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    • Dick Dinman & Alan K. Rode Salute the Exotic Fever Dream Fantasies of Siodmak, Lang & Schoedsack!

    • DICK DINMAN & ALAN K. RODE SALUTE THE EXOTIC FEVER DREAM FANTASIES OF SIODMAK, LANG & SCHOEDSACK! Producer/host Dick Dinman welcomes back acclaimed author and Film Noir Foundation Charter Director Alan K. Rode as both marvel at the erotic exoticism of Robert Siodmak's COBRA WOMAN, Ernest Schoedsack's DOCTOR CYCLOPS (both now on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber) and Fritz Lang's INDIAN EPICS (just released in mind-blowingly lustrous fashion courtesy of Film Movement Classics).

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Baby Peggy (Diana Serra Cary) (1918-2020)

    • She was Hollywood's first female child star, trailing only "The Kid" (1921) juvenile Jackie Coogan and charming moviegoers 10 years before Shirley Temple. The cherub-cheeked, bob-haired Baby Peggy starred in a series of two-reel fairy tales for Century Pictures, among them "Little Red Riding Hood" (1922) and "Hansel and Gretel" (1923), and famously lampooned adult silent film stars Clara Bow, Pola Negri and Rudolph Valentino. In 1923, she signed a $150,000 contract with Universal Pictures and seemed poised for superstardom in "Captain January" (1924) until arguments over her profit share caused a rift between her manager parents and the studio brass. Blacklisted at age six and unable to work, Peggy rallied in vaudeville but returned after four years to a Hollywood that had no use for her. After a decade in bit parts, Peggy Montgomery broke from the film industry to remerge as a writer, adopting the professional name Diana Serra Cary and appointing herself a Hollywood historian. Author of informative books on movie cowboys, child actors, and a biography of old friend Jackie Coogan, she told her own story in 1996 with Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Premiere Child Star. Able in old age to set aside the bitterness with which she had once considered her lost childhood, Diana Serra Cary embarked on a third, very late-life career as the last surviving star of silent films and the subject of the 2012 documentary "Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room."

      Baby Peggy was born Peggy-Jean Montgomery on Oct. 26, 1918, in San Diego, CA. Peggy's father, Jack Montgomery, had been an open range cowboy in his youth until his livelihood dissipated with the modernization of the West. After stints as a construction foreman and park ranger, Montgomery moved his family to Hollywood, where he found work in 1920 as a stunt rider. He was doubling for cowboy star Tom Mix when his 19-month-old daughter was discovered by director Fred Fishback, who was then auditioning children for a role opposite Brownie the Dog, a canine contemporary of Rin Tin Tin. Sporting a bowl haircut and clown makeup, Peggy made her film debut in the Century Films short "Playmates" (1921). The act proved popular with moviegoers and Peggy Montgomery's film career blossomed overnight. She made several more two-reelers (dubbed Five Day Wonders) with Brownie before going solo in "Third Class Male" (1921), "Little Miss Mischief" (1922), "The Little Rascal" (1921) and several films directed by Alfred J. Goulding, among them "Carmen, Jr." (1923), "The Kid Reporter" (1923), "Peg o'the Movies" (1923) and "Peg o'the Mounted" (1924).

      It was part of Baby Peggy's cinematic shtick to mimic established film stars of the age, such as Clara Bow, Pola Negri, Mae Murray and Rudolph Valentino, while her most popular films were based on fairy tales, among them "Little Red Riding Hood" (1922), "Hansel and Gretel" (1923) and "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1924). A child star before there were laws to protect underage film actors, Baby Peggy forfeited an education to work 18 hour days and perform dangerous stunts. In 1923, she signed a $150,000,000 contract with Universal Pictures, for whom she made her feature film debut as an orphan who reforms a mobster gang in "The Darling of New York" (1923). At the height of her career, Baby Peggy had banked over $2 million, was receiving over a million pieces of fan mail a year, and had been invited as a mascot to the 1924 Democratic National Convention. Living high on their daughter's earnings, Jack and Marian Montgomery bought homes in Beverly Hills and Laurel Canyon, bred horses, and invested $30,000 on a Duisenberg coupe. Though he worked occasionally as a stuntman for Cecil B. DeMille, Jack Montgomery made full-time work out of managing his daughter's career.

      When producer Sol Lesser claimed that "Captain January" (1924), which had starred Baby Peggy as a seaside foundling taken in by a kindly lighthouse keeper, had failed to turn a profit, a distrusting Jack Montgomery broke his daughter's contract with Universal. As a result, Baby Peggy was blacklisted in Hollywood, washed up at age six and unable to find work. Her family's sole breadwinner, she rebounded with a four-year tour of the vaudeville circuit, in which she sang and danced for five shows per day, earning $1,800 a week. While the entire family traveled with Baby Peggy, Marian Montgomery's stepfather absconded with their savings, emptying their bank accounts and taking the heirloom silver and Havilland china. Baby Peggy's estimable vaudeville earnings would soon disappear as well, squandered by her parents on high living and poor investments. The family repaired to a ranch in Wyoming to retrench but the property was lost after the 1929 stock market crash. Destitute, the Montgomerys returned to a Hollywood humbled by the Depression and ruled by a new child star named Shirley Temple.

      Though Jack Montgomery was able to find work as a horseman in low-budget westerns, Peggy reentered the industry as a bit player. Father and daughter appeared in small roles in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Crusades" (1935) and Peggy won speaking parts in "Eight Girls in a Boat" (1934), "The Return of Chandu" (1934) and "Ah Wilderness!" (1935). In 1936, Shirley Temple starred in Twentieth Century Fox's musical remake of "Captain January," but the best Peggy Montgomery could do was extra work that paid less than $10 dollars a day. For the next decade, Peggy appeared in unbilled walk-ons, her last credit being in the RKO Radio Pictures comedy "Having Wonderful Time" (1938), starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - whose father she had rivaled for the affection of moviegoers 15 years earlier. Never having had an education in her youth nor the opportunity to experience life beyond the studio set, Peggy Montgomery became an autodidact, excelling at writing and eventually selling her articles to magazines and newspapers.

      With the divorce of her parents, Peggy distanced herself from her family, adopting a nom de plume for her second career as a writer. Having converted to Catholicism and earned a living running the book shop of the Santa Barbara Mission, Peggy Montgomery rechristened herself Diana Serra - Diana borrowed from the actress Diana Wynyard and Serra from Junipero Serra, a Franciscan friar who explored the California coastline in the mid-18th century. With one failed marriage behind her, Diana Serra found happiness with artist Bob Cary, whom she married in 1954. The couple relocated to Mexico, where Serra became a first time mother at age 43. After her return to the States in 1967, she recreated herself as a Hollywood historian, publishing such volumes as The Hollywood Posse: The Story of a Gallant Band of Horseman Who Made Movie History, Hollywood's Children: An Inside Account of the Child Star Era, and Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Premiere Child Star. After the death of her husband in 2005, Serra began making public appearances to celebrate her career as both a child actor and the last surviving star of the silent era of film. At age 94, she also participated in the 2012 documentary "Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room." Baby Peggy died on February 24, 2020 in Gustine, CA at the age of 101.

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    • Kirk Douglas (1916-2020)

    • The legendary actor-producer, a seemingly indestructible force of nature on the entertainment scene and one of the few survivors of the Golden Age, passed away February 5 in Los Angeles at the age of 103.

      The archetypal Hollywood movie star of the postwar era, Kirk Douglas built a career with he-man roles as soldiers, cowboys and assorted tough guys in over 80 films. His restless, raging creations earned him three Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and one Golden Globe win for his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in "Lust for Life" (1956). But besides his lasting mark as a seething strong man with a superhero-like head of hair and the most famous dimpled chin this side of Shirley Temple, Douglas was a Tinseltown innovator and rebel. As one of the first A-listers to wrest further control of their career by founding an independent production company, Douglas also effectively ended the 1950s practice of blacklisting Hollywood talent suspected of communist ties when he insisted on crediting famed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo for his script adaptation of "Spartacus" (1960). Douglas maintained his position as a perennial favorite - often opposite fellow tough guy Burt Lancaster - in Westerns and World War II films until the early 1970s, when changing tastes edged the timeworn genres into the wings. He began a second career as a writer and focused on the philanthropic efforts of The Douglas Foundation, occasionally surfacing throughout the 1980s and 1990s to portray irrepressible old firecrackers in made-for-TV movies and the occasional feature.

      Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch on Dec. 9, 1916. He was the only boy of seven kids born to Russian Jewish immigrants, Herschel and Bryna. His parents were junk dealers in Amsterdam, NY and Douglas' memoir characterized his early years as plagued with poverty and anti-Semitic backlash from local kids. The determined teenager landed a wrestling scholarship to St. Lawrence University, where he was a star on the wrestling team and began to dabble in the drama department. He was a natural, charismatic talent and went on to land another scholarship to the acclaimed American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where his classmates included a 16-year-old Lauren Bacall and future wife, Diana Dill. Douglas was poised to break into Broadway (and adopted the stage name Kirk Douglas) when U.S. involvement in World War II prompted him to join the U.S. Navy, where he served as a communications officer. Douglas returned to New York and promptly married his Academy schoolmate Diana Dill, herself a rising young starlet. Douglas resumed his budding career, working hard to break into radio dramas and commercials before landing on the Great White Way in productions including "Alice in Arms" and "The Wind is Ninety" (1945). Douglas and Dill had a son, Michael in 1944.

      Hollywood ingénue now a star overnight, thanks to Bogie and "To Have and Have Not" (1944), Lauren Bacall recommended her former classmate to director Hal Wallis, which led to Douglas' feature film debut opposite Barbara Stanwyck in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" (1946). In 1947, Douglas became a father again with the birth of son, J l, and his career ramped up with features "Mourning Becomes Electra" (1947) and "Out of the Past" (1947). He enjoyed the first of seven roles opposite Burt Lancaster in "I Walk Alone" (1948) before truly achieving stardom as the unscrupulous boxer punching his way to the top in Stanley Kramer's "Champion" (1949). Douglas' Oscar-nominated performance established his forceful and intense screen persona, setting the tone for many more strong performances as selfish, cocky and egocentric characters. Douglas was bumped up to an average of three films a year and began working with the top directors of the day in Billy Wilder's "Ace in the Hole" (1951), William Wyler's "Detective Story" (1951) and Howard Hawks' "Big Sky" (1952), all of which showcased the actor's coiled intensity and commanding movie star presence. Offscreen, his marriage to Dill ended and the actress moved back to New York to raise the couple's young sons.

      Focusing on his work, Douglas kicked off a four-film collaboration with director Vincente Minnelli, beginning with the riveting melodrama "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), in which he played a ruthless movie mogul clawing his way to the top and leaving a trail of deception and betrayal in his wake. His violent, over-the-top scenes with an equally overly dramatic Lana Turner were borderline camp, but engrossing nonetheless, making the film a huge hit with audiences. Douglas earned a second Oscar nomination for the performance and went on to appear in Minnelli's romance "The Story of Three Loves" (1953) the following year. While filming "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954), well-known ladykiller Douglas swept his French publicity agent, Anne Buydens, off her feet and married her in a quick Las Vegas ceremony. The pair had son, Peter, in 1955 and the same year, hatched one of Hollywood's first independent production companies, named Bryna in honor of Douglas' mother. He also established The Douglas Foundation, a civic-minded charity involved in health and community programs. Bryna's first production, the Western "The Indian Fighter" (1955), was released later that year. He received far more attention - including a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination - for his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in Minnelli's biopic "Lust for Life" (1956) - one of Hollywood's most rhapsodic takes on the obsessive, self-tortured artist.

      Under the Bryna banner, Douglas brought Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" (1957) to theaters. It was a disappointment in its initial release, but grew in stature to the front rank of anti-war films. Douglas played a French Army officer (and attorney) who defends three soldiers unjustly accused of cowardice in the trenches during World War I, but the real star was Kubrick, whose camera moved inexorably through the carnage of battle, capturing a brutal authenticity. That same year, the Douglas-Lancaster electricity brightened famously in "Gunfight at the OK Corral" (1957), creating a humorous public rivalry after starring roles as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. In the producer's chair, Douglas starred in the underappreciated Western "Last Train from Gun Hill" (1959) before he, Lancaster and Laurence Olivier delivered standout performances in the sparkling film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's "The Devil's Disciple" (1959), Shaw's take on how the bumbling British lost their American colonies.

      In 1960, Douglas and Bryna productions made history when, in the middle of anti-communist witch hunts that blacklisted Hollywood talent suspected of being communist sympathizers, Douglas insisted on crediting blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo for his screen adaptation of Howard Fast's novel Spartacus. This courageous action - perhaps Douglas' overriding offscreen legacy - essentially ended the blacklist, allowing banned filmmakers to openly return to the industry. "Spartacus" (1960) itself also became an instant classic of the ancient "sand & sandles" epic genre. He again collaborated with Trumbo on the Western "Lonely Are the Brave" (1962), where Douglas essayed a fugitive steeped in the values of the old West who escapes into the Rocky Mountains on horseback in this melancholy and powerful film that eventually attained cult status and earned the star a BAFTA nomination.

      Douglas bought the rights to Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and adapted it for Broadway, where he appeared in 1963 in the role of Randel P. McMurphy. Lancaster and Douglas showed up heavily disguised in character roles for John Huston's engaging murder mystery "The List of Adrian Messenger" (1963) and returned to leading roles in John Frankenheimer's absorbing political thriller, "Seven Days in May" (1964). After releasing a solid run of Westerns and World War II films like "Her s of Telemark" (1965), "Is Paris Burning?" (1966) and "The Way West" (1967), shifting tides in American cinema began to render postwar her s like Douglas a thing of the past. So instead, he sought new opportunities, keeping close to his son-of-a-bitch persona in Martin Ritt's mafia drama "The Brotherhood" (1968) and in Elia Kazan's study of the modern man "The Arrangement" (1969), but that role was originally intended for very different actor, Marlon Brando, and it fit Douglas as poorly as Brando's own clothes might have.

      Even as Douglas-type Westerns were evolving into a different entity, he soldiered on in the comedic "There Was a Crooked Man" (1970) and the dark, psychedelic "The Gunfight" (1971) opposite Johnny Cash. His directing debut "Scalawag" (1973) was an unsuccessful mash-up of musical, Western and pirate films, and highlighted that the sturdy leading man was having difficulty transitioning into a new era of filmmaking and public taste. In 1975, Douglas sat by frustrated when, after having tried unsuccessfully to bring "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" to the big screen for a decade, son Michael finally produced the film and the studio cast Jack Nicholson in his former stage role. Nicholson went on to win Best Actor and the film Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

      Douglas released his sophomore directing effort that year, faring better with the Western "Posse" (1975), in which he returned to tried and true territory and as a haughty, self-obsessed sheriff. He teamed with fellow aging star Burt Lancaster in the TV movie "Victory at Entebbe," (ABC, 1976) and appeared in the spooky thriller "The Fury" (1978) before taking the stage in a tour de force performance as grown up Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer in Bernard Sabath's "The Boys in Autumn" (1981). Douglas took on another dual role in the Australian Western "The Man from Snowy River" (1983), a family video favorite for its eye-filling scenery and incredible action sequences with wild horses. He earned an Emmy nomination in the title role of the CBS movie "Amos" (1985), which led Douglas to become active in the cause of elderly abuse, for which he even testified before the Congressional Select Sub-Committee on Aging. In 1986, Lancaster and Douglas brought the curtain down on their collaboration with the good-natured parody and aptly titled feature, "Tough Guys" (1986).

