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Give me a moment
Got to get this weight up off my chest
Don't feed me sorrow
Pain is a poison I digest

Find yourself another soul to hold
You think, you thought, I know
Off upon my journey I must go
To where the river flows

I'll give you answers
To the questions you have yet to ask
Silence is beauty
Words they only complicate the task

Make no more wishes
All of my patience has been spent
Gods of the season
Lead me to my next incident

Diane, Welcome back, honey. That song is intriguing. Who wrote it?

One of my favorite lines from a song, folks.

"...there's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor..." Another memory, but not gray, simply tinged with blue.

Joan Crawford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Birth name Lucille Fay LeSueur
Born March 23, 1905
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Died May 10, 1977 (age 72)
New York City, New York, USA
Spouse(s) Douglas Fairbanks, Jr
Franchot Tone
Phillip Terry
Alfred N. Steele
Academy Awards

Best Actress
1945 Mildred Pierce

Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905[1]- May 10, 1977) was an acclaimed, iconic, Academy Award-winning American actress, arguably one of the greatest from the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. The American Film Institute named Crawford among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time, ranking her at number ten.

Starting as a dancer, she was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in 1925 and played in small parts. By the end of the '20s, as her popularity grew, she became famous as a youthful flapper. At the beginning of the 1930s, her fame rivaled that of fellow MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. She was often cast in movies in which she played hardworking young women who eventually found romance and success. These "rags to riches" stories were well-received by Depression era audiences. Women, particularly, seemed to identify with her characters' struggles. By the end of the decade she remained one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars, and one of the highest paid women in the U.S.

Moving to Warner Bros. in 1943, Crawford won an Academy Award for her performance in Mildred Pierce, and achieved some of the best reviews of her career in the following years. In 1955, she became involved with PepsiCo, the company run by her last husband. She was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors after his death in 1959, but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting regularly into the 1960s, when her performances became fewer, and retired from the screen in the early 1970s.




Early life

She was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas, the third child of Tennessee-born Thomas E. LeSueur (1868-1938) and Anna Bell Johnson (1884-1958). Her older siblings were Daisy LeSueur, who died as a very young child, and Hal LeSueur. Although Crawford was of mostly English descent, her surname originates from her great-great-great-great grandparents, David LeSueur and Elizabeth Chastain, French Huguenots who immigrated from London, England in the early 1700s to Virginia, where they lived for several generations.[3]

Crawford's father was said to have abandoned the family in Texas; Crawford later said she had been only a few months old when her father left. Her mother later married Henry J. Cassin (1867-after 1919). The family lived in Lawton, Oklahoma, where Cassin ran a movie theater. The 1910 Comanche County, Oklahoma, Federal Census, enumerated on April 20, shows Henry and Anna living at 910 "D" Street in Lawton. Lucille was then 5 years of age.

Lucille preferred the nickname "Billie," and she loved watching vaudeville acts perform on the stage of her stepfather's theater. Her ambition was to be a dancer. Unfortunately, she cut her foot deeply on a broken milk bottle when she leapt from the front porch of her home in an attempt to escape piano lessons and run and play with friends. A neighbor, Don Blanding, who became a poet, carried her into the house and phoned the doctor. She was unable to attend elementary school for a year and a half and eventually had three operations on her foot. Demonstrating the steely determination that would serve her for the rest of her life, she overcame the injury and returned not only to walking normally, but to dancing as well.

Around 1916, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Henry Cassin was first listed in the City Directory in 1917, living at 403 East Ninth Street.

While still in elementary school, she was placed in St. Agnes Academy, a Catholic school in Kansas City. Later, after her mother and stepfather broke up, she stayed on at St. Agnes as a work student. She then went to Rockingham Academy as a work student. In 1922, she registered at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and gave her year of birth as 1906. She attended Stephens for less than a year, however, as she recognized that she was not academically prepared for college.


Career

Her career spanned over four decades, with numerous highs and lows. She passed through a variety of stages in movies: dewy ingenue, high-spirited flapper, determined working girl, sophisticated leading lady, heroine of noir-inflected melodramas, and finally a scream-queen in a number of horror movies.


Early career

She began as a dancer in a chorus line under the name Lucille LeSueur, eventually making her way to New York. In 1924, she signed a contract with MGM, and arrived in Culver City, California, in January, 1925.

Starting out in silent movies, she worked hard to ensure that her contract with the studio would be renewed. According to the book "Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood", features a quote from Joan Crawford herself, claiming that it was Sam De Grasse who said that her name LeSueur sounded too much like 'sewer'. A contest in the fan magazine, Movie Weekly, became the source of her well-known stage name. The female contestant who entered the name Joan Crawford was awarded $500. Though Crawford reportedly detested the name at first, saying it sounded like "crawfish," and called herself JoAnne for some time, she eventually became used to it. (Her friend actor William Haines quipped "You're lucky- they could have called you Cranberry and served you up with a Turkey!")

Crawford first made an impression on audiences in Edmund Goulding's Sally, Irene and Mary (1925), in which she played Irene, a struggling chorus girl who meets a tragic end. The following year, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars, along with Mary Astor, Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Dolores Del Rio, Janet Gaynor and Fay Wray. For the next two years, she consolidated on these gains, appearing in increasingly important movies as the romantic interest for some of MGM's leading male stars, among them Ramon Novarro, William Haines, John Gilbert, and Tim McCoy.

Her most unusual movie from this period was The Unknown (1927), starring Lon Chaney, Sr. as Alonzo, a carnival knife thrower with no arms. She played his skimpily clad young carnival assistant, Nanon Zanzi, who he hopes to marry. Directed by Tod Browning, who also directed Dracula and Freaks, the movie features a famous performance by Chaney. Crawford would always insist that she learned more about acting from watching Chaney work in this movie than from anything else in her long career.


Joan Crawford in Our Dancing DaughtersCrawford's role as Diana Medford in Our Dancing Daughters (1928) catapulted her to stardom and established her as a symbol of modern 1920s-style femininity that rivalled the image of Clara Bow, who was then Hollywood's foremost flapper. A stream of hits followed Our Dancing Daughters, including two more flapper-themed movies, in which Crawford embodied for her legion of fans, many of whom were women, an idealized vision of the free-spirited, all-American girl.

She tirelessly studied diction and elocution to rid herself of her Southwestern accent. Her first talkie was Untamed (1929) opposite Robert Montgomery, which was a box-office success. The movie proved to be an important milestone for the durable star, as she made an effective transition to sound movies. One critic wrote, "Miss Crawford sings appealingly and dances thrillingly as usual; her voice is alluring and her dramatic efforts in the difficult role she portrays are at all times convincing."


Queen of MGM

During the early 1930s, Crawford modified her image to better fit the hard-scrabble conditions of Depression-era America. In this new role, she played a glamorized version of the working girl who relied on her intelligence, looks, and sheer determination to get ahead in life. This persona was fully realized in Possessed (1931), where she was most successfully teamed with Clark Gable. During production, the two stars began an affair that resulted in an ultimatum issued by studio chief, Louis B. Mayer. Both chose their career over love, although their affair would resume spasmodically and secretly for many years. When released, Possessed was an enormous hit.

