Remembering Natalie Wood

natalie wood 7/20/1938 - 11/29/1981

Goodbye Llanview

abc stupidly announced the ending of 'all my children' and the groundbreaking 'one live to live' last week. i don't much care about the demise of erica kane but the thought of not visiting llanview the home of 'one live to live' has left me numb. although i have 8 months to visit still ahead of me each visit will be bitter sweet as each day draws closer to the end. and what will they replace it with but another damn daytime talk show. i will not be tuning in. nor should any fan of either soap. it's the only voice we have. boycott the new shows and show abc the error of their ways.

an american art form is now definitely on life support as only four daytime dramas will be on air come january. and now we can have more talk talk talk that we have no use for.

R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor

Remembering Donna on Her Birthday and Oscarbation 1953

donna reed may best remembered for her role in 'it's a wonderful life' with jimmy stewart.

or she may be best remembered for her role as donna stone on the 'donna reed show'

however donna should always be best remembered for her academy award winning role as alma 'lorene' burke in 'from here to eternity'

R.I.P. Susannah York

susannah york was an amazing actress. she should have been bigger. i've always thought her problem was julie christie. they had the same talent, great,  but julie just had that certain something, screen magic, that susannah apparently did not. or maybe she did but julie just got moved to the forefront first having won an oscar in 1965.
however that did not diminish her real talent.

for me susannah will best be remembered for her role as alice in 'they shoot horses don't they'. she was oscar nominated in 1969. she lost to goldie hawn, a ridiculously absurd sham, in 'cactus flower'. 

and there was 'tom jones', 'the killing of sister george' and 'a man for all seasons' amongst others. she made her time on this planet quite memorable.

Passed in 2010 R.I.P.

 

as happens every year we suffer great losses. 2010 hit me particularly hard. my mom passed as well as jill clayburgh a brilliant actress and friend. 

for all those who suffered personal loss this year i offer you my condolences. 

to those in the video you will be missed and i thank you all for sharing your talents.

For Mom

my mom's name was caroline but was called dolly since she was a kid. so this one's for you mom.

(thanks pet)

I'll Be Back Soon

my mom passed over this weekend past. I plan on resuming postings on monday

Jill Clayburgh: Memories V: 1981-1983

jill had three more major releases that showcased her star quality if not her declining box office success between 1981 and 1983.

1981 gave us 'first monday in october'. based on the broadway play jill played the first woman appointed as a supreme court justice. jill was perfect for the role as the intelligent, independent woman that she embodied. the plotline after her selection to the court declined into a silly unrealistic 'mystery'. jill was as good as ever but caught in an underwhelming and inferior script.

1982 gave us 'i'm dancing as fast as i can'. it was a 'rushed' job as another hollywood strike was looming. jill later said she believed this real life drama about valium withdrawal may have been served better as a tv film. perhaps she was correct. it bombed at the box office and left even me wishing her talent had not been wasted on it. 

1983's 'hannah k' more or less put the proverbial nail in jill's star power and film career. she wanted to work with costa-kravas and considering he was the director and she was the star this should have been a hit. so what went wrong? it's politics went wrong. jill portrayed an attorney in this pro palestinian drama. it was a good film but theater owners refused to show it. so much for free speech. i'll say this as a jew...should we not be able to see two sides of the story? guess not! 

if you can find it see it. it's better than we'd be led to believe.

jill's era came to an end in 1983. she would go on to star and costar in films and tv movies until her untimely death. she concentrated more on motherhood thru the 80's and 90's. she returned to the stage where her talent was better utilized and appreciated.

i truly believe had she lived the screen would have seen her 'rise' again much like julie christie has after her 'icon' period ended. like julie she would have returned in good and meaty roles later in life and would have been a welcome relief from 'the flavor of the year' actresses. we'll never really know but i know that i am correct.

rest in peace friend jill. you are sorely missed but have left a nice body of work for us to revisit. thank you for your talent, your grace and your beauty.

Jill Clayburgh: Memories IV

before 'an unmarried woman' there were three notable  jill films, some films worth forgetting, some tv appearances and two very notable tv movies. 'husting' (1976) and 'griffin and phoenix: a love story" (1976) were career boosts for jill. 'hustling' earned her an emmy nom portraying wanda a street smart prostitute helping reporter fran morrison (lee remick) expose the underbelly of the street trade.

1976 also brought jill to the big screen in 'gable and lombard' i love this film. it showed a wise, funny jill as the zany carole lombard bucking the hollywood system. the movie was better than it was received. i recommend it.

'silver streak' was also released in 1976. it was really the first big movie hit that jill costarred in. it was a funny, breezy cross country train romp. it holds up today. jill shined in it.

