There Are Many Greats Still With Us

Once again, I’ve decided to compile a complement to my yearly R.I.P. post. There are still several performers who made their mark in classic movies, from top box office stars to reliable support players, who are alive today. I've got about 170 people on this list--and I wouldn't be surprised if I've still missed someone. Please let me know in the comments if you've got a name to add!

Sue Lyon, 64

Tuesday Weld, 67

Yvette Mimieux, 68

Julie Christie, 69

Ann-Margret, 69

Gigi Perreau, 69

Peter Fonda, 70

Karolyn Grimes, 70

Samantha Eggar, 71

Richard Beymer, 72

Claudia Cardinale, 72

John Howard Davies, 72

Dolores Hart, 72

Millie Perkins, 72

Paula Prentiss, 72

Jane Fonda, 73

Margaret O'Brien, 73

Susan Kohner, 74

Robert Redford, 74

Dean Stockwell, 74

Diahann Carroll, 75

Julie Andrews, 75 (thanks samxart!)

Alain Delon, 75

Russ Tamblyn, 75

Brigitte Bardot, 76

George Chakiris, 76

Barbara Eden, 76

Sophia Loren, 76

Shirley MacLaine, 76

Joan Collins, 77

Kim Novak, 77

Marisa Pavan, 78

Debbie Reynolds, 78

Elizabeth Taylor, 78

Claire Bloom, 79

Leslie Caron, 79

Anita Ekberg, 79

John Gavin, 79

Mitzi Gaynor, 79

Tab Hunter, 79

John Kerr, 79

Rita Moreno, 79

Ann E. Todd, 79

Anne Francis, 80

Tippi Hedren, 80

Marni Nixon, 80

Robert Wagner, 80

Joanne Woodward, 80

Sybil Jason, 81

Anne Meara, 81

Vera Miles, 81

Terry Moore, 81

Don Murray, 81

Irene Papas, 81

Joan Plowright, 81

Jane Powell, 81

Elaine Stewart, 81

Rod Taylor, 81

Sada Thompson, 81

Ann Blyth, 82

Arlene Dahl, 82

Peggy Dow, 82

Sally Forrest, 82

Rita Gam, 82

James Garner, 82

Kathleen Hughes, 82

Martin Landau, 82 (Thanks kittypackard!)

Barbara Lawrence, 82

Nancy Olson, 82

Shirley Temple, 82

Harry Belafonte, 83

Honor Blackman, 83

Cora Sue Collins, 83

Lee Grant, 83

Rosemary Harris, 83

Gina Lollabrigida, 83

Roger Moore, 83

Estelle Parsons, 83

Sidney Poitier, 83

Barbara Rush, 83

Julia Adams, 84

Mona Freeman, 84

Andy Griffith, 84

Anne Jackson, 84

Gloria Jean, 84

Cloris Leachman, 84

Jerry Lewis, 84

Joan Lorring, 84

Marcy McGuire, 84

Betsy Palmer, 84

Jane Withers, 84

Patrice Wymore, 84

Lola Albright, 85

Denise Darcel, 85

Gloria DeHaven, 85

Farley Granger, 85

Julie Harris, 85

Martha Hyer, 85

Angela Lansbury, 85

Joan Leslie, 85

June Lockhart, 85

Dorothy Malone, 85

Colette Marchand, 85

Dickie Moore, 85

Dick Van Dyke, 85

Cara Williams, 85

Lauren Bacall, 86

Theodore Bikel, 86

Ruby Dee, 86

Stanley Donen, 86

Eva Marie Saint, 86

Ursula Thiess, 86

Richard Attenborough, 87

Valentina Cortese, 86

Betsy Drake, 86

Rhonda Fleming, 87

Glynis Johns, 87

Dina Merrill, 87

Peggy Stewart, 87 (thanks Elisabeth!)

