Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`UPDATE!  Tonight’s segment on KLCS – Everybody with Angela Williamson has been postponed to October 14th due to unforeseen circumstances.  The delay was a last-minute decision, so I apologize for the viewing inconvenience.

“`I recommend you still watch the program tonight. Angela is a marvelous interviewer, and her guests are quite compelling. I promise to be on in a couple of weeks.

“`Please pass the word along about this postponement. I will keep you posted as to further bulletins as they break!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Two fabulous song-stylists have passed away within hours of each other. They also dabbled in motion pictures.

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“`A performer since childhood, Helen Reddy was part of a show-business family in Melbourne, Australia. She won a contest that brought her to the United States and launched her recording career.

“`Helen Reddy shot to stardom in the 1970s with a rousing feminist anthem, I Am Woman, and also recorded a string of other hits. I Don’t Know How to Love Him, from Jesus Christ Superstar, launched a decade-long string of Top 40 hits, including Ain’t No Way To Treat a Lady, Delta Dawn, Angie Baby, and You and Me Against the World.

“`Her success led to a brief screen career, with roles in Airport ’75 and Pete’s Dragon. On television, guest-starred in The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and The Jefferson’s. She was one of the many fronts on The Midnight Special;  and for one season, she was the host of The Helen Reddy Show.

“`Reddy retired from performing in the 1990s and returned to Australia,  getting her degree in clinical hypnotherapy. She later returned to California, where in the 1970s she had served on a statewide Parks and Recreation Commission, and returned to the stage occasionally.

“`Helen Reddy was seventy eight.

             HELEN REDDY                                   MAC DAVIS

“`Mac Davis was a singer, songwriter, and actor, originally from Lubbock Texas, who enjoyed much crossover success. His early work writing for Elvis Presley produced the hits Memories, In the Ghetto, Don’t Cry Daddy, and A Little Less Conversation (written for Aretha Franklin). Davis was originally inspired by fellow Lubbock native Buddy Holly.

“`Davis decided to pursue a career of his own in country music;  he was signed to Columbia Records in 1970. After several years of enriching the repertoires of other artists, his success came two years after signing with Columbia.  He topped the Country and Pop charts with the song, Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.

“`He turned to cinema with appearances in North Dallas Forty and The Sting II. For two seasons, he hosted his own television variety program on NBC, The Mac Davis Show. He also starred in the lead role in the Broadway production of The Will Rogers Follies. Mac was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.

“`Mac Davis was seventy-eight.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Have you ever noticed that almost every In-N-Out burger location has two crossed palm trees out front? It seems that the founder, Harry Snyder, branded his company to honor his favorite movie.

“`It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World features just about every major television and movie comic, and the climax takes place in a fictional locale in San Diego: Santa Rosita State Park. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean is a set of palm trees lined up to resemble a Big W. And in the ground is a suitcase filled with gobs of cash. Exactly where Smiler Grogan said it would be.

“`Snyder, wanting to mark each In-N-Out as his own treasure, started planting palm trees that crossed at all locations, paying homage to the 1963 comedy classic. Today, the crossed palm trees have been incorporated into all of the restaurant’s marketing plan, from bumper stickers to drink coasters to the homepage of their website.

“`Now, that is what a hamburger is all about.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Turner Classic Movies  is honoring the career of the diminutive dynamo, Mickey Rooney, to celebrate his one hundredth birthday. Among the day delicacies provided:  The Human Comedy, Boys Town, and Strike Up the Band.                                      MICKEY ROONEY –>

“`In a career spanning nine decades and continuing until shortly before his death,  Rooney appeared in over three hundred films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era.  Rooney first performed in vaudeville as a child and made his film debut at the age of six.  He was the first teenager to be nominated for an Oscar for his leading role in Babes in Arms, and he was awarded a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1939.  Rooney was the biggest box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941.  He would star in every one of the Andy Hardy  productions. He put his career on hold to serve during World War II.

“`Rooney’s popularity was renewed later in his career with character roles in films, such as The Bridges at Toko-Ri,  Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Requiem for a Heavyweight, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and The Black Stallion. He made memorable appearances on television in The Twilight Zone and The Judy Garland Show.

