Preserving the Legacy of Vanessa Marquez

It was six years ago today that Vanessa Marquez was shot in the back and killed by officers of the South Pasadena, California Police Department. While Vanessa Marquez was an actress who was best known for playing Ana Delgado in the classic movie Stand and Deliver (1988) and Nurse Wendy Goldman on the hit TV show ER, for me she was my dearest friend and a woman I love deeply.  In the days following Vanessa's death, our mutual friend Paula and I expressed our concerns that Vanessa would primarily be remembered for how she died, much the same way that actress Sharon Tate was for literally decades after her murder. Because Vanessa was such a wonderful person and a great actress, we wanted her to be remembered for who she was, not how she died.

For the past six years then I have devoted myself to preserving the legacy of Vanessa Marquez. It is why I have written so often about her movies and television shows on this blog. It is also why I have made corrections to various sites around the web regarding her life and career. Among these were corrections to Vanessa's IMDB profile. At the time she died, IMDB included a feature film and a short in which entirely different people named Vanessa Marquez appeared. I saw to it that was corrected. I have also made corrections to The Movie Database and elsewhere where this error has cropped up. A while back Google had a picture of some singer who shares Vanessa's name as Vanessa's default picture on the search engine rather than a picture of Vanessa herself. I got this corrected as well.

Of course, I have also written extensively about Vanessa's career here on the blog and posted extensively about her career on social media. The plain truth is that Vanessa was a very talented actress. To this day she is cited for her performance as Ana Delgado in Stand and Deliver (1988), although by Vanessa's own admission, she pretty much was Ana. While Vanessa was no math whiz, she was a very intelligent girl who had taken Advanced Placement courses in high school and was exceptionally shy.

While Vanessa had a lot in common with Ana in Stand and Deliver, she would get to play roles quite unlike herself, and she played them well. In the TV movie Locked Up: a Mother's Rage, she played Yo-Yo, a young woman in prison for having killed her boyfriend. While Locked Up: A Mother's Rage is not particularly good even by the standards of 1990s TV movies, Vanessa gave a bravura performance in the role. In the movie Twenty Bucks (1993) she played Melanie, who actually flirts with two older guys to get them to buy wine for herself and her boyfriend. Aside from Ana in Stand and Deliver, Wendy on ER is probably her best-known role, and she did well in the part, particularly in the many humorous subplots in which Wendy was involved. Vanessa definitely had a gift for comedy, as demonstrated by the many sketches in which she appeared on the TV show Culture Clash and her guest appearances on sitcoms. Vanessa also did quite a bit of work on stage, appearing in such plays as Demon Wine, The Street of the Sun, and August 29. Vanessa Marquez was an extremely talented actress, and I really want everyone to remember that.

In addition to being an actress, Vanessa was also an activist. She did work with the United Farm Workers and knew both Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. In addition to doing publicity for the UFW, on December 7 1989, she took part in a rally and then a march protesting the exposure of farmers to pesticides used on grapes. In 1991 Vanessa took part in an event at the 48 Market Street Gallery in Venice, California, hosted by Casey Kasem, in which writers, poets, actors, and musicians expressed their dissenting views of the Gulf War. There she recited her poem "Dear Father." Vanessa was also one of the famous Latinas who appeared in the award-winning 1994 Latina Vote public service announcement, directed by Julie Carmen, encouraging Latinas to vote. She also did work on behalf of Amnesty International. As Vanessa got older, her health did not permit her to be as active as she once was, but she was relentless in raising money for cancer treatment for Jamie Escalante, the teacher who had inspired the movie Stand and Deliver and still later she volunteered at an animal shelter. Vanessa was a passionate woman who cared about her fellow human beings, as well as animals. Sadly, this is a fact that I doubt many people are aware of.