      Douglas published the memoir The Ragman's Son in 1988, and the bestseller sparked a new writing career. His first novel Dance with the Devil was released in 1990, a year before he made headlines for surviving a Los Angeles helicopter crash that killed two fellow passengers. The Douglas Foundation opened the doors of the Anne Douglas Center for Women, a homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles, and Douglas returned to bookstores with well-received titles The Secret in 1992 and Last Tango in Brooklyn in 1994. He starred opposite Craig T. Nelson in the father-son reconciliation TV film "Take Me Home Again" (NBC, 1994) and made a rare comedy appearance as a crotchety family elder in the feature "Greedy" (1994), which fell short of expectations but not because of Douglas, whose love of life clearly came through in a dynamic performance. In 1996, a debilitating stroke permanently impaired his speech but Douglas made an emotional public comeback to accept a lifetime achievement Oscar at the 1996 Academy Awards, despite his impaired speech.

      In 1997, Douglas released a second autobiographical work, Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning and the Douglas Foundation funded a citywide program to fix up more than 400 children's playgrounds in Los Angeles. The same year, he reunited with longtime friend Lauren Bacall in the light comedy "Diamonds" (1997) co-starring Dan Aykroyd. Douglas was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hollywood Film Festival in 1997 and another from the Screen Actor's Guild in 1999. In 2002, he released a third autobiography, My Stroke of Luck. The following year he and son Michael - known to have had a tumultuous relationship (made perhaps worse through career jealousies once Michael's star eclipsed his father's) - made a long overdue screen pairing (along with Michael's son Cameron and Douglas' ex-wife, Diandra) in the comedy "It Runs In the Family" (2003), the story of a dysfunctional New York family and their attempts to reconcile.

      Unfortunately for any parent, Douglas lost his youngest son Eric, an aspiring actor and comedian, to a drug overdose the same year he and wife Anne Buydens celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a renewal of their vows. Already getting on in years and dealing with his stroke on a daily basis, Douglas took the loss of his youngest extremely hard, having watched Eric struggle with substance abuse over the years. In 2005, Douglas allowed longtime friend, actress-director Lee Grant, to explore the storied careers and relationship of Douglas and his equally famous son Michael in the HBO documentary "A Father...A Son...Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2005).

      * Biographical data supplied by TCMdb

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    • Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies

    • 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies

      By Laura Wagner

      In the era of Hollywood now considered its Golden Age, there was no shortage of hard-luck stories--movie stars succumbed to mental illness, addiction, accidents, suicide, early death and more.

      Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies (McFarland) profiles 23 actresses who achieved a measure of success before fate dealt them losing hands--in full public view. Overviews of their lives and careers provide a wealth of previously unpublished information and set the record straight on long-standing inaccuracies. Actresses covered include Lynne Baggett, Suzan Ball, Helen Burgess, Susan Cabot, Mary Castle, Mae Clarke, Dorothy Comingore, Patricia Dane, Dorothy Dell, Sidney Fox, Charlotte Henry, Rita Johnson, Mayo Methot, Marjie Millar, Mary Nolan, Susan Peters, Lyda Roberti, Peggy Shannon, Rosa Stradner, Judy Tyler, Karen Verne, Helen Walker and Constance Worth.


      Laura Wagner lives in New York. A regular contributor to various movie publications, she is the book reviewer for Classic Images.

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    • Dick Dinman & Alan K. Rode are TRAPPED by the BLACK ANGEL

    • DICK DINMAN & ALAN K. RODE ARE "TRAPPED" BY THE "BLACK ANGEL!": Producer/host Dick Dinman welcomes back acclaimed author and Film Noir Foundation Charter Director Alan K. Rode as both salute two ultra-rare film noir classics just released on the Blu-ray format: "TRAPPED" (from Flicker Alley) and "BLACK ANGEL" (from Arrow Academy Classics).

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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  1. New Books

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    • The Movie Musical!

    • By Jeanine Basinger

      Irresistible and authoritative, The Movie Musical! (Knopf) is an in-depth look at the singing, dancing, happy-making world of Hollywood musicals, beautifully illustrated in color and black-and-white--an essential text for anyone who's ever laughed, cried, or sung along at the movies. Leading film historian Jeanine Basinger reveals, with her trademark wit and zest, the whole story of the Hollywood musical--in the most telling, most incisive, most detailed, most gorgeously illustrated book of her long and remarkable career.

      From Fred Astaire, whom she adores, to La La Land, which she deplores, Basinger examines a dazzling array of stars, strategies, talents, and innovations in the history of musical cinema. Whether analyzing a classic Gene Kelly routine, relishing a Nelson-Jeanette operetta, or touting a dynamic hip hop number (in the underrated Idlewild), she is a canny and charismatic guide to the many ways that song and dance have been seen--and heard--on film.

      With extensive portraits of everyone from Al Jolson, the Jazz Singer; to Doris Day, whose iconic sunniness has overshadowed her dramatic talents; from Deanna Durbin, that lovable teen-star of the '30s and '40s; to Shirley T. and Judy G.; from Bing to Frank to Elvis; from Ann Miller to Ann-Margret; from Disney to Chicago...focusing on many beloved, iconic films (Top Hat; Singin' in the Rain; Meet Me in St. Louis; The Sound of Music) as well as unduly obscure gems (Eddie Cantor's Whoopee!; Murder at the Vanities; Sun Valley Serenade; One from the Heart), this book is astute, informative, and pure pleasure to read.


      Jeanine Basinger is the founder of the department of film studies at Wesleyan University and the curator of the cinema archives there. She has written eleven other books on film, including I Do and I Don't; The Star Machine; A Woman's View; Silent Stars, winner of the William K. Everson Film History Award; Anthony Mann; The World War II Combat Film; and American Cinema: One Hundred Years of Filmmaking, the companion book for a ten-part PBS series. She lives in Middletown, CT, Madison, WI, and Brookings, SD.

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    • Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking

    • By Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall

      Foreword by Peter Bogdanovich

      Rare notes, memos, and telegrams from Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Jane Fonda, and more

      Letters from Hollywood reproduces in full color scores of entertaining and insightful pieces of correspondence from some of the most notable and talented film industry names of all time--from the silent era to the golden age, and up through the pre-email days of the 1970s. Culled from libraries, archives, and personal collections, the 135 letters, memos, and telegrams are organized chronologically and are annotated by the authors to provide backstories and further context. While each piece reveals a specific moment in time, taken together, the letters convey a bigger picture of Hollywood history. Contributors include celebrities like Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Elia Kazan, Cary Grant, Francis Ford Coppola, Tom Hanks, and Jane Fonda. This is the gift book of the season for fans of classic Hollywood.


      Rocky Lang is an author who has produced, written, and directed motion pictures, documentaries, and television programs. Barbara Hall is a film historian and researcher who has worked as an archivist at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Writers Guild Foundation, and the Art Directors Guild. They both live in Los Angeles.

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    • Becoming Ronald Reagan

    • by Robert Mann

      In the 1960s transitioning from acting to politics was rare. Ronald Reagan was not the first to do it, but he was the first to jump from the screen to the stump and on to credibility as a presidential contender. Reagan's transformation from struggling liberal actor to influential conservative spokesman in five years--and then to the California governorship six years later--is a remarkable and compelling story.

      In Becoming Ronald Reagan: The Rise of a Conservative Icon (Potomac Books, University of Nebraska Press) Robert Mann explores Reagan's early life and his career during the 1950s and early 1960s: his growing desire for acclaim in high school and college, his political awakening as a young Hollywood actor, his ideological evolution in the 1950s as he traveled the country for General Electric, the refining of his political skills during this period, his growing aversion to big government, and his disdain for the totalitarian leaders in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. All these experiences and more shaped Reagan's politics and influenced his career as an elected official.

      Mann not only demonstrates how Reagan the actor became Reagan the political leader and how the liberal became a conservative, he also shows how the skills Reagan learned and the lessons he absorbed from 1954 to 1964 made him the inspiring leader so many Americans remember and revere to this day. Becoming Ronald Reagan is an indelible portrait of a true American icon and a politician like none other.


      Robert Mann is a professor and holds the Manship Chair in Journalism at Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. He is the author of numerous books, including Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds: LBJ, Barry Goldwater, and the Ad That Changed American Politics, named one of the best political books of 2011 by the Washington Post.

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    • Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star - The War Years 1940-1946

    • The second volume of award-winning critic and scholar Gary Giddins's eagerly anticipated Bing Crosby biography, BING CROSBY: SWINGING ON A STAR - THE WAR YEARS 1940-1946, is now available through the TCM Shop. It's been called "a cultural biography to croon over." The bestselling first volume, BING CROSBY: A POCKETFUL OF DREAMS, published in 2001, was selected by the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post as one of the year's best books and was a New York Times Notable Book.

      Perhaps no entertainer in the 20th century held sway over the affections and conscience of the public as long and as deeply as Bing Crosby. In this second volume on Crosby's life, Giddins masterfully re-creates the years when some of the singing icon's most enduring work - songs like "White Christmas" and "Swinging on a Star," films like Holiday Inn, Going My Way, The Bells of St Mary's, and the first four Road movies - was accomplished; when the seeds of the many changes he would usher into the film, broadcasting, and music businesses would be planted; and when the astounding number of his projects in and out of show business would break barriers and help define American culture, manhood, and responsibility during the war years and beyond.

      Giddins's decades-long investigation of this pivotal time in Crosby's personal professional life is granular and insightful. His own deep understanding and years of critical coverage of music and cinema give his analysis both heft and nuance when he undertakes the shifts in Crosby's artistic development both as a singer and as an actor. He pierces the famous steely-eyed privacy of his subject while keep the perspective wide enough to show readers what Crosby's work meant to his growing audience as World War II transformed the country.

      Who was Crosby, and why has his legacy endured? Giddins describes a paradoxical figure of his times. Perceived as a common man - the ideal family man - he embodied American style for four decades. From the carefree excess of Prohibition, to the sober introspection of the Depression, to the romantic idealism of the war, to the optimistic resolve of the booming middle class that followed, he reflected the country's evolution. He was modest about his accomplishments, with a seemingly endless appetite for hard work, an unflappable demeanor, and an unflashy dedication to his family. His films and recordings (with more gold records than even Elvis Presley) showed Americans a version of their own lives - marked by a largeness of spirit and an optimistic sense of the future. And while his work on the screen and recordings ranged from lighthearted romps to reveries of nostalgia to dramatic studies of American communities, he was unstinting in his support of soldiers, with his nonstop USO tours raising millions of dollars in war bonds. His personality and selfless support of the war effort exemplified the idea of a solid home front.

      Yet throughout these years, Crosby was beset by financial worries and battles with radio executives, was partner to an increasingly dysfunctional alcoholic wife, and had a troubled relationship with his four sons. He lived large at a time when a note to a powerful gossip columnist could keep the lid on the whispers about his troubled marriage and a leading lady. And he was also a prisoner of his success. The smooth calm of his baritone is what we remember, but Crosby was more than a crooner. A staunch supporter of artists of color, from his idol, Louis Armstrong, to the up-and-coming Nat King Cole, he established the under-appreciated Charioteers as regular cast members on his weekly radio show, Kraft Music Hall. In bringing African American artists to the forefront, he proved extraordinarily influential in mainstreaming not only jazz but also rhythm and blues and country and western, among other genres. He was a shrewd businessman whose innovations in the recording industry include those seasonal Christmas compilation albums every artist now rushes to put out. And he revolutionized the radio industry, transforming it from a live to a prerecorded medium.

      SWINGING ON A STAR chronicles a critical era, and to tell the story fully Giddins weaves together voices from the more than 300 interviews he conducted for the book; the insight and research of other writers and scholars; Bing Crosby's previously unknown letters; and a journal Crosby kept, detailing the complicated machinery of his USO tours at home and abroad, where he found himself within shouting distance of enemy territory. The former director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the CUNY Graduate Center, Giddins has long been one of this country's celebrated jazz writers and critics. For thirty years he penned the "Weather Bird" jazz column in the Village Voice, and he has written other acclaimed books, including biographies of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, and dozens of essays on cinema. Giddins is the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award, two Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, six ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in music criticism, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Peabody Award in Broadcasting.

      SWINGING ON A STAR is a study of the home front and the way song and movies held a fractured nation together - and continue to do so. You may find yourself revisiting the movies and recordings of Bing Crosby after reading SWINGING ON A STAR - Giddins makes them come alive all over again in this book.

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  1. DVD Reviews

    • Updated: January 3, 2011, 10:42 AM ET

    • Dick Dinman & George Feltenstein Take a Turn for Turner!

    • DICK DINMAN & GEORGE FELTENSTEIN TAKE A TURN FOR TURNER!: The Warner Archive adds to their impressive list of director Vincente Minnelli masterworks on Blu-ray the ultimate "inside Hollywood" scorcher THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL which is the winner of five Academy Awards and features riveting career-high performances from Lana Turner, Oscar nominee Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell and Oscar winner Gloria Grahame and favorite guest Warner Home Video Senior Vice President of Classic and Theatrical Marketing George Feltenstein rejoins producer/host Dick Dinman as both marvel at the uncompromising brilliance of this certifiable Minnelli film classic.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Updated: January 3, 2011, 10:42 AM ET

    • Dick Dinman Gossips All About Bette (and Eve!)

    • DICK DINMAN GOSSIPS ALL ABOUT BETTE (AND EVE!): Simply stated: The Criterion Collection's new Blu-ray incarnation of ALL ABOUT EVE is hands down the most superior home video release (in both picture and sound) of this certified motion picture classic ever released in the home video medium and to celebrate the event producer/host Dick Dinman repeats his original Bette-centric chats with the late TCM host Robert Osborne as well as the late Warner Brothers star Joan Leslie.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Updated: January 3, 2011, 10:42 AM ET

    • Dick Dinman & Gena Rowlands Salute Bette Davis

    • DICK DINMAN & GENA ROWLANDS SALUTE BETTE DAVIS: The Warner Archive has just released two superb Blu-ray incarnations of the Bette Davis classics JEZEBEL and THE LETTER and to celebrate the occasion two-time Best Actress Oscar nominee Gena Rowlands joins producer/host Dick Dinman as both marvel at the unparalleled artistry that made Bette Davis one of the most awarded stars in cinema history and Gena reveals the rocky start of her relationship with Davis.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Updated: January 3, 2011, 10:42 AM ET

    • Dick Dinman & Joseph McBride Salute the Boyer Blu-ray Bonanza!