“`In the early 1980s, Mickey ventured to Broadway in Sugar Babies, and again, he became a celebrated star. Rooney won an Emmy and Golden Globe in 1982 for his starring turn in Bill.

“`Happy heavenly birthday to the Mick!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2 presents an out-of-this-world look at the Science Fiction Space Travel genre of cinema. I join hosts Art Kirsch and John Coleman for this enthralling discussion.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Her desire was to someday have nine women on the court’s highest bench. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an influential women’s rights champion who rose to become the high court’s second female justice. Ruth was also a cultural phenomenon who earned the moniker: Notorious RBG. The reference was the title of her biography.

“`Joan Ruth Bader was born in Brooklyn in 1933. Her early dream was to become an opera singer.  Ginsburg graduated top of her Columbia University  law school class in 1959, but could not find employment. Being Jewish, female,  and a mother proved to be problematic for the mostly male law firms of the time.       RUTH BADER GINSBURG –>

“`Ruth wed Martin Ginsburg in 1954, the year she graduated from Cornell University. She attended Harvard University’s law school, but transferred to Columbia when her husband took a law job there. Martin went on to become a prominent tax attorney and law professor.

“`As a lawyer, she argued six key cases before the high court in the 1970s when she was an architect of the women’s rights movement. She won five.  Her appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1993 was a first by a Democrat in twenty-six years. Ginsburg found a comfortable ideological home somewhere left of center on a conservative court dominated by Republican appointees. Her liberal voice grew stronger the longer she served.

“`On the court, where she was known as a facile writer. Besides civil rights, Ginsburg took an interest in capital punishment, voting repeatedly to limit its use. She grew to author powerful dissents of her own in cases involving abortion,  voting rights, and pay discrimination against women. Ruth’s goal was to influence future justices of the high court with her points of view. Curiously, here closest colleague was the late Antonin Scalia, her judicial polar opposite.

“`Recently, an award-winning documentary was made about her career.  She was also the subject of a feature film, On the Basis of Sex, which took a dramatic look at her life with Marty as she strived to establish her career.

“`In 1999, Ginsburg was treated for colon cancer.  She had surgery again in 2009 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer;  and in December, 2018, for cancerous growths on her left lung. Following the last procedure, she missed court sessions for the first time in over twenty-five years on the bench. Ginsburg also was treated with radiation for a tumor on her pancreas in August 2019. She maintained an active schedule even during the three weeks of radiation. When she revealed the recurrence of her cancer in July 2020, Ginsburg remained fully able to continue as a justice.

“`Before we re-enter the arena of political battle, let us remember this wisp of a woman who became a larger-than-life feminist icon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was eighty-seven.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Peeps treats will be on hiatus for several months; another consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. This will become apparent by their absence during Halloween.

“`Just Born Quality Confections is not producing the popular marshmallow sweets for Halloween, Christmas or Valentine’s Day as the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based company prepares for next Easter. Production of the holiday-shaped candies was suspended in the spring as Covid-19 spread across the state. Limited production resumed in mid-May with protocols in place to protect employees.

“`For confectioners, Easter is one of the biggest and busiest times of the year as children and adults use the holiday as an excuse to indulge in candy eggs and chocolate bunnies.  But, the ghoulish marshmallow treat will not be on the shelves for purchase in October.

“`Just Born, which has been in business since 1923, is expected to have its other seasonal confections in store shelves by Halloween 2021.

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“`Thank you to Elia Esparza, a writer and PR marketing consultant. She is a resident of North San Diego County. Today, she purchased the two-hundredth copy of Road to Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History. Actually, I am mailing the complete Forgotten Hollywood Book Series.

“`This year began with fireworks, with lots of January and February sales. Once the pandemic caused a closure of businesses, the year continues its share of ups-and-downs. And thanks to supporters such as Esparza, every sale is even more appreciated. The book series is available on Amazon.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation  is a non-profit designed to promote and preserve his contributions to arts and humanities.  The website remains membership-driven and they share articles, interviews and all things related to The Twilight Zone. The administrators work to educate the public about Serling’s genius, his legacy, and his passion for justice.

“`Since 2017, the foundation has held what they call: Narrate Your Own Twilight Zone (2020) contest. This is your chance to write the openings and the closings of an imaginary story that may have aired on The Twilight Zone. You must also pen a clever title of the fictional piece.

