Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`Villagers from a  Ukraine hamlet are forced to escape by a rising Russian military presence. These unhappy wanderers eventually find themselves throughout Europe, Israel and even the United States. Is this a story ripped from the headlines…  possibly! It is also the basis for the conclusion of Fiddler on the Roof. Plus, twenty miles outside of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, there is a little village inspired by the musical. It is called Anatevka.

“`Pogroms in the Russian Empire were large-scale, targeted, and repeated anti-Jewish rioting that began in the nineteenth century. Two million Jews fled the Russian Empire between 1880 and 1920, with many going to the United Kingdom and United States. An event that triggered vicious pogroms in the twentieth century was the assassination of Tsar Alexander II for which some blamed agents of foreign influence, implying that Jews were at fault.

“`In the animated film An American Tail, set during and after the 1880s pogroms, Fievel and his village is destroyed by a pogrom (Fievel and his family are mice, the Cossack attackers are cats). A pogrom is one of the central scenes in Fiddler on the Roof.  The story adapted from Russian author Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye the Dairyman tales.  The famous stage play and film highlighted the cruelty of the Russian pogroms on the Jews in fictional Anatevka.

“`For context, a comparison of Putin’s attack on the Ukraine to Hitler’s blitzkrieg during World War II is admirable. However, a more accurate assessment is this historical Eastern European atrocity known as the pogrom.  Fiddler on the Roof poignantly offers a comparative tableau of real victims at the turn of the last century. Today’s victims of the current attack, all striving to maintain a democratic Ukraine, should be in our prayers, and eventually, remembered and honored.

Anatevka, Anatevka.
Underfed, overworked Anatevka.
Where else could Sabbath be so sweet?
Anatevka, Anatevka.
Intimate, obstinate Anatevka,
Where I know everyone I meet.
Soon I’ll be a stranger in a strange new place,
Searching for an old familiar face
From Anatevka.
I belong in Anatevka,
Tumble-down, work-a-day Anatevka.
Dear little village, little town of mine

`

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`We continue our Celebrating Act 2 series conducted at the Hollywood Heritage Museum during their Afternoon with the Authors event. Author Mindy Johnson delights us with stories about early pioneers of cinema in Pencils, Pens, Brushes: A Girl’s Guide To Animation.

“`Enjoy!

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“`Manny Pacheco’s Forgotten Hollywood, a new podcast on Spotify. It will be presented in over ninety episodes with one program offered each week!

“`Episode Two is on the cloud. This week, I share stories about Oscar-nominated music during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Sally Kellerman was the  Oscar and Emmy nominated actress, who played Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in director Robert Altman’s 1970 film M*A*S*H. She had a career of more than sixty years in film and television.

“`Kellerman was born in 1937 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of a piano teacher and an oil executive.  She moved to Los Angeles as a child and attended Hollywood High School. Her initial interest was in jazz singing and she was signed to a contract with Verve records at age eighteen. She opted to pursue acting, instead.

“`She took a drama class at  Los Angeles City College and appeared in a stage production of Look Back in Anger with classmates Jack Nicholson, Shirley Knight, Dean Stockwell, and Robert Blake. She worked in television, with a lead role in Cheyenne and guest appearances on The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Bonanza. Her appearance in the original Star Trek pilot as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner is the most memorable of her early efforts.

“`In addition to working with Altman, Kellerman co-starred in Last of the Red Hot Lovers,  The Boston Strangler, Brewster McCloud, Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins, Slither, A Little Romance, Foxes, and Back to School.

“`Sally Kellerman (above right) was eighty-four.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`As part of my series of Author’s Day interviews on Celebrating Act 2 at the Hollywood Heritage Museum, I present a conversation with film critic and historian Leonard Maltin. This is part four in our series. LEONARD MALTIN ->

“`Leonard Maltin will be this year’s recipient of the Robert Osborne Award at the 2022 TCM Film Festival. The award is presented annually to a person whose work has helped preserve the cultural heritage of classic cinema for future generations. I have just been assigned my press credentials for this year’s event!

“`Enjoy!

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“`A reminder to listen to Manny Pacheco’s Forgotten Hollywood, a new ninety-part podcast on Spotify! I share fascinating stories about Hollywood’s Studio Era. Click on the link below…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2 examines some of the funniest comedies by decade. John Coleman, Art Kirsch and I yuk it up during this engaging conversation.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Collector Tom Barnes created Retroformat Silent Films to perpetuate the original form of cinematic presentation; public silent movie screenings with live music. Now, the educational non-profit company has launched a brand new web-based archive of rare silent films for online subscribers: The Vault. It will cover a wide range of artists and genres, such as productions by the first major Black filmmaker, Oscar Micheaux; and Jack Pickford, the brother of America’s Sweetheart, Mary Pickford.

