Manny P. here…
“`John Coleman, Art Kirsch and I reflect on the upcoming 2023 TCM Film Festival and their celebration of Warner Brothers. Great movies, lots of movie stars and aficianados and of course, die-hard fans from all over the world. It is a Celebrating Act 2 classic conversation!
“`Enjoy the rundown!
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`It is appropriate that Art Kirsch, John Coleman and I profile one of the men who provided the soundtrack of the mid-twentieth century… The prolific Burt Bacharach. His collaborations with Hal David and Dionne Warwick remain legendary. Celebrating Act 2 reflects on a life well spent.
“`Enjoy!
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here… 
“`Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to one of the storied film studios as it celebrates its centennial. The cable channel honors Warner Brothers for the entire month of April. Every screening, including documentaries, trailers, archival interviews, shorts and Looney Tunes cartoons, will begin with the familiar WB logo.
“`The retrospective begins with the 1924 silent version of Beau Brummel and concludes with Going in Style, starring George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg, in his final film role. In between, Warner Brothers will round up the usual suspects such as Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sheridan, Olivia de Havilland and John Garfield, among others, in legendary cinema.
“`The network will debut the restorations / remasters of ten iconic movies made at the studio, including East of Eden, The Strawberry Blonde and Rachel Rachel. TCM will additionally premiere Full Metal Jacket, Million Dollar Baby and Argo. The TCM Film Festival will put a spotlight on the legacy of Warner Brothers. The theme of the event: You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet, the quote from the initial talkie, The Jazz Singer, and produced at the pioneering studio. The opening night screening will be the restored version of Rio Bravo and Angie Dickinson will introduce the iconic Western.
“`Founded by Albert, Sam, Harry and Jack Warner and incorporated on April 4, 1923, Warner Brothers is home to one of the most successful brands in the world and is at the forefront of every aspect of the movie entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, streaming, videogames, consumer products and live experiences.
“`Warner Brothers owns TCM, so it is an accomodating collaborative effort!
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`The Columbus Moving Picture Show is a Memorial Day weekend tradition with four days of movies, cinephiles and items to be purchased in the spacious dealer room. As they say… A film fan’s paradise! The itinerary includes silent films with piano accompaniment, comedy two-reelers and flicks in fabulous Technicolor. I am making my initial appearance at this legendary motion picture festival. I am planning to host a Forgotten Hollywood seminar, conduct a book signing and spend treasured time at my table in the dealer room.
“`My first assignment was an engaging interview on their Columbus Moving Picture Show podcast. I joined host Samantha Glasser and interview correspondent Caroline Breder-Watts for an engaging chat about by Forgotten Hollywood franchise. Also featured is Mark Kratzner, the curator at the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy in Vincennes, Indiana. Here is a link to the conversations:
“`The Renaissance Hotel in Downtown, Columbus from May 25th to May 28th. I will be in the dealer’s room all day on Friday and Saturday. My Forgotten Hollywood oral presentation takes place on Saturday at 10a, followed by a book-signing.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`Art Kirsch, John Coleman and I circle the globe to visit famous landmarks used in cinema, such as the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, United Nations, Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge, Disneyland, and of course, Mount Rushmore. This Celebrating Act 2 discussion feels like vacation.
“`Enjoy!
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`Robert Blake was an actor known for his roles in the 1967 movie In Cold Blood and the 1970s television series Baretta. He began acting as a child in the Our Gang short film series from 1939 to 1944.
“`Blake’s parents began a song-and-dance act. Their three kids began performing with them as the Three Little Hillbillies. They moved to Los Angeles where the children performed as extras. In The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Blake played the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket and gets a glass of water thrown in his face by Bogie in the process.
“`Blake entered Jeff Corey’s acting class and began working on improving his personal and professional life. He became a seasoned Hollywood actor in dramatic roles in movies and on television. In 1959, he turned down the role of Little Joe Cartwright, ultimately portrayed by Michael Landon in NBC’s western television series Bonanza.
“`On the big screen, Blake was memorable in Pork Chop Hill, Town without Pity, PT 109, Ensign Pulver, The Greatest Story Ever Told, This Property is Condemned, Tell Them Willie Boy is Here and Electra Glide in Blue. In 1967, Blake had a career breakout due to his work in the film In Cold Blood. He played real-life murderer Perry Smith. Richard Brooks received two Oscar nominations for the film: one for his direction, and one for his adaptation of Truman Capote’s book.
“`Blake enjoyed signature work in Baretta, part of the many cop dramas that were popular in the 1970s. He won an Emmy for playing a street-wise, plain clothes police detective. The show trademark was Baretta’s pet cockatoo Fred.
“`On May 4, 2001, Blake took his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley out to Vitello’s Italian Restaurant in Studio City, California. Bakley was fatally shot in the head while sitting in Blake’s vehicle as she waited for him to return from the restaurant. On April 22, 2002, he was charged with one count of murder with special circumstances, an offense which carried a possible death penalty. On March 16, 2005, Blake was found not guilty of murder. The incident haunted the rest of his life.
