Andy Devine, Edmond O’Brien, and John Carradine are also part of the exquisite cast. In 2007, the movie was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

   The new film would be produced by Matt Jackson with Gabby Canton and Elizabeth Raposo overseeing the project for Paramount. There is talk to abandon the Western theme and modernize the story for audiences.

   This is one re-make that really doesn’t need to be made, in my estimation.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Now this is just weird!

   For years, Hallmark has captured those precious moments in its cards, figurines, and Christmas ornaments, such as your baby’s first steps, your aunt’s birthday, or a keepsake from a family vacation. Now, the company will boldly go where no one has gone before…

   A Vulcan dying from intense radiation in a Starfleet engine room is there latest way to usher in the holiday. Trekkies, you can now officially preorder a holiday decoration that depicts that classic moment from the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. You can trim your tree with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock sharing a bittersweet moment together that will surely lead to a decorative sequel. Klingons and Romulans couldn’t hurt the Star Trek brand any worse than this monumentally tacky promotion.

   By the way, this bauble is available for only $29.95. If you’d prefer, there is also a Lt. Uhura ornament.

   Gene Rodenberry and Leonard Nimoy must be turning over in their grave. My phaser is on stun!

   Scotty… Beam me out of this blog post…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Judy Garland is back, and getTV has got her. Join them as they celebrate arguably the world’s greatest entertainer that ever lived in all 26 episodes of The Judy Garland Show. This will be the first time the entire series has been broadcast in the United States since its premiere.

Judy Garland’s CBS series ran for only a short time, in 1963 and 1964, but featured great performances from Barbra Streisand, Lena Horne, Ethel Merman, Tony Bennett and other notables. Among the show’s highlights was Garland’s emotional performance of Battle Hymn of the Republic in late 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Facing Bonanza across the dial, the series ultimately didn’t capture enough viewers to last beyond its first season. The episodes were licensed from World Live Nation Entertainment.

   If you planning on joining Twitter on Monday to live tweet The Judy Garland Show, the cable channel is thrilled to announce that ‬ biographer John Fricke will be @getTV – sharing his extensive knowledge of Judy and her show, as well as answering your questions. Episodes of The Merv Griffin Show have also been acquired by the cable channel network. The programs will begin airing on Mondays at 8p ET starting October 12th.

   This is boffo entertainment… only on getTV.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the caped crusader’s vehicle is entitled to copyright protection. The Batmobile’s appearance and other distinct attributes, including its high-tech weaponry, make it a character that can’t be replicated without permission from DC Comics, the copyright holder, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said.

   The ruling came in a lawsuit against Mark Towle, who produced replicas of the Batmobile as it appeared in the 1966 television show featuring Adam West as Batman (left), and the 1989 movie with Michael Keaton in the lead role. The 9th Circuit said Towle sold the cars at his Southern California business for about $90,000 each.

   In its ruling, the 9th Circuit said Towle advertised each replica as the Batmobile, and used the domain name batmobilereplicas.com to market his business. He also advertised that the replicas would get noticed because of the Batmobile’s fame.

   Larry Zerner, an attorney for Towle, said his client copied the car’s design, which can’t be copyrighted. Towle also argued the Batmobile at times appeared without its bat-like features. But the 9th Circuit said that was akin to James Bond changing from swimming trunks to a tuxedo: It didn’t alter the car’s innate characteristics.

   I say:  To the Batcave with this whole frivolous lawsuit… And, so it goes.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Yogi Berra (right) was the Baseball Hall of Fame catcher renowned as much for his malapropisms as his record ten World Series championships with the New York Yankees. He helped the team reach it 14 times  during his 18 seasons in the Bronx, playing in more Fall Classic games than any other major leaguer; and was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player. But, his famous name appears almost as often in Bartlett’s Famous Quotations as it does in baseball’s record book.

   In 1943, his first professional season with the Yankees’ farm team in Norfolk, Va., was interrupted by World War II. He joined the Navy, and later served on a gunboat supporting the D-Day invasion.

    Berra played for the Yankees from 1949-65. His teammates included fellow Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Whitey Ford. In 1956, he caught the only perfect game in World Series history and after the last out, he leaped into pitcher Don Larsen’s arms. The moment was captured in photographs, published in newspapers around the world. Berra, who played in 15 straight All-Star Games, never earned more than $65,000 a season.

   After he retired, Berra coached or managed the Yankees, New York Mets, and Houston Astros. He led both the Yankees and the Mets to pennants. In 1985, his firing as manager by the Yankees 16 games into the season sparked a feud with George Steinbrenner. Berra vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium as long as Steinbrenner owned the team. He eventually changed his mind, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the Yankees’ season-opening game in 1999.

   Berra published three books: his autobiography in 1961, It Ain’t Over… in 1989, and The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said in 1998. The last made the New York Times’ Best Seller list. In 1996, Berra was awarded an honorary doctorate from the state university in Montclair, N.J., where he and his family lived. The university also named its baseball stadium for Berra. The adjoining Yogi Berra Museum opened two years later. The museum houses Berra memorabilia, including what he said was his most prized possession, the mitt he used to catch Larsen’s perfect game.

