Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Voice Bllie Mae Richards Passes On

Canadian voice artist Billie Mae Richards, best known as the voice of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the famous Rankin/Bass special of the same name, passed at the age of 88 on September 10, 2010.

Billie Mae Richards was born in Toronto on 21 November 1921. Her father was a silverware salesman who wanted to be an actor. During World War II she joined the Canadian Navy. She performed for troops in both Canada and Europe. Following the war she studied at the the Lorne Greene School of Broadcasting in Toronto and afterwards worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. For a quarter of a century she acted on various Canadian radio shows.

Her most lasting claim to fame would come when Rankin/Bass looked to Canada to cast their Yuletide special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Deer. Quite capable of imitating the voice of a young boy, Billie Mae Richards was cast as Rudolph. Sadly, she would see little money from her role, as the only member of the cast to get long lasting residuals was Burl Ives. Regardless, she would reprise the voice of Rudolph in Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.  Miss Richards would also work for Rankin/Bass in providing the voice of Willy McBean in the feature film Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965),  the voice of Billy on the animated series King Kong, and one of the voices on the series The Smokey Bear Show.

Billie Mae Richards would provide incidental voices for the Sixties Spider-Man cartoon and the voices of Chris and  Robbie on The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo. She was very much a part of the Eighties Care Bears franchise, providing the voice of Tender Heart Bear in The Care Bears Movie (1985) and Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (!986), and Brightheart Raccoon on the series The Care Bears Family..

Miss Richards also appeared in live action films and TV shows as as well. She appeared in the movies Jailbait Babysitter (1977), The Big Slice (1991), Shadow Builder (1998) , and Bluehair (2001). She guest starred on the series War of the Worlds, My Secret Identity, and Maniac Mansion.

NBC Newsman Edwin Newman Passes On

Edwin Newman, long time newsman for NBC and self appointed champion of the English language, passed August 13 at the age of 91. The cause was pneumonia. Mr. Newman's family delayed announcement of his death so the they could grieve privately.

Edwin Newman was born in New York City on January 25, 1919 He graduated from Washington High School in Manhattan and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in political science.He attended Louisiana State University for a brief period before he decided to enter journalism. His first position was as a "dictation boy" for the International News Service.

Mr. Newman left the International News Service to join United Press. In 1942 he joined the United States Navy. He served as a signal officer in Trinidad and later at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Following World War II he returned to United Press. Afterwards he worked in the Washington Bureau of the New York City newspaper PM, then went to work for the Tufty News Service. It was in 1947 that he joined CBS News where he assisted Eric Sevareid in preparing his nightly commentary. It was in 1949 that he went to work for NBC News as a freelance journalist. It was in 1952 that Edwin Newman joined NBC News full time.

At NBC News Mr. Newman served as the bureau chief of London, Rome, and then Paris before he was based in New York in 1961. Among the stories he covered during this period were the funeral of King George VI to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II to the Suez Crisis to the Algerian War. From 1961 to 1984 he was one of the correspondents to cover the Democratic and Republican national conventions. He also covered the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. On his programme Speaking Freely he intereviewed everyone from Muhammed Ali to Ingmar Bergman. He also moderated the first Carter-Mondale presidential debate and the second Reagan-Mondale presidential debate. From 1952 to 1984 he regularly appeared on The Today Show. He also appeared regularly on Meet the Press.

Edwin Newman was also a self-appointed champion of the English language. He wrote two books defending the correct usage of the language, Strictly Speaking: Will America Be the Death of English? (1974) and A Civil Tongue (1976). He was well known for his droll wit and his seemingly limitless number of puns.

Mr. Newman retired from NBC News in 1984. Afterwards he appeared frequently as a narrator, interviewer, and moderator on many programmes, particularly on PBS. Over the years he appeared as himself on several television shows and movies. He appeared on such shows as Newhart, Saturday Night Live, The Golden Girls, Wings, and Murphy Brown. He appeared in the films Spies Like Us (1985) and The Pelican Brief (1993).

