Tribute: Nick Ashford and Jerry Lieber

Posted on August 23, 2011 at 12:19 pm

We mourn the passing of two greats who contributed to the soundtrack of our lives. Nick Ashford, with his partner Valerie Simpson, wrote some of Motown’s most romantic and best-loved hits, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” and “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-UvQYAmbg

Here he is with Simpson, with their own hit song, “Solid as a Rock:”

Jerry Lieber was the lyricist for 1950’s hits like “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Love Potion Number 9,” “Yakety Yak,” and these two classics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRyPKYlIsc&feature=fvst

Here he and his writing partner Mike Stoller appear on “What’s My Line.”

May their memories be a blessing and their music live on forever.

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Music Tribute

Tribute: Sherwood Schwartz, creator of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ and ‘The Brady Bunch’

Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:19 pm

We mourn the passing of Sherwood Schwartz, who helped define a generation with his enduringly popular if very undeniably silly television series, especially “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch.” He named the sinking ship on “Gilligan’s Island,” the S.S. Minnow, after my dad, Newton Minow, then the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and the first in that job to suggest the broadcasters should try to provide more choice. They later had a cordial exchange of letters and the association is still a great source of pride for everyone in our family.

The shows continue not just as emblems of their era, where they were a comforting counterpart to some of the strife of the late 60’s and early 70’s, but as genuinely fond memories for those who knew they were cheesy and formulaic but could not help responding to the genuine warmth inside them. Both shows were about different people learning to get along and create a family, and the very smallness of the issues that were so neatly resolved in 22 minutes (Marcia made two dates for the school dance! Jan got braces! Mary Ann or Ginger?) was somehow as reassuring as the constancy of the combined aggravation and affection between the characters. There is frequent talk of updates, but the makers of the “Brady Bunch Movies” were wise to keep the characters in the 70’s even though times had changed.

May his memory be a blessing.

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Television Tribute

Tribute: Peter Falk

Posted on June 25, 2011 at 9:18 am

A sad farewell to actor Peter Falk, who died this week at age 83. Perhaps best remembered for his long-running television show, Columbo, his passing reminds us of his wide-ranging work as everything from a singing gangster to an animated shark. He was the story-telling grandfather in The Princess Bride, the spy who created pre-wedding chaos in the original (and far better) “The In-Laws” (1979), the neglected gem inspired by a true story about a grandfather who raises first his grandson and then his great-grandchildren in Roommates, and an essential contributor to the ground-breaking naturalism of pioneering indie-film director John Cassavetes in films like Husbands. His live theater work included a Tony award- winning performance in Neil Simon’s “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” and he was twice nominated for an Oscar, for “Murder Inc.” and “Pocket Full of Miracles.” Many of his fans never realized that he had a glass eye because of cancer when he was a child or that he was a CPA.

The unusual structure of the “Columbo” detective series revealed the murderer (almost always someone wealthy and powerful) at the beginning. Lt. Columbo (Falk) would come in, lull the culprit into feeling safe by appearing obsequious and bumbling, and then solve the crime in the last act. The fun was in watching him outsmart the people who believed they had thought of everything. As a producer of the show, Falk helped to ensure top quality guest stars and directors. Steven Spielberg (pre-“Jaws”) directed one of the first episodes. He said, “Peter was the same kind of digger as an actor as his character Columbo was in finding the truth in that great tv series. He was a blast to work with and I learned more about acting from him at that early stage of my career than I had from anyone else.”

The PBS NewsHour shared a scene from “Columbo” with William Shatner as an television actor who plays a Columbo-like character and mistakenly thought he could get away with murder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Q-t1gxagM

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Actors Tribute

Tribute: Elizabeth Taylor

Posted on March 23, 2011 at 9:42 am

Elizabeth Taylor, who exemplified grace, beauty, and stardom, has died at age 79. In an era of reality show “celebrities” and fame that lasts not 15 minutes but 15 seconds, Elizabeth Taylor reminds us of what it meant to truly be a star. She will be remembered for her flamboyant, headline-grabbing personal life — the eight marriages to seven men, the tempestuous romance with Richard Burton, the jewelry, her kindness to troubled performers like Montgomery Clift and Michael Jackson, her tireless work against AIDS. But it is her work that truly endures, from her performances as a child in “Lassie Come Home,” “Jane Eyre,” and “National Velvet” to her Oscar-winning role in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”

I will have a more complete tribute soon. For now, just a moment to mourn her passing. May her memory be a blessing.

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Actors Tribute

Tribute: Jane Russell

Posted on March 2, 2011 at 12:21 pm

We lost a true Hollywood icon this week when Jane Russell passed away on February 28 at age 89. Russell had brassy, good-natured quality that made her seem like the girl next door — if the girl next door had a sensationally curvy figure.

She was born in Minnesota, the oldest of six children and the only girl. She was discovered by Howard Hughes, who signed her to a seven-year exclusive contract and famously used his skill as an engineer to design a bra for optimal display of her generous bust. (She later said it was so uncomfortable that she tossed it away). Her bust was also the focus of a widely distributed publicity still for “The Outlaw” and for the film itself — today no one remembers much about it except that its release was held up for two years over debates about the display of Ms. Russell’s cleavage.

What Hughes didn’t seem to notice was her talent as a comic actress, singer, and dancer. After her contract with Hughes was up she made her best-known films, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as the wisecracking sidekick to Marilyn Monroe, and The Paleface and Son of Paleface with Bob Hope.

In her later years, she continued to perform, making her Broadway debut at age 60 and recording pop, standards, and Christian music. Her great heart and generous spirit shone through all of her work and she will be missed.

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Actors Tribute