A great party with wonderful pipa music has already started here.
Quote:
Pipa Song (Pipa Xing)
Bai Juyi (772-846 AD)
Foreword by the poet
In 815 I was demoted from the Capital to a local Officer of Jiujiang Prefecture. One autumn night of the following year, while seeing off friends on a boat leaving Penpu harbor on the Yangtze River, I suddenly heard a pipa tune being played from the neighboring boat. The music style was clearly from the capital. Being totally surprised, I made an inquiry and learned that the musician was a lady who used to be a famous star in the Capital. She studied the pipa with the great Masters Mu and Cao. Then her glorious years past with the time as her beauty faded. Finally she had to lower herself to marry to a merchant. I then invited her to my boat, had the table re-set, and asked her to perform for my friends and myself. When the concert ended, I asked her why she was so sad. She told me of her splendid youth and how she lost her fame and lived a life of a merchant's wife. I had not myself felt depressed since my own departure from the capital. But after I heard her story, that night, the reality of my own demotion sank in. And I could not help but write for her this "Pipa Song", a long poem of six hundred and sixteen characters.
Quote:
One Autumn night on the Yangtze River side,
I bade farewell to my friends on a boat.
Soft wind rustles reeds and maple leaves,
I, the host, dismounted and the guests went aboard.
Cup in hands, but there was no music,
We drank with depressed heart,
Seeing my friends off while the moonlight bathing in the river.
Suddenly the pipa sounds drifting to our ears from a neighboring boat,
My guests forgot to leave and I knew not where we were.
Tracing the sound, we looked for the wonder maker.
The music stopped and there was no sound to hear.
We moved our boat near the musician's to invite
Here to drink at our feast replenished by lamplight.
We urged her over and again until she appeared,
With half her face hiding behind the pipa still.
She turned the pegs and tuned each string few times,
Her music flew out even before playing a note.
Each plug on the string gave a note of melancholy,
Pouring out the resentment of her life.
She knitted up her brows and carried on,
Telling from her heart the life story long.
Now playing softly, now playing swiftly,
She performed first "Liuyiao" and then "Nishang" [2]
The bold strings rattled like splatters of sudden rain,
The fine strings hummed like lovers' whispers.
Chattering and pattering, pattering and chattering,
As pearls, large and small, on a jade plate fall.
The sweet melody recalls oriole singing among flowers,
The sobbing music brings the gushing spring out of glacier,
The spring frozen, the strings ceased vibration.
The water stopped flowing and silence set in.
In my heart, a spell of deep feeling,
At this magical moment, silence tells more than sound.
Suddenly a strain of notes burst out
Like water splattering out of a fallen vase
Or horsemen riding among a forest of spears.
She struck the four strings all at once
As if the silk curtains were ripped with great force.
With her plectrum sweeping over the string,
The music came to an end with a crystal snap.
And tranquil overwhelmed in the boats far and near,
Only the Autumn moon shining in the rever so pale.
Sadly, she put the pick back under the strings
And rose elegantly with her manner respectful,
Saying that she was originated from the capital,
And lived in the famous district of Xiamoling [3].
By thirteen she had mastered the pipa,
And was first among equals at the Imperial Conservatory,
Her art the admiration even of master Shancai,
Her beauty the envy of all pretty girls.
Suitors competed to reward her,
For every song she received endless bolts of silk.
She sang, she beat time, all through the day,
She danced till her head gear fell to the floor.
Wine spilled, skirts stained,
Delicacies rivaled gaieties.
Day after day, and joy upon joy,
Her best years slipped away.
Then her brother joined the army, and her aunt died.
Times changed, and her beauty faded.
Her patrons wandered off, went elsewhere,
And the carriages at her door got fewer and fewer,
Till finally she had to lower herself marry a tea dealer [4].
All he thought of was money, parting never bothers him,
So the month before he'd gone to Fuliang, to buy tea,
And she had been left to tend the boat all alone,
No company but the cold water and the moon.
In the deep of night she would dream of the past,
Awake from Crying, her face wet with tears.
I had sighed when I heard the music,
But now, having heard her story, sadness doubled.
"Both of us are strangers here, both of us stranded,
Does it matter that we've just met, if our hearts understand?
I left the capital a year ago,
And now, a sick exile at JiuJiang, my sorrow grows.
The city is far away, there is no music,
No flute, no pipa, all the year long.
I live, now near Pencheng, damp and low,
Choked with reeds and bamboo.