An indication of Crawford's rising status was the studio's decision to cast her in its most important movie of 1932, the all-star extravaganza Grand Hotel. Although billed third behind Greta Garbo and John Barrymore, but ahead of Wallace Beery and Lionel Barrymore, Crawford was lauded for her touching performance as a stenographer on the make, all but stealing the picture from her more experienced co-stars.

She achieved further success with Letty Lynton (1932), now considered the "lost" Crawford film due to a plagiarism case that forced MGM to withdraw it soon after release. As a result, it has never since been shown theatrically, on television or made available on VHS or DVD. It is mostly remembered today because of the Letty Lynton dress, designed by Adrian: a white cotton organdy gown with large mutton sleeves, puffed at the shoulder. It was with this gown that Crawford's broad shoulders began to be accentuated by costume; eventually this would become a famous trademark for the actress. When copied by Macy's in 1932, the Letty Lynton dress sold over 500,000 copies nationwide.

Following the success of Possessed, Crawford was starred in a series of steamy pairings opposite Clark Gable, in which they established themselves as the most formidable romantic duo of the 1930s. Their rollicking smash hit Dancing Lady (1933), in which Crawford received top billing over Gable, was the only movie to feature Robert Benchley, Nelson Eddy, Fred Astaire and the Three Stooges all together in one movie. Her next two movies with Gable, Chained (1934) and Forsaking All Others (also 1934), were both big hits, being among the top money makers of the mid-1930s, and marked Crawford's peak at MGM as a popular star at the box-office.


By the end of the decade, Crawford had adopted a more sophisticated image in which her characters seemed to be defined as much by their glamorous clothing, beautiful accessories, and carefully styled hair and make-up as by any meaningful character trait. Fans soon tired of this remote "clothes horse" persona and eventually her movies began to lose money. In 1938, she was one of the unfortunate stars to be labeled "box-office poison," along with Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Fred Astaire.

Crawford somewhat rectified her position at MGM through a fruitful collaboration with the director George Cukor. Starting with her role as the bitchy home-wrecker Crystal Allen in Cukor's comedic masterpiece The Women (1939), then capitalizing on this success in two more movies under his direction, Susan and God (1940) and A Woman's Face (1941), Crawford demonstrated that in the right role she could be a first-rate actress.

Despite this, Crawford's days at MGM were numbered. Eager to promote their new generation of female stars, among them Greer Garson, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and the resurgent Katharine Hepburn, who joined the studio from RKO, the management at MGM began to view Crawford as a bad investment. After 18 years at the studio, Crawford's contract was terminated by mutual consent on June 29, 1943. In lieu of one more movie owed under her contract, she paid the studio $100,000. That same day, she drove herself to the studio and personally cleaned out her dressing room.


Move to Warners

Upon leaving MGM, Crawford signed with Warner Bros. for $500,000 for three movies and was placed on the payroll July 1, 1943. She appeared as herself in the star-studded production Hollywood Canteen (1944) and was cast in the title role in Mildred Pierce (1945), in which she played opposite a stellar cast, including Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, and Butterfly McQueen.


Director Michael Curtiz and producer Jerry Wald developed the property specifically for Crawford from the popular James M. Cain novel, which was adapted for the screen by Ranald MacDougall

The final product was a commercial and artistic triumph. It epitomized the lush visual style and the hard-boiled film noir sensibility that defined Warner Bros. movies of the late 1940s. Mildred Pierce served as a first-rate vehicle for Crawford, highlighting her skills as an actress and allowing her to inhabit a new persona as the tortured heroine of glossy melodrama.

Joan Crawford received the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance.


On the strength of this movie, she established herself as the chief leading lady at Warner Bros., effectively stealing the limelight from the former queen of the studio, Bette Davis, and sowing the seeds for future conflict.

For the next few years, Crawford reigned as a top star and respected actress, appearing in such memorable roles as Helen Wright in Humoresque (1946), as Louise Howell Graham in Possessed (1947) opposite Van Heflin and Raymond Massey, for which she was nominated for a second Oscar as Best Actress, and the title role in Daisy Kenyon (also 1947).

Crawford's other movie roles of the era include Lane Bellamy in Flamingo Road (1949), the dual role of Ethel Whitehead/Lorna Hansen Forbes in the film noir The Damned Don't Cry (1950), her powerful performance in the title role in the excellent Harriet Craig (1950) at Columbia Pictures and Myra Hudson in Sudden Fear (1952) at RKO, the movie that introduced her co-star, Jack Palance, to the screen and earned her a third and final Oscar nomination as Best Actress.

Besides acting in motion pictures, Crawford also worked in radio and television. She appeared a number of times in episodes of anthology TV shows in the 1950s and, in 1959, made a pilot for her own series, The Joan Crawford Show, but it was not picked up by a network.


Marriages and Residences

In 1929, at the time she wed her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Crawford bought a mansion at 426 North Bristol Avenue in Brentwood, midway between Beverly Hills and the Pacific Ocean, which was her primary dwelling for the next 26 years. Over the years she had her home decorated and redecorated by William Haines, her former silent movie co-star and lifelong friend, who was much in demand as an interior designer after receiving Crawford's recommendation.

Crawford had four husbands: actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (married June 3, 1929 in New York-divorced 1933); Franchot Tone (married October 11, 1935 in New Jersey-divorced 1939); Phillip Terry (married July 21, 1942 at Hidden Valley Ranch in Ventura County, California-divorced 1946); and Pepsi-Cola president Alfred N. Steele (married May 10, 1955 in Las Vegas, Nevada-his death 1959).

She moved to a lavish penthouse apartment at 2 East 70th St. with her last husband, Alfred Steele. He died there on April 19, 1959. She then sold her Brentwood mansion and stayed in New York, moving to a smaller apartment, number 22-G in the Imperial House. She later moved to a smaller apartment in the same building (number 22-H) where she died. She kept a small apartment in Los Angeles for her frequent trips there.


Adopted children

Crawford adopted five children, though she kept and raised only four.

The first was Christina (born June 11, 1939), whom Crawford adopted in 1940 while a single, divorced woman.

The second was a boy she named Christopher Crawford (born April 1941), whom she adopted in June of that year. In 1942, his biological mother found out where he was and managed to get him back.

The third child was Christopher Terry (born October 15 1943). She and Phillip Terry adopted him that same year, and he remained her son, as Christopher Crawford, after she and Terry divorced. According to Christina, Joan had changed this second Christopher's birth date to October 15 because she was afraid he would also be taken away. Christopher died of cancer on September 22, 2006 in Greenport, New York.