Jean Stapleton, 87

Turhan Bey, 88

Jackie Cooper, 88

Doris Day, 88

Coleen Gray, 88

Janis Paige, 88

Juanita Moore, 88

Eleanor Parker, 88

Lizabeth Scott, 88

Harry Carey, Jr., 89

Carol Channing, 89

Nancy Davis (Reagan), 89

Deanna Durbin, 89

Barbara Hale, 89

Jane Russell, 89

Phylis Thaxter, 89

Esther Williams, 89

Mary Anderson, 90

Nanette Fabray, 90

Jayne Meadows, 90

Michele Morgan, 90

Noel Neill, 90

Maureen O'Hara, 90

Mickey Rooney, 90

Ann Rutherford, 90

Ruth Terry, 90 (Thanks Elisabeth!)

June Vincent, 90

Marge Champion, 91

Betty Garrett, 91

Louis Jourdan, 91

Joe Mantell, 91

Patricia Medina, 91

Patty Andrews, 92

Joyce Redman, 92

Diana Serra Cary (AKA Baby Peggy), 92

Audrey Totter, 92

Efrem Zimbalist Jr., 92

Ernest Borgnine, 93

Danielle Darrieux, 93

Phyllis Diller, 93

Joan Fontaine, 93

Zsa Zsa Gabor, 93

Lorna Gray, 93 (Thanks Elisabeth!)

Celeste Holm, 93

Marsha Hunt, 93

Googie Withers, 93

Olivia de Havilland, 94

Kirk Douglas, 94

Harry Morgan, 95

Patricia Morison, 95

Alicia Rhett, 95

Eli Wallach, 95 (Thanks kittypackard!)

Norman Lloyd, 96

Grace Bradley, 97

Risë Stevens, 97

Mary Carlisle, 98

Luise Rainer, 100

Barbara Kent, 104

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R.I.P. 2010

A diverse group of movie talents passed on this year, some of them among the biggest stars, others who had shorter careers, but who outlived many of their contemporaries. Regardless of the size of their impact, each of these people made their mark on classic movies. Please let me know in the comments if I have missed anyone who you feel belongs on the list!

Roy Ward Baker
Director, A Night to Remember (1958), The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Claude Chabrol
Director, Les cousins (1959), Les bonnes femmes (1960)

Cammie King Conlon
Child Actress, Gone With the Wind (1939), Bambi (1942)

Robert Culp
Actor, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Sunday in New York (1963)

Tony Curtis
Actor, Some Like it Hot (1959), The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Doris Eaton Travis
Dancer/Actress, The Broadway Peacock (1922), High Kickers (1923)

Blake Edwards
Director, The Pink Panther (1963), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Eddie Fisher
Singer/Actor, BUtterfield 8 (196), Bundle of Joy (1956)

John Forsythe
Actor, The Trouble With Harry (1955), Kitten With a Whip (1964)

Peter Graves
Actor, Red Planet Mars (1952), Stalag 17 (1953)

Kathryn Grayson
Singer/Actress, Kiss Me Kate (1953), Showboat (1951)

June Havoc
Actress, Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), My Sister Eileen (1942)

Dennis Hopper
Actor, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Giant (1956)

Lena Horne
Singer/Actress, Cabin In the Sky (1943), Stormy Weather (1943)

Joyce Howard
Actress, Terror House (1942), They Met in the Dark (1943)

Dino de Laurentiis
Producer, La Strada (1954), Nights of Cabiria (1957)

Kevin McCarthy
Actor, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Death of a Salesman (1951)

James Mitchell
Actor, Stars in My Crown (1950), Border Incident (1949)

Mario Monicelli
Director, Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), The Girl With a Pistol (1968)

Helen Alice Myres (AKA Baby Marie Osborne)
Child Actress, The Maid of the Wild (1915), Captain Kiddo (1917)

Patricia Neal
Actress, Hud (1953), A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Ronald Neame
Cinematographer/Writer/Producer/Director, The Horse’s Mouth (1958), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

Leslie Nielsen
Actor, Forbidden Planet (1956), Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)

Fess Parker
Actor, Old Yeller (1957), Westward Ho the Wagons! (1956)

Neva Patterson
Actress, An Affair to Remember (1957), Desk Set (1957)

Arthur Penn
Director, The Miracle Worker (1962), Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Ingrid Pitt
Actress, The Vampire Lovers (1970), Countess Dracula (1971)

Meinhardt Raabe
Actor, Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Lynn Redgrave
Actress, Georgy Girl (1966), Gods and Monsters (1998)

Jean Simmons
Actress, Hamlet (1948), Elmer Gantry (1960)

Gloria Stuart
Actress, The Invisible Man (1933), The Old Dark House (1932)

I'm Dying to See Burt Lancaster on Sesame Street!

