Television

Actress Carol Lynley ca. 1980. The 1970s were a problematic decade for Hollywood film actresses; still, it’s hard to understand why Carol Lynley’s post-The Poseidon Adventure films consisted almost invariably of low-to-micro-budget, largely ignored fare. The few highlights in the 45-year film career of actress…

Ann Sothern: actress enjoyed belated (second) career peak. In the late 1940s, Sothern was featured in a cluster of A productions, among them the MGM musicals Words and Music and Nancy Goes to Rio, and 20th Century Fox’s double Oscar-winning drama A Letter to Three…

Howard Keel in Dallas with Donna Reed: late 20th-century mainstream resurgence of two former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stars. On Season 8 (1984–1985) of CBS’s hit TV soap Dallas (1978–1991), 1950s MGM contract actor-singer Howard Keel, previously a “guest star” on the show, was hired as a regular…

Jimmy Edwards. Best known for his radio and television work – Take It from Here in the former medium; Whack-O! in the latter – British comedian Jimmy Edwards was seen, mostly in small parts, in about a dozen features from the late 1940s to the…

Blake Edwards: Director of the Pink Panther movies – and Julie Andrews’ husband for more than four decades – was at his best handling polished comedies and a couple of dead serious dramas. Blake Edwards movies: Best known for slapstick fare, but at his best…

Christian movies: Starring Nicolas Cage, the widely panned 2014 apocalyptic thriller Left Behind was a box office bomb – unlike (relatively) recent popular “faith movies” such as Heaven Is for Real, Son of God, and War Room. A thought on the New Christian American Cinema:…

Olivia de Havilland in ‘The Heiress.’ Olivia de Havilland vs. Warner Bros. (See previous post: “Olivia de Havilland Turns 99: Warner Bros. Legal Fight Changed U.S. Labor Law.”) In 1942, Olivia de Havilland reportedly turned down the colorless leading lady role in Raoul Walsh’s Gentleman…

Abe Vigoda dead or alive? The Godfather actor became a pop celebrity in the U.S. following greatly exaggerated reports of his death. ‘The Godfather’ actor Abe Vigoda dead at 94: Early 1980s death notices were greatly exaggerated Actor Abe Vigoda, little-known internationally despite a supporting…

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’: Critics’ Choice Awards Best Picture nomination controversy. Critics’ Choice Awards: Everybody is a nominee Your U.S.-based awards group, all-encompassingly named the Critics’ Choice Awards, wants to compete with the Golden Globes to become the second-rank Academy Awards – itself a…

Marjorie Lord actress ca. early 1950s: Mother of Oscar-nominated performer. Actress Marjorie Lord: Best remembered for long-running hit TV series ‘Make Room for Daddy’ Stage, film, and television actress Marjorie Lord, best remembered as Danny Thomas’ second wife in the TV sitcom Make Room for…

Jackie Collins’ sex novel The Bitch became a sex movie starring sexy sister Joan Collins. Author Jackie Collins dead at 77: Surprisingly few film & TV adaptations of her bestselling novels Jackie Collins, best known for a series of bestsellers about the dysfunctional sex lives…

“Eye of the Tiger” band Survivor: Lawsuit against a couple of radical Christians. ‘Eye of the Tiger’ band Survivor sues radical Christian county clerk & far-right U.S. presidential candidate The band Survivor, whose song “Eye of the Tiger” underlined the critical dud (but box office…

Lucille Ball in Easy to Wed. Cate Blanchett to play Lucille Ball: Actress won Oscar for incarnating Ball’s fellow RKO contract player Katharine Hepburn Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is reportedly slated to star in a biopic of former RKO and MGM actress and big-time…

Yvonne Craig: Batgirl a.k.a. Barbara Gordon in cult TV series. Batgirl Yvonne Craig dead at 78: Also featured in ‘Star Trek’ episode & Elvis Presley movies Yvonne Craig, best known as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman, died of complications from breast cancer on…

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ box office: Bigger domestic flop than expected? Before I address the box office debacle of Warner Bros.’ The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I’d like to remark on the fact that 2015 has…

Jerry Weintraub produced The Karate Kid 1984 with Ralph Macchio. Jerry Weintraub: ‘The Karate Kid’ & ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ producer dead at 77 Former talent agent turned film and television producer Jerry Weintraub, who died of cardiac arrest at age 77 on July 6 in Santa…