Phil Ramone Passes On

Music producer Phil Ramone died 30 March 2013 at the age of 79. The cause was a brain aneurysm. 

Phil Ramone was born 5 January 1934 in South Africa. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up. He was a music prodigy as a child, learning violin when he was only three years old. As a child he listened to music by Charlie Parker and Count Basie. While he was interested in popular music, he also studied classical music. He studied for a time at Juilliard School in New York before he started his music career. He started his career as a songwriter in the legendary Brill Building. Afterwards he took a job as an engineer at JAC Recording in New York. 

It was in 1958 that Phil Ramone and Jack Arnold opened A&R Recording in Manhattan, New York City. As an engineer there he worked with such names as John Coltrane and Quincy Jones. He won his first Grammy in 1964 for his work on tan Getz and Joao Gilberto’s album Getz/Gilberto. As the Sixties progressed he moved more towards the fields of pop, rhythm and blues, and rock, working with such artists as Leslie Gore (including her hit single "It's My Party"), Dusty Springfield ("The Look of Love"), Procol Harum ("Whiter Shade of Pale"), and The Band (their self titled second album). He also reportedly recorded Marilyn Monroe's infamous version of "Happy Birthday" sung to President John F. Kennedy. 

The Seventies saw Mr. Ramone work with such artists as Sir Paul McCartney, Elton John, The Band, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, and Billy Joel. In 1980 he produced the music for Paul Simon's film One Trick Pony. It was Phil Ramone who was responsible for an innovation on the film (the first time it was ever done), optical surround sound. In the Eighties he worked with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Diane Keaton, Frank Sinatra, Julian Lennon, Carly Simon, Lou Reed, Cyndi Lauper, and Paul McCartney. It was on 1 October 1982 that A & R Recording released Billy Joel's 52nd Street, in Japan.

In the Nineties Phil Ramone worked with such artists as Les Paul, Ringo Starr, Sinead O'Connor, Frank Sinatra, Laura Brannigan, Brian Setzer, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Linda Ronstadt, and Paul Simon. In the Naughts and the Teens he worked with such artists as Elton John, Liza Minelli, Tony Bennett, Rod Stewart, Bono, Ray Charles, Olivia Newton John, and Elaine Page. 

Phil Ramone may not have been as well known to the general public as other music producers, there can be no doubt that he is one of the all time greats. He worked on such iconic songs as Leslie Gore's "It's My Party," Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale," Dusty Springfield's "The Look of Love," and many others. In addition, he also made important innovations. He introduced optical surround sound in film, and it was A&R Recording who released the very first commercial CD. Throughout his career he made some very important contributions in the field of music, to the point that he really should have been better known. 

Milo O'Shea Passes On

Irish character actor Milo O'Shea died 2 April 2013 at the age of 86.

Milo O'Shea was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 2 June 1926. His father was a professional singer and his mother was both a harpist and a ballerina. His acting career began when he was very young, and he appeared in a radio adaptation of Oliver Twist when he was only 10 years old. He was twelve years old when he appeared in a production of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. By the time he was 17 years old he was already touring with an Irish acting troupe.

Mr. O'Shea made his film debut in an uncredited role in Contraband in 1940. In the Fifties he appeared in the films Talk of a Million (1951) and This Other Eden (1959), and he was the off screen narrator of the film Never Love a Stranger (1958). He appeared in the television programmes The Passing Show, Armchair Theatre, ITV Television Playhouse, On Trial.

In 1961 he received widespread recognition for his role in Glory Be! at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. He made Broadway debut in Staircase in 1968. In 1969 he appeared again on Broadway in Dear World. In the Sixties he regularly appeared on television. He was the star of the BBC sitcom Me Mammy, which ran from 1968 to 1971. Milo O'Shea also appeared in such shows as Play of the Week, Out of This World, Z Cars, Maupassant, First Night, ITV Play of the Week, Uncle Charles, and On the House. He also appeared in several films over the decade, including such films as Mrs. Gibbons' Boys (1962), Carry on Cabby (1963), Never Put It in Writing (1964), Ulysses (1967), Journey Into Darkness (1968), Romeo and Juliet (1968), Barbarella (1968), The Adding Machine (1969), Paddy (1970), Loot (1970), and The Angel Levine (1970).

