WA2K Radio is now on the air

Looking Back

You hit the street, you feel them staring
You know they hate you you can feel their eyes a glarin'
Because you're different, because you're free
Because you're everything deep down they wish they could be

You're lookin back (lookin back) they're lookin back (lookin back)
Too many people lookin back
You're lookin back (lookin back) they're lookin back (lookin back)
Too many people lookin back

They watch the news, see young men dying
They watch them bleedin' and listen to them lyin'
And if they're normal if they can see
They just reach out and change the channel on the TV

You're lookin back (lookin back) they're lookin back (lookin back)
Too many people lookin back
You're lookin back (lookin back) they're lookin back (lookin back)
Too many people lookin back

When they could vote, and end the war
They're much too busy fittin' locks upon the back door
Give you a foxhole, a place to hide
Cause when the war come the cops'll be on their side

You're lookin back (lookin back) they're lookin back (lookin back)
Too many people lookin back
You're lookin back (lookin back) they're lookin back (lookin back)
Too many people lookin back

Bob Seger

Heartless

The doctor said "Come back again next week, I think that you need me."
All she did was cry
She wanted to die
"Doctor when can you see me here?"
There's a guy out there! Seems like he's everywhere!
It just ain't fair!

Heartless-Heartless! Never, never out of control
Heartless-Heartless! Ya keep on sinnin' in the name of a-rock and roll
Heartless-Heartless! Ya think he's gonna bare his empty soul?
He never realized, the way love dies when you crucify it's soul

Late nite, in the penthouse room, the fire is burning.
The shadows are warm, she lay in his arms, answers his yearning.
D'ya think she understand the lie of his plans her eyes are filled with sand.

Heartless-Heartless! Never, never out of control
Heartless-Heartless! Ya keep on sinnin' in the name of rock and roll
Heartless-Heartless! it's so cool to be cold
He never realized, the way love dies when you crucify it's soul

(breakdown) oooooooo (repeat 4)

Heartless-Heartless! Never, never out of control no no
Heartless-Heartless! sinnin' in the name of a-rock and roll
Heartless-come on he's Heartless! Ya think it's gonna fill your empty soul?
Ya never realized, the way love dies when you crucify it's soul
Yeah didn't you ever realize it?
Crucify me.
Yeah

Heart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_GpxCUg9Vo

Good night WA2K with a salute to Les Paul, the father of modern rock technology...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VKwMEOIoyc&feature=related

RH

Good morning, WA2K folks.

First, allow me to thank our edgar for the three songs that were quite diversified. I'm not familiar with Chuck Willis, but I always like to listen to the "steps of the past". What a surprise to hear Englebert and see him. That was good.

Hey, Rex. Welcome back. Strange, the one line I got from one of your songs was "crucifixion of the soul".

RH, I did NOT know that Les Paul was the first to do multi-track recordings. Thanks for the great music of the master, buddy.

I didn't particularly think about what I was going to begin our day with, but when I looked at the lawn outside my wee studio, I was reminded of the desert, so this one came to mind, folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIlVSZmnOgI

Good morning, Breakfast Club. Nice one to begin with, letty. And, back to Les Paul, is anyone familiar with his record, actually released, of two guitar licks? One of his recordings ended with the old Shave-and-a-Haircut, but omitted the two-bits. In answer to disk jocey complaints they had lots of dead air space awaiting the final two licks, Paul had the records pressed and sent out.

They do look a bit older now ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVEUbIgJa9Q

My, my, folks. Look who is back.

Nice to see you again, Walter, and yes, they do look older, but don't we all? Thanks for the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song. I haven't heard that one, but it has appeal, no?

Today is Vincent Perez's birthday. Never heard of him, but I think that I love him, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_EbvNeshGs&feature=related

It seems that Vincent has done everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, y'all.

Sessue Hayakawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Born Kintaro Hayakawa
June 10, 1889(1889-06-10)
Nanaura, Chiba, Japan
Died November 23, 1973 (aged 84)
Tokyo, Japan
Spouse(s) Tsuru Aoki (1914-1961)
Awards won
Academy Awards
Nominated: Best Supporting Actor
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai

Sessue Hayakawa (早川 雪洲, Hayakawa Sesshū?, June 10, 1889 - November 23, 1973) was an Academy Award nominated Japanese actor who starred in both Japanese and American films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe[1], during his time he was as well known as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks.[2] He was one of the highest paid stars of his time; making $5,000 a week in 1915, and $2 million a year via his own production company during the 1920s.[3]He starred in over 80 movies and has two films in the U.S. National Film Registry.[4] His international stardom transitioned both silent films and talkies. [5]

Of his English language films, Hayakawa is probably best known for his role as Colonel Saito in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he received a nomination for Academy Award Best Supporting Actor in 1957. In addition to his acting career Hayakawa was also a film and theatre producer, author, martial artist, and an ordained Zen master.[6]




Early life

Hayakawa was born Kintaro Hayakawa (早川金太郎, Hayakawa Kintarō) in the Nanaura Village, of Chikura Town, of Minamibosō City, in the Chiba Prefecture, Japan on June 10, 1889, the second eldest son of the provincial governor.[7]

From early on Hayakawa was groomed for a career as a naval officer. However at the age of 17, he took a schoolmate's dare to swim to the bottom of a lagoon (he grew up in a shellfish diving community) and ruptured his eardrum. He had been studying at the Naval Academy in Etajima but his record of perfect health was now shattered and he failed the navy's rigorous physical. His formerly proud father was now ashamed and embarrassed of his son. Their relationship became strained.[8]

The strained relationship drove the young Hayakawa to attempt seppuku (ritual suicide). One quiet night after dinner Hayakawa entered a garden shed on his parents' property, locked his favorite dog outside and spread a white sheet on the ground. To uphold his family's samurai tradition, Hayakawa stabbed himself in the abdomen more than 30 times.[9] The dog's barking alerted Hayakawa's family and his father smashed through the shed door with an axe in time to save his son.[10]

After he recovered from the suicide attempt Hayakawa enrolled in the University of Chicago to study political economics. His family had decided that if he could not be a naval officer, he would become a banker. Three years after arriving in the US, Hayakawa briefly returned home after his father's passing. His older brother pleaded with him to stay in Japan. However, Hayakawa saw no future for himself there and returned to the US.[11]


Career Beginnings

Hayakawa was on vacation in Los Angeles when he wandered into a Japanese Playhouse in Little Tokyo. He soon was fascinated with acting and performing plays. It was around this time he first assumed the name Sessue Hayakawa.[12]

One of the productions Hayakawa performed in was called The Typhoon. The well known film producer Thomas Ince saw the production and offered to turn it into a silent movie using the original cast. Anxious to return to his studies at the University of Chicago, Hayakawa decided to try and dissuade Ince by requesting the absurdly high fee of $500 a week. Ince agreed to pay it.[13]

The Typhoon was filmed in 1914, and was an instant hit. Hayakawa made two more films with Ince, The Wrath of the Gods co starring his new wife, actress Tsuru Aoki, and The Sacrifice. With his rising stardom Hayakawa soon was offered a contract by Jesse L. Lasky. He signed on making him part of Famous Players-Lasky (now Paramount Pictures).[14]


Stardom

Hayakawa second film for Famous Players Lasky was The Cheat, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The Cheat co starring Fannie Ward, was a huge success, making Hayakawa a romantic idol to the female movie going public.[15] With his popularity Hayakawa's salary soared to over $5,000 a week in 1915. In 1917 he built his residence, a castle styled mansion, on the corner of Franklin Avenue and Argyle Street in Hollywood, which became a landmark until being torn down in 1956. [16]

Following the success of The Cheat Hayakawa became a top leading man for romantic dramas in the 1910s and early 1920s.[17] After these roles he switched to Westerns and Action films.[18]

After years of extensive typecasting at Famous Players, Hayakawa decided to form his own production company. He borrowed $1 million from a former classmate at the University of Chicago and formed Haworth Pictures Corporation in 1918.[19] Over the next three years he pumped out 23 films and netted $2 million a year.[20] Hayakawa controlled the content. He produced, starred in, and contributed to the design, writing, editing, and directing of the films. His films influenced the way the American public viewed Asians.[21]

In 1918 Hayakawa personally chose the highly popular American serial actress Marin Sais to appear opposite him in a series of films, the first being the 1918 racial drama The City of Dim Faces followed by His Birthright, which also starred his wife. Hayakawa's collaboration with Sais ended with the 1919 film Bonds of Honor. He also appeared opposite Jane Novak in The Temple of Dusk, a Mutual Film Corporation production.

In 1919 Hayakawa made what is generally considered one of his best films, The Dragon Painter. During this period Hayakawa was at his Hollywood peak. He was one of the highest paid stars of the era, making $2 million a year through his production company throughout the 1920s.[22] His fame rivaled that of Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and in many ways he can be seen as a precursor to Rudolph Valentino.[23]

Hayakawa's wealth and extravagance was legendary. He drove a gold plated Pierce-Arrow. He entertained lavishly in his 'Castle' which was known as the scene of some of Hollywood's wildest parties. Shortly before Prohibition took effect in 1920, he bought a carload of booze. Hayakawa once claimed that he owed his social success to his liquor supply.[24] During this time, in the course of one night he gambled away $1 million in Monte Carlo, shrugging off the loss while another Japanese gambler who lost a fortune committed suicide.


Stardom outside of the United States

A bad business deal forced Hayakawa to leave Hollywood in 1921. The next 15 years saw him performing in New York, France, England and Japan. In 1924 he made The Great Prince Chan and The Story of Su in London.[25]

In 1925 he wrote a novel, The Bandit Prince, and turned it into a short play. In 1930 he performed in a one-act play written especially for him, Samurai, for King George V of Great Britain and Queen Mary. He also became very popular in France thanks to the prevailing French fascination with anything Asian. In 1930 Hayakawa returned to Japan and produced a Japanese-language stage version of The Three Musketeers.[26]


Later career

In the 1930s his career began to suffer from the rise of talkies, as well as a growing Anti-Japanese sentiment. Hollywood deemed his gifts unsuitable for the new talkies. Hayakawa's sound film debut came in 1931 in Daughter of the Dragon, starring opposite fellow Asian performer Anna May Wong.[27]

In 1937 Hayakawa went to France to act in Yoshiwara and found himself trapped by the German occupation. He was separated from his family during this time.[28]

Hayakawa made few movies during these years, but supported himself by selling watercolors. He joined the French Resistance and helped Allied flyers during the war. [29]In 1949, Humphrey Bogart's production company tracked Hayakawa down and offered him a role in Tokyo Joe. Before issuing a work permit, the American Consulate investigated Hayakawa's activities during the war. They found that he had in no way contributed to the German war effort. Hayakawa followed Tokyo Joe with Three Came Home, in which he played a real-life POW camp commander Lieutenant-Colonel Suga, before returning to France.[30]

His post-war screen persona became fixed as the honorable villain, perhaps best exemplified in his role as Colonel Saito in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, which won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Picture. Hayakawa was nominated for Best Supporting Actor but lost to Red Buttons. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for the role. He called this role the highlight of his career.[31]

After that film Hayakawa in essence retired from acting. Throughout the rest of his life he performed on a handful of television shows and a few movies. His final film appearance was in The Daydreamer in 1966.[32]


Other Works

Hayakawa had created his own production company in 1918. During that period he produced, directed, contributed to the design, writing, of editing his films.[33] He wrote several plays, painted watercolors, performed martial arts, and invested wisely.[34]

In 1961 he became a Zen master as well as a private acting coach.[35] He wrote an autobiography, Zen Showed me the Way.[36]


Acting Style

During the height of his popularity critics of the day hailed Hayakawa's Zen-influenced acting style. Hayakawa sought to bring muga, or the "absence of doing," to his performances, in direct contrast to the then-popular studied poses and broad gestures. He was one of the first stars to do so, Mary Pickford being the other.[37]


Racism and Racial Barriers

Hayakawa was in a unique position due to his ethnicity and fame in the English world. Due to Anti-miscegenation laws that existed at the time Hayakawa would be unable to become a citizen or marry someone of another race. In 1930, the Production Code came into effect which forbade portrayals of miscegenation in film. Due to the practice of yellowface this meant that unless Hayakawa played opposite an authentic Asian actress, he would not be able to portray a romance with her.

Throughout his career, the United States dealt with yellow peril which affected Americans perceptions of Asians. This left Hayakawa to constantly be typecast as a villain or forbidden lover and unable to play parts that would be given to fellow white actors such as Douglas Fairbanks.[38]

Hayakawa can be seen as a precursor to Rudolph Valentino. Both were foreign born, both were typecast as exotic or forbidden lovers, and both were wildly popular during their time. Hayakawa also inadvertently helped Rudolph Valentino's rise to stardom. His contract with Famous Players expired in May 1918, but the studio still asked him to star in The Sheik. Hayakawa turned down the picture in favor of starting his own company, most likely not happy with another 'forbidden villain lover' role. With influence from June Mathis, the role went to the barely known Valentino, which turned him into an icon.[39]


Reception in Japan

Hayakawa's early films were not popular in Japan most likely due to the fact that Hollywood played up his Japaneseness at a time that Japan was trying to become more American.[40]

Some Japanese felt his American success represented turning his back on his nation. His later films were also not popular, because he was now ironically seen as 'too Americanized' during a time of 'Nationalism'.[41]


Reception in United States

In more than 20 films for Famous Players, Hayakawa was typecast as either the villain or the exotic lover who in the end would turn his lover over to the proper man of her race.[42]

This typecasting was the reason Hayakawa set up his own production company in 1918 around the height of his US fame. At that time he stated he wanted to be shown "as he really is and not as fiction paints him." As for his prior roles, he said, "They are false and give people a wrong idea of us [Asians]."

Hayakawa desperately sought to show a more balanced and fair portrait of Asians. In 1949 he stated, "My one ambition is to play a hero." In his autobiography he observed, "All my life has been a journey. But my journey differs from the journeys of most men."


Personal life

On May 1, 1914 Hayakawa married fellow Japanese actress Tsuru Aoki. She would star in quite a few of his movies alongside him.[43] She died in 1961 at which time Hayakawa moved back to Japan and became a Zen master.

In Europe the couple adopted a boy, Yukio who became an engineer. They also adopted two daughters: Yoshiko, an actress; and Fujiko, a dancer.

Hayakawa was known for his discipline and martial arts skills. While in University he played quarterback for the football team. He was once penalized for using jujitsu to bring down a rival player.[44]

While filming The Jaguar's Claws, in the Mojave Desert, Hayakawa played a Mexican bandit, and the film required 500 cowboys as extras. On the first night of filming, the extras drank all night and well into the next day. No work was being done, so Hayakawa challenged the group to a fight. Two men stepped forward. Hayakawa said of the incident, "The first one struck out at me. I seized his arm and sent him flying on his face along the rough ground. The second attempted to grapple and I was forced to flip him over my head and let him fall on his neck. The fall knocked him unconscious." Hayakawa then disarmed yet another cowboy. The extras returned to work, amused by the way the small man manhandled the big bruising cowboys.[45]


Death

Sessue Hayakawa retired from film in 1966. After his wife's death he returned to Japan where he became a Zen master and a drama coach. He died in Tokyo on November 23, 1973 from a blood clot in the brain, complicated by pneumonia.[46] He was buried in the Chokeiji Temple Cemetery in Toyama, Japan.[47]


Legacy

To date Hayakawa is the only Asian to obtain romantic icon status in the US. His work lives on in various forms. Many of his films are lost. However most of his later films including The Geisha Boy, Tokyo Joe, Three Came Home, and The Bridge on the River Kwai are available on DVD.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sessue Hayakawa was awarded a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1645 Vine Street, in Hollywood, California.

In 1989 a musical based on his life, Sessue, played in Tokyo.

In September 2007 the Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective on Hayakawa's work titled: "Sessue Hayakawa: East and West, When the Twain Met"[48]

Hattie McDaniel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Born June 10, 1895
Wichita, Kansas
Died October 26, 1952 (aged 57)
Woodland Hills, California,
Spouse(s) George Langford (1922)
Howard Hickman (1938)
James Lloyd Crawford (1941-1945)
Larry Williams (1949-1950)
Awards won
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actress
1940 Gone with the Wind

Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1895 - October 26, 1952) was an American actress and the first black performer to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939).

McDaniel was also a professional singer-songwriter, comedienne, stage actress, radio performer and television star. Hattie McDaniel was in fact the first black woman to sing on the radio in America.[1][2] Over the course of her career, McDaniel appeared in over 300 films, although she only received screen credits for about 80. She gained the respect of the African American show business community with her generosity, elegance and charm.

McDaniel has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood: one for her contributions to radio at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for motion pictures at 1719 Vine Street. In 1975, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and in 2006 became the first black Oscar winner honored with a US postage stamp.[3]




Background and early acting career

Hattie McDaniel was born June 10, 1895, in Wichita, Kansas, to former slaves and Civil War soldier Henry McDaniel and Susan Holbert, a singer of religious music.[4] She was the youngest of thirteen children. In 1900, the family moved to Colorado, living first in Fort Collins and then in Denver, where Hattie grew up. McDaniel dropped out of East Denver High School after her sophomore year to enter show business. She toured with her father's own Henry McDaniel minstrel, which costarred her two brothers, Sam and Otis. In 1910, she was the only African American participant in a Women's Christian Temperance Union event in which she won a gold medal for reciting a poem entitled Convict Joe. Winning the award was what started and sparked her dream of becoming a performer.

In addition to performing, Hattie was also a songwriter, a skill she honed while working with her father's minstrel show. After the death of her brother, Otis, in 1916, the family's minstrel group began to lose momentum, and it wasn't until 1920 that Hattie received another big opportunity. During 1920-25, she appeared with Professor George Morrison's Melony Hounds, a touring black ensemble, and in the mid-1920s she embarked on a radio career, singing with the Melony Hounds on station KOA in Denver.[5] In 1927-1929 she also recorded many of her songs on Okeh Records,[6] and with Paramount Records[7] in Chicago.

When the stock market crashed in 1929, the only work McDaniel could find was as a washroom attendant at Club Madrid in Milwaukee. Despite the owner's reluctance to let her perform, McDaniel was eventually allowed to take the stage, and became a regular.

In 1931, McDaniel made her way to Los Angeles to join her brother Sam,[8] sisters Etta[9] and Orlena. When she could not get film work, she took jobs as a maid or cook. Sam was working on KNX radio program called The Optimistic Do-Nut Hour, and he was able to get his sister a spot. She appeared on radio as 'Hi-Hat Hattie', a bossy maid who often "forgets her place". Her show became extremely popular, but her salary was so low that she had to continue working as a maid. Her first film appearance was in The Golden West (1932), as a maid, her second, was in the highly successful Mae West film, I'm No Angel, as one of the plump black maids West camped it up with backstage at West's circus perrformances. In the early years of the 1930s she received roles in several films, often singing in choruses. In 1934, McDaniel joined the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and began to attract attention and finally landed larger film roles that began to win her screen credits. Fox Film Corporation put her under contract to appear in The Little Colonel (1935), with Shirley Temple, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore.

1934's Judge Priest, directed by John Ford and starring Will Rogers, was the first film in which she would receive a major role. She had a leading part in the film and demonstrated her singing talent, including a duet with Rogers. McDaniel and Rogers became friends during filming. McDaniel had prominent roles in 1935 with her classic performance as a slovenly maid in RKO Pictures' Alice Adams, and a delightfully comic part as Jean Harlow's maid/traveling companion in MGM's China Seas, the latter her first film with Clark Gable. She had a featured role as Queenie in Universal Pictures' 1936 version of Show Boat starring Irene Dunne, and sang a verse of Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man with Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, and the African-American chorus. Later in the film she and Robeson sang I Still Suits Me, a song written especially by Kern and Hammerstein for the film. After Show Boat she had major roles in MGM's Saratoga (1937), starring Jean Harlow and Clark Gable, The Shopworn Angel (1938) with Margaret Sullavan, and The Mad Miss Manton (1938), starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.

McDaniel had befriended several of Hollywood's most popular white stars, including Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Shirley Temple, Henry Fonda, Ronald Reagan, Olivia de Havilland and Clark Gable, with whom she would star in Gone with the Wind. It was around this time that she began to be criticized by members of the black community for roles she was choosing to take. 1935's The Little Colonel depicted black servants longing for a return to the Old South. Ironically, McDaniel's portrayal of Malena in RKO Pictures' Alice Adams angered white Southern audiences. She managed to steal several scenes away from the film's star, Katharine Hepburn. This was the type of role she would be best known for, the sassy, independently minded, and opinionated maid.

The competition in Gone with the Wind (1939) to play Mammy had been almost as stiff as that for Scarlett O'Hara. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote to film producer David O. Selznick to ask that her own maid, Elizabeth McDuffie, be given the part.[10] McDaniel did not think she would be chosen, because she was known for being a comic actress. Clark Gable recommended the role go to McDaniel, and when she went to her audition dressed in an authentic maid's uniform, Selznick knew he had found Mammy. Gable was delighted to be working again with McDaniel.[11]

The Loew's Grand Theatre on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, was selected as the theatre for the premiere of Gone with the Wind, Friday, December 15, 1939. When the date of the Atlanta premiere approached, all the black actors were barred from attending, and excluded from being in the souvenir program. David Selznick had at least attempted to bring Hattie McDaniel, but MGM advised him not to because of Georgia's segregationist laws, which would have required McDaniel to stay in a coloured-only hotel, and prevented her from sitting in the theater with her white peers. Clark Gable angrily threatened to boycott the Atlanta premiere unless McDaniel was allowed to attend, but McDaniel convinced him to attend anyway.[12] Most of Atlanta's 300,000 citizens crowded the route of the seven-mile motorcade that carried the film's other stars and executives from the airport to the Georgian Terrace Hotel, where they stayed.[13][14] While the Jim Crow laws kept McDaniel from the Atlanta premiere, she did attend the Hollywood debut on December 28, 1939. This time, upon Selznick's insistence, her picture was featured prominently in the program. (It would also be included in programs for all areas outside of the South.)[15]

It was her role as the sassy servant who repeatedly scolds her mistress, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), and scoffs at Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), that won McDaniel the 1939 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first African American to win an Oscar. She was also the first African American ever to be nominated. "I loved Mammy," McDaniel said. "I think I understood her because my own grandmother worked on a plantation not unlike Tara".[16] Her role in Gone with the Wind had scared her Southern audience and in the South, there were complaints that in the film she had been too familiar with her white employer.[17]


Oscar night

Louella Parsons, an American gossip columnist, wrote about Oscar night of 1940: "Hattie McDaniel earned that gold "Oscar", by her fine performance of "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind. If you had seen her face when she walked up to the platform and took the gold trophy, you would have had the choke in your voice that all of us had when Hattie, hair trimmed with gardenias, face alight, and dress up to the queen's taste, accepted the honor in one of the finest speeches ever given on the Academy floor. She put her heart right into those words and expressed not only for herself, but for every member of her race, the gratitude she felt that she had been given recognition by the Academy. Fay Bainter, with voice trembling, introduced Hattie and spoke of the happiness she felt in bestowing upon the beaming actress Hollywood's greatest honor. Her proudest possession is the red silk petticoat that David Selznick gave her when she finished Gone with the Wind". [18]



Hattie McDaniel's Acceptance Speech delivered on January 29, 1940 at the 12th Annual Academy Awards:

"Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, fellow members of the motion picture industry and honoured guests: This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of their awards, for your kindness. It has made me feel very, very humble; and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel, and may I say thank you and God bless you."[19][20]



Gone with the Wind was awarded ten Academy Awards, a record that would stand for years, and has been named by the American Film Institute (AFI) as number six among the top 100 American films of all time.[21]


Later acting career

As the 1940s progressed, the servant roles McDaniel and other African American performers had so frequently played were subjected to increasingly strong criticism by groups such as the NAACP. In response to the NAACP's criticism, McDaniel replied, "I'd rather play a maid and make $700 a week than be one for $7."

In 1942's Warner Bros., In This Our Life, she once again played a domestic, starring Bette Davis and directed by John Huston; character confronts racial issues as her law student son is wrongly accused of manslaughter. The following year, McDaniel was in Warner Bros., Thank Your Lucky Stars, with Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis. In 1943, Time wrote about McDaniel, "Hattie McDaniel, whose bubbling, blaring good humor more than redeems the roaring bad taste of a Harlem number called "Ice Cold Katie" [musical number by Dinah Shore].[22] Hattie McDaniel continued to play maids during the war years, in Warner Bros., The Male Animal (1942), and United Artists, Since You Went Away (1944), but her feistiness was toned down.

She made her last film appearances, Mickey and Family Honeymoon (1949), but was still quite active in her final years on radio and television, becoming the first major African American radio star with her comedy series Beulah. She starred in the ABC television version, taking over for Ethel Waters after the first season. It was a hit, earning McDaniel $2,000 a week. After filming a handful of episodes, however, McDaniel learned she had breast cancer. By the spring of 1952, she was too ill to work and was replaced by Louise Beavers.[23]


Off-camera

Legal case: Victory on "Sugar Hill"
Time magazine, December 17, 1945:

Their story was as old as it was ugly. In 1938, Negroes, willing and able to pay $15,000 and up for West Adams, Los Angeles, California, Heights property, had begun moving into the old colonial mansions. Many were movie folk?-Actresses Louise Beavers, Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, etc. They improved their holdings, kept their well-defined ways, quickly won more than tolerance from most of their white neighbors. But some whites, refusing to be comforted, had drawn up a racial restrictive covenant among themselves. For seven years they had tried to sell it to the other whites, but failed. Then they went to court. Superior Judge Thurmond Clarke decided to visit the disputed ground?-popularly known as "Sugar Hill." Next morning, Judge Clarke threw the case out of court. His reason: "It is time that members of the Negro race are accorded, without reservations or evasions, the full rights guaranteed them under the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Judges have been avoiding the real issue too long." Said Hattie McDaniel, of West Adams Heights: "Words cannot express my appreciation." [24] It was McDaniel, the most famous of the black homeowners, who helped to organize the black West Adams residents that saved their homes. Loren Miller, a local attorney and owner/publisher of the California Eagle newspaper represented the homeowners in their restrictive covenant case.[25] In 1944, he won the case Fairchild v Rainers, a decision for a black Pasadena, California family that had bought a non restricted lot but was sued by white neighbors anyway.

McDaniel had purchased her white two-story, seventeen-room mansion in 1942. The house included a large living room, dining room, drawing room, den, butler's pantry, kitchen, service porch, library, four bedrooms, and a basement. McDaniel had a yearly Hollywood party. Everyone knew that the king of Hollywood, Clark Gable, would be faithfully present at all of McDaniel's Movieland parties.[26]


Community service

McDaniel was also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, one of four African-American Greek letter sororities in the United States. During World War II, McDaniel was the Chairman of the Negro Division of the Hollywood Victory Committee, providing entertainment for soldiers stationed at military bases. She also put in numerous personal appearances to hospitals, threw parties, performed at United Service Organizations (USO) shows and war bond rallies, to raise funds to support the war, on behalf of the Victory Committee.[27][28] Bette Davis also performed for black regiments as the only white member of an acting troupe formed by Hattie McDaniel, that also included Lena Horne and Ethel Waters.[29]

She joined Clarence Muse for an NBC radio broadcast to raise funds for Red Cross relief programs for Americans, many of them black, who had been displaced by the year's devastating floods. Within the black community, she gained a reputation for generous giving, often without question feeding and lending money to friends and stranger alike.[30]


Marriages

While her career was advancing in the 1920s, her husband, George Langford, died soon after she married him in 1922, and her father died the same year. She married Howard Hickman in 1938 but divorced him later the same year. In 1941, she married James Lloyd Crawford, real estate salesman. In the book Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams, by Donald Bogle, it is referenced that in 1945, McDaniel happily informed gossip columnist Hedda Hopper that she was pregnant. McDaniel began buying baby clothes and setting up a nursery. Her plans were shattered when the doctor informed her she had a false pregnancy; McDaniel fell into a depression. She divorced Crawford in 1945, after four and a half years of marriage. She said he was jealous of her career and once threatened to kill her.[31]

In Yuma, Arizona, on June 11, 1949, she married Larry Williams, interior decorator. She divorced him in 1950, after testifying that their five months together had been marred by "arguing and fussing." Ms. McDaniel broke down in tears when she testified that her husband tried to create dissension among the cast of her radio show and otherwise interfered with her work. "I haven't got over it yet," she said. "I got so I couldn't sleep. I couldn't concentrate on my lines."[32][33]


Death

McDaniel died at age 57, in the hospital on the grounds of the Motion Picture House in Woodland Hills, on October 26, 1952. She was survived at the time by her brother, Sam "Deacon" McDaniel, a film actor. Thousands of mourners turned out to remember her life and accomplishments. It was her wish to be buried in the Hollywood Cemetery on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, along with her fellow movie stars, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, and others. McDaniel wrote: "I desire a white casket and a white shroud; white gardenias in my hair and in my hands, together with a white gardenia blanket and a pillow of red roses" I also wish to be buried in the Hollywood Cemetery".[34] The owner, Jules 'Jack' Roth, refused to allow her to be interred there, because they did not take blacks. Her second choice was Rosedale Cemetery, where she lies today.[35] Since 1914, it had also been the resting place of Allen Allensworth,[36] military officer who had founded California's first and only all-black town, which is now the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.

In 1999, Tyler Cassity, the new owner of the Hollywood Cemetery, who had renamed it Hollywood Forever Cemetery, wanted to right the wrong and have Miss McDaniel interred in the cemetery. Her family did not want to disturb her remains after the passage of so much time, and declined the offer. Hollywood Forever Cemetery then did the next best thing and built a large cenotaph memorial on the lawn overlooking the lake in honor of McDaniel. It is one of the most popular sites for visitors.[37]


Will

The "Oscar" that Hattie won was placed in the keeping of Howard University in Washington, D.C. The statue disappeared during racial unrest on the Washington, D.C., campus in the late 1960s.[38] The last will filed for probate disposed of less than $10,000 to a few relatives and friends, her estate had been eroded by medical costs.[39] She left $1 to her former husband, Larry C. Williams.[40]


Legacy and recognition

Hattie has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood: one for her contributions to radio at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for motion pictures at 1719 Vine Street.[41] In 1975, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame posthumously.[42]

In 2002, the legacy of pioneering actress Hattie McDaniel is recalled when American Movie Classics (AMC) delves into her life in the film Beyond Tara, The Extraordinary Life Of Hattie McDaniel (2001), produced and directed by Madison D. Lacy, Ph.D., and hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The one-hour special shows the struggles and triumphs of how McDaniel, in spite of racism and adversity, knocked down the doors of Hollywood and made her presence known. The film won the 2001-2002 Daytime Emmy Award, presented on May 17, 2002, for Outstanding Special Class Special.[43]

McDaniel was featured as the 29th inductee on the Black Heritage Series by the United States Postal Service. She is the first black Oscar winner honoured with a stamp. The 39-cent stamp was released on January 29, 2006. This stamp features a 1941 photograph of McDaniel in the dress she wore on February 29, 1940, when she received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Gone with the Wind.[44]

The ceremony took place at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where the Hattie McDaniel collection includes photographs of McDaniel and other family members, as well as scripts and other documents. "She was a most special lady," McDaniel's Gone with the Wind co-star Ann Rutherford told AP Television News. Rutherford recalled how McDaniel thought some of her friends looked down on her for playing a maid "But (McDaniel) said, I'd rather play a maid than be a maid", Rutherford said.[45]

Robert Cummings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings
June 10, 1908(1908-06-10)
Joplin, Missouri, U.S.
Died December 2, 1990 (aged 82)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.

Robert Cummings (June 10, 1908 - December 2, 1990), also known as Bob Cummings, was an American motion picture and television actor, noted for his fresh faced youthful look which lasted long into his old age.

Cummings chiefly performed in comic roles but was effective in his few dramas, especially two Alfred Hitchcock films, Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954).




Biography

Cummings was born in Joplin, Missouri, the son of Charles Clarence, a physician and surgeon, and Ruth Annabelle nee Kraft, an ordained minister for the Science of Mind.[1] While attending Joplin High School, he was taught to fly by his godfather, Orville Wright. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. He had a brief career on Broadway under the stage name Blade Stanhope Conway, supposedly an Englishman, before moving to Hollywood, first acting under the name and persona of Bruce Hutchens, a wealthy Texan.

In the 1930s Cummings worked (under his own name) as a contract player and appeared in a number of minor roles. He achieved stardom in 1939 in Three Smart Girls Grow Up opposite Deanna Durbin. His many film comedies also include: The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) with Jean Arthur, and The Bride Wore Boots (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Cummings gave memorable performances in three notable dramas: Kings Row (1942) with friend Ronald Reagan, Saboteur (1942) with Priscilla Lane and Norman Lloyd, and Dial M for Murder (1954), with Grace Kelly and Ray Milland. Cummings also starred in You Came Along (1945) that featured a screenplay by Ayn Rand. The Army Air Forces pilot Cummings played had the same name as the character on his later television show.

Cummings was chosen by producer John Wayne as his co-star for the part of airline pilot Captain Sullivan in The High and the Mighty, in part due to Cummings's experience as a pilot. But director William A. Wellman overruled Wayne and hired Robert Stack for the part.[2]


Cummings also made his mark in the CBS Radio network's long-running dramatic serial entitled Those We Love. In the program, which ran from 1938 to 1945, Cummings played the role of David Adair, opposite Richard Cromwell, Francis X. Bushman (famed silent-era film actor), and Nan Grey.

Cummings served duty at a base in Oxnard, California during World War II, and later was a pilot in the United States Air Force Reserve.

Cummings began a long career on television in 1952 with the comedy My Hero. He was in the first performance of Twelve Angry Men to be televised, a live production that aired in 1955, and received an Emmy award for his role as "Juror Number Eight." From 1955 through 1959, Cummings starred in the celebrated sitcom, The Bob Cummings Show (shown in reruns as Love That Bob), later followed by The New Bob Cummings Show, 1961-1962. He also spent a season starring in My Living Doll (1964), another sitcom. His last significant credit was the 1973 TV movie Partners in Crime, also starring Lee Grant.

Cummings married five times and sired seven children. He was a staunch advocate of natural foods and a healthy diet and authored the book Stay Young and Vital (1960) on health foods and exercise. In reference to refined products such as white flour, white rice, and sugar, he was once quoted as saying, "Never eat anything white."

Cummings died of kidney failure[citation needed] in 1990 at the age of 82 and was interred in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Judy Garland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born Frances Ethel Gumm
June 10, 1922(1922-06-10)
Grand Rapids, Minnesota, U.S.
Died June 22, 1969 (aged 47)
Chelsea, London, England
Years active 1925-1969 (singer)
1935-1963 (actress)
Spouse(s) David Rose (1941-1944)
Vincente Minnelli (1945-1951)
Sidney Luft (1952-1965)
Mark Herron (1965-1967)
Mickey Deans (1969)
[show]Awards won
Academy Awards
Academy Juvenile Award
1940 Outstanding Performance in 1939
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical/Comedy
1955 A Star Is Born
Cecil B. DeMille Award
1962 Lifetime Achievement
Tony Awards
Special Tony Award
1952 Lifetime Achievement

Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an American Academy Award-, Tony Award-, Grammy Award-, and Golden Globe-winning actress (film and stage) and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage.

After appearing in vaudeville with her sisters, Garland was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. There she made over two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney, and the film with which she would be most identified, The Wizard of Oz (1939). After 15 years, Garland was released from the studio but gained renewed success through record-breaking concert appearances, including a critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall concert, a well-regarded but short-lived television series and a return to film acting beginning with A Star Is Born (1954).

Despite her professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and overweight. Plied with drugs to control her weight and increase her productivity, Garland endured a decades-long struggle with addiction. Garland was plagued by financial instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. Married five times, four of her marriages ended in divorce. She attempted suicide on a number of occasions. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of forty-seven, leaving children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft.





Biography

Childhood and early life

Born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Garland was the youngest child of former vaudevillians Frank Gumm and Ethel Marion Milne. Her ancestry on both sides of the family can be traced back to the early colonial days of the United States. Her father was descended from the Marable family of Virginia and her mother from Patrick Fitzpatrick, who arrived in America from Smithtown, County Meath Ireland in the 1770s.[1]

Named after both her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church, "Baby" (as Frances was affectionately called) shared the family's flair for song and dance. "Baby" Gumm's first appearance came at the age of two-and-a-half, when she joined her two older sisters, Mary Jane ("Suzy") and Dorothy Virginia ("Jimmie") on stage for a chorus of "Jingle Bells" in a Christmas show at her father's movie theater.[2]

The Gumm girls performed at their father's theater, accompanied by their mother on piano, for the next few years. In June 1926, following rumours that Frank had made sexual advances toward male ushers at his theater, the family relocated to Lancaster, California.[3] Frank purchased and operated another theater there and Ethel, acting as their manager, began working to get her daughters into pictures.


The Gumm Sisters

In 1928, The Gumm Sisters enrolled in the dance school run by Ethel Meglin, proprietress of the Meglin Kiddies dance troupe. The sisters appeared with the troupe at its annual Christmas show.[4] It was through the Meglin Kiddies that Garland and her sisters would make their film debut, in a 1929 short subject called The Big Revue. This was followed by appearances in two Vitaphone shorts the following year, A Holiday in Storyland (featuring Garland's first on-screen solo) and The Wedding of Jack and Jill. They next appeared together in Bubbles. The final on-screen appearance of The Gumm Sisters came in 1935, in another short entitled La Fiesta de Santa Barbara.[5]

In 1934, the sisters, who had been touring the vaudeville circuit as "The Gumm Sisters" for many years, performed in Chicago at the Oriental Theater with George Jessel. He encouraged the group to choose a more appealing name after the name "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. "The Garland Sisters" was chosen, and Frances changed her name to "Judy" soon after, inspired by a popular Hoagy Carmichael song.[6]

Several stories persist regarding the origin of the name "Garland." One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland in the film Twentieth Century which was then playing at the Oriental; another is that the trio chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland.[7] Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that her mother selected the name when Jessel announced that the trio of singers "looked prettier than a garland of flowers."[8] Another variation surfaced when Jessel was a guest on Garland's television show in 1963. He claimed that he had sent actress Judith Anderson a telegram containing the word "garland" and it stuck in his mind.[9]


Signed at MGM

In 1935 Garland was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, supposedly without a screen test, although she had made a test for the studio several months earlier. The studio did not know what to do with Garland, as at age thirteen she was older than the traditional child star but too young for adult roles. Garland's physical appearance created a dilemma for MGM. At only 4 feet 11.5 inches (151 cm), Garland's "cute" or "girl-next-door" looks did not exemplify the more glamorous persona required by leading ladies of the time. She was self-conscious and anxious about her appearance. "Judy went to school at Metro with Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, real beauties," said Charles Walters, who directed Garland in a number of films. "Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was the ugly duckling...I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever, really."[10] Her insecurity was exacerbated by the attitude of studio chief Louis B. Mayer, who referred to her as his "little hunchback."[11] During her early years at the studio, she was photographed and dressed in plain garments or frilly juvenile gowns and costumes to match the "girl-next-door" image that was created for her. She was made to wear portable caps on her teeth and rubberized disks to reshape her nose.[12] She performed at various studio functions and was eventually cast opposite Deanna Durbin in the musical short Every Sunday. The film served as an extended screen test for the pair as studio executives were wondering at the wisdom of having two girl singers on the roster.[13] Mayer finally decided to keep both girls, but by that time Durbin's option had lapsed and she was signed by Universal Studios.

On November 16, 1935, in the midst of preparing for a radio performance on the Shell Chateau Hour, Garland discovered that her father?-who had been hospitalized with spinal meningitis?-had taken a turn for the worse. Frank Gumm died the following morning, on November 17. Garland's song for the Shell Chateau Hour was her first professional rendition of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", a song which would become a standard in many of her concerts.[14]


Garland with Mickey Rooney in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)Garland next came to the attention of studio executives by singing a special arrangement of "You Made Me Love You" to Clark Gable at a birthday party held by the studio for the actor; her rendition was so well regarded that Garland performed the song in their all-star extravaganza Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), in which she sang the song to a photograph of Gable.[15]

MGM hit on a winning formula when it paired Garland with Mickey Rooney in a string of "backyard musicals." The duo first appeared together in the 1937 B movie Thoroughbreds Don't Cry. They became a sensation, and teamed up again in Love Finds Andy Hardy. Garland would eventually star with Rooney in nine films.

To keep up with the frantic pace of making one film after another, Garland, Rooney, and other young performers were constantly given amphetamines, as well as barbiturates to take before bed.[16] For Garland, this regular dose of drugs led to addiction and a lifelong struggle, and contributed to her eventual demise. She later resented the hectic schedule and felt that her youth had been stolen from her by MGM. Despite successful film and recording careers, several awards, critical praise, and her ability to fill concert halls worldwide, Garland was plagued throughout her life with self-doubt and required constant reassurance that she was talented and attractive.[17] Oscar Levant later remarked that "at parties, Judy could sing all night, endlessly... but when it came time to appear on a movie set, she just wouldn't show up."[18]


The Wizard of Oz

Garland soon landed the lead role of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939) at the age of sixteen, in which she introduced the song with which she would forever be identified, "Over the Rainbow". Although producers Arthur Freed and Mervyn LeRoy had wanted Garland from the start, studio chief Mayer tried first to borrow Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox. Temple's services were denied and Garland was cast.[19] Garland was initially outfitted in a blonde wig for the part but Freed and LeRoy decided against it shortly into filming. Her breasts were bound with tape and she was made to wear a special corset to flatten out her curves and make her appear younger; her blue gingham dress (her only costume) was also chosen for its blurring effect on her figure.[20]

Shooting commenced on October 13, 1938[21] and was completed on March 16, 1939[22] with a final cost of over $2,000,000.[23] From the conclusion of filming, MGM kept Garland busy with promotional tours and the shooting of Babes in Arms. Garland and Mickey Rooney were sent on a cross-country promotional tour, culminating in the August 17 New York City premiere at the Capitol Theatre, which included a five-show-a-week appearance schedule for the two stars.[24]

The Wizard of Oz was a tremendous critical success, although its high budget and promotions costs of an estimated $4,000,000, coupled with the lower revenue generated by children's tickets, meant that the film did not make a profit until it was re-released in the 1940s.[25] At the 1940 Academy Awards ceremony, Garland received an Academy Juvenile Award for her performances in 1939, including Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms.[26] Following this recognition, Garland became one of MGM's most bankable stars.


Adult stardom

In 1940, she starred in three films: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, and Little Nellie Kelly. In the latter film, Garland played her first adult role, a dual role of both mother and daughter. Little Nellie Kelly was purchased from George M. Cohan as a vehicle for Garland to assess both her audience appeal and her physical appearance. The role was a challenge for her, requiring the use of an accent, her first adult kiss and the only death scene of her career.[27] The success of these three films, and a further three films in 1941, secured her position at MGM as a major property.

During this time Garland experienced her first serious adult romances. The first was with the band leader, Artie Shaw. Garland was deeply devoted to Shaw and was devastated in early 1940 when Shaw eloped with Lana Turner.[28] Garland began a relationship with musician David Rose, and on her eighteenth birthday, Rose gave her an engagement ring. The studio intervened because Rose was still married at the time to the actress and singer Martha Raye. The couple agreed to wait a year to allow for Rose's divorce from Raye to become final, and were wed on July 27, 1941.[29] She was noticeably thinner in her next film, For Me and My Gal alongside Gene Kelly in his first screen appearance. Garland was top billed over the credits for the first time and effectively made the transition from teenage star to adult actress.

At the age of twenty-one, she was given the "glamour treatment" in Presenting Lily Mars, in which she was dressed in "grown-up" gowns. Her lightened hair was also pulled up in a stylish fashion. However, no matter how glamorous or beautiful she appeared on screen or in photographs, she was never confident in her appearance and never escaped the "girl next door" image that had been created for her.[30] Adding to her insecurity was the dissolution of her marriage to David Rose. Garland, who had aborted her pregnancy by Rose in 1942, agreed to a trial separation in January 1943 and they divorced in 1944.[31]

One of Garland's most successful films for MGM was Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), in which she introduced three standards: "The Trolley Song", "The Boy Next Door", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Vincente Minnelli was assigned to direct this movie, and he requested that make-up artist Dorothy Ponedel be assigned to Garland for the picture. Ponedel refined Garland's appearance in several ways, including extending and reshaping her eyebrows, changing her hairline, modifying her lip line and removing her nose discs. Garland appreciated the results so much that Ponedel was written into her contract for all her remaining pictures at MGM.[32] During the filming of Meet Me in St. Louis, after some initial conflict between them, Garland and Minnelli entered a relationship together. They were married June 15, 1945[33] and on March 12, 1946 daughter Liza Minnelli was born.[34]

The Clock (1945) was her first straight dramatic film, opposite Robert Walker. Though the film was critically praised and earned a profit, most movie fans expected her to sing. It would be many years before she acted again in a non-singing dramatic role.

Garland's other famous films of the 1940s include The Harvey Girls (1946) in which she introduced the Academy Award winning song "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" and The Pirate (1948).


Leaving MGM

During filming for The Pirate, in April 1947, Garland suffered a nervous breakdown and was placed in a private sanitarium.[35] She was able to complete filming but in July of that year she made her first suicide attempt, making minor cuts to her wrist with a broken glass.[36] Following her work on The Pirate, Garland completed three more films for MGM: Easter Parade, In the Good Old Summertime and her final film with MGM, Summer Stock.

There were a series of films which Garland was unable to complete. During the filming of The Barkleys of Broadway, Garland was taking prescription sleeping medication along with illicitly obtained pills containing morphine. These, in combination with migraine headaches, led Garland to miss several shooting days in a row. After being advised by Garland's doctor that she would only be able to work in four- to five-day increments with extended rest periods between, MGM executive Arthur Freed made the decision to suspend Garland on July 18, 1948. She was replaced by Ginger Rogers.[37] Garland was cast in the movie adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun in the title role of Annie Oakley. She was nervous at the prospect of taking on a role strongly identified with Ethel Merman, anxious about appearing in an unglamourous role after breaking from juvenile parts for several years and disturbed by her treatment at the hands of director Busby Berkeley. She began arriving late to the set and sometimes failed to appear. She was suspended from the picture on May 10, 1949 and was replaced by Betty Hutton.[38] Garland was next cast in the film Royal Wedding when June Allyson became pregnant in 1950. Again she failed to report to the set on multiple occasions, and the studio suspended her contract on June 17, 1950, replacing her with Jane Powell.[39] Reputable biographies following Garland's death would state that after this latest dismissal, she slightly grazed her neck with a broken water glass, requiring only a Band-Aid, but at the time, the public was informed that a despondent Garland had slashed her throat.[40] "All I could see ahead was more confusion," Garland later said of this suicide attempt. "I wanted to black out the future as well as the past. I wanted to hurt myself and everyone who had hurt me."[41]


Renewed stardom on the stage

In 1951, Garland divorced Vincente Minnelli.[42] She engaged Sid Luft as her manager the same year.[43] Luft arranged a four-month concert tour of the United Kingdom, where she played to sold out audiences throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland.[44] The tour included Garland's first appearances at the renowned London Palladium for a four-week stand in April.[45] Although the British press chided her before her opening for being "too plump," she received rave reviews and the ovation was described by the Palladium manager as the loudest he'd ever heard.[46]

In October 1951, Garland opened in a vaudeville-style two-a-day engagement at Broadway's newly-refurbished Palace Theatre. Her 19-week engagement exceeded all previous records for the theater and was described as "one of the greatest personal triumphs in show business history."[47] Garland was honored for her contribution to the revival of vaudeville with a special Tony Award.[48]

Garland and Luft were married on June 8, 1952 in Hollister, California[49] and Garland gave birth to the couple's first child, Lorna, on November 21 that year.[50]

Garland's personal and professional achievements during this time were marred by the actions of her mother, Ethel. In May 1952, at the height of Garland's comeback, Ethel was featured in a Los Angeles Mirror story in which she revealed that while Garland was making a small fortune at the Palace, Ethel was working a desk job at Douglas Aircraft Company for $61 a week.[51] Garland and Ethel had been estranged for years, with Garland characterizing her mother as "no good for anything except to create chaos and fear" and accusing her of mismanaging and misappropriating Garland's salary from the earliest days of her career.[52] Garland's sister Virginia denied this, stating "Mama never took a dime from Judy."[53] On January 5, 1953, Ethel was found dead in the Douglas Aircraft parking lot.[54]


A Star Is Born

In 1954, Garland filmed a musical remake of A Star Is Born for Warner Bros. Luft and Garland, through their production company Transcona, produced the film while Warner Bros. supplied the funds, production facilities and crew.[55] Directed by George Cukor and co-starring James Mason, it was a large undertaking to which Garland initially fully dedicated herself. As shooting progressed, however, she began making the same pleas of illness which she had so often made during her final films at MGM. Production delays led to cost overruns and angry confrontations with Warner Bros. head Jack Warner. Principal photography wrapped on March 17, 1954. At Luft's suggestion, the "Born in a Trunk" medley was filmed as a showcase for Garland and inserted over director Cukor's objections, who feared the additional length would lead to cuts in other areas. The "Born in a Trunk" sequence was completed on July 29.[56]

Upon its September 29 world premiere, the film was met with tremendous critical and popular acclaim. Before release it was edited at the instruction of Jack Warner; theater operators, concerned that they were losing money by being able to run the film for three or four shows per day instead of five or six, pressured the studio to make additional reductions. About 30 minutes of footage was cut, sparking outrage amongst critics and filmgoers. A Star is Born ended up losing money and the secure financial position Garland had expected from the profits did not materialize.[57] Transcona made no more films with Warner.[58]


Garland was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and, in the run-up to the 27th Academy Awards, was believed to be the likely winner by both the public and critics. She could not attend the ceremony because she had just given birth to her son, Joseph Luft, so a television crew was in Garland's hospital room with cameras and wires to televise Garland's acceptance speech. The Oscar was won by Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954). The camera crew was packing up before Kelly could even reach the stage. Groucho Marx sent Garland a telegram after the awards declaring her loss "the biggest robbery since Brinks."[59] Garland won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role.[60]

Garland's films after A Star Is Born included Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) (for which she was Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated for Best Supporting Actress), the animated feature Gay Purr-ee (1962), and A Child Is Waiting (1963) with Burt Lancaster. Her final film, I Could Go On Singing (1963), co-starring Dirk Bogarde, mirrored her own life with its story of a world famous singing star. Garland's last screen performance of a song was the prophetic I Could Go on Singing at the end of the film.


Television, concerts and Carnegie Hall

Beginning in 1955, Garland appeared in a number of television specials. The first, the 1955 debut episode of Ford Star Jubilee, was the first full-scale color broadcast ever on CBS and was a ratings triumph, scoring a 34.8 Nielsen rating. Garland signed a three-year, $300,000 contract with the network. Only one additional special, a live concert edition of General Electric Theater, was broadcast in 1956 before the relationship between the Lufts and CBS broke down in a dispute over the planned format of upcoming specials.[61] In 1956, Garland performed four weeks at the New Frontier Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip for a salary of $55,000 per week, making her the highest-paid entertainer to work in Las Vegas to date. Despite a brief bout of laryngitis, her performances there were so successful that her run was extended an extra week.[62] Later that year she returned to the Palace Theatre, site of her two-a-day triumph. She opened in September, once again to rave reviews and popular acclaim.[63]

In November 1959 Garland was hospitalized, diagnosed with acute hepatitis.[64] Over the next few weeks several quarts of fluid were drained from her body until, still weak, she was released from the hospital in January 1960. She was told by doctors that she likely had five years or less to live and that even if she did survive she would be a semi-invalid and would never sing again.[65] She initially felt "greatly relieved" at the diagnosis. "The pressure was off me for the first time in my life."[40] However, Garland successfully recovered over the next several months and, in August of that year, returned to the stage of the Palladium. She felt so warmly embraced by the British that she announced her intentions to move permanently to England.[66]

Her concert appearance at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961 was a considerable highlight, called by many "the greatest night in show business history."[67] The 2-record Judy at Carnegie Hall was certified gold, charting for 95 weeks on Billboard, including thirteen weeks at number one. The album won five Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal of the Year.[68] The album has never been out of print.

In 1961, Garland and CBS settled their contract disputes with the help of her new agent, Freddie Fields, and negotiated a new round of specials. The first, entitled The Judy Garland Show, aired in 1962 and featured guests Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.[69] Following this success, CBS made a $24 million offer to Garland for a weekly television series of her own, also to be called The Judy Garland Show, which was deemed at the time in the press to be "the biggest talent deal in TV history." Although Garland had said as early as 1955 that she would never do a weekly television series,[70] in the early 1960s she was in a financially precarious situation. Garland was several hundred thousand dollars in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, having failed to pay taxes in 1951 and 1952, and the financial failure of A Star is Born meant that she received nothing from that investment.[71] A successful run on television was intended to secure Garland's financial future.

Following a third special, Judy Garland and Her Guests Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet, Garland's weekly series debuted September 29, 1963.[72] The Judy Garland Show was critically praised,[73][74] but for a variety of reasons (including being placed in the time slot opposite Bonanza on NBC) the show lasted only one season and was cancelled in 1964 after 26 episodes. Despite its short run, the series was nominated for four Emmy Awards.[75] The demise of the series was personally and financially devastating for Garland who never fully recovered from its failure.


Final years

With the demise of her television series, Garland returned to the stage. Most notably, she performed at the London Palladium with her then 18-year-old daughter Liza Minnelli in November 1964. The concert, which was also filmed for British television network ITV, was one of Garland's final appearances at the venue. She made guest appearances on the The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Hollywood Palace and The Merv Griffin Show, an episode of which she guest-hosted.[76]

Garland sued Sid Luft for divorce in 1963, claiming "cruelty" as the grounds. She also asserted that Luft had repeatedly struck her while he was drinking and that he had attempted to take their children from her by force.[77] She had filed for divorce more than once previously, including as early as 1956.[78]

A 1964 tour of Australia was largely disastrous. Garland's first concert in Sydney, held in Sydney Stadium because no concert hall could accommodate the crowds who wanted to see her, went well and received positive reviews. Her second performance, in Melbourne, started an hour late. The crowd of 70,000, angered by her tardiness ?- and believing her to be drunk ?- booed and heckled Garland. The performer fled the stage after just 45 minutes.[79] She later characterized the Melbourne crowd as "brutish".[52] A second concert in Sydney was uneventful but the Melbourne appearance garnered her significant bad press.[80] Some of that bad press was deflected by the announcement of a near fatal episode of pleurisy, followed by Garland's fourth marriage to tour promoter Mark Herron. They announced that their marriage had taken place aboard a freighter off the coast of Hong Kong, however, Garland was not legally divorced from Luft at the time the ceremony was performed.[81] Her divorce from Luft became final on May 19, 1965,[77] but Herron and Garland did not legally marry until November 14.[82]

In February 1967, Garland was cast as "Helen Lawson" in Valley of the Dolls for 20th Century Fox. The character of "Neely O'Hara" in the book by Jacqueline Susann was rumored to have been based on Garland. The role in the film was played by Patty Duke. During the filming, Garland missed rehearsals and was fired in April. She was replaced by Susan Hayward.[83]

Returning to the stage, Garland made her last appearances at New York's Palace Theatre in July, a 16-show tour, performing with her children Lorna and Joey Luft. Garland wore a sequined pants-suit on stage for this tour, which was part of the original wardrobe for her character in Valley of the Dolls.[84]


By early 1969, Garland's health had deteriorated. She performed in London at the Talk of the Town nightclub for a five-week run[85] and made her last concert appearance in Copenhagen during March 1969.[86] She married her final husband, Mickey Deans, in London on March 17, 1969,[87] her divorce from Herron having been finalized on February 11 of that year.[88]

On June 22, 1969, Garland was found dead by Deans in the bathroom of their rented Chelsea, London house. The coroner, Gavin Thursdon, stated at the inquest that the cause of death was "an incautious self-overdosage" of barbiturates; her blood contained the equivalent of ten 1.5-grain (97 mg) Seconal capsules.[89] Thursdon stressed that the overdose had been unintentional and that there was no evidence to suggest she had committed suicide. Garland's autopsy showed that there was no inflammation of her stomach lining and no drug residue in her stomach, which indicated that the drug had been ingested over a long period of time, rather than in one dose. Her death certificate stated that her death had been "accidental".[90] Garland had turned forty-seven just twelve days prior to her death. Her Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger commented at Garland's funeral, "She just plain wore out." An estimated 20,000 people lined up for hours at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home to view her body.[91] Garland was interred in Ferncliff Cemetery, in Hartsdale, New York.


Legacy

Judy Garland's legacy as a performer and a personality has endured long after her death. The American Film Institute named Garland eighth among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time.[92] She has been the subject of some two dozen biographies since her death, including the well-received Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir by her daughter, Lorna Luft. Luft's memoir was later adapted into the multiple award-winning television mini-series Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, which won Emmy awards for two actresses portraying Garland (Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis). Garland was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.[93] Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[94] These include "Over the Rainbow," which was ranked as the number 1 movie song of all time in the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Songs" list. Four more Garland songs are featured on the list: "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (#76), "Get Happy" (#61), "The Trolley Song" (#26), and "The Man That Got Away" (#11).[95] Garland has twice been honored on U.S. postage stamps, in 1989 (as Dorothy)[96] and again in 2006 (as Vicki Lester from A Star Is Born).[97]


Gay icon

Of particular note is Garland's status as a gay icon.[98] She always had a large base of fans in the gay community. During a press conference in the 1960s, a reporter asked Garland if she was aware of her loyal gay following. "I couldn't care less," she said. "I sing to people." [99] The reasons most frequently given for her standing, especially amongst gay men, are admiration of her ability as a performer; the way her personal struggles supposedly mirrored those of gay men in America during the height of her fame and her value as a camp figure.[100] A connection is frequently drawn between the timing of Garland's death and funeral, in June 1969, and the Stonewall Riots, the flash point of the modern Gay Liberation movement.[101] Coincidental or not, the proximity of Garland's death to Stonewall has become a part of LGBT history and lore.[102]

Lionel Jeffries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born June 10, 1926 (1926-06-10) (age 82)
Forest Hill, London, England, UK
Awards won
Other Awards
Hollywood Gold Medal Award (For The Railway Children)

Lionel Charles Jeffries (born June 10, 1926 in Forest Hill, London, England) is a British actor, screenwriter and film director.


Life and work

He attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne and then trained at RADA after his World War II service, for which he was awarded the Burma Star. He then went into repertory at the David Garrick Theatre, Lichfield for 2 years and appeared in early British television plays.

He built a successful career in British films mainly in comic character roles and as he was prematurely bald he often played characters older than himself. For example, he played the role of father to Caractacus Potts (played by Dick Van Dyke) in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), although Jeffries is actually 6 months younger than Van Dyke. His acting career reached a peak in the 1960s with leading roles in other films like Two-Way Stretch (1960), The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), First Men in the Moon (1964) and Camelot (1967).

In the 1970s he turned to writing and directing children's films, including the celebrated 1970 version of The Railway Children. He belongs to the British Catholic Stage Guild, formerly headed by the late actress Patricia Hayes.

His roles in television are far less as it was reported he did not like the medium. However in 1985 he appeared in the Central Television situation-comedy (for ITV) Roll Over Beethoven, alongside Nigel Planer and Liza Goddard. Since then he appeared in a few further television roles.

Elizabeth Hurley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Born Elizabeth Jane Hurley
June 10, 1965 (1965-06-10) (age 43)
Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
Occupation Actress, model, beachwear designer
Spouse(s) Arun Nayar (2007?-present)

Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born June 10, 1965) is an English model and actress who gained fame as Hugh Grant's girlfriend.[1]





Early life

Hurley was born as a middle child in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, the daughter of Angela and Reg Hurley.[2] Her father was a major in the British Army, while her mother was a schoolteacher at Kempshott Infant School.[2] Her older sister Debbie is a literary agent and younger brother Michael works as an engineer.

Hurley took ballet classes as a child. She went to Kempshott Junior School and Infants school and the Harriet Costello School, now known as Costello Technology College. She later attended Queen Mary's College, Basingstoke, for one year, followed by Basingstoke College of Technology, and later won a modeling scholarship to the London Studio Centre.[citation needed]

While in her teens and before she was in the public eye, she became involved with punk fashion, dying her hair pink and piercing her nose.[3] She associated with New Age Travellers, who sat under The Buttercross monument and the grounds of the Cathedral in Winchester, near Hurley's home.


Career

Rise to fame

Hurley gained early recognition for her beauty in the early 1980s when she won a Face of the Year competition at a local newspaper in Winchester, securing a year's modeling contract with a prestigious London firm as the first prize. She made her first film appearance in Aria (1987),[2] and attracted some media attention in the late 1980s for portraying the title character in a four-part television drama, Christabel, written by Dennis Potter.[4] During this time, she appeared in several low-budget British and Hollywood films, including a performance as a stewardess in the 1992 thriller Passenger 57. She also appeared on television on both sides of the Atlantic, working in the British series Rumpole of the Bailey and the George Lucas-produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. In 1987, working on a Spanish production called Remando Al Viento, she met actor Hugh Grant and they started a long romantic relationship.

In 1994, Grant's film Four Weddings and a Funeral was an international box office success and Grant was the focus of much media attention.[5] Hurley attended the premiere in a black plunging Versace dress held together with gold safety pins, due to which she was relentlessly photographed at the event. This appearance propelled her to recognition in the modeling world, especially catching the attention of the cosmetics company Estée Lauder.[3] The Versace dress Hurley wore was, for a long time, referred in popular media simply as "that dress".[6] For many years, Hurley was known chiefly as Hugh Grant's girlfriend,[7] with the Guardian reporting that she was "then known as 'Hugh Grant's girlfriend', now known as 'Hugh Grant's former girlfriend'."[1]


Fashion

In 1995, Hurley began working with top cosmetics company Estée Lauder as their main spokesmodel.[3] Within her first month with the company, Hurley launched the best-selling perfume, Pleasures. In 2008, Hurley's contract with Estée Lauder was renewed for the 14th year, with a subsequent contract extension.

She has appeared several times on the covers of renowned fashion magazine ,Vogue,[8] and hosted the first season of the British reality series Project Catwalk, featuring novice fashion designers. In 2005, Hurley's beachwear line Elizabeth Hurley Beach debuted in select Saks Fifth Avenue stores in the United States, Harrod's in the UK, various other locations worldwide and through her website.[9] In 2006, the line expanded its distribution in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. In 2007, Hurley was voted best "British Body Idol" in New Woman magazine, for which 5,000 women reportedly cast votes.[10]


Film

As well as Hurley's work as an actress, she has experience as a film producer. Hugh Grant, who was then her boyfriend, founded and directed UK-based production company, Simian Films Ltd, in 1994, and he appointed Hurley as the head of development to secure film projects for him.[11] Hurley then served as producer for two Grant vehicles, Extreme Measures (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).[3] Grant gradually cut off involvement from the company due to lack of interest, closing the company's U.S. office in 2002 and legally resigning as director in 2005.[12]

Hurley was cast as Vanessa Kensington in Mike Myers's hit spy comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997;[3] after the success of that original film, she reprised the role of Vanessa in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Hurley has also essayed several characters in films such as EdTV, Bedazzled, Double Whammy, Serving Sara (2002), which was her last Hollywood film, and the 2004 thriller Method. Critics such as Julie Burchill, who wrote in The Times about Hurley's acting being a notch above pornography in 2004, have largely dismissed her cinematic performances.[7]

Hurley was publicly criticised in 2000 when she fell foul of U.S. acting unions. She filmed a fashion advertisement for Estée Lauder that year, breaking a five-month acting strike. She was subsequently fined £70,000 by the Screen Actors Guild. Hurley apologised for breaking the strike, but stated that she had been unaware of the strike due to her life in the UK and the union had not informed her of the industrial action. She was later confronted by a protest of angry actors at the U.S. première of her film Bedazzled in October, where protesters brandished banners stating "Elizabeth Scably".[13]


Charity work

Since signing with Estée Lauder, Hurley has taken an active role in the company's Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. She has talked about the fact that her grandmother died from breast cancer because she refused to reveal the existence of a lump for years; when she finally acknowledged the lump to her family, the cancer was beyond the curable stages.[14] Hurley was the mistress of ceremonies at "The Hot Pink Party" at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City that marked the tenth anniversary of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and continues to host the event each year. She has also acted as mistress of ceremonies for The Prince's Trust, a charity founded by Prince Charles that aids youth in Great Britain.

Hurley has helped cricketer Imran Khan raise funds for his cancer hospital in Pakistan.[15] Estée Lauder created a lipstick named "Elizabeth Pink" after Hurley, guaranteeing that proceeds from its sales will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.[16]


Personal life

Hurley had a high profile thirteen-year relationship with actor Hugh Grant, spanning from 1986 to 2000.[3] Grant gained international notoriety due to a highly-publicised scandal in 1995, when he, while dating Hurley, was arrested with the prostitute Divine Brown in Los Angeles. Hurley stood by him during the public controversy, especially showing her support by attending the premiere of Grant's movie Nine Months weeks after his arrest.[3] After 13 years together, the two made "a mutual and amicable decision" to split in May 2000 and have remained cordial.[17]

In October 2000, Hurley began a relationship with multi-millionaire American film producer Stephen Bing. In 2001 Hurley revealed that she was pregnant with Bing's child, but the couple had already separated after eighteen months together before the announcement was made.[18] Bing publicly questioned the paternity of the child and disputed Hurley's description of a faithful relationship.[3] On 4 April 2002, Hurley gave birth to a son, Damian Charles Hurley. A DNA test conducted after the child's birth vindicated Hurley, and Bing was proven to be the father after much dispute.[3] Hurley is thought to have negotiated a $2.1 million deal for the first photos with her son.[19]

According to the Daily Mail in 2004, Hurley has earned £13 million through her career.[20] She reportedly maintains two homes: in London, which is owned by Hugh Grant;[21] and in Ampney Crucis, a village in Gloucestershire. She is also the godmother of Patsy Kensit's son, Lennon Francis Gallagher.[22]


Wedding

On 2 March 2007, Hurley married Indian businessman Arun Nayar in a secret service at Sudeley Castle, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.[23] The couple were due to get married on March 3, 2007, but decided to keep the ceremony private by holding it a day earlier than advertised.[24] Hurley contracted an exclusive deal with Hello! magazine to publish the first photos of the nuptials, thought to be worth £2 to £5 million, with the overall cost of the wedding being estimated at a total of £2 million.[25] Celebrities attending the wedding ceremonies included Elton John (who gave her away[26]), David Furnish, Elle Macpherson, Donatella Versace, Patsy Kensit, Trinny Woodall, Susannah Constantine, Tamara Mellon, Eva Herzigova, Janet Street-Porter, Valentino, Tracey Emin, Prince Pavlos, Marie-Chantal Miller, Tom Ford, Flavio Briatore, Tania Bryer and Leonard Lauder.[27][28][29][30]

The wedding festivities continued in Mumbai, India where the couple joined a private celebration held at Juhu Beach before moving on to Jodhpur, India. In Jodhpur, they held a private Hindu ceremony at Umaid Bhawan Palace,[31][32] where Hurley wore couture sari made especially by her designer friend Donatella Versace.[33] On the eve of the Hindu marriage, the couple held a sangeet, a traditional night of music, at the Nagaur Fort, 90 miles outside the city, where Hurley had her hands and feet decorated with intricate henna designs.[31] Hurley performed at the sangeet with close friends Trinny Woodall and Janet Street-Porter.[34] The ceremony was followed by a private candle-lit reception on March 8 at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. On Hurley and Nayar's arrival outside Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur, a fight broke out between reporters and security guards as the reporters tried to block the celebrity couple's Bentley from entering the dinner venue. The journalists and paparazzi then chased the car into the fort, forcing a total lockdown.[35]

A Russian scientist and a Czechoslovakian scientist had spent their
lives studying the grizzly bear. Each year they petitioned their
respective governments to allow them to go to Yellowstone to study
the
bears.

Finally their request was granted, and they immediately flew to
Yellowstone.

They reported to the ranger station and were told that it was the
grizzly mating season and it was too dangerous to go out and study
the
animals.

They pleaded that this was their only chance, and so finally the
ranger
relented. The Russian and the Czech were given portable phones and
told
to report in every day.

For several days they called in, and then nothing was heard from the
two
scientists. The rangers mounted a search party and found the camp
completely ravaged, with no sign of the missing men. Following the
trails of a male and a female bear, they finally caught up with the
female. Fearing an international incident, they decided they must
kill
the animal to find out if she had eaten the scientist.

They killed the female and opened the stomach to find the remains of
the
Russian. One ranger turned to the other
and said,

"You know what this means, don't you?"

The other ranger responded . . .

"I guess it means the Czech's in the male."

Good morning.

I saw Vincent Perez in Swept Away (scenes shown on Letty's video) and Indochine, and I agree.

and in remembrance of Sessue Hayakawa; Robert Cummings; Hattie McDaniel and Judy Garland on their day.




And a Good Day to all.

Thanks again, BioBob for the celeb background and I love the pun on "the check's in the mail".

Raggedy, ah, the way you do your thing. That is a great quartet of notables, and thanks for recognizing Vince Perez.

How about this one, folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD1OqjY829I&feature=related

Inspired by the picture connection thread, and I love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7upBJ63qGwY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3pQubiUXD0

I came here with my own Bridge clip, not realizing you had posted one already, letty. I looked forward to Sessue Hayakawa's performances most of my life and felt I had to honor him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pQ-M6ruLK0

And how could you not love Hattie McDaniel?

edgar, I watched your clip twice. What a powerful performance by Sessue
Hayakawa and Alec Guinness.

Of course Hattie McDaniel was marvelous as well. Both of them made me a bit lachrymose. Are you surprised?

Thinking of the theme from GWTW, y'all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikVeY0brtXU