The 30th Anniversary of Twin Peaks

It was thirty years ago today that Twin Peaks debuted on ABC. Created by television writer Mark Frost and motion picture director David Lynch, Twin Peaks only a ran a little over a year, but it launched a media franchise that lasts to this day. It also revolutionised American broadcast television.

Twin Peaks centred on the small town of the same name located in the state of Washington. Initially it followed the investigation of Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). The show was unusual in that it was one of the few network television dramas of the time outside of soap operas to have a serialized storyline. It was also set apart from other shows in that it combined several different genres, including detective fiction, supernatural horror, soap opera, and even camp.

As mentioned earlier, Twin Peaks was created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. Mark Frost was a well-established television writer who had served as story editor on the show Hill Street Blues. Of course, David Lynch was the director of such motion pictures as The Elephant Man (1980) and Blue Velvet (1986). The two men met when they were working together on a screenplay about the life of Marilyn Monroe based on the book The Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe. The project never moved forward and Messrs. Frost and Lynch afterwards worked on a comedy screenplay titled One Saliva Bubble, which also never got off the ground. It was David Lynch's agent, Tony Krantz, who suggested that he do a television show. Mr. Lynch was not enthusiastic about doing a television show, but Mr. Krantz encouraged him to do a television show "...about real life in America—your vision of America the same way you demonstrated it in Blue Velvet."

Initially Mark Frost and David Lynch decided the show would be set in the plains of North Dakota and would even be titled North Dakota. It was after they screened the movie Peyton Place (1957) that they changed the show's location to the Pacific Northwest and the title of the show to Northwest Passage. The murder of Laura Palmer that provided the impetus for much of Twin Peaks was inspired by an actual unsolved death. Mark Frost had been told by his grandmother, Betty Calhoun, about Hazel Irene Drew, who had been murdered in Sand Lake, New York in 1908. Miss Drew was a 19 year old blonde who worked as a governess for a local professor and who, from the expensive clothing she wore and her reported relationships with various men, appeared to lead a double life. Her death received national attention and remains unsolved to this day.

Mark Frost and David Lynch pitched what would become Twin Peaks to ABC and they received the go-ahead to make the series pilot. While Bob Iger, who had become head of ABC Entertainment after the network had picked up the project, liked the pilot, there were those ABC executives who were nervous about it and a few who thought the show would either never make it to the air or would simply air as a seven hour miniseries. As it was, ABC need not have worried. Twin Peaks debuted on April 8 1990 to good ratings. The pilot movie was watched by 33% of the television audience at the time. While Twin Peaks would not maintain such incredible Nielsen ratings, it proved to be very popular. In fact, in its first season Twin Peaks was something of a phenomenon, comparable to the "Davy Crockett" mini-series on Disneyland in the Fifties or the TV series Batman in the Sixties.

Indeed, in 1990 it would have been very difficult to avoid coverage of Twin Peaks. The show was featured on the covers of such magazines as Playboy, Rolling Stone, Time, and TV Guide. As might be expected, Twin Peaks inspired its share of merchandise. The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer was published in September 1990. It was followed by The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes and Welcome to Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town in 1991. The soundtrack to the TV series was also released in September 1990. Just as Batman in 1966 before it, there was a good deal of unauthorised Twin Peaks merchandise on the market, particularly T-shirts.

Unfortunately, the success of Twin Peaks would not last. Ratings for the show declined with the second season. Worse yet, ABC pressured Mark Frost and David Lynch to resolve the murder of Laura Palmer. With the resolution of Laura Palmer's murder, ratings for Twin Peaks would fall even further. Eventually ratings for Twin Peaks were so bad that ABC placed the show on indefinite hiatus. It was after a letter writing campaign that ABC decided to air the show's final six episodes, which were burned off during the summer. After being one of the most successful shows of the 1989-1990 season, Twin Peaks was cancelled in the 1990-1991 season.

As to what led to the cancellation of Twin Peaks in its first run, there were multiple reasons. Chief among these was the fact that ABC moved the show around the network's schedule. Sadly, changing time slots often hurt a show's ratings. As mentioned above, the resolution of Laura Palmer's murder also led to a drop in the show's ratings. With the murder solved, many viewers likely lost interest in the show. Both Mark Frost and David Lynch believe that the resolution of Laura Palmer's murder is what killed the show. Complicating matters further, following the resolution of Laura Palmer's death, Twin Peaks was often pre-empted by coverage of the Gulf War. 
While there can be no doubt that inconsistent time slots, the resolution of Laura Palmer's murder, and consistently being pre-empted by Gulf War coverage took their toll on Twin Peaks, there may be another reason the show declined in the ratings. Twin Peaks was very much a fad, not unlike Batman in the Sixties. Like Batman, Twin Peaks received phenomenal ratings when it initially aired. And like Batman, ratings declined dramatically in its second season. In this respect, both Batman and Twin Peaks took the same course as most fads, from the hula hoop to pet rocks.  In the book Fads, Follies, and Delusions of the American People by Paul Sann, it is noted that often the more intensely a fad is adopted, the shorter its duration will be. Viewers embraced Twin Peaks almost immediately and there was already a good deal of press coverage and merchandise in its first few months. Having been embraced by viewers so quickly and so intensely, it was perhaps inevitable that viewers would eventually grow tired of the show and stop watching it. Quite simply, the Twin Peaks fad ended.

