Happy New Year 2026

For the past twelve years, I have begun the year the very same way, by posting classic New Year's pinups. this year is no different. 2025 proved to be a less than happy year, so here is hoping that 2026 will be much, much better!

Marjorie Riordan eagerly awaits the New Year atop a rather large clock!

Suzi Crandall also decided a clock was the best place to be come midnight!

Olga San Juan decided to go sailing for New Year's!

The lovely Nancy Carroll greets 1930 riding on a bubble.

Ida Lupino posing with a sailor and greeting 1944 during World War II.

And you can't have a happy New Year without Ann Miller!

Happy New Year!

Good Riddance to 2025

In some respects, 2025 has been a difficult year for me, particularly the past month. Our cat Socks, who was just a few months shy of being 14 years old, died on December 16, People who don't have pets may not understand this, but Socks truly was a member of our family and we still miss him terribly. To make things even sadder, an old neighbour died this month and then a close family friend died on Christmas day. Combine this with the deaths of many beloved celebrities, electronic devices (both a computer and a cell phone) giving out on me, and various other factors I will not discuss here, and 2025 has become a year that I am pretty much glad is coming to an end. 

I think for many fans of classic television, movies, and rock music. 2025 will be remembered for the death of many greats throughout the year. Among the greats from the worlds of film and television who died this year were director David Lynch, Gene Hackman, Richard Chamberlain, Val Kilmer, Jay North, Jean Marsh, Will Hutchhins, Cora Sue Collins, Ruth Buzzi, Joe Don Baker, Mara Corday, George Wendt, Loretta Swit, Pippa Scott, Michael Madsen, Gerald Harper, Loni Anderson,  Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Randy Boone, Pat Crowley, Grahame Greene, Polly Holliday, Robert Redford, Claudia Cardinale, Patrica Routledge, Diane Keaton, Samantha Eggar, Diane Ladd, Sally Kirkland, Rob Reiner, and many others. Among those connected to film and television were two friends of friends,, film distributor and archivist Michael Schlesinger, who died on January 9, and props collector and film archivist Bob Burns, who died on December 12. We lost several big names in the music world this year as well, including Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, Marianne Fiathfull, Roberta Flack, David Johansen, Joey Molland of Badfinger, Clem Burke of Blondie, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Sly Stone, Lou Christie, composer Lalo Schifrin, Connie Francis, Ozzy Osbourne, George Kooymans of Golden Earring, Mark Volman of The Turtles, Sonny Curtis of The Crickets, Chris Dreja of The Yardbirds, Ace Frehley, and yet others.

I have to confess that I don't pay too much attention to new television shows these days, even with as many of them are on streaming. I thoroughly enjoyed Daredevil: Born Again. I also liked Good Cop/Bad Cop, an Australian/American show that aired here on The CW. Unfortunately, it looks like it has not yet been renewed, which doesn't surprise me given the path The CW has decided to take of late. Other than those two shows, I pretty much stuck to the shows I have been watching for the past few years without adding anything new to the mix. I did actually watch some of the movies that came out recently. I particularly enjoyed Flow (2024), Companion (2025), Sinners (2025), The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2024), Superman (2025), and The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025).

My hope is that 2026 is a far better year than 2025. At the very least, I hope that I don't lose any close friends or pets this year, or that many beloved celebrities die this coming year. If anything, I hope that everyone has a prosperous and healthy new year. 

TCM Spotlight: Flashback Fridays in January 2026

Next month's TCM Spotlight is devoted to Flashback Fridays. That is, each Friday night, Turner Classic Movies will show movies in which flashbacks play a pivotal role. Over the course of the month, TCM will show such classic movies on Friday nights as Citizen Kane (1941), Rashomon (1950), Double Indemnity (1944), Stand by M\e (1986), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Below is a line up of the films Turner Classic Movies will be showing on Friday nights in January 2026. All times are Central.

January 2:
7:00 PM Citizen Kane (1941)
9:15 PM Rashomon (1950)
11:00 AM Sophie's Choice (1982)

January 3:
1:45 AM The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
4:00 AM Penny Serenade (1941)

January 9:
7:00 PM The Locket (1946)
9:00 PM Double Indemnity (1944)
11:00 PM The Killers (1946)

January 10:
1:00 AM Mildred Pierce (1945)
3:00 AM D.O.A. (1950)

January 16:
7:00 PM Cinema Paradiso (1988)
9:15 PM Stand by Me (1986)
11:00 PM The Prince of Tides (1991)

January 17:
1:30 AM I Remember Mama (1948)

January 23:
7:00 PM A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
9:00 PM Casablanca (1942)
11:00 PM Brief Encounter (1945)

January 24:
12:45 AM Kitty Foyle (1940)
2:45 AM The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

January 30:
7:00 PM Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955)
9:00 PM The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
11:15 PM The Great McGinty (1940)

January 31:
Mrs. Parkington (1944)
3:00 AM A Man to Remember (1938)

Gil Gerard Passes On

Gil Gerard, best known for playing the title character on the show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century., died on December 16, 2025, at the age of 82. The cause was cancer.