The fourth and fifth children were twin girls Cynthia "Cindy" Crawford (not to be confused with the model Cindy Crawford born in 1966 or the adult movie star with the same name and born in 1980) and Cathy Crawford (both born January 13, 1947). Crawford adopted them in June of that year, while she was a single, divorced woman. According to Christina, Joan called the two girls twins but they were not. Cindy and Cathy both dispute that claim. According to them, they are twins born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, to an unwed mother who died seven days after their birth. They said that Crawford was afraid their biological parents might try to get them back and would therefore say they were not twins. Their version is consistent with newspaper reports at the time of their adoption.


Religion

Crawford was raised Catholic. Her stepfather, Henry Cassin, was Roman Catholic, although he and Anna were ultimately divorced. Crawford insisted on marrying her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., in a Roman Catholic church. After that divorce, Joan stopped practicing the Catholic religion, but like most lapsed Catholics, never formally renounced her faith.

By the late 1930s, she attended The Church of Christ, Scientist and began practicing the Christian Science religion. She would bring her adopted children to that church regularly but not usually weekly. While she practiced Christian Science, the religion did not preclude her from receiving medical care or her children from receiving it. She always looked at that doctrine an ideal according to Christina's book Mommie Dearest.

Joan's next dealing with the Catholic Church was when she sent Christina to Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy for girls for her junior and senior years in high school. Christina stated in her book that the Catholic doctrines were a shock to her compared to Christian Science. Christina also stated in Mommie Dearest that Joan considered herself a Catholic though she stopped practicing the faith nearly half a century before her death.


Work at Pepsi

Besides her work as an actress, from 1955 to 1973, Crawford traveled extensively on behalf of husband Al Steele's company, Pepsi Cola Company. Two days after Steele's death in 1959, she was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors.

Crawford was the recipient of the Sixth Annual "Pally Award," which was in the shape of a bronze Pepsi bottle. It was awarded to the employee making the most significant contribution to company sales.

In 1973, she retired from the company at the behest of company executive Don Kendall, whom Crawford had referred to for years as "Fang."


Later career

After her triumph in RKO's Sudden Fear (1952), Crawford continued to star in films, from the cult Western Johnny Guitar (1954) to the tearjerker Autumn Leaves (1956), opposite a young Cliff Robertson. By the early 1960s, however, Crawford's status in motion pictures had diminished significantly.

She managed to reverse this trend one last time when she accepted the role of "Blanche Hudson" in the highly successful thriller, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), directed by Robert Aldrich. Crawford played the part of a physically disabled woman, a former A-list movie star in conflict with her demented sister. Despite the actresses' earlier tensions, Crawford suggested Bette Davis for the role of Jane. The movie was completed and became a blockbuster.

Crawford went on to play "Lucretia Terry" in the United Artists movie The Caretakers (1963). Davis was nominated for an Academy Award that year for her performance as "Baby Jane" and Crawford reportedly campaigned against her. Crawford accepted the Oscar at the awards on behalf of winner Anne Bancroft, who was working in New York and couldn't attend the telecast that year. Crawford went on to star as "Lucy Harbin" in William Castle's horror/mystery Strait-Jacket (1964).

Aldrich cast her and Davis to work together again in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), another chiller-thriller, but Crawford soon entered a hospital with an illness that was reportedly feigned in order to get out of the commitment reportedly due to a campaign of harassment by Davis[citation needed]. After a prolonged absence, Aldrich was forced to replace Crawford with Olivia de Havilland, who knew how to get along with Davis.

Upon her release from the hospital after her Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte debacle, Crawford played the role as "Amy Nelson" in I Saw What You Did (1965), another William Castle vehicle. She next starred as "Monica Rivers" in Herman Cohen's horror/thriller Berserk! (1968). After the film's release, Crawford then guest-starred as herself on The Lucy Show. The episode, Lucy and the Lost Star, caused much celebrity fodder as title star Lucille Ball had a very public feud with Joan during taping. According to Lucy, Joan was often drunk on the set and could not memorize her lines (1, 2). Ball was said to have requested several times to replace Crawford with Gloria Swanson, who was supposed to have filled the role originally but bowed out due to health reasons. When asked during an interview how Joan had liked working with Ball, Crawford's response was, "And they call me a bitch!"

In October 1968, her 29-year-old daughter, Christina, who was then acting in New York on the TV soap opera The Secret Storm, fell ill and needed immediate medical attention. Crawford offered to fill in for her and play Christina's role until she was well enough to return, which the producer readily agreed to. The implausibility of Crawford (then 63) playing a 28-year-old woman was coupled by her apparent state of intoxication on the live telecast. Christina was fired from the role the following year; in her memoir Mommie Dearest, Christina claimed her mother's behaviour contributed to her firing.

Crawford's appearance as the blind, but ruthless, "Claudia Menlo" on a 1969 TV episode of Night Gallery, titled Eyes, marked one of Steven Spielberg's earliest directing jobs.

She starred on the big screen one final time, playing "Dr. Brockton" in Herman Cohen's sci-fi/horror Trog (1970), rounding out a career spanning 45 years and over 80 motion pictures.

Crawford made four more TV appearances, as "Stephanie White" in an episode of The Virginian (1970) titled The Nightmare, as a board member in an episode of The Name of the Game (1971) titled Los Angeles, as "Allison Hayes" in the made-for-TV movie Beyond the Water's Edge (1972), and as "Joan Fairchild" in the television series The Sixth Sense, also in 1972.


Final years

In 1970, she was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award by John Wayne on the Golden Globes, which was telecast from the Coconut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. She also spoke at her alma mater, Stephens College, from which she never graduated.

Her book, My Way of Life, was published in 1971 by Simon and Schuster. In September 1973, she moved from apartment 22-G to the smaller apartment 22-H in the Imperial House. Her last public appearance was September 23, 1974, at a party honoring Rosalind Russell at New York's Rainbow Room. On May 8, 1977, Crawford gave away her Shih Tzu dog named Princess Lotus Blossom.

Joan Crawford died two days later at her New York apartment of a heart attack, while also ill with pancreatic cancer. According to her daughter Christina, her alleged last words were "Dammit…Don't you dare ask God to help me", directed at her housekeeper, who had begun to pray out loud.[2] But other sources indicate that she was found dead on the bedroom floor by her housemaid. A funeral was held at Campbell Funeral Home, New York, at 10 a.m. on May 10, 1977. All four of her adopted children attended, as did her niece, Joan Crawford LeSueur (aka Joan Lowe), the daughter of her late brother, Hal LeSueur, who had died in 1963. Crawford's will was read to the family that evening.

In the will, which was signed October 28, 1976, she bequeathed to her two youngest children, Cindy and Cathy, $77,500 each from her $2,000,000 estate. However, she explicitly disinherited the two eldest, Christina and Christopher. In the last paragraph of the will, she wrote, "It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son Christopher or my daughter Christina for reasons which are well known to them."

A memorial service was held for Crawford at All Souls' Unitarian Church on Lexington Avenue in New York on May 16, 1977, and was attended by, among others, her old Hollywood friend Myrna Loy. Another memorial service, organized by George Cukor, was held on June 24 in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California.