    • DICK DINMAN & JOSEPH McBRIDE SALUTE THE BOYER BLU-RAY BONANZA!: Fans of continental icon and matinee idol Charles Boyer are thrilled that three Boyer classics have just been released on Blu-ray courtesy of the Criterion Collection (CLUNY BROWN), the Arrow Academy (HOLD BACK THE DAWN) and the Warner Archive (GASLIGHT) and producer/host Dick Dinman and acclaimed author/biographer Joseph McBride take the opportunity to sing the praises of this comparatively forgotten superstar of the golden age of cinema.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Updated: January 3, 2011, 10:42 AM ET

    • Dick Dinman & Gary Giddins Swing with Fred & Bing!

    • DICK DINMAN & GARY GIDDINS SWING WITH FRED & BING!: Producer/host Dick Dinman is joined by Gary Giddins the acclaimed author of the riveting new biography BING CROSBY: THE WAR YEARS as both marvel at the sheer brilliance of the possible pinnacle of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical masterworks SWING TIME which has just been released on Blu-ray in typically exemplary fashion by the Criterion Collection.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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  1. Press Release

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    • Leonard Maltin to be Presented the Third Annual Robert Osborne Award

    • Turner Classic Movies has announced that its third annual Robert Osborne Award, recognizing an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations, will be presented to Leonard Maltin, one of the world's most respected film critics and historians. He will receive the award at the 11th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April. The first two Robert Osborne Awards were given to iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese (2018) and to film preservationist Kevin Brownlow (2019). For more than 22 years, Robert Osborne served as the primetime host and anchor of TCM, helping millions of viewers discover and enter the world of classic movies, and dedicating his life to preserving and sharing the movies he loved. Embraced by fans around the globe as both a fellow movie lover and an unparalleled film historian, his legacy of devotion to classic films and their ability to inspire lives on through the Robert Osborne Award.

      Widely recognized and respected among his peers and in popular culture for film criticism, Maltin served as the movie reviewer for Entertainment Tonight for 30 years, and he is perhaps best known for his annual Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide and its companion volume TCM Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide. Spanning multiple updates annually, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide was first published in 1969 and had its final update, the 45th edition, published in September 2014. This collection of thousands of short capsule movie reviews has spanned decades and has been a source for at a glance cast listings, plot summaries and Maltin's own star ratings, long before the likes of film aggregation sites like IMDB were born. Maltin is also known for his wealth of knowledge on Disney's history, and he served as TCM's residential Treasures from the Disney Vault host. Maltin has contributed to various publications over the years, including newspapers, film journals and magazines, like Variety and TV Guide, and has been a host for several movie segments and shows. Maltin has been awarded a number of honors from festivals and societies for his work preserving the history of film, including Telluride, California Independent Film Festival and American Society of Cinematographers. He also holds the distinction of being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for writing the shortest movie review--for the 1948 film Isn't it Romantic, to which Maltin's review simply states, "No."

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    • Buck Henry (1930-2020)

    • The wryly comic screenwriter / performer / raconteur--a two-time Oscar nominee--passed away January 8 in Los Angeles at the age of 89.

      After limited success as a stage actor, writer Buck Henry established himself as a sketch writer and performer in 1960s television before writing scripts for some of cinema's most seminal films. Henry first found screen success on "The New Steve Allen Show" (ABC, 1961) and "That Was the Week That Was" (NBC, 1964-65) before joining forces with Mel Brooks to create "Get Smart" (NBC/CBS 1965-1970), the popular and Emmy Award-winning screwball sitcom that lived a long fruitful life in syndication for generations. During the spy comedy's run, Henry wrote the script for Mike Nichols' iconic film, "The Graduate" (1967), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He continued to pen engaging films like "Catch-22" (1970) and "What's Up Doc?" (1972), while directing Warren Beatty in "Heaven Can Wait" (1978), only to find himself slipping with the unwatchable "First Family" (1980) and the routine Goldie Hawn comedy, "Protocol" (1984). Henry shifted focus from putting pen to paper in order to concentrate on performing, which included hosting "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ) over 10 times, while serving as a rotating host for the failed late night talker, "The Late Show" (NBC, 1984), and a recurring stint on "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990). Henry regained his stature as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters with "To Die For" (1995), only to get pulled into the disaster known as "Town & Country" (2001), which showed that his career had as many moments of sharp disappointment as it did of unadulterated genius.

      Born on Dec. 9, 1930 in New York City, Henry was raised by his father, Paul Zuckerman, an Air Force general and stockbroker, and his mother, Ruth Taylor, a former silent film actress who starred as Lorelei Lee in the silent version of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1928), among other films. Having been introduced to Broadway plays by his parents when he was four years old, Henry became interested in the performing arts at an early age. At 15 years old, while attending the then-all boys Choate School, he made his professional acting debut in a Broadway production of "Life with Father," which a year later went on a tour of theaters in Brooklyn, Long Island and the Bronx. After his schooling at Choate, Henry earned his bachelor's degree in English literature, a senior fellowship in writing, and a spot writing for the university's humor magazine, the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern. Following his graduation, he joined the Army during the Korean War, though instead of seeing action, he toured Germany with the Seventh Army Repertory Company performing in a play he also wrote and directed.

      While living hand-to-mouth in Manhattan, Henry's life took a fortuitous turn after he joined the Premise, an improvisational group that performed in the West Village. Thanks to the troupe's popularity, Henry became a cast member of "The New Steve Allen Show" (ABC, 1961), which led to landing an agent and appearing on "The Garry Moore Show" (CBS, 1950-1967). Following his short stint with Moore, Henry was a writer and performer on "That Was the Week That Was" (NBC, 1964-65), a satirical sketch program based on a BBC show that also served as a precursor to the more famous and long-running "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ). Going from writer and performer to show creator, Henry made what may well have been his most lasting contribution to pop culture when he created along with Mel Brooks the Emmy Award-winning sitcom, "Get Smart" (NBC/CBS 1965-1970), which featured Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, a bumbling spy barely tolerated by his cranky Chief (Edward Platt) and often aided by the more competent Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon). Known for its off-beat characters and gag gadgets, like Smart's shoe phone and the frustrating Cone of Silence, "Get Smart" lived a long life in syndication while spawning several movies, including a big budget remake in 2008 starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.

      Branching out on his own, Henry was the sole creator of "Captain Nice" (NBC, 1967), a short-lived sitcom about a mild-mannered chemist (William Daniels) who becomes a mild-mannered superhero in a pajama costume knit by his mother. Despite the show's short stay on the air, Henry's fans long remembered the goofy comedy. Also that year, he made an auspicious feature debut as a screenwriter with "The Graduate" (1967), the iconic comedy-drama about an adrift college graduate (Dustin Hoffman) who engages in a May-December affair with family friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), only to find himself falling in love with her daughter (Katharine Ross). Aside from being a big box office hit, "The Graduate" spoke to the members of a disaffected generation by giving life to otherwise inchoate feelings of alienation and frustration. Ably performed by Hoffman, Bancroft and Ross, and scored by Paul Simon, it became one of the seminal films of the late 1960s alongside "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Easy Rider" (1969), ushering in a cycle of youth-oriented motion pictures that rejuvenated a moribund American film industry hurt by the splintering of the studio system. "The Graduate" also earned several Academy Award nominations, including one for Henry - who made a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk in the film - for Best Adapted Screenplay.

      Sticking to the big screen, Henry adapted "Candy" (1968), Terry Southern's sex farce about an innocent young woman (Ewa Aulin) who is completely unaware of her own sexual power. Following a small role in the World War II comedy "The Secret War of Harry Frigg" (1968), he teamed with "Graduate" director Mike Nichols to write "Catch-22" (1970), an uneven adaptation of Joseph Heller's satirical look at the absurdity of armed conflict as seen through the eyes of a war-weary bombardier (Alan Arkin). Henry made an appearance as the sadistic and humorless Lieutenant Colonel Korn. After writing the Barbra Streisand vehicle "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970), he had a starring role as Dr. Manos in "Is There Sex After Death?" (1971), a satirical sex comedy about the making of a documentary about sex. Also that year, Henry co-starred in Milos Foreman's American debut, "Taking Off" (1971), a comedy-drama about two parents (Henry and Lynn Carlin) who resort to smoking pot while searching the East Village for their runaway daughter (Linnea Heacock). Returning to his natural forte, Henry wrote the script for "What's Up Doc?" (1972), Peter Bogdonovich's screwball comedy about four identical plaid overnight bags and the four owners (Ryan O'Neal, Barbra Streisand, Mabel Albertson and Michael Murphy) who get them mixed up.

      Turning to the more unfamiliar territory of political thriller, Henry adapted "The Day of the Dolphin" (1973) for director Mike Nichols, which depicted a group of dolphins who help a brilliant scientist (George C. Scott) foil a plot to assassinate the president. Meanwhile, Henry began hosting "Saturday Night Live," appearing on the show 10 times from 1976-1980 - a record that was later surpassed by Steve Martin. Over the four years, he became kind of an honorary cast member, playing a variety of recurring characters, including a sadistic stunt coordinator, a pedophilic babysitter and a frequent costumer to a deli operated by a crazed Samurai (John Belushi) - the latter of which led to Henry receiving a head injury on live TV thanks to Belushi's wild chopping with his samurai sword. Back on the big screen, Henry co-starred opposite David Bowie in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976), which he followed with his debut as both a producer and director with "Heaven Can Wait" (1978), which starred Warren Beatty as the star quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, who dies on the verge of playing the Super Bowl, but receives a new chance on life when he occupies the body of an about-to-be-murdered businessman. Meanwhile, he went back to creating television with the sci-fi comedy "Quark" (NBC, 1978), which failed to duplicate his early success in the medium.

      As he entered into the next decade, Henry's writing declined drastically, both in quantity, and in the eye of some critics, in quality as well. The first sign of trouble came when he was the sole writer and director of the poorly received feature satire, "First Family" (1980), which cast Bob Newhart as a bumbling president, Madeline Kahn as his alcoholic wife and Gilda Radner as their oversexed daughter. After a small part in John Cassavetes' "Gloria" (1980), he was credited for creating the characters for "The Nude Bomb" (1980), a film version of "Get Smart" that saw Maxwell Smart (Adams) try to save the world from a bomb that will destroy all of mankind's clothing. He returned to the silver screen as the writer of "Protocol" (1984), an average-at-best comedy about a cocktail waitress (Goldie Hawn) who saves the life of a foreign dignitary (Richard Romanus), which leads to landing a job in the protocol department of the government. He later became a writer and cast member of "The New Show" (NBC, 1984), a failed attempt by "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels to bring a variety show to primetime.

      While his screenwriting career began to wane, Henry's career as a character actor thrived. He began serving as a rotating host on "The Late Show" (Fox, 1986-88), the first-ever show produced by then-fledgling network, FOX, while also appearing in a three-episode arc on the popular primetime soap, "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990). After playing the kindly priest who runs the mission at the local leper colony in "Tune in Tomorrow" (1990), he appeared as himself in Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992) during the film's opening sequence, where Henry pitches a sequel to "The Graduate" to studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins). Allegedly, the scene sparked real, but fleeting Hollywood interest in a "Graduate" sequel. Following a brief amusing turn as a dedicated weekend fisherman in "Short Cuts" (1993) and a small role in Gus Van Sant's rather dull road comedy "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (1994), Henry made a triumphant return to screenwriting with a well-received adaptation of Joyce Maynard's novel, "To Die For" (1995), a hard-edged satire on the nature of American celebrity. Starring Nicole Kidman as a beautiful, well-spoken woman fancying herself as an on-the-cusp news anchorwoman who will do anything - including killing her in-the-way husband (Matt Dillon) - in order to get famous.

      Henry's return to screenwriting prominence was short-lived following roles in the romantic comedy "The Real Blonde" (1997), the drama about a dysfunctional Los Angeles Family, "I'm Losing You" (1998), and the failed adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's classic "Breakfast of Champions" (1999), starring Bruce Willis. He wrote pages for the reshoot "Town & Country" (2001), after the original production wrapped amidst various problems, chief among them countless takes demanded by star Warren Betty. A disaster from start to finish, "Town & Country" - a lame attempt at making a screwball comedy - cost studio New Line Cinema to lose over $100 million. Ever since that debacle, Henry basically steered clear of writing for the screen in favor of acting. After appearing opposite Matthew Broderick and Alec Baldwin in the Hollywood satire "The Last Shot" (2004), Henry logged episodes of "Will & Grace" (NBC, 1998-2006) and "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-13). Turning to the theater, he appeared with Holland Taylor in an off-off-Broadway production of Lisa Ebersole's "Mother" (2009), which rekindled his love affair for playing in the small older theaters of his early career.

      * Biographical data supplied by TCMdb

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    • BLACK WOMEN Film Series at NYC's Film Forum - Jan. 17-Feb. 13

    • BLACK WOMEN Trailblazing African American Performers & Images, 1920 - 2001

      Friday, January 17 - Thursday, February 13


      Programmed by Donald Bogle, with Ina Archer

      BLACK WOMEN, an epic series spotlighting over 80 years of trailblazing African American actresses and images in movies, will run at Film Forum from Friday, January 17 to Thursday, February 13.

      Presented with generous support from the Nancy Sidewater Foundation and from Fred Wistow.

      "BLACK WOMEN shines a light on the sometimes under-appreciated African American female figures of cinema: the actresses, the oles, the images, the personas - historical milestones and indelible landmarks. Built in is an awareness of the decades-long struggles of Black actresses to find significant work - and of sometimes not so much playing roles as playing against their roles to come up with insightful, illuminating, even subversive performances that can still excite us today." - Donald Bogle, the leading authority on African American images in American movies.

      The festival includes Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning performances by Black women, beginning with Hattie McDaniel, who in 1939 became both the first Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning African American actress, for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind, and Dorothy Dandridge, who in 1954 was the first African American actress ever nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her riveting performance in Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones. Other Oscar nominees and/or winners highlighted in the series includes Cicely Tyson, Ethel Waters, Diana Ross, Angela Bassett, Diahann Carroll, Oprah Winfrey, Juanita Moore, Whoopi Goldberg (Winner, Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990)), and Halle Berry (first African American actress to win Best Actress for Monster's Ball).

      Also featuring silent screen African American actresses, including Evelyn Preer in Within Our Gates and Iris Hall in The Symbol of the Unconquered, both directed by the pioneering Oscar Micheaux; following through with the arrival of Hollywood's first Black love goddess, Nina Mae McKinney in King Vidor's early 1929 talkie Hallelujah; and moving forward with the heartfelt performances of Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington in the fascinating original 1934 Imitation of Life; Josephine Baker in the French films Zou Zou and Princess Tam-Tam; to performances by such notable stars as Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Eartha Kitt, Rosalinda Cash, Diana Sands, Abbey Lincoln, Gloria Foster, Vonetta McGee, Alfre Woodard, Lonette McKee, Lynn Whitfield, Janet Jackson, Tyra Ferrell, Queen Latifah, the gritty, supremely assertive Pam Grier, Tamara Dobson, and goddess of the 1990s Whitney Houston.


