“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Full Day of Christmas…

December 25th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Art Kirsch, John Coleman and I on Celebrating Act 2 spends an entire day watch classic Christmas movies. And we have a great time in the viewing room…

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- National Film Registry 2023 Selections

December 13th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`It is that time of the year again! The 2023 selections of the Library of Congress National Film Registry have just been announced. This year’s selections are more modern and diverse, including Fame (1980),  Home Alone (1990),  The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Apollo 13 (1995) and 12 Years a Slave (2013). Unfortunately, our campaign to get Robert Youngson’s documentaries, Golden Age of Comedy and When Comedy was King, proved unsuccessful this year. The effort continues…

“`Let us look at the Golden Age of Hollywood selections:

~ DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) – Director George Cukor’s pre-Code film features a sumptuous cast assembled by MGM mogul Irving Thalberg, including Jean Harlow, Billie Burke, Lee Tracy, John Barrymore,  Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler and Lionel Barrymore.  Herman J. Mankiewicz and Frances Marion adapted the George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber play for the screen. This is a movie selection that I have proudly voted for through the public nominations process over the last five years!

   

~ LADY AND THE TRAMP (1955) – Walt Disney released it in wide screen CinemaScope to keep people going to theaters following the advent of television. One of the studio’s beloved animated works,  this unlikely love story is made memorable by endearing songs, excellent voice talents (which included Larry Roberts, Verna Felton, Peggy Lee and Stan Freberg) and iconic moments including a kiss involving spaghetti.

“`The Library of Congress National Film Registry annually inducts twenty-five movies that are considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. These films must be at least ten years old.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Kings of Warner Brothers…

December 11th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Who claims the mantle of King of Warner Brothers in the 1930s? James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Edward G. Robinson? Art Kirsch, John Coleman and I break it down on Celebrating Act 2.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Remembering Ryan O’Neal…

December 8th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Ryan O’Neal was a familiar actor, who began his career on television’s Peyton Place, and became a bankable star in popular movies, such as Paper Moon, What’s Up Doc and Love Story. His relationships would include marriages to Joanna Moore and Leigh Taylor-Young and a live-in situation with Farrah Fawcett. One of his kids was Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal.

“`Originally, O’Neal trained to fight as a Golden Gloves boxer.  He also earned steady work as an extra, a stuntman and finally, an actor on television. He guest-starred in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Bachelor Father, The Untouchables, Leave It to Beaver, Wagon Train, My Three SonsThe Virginian and Perry Mason. His performance on Peyton Place earned attention from film producers. In addition to his most successful projects mentioned above, he also starred in Barry Lyndon, A Bridge Too Far and The Main Event.

“`O’Neal remained a fav in the tabloids, He was linked in romances with Bianca Jagger, Anouk Aimée, Jacqueline Bisset, Ursula Andress, Barbra Streisand, Joan Collins, Diana Ross, Melanie Griffith and Anjelica Huston.  In February 2021, O’Neal and Ali MacGraw were bestowed stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, nearly fifty years after the release of Love Story.

“`The tumultuous life of Ryan O’Neal (above right) ended this week. He was eighty-two.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Those Were the Days…

December 6th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`A transformational shift in sitcoms occurred due to the efforts of M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore and especially Norman Lear. It was Lear who considered topical political and social themes that had been previously recognized as taboo in television. Lear also introduced us to Archie Bunker, Fred Sanford and Maude, among others.

“`The moment which had inspired a lifetime of cultural advocacy was when he first came across anti-Semitic Catholic radio priest Father Charles Coughlin while tinkering with his crystal radio set. Norman became an outspoken supporter of First Amendment and liberal causes.

“`A comedy writer and film director (he wrote and produced the 1967 film Divorce American Style and directed the 1971 film Cold Turkey, both starring Dick Van Dyke), Lear tried to sell a concept for a sitcom about a blue-collar American family. After a third pilot was taped, CBS picked up the show, known as All in the Family. An instant success, it spawned a number of spin-offs, including Maude, Good Times, The Jefferson’s, One Day at a Time and Archie Bunker’s Place. Another big hit, Sanford and Son, was based on a British sitcom, Steptoe and Son. Lear also developed the cult favorite, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. Among the films he eventually produced:  The Princess Bride, Fried Green Tomatoes and Start The Revolution Without Me.

“`Lear received many awards, including six Primetime Emmys, two Peabody’s, National Medal of Arts, Kennedy Center Honors, and Golden Globe Carol Burnett Award. He was a member of the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

“`On a personal note, I had the pleasure to enjoy a live episode of All in the Family while in the studio audience in the 1970s. About a decade ago, I actually met Norman Lear backstage at an event honoring Michael Feinstein. He was lucid and self-deprecating in his humor.

