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Rex, I know that song, and it was from the sound track of the movie, Stand by Me. I know that the movie was adapted from one of Stephen King's novellas, called The Body, but I don't remember too many of the exact details, so I took a walk through Google and found the songs and the cast. One of King's more interesting attempts, I think, but rather depressing and very much on the dark side, psychologically.

For those of you who are interested, see here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/soundtrack

John Lennon also did a recording of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me".

John borrowed a line from Chuck Berry and used it in the Beatles "Come Together" song.

The line he borrowed was "Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly".

Chuck berry took John to court and they settled out of court.

The settlement was that John had to record a whole album of Motown artists.

So John recorded the album entitled "Rock "N" Roll".

"Stand by Me" was on the album. It is my personal favorite from the album.

Come Together

Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me

He bag production he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me

He roller-coaster he got early warning
He got muddy water he one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me


The Beatles

My word, Rex, thanks for the enlightenment. I know Come Together, but that's not the thing that surprised me, Maine. The real retribution was the out of court settlement. How great for Ben to turn that into a win.

Well, folks, just talked to my son on the telephone, and he seemed up and in a happy mood. That often makes my day, so here's one for him that we all used to sing together, gathered around the piano. Very appropriate as well.

Willie Nelson

In the twilight glow i see her
Blue eyes crying in the rain
When we kissed goodbye and parted
I knew we'd never meet again

Love is like a dying ember
And only memories remain
And through the ages i'll remember
Blue eyes crying in the rain.

Someday when we meet up yonder
We'll stroll hand in hand again
In the land that knows no parting
For blue eyes crying in the rain.

Paper Doll
Mills Brothers


[Written by Johnny S Black, 1915]

I'm gonna buy a Paper Doll that I can call my own
A doll that other fellows cannot steal
And then the flirty, flirty guys
With their flirty, flirty eyes
Will have to flirt with dollies that are real

When I come home at night she will be waiting
She'll be the truest doll in all this world
I'd rather have a Paper Doll to call my own
Than have a fickle-minded real live girl

I guess I had a million dolls or more
I guess I've played the doll game o'er and o'er
I just quarrelled with Sue, that's why I'm blue
She's gone away and left me just like all dolls do

I'll tell you boys, it's tough to be alone
And it's tough to love a doll that's not your own
I'm through with all of them
I'll never ball again
Say boy, whatcha gonna do

I'm gonna buy a Paper Doll that I can call my own
A doll that other fellows cannot steal
And then the flirty, flirty guys
With their flirty, flirty eyes
Will have to flirt with dollies that are real

When I come home at night she will be waiting
She'll be the truest doll in all this world
I'd rather have a Paper Doll to call my own
Than have a fickle-minded real live girl

coincidence or synchronicity, edgar? Just got through talking to my sister about my Mom, and The Mills Brothers was one of her favorite groups.

For you, Mamma.

Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
Lead us lest too far we wander.
Love's sweet voice is calling yonder.
Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
Hey, there don't get dimmer, dimmer.
Light the path below, above.
And lead us on to love!
Glow little glow-worm, fly of fire.
Glow like an incandescent wire.
Glow for the female of the species.
Turn on the AC and the DC.
This night could use a little brightnin'.
Light up you little ol' bug of lightnin'.
When you gotta glow, you gotta glow.
Glow little glow-worm, glow.
Glow little glow-worm, glow and glimmer.
Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer.
Thou aeronautical boll weevil.
Illuminate yon woods primeval.
See how the shadows deepen, darken.
You and your chick should get to sparkin'.
I got a gal that I love so.
Glow little glow-worm, glow.
Glow little glow-worm, turn the key on.
You are equipped with taillight neon.
You got a cute vest-pocket mazda.
Which you can make both slow and faster.
I don't know who you took a shine to.
Or who you're out to make a sign to.
I got a gal that I love so.
Glow little glow-worm, glow.

How About You
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra w/ Frank Sinatra

I like New York in June, how about you
I like a Gershwin tune, how about you
I love a fireside when a storm is due
I like potato chips, moonlight
And motor trips, how about you

I'm mad about good books, can't get my fill
And Franklin Roosevelt's looks give me a thrill
Holding hands in a movie show
When all the lights are low may not be new
But I like it, how about you

Glad that you left FDR in there, edgar. Some folks might want to modernize it.

