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John Gielgud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Birth name Arthur John Gielgud
Born April 14, 1904
South Kensington, London, England, UK
Died May 21, 2000 (age 96)
Wotton Underwood, England, UK
Spouse(s) Martin Hensler (ca. 1963-1999}
Notable roles Prospero
in Prospero's Books
Academy Awards

Best Supporting Actor
1981 Arthur
Emmy Awards

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
1991 Summer's Lease
Tony Awards

Outstanding Foreign Company
1948 The Importance of Being Earnest
Special Award
1959 Ages of Man
Best Director - Drama
1961 Big Fish, Little Fish

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 - 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning theatre and film actor, and is generally regarded as one of the great English actors in history.



Career

Arthur John Gielgud was born in Kensington in London to a Protestant mother, Kate Terry, and a Catholic father of Lithuanian descent, Frank Gielgud (the original Lithuanian form of the name was Gelgaudas) and was raised a Protestant. Gielgud had a head start in the theatrical profession, being a great nephew of Dame Ellen Terry. His elder brother was Val Gielgud who was a pioneering influence in BBC Radio.


Early stages

After Westminster School, where he gained a King's Scholarship, Gielgud trained at RADA and had his initial success as a stage actor in classical roles, first winning stardom during a phenomally successful two seasons at the Old Vic Theatre from 1929 to 1931 where his performances as Richard II and Hamlet were particularly acclaimed, the latter being the first Old Vic production to be transferred to the West End for a run. He returned to the role of Hamlet in a famous production under his own direction in 1934 at the New Theatre in the West End, was hailed as a Broadway star in Guthrie McClintic's production in which Lillian Gish played Ophelia in 1936 (and which was assisted by a rival staging starring Leslie Howard that opened shortly afterwards and failed badly by comparison), a 1939 production that Gielgud again directed that was the last play performed at Henry Irving's Orpheum Theatre and was later taken to Elsinore Castle in Denmark (the actual setting of the play), a 1944 production directed by George Rylands and finally a 1945 production that toured the Far East under Gielgud's own direction. In his later years, Gielgud would play the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in productions of the play, first to Richard Burton's Melancholy Dane on the Broadway stage which Gielgud directed in 1964, and then on television with Richard Chamberlain and finally in a radio production starring Gielgud's protégé Kenneth Branagh.

Gielgud had triumphs in many other plays, notably his greatest popular success Richard of Bordeaux (1933) (a romantic version of the story of Richard II), The Importance of Being Earnest which he first performed at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 1930 and would remain in his repertory until 1947, and a legendary production of Romeo and Juliet (1935) which Gielgud directed and alternated the roles of Romeo and Mercutio with a young Laurence Olivier in his first professional Shakespearean leading role. Olivier's performance won him an engagement as the leading man of the Old Vic Theatre the following season starting his career as a classical actor, but he was said to have resented Gielgud's direction and developed a wary relationship with Gielgud which resulted in Olivier turning down Gielgud's request to play the Chorus in Olivier's film of Henry V and later doing his best to block Gielgud from appearing at the Royal National Theatre when Olivier was its director[1].


Queen's Theatre Season

Gielgud had an enormous influence on the development of English Theatre when he produced a season of plays at the Queen's Theatre in 1937/38, presenting Richard II, The School for Scandal, The Three Sisters, and The Merchant of Venice with a permanent company (that included Michael Redgrave and Alec Guinness) that would shape the development of such theatrical institutions as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Gielgud acted in all four productions and directed the two Shakespeare plays, while Tyrone Guthrie directed The School for Scandal and Michael Saint-Denis staged The Three Sisters. The greatest success of the season was the production of The Three Sisters, with Gielgud's performance as Vershinin, coupled with his successes in The Seagull (1929 and 1936), The Cherry Orchard (1954), and Ivanov (1965) establishing Chekhov's acceptance on the English-speaking stage.


Shakespearean Legacy

But it would always be for his Shakespearean work that Gielgud would be best known. In addition to Hamlet which he played over 500 times in six productions, he gave definitive performances of his favorite role of Prospero in The Tempest in four productions (as well as the 1991 film Prospero's Books), Richard II in three productions, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing which he first played in 1930 and revived throughout the 1950s, Macbeth and Oberon in A Midsummer Nights Dream twice, Romeo three times, King Lear four times (as well as taking on the part for a final time in a radio broadcast at the age of 90), in addition to triumphs as Malvolio in Twelfth Night (1931), Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1937), Angelo in Measure for Measure (1950), Cassius in Julius Caesar (1950) (which he immortalized in the 1953 film), Leontes in The Winter's Tale (1951), and Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VII (1959) (although his 1960 performance as Othello was not a success). His crowning achievement was Ages of Man, his one-man recital of Shakespearean excerpts which he performed throughout the 1950s and 1960s, winning a Tony Award for the Broadway production, a Grammy Award for his recording of the piece, and an Emmy Award for producer David Susskind for the 1966 telecast on CBS. Gielgud made his final Shakespearean appearance on stage in 1977 in the title role of John Schlesinger's production of Julius Caesar at the Royal National Theatre. Among his non-Shakespearean Renaissance roles, his Ferdinand in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi was well-known.