I have fought what seems to be a never-ending battle as to the details of her death.  I have written emails to every place from the Daily Mail to KABC in Los Angeles. When the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office issued their report on Vanessa's death, I wrote then Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey about it (among its inaccuracies was the false claimed that I was a"woman from Alabama"...). I also wrote an entire blog post attacking the DA's report. The plain truth is that neither the South Pasadena Police Department's reports following Vanessa's death nor the Los Angeles County District Attorney's report are accurate, and I have been fighting this misinformation ever since.

Vanessa Marquez was active on social media and, sadly, much of this I could not preserve. She was very active on Twitter and was one of the original members of TCMParty, the loose group of Turner Classic Movies fans who live tweet about movies on TCM using that hashtag. Vanessa was so beloved by her fellow TCMParty participants that TCMParty co-founder Paula Guthat called her, "the Sweetheart of #TCMParty." Unfortunately, Twitter suspended Vanessa's account after she accused George Clooney on Twitter of helping blacklist her after she complained about sexual harassment on the set of ER. She would later open up a new Twitter account, but her early tweets are lost unless Twitter restores her old account (when her account was suspended I campaigned to have it restored, and I still think they should restore it, particularly given some obvious trolls' accounts have been restored).

While many of Vanessa's early tweets are inaccessible, she did post to many other social media services. In the early Teens, she kept a Tumblr blog in which she demonstrated she was a talented writer as well as a talented actress. She posted videos to YouTube, many of which were clips from her career, including sketches from Culture Clash, some of which can't be found anywhere else. Vanessa also had an Instagram account to which she would post photos from both her life and her career. From time to time I have shared her YouTube videos to social media and even here. I have also posted links from her Tumblr blog on social media. Vanessa was very engaging on social media, and she posted a good deal of interest to classic movie fans, pop culture buffs, and, of course, her fans.

Of course, I am not the only one preserving Vanessa's legacy. There is the documentary Ninety Minutes Later, which chronicles Vanessa Marquez's career and tragic death. Many of Vanessa's other friends have also posted about her career and her as an actress. I have to give credit to Vanessa's many fans, who have made many posts about her in the years since her death. In the days following her death, I worried that Vanessa Marquez might be remembered as the ER actress who was shot by police. I have to admit that perhaps I should not have been. Vanessa's friends and fans are ensuring she is remembered for her career and who she was.

I cannot adequately express what Vanessa Marquez means to me. Words simply seem inadequate. When she was murdered by South Pasadena Police, I felt as if a part of my soul had been torn away from me. I still feel as if a part of me is missing. Given what Vanessa means to me, it is then important that she is remembered for who she was and her many accomplishments. That she was a wonderful woman and talented actress who was much loved by many makes preserving her legacy all the more important.

TCM Spotlight on Studio Directors in September

This September TCM Spotlight is on studio directors. Every Wednesday of the month Turner Classic Movies will be showing films by such directors as Alfred E. Green, Michael Curtiz, Robert Wise, and Lewis Milestone. Fans of Pre-Code movies will really appreciate Wednesday, September 4, when Turner Classic Movies is showing several Pre-Code movies.

Anyway, here are my picks to watch for this September's TCM Spotlight on Studio Directors. All times are Central.

Wednesday, September 4:
9:45 AM: Boom Town (1940)
12:00 PM I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
1:45 PM The Mayor of Hell (1933)
3:30 PM Baby Face (1933)
7:00 PM The Thin Man (1934)
11.45 PM Bombshell (1933)

Wednesday, September 11:
9:30 AM Boy's Town (1938)
2:45 PM Whistling in the Dark (1941)
4:15 PM Maisie Was a Lady (1941)
7:00 PM Casablanca (1943)
9:00 PM Dark Victory (1939)

Thursday, September 12:
National Velvet (1945)

Wednesday September 18:
6:15 AM It Happened in Brooklyn (1947)
3:15 PM The Harvey Girls (1946)
5:00 PM White Heat (1949)
7:00 PM The Postman Always Rings Twice (1949)
9:00 PM Born to Kill (1947)
10:45 PM Kings Row (1942)

Thursday, September 20:
1:00 AM Now, Voyager (1942)

