Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`Turner Classic Movies is joining filmmaker Joshua Grossberg, who is leading a second search to Brazil to locate missing reels of the 1942 production The Magnificent Ambersons in the hope of restoring the film for the big screen. TCM is sponsoring the latest leg of Grossberg’s search and producing a documentary entitled, The Search for the Lost Print:  The Making of Orson Welles’  The Magnificent Ambersons.  This celluloid chronicle will cover the twenty-five-year effort Grossberg has already endured to attempt to find it.

“`Here is the back story…  After disastrous test screenings of The Magnificent Ambersons, the movie studio RKO decided to prune forty-three minutes from the production and added a new, more optimistic ending, all without Welles permission.  This original footage was melted down for its nitrate for use in World War II and has been considered lost ever since. However, one celluloid copy was sent to the director who was working in Brazil on his next flick. Welles would walk away from Hollywood and forge a path as an independent storyteller and director for the rest of his career.

“`Grossberg’s return trip to Brazil begins in Fall 2021. The Search for the Lost Print will include production photos and first-hand accounts from those who viewed it and chronicle the story of Grossberg’s search as well as discuss Welles’ exile from Hollywood after the events.

“`This documentary premieres on TCM in July 2022 to honor the film’s eightieth anniversary. If a print is found and in viable condition, Grossberg and TCM will restore  The Magnificent Ambersons to premiere alongside the documentary’s release.

“`Grossberg and TCM released a video on Instagram announcing the project and his quest to find the lost cut. Click on the link to watch:

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Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Prince Philip was Queen Elizabeth’s husband who helped modernize the monarchy and steer the British royal family through repeated crises during seven decades of service. The Duke of Edinburgh, as he was officially known, had been by his bride’s side throughout her sixty-nine-year reign, the longest in British history. During that time, he earned a reputation for a tough, no-nonsense attitude.

“`Phillip was born on the island of Corfu on June 10, 1921,  the fifth child and the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece. A former naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the war, he was mentioned in dispatches for bravery. Phillip was a qualified pilot and an accomplished sailor. His wartime service saw him present at the 1945 Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.

“`Distant relations, Philip married Elizabeth in 1947. He found it difficult to give up the military career he loved and to take on the job as the monarch’s consort, for which there was no clear-cut provision.  While constitutionally excluded from vast areas of the Queen’s professional life, he feared the monarchy could become a political museum piece. His suggestions affected royal protocol, and he tackled such issues as conservation, science, industry and religion. Phillip also took a keen interest in young people. Personal family decisions were a joint effort made by the Queen and her Prince.

PRINCE PHILLIP (THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH)    QUEEN ELIZABETH II

“`Phillip has been portrayed on celluloid in the film, The Queen, and on the Netflix series, The Crown. Actors taking on the role include James Cromwell, Tobias Menzies, Matt Smith and Christopher Lee.

“`Assigned to a lifetime of service, Phillip made over 22,000 solo appearances. He retired from public life in August 2017.  His final official appearance was last July at a military ceremony at Windsor Castle. He spent four weeks in hospital earlier this year for treatment for an infection and to have a heart procedure, but returned to Windsor in early March.

“`The coronavirus pandemic could have an impact on carefully established plans for Phillip’s funeral. With restrictions still in place amid the Covid-19 outbreak, all public elements of the final farewell will not be able to take place in their original form. Flags at Buckingham Palace and at government buildings across Britain were lowered to half-mast and within an hour of the announcement, the public began to lay flowers outside Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

“`Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh was ninety-nine.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Two familiar faces during television’s Golden Age have crossed the rainbow bridge. The first entry… we celebrate the one-year anniversary of his passing.

~  ~  ~

“`James Drury was an actor best remembered as the star of The Virginian. It ran on NBC for nine seasons.  His starring turn on the western guaranteed appearances on many small screen programs, including  Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Rawhide, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,  The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Ironside, and Walker Texas Ranger.

“`Prior to his work on television, Drury co-starred in classic movies, such  The Blackboard Jungle, Forbidden Planet, Love Me or Leave Me, The Tender Trap, Love Me Tender, Pollyanna, and Ride the High Country. He was fortunate to work with Glenn Ford, James Cagney, Sidney Poitier, Doris Day, Walter Pidgeon, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Joel McCrea, and Randolph Scott.

“`James Drury actually died on April 6, 2020 and was eighty-five.

JAMES DRURY  HERBERT ANDERSON  JAY NORTH  GLORIA HENRY

`

“`Gloria Henry was an actress best known as the mother of Dennis the Menace. Typecast as Alice Mitchell, her career was brief.

“`On the big screen, Henry was cast in Kill the Umpire, Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back, Johnny Allegro, Miss Grant Takes Richmond, and Rancho Notorious. On television, she guest-starred in  The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Hazel, Perry Mason, The Life of Riley, Father Knows Best, Falcon Crest, and Dallas.

“`Gloria Henry turned nighty-eight on Saturday.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Turner Classic Movies is presenting their annual retrospective of classic cinema packaged as 31 Days of Oscar. The screenings began on April 1st and they run until May 1st. Each film shown was nominated for an Oscar. Art Kirsch and John Coleman, hosts of Celebrating Act 2, have asked me to chat about this yearly pilgrimage to movie nirvana.

“`By the way, each of the TCM hosts have selected five movies they are most looking forward to watching. Here are my five (pst):

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (Monday, April 12th at 2:15p)

My Favorite Year (Sunday, April 18th at 9:30a)

Nebraska (Sunday, April 18th at 5p)

Ship of Fools (Sunday, April 25th at 9a)

Twelve Angry Men (Thursday, April 29th at 11:15p)

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`I have come across a YouTube video that highlights each cameo Alfred Hitchcock made in his movie productions. He eventually opened every episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, just as Rod Serling did on The Twilight Zone. Hitch was such a film hog.

“`What a real treat for the movie aficionado and fans of the master of suspense!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`While there are alcoholic beverages available at California Adventure or Downtown Disney, many guests would like a glass of wine or a beer when sitting down to a warm meal at the Blue Bayou. And that is what will be new on the menu when the popular restaurant reopens.

“`Guests will only be able to order from a limited selection of beer, wine, and a signature cocktail. All beverages must be consumed within the establishment and will be limited to a maximum of two adult drinks, per guest.

“`Blue Bayou is not expected to reopen on April 30th with the rest of the park. New guidelines do allow for indoor dining in theme parks, but Disney is simply not ready yet. So, this location will wait. One thing is for sure… they have been working on their menus.

“`Let me raise a glass and offer a toast to the Blue Bayou at New Orleans Square.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The SAG Awards are this weekend, and I have officially voted for my favorite nominees in the fields of film and television. As a voting member, I evaluate each nominee in the specific categories. Join Art Kirsch, John Coleman and me to discuss my cinematic cast selections on Celebrating Act 2:

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Be part of a a free webinar from the Cypress Chamber of Commerce called Getting Your Message Out: Tips on Marketing and Promoting Your Business by using press releases, media outlets, and social media with a fine panel of experts. I am thrilled to be one of the panelists.

Manny P. here…

“`Larry McMurtry was the popular scribe of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove. His tales resonated on the big screen as The Last Picture Show, Terms of Endearment, and Brokeback Mountain will attest. He earned an Academy Award for his latter work. In fact, flicks adapted from McMurtry’s works have earned thirty-four  Oscar nominations

“`McMurtry was born into a family of ranchers. He penned his initial novel, Horseman Pass By, at the age of twenty-five in 1961. It was made into the movie Hud starring Paul Newman that came out two years later. Productions that found its way on the big screen and on television include  Texasville, Falling From Grace, The Evening Star, The Murder of Mary Phagan, and Streets of Laredo.

“`During the 1960–1961 academic year, McMurtry was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University’s Creative Writing Center,  studying the craft of fiction under Frank O’Connor and Malcolm Cowley, alongside other aspiring novelists, including Ken Kesey, Peter S. Beagle, and Gurney Norman. McMurtry remained lifelong pals with Kesey and eventually wed his widow.

“`McMurtry was a rare-book aficianado. During his years in Houston, he managed a book store called The Bookman. In 1969, he moved to the Washington, D.C. area. A year later, with two partners, he started a book shop in Georgetown, calling it  Booked Up. He eventually opened another Booked Up in Archer City. It became one of the largest used bookstores in the United States. As sales of books became less popular, he downsized his inventory and properties.

“`Larry McMurtry was eighty-four.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Jessica Walter had a storied career as an actress. She was well known as a murderous stalker in Play Misty For Me. The performance earned her a Golden Globes nod. On television, she was a familiar face for over forty years. She was wed to actor Ron Leibman until his death in 2019.

“`Walter studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.  Her father was was a member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra and NYC Ballet Orchestra. She began acting on stage and won the Clarence Derwent Award for Outstanding Debut Broadway Performance in Photo Finish. Besides Play Misty For Me, she was notably cast in Grand Prix.               JESSICA WALTER –>

“`Walter excelled in television. She was in the first episode of Flipper and guest-starred in Naked City, Ben Casey, Route 66, The Fugitive, The F. B. I., Mannix, The Magician, Trapper John M. D., Mission:  Impossible, The Name of the Game, Alias Smith and Jones, Cannon, Banacek, Barnaby Jones, Columbo, Hawaii 5-0, McCloud, Ironside, Magnum P. I.,  The Streets of San Francisco, Murder She Wrote, Three’s a Crowd, Law & Order, Knott’s Landing, and eighty-two episodes of Arrested Development.

