A TV icon for sure, star one of the best sitcoms of all time, but Mary Tyler Moore left a mark with her big screen work including her Oscar-nominated turn in the 1980 Best Picture winner ORDINARY PEOPLE. She co-starred with Charles Bronson in X-15, Elvis in a A CHANGE OF HABIT, Julie Andrews in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, and played Ben Stiller’s mom in David O. Russel’s FLIRTING WITH DISASTER. Her ORDINARY PEOPLE performance was wonderful and incredibly surprising at the time but it’s her TV work, from Happy Hotpoint, the Hotpoint Appliance elf in the mid-50’s, to The Dick Van Dyke Show to her winning three Emmys as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ms Moore live for many years with Type 1 diabetes and passed away this morning at age 80.
From The New York Times:
” Mary Tyler Moore, whose witty and graceful performances on two top-rated television shows in the 1960s and ’70s helped define a new vision of American womanhood, died on Wednesday in Greenwich, Conn. She was 80.Her family said her death, at Greenwich Hospital, was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest after she had contracted pneumonia…..”
“We leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.” — Cernan’s closing words on leaving the moon at the end of Apollo 17.
Apollo 17 Astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died Monday, Jan. 16. (1934-2017)
“Cernan, a Captain in the U.S. Navy, left his mark on the history of exploration by flying three times in space, twice to the moon. He also holds the distinction of being the second American to walk in space and the last human to leave his footprints on the lunar surface.” – NASA
We interviewed Captain Cernan for the documentary THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON. This is the story of one of the very few men who went to the moon not only once, but twice. He first went to the moon on the Apollo 10 mission. It was the dress rehearsal for Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. His next flight was Apollo 17, the last time men would go to the moon (Dec. 7, 1972). Riding aboard a Saturn V rocket, the largest and most powerful and impressive rocket that ever successfully flew, he was on man’s last mission to explore earth’s closest neighbor.
The first moon landing had one moonwalk which lasted a little over two hours. He had three moonwalks, averaging around 6 hours each. He drove an electric car on the moon, saw and recovered orange soil on the lunar surface, and stood next to lunar boulders that were larger than a house.
Read Jim Batts’ review of THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON here.
R.I.P. and God Speed Gene Cernan.
The family of Apollo Astronaut Capt. Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, announced that he passed away today following ongoing health issues.
“It is with very deep sadness that we share the loss of our beloved husband and father,” said Cernan’s family. “Our family is heartbroken, of course, and we truly appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers. Gene, as he was known by so many, was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.”
“Even at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire to see the continued human exploration of space and encouraged our nation’s leaders and young people to not let him remain the last man to walk on the Moon,” the family continued.
Humbled by his life experiences, particularly as an Apollo Astronaut, the retired Naval officer recently said, “I was just a young kid in America growing up with a dream. Today what’s most important to me is my desire to inspire the passion in the hearts and minds of future generations of young men and women to see their own impossible dreams become a reality.”
Cernan is survived by his wife, Jan Nanna Cernan, his daughter and son-in-law, Tracy Cernan Woolie and Marion Woolie, step-daughters Kelly Nanna Taff and husband, Michael, and Danielle Nanna Ellis and nine grandchildren.
As we say goodbye, it seems fitting to share the last line in Gene’s book, THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON, as he explains his experience of walking on the Moon to his then five-year-old granddaughter, “Your Popie went to Heaven. He really did.”
Details regarding services will be announced in the coming days.
Responsible for one of the most iconic horror novels (and films…and posters!) of all time, THE EXORCIST author William Peter Blatty has passed away at age 89. Blatty started as a scriptwriter with credits including the Blake Edwards comedy A SHOT IN THE DARK and (uncredited) THE OMEGA MAN. He adapted his 1971 best-seller The Exorcist for the screen in 1973, which resulted in his Oscar win for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’. In 1980, he directed an unusual film I saw at the theater then, but have never seen since. THE NINTH CONFIGURATION, an odd allegory starring Stacey Keach and Neville Brand about a remote castle that served as an insane military asylum, deserves to be rediscovered. In 1996, he wrote and directed THE EXORCIST III, based on his novel Legion. Just last year, the director’s cut of the film, now titled THE EXORCIST III: LEGION, was released on Blu-ray. Blatty had a type of blood cancer.