1977 saw jill in what was basically a menage with burt reynolds and kris kristofferson in 'semi-tough'. it was a year before 'an unmarried woman' and jill's star was on the ascendant.

to be continued

Jill Clayburgh: Memories III

after 'an unmarried woman' there were four films that kept jill in the spotlight but her dominance in film as the iconic 70's woman was about to end. jill made some strange choices during this period. but she wanted to work with great directors like bertolucci and costa- kravas. these turned out to be great personal choices but bad career moves. remember in hollywood actors, particularly women, are only as good as their last film or should i say the gross income of their last film. the following did not make money. jill's star power was fading. i always considered this a great loss for film.

first there was 'luna' prior to 'starting over'. jill wanted to work with bernardo bertolucci and she did in this film. the topic bordered on the strange often bizarre and bordered on the incestuous. it was rough to watch for many. jill was amazing in it. the audience was not ready for it. yet it is a good film and deserves a shot. if you are squeamish by-pass it. otherwise take a risk and decide for yourself.

the opening scene of 'luna'. the cameraman on this filmed loved jill. it is so apparent. she has never looked so beautiful on screen.

to be continued

Loving Jill

 

my tribute to jill.

the songs are from the musical 'pippin'. jill does the vocals with john rubenstein on the duet.

Jill Clayburgh: Memories II

1979's 'starting over' gave jill her second and final oscar nom. there was no chance at all as sally field was the deserved front runner and winner for 'norma rae'. i've often wondered what jill was thinking when sally's name was announced as jill had turned down the role as did jane fonda who was also nominated for 'the china syndrome'.

it was a cute movie but a minor follow-up to 'an unmarried woman'. actually candice bergman stole the film in a supporting nominated role. candice lost to meryl streep in 'kramer vs kramer' but i digress.

one of the rare moments in 'starting over' that allowed jill to shine

1980 brought 'it's my turn'. i love this breezy romantic comedy that teamed jill with michael douglas. charles grodin costarred. it's a charmer. my only question is: why the hell has this not been released on dvd? luckily itunes has it available for download.

spoiler alert: the following are the beginning and the end.

the beginning

the end

that's a wrap

(to be continued)

Broadway to Dim Lights in Memory of Jill

NEW YORK – Broadway theater marquees will be dimmed in memory of Jill Clayburgh, who appeared in Tony Award-winning musicals and plays in her five-decade career.

Clayburgh died Friday after battling leukemia for over two decades. She was 66.

The marquees will go dark Tuesday at 7 p.m. for one minute.

Clayburgh's Broadway credits include Noel Coward's "Design for Living," the original production of Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," and the musicals "Pippin" and "The Rothschilds."

The New York native also appeared in movies such as "An Unmarried Woman," "I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can," "Silver Streak" and "Running With Scissors."

R.I.P. Jill

i have been away from home and computer access. i would never have not acknowledged the passing of the amazingly talented and mostly underutilized jill clayburgh.  jill and my partner ed, who passed in 1990, had a special relationship that was formed out of my sheer idolatry of her and her talent. it was ed who basically 'stalked' her to get me access. she loved it and was amused by it actually. i am deeply saddened by the news of her passing. knowing her though i am not at all surprised by the privacy she kept regarding her health. you have been taken from us much too soon. rest in peace my lovely friend.


more on this wonderful woman and actress to come.`

Remembering John Lennon on His Birthdate

imagine

love

happy xmas (war is over)

Passed September 2010

Remembering Claudette on Her Birthday

claudette colbert....france's greatest export to the states. claudette personifies what a film legend is. she spanned all of the movie experience. from silent films she easily and gracefully moved to talkies. from black and white she became more enchanting with the move to color. and from the big screen to the small screen she rounded out her career with the mini series 'the two mrs. grenvilles'. oh yeah there were the broadway triumphs too. claudette is gone to her peace but lives forever on celluloid. she won one oscar ('it happened one night') but deserved at least two ('since you went away').  i was first introduced to her work via 'since you went away' on television. it remains in my top ten of all time favorites. heck it also introduced me to the wonderful jennifer jones, joseph cotton, robert walker and guy madison. what's not to love!

her well deserved oscar was for 'it happened one night' and at 74 years old it is still one of the best comedies ever made. it defines classic film.

her 'cleopatra' still makes elizabeth taylor's look like a high school performance by an understudy.

'the sign of the cross' is still a risque romp filmed and released before hollywood had a 'standards and practice' rule.

'midnight' is another classic comedy. a wonderful romp really.

there are soooo many more but i'll single out 'the palm beach story', 'imitation of life' and 'three came home' also among my favorites.

so here they all are together. i'm rating them ****stars apiece as they all withstand the test of time. they need to be judged by the era in which they were filmed. they are classics all.

so thank you claudette for your grace, your charm and you forever enduring performances.

R.I.P.

R.I.P.: The Month of May 2010

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

helen wagner - actress
lynn redgrave - actress
lena horne - singer
'flash forward' - series
'law and order' - series
'the tudors - series
'24' - series
'mercy' - series
'cold case' - series
'melrose place' - series
art linkletter- tv personality/host
'ghost whisperer' - series
gary coleman - child star
dennis hopper - actor

R.I.P.: 'Law and Order'

officially cancelled after 20 years