While ABC had cancelled the show, Twin Peaks was hardly gone. A prequel movie,  Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, directed by David Lynch, was released in August 1992. In 1993 cable channel Bravo began airing reruns of Twin Peaks. While no new Twin Peaks material would emerge following Fire Walk with Me, the show's fandom remained active and effectively kept the show alive.

It would be the continued popularity of Twin Peaks that would lead to a third season on the premium cable channel Showtime. The new season debuted on Showtime on May 21 2017 and included eighteen new episodes. The new season brought with it new Twin Peaks merchandise, including the books The Secret History of Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier.

For a show that lasted only a little over a year, Twin Peaks would have a  lasting influence. Prior to Twin Peaks, outside of primetime soap operas, there were only a few shows with extended storylines, among them Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, Crime Story, and Wiseguy. Twin Peaks went even further with its serialised storyline than many of the shows before it, to the point that many have counted it as a primetime soap opera. As one of the earliest American television shows with serialised storylines, Twin Peaks would have a lasting impact on television series from The X-Files to Lost to Mad Men.

Along with Miami Vice and Crime Story, Twin Peaks was also among the first television shows to put an emphasis on cinematography. Twin Peaks looked very much like a feature film. In this respect, Twin Peaks can be considered a forerunner of modern television shows, which tend to look much more cinematic than many television shows made in the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties. In fact, many more recent shows have borrowed liberally from Twin Peaks in everything from its use of space to tracking shots. Twin Peaks may have been shot in the traditional television aspect ratio of 4:3 and using analogue technology, but it was by far the most cinematic television show up to that time.

In the years since Twin Peaks aired its influence has continued to be felt on television shows. The mystery comedy Pscyh did a tribute to the show with its episode "Dual Spires," which not only contained several references to Twin Peaks, but included many of its cast as guest stars. While Riverdale is loosely based on Archie Comics characters, it also owes a good deal to the show. In fact, Mädchen Amick (who played Shelly on Twin Peaks) is even a member of the cast of Riverdale. Twin Peaks has been referenced on shows from The Simpsons  to Gravity Falls.

Twin Peaks lasted all too briefly. Even with the revival on Showtime there are only 48 episodes. Still, it had an impact much larger than many shows that ran much longer. Even now, Twin Peaks continues to have an impact. 

The Late Great James Drury

In the annals of Westerns on American television, James Drury occupied a unique place. He is one of only two actors (the other being the late Stuart Whitman) to play the lead in a 90 minute Western. That Western, The Virginian, would prove to be one of the most successful Westerns on American broadcast television, running for nine years and, along with Bonanza, sparking a second wave of Westerns on the American broadcast networks in the Sixties. James Drury never again had the success he did with The Virginian, and for the most part he was typecast in the role. Despite this, he was always grateful for having played such an iconic character. Sadly, Mr. Drury died yesterday at the age of 85.

James Drury was born on April 18 1934 in New York City. His father a professor of marketing at New York University. His mother's family owned a ranch in Salem, Oregon. James Drury spent much of his childhood on the ranch. It was where he would both learn to ride a horse and shoot a gun, skills that would prove useful in his acting career. He began acting while very young, appearing on stage beginning when he was 8 years old. When he was 12 he went on tour with a production of Life With Father.

James Drury attended New York University for a time, dropping out after he signed a contract with MGM. He made his film debut in an uncredited role as a hospital attendant in Blackboard Jungle (1955). He made his television debut the same year in an episode of Cameo Theatre. In the late Fifties he appeared in the films Love Me or Leave Me (1955), The Tender Trap (1955), Diane (1956), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Last Wagon (1956), Love Me Tender (1956), Bernardine (1957), Good Day for a Hanging (1959), Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus (1960), Pollyanna (1960), and Ten Who Dared (1960). He guest starred on The 20th Century Fox Hour, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Broken Arrow, Man Without a Gun, The Walter Winchell File, Decision, Playhouse 90, The Silent Service, The Texan, Flight, Bronco, Zane Grey Theatre, Disneyland, Have Gun--Will Travel, Track Down, Richard Diamond Private Detective, Lawman, Black Saddle, Steve Canyon, Cheyenne, Death Valley Days, Men Into Space, Lock Up, Bourbon Street Beat, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and The Loretta Young Show.