“`A one-of-a-kind online archive of silent films and special features, The Vault will house Retroformat’s exclusive digital scans of 16mm celluloid from the USC School of Cinematic Arts HNH Foundation Moving Image Archive and additional private collections, as well as restorations by the Library of Congress and other sources. Flicks shall feature original music compositions performed by Retroformat musical director Cliff Retallick.

“`Retroformat Silent Films is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. They hosted the first drive-in silent movie show with live music in Hollywood history, Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman  at the Hollywood Legion Theater Drive-In.

“`For membership information, email retroformat@gmail.com, and / or visit retroformat.org.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The 1951 Championship Game was the  National Football League’s 19th finale, played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This was a rematch of the previous season’s contest in Cleveland, with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Conference playing the defending league champion Cleveland Browns of the American Conference.

“`Pop had been a fan since they won the championship in 1945 as the Cleveland Rams. When they moved to Los Angeles, his loyalty was cemented. My dad was thirteen. He spent the rest of his life waiting for their next victory.

“`This was the first NFL championship game to be televised coast-to-coast and it was blacked out by the league in Southern California. The DuMont Network purchased the championship game television rights from the league. The Browns were favored to win this title game on the road by six points.

“`The underdog Rams upset the Browns 24–17 for their second championship before a then-record crowd for the title game of 59,475. Bob Waterfield, Tom Fears and Norm Van Brocklin all played for the Rams. Otto Graham played for Cleveland. The championship banner awarded to the Rams was given to Tom Bergin in gratitude for hosting the post-game dinner.  As of 2016, it hangs in Bergin’s pub in Los Angeles, the one banner in private ownership. By the way, the Browns have never been in a Super Bowl game.

“`Until yesterday’s victory in Super Bowl LVI, this was the Rams’ singular NFL championship as a California squad.  They won in 1999 as the St. Louis Rams. Over the next seventy years, my dad molded fans out of his brother, sister and his son (me!). Last October, my father and his brother passed away. They both had a front row seat in heaven in order to watch the big game I am quite sure.

“`I dedicate the Ram’s victory to my pop and my uncle… Manuel N. Pacheco and Johnny Parra. (above left with their sister Dolores Parra)

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`My interviews with celebrated scribes at the Hollywood Heritage Museum continues! Author and Hollywood Historian Steven J. Rubin shares with us The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia. Celebrating Act 2 presents part three in the series.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`John Coleman, Art Kirsch and I chat about my choices for this season’s SAG Awards on Celebrating Act 2. It is an engaging discussion!

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Douglas Trumbell was a film director and special effects magician. He was the son of Donald Trumbull, who created the visual look for The Wizard of Oz. He created special photographic effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Tree of Life, and also directed Silent Running and Brainstorm.

“`Douglas Trumbull’s began his career at Graphic Films in Los Angeles. The small animation and graphic arts studio produced  To the Moon and Beyond for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The spaceflight film caught the attention of director Stanley Kubrick.

“`Author Michael Crichton and director Robert Wise were very impressed by Trumbull’s efforts on The Andromeda Strain. His success on Andromeda set him up to direct Silent Running. Its environmental message struck a chord and the movie has become a cult classic. Trumbull also had uncredited work using blue screen techniques on The Towering Inferno.

DOUGLAS TRUMBULL (Star Trek: The Motion Picture & Blade Runner)

“`In 1975, Trumbull turned down an offer to provide the effects for George Lucas’ Star Wars due to other commitments, but he later contributed to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Blade Runner followed. After his work on Brainstorm and the death of its star, Natalie Wood, Trumbull left Hollywood.

“`One of his post-cinematic work was Back to the Future Ride at  Universal Studios Theme Park. Trumbull’s Showscan technology could be seen on a theme-park type ride at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.  After three decades away from Hollywood, he returned to special effects work on Terrence Malick’s 2011 film The Tree of Life.

“`Trumbull was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. He received Academy Awards nods on three occasions and received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award in February 2012, an honorary Oscar given to:

An individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.

“`He was given the American Society of Cinematographer’s Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Georges Méliès Award from the Visual Effects Society.

“`Douglas Trumbull was seventy-nine.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2 is the place to have a chat about the great director, Stanley Kramer. John Coleman and Art Kirsch join me in this engaging discussion.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Afternoon with The Authors interviews at the Hollywood Heritage Museum continues on Celebrating Act 2. This week, I chat with noted historian and author Marc Wanamaker about his new book Hollywood’s Trains & Trolleys.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”