The Late Great Lalo Schifrin

Lalo Schifrin, the composer best known for the icon theme to Mission: Impossible, died on June 26 2025 at the age of 93. 

Lalo Schifrin was born Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21 1932 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father, Luis, was a violinist with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic. He was only six years old when he began to learn the piano. He was 16 years old when his classmates introduced him to jazz, and he quickly became a fan of the genre. At the University of Buenos Aires, he studied music and law. He received a scholarship to the Paris Conservatory of Music in 1952, where he studied classical music under composer Olivier Messiaen. At night he would play in jazz bands.

He returned to Buenos Aires in 1956. There he founded his own jazz band. It was also there that he began composing for TV shows and films.He served as the composer on the Argentinian movie Venga a bailar el rock (1957) and El jefe (1958). It was when jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie was visiting Argentina that he invited him to the United States to work with him. He moved to New York City in 1958 and played piano at a Mexican restaurant until he began work as an arranger with Xavier Cugat. In 1960 he performed with Dizzy Gillespie on the jazz great's album Gillespiana.

It was in 1963 that Lalo Schifrin moved to California to work in film and television. He served as a conductor on the score for the movie Rhino! (1964) and on television he composed and arranged background music for such shows as Dr. Kildare and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He composed the score for the TV movie Dark Intruder, which aired in 1965. In the Sixties, he composed the themes for the shows Mission: Impossible, T.H.E. Cat, Mannix, and Medical Center. He worked on such films as Who's Minding the Mint (1967), Cool Hand Luke (1967), The President's Analyst (1967),Coogan's Bluff (1968), Bullitt (1968),Hell in the Pacific (1968), Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows! (1968), Che! (1969), Eye of the Cat (1969), Kelly's Heroes (1970), and WUSA (1970).

In the Seventies Lalo Schifrin composed the themes of the TV shows;Planet of the Apes, Starsky & Hutch, and Petrocelli. He worked on such movies as The Beguiled (1971), THX 1138 (1971), Dirty Harry (1971),Joe Kidd (1972),Enter the Dragon (1973), Charles Varrick (1973), Magnum Force (1973). Voyage of the Damned (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Rollercoaster(1977), The Cat from Outer Space (1978), The Amityville Horror (1979), Brubaker (1980), and The Competition (1980).

In the Eighties he worked on such films as Caveman (1981), Buddy Buddy (1981), Class of 1984 (1982), The Sting II (1983), Doctor Detroit (1983), The Osterman Weekend, (1983),Sudden Impact (1983), Tank (1984), Bad Medicine (1985), The Fourth Protocol (1987), and The Dead Pool (1988). On television he composed themes for the shows Chicago Story, Glitter. 

In the Nineties Lalo Schifrin worked on such films as F/X2 (1991), Scorpion Spring (1995), Money Talks (1997), Something to Believe In (1998), Tango (1998), and Rush Hour (1998). In the Naughts he worked on such films as Longshot (2001), Bringing Down the House (2003), After the Sunset (2004), and Abominable (2006). In the Teens, he worked on the films Love Story (2011) and Lyset fra sjokoladefabrikken (2020). 

Lalo Schifrin was one of the greatest television and movie composers of all time. He was nominated multiple times for Emmy Awards and Oscars. His compositions are certainly memorable, particularly the theme to Mission: Impossible, which remains one of the best known television show themes of all time. A 2023 list of the "50 Best TV Theme Songs of All Time" fro Consequences of Sound placed it at no. 4. Lalo Schifrin would be remembered if it was the only thing he had ever written, but as it is he wrote so many other pieces of music for television and film.

"Impasse": A Groundbreaking Episode of Medical Center

Positive portrayals of lesbians were unknown in the first few decades of American broadcast television. At worst, they were sometimes portrayed as outright sociopaths, as in the case of Miss Brant (Virginia Christine), a sniper who kills attractive young women out on dates with their boyfriends, in an episode of the short-lived series The Asphalt Jungle (based on the movie of the same name). Although it is never explicitly said that Miss Brant was a lesbian, it was made fairly obvious. At best lesbianism might be presented as a mental disorder, sa in the case of the Eleventh Hour episode "What Did She Mean by Good Luck?" and the Bold Ones: The New Doctors episode "A Very Strange Triangle." The Medical Center episode, "Impasse," from 1973, was then revolutionary in featuring a psychiatrist, Dr. Anne Claymor (Lois Nettleton), as both a lesbian and a healthy, well-adjusted human being.