Later stage work

As he aged, Gielgud began to adapt more to changing fashions in the theatre, appearing in plays by Edward Albee (Tiny Alice), Alan Bennett (Forty Years On), Charles Wood (Veterans), Edward Bond (Bingo, in which Gielgud played William Shakespeare), David Storey (Home), and Harold Pinter (No Man's Land), the latter two in partnership with his old friend Ralph Richardson, but he drew the line at being offered the role of Hamm in Beckett's Endgame, saying that the play offered "nothing but loneliness and despair."[2]. It looked as though Gielgud would retire from the stage after appearing in Half-Life at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1978, but he made a successful comeback in 1988 in Hugh Whitmore's play The Best of Friends as museum curator Sydney Cockerell.[3]


Film work

Although he began to appear in British films as early as 1924, making his debut in the silent movie Who Is the Man?, he would not make an impact in the medium until the last decades of his life. His early film roles were sporadic and included Benjamin Disraeli in The Prime Minister (1940), Cassius in Julius Caesar (1953, BAFTA Award for Best British Actor), George, Duke of Clarence to Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955), and Henry IV to Orson Welles' Falstaff in Chimes at Midnight (1966). But he lost his aversion to filming in the late 1960s, and by the the 1980s and 1990s he had thrown himself into the medium with a vengeance, so much so that it was jokingly said that he was prepared to do almost anything for his art. He won an Academy Award for his supporting role as a sardonic butler in the 1981 comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, a New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Providence (1977), a BAFTA Award for Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and his performances in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), The Elephant Man (1981), and Shine (1996) were critically acclaimed. In 1991, Gielgud was able to satisfy his life's ambition.[4] by immortalizing his Prospero on screen in the film Prospero's Books.

Television also developed as one of the focal points of his career, with Gielgud giving a particularly notable performance in Brideshead Revisited (1981). He won an Emmy Award for Summer's Lease (1989) and televised his stage performances of A Day by the Sea (1957), Home (1970), No Man's Land (1976) and his final theatre role in The Best of Friends as Sydney Cockerell in the 1991 Masterpiece Theatre Production, along with Patrick McGoohan and Dame Wendy Hiller. In 1983, he made his only onscreen appearance with both Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson in a television miniseries about composer Richard Wagner. In 1996 he played a wizard in the TV adaptation of Gulliver's Travels. Gielgud and Ralph Richardson were the first guest stars on Second City Television. Playing themselves, they were in Toronto during their tour of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land. According to Dave Thomas, in his book, SCTV: Behind the Scenes, their sketch stank and the actors gave a bad performance. Gielgud's final television performance was in Merlin in 1998.

Gielgud was one of the few people who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.

Gielgud's final onscreen appearance in a major release motion picture was as Pope Paul IV in Elizabeth which was released in 1998. His final acting performance was in a film adaptation of Samuel Beckett's short play Catastrophe, opposite longtime collaborator Harold Pinter and directed by American playwright David Mamet; Gielgud died mere weeks after production was completed at the age of 96 of natural causes.


Personal life

He was convicted of persistently importuning for immoral purposes (cottaging) in a Chelsea mews in 1953. Instead of being rejected by the public, he received a standing ovation at his next stage appearance. Biographer Sheridan Morley writes that while Gielgud never denied being gay, he always tried to be discreet about it and felt humiliated by the ordeal. Some speculate that it helped to bring to public attention a crusade to decriminalise homosexuality in England and Wales. Longtime lover Martin Hensler, 30 years his junior, died just a few months before Sir John did in 2000. He only publicly acknowledged Hensler as his partner in 1988, in the programme notes for Best of Friends[5] which was his final stage performance.[6] Despite going to Hollywood to appear alongside Marlon Brando in Julius Caesar in early 1950s, Gielgud would avoid Hollywood for over a decade for fear of being denied entry because of the arrest.


Awards and honours

He was knighted in the 1953 coronation honours, became a Companion of Honour in 1977, and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1996.
In 1982 he received an Evening Standard Special Award
The Globe Theatre in London was renamed the Gielgud Theatre in 1994 in his honour.

Rod Steiger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Birth name Rodney Stephen Steiger
Born April 14, 1925
Westhampton, New York, USA
Died July 9, 2002 (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Spouse(s) Sally Gracie (1952-1958)
Claire Bloom (1959-1969)
Sherry Nelson (1973-1979)
Paula Ellis (1986-1997)
Joan Benedict (2000-2002)
Notable roles Police Chief Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night
Sol Nazerman in
The Pawnbroker
Charley 'the Gent' Malloy in On the Waterfront
Academy Awards

Best Actor
1968 In the Heat of the Night
Nominated: Best Actor
1964 The Pawnbroker
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor
1954 On the Waterfront
Golden Globe Awards

Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1968 In the Heat of the Night
BAFTA Awards

Best Actor in a Leading Role
1968 In the Heat of the Night
Best Actor in a Leading Role
1967 The Pawnbroker

Rod Steiger (April 14, 1925 - July 9, 2002) was an American Academy Award-winning actor best known for his intense performances in such films as In the Heat of the Night, On the Waterfront and Doctor Zhivago.





