While the average person might not recognise their names, two actors died recently who left a lasting mark on American pop culture. Maxine Cooper will be forever remembered as Mike Hammer's secretary Velda in the classic film noir Kiss Me Deadly. Jody McCrea, son of Joel McCrea, appeared in many Western movies and TV shows and was a regular in American International Pictures' "Beach Party" movies.
Maxine Cooper passed on April 4 from natural causes at the age of 84.
Maxine Cooper was born in Chicago on May 12, 1924. It was while she was attending Bennington College in Vermont that she developed an interest in the theatre. She completed her acting training at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. In 1946 Cooper went to Europe where she performed for the American troops still stationed there after World War II. She remained in Europe and made her television debut on the BBC in an adaptation of The Front Page in 1948.
Cooper returned to the United States in the early Fifties and made her television debut in an episode of the syndicated series "The New Adventures of China Smith in 1954. In 1955 she appeared in an episode of The Star and the Story. Cooper also acted in theatre. In fact, it was because of a performance in the play Peer Gynt in Los Angeles that she received her most famous role. Director Robert Aldrich saw her in the play and cast her in the role of Velda in Kiss Me Deadly.
Maxine Cooper appeared somewhat frequently on television in the Fifties. She made guest appearances on Studio 57, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Millionaire, Four Star Playhouse, Maverick, Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, The Twilight Zone, and Wanted Dead or Alive. She also had roles in the movies Autumn Leaves, Zero Hour, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.
Cooper married screenwriter Sy Gomberg in 1957 and retired from acting to raise her family in the early Sixties. She also became an activist, organising the Hollywood community to march with Martin Luther King in Montgomery, Alabama in the Sixties. She also organised protests against the Vietnam War and nuclear arms.
Although her acting career was short, there can be no doubt as to Maxine Cooper's talent. While the part of Velda, Mike Hammer's secretary, has been played by at least eight different actresses, for many it is Maxine Cooper who will be Velda. This was the sort of actress Maxine Cooper was--she could take a role which originated on the printed page and had first been played by someone else (Margaret Sheridan in I, the Jury) and make it wholly her own.
Jody McCrea, son of Joel McCrea and star of Westerns and "Beach Party" movies passed on April 4 at the age of 74. The cause was a heart attack.
Jody McCrea was born Joel Dee McCrea on September 6, 1934 in Los Angeles, California. He was the son of actor Joel McCrea and actress Frances Dee. He majored in theatre arts at the University of California, Los Angeles. While there he threw the javelin on the university's field and track team. McCrea also served in the United States Army. While in the Army he hosted Country Style, USA, a recruiting programme produced by the Army in Nashville. He made his film debut in a small part in the movie Lucy Gallant in 1955. In the Fifties he would go on to appear in the movies The First Texan, Naked Gun, The Monster That Challenged the World, and The Restless Years. He also appeared on television in such shows as Studio One, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, and Kraft Television Theatre. He was a semi-regular as Deputy Ben Matheson on the 1959-1960 Wichita Town, on which he played opposite his father Joel McCrea.
The Sixties saw Jody McCrea appear in such films as All Hands on Deck, Force of Impulse, The Broken Land, and Young Guns of Texas. He appeared in the first "Beach Party" movie, Beach Party, in 1963, as Deadhead. McCrea played nearly the same character (called either Deadhead or Bonehead) in six of the the seven "Beach Party" movies. He continued to appear in other films as well, including Law of the Lawless, Young Fury, Major Dundee, The Glory Stompers, and Cry Blood, Apache. He also appeared on television in such shows as Death Valley Days and Wagon Train.
In the mid-Seventies Jody McCrea retired from acting to take up ranching.
I have always thought the acting talent of Jody McCrea was somewhat underestimated. This can be proven simply by looking at some of his better known roles. On Wichita Town he played the young, somewhat serious Deputy Marshal Ben Matheson. In the "Beach Party" movies he played the near total idiot variously called "Bonehead" or "Deadhead." In The Glory Stompers he played the tough biker gang leader Darryl intent on revenge on rival biker gang leader Chino (played by Dennis Hopper). These three roles could not be more different, and yet McCrea did well in all of them. Indeed, he actually held his own playing opposite Dennis Hopper! McCrea clearly inherited his talents from his parents, and it showed in every role he played.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson Passes On
Dave Arneson, who co-created the role playing game Dungeons & Dragons, passed on April 7 at the age of 61. He had fought cancer for two years.
Dave Arneson was born on October 1, 1947 Hennepin County, Minnesota. He grew up around St. Paul and attended the University of Minnesota. He had developed an interest in war games after his parents had bought him a copy of Avalon Hill's Gettysburg in the early Sixties. He became a avid player of naval war games, and in the late Sixties began playing war games with the Midwest Military Simulation Association in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. While playing with the Midwest Military Simulation Association, Arneson took the first steps in the development of role playing games.
It was in August 1969 that Dave Arneson attended the second annual Gen Con, a national gaming convention. There he met Gary Gygax, who had co-created the medieval miniatures war game called Chainmail with Jeff Perren. Together the two of them would develop a naval war game, Don't Give Up The Ship. It was in 1970 that Arneson started developing a medieval miniatures game based around the exploration of castle dungeons. Originally resolving combat through the simple method of rock/scissors/paper, Arneson eventually adapted the Chainmail rules and rules from naval war games (from where the idea of Armour Class came) to his own ends. He also developed his own rules as he went along.
The game would eventually become Blackmoor, the setting of which would eventually become a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. Arneson and his friends would demonstrate their game for Gary Gygax. By phone and mail the two worked together on the game. After play testing, Arneson and Gygax tried to sell what was then called "the Fantasy Game" to both Avalon Hill and Guidon Games. Both companies rejected it.