What do I hear, day and night?
The sad songs of cuckoos, the sad cries of apes.
On a spring day, at the river,
Or on an autumn moonlit night,
Often-I sit up, alone, and sip wine.
There are folk songs, of course, there are village flutes,
But they are so crude and they grate on my ears.
Tonight I heard you play the pipa.
It brightens me like music from Heaven.
Sit down once more, please play an ancore,
And in turn I will write you a "Pipa Song".
Moved by my words, she stood there, silent for a long while,
Then she sat down and quickly tuned her strings again,
Grief-filled and heart-felt she played a different tune.
Tear-soaked, sorrow-laden, all sobbed out at once.
And who was weeping the bitterest tears of all?
The Deputy Chief of Jiujiang Prefecture,
whose blue gown was soaked in tears.
Arthur Kennedy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914 - January 5, 1990) was an American actor.
Life and work
Born John Arthur Kennedy in Worcester, Massachusetts, he acted both on the stage and screen, receiving a Tony Award for the role of Biff Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949). Kennedy also inaugurated three other major characters in Miller plays: Chris Keller in All My Sons (1947), John Proctor in The Crucible (1953), and Walter Franz in The Price (1968). Arthur Kennedy also received five Academy Award nominations.
Kennedy got his break when he was discovered by James Cagney. His first role was of Cagney's younger brother in City for Conquest in 1940. He portrayed good guys and bad guys equally, appearing in Western films and police dramas. He also turned in a worthy performance as a surgeon in 1966's Fantastic Voyage.
He starred in several well-received films in the late 1940s and the 1950s, including High Sierra, They Died with Their Boots On, Boomerang!, Champion, The Window, The Glass Menagerie, Bright Victory, Bend of the River, The Lusty Men, Rancho Notorious, The Desperate Hours, Lawrence of Arabia, The Man From Laramie, The Naked Dawn, Trial, Peyton Place, Some Came Running, A Summer Place and Elmer Gantry.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 07:52 am
Kathleen Freeman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1919 - August 23, 2001) was an American film, television, and stage character actress. In a career that spanned more than fifty years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Freeman began her career as a child, dancing in her parents' vaudeville act. After a stint studying music at UCLA, she went into acting full time, working on the stage, and finally entering films in 1948. Her most notable early role was an uncredited part in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain, as Jean Hagen's articulate diction coach Phoebe Dinsmore.
Beginning with the 1955 film Artists and Models, Freeman became a favorite foil of Jerry Lewis, playing opposite him in ten movies. These included most of Lewis's better known comedies, including The Disorderly Orderly as Nurse Higgins, The Errand Boy as the studio boss's wife, and especially The Nutty Professor as Millie Lemon. Over thirty years later, she had a small cameo in The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, a sequel to the remake of the Lewis film.
Still other film roles included appearances in the horror film The Fly (1958), the Western spoofs Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), and appearances in a spate of comedies in the 1980s and 1990s.
Freeman played Sister Mary Stigmata in John Landis' The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000, had cameos in Joe Dante's Innerspace and Gremlins 2 (as tipsy cooking host Microwave Marge in 2), and a Ma Barker type gangster mother in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.
Freeman was also a familiar presence on television, from the 1950s until her death, with regular or recurring roles on many sitcoms, including Topper (as Katie the maid), Hogan's Heroes (as Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer, General Burkhalter's sister, who longed to wed Colonel Klink), The Beverly Hillbillies (in a story arc as Flo Shafer, wife of conman Phil Silvers), the short-lived prehistoric sitcom It's About Time (as Mrs. Boss), and as the voice of Peg Bundy's mom, an unseen character on Married... with Children. She played guest roles on countless other shows, from I Love Lucy to Home Improvement.
In later years, Freeman also worked extensively as a voice actress, playing Ma Crackshell on DuckTales, a Theban woman in Disney's Hercules, and fortune teller Madame Xima in the video game Curse of Monkey Island.
Freeman remained active in her last two years, with a regular voice role on As Told By Ginger, a voice bit in Shrek, a guest appearance on Becker and, most notably, scoring a Tony Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for her role of accompanist Jeannette Burmeister in the Broadway musical version of The Full Monty.
Weakened by illness, Freeman was forced to leave the Full Monty cast. Five days later, she died of lung cancer at age 82. Her ashes are inurned in a niche at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
Trivia
Freeman was considered for the part of Alice the housekeeper on The Brady Bunch. However, the role ultimately went to Ann B. Davis.