Hey, all. Today is Hank Williams, Jr.'s birthday. He is 58.

So, how about a good one by young Hank.

Cajun Baby

Way down yonder in the bayou country in dear old Louisianne
That's where lives my cajun baby the fairest one in the land
Her teeth're white and pearly hair black as coal
Wouldn't trade my cajun baby for the world's gold
Way down yonder in the bayou country in dear old Louisianne

My heart's been sad and lonely since the day I left her side
But today I got her letter said she'd be my cajun bride
Gonna go and wed my cajun baby and live by the old bayou
Eat a lotsa shrimp and crawfish ride around in my old pirogue
Way down yonder...

Before the sun goes down this evening I'll be on my way
To see my cajun baby and there I'm gonna stay
On a Saturday night we go dancin' and listen to the fiddle-o
Lord I got me a cajun baby just a livin' and a lovin' by the old bayou
Way down yonder...

FDR is my favorite president. I put his name out there at any whim.

The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
Eddy Duchin

Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down
And we went round and round
Each time t'would miss
We'd steal a kiss
And the Merry-Go-Round went
Um-pah-pah, um-pah-pah
Um-pah, Um-pah, Um-pah-pah-pah

Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down
And it made the darndest sound
The lights went low, we both said, oh
And the Merry-Go-Round went
Um-pah-pah, um-pah-pah
Um-pah, Um-pah, Um-pah-pah-pah
Oh, what fun, a wonderful time
Finding love for only a dime

Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down
But you don't see me frown
Things turned out fine and now she's mine
Cause the the Merry-Go-Round went
Um-pah-pah, um-pah-pah
Um-pah, Um-pah, Um-pah-pah-pah
Oh, the Merry-Go-Round broke down

Had to do some more searcing, edgar. but here's one that is familiar to me, and I found out Eddy did it.

Moon over Miami
Shine on my love and me
So we can stroll beside the roll
Of the rolling sea

Moon over Miami
Shine on as we begin
A dream or two that may come true
When the tide comes in

Hark to the song of the smiling troubadours
Hark to the throbbing guitars
Hear how the waves offer thunderous applause
After each song to the stars

Moon over Miami
You know we're waiting for
A little love, a little kiss
On Miami shore

this doesn't fit with anything, but it's a fave song of mine. i also find it interesting that the part of the melody that would make a bridge happens at song's end, right before the solo, instead of after the first 2 or so verses. (the bridge, as i see it, starts with "Pa send me money" and runs until "yeah, yeah, yeah)

I wanna live
with a cinnamon girl
I could be happy
the rest of my life
With a cinnamon girl.

A dreamer of pictures
I run in the night
You see us together,
chasing the moonlight,
My cinnamon girl.

Ten silver saxes,
a bass with a bow
The drummer relaxes
and waits between shows
For his cinnamon girl.

A dreamer of pictures
I run in the night
You see us together,
chasing the moonlight,
My cinnamon girl.

Pa send me money now
I'm gonna make it somehow
I need another chance
You see your baby loves to dance
Yeah...yeah...yeah.

Good morning, WA2K turtles and listeners. Oops, it just occurred to me that I cannot call a whale a turtle anymore. <smile>

Hey, "da big island", that song is so different, M.D. and I understand what you mean about the bridge. Often, many vocalist begin by starting at the bridge and then moving into the rest.

Love this verse:

Ten silver saxes,
a bass with a bow
The drummer relaxes,
And waits between shows.

Speaking of "waits", how about Tom for this Sunday morning.

Artist: Tom Waits
Song: Soldier's things


Davenports and kettle drums
and swallow tail coats
table cloths and patent leather shoes
bathing suits and bowling balls
and clarinets and rings
and all this radio really
needs is a fuse
a tinker, a tailor
a soldier's things
his rifle, his boots full of rocks
and this one is for bravery
and this one is for me
and everything's a dollar
in this box

Cuff links and hub caps
trophies and paperbacks
it's good transportation
but the brakes aren't so hot
neck tie and boxing gloves
this jackknife is rusted
you can pound that dent out
on the hood
a tinker, a tailor
a soldier's things
his rifle, his boots full of rocks
oh and this one is for bravery
and this one is for me
and everything's a dollar
in this box.