For those of you unfamiliar with Medical Center, it was a medical drama that ran from 1969 to 1975. It centred on surgeons Dr. Paul Locher (James Daly) and Dr. Joe Gannon (Chad Everett) at an unnamed hospital (the "medical centre" of the title) in Los Angeles. "Impasse" starred Lois Nettleton as Dr. Anne Claymor, a psychiatrist who is called into treat a a young heart patient, Tobi (Jamie Smith-Jackson), who is proving difficult. Dr. Gannon has a crush on Dr. Claymor, and it is after Tobi's boyfriend Sam (Tim Matheson) tells Dr. Gannon that Dr. Claymor is a lesbian. That leads Dr. Gannon to visit Dr. Claymore in her apartment where she admits that she is a lesbian.

This particular scene is remarkable for a TV show episode airing in 1973 (if you want to see it, it si available on YouTube). It is made clear that Dr. Claymor is comfortable with her lesbianism, as she deals with the stereotypes Dr. Gannon, like many Americans at the time, believed to be true, No, she does not hate men. Yes, a lesbian doctor can treat a young woman without pouncing on her. At no point in the episode is lesbianism presented as a mental disorder, although the fact that it was still frowned upon in society was acknowledged.

At the time, when homosexuality was still presented as a mental disorder on most American television shows and was still listed as such in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used by the American Psychiatric Association, "Impasse" was revolutionary in its portrayal of Dr. Claymor. In his book Alternate Channels - LGBTQ Images on Television, author Steve Capsuto refers to Dr. Claymor in "Impasse" as "...American TV’s first productive, happy lesbian character." Following "Impasse" there would still be shows on which homosexuality was presented as a mental disorder and homosexuals as sociopaths, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. 

"Stonewall Nation" by Madeline Davis

Chances are good that you have not heard of the song "Stonewall Nation" by Madeline Davis (I must confess that I had not until relatively recently),: but it is is historic nonetheless. Quite simply, it has been called the first gay liberation anthem. It was written by Madeline Davis after she had attended her first march on the New York capitol in Albany, New York. 

Of course, the song's title will have some significance for those who know their history. It was from June 28 1969 to July 1 1969 that spontaneous demonstrations against  a police raid (commonly called the "Stonewall riots") took place form June 28 1969 to July 3 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The Stonewall uprising is commonly regarded as the starting point for the gay liberation movement. For many in the LGBTQ community in the Seventies, the phrase "Stonewall Nation" may have had even more significance. The name "Stonewall Nation" was given informally to a separatist community proposed in Alpine County, California in 1970. 

As to the song itself, "Stonewall Nation" seems somewhat reminiscent of the folk music of the time, namely the work of such artists as Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. I do not find it particularly listenable, but the song is historic nonetheless. 

Bobby Sherman Passes On

One-time teen idol and actor Bobby Sherman died on June 24 2025 at the age of 81. Hr had stage IV kidney cancer. He was known for such songs as "La La La (If I Had You)" and "Julie, Do You Love Me,"  and was one of the regulars on the show Here Come  the Brides. 

Bobby Sherman was born in Santa Monica, California on July 22 1943. He grew up in Van Nuys, California. His father owned and operated his own milk delivery service, Woodland Hills Dairy. Bobby Sherman took to music while he was still young, and growing up he knew how to play guitar, piano, French horn, trumpet, trombone, and drums. 

He graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys in 1961, and then studied child psychology at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.  His first single,"Judy, You'll Never Know (I'll Never Tell You)," came out in 1962. He followed it with a few singles that did not chart.  It was while he was attending Pierce College that his girlfriend took him to a cast party for the movie The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). Bobby Sherman got up and sang with the band at the party, which led actors Natalie Wood, Jane Fonda, and Sal Mineo to approach him and offer to help him with a music career. This would lead to Bobby Sherman becoming a regular on the ABC music series Shindig!. 