It was in 1962 that James Drury began playing The Virginian on the show of the same name. It was actually the second time Mr. Drury played the role. He had earlier played the role in an unsold pilot that aired as an episode of the anthology series The Virginian in 1958. The Virginian was historic as the first ninety minute American television show with continuing characters. The success of The Virginian would lead to a new wave of Westerns in the Sixties, as well as other ninety minute shows with continuing characters (The Name of the Game and The NBC Mystery Movie, among them). Ultimately it ran for nine seasons, making it the third longest Western to run on American broadcast television after Gunsmoke and Bonanza. In the Sixties Mr. Drury also guest starred on the shows Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Michael Shayne, The Rifleman, Stagecoach West, Rawhide, Perry Mason, The Detectives, It Takes a Thief, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.  He appeared in the movies Ride the High County (1962), Third of a Man, and The Young Warriors (1967).

James Drury began the Seventies still playing The Virginian. In the Seventies Mr. Drury was the lead on the short-lived television series Firehouse. He guest starred on Ironside and Alias Smith and Jones. He appeared in the TV movies The Devil and Miss Sarah and Bull of the West. In the Eighties he guest starred on the TV show The Fall Guy. In the Nineties James Drury guest starred on Walker, Texas Ranger; The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.; and  Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. He appeared in the TV movie The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw and had a cameo in the TV movie The Virginian. He had a cameo in the movie Maverick (1994).

In the Naughts he appeared in the movie Hell to Pay (2005). He guest starred on the TV show Tales of the Cap Gun Kid.

There can be no doubt that James Drury will always be remembered as The Virginian. In fact, despite the number of times the novel has been adapted as feature films, chances are good that he will always be the actor most identified with the role. If James Drury will always be identified with The Virginian, it is not without good reason. He played the role perfectly. The Virginian was taciturn and tough, but at the same time fair minded and warm hearted. While James Drury will always be best remembered as The Virginian, he was fully capable of playing other roles. One of his best performances was a the former outlaw Johnny Red in the Gunsmoke episode of that name. In the episode of The Rebel titled "Vindication" he played a blind man whose wife had been killed by Apaches. James Drury could even play villains quite well. In the Rilfeman episode "Death Trap" he played Spicer, the sadistic and psychopathic leader of a gang of outlaws.

In real life James Drury was much closer to The Virginian than any villains he might have played in his career. He was well known for attending many classic television and Western conventions through the years, and did so nearly until his death. Mr. Drury was intelligent, well-spoken, and warm, and he truly appreciated his many fans. I had the honour of being Facebook friends with James Drury, and while I did not get to interact with him a whole lot (usually I interacted with his assistant Karen, who is a sweetheart), my interactions with him were always wonderful. James Drury was one of the nicest gentleman one could ever interact with. If James Drury played The Virginian so well, it is perhaps because James Drury was very much like him in real life.

The Late Great Honor Blackman

Honor Blackman, best known for her roles as Cathy Gale on The Avengers and Pussy Galore in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964), died yesterday at the age of 94. She numbers among those actors who have never known life without. Indeed, she played the goddess Hera in the very first movie I can remember watching all the way through, Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Later I encountered her in Goldfinger when it debuted on The ABC Sunday Night Movie. Still later I would see her in such films as A Night to Remember (1958) and The Secret of My Success (1965). While I was aware that she played John Steed's partner on The Avengers before Diana Rigg joined the show as Emma Peel, with the first three series of The Avengers unavailable in the United States, I would be an adult before I finally got to see Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale. Once I did, Cathy Gale became one of my favourite television characters and the role that will forever come to my mind when I think of Honor Blackman. Miss Blackman was an incredible actress, elegant, intelligent, and powerful. She was perfect for such empowered characters as Cathy Gale, Hera, and Pussy Galore.

Honor Blackman was born on August 22 1925 in Plaistow, Essex. She attended North Ealing Primary School and Ealing County Grammar School for Girls. For her fifteenth birthday her parents gave her elocution lessons. She began her training as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1940. She made her film debut in an uncredited role in Fame is the Spur in 1947. In the late Forties she appeared in the films Daughter of Darkness (1948), Quartet (1948), A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949), Conspirator (1949), Diamond City (1949), and So Long at the Fair (1950).

Miss Blackman made her television debut in 1951 in the BBC production Joseph Proctor's Money in 1951. In the Fifties she had recurring roles on the TV shows Probation Officer and The Four Just Men. She guest starred on the shows Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents, I tre moschettieri, Boyd Q.C., The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, Hour of Mystery, The Invisible Man, African Patrol, The Vise, Suspense, The Third Man, and Danger Man. She appeared in the movies Green Grow the Rushes (1951), Manchas de sangre en la luna (1952), The Rainbow Jacket (1954), Diplomatic Passport (1954), The Devaline Affair (1955), The Glass Cage (1955), Breakaway (1956), You Pay Your Money (1957), Suspended Alibi (1957), Account Rendered (1957), A Night to Remember (1958), and The Square Peg (1958).