From The New York Times:
“William Peter Blatty, the author whose best-selling book “The Exorcist” was both a milestone in horror fiction and a turning point in his own career, died on Thursday in Bethesda, Md. He was 89. The cause was multiple myeloma, his wife, Julie Blatty, said…….”
2016 claimed a long list of entertainers, but the grim reaper’s most unexpected one-two punch came between the final two holidays with the death of movie icons Carrie Fisher on December 12 and her mother Debbie Reynolds a mere 36 hours later. With the premiere of the documentary about the pair, “Bright Lights” on HBO this weekend, we at the Geeks site thought we should take a look at their considerable contributions to film.
Let’s start with Carrie, who was born in Hollywood, USA on October 21, 1956, the daughter of Debbie and singer/actor Eddie Fisher. She appeared on stage with her mother throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s, even getting her first small screen credit in the 1969 TV movie “Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children”. It wasn’t until 1975, when she would make her big screen debut opposite Warren Beatty (quite an arrival) in Hal Ashby’s hit SHAMPOO. Watch out, this clip is definitely NSFW!!
Yes, that flick did well at the box office, but it was paled in comparison to her follow-up film, a blockbuster that changed the face of the industry: 1977’s STAR WARS.
Princess Leia Organa was the role that gave Carrie screen immortality. She would return to the character in 1980’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK , 1983’s THE RETURN OF THE JEDI, and 2015’s STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. When George Lucas was the recipient of the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, she shared some stories of that time…
But Carrie’s film career encompassed more than that blaster-totin’ royal rebel. She appeared in many comedies opposite a long list of impressive leading men. She was the ballistic ex of John Belushi in THE BLUES BROTHERS.
She would co-star with another SNL castmate, Chevy Chase, in UNDER THE RAINBOW. Carrie would work with Tom Hanks twice, first in THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE, and later in the cult classic THE BURBS.
Woody Allen cast her as Dianne Wiest’s “frenemy” in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, But she was a much better pal to Meg Ryan in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY.
Carrie balanced lots of supporting film roles, like the nun in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, along with many TV appearances (new episodes of Amazon’s “Catastrophe” will be streaming soon). However the majority of her time the last couple of decades has been devoted to her writing. Carrie adapted her book POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE for director Mike Nichols who assembled a star-studded cast led by Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.
Soon after, she was in demand as an uncredited “script doctor” brought in to “punch up” the dialogue for films such as LETHAL WEAPON 3, OUTBREAK, THE WEDDING SINGER, and STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT. Happily her work in this December’s next Star Wars flick, Episode VIII, was completed, so fans will get to spend a bit more time with that princess who has a thing for scoundrels.
Now, it’s mama’s turn! She was born Mary Frances Reynolds on April first, 1932 in El Paso, Texas. After making Debbie her official first name, she was a beauty queen (Miss Burbank of 1948) who caught the eye of Hollywood talent scouts, and her first two films were for Warner Brothers (JUNE BRIDE in 48 and THE DAUGHTER OF ROSIE O’GRADY in 1950). Soon the smart folks at MGM scooped her up. She “lip-synced “I Wanna Be Loved by You” as Helen Kane (the inspiration for Betty Boop) in the musical biopic THREE LITTLE WORDS. IN TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE she captivated movie goers with her duet with Carleton Carpenter, “Aba Daba Honeymoon”. MR IMPERIUM followed, but her next film would be her entry into super-stardom. Some say it’s the greatest movie musical of all time, while it was included in the top ten comedies of all time by AFI. We’re talking about that 1952 gem…SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN.
…and here’s one of many memorable musicals numbers, “Good Morning”
Debbie was now one of MGM’s most popular stars. After a couple more musicals, she would branch out into more adult romantic comedies, such as THE TENDER TRAP with Frank Sinatra and SUSAN SLEPT HERE opposite Dick Powell.
After co-starring in THE CATERED AFFAIR, written by Paddy Chayefsky and Gore Vidal, and BUNDLE OF JOY with real-life hubby Eddie Fisher, Debbie launched a film franchise (and later TV series) as an innocent backwoods girl finding love in TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR. Her rendition of the theme song even became a juke box fave.
As the 1960’s began Debbie was at the top of the box office, scoring a major role in the Cinerama spectacle HOW THE WEST WAS WON. In 1964 she would finally be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress as the lead in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (a role she would later say was her favorite of all her films).