With funding provided by Brian Blume, Gary Gygax and Don Kaye founded Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR Inc.) in 1973. The company published Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. While Dungeons & Dragons may not have been the first role playing game, it was the first to be widely available. In role playing games, players create their own fictional characters, each with their own personalities, pasts, and motivations separate for their own. An individual called a Game Master(GM for short) referees the game. He or she also controls the imaginary environment in which the player characters exist, creating everything from the setting to the adventures to non-player characters(NPC). In many respects role playing games are simply a variation of such childhood games as "cops and robbers."
While Arneson co-created Dungeons & Dragons, he would not formally be a part of TSR until he joined as their Director of Research in 1976. Arneson did not remain with TSR for long. He left towards the end of the year to pursue his own career as an independent game developer. Heritage Models published Arneson's Dungeonmaster's Index in 1977. In 1979 he released the role playing game Adventures in Fantasy, co-created by Richard L. Snider. It was also that year that he filed his first of five lawsuits against Gary Gygax and TSR Hobbies Inc. over royalties and credit on the adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The suits would eventually be settle out of court in 1981. As a result Dave Arneson had been credited as a co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons ever since.
Afterwards Dave Arneson founded Adventure Games, which published the games Johnny Reb, Harpoon. While Adventure Games would be successful, it would also create a considerable workload for Arneson. He eventually sold out to Flying Buffalo (publishers of Tunnels and Trolls). After Gary Gygax became president of TSR, Arneson returned to TSR in the Eighties and developed several adventures for the Blackmoor campaign setting. After Gary Gygax left the company in 1985, Arneson's association with TSR was terminated.
Dave Arneson then founded the computer company 4D Interactive Systems, Inc. He also consulted with other computer companies. It was in the Nineties that he started work at Full Sail University, a university in Winter Park, Florida geared towards the business of entertainment. There he would be a professor computer design. Arenson and Dustin Clingman would found Zeitgeist Games with the goal of updating Blackmmoor. The new version of Blackmoor was published in 2004.
Dave Arneson was pivotal in the history of role playing games. Quite simply, without Dave Arneson D&D and all the role playing games which followed it would not exist. According to Wizards of the Coast, the current publishers of D&D, he "...developed many of the fundamental ideas of role playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures and that personality is as important as combat prowess." Dave Arneson then did not merely co-create Dungeons and Dragons, but developed the most basic principles of the role playing game.
When I was young I would play a good deal of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and other role playing games. And I do believe I owe a good deal to the role playing games I which I played. I believe that they helped exercise my imagination, helped develop my ability to create plots, and improved my ability to develop characters. Role playing games made me a better writer. While I no longer play role playing games, I do owe them a great debt. I then also owe Dave Arneson a great debt, without whom role playing games could not exist.
Dave Arneson was born on October 1, 1947 Hennepin County, Minnesota. He grew up around St. Paul and attended the University of Minnesota. He had developed an interest in war games after his parents had bought him a copy of Avalon Hill's Gettysburg in the early Sixties. He became a avid player of naval war games, and in the late Sixties began playing war games with the Midwest Military Simulation Association in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. While playing with the Midwest Military Simulation Association, Arneson took the first steps in the development of role playing games.
It was in August 1969 that Dave Arneson attended the second annual Gen Con, a national gaming convention. There he met Gary Gygax, who had co-created the medieval miniatures war game called Chainmail with Jeff Perren. Together the two of them would develop a naval war game, Don't Give Up The Ship. It was in 1970 that Arneson started developing a medieval miniatures game based around the exploration of castle dungeons. Originally resolving combat through the simple method of rock/scissors/paper, Arneson eventually adapted the Chainmail rules and rules from naval war games (from where the idea of Armour Class came) to his own ends. He also developed his own rules as he went along.
The game would eventually become Blackmoor, the setting of which would eventually become a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. Arneson and his friends would demonstrate their game for Gary Gygax. By phone and mail the two worked together on the game. After play testing, Arneson and Gygax tried to sell what was then called "the Fantasy Game" to both Avalon Hill and Guidon Games. Both companies rejected it.
With funding provided by Brian Blume, Gary Gygax and Don Kaye founded Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR Inc.) in 1973. The company published Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. While Dungeons & Dragons may not have been the first role playing game, it was the first to be widely available. In role playing games, players create their own fictional characters, each with their own personalities, pasts, and motivations separate for their own. An individual called a Game Master(GM for short) referees the game. He or she also controls the imaginary environment in which the player characters exist, creating everything from the setting to the adventures to non-player characters(NPC). In many respects role playing games are simply a variation of such childhood games as "cops and robbers."
While Arneson co-created Dungeons & Dragons, he would not formally be a part of TSR until he joined as their Director of Research in 1976. Arneson did not remain with TSR for long. He left towards the end of the year to pursue his own career as an independent game developer. Heritage Models published Arneson's Dungeonmaster's Index in 1977. In 1979 he released the role playing game Adventures in Fantasy, co-created by Richard L. Snider. It was also that year that he filed his first of five lawsuits against Gary Gygax and TSR Hobbies Inc. over royalties and credit on the adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The suits would eventually be settle out of court in 1981. As a result Dave Arneson had been credited as a co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons ever since.
Afterwards Dave Arneson founded Adventure Games, which published the games Johnny Reb, Harpoon. While Adventure Games would be successful, it would also create a considerable workload for Arneson. He eventually sold out to Flying Buffalo (publishers of Tunnels and Trolls). After Gary Gygax became president of TSR, Arneson returned to TSR in the Eighties and developed several adventures for the Blackmoor campaign setting. After Gary Gygax left the company in 1985, Arneson's association with TSR was terminated.
Dave Arneson then founded the computer company 4D Interactive Systems, Inc. He also consulted with other computer companies. It was in the Nineties that he started work at Full Sail University, a university in Winter Park, Florida geared towards the business of entertainment. There he would be a professor computer design. Arenson and Dustin Clingman would found Zeitgeist Games with the goal of updating Blackmmoor. The new version of Blackmoor was published in 2004.