      See below for schedule and showtimes. For complete descriptions, visit Film Forum.

      FILMS IN THE SERIES:

      CARMEN JONES
      Friday, January 17
      12:30 4:35 8:40

      CABIN IN THE SKY
      Friday, January 17
      2:35 6:40

      SOUNDER
      Saturday, January 18
      11:00 AM*

      CARMEN JONES
      Saturday, January 18
      1:10 7:20

      CABIN IN THE SKY
      Saturday, January 18
      3:15

      PINKY
      Saturday, January 18
      5:15

      COFFY
      Saturday, January 18
      9:30

      SOUNDER
      Sunday, January 19
      11:00 AM*

      HALLELUJAH
      Sunday, January 19
      1:10

      SIREN OF THE TROPICS
      Sunday, January 19
      3:40

      ZOU ZOU
      Sunday, January 19
      5:30 9:10

      PRINCESS TAM-TAM
      Sunday, January 19
      7:30

      A RAISIN IN THE SUN
      Monday, January 20
      12:30 7:00

      SOUNDER
      Monday, January 20
      3:00

      CLAUDINE
      Monday, January 20
      5:10 9:30

      HALLELUJAH
      Tuesday, January 21
      12:30 6:40

      ZOU ZOU
      Tuesday, January 21
      3:00

      PRINCESS TAM-TAM
      Tuesday, January 21
      4:50 9:10

      PINKY
      Wednesday, January 22
      12:30

      BABY FACE
      Wednesday, January 22
      2:30* 6:20*

      "BROWN SUGAR"
      presented by Donald Bogle
      Wednesday, January 22
      4:20* 8:10*

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1934)
      Thursday, January 23
      12:30 5:40

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1959)
      Thursday, January 23
      3:00 8:10

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1959)
      Friday, January 24
      12:30

      A TRIBUTE TO PEARL BOWSER
      Friday, January 24
      3:00* 7:10*

      WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
      Friday, January 24
      4:50 9:00

      THE WIZ
      Saturday, January 25
      11:00 AM*

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1934)
      Saturday, January 25
      1:40

      DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A.
      Saturday, January 25
      4:10

      JUST ANOTHER GIRL ON THE I.R.T.
      Saturday, January 25
      5:35*

      SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT
      Saturday, January 25
      7:45

      CLEOPATRA JONES
      Saturday, January 25
      9:35

      THE WIZ
      Sunday, January 26
      11:00 AM*

      GONE WITH THE WIND
      Sunday, January 26
      5:40

      DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A.
      Monday, January 27
      12:30

      ELLA SINGS THE GERSHWIN SONGBOOK
      Monday, January 27
      2:20* 6:40*

      GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
      Monday, January 27
      4:20 8:35

      BUSH MAMA
      Tuesday, January 28
      2:35 8:35

      MELINDA
      Tuesday, January 28
      4:35

      WITHIN OUR GATES
      Tuesday, January 28
      6:35

      THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING
      Wednesday, January 29
      12:30 4:35 8:40

      MELINDA
      Wednesday, January 29
      2:25 6:40

      THE DECKS RAN RED
      Thursday, January 30
      12:30 4:15

      ANNA LUCASTA
      Thursday, January 30
      2:15 7:15

      THE SYMBOL OF THE UNCONQUERED
      Thursday, January 30
      6:00

      THE BEST MAN
      Thursday, January 30
      9:15

      ISLAND IN THE SUN
      Friday, January 31
      12:50 5:40

      DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST
      Friday, January 31
      3:20 8:00

      SUGAR HILL
      Friday, January 31
      10:10

      JACKIE BROWN
      Saturday, February 1
      12:40 6:00

      FOXY BROWN
      Saturday, February 1
      3:50 9:00

      THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
      Sunday, February 2
      12:40

      DOWN IN THE DELTA
      Sunday, February 2
      2:20

      THE COLOR PURPLE
      Sunday, February 2
      4:30

      THE LANDLORD
      Sunday, February 2
      7:30

      DOWN IN THE DELTA
      Monday, February 3
      12:30

      THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
      Monday, February 3
      2:40

      THE LANDLORD
      Monday, February 3
      4:20 8:30

      AN AFFAIR OF THE SKIN
      Monday, February 3
      6:30

      THE DECKS RAN RED
      Tuesday, February 4
      12:30 6:30

      THE WATERMELON WOMAN
      Tuesday, February 4
      2:15 8:15

      ISLAND IN THE SUN
      Tuesday, February 4
      4:10

      THE TALL TARGET
      Wednesday, February 5
      12:30

      THE OMEGA MAN
      Wednesday, February 5
      2:10 7:00

      STRANGE DAYS
      Wednesday, February 5
      4:10 9:00

      SET IT OFF
      Thursday, February 6
      12:30

      BRIGHT ROAD
      Thursday, February 6
      2:50

      POETIC JUSTICE
      Thursday, February 6
      4:20 8:10

      THE TALL TARGET
      Thursday, February 6
      6:30

      EVE'S BAYOU
      Friday, February 7
      12:30 8:30

      AMAZING GRACE
      Friday, February 7
      2:30 6:20

      DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A.
      Friday, February 7
      4:40

      DREAMGIRLS
      Saturday, February 8
      11:00 AM

      SPARKLE
      Saturday, February 8
      1:40

      LADY SINGS THE BLUES
      Saturday, February 8
      3:50

      BRIGHT ROAD
      Saturday, February 8
      6:35

      SET IT OFF
      Saturday, February 8
      8:15

      DREAMGIRLS
      Sunday, February 9
      11:00 AM

      THE COMPLETE BILLIE HOLIDAY
      Sunday, February 9
      1:45*

      STORMY WEATHER
      Sunday, February 9
      3:45

      CROSS CREEK
      Sunday, February 9
      5:30

      GHOST
      Sunday, February 9
      8:00

      GHOST
      Monday, February 10
      12:30

      THE COMPLETE BILLIE HOLIDAY
      Monday, February 10
      3:00*

      LADY SINGS THE BLUES
      Monday, February 10
      5:30

      LOSING GROUND
      Monday, February 10
      8:15

      LOSING GROUND
      Tuesday, February 11
      12:30 4:10

      SPARKLE
      Tuesday, February 11
      2:10 8:10

      MONSTER'S BALL
      Tuesday, February 11
      6:10

      NOTHING BUT A MAN
      Wednesday, February 12
      12:30 4:25 8:00

      SPARKLE
      Wednesday, February 12
      9:55

      THE BODYGUARD
      Thursday, February 13
      12:30 8:50

      GEORGIA, GEORGIA
      Thursday, February 13
      3:00 7:00

      MONSTER'S BALL
      Thursday, February 13
      4:50

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    • TCM Remembers Peter Fonda (1940-2019)

    • Turner Classic Movies Pays Tribute to Peter Fonda on Sunday, September 15 with the following films. This program will replace the previously scheduled movies for that day so please take note.

      The new schedule for Sunday, September 15 will be:
      8 PM Ulee's Gold (1997)
      10 PM Easy Rider (1969)


      Possessing his father's piercing blue eyes, Peter Fonda also inherited his old man's talent, but not the same level of drive and commitment that passed on to older sister Jane. Still, the stubbornness and tenacity that enabled the black sheep of the Fonda acting dynasty to fashion an iconic career as the quintessential 1960s "hippie," also kept him focused into the 21st Century, where, long after Jane's "retirement," he continued to come into his own as an actor of quiet restraint to rival even his famously taciturn father. For many, he would always be Captain America, the spaced-out cat in "Easy Rider" (1969), the low-budget motorbikes-and-drugs road movie that perfectly captured the Zeitgeist of its day and made Fonda, as producer, "filthy rich." To another younger generation, he was simply Bridget Fonda's dad, but there were still chapters yet to be written, having survived the classic "dysfunctional" family and putting the substance abuse of his youth behind him.

      Born Feb. 23, 1940 in New York, NY to his famous father, actor Henry Fonda and financier Frances Ford Seymour, Fonda was the younger brother of big sis, Jane. Tragically, his mother took her own life when he was just 10 and on his 11th birthday, he accidentally shot himself - nearly dying as well. As he grew older, the tormented Fonda traded his Eastern boarding school existence for the Midwestern stability of his Aunt Harriet and Uncle Jack's Omaha, Nebraska - Henry Fonda's hometown. It was there that he first gravitated to the stage, acting in the same community playhouse that had once nurtured his father, before quickly moving to Broadway in 1961 and starring as the earnest Private Ogletorpe of "Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole." He also acted in a 1962 episode of ABC's "Naked City" while in New York, and for the next few years, alternated between NYC and Hollywood, progressing from the boy-next-door of his feature debut, "Tammy and the Doctor" (1963), to the rebel biker of Roger Corman's "The Wild Angels" (1966). En route, he delivered a strong portrayal of a neurotic infatuated with Jean Seberg's "Lilith" (1963) - but it was his second picture with Corman - "The Trip" (1967) - which laid the groundwork for filmmaking history, introducing him to Jack Nicholson (its screenwriter) and Dennis Hopper, whose intuitive, improvisatory approach to acting had allegedly led to an eight-year exile from Hollywood.

      Co-written by Fonda, Hopper - who also directed and co-starred - and Terry Southern, "Easy Rider" boasted a great soundtrack of late 1960s rock music and featured a 16mm LSD sequence, during which Hopper coaxed Fonda up on a headstone in a New Orleans cemetery to confront his real mother's 1950 suicide ("Mother, why did you?"). Remembering the catharsis later, he said, "That was it. That was the high point of the whole thing. That was real tears, real time, a real question." Hailed by critics, "Easy Rider" earned a bundle and sent Hollywood studios scrambling to duplicate its uniqueness; the resulting shake-up opening the door to a new generation of filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Though Nicholson stole the show as the wealthy alcoholic who joins the two rebels on their sojourn, Fonda's marketability soared, and for nearly a decade, he starred in B-movies made on the strength of his name. Ironically, the hippie-capitalist's salary was always a third to a half of the total budget. The pictures invariably suffered, and his reputation for being difficult ("You know, I didn't play the game in town") precluded his working with better talent in bigger-budget pics.

      Fonda and Hopper reteamed on Hopper's virtually incomprehensible and pretentious "The Last Movie" (1971), but a falling out over "Easy Rider" profits made Hopper's name taboo around Fonda's Montana digs. He branched into directing at the helm of a critically-acclaimed commercial failure - the offbeat Western "The Hired Hand" (1971) - opting to step far away from his Captain America pose, as a cowboy who g s to work for the wife (Verna Bloom) he had deserted seven years before. His foray into experimental sci-fi, "Idaho Transfer" (1973), taught him never to again invest his own money in a directing project, and "Wanda Nevada" (1979), his last film as director, gave him the only opportunity of his career to work with his father. Convinced that the beard he was wearing looked fake, the older Fonda insisted his son shoot him from a distance, but Peter's response was to throw some dirt and spit licorice juice in his father's face to weather his countenance.

      Fonda enjoyed a memorable turn in the non-stop actioner "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" (1974), stealing money for a competition sports car, then careening around rural California accompanied by Susan George with a demonic officer of the law (Vic Morrow) in hot pursuit. He also delivered the goods as a fishing boat captain duking it out with a nemesis (Warren Oates) in Thomas McGuane's "92 in the Shade" (1975), and as an investigative reporter in "Futureworld" (1976), the strong sequel to 1973's "Westworld." Fonda was back on a bike for the pointless moneymaker "Cannonball Run" (1981) and the 1983 epic "Dance of the Dwarfs," in which he was a drunken helicopter pilot searching for a lost pygmy tribe - both of which epitomized the decline in quality of his projects. There were starring turns in two 1983 foreign films ("Peppermint Frieden" from West Germany; "All Right, My Friend" from Japan), followed by forgettable titles like "Certain Fury" (1985) and "Mercenary Fighters" (1987)- making "The Rose Garden" (1989) look like an inspired choice by comparison. His contributions to the script of "Fatal Mission" (1990), in which he starred as a gung-ho war hero, failed to save that promising film from its disastrous final reel.

      Things started to turn around for Fonda with his understated portrayal of the vampire hunting Van Helsing in Michael Almereyda's quirky "Nadja" (1994), but his big break came when Nick Nolte passed on the leading role in Victor Nunez's "Ulee's Gold" (1997). Fonda gave the performance of his life as an emotionally crippled beekeeper raising his granddaughters and experiencing romance with a divorcee (Patricia Richardson), drawing raves and reminding people of the kind of decent yet stoic loner that his father made a career of playing. Looking through the lens, Nunez could see the elder Fonda in the son's drooping shoulders and flat-footed walk. The actor described his technique to USA Today: "It's like a little pond, no movement on the surface, so you can look down. If I overdramatize, it would disturb the surface. You won't see the depth." Fonda followed up this career highlight with a starring turn as Gideon Prosper, a man blinded by sorrow over the death of his wife, in "The Tempest" (1998), NBC's novel Civil War take on the Shakespeare classic, and gave an even more nuanced (and Emmy-nominated) turn as the passive, pitiful spouse of Ayn Rand (Helen Mirren) in "The Passion of Ayn Rand" (Showtime, 1999).

      Fonda teamed with fellow 1960s icon Terrence Stamp in Steven Soderbergh's "Point Blank"-like revenge thriller "The Limey" (1999), which used elements from both actors' real-life pasts in improvisational moments during filming. The director's virtuoso editing style paid homage to the Godardian New Wave jump-cutting that inspired the original "Point Blank," and Fonda had a blast patterning his corrupt Hollywood record exec after some of the self-absorbed industry types whose paths he had crossed. He also got a chance to play opposite Thomas the Tank Engine in Britt Allcroft's live-action adaptation "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" (2000), creating a convincing grandpop for the children who frequented Shining Time Station.

      Fonda was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003 and in 2007, finally returned to the big screen in a pair of well-received supporting roles. Still first on the wish list for any motorcycle-related film, he co-starred with Nicholas Cage in an adaptation of the Marvel Comic "Ghost Rider" (2007) playing villain Mephistopheles with an unsettling, understated coolness that brilliantly contrasted the roar of the hero's engine. Fonda took on another bad guy in the James Mangold remake of "3:10 to Yuma," co-starring with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. The character-driven Western featured Fonda as career killer Byron McElroy who gives Crowe's Ben Wade cause to reconsider his own path. The film opened at number one at the box office and critics hailed it among the best of the season's slew of Westerns. On August 16, 2019 Fonda died at age 79 from respiratory failure due to lung cancer.


      --Biographical info courtesy of TCMDb

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    • TCM Remembers Doris Day (1922-2019)

    • The beloved actress/singer, one of the last remaining icons from Hollywood's Golden Age, passed away May 13 at the age of 97. Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to Doris Day on Sunday, June 9 with the following festival of films. This program will replace the previously scheduled movies for that day so please take note.