Two years later she would win praise in the biography, THE SINGING NUN. As the decade ended, Debbie appeared in two very adult marriage comedies, DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE, with Dick Van Dyke, and HOW SWEET IT IS! with James Garner, along with forays into horror (1971’s WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?) and animation (1973’s CHARLOTTE’S WEB). Work on stage and television then occupied most her time, along with collecting movie memorabilia for a possible future museum. Happily she might a triumphant return to the big screen in the 1990’s with a supporting role in Oliver Stone’s HEAVEN & EARTH. Her last truly great movie role might be as the title character in Albert Brooks’s MOTHER in 1996.
The next year Debbie would go on to play Kevin Kine’s mum in Frank Oz’s IN & OUT. Her last feature film role was in 2012’s ONE FOR THE MONEY. Three years later she would be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Screen Actors’ Guild. And almost a year ago Debbie would finally be honored by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
We at this site join movie fans across the globe in saluting one of the greatest dynasties in cinema history. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, thank you for being a part of films that will studied and enjoyed forever. Your legacy will never be forgotten.
“The Beatles were eight months away from releasing their first single, “Love Me Do,” when John Glenn rocketed into space on Feb. 20, 1962, to become the first American to orbit Earth.
The flight set NASA on course to meet ever-more ambitious goals. Glenn’s three orbits in five hours was eclipsed on the next flight and each one afterward steadily pushed Americans further out from the cradle of Earth, ultimately leading to a series of landings on the moon from 1969 to 1972.
“The whole program shifted rapidly from, ‘Can we do this?’ to basic research,” Glenn told a packed press conference conducted among the displays and consoles that made up Cape Canaveral’s Mercury control center.” – NASA
Former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn died Thursday at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
Glenn, who served four terms as a U.S. senator from Ohio, was one of NASA’s original seven Mercury astronauts. His flight on Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962, showed the world that America was a serious contender in the space race with the Soviet Union. It also made Glenn an instant hero.
Astronaut John Glenn inspects artwork that will be painted on the outside of his Mercury spacecraft, which he nicknamed Friendship 7. On Feb. 20, 1962, Glenn lifted off into space aboard his Mercury Atlas (MA-6) rocket to become the first American to orbit the Earth. After orbiting the Earth 3 times, Friendship 7 landed in the Atlantic Ocean, just East of Grand Turk Island in the Bahamas. Glenn and his capsule were recovered by the Navy Destroyer Noa, 21 minutes after splashdown.
In 1998, Glenn flew on the STS-95 Discovery shuttle flight, a 9-day mission during which the crew supported a variety of research payloads including deployment of the Spartan solar-observing spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and Glenn’s investigations on space flight and the aging process.
John Glenn also ran for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination, a year after the 1983 release of The Right Stuff.
NASA expressed their condolences via Twitter and Facebook. This American Hero will truly be missed.
We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. A true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra. pic.twitter.com/89idi9r1NB
“We are saddened by the loss of Sen. John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. He also became a U.S. senator and later, at the age of 77 when he flew on the space shuttle, he became the oldest person to fly in space. Our deepest condolences go out to his dear wife Annie, his children, and the people who were inspired by him and loved him around the world. He was a friend, an astronaut and true American hero. Godspeed, John Glenn. Ad astra.”
“Herschell Gordon Lewis is the man who put red meat into the American cinematic diet. Ultimately Herschell made Quentin Tarantino possible.” – Joe Bob Briggs
Herschell Gordon Lewis’ masterpiece BLOOD FEAST (1963) was the stomach churning movie by “The Godfather of Gore” that opened the floodgates to the countless blood and slasher movie that followed since its release over fifty years ago. BLOOD FEAST was a midnight movie drive-In mainstay for years. No Punches were pulled and no organs left inside in BLOOD FEAST. This film was a true classick in every sense of the word. Remember this was the mid 60’s folks. Sure the effects were cheap & fake, but the bad intentions were there from the get go. Gotta love that Mr. Lewis. 2,000 MANIACS, THE WIZARD OF GORE, THE GORE-GORE GIRLS, and COLOR ME BLOOD RED – he cranked ’em out with no shame. That crazy Egyptian Fuad Ramese and his fowl deeds kept gorehounds, drives-ins, fans, & curiosity seekers amazingly shocked for five decades. I met Mr. Lewis a couple of times at the Cinema Wasteland conventions and found him a great, generous man and raconteur who refused to charge money for signing autographs. Herschell Gordon Lewis died today at age 87. Rest in pieces Mr. Lewis
With Herschell Gordon Lewis and Connie Mason, star of 2000 MANIACS And BLOOD FEAST
One of the most celebrated film makers of the last four decades has died. Here’s how the New York Times reported it…. Curtis Hanson, the film director whose adaptation of the James Ellroy noir novel “L.A. Confidential” won him an Academy Award, died on Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 71.