It was in 1962 that Honor Blackman began playing one of her best known roles, that of  Catherine Gale on The Avengers. Cathy Gales was one of two replacements introduced in the second season for John Steed's original partner, Dr. David Keel. In the second season Cathy Gale rotated episodes with Steed's other partner, nightclub singer Venus Smith, but it was Mrs. Gale who proved to be the most popular of the two. While Venus was a more traditional female character, Cathy Gales was a woman as television had never seen before. Cathy Gale was an anthropologist with a doctorate in anthropology. Not only was she self-assured and assertive, but she was a skilled combatant as well. Clad in leather, Mrs. Gale regularly dispatched opponents using judo. Popular in its first season, the presence of Cathy Gale on The Avengers turned the show into a sensation in the United Kingdom. For the show's third series, Cathy Gale was Steed's only partner. It was following the third season of The Avengers that Honor Blackman left the show to take the role of Pussy Galore in The Avengers.

In the Sixties, prior to her role in The Avengers, Honor Blackman guest starred on the shows Knight Errant Limited, Bootsie and Snudge,  Kraft Mystery Theatre, Top Secret, The Pursuers, Ghost Squad, and The Saint. Following The Avengers she guest starred on ITV Play of the Week, ABC Stage 67, Armchair Theatre, ITV Playhouse, The Name of the Game and ITV Saturday Night Theatre. Arguably the Sixties marked the height of Honor Blackman's film career. In addition to playing Hera in Jason and the Argonauts and Pussy Galore in Golfinger, she also played Lily, Baroness von Lukenberg in The Secret of My Success (1965), Norah Hauxley in Life at the Top (1965), and Lady Daggett in Shakalo (1968). She also appeared in the movies A Matter of WHO (1961), Serena (1962), Moment to Moment (1966), A Twist of Sand (1968), Kampf um Rom I (1968), Twinky (1970), The Last Grenade (1970), and The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970).

In the Seventies Miss Blackman appeared in the movies Fright (1971), Something Big (1971), To the Devil a Daughter (1976), Age of Innocence (1978), and The Cat and the Canary (1978). She guest starred on the shows Boney, Columbo, Jubilee, Robin's Nest, and Crown Court. She played Margaret Stevenson in the mini-series The Lives of Benjamin Franklin.

In the Eighties Honor Blackman had the regular role of Veronica Barton on the TV show Never the Twain, Later in the decade she began playing Laura West in the long-running sitcom The Upper Hand. She guest starred on the shows Holding the Fort, In Performance, Minder, Doctor Who, and Crossbow.

In the Nineties she continued to star on The Upper Hand. She guest starred on The ABC Weekend Specials and Doctors. She appeared in the movies Tales of the Mummy (1998) and To Walk with Lions (1999). In the Naughts she appeared in the movies Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), Jack Brown and the Curse of the Crown (2004), Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story (2005), and Reuniting the Rubins (2010). She guest starred on the television shows The American Embassy, Midsomer Murders, The Royal, Revolver, Coronation Street, New Tricks, and Hotel Babylon.

In the Teens she guest starred on Casualty, and You, Me & Them. She appeared in the mini-series By Any Means.She appeared in the movies I, Anna (2012) and Cockneys vs. Zombies (2012).

Honor Blackman also had a considerable stage career, appearing in such productions as Mr. & Mrs.; Move Over, Mrs Markham; Night and Day, The Sound of Music; My Fair Lady; and Cabaret. More recently she toured in her own showy Honor Blackman as Herself, a look back at her life and career.

Chances are good that Honor Blackman will always be remembered as Cathy Gale and Pussy Galore, but she played a variety of roles throughout her long career. In Britain Miss Blackman will also be remembered as Laura West on The Upper Hand, lead character Caroline Wheatley's glamorous mother who dates a succession of men. In the Danger Man episode "Colonel Rodriguez," she played the wife of an American journalist arrested on a small island nation. She made one of her best known guest appearances on television in the Columbo episode "Dagger of the Mind." She played Shakespearean actress Lillian Stanhope, who proves to be a worthy opponent to Lt. Columbo.

The fact is that Honor Blackman was an enormous talent. What she brought to her many roles was more than beauty and elegance, but also intelligence, determination, professionalism, and, when the role called for it, even physical prowess. Much like Cathy Gale and Pussy Galore, Honor Blackman was a remarkable woman in real life, well known for her political activism. Honor Blackman wasn't simply a talented actress, but she was also a lady through and through.

Godspeed Bill Withers

Bill Withers, the singer-songwriter who produced such classic songs s "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," and "Just the Two of Us," died March 30 2020 at the age of 81. The cause was heart complications.