Gil Gerard was born on January 23, 1943, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys and then attended Arkansas State Teacher College for a time. He dropped out to move to New York City where he studied acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He appeared in several commercials (he estimated over 400) and made his film debut in Some of My Best Friends Are... in 1971. He made his television debut in an episode of the soap opera Another World, before appearing as a regular on the soap opera The Doctors from 1973 to 1976. He appeared in the movies Man on a Swing (1974), Airport '77 (1977), Hooch (1977), and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). Although released as a feature film, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) was actually the pilot for the TV series. On television, he guest starred on the shows Baretta, Little House on the Prairie, Hawaii Five-O, and CHiPs. He starred on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, which ran for only 32 episodes from 1979 to 1981.

In the Eighties, Gil Gerard starred on the short-lived shows Sidekicks, Nightingales, and E.A.R.T.H Force. He guest starred on the shows The Disney Sunday Movie, and appeared in such TV movies as Help: Wanted Male, Hear No Evil, and International Airport. He appeared in the movie Fury to Freedom. In 1983, he appeared on Broadway in Amen Corner, a show he also produced. In the Nineties, he appeared on the soap opera Days of Our Lives and was the host of the show Code 3. He guest starred on the shows Brotherly Love, The Big Easy, and Pacific Blue. He appeared in the films Soldier's Fortune (1991) and Looking for Bruce (1996).

In the Naughts, Gil Gerard appeared in the movies Psycho Billy Cabin Massacre! (2007) and Dire Wolf (2009). He appeared in the TV movies Nuclear Hurricane (2007), Bone Eater (2007), Reptisaurus (2009), and Ghost Town (2009). In the Teens, he provided the voice of Megatronus on the TV cartoon Transformers: Robots in Disguise. He guest starred on the shows Star Trek: The New Voyages and Drop Dead Diva. He appeared in the TV movie The Lost Valentine. He appeared in the movies Blood Fare (2012), The Nice Guys (2016), Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel (2017), and Space Captain and Callista (2019).

Even as a kid I can't say I was a fan of the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, although I really liked Gil Gerard in the role. He brought a sense of humanity to the role that one didn't always see in shows and movies about comic strip heroes at the time. I really wished he had been provided with better scripts. Mr. Gerard was also appealing on other shows, including the Disney Sunday Movie episode "The Last Electric Knight," the TV show Sidekicks, and the Tv show Code 3. And while Gil Gerard was best known for playing the heroic Buck Rogers, he could play other sorts of roles. He starred as a moonshiner in the movie Hooch, which he also produced.

I never got to meet Gil Gerard, but I know plenty of people who have and all of them have said that he was an all-around good guy. No one could be nicer and he was known for the respect and affection he had for his fans, as well as his enthusiasm for life. Indeed, he left a final message for his fans with his wife to be published following his death, which he ended with "Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t thrill you or bring you love. See you out somewhere in the cosmos." Gil Gerard wasn't simply a well-known actor, but a truly nice guy. 

The Late Great Bob Burns

Props collector and film archivist Bob Burns III died on December 12, 2025, at the age of 90. He was known for his extensive collection of film props and memorabilia. Bob Burns also served as an advisor on several films and played various monsters and gorillas in film and TV shows. He was well-known for playing Tracy the Gorilla in the Saturday morning sitcom The Ghost Busters alongside Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch.

Bob Burns was born on May 12, 1935. He provided sound effects for the radio show Wild Bill Hickok. He provided uncredited special effects for Not of This Earth (1957). He also provided special effects for the horror television anthology Jeepers Creepers Theatre that aired on KCOP in the Sixties. He would later provide effects for such films as Scared to Death (1980), Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), and even the Lord of the Rings trilogy (various prosthetics). Bob Burns also appeared in suits as various aliens, monsters, and gorillas in such movies as Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966), and The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters (1968). He regularly appeared on the locally produced Shock Theatre and Jeepers Creepers Theatre. As mentioned earlier, he played Tracy on The Ghost Busters. He also appeared on such shows as Mickey, The Lucy Show, My Three Sons, and Wonderbug. Bob Burns did not always appear in an alien, monster, or gorilla suit when acting. Such other acting credits included such movies as Drive (1997), Wish You Were Here (2000), The Vampire Hunters Club (2001), The Naked Monster (2005), The Lovely Bones (2009), and Fire City: End of Days (2015).

Of course, Bob Burns may have been best known for his collection of costumes, props, and memorabilia, estimated by some to be one of the most extensive collections in the world. Included in Bob Burns's collection were the last surviving 18-inch armature model used on King Kong (1933), the original Time Machine from George Pal's movie The Time Machine (1960), and other props from such movies as Aliens, An American Werewolf in London, Gremlins,  Star Wars, Terminator 2, and others. Bob Burns's private museum of movie memorabilia was known simply as "Bob's Basement." As an archivist, Bob Burns provided photos and videos for many documentaries over the years, as well as serving as a consultant for the TV show Monsterama.