Wednesday, September 25:
9:15 AM Them! (1954)
11:15 AM Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
2:15 PM Rome Adventure (1962)
7:00 PM Oklahoma! (1955)
9:45 PM South Pacific (1958)

Thursday, September 26:
12:30 AM What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
3:00 AM Ocean's 11 (1960)

American Family: A Pioneering Mexican American Drama

The TV drama American Family chronicled the lives of a Chicano family living in East Los Angeles. It debuted on PBS on January 23 2002. It was in many ways a pioneering show. It was the first drama on American broadcast television (Resurrection Blvd. had debuted in 2000 on the cable channel Showtime). It was also the first American-made, original drama to debut on PBS in literally years (I'll Fly Away had originated on NBC and then moved to PBS). In many ways, it was a ground breaking show.

American Family centred on the Gonzalez family, a Mexican American family living in central Los Angeles. Jess Gonzalez (Edward James Olmos) was a barber and a veteran of the Korean War, as well as the widowed father of five children. Nina (Constance Marie) was his eldest daughter, a lawyer working for Legal Services and, in the wake of her mother's death, the female head of the family. Conrado (Kurt Caceres) was the oldest son, who had become a doctor. Unlike Nina and Conrado, Jessi's son Esteban (Esai Morales) was a bit of ne'er-do-well, a former gang member out on parole trying to rebuild his life. Jess's daughter Vangie (Rachel Ticotin) was a yuppie and a fashion designer who lived on the West Side with her husband. Cisco Gonazlez (AJ Lamas) was Jess's youngest son, a computer geek who was also a devoted videographer. Added to this mix was Aunt Dora (Raquel Welch), who had very nearly become a Hollywood star and was the acknowledged drama queen of the family. Jess's wife Berta (Sonja Braga) died in the pilot episode, but appeared frequently in flashbacks.

American Family was created by Gregory Nava and Barbara Martinez. Gregory Nava had directed such films as El Norte (1983), My Family (1995), and Selena (1997). Gregory Nava and Barbara Martinez Jitner were approached by ABC, CBS, and NBC, each of who were interested in developing a show centred on Latinos. Under pressure from civil rights groups, the broadcast networks had signed agreements in which they agreed to use more people of colour both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Gregory Nava and Barbara Martinez Jitner settled up on CBS. In creating the series, Gregory Nava and Barbara Martinez Jitner drew inspiration from Ms. Martinez Jitner's own family in East Los Angeles.

Despite the deal with CBS, the path of American Family to the small screen would not be the easiest. The pilot for American Family proved to be the highest rated and best reviewed pilot at CBS that season. Unfortunately, CBS decided not to pick up American Family because it did into fit in with their 2001-2002 schedule. Fortunately, CBS let Gregory Nava shop American Family elsewhere. The show eventually landed at PBS, who ordered 22 episodes.

The second season would see American Family receive a new title, American Family: Journey of Dreams. The format of the show was also changed slightly, so that in addition to the travails of the Gonzalez family in the present, it also portrayed the history of the Gonzalez family, starting with the Mexican Revolution to how they immigrated to the United States. The series would also see some cast changes for its second season,  For the second season American Family also had a shorter run. PBS only ordered thirteen episodes. American Family was not renewed for a third season, so  the show ended after 35 episodes.

As mentioned earlier, American Family was a pioneering television show. It was the first drama on American broadcast television to centre on a Chicano family. It was also one of the few dramas with a predominantly Latino cast. On top of all that, it was one of the first American television shows to address the Iraq War, with Conrado joining the Army as a doctor.  In addition to the Iraq War, American Family also dealt with such topics as immigration, community, the September 11 attacks, and religion. During its run American Family received largely positive reviews. It also received recognition by various awards. It won the 2004 Imagen Award for Best Television Series, and was nominated for the 2004 Imagen Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama, Best Supporting Actor in a Television Drama, and Best Actress in a Television Drama. It received four Emmy nominations, but won none of them.