Bill Withers was born on July 4 1938 in Slab Fork, West Virginia, a small coal mining town. He grew up in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. His father died when he was only 13 years old. Mr. Withers enlisted in the United States Navy when he was 17. He served for nine years as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate. It was while he was serving in the Navy that he became interested in singing and songwriting.

Following his service in the Navy he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. He worked in factories for various companies, among them Douglas Aircraft Corporation,  performing at clubs at night. During this same period he made various demo tapes. One of these demo tapes found its way to Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Mr. Avant signed Bill Withers to Sussex Records.

His first album, Just As I Am, was released in 1971. While the first single from the album, "Harlem," failed to chart, the second single, "Ain't No Sunshine," proved to be a hit. It went to no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 6 on the Billboard R&B chart. The third single, "Grandma's Hands," also performed well. While it went to only no. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, it went to no. 18 on the Billboard  R&B chart.

The biggest hit of Bill Withers's career would come from his second album, Still Bill. "Lean on Me" was the first single from the album. It went to no. 1 on  both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B charts. The second single from the album, "Use Me," also did well. It went to no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart.

In 1973 the live album Bill Withers at Carnegie Hall was released. It was followed by his final album on Sussex Records, +'Justments. It was also during this period that he wrote and produced the songs "Better You Go Your Way" and "Tenderness is His Way" for the Gladys Knight & the Pips album I Feel a Song.

After Sussex Records folded, Mr. Withers signed with Columbia Records. His first album with Columbia Records, Making Music, was released in 1975. It was followed by the album Naked & Warm. Bill Withers's third album on Columbia Records, Menagerie, produced the minor hit "Lovely Day." "Lovely Day" went to no. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 6 on the Billboard R&B chart. Menagerie  was followed by the album 'Bout Love in 1979.

Bill Withers's next major hit would be a collaboration with saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., and appeared on Mr. Washington's 1980 album Winelight. "Just the Two of Us" reached no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 3 on the Billboard singles chart. He also collaborated on "Soul Shadows" with The Crusaders and In the Name of Love" with Ralph MacDonald.  Despite the success of "Just the Two Of Us," Bill Withers would record only one more studio album. Watching You Watching Me was released in 1985. "Oh Yeah," a single from that album, reached no. 22 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Bill Withers elected not to renew his contract with Columbia Records due to disagreements with the label. He then effectively retired from his music career.

Bill Withers was unlike any other music artist of his era. Whether it was because he grew up in a small town or because he started his musical career later than most, his songs were always grounded in reality and addressed the concerns of ordinary adults. "Lean on Me" was about having a sense of community. "Grandma's Hands" was simply about his grandmother. Bill Withers's songs displayed a maturity sometimes lacking in popular music of the Seventies. Of course, what made his music even better was his voice soulful and genuine. It was a voice that could relay both comfort and warmth. Between his talent and maturity as a songwriter and his remarkable voice, Bill Withers remains one of the greatest singers and songwriters in the history of American popular music.

The Late Great Adam Schlesinger

Those who know me well know that quite possibly my favourite subgenre of rock music is power pop. Among my favourite latter day power pop bands numbers Fountains of Wayne. From 1996 to 2011 Fountains of Wayne recorded a series of albums filled with hook-laden power pop songs written by Adam Schesinger and Chris Collingwood. I have been a fan of Fountains of Wayne ever since that first album. Of course, Adam Schlesinger had a career that when well beyond Fountains of Wayne. Prior to Fountains of Wayne he had recorded with indie pop Ivy. He was later part of the supergroup Tinted Windows. Adam Schlesinger wrote the song "That Thing You Do!" for the 1996 movie of the same name, as well as "Pretend to Be Nice" for Josie and the Pussycats and yet other songs for other movies. Sadly, Adam Schlesinger died yesterday, April 1 2020, from complications caused by COVID-19. He was 52 years old.

Adam Schlesinger was born in New York City on October 31 1967. He grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. From when he was a young child he played music and wrote songs. It was also as a young child that he took notice of a lawn ornament shop in Wayne, New Jersey called Fountains of Wayne. He told his mother that Fountains of Wayne would be a great band name. Adam Schlesinger attended Montclair High School. After high school he studied philosophy at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was there that he met Chris Collingwood.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College, Adam Schlesinger moved to New York City. It was there that he answered an ad placed by Andy Chase. Together the two formed Ivy with Dominique Durand. In 1994 Seed Records signed Ivy. Their first single, "Get Enough," was released that same year. Their debut album, Realistic, followed in 1995. Ivy made five more albums: Apartment Life (1997); Long Distance (2000); Guestroom (2002); In the Clear (2005); and All Hours (2011).