      The new schedule for Sunday, June 9 will be:
      6:00 AM Romance on the High Seas (1948)
      8:00 AM My Dream is Yours (1949)
      10:00 AM Tea for Two (1950)
      11:45 AM On Moonlight Bay (1951)
      1:30 PM Carson on TCM: Doris Day (1976)
      1:45 PM Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
      4:00 PM Calamity Jane (1953)
      6:00 PM Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
      8:00 PM Pillow Talk (1959)
      10:00 PM Lover Come Back (1961)
      12:00 AM Move Over Darling (1963)
      2:00 AM The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)
      4:00 AM Julie (1956)


      She embodied an image she hated, and for much of her life, sought a familial ideal never achieved, becoming, in the process, the biggest box-office draw in the movie business at one time before simply fading away. Doris Day became a phenomenon of sight and sound, a hit song machine in the first part of her career and, in the second, Hollywood's No. 1 female box-office star and the epitome of the girl next door. Her resume composed an American archetype - the pristine, bright-eyed sweetheart of America's neo-Victorian 1950s, even if she was far from her on-screen type. Though often successfully paired with leading man Rock Hudson in a series of iconic romantic comedies, off-screen she longed for what her characters always seemed to get in the end: the simple, stable existence of a housewife tending her corner of the American Dream.

      She was born Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in the Cincinnati, OH, suburb of Evanston, to Alma and Frederick von Kappelhoff and was the youngest of three children in a troubled household. In spite of the family's Catholicism, her parents divorced when Doris was only 12, due to Frederick's philandering. A tomboy in her earlier years, by adolescence she had developed a penchant for dance, but those aspirations were shelved when a car accident left her with a compound fracture of one leg and a tough 14-month rehabilitation. She began singing instead and, while still just a teenager, scored a job with the local dance band of Barney Rapp, who redubbed her Doris Day, after her number "Day After Day." She also met Al Jorden, a trombonist in Rapp's band and a temperamental character whom she disliked initially, but whom she eventually agreed to date.

      Around this same time, she landed a much bigger gig with the touring Les Brown and His Band of Renown. Both Brown, who took on a paternal role, and her mother discouraged her relationship with Jorden, especially when he proposed, but the 17-year-old Day insisted she only wanted to become a housewife. They married in New York in early 1941 while she was on tour, but it got off to an ominous start when, according to biographer David Bret, Jorden dragged his new wife to their hotel room and beat her up after seeing her kiss a fellow musician on the cheek. By Bret's account, violence was not infrequent during the marriage. When Day discovered she was pregnant, Jorden subjected her to a series of violent histrionics, including threatening to shoot her at one point, and leaving her ostensibly "for good." In February 1942, Day gave birth to a son, Terry. A repentant Jorden gave Day a brief reprieve, but he soon returned to his psychotic ways, so she began divorce proceedings. Jorden would kill himself a few years later.

      In 1944, she scored her first hit with Brown, "Sentimental Journey," which would strike a chord over the next year with many soldiers journeying home from war. She also developed a diva complex and became notoriously difficult to work with, throwing tantrums and cursing liberally when she did not get her way. Thus, it may have been a relief to some in the band when she and saxophonist George Weidler announced their engagement and her intentions, again, to leave show business for a simple family life. While quitting the touring circuit, Day agreed to a guest shot on the radio show "The Bob Hope Pepsodent Show." It led to recurring appearances, and Hope began referring to her on air and off as "J.B." - short for "jut-butt," in reference to her posterior. It also got the attention of Al Levy, an agent with the firm Century Artists, who soon began representing her. The buzz around her proved too much for the insecure Weidler, leading Day to divorce him after only eight months of marriage.

      Levy netted her a contract with Warner Bros. with a curious indenture to director Michael Curtiz, who, in addition to putting her in a series of films - starting with the musical comedy "Romance on the High Seas" (1948) - took in 50 percent of all non-movie showbiz revenue she earned. The dailies for "Romance" horrified Day, who insisted she take acting lessons, to which Curtiz responded, "You're a natural just as you are - if you learn how to act, you'll ruin everything." A song she sang for the soundtrack - "It's Magic" - reached No. 2 on the pop chart and earned her an Oscar nomination. Day also began an affair with co-star Jack Carson, which complicated amorous relationships with both Levy and Weidler. Jealous, Levy began stalking her and at one point tried to rape her, but she fended him off. Century Artists convinced her to not press charges as long as they agreed to shuffle him out to the firm's New York office. Partner Marty Melcher took over her business, and she soon began an affair with him, even though he was married to singer Patty Andrews of the famed Andrews Sisters. She reteamed with both Curtiz and Carson, getting top female billing in "My Dream Is Yours" (1949), and remained under the director's stewardship in "Young Man with a Horn" (1950), co-starring Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall, and "I'll See You In My Dreams" (1952).

      Much of her early film work would prove fluffy treacle - "Tea For Two" (1950), "On Moonlight Bay" (1951), "The West Point Story" (1951), "Lullaby of Broadway" (1951), "April In Paris" (1952), "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" (1953), "Lucky Me" (1954), all imprinting her public image as the Pollyannaish "Girl Next Door." Her music career buoyed her film career and vice versa, with nearly every film issuing some kind of hit tune, resulting in seven of her 10 albums released between 1949 and 1955 charting in the top five. One rare non-crooning dramatic role, the anti-Klan noir film "Storm Warning" (1951), saw her wind up involved with two of her co-stars in that film, Ronald Reagan and Steve Cochran. But Day and Melcher married in 1951, with Melcher also adopting Terry. Many of her show business friends thought Melcher was just in it for the star's money. In fact, while making "Young at Heart" (1954), Frank Sinatra came to dislike Melcher so much he had him banned from the set.

      Day, who came to hate her virginal image, did manage to play out of type as she eased into her career. Her breakthrough role, in fact, tapped her tomboy youth for what would become her personal favorite of her films, "Calamity Jane" (1953). She played the butch Western heroine through a light-hearted romantic musical frame, with another song "Secret Love," becoming a chart-topper along with the entire movie soundtrack. She showed dramatic range again in "Love Me or Leave Me" (1955), playing 1920s singing star Ruth Etting, whose career was marred by a relationship with a gangster, played by James Cagney. She did her turn in Alfred Hitchcock's famous stable of blondes in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956), with even Hitchcock slipping in a song for her, "Que Sera, Sera," which went on to win the Oscar for Best Song. She went much darker with "Julie" (1956), a thriller in which Day's character discovers her second husband to be abusive, violent and the murderer of her first spouse. Day loathed it, as it smacked too much of personal experience, but she did the film because Melcher served as producer.

      She made another splash in musical comedy with the movie adaptation of the Broadway hit "The Pajama Game" (1957), but the fanciful genre was on the wane. She would return to suspense in 1960's "Midnight Lace," but with the further reminders of her own violent past, she swore off darker films. She veered almost exclusively to straight, mild-mannered comedy roles as a savvy housewife or intrepid, romantically stand-offish career "gal" typically paired with lead males such as Clark Gable in "Teacher's Pet" (1958); David Niven in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1960); Cary Grant again in "That Touch of Mink" (1962); James Garner in "The Thrill of It All" (1963) and "Move Over Darling" (1963); and Rod Taylor in " Do Not Disturb" (1965) and "Glass Bottom Boat" (1967). For all her pairings, it would be her trio of romantic comedies with Rock Hudson (and an ever-supporting Tony Randall) that would have the most resonance. It started with "Pillow Talk" (1959), a for-the-time steamy "sex" comedy with Day as a New York professional with no time for men, constantly exasperated by the charming playboy in her apartment building who shares her party phone line. The movie became one of the top-grossers of 1959 and Day's turn earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. They reunited in "Lover Come Back" (1961), as rival ad executives who, sight unseen, grow to hate each until they hook up, while "Send Me No Flowers" (1964) had them married off and Hudson, mistakenly thinking he's dying, trying to set Day up with a new husband. The irony of the dynamic on-screen relationship and the friendship that developed off-screen, was that Hudson was a closeted homosexual, which Day claimed not to know until his later death from AIDS.

      With the American New Wave beginning to churn out less glossy, more realistic films, Day's formulaic and tepid movies began to seem dated. She famously turned down a role that might have reinvented her, the randy Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate" (1967). Just after the production ended on her last movie, "With Six You Get Egg Roll" (1968), Melcher began feeling ill and one day did not wake up. A review of her business showed that he had managed it poorly and squandered much of her fortune. He had also signed off on a new project unbeknownst to her; an eponymous CBS sitcom, which now became a necessity. "The Doris Day Show" (1968-1973) began with her as a widowed big city woman moving back to her rural roots with her sons. Though it did well in the ratings, the show was retooled every season, adding bland premises such as moving to San Francisco, working as a secretary, writing for a magazine and sending the kids off to boarding school. When her network contract was up in 1973, she effectively retired to Carmel, CA where she became an animal benefactor with her Doris Day Pet Foundation, which found homes for stray animals, and the Doris Day Animal League, an animal rights group that in 2006 merged with The Humane Society.

      She mostly retired her showbiz name, becoming known to locals as Clara Kappelhoff - with Clara a pet name given her during the making of "Tea For Two" in 1950. In 1976, she married again to Barry Comden, a maitre d' at a favorite restaurant of hers, but it would last only five years. She returned to TV briefly in 1985 in the Christian Broadcasting Network's "Doris Day's Best Friends" (1985-86), a show about pets. When Rock Hudson appeared as a guest on one episode, viewers were shocked at how his illness had emaciated him. He died only months later. In 2008, she was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy Award, but did not show up at the ceremony to accept it, effectively proving herself to be one of the more dedicated recluses Hollywood had yet produced.


      (Biographical info courtesy of TCMDb)

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  1. New Books

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    • The Movie Musical!

    • By Jeanine Basinger

      Irresistible and authoritative, The Movie Musical! (Knopf) is an in-depth look at the singing, dancing, happy-making world of Hollywood musicals, beautifully illustrated in color and black-and-white--an essential text for anyone who's ever laughed, cried, or sung along at the movies. Leading film historian Jeanine Basinger reveals, with her trademark wit and zest, the whole story of the Hollywood musical--in the most telling, most incisive, most detailed, most gorgeously illustrated book of her long and remarkable career.

      From Fred Astaire, whom she adores, to La La Land, which she deplores, Basinger examines a dazzling array of stars, strategies, talents, and innovations in the history of musical cinema. Whether analyzing a classic Gene Kelly routine, relishing a Nelson-Jeanette operetta, or touting a dynamic hip hop number (in the underrated Idlewild), she is a canny and charismatic guide to the many ways that song and dance have been seen--and heard--on film.

      With extensive portraits of everyone from Al Jolson, the Jazz Singer; to Doris Day, whose iconic sunniness has overshadowed her dramatic talents; from Deanna Durbin, that lovable teen-star of the '30s and '40s; to Shirley T. and Judy G.; from Bing to Frank to Elvis; from Ann Miller to Ann-Margret; from Disney to Chicago...focusing on many beloved, iconic films (Top Hat; Singin' in the Rain; Meet Me in St. Louis; The Sound of Music) as well as unduly obscure gems (Eddie Cantor's Whoopee!; Murder at the Vanities; Sun Valley Serenade; One from the Heart), this book is astute, informative, and pure pleasure to read.


      Jeanine Basinger is the founder of the department of film studies at Wesleyan University and the curator of the cinema archives there. She has written eleven other books on film, including I Do and I Don't; The Star Machine; A Woman's View; Silent Stars, winner of the William K. Everson Film History Award; Anthony Mann; The World War II Combat Film; and American Cinema: One Hundred Years of Filmmaking, the companion book for a ten-part PBS series. She lives in Middletown, CT, Madison, WI, and Brookings, SD.

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    • Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking

    • By Rocky Lang and Barbara Hall

      Foreword by Peter Bogdanovich

      Rare notes, memos, and telegrams from Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, Jane Fonda, and more

      Letters from Hollywood reproduces in full color scores of entertaining and insightful pieces of correspondence from some of the most notable and talented film industry names of all time--from the silent era to the golden age, and up through the pre-email days of the 1970s. Culled from libraries, archives, and personal collections, the 135 letters, memos, and telegrams are organized chronologically and are annotated by the authors to provide backstories and further context. While each piece reveals a specific moment in time, taken together, the letters convey a bigger picture of Hollywood history. Contributors include celebrities like Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Elia Kazan, Cary Grant, Francis Ford Coppola, Tom Hanks, and Jane Fonda. This is the gift book of the season for fans of classic Hollywood.


      Rocky Lang is an author who has produced, written, and directed motion pictures, documentaries, and television programs. Barbara Hall is a film historian and researcher who has worked as an archivist at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Writers Guild Foundation, and the Art Directors Guild. They both live in Los Angeles.

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    • Becoming Ronald Reagan

    • by Robert Mann

      In the 1960s transitioning from acting to politics was rare. Ronald Reagan was not the first to do it, but he was the first to jump from the screen to the stump and on to credibility as a presidential contender. Reagan's transformation from struggling liberal actor to influential conservative spokesman in five years--and then to the California governorship six years later--is a remarkable and compelling story.

      In Becoming Ronald Reagan: The Rise of a Conservative Icon (Potomac Books, University of Nebraska Press) Robert Mann explores Reagan's early life and his career during the 1950s and early 1960s: his growing desire for acclaim in high school and college, his political awakening as a young Hollywood actor, his ideological evolution in the 1950s as he traveled the country for General Electric, the refining of his political skills during this period, his growing aversion to big government, and his disdain for the totalitarian leaders in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. All these experiences and more shaped Reagan's politics and influenced his career as an elected official.

      Mann not only demonstrates how Reagan the actor became Reagan the political leader and how the liberal became a conservative, he also shows how the skills Reagan learned and the lessons he absorbed from 1954 to 1964 made him the inspiring leader so many Americans remember and revere to this day. Becoming Ronald Reagan is an indelible portrait of a true American icon and a politician like none other.


      Robert Mann is a professor and holds the Manship Chair in Journalism at Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. He is the author of numerous books, including Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds: LBJ, Barry Goldwater, and the Ad That Changed American Politics, named one of the best political books of 2011 by the Washington Post.

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    • Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star - The War Years 1940-1946

    • The second volume of award-winning critic and scholar Gary Giddins's eagerly anticipated Bing Crosby biography, BING CROSBY: SWINGING ON A STAR - THE WAR YEARS 1940-1946, is now available through the TCM Shop. It's been called "a cultural biography to croon over." The bestselling first volume, BING CROSBY: A POCKETFUL OF DREAMS, published in 2001, was selected by the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post as one of the year's best books and was a New York Times Notable Book.

      Perhaps no entertainer in the 20th century held sway over the affections and conscience of the public as long and as deeply as Bing Crosby. In this second volume on Crosby's life, Giddins masterfully re-creates the years when some of the singing icon's most enduring work - songs like "White Christmas" and "Swinging on a Star," films like Holiday Inn, Going My Way, The Bells of St Mary's, and the first four Road movies - was accomplished; when the seeds of the many changes he would usher into the film, broadcasting, and music businesses would be planted; and when the astounding number of his projects in and out of show business would break barriers and help define American culture, manhood, and responsibility during the war years and beyond.