Biography

Early life

He was born Rodney Stephen Steiger to Lutheran parents in Westhampton, New York. He was of French, Scottish, and German descent[1] (the origin of his surname). He never knew his father, and was raised by his alcoholic mother before running away from home at age sixteen to join the United States Navy during World War II, where he saw combat on destroyers in the Pacific. After the war, he returned to New Jersey and joined a drama group before studying drama full-time under Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan at The Actor's Studio.


Career

Steiger appeared in over 100 motion pictures. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Sheriff Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night (1967) opposite Sidney Poitier.

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for On the Waterfront (1954), in which he played Marlon Brando's character's brother. The most famous scene in the film is when Brando's Terry Malloy tells his brother that he "coulda been a contender". He was nominated again, this time for Best Actor, for the gritty The Pawnbroker (1965), a Sidney Lumet film in which Steiger portrays an emotionally withdrawn Holocaust survivor living in New York City.

He played Jud Fry in the film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!, in which he did his own singing.

One of his favorite roles was as the rapacious aristocrat Komarovsky in Doctor Zhivago (1965). Steiger, the only American in the cast of that film, was initially apprehensive about working with such great British actors as Ralph Richardson and Alec Guinness, and was afraid that he would stick out. However, his fears proved unfounded, as he won much acclaim for his role in this film. He also befriended fellow actor Tom Courtenay on this film; the two remained friends until Steiger's death. [2]

He appeared in memorable roles: in The Big Knife as an overly aggressive movie studio boss who berates movie star Jack Palance; as Al Capone in Al Capone (1959); as the unforgettable Mr. Joyboy in The Loved One (film); a theatre actor-serial killer in No Way to Treat a Lady; and a tragically repressed gay military officer in The Sergeant.

He also played well known figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte in Waterloo (1970); Benito Mussolini in The Last Four Days (1974) and again in Lion in the Desert (1981); W.C. Fields in W.C. Fields and Me (1976); Pontius Pilate in Franco Zeffirelli's TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977); and mob boss Sam Giancana in the TV miniseries Sinatra (1992).

He appeared in several Italian films including both Francesco Rosi's Hands Over the City (1963) and Lucky Luciano (1974), and also Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dynamite (1971). In France, he starred in Claude Chabrol's Innocents with Dirty Hands opposite Romy Schneider.

Among his best known roles in his later years was as the priest who gets pestered by flies in The Amityville Horror (1979); the Latin American crime lord in The Specialist (1994) opposite Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone; and as an aggressive gung-ho general in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!.

On television, he appeared in miniseries Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives (1985), Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (1993) and a 1995 Columbo TV movie.

Among his final feature film roles was as the judge in the Denzel Washington prison drama The Hurricane (1999). The film reunited him with director Norman Jewison, who directed him in In the Heat of the Night, for which Steiger won his Oscar, and the 1978 Stallone film F.I.S.T.

Steiger also appeared in the film version of Kurt Vonnegut's play Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971).

In 1969, he appeared in the film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man with his then-wife Claire Bloom.

He was offered the title role in Patton but turned it down because he did not want to glorify war. The role was then given to George C. Scott, who won the Oscar. Steiger called this refusal his "dumbest career move." He also turned down The Godfather.


Personal life

Steiger had five wives, the late actress Sally Gracie (married 1952-divorced 1958), actress Claire Bloom (married 1959-divorced 1969), Sherry Nelson (married 1973-divorced 1979), Paula Ellis (married 1986-divorced 1997) and actress Joan Benedict (married 2000-his death 2002). He had a daughter, opera singer Anna Steiger (born in 1960), from his marriage to Bloom, and a son by his marriage to Ellis.

Had a love affair with Diana Dors when they met during the filming of The Unholy Wife.

After undergoing triple heart bypass surgery in 1976, Steiger fell into a serious depression for eight years; few of his later performances received critical acclaim, and he was frequently accused of overacting.

He died in Los Angeles of pneumonia and complications from surgery for a (presumably malignant) gall bladder tumor at the age of 77. He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, in Los Angeles, California.

Steiger has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Loretta Lynn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




Background information
Birth name Loretta Webb
Also known as Loretta Lynn
Born April 14, 1935 (age 72)
Genre(s) Country music
Occupation(s) Country music singer and songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar
Years active 1960 - present
Label(s) Zero Records
Decca Records
MCA Records
Columbia Records
Associated
acts Conway Twitty, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Jack White
Website Loretta Lynn Official Website

Loretta Lynn (born Loretta Webb April 14, 1935) is an American country singer and was one of the leading country female vocalists during the 1960s and 1970s.