It was in 1965 that Bobby Sherman made his acting debut in a guest appearance on an episode of Honey West. In the late Sixties, he guest starred on the shows The Monkees and The F.B.I. It was in 1968 that he began playing the role of Jeremy Bolt on the TV series Here Come the Brides. He appeared in the movie Wild in the Streets.

It would be from the latte Sixties into the Seventies that Bobby Sherman's music career would be at its height. His first major hit was "Little Woman" in 1969, which went to no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year "La La La (If I Had You)" would go to no. 9 on the chart. Over the next few years he would have such hits as "Easy Come, Easy Go," "Hey, Mister Sun," "Julie, Do You Love Me," and "Cried Like a Baby." His last major hit would be "The Drum" in 1971, although he would continue to release singles until 1975.

It was in 1971 that he guest starred on The Partridge Family in an episode that was a backdoor pilot for the TV series Getting Together. Getting Together did not prove to be a success, lasting for only 14 episodes. In the Seventies, he guest starred on the shows Cade's County, The Mod Squad, Emergency!, Ellery Queen, Jigsaw John, and Flying High. He appeared in the movie He is My Brother (1975). It was following his guest appearance on Emergency! that Bobby Sherman decided to become a paramedic. He worked as an emergency medical technician who trained paramedic in CPR at the Los Angeles Police Academy and also served as a reserve police officer in L.A. and a deputy sheriff in San Bernardino County.

Bobby Sherman would continue to appear from time to time on TV shows and in movies, making guest appearances on Fantasy Island; The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo; The Love Boat; Murder, She Wrote; Blacke's Magic; and Frasier. He was a regular on the short-lived sitcom Sanchez of Bel-Air in 1986. He appeared in the film Get Crazy (1983). 

|It was in 1998 that Bobby Sherman returned to the stage as part of the "Teen Idol Tour" alongside Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits and Davy Jones of The Monkees. In 2011 he and his wife Brigitte founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children’s Foundation.

I can't speak for Bobby Sherman's musical career, as I never have listened to his music, but I always did enjoy him as an actor. I particularly remember him well as the vain, egomaniacal beach movie star Frankie Catalina in the Monkees episode "Monkees at the Movies." In the Emergency! episode "Fools," he played an arrogant intern, Dr. Donaldson, whom Dr. Brackett (Robert Fuller) orders to ride with Squad 51 for a day to teach him humility. Not all of Bobby Sherman's characters were as unpleasant as Frankie Catalnia and Dr. Donaldson. On Ellery Queen he played Doug Carmichael, the brother-in-law of an eccentric inventor and one of the few who knew the inventor was still at himself. Of course, when it comes to acting I suspect he will always be remembered best as the stammering Jeremy Bolt on Here Come the Brides.  Bobby Sherman was certainly talented and he was always entertaining.

Godspeed Lynn Hamilton

Lynn Hamilton, who played Fred Sanford's girlfriend Donna on Sanford and Son and the Waltons' neighbour Verdie on The Waltons, died on June 19 2025 at the age of 95.

Lynn Hamilton was born on April 12 1930 in Yazoo City, Mississippi. She was only four years old when her family moved to Chicago. She attended Bloom High School in Chicago Heights. She studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama Theatre in Chicago. She gained more experience in acting with a South Side theatre in Chicago. 

She moved to New York City in 1956.  In the late Fifties, She appeared on Broadway in Only in America, The Cool World, and Face of a Hero. She made her film debut in a bit part in Shadows (1958), which marked the directorial debut of John Cassavetes. She also appeared in the short "The New Girl" (1960).

Lynn Hamilton spent three years with the New York Shakespeare Film Festival. She was also a part of President John F. Kennedy's cultural exchange program, in which she toured with the plays The Miracle Worker and The Skin of Our Teeth. She appeared on Broadway in Tambourines to Glory in 1963. In 1966 she became part of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. In the late Sixties, she auditioned for a role in Funny Girl (1968). While she didn't get the part, she decided to stay in Los Angeles. She appeared in the movie The Learning Tree (1969). In 1969 she made her television debut in a guest appearance on the show Room 222. In the late Sixties, she also guest starred on the shows Then Came Bronson, Mannix, Gunsmoke, The Bill Cosby Show, Insight, and The Psychiatrist.