The death was confirmed by Officer Jenny Houser, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. She said that officers had been called to the house shortly before 5 p.m., and that Mr. Hanson had died of natural causes.
Julie Mann, his business manager, said Mr. Hanson had been struggling for some time with a form of dementia.
Let’s take a look at his long career. His first screen credit is for helping to adapt H.P. Lovecraft’s short story in the 1970 American International Pictures’ THE DUNWICH HORROR starring Sandra Dee and Dean Stockwell. Three years later Hanson was a triple threat as writer, producer, and director of the low-budget Tab Hunter thriller, SWEET KILL. In 1978 he scripted the crime caper flick SILENT PARTNER starring Christopher Plummer, Elliot Gould, Susannah York, and John Candy. Two years later Hanson was back behind the camera as director/producer of the action kids’ comedy DIRTY DRAGONS. He next collaborated with iconic director Sam Fuller on the script for the controversial WHITE DOG in 1982 The next year was a busy one as the screenwriter of the Disney wilderness adventure NEVER CRY WOLF and as director of the 60’s set teen sex farce LOSIN’ IT starring a post RISKY BUSINESS Tom Cruise, Jackie Earl Haley, and Shelley Long.
In 1987 Hanson wrote and directed the Hitchcock influenced mystery THE BEDROOM WINDOW starring Steve Guttenberg and Isabelle Huppert, and also directed (under the alias Edward Collins) the zombie horror flick EVIL TOWN. 1990 saw him back in thriller territory directing the Rob Lowe/ James Spader BAD INFLUENCE. Two years later Hanson had his biggest commercial hit, directing the psychological nail-biter THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE featuring a showdown between mother Annabella Sciorra and Rebecca De Mornay that would inspire countless made-for-basic-cable-TV flicks.
In another two years Hanson helped turn Oscar darling Meryl Streep into an action heroine in the outdoor survival action epic THE RIVER WILD.
1997 saw the release of Hanson’s most acclaimed film. He pulled triple duty (directing, co-producing, and co-screenwriter) on the movie adaptation of James Ellroy’s noir ode to the “city of angels”, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. It was gritty 1953-set whodunit involving high-priced star look-a-like call girls, mobsters, gossip rags, and corrupt cops (except for noble Bud White, a role that firmly established Russell Crowe as a major star). And it earned Hanson his only Oscar, for adapting the book with Brain Helgeland (Kim Basinger grabbed one for supporting actress). It might’ve nabbed Best Picture if not for that flick about the boat and the iceberg.
Hanson’s follow-up was quite a change of pace. He directed and co-produced WONDER BOYS based on Michael Chabon’s quirky college-set comic romance and featuring a most impressive cast: Michael Douglas, Robert Downey, Jr., Toby Maguire, Frances McDormand and Katie Holmes. It garnered tons of favorable reviews and tanked at the box office.
But Hanson bounced back in 2002 as the director/producer of the semi-autobiographical rap drama 8 MILE telling the slightly fictionalized story of its star, hip-hop superstar Eminem and co-starring Basinger as his boozy mother. It snagged an Oscar for Best Original Song and was a smash box office hit.
That same year Hanson was in front of the camera playing Streep’s husband in ADAPTATION. He returned to directing and producing with the sister sibling “dramedy” IN HER SHOES with Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, and Shirley MacLaine. Two years later Hanson handled the same chores in addition to co-wrtiting the screenplay on the drama set in the world of professional poker players, LUCKY YOU which starred Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore. His last feature film was the 2014 family friendly true surfing sports saga CHASING MAVERICKS starring Gerard Butler. Unfortunately, due to illness, Hanson was unable to finish directing the film and Michael Apted was brought into to finish it.