    He was a fan favorite, especially with kids, and the cartoon character Yogi Bear was named after him. He recently delighted television viewers by bringing his malapropisms to a commercial with the AFLAC duck.

Yogi Berra was an American original. He was 90.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Clint Eastwood has reportedly lured Hollywood’s 91-year-old Doris Day out of retirement for a silver screen swan song. The two friends are neighbors in Carmel Valley, California, and on a recent visit Eastwood reportedly presented Day with a script. The actress was delighted with the role, and is working out the final details of her first film role in almost half a century. Two conditions by the star:  They film around Carmel; and a cut of the profits goes to her animal fund charity.

   Day began her career as a singer in 1945, but shot to worldwide fame in the 1950s as the star of musicals, such as Love Me or Leave Me, the Hitchcock thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much, and a series of comedies (Move Over Darling; Pillow Talk) with Rock Hudson, James Garner, Tony Randall, and Rod Taylor. Jack Carson first suggested she was perfect for cinema. Since retiring, she has lived out of the spotlight, and has totally dedicated herself to the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

   A fear of flying meant she has refused both an honorary Oscar and the Kennedy Center Honors. She also declined to pick up a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2008. However, if anyone can convince her to return to the screen it may be Eastwood, who presented her with a Golden Globe in 1989, her last listed public appearance.

CLINT EASTWOOD        DORIS DAY

   On Day’s own website, there’s no mention of the cinematic project. Technically,  her current final movie credit  is from 1968: With Six You Get Eggroll.

    Doris Day may return. Perhaps… Perhaps… Perhaps… For the record, she says the rumors are not true.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Jack Larson was an  actor, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the television series Adventures of Superman.

   During the fall of 1945, he starred in Charley’s Aunt, and in the spring of 1946, he starred in Fantasy in Wonderland, a musical he wrote. In 1951, at the age of 18, Larson felt that he well was on his way, setting his goals on Broadway. But, his agent came to him suggesting that he audition for the role of Jimmy Olsen in The Adventures of Superman. Initially Larson balked at the idea, because he was intent on becoming a serious actor, however, the casting director persuaded him.

   Larson has always been willing to sit down for interviews about the Superman series and his connection to it, and in recent years, has had a number of cameos that pay subtle tribute to his character and the series, including a 1991 episode of Superboy, alongside Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane, and an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as an aged Jimmy Olsen. He and Neill provided commentary on several Adventures of Superman episodes for the January 2006 DVD release of the 1953 season.                           JACK LARSON —–>

   After his run on Superman, Larson focused on behind-the-scenes work such as writing and production. He appeared in motion pictures, such as Fighter Squadron, a post-World War II film directed by Raoul Walsh,  featuring newcomer Rock Hudson; Battle Zone, co-starring with Martin Milner, who also recently died; and the last film made by Ethel Barrymore, called Johnny Trouble. On the small screen, Larson guest-starred on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He co-produced with his longtime companion James Bridges, The Paper Chase, and Urban Cowboy with John Travolta.

   Larson owned and resided in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed George Sturges House in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.

   The ever-youthful Jack Larson was 87.

Until next time>                               “never forget“

Manny P. here…

   Jackie Collins was a successful novelist and younger sister to actress Joan Collins. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List. In total, her books have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels have been adapted for the screen, either as films or as a television mini-series. She held dual citizenship: British (by birth) and US (by naturalization)

   Like her sister, Collins began appearing in acting roles in a series of British films in the 1950s. She also made appearances in The Saint and other television programs before giving up an acting career. Since then, she played herself in a few television series.

   Her most successful novel was Hollywood Wives. It was made into a hugely successful television miniseries, produced by Aaron Spelling and starring Candice Bergen, Stefanie Powers, Angie Dickinson, Anthony Hopkins, Suzanne Somers, and Rod Steiger. In 2001, she published Hollywood Wives: The New Generation, which was later turned into a television movie in 2003 starring Farrah Fawcett, Melissa Gilbert, and Robin Givens. Collins’ tales of sex, glamour, power… and even more sex were a forerunner to the pop culture of Desperate Housewives reality television.

   In 1998, Collins made a foray into talk-show television with the series Jackie Collins’ Hollywood, but this was unsuccessful.

   The salacious Jackie Collins was 77.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   I personally invite you to the TherapyCable Channel – Circle of Insight program with host Carlos Vazquez, as he tackles The Perils of Pornography. I co-host this insightful program, as we discuss the history of porn, the entrenchment of the adult film industry in California, and how we can encourage family-friendly programming in television and cinema. I will offer a brief history of the Hays Code that encouraged quality motion picture production during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

   Here is the link (click or copy-and-paste) to watch this scintillating half hour of conversation:

http://therapycable.com/sex-sexuality-videos/the-perils-of-pornography.html

   TherapyCable is also home to my Forgotten Hollywood web-based television program. Let me personally offer my thanks to Dr. Vazquez for giving me the opportunity to co-host his fine Circle of Insight show.

Until next time>                               “never forget”