Early life

Born to Melvin "Ted" and Clara Marie (Ramey) Webb and named in honor of Loretta Young,[1] Lynn grew up in Butcher Hollow, a section of Van Lear, a mining community in Johnson County, Kentucky. Loretta's grandfather was Nathaniel Ramey, who was of Cherokee ancestry. Her father Ted was a coal miner, store keeper and farmer. Growing up with such humble roots had a huge effect on Lynn's life, which heavily influenced her music as an adult. She was married to Oliver Vanetta Lynn, commonly known as "Doolittle", "Doo", or "Mooney" (for moonshine), on January 10, 1948, a few months before she turned 14.[2] Lynn moved to Washington, Kentucky with her husband at the age of 14. Shortly thereafter, in an effort to break free of the coal mining industry, the couple moved across the country to Custer, Washington. The Lynns had four children by the time Loretta was 17 and she was a grandmother at age 29. Lynn always had a passion for music; before getting married she regularly sang at churches and in local concerts. After she was married, she stopped singing in public, wishing rather to focus on her family life. Instead, she passed her love of music on to her children, often singing to them around the house. When Loretta was 18, Doolittle bought her a guitar, which she taught herself to play.


Although they were married for nearly fifty years and had six children,[3] Lynn and her husband had a rocky relationship. In her 2002 autobiography and in an interview with CBS News the same year, Lynn recounts how her husband cheated on her regularly and left her once while she was giving birth.[4] Lynn and her husband also fought frequently, but "he never hit me one time that I didn't hit him back twice," she said.[4]


Career

Early years

Lynn began singing in local clubs and later with a band, The Trailblazers, which included her brother Jay Lee Webb. Lynn appeared in a televised Tacoma, Washington, talent contest, hosted by Buck Owens, which was seen by Norm Burley, one of the founders of Zero Records.[5]

Zero Records president Don Grashey arranged a recording session in Hollywood, where four of Lynn's own compositions were recorded: "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl"; "Whispering Sea"; "Heartache Meet Mister Blues" and "New Rainbow". Her first release featured, "Whispering Sea" and "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl". With their initial support Lynn went on to become one of country music's greats.

Lynn signed her first contract on February 1, 1960, with Zero Records. She recorded her first release in March of that year, with bandleader Speedy West on steel guitar, Harold Hensely on fiddle, Roy Lanham on guitar, Al Williams on bass and Muddy Berry on drums. The album was recorded at Western Recorders, engineered by Don Blake and produced by Grashey.[6]

In 1960 under the Zero label[7], Lynn recorded "I'm A Honky Tonk Girl." The Lynns toured the country to promote the release to country stations,[5] while Grashey and Del Roy took the music to KFOX in Long Beach, California.[8] When the Lynns reached Nashville, the song was a minor hit, climbing to #14 on Billboard's C & W Chart and Lynn began cutting demo records for the Wilburn Brothers publishing company.[5]. Through the Wilburns, Lynn was able to secure a contract with Decca Records.[5]

Her relationship with the Wilburn Brothers and her appearances on the Grand Old Opry, beginning in 1960,[3] helped Lynn became the number one female recording artist in country music. Lynn's contract with the Wilburn Brothers gave them the publishing rights to her material. She was still fighting to regain these rights thirty years after ending her business relationship with them, but was ultimately denied the publishing rights. Lynn stopped writing music in the 1970s because of these contracts.[citation needed]


Stardom

Although Kitty Wells had become the first major female country vocalist during the 1950s, by the time Lynn recorded her first record, only three other women - Patsy Cline, Skeeter Davis, and Jean Shepard - had become top stars. By the end of 1962, it was clear that Lynn was on her way to becoming the fourth. Lynn credits Cline as her mentor and best friend during those early years, and as fate would have it, Lynn would follow her as the most popular country vocalist of the early 60s and, eventually, the 1970s.

In 1976, Lynn released Coal Miner's Daughter, an autobiography. The title came from her #1 record of 1970. It became a New York Times bestseller[5] and was made into a film in 1980, starring Sissy Spacek as Lynn and Tommy Lee Jones as her husband. Spacek won a Best Actress Academy Award for the part. Due mostly to the critical and commercial success of the film, Lynn gained more "mainstream" attention in the early 1980s, starring in two primetime specials on NBC.

Loretta Lynn enjoyed enormous success on country radio until the early 1980s when a more pop-flavored type of country music began to dominate the market, one of the leaders of which was her younger sister Crystal Gayle. Lynn was the first woman in country music to have 50 Top Ten hits. Her last top 10 record as a soloist was "I Lie" in 1982, but her releases continued to chart until the end of the decade. As a concert artist, she remained a top draw throughout her career, but by the early 1990s she drastically cut down the number of personal appearances due to the fragile health of her husband, who passed away in 1996.[citation needed]