Dave Arneson was pivotal in the history of role playing games. Quite simply, without Dave Arneson D&D and all the role playing games which followed it would not exist. According to Wizards of the Coast, the current publishers of D&D, he "...developed many of the fundamental ideas of role playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures and that personality is as important as combat prowess." Dave Arneson then did not merely co-create Dungeons and Dragons, but developed the most basic principles of the role playing game.
When I was young I would play a good deal of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and other role playing games. And I do believe I owe a good deal to the role playing games I which I played. I believe that they helped exercise my imagination, helped develop my ability to create plots, and improved my ability to develop characters. Role playing games made me a better writer. While I no longer play role playing games, I do owe them a great debt. I then also owe Dave Arneson a great debt, without whom role playing games could not exist.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Turner Classic Movies Turns 15
Today Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is celebrating its fifteenth birthday. The cable channel, devoted to showing classic movies commercial free, first took the air on April 14, 1994. Since that time it has become the favourite cable channel of many a movie buff.The beginning of Turner Classic Movies is to be found in the Turner Broadcasting System, a company consisting of such cable channels as TBS (originally the broadcast station WTBS), TNT, CNN, the Cartoon Network, and so on. It was in 1986 that Ted Turner, founder and head of the Turner Broadcasting System, acquired MGM/UA. This also meant that Turner acquired MGM's film library. While the amount of debut that the Turner Broadcasting System was then carrying forced Ted Turner to sell MGM/UA, he kept the MGM/UA library. In obtaining the MGM/UA library, Ted Turner also obtained the old Warner Brothers library (consisting of pre-1950 films and pre-1948 animated shorts). Warner Brothers had sold their pre-1950 films and pre-1948 shorts to Associated Artists Productions in the late Fifties. The company was bought out by United Artists in 1958. It was in the Sixties that RKO sold its library to United Artists. By the late Eighties, then, Ted turned controlled the films made by MGM prior to 1986, the Warner Brothers prior to 1950, and the RKO library. This included such classics as Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, and King Kong.
After acquiring these libraries, many classic films would show up on TNT, albeit with commercial interruptions. Here it should perhaps be pointed out that Ted Turner was not particularly well loved by film buffs. It was also in the late Eighties that Ted Turner aggressively promoted the colourisation of classic black and white films. During this period Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, It's a Wonderful Life, and other classic films were all colourised. This naturally resulted in considerable outcry against Ted Turner. Fortunately, by the mid-Nineties the colourisation process had proven too expensive and Turner ceased colourising films.
It could well have been the success of classic films aired on TNT that led to the founding of Turner Classic Movies. It was advertised that April The channel would be "...uninterrupted, uncolorized and commercial-free!" The date April 14, 1994 was chosen because it was supposedly the 100th anniversary of the first movie to be shown publicly in New York City. The first movie ever aired on the channel was Gone With the Wind.
Then, as now, Robert Osborne was the host on Turner Classic Movies. Osborne had been a contract player for Desilu when he was young, appearing in a small part in The Californians and guest starring on Whirlybirds and The Beverly Hillbillies. It was Lucille Ball herself who advised Osborne to combine his interest in entertainment and journalism. In 1977 he became a reporter for The Hollywood Reporter. In 1983 he started writing the lead column of the paper, "The Rambling Reporter." He had also written several books on film prior to his hosting duties on TCM.
As might be expected, from the beginning much of TCM's programming came from the MGM, UA, RKO, and Warner Brothers libraries. Their programming is not limited to films from these libraries, as they also show films under licence from other studios, such as Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Walt Disney Productions.
Turner Classic Movies would not remain the only classic movie channel for long. Only a few months later, on October 1, 1994, the channel received competition in the form of American Movies Classics (AMC). In the beginning AMC was much like TCM, airing classic films commercial-free and uninterrupted. This would eventually change. In 2000 AMC started airing ten minutes worth of commercials per hour. In October 2002 it changed its format so that it would air more recent films in order to appeal to a broader audience. In 2003 it would deemphasise the name American Movie Classics in favour of AMC. It seems possible that AMC simply could not compete with TCM in the realm of classic movies.
The same month that AMC opened its doors, TCM's other primary competitor also went on the air. The Fox Movie Channel began as fXM--Movies from Fox on October 31, 1994, changing its name to the Fox Movie Channel in 2000. The Fox Movie Channel airs movies from the entire history of 20th Century Fox, the studio having retained its library all these years. Like TCM the Fox Movie Channel is commercial free.
Turner Classic Movies was only two years old when the conglomerate Time Warner acquired the Turner Broadcasting System. As a result, TCM now had access to all Warner Brothers movies made after 1950, as well as films from libraries which Warner Brothers had bought (including the National General Pictures and Saul Zaentz libraries).
In 1996 TCM launched Now Playing, the channel's viewing guide. Not only does Now Playing feature the channel's complete schedule for a month, but photos, trivia, and articles about classic movies.
While the cable channel's various promos have changed over the years, TCM's programming largely has not. To this day the bulk of the channel's programming consists of classic films. That is not to say that TCM has not had its own original programming. Over the years TCM has shown many documentaries on film, including Stardust: The Bette Davis Story, Lana Turner: A Daughter's Memoirs, Billy Wilder Speaks, and many others. In 2000 it debuted the series The Essentials. Each week The Essentials spotlights a classic film, complete with an introduction and a discussion of the film after it has aired. It was originally hosted by director Rob Reiner and later Sydney Pollack and Peter Bogdanovich. Since 2006 it has been hosted by Robert Osborne and a co-host (currently Alec Baldwin). In October 2006 TCM debuted TCM Underground, hosted by Rob Zombie and dedicated to various cult films (primarily in the horror genre).
Every year in February Turner Classic Movies shows the film festival called 31 Days of Oscar, which looks back at various films which have won or have been nominated for an Academy Award. Every August TCM holds it Month of Stars, with each day dedicated to a single star. Since 2000 TCM has held the annual Young Composers Film Competition, in which young composers must score a restored, feature-length silent film.