Bob Burns was one of the greatest archivists and collectors of film material of all time. It was through his hard work that many precious artefacts of film history survived and continued to exist. What is more, Bob Burns was always eager to share his knowledge. Visitors to Bob's Basement would always leave with a wealth of stories about the times there related to them by Mr. Burns himself. Of course, here it must be pointed out that Bob Burns and his wife Kathy, who had pre-deceased him, were two of the nicest people one could ever meet. While I never to got meet or even interact with Bob Burns, I have plenty of friends who got to, as well a a lucky few friends who got to call Bob Burns a friend. All of them said that Bob Burns was one of the kindest, nicest persons one could hope to meet. Bob Burns wasn't just a great archivist and collector, he wasn't just Tracy on The Ghost Busters, he was a truly great gentleman. 

Merry Christmas 2025

Here at A Shroud of Thoughts is is our custom to post vintage pinups on various holidays, Christmas among them. Without further ado, then, there is this year's collection of pinups.

First up is the lovely Barbara Britton, who is posting her Christmas cards and parcels.

And here is Gina Lollobrigida decorating her tree.

And here is Kay English getting ready for Christmas!

And here's Janis Paige prepared for the cold weather. 

And here is the lovely Ann Blyth trimming her tree.

And there could be no better Christmas present than Ann Miller!

Merry Christmas!

Five Christmas TV Movies From When Hallmark Movies Were Good

Today the phrase "Hallmark movie" is somewhat derogatory, bringing to mind poorly made romance movies that are generally made according to a formula. Regardless, at one time Hallmark was known for making quality television movies. For decades, they produced the anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame, which was well known for the calibre of its presentations. Indeed, Hallmark Hall of Fame won around 80 Emmy Awards through the years.

As might be expected, over the years Hallmark would producer several Christmas movies for Hallmark Hall of Fame and the Hallmark Channel in its early days, nearly all of which are superior to what the Hallmark Channel airs now. Here are five Hallmark Christmas movies from the past worth watching.

Amahl and the Night Visitors: Amahl and the Night Visitors was the very first Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. In fact, it aired on this date, December 24, in 1951.  It was an opera originally commissioned by NBC and was the very first opera ever commissioned for television. NBC found a sponsor in Hallmark Cards, and it aired under the heading of Hallmark Television Playhouse, which would be changed to Hallmark Hall of Fame soon enough. Amahl and the Night Visitors aired live upon its debut and it is not available on video. Fortunately, Amahl and the Night Visitors would be restaged several times, becoming one of the earliest annual Christmas traditions. The 1955 and 1978 versions are available on DVD.

The Littlest Angel: The Little Angel was a musical based on the children's book by Charles Tazewell. It debuted on Hallmark Hall of Fame on December 6, 1969, and was repeated in 1970 and 1971. It featured an all-star cast, including Johnny Whittaker as the Angel of the title, Fred Gwynne, Cab Calloway, John McGiver, Tony Randall, George Rose, E.G. Marshall, and Connie Stevens. It is enjoyable as the sort of children's musicals that were once popular on American television, such as Peter Pan and Cinderella. It is available on DVD and also on streaming services such as Tubi, Plex, and The Roku Channel.

A Season for Miracles: A Season for Miracles debuted as a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation on December 12, 1999. It starred Carla Gugino as Emilie Thompson, who has to flee with her niece and nephew when their drug addict mother overdoses and child services want to put them in foster homes. They wind up in the fictional town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Besides Carla Gugino, the cast featured Kathy Baker, Laura Dern, Lynn Redgrave, and Patty Duke as the mysterious angel who helps things along. A Season for Miracles proved to be popular and is available on both streaming and DVD.

Silver Bells: Silver Bells is another Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation and debuted on November 27, 2005. It starred Tate Donovan and Anne Heche, Tate Donovan plays a Christmas tree farmer who goes to New York City each year to sell his trees. One Christmas season his son (Michael Mitchell) runs away in New York City to pursue his dream of being a photographer. The film benefits from some sold performances and a good script. 

The Christmas Card: This is the one movie on this list that was not a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. Instead, it was a Hallmark Channel original, although it is as good as anything that has aired on Hallmark Hall of Fame. It debuted on December 2, 2006. It was made in cooperation with Operation Dear Abby, which encouraged people to send Christmas cards to troops serving over seas. The movie centres on  U.S. Army Sergeant Cody Cullen (John Newton), who is serving in Afghanistan. After having received a Christmas card from one of his fellow soldier's hometowns, he visits the town with a message for the late soldier's fiance and in doing so meets the woman who sent him the card. The cast included Ed Asner and Lois Nettleton. The movie proved very successful and was the Hallmark Channel’s highest-ever-rated program at the time it aired. Ed Asner was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. 

Sadly, it was not long after The Christmas Card aired that the quality of Hallmark movies went downhill. Eventually, even Hallmark Hall of Fame would even be affected. While Hallmark movies may not be particularly respected today, there was a time when they produced the very best television has to offer.