      Giddins's decades-long investigation of this pivotal time in Crosby's personal professional life is granular and insightful. His own deep understanding and years of critical coverage of music and cinema give his analysis both heft and nuance when he undertakes the shifts in Crosby's artistic development both as a singer and as an actor. He pierces the famous steely-eyed privacy of his subject while keep the perspective wide enough to show readers what Crosby's work meant to his growing audience as World War II transformed the country.

      Who was Crosby, and why has his legacy endured? Giddins describes a paradoxical figure of his times. Perceived as a common man - the ideal family man - he embodied American style for four decades. From the carefree excess of Prohibition, to the sober introspection of the Depression, to the romantic idealism of the war, to the optimistic resolve of the booming middle class that followed, he reflected the country's evolution. He was modest about his accomplishments, with a seemingly endless appetite for hard work, an unflappable demeanor, and an unflashy dedication to his family. His films and recordings (with more gold records than even Elvis Presley) showed Americans a version of their own lives - marked by a largeness of spirit and an optimistic sense of the future. And while his work on the screen and recordings ranged from lighthearted romps to reveries of nostalgia to dramatic studies of American communities, he was unstinting in his support of soldiers, with his nonstop USO tours raising millions of dollars in war bonds. His personality and selfless support of the war effort exemplified the idea of a solid home front.

      Yet throughout these years, Crosby was beset by financial worries and battles with radio executives, was partner to an increasingly dysfunctional alcoholic wife, and had a troubled relationship with his four sons. He lived large at a time when a note to a powerful gossip columnist could keep the lid on the whispers about his troubled marriage and a leading lady. And he was also a prisoner of his success. The smooth calm of his baritone is what we remember, but Crosby was more than a crooner. A staunch supporter of artists of color, from his idol, Louis Armstrong, to the up-and-coming Nat King Cole, he established the under-appreciated Charioteers as regular cast members on his weekly radio show, Kraft Music Hall. In bringing African American artists to the forefront, he proved extraordinarily influential in mainstreaming not only jazz but also rhythm and blues and country and western, among other genres. He was a shrewd businessman whose innovations in the recording industry include those seasonal Christmas compilation albums every artist now rushes to put out. And he revolutionized the radio industry, transforming it from a live to a prerecorded medium.

      SWINGING ON A STAR chronicles a critical era, and to tell the story fully Giddins weaves together voices from the more than 300 interviews he conducted for the book; the insight and research of other writers and scholars; Bing Crosby's previously unknown letters; and a journal Crosby kept, detailing the complicated machinery of his USO tours at home and abroad, where he found himself within shouting distance of enemy territory. The former director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the CUNY Graduate Center, Giddins has long been one of this country's celebrated jazz writers and critics. For thirty years he penned the "Weather Bird" jazz column in the Village Voice, and he has written other acclaimed books, including biographies of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, and dozens of essays on cinema. Giddins is the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award, two Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Awards, six ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor Awards for excellence in music criticism, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Peabody Award in Broadcasting.

      SWINGING ON A STAR is a study of the home front and the way song and movies held a fractured nation together - and continue to do so. You may find yourself revisiting the movies and recordings of Bing Crosby after reading SWINGING ON A STAR - Giddins makes them come alive all over again in this book.

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  1. DVD Reviews

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    • Dick Dinman & George Feltenstein Take a Turn for Turner!

    • DICK DINMAN & GEORGE FELTENSTEIN TAKE A TURN FOR TURNER!: The Warner Archive adds to their impressive list of director Vincente Minnelli masterworks on Blu-ray the ultimate "inside Hollywood" scorcher THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL which is the winner of five Academy Awards and features riveting career-high performances from Lana Turner, Oscar nominee Kirk Douglas, Dick Powell and Oscar winner Gloria Grahame and favorite guest Warner Home Video Senior Vice President of Classic and Theatrical Marketing George Feltenstein rejoins producer/host Dick Dinman as both marvel at the uncompromising brilliance of this certifiable Minnelli film classic.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Dick Dinman Gossips All About Bette (and Eve!)

    • DICK DINMAN GOSSIPS ALL ABOUT BETTE (AND EVE!): Simply stated: The Criterion Collection's new Blu-ray incarnation of ALL ABOUT EVE is hands down the most superior home video release (in both picture and sound) of this certified motion picture classic ever released in the home video medium and to celebrate the event producer/host Dick Dinman repeats his original Bette-centric chats with the late TCM host Robert Osborne as well as the late Warner Brothers star Joan Leslie.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Dick Dinman & Gena Rowlands Salute Bette Davis

    • DICK DINMAN & GENA ROWLANDS SALUTE BETTE DAVIS: The Warner Archive has just released two superb Blu-ray incarnations of the Bette Davis classics JEZEBEL and THE LETTER and to celebrate the occasion two-time Best Actress Oscar nominee Gena Rowlands joins producer/host Dick Dinman as both marvel at the unparalleled artistry that made Bette Davis one of the most awarded stars in cinema history and Gena reveals the rocky start of her relationship with Davis.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Dick Dinman & Joseph McBride Salute the Boyer Blu-ray Bonanza!

    • DICK DINMAN & JOSEPH McBRIDE SALUTE THE BOYER BLU-RAY BONANZA!: Fans of continental icon and matinee idol Charles Boyer are thrilled that three Boyer classics have just been released on Blu-ray courtesy of the Criterion Collection (CLUNY BROWN), the Arrow Academy (HOLD BACK THE DAWN) and the Warner Archive (GASLIGHT) and producer/host Dick Dinman and acclaimed author/biographer Joseph McBride take the opportunity to sing the praises of this comparatively forgotten superstar of the golden age of cinema.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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    • Dick Dinman & Gary Giddins Swing with Fred & Bing!

    • DICK DINMAN & GARY GIDDINS SWING WITH FRED & BING!: Producer/host Dick Dinman is joined by Gary Giddins the acclaimed author of the riveting new biography BING CROSBY: THE WAR YEARS as both marvel at the sheer brilliance of the possible pinnacle of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical masterworks SWING TIME which has just been released on Blu-ray in typically exemplary fashion by the Criterion Collection.

      The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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  1. Press Release

    •  

    • Leonard Maltin to be Presented the Third Annual Robert Osborne Award

    • Turner Classic Movies has announced that its third annual Robert Osborne Award, recognizing an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations, will be presented to Leonard Maltin, one of the world's most respected film critics and historians. He will receive the award at the 11th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April. The first two Robert Osborne Awards were given to iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese (2018) and to film preservationist Kevin Brownlow (2019). For more than 22 years, Robert Osborne served as the primetime host and anchor of TCM, helping millions of viewers discover and enter the world of classic movies, and dedicating his life to preserving and sharing the movies he loved. Embraced by fans around the globe as both a fellow movie lover and an unparalleled film historian, his legacy of devotion to classic films and their ability to inspire lives on through the Robert Osborne Award.

      Widely recognized and respected among his peers and in popular culture for film criticism, Maltin served as the movie reviewer for Entertainment Tonight for 30 years, and he is perhaps best known for his annual Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide and its companion volume TCM Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide. Spanning multiple updates annually, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide was first published in 1969 and had its final update, the 45th edition, published in September 2014. This collection of thousands of short capsule movie reviews has spanned decades and has been a source for at a glance cast listings, plot summaries and Maltin's own star ratings, long before the likes of film aggregation sites like IMDB were born. Maltin is also known for his wealth of knowledge on Disney's history, and he served as TCM's residential Treasures from the Disney Vault host. Maltin has contributed to various publications over the years, including newspapers, film journals and magazines, like Variety and TV Guide, and has been a host for several movie segments and shows. Maltin has been awarded a number of honors from festivals and societies for his work preserving the history of film, including Telluride, California Independent Film Festival and American Society of Cinematographers. He also holds the distinction of being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for writing the shortest movie review--for the 1948 film Isn't it Romantic, to which Maltin's review simply states, "No."

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    • Buck Henry (1930-2020)

    • The wryly comic screenwriter / performer / raconteur--a two-time Oscar nominee--passed away January 8 in Los Angeles at the age of 89.

      After limited success as a stage actor, writer Buck Henry established himself as a sketch writer and performer in 1960s television before writing scripts for some of cinema's most seminal films. Henry first found screen success on "The New Steve Allen Show" (ABC, 1961) and "That Was the Week That Was" (NBC, 1964-65) before joining forces with Mel Brooks to create "Get Smart" (NBC/CBS 1965-1970), the popular and Emmy Award-winning screwball sitcom that lived a long fruitful life in syndication for generations. During the spy comedy's run, Henry wrote the script for Mike Nichols' iconic film, "The Graduate" (1967), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. He continued to pen engaging films like "Catch-22" (1970) and "What's Up Doc?" (1972), while directing Warren Beatty in "Heaven Can Wait" (1978), only to find himself slipping with the unwatchable "First Family" (1980) and the routine Goldie Hawn comedy, "Protocol" (1984). Henry shifted focus from putting pen to paper in order to concentrate on performing, which included hosting "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ) over 10 times, while serving as a rotating host for the failed late night talker, "The Late Show" (NBC, 1984), and a recurring stint on "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990). Henry regained his stature as one of Hollywood's top screenwriters with "To Die For" (1995), only to get pulled into the disaster known as "Town & Country" (2001), which showed that his career had as many moments of sharp disappointment as it did of unadulterated genius.

      Born on Dec. 9, 1930 in New York City, Henry was raised by his father, Paul Zuckerman, an Air Force general and stockbroker, and his mother, Ruth Taylor, a former silent film actress who starred as Lorelei Lee in the silent version of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1928), among other films. Having been introduced to Broadway plays by his parents when he was four years old, Henry became interested in the performing arts at an early age. At 15 years old, while attending the then-all boys Choate School, he made his professional acting debut in a Broadway production of "Life with Father," which a year later went on a tour of theaters in Brooklyn, Long Island and the Bronx. After his schooling at Choate, Henry earned his bachelor's degree in English literature, a senior fellowship in writing, and a spot writing for the university's humor magazine, the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern. Following his graduation, he joined the Army during the Korean War, though instead of seeing action, he toured Germany with the Seventh Army Repertory Company performing in a play he also wrote and directed.

      While living hand-to-mouth in Manhattan, Henry's life took a fortuitous turn after he joined the Premise, an improvisational group that performed in the West Village. Thanks to the troupe's popularity, Henry became a cast member of "The New Steve Allen Show" (ABC, 1961), which led to landing an agent and appearing on "The Garry Moore Show" (CBS, 1950-1967). Following his short stint with Moore, Henry was a writer and performer on "That Was the Week That Was" (NBC, 1964-65), a satirical sketch program based on a BBC show that also served as a precursor to the more famous and long-running "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ). Going from writer and performer to show creator, Henry made what may well have been his most lasting contribution to pop culture when he created along with Mel Brooks the Emmy Award-winning sitcom, "Get Smart" (NBC/CBS 1965-1970), which featured Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, a bumbling spy barely tolerated by his cranky Chief (Edward Platt) and often aided by the more competent Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon). Known for its off-beat characters and gag gadgets, like Smart's shoe phone and the frustrating Cone of Silence, "Get Smart" lived a long life in syndication while spawning several movies, including a big budget remake in 2008 starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway.

      Branching out on his own, Henry was the sole creator of "Captain Nice" (NBC, 1967), a short-lived sitcom about a mild-mannered chemist (William Daniels) who becomes a mild-mannered superhero in a pajama costume knit by his mother. Despite the show's short stay on the air, Henry's fans long remembered the goofy comedy. Also that year, he made an auspicious feature debut as a screenwriter with "The Graduate" (1967), the iconic comedy-drama about an adrift college graduate (Dustin Hoffman) who engages in a May-December affair with family friend Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), only to find himself falling in love with her daughter (Katharine Ross). Aside from being a big box office hit, "The Graduate" spoke to the members of a disaffected generation by giving life to otherwise inchoate feelings of alienation and frustration. Ably performed by Hoffman, Bancroft and Ross, and scored by Paul Simon, it became one of the seminal films of the late 1960s alongside "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Easy Rider" (1969), ushering in a cycle of youth-oriented motion pictures that rejuvenated a moribund American film industry hurt by the splintering of the studio system. "The Graduate" also earned several Academy Award nominations, including one for Henry - who made a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk in the film - for Best Adapted Screenplay.

      Sticking to the big screen, Henry adapted "Candy" (1968), Terry Southern's sex farce about an innocent young woman (Ewa Aulin) who is completely unaware of her own sexual power. Following a small role in the World War II comedy "The Secret War of Harry Frigg" (1968), he teamed with "Graduate" director Mike Nichols to write "Catch-22" (1970), an uneven adaptation of Joseph Heller's satirical look at the absurdity of armed conflict as seen through the eyes of a war-weary bombardier (Alan Arkin). Henry made an appearance as the sadistic and humorless Lieutenant Colonel Korn. After writing the Barbra Streisand vehicle "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970), he had a starring role as Dr. Manos in "Is There Sex After Death?" (1971), a satirical sex comedy about the making of a documentary about sex. Also that year, Henry co-starred in Milos Foreman's American debut, "Taking Off" (1971), a comedy-drama about two parents (Henry and Lynn Carlin) who resort to smoking pot while searching the East Village for their runaway daughter (Linnea Heacock). Returning to his natural forte, Henry wrote the script for "What's Up Doc?" (1972), Peter Bogdonovich's screwball comedy about four identical plaid overnight bags and the four owners (Ryan O'Neal, Barbra Streisand, Mabel Albertson and Michael Murphy) who get them mixed up.

      Turning to the more unfamiliar territory of political thriller, Henry adapted "The Day of the Dolphin" (1973) for director Mike Nichols, which depicted a group of dolphins who help a brilliant scientist (George C. Scott) foil a plot to assassinate the president. Meanwhile, Henry began hosting "Saturday Night Live," appearing on the show 10 times from 1976-1980 - a record that was later surpassed by Steve Martin. Over the four years, he became kind of an honorary cast member, playing a variety of recurring characters, including a sadistic stunt coordinator, a pedophilic babysitter and a frequent costumer to a deli operated by a crazed Samurai (John Belushi) - the latter of which led to Henry receiving a head injury on live TV thanks to Belushi's wild chopping with his samurai sword. Back on the big screen, Henry co-starred opposite David Bowie in "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976), which he followed with his debut as both a producer and director with "Heaven Can Wait" (1978), which starred Warren Beatty as the star quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, who dies on the verge of playing the Super Bowl, but receives a new chance on life when he occupies the body of an about-to-be-murdered businessman. Meanwhile, he went back to creating television with the sci-fi comedy "Quark" (NBC, 1978), which failed to duplicate his early success in the medium.

      As he entered into the next decade, Henry's writing declined drastically, both in quantity, and in the eye of some critics, in quality as well. The first sign of trouble came when he was the sole writer and director of the poorly received feature satire, "First Family" (1980), which cast Bob Newhart as a bumbling president, Madeline Kahn as his alcoholic wife and Gilda Radner as their oversexed daughter. After a small part in John Cassavetes' "Gloria" (1980), he was credited for creating the characters for "The Nude Bomb" (1980), a film version of "Get Smart" that saw Maxwell Smart (Adams) try to save the world from a bomb that will destroy all of mankind's clothing. He returned to the silver screen as the writer of "Protocol" (1984), an average-at-best comedy about a cocktail waitress (Goldie Hawn) who saves the life of a foreign dignitary (Richard Romanus), which leads to landing a job in the protocol department of the government. He later became a writer and cast member of "The New Show" (NBC, 1984), a failed attempt by "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels to bring a variety show to primetime.