She was cremated and her ashes placed in a crypt with her last husband, Al Steele, in Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.


Legacy

Shortly after her death, the eldest of her four children, Christina, published an exposé that became a bestseller containing allegations that Crawford was emotionally and physically abusive to her and her brother, Christopher. Though many of Joan Crawford's friends (as well as her other daughters, Cynthia and Cathy) harshly criticized and disputed the book's claims, other friends did not, and her reputation was severely tarnished. The book was later made into a movie of the same title starring Faye Dunaway (whom Crawford had praised in the past). For further detail and comment, see: Mommie Dearest (book) and/or Mommie Dearest (motion picture).

Joan Crawford's hand and foot prints are immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, and she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street. Her true legacy, as an actress, are the more than 100 films in which she appeared.

In 1999 Playboy listed Joan Crawford as one of the 100 Sexiest Women of the 20th century. She placed at 84.


In pop culture

In 1981, Blue ?-yster Cult released the song "Joan Crawford" (Lyrics), on the album Fire of Unknown Origin.

In Andy Warhol's Flesh (1968), Candy Darling, famed Warhol Superstar actress and transgender, who plays a transvestite and friend of the main character says, "What did you say about Joan Crawford?? Why, Joan Crawford is one of my favorite stars." Lines in most of Warhol's films were created by the actors and the films were mostly improvised. Candy Darling was famous for her extensive knowledge of Hollywood films, stars and most notably starlettes. Her memoirs "My Face for the World to See" include a letter she had written to a museum correspondent detailing her categorization of Hollywood actresses and films of the 40's, 50's, and 60's.

In episode 6.10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled "Wrecked," Buffy's younger sister Dawn says that Buffy "...is feeling all Joan Crawford 'cause of the other night," due to her incessant calling to check up on Dawn. The comment refers to Joan Crawford's having six adopted children.

Stephen Sondheim has suggested that "I'm Still Here," the show business survival anthem from his 1971 musical Follies, was roughly based upon the life of Joan Crawford.

In the Music Video for Victoria Beckhams Let Your Head Go / This Groove released 2004, she re enacts the "no wire hangers ever" as well as the flower cutting scene from the biopic concerning the life of the actress Joan Crawford based off her adopted daughter's tell all book Mommie Dearest .

Akira Kurosawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born March 23, 1910
Ota, Tokyo, Japan
Died September 6, 1998
Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Spouse(s) Yôko Yaguchi (1945-1985)
Academy Awards

Honorary Award (1990)
Akira Kurosawa (Kyūjitai: 黒澤 明, Shinjitai: 黒沢 明, Kurosawa Akira?, 23 March 1910?-6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His first credited film (Sugata Sanshiro) was released in 1943; his last (Madadayo) in 1993. His many awards include the Legion d'Honneur and an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.




Early life

Akira Kurosawa was born to Isamu and Shima Kurosawa on March 23, 1910. He was the youngest of eight children born to the Kurosawas in a suburb of Tokyo. Shima Kurosawa was forty years old at the time of Akira's birth and his father Isamu was forty-five. Akira Kurosawa grew up in a household with one older brother and three older sisters. Of his three older brothers, one died before Akira was born and one was already grown and out of the household. One of his four older sisters had also left the home to begin her own family before Kurosawa was born.

Kurosawa's father worked as the director of a junior high school operated by the Japanese military and the Kurosawas descended from a line of former Samurai. Financially, the family was above average. Isamu Kurosawa embraced western culture both in the athletic programs that he directed and by taking the family to see films, which were then just beginning to appear in Japanese theaters. Later when Japanese culture turned away from western films, Isamu Kurosawa continued to believe that films were a positive educational experience.

In primary school Akira Kurosawa was encouraged to draw by a teacher who took an interest in mentoring his talents. His older brother, Heigo, had a profound impact on him. Heigo was very intelligent and won several academic competitions, but also had what was later called a cynical or dark side. In 1923, the Great Kantō earthquake destroyed Tokyo and left 100,000 people dead. In the wake of this event, Heigo, 17, and Akira, 13, made a walking tour of the devastation. Corpses of humans and animals were piled everywhere. When Akira would attempt to turn his head away, Heigo urged him not to. According to Akira, this experience would later instruct him that to look at a frightening thing head-on is to defeat its ability to cause fear.

Heigo eventually began a career as a benshi in Tokyo film theaters. Benshi narrated silent films for the audience and were a uniquely Japanese addition to the theater experience. However with the impact of talking pictures on the rise, benshi were losing work all over Japan. Heigo organized a benshi strike that failed. Akira was likewise involved in labor-management struggles, writing several articles for a radical newspaper while improving and expanding his skills as a painter and reading literature. Akira never considered himself a Communist despite his activities that he later would describe as reckless.

When Akira Kurosawa was in his early 20s, his older brother Heigo committed suicide. Four months later, the oldest of Kurosawa's brothers also died, leaving Akira as the only surviving son of an original four at age 23. Kurosawa's next-oldest sibling, a sister he called "Little Big Sister," had also died suddenly after a short illness when he was ten.


Early career

In 1936, Kurosawa learned of an apprenticeship program for directors through a major film studio, Nikkatsu. He was hired and worked as an assistant director to Kajiro Yamamoto . After his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata, his next few films were made under the watchful eye of the wartime Japanese government and sometimes contained nationalistic themes. For instance, The Most Beautiful is a propaganda film about Japanese women working in a military optics factory. Judo Saga 2 has been held to be explicitly anti-American in the way that it portrays Japanese judo as superior to western (American) boxing.

His first post-war film No Regrets for Our Youth, by contrast, is critical of the old Japanese regime and is about the wife of a left-wing dissident arrested for his political leanings. Kurosawa made several more films dealing with contemporary Japan, most notably Drunken Angel and Stray Dog. However, it was a period film - Rashomon- that made him internationally famous and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.


Directorial approach

Kurosawa had a distinctive cinematic technique, which he had developed by the 1950s, and which gave his films a unique look. He liked using telephoto lenses for the way they flattened the frame and also because he believed that placing cameras farther away from his actors produced better performances. He also liked using multiple cameras, which allowed him to shoot an action from different angles. Another Kurosawa trademark was the use of weather elements to heighten mood: for example the heavy rain in the opening scene of Rashomon, and the final battle in Seven Samurai, the intense heat in Stray Dog, the cold wind in Yojimbo, the rain and snow in Ikiru, and the fog in Throne of Blood. Kurosawa also liked using frame wipes, sometimes cleverly hidden by motion within the frame, as a transition device.

He was known as "Tenno", literally "Emperor", for his dictatorial directing style. He was a perfectionist who spent enormous amounts of time and effort to achieve the desired visual effects. In Rashomon, he dyed the rain water black with calligraphy ink in order to achieve the effect of heavy rain, and ended up using up the entire local water supply of the location area in creating the rainstorm. In Throne of Blood, in the final scene in which Mifune is shot by arrows, Kurosawa used real arrows shot by expert archers from a short range, landing within centimetres of Mifune's body. In Ran, an entire castle set was constructed on the slopes of Mt. Fuji only to be burned to the ground in a climactic scene.