In the Seventies Milo O'Shea appeared on Broadway in Mrs. Warren's Profession, Comedians, and A Touch of the Poet. On television he was a storyteller on Jackanory. He appeared on such shows as Tales from the Lazy Ace, The Protectors, QB VII, Microbes and Men, and My Son Reuben. He appeared in the films Sacco & Vanzetti (1971), The Love Ban (1973), Theatre of Blood (1973), Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973), Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973), Professor Popper's Problem (1974) Percy's Progress (1974), Arabian Adventure (1979), and The Pilot (1980).

In the Eighties Mr. O'Shea appeared on Broadway in a revival of My Fair Lady, Mass Appeal, Corpse, and a revival of Meet Me in St. Louis. He appeared in the films The Verdict (1982), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), The Dream Team (1989), and Opportunity Knocks (1990).   He appeared in the television shows Jennifer Slept Here, St. Elsewhere, Once a Hero, Who's The Boss,  The Golden Girls, and Beauty & The Beast.

From the Nineties into the Naughts, Milo O'Shea appeared in such films as Only the Lonely (1991), The Playboys (1992), The Butcher Boy (1997), The MatchMaker (1997), Rough for Theatre I (2000), Moonglow (2000), Puckoon (2002), and Mystics (2003).  He appeared on television in such shows as The Commish, Cheers, Fraiser, Early Edition, Spin City, Oz, Madigan Men, and The West Wing.

Milo O'Shea played a wide variety of roles throughout his career, and he did all of them well. He was an actor who was blessed not only with talent, but also versatility as well. Indeed, not only could he play a number of different roles well, but he was equally adept at both comedy and drama. Mr. O'Shea was easily one of the best things about Barbarella (1968), endowing the role of Durand-Durand with just the right amount of over the top madness high camp requires. At the same time, however, he was equally good in the much more restrained role of Dermot, the thoughtful matchmaker in The MatchMaker (1997). Over the years Milo O'Shea played Bloom in Ulysses, Friar Laurence in Romeo & Juliet, Inspector Boot in Theatre of Blood, and Judge Hoyle in The Verdict. Over the years Milo O'Shea played everything from doctors to priests to judges to mad scientists, and he did all of them well.

Richard Griffiths R.I.P.

Richard Griffiths, who played Uncle Monty in Withnail & I and Vernon Dursley in the "Harry Potter" films, died 28 March 2013 at the age of 65. The cause was complications following heart surgery.

Richard Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire on 31 July 1947.  His parents were both deaf and as a result Mr. Griffiths learned sign language while very young. He grew up in poverty. While he would become known for his girth as an actor, as a child he was underweight to the point that at age eight he was given treatment on his pituitary gland. As a result of the treatment he started to gain weight. He attended Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-on-Tees. He left school at age 15 in an attempt to find a job. Unable to find work, he attended classes at Stockton and Billingham College. It was when he was 17 that a teacher took him to see Edward Albee’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. He was so impressed that he enrolled in a drama class at Northern College of Music in Manchester.

It was while he was at university that he received his first major role, a part in a college production Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. He was spotted by Sir Trevor Nunn, then artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and as a result joined the company. His television debut came in 1974, in a guest appearance on the show Crown Court. In the Seventies he guest starred on such shows as Village Hall, When the Boat Comes In, Red Letter Day, The Expert, Second City Firsts, ITV Playhouse, and The Sweeney. He made his film debut in 1977 in It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet. He also appeared in Breaking Glass (1980) and Superman II (1980).

In the Eighties he starred in the television shows Bird of Prey and A Kind of Living. He guest starred on the shows Minder, Whoops Apocalypse, Five-Minute Films, Boon, and The Marksman. In 1981 he was considered to replace Tom Baker in the role of The Doctor on Doctor Who, but was unavailable to take the part. He appeared in the films Chariots of Fire (1981), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Ragtime (1981), Britannia Hospital (1982), Gandhi (1982), Gorky Park (1983), Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), Shanghai Surprise (1986), and Withnail & I (1987). He also provided the voice of Slartibartfast in radio adaptations of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series.

In the Nineties he starred in the television series Pie in the Sky. He guest starred in such shows as Perfect Scoundrels, El C.I.D., The Good Guys (not to be confused with the American series of the same name), Inspector Morse, Lovejoy, The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, In the Red, The Canterbury Tales, and The Vicar of Dibley. He also appeared in the mini-series Gormenghast. He appeared in the films The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), Guarding Tess (1994), Funny Bones (1995), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Vatel (2000).