It was in the Seventies that Lynn Hamilton played what may be her two best known roles. She made her first appearance on Sanford and Son early in its first season, laying a landlady from whom Lamont Sanford briefly rents a bachelor pad. The producers were so impressed with Lynn Hamilton that when they decided to give Fred Sanford a girlfriend, they cast her. She first appeared in the role of Donna Harris on Sanford and Son in its tenth episode. She appeared until the show ended its run. It was in the first season of The Waltons, while she was still appearing on Sanford and Son, that she first appeared in the recurring role of Verdie Grant, a widowed neighbour and close friend of the Walton family.  She played Verdie until the show ended its run in 1981, and then appeared in two of the reunion movies. 

During the Seventies, Lynn Hamilton appeared in the mini-series Roots: The Next Generation. She guest starred on the shows Longstreet, Hawaii Five-O, Ironside, Ghost Story, Barnaby Jones, The Young and the Restless, Good Times, Starsky and Hutch, and The Rockford Files. She appeared in the movies Brother John (1971), The Seven Minutes (1971), Buck and the Preacher (1972), Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Hangup (1974), and Leadbelly (1976). 

In the late Eighties, Lynn Hamilton began a two year run appearing in a regular role on the soap opera Generations. She also had a recurring role on the soap opera Rituals and the sitcom 227. She guest starred on the shows The Powers of Matthew Starr; Knight Rider; Insight; Quincy, M.E.; ABC Afternoon Specials; Riptide; Highway to Heaven; Webster; Still the Beaver; Days of Our Lives; Amen; Hunter; and The Golden Girls. She appeared in the movie Legal Eagles (1986).

In the Nineties she continued to appear on Generations. She appeared in a lead role in the soap opera Dangerous Women and had a recurring roles on Sunset Beach and The Practice. She guest starred on the shows Sister, Sister; Murphy Brown; Sisters; Life's Work; Dangerous Minds; Moesha; and Port Charles. She appeared in the movie The Vanishing (1993). 

In the Naughts she continued to appear on The Practice. She guest starred on the shows NYPD Blue, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Judging Amy, and Cold Case. She made her last appearance on screen in Baby's Breath (2003).

Lynn Hamilton was a very talented actress, which can be seen in her two famous roles, two roles that she played concurrently. Donna Harris on Sanford and Son was strong, independent, and no-nonsense, often calling Fred on some of his wackier behaviour. Verdi on The Waltons was also a strong woman, although she was also fiercely proud and somewhat distrustful of others beyond family and close friends (and sometimes she can distrust them as well). Lynn Hamilton was particularly good at paying strong women. In the Gunsmoke episode "The Sisters" she played Mother Tabitha, the caring but firm head of two other nuns. Not all of Lynn Hamilton's characters were necessarily nice. She appeared in the Barnaby Jones episode "Sunday: Doomsday" she played the wife of a man that Barnaby had sent to prison. She is downright hateful towards Barnaby, blaming him for how her life went wrong  In her guest appearance in The Rockford Files episode "The Hammer of C Block" she played a character who was a bit more pleasant, but still a far cry from Donna or Verdi. She played a former prostitute, now married to a doctor, who's fearful of her past being revealed. Lynn Hamilton had an enormous amount of talent and was even a bit of a pioneer, paving the way for future Black actresses. 

Lou Christie Passes On

Lou Christie, the singer-songwriter who had such hits as "Two Faces Have I," "Lightnin' Strikes," and "Rhapsody in the Rain," died on June 18 2025 at the age of 82 following a short illness.

Lou Christie was born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania on February 19 1943. He attended Moon Area High School in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He was 15 years old when he befriended classical musician Twyla Herbert, who was 22 years older than he was.The two formed a songwriting partnership that would last until her death in 2009. He performed with various Pittsburgh area groups from 1959 to 1962, and released various singles on local Pittsburgh labels. His single "The Jury" by Lugee & The Lions (which comprised him Twyla Herbert's daughter Shirley, and two more people) proved to be a local hit. 