“`This is like a sixty-second pitch. Warm up by writing new narrations for an existing episode and read it to friends. Then write the narrations for your original idea.

MARTIN LANDAU

“`What will you win? The Rod Serling Memorial Foundation offers to you: Immortality! Your personal area of their Twilight Zone. Actor Stephen Dexter will perform the winning entries. Winners will be announced in time for Rod Serling’s ninety-fifth birthday on Christmas Day. The video will be accessible from their website at www.RodSerling.com.

“`Send your entries to:  Stephen Schlich, RodSerling.com webmaster. GOOD LUCK!

“`By the way, I also decided to enter this year… fingers crossed.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Dame Diana Rigg was a British actress whose career stretched from the 1960s spy series The Avengers to fantasy juggernaut Game of Thrones. In between, she married James Bond.

“`Rigg trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1955 – 1957.  One of her classmates included actress Glenda Jackson. Diana’s career in film, television and the theatre was vast and she garnered early roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company between 1959 and 1967.           DIANA RIGG –>

“`Rigg co-starred in  The Avengers opposite Patrick Macnee as John Steed, portraying witty secret agent Emma Peel in fifty-one episodes. She secured a recurring role in the third season of the HBO series Game of Thrones, portraying Lady Olenna Tyrell, a witty and sarcastic political mastermind, popularly known as the Queen of Thorns.

“`On the big screen she became a Bond girl in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, playing the spy’s only wife, opposite George Lazenby. Other films included Theatre of Blood, The Hospital, and Evil Under the Sun.

“`Over the decades, she received nine Emmy nominations, winning one for her performance in the television adaptation of Rebecca. She was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1994.

“`One of my boyhood crushes (along with Goldie Hawn), Dame Diana Rigg was eighty-two.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The Pre-Code Era of cinema showcased a variety of astonishing celluloid in genres including gangster films, horror flicks, and most notably, women’s pictures. I join John Coleman and Art Kirsch to discuss this phenomenon of visual productions on Celebrating Act 2…

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Five years after saving it from a scrap dealer, a group of aviation enthusiasts have finished restoring James Stewart’s personal airplane, and put it on display outside the terminal of the airfield named in his honor. This project was approved by members of the boards of directors of both the James M. Stewart Museum Foundation and the Indiana County  Jimmy Stewart Airport.

“`Stewart, a combat pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve, bought the brand new plane in 1961 and piloted his wife and kids in their travels around the nation.  Ultimately, the plane was mothballed, but as a common and popular model for private aviation, it remained in storage for years.

“`Folks in Texas traced the ownership to the film star and dialed up politicos in Indiana on the hunch that someone in Stewart’s hometown might be interested. Research confirmed that this was definitely Stewart’s craft. The wings were detached and trucked to Indiana. The paint was stripped and redone it to 1961 standards. It has not had a mechanical do-over. It does not fly. But it certainly has the look.

“`This airplane sits above the ground, and it appears to be hovering and looking for a landing spot. The pedestal itself weighs as much as the plane.

“`As a tribute to Stewart, the group later will hold a formal dedication ceremony. This exhibit should be a tourist draw for Indiana County.

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“`Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History is available as an e-book at the Oceanside Public Library. This is part of the Indie California network of libraries making self-published works available across the nation.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`My close friends know about my interest in poker. I love playing Texas Hold Em, and I enjoy watching the World Series of Poker every summer.  And Mike Sexton (right) was a joy to watch when he co-hosted the World Poker Tour with Vince Van Patten.

“`Sexton was a regular in the poker rooms in Vegas, and he was a good friend with the late poker-legend, Stu Unger. After his passing, Sexton became a pall-bearer and speaker at his funeral.

“`Over the years, he has won various tournaments, earning a bracelet at a  World Series of Poker tourney. Sexton donated half of his post-tax winnings from his win in 2006 of the third annual World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions event to five charities. He pledged to do the same with all future winnings.

“`Sexton was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. On February 15, 2006, he was recognized as the top poker ambassador at the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Awards Gala.