While American Family was a pioneering television show, it is not widely available today. The first season was released on DVD, although one should expect to shill out some money if one wants to buy the set. At the moment it is not available on any streaming services, nor can one find episodes on YouTube or the Internet Archive. This is sad, as it was not only a pioneering show, but also a high quality show with a great cast and top-notch writing and direction. If ever a show deserved to be seen again, it is American Family.

"Anti-Summersong" by The Decemberists

My long-time readers know how much I hate summer. And today I am hating it more than usual. Today we reached a high of 96 degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity is high, as is the pollen count. I feel miserable. Particularly today, I have cannot understand why most summer songs are happy and upbeat. Well, here's one that's not. You can tell by its very title: "Anti-Summersong" by The Decemberists. It appears on their album What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World from 2015. It sums up my feelings about summer far better than those happy, upbeat songs ever have.

The TCM Website Should Have a Full Month's Schedule

Many Turner Classic Movies fans remember years ago when the TCM website had an online schedule that actually displayed three months in advance. It was then in September 2020 that the Turner Classic Movies website was revamped and the schedule along with it. Not only was the new schedule slower to load than the old one, but it would only display about 30 days ahead. In other words, on August 25 one could not see the entirety of the month of September. It was recently that the schedule on the TCM website was once more revamped. If anything, this newer schedule may be even worse than the 2020 revamp.

Part of the problem is that this new TCM schedule is even slower to load than the previous one. Worse yet, it does not play particularly nice with Firefox. On Firefox it is difficult to see anything more than a week at a time. I loaded the schedule in Vivaldi and it performed better. I was able to view the schedule up to September 21 2024. Of course, this brings up another problem. As late as it is in August, I think I should be able to view the entire month of September as I once could years ago.

What is more, I am not alone in that. The majority of TCM fans I know long for the days when we could see what was on Turner Classic Movies two to three months ahead of time. Regardless, I think most of us would be happy if we could simply see the entirety of the coming month. The simple fact is that many TCM fans (myself included) plan their viewing well ahead of time. I know I would like to know if my favourite movies are on in the coming months so I can set aside time for them. I know many of my friends are the same way.

Of course, there is another reason some Turner Classic Movies fans would like a full-month's schedule of the coming month ahead of that month. In the closing days of any given month many of us bloggers write about what is going to be on TCM in the coming month. I have been doing this for literally years and they tend to be some of my more popular posts. We write about that month's TCM Spotlight, any special themes going on that month, the Star of the Month, and so on. Without a full-month's schedule at our disposal, it makes it nigh impossible to write such posts. In not providing a full month's schedule, TCM could then be missing out on some free promotion from bloggers who write about the channel.

I encourage any TCM fans who miss the days when we had a full-month's schedule ahead of time, when we could see what was going to be on throughout the entirety of September in late August, to send feedback to Turner Classic Movies. All one has to do is scroll to the bottom of any page on the TCM website and click "Contact." That will take one to the Help Center where one can scroll all the way down to 'Contact Us." That will load a form where one can fill out one's feedback. Whatever you do, please be polite.

Turner Classic Movies is my favourite channel and I enjoy writing about it. It really deserves a better schedule than is currently on the website. It deserves a schedule that displays the whole month ahead. and I know TCM fans would certainly appreciate one.

? and The Mysterians: Punk Rock's Chicano Pioneers

Although their heyday only lasted around two years, ? and The Mysterians remain famous to this day. Their song "96 Tears" reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 and has since become a rock standard, covered by everyone from Aretha Franklin to The Stranglers. What is more, they remain known as garage rock legends and punk rock pioneers.

The band that would become ? and The Mysterians was formed in 1962 by bass guitarist Larry Borjas, drummer Robert Martinez, and lead guitarist Bobby Balderama in Michigan. They were children of migrant farm workers who would go to Michigan each summer to pick the crops there and then go back to their homes in Texas. Many of the migrant farm workers would get jobs at General Motors in Saginaw, Michigan and settle there.