After graduating from high school in 1961, Lugee Vacco moved to New York City. There he worked as a session vocalist. It was in 1962 that he went to Pittsburgh record executive Nick Cenci with some demo tapes. It was Mr. Cenci who gave him the stage name "Lou Christie." He also produced Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert's composition "The Gypsy Cried" and released it on his own C & C label. It proved to be a regional hit. It was then picked up by Roulette Records and released nationally. It went to no. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Roulette also released his self-titled debut album.

Lou Christie would follow "The Gypsy Cried" with an even bigger hit, "Two Faces Have I," which went to no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lou Christie's career would be interrupted when he was drafted into the United States Army. He was in the Army for two years. After being discharged from service, Lou Christie signed with MGM Records. While MGM disliked his first single for the label, "Lightnin' Strikes," Lou Christie promoted the song himself and it eventually hit no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following year he would have a hit with "Rhapsody in the Rain." In the Sixties, Lou Christie would have one more hit, "I'm Gonna Make You Mine," which went to no. 10 in 1969. 

In the Seventies, Lou Christie would have a minor hit with "Beyond the Blue Horizon," which went to no. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. At the same time he shifted towards country music, releasing a self-titled album in the genre. After the Seventies, Lou Christie would release two more singles (one being a cover of "Since I Don't Have You"with Lesley Gore) and five more albums. His last, Summer in Malibu, was released in 2015.

Lou Christie was both a gifted songwriter and a gifted vocalist. He had a remarkable falsetto that he put to particularly good use on "Lightnin' Strikes." He also had fantastic delivery. If such songs as "Two Faces Have I," "Lightnin' Strikes," and "Rhapsody in the Rain" were hits, much of it was because of the emotion in Lou Christie's vocals. A perfect example of Lou Christie's incredible vocals can be found in "Lightnin' Strikes," in which he goes from the stanzas of the song, which are all sweetness and light, sung in his rich baritone voice, to the maniacal falsetto in the build-up to the chorus. Lou Christie was a great vocalist and his song remain listenable to this day. 

Announcing the 12th Annual Rule, Britannia Blogathon

I am proud to announce that the 12th Annual Rule, Britannia Blogathon will take place from September 19 to September 21 2025. 

While Hollywood comes to many people's minds when they think of classic movies, the fact is that the United Kingdom made many significant contributions to film over the years. From the Gainsborough melodramas to Hammer Films to the British New Wave, cinema would be much poorer without the British.

Here are the ground rules for this year's blogathon:

1. Posts can be about any British film or any topic related to British films. For the sake of simplicity, I am using "British" here to refer to any film made by a company based in the United Kingdom or British Crown dependencies. If you want to write about a film made in Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man, then, you can do so. Also for the sake of simplicity, people can write about co-productions made with companies from outside the United Kingdom. For example, since 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is a British-American co-production, someone could write about it if they chose.

2. There is no limit on subject matter. You can write about any film in any genre you want. Posts can be on everything from the British New Wave to the Gainsborough bodice rippers to the Hammer Horrors. I am also making no limit on the format posts can take. You could review a classic British film, make an in-depth analysis of a series of British films, or even simply do a pictorial tribute to a film. That having been said, since this is a classic film blogathon,  I only ask that you write about films made before 2015. I generally don't think of a film as a classic until it has been around for thirty years, but to give bloggers more options I am setting the cut-off point at ten years ago.

3. I am asking that there please be no duplicates. That having been said, if someone has already chosen to cover From Russia with Love (1963), someone else could write about the James Bond series as a whole.

4. I am not going to schedule days for individual posts. All I ask is that the posts be made on or between September 19, 20, and 21 2025.

If you want to participate in the Rule, Britannia Blogathon, you can simply comment below or get hold of me on Bleusky at mercurie80 or my email:  mercurie80 at gmail.com

Below is a roster of the participants:

A Shroud of Thoughts: Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

Moon in Gemini: Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) 

Realweegiemidget Reviews: Dancin' Thru the Dark (1990)

Speakeasy: The Passionate Friends (1949)

Cinematic Catharsis: Witchfinder General (1968)

Liberal England: The Intruder (1953)

Below are graphics you can use for the blogathon or you can always make your own!