Edwin Newman was one of the last great television newsman. While he was always genteel and his grammar was always perfect, he always seemed as if he was simply another one of us. As the current anchor of The NBC Evening News, Brian Williams, said of Mr. Newman, "To those of us watching at home, he made us feel like we had a very smart, classy friend in the broadcast news business." Indeed, Mr  Newman never took himself too seriously, even serving once as the anchor on "Weekend Update" on Saturday Night Live after he had retired. He defence of the correct usage of the English language is also to be admired. Indeed, if I tend to nitpick at time at the ill use of the language, it is largely because of Edwin Newman. More than any teacher I had in school, my desire for correct grammar stems from Mr. Newman. One of the last great television newsman and a champion of the English language, we will not see the like of Edwin Newman again any time soon.

The Late, Great Harold Gould

Actor Harold Gould Ph.D. passed on September 11, 2010 at the age of 86. The cause was prostate cancer.

Harold Gould was born Harold V. Goldstein on December 10, 1923 in Schenectady, New York. He grew up in Albany, New York. After graduation he enrolled at Albany Teachers College to study to be a social studies teacher. During World War II, after two years of college, Dr. Gould enlisted in the United States Army and served in France. Following the war he returned to Albany Teachers College and earned a bachelor of arts degree.

After graduating from Albany Teachers College, Harold Gould enrolled at Cornell University. There he earned a master of arts degree in 1948 and Ph.D. in 1953. Dr. Gould then taught at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia for three years. It was in 1955 that he made his professional acting debut, as Thomas Jefferson in The Common Glory in Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1956 he took a position at the University of California, Riverside. He stayed there until 1960, when he decided to take up acting full time. He made his television debut in a guest appearance on Cain's Hundred in 1961.

Dr. Gould appeared on television frequently in the Sixties. He guest starred on such shows as Shannon, Follow the Sun, National Velvet, The Donna Reed Show, Empire, The Untouchables, Dennis the Menace, Route 66, The Lieutenant, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Twilight Zone, Mister Ed, The Jack Benny Programme, The Man From U.N.L.C.E., The Virginian, The Farmer's Daughter, That Girl, Get Smart, The Green Hornet, The Invaders, Daniel Boone, The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, Hogan's Heroes, The High Chaparral. He made his movie debut in a bit part in The Couch (1962). Throughout the Sixties he appeared in such films as Two for the Seesaw (1962), The Yellow Canary (1963), The Satan Bug (1965), Inside Daisy Cover (1965), Harper (1966), An American Dream (1966), Project X (1968), The Arrangement (1969), and The Lawyer (1970).

In the Seventies Harold Gould was a regular on the short lived Bob Crane Show and Rhoda, . He was one of the two leads, along with Stefanie Powers, on The Feather and Father Gang. He guest starred on such shows as The F.B.I., Love American Style, The Partidge Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Streets of San Francisco, Dirty Sally, Gunsmoke, Cannon, Hawaii Five-O, and The Rockford Files. He appeared in such films as Mrs. Pollifax-Spy (1971), Where Does It Hurt (1972), The Sting (1973), The Front Page (1974), The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Love and Death (1975), Silent Movie (1976), The Big Bus (1976), Gus (1976), and The One and Only (1978).

In the Eighties Dr. Gould was the lead on the series Foot in the Door and Singer & Sons, and a regular on Spencer. He guest starred on such shows as St. Elsewhere, Trapper John M.D., L. A. Law, Night Court, and Midnight Caller. He appeared in such movies as The Dream Chasers (1982), Playing For Keeps (1986), and Romero (1989). In the Nineties he was a a regular on The Golden Girls. From the Nineties into the Naughts he appeared on such shows as Dinosaurs, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Outer Limits, Felicity, and Nip/Tuck. He appeared in such movies as Flesh Suitcase (1995), Lover's Knot (1996), Killer: Journal of a Killer (1996), My Giant (1998), Patch Adams (1998), Stuart Little (1999), and Nobody's Perfect.

Harold Gould also appeared on Broadway in the plays Fools (1981), Grown Ups (1981-1982), Artist Descending a Staircase (1989), and Mixed Emotions (1993).

