Posted on August 25, 2012 at 6:31 pm
“For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.” -Neil Armstrong’s family statement
You can also watch the magnificent documentary In the Shadow of the Moon
Posted on August 20, 2012 at 10:37 pm
Pioneering comedian Phyllis Diller died today at age 95. My friend Jim Cheng wrote in USA Today about how Diller, who did not begin to perform until she was 37, paved the way for performers like Roseanne Barr and Joan Rivers. Diller became a headliner in an era when almost all comics were male, and her raucous humor and wild wigs made her an immediate hit.
Diller’s comedy career was timed almost as perfectly as one of her jokes. In the heyday of comedy and variety shows, Diller was a guest with all the big names, from Jack Bennyand Dean Martin to Red Skelton and Ed Sullivan. But her 1966 ABC situation comedy,The Pruitts of Southhampton, later renamed The Phyllis Diller Show, lasted only one season.
In addition to blazing a trail as a woman in the male-dominated field of comedy, Diller spouted seemingly autobiographical one-liners and anecdotes that paved the way for Rivers’ and Barr’s riffs on similar themes; Diller told of domestic and marital strife with her long-suffering husband, “Fang,” and, of course, self-deprecating jokes about her often-outlandish appearance, which was part of her act.
Diller made three movies with her idol, Bob Hope and provided voice talent for animated films like “A Bug’s Life” and television’s “Family Guy.” She made a lot of people laugh for more than five decades. May her memory be a blessing.
Posted on August 20, 2012 at 9:33 am
We had some very sad news this morning. Director Tony Scott has died at age 68, an apparent suicide. Like his older brother, Ridley Scott, Tony will be remembered for a powerfully imaginative visual style. He is best known for testosterone-fueled films like “Top Gun,” “Crimson Tide,” “Days of Thunder,” “True Romance,” and “Enemy of the State,” but he worked with his brother and other directors on a wide range of productions that included cult classic “Donny Darko” and the hit television series “The Good Wife.” May his memory be a blessing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAfbp3YX9F0
Posted on July 25, 2012 at 4:12 pm
One of Hollywood’s most distinguished and influential writers, Frank Pierson, died this week at age 87. He won an Oscar for “Dog Day Afternoon,” and was nominated for the comic western “Cat Ballou.” The American Film Institute included his line of dialogue as 11th on their all-time great list: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Pierson also served as the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a devoted mentor to aspiring screeenwriters.
The New York Times obituary has a telling story about his work on “Dog Day Afternoon” that sheds light on his exceptional insight and character:
Mr. Pierson said he struggled mightily with that script — and he later used his struggle as a teaching tool. He told students that he had been unable to capture the essence of the central character, the leader of an inept gang of bank robbers who winds up taking hostages.
He broke through after concluding that the thief, based on a real-life robber and played by Al Pacino, was a pleaser, someone trying in his flawed way to make others happy.
I spoke to Mamie Mitchell, who worked with Pierson, and told me of his graciousness, generosity, and class. She said,
I had the great good fortune to edit the book A Nation Lost And Found: 1936 America Remembered by Ordinary and Extraordinary People
, for Frank Pierson and Stanley Sheinbaum, in 2000-2002. At our first lunch meeting to discuss the overview of the book, I took the opportunity to ask Frank who he thought were the best screenwriters in Hollywood. Mind you this was summer 2000. He said, “Aaron Sorkin, David Milch….there are many good screenwriters, the problem is that there are hardly any people left in Hollywood that can recognize good writing”.
Frank had great hope and passion for this book….unfortunately 9/11 coincided with the release of “A Nation Lost and Found” and it was glossed over. In this current time in the history of our country, it would be wise reading to reflect back on 1936 and the resilience, engagement, awareness and perseverance of the people at that time. The book holds up.
Posted on July 25, 2012 at 11:59 am
Sherman Hemsley, best known for playing the outspoken George Jefferson on the classic Norman Lear sit-com “The Jeffersons,” died this week at 74. It was a challenge to play the role of George Jefferson, who was often referred to but never seen for many episodes of one of the most popular and influential television shows of all time, “All in the Family.” Creator Norman Lear wanted to come up with a worthy foil the his conservative and bigoted Archie Bunker played by Carroll O’Connor. The idea of a black man who was as prejudiced against white people as Bunker was against non-whites was surprising and provocative. At first, viewers only heard about George from his wife, played by Isabel Sanford. But when Hemsley stepped into the role he made the peppery and sometimes arrogant character who moved like a bantam rooster so appealing soon he and Sanford were starring in the spin-off, with its unforgettable theme song. It ran for 11 years. Hemsley later starred in “Amen” as a church deacon and as George Jefferson again in “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09qnRfZY-kHigh-strung and irrepressible, George Jefferson quickly became one of America’s most popular television characters, a high-energy, combative black man who backed down to no one — something that had rarely been seen on television. At the same time, however, he was vain, snobbish and bigoted (“honky” was one of his favorite epithets directed at whites), and flaunted his self-regard like a badge. Each week, his wife or their irreverent maid, Florence (played by Marla Gibbs), would step up to scuttle his wrongheaded schemes or deflate his delusions of grandeur.
Hemsley’s great gift was to make us understand that beneath his bluster, George Jefferson loved his family and worked hard for his success. He surrounded himself with people who were not above putting him down and at some level he enjoyed it. May his memory be a blessing.