It was after Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood reconnected that the two of them formed a band. Chris Collingwood had played with the band The Mercy Buckets. The band went through such names as Woolly Mammoth and Are You My Mother? before settling on Fountains of Wayne. Fountains of Wayne was signed to Atlantic Records and their self-titled, debut album was released in 1996. While the album did not chart, their debut single "Radiation Vibe," met some success, reaching no. 14 on the Billboard alternative chart. Their debut album was followed by the album Utopia Parkway in 1999. Utopia Parkway also did not chart. Their single, "Denise," did respectively well, reaching no. 34 on the Billboard alternative chart. Unfortunately, it would be later in 1999 that Atlantic Records dropped Fountains of Wayne.

Fountains of Wayne would be inactive for a time before the release of their next album, Welcome Interstate Managers on S-Curve Records.  The album produced the hit "Stacy's Mom," which peaked at no. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Welcome Interstate Managers went to no. 115 on the Billboard album chart. It was followed by Traffic and Weather in 2007, which went to no. 97 on the Billboard album chart. Their final album, Sky Full of Holes, was released in 2011. It charted higher than any of their previous albums, peaking at no. 37 on the Billboard album chart, no. 4 on the Billboard alternative album chart, no. 3 on the Billboard indie chart, and no. 6 on the Billboard rock chart. Unfortunately, tensions between Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood would lead to the band never recording again.

Adam Schlesinger was also a part of the supergroup Tinted Windows. In addition to Adam Schlesinger, Tinted Windows also consisted of singer Taylor Hanson of Hanson and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. The band recorded one, self-titled album released in 2009.

In addition to his work with Ivy and Fountains of Wayne, Adam Schlesinger also served as a producer for several acts over the years. Over the years he produced such artists as Dan Bryk, They Might Be Giants, America, Bowling for Soup, The Sounds, and The Monkees. Adam Schlesinger served as the producer for synth pop duo Fever High. He produced both their 2015 EP All Work and their 2017 album FHNY.

Adam Schlesinger also wrote songs for motion pictures. He wrote the title song for the movie That Thing You Do! (1996), for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song. He wrote the songs "Pretend to Be Nice" and "Come On" for Josie and the Pussycats. Over the years he provided songs for such movies as There's Something About Mary (1998), Me, Myself & Irene (2001), Insomnia (2002), Robots (2005), and Music and Lyrics (2007).

Mr. Schlesinger worked extensively in television. He wrote theme music for the TV shows The Dana Carvey Show, The Howard Stern Radio Show, My Kind of Town, Too Late with Adam Carolla, Crank Yankers, Kathy, Wedding Band, The Haunted Hathaways. and Supernoobs. He served as executive music producer for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and contributed several songs to the show. He received several Emmy nominations for his work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and in 2019 he won the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal" for the show.

Adam Schlesinger also worked in theatre. With David Javerbaum, he co-wrote the songs for the 2007 musical theatre adaptation of the John Waters film Cry-Baby. He wrote the closing song "I Have Faith in You" for David Javerbaum's 2015 play An Act of God. He had been collaborating with Sara Silverman on a musical based on her memoir The Bedwetter and with Rachel Bloom of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on a musical adaptation of the TV show The Nanny.

Fountains of Wayne has always been one of my favourite latter day power pop bands, and Adam Schlesinger is one of my favourite songwriters. He had a talent for writing catchy, hook-laden pop songs that get stuck in one's head. What is more, the songs were always so good that one didn't mind them replaying in one's mind over and over. Mr. Schlesinger also addressed an audience largely ignored by rock music, those members of the middle class who longed for something more. The subject matter of Fountains of Wayne covered everything from despondent businessmen to adolescent boys fantasising about their friends' mothers. Adam Schlesinger was capable of both humour and pathos in his songs. Often they would be present in the same song.

While Adam Schlesinger was a songwriting genius, he was one who was more than willing to collaborate with others. The songs of Fountains of Wayne were always credited to Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood.  On Crazy Ex-Girlfriend he worked with Rachel Bloom and music supervisor Jack Dolgen. Adam Schlesinger may have had considerable talent, but he was not afraid to share that talent with others.

Adam Schlesinger was never a superstar. It was only as part of Fountains of Wayne that he was a front man and even then he shared that position with Chris Collingwood. Despite this, one could not dismiss Adam Schlesinger as just another composer of hook-laden pop songs. Quite simply, he was a master craftsman, perfectly aware of the emotional impact of a combination of lyrics, the progression of certain chords, and even changes in volume. As a master craftsman of power pop, Adam Schlesinger ranks along such greats as Ray Davies, Pete Townshend, Rick Nielsen, John Auer, and Ken Stringfellow. He may never have been a superstar, but he will never be forgotten.

10 Great Performances by Toshiro Mifune

Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo

It was 100 years ago today that Toshiro Mifune was born in Japanese occupied Qingdao, Shandong, China, where his parents were working as Methodist missionaries. When he was young he worked in his father's photography shop. At 19 he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army. During World War II, he served in the Aerial Photography unit. Following the war, Mr. Mifune was accepted for a position as an assistant cameraman at Toho Company, Ltd.