Curtis Hanson was also a well-respected film historian and scholar. For a short time he was editor of Cinema magazine. In 1999 Hanson became the first chairman of the UCLA Film and television Archive, and in he was a member of the Directors’ Branch of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
We hope you’ll take the time to sample some of his films. Mr. Hanson has left an outstanding body of work, a legacy that movie lovers will study and enjoy forever.
The sad news for fans of film comedy spread like wildfire earlier this week. Here’s the opening paragraph facts from the New York Times:
Gene Wilder, who established himself as one of America’s foremost comic actors with his delightfully neurotic performances in three films directed by Mel Brooks; his eccentric star turn in the family classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”; and his winning chemistry with Richard Pryor in the box-office smash “Stir Crazy,” died early Monday morning at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 83.
A nephew, the filmmaker Jordan Walker-Pearlman, confirmed his death in a statement, saying the cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
Mr. Wilder’s rule for comedy was simple: Don’t try to make it funny; try to make it real. “I’m an actor, not a clown,” he said more than once.
And what an actor. That’s from the first few lines of the obituary. We movie geeks mourn with the rest of the globe, but we’d also like to celebrate the beloved star by taking a look back at his nearly 50 year screen career. In 1967, after much work on the stage and in television, Mr. Wilder made his film debut in a brief comedy sequence as part of a movie “game-changer” from director Arthur Penn, BONNIE AND CLYDE.
His role was that of a frantic new husband that the Barrow gang takes a “liking to”, until he reveals his occupation. Later that year, Wilder would begin the first of several great screen partnerships (he was a terrific team player) when he co-starred with Zero Mostel in the Oscar-winning (Best Original Screenplay) comedy classic, the Mel Brooks farce THE PRODUCERS.
As the initially timid, prone to bouts of exasperated panic Leo Bloom, Wilder created a screen persona that he’d use for the rest of his celebrated screen characters. But it would be several years before he joined forces with Brooks. In the meantime, Wilder added many more memorable roles to his resume’. 1970 saw him in two little-seen gems. He was an Irishman romancing Margot Kidder in QUACKSER FORTUNE HAS A COUSIN IN THE BRONX, then he was part of two sets of identical twins (Donald Sutherland, the other set) in the swashbuckling, Paris set parody START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME from director Bud Yorkin (right before he began TV’s “All in the Family”).
The next year Wilder played the title character in a film that barely made a ripple at the box office, but thanks to repeated holiday airings on TV (much like THE WIZARD OF OZ) and home video sales, has become a cherished, mush-adored movie treasure, Mel Stuart’s WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (see the photo above). Perhaps 1971 audiences just weren’t ready for the sophisticated satire or the dark humor as the loopy “candy-man”, with the aid of his “Oompa-Loompa” minions dealt karmic justice to several bombastic brats. Wilder showed off his musical chops as he sang a wistful Bricusse/ Newley song that became an anthem for dreamers everywhere.
Talk about shifting gears! Wilder followed up Wonka in ’72 by teaming up with that other famous comedy writer/director Woody Allen for his anthology EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX * BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK. In one outrageous segment, Wilder played a prominent, married doctor who begins a passionate affair… with a sheep! Then came perhaps Gene’s greatest year of cinematic triumphs. At the start of 1974 he re-teamed with Mostel in the film adaptation of the famed Eugene Ionesco play RHINOCEROS. Then came a reunion with Brooks when Wilder stepped in for an ailing actor, at almost the last minute, and played boozy but redeemed hero the Waco Kid (AKA Jim) in the box office smash BLAZING SADDLES.
During filming, Wilder told Brooks that he was toying with an idea of a comedy based on the most famous gothic horror novel of all time. After much cajoling, the two would work on a script. Following the release of the musical fantasy THE LITTLE PRINCE with Wilder as the Fox, audiences would get to see that collaboration, maybe the greatest monster movie parody of all time, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. It was a loving tribute, shot in shimmering black and white, of the iconic James Whale Universal films of the 1930’s. Wilder was Frederick Frankenstein (so embarrassed by his infamous legacy that he insists that it’s pronounced”Frawnk-enstein”), the grandson of the original mad scientist Victor, who inherits the ancestral family castle in Transylvania and finally decides to “take up the family business”. With an all-star cast (a true movie-lovers’ “dream team”), the flick is pure, giddy comedy nirvana.