Dr. Harold Gould was an extremely versatile actor who could play a wide variety of roles. He often played authority figures, such as the Mayor in The Front Page and Louis B. Mayer in the telefilms The Scarlet O'Hara War and The Silent Lovers. He played a wide variety of father figures, including Rhoda's father on the sitcom Rhoda and Grandpa Little in the movie Stuart Little.Of course, one of his most famous roles was that of con man Kid Twist in The Sting. In many ways he played all of these roles on the TV show from which I remember him best, The Father and Feather Gang, on which he played Harry Danton, who at once an authority figure, a father, and a con man. If Dr. Gould appeared so frequently on film and on television, it was perhaps because his talent allowed to play nearly any role.

The Late, Great Kevin McCarthy

Actor Kevin McCarthy passed yesterday at the age of 96. Although best known for his role in the film version of Death of a Saleman (1951) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), his career spanned over seventy years.

Kevin McCarthy was born on February 15, 1914 in Seattle, Washington. His mother and father died during the flu epidemic of 1918 and Mr. McCarthy, his brothers, and his sister Mary (who became famous in her own right as a novelist) were sent to be raised by relatives. He began acting while at the University of Minnesota, his first role being a bit part in Henry IV, Part 1.

Following graduation Mr. McCarthy moved to New York to pursue a career in acting.His first role on Broadway would be a bit part in Abe Lincoln in Illinois in1938. Over the years he would appear in many Broadway productions, including Winged Victory (1943-1944), Joan of Lorraine (1946-1947), the revival of Anna Christie (1952), Love's Labour Lost (1953), Advise and Consent (1960-1961), a revival of The Three Sisters (1964), Cactus Flower (1967), Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970-1971), and Alone Together (1984-1985). He appeared off Broadway in The Children (1972-1973).

Kevin McCarthy made his movie debut in 1944 in the film version of Winged Victory, recreating the role he played on Broadway. Much of his career in the late Forties and the Fifties would be spent on the small screen rather than the big screen. He made his television debut on a 1949 episode of The Ford Theatre Hour. From the late Forties into the Fifties he appeared on such series as Actor's Studio, The Prudential Family Playhouse, Lights Out, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, Studio One, Danger, Inner Sanctum, The 20th Century Fox Hour, Kraft Theatre, G. E. True Theatre, Climax, Schlitz Playhouse, and The Twilight Zone.

Of course, Mr. McCarthy did make movies in the Fifties. He played Biff Loman in the 1951 adaptation of Death of a Salesman. He also appeared in the films Drive a Crooked Road (1954), The Gambler from Nachez (1954), Stranger on Horseback (1955), and An Annapolis Story (1955). His most famous role would come in 1956 in the film adaptation of Jack Finney's Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Kevin McCarthy played Dr. Miles Bennell, the physician who soon realises all is not right in the small town in which he lives and works. He finished out the decade appearing in the film Nightmare (1956).

The Sixties saw Kevin McCarthy appear more frequently in films. He opened the decade playing Raymond Taber in The Misfits. Throughout the decade he appeared in such films as 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), A Gathering of Eagles (1963), The Prize (1963), The Best Man (1964), Mirage (1965), A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966), The Three Sisters (1966), Hotel (1967), and The Hell with Heroes (1968). He continued to appear on television frequently, guest starring on such shows as Way Out, The United States Steel Hour, The Rifleman, The Defenders, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Honey West, The Fugitive, Burke's Law, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Invaders, Felony Squad, The Wild Wild West, The High Chapparal, The F.B.I., and Julia.

The Seventies saw Mr. McCarthy's career shift more towards television. He guest starred on Bearcats, Mission: Impossible, Columbo, Cannon, The Manhunter, and Hawaii Five-O. He appeared in such films as Richard (1972), Kansas City Bomber (1972), Alien Thunder (1974), Order to Assassinate (1975), Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976), Piranha (1978), and Hero at Large  (1980). He recreated the role of Dr. Miles Bennell in the 1978 remake (or possibly sequel) of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

During the Eighties Mr. McCarthy also spent much of his career on television. In fact, it was during the decade that the would play his only regular roles on television series. He appeared as Claude Weldon on the nighttime soap opera Flamingo Road, as Zack on the short lived sitcom Amanda's, as George Hayward in the short lived Bay City Blues, and as Lucas Carter on The Colbys. He also guest starred on such series as Dynasty, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The A-Team, The Golden Girls, Fame, Head of the Class, In the Heat of the Night, and Matlock. He also appeared in such films as The Holwing (1981), My Tutor (1983), Innerspace (1987), Hostage (1987), UHF (1989). Love or Money (1990), and The Sleeping Car (1990).