It was in 2001 that he first appeared as Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. He appeared in the role in another four films of the eight in the series. In the Naughts he also appeared in the films Stage Beauty (2004), Venus (2006), The History Boys (2006), and  Bedtime Stories (2008),. He was the voice of Jetlz in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005). He also appeared on the television show tlc, and the miniseries Bleak House. In the Teens he appeared in the films Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Hugo (2011), and Private Peaceful (2012).

Richard Griffiths was a very talented and versatile actor, equally at home playing both drama and comedy. He was incredible as the flamboyant homosexual Monty in Withnail and I. At the same time he did well playing Anton in Gorky Park. While Mr. Griffiths was equally adept in comedy and drama, he was also versatile in the sorts of roles he could play. In The History Boys he played Hector, the popular General Studies teacher who fondles his students as he gives them rides home on his motorcycle. In Stage Beauty he played an entirely different role, that of the foppish and not particularly likeable Sir Charles Sedley. Richard Griffiths was an actor who could play both comedy and drama well, and one who could play a wide variety of roles. It is very sad that he died much too soon.

Godspeed Annette Funicello

Annette Funicello, who came to fame on The Mickey Mouse Club and went on to greater fame as a film and recording star, died today at the age of 70. The cause was complications from multiple sclerosis.

Annette Funicello was born on 22 October 1942 in Utica, New York. In 1946 her family moved to Southern California in hopes of a better life. They lived in Studio City for a time before moving to Encino. She was talented even as a young child. She took dancing lessons and also learned to play drums. In 1955 Walt Disney was casting The Mickey Mouse Club and wanted amateurs rather than seasoned professionals. He discovered Miss Funicello dancing as the Swan Queen in “Swan Lake” at a recital in Burbank, California. She was the last of the original Mouseketeers to be cast.  Strangely enough, at one point Annette Funicello wanted to change her surname to the more typically "American" sounding "Turner." She was talked out of this by Walt Disney himself, who told her that her given surname was much more memorable.

The Mickey Mouse Club proved to be a hit and Annette Funicello proved to be the most popular Mouseketeer on the show. As the first season of the show came to an end she was already receiving 6000 fan letters a month. She was soon appearing in the various serials that aired as a part of The Mickey Mouse Club, including "The Adventures of Spin & Marty" and "Adventure in Dairyland." In the third season Annette Funicello was awarded her very own serial, "Walt Disney Presents: Annette." The serial starred Miss Funicello as a poor orphaned girl from the country who goes to live with her rich uncle and aunt in town.

Annette Funicello's success on television would also lead to success as a recording artist. In 1958 she scored her first hit record, "How Will I Know My Love." The song was originally sung in an episode of  "Walt Disney Presents: Annette" and proved so popular that Disney released it as a single. From 1958 to 1964 Miss Funicello released a number of singles. Her biggest hits were "Tall Paul," which went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Pineapple Princess," which went to #11. She also released six albums.

While Annette Funicello saw success on both The Mickey Mouse Club and on the record charts, she would gain even more fame as a film star. In 1957 Walt Disney Studios proposed a film to be based on L. Frank Baum's Oz books, Rainbow Road to Oz. In addition to Miss Funicello, the movie would have starred Tommy Kirk and fellow Mouseketeer  Darlene Gillespie. Due to reasons that remain unclear today, the project  Rainbow Road to Oz was abandoned. Miss Funicello then made her film debut in The Shaggy Dog (1959).  The same year Miss Funicello also made guest appearances on Make Room For Daddy and Zorro, as well as her first appearance on Walt Disney Presents.

Annette Funicello began the Sixties with a starring role in the Disney film Babes in Toyland (1961). She would go on to appear in two more Disney films during the decade:  The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) and The Monkey's Uncle (1965). While Annette Funicello was under contract to Walt Disney Studios, her claim to fame as a film star would largely be due to American International Pictures' "Beach Party" series.  It was in 1963 that American International Pictures approached Walt Disney about featuring Miss Funicello in a beach movie. Mr. Disney thought the film sounded like "good clean fun." Contrary to popular belief, he did not forbid Miss Funicello from wearing a bikini or bearing her navel, although her swimsuits were often more modest than those of the other girls in the "Beach Party" series. Annette Funicello would appear in Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Pajama Party (1964),  Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). She also had cameos in two films related to, but not necessarily part of the "Beach Party" series: Ski Party (1965) and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965). In addition to her various Disney films and the "Beach Party" movies, Annette Funicello also appeared in Fireball 500 (1966), Thunder Alley (1967),  and The Monkees' film Head (1968).