I believe I can speak for all fans of classic films when I say that Turner Classic Films has been a godsend to movie buffs. By the Nineties most local TV station had ceased to show older films, if they showed movies at all. Similarly, the various cable channels tended to favour more recent films. There were becoming fewer and fewer venues where a film buff could watch classic movies. Turner Classic Movies then came about at precisely the right time, when it was becoming a rare thing for one to see classic movies on television. What made all of this better is that not only did TCM actually show classic movies (and almost nothing but classic movies), but it showed them uninterrupted, commercial-free, and usually in their original screen format (even today it is rare to see films in letterbox on television). What is more, TCM sometimes shows movies that are not yet available on DVD, giving viewers the chance to see films that they might not otherwise get to. If TCM has lasted 15 years, it is perhaps because it is because it is simply giving people what they want and what they see nowhere else--classic films.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
"Falling Hare" Starring Bugs Bunny
Today being a holiday, instead of a full fledged post I thought I would leave you with a suitable cartoon. In this case, it is the classic "Falling Hare" starring Bugs Bunny.
"Falling Hare" was directed by Bob Clampett. Clampett worked on Warner Brothers cartoons for literally years, directing many of the best. After leaving Warner Brothers he would gain even more fame as the creator of the early television puppet show Time for Beany and the animated series Beany and Cecil based upon it.
Falling Hare was released on October 30, 1943 and draws heavily upon the ongoing World War II for its plot. It is set at an Army Air Force base in which Bugs matches wits with a gremlin. It refers to rationing, a fact of life during the war. As might be expected of a Bob Clampett cartoon, it contains a few pop culture references, among them the novel Of Mice and Men and one time presidential candidate Wendell Willkie. Here, without further ado, is "Falling Hare," courtesy of YouTube.
"Falling Hare" was directed by Bob Clampett. Clampett worked on Warner Brothers cartoons for literally years, directing many of the best. After leaving Warner Brothers he would gain even more fame as the creator of the early television puppet show Time for Beany and the animated series Beany and Cecil based upon it.
Falling Hare was released on October 30, 1943 and draws heavily upon the ongoing World War II for its plot. It is set at an Army Air Force base in which Bugs matches wits with a gremlin. It refers to rationing, a fact of life during the war. As might be expected of a Bob Clampett cartoon, it contains a few pop culture references, among them the novel Of Mice and Men and one time presidential candidate Wendell Willkie. Here, without further ado, is "Falling Hare," courtesy of YouTube.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Harvey
This time of year generally brings to mind rabbits. For many this might bring to mind Bugs Bunny or perhaps Peter Rabbit and Uncle Wiggily Longears for the more literary minded. Myself, I think of a rabbit named Harvey. If you have never heard of Harvey, then you have obviously never heard of the play or the movie of the same name.
The play Harvey centred on Elwood P. Dowd who had a most interesting friend--a six foot, three and 1/2 inch tall rabbit named Harvey that apparently only he can see. This naturally causes his sister Veta to have him committed. In the sanatorium, however, the affable Elwood and his invisible friend have a most unexpected effect on his physicians and nurses. There are hints in the play and its adaptations that others, including Elwood's sister Veta and the sceptical Dr. Chumley, see Harvey on occasion. And while Elwood does drink and there is a possibility he is mad, Elwood has another explanation for Harvey--he is a pooka (a fairy of Celtic myth capable of taking animal shape).
Harvey debuted on Broadway on Nov 1, 1944, starring Frank Fay as Elwood P. Dowd and Josephine Hull as his sister Veta. It proved to a huge hit, ultimately running five years. It also its playwright, Mary Chase, the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This success would naturally mean that it would be adapted as a motion picture, which was released in 1950. The screenplay was co-authored by Mary Chase herself, Oscar Brodney, and Myles Connolly. Josephine Hull reprised her role as Veta, although in the film Elwood P. Dowd would be played by Jimmy Stewart. Hull would win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. Stewart would receive a nomination for the Oscar for Best Actor. The film has since become regarded as a classic and Elwood P. Dowd would be regarded as one of Stewart's signature roles.
Indeed, the movie was not the last time Stewart played Dowd. He returned to the role in a revival of Harvey on Broadway in 1970. He played Dowd again in a television adaptation of the play in 1972. Helen Hayes, who played his sister Veta in the 1970 Broadway revival of the play, reprised the role in the television movie.
The 1972 television adaptation was not the only one ever made. The play was adapted for an episode of The DuPont Show of the Month in 1958, with Art Carney in the role of Elwood. In 1998 Harvey would again be adapted for television, this time with Harry Anderson of Night Court fame as Elwood.
While I am partial to the 1950 movie, I must confess that I have enjoyed Harvey in all of the incarnations I have seen (namely, the 1972 and 1998 television movies). Much of this is because it is a genuinely funny comedy, particularly in the hands of Jimmy Stewart. He was perfect in the role of Elwood P. Dowd. In fact, I dare say that beyond George Bailey, it is the role with which I most identify him. Beyond being a very funny comedy, however, I think there is another reason I love Harvey. In many respects it is a paean to the individual. Elwood is the only one who can see Harvey and most people think he is crazy because of that. And yet in the end he wins most people over. Harvey is in many respects a argument for being oneself, even when being oneself means seeing a six foot, three and 1/2 inch tall rabbit.
The play Harvey centred on Elwood P. Dowd who had a most interesting friend--a six foot, three and 1/2 inch tall rabbit named Harvey that apparently only he can see. This naturally causes his sister Veta to have him committed. In the sanatorium, however, the affable Elwood and his invisible friend have a most unexpected effect on his physicians and nurses. There are hints in the play and its adaptations that others, including Elwood's sister Veta and the sceptical Dr. Chumley, see Harvey on occasion. And while Elwood does drink and there is a possibility he is mad, Elwood has another explanation for Harvey--he is a pooka (a fairy of Celtic myth capable of taking animal shape).