Here’s one of many memorable moments:
But this would be the final pairing with Brooks. The following year, Wilder would begin his long screen directing career by pulling triple duty (directing, writing, and starring) in THE ADVENTURE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES’ SMARTER BROTHER, re-teaming with his YF co-stars Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. 1976 saw the start of another screen partnership as Wilder displayed great screen chemistry with stand-up comedy superstar Richard Pryor in Arthur Hiller’s Hitchcock homage, the comedy/romantic/thriller SILVER STREAK.
Audiences responded to the team-up, and demanded more flicks featuring the off-beat, likable duo. They’d have to wait four long years for the Sidney Poitier directed prison farce STIR CRAZY. Nearly ten years later, the two would reunite for Hiller in SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL. The final Wilder/Pryor comedy (and Wilder’s final feature film) would be 1991’s ANOTHER YOU. After STREAK, there was another self-written and directed romantic farce set in the 1920’s, THE WORLD’S GREATEST LOVER, with Wilder attempting to rival silent screen heart-throb Rudolph Valentino while trying to save his marriage to Carol Kane. And then Wilder saddled up for another Western as a Polish rabbi riding alongside Harrison Ford in Robert Aldrich’s THE FRISCO KID. Two years after STIR, Wilder began his final screen partnership when he was paired with TV’s “Saturday Night Live” star Gilda Radner in Poitier’s own Hitchcock-influenced comedy-romance HANKY PANKY.
This lead to a marriage and two more films, THE WOMAN IN RED and HAUNTED HONEYMOON. Between the last two Pryor flicks, Wider played a cartoonist (?!) for director Leonard Nimoy in FUNNY ABOUT LOVE.
So we raise a glass, or a box of popcorn, to frizzy-haired funnyman Gene Wilder. Thinking of you will forever put a smile on our faces. Thanks for the bounty of belly-laughs! Now where’d I put my blue blanket??!!
So, wise reader, you may have heard of the passing of this giant in the world of cartooning, and are now wondering what he has to do with the world of motion pictures. Well, Mr. Davis did have one screen credit, which we’ll discuss in a bit. No, more importantly John Burton “Jack” Davis, Jr. has added to the fun, or to use an old term “ballyhoo”, of promoting movies for well over fifty years. It’s difficult not to think of his work when recalling so many classic films.
First, a little bio background. He was born on December 2, 1924 in Atlanta Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Jack landed several cartooning gigs including a stint with the newspaper comic strip based ion the classic character “The Saint”. Then in 1950 he joined the staff of the legendary comics publishing company Entertaining Comics (EC). Jack produced amazing art for titles like “Frontline Combat” and “Two Fisted Tales. But the big sellers at EC were the horror anthologies, and Jack was one of the most popular artists, helping to design the host character, the Cryptkeeper, for “Tales From the Crypt” (some of its stories were adapted into films by Britain’s Amicus Studios in the 1970’s in TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE VAULT OF HORROR). But the work that truly showcased Jack’s incredible talent was his contribution to the then color comic book “Mad” in 1952. He led his penchant humor run wild with memorable pieces like “The Lone Stranger” and “Hah Noon”. Soon Jack was doing lots of work outside the comics: advertising, magazine covers, record albums, bubble gum cards, and movie posters. His most famous movie poster wasn’t his first, but this one established him as the “go to” guy for promoting comedy films. Behold the majesty of…
Jack’s art promised zany mayhem which the film nearly delivers. But most flicks couldn’t truly present the stunning spectacle of Mr. Davis’s designs. I recall buying that record album and just staring at that beautiful cover literally for hours. From the 60’s, Jack kept producing masterpieces of mirth into the 1970’s as the perfect match for another comedy master….
Perhaps you noticed the tribute to this poster in the recent film WIENER-DOG. A character played by Danny DeVito is depicted in a poster for the flick, “Apricots”. In 1973, Jack drew up a movie poster similar to his work in Mad Magazine for Robert Altman’s take on the classic private eye….
The flick’s a lot darker than that. Still Jack nails the likenesses of Gould and company. Another iconic image was seen in 1976 with one of the greatest sports comedies of all time….