“`Norman Lear (above right) was 101.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Podcast on Spotify…

December 5th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Manny Pacheco’s Forgotten Hollywood podcast on Spotify. This show is streamed each week! And you can listen for FREE…

“`Episode ninety-four is on the cloud. Our final original episode is the presentation of a radio drama, It’s a Wonderful Life.  First presented in 2020 by the Carlisle Theatre in Carlisle, Pennsylvania under the direction of Artistic Director Ashley Byerts. The performance features the Carlisle acting troupe, Player’s On High, and voice actors from around the country.

I was honored to be a featured talent in this production and I play Clarence, the Angel.  This performance has been artificially aged to give it a feel that you are listening to a 1940s radio drama. I believe this is a fitting way to bid adieu to Manny Pacheco’s Forgotten Hollywood!

Now, sit back as we travel to Bedford Falls for the presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life.

~ ~ ~

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK to also listen to the previous ninety-three episodes.

“`If you do not subscribe to Spotify, you can still listen to Forgotten Hollywood on Castos. And no membership is necessary. PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK:

https://manny-pachecos-forgotten-hollywood.castos.com/episodes/ep-93-happiest-place-on-line-112223?_gl=1*1y2kxhh*_gcl_au*MjA2Nzc5NDYyNi4xNjk0ODI5MzMx

Until next time>                               “never forget” 

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Children of Your Show of Shows…

November 27th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen and Neil Simon all found their footing as movie makers while as a writing team for the iconic variety series, Your Show of Shows. Celebrating Act 2 takes a glimpse at the influence this television program had on cinema!

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Scary Monsters…

November 13th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Today, I join Art Kirsch and John Coleman on  Celebrating Act 2 to enjoy a post-Halloween discussion about the scariest monsters on the silver screen tinged with blood! We will try not to frighten you too much!

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Sunday with Robert Youngson…

November 3rd, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Well, the day is finally here! Sunday night prime time programming at TCM will highlight an evening with Robert Youngson. Again, I want to sincerely thank Vice President of Programming Charlie Tabesh for taking my suggestion at the TCM Film Festival and then letting me know of his intentions to offer this bill of fair on November 5th. He sent me a few emails to assure me that this was going to happen!

“`Beginning at 8p Eastern (5p Pacific), TCM will present The Golden Age of Comedy, When Comedy was King and The Big Parade of Comedy, all cinematic compilations by Youngson. And they will be a natural lead in to their normal Silent Sundays feature.

 

“`Forgotten Hollywood, in collaboration with the Laurel and Hardy International Appreciation Society, has been campaigning to get The Golden Age of Comedy and/or When Comedy was King into the Library of Congress National Film Registry. A panel of film historians are currently finalizing the twenty-five selections for the Class of 2023. It was incredibly kind of TCM to showcase the work of Robert Youngson in an effort to help our campaign.

“`On a very sad note, one of our chief supporters of this campaign suddenly passed away this week. John Field was the Grand Sheik of the Saps at Sea tent in San Diego; a chapter with the L&H society. He died in his sleep and he was sixty-five. His help in getting the members of the society from all over the globe to campaign and vote was appreciated. John was a very special person.

“`I know where I will be on Sunday evening. I hope all my friends who enjoy TCM will join me in our celebration of the great Robert Youngson and the works he created that helped preserve silent comedies. They also served as an introduction to a joy of slapstick silent comedy for the baby-boomers generation. Please cue Chopin’s Tristesse!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Celebrating Guilty Pleasures…

October 31st, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2 takes a look at movies made to just entertain an audience. These are not necessarily Oscar-worthy cinema. They are just fun… just like Art Kirsch and John Coleman.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Two Beauties…

October 17th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Hollywood lost two wonderfully talented television stars this past couple of days. They were bold in their efforts to fashion remarkable careers on and off the screen.

=========================

“`Suzanne Somers was an actress, author, singer, businesswoman and health spokesperson. She is best known for her role as Chrissy on Three’s Company. Her memorable appearance as the girl in the T-Bird in American Graffiti earned her attention by Hollywood studios.

“`In the 1980s, Somers lived in Las Vegas and was an entertainer, headlining at the former MGM Grand until the theater burned down and then at the Las Vegas Hilton. In the early 1990s, Somers was the spokeswoman in a series of infomercials for the Thighmaster.   She was eventually inducted into the Infomercial Hall of Fame.

“`Suzanne Somers was seventy-six.

   

“`Lara Parker was an actor and novelist. She is best remembered as the witch Angelique on the gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows. Originally introduced to explain how Jonathan Frid’s popular character Barnabas Collins had become a vampire, Parker was so popular with fans that she remained with the show until it ended in 1971.