Vincent Price
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Birth name Vincent Leonard Price, Jr.
Born May 27, 1911
St. Louis, Missouri
Died October 25, 1993, aged 82
Los Angeles, California
Spouse(s) Edith Barrett
Mary Grant
Coral Browne
Notable roles Dr. Anton Phibes in
The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 - October 25, 1993) was an American film actor.

Vincent Price is best remembered for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of distinctive horror films. His tall 6' 4" (1.93 m) stature and polished urbane manner made him something of an American counterpart to the older Boris Karloff.





Biography

Early life and career

Vincent Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Vincent Leonard Price and Marguerite Willcox. His father was president of the National Candy Company. His grandfather, Vincent Clarence Price invented "Dr Price's Baking Powder", the first cream of tartar baking powder, and secured the family's fortune.[1] Vincent Jr. attended St. Louis Country Day School. He was further educated at Yale in art history and fine art. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and the Courtauld Institute, London. He became interested in theater in the 1930s, appearing professionally on stage from 1935.

He made his film debut in 1938 with Service de Luxe and established himself as a competent actor, notably in Laura (1944), opposite Gene Tierney, directed by Otto Preminger. He also played Joseph Smith, Jr. in the movie Brigham Young (1940). During the 1940s, he appeared in a wide variety of films from straight-forward drama to comedy to horror (he provided the voice of The Invisible Man at the end of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948). In 1946 he reunited with Gene Tierney in two notable films Dragonwyck and Leave Her to Heaven. He was also active in radio, portraying the Robin Hood-inspired crime-fighter Simon Templar, aka. The Saint, in a popular series that ran from 1947 to 1951.

In the 1950s, he moved into horror films, enjoying a role in the successful curiosity House of Wax (1953), the first 3-D film to land in the year's top ten at the North American box office, and then the classic monster movie The Fly (1958).

Price also starred in the original House on Haunted Hill (1959) as the eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. (Geoffrey Rush, playing the same character in the 1999 remake, was not only made to resemble Price, but was also renamed Steven Price.)


1960s

In the 1960s, he had a number of low-budget successes with Roger Corman and American International Pictures (AIP) including the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963), The Masque of the Red Death (1964) and The Tomb of Ligeia (1965).

These were followed by numerous other roles throughout the 1960s in which he played characters in horror films who were often closely modeled on the Corman Poe films. He has also appeared in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and Theatre of Blood (1973), in which he created a series of campy, tongue-in-cheek villains. Price also recorded dramatic readings of Poe's short stories and poems, which were collected together with readings by Basil Rathbone.

In 1968 he played the part of an eccentric artist in the musical Darling of the Day opposite Patricia Routledge, displaying an adequate if untrained singing voice.

He often spoke of his pleasure at playing "Egghead" on the popular Batman television series. Another of his co-stars, Yvonne Craig (Batgirl), often said Price was her favorite co-star.

In an often-repeated anecdote from the set of Batman, Price, after a take was printed, started throwing eggs at series stars Adam West and Burt Ward, and when asked to stop replied, "With a full artillery? Not a chance!", causing an eggfight to erupt on the soundstage. This incident is reenacted in the behind-the-scenes telefilm Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.


Later career

Price accepted a cameo part in the children's television program The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (1971) in Hamilton, Ontario Canada, on a local station. In addition to the opening and closing monologues, His role in the show was to recite simple, silly poems about the show's various characters, sometimes wearing a cloak or other costumes.[2]


He greatly reduced his film work from around 1975, as horror itself suffered a slump, and increased his narrative and voice work. Price's voiceover is heard on Alice Cooper's first solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare from 1975, as well as the TV special entitled Alice Cooper-The Nightmare, and on Michael Jackson's music video Thriller from 1983. Price recorded the central spoken section in Thriller in just two takes, after it had been written by Rod Temperton in the taxi on the way to the studio for the recording session. One of his last major roles, and one of his favourites, was as the voice of Professor Ratigan in Walt Disney Pictures' The Great Mouse Detective from 1986. He also starred for a year in the early 1970s in a syndicated daily radio program, Tales of the Unexplained. He also made a guest appearance in a well-remembered 1972 episode of The Brady Bunch, in which he played a deranged archeologist.