In the Sixties Annette Funicello also made appearances on television. As might be expected, she appeared in episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Colour. She also guest starred on Wagon Train, The Greatest Show on Earth, Burke's Law, and Hondo.

Annette Funicello married in 1965 and had her first child in 1966. Her career then slowed as she concentrated on raising her family. On television she guest starred on Easy Does It... Starring Frankie Avalon, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and Growing Pains. She also appeared in the 1978 television special Frankie and Annette: The Second Time Around with Frankie Avalon. Her last film was Back to the Beach in 1987, in which she was reunited with Frankie Avalon. The film parodied the old "Beach Party" movies. Sadly, in 1992 Annette Funicello announced that she had multiple sclerosis. The following year she founded  the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation.

Many remember Annette Funicello from her days as a Mousketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club. This is understandable given this was how many were introduced to her. The Mickey Mouse Club had long been off the air by the time I was born, so I first encountered Miss Funicello in the films she made for Disney and the "Beach Party" movies, which were frequently shown on television throughout my childhood. When I picture Annette Funicello, then, it is as Merlin Jones' girlfriend Jennifer in two of her better known Disney films  or Frankie Avalon's love interest in the "Beach Party" films. Quite simply, Annette Funicello had an appeal that transcended generations. She appealed not only to Baby Boomers who discovered her on The Mickey Mouse Club, but also to the following generations who discovered her through her films.

As to the basis of Annette Funicello's appeal. that was simple. Miss Funicello combined beauty and, when she was older, sex appeal with sweetness, humility, and wholesomeness. She was often referred to as both "the girl next door" and "America's sweetheart," and both labels were fitting. Miss Funicello was the sort of girl that boys wanted to date, girls wanted as their best friend, and parents wanted as their daughter. Annette Funicello's on screen image largely reflected Annette Funicello in real life. She was an actress who, even in the days of her superstardom, maintained a rather ordinary family life and who was never affected by scandal. By all reports in real life she was much as she appeared to be on screen:  a sweet, unassuming woman who was thoughtful of others. If Annette Funicello has remained popular for literally decades, and popular among successive generations, it is perhaps because she was an actress whose on screen image was more or less the same as she was in real life. In the end, it would seem that Annette Funicello truly was America's sweetheart, the ideal girl next door.

The Balcony is Closed: The Great Roger Ebert Passes On

"I do not fear death. I will pass away sooner than most people who read this, but that doesn't shake my sense of wonder and joy."~Roger Ebert in an article for Salon published 15 September 2011

 Film critic, journalist, and screenwriter Roger Ebert died today at the age of 70. He had struggled with cancer on and off since 2002. He had served as a film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times since 1967. From 1976 to 1982 he and fellow Chicago critic Gene Siskel appeared on the show Sneak Previews. From 1982 Mr. Ebert appeared on At The Movies under its various titles until 2006.

Roger Ebert was born on 18 June 1942 in Urbana, Illinois. He developed an interest in journalism while very young. While in elementary school he published his own neighbourhood newspaper using a mimeograph. In high school he was co-editor of the school newspaper and, as founder of a science fiction fan club, he also published a science fiction fanzine. He was still a teenager when he first started writing articles for The News-Gazette, the newspaper serving the Urbana-Champaign, Illinois area. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There he majored in journalism and served as the editor of The Daily Illini. His first ever film review, one of La Dolce Vita, was published in The Daily Illini in October 1961. It was while he was still attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that he began selling freelance articles to The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times.

Following his graduation from the University of Illinois in 1964, Mr. Ebert studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa on a Rotary fellowship for one year. He returned to Illinois where he enrolled at the University of Chicago as a doctoral candidate. At the same time, however, he had written Herman Kogan, asking him for a job at The Chicago Daily-News. He was hired to write for The Chicago Sun-Times' Midwest magazine in September 1966. It was upon the retirement of the Sun-Times' film critic Eleanor Keen retired that Mr. Ebert became the newspaper's film critic. It was the same year, 1967, that his first book, Illini Century: One Hundred Years of Campus Life (a history of the University of Illinois), was published.