It was in 1947 that a number of Toho's actors left to form a new company called Shintoho. It was then that Toho held a contest to attract new talent to replace the actors who had left. One of Toshiro Mifune's friends submitted his photo and an application for him without him knowing it. He was on 48 applicants who was accepted out of around 4000. He then took a screen test for director Kajirō Yamamoto. Afterwards he was cast in his first feature film, the comedy Shin Baka Jidai (1947).  Ultimately, Toshiro Mifune's career would last for 48 years and would include many classic films. He worked with several of Japan's top directors, most notably Akira Kurosawa. Toshiro Mifuen and Akira Kurosawa would make sixteen films together.

Below are some of Toshiro Mifune's best performances from throughout his career.They are listed in chronological order.

Stray Dog (1949): Stray Dog was the third film that Toshiro Mifune made with Akira Kurosawa. It is a prime example of Japanese noir. In the film Mr. Mifune plays homicide detective Murakami, whose gun is stolen by a pickpocket. He gives a bravura performance as the rookie cop who finds himself amidst the underworld to retrieve his stolen weapon.

Rashomon (1950): Rashomon was the first of Akira Kurosawa's films to receive international attention, and it is with good reason. It is a remarkable film all around, with an excellent script, incredible cinematography by Kazuo Miyagawa, and solid performances by its actors. In the film Toshiro Mifune plays a character far removed from the stalwart samurai he is known for. The bandit Tajōmaru is boastful, cowardly, dishonest, and dishonourable.

The Samurai Trilogy:  Hiroshi Inagaki directed three films based on the life of famed swordsman Musashi Miyamoto. The films, Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955), and Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956), followed Miyamoto through his life from an overly confident young warrior to to a wise and philosophical samurai. Samurai I: Musahshi Miyamoto begins following the battle of Sekigahara, while Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island ends with his famous duel with rival Kojirō Sasaki. Toshiro Mifune does a masterful job of playing Miyamoto, taking him from youthful and inexperienced samurai to a more grounded warrior.

Seven Samurai (1954): Seven Samurai may well be the best known film of both Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune's careers. And it is with good reason. The film regularly ranks in lists of the greatest films of all time, and I personally considered the greatest movie ever made. Seven Samurai was certainly influential, with films still being made that bear its impact. Given Seven Samurai centres on a band of samurai protecting a farming village from bandits, one might expect Toshiro Mifune to play a traditional, brave, and noble samurai. Instead, to a large degree Mr. Mifune played comic relief in Seven Samurai. Kikuchiyo is temperamental, volatile, and often comical. In fact, he is not even truly a samurai, but a farm boy who wanted to be a samurai. That having been said, Kikuchiyo is also brave and resourceful, and he understands the farmer's plights more than the other samurai. Kikuchiyo is one of the most sophisticated roles Toshiro Mifune ever played, a character who provides humour, but can be taken seriously nonetheless.

Throne of Blood (1957): Throne of Blood takes the plot of Macbeth and moves it to feudal Japan. Toshiro Mifune then finds himself in the role corresponding to Macbeth, Taketoki Washizu. Toshiro Mifune does an incredible job portraying the samurai general who, following a prophecy from a spirit, is manipulated by his wife into murder and more.

The Bad Sleep Well (1960):  Another one of Akira Kurosawa's film noirs, The Bad Sleep Well also owes a bit to Hamlet. Toshiro Mifune plays Kōichi Nishi, a young man who takes a job with a major corporation in order to bring to justice the man responsible for his father's death. Mr. Mifune does a remarkable job playing the grieving son intent on exposing the corporation's corruption.

Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962): Yojimbo is one of Akira Kurosawa's most famous films, and certainly one of his most influential. The film is based largely on Dashiell Hammett's novel The Glass Key, with the action moved to the end of the Edo Period in Japan (1860). The film would prove successful, so that a sequel, Sanjuro, was made. In both films Toshiro Mifune plays a ronin who is reluctant to give his real name (in Yojimbo when asked his name he simply says it is "Kuwabatake Sanjuro"--"mulberry field thirty years old).  In Yojimbo Sanjuro plays two warring clans against each other. In Sanjuro he deals with corrupt officials. In both movies Sanjuro is crafty and not below using means that could be considered dishonourable. Yojimbo would prove to be influential. Arguably, the whole concept of a morally ambiguous hero with no name can traced back to it, though Sergio Leon's  unauthorised remake A Fistful of Dollars.

High and Low (1963): In High and Low Toshiro Mifune plays shoe company executive Kingo Gondo who is in a struggle to maintain control of his company when a friend of his son is kidnapped. Based on the "87th Precinct" novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain, High and Low is very much a police procedural.