In the summer of 1977, he began performing as Oscar Wilde, in the one man stage play Diversions and Delights. Written by John Gay and directed by Joe Hardy, the play is set in a Parisian theatre on a night about one year before Wilde's death. In an attempt to earn some much-needed money, he speaks to the audience about his life, his works and, in the second act, about his love for Bosie, Lord Alfred Douglas, which led to his downfall.

The original tour of the play was a success in every city that it played, except for New York City. In the summer of 1979, Price performed it at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado on the same stage that Wilde had spoken to the miners about art some 96 years before. Price would eventually perform the play worldwide and to many, including his daughter Victoria, it was the best acting that he ever did.

In 1982, Price provided the narrator's voice in Vincent, a Tim Burton's six-minute film about a young boy who flashes from reality into a fantasy where he is Vincent Price.

From 1981 to 1989, he hosted the PBS television series Mystery!. His last significant film work was as the inventor in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990).

A witty raconteur, Price was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, where he once demonstrated how to poach a fish in a dishwasher. He also was a frequent panelist on Hollywood Squares during its initial run.

Price was also a noted gourmet cook and art collector. From 1962 to 1971, Sears, Roebuck offered the Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art, selling about 50,000 pieces of fine art to the general public. Price selected and commissioned works for the collection, including works by Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dalí (see [1]). He also authored several cookbooks.


Family

Price was married three times and fathered a son, named Vincent Barrett Price, with his first wife, former actress Edith Barrett. Price and his second wife Mary Grant donated hundreds of works of art and a large amount of money to East Los Angeles College in the early 1960s in order to endow the Vincent and Mary Price Gallery there. Their daughter, Victoria, was born in 1962.

Price's last marriage was to the Australian actress Coral Browne, who appeared with him (as one of his victims) in Theatre of Blood (1973). He converted to Catholicism to marry her, and she became a US citizen for him. According to his daughter, Price became disillusioned with the faith after her 1991 death. He died two years later.


Death

Price was a lifelong smoker. He had long suffered from emphysema and Parkinson's disease, which had forced his role in Edward Scissorhands to be much smaller than intended.

His illness also contributed to his retirement from Mystery, as his condition was becoming noticeable on-screen. He died of lung cancer at age 82, on October 25, 1993. By coincidence, the Arts & Entertainment Network aired an episode of Biography highlighting Price's horror career the next night, but because of its failure to clear copyrights, the show was never aired again. Four years later, A&E produced its official tribute, a show titled Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain, which aired on October 12, 1997; it is often rebroadcast and is available on DVD. The script was by Lucy Chase Williams, author of The Complete Films of Vincent Price (Citadel Press, 1995). In early 1991, Tim Burton was developing a personal documentary with the working title Conversations With Vincent (footage of the director interviewing Price was shot at the Vincent Price Gallery) but the project was never completed and eventually was shelved.


Legacy

Price was an Honorary Board Member and strong supporter of the Witch's Dungeon Movie Museum located in Bristol, Connecticut until his death. The museum features detailed life-size wax replicas of characters from some of Price's films, including The Fly, The Abominable Dr. Phibes and The Masque of the Red Death (see [2]).
A black box theater at Price's alma mater, St. Louis Country Day School, is named after him.
Vincent Twice was a Price lookalike character on Sesame Street.
He was parodied in an episode of The Simpsons ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday").
Price even had his own Spitting Image puppet, who was always trying to be "sinister" and lure people into his ghoulish traps, only for his victims to point out all the obvious flaws.
In 1989, Vincent Price was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Director Tim Burton directed a short stop-motion film as a tribute to Vincent Price called Vincent, about a young boy named Vincent Malloy who was obsessed with the grim and macabre.
In 1999, a frank and detailed biography of Vincent Price, written by his daughter Victoria Price, was published by St Martin's Griffin Press.
Starting in 2005, featured cast member Bill Hader of the NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live has played Price in a recurring sketch where Vincent Price hosts botched holiday specials filled with celebrities of the late 1950s-early 1960s. Other cast members who have played Price on SNL include "Not Ready For Primetime" castmember Dan Aykroyd and one-season castmember Michael McKean (who played Vincent Price when he hosted a season 10 episode and again when he was hired as a castmember for the 1994-1995 season).
Donated most of his artwork to East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California. (On exhibit at The Vincent Price Gallery on the ELAC campus for free. Mon-Thu 12:00pm-3:00pm behind the F-5 Building)
Wednesday 13 wrote a song entitled The Ghost of Vincent Price.
Horror Punk band The Misfits wrote "Return of the Fly" mentioning Price, along with the character he played and the characters wife
During the early 70's Price hosted BBC Radio's mystery program "The Price of Fear"