A lesbian, the British reports of her death included her surviving long-time companion, Helen Ramsey[1], but the U.S. obituaries did not.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 07:55 am
Hal Holbrook
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr. (born February 17, 1925) is a Tony Award-winning American actor.
Early life
Holbrook was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Harold Rowe Holbrook and Aileen Davenport, and was mostly raised in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. He graduated from Denison University, where an honors project about Mark Twain led him to develop the one-man show he is best known for, a series of performances called Mark Twain Tonight. Holbrook served in the US Army in World War II and was stationed in Newfoundland, where he performed in little theatre, including the play Madam Precious.
Career
According to Playbill, Holbrook's first solo performance as Twain was at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954. Ed Sullivan saw him and gave Holbrook his first national exposure on his February 12, 1956 show. The State Department even sent him on a European tour, which included pioneering appearances behind the Iron Curtain. In 1959, Holbrook first played the role Off-Broadway. Columbia Records recorded an LP of excerpts from the show. In 1967, Mark Twain Tonight was presented on television by CBS and Xerox, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance.
Holbrook's Twain first played on Broadway in 1966, and again in 1977 and 2005; Holbrook was 80 during his most recent Broadway run, older (for the first time) than the character he was portraying. Holbrook won a Tony Award for the performance in 1966.
Mark Twain Tonight has repeatedly toured across the country in what as of 2005 has amounted to over 2000 performances.
In 1964, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy.
In 1968, Holbrook was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway production of Man of La Mancha, although he had limited singing ability.
In 1973, he co-starred with Clint Eastwood in "Magnum Force". The first sequel in the Dirty Harry series. Portraying as Harry's superior officer turned traitor and enemy.
In 1976, Holbrook won further acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg's acclaimed biography. He has also starred in many films and TV programs.
Early in his career he worked on stage and in a television soap opera, The Brighter Day. Holbrook is also famous for his role as the enigmatic Deep Throat (whose identity was unknown at the time) in the film All the President's Men.
In 1979, he starred as Jeremiah Denton in the NBC television movie "When Hell was in Session".
In 2006, Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star on the HBO series, The Sopranos (His character on the show spouts metaphysical theory and reminds people of Kurt Vonnegut.)
Private life
Holbrook is married to actress Dixie Carter and had a recurring role as Carter's boyfriend in her series Designing Women, until his character was killed off to provide new storylines for Carter's character.
Trivia
Holbrook has appeared in at least 6 movies where he is part of a conspiracy: Fletch Lives, Magnum Force, The Star Chamber, Capricorn One, All the President's Men, and The Firm.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 07:58 am
Alan Bates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE (February 17, 1934 - December 27, 2003) was an English actor.
Born in Allestree, Derby, Bates was the son of amateur musicians who early encouraged him to pursue music; but by age 11, he already had determined his life's course as an actor, and so his parents sent him for dramatic coaching instead. He earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he studied before leaving to join the Royal Air Force. In 1956, he debuted on stage in the West End, starring in Look Back in Anger, a role which made him a star. Four years later, he appeared in The Entertainer, his first film role. He soon starred in Whistle Down the Wind, and in the Bernard Malamud film The Fixer, which gave him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
He was married to the actress Victoria Ward from 1970 until her death of a suspected heart attack (following a wasting disease) in 1992. They had twin sons born in 1971, the actors Benedick Bates and Tristan Bates, who died of an asthma attack in Tokyo in 1990 at the age of 19.
He is the winner of two Tony Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. He won his first in 1973 for his role in Butley. 29 years later, he won his second statuette for Fortune's Fool, just one year before his death.
Bates starred in such international hit films as Georgy Girl, Far From the Madding Crowd, Zorba the Greek, The Go-Between, An Unmarried Woman and Women in Love, but he consciously decided to concentrate on a few well-defined roles, rather than to take everything that came his way. On television, his parts ranged from classic roles such as The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978) to Guy Burgess in An Englishman Abroad (1983) to a Russian spy in Pack of Lies (1987) to the storyteller in the 2000 version of the Arabian Nights.
On stage, Bates had a particular association with the plays of Simon Gray, appearing in Butley, Otherwise Engaged, Stage Struck, Melon, Life Support and Simply Disconnected, as well as the film of Butley and Gray's TV series Unnatural Pursuits.
Bates was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1996, and was knighted in 2003.
His companion at the end of his life was actress Joanna Pettet; he died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 69.