“`In 1998, Parker published her first book: Angelique’s Descent. She followed with The Salem Branch, Wolf Moon Rising and Heiress Of Collinwood. She attended Dark Shadows conventions with other cast members from the show.

“`I moderated a panel that included Parker and another Dark Shadows regular Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans) while at a book fair in El Segundo in 2014. They were gracious in taking a photo with me (above right). The soap opera was actually my favorite program on television in the 1960s, so this was a rare treat.

“`Lara Parker was eighty-four.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Bad Guys So Mean…

October 16th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Celebrating Act 2, with John Coleman and Art Kirsch, enters the dark side with a look at very mean characters on screen. This conversation will keep you up at night!

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Remembering Piper (and Others)…

October 14th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Piper Laurie was an underrated actress,  who was spectacular in almost everything she appeared in. She is best know for her Oscar-nominated roles in The Hustler, Carrie and Children of a Lesser God. On television, she was in the original production of Days and Wine and Roses and she was memorable on the television series, Twin Peaks.

“`In 1949, she signed with Universal and changed her screen name to Piper Laurie.  While on the lot, she made friends with James Best, Julie Adams, Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson. She dated Ronald Reagan before he married Nancy Davis.

“`The actress negotiated herself out of the contract with Universal in the mid-1950s after a series of ingenue roles in mediocre films. She turned in an impressive performance in Robert Wise’s Until They Sail in 1957. Discouraged by the lack of substantial film roles, she moved to New York City to study acting and to seek work on stage and in television.  Laurie married Joseph Morgenstern, a New York Herald Tribune entertainment writer and Wall Street Journal movie critic. She left show business to start a family.

“`By the mid-70s,  she was ready to work again and appeared in a Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie. On television, she guest-starred in Naked City, Ben Casey, The Thorn Birds, St. Elsewhere, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, ER, Will & Grace and Frasier.

“`Piper Laurie (above right) was ninety-one.

===================================

“`Mark Goddard was an actor who starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series, Lost in Space.  He also played Detective Chris Ballard in The Detectives.  He guest-starred in Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Adam-12, The Fugitive, The Mod Squad and Barnaby Jones.

“`Mark Goddard was eighty-seven.

 

MARK GODDARD              PHYLLIS COATES

“`Phyllis Coates was an actress, with a career spanning over fifty years.  She was best known for her portrayal of reporter Lois Lane in the 1951 film  Superman and the Mole Men and in the first season of the television series Adventures of Superman. Noel Neill, who had played Lois Lane in two  Superman serials, in 1948 and 1950, replaced Coates, who was not available for the second season.

“`Her career began at 20th Century Fox,  co-starring in the Joe McDoakes two-reelers.  On television, she guest-starred in Lassie, Leave it to Beaver, Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, The Untouchables and The Patty Duke Show.

“`Phyllis Coates was ninety-six.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- Celebrating The Big Apple…

October 2nd, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`Today, John Coleman, Art Kirsch and I stroll through Central Park, walk across from the Empire State Building and check out Time Square as Celebrating Act 2 looks at movies about New York.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

“Forgotten Hollywood”- The Pal from U.N.C.L.E…

September 25th, 2023

Manny P. here…

“`David McCallum was a Scottish actor,  who gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television program The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  His brand personified the British Invasion, which included The Beatles, James Bond and Twiggy.

“`In his youth, he attended Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Joan Collins was a classmate. After a stint at BBC Radio, McCallum began working in motion pictures and television.  On the big screen, he co-starred in A Night to Remember, Billy Budd, The Great Escape, The Greatest Story Ever Told and One of Our Spies is Missing.

“`Once he was cast in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., he became a sex symbol with his Beatles-style blond haircut and was elevated to co-star status. While playing Kuryakin, McCallum got more fan mail than any other actor in MGM’s history,  including such popular actors as Clark Gable, Robert Taylor and Elvis Presley. He also received two Emmy nominations in the course of the show’s four-year run for playing the intellectual and introverted secret agent.

“`He also guest-starred in small screen shows, including The Outer Limits, Perry Mason, Hullabaloo, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, Night Gallery, The Six-Million Dollar Man, Hart to Hart, The A-Team, Matlock, McCloud and Murder She Wrote. McCallum never quite repeated the popular success he had gained as Kuryakin until he was cast in NCIS.

“`For a time he was married to Jill Ireland. She met Charles Bronson while McCallum worked with the actor in The Great Escape. After their divorce, she wed Bronson.

“`David McCallum (above right) was ninety.

Until next time>                               “never forget”