Kevin McCarthy's career did not slow down in the Nineties. He continued to appear on television in such series as The Father Dowling Mysteries, Murder She Wrote, Human Target, Batman: The Animated Series, Tales From the Crypt, Boston Common, and The District. He appeared in such films as Final Approach (1991), The Distinguished Gentleman (1992), Matinee (1993), Judicial Consent (1994), Greedy (1994), Just Cause (1995), Sreal Big Steal Little (1995), and Mommy (1995).

Mr. McCarthy continued to act into the Naughts. He guest starred on the show Eyes. He appeared in the films Legend of the Razorback (2002), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003--playing a character curiously named Dr. Bennell....), Loving Annabelle (2006), Slipstream (2007--playing himself), Trail of the Screaming Forehead (2007), and  I Do (2009. His last appearance on film was in the movie Drawback, just released this year.

There can be no doubt that Kevin McCarthy had a long and remarkable career. Indeed, there are not many actors who still perform nearly up until their death. There can be no doubt that Mr McCarthy was so prolific and had a career so long because he was such a versatile actor. He could play nearly any role. While best known as the heroic Dr. Bennell from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, he also played roles that were much less than heroic. In A Big Hand for the Little Lady he played Otto Habershaw, a lawyer who dressed finely but possessed somewhat questionable morals. In The Howling he played television station manager Fred Francis, who is willing to do anything to get ratings. In The Sleeping Car he once more played a good guy--eccentric children's book writer and exorcist Vincent Tuttle. Throughout his long career Kevin McCarthy played everything from military officers to doctors to attorneys to lawyers to mad men. He was a versatile actor and a thorough professional. It is no wonder that he had a long career.

Director Clive Donner Passes On

Clive Donner, who began his film career as an editor and became one of the notable directors of the British New Wave, passed at the age of 84 on 7 September 2010. He had Alzheimer's disease for many years.

Clive Donner was born in London on 21 January 1926. It was while he was still attending Killburn Polytechnic that he made his first film, an 8 millimetre short about a boy's sports club. Following graduation he became a cutting room assistant at Denham Studios. During World War II  Mr. Donner served in the Royal Navy. Following the war he went back to Denham Studios. He served as part of the editorial department on the films On Approval (1944), The Way Ahead (1944), and Oliver Twist (1948). In 1950 Mr. Donner received his first credit as a full fledged editor on the film Madeline. The next several years he served as the editor on A Christmas Carol (1951), The Card (1952), Meet Me Tonight (1952), Genevieve (1953), The Million Pound Note (1954), The Purple Plain (1954), and I Am a Camera (1955).

It was in 1957 that Clive Donner received his first credit as a director, on the film The Secret Place. Two years later he directed the film Heart of a  Child. For the next few years Mr. Donner directed episodes of various television shows, including Danger Man, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, and Sir Francis Drake. It was in 1962 that Clive Donner's breakthrough film was released. It was part of the British New Wave, a "kitchen sink"  film in which four young men are persuaded to form a rock group. Some People was a somewhat realistic view of youth in England in the pre-Beatles era.

It would be Clive Donner's next film which would get him noticed. Released in 1963, The Caretaker was an adaptation of the Harold Pinter play of the same name. Another "kitchen sink" film, The Caretaker featured Robert Shaw as a quiet young man who takes in an old derelict and eventually makes him his home's caretaker. With The Caretaker Clive Donner entered the height of his career. His 1964 film Nothing But the Best was Mr. Donner's departure from "kitchen sink" into the dark comedy associated with Swinging London. The film centred on Alan Bates as Jimmy Brewster, a young man who will literally do anything to be successful. Clive Donner followed Nothing But the Best with his first Hollywood film, What's New Pussycat (1965). With a screenplay by Woody Allen, What's New Pussycat featured Peter O'Toole as a man who seeks help with his love life (too much of a love life, not too little) from a psychiatrist who has his own share of problems (played by Peter Sellers). What's New Pussycat was a hit at the box office and also received good reviews.