Bates played Antonius Agrippa in the 2004 History Channel miniseries Spartacus, but died before it debuted. It was dedicated to his memory and that of writer Howard Fast, who wrote the original novel that inspired the film Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:02 am
Mary Ann Mobley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Ann Mobley (born February 17, 1939 in Brandon, Mississippi) was Miss America in 1959. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority at the University of Mississippi. Remarkably, another sorority sister from Chi Omega at the University of Mississippi, Lynda Mead Shea would follow her as the 1960 Miss America.
Later, she appeared in movies, including two with Elvis Presley; and on such television shows as Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. She also had a recurring role on the show Falcon Crest. She also played Maggie McKinney/Drummond in Diff'rent Strokes during the series' final season.
Coincidentally, Mobley and Dixie Carter, who originated the role of Maggie on Diff'rent Strokes, were costars in an episode of Ms. Carter's series, Designing Women, in which she played a snide representative of the historical society, who aggravated Dixie's character, Julia Sugarbaker.
She married actor Gary Collins in 1967. Their daughter, Mary Clancy Collins, is a Senior Vice President with MGM Television.
Mobley was an occasional panelist on Match Game in the 1970s and appeared on Super Password with Collins during the 1980s.
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Letty
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:03 am
Good morning, ehBeth. I was able to hear some of your Chinese music, and it and the lyrics are haunting, TO.
Strange, folks. On the travel forum, they are talking explorers and Portuguese, and I am thinking Robert Browning and Pippa Passes. Elizabetrh B. Browning always wrote her sonnets to Robert as being from "The Portuguese." Weird way to start the day, no?
from "Pippa Passes"
The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his Heaven -
All's right with the world!
Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Pippa Passes (1841) pt. 1,l.221
Back later when the hawkman completes his bio's.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:07 am
Gene Pitney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born February 17, 1940
Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Died 5/4/2006
Cardiff,Wales, UK
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 - April 5, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter.
Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed considerable success on both sides of the Atlantic, and charted more than 20 Top 40 hit singles. He was also an accomplished guitarist, pianist, drummer, and skilled sound engineer. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Biography
Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut. In his youth, he lived primarily in Rockville, part of the town of Vernon. He attended Rockville High School from which he earned the name "The Rockville Rocket," and where he formed his first band called "Gene & the Genials." He also made a couple of records as part of a duo called "Jamie and Jane" with a lady called Ginny Arnell and then released a single as Billy Bryan.
In 1961, Gene Pitney released his first solo single, "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away," on which he played several instruments and multi-tracked the vocals, followed by his first big hit, "Town Without Pity" that same year. This song won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Song in a Motion Picture," and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.
Pitney helped his musical career by writing hit songs for others. Notable songs include "He's a Rebel" for The Crystals and Vikki Carr, "Today's Teardrops" for Roy Orbison, "Rubber Ball" for Bobby Vee, and "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson (Nelson is often inaccurately credited as the songwriter). The Crystals' "He's A Rebel" kept Pitney's highest peaking Hot 100 record "Only Love Can Break A Heart" from being atop that chart on November 3, 1962.
Pitney is also well remembered for his stirring rendition of the title song to the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, (1962) which starred Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, and Lee Marvin. Pitney's strong and distinctive vocal performance of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song told the story almost as well as the movie itself. Although it was a certified Top 10 hit for Pitney, it was never used in the movie due to a publishing squabble between Famous Music and Paramount Pictures. A theatrical trailer included with a DVD release mentions a forthcoming title track, but not by name.
Pitney was the first pop singer to perform at the Oscars, singing "Town Without Pity" at the 34th Annual Academy Awards on April 9, 1962.
His 1963 hit, "Mecca," is considered by some to be a precursor to psychedelia in its use of Indian musical influences, two years before The Beatles began incorporating these influences. The use of exotic musical instruments became something of a Pitney trademark, judging by the Mariachi trumpets employed in "Lonely Drifters," the ukuleles in "Hawaii," and the gypsy fiddle in "Golden Earrings." The [Jagger-Richard] song, "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday," which became a hit for him, was the first Rolling Stones song to be a success in the United States, and it was partly Pitney's endorsement of the group which helped them to find favor in America. He was in the studio in England with the Stones on some of their earlier recording sessions, including those which resulted in both sides of their first Top 10 single "Not Fade Away" and their debut album, apparently playing piano, though the extent to which his contributions and those of "Uncle" Phil Spector were used is uncertain. His ongoing popularity in the UK market was ensured by the chart success of "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" at the end of 1963.