Samurai Assassin (1965): Directed by Kihachi Okamoto, Samurai Assassin is a solid jidaigeki set in 1860, the last days of the Edo period. The film was inspired by actual history, namely the Sakuradamon Incident, in which Japanese chief minister Ii Naosuke was assassinated by rōnin. Toshiro Mifune plays Niiro Tsurichiyo, the illegitimate son of a noble who sides with various clans opposing a powerful man in the shogunate.

Hell in the Pacific (1968): Hell on the Pacific centres on an American serviceman (played by Lee Marvin) and a Japanese serviceman (played by Toshiro Mifune) stranded on an island in the Pacific during World War II. Although the two are initially distrustful of each other, they eventually decide to work together and even bond together. Both actors do a remarkable job in their respective roles, a particularly remarkable feat given how little dialogue there is in the film. While many of the roles Toshiro Mifune took outside of Japan failed to display his considerable talent, Hell in the Pacific displays the full range of his considerable skill as an actor.

The Late Great Stuart Gordon

Stuart Gordon, who directed such movies based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft as Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Dagon (2001), died on March 24 2020 at the age of 72.

Stuart Gordon was born on August 11 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Lane Technical High School in Chicago. He attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was there that he founded his first theatre company, the Screw Theatre. It was at the Screw Theatre that Mr. Gordon staged a politicised version of Peter Pan in the fall of 1968. Both he and his eventual wife, Carolyn Purdy, were charged with obscenity. While the story made national headlines, the charges would be dropped in November 1968. Afterwards the University of Wisconsin demanded that any future plays staged by the Screw Theatre be overseen by a university professor. Stuart Gordon then broke with the university and founded the Broom Street Theatre without their support.

It was later in 1969 that Mr. Gordon and his wife Carolyn moved to Chicago where they founded the Organic Theatre Company. The company operated through the Seventies and into the early Eighties. Among the plays Mr. Gordon produced with the Organic Theatre Company were Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Bleacher Bums, and E/R (upon which the short-lived sitcom of the same name was based). It was following E/R that Stuart Gordon left Chicago for Los Angeles.

Stuart Gordon made his directorial debut with a 1979 adaptation of the play Bleacher Bums. It was in 1985 that he made his first feature film, Re-Animator. An adaptation of  H. P. Lovecraft's novelette "Herbert West–Reanimator," it did well at the box office and received largely positive reviews from critics. Mr. Gordon followed it with another H. P. Lovecraft adaptation, From Beyond (1986), based on H. P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name. He closed the Eighties with the films Dolls (1987) and Robot Jox (1989). With Brian Yuzna and Ed Naha, he provided the story for the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). On television he directed the 1990 TV movie Daughters of Darkness.

Stuart Gordon began the Nineties with the Edgar Allan Poe adaptation The Pit and the Pendulum (1991). During the decade he directed the movies Fortress (1992), Space Truckers (1996), and The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998). He wrote the screenplays for Body Snatchers (1992) and The Dentist (1996), and the story for Progeny (1998). On television he directed an episode of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show.

In the Naughts he directed the H. P. Lovecraft adaptation Dagon (2001), based on novella The Shadow Over Innsmouth rather than the short story of the same name. He also directed the movies King of the Ants (2003), Edmond (2005), and Stuck (2007). On television he directed two episodes of Masters of Horror and one episode of Fear Itself. In 2009 he returned to the stage to direct Nevermore...An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe.

In 2011 Stuart Gordon produced, directed, and co-wrote the book for the stage production Re-Animator: The Musical. In 2014 his play, Taste, premiered at Sacred Fools Theatre Company in Los Angeles.

There can be little doubt that Stuart Gordon will always be best known for his work in the horror genre. In fact, many believe that he directed the absolute best adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft's work ever made. Much of his power as a horror director was his willingness to push the boundaries of what was acceptable in the genre.It is with good reason that Re-Animator and From Beyond are considered horror classics. At the same time, however, Mr. Gordon was versatile. He made the relatively family friendly science fiction film Robot Jox. He also made the sci-fi films Fortress and Space Truckers. He even made a comedy, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, based on a short story of Ray Bradbury (who considered it the best film based on any of his works).

While Stuart Gordon is best known for his work in film, his career in theatre must also be acknowledged. There are no bigger names in Chicago theatre than Stuart Gordon. He worked with such talents as David Mamet, Joe Mantegna, and Dennis Franz. It was Stuart Gordon, often pushing the boundaries of what had been on stage before, who essentially put Chicago on the map where the theatre was concerned. No less than David Mamet himself said of his ideas in his eulogy for Mr. Gordon in The Chicago Tribune, "...in fact, many of them came from Stuart Gordon." Stuart Gordon was a major talent whose work spanned not only genres, but also media. He revolutionised both horror cinema and the Chicago stage.