His next film, Luv (1967), was a bit of misfire, despite a cast which featured Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, and Elaine May. It scored with neither audiences nor critics; however, his next film would be somewhat of a success. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (1968) was a coming of age comedy made at the tail end of the Swinging London era. Unfortunately, Clive Donner's next film would virtually kill his film career. Alfred the Great (1969) bombed at the box office and was raked over the coals by critics. He would not make another film until Vampira (entitled Old Drac in the United States) in 1974.

Most of the remainder of Clive Donner's career was spent in television. He directed a critically acclaimed television adaptation of Geoffrey Household's novel Rogue Male, the telefilm Spectre (a pilot for a Gene Roddenberry series that never materialised), and a television remake of The Thief of Baghdad. Mr. Donner briefly returned to film with The Nude Bomb (1978--based very loosely on the TV show Get Smart) and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981). Neither film did well with the critics or at the box office. Clive Donner spent the next several years directing such telefilms as Oliver Twist, The Scarlet Pimpernel, To Catch a King, A Christmas Carol, Arthur the King, Agatha Christie's Dead Man's Folly, and Babes in Toyland. In 1988 he returned to film with the relatively well received Stealing Heaven, based on the romance between Abelard and Heloise. In 1990 Clive Donner's last film was released, the short "Arrivederci Roma". Clive Donner spent the rest of his career in television. He directed the telefilms Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less and Terror Stalks the Class Reunion. His final work as a director was on the 1993 mini-series Charlemange (it was not a high point of his career).

Clive Donner will be best remembered for his work during the Sixties. Arguably his best films (The Caretaker, Nothing but the Best, What's New Pussycat) were directed during this era. Mr. Donner had a gift for capturing the spirit of the times, whether it was in his earlier "kitchen sink" dramas or his later Swinging London films. It is important to remember that his career did not end in the Sixties, as he would do several good television movies later in his career. While his feature films, except for Stealing Heaven, made in his later years, were nothing remarkable, such television movies as Rouge Male, Spectre, and The Scarlet Pimpernel were very well done, so much so they are nearly the equal of his earlier work in feature films. While admittedly his best work was done in the Sixties, Mr. Donner's career did not end there.

Bonanza Creator David Dortort Passes On

David Dortort, best known as the creator and long time executive producer on the classic television series Bonanza, passed Sunday at the age of 93.

David Dortort was born David Katz in Brooklyn on October 23, 1916. His father, Beryl Dortort, had changed his surname to Katz after coming to the United States from Eastern Europe.

Mr. Dortort attended Boys High in Brooklyn.  He studied American history and creative writing at the City College of New York. After graduation he married Rose Seldin in 1940, who persuaded him to change his surname back to the original family name of Dortort. David Dortort was drafted shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbour and served in the United States Army. Mr. Dortort performed such special services as beginning an Army newspaper and setting up performances of Hollywood entertainers at an Army hospital.

Following the war his first novel was published,, Burial of the Fruit in 1947. In 1949 his second novel was published, The Post of Honour.  Burial of the Fruit  was optioned as a film and Mr. Dortort had hoped to write the screenplay, but the project fell through. It was this that would encourage Mr. Dortort to learn to write for the screen. In 1952 he received his first movie credit, writing the screenplay for the film The Lusty Men; however, it would be in television that Mr. Dortort would spend most of his career.

In 1953 David Dortort received his first television credit, for an episode of Racket Squad. In the Fifties he would go onto write episodes of The Public Defender. Fireside Theatre, Climax, Waterfront, The 20th Century Fox Hour, Screen Directors Playhouse, Lassie, Studio 57, and Panic. He wrote several episodes of The Restless Gun and served as the show's producer for the entirety of its run. He also wrote the screenplays for the movies Rerprisal (1956), The Big Land (1957), and A Gift for Heidi (1958).