      While his screenwriting career began to wane, Henry's career as a character actor thrived. He began serving as a rotating host on "The Late Show" (Fox, 1986-88), the first-ever show produced by then-fledgling network, FOX, while also appearing in a three-episode arc on the popular primetime soap, "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990). After playing the kindly priest who runs the mission at the local leper colony in "Tune in Tomorrow" (1990), he appeared as himself in Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992) during the film's opening sequence, where Henry pitches a sequel to "The Graduate" to studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins). Allegedly, the scene sparked real, but fleeting Hollywood interest in a "Graduate" sequel. Following a brief amusing turn as a dedicated weekend fisherman in "Short Cuts" (1993) and a small role in Gus Van Sant's rather dull road comedy "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" (1994), Henry made a triumphant return to screenwriting with a well-received adaptation of Joyce Maynard's novel, "To Die For" (1995), a hard-edged satire on the nature of American celebrity. Starring Nicole Kidman as a beautiful, well-spoken woman fancying herself as an on-the-cusp news anchorwoman who will do anything - including killing her in-the-way husband (Matt Dillon) - in order to get famous.

      Henry's return to screenwriting prominence was short-lived following roles in the romantic comedy "The Real Blonde" (1997), the drama about a dysfunctional Los Angeles Family, "I'm Losing You" (1998), and the failed adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's classic "Breakfast of Champions" (1999), starring Bruce Willis. He wrote pages for the reshoot "Town & Country" (2001), after the original production wrapped amidst various problems, chief among them countless takes demanded by star Warren Betty. A disaster from start to finish, "Town & Country" - a lame attempt at making a screwball comedy - cost studio New Line Cinema to lose over $100 million. Ever since that debacle, Henry basically steered clear of writing for the screen in favor of acting. After appearing opposite Matthew Broderick and Alec Baldwin in the Hollywood satire "The Last Shot" (2004), Henry logged episodes of "Will & Grace" (NBC, 1998-2006) and "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-13). Turning to the theater, he appeared with Holland Taylor in an off-off-Broadway production of Lisa Ebersole's "Mother" (2009), which rekindled his love affair for playing in the small older theaters of his early career.

      * Biographical data supplied by TCMdb

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    • BLACK WOMEN Film Series at NYC's Film Forum - Jan. 17-Feb. 13

    • BLACK WOMEN Trailblazing African American Performers & Images, 1920 - 2001

      Friday, January 17 - Thursday, February 13


      Programmed by Donald Bogle, with Ina Archer

      BLACK WOMEN, an epic series spotlighting over 80 years of trailblazing African American actresses and images in movies, will run at Film Forum from Friday, January 17 to Thursday, February 13.

      Presented with generous support from the Nancy Sidewater Foundation and from Fred Wistow.

      "BLACK WOMEN shines a light on the sometimes under-appreciated African American female figures of cinema: the actresses, the oles, the images, the personas - historical milestones and indelible landmarks. Built in is an awareness of the decades-long struggles of Black actresses to find significant work - and of sometimes not so much playing roles as playing against their roles to come up with insightful, illuminating, even subversive performances that can still excite us today." - Donald Bogle, the leading authority on African American images in American movies.

      The festival includes Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning performances by Black women, beginning with Hattie McDaniel, who in 1939 became both the first Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning African American actress, for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind, and Dorothy Dandridge, who in 1954 was the first African American actress ever nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her riveting performance in Otto Preminger's Carmen Jones. Other Oscar nominees and/or winners highlighted in the series includes Cicely Tyson, Ethel Waters, Diana Ross, Angela Bassett, Diahann Carroll, Oprah Winfrey, Juanita Moore, Whoopi Goldberg (Winner, Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990)), and Halle Berry (first African American actress to win Best Actress for Monster's Ball).

      Also featuring silent screen African American actresses, including Evelyn Preer in Within Our Gates and Iris Hall in The Symbol of the Unconquered, both directed by the pioneering Oscar Micheaux; following through with the arrival of Hollywood's first Black love goddess, Nina Mae McKinney in King Vidor's early 1929 talkie Hallelujah; and moving forward with the heartfelt performances of Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington in the fascinating original 1934 Imitation of Life; Josephine Baker in the French films Zou Zou and Princess Tam-Tam; to performances by such notable stars as Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Eartha Kitt, Rosalinda Cash, Diana Sands, Abbey Lincoln, Gloria Foster, Vonetta McGee, Alfre Woodard, Lonette McKee, Lynn Whitfield, Janet Jackson, Tyra Ferrell, Queen Latifah, the gritty, supremely assertive Pam Grier, Tamara Dobson, and goddess of the 1990s Whitney Houston.


      See below for schedule and showtimes. For complete descriptions, visit Film Forum.

      FILMS IN THE SERIES:

      CARMEN JONES
      Friday, January 17
      12:30 4:35 8:40

      CABIN IN THE SKY
      Friday, January 17
      2:35 6:40

      SOUNDER
      Saturday, January 18
      11:00 AM*

      CARMEN JONES
      Saturday, January 18
      1:10 7:20

      CABIN IN THE SKY
      Saturday, January 18
      3:15

      PINKY
      Saturday, January 18
      5:15

      COFFY
      Saturday, January 18
      9:30

      SOUNDER
      Sunday, January 19
      11:00 AM*

      HALLELUJAH
      Sunday, January 19
      1:10

      SIREN OF THE TROPICS
      Sunday, January 19
      3:40

      ZOU ZOU
      Sunday, January 19
      5:30 9:10

      PRINCESS TAM-TAM
      Sunday, January 19
      7:30

      A RAISIN IN THE SUN
      Monday, January 20
      12:30 7:00

      SOUNDER
      Monday, January 20
      3:00

      CLAUDINE
      Monday, January 20
      5:10 9:30

      HALLELUJAH
      Tuesday, January 21
      12:30 6:40

      ZOU ZOU
      Tuesday, January 21
      3:00

      PRINCESS TAM-TAM
      Tuesday, January 21
      4:50 9:10

      PINKY
      Wednesday, January 22
      12:30

      BABY FACE
      Wednesday, January 22
      2:30* 6:20*

      "BROWN SUGAR"
      presented by Donald Bogle
      Wednesday, January 22
      4:20* 8:10*

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1934)
      Thursday, January 23
      12:30 5:40

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1959)
      Thursday, January 23
      3:00 8:10

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1959)
      Friday, January 24
      12:30

      A TRIBUTE TO PEARL BOWSER
      Friday, January 24
      3:00* 7:10*

      WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT
      Friday, January 24
      4:50 9:00

      THE WIZ
      Saturday, January 25
      11:00 AM*

      IMITATION OF LIFE (1934)
      Saturday, January 25
      1:40

      DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A.
      Saturday, January 25
      4:10

      JUST ANOTHER GIRL ON THE I.R.T.
      Saturday, January 25
      5:35*

      SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT
      Saturday, January 25
      7:45

      CLEOPATRA JONES
      Saturday, January 25
      9:35

      THE WIZ
      Sunday, January 26
      11:00 AM*

      GONE WITH THE WIND
      Sunday, January 26
      5:40

      DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A.
      Monday, January 27
      12:30

      ELLA SINGS THE GERSHWIN SONGBOOK
      Monday, January 27
      2:20* 6:40*

      GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
      Monday, January 27
      4:20 8:35

      BUSH MAMA
      Tuesday, January 28
      2:35 8:35

      MELINDA
      Tuesday, January 28
      4:35

      WITHIN OUR GATES
      Tuesday, January 28
      6:35

      THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING
      Wednesday, January 29
      12:30 4:35 8:40

      MELINDA
      Wednesday, January 29
      2:25 6:40

      THE DECKS RAN RED
      Thursday, January 30
      12:30 4:15

      ANNA LUCASTA
      Thursday, January 30
      2:15 7:15

      THE SYMBOL OF THE UNCONQUERED
      Thursday, January 30
      6:00

      THE BEST MAN
      Thursday, January 30
      9:15

      ISLAND IN THE SUN
      Friday, January 31
      12:50 5:40

      DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST
      Friday, January 31
      3:20 8:00

      SUGAR HILL
      Friday, January 31
      10:10

      JACKIE BROWN
      Saturday, February 1
      12:40 6:00

      FOXY BROWN
      Saturday, February 1
      3:50 9:00

      THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
      Sunday, February 2
      12:40

      DOWN IN THE DELTA
      Sunday, February 2
      2:20

      THE COLOR PURPLE
      Sunday, February 2
      4:30

      THE LANDLORD
      Sunday, February 2
      7:30

      DOWN IN THE DELTA
      Monday, February 3
      12:30

      THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
      Monday, February 3
      2:40

      THE LANDLORD
      Monday, February 3
      4:20 8:30

      AN AFFAIR OF THE SKIN
      Monday, February 3
      6:30

      THE DECKS RAN RED
      Tuesday, February 4
      12:30 6:30

      THE WATERMELON WOMAN
      Tuesday, February 4
      2:15 8:15

      ISLAND IN THE SUN
      Tuesday, February 4
      4:10

      THE TALL TARGET
      Wednesday, February 5
      12:30

      THE OMEGA MAN
      Wednesday, February 5
      2:10 7:00

      STRANGE DAYS
      Wednesday, February 5
      4:10 9:00

      SET IT OFF
      Thursday, February 6
      12:30

      BRIGHT ROAD
      Thursday, February 6
      2:50

      POETIC JUSTICE
      Thursday, February 6
      4:20 8:10

      THE TALL TARGET
      Thursday, February 6
      6:30

      EVE'S BAYOU
      Friday, February 7
      12:30 8:30

      AMAZING GRACE
      Friday, February 7
      2:30 6:20

      DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A.
      Friday, February 7
      4:40

      DREAMGIRLS
      Saturday, February 8
      11:00 AM

      SPARKLE
      Saturday, February 8
      1:40

      LADY SINGS THE BLUES
      Saturday, February 8
      3:50

      BRIGHT ROAD
      Saturday, February 8
      6:35

      SET IT OFF
      Saturday, February 8
      8:15

      DREAMGIRLS
      Sunday, February 9
      11:00 AM

      THE COMPLETE BILLIE HOLIDAY
      Sunday, February 9
      1:45*

      STORMY WEATHER
      Sunday, February 9
      3:45

      CROSS CREEK
      Sunday, February 9
      5:30

      GHOST
      Sunday, February 9
      8:00

      GHOST
      Monday, February 10
      12:30

      THE COMPLETE BILLIE HOLIDAY
      Monday, February 10
      3:00*

      LADY SINGS THE BLUES
      Monday, February 10
      5:30

      LOSING GROUND
      Monday, February 10
      8:15

      LOSING GROUND
      Tuesday, February 11
      12:30 4:10

      SPARKLE
      Tuesday, February 11
      2:10 8:10

      MONSTER'S BALL
      Tuesday, February 11
      6:10

      NOTHING BUT A MAN
      Wednesday, February 12
      12:30 4:25 8:00

      SPARKLE
      Wednesday, February 12
      9:55

      THE BODYGUARD
      Thursday, February 13
      12:30 8:50

      GEORGIA, GEORGIA
      Thursday, February 13
      3:00 7:00

      MONSTER'S BALL
      Thursday, February 13
      4:50

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    • TCM Remembers Peter Fonda (1940-2019)

    • Turner Classic Movies Pays Tribute to Peter Fonda on Sunday, September 15 with the following films. This program will replace the previously scheduled movies for that day so please take note.

      The new schedule for Sunday, September 15 will be:
      8 PM Ulee's Gold (1997)
      10 PM Easy Rider (1969)


      Possessing his father's piercing blue eyes, Peter Fonda also inherited his old man's talent, but not the same level of drive and commitment that passed on to older sister Jane. Still, the stubbornness and tenacity that enabled the black sheep of the Fonda acting dynasty to fashion an iconic career as the quintessential 1960s "hippie," also kept him focused into the 21st Century, where, long after Jane's "retirement," he continued to come into his own as an actor of quiet restraint to rival even his famously taciturn father. For many, he would always be Captain America, the spaced-out cat in "Easy Rider" (1969), the low-budget motorbikes-and-drugs road movie that perfectly captured the Zeitgeist of its day and made Fonda, as producer, "filthy rich." To another younger generation, he was simply Bridget Fonda's dad, but there were still chapters yet to be written, having survived the classic "dysfunctional" family and putting the substance abuse of his youth behind him.

      Born Feb. 23, 1940 in New York, NY to his famous father, actor Henry Fonda and financier Frances Ford Seymour, Fonda was the younger brother of big sis, Jane. Tragically, his mother took her own life when he was just 10 and on his 11th birthday, he accidentally shot himself - nearly dying as well. As he grew older, the tormented Fonda traded his Eastern boarding school existence for the Midwestern stability of his Aunt Harriet and Uncle Jack's Omaha, Nebraska - Henry Fonda's hometown. It was there that he first gravitated to the stage, acting in the same community playhouse that had once nurtured his father, before quickly moving to Broadway in 1961 and starring as the earnest Private Ogletorpe of "Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole." He also acted in a 1962 episode of ABC's "Naked City" while in New York, and for the next few years, alternated between NYC and Hollywood, progressing from the boy-next-door of his feature debut, "Tammy and the Doctor" (1963), to the rebel biker of Roger Corman's "The Wild Angels" (1966). En route, he delivered a strong portrayal of a neurotic infatuated with Jean Seberg's "Lilith" (1963) - but it was his second picture with Corman - "The Trip" (1967) - which laid the groundwork for filmmaking history, introducing him to Jack Nicholson (its screenwriter) and Dennis Hopper, whose intuitive, improvisatory approach to acting had allegedly led to an eight-year exile from Hollywood.

      Co-written by Fonda, Hopper - who also directed and co-starred - and Terry Southern, "Easy Rider" boasted a great soundtrack of late 1960s rock music and featured a 16mm LSD sequence, during which Hopper coaxed Fonda up on a headstone in a New Orleans cemetery to confront his real mother's 1950 suicide ("Mother, why did you?"). Remembering the catharsis later, he said, "That was it. That was the high point of the whole thing. That was real tears, real time, a real question." Hailed by critics, "Easy Rider" earned a bundle and sent Hollywood studios scrambling to duplicate its uniqueness; the resulting shake-up opening the door to a new generation of filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Though Nicholson stole the show as the wealthy alcoholic who joins the two rebels on their sojourn, Fonda's marketability soared, and for nearly a decade, he starred in B-movies made on the strength of his name. Ironically, the hippie-capitalist's salary was always a third to a half of the total budget. The pictures invariably suffered, and his reputation for being difficult ("You know, I didn't play the game in town") precluded his working with better talent in bigger-budget pics.