Other stories include demanding a stream be made to run in the opposite direction in order to get a better visual effect, and having the roof of a house removed, later to be replaced, because he felt the roof's presence to be unattractive in a short sequence filmed from a train.

His perfectionism also showed in his approach to costumes: he felt that giving an actor a brand new costume made the character look less than authentic. To resolve this, he often gave his cast their costumes weeks before shooting was to begin and required them to wear them on a daily basis and "bond with them." In some cases, such as with Seven Samurai, where most of the cast portrayed poor farmers, the actors were told to make sure the costumes were worn down and tattered by the time shooting started.

Kurosawa did not believe that "finished" music went well with film. When choosing a musical piece to accompany his scenes, he usually had it stripped down to one element (e.g., trumpets only). Only towards the end of his films do we hear more finished pieces.


Influences

A notable feature of Kurosawa's films is the breadth of his artistic influences. Some of his plots are adaptations of William Shakespeare's works: Ran is based on King Lear and Throne of Blood is based on Macbeth, while The Bad Sleep Well parallels Hamlet, but is not affirmed to be based on it. Kurosawa also directed film adaptations of Russian literary works, including The Idiot by Dostoevsky and The Lower Depths, a play by Maxim Gorky. Ikiru was based on Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. High and Low was based on King's Ransom by American crime writer Ed McBain, Yojimbo may have been based on Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest and also borrows from American Westerns, and Stray Dog was inspired by the detective novels of Georges Simenon. Story lines in Red Beard can be found in The Insulted and Humiliated by Dostoevsky. The American film director John Ford also had a large influence on his work.

Despite criticism by some Japanese critics that Kurosawa was "too Western", he was deeply influenced by Japanese culture as well, including the Kabuki and Noh theaters and the Jidaigeki (period drama) genre of Japanese cinema.


His influence

Kurosawa's films have had a major influence on world cinema and continue to inspire filmmakers, and others, around the globe.

Seven Samurai has been remade several times in assorted cinema genres, including Westerns, Science Fiction, and Chinese Martial Arts. The main versions, all of which directly use the same plot structure, comprise The Magnificent Seven (1960, Dir. John Sturges)[1], Beach of the War Gods (1973, Prod. Run Run Shaw), Battle Beyond the Stars (1980, Prod. Roger Corman), World Gone Wild (1988, Dir. Lee Katzin), Saat Hindustani (1969, Dir. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. Debut role of Amitabh Bachchan). There are several other versions which are more loosely based on the motif, including Three Amigos and A Bug's Life[2]. The film has inspired two Bollywood films, Ramesh Sippy's Sholay and Rajkumar Santoshi's China Gate, which feature similar plots. The story was also used as inspiration in numerous novels, among them Stephen King's 5th Dark Tower novel, Wolves of the Calla.

Rashomon was also remade by Martin Ritt in 1964's The Outrage. The Tamil films Andha Naal (1954) and Virumaandi (2004), starring Shivaji Ganesan and Kamal Hassan, respectively, employ a storytelling method similar to that Kurosawa uses in Rashomon.

Yojimbo was the basis for the Sergio Leone western A Fistful of Dollars, the Bruce Willis prohibition-era Last Man Standing and the Boaz Yakin 1994 urban hood drama, Fresh.

The Hidden Fortress is an acknowledged influence on George Lucas's Star Wars films, in particular Episodes IV and VI and most notably in the characters of R2-D2 and C-3PO. Lucas also used a modified version of Kurosawa's "trademarked" wipe transition effect throughout the Star Wars saga. GONZO animation studios in Japan has also made an anime series named Samurai 7, after Kurosawa's own Seven Samurai

Rashomon not only helped open Japanese cinema to the world but entered the English language as a term for fractured, inconsistent narratives (see rashomon effect).


Collaboration

During his most productive period, from the late 40s to the mid-60s, Kurosawa often worked with the same group of collaborators. Fumio Hayasaka composed music for seven of his films ?- notably Rashomon, Ikiru and Seven Samurai. Many of Kurosawa's scripts, including Throne of Blood, Seven Samurai and Ran were co-written with Hideo Oguni. Yoshiro Muraki was Kurosawa's production designer or art director for most of his films after Stray Dog in 1949, and Asakazu Naki was his cinematographer on 11 films including Ikiru, Seven Samurai and Ran. Kurosawa also liked working with the same group of actors, especially Takashi Shimura, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Toshiro Mifune. His collaboration with the latter, which began with 1948's Drunken Angel and ended with 1965's Red Beard, is one of the most famous director-actor combinations in cinema history.


Later films

Red Beard marked a turning point in Kurosawa's career in more ways than one. In addition to being his last film with Mifune, it was his last in black-and-white. It was also his last as a major director within the Japanese studio system making roughly a film a year. Kurosawa was signed to direct a Hollywood project, Tora! Tora! Tora!; but 20th Century Fox replaced him with Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku before it was completed. His next few films were a lot harder to finance and were made at intervals of five years. The first, Dodesukaden, about a group of poor people living around a rubbish dump, was not a success.

After an attempted suicide, Kurosawa went on to make several more films although arranging domestic financing was highly difficult despite his international reputation. Dersu Uzala, made in the Soviet Union and set in Siberia in the early 20th century, was the only Kurosawa film made outside Japan and not in Japanese. It is about the friendship of a Russian explorer and a nomadic hunter. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Kagemusha, financed with the help of the director's most famous admirers, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, is the story of a man who is the body double of a medieval Japanese lord and takes over his identity after the lord's death. Ran was the director's version of King Lear, set in medieval Japan. It was by far the greatest project of Kurosawa's late career, and he spent a decade planning it and trying to obtain funding, which he was finally able to do with the help of the French producer Serge Silberman. The film was a phenomenal international success and is generally considered Kurosawa's last masterpiece.

Kurosawa made three more films during the 1990s which were more personal than his earlier works. Dreams is a series of vignettes based on his own dreams. Rhapsody in August is about memories of the Nagasaki atom bomb and his final film, Madadayo, is about a retired teacher and his former students. Kurosawa died in Setagaya, Tokyo, at age 88.

After the Rain (雨あがる, Ame Agaru) is a 1998 posthumous film directed by Kurosawa's closest collaborator, Takashi Koizumi, co-produced by Kurosawa Production (Hisao Kurosawa) and starring Tatsuda Nakadai and Shiro Mifune (son of Toshiro). Screenplay, script and dialogues are both written by Akira Kurosawa. The story is based on a short novel by Shugoro Yamamoto, Ame Agaru.