“`Robert Blake (above right) was eighty-nine.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`Chaim Topol was an Israeli actor, singer and illustrator. He is best known as Tevye, the lead role in the stage musical Fiddler on the Roof and in the 1971 film adaptation. He performed the role more than 3,500 times from the late 1960s through 2009. He was hailed as Israel’s only internationally recognized entertainer from the 1960s through the 1980s.
“`Topol began acting during his Israeli army service in the Nahal entertainment troupe and later toured Israel with kibbutz and satirical theatre companies. He was a co-founder of the Haifa Theatre. His cinematic breakthrough part came in 1964 as the title character in Sallah Shabati. In 1966, Topol made his English-language film debut in Cast a Giant Shadow.
“`In casting the 1971 screen version of Fiddler on the Roof, director Norman Jewison and his production crew looked for a thespian other than Zero Mostel for the lead role. The decision was decidely controversial, as Zero had made the part famous in the long-running Broadway show and he campaigned to star in the film. Danny Kaye, Herschel Bernardi, Rod Steiger, Danny Thomas, Walter Matthau, Richard Burton and Frank Sinatra had also expressed interest in the part.
“`Topol initially played Tevye in the Israeli production in 1966. Harold Prince and Jerome Robbins created the London musical with Topol as their lead. Both were surprised that he was many years younger than expected. A few months after the opening, Topol was called up for reserve duty in the Six-Day War and he returned to Israel. He was assigned to an army entertainment troupe on the Golan Heights. Topol went on to appear in more than thirty films in Israel and United States, including Galileo, Flash Gordon and For Your Eyes Only.
“`Topol was the founder of Variety Israel, an organization serving children with special needs, and Jordan River Village, a year-round camp for Arab and Jewish children with life-threatening illnesses, for which he served as chairman of the board. In 2015, Topol was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement. The year before, the University of Haifa conferred upon Topol an honorary degree in recognition of his fifty years of activity in Israel’s cultural and public life.
“`A fine actor and a great humanitarian, Chaim Topol was eighty-seven.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`I am proud to join Art Kirsch and John Coleman in profiling on Celebrating Act 2 one of the all-time greats, the gritty and immensely talented Barbara Stanwyck. She never delivered a bad performance. Her films were so much better because of her presence.
“`Enjoy!
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here… 
“`Walter Mirisch was a film producer, who was president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film company, which he formed in 1957 with brothers, Marvin and Harold. They became responsible for some of the most familiar motion pictures in the last fifty years of the twentieth century. Known in the industry as a perfectionist, he supervised every detail of his films from the earliest stages to the final release.
“`At the age of twenty-nine, Mirisch became production head at Allied Artists Studio, initially only a division of Monogram. Among other films, he supervised the productions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Friendly Persuasion, and the Billy Wilder-directed Love in the Afternoon.
“`The Mirisch Company produced sixty-eight films for United Artists, including three that won the Best Picture Oscars – The Apartment, West Side Story and In the Heat of the Night. Other productions were very popular cinema in Hollywood. They include: Some Like it Hot, The Magnificent Seven, the remake of Kid Galahad (with Elvis), The Great Escape, Two for the Seesaw, The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming, A Shot in the Dark, The Pink Panther, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Midway, Fiddler on the Roof and The Thomas Crown Affair.
“`Honored many time by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Producers Guild of America, Mirisch was revered by his colleagues. He served as president of the Producers Guild and Motion Picture Academy at various stages during his long distinguished career.
“`The beloved Walter Mirisch was 101.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`Art Kirsch, John Coleman and I profile the amazing Max Steiner, who defined the music score at the dawn of talkies. His influence was long-reaching and extends to this very day.
“`Enjoy another fun episode of Celebrating Act 2!
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here… 
“`Stella Stevens was a very engaging actress who was a very nimble comedianne. She also worked as a film producer, director and writer. She appeared in three Playboy pictorials, and was a Playmate of the Month for January 1960.
“`Her schooling included a couple of years at Memphis State, where she was noticed in the school play Bus Stop. The Memphis Press-Scimitar review of that performance sparked her career.
“`After co-starring in Li’l Abner, she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures. In 1960, she won the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year – Actress for her performance in Say One for Me with Bing Crosby, sharing the distinction with fellow up-and-comers Tuesday Weld and Angie Dickinson.
“`Stevens had roles in Girls Girls Girls, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Silencers, The Nutty Professor, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows and The Poseidon Adventure. During the 1960s, she was one of the most photographed women in the world.
“`On television, Stevens guest-starred in Bonanza, Ben Casey, Police Story, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Wonder Woman, Night Court, Magnum P. I. and Murder She Wrote. She also spent a couple of seasons on Santa Barbara and General Hospital. Her voice was featured on the theme songs of The Patty Duke Show and The Flinstones.
“`Stella Stevens (above right) was eighty four.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`For many baby-boomers, Raquel Welch was a cultural icon. She was more than an actress, she remains a part of our memories that included Laugh-In, Woodstock, The Graduate and Andy Warhol. And Welch redefined the traditional image of the Hollywood sex symbol with her portrayals of strong women in dozens of movies in the 1960s and 1970s.