Harvey debuted on Broadway on Nov 1, 1944, starring Frank Fay as Elwood P. Dowd and Josephine Hull as his sister Veta. It proved to a huge hit, ultimately running five years. It also its playwright, Mary Chase, the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This success would naturally mean that it would be adapted as a motion picture, which was released in 1950. The screenplay was co-authored by Mary Chase herself, Oscar Brodney, and Myles Connolly. Josephine Hull reprised her role as Veta, although in the film Elwood P. Dowd would be played by Jimmy Stewart. Hull would win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. Stewart would receive a nomination for the Oscar for Best Actor. The film has since become regarded as a classic and Elwood P. Dowd would be regarded as one of Stewart's signature roles.
Indeed, the movie was not the last time Stewart played Dowd. He returned to the role in a revival of Harvey on Broadway in 1970. He played Dowd again in a television adaptation of the play in 1972. Helen Hayes, who played his sister Veta in the 1970 Broadway revival of the play, reprised the role in the television movie.
The 1972 television adaptation was not the only one ever made. The play was adapted for an episode of The DuPont Show of the Month in 1958, with Art Carney in the role of Elwood. In 1998 Harvey would again be adapted for television, this time with Harry Anderson of Night Court fame as Elwood.
While I am partial to the 1950 movie, I must confess that I have enjoyed Harvey in all of the incarnations I have seen (namely, the 1972 and 1998 television movies). Much of this is because it is a genuinely funny comedy, particularly in the hands of Jimmy Stewart. He was perfect in the role of Elwood P. Dowd. In fact, I dare say that beyond George Bailey, it is the role with which I most identify him. Beyond being a very funny comedy, however, I think there is another reason I love Harvey. In many respects it is a paean to the individual. Elwood is the only one who can see Harvey and most people think he is crazy because of that. And yet in the end he wins most people over. Harvey is in many respects a argument for being oneself, even when being oneself means seeing a six foot, three and 1/2 inch tall rabbit.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Stratemeyer Syndicate: How Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Were Born
The origins of the Stratemeyer Syndicate are to be found in writer Edward Stratemeyer. Edward Stratemeyer had been an editor for Street and Smith's Good News. He had already written full length novels when he met with his first big success. The Rover Boys series centred on Tom, Sam, and Dick Rover, students at a military boarding school. Tom, Sam, and Dick were adventurous and mischievous boys who found themselves at odds with criminals and even the authorities. The series was written entirely by Edward Stratemeyer under the pseudonym of "Arthur M. Winfield." Today the Rover Boys are largely forgotten, remembered perhaps only by animation buffs as the source material which Chuck Jones' classic Warner Brothers short "The Dover Boys at Pimento University" or "The Rivals of Roquefort Hall" parodied. In their day, however, they were enormously popular. Thirty Rover Boys books were published between 1899 and 1926. Even after the series had ended, the books remained in print for years. More importantly, they provided the blueprint for for every other Stratemeyer Syndicate series which followed.
Perhaps because of the success of the Rover Boys, Edward Stratemeyer realised that there was a huge demand for juvenile novels. To this end he formed the Stratemeyer Syndicate around 1905. The purpose of the Stratemeyer Syndicate was simply to mass produce books for children meant purely for entertainment. Stratemeyer would create a very rough outline for a novel, sometimes only a title, then hand it off to one of the Syndicate's writers to flesh out. All of the writers (including Stratemeyer himself) wrote under pen names and every one of them was expected to remain unknown as the writers of the books. Stratemeyer kept the copyright on all titles, while the writers were simply paid a flat fee.
The Stratemeyer Syndicate's initial successes would come technically before the Syndicate actually existed. The Rover Boys series had been around for six years when the Syndicate was formed. Stratemeyer's next successful series would be a year old when the Syndicate came about. It is thought that Edward Stratemeyer himself wrote the first Bobbsey Twins novel, under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope, in 1904. The series was then taken over by Lillian Garis, the wife of Howard Roger Garis (more on him in a bit). Like many of Stratemeyer's writers, Mrs. Garis was a journalist, having worked for the Newark Evening News. She would write the next twenty four novels. The Bobbsey Twins followed the adventures of two sets of fraternal twins, an older pair Bert and Nan, and a younger pair Flossie and Freddie. The Bobbsey Twins would prove incredibly resilient through the years. Launched in 1904, the series would last until 1979 and a total of seventy two books. Indeed, the phrase "Bobbsey Twins" is to this day applied to two people who seem inseparable.
The books in the Stratemeyer Syndicate series were written and published according to certain guidelines. The chapters would end in the middle of situations, so as to keep the reader's interest. The books would all be around the same length. They would look as much like adult books of the time as possible. In the earlier days of the syndicate such characters as the Rover Boys and Tom Swift would be allowed to age and even marry. When Edward Stratemeyer figured out that sales dropped afterwards, he decided that his characters would never marry. In fact, it appears that they ceased ageing. The Bobbsey Twins were perpetually twelve and six. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were perpetually teenagers.
In the wake of the Rover Boys and the Bobbsey Twins, the Stratemeyer Syndicate came out with yet more series, such as Dave Fearless and The Great Marvel. None would see the success of either the Rover Boys or the Bobbsey Twins, at least until a character called Tom Swift came along. Tom Swift was created by Edward Stratemeyer and first appeared in 1910. Although he outlined the first few books, they were written by Howard R. Garis under the pen name Victor Appleton. If the name "Howard R. Garis" sounds familiar, it is perhaps because he also created Uncle Wiggily.
Tom Swift was a young inventor who used his ingenuity to get out of scrapes. Most of his adventures centred around some breakthrough in technology, and a good deal of them dealt with vehicles. The very first book was Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle, to be followed by such titles as Tom Swift and His Airship, Tom Swift and His Sky Racer, Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, and so on. The series proved enormously successful, running forty titles until 1941. That would not be the end of the Tom Swift. In 1954 the Stratemeyer Syndicate began a new series, The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures, in which Tom Swift was all grown up and his son has various adventures. The series would run for thirty three books, until 1971. A third Tom Swift series had a short run from 1981 to 1984. While the previous Tom Swift series took place in the present, this one was set in a futuristic world with Swift exploring the universe. The series had a loose connection with the others. This Tom Swift is said to be the son of the "great Tom Swift" and Swift Enterprises, Swift Sr.'s company in the previous series, plays a role. A third series ran briefly from 1991 to 1993, with Tom Swift set in the present again. A fourth series ran even more briefly, in a series of paperback published from 2006 to 2007. It is the only Tom Swift series which lasted less than ten volumes.
Although Tom Swift did not have the continuous publication history of either the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, he would have a huge impact on American pop culture. The full name of the Taser, the electroshock weapon used by many police departments, is an acronym of Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle--a reference to the weapon Swift developed in the tenth book of the first series (here it must be pointed out that Tom's middle name is never mentioned in the series). In the Seventies computer engineer Lee Felsenstein, who played a pivotal role in the development of the home computer, was developing what he called "the Tom Swift Terminal," a means of turning an ordinary television screen into a computer terminal (it was never completed). Curiously, like most of Stratemeyer's characters, Tom Swift never made it to the big screen. He was teamed up with another Stratemeyer character, Linda Craig (a short lived series from the Sixties) in an unsold pilot titled The Tom Swift and Linda Craig Mystery Hour, which aired on July 3, 1983 on ABC.
Another early Stratemeyer series which would achieve some success was Bomba the Jungle Boy. The series centred on Bomba, a boy who grew up in the South American jungle. After the first ten books, the action was shifted to Africa, perhaps to take advantage of the success of the Tarzan movies. There were 20 volumes in all of Bomba the Jungle Boy, published from 1926 to 1938. The series would later provide the basis for the series of Bomba the Jungle Boy movies starring Johnny Sheffield (who had played Boy in the Tarzan movies). Starting with Bomba the Jungle Boy in 1949, Monogram would make twelve Bomba movies until 1955. From 1967 to 1968 DC Comics published seven issues of Bomba the Jungle Boy.
The Stratemeyer Syndicate published eighty one different series until 1930 alone. Such success did not go unnoticed, and a rather large movement against juvenile literary series arose. From the 1910s until World War I, The American Library Association, the American Bookseller's Association, various local PTAs, the Boy Scouts of America, and so on opposed the various books series as being poorly written and produced in assembly line fashion. It was not unusual for libraries to ban the books outright.
Such criticisms did not hinder the success of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and eventually they would subside. In fact, the Syndicate's greatest successes were yet to come. In 1926 Edward Stratemeyer created a series about two teenage brothers who were also amateur detectives. The Hardy Boys centred on Frank and Joe Hardy, sons of private eye Fenton Hardy, who spend their free time solving mysteries. The series was first published in 1927 with the title The Tower Treasure. Under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon, nineteen of the first twenty five Hardy Boys books were written by Leslie McFarlane. Leslie McFarlane was a Canadian newspaperman who took the job of writing The Hardy Boys Mysteries primarily for extra money. In addition to the Hardy Boys, McFarlane wrote other Stratemeyer series, as well as stories for the pulp magazines. Later he would become a writer for both CBC Radio and CBC Television, write novels under his own name, episodes of The U.S. Steel Hour and Playdate, and documentary films.
The Hardy Boys would prove wildly successful. The Hardy Boys Mysteries was the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest running series, lasting until 2005 with 190 volumes published. From 1987 to 1998 it would run concurrent with another series, The Hardy Boys Casefiles. A new series, Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers, would begin in 2005. From 1991 to 2007, Applewood Books published facsimile editions of the books in the original series. On television the Hardy Boys would appear in a series on The Mickey Mouse Club in the Fifties, an animated series on ABC Saturday morning from 1969 to 1971, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries from 1977 to 1979, and a short lived Canadian series in 1995. Curiously, they never made it to the big screen, although they will in the comedy The Hardy Men (featuring Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller as the now grown up Hardys) to be released in 2010. There have also been comic books, games, and even video games based on the Hardy Boys.
The success of the Hardy Boys would lead to Edward Stratemeyer's most successful creation. Created by Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy Drew first appeared in 1930. She was a teenage girl with a penchant for solving mysteries, the daughter of attorney Carson Drew. She was usually assisted by her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne (who is a girl, named after her grandfather). Nancy Drew was written under the pen name Carolyn Keene, although twenty three of the first twenty five books were written by Mildred Wirt Benson. Like many of Stratemeyer's writers, Wirt Benson was a journalist by trade. In fact, she worked in newspapers for 58 years and was still writing a weekly column at the age of 96 when she died. She was very much like Nancy Drew herself, an independent and strong willed woman who was a skilled xylophone player, diver, and aviator. In fact, she often came to heads with Edward Stratemeyer's daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams over the novels. It was not unusual for Wirt Benson to have Nancy ordering police officers and doctors around. Stratemeyer Adams insisted that Nancy be a bit more polite. Mildred Wirt Benson would go on to write the Penny Parker mystery novels under her own name, as well as the Mildred A. Wirt Mystery Stories.
Nancy Drew would also make it to television. She appeared in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries from 1977 to 1979. A new Canadian series, Nancy Drew and Daughter, was being made in 1989. It starred Margot Kidder as an adult Nancy Drew. Kidder was injured in the first episode and the series never came into being. In 1995 a Canadian series, Nancy Drew, lasted one season. ABC aired a telefilm starring Maggie Lawson (Juliet on Psych) as the title character. Nancy has also appeared in board games and computer games.
Unfortunately, Edward Stratemeyer would never see Nancy's success. He died twelve days after the publication of the first Nancy Drew novel. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was inherited by his daughters Harriet Stratemeyer and Edna Stratemeyer Squier. It was only after a few years that Edna Stratemeyer Squier sold her interest to Harriet Stratemeyer. With Harriet Stratemeyer Adams in charge, such new series as the Dana Girls, Kay Tracey, and Tom Swift Jr. were introduced. Harriet Stratemeyer Adams at one time took credit for writing the Nancy Drew Mysteries. While it is now known that she did not, she did apparently write some of the novels (as well as novels in The Hardy Boys Mysteries series) and provide outlines for many of the books.
It was Harriet Stratemeyer Adams who would oversee a project begun in 1959 to update the early novels in the Stratemeyer Syndicate series. The earliest novels contained obvious anachronisms such as references to horses and carriages and such terms as "roadster." More seriously, racial stereotypes and words that would be considered racial slurs today were also removed. In some instances, the novels were rewritten to such a point that they could hardly be considered the same book. There has always been some debate on the revisions among fans. Particularly among Nancy Drew fans, there are those who maintain that Nancy lost her independence, going from a strong willed young woman to something less.
The revisions were in part an effort to keep the Stratemeyer series up with the times. Indeed, the Stratemeyer Syndicate sometimes went with the times in creating new series. The popularity of science fiction on both television and motion picture screens in the Fifties may well have led to the creation of Tom Swift Jr. The Christopher Cool series featured a teenage secret agent, the Syndicate's attempt to capitalise on the spy craze of the Sixties. It was not a success, lasting only from 1967 to 1969.
For most of its history the Stratemeyer Syndicate had operated in relative secrecy, maintaining the illusion that The Hardy Boys Mysteries were indeed written by the non-existent Franklin W. Dixon and The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were indeed written by the non-existent Carolyn Keene. From nearly the beginning their novels were published by Grosset & Dunlap. By 1980, however, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams had grown very unhappy with Grosset & Dunlap, in large part because the company had wholly ignored the 50th anniversary of the Hardy Boys in 1977. She then switched publishers to Simon and Schuster. In response Grosset & Dunlap sued both the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Simon and Schuster on grounds of "breach of contract, copyright infringement, and unfair competition." Harriet Stratemeyer Adams countersued, claiming Grosset & Dunlap's suit was frivolous and that she had written the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories herself and thus owned the rights to them. Ultimately, the lawsuit revealed the existence of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to the general public and its extensive use of ghostwriters (including the fact that Harriet Stratemeyer Adams had not written most of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories). The court ultimately ruled that while Grosset & Dunlap could continue publishing the titles that they had published in the past, the Syndicate was free to take subsequent volumes elsewhere.
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams died in 1982. It was in 1987 that Simon and Schuster bought the Stratemeyer Syndicate from her heirs and renamed it Mega-Books. It would continue handling the publication of new volumes in the various Stratemeyer series. It is in this form that the Syndicate continues to this day.
In the end the Stratemeyer Syndicate would prove to be one of the most successful producers of juvenile literature in literary history. By 1926 a study conducted by the American Library Association revealed that 98% of all children considered a book produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate to be their favourite. The Syndicate would publish over 1200 different books in 125 different series in its long history. Arguably, few book packagers would meet with this kind of success. The success the Syndicate had with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew alone would make many other publishers envious. Their legacy continues even to this day, with each new Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew book. It will probably continue for a long time to come.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The First Cartoons on Television in Prime Time
When most people are asked what the first animated series on American network prime time television was, they will most likely say The Flintstones. As it turns out, they would be wrong. The Flintstones was not the first animated series to air in American prime time. In fact, it wasn't even the first animated series on American television aimed at adults. That honour would go to another series.
That series was CBS Cartoon Theatre. In 1955 Paul Terry, founder and owner of the animation studio Terrytoons, retired. He sold the studio (home to such characters as Mighty Mouse and the team of Heckle and Jeckle) lock, stock, and barrel to the Columbia Broadcasting System, even though 20th Century Fox would continue to distribute Terrytoon's theatrical shorts. CBS put Gene Deitch, late of UPA, in charge of the newly acquired studio. Deitch would not last long at Terrytoons, as he clashed with many of the studio's old timers, but he would breath new life into the studio. Namely, it was on his watch that a new animated series, "Tom Terrific," was created for the then young series Captain Kangaroo, as well as such characters as Gaston Le Crayon and Sidney the Elephant were created. Among the young talents he brought to the studio was Jules Feiffer.
CBS itself would put the old Terrytoon theatrical shorts to good use. The first thing they did was to make history with the first Saturday morning animated series, Mighty Mouse Playhouse. Mighty Mouse Playhouse was essentially an anthology series consisting of Terrytoons' old theatrical shorts. It proved to be a roaring success. Not only did it pave the way for all Saturday morning cartoons to come, but it would last eleven seasons itself. It debuted on December 10, 1955.
Like Mighty Mouse Playhouse, CBS Cartoon Theatre was a collection of old Terrytoons shorts. Unlike Mighty Mouse Playhouse, it would not be successful. CBS was eager to capitalise on the success of ABC's Disneyland, so they created a somewhat similar show. CBS Cartoon Theatre was hosted by a young comedian named Dick Van Dyke, who hosted the show from an office setting not unlike Walt Disney on Disneyland. Van Dyke would interact with Terrytoons' various animated characters, such as Heckle and Jeckle and Gandy Goose, in the live action opening segments and bridge segments. The major difference in the formats of the two shows was that Disneyland primarily aired live action, while CBS Cartoon Theatre was purely an anthology of animated shorts. While CBS Cartoon Theatre marked the first time an animated series, albeit an animated anthology series made of previously released material, aired on network prime time television, it would not be a success. CBS Cartoon Theatre only lasted thirteen weeks and was not picked up for the fall. Apparently CBS Cartoon Theatre could not compete with Disneyland, not even in reruns. It debuted as a summer replacement on Wednesday, June 13, 1956 at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.