It was in 1958 that NBC asked David Dortort to create a Western which the network itself produced. From his knowledge of history, Mr. Dortort knew the gunslinger had actually played a very minor role in the Old West, so he consciously set out to develop a series which would not focus on the gunfighter as many Western series did at the time. Mr. Dortort then pitched to NBC the idea of a series based on a ranch in Nevada following the 1859 strikes of gold and silver at Virginia City's Comstock Lode. Not only would the series feature a hero who was not a gunfighter, but it would have no less than four heroes--a father and his three sons by his three late wives. Mr. Dortort encouraged NBC to film the new series in colour, taking advantage of the frequent on location shooting.

Bonanza debuted on September 12, 1959 on NBC. Initially it aired on Saturday night against Perry Mason on CBS. Its ratings were low its first season, although they rose enough in its second season that it ranked #17 among all shows for the Nielsens for the 1960-1961 season. It was in its third season Bonanza was moved to Sunday night. For that season Bonanza rose dramatically in the ratings, becoming the #2 show on the air for the year. By the 1964-1965 season Bonanza was the number one show on the air, a position it held for three years running. It would become the first show ever to rank in the top five for nine consecutive seasons. Such success would lead to other Westerns set on ranches, including The Big Valley  In all, Bonanza would run fourteen years, making it the second longest running Western network TV series, after Gunsmoke. This makes Bonanza possibly the most successful American television show of the Sixties.

David Dortort would create another Western for NBC, The High Chaparral. The series debuted in 1967 and ran until 1971. The series was historic as one of the first to feature regulars of Hispanic descent who were not out and out stereotypes. David Dortort also served as producer on that series. In 1980 David Dortort and author Evan Hunter developed the mini-series The Chisholms from his own novels. Mr. Dortort also served as producer. Mr. Dortort would go onto produce the telefilms Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988), Bonanza: The Return (1993) and Bonanza: Under Attack (1995), each continuations of the original series. In 2001 he served as the executive producer on Ponderosa, the short lived prequel to Bonanza which proved controversial with some fans.

David Dortort accomplished something few other television writers ever could. He not only created and produced his own series, but he created and produced one of the most successful shows of all time. Indeed, Bonanza still airs all over the world; in the United States it is part of the regular schedule of TV Land. Its characters (Ben, Hoss, Adam, and Little Joe) long ago became part of American pop culture, and for many the ranch house on the Ponderosa is as familiar was their own homes (my brother can actually name where objects are located in the ranch house without even consulting any episodes). While The High Chaparral would not see the success of Bonanza, it broke new ground with regards to the portrayal of Hispanics on the small screen. Indeed, in this it followed Bonanza, which often featured episodes attacking prejudice against other ethnicities. While many television writers have created shows over the years, only a few have created series as successful as Bonanza and fewer still have broken new ground while doing so.

A Bit of News

I was going to do a full fledged entry today, but I am still a bit under the weather (sinusitis) and I am worried about my cat Midnight. Last Tuesday Midnight developed a limp in his right leg. By Friday evening he has lost use of his rear legs. He does seem healthy otherwise. He is alert, has been eating well, has been using the restroom (metaphorically speaking), and can actually move pretty far on his front legs. Today he has been to move his right leg, although not enough to walk upon it. Not being able to get him to the veterinarian over a holiday weekend, I want to get him there tomorrow. I am thinking given his relative health and the fact that movement is slowly returning to his rear legs it is going to be something easily treatable. Still, I can't help but being concerned for him and a bit sad that he is not able to move around like he used to (he was always the most active of our cats).

In other news, Elizabeth Page Bissette has a page dedicated to her great uncle, the legendary pulp writer Norvell Page and the creator of The Spider. The Norvell Page Page is a must for anyone who is a fan of The Spider, the works of Norvell Page, or the history of the Page family (one of the First Families of Virginia). Elizabeth also kindly republished my article on The Spider's 75th anniversary from A Shroud of Thoughts, "The Spider Turns 75." Even if you are not familiar with The Spider or the career of Norvell Page, I encourage you to check it out. There is a good deal of fascinating material that would interest even people who have never read a pulp novel!

In yet other news, I must sadly report that this week begins our peak period at work. As usual I will publish my usual minimum of three posts a week (with any luck more) , but I will probably only be able to do my typical in depth articles on the weekends (provided no one dies--this year has been like that). I do apologise to my few regular readers!