“`Born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, her family moved to California and she studied ballet before entering a series of beauty contests. Welch briefly earned a living as a model and cocktail waitress before applying for film roles and breaking into the movie business with cameo parts, including in Elvis Presley’s Roustabout.
“`Welch burst onto the scene after appearing in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B. C. Still photos and posters of her clad in a deer-skinned bikini made her a best-selling pinup and a global icon of beauty. Other movies include Bedazzled, Bandalero!, The Magic Christian, Kansas City Bomber, Mother Juggs and Speed, Legally Blonde and The Last of Sheila.
“`She was not above taking chances by accepting roles turned down by other actresses. In Myra Breckinridge, she portrayed a trans-woman. And she displayed delightful villainy in the Musketeers series of movies. Critics applauded her range and she took home a Golden Globe for The Three Musketeers.
“`On television, Welch guest-starred in Bewitched, The Virginian, Saturday Night Live, McHale’s Navy, Mork and Mindy, The Muppet Show and Seinfeld. In 1994, she earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“`She became an entrepreneur was involved in a successful line of wigs HairUWear, as well as a collection of jewelry and skin-care products. Playboy ranked her #3 in its 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century. Though she posed for the magazine in 1979, she never did a nude photo shoot. She wanted to be remembered for her body of work and not just her… body!
“`Raquel Welch was eighty-two… I officially feel old.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`IT’S OFFICIAL!
“`Forgotten Hollywood is teaming with the International Laurel and Hardy Society in an effort to send the film work of Robert Youngson into the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2023. A two-time Oscar-winning documentarian, Youngson was one of the first advocates in the preservation of silent films. He did so through a series of flicks over the course of a dozen years. We are campaigning to get The Golden Age of Comedy and/or When Comedy was King selected by the Film Registry, an annual process held at the end of each calendar year. Robert Youngson was truly the Martin Scorsese of his day.
“`Why are The Golden Age of Comedy and When Comedy was King worthy of attention? Here are my compelling arguments:
“`The best news… It is FREE to vote on the Library of Congress website. And it only takes a couple of minutes. We are not asking for donations or a lot of your time. Simply exercise your franchise and support the genius of a cinematic pioneer who dedicated his attention to saving silent comedy. He also introduced the genre to the baby-boomer generation starting in 1957.
“`While on the website, you can vote (FREE) for up to fifty productions not included in the Film Registry and they provide a list of movies still not in. And that list is quite extensive. They also ask you to single out a couple as to why they deserve special merit. The above reasons should be compelling. Click on the link below to enter the Library of Congress site:
https://www.research.net/r/national-fim-registry-nomination-form
“`On behalf of the International Laurel and Hardy Society and Forgotten Hollywood, please let me offer my heartfelt thank you, in advance. Cinema needs preserving and Robert Youngson is worthy of our appreciation. Did I mention it is FREE to vote?
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here… 
“`Burt Bacharach was a composer that helped define the 1960s. His massive work with Hal David and Dionne Warwick led to a string of easy-listening hits. Bacharach also contributed to the mid-century cinema soundtrack. More than twelve-hundred artists performed his compositions, which won six Grammys and three Oscars.
“`Bacharach showed a keen interest in jazz as a teen and he used a fake identification to gain admission into nightclubs. He absorbed bebop music from Dizzy Gillespie and jazz from Count Basie, which later influenced his songwriting. Bacharach served in the Army during the Korean War, but wore a tuxedo instead of military fatigues while playing piano in officers’ clubs across America.
“`He worked in New York and became the pianist-arranger for Marlene Dietrich, Vic Damone, Steve Lawrence, the Ames Brothers and Polly Bergen. Once he teamed with David, success came early and often, as they worked with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels and Jerry Butler. Early hits included Tower of Strength, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Baby It’s You, Only Love Can Break a Heart, Any Day Now and Make it Easy on Yourself.
“`His breadth of work was imposing with hits such as Don’t Make Me Over, Anyone Who Had a Heart, Walk On By, I Say a Little Prayer for You, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, Promises Promises, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Wishin’ and Hopin’, Blue on Blue, Wives and Lovers, My Little Red Book, A House is Not a Home, (There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me, The Look of Love, What the World Needs Now is Love, What’s New Pussycat, Alfie, Casino Royale, (They Long to Be) Close to You, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, One Less Bell to Answer, This Guys in Love with You, Arthur’s Theme, On My Own, That’s What Friends are For and The Theme from The Blob. Whew!!
“`He made personal appearances in the Austin Powers series of flicks. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Bacharach and David at number thirty-two for their one-hundred Greatest Songwriters of All Time. The duo also received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first time the honor has been given to a songwriting team. And he was married for a time to actress Angie Dickinson and songwriter Carole Bayer Sager.
“`One of the most influential composers of twentieth-century popular music, Burt Bacharach (above right) was ninety-four.
Until next time> “never forget”
Manny P. here…
“`It is time for my annual chat with John Coleman and Art Kirsch with regards to the SAG Awards, They pick my brain to find out which films to watch over the next upcoming month. Always an engaging discussion!
“`Enjoy!!
Until next time> “never forget”
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