Christopher Lee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Christopher Frank Carandini Lee
Born May 27, 1922 (1922-05-27) (age 84)
Belgravia, London, England
Spouse(s) Birgit Kroencke
Official site ChristopherLeeWeb.com
Notable roles Dracula in
Hammer Film Productions
Francisco Scaramanga in
The Man with the Golden Gun
Count Dooku in the
Star Wars prequel trilogy
Saruman in
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE (born May 27, 1922) is an English actor known for his professional longevity and his distinctive basso delivery.

Lee is known for his portrayals of villains; he became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, Count Dooku in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith as well as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Lee's most recent film is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where he plays Willy Wonka's candy-hating dentist father.[1] At six feet five inches, he is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records for the world's tallest leading actor, a record he shares with Vince Vaughn, and just beating Stephen Fry (Wilde) by ½ an inch.[2] Despite a critically acclaimed career that spans over seven decades, he has never been nominated for an Academy Award.




Biography

Early life

Lee was born in London in 1922, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Trollope Lee of the 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps, and the Marchesina Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano, whose grandfather had been an Italian political refugee who had sought refuge in Australia. Lee's mother was a famous Edwardian beauty who was painted by Sir John Lavery, as well as Oswald Birley and Olive Snell, and was sculpted by Clare Sheridan, a cousin of Winston Churchill.

His parents separated when he was very young and his mother took Christopher and his sister Xandra to Switzerland, where Christopher was enrolled in Miss Fisher's Academy in Wengen and he played his first villainous role as Rumpelstiltskin. The family returned to London where Christopher attended Wagner's private school. His mother then married Harcourt 'Ingle' Rose, a banker and uncle of the James Bond author Ian Fleming. Lee then attended Wellington College, where he won scholarships in classics. He volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939 - though, as Lee admits in his autobiography, he and his fellow British volunteers were in Finland only a fortnight and kept well away from the Russian forces the whole time. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force and intelligence during World War II. He trained in South Africa as a pilot but was forced to drop out by eyesight problems. He eventually ended up in North Africa as Cipher Officer for No. 260 Squadron RAF and was with them through Sicily and Italy. Additionally, he has mentioned serving in Special Operations Executive. Lee retired from the RAF after the end of the War with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.


Career as an actor

In 1946, Lee gained a seven-year contract with Rank Organisation after discussing his interest in acting with his mother's second cousin Nicolò Carandini, the Italian Ambassador. Carandini related to Lee that performance was in his blood as his great grandmother Marie Carandini had been a successful opera singer in Australia, a fact of which Lee was unaware. He made his film debut in Terence Young's Gothic romance, Corridor of Mirrors, in 1948.

In 1948, Lee starred in Sir Laurence Olivier's film of Hamlet as a spear carrier. Throughout the next decade, he made nearly thirty films, playing mostly stock action characters.

Lee's first film for Hammer, made in 1957 with his close friend Peter Cushing, was The Curse of Frankenstein, in which he played Frankenstein's monster. That led to his first appearance as the infamous Transylvanian bloodsucker in the 1958 film Dracula (known as Horror of Dracula in the US). Lee later became indelibly associated with the role and with the horror genre, making another eight films as Dracula, seven of them for Hammer. Increasingly disillusioned with the parts as written for him by Hammer's scriptwriters, he last donned the red-lined cape, red contact lenses and fangs in 1974's The Satanic Rites of Dracula. It took him many years to shake off his typecast image as a horror player, but over the past three decades he has proved himself an extremely able and versatile actor.


Another of Lee's films was from the well known James Bond series, in which he played the title role in The Man with the Golden Gun. Because of his filming schedule in Bangkok, film director Ken Russell was unable to sign Lee to play The Specialist in Tommy (1975). That role eventually was given to Jack Nicholson. According to an AMC documentary on Halloween, John Carpenter states that he offered the role of Sam Loomis to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee before Donald Pleasance took the role. Years later, Lee would meet Carpenter and tell him that the biggest regret of his career was not taking the role.