It was through a letter to The Wall Street Journal in which he praised the work of director Russ Meyer that he became friends with the filmmaker. When  Mr. Meyer was making Beyond the Valley of the Dolls at 20th Century Fox, he turned to Roger Ebert to co-write the screenplay. While the film was widely derided upon its release, it has since become a cult classic. He would later co-write Russ Meyer's films Up! (1976, not to be confused with the Pixar movie of the same name) and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979).

It was in 1975 that Roger Ebert received the first Pulitzer Prize ever given for film criticism. That same year would also see another landmark in Mr. Ebert's career. It was that year that Chicago PBS station WTTW teamed Mr. Ebert with rival critic Gene Siskel of The Chicago Tribune for the show Opening Soon at a Theatre Near You. Debuting on 4 September 1975, it was a local show that aired monthly. In 1977 it not only became a fortnightly show, but also began airing nationally under a new title, Sneak Previews. By 1979 it had become a weekly show and went onto become one of the most popular shows ever aired on PBS. In 1982 Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel left Sneak Previews due to what they called "contractual differences." That same year they created their own show, At the Movies, produced by Tribune Entertainment. In 1986 the show's title would was changed to Siskel and Ebert and The Movies. In 1986 Buena Vista Entertainment began distributing the show, and in n mid-1987 it became known simply as Siskel and Ebert.

Unfortunately in 1998 Gene Siskel underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumour. As of 3 February 1999 he had hoped to take a leave of absence and to return to the show that autumn. Sadly, on 22 February 1999 Gene Siskel died at age 53 from complications from another operation. The following week Roger Ebert devoted the entire show as a tribute to Gene Siskel. The show continued after Mr. Siskel's death featuring various guest critics under the title Roger Ebert and the Movies. In September 2000 fellow Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper was hired as the show's co-host and the show was once more renamed, this time to Ebert and Roeper and The Movies. It would undergo one more title change in 2002, this time to simply Ebert and Roeper. Unfortunately, in July 2008 Buena Vista Entertainment decided that they wanted to take the show in a different direction, leading to Roger Ebert's departure from the show. In the 2010 to 2011 season he had a new show, Ebert Presents: At the Movies.

It was in early 2002 that Roger Ebert learned that he had papillary thyroid cancer. That February surgery was successfully performed to remove the cancer. He would undergo more surgery in 2003 to remove cancer from his salivary glands and that December underwent four weeks of radiation to his salivary glands to treat the cancer. Unfortunately, in 2006 he would undergo another operation to remove more cancerous tissue, which involved removing part of his jaw bone. He  lost the ability to speak following this surgery. During this period his seat on Ebert and Roeper was filled by various guest critics. It was on 18 May 2007 that he returned to writing reviews for the Sun-Times.

Of course, in his later years Roger Ebert would become well known for his presence on Twitter, where he had well over 820,000 followers. While his reviews were published on The Chicago Sun-Times' web site, he also maintained his own blog there as well. Mr. Ebert's blog covered much more than film. In his blog he discussed his views on everything from politics to religion. Much of what he wrote in his blog was autobiographical, from his Aunt Martha to his first meal at a restaurant (Steak and Shake).

Roger Ebert was extremely prolific. Since 1999 except for 2008 every year he published Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook, a collection of reviews from the past two and a half years. He also wrote 15 books over the years, including Scorsese by Ebert, The Great Movies, The Perfect London Walk, and his autobiography Life Itself: A Memoir.  In addition to writing he had also taught night classes at the University of Chicago since the Seventies.

Roger Ebert was the first film critic to ever receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009 he was made an honorary, lifetime member of the Directors Guild of America. The University of Colorado, the AFI Conservatory, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago also gave him honorary degrees.

It was on 3 April 2013 in his blog that he announced he would be taking a "leave of presence" due to what had been thought a hip fracture and had turned out to be cancer. Roger Ebert's final words in his blog were, "So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies."