“`On a personal note, I am a former classmate of Van Patten; we both graduated Van Nuys High School in 1975. It always brings joy to see my longtime friend co-hosting with Sexton each week on the World Poker Tour. Mike would always close the show by saying:

May all your cards be live and may all your pots be monsters.

“`Mike Sexton was seventy-two.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Hall of Famer Lou Brock was one of baseball’s signature leadoff hitters and base stealers who helped the St. Louis Cardinals earn three pennants and two World Series titles in the 1960s. Lou had stolen 938 bases in his career, including 118 in 1974;  both were records until broken by Rickey Henderson.         LOU BROCK –>

“`Lou’s introduction to baseball came by accident. Brock spat on a teacher, and for punishment,  he had to write a book report about baseball, presumably to teach him about life. A star athlete in high school, he was accepted to Southern University on a work-study scholarship. A baseball tryout led to an athletic scholarship.

“`Brock signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1960, made his major league debut late in the following season, and was in the starting lineup by 1962. He was traded to the Cards in 1964.

“`Along with starter Bob Gibson and center fielder Curt Flood, Brock became an anchor for St. Louis as its combination of speed, defense, and pitching made it a top team in the 1960s, and a symbol of the National League’s aggressive style. St. Louis were World Series champions in 1964 and 1967, and lost to the Detroit Tigers in seven games in 1968.  Brock never played in another World Series, but remained a star for much of the last eleven years of his career.

“`He was so synonymous with base stealing that in 1978, he became the first major leaguer to have an award named after him while still active — the Lou Brock Award, for the National League’s leader in steals. After Lou retired in 1979, the team retired his uniform number 20, and he was inducted into Cooperstown 1985 in his first year of eligibility.

“`Today, The Cardinals and the Cubs observed a moment of silence in the outfielder’s memory before their game at Wrigley Field. Lou Brock was eighty-one.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The Pentagon has ordered the military’s independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes, to cease publication at the end of the September, despite a congressional effort to continue funding the century-old publication.  The budgetary order to halt publication by the end of the month, and dissolve the organization by the end of January,  follows the Pentagon’s move earlier this year to cut fifteen million dollars in funding for the paper from the Defense Department budget.

“`The initial newspaper called Stars and Stripes was briefly produced in 1861 during the Civil War, but the periodical re-emerged during World War I.  After the conflict, publication ended, only to restart in 1942 during World War II, providing wartime stories written by members of the military, and specifically for soldiers in battle.  Although this paper gets funding from the Defense Department, it is editorially independent and provided in print and digitally to troops all over the world.

“`Members of Congress have objected to the move for months. And senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper this week urging him to reinstate the line item. The letter was signed by fifteen senators, including Republicans and Democrats. The lawmakers penned:

Stars and Stripes is an essential part of our nation’s freedom of the press that serves the very population charged with defending that freedom.

“`Republican Senator Lindsay Graham further adds:

Stars and Stripes a valued ‘hometown newspaper’ for the members of the Armed Forces, their families, and civilian employees across the globe… As a veteran who has served overseas, I know the value that the Stars and Stripes brings to its readers.

“`The administration’s decision is partly considered  a reflection of President Trump’s broader animosity for the media and members of the press.  A House-passed version of the Pentagon budget contains funding for the paper’s publication, but the Senate has not yet finalized their version of the defense funding bill.

“`Bulletins as they break…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Tom Seaver was arguably the finest New York Mets player to ever don a uniform.  He was a five-time twenty-game winner and played a major role in the Mets’ victory in the 1969 World Series.      TOM SEAVER –>

“`Also known as Tom Terrific,  he won more than three hundred games in a twenty-year career, including two hundred with the Mets from 1967-1977. He won the Rookie of the Year accolade, three Cy Young awards, and was a twelve-time All-Star.  His time with the Mets came to an end with a trade to the Cincinnati Reds, known as The Midnight Massacre.

“`The Mets retired his uniform number – forty-one – in 1988 in a Tom Seaver Day ceremony, making him the franchise’s initial player to be so honored. In 1992, Seaver was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the highest percentage of votes counted at the time. On March 2019, the Mets named a seven-block stretch of street outside Citi Field for him, along with a statue, and changing the stadium’s permanent address to 41 Seaver Way.

“`Tom Seaver was seventy-five.

Until next time>                               “never forget”