Dorothy DeBorba of Our Gang Passes On

Dorothy DeBorba, who appeared in twenty four Our Gang shorts from 1930 to 1933, passed on June 2 at the age of 85. The cause was emphysema.

Dorothy DeBorba was born in Los Angeles, California. She made her film debut when she was only five, appearing in the comedy A Royal Romance in 1930. She impressed Our Gang producer Hal Roach with her ability to cry on cue, and joined the cast of the popular shorts in 1930's "Pups is Pups." In that short, she played Jackie Cooper's little sister. Dorothy was easily recognisable because of her light brown hair, generally done up in ringlets with a bow. After appearing in three shorts as Norman "Chubby" Chaney's little sister, in which she parroted whatever Chubby said, she became known on the lot as "Echo," even though the name was never used on screen.

Dorothy DeBorba would appear in other films besides the Our Gang shorts. She appeared in bit parts in such films as Men of the North (1930) and The Boyfriends short "Blood and Thunder." Dorothy's last Our Gang short was Mush and Milk in 1933. Her last film appearance was a bit part in Bombshell that year.

Miss DeBorba graduated from Van Nuys High School and later worked at Republic Studios as a secretary. She also worked as senior clerk at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. She would later become a regular guest of the Sons of the Desert, the Laurel and Hardy fan club.

While Dorothy DeBorba may not be as famous as Spanky, Alfafa, Darla, or Buckwheat, she was one of the many actors who made the Our Gang comedies a success. She had a natural gift for comedy, with impeccable timing and perfect delivery Indeed, like all of the Our Gang actors she did not seem so much like an actor as she did a child doing what children do naturally. Although she was not one of the most famous members of the Our Gang cast, she was as gifted as any of those who were better know.

A Shroud of Thoughts' 6th Anniversary

It was on June 4, 2004 that I entered the first post on this blog, A Shroud of Thoughts. Today is then the sixth anniversary of the blog. For the past six years I have made a minimum of three entries a week on this blog, and usually more. I have to admit that even now I am a bit surprised at how long A Shroud of Thoughts has been around. Most blogs have lifespans numbered only in weeks, if not days. This blog has been around for years.

As to the source of the blog's name, it is taken from Lord Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage canto iii stanza 113, quoted below:

I have not loved the world, nor the world me;
I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bow'd
To its idolatries a patient knee,
Nor coin'd my cheek to smiles, nor cried aloud
In worship of an echo; in the crowd
They could not deem me one of such; I stood
Among them, but not of them; in a shroud
Of thoughts which were not their thoughts, and still could,
Had I not filed my mind, which thus itself subdued.

Over the years A Shroud of Thoughts has changed. I started this blog with little in the way of a plan, other than writing about things in which I am interested. Since I am primarily interested in pop culture, it was not long before I decided that A Shroud of Thoughts would be a blog about pop culture, all of pop culture. Over the years I have written about movies, TV shows, comic books, pulp magazines, video games, and many other pop culture artefacts. In the earliest days the articles tended to be brief, although over the course of time they would grow longer. It would not be long before I would do entire series of articles. I would say that within its first year, the format of A Shroud of Thoughts had become what it is now.

One more recent change is that I now incorporate more pictures in my articles and I also incorporate video as well. The pictures were an outgrowth of changes to Blogger, which made it easier to add pictures to posts. The video was an outgrowth not simply of video sharing sites like YouTube, but the fact that since this blog was started more and more Americans are accessing the Internet through broadband connections. Given that video loads much more swiftly on broadband than on dial-up, I saw no reason I should occasionally include videos on the blog.

As on past anniversaries, I am including links to what I consider my best posts in the past year. I must admit that I was a bit worried as to how many truly good posts I would have this year, as it seems that this year I have mostly been writing eulogies for those pop culture icons who have passed on. Indeed, the first half of 2010 marks the very first time in the history of A Shroud of Thoughts that the majority of posts have been eulogies. Fortunately, I was able to find more posts that I truly like than I had thought there would be! Anyhow, without further ado, here are the best posts of A Shroud of Thoughts from June 5, 2009 to June 6, 2010.