Her unique material, which sassily and bluntly addressed issues in the lives of many women (particularly in the Southern United States), made her stand out among country female vocalists. As a songwriter, Lynn believed no topic was off limits, as long as it spoke to other women, and many of her songs were autobiographical.[4] Lynn was reportedly once inspired to write a song about a real woman whom she suspected was flirting with her husband; the song, "You Aint Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" was an instant hit and became one of Lynn's all-time best. Despite some criticism, Lynn's openness and honesty won the day, drawing fans from around the nation.[citation needed] Lynn got attention and admiration from many fans and critics who were not familiar with country music.{{Fact|date=February 2007} When country music legend Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in 1963, Lynn was devastated by her death. Fourteen years later Lynn recorded one of her most successful albums, "I Remember Patsy" featuring Cline remakes; two of the songs from the album became Top Ten hits for Lynn as they had been for Cline 15 years earlier. She also collaborated many times with close friend Conway Twitty; from 1971 thru 1981 they had 12 Top Ten hits, making them one of the most successful recording duets in country music history. Poet and children's author Shel Silverstein wrote Lynn's hit songs "One's on the Way","Hey Loretta" and "Here I Am Again" all reaching the Top Five on Billboard.


Later life and comeback

In 1984, Lynn's son Jack Benny drowned.[4] Her mother also died of cancer around this time.[citation needed] Her husband died in 1996 from complications of diabetes.[4]

In 2000, Loretta Lynn released her first album in several years entitled Still Country. In it, she included a song, "I Can't Hear the Music", as a tribute to her late husband. While the album gained positive critical notices, sales were low in comparison with her releases in the 1970s. In 2002, Lynn published Still Woman Enough, a second autobiography. In 2004, she published You're Cookin' It Country, a cookbook.

In 2004 Lynn and Conway Twitty's rendition of "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" appeared in the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional country music station K-ROSE. In 2005, her son pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in a DUI-related accident.

In 2004, Lynn made a comeback with the highly successful album Van Lear Rose, the second album on which Lynn either wrote or co-wrote every song. The album was produced by her "friend forever"[9] Jack White of The White Stripes, and featured guitar work and backup vocals by White. Her collaboration with White allowed Lynn to reach new audiences and generations, even garnering high praise in magazines that specialize in mainstream/alt rock music, such as Spin and Blender[10]. White has long been an admirer of Lynn and claims she is his favorite singer.[citation needed] He has covered several songs of hers, including the controversial "Rated X".

In 2006, Lynn underwent shoulder surgery after injuring herself in a fall. [11]


Honors and awards

Lynn has written over 160 songs and released 70 albums. She has had seventeen #1 albums and twenty-seven #1 singles on the country charts. Lynn has won dozens of awards from many different institutions, including four Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, eight Broadcast Music Incorporated awards, and ten Academy of Country Music awards.

In 1972, Lynn was the first woman named "Entertainer of the Year" by the Country Music Association, and is one of five women to have received CMA's highest award. She was named "Artist of the Decade" for the 1970s by the Academy of Country Music. Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1988[3] and the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999.[12] She was also the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors in 2003. Lynn is also ranked 65th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll[13] and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[14]

Lynn owns a ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, billed as "The 7th Largest Attraction in Tennessee", featuring a recording studio, museums, lodging, and other attractions.

On March 17, 2007, Berklee College of Music presented Loretta an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree for her contribution to the world of country music. The degree was presented to her on stage at the Grand Ole Opry.


Controversies

In her heyday, Lynn was no stranger to controversy. She had more banned songs[citation needed] than any other artist in the history of country music, including "Rated X", about the double standards divorced women face, "Wings Upon Your Horns", about the loss of teenage virginity, and "The Pill", about a wife and mother becoming liberated via the birth control pill. Her song "Dear Uncle Sam", released in 1966, was an early protest of the Vietnam War, and was added to live sets during the recent Iraq War.[5]


Politics

Lynn is believed to be a Republican. She campaigned for George Herbert Walker Bush in 1988 and 1992 and remains close to him, and also supported his son in the 2000 election.[citation needed] In 1976 and 1980, however, she was one of Jimmy Carter's most ardent supporters and likewise enjoys a friendship with the former president.[citation needed] In her autobiography, Lynn writes her father was a Republican and her mother a Democrat. Her writings suggest she was not a supporter of Ronald Reagan and she has also publicly criticized Bill Clinton.[citation needed]

Tom Paxton sang about Annie, too, and I crack up every time I hear it. It's so soulful.

What's your hurry? Just watch this.
This is one you mustn't miss:
Annie's going to sing her song,
Called "Take Me Back Again."

A drink for me, a drink for you;
You're going to need a drink or two:
Annie's going to sing her song,
Called "Take Me Back Again."

You never heard it sung before;
I hear it twice a month or more,
Complete with tears and sheepish grins;
It only lacks the violins.

The tune goes flat from time to time,
The lyric sometimes fails to rhyme,
But Annie's going to sing her song,
Called "Take Me Back Again."

La la la la la la la,
La la la la la la la,
Annie's going to sing her song
Called "Take Me Back Again."

It sometimes lasts the whole night long,
Depends on how long she's been gone,
I sit and look as hard as nails;
She knows the damn thing never fails.

Take the bottle, fill your cup;
Don't miss the part where I fold up;
Annie's going to sing her song,
Called "Take Me Back Again."

La la la la la la la,
La la la la la la la,
Annie's going to sing her song,
Called "Take Me Back Again."