Trivia

Kurosawa was a notoriously lavish gourmet, and spent huge quantities of money on film sets providing an uneatably large quantity and quality of delicacies, especially meat, for the cast and crew. However, the large amount of the meat was because it was left over from recording sound effects of the sound of knives cutting flesh to augment the many swordfight scenes.[3]
On one occasion Kurosawa got to meet John Ford, a director commonly said to be the most influential to Kurosawa. And not knowing what to say Ford simply said, "You really like rain." Kurosawa responded "You've really been paying attention to my films."[1]
Kurosawa considered Ran the best film he ever made.[4]
Kurosawa's wife was Yoko Yaguchi. He had two children with her: a son named Hisao and a daughter named Kazuko.

Chaka Khan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Background information

Birth name Yvette Marie Stevens
Born March 23, 1953 (age 54)
Origin Great Lakes, Illinois
Genre(s) R&B, pop, jazz, funk music
Occupation(s) singer, songwriter
Years active 1970-1983 (with Rufus)
1978-present (solo)
Label(s) ABC (1972-1979)
MCA (1979-1980)
Warner Bros. (1978-1993)
Reprise (1993-1997)
NPG (1998-2000)
Burgundy (2005-present)
Associated
acts Rufus
Indira Khan

Website ChakaKhan.com

Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953 in Great Lakes, Illinois) is an American singer best known for her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel For You", for her smash hit "I'm Every Woman" and as a member of the funk band Rufus, with whom she recorded the legendary soul record "Ain't Nobody". In her career she has earned many accolades, including eight Grammy awards. Though regarded an R&B singer, she has in fact explored numerous musical genres including funk, disco, jazz, ballads, hip hop, adult contemporary and pop standards.



Biography

Early life

Khan was raised on Chicago's South Side, and at the age of 11 formed her first group, the Crystalettes. While still in high school, she joined the Afro-Arts Theater, a group which toured with Motown great Mary Wells; a few years later, she adopted the African name "Chaka" while working as a volunteer on the Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children program. After quitting high school in 1969, Khan joined the group Lyfe, soon exiting to join another dance band, The Babysitters; neither was on the fast track to success, but her fortunes changed when she teamed with ex-American Breed member Kevin Murphy and Andre Fisher to form Rufus.


Life with Rufus

Debuting in 1973 with a self-titled effort on the ABC label, Rufus was among the pre-eminent funk groups of the decade; distinguished by Khan's dynamic vocals. With the help of Stevie Wonder, Rufus broke into both the pop music and R&B charts in 1974 with the hit "Tell Me Something Good". Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the band had a number of R&B hits, including "Tell Me Something Good", "Masterjam", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel?", and "Once You Get Started". The group earned half a dozen gold or platinum albums and two gold singles with "Tell Me Something Good" and "Sweet Thing" before she went solo in 1978.


Solo Stardom

In 1978, Khan recorded her highly-orchestrated Arif Mardin-produced disco smash hit "I'm Every Woman" (#1 R&B and #21 Pop, and a bigger Pop hit over a decade later for Whitney Houston), from the album Chaka. Chaka proved to be a significant hit on the strength of the single (which was composed by Ashford & Simpson) however, Khan's success was somewhat tempered by her public rivalry with the remaining members of Rufus, to whom she was contractually bound for two more LPs.

As a solo artist, Khan recorded backing vocals for Ry Cooder's 1979 effort "Bop Till You Drop," then cut her sophomore album, 1980's Naughty, a minor hit on the R&B charts, which featured 'Clouds' (also by Ashford & Simpson), 'Move Me No Mountain', and other songs that displayed Chaka's range as a singer. The 'Naughty' album also featured Luther Vandross, Cissy Houston, and a young Whitney Houston singing background vocals.

Her next album, What Cha' Gonna Do for Me ?, was a gold seller and included at least two hit singles on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, including the title song (which topped the R&B chart and made #53 Pop). Chaka's 'Night In Tunisia (The Melody Remains The Same)' is also a timeless classic (featuring Dizzy Gillespie & Herbie Hancock) from the album, which has Chaka hitting 'notes that aren't in the book' (according to her legendary producer Arif Mardin).

In 1982, Warner Brothers released the Arif Mardin produced 'Chaka Khan' album. This album featured the single 'Tearin It Up', as well as Chaka's reading of Michael Jackson's 'Got To Be There'. 'Slow Dancin' (a duet with the late Rick James) was also featured, but her 'Be Bop Medley' won the Diva a Grammy Award, as well as praise from jazz legend Betty Carter, who praised Chaka for her improvisational skills. 'Chaka Khan' was critically acclaimed, but it was not the huge hit that Warner Brothers wanted. The CD edition of 'Chaka Khan' is a rare collector's item because Warner Brothers refuses to release it in the United States. Fans can expect to pay almost $100.00 for mint CDs imported from Japan.


A jazz experiment

In 1982, Khan recorded Echoes Of An Era, a collection of jazz standards featuring performances from Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea and Lenny White. 1983 saw Khan return to Rufus to record her last contractually obligated album Stompin' At The Savoy: Live. The double album contained live versions of Rufus classics, Khan's solo hits and a handful of newly recorded tracks. One of these was the hit "Ain't Nobody," which returned Khan to the top of the urban and top 40 charts (#22 Pop). To make room for the new studio tracks, Warner Brothers omitted live versions of "Everlasting Love" (which was released on the rare 1983 soundtrack to Night Shift), "The Best Of Your Heart" and "Hollywood".


Hip hop phenomenon

Her pop career was on shaky ground when she released 1984's I Feel For You, a platinum-seller launched by its title cut, a Grammy-winning, hip hop-based rendition of a fairly obscure Prince album track with a cameo appearance by Stevie Wonder on harmonica and rap by Melle Mel, which launched her recording career back into full gear. Produced by David Foster, the popular ballad "Through The Fire" also reached the R&B top ten, setting a record (since broken) for spending the most consecutive weeks on the Billboard R&B chart, made #60 Pop during a 19-week run on the Hot 100, and crossed over to the adult contemporary chart. "Through The Fire" has since been sampled by Kanye West for his hit single "Through The Wire". Chaka also recorded 'Krush Groove (Can't Stop The Street)' for the movie Krush Groove in 1985.


1990s to now

Still, while subsequent LPs like 1986's Destiny and 1988's C.K. kept Khan high on the R&B charts, her standing in pop's mainstream again began to wane, and by the end of the 1980s she had moved to Europe. Not forgotten back in America, in 1990, she won another Grammy for "I'll Be Good To You," a duet with Ray Charles and another #1 R&B and Top 20 Pop hit.

In 1992, Khan released her album The Woman I Am, for which she received a Grammy award for best Rhythm & Blues vocal performance. The album's hit single "Love You All My Lifetime" was penned by German songwriter duo Irmgard Klarmann and Felix Weber and was produced by David Gamson. According to the Chaka's World Website, Khan recorded a follow up album Dare You To Love Me which was to be released in 1995. Warner Brothers shelved the project (although several of the tracks appeared on a career retropsective titled Epiphany: The Very Best of Chaka Khan and soundtracks such as To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and Waiting To Exhale (singing the standard "My Funny Valentine").