Initially, Larry Borjas, Robert Martinez, and Bobby Balderama were only a three-piece who played instrumentals such as those by Link Wray, The Ventures, and Duane Eddy. It was in 1964 that American rock music changed forever with the arrival of the British Invasion. The British groups were all self-contained, with the band not only performing songs, but writing them as well. And all of them emphasized vocals. They then decided they needed a singer. Robert Martinez then suggested his older brother Rudy Martinez, who was well-known as one of the best dancers around.

The band also decided they needed a name. They considered The Cadets and dressing in military-style outfits on stage. It was one day that Larry Borjas was watching the 1957 Japanese sci-fi movie The Mysterians on television. While the other band members were hesitant at first, they finally settled upon The Mysterians. Rudy Martinez would become ? after The Mysterians hired their first manager, David Torres. He had an idea that they could take up mysterious names, so that Bobby Balderama would be "X," Robert Martinez would be "Y," Larry Borjas would be "Z," and Rudy Martinez would be "?." Only one of the names would stick. Rudy Martinez would forever be ? or "Question Mark," and the band would become known as ? and The Mysterians.

? and The Mysterians would add one more member. The band hired a young, Bay City, Michigan keyboardist named Frank Rodriguez, whose work would prove to be pivotal on their hit "96 Tears." Unfortunately, both Larry Borjas and Robert Martinez were about to be drafted into the United States Army. The two of them decided to enlist to avoid being sent to Vietnam. What was left of ? and The Mysterians continued to practice. It was one day that Frank Rodriguez began playing an organ riff and ? began to singing along to it. Initially called "Too Many Teardrops," it became "96 Tears."

Eventually ? and The Mysterians went to a producer named Lilly Gonzales. She got them booked into a  recording studio and there they recorded "96 Tears" and "Midnight Hour." For the recording session Fernando Augilar of the band Rudy & The Reno bops filled in as the bassist. Frank Lugo was then hired as ? and The Mysterians' permanent bassist Pa-Go-Go Records and "Midnight Hour" was released as a single with "96 Tears" as its B-side on the independent Texas label Pa-Go-Go Records, which was owned in part by Lilly Gonzales's husband, Jose "Pato" Gonzales. Despite "Midnight Hour" being the A-side, ? was convinced that it was "96 Tears" that would be the hit and convinced the deejay at WSAM in Saginaw, Michigan to play "96 Tears."

"96 Tears" soon proved popular in Michigan, so much so that Pa-Go-Go Records could not keep up with the demand. ? and The Mysterians were signed by Cameo-Parkway. Cameo-Parkway released "96 Tears" nationwide and the song began a steady climb up the Billboard singles chart until it reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 29 1966. Although often cited as such, ? and The Mysterians were hardly one hit wonders. Their follow up to "96 Tears," "I Need Somebody," peaked at no. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their single "Can't Get Enough of You, Baby"went to no. 56. "Girl (You Captivate Me" peaked at no. 96.

? and The Mysterians would release two albums in the Sixties. Their debut album, 96 Tears, reached no. 66 on the Billboard album chart. Sadly, their second album, Action, did not prove to be a success on the charts. Much of their second album's failure may have had to do with the decline of the Cameo-Parkway Records. By 1967 the label was experiencing severe financial problems. In fact, ? and The Mysterians' single "Do Something to Me" was the very last single ever released on the label. Cameo-Parkway Records folded only a month after the single's release. "Do Something to Me" bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 110, but would prove to be a minor hit for Tommy James & The Shondells the following year, going to no. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following the collapse of Cameo-Parkway Records, ? and The Mysterians recorded for a succession of record labels: Capitol, Super-K, and Tangerine. The line-up of the band would also change over time. The band broke up in 1969, but reformed in the Seventies with a different line-up. The originals would re-unite. In the Nineties they re-recorded th songs on the album 96 Tears for a self-titled album and then re-recorded the songs on their album Action for the album More Action.