It isn't Annie's only tune;
The other I'll be hearing soon,
Next week, tomorrow, or today;
She sings it when she goes away.

Take the bottle, fill your cup;
Don't miss the part where I fold up;
Annie's going to sing her song,
Called "Take Me Back Again;"
Come on, Annie, sing you song,
Called "Take Me Back Again."


I saw an oldie on TCM awhile ago and Dick Powell sang "Lulu's Back in Town" with some very young Mills Brothers. Loved it.

And a Happy 66th to Julie Christie and 73rd to Loretta Lynn.

Oops. Sorry Bob. Didn't see you here.

Julie Christie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Julie Frances Christie
Born April 14, 1941 (age 66)
Assam, India
Academy Awards

Best Actress
1965 Darling

Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1941) is an English Academy Award-winning film actress. Five-foot-two inch Christie was a leading figure in the glamorous London of the 1960s.





Rise to fame

Julie Christie was born in Assam, India, then part of the British Empire, one of two children of Rosemary Ramsden and Frank St. John Christie, who ran a tea plantation. She studied at a convent in India (from which she was expelled) and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama before getting her big break in 1961 in a science fiction series on BBC television, entitled A for Andromeda.


Early career and Academy Award

Her first major film role was as Liz, the friend and would-be lover of the eponymous Billy Liar played by Tom Courtenay in the 1963 film directed by John Schlesinger. Schlesinger, who only cast Christie after another actress dropped out of his film, directed her in her breakthrough role, as the amoral model Diana Scott in Darling (1965), a role which the producers originally offered to Shirley MacLaine. Though virtually unknown before Darling (1965), Christie ended the year 1965 by appearing as Lara Antipova in David Lean's adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1965), which was one of the all-time box office hits. In 1966, the 25-year-old Christie won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Darling (1965). Later, she played Thomas Hardy's heroine Bathsheba Everdene in Schlesinger's Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) and the lead character, Petulia Danner, (opposite George C. Scott) in Richard Lester's Petulia (1968).


In the 1970s, Christie starred in such films as Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971) (her second Best Actress Oscar nomination), The Go-Between (again co-starring Alan Bates, 1971), Don't Look Now (1973), Shampoo (1975), Demon Seed (1977), and Heaven Can Wait (1978). She moved to Hollywood during the decade, where she had a high-profile (1967-1974), but intermittent relationship with actor Warren Beatty who described her as "the most beautiful and at the same time the most nervous person I had ever known".[1] Following the end of the relationship, she returned to the United Kingdom, where she lived on a farm in Wales.

Never a prolific actress, even at the height of her fame and bankability in the 1960s, Christie made fewer and fewer films in the 1980s. She had a major supporting role in Sidney Lumet's Power (1986), but other than that, she avoided appearances in large budget films and appeared in riskier fare.


Private and public life and first career renaissance

Christie has never married and has made it clear she has no plans to ever do so. Her long-time partner (since 1979) is The Guardian journalist Duncan Campbell, who prompted her reluctant return to Los Angeles, California, as that is where he has been based.

Since the 1970s, Christie has been politically active and involved in multiple causes, including animal rights, environmental protection, and the anti-nuclear power movement. She continues to make movies, including in French Belphégor - Le fantôme du Louvre (2001) opposite Sophie Marceau.

A reluctant star, Christie made a comeback with her appearance as the unhappy wife in Alan Rudolph's domestic comedy-drama Afterglow (1997). Critics were delighted with her performance, for which she received her third Oscar nomination. However, rather than capitalizing on her comeback, Christie continued her nonchalant attitude towards acting. Since her last Oscar nomination, she has appeared mostly in small roles in English and American films.


Declined roles

According to the Internet Movie Database, Christie has turned down many leading roles in films such as They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Anne of the Thousand Days and The Greek Tycoon. Christie also signed on to play the female lead in American Gigolo opposite Richard Gere, however when Gere dropped out and John Travolta was cast in the role, Christie too dropped out from the project. Gere changed his mind and took back the role, however it was too late for Christie as her part was already taken by Lauren Hutton. Julie Christie also had to drop out of the leading role in Agatha due to breaking her wrist whilst roller-skating; the part was filled by Vanessa Redgrave.


Away From Her

Christie's latest portrayal is the female lead in Away From Her, a film about a long-married Canadian couple coping with the wife's Alzheimer's disease. Based on the Alice Munro short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", the movie is the first feature film directed by Christie's sometime co-star, Canadian actress Sarah Polley. She only took the role, she says, as Polley is her friend. On her part, Polley said that Christie liked her script but initially turned it down as she was ambivalent about acting. It took several months of persuasion by Polley before Christie finally accepted the role, which was written with her in mind.

Debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2006 as part of the TIFF's Gala showcase, Away From Her drew rave reviews from the trade press, including the Hollywood Reporter, and the three Toronto dailies. The critics singled out the performances of Christie and her co-star, Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent, and Polley's assured direction.