Khan soon left Warner Brothers because of a lack of promotion[citation needed] and after the label had decided to release the Epiphany compilation instead of Dare You To Love Me in its true form[citation needed]. Prince (who also feuded with the company) assisted Khan in leaving Warner Brothers. Khan eventually made a special agreement with "The Artist" (who was then only formerly known as Prince), and recorded her next album on his New Power Generation label.

The Prince-produced Come 2 My House appeared in 1998, and went gold[citation needed] despite little or no promotion. Khan also appeared on new CDs by Prince and Larry Graham for the New Power Generation Label, and toured in support for the projects. In 2001, Khan sang on De La Soul's hit song "All Good?". In 2002 she was an integral part of the documentary about Motown studio musicians The Funk Brothers, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, which she performed the classic R&B songs "What's Going On?" (she won her 8th Grammy Award for this performance) and the last live song performed in the film, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (a duet with Montell Jordan).

In October 2004, Khan released her cover album ClassiKhan by her own label Earth Song Records and Sanctuary Records. An album of standards featuring the London Symphony Orchestra and recorded primarily at Abbey Road Studios in London. The entire album was Produced by Eve Nelson of Nelson-O'Reilly Productions who also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra.

On December 3, 2004, she received an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. She is also active in the autism community as she has family members who have been diagnosed. Her EarthSong Entertainment and Chaka Khan Foundation operate from Beverly Hills, California. She continues to record and perform with her distinctive and powerful voice.


Recent

In early 2006, she signed with Sony BMG's new label Burgundy Records to release her upcoming studio cover album set I-Khan Divas in 2007. Also, Khan, who has recently embraced Christianity, participated in a live all-star gospel concert recording for artist Richard Smallwood's new album Journey: Live In New York. Khan is featured on the song "Holy Is Your Name." [1]

On February 11, 2007 Khan headlined and performed at the NARAS 2007 Grammy Award official post party held immediately after the event at the Los Angeles convention center.


Miscellany

On her official website, Khan credits singer Karen Clark Sheard with being "the voice that helped me find the Holy Ghost". She performed a live cover of Sheard's "A Secret Place" along with Richard Smallwood on TBN's popular show Praise The Lord in October 2006.
She was only 20 when she joined Rufus.
She showcased her vocal talents as the choir soloist in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Featured on Rick Wakeman's album 1984.
Featured on Stevie Winwood's "Higher Love". Khan sang and produced the background vocals.
According to the 'Chaka's World' website, Chaka was originally scheduled to duet on Tom Browne's hit "Funkin' For Jamaica" and Dennis Edwards' hit "Don't Look Any Further" (which he went on to perform with Siedah Garrett). She also recorded the song "Addicted to Love" with Robert Palmer. Her vocals were later removed after her management refused to allow its release.
Although she sang at both the 2000 Democratic and Republican conventions, Khan says that she is more of a "Democratic-minded person." [2]
Good friends with The Bee Gees.
Recorded the newest version of the Reading Rainbow theme song. Episodes recorded from 2000 bear her version.
Favorite rapper is Busta Rhymes.
Yummy Bingham is her goddaughter.
In an episode of Shooting Stars Khan was named as an artist whose name sounded like an animal noise
Chaka Khan and Doctor Khan of International Immigration Advisory Services have never been seen in the same place at the same time. It is suspected that they may be the same person although nobody really knows for certain.

A woman visited a psychic
In a dark and gloomy room, gazing at the Tarot cards laid out before
her, the Tarot reader delivered the bad news. "There is no easy way to say this so I'll just be blunt, prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year."
Visibly shaken, the woman stared at the psychic's lined face, then at
the single flickering candle, then down at her hands. She took a few deep
breaths to compose herself. She simply had to know. She met the Tarot
reader's gaze, steadied her voice, and asked: "Will I get away with it?

Good morning WA2K. I can always count on Bob to cheer me up in the morning. It's a gloomy rainy one in PA.

Faces to match:

Glad to see our hawkman back again. Thanks, BostonBob for the celeb background. I didn't know anyone there except Joan Crawford. Loved your psychic funny, honey. As Raggedy observed, we always get a smile even when times are "dysappointing."

Hey, there's our pretty pup with faces of an era. Thanks, PA. I guess the black and whites are Akira and the pink, Chaka. Need to check out the songs by her as I am always interested in things that I don't know.

Here's one, folks, that I like by Miss Chaka

THROUGH THE FIRE (Chaka Kahn)

I look in your eyes and I can see
You've loved so dangerously
You're not trusting your heart to anyone...
You tell me you're gonna play it smart
We're through before we start
But I believe that we've only just begun

When it's this good there's no saying no
I want you so I'm ready to go

Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
For just to be with you I'd gladly risk it all
Through the fire, through whatever come what may
For a chance at loving you, I'd take it all the way...
Right down to the wire, even through the fire

I know you're afraid of what you feel
Your still need time to heal
And I could help if you'll only let me try
You touched me and something in me knew
What I could have with you,
Now I'm not ready to say goodbye

When it's this good there's no saying no
I need you so I'm ready to go
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
For just to be with you I'd gladly risk it all
Through the fire, through whatever come what may
For a chance at loving you, I'd take it all the way...
Right down to the wire, even through the fire
Through the fire, to the limit, through the fire, through whatever

The man in the sunglasses is Akira Kurosawa. The stills above him are clips from some of his films. I recognized Toshiro Mifune who starred in The Seven Samurai. We copied the film idea to make The Magnificent Seven.

Thanks, Bob. Here is a reminder of both, folks.

I Am...I Said
Neil Diamond

LA's fine the sun shines most of the time
And the feeling is laid back
Palm trees grow and rents are low
But'cha know I keep thinking about
Makin my way back
We'll I'm New York City born and rasied
But now a days I'm lost between two shores
LA's fine but it ain't home
New York's home but it ain't mine no more

I am, I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair
I am I cried
I am, said I
And I am lost and I can't even say why
Leaving me lonely still

Did you ever read about a frog
Who dreamed of being a king
And then became one
Well except for the names and a few other changes
If you talk about me
The stories the same one
But I've got a emptyness deep inside
And I tried but it wont let me go
And I'm not a man who likes to swear
But I never cared for the sound of being alone

I am, I said
To no one there
And no one heard at all
Not even the chair
I am, I cried
I am, said I
And I am lost and I can't even say why
I am, said I
I am, I cried
I am

for some reason seeing that song made me think of this

I Palindrome I
They Might Be Giants

Someday mother will die and I'll get the money
Mom leans down and says, "My sentiments exactly,
You son of a bitch"
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
And I am a snake head eating (snake head)
The head on the opposite side (snake head)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)

See that bulletproof dress hanging from the clothesline
See the medical chart with the random zig-zag
Now I'll help it decide
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
And I am a snake head eating (snake head)
The head on the opposite side (snake head)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)

"Son I am able," she said "though you scare me."
"Watch," said I
"Beloved," I said "watch me scare you though." said she,
"Able am I, Son."