Pitney released an unbroken string of hit singles in the early 1960s, with the unrequited love classic "It Hurts To Be in Love" and "I'm Gonna Be Strong" in 1964, and "Nobody Needs Your Love" in 1966 (the first two were top 10 in the US; the last two peaked at No. 2 in the UK). He and Orbison were practically the only American soloists to withstand the British Invasion, both displaying an astounding vocal range. Pitney maintained a successful career in Britain and the rest of Europe. Pitney decided to spend six months of each year on the road, and the remainder with the Rockville sweetheart he married, and his three young sons. One of the few star performers to have survived the 1960s unscathed, his fitness regime built the stamina he required for his singularly dithyrambic stage act. Pitney's last American top 40 hit was "She's a Heartbreaker" (1968). Pitney last hit the UK charts after an absence of fifteen years with 1989's duet with Marc Almond, a new version of "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," a song by British writers Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, which had originally been a No. 5 solo hit for Pitney in 1967, and which belatedly brought him his first UK Number 1 hit, staying there for four weeks. Sales were boosted particularly by the two vocalists' appearance on the Terry Wogan TV show as it was climbing the charts. Pitney's US record company declined to issue the record in America on the grounds that buyers would mistake it for a vocal duet by two gay men, Almond being leather-clad as usual, and Pitney dressed in a white tuxedo.
Pitney also recorded songs in Italian and Spanish, and twice finished second in the Sanremo Music Festival, where his strong vibrato may have reminded older listeners of the Italian tenor Caruso. He had a regional hit with "Nessuno Mi Puo' Giudicare." [1]
Pitney died on April 5, 2006 at the age of 66. He was found dead by his tour manager in the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff, Wales in the middle of a UK tour. His Final Show at Cardiff's St David's Hall was deemed a huge success, with a standing ovation. An autopsy confirmed the singer died of natural causes. [2]
He is remembered for his instantly recognisable Italianate tenor and consummate showmanship.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:20 am
Lou Diamond Phillips
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lou Diamond Phillips (born Louis Upchurch on February 17, 1962, at Subic Bay Naval Station, Philippines), named for Marine legend Lou Diamond, is an American actor. He adopted his surname Phillips from his stepfather. He is of Spanish, Scottish/Irish, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, and American Indian ancestry.
Biography
Phillips worked as an assistant director and instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he studied Drama under Nita Cox, between 1983 - 1986. In 1982 he met Adam Roarke of the Film Actors Lab (Arlington, Texas), who became an important figure in his life. At the Film Actors Lab he studied Film Acting Technique and later joined the team as an instructor.
He attended Flour Bluff High School, and briefly attended Del Mar College, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Phillips' big break came with the starring role in 1987's La Bamba as early rocker Ritchie Valens. Though the role garnered him laud from critics, he has since found it difficult to find another leading role in a big-budget Hollywood film. In 1988, he co-starred along Edward James Olmos in the inner-city high school drama, Stand and Deliver, as Angel Guzman, a wannabe cholo who is inspired by his math teacher, Jaime Escalante, to challenge himself at calculus and along the road, creates a friendship with his teacher. In 1988 and 1990, Phillips co-starred with Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland in the cowboy movies Young Guns and Young Guns II
The first low budget film in which he starred in was called Trespasses. During the making of this film, he met Julie Cypher, an assistant director who would become his wife on September 17, 1986. They later divorced on August 5, 1990. Cypher would leave him to start a relationship with rocker Melissa Etheridge.
He met Jennifer Tilly, to whom he was briefly engaged, although the two never married. He later married model Kelly Preston (not to be confused with John Travolta's actress wife of the same name). They had twin daughters. They separated in 2005 and their divorce is pending.
Phillips also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games. He plays for the Sierra Canyon H.S. & Santa Suzanna Montessori charity.