“`Jessica Walter was eighty.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`George Segal was the banjo player-turned-thespian who received an Oscar nomination for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  His face was familiar in iconic motion pictures churned out in the 1960s and 1970s.

“`Segal initially became interested in acting at the age of nine, when he saw Alan Ladd in This Gun for Hire. After college and the army, Segal eventually studied at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, and became the understudy in a Broadway production of The Iceman Cometh.

“`He was signed to a Columbia Pictures contract in 1961, making his movie debut in The Young Doctors. What followed was appearances in a number of film productions, including The Longest Day, Invitation to a Gunfighter, Ship of Fools, No Way to Treat a Lady, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Hot Rock, A Touch of Class, Where’s Poppa?, The Bridge at Remagen, King Rat, The Owl and the Pussycat, The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, Fun with Dick and Jane, and Blume in Love.

“`On the small screen, Segal was a series regular in Take Five, Murphy’s Law, Just Shoot Me!, Retired at 35, and most notably, The Goldbergs. He also guest-starred in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Naked City, Murder She Wrote, The Larry Sanders Show, Caroline in the City, Boston Legal, and The Simpsons. In 1976, Segal co-hosted the Academy Awards along with Gene Kelly, Goldie Hawn, Walter Matthau, and Robert Shaw.

“`Segal was also an accomplished banjo player. He released three albums and also performed with the instrument in several of his acting roles and on late-night television.

“`George Segal (above right) was eighty-seven.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Mad Magazine cartoonist Al Jaffe is celebrating a century of life. He is known for work in the satiric periodical, including a trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in. He had been a constant contributor to the magazine for six decades and he was its longest-serving employee. With a career running from 1942 – 2020, Jaffee holds the Guinness World Record for having the longest-ever career as a cartoonist. In the fifty years between April 1964 and April 2013, only one issue of Mad was published without containing new material by Jaffee. —–>

“`Jaffee initially appeared in Mad in 1955, an issue after its transformation from a comic book format to magazine. In issue #86, He created his longest-running Mad feature, the Fold-In. It appeared in almost every issue of the magazine from 1964 – 2020.  A four-volume hardcover boxed set,  The Mad Fold-In Collection:  1964 – 2010, was published by  Chronicle Books in September 2011.

Courtesy of MAD MAGAZINE

“`Jaffee announced in June 2020 that he would retire. In his honor, Mad published a tribute issue. The cartoonist takes it all in stride, noting: Serious people my age are dead.

“`Happy birthday to the remarkable Al Jaffee!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`Yaphet Kotto was an actor who thrived in cinema, television and on Broadway. He was best known for his roles in Midnight Run, as the James Bond villain Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, and in the original Alien flick.

YAPHET KOTTO

“`While in his teens, Kotto was studying acting at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio. He made his stage debut in a Boston production of Othello.  In 1969, he replaced James Earl Jones in the Pulitzer-winning The Great White Hope on Broadway.

“`Kotto’s film debut was in 1963 in an uncredited role in 4 For Texas. Other parts included The Thomas Crowne Affair, 5 Card Stud, Brubaker, The Running Man, and The Star Chamber. On television, he guest-starred on The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Night Gallery, Mannix, Bonanza, Hawaii 5-0, The A-Team, and Murder She Wrote.  He co-starred in Roots, and won a Best Supporting Actor Emmy as Idi Amin Dada in Raid on Entebbe.

“`Yaphet Kotto was eighty-one.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`The screen pairing of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara was legendary. Art Kirsch and John Coleman have asked me to discuss their staying power on Celebrating Act 2.

“`Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

“`For over one hundred years, Leo the Lion introduced  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films with a triumphant roar as the studio’s mascot. However, MGM has just revealed their first update to its branding since 2012, with footage of a live lion replaced with a digital double.

“`The feline roaring in the current MGM logo has actually had that job since 1957, a total of sixty-four years, which is about forty-nine years longer than the average lion’s lifespan. And before the 1957 version,  there were seven other different lions that played the part of Leo. Occasionally swapping in a new lion has not been a big issue for MGM. But the footage from 1957 is starting to show its age. To future-proof Leo, he has been replaced with a CG lion.

“`The new animated logo was originally going to be introduced in the most recent James Bond flick, No Time to Die.  Since its release has been pushed back several times as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual Leo will instead make his debut with Dog, a comedy set for release in July, and Respect, an Aretha Franklin biopic that will be available in August.

Until next time>                               “never forget”