See the spring of the grandfather clock unwinding
(Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age)
See the hands of my offspring making windmills
(Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age)
Dad palindrome Dad
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
And I am a snake head eating (snake head)
The head on the opposite side (snake head)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)

I BELIEVE IN YOU

Words and Music by Bob Dylan

They ask me how I feel
And if my love is real
And how I know I'll make it through.
And they, they look at me and frown,
They'd like to drive me from this town,
They don't want me around
'Cause I believe in you.

They show me to the door,
They say don't come back no more
'Cause I don't be like they'd like me to,
And I walk out on my own
A thousand miles from home
But I don't feel alone
'Cause I believe in you.

I believe in you even through the tears and the laughter,
I believe in you even though we be apart.
I believe in you even on the morning after.
Oh, when the dawn is nearing
Oh, when the night is disappearing
Oh, this feeling is still here in my heart.

Don't let me drift too far,
Keep me where you are
Where I will always be renewed.
And that which you've given me today
Is worth more than I could pay
And no matter what they say
I believe in you.

I believe in you when winter turn to summer,
I believe in you when white turn to black,
I believe in you even though I be outnumbered.
Oh, though the earth may shake me
Oh, though my friends forsake me
Oh, even that couldn't make me go back.

Don't let me change my heart,
Keep me set apart
From all the plans they do pursue.
And I, I don't mind the pain
Don't mind the driving rain
I know I will sustain
'Cause I believe in you.

it was sixty years ago today

june will mark the 40th anniversary of sgt. pepper

a couple of selections from the disc



Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(Lennon/McCartney)

It was twenty years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
We hope you will enjoy the show,
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Sit back and let the evening go.
Sgt. Pepper's lonely, Sgt. Pepper's lonely,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
It's wonderful to be here,
It's certainly a thrill.
You're such a lovely audience,
We'd like to take you home with us,
We'd love to take you home.
I don't really want to stop the show,
But I thought that you might like to know,
That the singer's going to sing a song,
And he wants you all to sing along.
So let me introduce to you
The one and only Billy Shears
And Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.


A Little Help From My Friends
(Lennon/McCartney)

A little help from my friends
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.
I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,
Going to try with a little help from my friends.
What do I do when my love is away.
(Does it worry you to be alone)
How do I feel by the end of the day
(Are you sad because you're on your own)
No I get by with a little help from my friends,
Do you need anybody,
I need somebody to love.
Could it be anybody
I want somebody to love.
Would you believe in a love at first sight,
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.
What do you see when you turn out the light,
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,
Do you need anybody,
I just need somebody to love,
Could it be anybody,
I want somebody to love.
I get by with a little help from my friends,
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends,
With a little help from my friends.


Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
(Lennon/McCartney)

We're Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you have enjoyed the show
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We're sorry but it's time to go.
Sergeant Pepper's lonely.
Sergeant Pepper's lonely.
Sergeant Pepper's lonely.
Sergeant Pepper's lonely.
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We'd like to thank you once again
Sergeant Pepper's one and only Lonely Hearts Club Band
It's getting very near the end
Sergeant Pepper's lonely
Sergeant Pepper's lonely
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.


A Day in the Life
(Lennon/McCartney)

I read the news today oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They'd seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.
I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
but I just had to look
Having read the book.
I'd love to turn you on
Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I'd love to turn you on.

One of my fave fab albums, djjd.

The Scorpion Departs but Never Returns
By Phil Ochs


Am
Sailors climb the tree, up the terrible tree
G
Where are my shipmates have they sunk beneath the sea?
Am
I do not know much, but I know this cannot be
G F
It isn't really, it isn't really,
E
Tell me it isn't really.

Sounding bell is diving down the water green
Not a trace, not a toothbrush, not a cigarette was seen
Bubble ball is rising from a whisper or a scream
But I'm not screaming, no I'm not screaming,
Tell me I'm not screaming.

C Bb
Captain will not say how long we must remain
C Am Dm7
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
E
It's all the same.

Captain my dear Captain we're staying down so long
I have been a good man, I've done nobody wrong
Have we left our ladies for the lyrics of a song?
That I'm not singing, I'm not singing
Tell me I'm not singing

The schooner ship is sliding across the kitchen sink
My son and my daughter they won't know what to think
The crew has turned to voting and the officers to drink
But I'm not drinking, no I'm not drinking
Tell me I'm not drinking

Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same.

The radio is begging them to come back to the shore
All will be forgiven, it'll be just like before
All you've ever wanted will be waiting by your door
We will forgive you, we will forgive you
Tell me we will forgive you

But no one gives an answer not even one goodbye
Oh, the silence of their sinking is all that they reply
Some have chosen to decay and other chose to die
But I'm not dying, no I'm not dying
Tell me I'm not dying

Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same.

Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors. It seems that last evening was dj and edgar night. Great songs, guys, and thanks so much. I especially enjoyed the Palindrome by They Might be Giants and edgar's scorpion song as that is my sign.

As to sgt. Pepper, I went to the archives to search out George Harrison and found a lot of info that I didn't know. That's the great part of our wee cyber radio.

How about a song from George this morning, and one that is quite apt as there are only two Beatles left to play.

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you.

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I dont know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I dont know how you were inverted
No one alerted you.

I look at you all see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
Look at you all . . .
Still my guitar gently weeps.

Cross Patch
Fats Waller

Cross patch how can anyone be so cross
Won't you tumble off your high horse
You know you love to be loved

Cross patch, if you feel the wind change
They say it will make your face stay that way
And then you'll never be loved
Cultivate a smile sweet and sunny
You can catch a fly with honey
You're actin so spoiled
Shame, shame, everybody knows your name

Cross patch don't you know it takes two to fight
Won't you kiss and make up tonight
You know you love to be loved

Ah, edgar, dear, dear Fats. I like that song, Texas, and it reminds me of this weird rhyme:

Cross patch,
Draw the latch,
Sit by the fire and spin.
Take a cup and drink it up,
Then call your neighbors in.

Wonder what that means.

It seems, listeners, that they are digging up poor Houdini to determine if he were poisoned by his enemies whom he debunked as charlatans. That bit of news leads me to this poem.

A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

-- William Blake

Norman Fell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Norman Fell (born Norman Feld March 24, 1924 - December 14, 1998) was a Golden Globe award-winning American film and television actor most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the popular sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.

Fell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied drama at Temple University after serving as a tail gunner in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Though he mostly acted on television, he also had small character roles in several motion pictures including Ocean's Eleven (1960), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), The Graduate (1967), in which he also played a landlord, Bullitt (1968), and Catch-22 (1970). He appeared alongside Ronald Reagan in Reagan's last film, The Killers (1964).

He received his Golden Globe Award in 1979, for Best TV Actor in a Supporting Role, for Three's Company. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award, but not for Three's Company, but rather for his dramatic performance in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, in which he played Nick Nolte's character's boxing trainer.

His final television appearance was in a cameo as Mr. Roper on an episode of the sitcom Ellen in 1997.

Norman Fell died of cancer at the age of 74 in Los Angeles, California, and was interred there at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery.