Tomorrow will be my last regular working day. No more 8 to 5. It's more worrisome than pleasant to contemplate. It's uncharted waters from here.
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Letty
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Sun 15 Jun, 2008 07:43 pm
Welcome back RH. Loved that trio, buddy. Great country stars. The title also reminds me of a wonderful poem by Alfred Noyes called "The HighwayMAN".
My word, edgar. Tomorrow is your red letter day. Dolly Parton seems to be the favorite of working and non working folks. Our Urs played that when she returned to work after her surgery. Also loved the Chubby Checker song. Updated Fats Domino with that moniker.
Time for me to say goodnight, and I think it was our Raggedy that reminded us that my goodnight song came from the movie, Jack Black starring Brad Pitt. If I got it wrong, I'm certain that she will edit that for us.
RH, I really love "Me and Bobby McGee", and the line "freedom's just another name for nothing else to lose", is so true that it's scary. Thanks, buddy.
Well, edgar, I had no idea that there was an original Highwaymen, and "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" is a song of remembrance. Happy first lazy day, Texas.
Well, a big "oops" for Letty. The movie from which my goodnight song was taken was MEET JOE BLACK. Great soundtrack from that flick, incidentally.
Reflectiing on Father's DaY
I get surprised and even shocked at times when I see videos and/or hear songs that shift my opinion about someone I thought I had gotten the measure of already. For example...this one: on reflecting thoughts about fathers on Father's Day:
Before seeing these videos, I often put Aguilera in a similar category as Brittney Spears (before her big fall...cough...cheap slut) as a short-term talentless nymphet that focused her energy cultivating an overtly sexual image.
Not only can this modern day Jean Harlow sing GREAT, she can write good songs, but importantly she has some depth. Who knew? Not I! Yes, she sure as hell had strayed off-course with her too-hot-for-words Lolita image, but now she has turned her back on that direction and towards the light again, I hear.
What are your thoughts about this video? Perhaps it's auto-biographical?
If not, it's easily imagined that it could be about her. Oh, does this mean she might be a decent actress some day, too? Or am I just caught up in the spell of a young hottie and good video producers who are working a good visual/audio product? (Her voice sells the song..not really her acting in the video). Mariah Carey for example, should only have this good a voice (as she THINKS she has one!) This gal can sing the High "E" (e5) in full voice! YIKES!
Oh try listening to this without the video..if you want to hear it the work objectively and assess her real talent. I wonder how much her good looks are a distraction to her big talent..a `la Marilyn Monroe? Will that industry destroy another being?
This song could be the song that Christina offers as advice to young women (perhaps to Brittney):
Then of course, is her rendition of "Beautiful" as she probably has the best video and song of the last 10 yrs. (Warning: Homophobes needn't watch this..just listen and LEARN something!)
May the force be with her, if she can do songs and work like these! Whenever, I think that all new music (last 15 yrs) sucks, I watch/listen to these videos.
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Ragman
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 07:59 am
"A Song for You"
One of my faves song (for its great lyrics) is Leon Russell's "A Song for You". I always imagine myself singing this song to my lover. He sings it in his quirky voice, but it only adds to the interpretative impact of the amazing lyrics and moody piano and quiet jazzy instrumentals:
I've been so many places in my life and time
I've sung a lot of songs I've made some bad rhyme
I've acted out my love in stages
With ten thousand people watching
But we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you
I know your image of me is what I hope to be
I've treated you unkindly but darlin' can't you see
There's no one more important to me
Darlin' can't you please see through me
Cause we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you
You taught me precious secrets of the truth withholding nothing
You came out in front and I was hiding
But now I'm so much better and if my words don't come together
Listen to the melody cause my love is in there hiding
I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you
You taught me precious secrets of the truth withholding nothing
You came out in front and I was hiding
But now I'm so much better and if my words don't come together
Listen to the melody cause my love is in there hiding
I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you
We were alone and I was singing this song for you
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Letty
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 08:00 am
First, I would like to thank the "down under man" for the "Good Life" song. Sleep well, Dutchy. It does knit up the raveled sleeve of care" sometimes.
Ragman, I listened and watched Christina's songs, and you really made us think. First, I had to check out her background, however.
In a nutshell, Beauty and wealth are handicaps in a way because we never know whether people like us for what we are or what we have. I spent a little time watching a twilight zone episode, and was amazed at how true the central theme of the episode was. The little boy who was "the monster" was obviously tired of people lying about how great he was through fear of what he might do, because he was able to read thoughts.
Born Goyathlay, Goyaałé: "one who yawns"
June 16, 1829
Gila River, Mexico
Died February 17, 1909 (aged 79)
Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Occupation Medicine man
Known for A famous Apache Warrior
Geronimo (Chiricahua: Goyaałé, "one who yawns"; often spelled Goyathlay or Goyahkla[1] in English) (June 16, 1829-February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who defended his people against the encroachment of the United States on their tribal lands for over 25 years.
Biography
Goyaałé (Geronimo) was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache, near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in the modern-day state of Arizona, then part of Mexico, but which his family considered Bedonkohe land.
Geronimo's father, Tablishim, and mother, Juana, educated him according to Apache traditions. He married a woman from the Chiricauhua band of Apache; they had three children. On March 5, 1851, a company of 400 soldiers from Sonora led by Colonel Jose Maria Carrasco attacked Geronimo's camp outside Janos while the men were in town trading. Among those dead were Geronimo's wife, Alope, his children, and mother. His chief, Mangas Coloradas, sent him to Cochise's band for help in revenge against the Mexicans. It was the Mexicans who named him Geronimo. This appellation stemmed from a battle in which he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife, ignoring a deadly hail of bullets, in reference to the Mexicans' plea to Saint Jerome. The name stuck.[1]
The first Apache raids on Sonora appear to have taken place during the late 17th century. To counter the early Apache raids on Spanish settlements, presidios were established at Janos (1685) in Chihuahua and at Fronteras (1690) in northern Opata country. In 1835, Mexico had placed a bounty on Apache scalps. Two years later Mangas Coloradas or Dasoda-hae (Red Sleeves) became principal chief and war leader and began a series of retaliatory raids against the Mexicans. Apache raids on Mexican villages were so numerous and brutal that no area was safe.[2]
While Geronimo said he was never a chief, he was a military leader. As a Chiricahua Apache, this meant he was also a spiritual leader. He consistently urged raids and war upon many Mexican and later U.S. groups.
He married Chee-hash-kish and had two children, Chappo and Dohn-say. Then he took another wife, Nana-tha-thtith, with whom he had one child. He later had a wife named Zi-yeh at the same time as another wife, She-gha, one named Shtsha-she and later a wife named Ih-tedda. Some of his wives were captured, such as the young Ih-tedda. Wives came and went, overlapping each other, being captured and added to the family, lost, or even given up, as Geronimo did with Ih-tedda when he and his band surrendered. At that time he kept his wife She-gha but abandoned the younger wife, Ih-tedda. Geronimo's last wife was Azul.
Ta-ayz-slath, wife of Geronimo, & childThough outnumbered, Geronimo fought against both Mexican and United States troops and became famous for his daring exploits and numerous escapes from capture from 1858 to 1886. One such escape, as legend has it, took place in the Robledo Mountains of southwest New Mexico. The legend states Geronimo and his followers entered a Cave, and the U.S. Soldiers waited outside the cave entrance for him, but he never came out. Later it was heard that Geronimo was spotted in a nearby area. The second entrance to the cave has yet to be found and the cave is still called Geronimo's Cave. At the end of his military career, he led a small band of 38 men, women, and children. They evaded 5,000 U.S. troops (one fourth of the army at the time) and many units of the Mexican army for a year. His band was one of the last major forces of independent Indian warriors who refused to acknowledge the United States Government in the American West. This came to an end on September 4, 1886, when Geronimo surrendered to United States Army General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.
Geronimo and other warriors were sent as prisoners to Fort Pickens, Florida, and his family was sent to Fort Marion. They were reunited in May 1887, when they were transferred to Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama for five years. In 1894, they were moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In his old age, Geronimo became a celebrity. He appeared at fairs, including the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, and sold souvenirs and photographs of himself. However, he was not allowed to return to the land of his birth. He rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade. He died of pneumonia at Fort Sill,Oklahoma in 1909 and was buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery there.
In 1905, Geronimo agreed to tell his story to S.M. Barrett, Superintendent of Education in Lawton, Oklahoma. Barrett had to appeal to President Roosevelt to gain permission to publish the book. Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to say. He refused to answer questions or alter his narrative. Barrett did not seem to take many liberties with Geronimo's story as translated by Asa Daklugie. Frederick Turner re-edited this autobiography by removing some of Barrett's footnotes and writing an introduction for the non-Apache readers. Turner notes the book is in the style of an Apache reciting part of his oral history.[3]
Religion
Geronimo was raised with the traditional religious views of the Bedonkohe. When questioned about his views on life after death, he wrote in his 1905 autobiography, "As to the future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific, that is, we had no definite idea of our relations and surroundings in after life. We believed that there is a life after this one, but no one ever told me as to what part of man lived after death...We held that the discharge of one's duty would make his future life more pleasant, but whether that future life was worse than this life or better, we did not know, and no one was able to tell us. We hoped that in the future life family and tribal relations would be resumed. In a way we believed this, but we did not know it." [4]
Later in life, Geronimo embraced Christianity, and stated, "Since my life as a prisoner has begun I have heard the teachings of the white man's religion, and in many respects believe it to be better than the religion of my fathers...Believing that in a wise way it is good to go to church, and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I have adopted the Christian religion. I believe that the church has helped me much during the short time I have been a member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian, and I am glad to know that the President of the United States is a Christian, for without the help of the Almighty I do not think he could rightly judge in ruling so many people. I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right." [5]He joined the Dutch Reformed Church in 1903 but four years later was expelled for gambling.[6] To the end of his life, he seemed to harbor ambivalent religious feelings, telling the Christian missionaries at a summer camp meeting in 1908 that he wanted to start over, while at the same time telling his tribesmen that he held to the old Apache religion.[7]
Theft of remains
In 1918, certain remains of Geronimo were stolen in a grave robbery. Three members of the Yale secret society of Skull and Bones served as Army volunteers at Fort Sill during World War I; one of those three members was Prescott Bush, father of the forty-first President of the United States George H. W. Bush and grandfather of George W. Bush. They reportedly stole Geronimo's skull, some bones, and other items, including Geronimo's prized silver bridle, from the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery. The stolen items were alleged to have been taken to the society's tomb-like headquarters on the Yale University campus, and are supposedly used in rituals practiced by the group, one of which is said to be kissing the skull of Geronimo as an initiation. The story was known for many years but widely considered unlikely or apocryphal, and while the society itself remained silent, former members have said that they believed the bones were fake or non-human, possibly in an attempt at misdirection.[original research?]
In a contemporary letter discovered by the Yale historian Marc Wortman and published in the Yale Alumni Magazine in 2006, society member Winter Mead wrote to F. Trubee Davison:
The skull of the worthy Geronimo the Terrible, exhumed from its tomb at Fort Sill by your club... is now safe inside the tomb ("tomb" is the building at Yale University's Skull and Bones) and bone together with his well worn femurs, bit and saddle horn.[8]
This prompted the Indian chief's great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo of Mescalero, New Mexico, to write to President Bush requesting his help in returning the remains:
According to our traditions the remains of this sort, especially in this state when the grave was desecrated ... need to be reburied with the proper rituals ... to return the dignity and let his spirits rest in peace.[9]
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bobsmythhawk
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 08:04 am
Stan Laurel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Arthur Stanley Jefferson
16 June 1890(1890-06-16)
Ulverston, Lancashire, England
Died 23 February 1965 (aged 74)
Santa Monica, California, United States
Other name(s) Stan Jefferson
Spouse(s) Lois Nielson (1926-34)
Virginia Ruth Rogers (1935-38)
Vera Ivanova Shuvalova ("Illeana") (1938-40)
Virginia Ruth Rogers (1941-46)
Ida Kitaeva Raphael (1946-65)
Official website
Awards won
Academy Awards
Academy Honorary Award
1961 Lifetime Achievement Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Life Achievement Award
1963 Lifetime Archievement
Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; June 16, 1890 - February 23, 1965) was an English comic actor, writer and director, famous as the first half of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy, whose career stretched from the silent films of the early 20th century until post-World War II. Laurel's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is situated at 7021 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, California.
Early life
Stan Laurel was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson on June 16, 1890 in Ulverston, in the historic county of Lancashire, England at his grandparents' house. His parents, Arthur and Madge (Margaret) Jefferson, were both active in the theatre and Stan's home life in Bishop Auckland, Co Durham was a happy one. In his early years, he spent much time living with his grandmother Sarah Metcalfe. He attended school at the King James I Grammar School, Bishop Auckland[1] and The King's School, Tynemouth. His father managed a number of different theatres - one of which being the long demolished Eden Theatre in Bishop Auckland. Stan had a natural affinity for the theatre, with his first professional performance on stage being at the Britannia Panopticon in Glasgow, Scotland, at the age of 16. In 1910, he joined Fred Karno's troupe of actors, which also included a young Charlie Chaplin. For some time, Stan acted as Chaplin's understudy. The Karno troupe toured America, and brought both Chaplin and Laurel to the United States for the first time. From 1916 to 1918, he teamed up with Alice and Baldwin Cooke, who became lifelong friends. In 1918, Laurel appeared briefly with Oliver Hardy in a silent film short The Lucky Dog (1921).
It was around this time that Stan met Mae Dahlberg, who was to have a great impact on his life. Also about this time, Stan adopted the stage name of Laurel, at Dahlberg's suggestion. The pair were performing together when Laurel was offered $75.00 per week to star in two-reel comedies. After the making of his first film, Nuts in May, Universal offered him a contract. The contract was short-lived, however, and was cancelled during a reorganisation at the studio.
By 1924, Laurel had forsaken his stage career to work full time in films, now under contract with Joe Rock. The contract called for Laurel to make twelve two-reel comedies. The contract also had one unusual stipulation, that Dahlberg was not to appear in any of the films. It was felt that her temperament was hindering his career. In 1925, when she started interfering with Laurel's work, Rock offered her a cash settlement and a one-way ticket back to her native Australia, which she accepted. In 1926, he married his first wife, Lois Nielson. He would go on to marry two other women. One of them he would marry twice.
He was also good friends with Jimmy Finlayson before the team of Laurel and Hardy appeared.
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel went on to join the Hal Roach studio, and began directing films, including a 1926 production called Yes, Yes, Nanette. It was his intention to work primarily as a writer and director, but fate stepped in. In 1927, Oliver Hardy, another member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players, was injured in a kitchen mishap and Laurel was asked to return to acting. Laurel and Hardy began sharing the screen in Slipping Wives, Duck Soup and With Love and Hisses. It soon became obvious that the two had a comic chemistry. Roach Studios' supervising director Leo McCarey noticed the audience reaction to them and began teaming them, leading to the creation of the Laurel and Hardy series late that year.
Together, the two men began producing a huge body of short films, including The Battle of the Century, Should Married Men Go Home?, Two Tars, Be Big!, Big Business, and many others. Laurel and Hardy successfully made the transition to talking films with the short Unaccustomed As We Are in 1929. In the same year they appeared in their first feature in one of the revue sequences of The Hollywood Revue of 1929 and the following year they appeared as the comic relief in a lavish all-colour (in Technicolor) musical feature entitled: The Rogue Song. In 1931, their own first starring feature, Pardon Us was released, although they continued to make both features and shorts until 1935, including their 1932 three-reeler The Music Box which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.
Trouble at Roach Studio
During the 1930s, Laurel was involved in a dispute with Hal Roach and ended up having his contract terminated. After being tried for drunk driving, he counter-sued the Roach studio. Eventually, the case was dropped and Laurel returned to Roach. Meanwhile, Laurel had divorced his first wife and married Virginia Ruth Rogers in 1935, whom he divorced to marry his third wife Vera Ivanova Shuvalova ("Illeana") in 1938. By 1941, he had once again married Virginia Ruth Rogers.
After returning to Roach studios, the first film Laurel and Hardy made was A Chump at Oxford. Subsequently, they made Saps at Sea, which was their last film for Roach. In April 1940, their contract expired.
Fox Studios
In 1939, Laurel and Hardy signed a contract at 20th Century Fox to make one motion picture and nine more over the following five months. During the war years, their work became more standardised and less successful. Laurel discovered he had diabetes, so he encouraged Oliver Hardy to make two films without him. In 1946, he divorced Virginia Ruth Rogers and married Ida Kitaeva Raphael. With Ida, he enjoyed a happy marriage until his death.
In 1950, Laurel and Hardy were invited to France to make a feature film. The film, a French/Italian co-production titled Atoll K, was a disaster. (The film was titled Utopia in the US and Robinson Crusoeland in the UK.) Both stars were noticeably ill during the filming. Upon returning home, they spent most of their time recovering. In 1952, Laurel and Hardy toured Europe successfully, and they toured Europe again in 1953.
During this tour, Laurel fell ill and was unable to perform for several weeks. In May 1954, Oliver Hardy had a heart attack and cancelled the tour. In 1955, they were planning to do a television series, Laurel and Hardy's Fabulous Fables, based on children's stories, but the plans were delayed because Laurel suffered a stroke. He recovered, and as he was planning to get back to work, Oliver Hardy had a massive stroke on 15 September 1956. Paralyzed and bedridden for several months, he was unable to speak or move.
Hardy's death
On 7 August 1957, Oliver Hardy died. Laurel did not attend his funeral, stating "Babe would understand." A subsequent letter to a fan claimed he was advised by his doctor not to attend due to his own ill-health.[2] Afterwards, Laurel decided he would never act again without his long-time friend, but he did write gags and sketches for fellow comedians. People who knew Laurel said he was absolutely devastated by Hardy's death and never fully recovered. On one occasion following Hardy's passing, Stan Laurel was browsing a local stationery shop, the shopkeeper approached him recognising him but not knowing who he was. When asked, Laurel gave his name as "Oliver Hardy." The shopkeeper then asked "Whatever happened to the other guy?" (meaning Stan Laurel). Laurel solemnly replied "Him? He went completely barmy."
Life after Laurel and Hardy
In 1961, Laurel won a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 films. He lived his final years in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica. Always gracious to fans, he spent much time answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could dial the number and speak to Stan Laurel. Jerry Lewis was among the comedians to visit Laurel, who offered suggestions for Lewis' production of The Bellboy (1960).
He died on February 23, 1965, several days after suffering a heart attack.[3] A comedian until the very last, Stan Laurel, just minutes away from death, told to his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Stan, "I'd rather be doing that than have all these needles stuck into me!" A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that Stan had quietly slipped away.
Dick Van Dyke, a friend and protege of Laurel's (and occasional impressionist of Laurel) during his later years, gave the eulogy at his funeral. Silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard at Laurel's funeral giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talents: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest".
Laurel wrote his own epitaph; "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." He was buried at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Legacy
In 1989 a statue of Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields, Northumberland, England where he lived at No. 8 from 1897 to 1902, and where the steps down from the Square to the North Shields Fish Quay were said to have inspired the piano-moving scene in The Music Box. In 2006, BBC Four showed a drama based on Laurel meeting Hardy on his deathbed and reminiscing about their career called Stan.[4]
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Ragman
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 08:05 am
the Carpenters
Thank you, Letty, for the acknowledgement. If I may take a a momentary diversion back to that song - I HAVE to include The Carpenter's jazzy, sweeter lusher sounding version of that same song "A Song for You":
Faith Domergue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Faith Marie Domergue
June 16, 1924
New Orleans, Louisiana
Died April 4, 1999 (aged 74)
Santa Barbara, California
Spouse(s) Teddy Stauffer (1946-1947)
Hugo Fregonese (1947-1958)
John Anthony (1961-1961)
Paolo Cossa (1966-1996)
Faith Domergue (June 16, 1924 - April 4, 1999) was a film actress. She was of Irish descent and took the name Domergue after her adoptive parents, who eventually moved to California. There she was discovered by a Hollywood agent.
Domergue (pronounced "Dah-mure") was signed by Warner Bros. while still in high school. Aviation pioneer Howard Hughes met her at a party on board his yacht when she was 15 and bought her contract for RKO. He provided her adoptive parents with a house and began a relationship with the young Domergue. Their romance ended when Domergue learned of Hughes's infidelities. In her book on their relationship, she recalled how the tycoon's behavior was becoming bizarre and unstable as early as January 1943.
After an unsuccessful, long-delayed premiere in the film Vendetta (1950), Domergue left Hughes. Initially signed with RKO, she later freelanced in a number of films, including film noir Where Danger Lives (as a femme fatale opposite Robert Mitchum), westerns (Santa Fe Passage) and in 1955, two sci-fi/monster films (It Came from Beneath the Sea and This Island Earth). Domergue later made films in England and Italy, and a last sci-fi foray in the Russian film Voyage to a Prehistoric Planet, in 1965. She also made sporadic guest appearances in several television series. By the late 1960s, Domergue found herself isolated from major film roles, and her last acting appearances were mainly in low-budget 'B' horror movies. Ironically, today she is best known for her sci-fi acting roles, a genre that never appealed to her. Married four times, she had two children by her second husband, Hugo Fregonese. Domergue died of cancer in 1999, at the age of 74.
In the 2004 Howard Hughes biopic film The Aviator, Domergue was played by Kelli Garner.
0 Replies
bobsmythhawk
1
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 08:12 am
Joan Van Ark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born June 16, 1943 (1943-06-16) (age 65)
New York, New York U.S.
Joan Van Ark (born June 16, 1943) is an American actress, most notable for her role as Valene Ewing on the hit TV series Dallas and, most prominently, its long-running spin-off series Knots Landing.
Biography
Early life
Van Ark was born in New York City, the daughter of Dorothy Jean (née Hemenway), a writer, and Carroll Van Ark, who was born in Holland, Michigan and worked in advertising and public relations.[1][2] Her father named her after Joan of Arc because he was certain that she would become famous.[3] Van Ark's paternal great-grandfather, Gradus, was an immigrant from the Netherlands.[4] Both Van Ark's parents and her sister, Carol, were all writers.[5] She grew up in Boulder, Colorado and also has a brother, Mark. Van Ark, just out of high school (1961), was the second youngest student to attend the Yale School of Drama on a scholarship[citation needed]. The youngest was Julie Harris[citation needed]. Years later, they would co-star as mother and daughter on the CBS television series Knots Landing.
Career
Van Ark began her professional career at the Guthrie Theater in Molière's The Miser, opposite Hume Cronyn and Zoe Caldwell. That was followed by Death of a Salesman at the Guthrie with both Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. After a season at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Joan was cast in the national touring company of Barefoot in the Park, directed by Mike Nichols. She recreated the role in the critically acclaimed London Company and later on Broadway. She earned a Tony nomination for her performance in The School for Wives, and won the Theater World Award for The Rules of the Game.
After receiving a contract with Universal Studios, Van Ark co-starred with Bette Davis in The Judge and Jake Wyler, a 1972 television pilot that failed to be picked up by NBC. She accepted the her best-known role as Valene Ewing (originally as a one-time guest appearance on Dallas) in 1978. However, writers later worked the character into a couple of additional episodes; she then carried the character over into the long-running spin-off Knots Landing in 1979. She remained with Knots Landing for thirteen of the show's fourteen seasons, leaving in 1992 (although she did return for the series' final episode in May 1993). During her thirteen seasons on Knots Landing, Van Ark earned six nominations and two Soap Opera Digest Awards for Best Actress. During the series' run, Van Ark became best friends with co-star Michele Lee, mirroring their characters' on-screen relationship. Van Ark also starred in the TV comedies, Temperature Rising and We've Got Each Other. She was also the voice of Spider-Woman in the animated series of the same name. After leaving Knots Landing, she starred in an ill-fated pilot called Spin Doctors, a sitcom for NBC that was not picked up. In May 1997, she reprised her role of Valene Ewing in the CBS mini-series, Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-sac, while in December 2005, Van Ark appeared in the non-fiction reunion Knots Landing: Together Again in which she reminisced with the other cast members of the long running CBS television show. In addition, she originated the role of Gloria Fisher/Abbott on CBS television's The Young and the Restless from 2004 - 2005, then decided to leave the role and was replaced by Judith Chapman.
Van Ark also appeared off-Broadway opposite John Rubenstein in Love Letters. More recently, she co-starred in the New York production of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize winning play Three Tall Women. Her Los Angeles theater credits include Cyrano de Bergerac - playing Roxanne opposite Richard Chamberlain's Cyrano - Ring Around the Moon with Michael York and Glynis Johns, Chemin de Fer, Heartbreak House, and As You Like It, for which she won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. She also appeared as Lady Macbeth in the Grove Shakespeare Festival's production of Macbeth.
Van Ark has also starred in the Williamstown Theater Festival productions of The Night of the Iguana, The Legend of Oedipus, and the festival's 40th anniversary production of Steven Sondheim's A Little Night Music.
Van Ark has played a variety of guest roles in her career, including an episode of M*A*S*H where she played a nurse, and Rhoda playing Joe Gerard's (Rhoda Morgenstern's then-fiance) ex-wife. In 1978, she also ppeared in an episode of Wonder Woman with Ted Shackleford who would later become her screen husband Gary Ewing on Knots Landing.
In 2001, Van Ark was featured in an episode of the Howard Stern-produced show Son of the Beach as Ima Cummings, the mother of show regular BJ Cummings (played by Jaime Bergman). The episode aired in April of that year.
In 2008, Van Ark was reunited with her Knots Landing co-star Donna Mills in an episode of the FX drama series Nip/Tuck.
Personal life
Joan Van Ark has been married to husband John Marshall since 1966. They have one child, voice actress/performer Vanessa Marshall (born October 19, 1969).
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Ragman
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 08:12 am
Letty wrote:
In a nutshell, Beauty and wealth are handicaps in a way because we never know whether people like us for what we are or what we have. I spent a little time watching a twilight zone episode, and was amazed at how true the central theme of the episode was. The little boy who was "the monster" was obviously tired of people lying about how great he was through fear of what he might do, because he was able to read thoughts.
Thanks letty ...I'm listening to these words and feeling the emotions of this song. What great talent. First time I'm knowingly hearing The Tragically Hip.
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bobsmythhawk
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Mon 16 Jun, 2008 08:13 am
The family of potatoes
One night, the Potato family sat down to dinner--Mother Potato and her three daughters. Midway through the meal, the eldest daughter spoke up. "Mother Potato?" she said. "I have an announcement to make."
"And what might that be?" said Mother, seeing the obvious excitement in her eldest daughter's eyes.
"Well," replied the daughter, with a proud but sheepish grin, "I'm getting married!"
The other daughters squealed with surprise as Mother Potato exclaimed, "Married! That's wonderful! And who are you marrying, Eldest daughter?"
"I'm marrying a Russet!"
"A Russet!" replied Mother Potato with pride.
"Oh, a Russet is a fine tater, a fine tater indeed!"
As the family shared in the eldest daughter's joy, the middle daughter spoke up. "Mother? I, too, have an announcement."
"And what might that be?" encouraged Mother Potato.
Not knowing quite how to begin, the middle daughter paused, then said with conviction, "I, too, am getting married!"
"You, too!" Mother Potato said with joy. "That's wonderful! Twice the good news in one evening! And who are you marrying, Middle Daughter?"
"I'm marrying an Idaho!" beamed the middle daughter.
"An Idaho!" said Mother Potato with joy. "Oh, an Idaho is a fine tater, a fine tater indeed!"
Once again, the room came alive with laughter and excited plan for the future, when the youngest Potato daughter interrupted. "Mother? Mother Potato? Um, I, too, have an announcement to make."
"Yes?" said Mother Potato with great anticipation.
"Well," began the youngest Potato daughter with the same sheepish grin as her eldest sister before her, "I hope this doesn't come as a shock to you, but I am getting married, as well!"
"Really?" said Mother Potato with sincere excitement. "All of my lovely daughters married! What wonderful news! And who, pray tell, are you marrying, Youngest Daughter?"
"I'm marrying Peter Jennings!"
"Peter Jennings?!" Mother Potato scowled suddenly. "But he's just a common tater!"