Trivia

Christie was name-checked in the Yo La Tengo song "Tom Courtenay" from the album Electro-O-Pura
Christie is mentioned by name in the Al Stewart song "Gina in the Kings Road" on his album A Beach Full of Shells.

ADVICE FROM AN OLD FARMER

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
* Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen
anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think
back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop
diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with,
watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from
bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it
back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try
orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the
rest to God.

Touche, Madame pup and Mousieur hawk.



Raggedy, dear. Thanks for the photo's and that funny Annie song. Love it, PA.

Hey, Bob. Great bio's, buddy, and that string of farmer funnies must be tacked up on Gus' out-house.

From Loretta

Well I was born the coal miner's daughter in a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor but we had love that's the one thing that daddy made sure of
He shovel coal to make a poor man's dollar
My daddy worked all night in the Vanleer coal mine all day long in the field hoein' corn
Mommie rocked the baby that night and read the Bible by the coal oil light
And everything would start all over come break of morn
Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's pay
Mommie scrubbed our clothes on a washboard everyday
Why I've seen her fingers bleed to complain there was no need
She's smiled in mommie's understanding way
In the summertime we didn't have shoes to wear
But in the wintertime we'd all get a brand new pair
From a mail order catalog money made by selling a hog
Daddy always managed to get the money somewhere
Yeah I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter
I remember well the well where I drew water
The work we done was hard at night we'd sleep cause we were tired
I never thought I'd ever leave the Butcher Holler
But a lots of things have changed since the way back then
And it's so good to be back home again
Not much left but the floor nothing lives there anymore
Just the mem'ries of a coal miner's daughter

Lee Dorsey
Working In A Coalmine

Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Five o'clock in the mornin'
I'm all ready up and gone
Lord I am so tired
How long can this go on?

I'm workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Cos I'm on call in the mornin'
Oh I go by the coal
But when Saturday goes around
I'm too tired for havin' fun (Too tired for having fun)

I been workin'in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Lord I am so tired
How long can this go on?

I'm workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Five o'clock in the mornin'
I'm all ready up and gone
Lord I am so tired
How long can this go on?

I'm workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Cos I'm on call in the mornin'
Oh I go by the coal
But when Saturday goes around
I'm too tired for havin' fun (Too tired for having fun)

I been workin'in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Hey, folks. Let's get out of the coal mine and move to Hawaii, ok?

This is dedicated to M.D. and J.M.

I want to go back to little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Hawaii
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines
That I knew long ago
I can hear the guitars playing
On the beach at Hônaunau
I can hear Hawaiians saying
Komo mai no kâua i ka hale welakahao


It won't be long till my ship will be sailing
Back to Kona
A grand old place
That's always fair to see, you're telling me
I'm just a little Hawaiian and
A homesick island boy
I want to go back to my fish and poi

I want to go back to my little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Hawai
Where the humuhumunukunukuâpuaa
Go swimming by




small fish with a big name.

good evening all !
here is some music you may not be very familar with .
since i'm watching a special on richard tauber with one eye , here is one of his wonderful songs praising the city of vienna . since i spent a year in vienna as a boy - and have been back there on a holiday - , i have quite a fondness for vienna , its people and their lifestyle .
i hope you enjoy it .
hbg

and for a change in pace , let's sing along with "little richard" !

Good evening, hbg. What a delightful song, Canada. The lyrics are lovely and I researched your Richard and was completely surprised to find this song. Amazing, folks.

There's a little brown road winding over the hill
To a little white court by the sea
There's a little green ga-ate
At whose railings I wai-ait
While two eyes of blue
Come smiling through a-at me

There's a grey lock or two in the brown of the hair
There's some silver in mine too, I see
But in all the long year-ears
When the cloud brought their tear-ears
Those two eyes of blue
Kept smiling through at me

And if ever I'm left in this world all alone
I shall wait for my call patiently
For if heaven be ki-ind
I shall wait there to fi-ind
Those two eyes of blue
Come smiling through... a-at me...

Ah, those Viennese nights



Will listen to Tutti-Frutti later.

hbg, when one plays Little Richard, that most definitely is a change of pace. Thanks, buddy.

Sad news, listeners.

'Tiny Bubbles' singer Don Ho dies at 76 By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago



HONOLULU - Legendary crooner

Don Ho, known for his raspberry-tinted sunglasses and catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," has died, his publicist said Saturday. He was 76.

Publicist Donna Jung confirmed the singer's death, but had no details. He had suffered with heart problems for the past several years.

Ho had a pacemaker installed last fall and also underwent an experimental stem cell procedure on his ailing heart in Thailand in 2005.

The rest of the story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070415/ap_on_en_mu/obit_ho

Odd that. We just did an Hawaiian song for the Turtles.

ADIOS KE ALOHA !

Thanks, hbg. A lovely song, and a fitting tribute.

Of course, listeners, we must play this one for Don.


Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
In the wine (in the wine)
Make me happy (make me happy)
Make me feel fine (make me feel fine)


Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
Make me warm all over
With a feeling that I'm gonna
Love you till the end of time


So here's to the golden moon
And here's to the silver sea
And mostly here's a toast
To you and me


So here's to the ginger lei
I give to you today
And here's a kiss
That will not fade away

Artist: Tex Ritter
Album: Other Song Lyrics
Title: Rye Whiskey


Jack o' Diamonds, Jack o' Diamonds and I know you of old
You've robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold
It's a whiskey, you villain, you've been my downfall
You've kicked me, you've cuffed me, but I love you for all

It's a whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If I don't get rye whiskey, well, I think I will die

I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry
If the hard times don't kill me, I'll lay down and die
I'll tune up my fiddle and I 'll rosin my bow
I'll make myself welcome, wherever I go

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die

Beefsteak when I'm hungry red liquor when I'm dry
Greenbacks when I'm hard up and religion when I die
They say I drink whiskey, my money's my own
All them that don't like me, can leave me alone

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die

Sometimes I drink whiskey, sometimes I drink rum
Sometimes I drink brandy, at other times none
But if I get boozey, my whiskey's my own
And them that don't like me, can leave me alone

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck
I'd dive to the bottom to get one sweet suck
But the ocean ain't whiskey and I ain't a duck
So we'll round up the cattle and then we'll get drunk

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If the whiskey don't kill me, I'll live till I die

My foot's in my stirrup, my bridle's in my hand
I'm leaving sweet Lillie, the fairest in the land
Her parents don't like me, they say I'm too poor
They say I'm unworthy to enter her door

It's a whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If I don't get rye whiskey, well, I think I will die

Sweet milk when I'm hungry, rye whiskey when I'm dry
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die
I'll buy my own whiskey, I'll make my own stew
If I get drunk, madam, it's nothing to you

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die

I'll drink my own whiskey, I'll drink my own wine
Some ten thousand bottles I've killed in my time
I've no wife to quarrel, no babies to bawl
The best way of living is no wife at all

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry
If a tree don't fall on me, I'll live till I die

Way up on Clinch Mountain I wander alone
I'm as drunk as the devil, oh, let me alone
You may boast of your knowledge an' brag of your sense
'Twill all be forgotten a hundred years hence

Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, you're no friend to me
You killed my poor daddy, God damn you, try me

Ms Letty,

sorry to hear about Mr. Ho's passing. still, a belated *mahalo* song for your dedication to the yw's.

Mahalo to the urchin
Mahalo to the sea
Mahalo to the skies above
Mahalo to you and me

Sing Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo for everything
Mahalo, that means thank you
Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo

Mahalo for the air I breathe
Mahalo for my dad and my mom
My sisters and my brothers and my good friends
Mahalo for sharing my song

Sing Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo for everything
Mahalo, that means thank you
Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo

Sing Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo for everything
Mahalo, that means thank you
Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo
Mahalo, that means thank you
Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo

Well, edgar, it won't be rye whishey for me, but a goodnight poem and a waterfall

Mr. Turtle, That is the most elegant "Thank You" that I have ever heard. Bless you, M.D.




Softly falling water crystals
Fill my soul with gentleness
Then the kindness of its pleasure
Takes me to my bed and rest.

Goodnight, all
From Letty with love

two songs following some of tonight's themes

Vienna
Ultravox

We walked in the cold air.
Freezing breath on a window pane,
Lying and waiting.
The man in the dark in a picture frame,
So mystic and soulful.
A voice reaching out in a piercing cry,
It stays with you until

The feeling has gone only you and I.
It means nothing to me.
This means nothing to me.
Oh Vienna,.

The music is weaving
Haunting notes, pizzicato strings,
The rhythm is calling.
Alone in the night as the daylight brings,
A cool empty silence.
The warmth of your hand and a cold grey sky,
It fades to the distance.

The image has gone only you and I.
It means nothing to me.
This means nothing to me.
Oh, Vienna.

This means nothing to me.
This means nothing to me.
Oh, Vienna.


Lets Talk Dirty in Hawaiian
John Prine

Well, I packed my bags and bought myself a ticket
For the land of the tall palm tree
Aloha Old Milwaukee, Hello Waikiki
I just stepped down from the airplane
When I heard her say,
"Waka waka nuka licka, waka waka nuka licka
Would you like a lei? Eh?"

Chorus
Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian
Whisper in my ear
Kicka pooka mok a wa wahini
Are the words I long to hear
Lay your coconut on my tiki
What the hecka mooka mooka dear
Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian
Say the words I long to hear

It's a ukulele Honolulu sunset
Listen to the grass skirts sway
Drinking rum from a pineapple
Out on Honolulu Bay
The steel guitars all playing
While she's talking with her hands
Gimme gimme oka doka make a wish and wanta polka
Words I understand Hey!

Repeat Chorus

Well, I boughta lota junka with my moolah
And sent it to the folks back home
I never had the chance to dance the hula
Well, I guess I should have known
When you start talking to the sweet wahini
Walking in the pale moonlight
Ohka noka whatta setta knocka-rocka-sis-boom-boccas
Hope I said it right Oh!

Repeat Chorus

Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian
Say the words I long to hear
spoken: Aloha