Why Die Hard is a Classic

The Week of 14 June, 2009 to 21 June, 2009 (includes "Spy Fi: The Long History of Spy Fiction" Parts One, Two, and Three)

Johnny Canuck

The Week of 5 July, 2009 to 12 July 2009 (includes "A History of Music Videos" Parts One, Two, Three, and Four)

The Week of 13 July, 2009 to 19 July, 2009 (includes "A History of Music Videos" Part Five)

The 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing

The Week of 26 July, 2009 to  2 August, 2009 (includes "The Invisible Minority: Native Americans on American Television" Parts One, Two, and Three, "North by Northwest Turns 50," and "Superman the 1948 Serial")

The Devil's Business: The Murder of Sharon Tate

Back to the Garden: The 40th Anniversary of Woodstock Part One

Back to the Garden: The 40th Anniversary of Woodstock Part Two

Two Movies About the Alamo

The Twilight Zone Turns 50

The 40th Anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Week of Halloween

The Dean Martin Show

Grace Kelly's 80th Birthday

Why The Twilight Saga Will Not Be a Classic

Gone With the Wind Turns 70

Yuletide 2009 (includes "Humphrey Bogart's 110th Birthday" as well as holiday posts)

The Young Women Who Would be Lolita

Mama Told Me Not to Come: the Sixties Party Scene on Film

Disney's Pinocchio Turns 70

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Death Dos Not Take Holidays

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Davy Crockett: Television's First Fad

Akira Kurosawa's 100th Birthday

Batmania: How Batman Conquered America in 1966 Part One

Batmania: How Batman Conquered America in 1966 Part Two

The Easter Hare or Easter Bunny

All of Your Toys: The Monkees vs. Don Kirshner

The Adventures of Robin Hood Revisisted

The Music Man (The Movie, Not the Play)

Harvey Comic's Dark Secret

The 151st Birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Rue McClanahan Passes On

Rue McClanahan, best known for her roles on the TV shows Maude and The Golden Girls, passed today at the age of 76. The cause was a stroke.

Rue McClanahan was born Eddi-Rue McClanahan in Healdton, Oklahoma. She grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma. She graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in German and theatre arts. She began her career in the late Fifties on the stage. She performed at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. She also studied under Uta Hagen and Harold Clurman in New York. In 1961 she made her film debut in the movie The Grass Eater.

In 1961 she also appeared in an uncredited role in the feature film Five Minutes to Live. In 1963 Miss McClanahan appeared in the movie Five Minutes to Love. The following year she appeared in the film How to Succeed with Girls and made her television debut in a small part in an episode of Burke's Law. She appeared in an off-Broadway production of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In 1965 she appeared in the film Angel's Flight.

Rue McClanahan made her Broadway debut in 1966 in the play The Best Laid Plans. She also appeared in the off-Broadway play Big Man/Duet For Three. In 1967 she appeared in the Off-Broadway play MacBird. in 1968 she appeared in the film Walk the Angry Beach and on Broadway in the play Jimmy Shine. in 1969 Miss McClanahan appeared in the off-Braodway play Tonight in Living Colour. Later that year she appeared in the off-Broadway play Who's Happy Now. In 1970 she appeared in the film The People Next Door and in a recurring role on the soap opera Another World. She also appeared in the off-Broadway play Dark of the Moon.

Rue McClanahan opened the Seventies appearing in the films They Might Be Giants (1971) and Some of My Best Friends Are (1971). In 1971 she also appeared in roles in the TV shows Love of Life and Where the Heart Is.. She also appeared on Broadway in the comedy Father's Day. In 1972 she guest starred on the series All in the Family, off Broadway in the play Dylan, on  Broadway in the play Sticks and Bones. She was also cast in the role of Vivian on the TV series Maude. Vivian was a sharp contrast to next door neighbour Maude. While Maude was outspoken and often caustic, Vivien was sweet and a tad bit scatter brained. Miss McClanahan remained with the show for its entire run, from 1972 to 1978.

While Maude was still on the air, Rue McClanahan guest starred on Mannix and Having Babies. She also appeared on Broadway in California Suite, and off Broadway in Crystal and Fox. Following Maude, in 1978, she was cast in the lead role in the short lived sitcom Apple Pie. She ended the Seventies with guest appearances on Supertrain and Lou Grant.