Okay, about that screen credit. In the mid 1960’s , Jack did character sketches and model sheets for TV cartoons “King Kong” and “The Jackson Five” from the Rankin/Bass Studios, the “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” folks. When R/B decided to make a feature-length stop-motion animated comedy starring the classic movie monsters, Jack was tapped to design them, including one voiced by Karloff himself. Here’s the trailer for MAD MONSTER PARTY…
…and the model sheet sketches of Count Dracula…
Now his most famous monster art may be this nifty poster offered in the back of Warren magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland back in the 60’s. How many lucky “monster kids” had this taped to the inside of their bedroom door? Sorry, the coupon’s been invalid for fifty years…
So, here’s a big movie geeks thank you, Jack D! And there’s a lot of his art floating around out there that many of his biggest fans (like yours truly) have never seen! This prolific master is the gift that just keeps on giving! We’re sad that he’s left the art studio at age 91 and we extend our sympathies to his family, but hey, aren’t we all unbelievably lucky to have had nearly a century of Jack Davis?!
On Tuesday July 19, Hollywood lost a giant in the world of comedy with the passing of beloved director/writer/producer/actor Gary Marshall at the age of 81. While most of the news outlets focused in on his considerable work in television (he practically owned Tuesday nights in the 1970’s with his “Happy Days” empire), this site would like to salute Mr. Marshall’s work on both sides of the camera.
After impressive writing credits on many of the classic sitcoms of the 1960’s, it was inevitable that the movie studios would tap him to contribute to several screenplays. The first was produced in 1968, a marriage comedy starring James Garner and Debbie Reynolds, HOW SWEET IT IS. A youth-oriented romantic comedy starring Jacqueline Bisset, THE GRASSHOPPER, was released in 1970. TV triumphs quickly followed, so Marshall’s movie career was put on hold for more than a dozen years.
1982 was the year that Marshall began his feature film directing career, with an “AIRPLANE-style” parody of medical dramas, YOUNG DOCTORS IN LOVE. It’s the first of his 18 features, all co-starring Hector Elizondo, who became Marshall’s movie “good luck” charm. The largely autobiographical (yes, he wrote it) THE FLAMINGO KID starring Matt Dillon followed two years later. Marshall went for laughs and family drama in 1986 with Tom Hanks in NOTHING IN COMMON, guiding the last great movie performance of comedy legend Jackie Gleason.
Real life couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell created on-screen sparks in the “rom-com” OVERBOARD, Then Marshall scored his biggest hit with a true “tear-jerker”, a look at the ups and downs of the life-long friendship between Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey in BEACHES. But its box office returns would pale compared to Marshall’s most popular, and enduring film, PRETTY WOMAN, the hit that established Julia Roberts as a major movie star (it gave a jolt to Richard Gere’s career, too).
Those two stars would later re-team with Marshall for RUNAWAY BRIDE. But before that flick there was FRANKIE AND JOHNNY (pairing Al Pacino and Michelle Pfieffer post SCARFACE), EXIT TO EDEN (a crime comedy set in the world of bondage?), THE OTHER SISTER, and DEAR GOD. After BRIDE, Marshall pursued teenage audiences with the two PRINCESS DIARIES flicks starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. Two family “dramadies” RAISING HELEN and GEORGIA RULE would be mixed in with the DIARIES. In 2010 Marshall began a romantic comedy ensemble trilogy built around holidays with VALENTINE’S DAY. NEW YEAR’S DAY followed the next year. MOTHER’S DAY concluded the trio just this past April, and would be Marshall’s final film.
And let’s not forget Marshall’s scene-stealing work as a superb comic supporting actor. Hey, he started off with a true classic! Supposedly he’s got an uncredited role as a gangster in one of the best (in some circles it’s considered THE best!) Bond thrillers, GOLDFINGER! Over the years, Marshall would have roles in his sister Penny’s films, notably a cop in JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH, and candy kingpin/ baseball team owner Walter Harvey in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN.
He even acted for his son Scott in the feature film KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS. Of all of his roles, the funniest may be this memorable scene as a Vegas casino exec dealing with Albert Brooks in his 1985 classic LOST IN AMERICA. With this final clip we hope to honor Mr.Gary Marshall by adhering to that old comedian’s motto, “Alway’s leave ’em laughing!”. You made our time in front of the tube and at the multiplex “happy days” indeed, sir!