Lee also appeared in the series of Fu Manchu films, starring as the eponymous villain in heavy oriental make-up. In 1998, Lee starred in the role of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a founder of modern Pakistan in the film Jinnah.


He auditioned for a role in The Longest Day but was turned down as he did not look like a military man (despite having served in the RAF during World War II). Lee acted in the 1970 movie Eugenie, unaware that it was softcore pornography because the sex scenes were shot separately and edited in with his own appearances afterwards. Lee has played roles in over 220 films since 1948. He has had many notable television roles, including that of Flay in the BBC television miniseries Gormenghast that was based on Mervyn Peake's novels and Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński in the 2005 CBS film, John Paul the Second.

Lee was a natural choice[citation needed] for the Lord of the Rings movies, where he plays the role of Saruman (although he is known to have vied for the role of Gandalf, which was given to Sir Ian McKellen). Lee had met Tolkien once, and makes a habit of reading the novels at least once a year.[3] In addition, he performed for the album The Lord of the Rings: Songs and Poems by J. R. R. Tolkien in 2003; this was unrelated to the film trilogy.[4] Lee coveted the part of Gandalf, though he was aware that his age made it highly unlikely that he would be cast. Later, he highly praised Ian McKellen's portrayal of the wizard.

Lee's talents (and possibly his history as a villain) made him a fitting Sith Lord,[citation needed] when he appeared in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith as Count Dooku, a name allegedly chosen to reflect his fame playing Count Dracula. His autobiography states that he did much of the swordplay himself, though a double was required for the more vigorous footwork. In the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lee played the role of Dr. Wilbur Wonka, the strict father of the star character Willy Wonka.

Count Dooku and Saruman bear several similarities. Both characters derive their power from their force of persuasion. Both characters are subordinates to a greater villain, Darth Sidious in Star Wars and Sauron in The Lord of the Rings. Both characters are members of a higher class than others (Jedi and Wizard, respectively), both characters secretly create an army in an underground facility beneath a tower structure (breeding Orcs in The Two Towers, manufacturing battle droids in Attack of the Clones), and in both cases, the characters are killed at the beginning of the third film. Saruman's death, however, only appears in the special edition DVD of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, much to the chagrin of Lee, who was vocally disappointed it was not included in the theatrical release. Also in the book, Saruman was killed off at the end of The Return of the King, not the beginning, and under different circumstances than were shown in the special edition DVD.

Lee usually wears a toupee in movies. A rare appearance without wig can be seen in 1970 film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. According to the Oracle of Bacon website at the University of Virginia, Lee is ranked second (just behind Rod Steiger) as the "Center of the Hollywood Universe" due to his large number of films with a correspondingly large number of different castmates.[5]

In addition to more than a dozen feature films together for Hammer Films, Amicus Productions and other companies, Lee and Peter Cushing both appeared in Hamlet (1948) and Moulin Rouge (1952) albeit in separate scenes, and appeared in separate installments of the Star Wars films, Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original film, Lee years later as Count Dooku. The last project which united them in person was a documentary, Flesh and Blood, the Hammer Heritage of Horror, which they jointly narrated. It was the last time they saw each other; Cushing died two months later. While they frequently played off each other onscreen as mortal enemies-Lee's Dracula to Cushing's Prof. Van Helsing-they were close friends in real life.

Lee appeared on the cover of the Wings album Band on the Run along with other people, including chat show host Michael Parkinson, movie actor James Coburn, world boxing champion John Conteh and broadcaster Clement Freud.


Voice work



Lee appears on Peter Knight and Bob Johnson (of Steeleye Span)'s 1970s concept album The King of Elfland's Daughter. Lee also provided the voices for the roles of DiZ (Ansem the Wise) in the video game Kingdom Hearts II and of Pastor Galswells in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

He contributed his voice also for the animated versions of Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett as Death. He is fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German and moderately proficient in Swedish, Russian and Greek .[1] He was the original voice of Thor in the German dubs in the Danish 1986 animated movie Valhalla, and of King Haggard in the 1982 animated adaptation of The Last Unicorn.[8][9]

Lee bridged two disparate genres of music by performing a heavy metal variation of the Toreador Song from the opera Carmen with the band Inner Terrestrials.[10] Lee narrated and sang for the Danish musical group The Tolkien Ensemble, taking the role of Treebeard, King Théoden and others in the readings or singing of their respective poems or songs.[11]

Lee was the voice of Lucan D'Lere in the trailers for Everquest II. Lee appeared as a narrator for Italian symphonic fantasy power metal band Rhapsody of Fire, playing the Wizard King in the latest two albums, Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret and Triumph or Agony. He narrates several tracks in the two albums, along with singing a duet with lead vocalist Fabio Lione in the single The Magic of the Wizard's Dream from the Symphony of Enchanted Lands II album. This makes Lee one of the oldest metal musicians ever, if one counts him as such.