While ? and The Mysterians' recording success would be brief, the band would have a lasting impact. The band would influence garage bands to come, with many including "96 Tears" and even other ? and The Mysterians songs in their performances. As mentioned earlier, ? and The Mysterians are also continued pioneers of punk rock. Indeed, they were among the earliest bands to be described as "punk." What is the first known use of the term "punk rock" in the March 22 1970 issue of The Chicago Tribune in which The Fugs co-founder Ed Sanders described his first solo album's sound as "punk rock – redneck sentimentality." Creem used the terms "punk" and "punk rock" beginning in 1971. It was in May 1971 that music critic Dave Marsh described a performance by ? and The Mysterians in a club near Flint, Michigan as giving a "landmark exposition of punk rock." Some have even referred to "96 Tears" as "the first punk rock song."

In addition to pioneering punk rocks, ? and The Mysterians were also pioneers with regards to Mexican Americans in rock music. Ritchie Valens paved the way in the late Fifties.  There we also contemporary bands that included Chicano members. Sunny & The Sunglows had a no. 11  Billboard  hit with "Talk to Me, Talk to Me" in 1963. Sam the Sam of Sam the Sam and The Pharaohs was born Domingo Samudio. Like ? and The Mysterians, Cannibal and The Headhunters were composed entirely of Mexican Americans. They would have a hit with their version of "Land of a Thousand Dances," which reached no. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. Alongside other Chicano artists of the Sixties, ? and The Mysterians paved the way for other Mexican American rock acts. Ultimately, ? and The Mysterians would have a lasting impact on rock music, particularly punk rock.

Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time on TCM Friday Nights from September 6 to November 1

Every Friday night from September 6 to November first on Turner Classic Movies is dedicated to the theme Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time. Ben Mankiewicz will talk with various politicians, journalists, movie critics, filmmakers, writers, and musicians exploring the historical context of each film and the message of each film, as well as their impact on society.

The films range from a  wide variety of genres, from war movies such as The Battle of Algiers (1966) to comedies such as The Great Dictator (1940) to documentaries such as Harlan County , U.S.A. (1976) to thrillers such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Turner Classic Movies is showing a number of truly great films, including Fail-Safe (1964), Battleship Potemkin (1925), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Wag the Dog (1997), and Citizen Kane (1941). If I have only one complaint it's that some of my favourite movies are being shown really late at night (or early in the morning, if you prefer). As far as I am concerned, Salt of the Earth (1954), Battleship Potemkin (1925), Bicycle Thieves (1948), High and Low (1963), and The Manchurian Candidate (1962) are more deserving of being show in prime time than some of the movies that are.

Below are my picks for what to watch during Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time. Unless you are a night owl, you might have to set your DVR for some of them. All times are Central.

Friday, September 6:
9:15 PM All the King's Men (1949)
11:15 PM The Great Dictator (1940)

Saturday, September 7:
1:30 AM Fail-Safe (1964)
5:00 AM Salt of the Earth (1954)

Friday, September 13:
10:30 PM The Parallax View (1974)

Saturday, September 14:
3:30 AM Battle Potemkin (1925)

Friday, September 20:
7:00 PM Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
8:45 PM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Saturday, September 21:
5:15 AM Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Friday, September 27:
7:00 PM Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Saturday, September 28:
2:45 AM Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Friday, October 4:
11:00 PM  I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Saturday, October 5:
4.15 AM High and Low (1963)

Friday, October 11:
7:00 PM A Face in the Crowd (1957)
9:15 PM Wag the Dog (1997)

Saturday, October 12:
4:00 AM Z (1969)
6:15 AM Night and Fog (1956)

Friday, October 18:
10:30 PM Lincoln (2012

Saturday, October 19:
1:15 AM Malcolm X (1992)

Friday, October 25:
7:00 PM All the President's Men (1976)
9:30 PM Citizen Kane (1941)

Friday, November 1:
9:30 PM The Candidate (1972)
11:30 PM Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976)

Saturday, November 2:
1:15 AM The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
3:00 AM Weekend (1967)