In the eight years and ten months that I have written this blog, there have been those few eulogies that I have found very hard to write. This has been one of them. I have teared up a few times writing this entry. The simple fact is that Roger Ebert had a huge impact on my life and I believe I owe an enormous debt to him. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel both helped facilitate my love of film. Roger Ebert clearly loved the movies and he was very eloquent when both writing and speaking about them. Indeed, The Chicago Tribune's headline for Roger Ebert's obituary read, "Film critic had the soul of a poet." I don't think anyone could have found a better description of Mr. Ebert. He was an eloquent man who saw the beauty and art in films. What is more, he saw beauty and art not only in critically acclaimed, high brow films, but even in "low brow," exploitation films. Roger Ebert was definitely not a film snob.

This brings me to another reason that I always admired and respected Roger Ebert. Many film critics give off an air of superiority, as if their tastes in films are somehow better than those of most people. Quite simply, they give one the feeling that they think they are some how above the average film lover. This was not the case with Mr. Ebert. Roger Ebert never sounded snobbish or condescending. In fact, like Gene Siskel, he was quite the opposite. Roger Ebert always gave one the feeling that he was just another film lover, no better or worse than anyone else. I know for a fact that he often took the opportunity to talk about (and sometimes debate) films with ordinary movie lovers, treating them with the same respect as he would a professional critic.

Of course, while Roger Ebert always seemed to regard himself as just another movie lover, I think most of us can agree that he was a very refined and educated one. In fact, one of the marvellous things about Roger Ebert is that even when I disagreed with him on a particular film, I could understand why he didn't like that film and respect his reasons for doing so. While many critics seem unable to get across why they dislike a film or, at least, to give good reasons for doing so, Mr. Ebert could always explain precisely why he did not like a film and give sound reasons for not liking it. In many respects he was the perfect film critic, one blessed with eloquence, reasoning, and the ability to find enjoyment in everything from art films to exploitation films.

I said earlier that Roger Ebert had a huge impact on me and I feel I owe an enormous debt to him. The fact is that he and Gene Siskel did not simply help facilitate my love of films, but they taught me that films are something worthwhile to discuss, debate, and write about, regardless of whether those films are classics or not. In turn I could apply this principle not only to film, but to other media as well, from television to comic books to rock music. Quite simply, then, Roger Ebert was one of the many who set me on my course to becoming a pop culture historian. I cannot say this blog would not exist had it not been for Roger Ebert, but I suspect it could be very different if not for him. Like so many film buffs and so many writers as well, then, I owe an enormous amount of gratitude to Roger Ebert. He has been described by some as the most famous film critic in the world. I can't wonder that he wasn't also the greatest film critic of all time as well.

Kristen Stewart is Modesty Blaise!

Through reliable sources who wish to remain anonymous, I have just learned that there is going to be a big budget adaptation of  Peter O’Donnell’s classic comic strip Modesty Blaise. The film is being produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by David Fincher. The coveted role of Modesty has already been cast, with Kristen Stewart assuming the role played by Monica Vitti in the 1966 film.

On Miss Stewart’s casting, David Fincher said, “I’m so glad Kristen has been cast as Modesty. She is the best actress of our time and her sex appeal is guaranteed to bring in a young male audience.” Steven Spielberg agreed with David Fincher’s assessment of Miss Stewart, adding, “She combines the talent of Katharine Hepburn with the beauty of Hedy Lamarr.”

 While the 1966 film was set in the present day, the new Modesty Blaise film will be set in a cyberpunk future, with futuristic versions of London, Paris, and Venice. Lawrence G. Paull of Blade Runner fame will be the production designer on the film.

And if you believed any of this, do consider what today is…

Happy Easter 2013

Today is Easter. And whether you regard it as a Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, a festival honouring the spring and dawn goddess Eostre, or simply a fun day to eat lots of chocolate eggs and Peeps, I'm wishing you a happy one. And if you don't celebrate Easter, I'll just wish you a happy Sunday! As usual with major holidays, I thought I'd treat everyone to holiday themed pictures of beautiful actresses from the Golden Age of Film.

First up is the incredibly gorgeous and incredibly leggy Ann Miller, who is watering lilies (the archetypal spring flower if there ever was one).

Next up is Dorothy Hart and a particularly creepy Easter Bunny. Run, Dorothy, run!

Next up is Doris Day and a rather more pleasant Easter Bunny!

And then we have Susan Hayward with a stuffed bunny

Here we have Mitzi Gaynor coming out of her egg.

Next is Gila Golan, who has apparently also just hatched.

Finally we have Felicia Farr, who appears to be painting her eggs rather than dyeing them!

Happy Easter, everyone!!!