Honours

In 2001, Lee was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.[12] Lee was named 2005's 'most marketable star in the world' in a USA Today newspaper poll, after three of the films he appeared in grossed $640 million.[13]


Family

The Carandinis, Lee's maternal ancestors, were given the right to bear the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Cinemareview cites: "Cardinal Consalvi was Papal Secretary of State at the time of Napoleon and is buried at the Pantheon in Rome next to the painter Raphael. His painting, by Lawrence, hangs in Windsor Castle."[1] Lee's great-grandparents formed Australia's first opera company, performing before miners in towns in the outback.[14]

Lee is a step-cousin of the late Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond spy novels. Fleming offered him the role of the title character in the first official Bond film Dr. No, and Lee enthusiastically accepted, but the producers had already chosen Joseph Wiseman for the part. In 1974, Lee finally got to play a James Bond villain, when he was cast as the deadly assassin Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun. Lee reprised the role some thirty years later when he provided the voice of Scaramanga in the video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent.[15]

Lee has been married to the Danish model Birgit Kroencke since 1961. They have a daughter named Christina (born 23 November 1963).[14] He is also the uncle of the British actress Harriet Walter.[1]

Lee Meriwether
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Lee Ann Meriwether
Born May 27, 1935 (1935-05-27) (age 71)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Spouse(s) Marshall Borden
Notable roles Catwoman in Batman, 1966,
Dr. Ann MacGregor in The Time Tunnel, 1966,
Bety Jones in Barnaby Jones, 1973.

Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress who was Miss America 1955. She remains one of the most popular Miss Americas, primarily on movies, soap operas, game shows and television. She's well-known for her roles as Buddy Ebsen's daughter-in-law and partner, Betty Jones in the popular 1970s crime drama, Barnaby Jones, and as John Schuck's husband, Lily Munster in the popular 1980s sitcom, The Munsters Today.





Biography

Early life

A descendent of Meriwether Lewis, she grew up in San Francisco, California after the family moved there from Phoenix, Arizona. She attended George Washington High School where one of her classmates was Johnny Mathis. She later attended San Francisco City College, where one of her classmates was fellow actor Bill Bixby.

Winning Miss San Francisco, Meriwether won Miss California, then Miss America with her recital of a John Millington Synge monologue. After her reign, she joined The Today Show. An August 1, 1956 International News wire photo of Meriwether and Joe DiMaggio announced their engagement. According to DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer, it was a rumor started by Walter Winchell.


Career

Her feature film debut was as Linda Davis in 1959's The 4D Man starring Robert Lansing. She portrayed Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie. She co-starred as scientist Dr. Ann MacGregor in the 1966-1967 television series The Time Tunnel and appeared opposite John Wayne and Rock Hudson in The Undefeated in 1969. She had a long co-starring role as private detective Betty Jones in the 1973-1980 series Barnaby Jones opposite Buddy Ebsen.

In the 1970s and 1980s, she appeared on Circus of the Stars four times. She also served as a panelist on the game show Match Game. Between 1988-91, she had a three year run reprising Lilly Munster opposite John Schuck's Herman in, "The Munsters Today".

In 1996, Meriwether briefly took over for Mary Fickett in the role of Ruth Martin on the soap opera All My Children. She also appeared Off-Broadway in the interactive comedy, Grandma Sylvia's Funeral.


Personal life

Meriwether has been married to current husband, Marshall Borden (Ryan's Hope, Luke Jackson #1 on One Life to Live, since 1987.