Ever since I read this item about James Earl Jones and Burt Lancaster performing on early episodes of Sesame Street, I've been dying to see Lancaster recite the alphabet. He also did a segment where he does push-ups while counting. I must see these clips!

I've seen this James Earl Jones clip (and another of him counting) in several places online:

 

So where is Burt? Is this on a DVD I'm not aware of? Or is there a clip floating out there somewhere?

By the way, I think it's hilarious that James Earl Jones thought the Muppets would scare children, because I think his intense, steely-eyed rendition of the alphabet is much more intimidating (if very cool). He kind of looks like he wants to start a fight.

The pic is from Muppet Wiki. Isn't it fantastic to know that there is a Muppet Wiki?

Quote of the Week

The way von Stroheim treated time was like any artist should treat time. He just ignored it.

-Fay Wray

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Re-post: Deanna Durbin Sings Silent Night

[This is a re-post from exactly a year ago. I may need to make this post a yearly tradition. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas]

I get the chills every time I hear Deanna Durbin's low-key, but lush performance of Silent Night from the murder mystery-musical-comedy-noir (and how many of those exist?) Lady on a Train (1945). While she sings to her father to ease the pain of being apart on Christmas Eve, even the thug listening at the door is moved to tears (though he still goes through with the secret theft his boss has ordered). Given the underlying threat of danger, it's an oddly peaceful and hopeful scene.

Quote of the Week

Half the people in America are faking it.

-Robert Mitchum

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RIP Blake Edwards, 1922-2010

R.I.P. Blake Edwards—you deserve immortality for The Pink Panther (1963) alone, [though I can't forget My Sister Eileen (1955), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Experiment in Terror (1962),Days of Wine and Roses (1962), A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Party (1968) –birdy num-nums!-and Victor Victoria (1982). Okay, Skin Deep (1989) kind of made me laugh.]

Edward Copeland on Film

Edwards and Sellars on the set

NPR

The Guardian:
Obituary
Gallery
Clips


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Re-post: The Forties Goldmine of Christmas Movies--Part I

[I had a lot of fun writing this post last year, so I thought I'd give it another run in 2010]

Have you ever noticed how many great Christmas movies came out of the forties?

The era produced not only some of the most beloved titles, such as It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Christmas in Connecticut (1945), The Bishop’s Wife (1947), and Holiday Inn (1942), but also several movies with memorable holiday moments. Here are a few that come to mind:

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Never have I wanted so badly for a group of characters to find a happy place to celebrate Christmas. It practically turned the end of this movie into a suspense flick for me.

They Live by Night (1948)
Cold-eyed gangster Howard Da Silva demonstrates how to thoroughly terrorize a young couple by simply crushing an ornament. It’s as if he’s threatening to cancel Christmas.

Christmas Holiday (1944)
Deanna Durbin has a bleak Christmas Eve as she pines for her jail bound husband.

Lady on a Train (1945)
A happier Durbin’s intimate phone performance of Silent Night is a peaceful interlude in the midst of a chaotic murder mystery.

Lady in the Lake (1947)
Robert Montgomery’s Christmas noir, complete with an angelic choir on the soundtrack.

Penny Serenade (1941)
Christmas is a troubling season for a struggling couple played by Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in this classic tearjerker.

Meet Me In St Louis (1944)
Judy Garland’s moving rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas makes such an impact that this mostly non-holiday movie is still satisfying Christmas viewing.

Check out part two: more fine holiday movies from the forties (I promise they will be happier than this bunch)

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Quote of the Week

I have to think hard to name an interesting man who does not drink.

-Richard Burton

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Quote of the Week

If so many people love me, how come I'm alone?

-Doris Day

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