In the Eighties Rue McClanahan guest starred on the shows Darkroom, Trapper John M.D., and Newhart. She played the recurring role of Fran on Mama's Family from 1983 to 1984. For the next few years Miss McClanahan guest starred on the shows Alice, Cover Up, Crazy Like a Fox, and Murder She Wrote. In 1985 Rue McClanahan was cast in the role of Blanche Devereaux, the lusty Southern belle of the group. Miss McClanahan would appear as Blanche in 1988 guest appearance on Empty Nest, a 1992 guest appearance on  Nurses, and would reprise the role on the short lived series The Golden Palace (1992-1993).

In 1991 Miss McClanahan appeared in the movie Biosphere. In the Nineties she appeared in such TV movies as Nunsense, Message from Nam, Innocent Victims, and A Saintly Switch  She appeared in the films Dear God (1996),  Out to Sea  (1997), and Starship Troopers (1997), She guest starred on the shows Boy Meets World, Burke's Law, Murphy Brown, Columbo, and Ladies Man. She had recurring roles on the TV shows Safe Harbour and The Lot.

In the Naughts she guest starred on the shows Touched by an Angel, Wonderfalls, Whoopi, King of the Hill, and Law and Order. In 2008 she was a regular on the TV series Sordid Lives: The Series. She appeared in the films Wit's End (2002). On Broadway she appeared in the plays The Women in 2001 and Wicked in 2005. Off Broadway she appeared in the plays After-Play and The Vagina Monologues.

Rue McClanahan was one of the few actors who was fortunate enough to appear in two hit television series, Maude and The Golden Girls. There can be little doubt that she was a large part of the success of both. Whether playing scatter brained Vivian on Maude or the oversexed Blanche on The Golden Girls, she always gave sterling performances. Miss McClanahan had a gift for comedy, with timing that was nearly perfect. With her passing we have lost an actress who was a true rarity, one who had created not one, but two memorable characters in two classic television series.

The Late, Great Cinematographer William A. Fraker

William A. Fraker, the legendary cinematographer who shot such movies as The President's Analyst, Rosemary's Baby, and Bullitt, passed Monday at the age of 86. The cause was cancer.

William A. Fraker was born September 29, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. During World War II he joined the United States Navy and served in the Pacific theatre. Following the war he attended the University of Southern California School of Cinema. He took a job as a photographer's assistant. His first assignment was working on a Marilyn Monroe calender.

Mr. Fraker's first work as a cinematographer was on the film Forbid Them Not, released in 1961. In 1962 he began work on the long running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriet as a camera operator. He worked on the film Father Goose (1964) before receiving his first cinematographer credit on a feature film, the Leslie Stevens horror movie Incubus (1965). From that point on Mr. Fraker would work exclusively on feature films except for a stint on the TV show Daktari in 1966.

For the remainder of the sixties William A. Fraker would shoot such films as Games (1967), The President's Analyst (1967), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Bullitt (1968), and Paint Your Wagon (1969). The Seventies saw Mr. Fraker work on such films as The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Coonskin (1975), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), and Heaven Can Wait (1978). In the Eighties he shot such film as Sharky's Machine (1981), WarGames (1983), Murphy's Romance (1985), Burglar (1987), and The Freshman (1990). From the Nineties into the Naughts he was cinematographer on such films as Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Tombstone (1993), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996),. and Rules of Engagement (2000). In the Naughts he shot the films Town and Country (2001) and Waking Up in Reno (2002). His last film as cinematographer, Section B, is set for release later this year.

William A. Fraker also directed three films, Monte Walsh (1973), Reflection of Fear (1973), and The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981). He also directed episodes of TV shows, including such series as Wiseguy, The Flash, and Unsub.

William A. Fraker was nominated five times for the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

There can be no doubt William A. Fraker was one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, although it would be difficult to say he had his own style. Mr. Fraker believed that the look of a film should be determined by the film itself, not the cinematographer. As a result, Mr. Fraker used a different style on each film he shot, depending on the mood of that film. For Rosemary's Baby Mr. Fraker used a crisp style reminiscent of cinema verite, while for Tombstone he used a more romantic style as befits an epic Western. Mr. Fraker would also do nearly anything to get the shot he thought fit the scene. For the famous car chase in Bullitt, Mr. Fraker strapped himself to the front of a Mustang and shot the scene while going 100 miles per hour. The result was one of the greatest car chase sequences in film. William A. Fraker was a perfectionist and a professional, and both were reflected in every film he shot.