Trivia


Lee Meriwether's daughters, Kyle and Lesley Aletter, also appeared on the series Match Game.
In 1988, Lee Meriwether was one of the 10 Miss Americas used for audience poll questions during a week of shows on Card Sharks.
On the heels of the 2004 Catwoman motion picture, TV Land had all the 1960s Catwomen appear on their TV Land Awards program; sharing the stage with Lee Meriwether were Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt.
As of 2007, she is the only surviving villain actor from the 1966 Batman movie.
Appeared in the third season Star Trek episode "That Which Survives," as a character named Losira. The third season also featured guest appearances by Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) in "Whom Gods Destroy."
In 1994, she appeared on an episode of the cartoon "talk show" Space Ghost Coast to Coast along with Adam West and Eartha Kitt.

Louis Gossett, Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Birth name Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr.
Born May 27, 1936 (1936-05-27) (age 70)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Notable roles * George Murchison in A Raisin in the Sun (1961 film)
* Fiddler in Roots
* GySgt. Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman
Academy Awards

Best Supporting Actor
1982 An Officer and a Gentleman
Emmy Awards

Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series
1977 Roots
Outstanding Children's Special
1998 In His Father's Shoes
Golden Globe Awards

Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1983 An Officer and a Gentleman
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
1992 The Josephine Baker Story

Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award winning American actor.

He was born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn and attended Abraham Lincoln High School, where he was class president and an academic and athletic achiever. A sports injury left him with no choice but to take an acting class, and at 16 he made his stage debut in the school's production of You Can't Take It With You. After high school, he attended New York University, where he was a star basketball player.


Professional career

Gossett was chosen to play for the New York Knicks, but he decided his true vocation was acting. He took a big step into the world of cinema in the Sidney Poitier vehicle A Raisin in the Sun in 1961.

Gossett made several TV guest appearances early in his career, including a role as a bounty hunter on the western comedy Alias Smith and Jones. Gossett has starred in numerous film productions such as The Deep, An Officer and a Gentleman, Jaws 3-D (as SeaWorld manager Calvin Bouchard), Enemy Mine, the Iron Eagle series, Toy Soldiers and The Punisher. His role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman (opposite Richard Gere) showcased his talent and garnered him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

While filming An Officer and a Gentleman, Gossett was also starring in the 1982-1983 science fiction series, The Powers of Matthew Star.

Gossett's Broadway theatre credits include A Raisin in the Sun (1959), Golden Boy (1964), and Chicago (2002).

Gossett also has performed in other media, including television productions. In fact, it was his Emmy award-winning role of "Fiddler" in the 1977 groundbreaking television miniseries Roots that first brought Gossett great notice. In 1983, Gossett was cast in the title role in Sadat, a miniseries which chronicled the life and assassination of Anwar Sadat. Egypt's government, often criticized by blacks and others as Afrophobic, objected to the casting choice and banned the production, which was critically acclaimed. The network stood by its casting decision.

Gossett is the voice of the Vortigaunts in the video game Half-Life 2 and is also the Free Jaffa Leader (Gerak) in Season 9 of Stargate SG-1.

Recently, Gosset provides the voice of Lucius Fox in The Batman.

Trivia

His role in Enemy Mine resulted in a first: portraying a member of a single-gendered alien species, he was the first male to be shown giving birth on screen.
Played title role in the pilot of "Black Bart", the proposed TV adaptation of the Mel Brooks hit Blazing Saddles. Cleavon Little having played the role of "Bart" in the movie.
According to the development journal and behind-the-scenes book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, when casting directors asked the development team what sort of voice talent they wanted for the Half-Life 2 alien characters called "Vortigaunts," the team explained that they wanted someone who could create an intelligible voice that was still alien. As an example, they told the casting group to look for someone "like Louis Gossett, Jr. in 'Enemy Mine.'" Reportedly, the development team was shocked when they were told that Gossett was interested in taking the role.

Men Are Just Happier People --

What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress-$5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars.. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. Your belly usually hides your big hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color fo r all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

Good morning, hawkman. Strangely enough, your brief treatise on men happens to be a certainty. Have you shown this to Nair?

Thanks once again for the great info on the famous folks. I will bet that all of our listeners are familiar with your bio's. Well, at least your PD is.

Until our Raggedy arrives, here is a song from Calamity Jane to Wild Bill.


Once I had a secret love
That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love
Became impatient to be free

So I told a friendly star
the way that dreamers often do
Just how wonderful you are
And why I'm so in love with you

Chourus

Now I shout it from the highest hils
Even told the golden daffodils
At last my heart's an open door
And my secret love's no secret anymore.