That would not be the end of Terrytoons on CBS's schedule by a long shot. They would follow up the success of Mighty Mouse Playhouse with The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show, which debuted on Saturday morning on October 1956. The Mighty Heroes, created by Ralph Bakshi, would air for one season on the network in the 1966-1967 season.
Of course, here it must be pointed out that The Flintstones wasn't even the second animated series to air in prime time. In 1956 CBS debuted The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, a collection of UPA theatrical shorts. It was narrated by radio announcer Bill Goodwin and aired on Sunday evenings at 5:30 Eastern Time. Ultimately the series proved too expensive to produce and was cancelled after three months. It would be rerun during the summer of 1957 in prime time on Friday nights, making it the second animated series to air in prime time.
Both the Terrytoon shorts and especially the UPA shorts (which could be fairly sophisticated) were made with adult audiences, rather than children, in mind. After all, these theatrical shorts were meant to be run before feature films which had been made for adults or, at least, audiences of all ages. The Flintstones was then not even the first animated series aimed at adults.
That having been said, The Flintstones does have a firm place in history as the first animated series composed of entirely new material to air in prime time. Both CBS Cartoon Theatre and The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show were anthology series consisting of previously released, theatrical shorts. The Flintstones was an entirely new series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It would prove more successful than either CBS Cartoon Theatre or The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, lasting a total of six seasons.
Of course, even the success of The Flintstones would not guarantee that animation would be regularly seen on network prime time television. After a very brief cycle towards prime time cartoons in the early Sixties which spawned both The Jetsons and Jonny Quest, it would not be until the Nineties that a significant number of animated series would debut on network prime time television. Even after the success of The Simpsons (set to become the longest running scripted primetime series with continuing characters after this season) and King of the Hill, animation in prime time is a rare thing. Regardless, it all started with a collection of Terrytoon shorts hosted by Dick Van Dyke.
That series was CBS Cartoon Theatre. In 1955 Paul Terry, founder and owner of the animation studio Terrytoons, retired. He sold the studio (home to such characters as Mighty Mouse and the team of Heckle and Jeckle) lock, stock, and barrel to the Columbia Broadcasting System, even though 20th Century Fox would continue to distribute Terrytoon's theatrical shorts. CBS put Gene Deitch, late of UPA, in charge of the newly acquired studio. Deitch would not last long at Terrytoons, as he clashed with many of the studio's old timers, but he would breath new life into the studio. Namely, it was on his watch that a new animated series, "Tom Terrific," was created for the then young series Captain Kangaroo, as well as such characters as Gaston Le Crayon and Sidney the Elephant were created. Among the young talents he brought to the studio was Jules Feiffer.
CBS itself would put the old Terrytoon theatrical shorts to good use. The first thing they did was to make history with the first Saturday morning animated series, Mighty Mouse Playhouse. Mighty Mouse Playhouse was essentially an anthology series consisting of Terrytoons' old theatrical shorts. It proved to be a roaring success. Not only did it pave the way for all Saturday morning cartoons to come, but it would last eleven seasons itself. It debuted on December 10, 1955.
Like Mighty Mouse Playhouse, CBS Cartoon Theatre was a collection of old Terrytoons shorts. Unlike Mighty Mouse Playhouse, it would not be successful. CBS was eager to capitalise on the success of ABC's Disneyland, so they created a somewhat similar show. CBS Cartoon Theatre was hosted by a young comedian named Dick Van Dyke, who hosted the show from an office setting not unlike Walt Disney on Disneyland. Van Dyke would interact with Terrytoons' various animated characters, such as Heckle and Jeckle and Gandy Goose, in the live action opening segments and bridge segments. The major difference in the formats of the two shows was that Disneyland primarily aired live action, while CBS Cartoon Theatre was purely an anthology of animated shorts. While CBS Cartoon Theatre marked the first time an animated series, albeit an animated anthology series made of previously released material, aired on network prime time television, it would not be a success. CBS Cartoon Theatre only lasted thirteen weeks and was not picked up for the fall. Apparently CBS Cartoon Theatre could not compete with Disneyland, not even in reruns. It debuted as a summer replacement on Wednesday, June 13, 1956 at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.
That would not be the end of Terrytoons on CBS's schedule by a long shot. They would follow up the success of Mighty Mouse Playhouse with The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show, which debuted on Saturday morning on October 1956. The Mighty Heroes, created by Ralph Bakshi, would air for one season on the network in the 1966-1967 season.
Of course, here it must be pointed out that The Flintstones wasn't even the second animated series to air in prime time. In 1956 CBS debuted The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, a collection of UPA theatrical shorts. It was narrated by radio announcer Bill Goodwin and aired on Sunday evenings at 5:30 Eastern Time. Ultimately the series proved too expensive to produce and was cancelled after three months. It would be rerun during the summer of 1957 in prime time on Friday nights, making it the second animated series to air in prime time.
Both the Terrytoon shorts and especially the UPA shorts (which could be fairly sophisticated) were made with adult audiences, rather than children, in mind. After all, these theatrical shorts were meant to be run before feature films which had been made for adults or, at least, audiences of all ages. The Flintstones was then not even the first animated series aimed at adults.
That having been said, The Flintstones does have a firm place in history as the first animated series composed of entirely new material to air in prime time. Both CBS Cartoon Theatre and The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show were anthology series consisting of previously released, theatrical shorts. The Flintstones was an entirely new series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It would prove more successful than either CBS Cartoon Theatre or The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, lasting a total of six seasons.
Of course, even the success of The Flintstones would not guarantee that animation would be regularly seen on network prime time television. After a very brief cycle towards prime time cartoons in the early Sixties which spawned both The Jetsons and Jonny Quest, it would not be until the Nineties that a significant number of animated series would debut on network prime time television. Even after the success of The Simpsons (set to become the longest running scripted primetime series with continuing characters after this season) and King of the Hill, animation in prime time is a rare thing. Regardless, it all started with a collection of Terrytoon shorts hosted by Dick Van Dyke.
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