      Fonda and Hopper reteamed on Hopper's virtually incomprehensible and pretentious "The Last Movie" (1971), but a falling out over "Easy Rider" profits made Hopper's name taboo around Fonda's Montana digs. He branched into directing at the helm of a critically-acclaimed commercial failure - the offbeat Western "The Hired Hand" (1971) - opting to step far away from his Captain America pose, as a cowboy who g s to work for the wife (Verna Bloom) he had deserted seven years before. His foray into experimental sci-fi, "Idaho Transfer" (1973), taught him never to again invest his own money in a directing project, and "Wanda Nevada" (1979), his last film as director, gave him the only opportunity of his career to work with his father. Convinced that the beard he was wearing looked fake, the older Fonda insisted his son shoot him from a distance, but Peter's response was to throw some dirt and spit licorice juice in his father's face to weather his countenance.

      Fonda enjoyed a memorable turn in the non-stop actioner "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" (1974), stealing money for a competition sports car, then careening around rural California accompanied by Susan George with a demonic officer of the law (Vic Morrow) in hot pursuit. He also delivered the goods as a fishing boat captain duking it out with a nemesis (Warren Oates) in Thomas McGuane's "92 in the Shade" (1975), and as an investigative reporter in "Futureworld" (1976), the strong sequel to 1973's "Westworld." Fonda was back on a bike for the pointless moneymaker "Cannonball Run" (1981) and the 1983 epic "Dance of the Dwarfs," in which he was a drunken helicopter pilot searching for a lost pygmy tribe - both of which epitomized the decline in quality of his projects. There were starring turns in two 1983 foreign films ("Peppermint Frieden" from West Germany; "All Right, My Friend" from Japan), followed by forgettable titles like "Certain Fury" (1985) and "Mercenary Fighters" (1987)- making "The Rose Garden" (1989) look like an inspired choice by comparison. His contributions to the script of "Fatal Mission" (1990), in which he starred as a gung-ho war hero, failed to save that promising film from its disastrous final reel.

      Things started to turn around for Fonda with his understated portrayal of the vampire hunting Van Helsing in Michael Almereyda's quirky "Nadja" (1994), but his big break came when Nick Nolte passed on the leading role in Victor Nunez's "Ulee's Gold" (1997). Fonda gave the performance of his life as an emotionally crippled beekeeper raising his granddaughters and experiencing romance with a divorcee (Patricia Richardson), drawing raves and reminding people of the kind of decent yet stoic loner that his father made a career of playing. Looking through the lens, Nunez could see the elder Fonda in the son's drooping shoulders and flat-footed walk. The actor described his technique to USA Today: "It's like a little pond, no movement on the surface, so you can look down. If I overdramatize, it would disturb the surface. You won't see the depth." Fonda followed up this career highlight with a starring turn as Gideon Prosper, a man blinded by sorrow over the death of his wife, in "The Tempest" (1998), NBC's novel Civil War take on the Shakespeare classic, and gave an even more nuanced (and Emmy-nominated) turn as the passive, pitiful spouse of Ayn Rand (Helen Mirren) in "The Passion of Ayn Rand" (Showtime, 1999).

      Fonda teamed with fellow 1960s icon Terrence Stamp in Steven Soderbergh's "Point Blank"-like revenge thriller "The Limey" (1999), which used elements from both actors' real-life pasts in improvisational moments during filming. The director's virtuoso editing style paid homage to the Godardian New Wave jump-cutting that inspired the original "Point Blank," and Fonda had a blast patterning his corrupt Hollywood record exec after some of the self-absorbed industry types whose paths he had crossed. He also got a chance to play opposite Thomas the Tank Engine in Britt Allcroft's live-action adaptation "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" (2000), creating a convincing grandpop for the children who frequented Shining Time Station.

      Fonda was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003 and in 2007, finally returned to the big screen in a pair of well-received supporting roles. Still first on the wish list for any motorcycle-related film, he co-starred with Nicholas Cage in an adaptation of the Marvel Comic "Ghost Rider" (2007) playing villain Mephistopheles with an unsettling, understated coolness that brilliantly contrasted the roar of the hero's engine. Fonda took on another bad guy in the James Mangold remake of "3:10 to Yuma," co-starring with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. The character-driven Western featured Fonda as career killer Byron McElroy who gives Crowe's Ben Wade cause to reconsider his own path. The film opened at number one at the box office and critics hailed it among the best of the season's slew of Westerns. On August 16, 2019 Fonda died at age 79 from respiratory failure due to lung cancer.


      --Biographical info courtesy of TCMDb

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    • TCM Remembers Doris Day (1922-2019)

    • The beloved actress/singer, one of the last remaining icons from Hollywood's Golden Age, passed away May 13 at the age of 97. Turner Classic Movies pays tribute to Doris Day on Sunday, June 9 with the following festival of films. This program will replace the previously scheduled movies for that day so please take note.

      The new schedule for Sunday, June 9 will be:
      6:00 AM Romance on the High Seas (1948)
      8:00 AM My Dream is Yours (1949)
      10:00 AM Tea for Two (1950)
      11:45 AM On Moonlight Bay (1951)
      1:30 PM Carson on TCM: Doris Day (1976)
      1:45 PM Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
      4:00 PM Calamity Jane (1953)
      6:00 PM Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
      8:00 PM Pillow Talk (1959)
      10:00 PM Lover Come Back (1961)
      12:00 AM Move Over Darling (1963)
      2:00 AM The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)
      4:00 AM Julie (1956)


      She embodied an image she hated, and for much of her life, sought a familial ideal never achieved, becoming, in the process, the biggest box-office draw in the movie business at one time before simply fading away. Doris Day became a phenomenon of sight and sound, a hit song machine in the first part of her career and, in the second, Hollywood's No. 1 female box-office star and the epitome of the girl next door. Her resume composed an American archetype - the pristine, bright-eyed sweetheart of America's neo-Victorian 1950s, even if she was far from her on-screen type. Though often successfully paired with leading man Rock Hudson in a series of iconic romantic comedies, off-screen she longed for what her characters always seemed to get in the end: the simple, stable existence of a housewife tending her corner of the American Dream.

      She was born Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in the Cincinnati, OH, suburb of Evanston, to Alma and Frederick von Kappelhoff and was the youngest of three children in a troubled household. In spite of the family's Catholicism, her parents divorced when Doris was only 12, due to Frederick's philandering. A tomboy in her earlier years, by adolescence she had developed a penchant for dance, but those aspirations were shelved when a car accident left her with a compound fracture of one leg and a tough 14-month rehabilitation. She began singing instead and, while still just a teenager, scored a job with the local dance band of Barney Rapp, who redubbed her Doris Day, after her number "Day After Day." She also met Al Jorden, a trombonist in Rapp's band and a temperamental character whom she disliked initially, but whom she eventually agreed to date.

      Around this same time, she landed a much bigger gig with the touring Les Brown and His Band of Renown. Both Brown, who took on a paternal role, and her mother discouraged her relationship with Jorden, especially when he proposed, but the 17-year-old Day insisted she only wanted to become a housewife. They married in New York in early 1941 while she was on tour, but it got off to an ominous start when, according to biographer David Bret, Jorden dragged his new wife to their hotel room and beat her up after seeing her kiss a fellow musician on the cheek. By Bret's account, violence was not infrequent during the marriage. When Day discovered she was pregnant, Jorden subjected her to a series of violent histrionics, including threatening to shoot her at one point, and leaving her ostensibly "for good." In February 1942, Day gave birth to a son, Terry. A repentant Jorden gave Day a brief reprieve, but he soon returned to his psychotic ways, so she began divorce proceedings. Jorden would kill himself a few years later.

      In 1944, she scored her first hit with Brown, "Sentimental Journey," which would strike a chord over the next year with many soldiers journeying home from war. She also developed a diva complex and became notoriously difficult to work with, throwing tantrums and cursing liberally when she did not get her way. Thus, it may have been a relief to some in the band when she and saxophonist George Weidler announced their engagement and her intentions, again, to leave show business for a simple family life. While quitting the touring circuit, Day agreed to a guest shot on the radio show "The Bob Hope Pepsodent Show." It led to recurring appearances, and Hope began referring to her on air and off as "J.B." - short for "jut-butt," in reference to her posterior. It also got the attention of Al Levy, an agent with the firm Century Artists, who soon began representing her. The buzz around her proved too much for the insecure Weidler, leading Day to divorce him after only eight months of marriage.

      Levy netted her a contract with Warner Bros. with a curious indenture to director Michael Curtiz, who, in addition to putting her in a series of films - starting with the musical comedy "Romance on the High Seas" (1948) - took in 50 percent of all non-movie showbiz revenue she earned. The dailies for "Romance" horrified Day, who insisted she take acting lessons, to which Curtiz responded, "You're a natural just as you are - if you learn how to act, you'll ruin everything." A song she sang for the soundtrack - "It's Magic" - reached No. 2 on the pop chart and earned her an Oscar nomination. Day also began an affair with co-star Jack Carson, which complicated amorous relationships with both Levy and Weidler. Jealous, Levy began stalking her and at one point tried to rape her, but she fended him off. Century Artists convinced her to not press charges as long as they agreed to shuffle him out to the firm's New York office. Partner Marty Melcher took over her business, and she soon began an affair with him, even though he was married to singer Patty Andrews of the famed Andrews Sisters. She reteamed with both Curtiz and Carson, getting top female billing in "My Dream Is Yours" (1949), and remained under the director's stewardship in "Young Man with a Horn" (1950), co-starring Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall, and "I'll See You In My Dreams" (1952).

      Much of her early film work would prove fluffy treacle - "Tea For Two" (1950), "On Moonlight Bay" (1951), "The West Point Story" (1951), "Lullaby of Broadway" (1951), "April In Paris" (1952), "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" (1953), "Lucky Me" (1954), all imprinting her public image as the Pollyannaish "Girl Next Door." Her music career buoyed her film career and vice versa, with nearly every film issuing some kind of hit tune, resulting in seven of her 10 albums released between 1949 and 1955 charting in the top five. One rare non-crooning dramatic role, the anti-Klan noir film "Storm Warning" (1951), saw her wind up involved with two of her co-stars in that film, Ronald Reagan and Steve Cochran. But Day and Melcher married in 1951, with Melcher also adopting Terry. Many of her show business friends thought Melcher was just in it for the star's money. In fact, while making "Young at Heart" (1954), Frank Sinatra came to dislike Melcher so much he had him banned from the set.

      Day, who came to hate her virginal image, did manage to play out of type as she eased into her career. Her breakthrough role, in fact, tapped her tomboy youth for what would become her personal favorite of her films, "Calamity Jane" (1953). She played the butch Western heroine through a light-hearted romantic musical frame, with another song "Secret Love," becoming a chart-topper along with the entire movie soundtrack. She showed dramatic range again in "Love Me or Leave Me" (1955), playing 1920s singing star Ruth Etting, whose career was marred by a relationship with a gangster, played by James Cagney. She did her turn in Alfred Hitchcock's famous stable of blondes in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956), with even Hitchcock slipping in a song for her, "Que Sera, Sera," which went on to win the Oscar for Best Song. She went much darker with "Julie" (1956), a thriller in which Day's character discovers her second husband to be abusive, violent and the murderer of her first spouse. Day loathed it, as it smacked too much of personal experience, but she did the film because Melcher served as producer.

      She made another splash in musical comedy with the movie adaptation of the Broadway hit "The Pajama Game" (1957), but the fanciful genre was on the wane. She would return to suspense in 1960's "Midnight Lace," but with the further reminders of her own violent past, she swore off darker films. She veered almost exclusively to straight, mild-mannered comedy roles as a savvy housewife or intrepid, romantically stand-offish career "gal" typically paired with lead males such as Clark Gable in "Teacher's Pet" (1958); David Niven in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1960); Cary Grant again in "That Touch of Mink" (1962); James Garner in "The Thrill of It All" (1963) and "Move Over Darling" (1963); and Rod Taylor in " Do Not Disturb" (1965) and "Glass Bottom Boat" (1967). For all her pairings, it would be her trio of romantic comedies with Rock Hudson (and an ever-supporting Tony Randall) that would have the most resonance. It started with "Pillow Talk" (1959), a for-the-time steamy "sex" comedy with Day as a New York professional with no time for men, constantly exasperated by the charming playboy in her apartment building who shares her party phone line. The movie became one of the top-grossers of 1959 and Day's turn earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. They reunited in "Lover Come Back" (1961), as rival ad executives who, sight unseen, grow to hate each until they hook up, while "Send Me No Flowers" (1964) had them married off and Hudson, mistakenly thinking he's dying, trying to set Day up with a new husband. The irony of the dynamic on-screen relationship and the friendship that developed off-screen, was that Hudson was a closeted homosexual, which Day claimed not to know until his later death from AIDS.

      With the American New Wave beginning to churn out less glossy, more realistic films, Day's formulaic and tepid movies began to seem dated. She famously turned down a role that might have reinvented her, the randy Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate" (1967). Just after the production ended on her last movie, "With Six You Get Egg Roll" (1968), Melcher began feeling ill and one day did not wake up. A review of her business showed that he had managed it poorly and squandered much of her fortune. He had also signed off on a new project unbeknownst to her; an eponymous CBS sitcom, which now became a necessity. "The Doris Day Show" (1968-1973) began with her as a widowed big city woman moving back to her rural roots with her sons. Though it did well in the ratings, the show was retooled every season, adding bland premises such as moving to San Francisco, working as a secretary, writing for a magazine and sending the kids off to boarding school. When her network contract was up in 1973, she effectively retired to Carmel, CA where she became an animal benefactor with her Doris Day Pet Foundation, which found homes for stray animals, and the Doris Day Animal League, an animal rights group that in 2006 merged with The Humane Society.

      She mostly retired her showbiz name, becoming known to locals as Clara Kappelhoff - with Clara a pet name given her during the making of "Tea For Two" in 1950. In 1976, she married again to Barry Comden, a maitre d' at a favorite restaurant of hers, but it would last only five years. She returned to TV briefly in 1985 in the Christian Broadcasting Network's "Doris Day's Best Friends" (1985-86), a show about pets. When Rock Hudson appeared as a guest on one episode, viewers were shocked at how his illness had emaciated him. He died only months later. In 2008, she was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy Award, but did not show up at the ceremony to accept it, effectively proving herself to be one of the more dedicated recluses Hollywood had yet produced.


      (Biographical info courtesy of TCMDb)

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Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers
Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers
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  • Wednesday, March 20, 2011

  • Removed: 10:00pm Springfield Rifle
    12:00pm Casablanca
    Added: 1:00pm Virginia City
    12:15pm Casablanca
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  • Wednesday, March 20, 2011

  • Removed: 10:00pm Springfield Rifle
    12:00pm Casablanca
    Added: 1:00pm Virginia City
    12:15pm Casablanca
  •  

  • Wednesday, March 20, 2011

  • Removed: 10:00pm Springfield Rifle
    12:00pm Casablanca
    Added: 1:00pm Virginia City
    12:15pm Casablanca