2006 Arrest for Domestic Violence
On Friday, August 11, 2006, Phillips was arrested for alleged domestic violence. Los Angeles Police confirmed that Phillips was arrested at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge following an alleged dispute with his girlfriend, makeup artist Yvonne Boismier. Police state that he was held "on suspicion of 'Sodomy'". His bail was set at $50,000, although his publicist said he was released on his own recognizance. A source at the Los Angeles prosecutor's office said the incident will likely be handled through mediation, not prosecution. [1]
On September 21, 2006, prosecutors in Los Angeles decided against using arbitration and instead filed a charge of battery against Phillips. Phillips's arraignment was scheduled for October 18, 2006. [2]
On December 7, 2006, Phillips pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of domestic battery and was sentenced to three years probation. He also was ordered to undergo one year of domestic violence counseling and to serve 200 hours of community service. [3]
Trivia
In an interview entitled "Shine on Lou Crazy Diamond" in Smash Hits magazine, Lou revealed that his favourite band is Pink Floyd, and that his favorite song is titled "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
His father, a Marine, named him after Marine Corps legend, Master Gunnery Sergeant Lou Diamond.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:22 am
Lou Diamond Phillips
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lou Diamond Phillips (born Louis Upchurch on February 17, 1962, at Subic Bay Naval Station, Philippines), named for Marine legend Lou Diamond, is an American actor. He adopted his surname Phillips from his stepfather. He is of Spanish, Scottish/Irish, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, and American Indian ancestry.
Biography
Phillips worked as an assistant director and instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he studied Drama under Nita Cox, between 1983 - 1986. In 1982 he met Adam Roarke of the Film Actors Lab (Arlington, Texas), who became an important figure in his life. At the Film Actors Lab he studied Film Acting Technique and later joined the team as an instructor.
He attended Flour Bluff High School, and briefly attended Del Mar College, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Phillips' big break came with the starring role in 1987's La Bamba as early rocker Ritchie Valens. Though the role garnered him laud from critics, he has since found it difficult to find another leading role in a big-budget Hollywood film. In 1988, he co-starred along Edward James Olmos in the inner-city high school drama, Stand and Deliver, as Angel Guzman, a wannabe cholo who is inspired by his math teacher, Jaime Escalante, to challenge himself at calculus and along the road, creates a friendship with his teacher. In 1988 and 1990, Phillips co-starred with Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland in the cowboy movies Young Guns and Young Guns II
The first low budget film in which he starred in was called Trespasses. During the making of this film, he met Julie Cypher, an assistant director who would become his wife on September 17, 1986. They later divorced on August 5, 1990. Cypher would leave him to start a relationship with rocker Melissa Etheridge.
He met Jennifer Tilly, to whom he was briefly engaged, although the two never married. He later married model Kelly Preston (not to be confused with John Travolta's actress wife of the same name). They had twin daughters. They separated in 2005 and their divorce is pending.
Phillips also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games. He plays for the Sierra Canyon H.S. & Santa Suzanna Montessori charity.
2006 Arrest for Domestic Violence
On Friday, August 11, 2006, Phillips was arrested for alleged domestic violence. Los Angeles Police confirmed that Phillips was arrested at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge following an alleged dispute with his girlfriend, makeup artist Yvonne Boismier. Police state that he was held "on suspicion of 'Sodomy'". His bail was set at $50,000, although his publicist said he was released on his own recognizance. A source at the Los Angeles prosecutor's office said the incident will likely be handled through mediation, not prosecution. [1]
On September 21, 2006, prosecutors in Los Angeles decided against using arbitration and instead filed a charge of battery against Phillips. Phillips's arraignment was scheduled for October 18, 2006. [2]
On December 7, 2006, Phillips pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of domestic battery and was sentenced to three years probation. He also was ordered to undergo one year of domestic violence counseling and to serve 200 hours of community service. [3]
Trivia
In an interview entitled "Shine on Lou Crazy Diamond" in Smash Hits magazine, Lou revealed that his favourite band is Pink Floyd, and that his favorite song is titled "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
His father, a Marine, named him after Marine Corps legend, Master Gunnery Sergeant Lou Diamond.
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bobsmythhawk
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:32 am
Letter to Dad
A FATHER PASSING BY HIS SON'S BEDROOM WAS ASTONISHED TO SEE THE BED WAS NICELY MADE AND EVERYTHING WAS PICKED UP.
THEN HE SAW AN ENVELOPE PROPPED UP PROMINENTLY ON THE CENTER OF THE BED.
IT WAS ADDRESSED, "DAD".
WITH THE WORST PREMONITION, HE OPENED THE ENVELOPE AND READ THE LETTER WITH TREMBLING HANDS:
DEAR DAD,
IT IS WITH GREAT REGRET AND SORROW THAT I'M WRITING THIS. I HAD TO ELOPE WITH MY NEW GIRLFRIEND BECAUSE I WANTED TO
AVOID A SCENE WITH MOM AND YOU.
I'VE BEEN FINDING REAL PASSION WITH BARBARA AND SHE IS SO NICE
EVEN WITH ALL HER PIERCING, TATTOOS, AND HER TIGHT MOTORCYCLE CLOTHES.
BUT IT'S NOT ONLY THE PASSION DAD, SHE'S PREGNANT AND BARBARA SAID THAT WE WILL BE VERY HAPPY.
EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T CARE FOR HER AS SHE IS MUCH OLDER THAN I, SHE ALREADY OWNS A TRAILER IN THE WOODS AND HAS A STACK OF FIREWOOD FOR THE WHOLE WINTER.
SHE WANTS TO HAVE MANY MORE CHILDREN WITH ME AND THAT'S NOW ONE OF MY DREAMS TOO.
BARBARA TAUGHT ME THAT MARIJUANA DOESN'T REALLY HURT ANYONE AND WE'LL BE GROWING IT FOR OURSELVES AND TRADING
IT WITH HER FRIENDS FOR ALL THE COCAINE AND ECSTASY WE WANT.
IN THE MEANTIME, WE'LL PRAY THAT SCIENCE WILL FIND A CURE FOR AIDS SO BARBARA CAN GET BETTER; SHE SURE DESERVES IT!!
DON'T WORRY DAD, I'M 15 YEARS OLD NOW AND I KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.
SOMEDAY I'M SURE WE'LL BE BACK TO VISIT SO YOU CAN GET TO KNOW
YOUR GRANDCHILDREN.
P. S. DAD, NONE OF THIS IS TRUE. I'M OVER AT THE NEIGHBOUR'S HOUSE.
I JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU THAT THERE ARE WORSE THINGS IN LIFE THAN MY REPORT CARD THAT'S IN MY DESK CENTER DRAWER.
I LOVE YOU!
CALL WHEN IT'S SAFE FOR ME TO COME HOME.
0 Replies
yitwail
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:40 am
having a respite from my hectic chess-playing schedule, thought i'd play something suitable by Joe South
Oh the games people play now
Every night and every day now
Never meaning what they say now
Never saying what they mean
And they wile away the hours
In their ivory towers
Till they're covered up with flowers
In the back of a black limousine
[Chorus:]
La-da da da da da da da
La-da da da da da de
Talking 'bout you and me
And the games people play
Oh we make one another cry
Break a heart then we say goodbye
Cross our hearts and we hope to die
That the other was to blame
Neither one will give in
So we gaze at our eight by ten
Thinking 'bout the things that might have been
It's a dirty rotten shame
[Chorus]
People walking up to you
Singing glory hallelulia
And they're tryin to sock it to you
In the name of the Lord
They're gonna teach you how to meditate
Read your horoscope, cheat your faith
And further more to hell with hate
Come on and get on board
[Chorus]
Look around tell me what you see
What's happening to you and me
God grant me the serenity
To remember who I am
Cause you've given up your sanity
For your pride and your vanity
Turns you sad on humanity
And you don't give a da da da da da
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Letty
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:43 am
Oh, my God, hawkman. That is one clever fifteen year old kid. Love it, BostonBob. Thank you so much for the laugh that I really needed today.
A couple of things, folks.
The movie, "Bright Victory", touches my inner imagination, because I must have seen it at one time. Strange how these things surface, no?
Here is a brief synopsis:
Arthur Kennedy stars as a blinded war veteran struggling to adjust to his affliction in peacetime. He must overcome his pugnacious attitude towards any problem he can't think his way out of--and he must learn to temper his inbred racial prejudices. Peggy Dow plays the woman who loves Kennedy enough to be cruel to him during his bouts of self-pity. Refusing to lapse into sentimentality, Bright Victory, based on the novel by Bayard Kendrick, is one of the best of the "against all odds" films of the 1950s. Arthur Kennedy's performance won him the New York Critics' Circle award, but not the Oscar he so richly deserved. Trivia note: new Universal contractee Rock Hudson receives 18th billing for his bit role as a soldier in this film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This must be where I arrived at the conclusion that all people involved in a trial by jury should be disguised so as to prevent stereotyping. Kennedy's friend, who he could not see, was a black man, and he didn't realize it. WOW!
Back later with a song that keeps surfacing in my head. Hope our Raggedy is able to do her montage today.
0 Replies
Letty
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 08:51 am
Mr. Turtle, welcome back. Oh, yes, M.D., I know that song and also Eric Bern. Glad you made it into our wee studio with another telling song, honey.
Now, here is the song that I can vaguely remember having to do with Fat Tuesday.
I heard them sing, come to the Mardi Gras,
It was Rio in spring, time for Mardi Gras.
I saw her there, confetti in her hair,
Swept along by the throng,
Wasn't long til we met,
When we kissed my heart beat faster, faster, than a castanet.
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edgarblythe
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 09:13 am
Jerry Lee Lewis - As Long As I Live
As long as I live
Baby, I'm gonna give you all of my heart
We can't be apart
As long as I live
Yes, I'm gonna give
you all of the stars above
That shine
Just give me just a little more time
Then, I'm gonna make this whole world yours and mine
As long as I live Baby, I wanna see you give your love
To nobody, but me
As long as I live
Yes, I wanna be your one desire
That kissed the flame burning in your heart like fire
Yes, I wanna be your one desire
Yes, I wanna be your one desire
Yes, I wanna feel your lips afire
Well, you gotta be here when the sun goes down
Oh, yeah And when I call your name
Pretty baby, don't let me down
As long as I live
Baby, I'm gonna give you all of my heart
We can't be apart
As long as I live
Yes, I'm gonna give you all of the stars above
That shine Honey, just give me just a little more time
Then, I'm gonna make this whole world yours and mine
Yes, I'm gonna make this whole world yours and mine
0 Replies
Letty
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 09:27 am
Morning, edgar. Hey, Texas, we have a combo going. Yours is Jerry Lee and mine is "Brave".
Brave Combo; Kiss of Fire
This version by Louis Armstrong
I touch your lips and all at once the sparks go flying
Those devil lips that know so well the art of lying
And though I see the danger, still the flame grows higher
I know I must surrender to your kiss of fire
Just like a torch, you set the soul within me burning
I must go on, I'm on this road of no returning
And though it burns me and it turns me into ashes
My whole world crashes without your kiss of fire
I can't resist you, what good is there in trying?
What good is there denying you're all that I desire?
Since first I kissed you my heart was yours completely
If I'm a slave, then it's a slave I want to be
Don't pity me, don't pity me
Give me your lips, the lips you only let me borrow
Love me tonight and let the devil take tomorrow
I know that I must have your kiss although it dooms me
Though it consumes me, your kiss of
All done in a minor key and very Brazilian.
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edgarblythe
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 09:52 am
My Old Flame
Guy Lombardo
My old flame
I can't even think of his name
But it's funny now and then
How my thoughts go flashing back again
To my old flame
My old flame
My new lovers all seem so tame
For I haven't a gent
So magnificent and elegant
As my old flame
I've met so many who had facinatin' ways
A facinatin' gaze in their eyes
Some who took me up to the skies
But their attemps at love
Were only imitations of
My old flame, I can't even think of his name
But I'll never be the same
Until I discover what became of
My old flame
0 Replies
Letty
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 10:32 am
Guy Lombardo did that one, edgar? WOW! I had no idea. Fond memories of Abuzz.
Here's a song that I learn to play on the tenor ukelele sooooo long ago:
The Beatles
Please don't wake me up too late.
Tomorrow comes and I will not be late.
Late today when it becomes
Tomorrow I
Will leave and go away.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
Songs that linger on my lips
Excite me now and linger on my mind.
Leave your flowers at my door;
I leave them for
The one who waits behind.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
(ad lib)
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
Far away my lover sings
A lonely song and calls me to his side
Where the sound of lonely drums
Invited me on.
I must be by his side.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
Goodbye.
Ah, ha, ha, hi.
Goodbye.
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edgarblythe
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 10:42 am
The Guy Lombardo My Old Flame was from the mid 1930s.
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dyslexia
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Sat 17 Feb, 2007 11:06 am
I've probably posted this song before but it's near and dear to my heart as i once drove for 3 days to Calgary just to hear Ian Tyson and his (at the time) most beautiful wife sing this song he wrote;
Quote:
There's a young man that I know whose age is twenty-one
Comes from down in southern Colorado
Just out of the service, he's lookin' for his fun
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon
My parents can not stand him 'cause he rides the rodeo
My father says that he will leave me cryin'
I would follow him right down the roughest road I know
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon
But when he comes to call, my pa ain't got a good word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days
So blow, you old Blue Northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon
When he comes to call, my pa ain't got a word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days
So blow, you old blue northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon
Someday soon, goin' with him
