Fanchon’s Follies
Oct
25
2011
[click photo for detail] Lovely ballet by Fanchon (1896-1965) nee Fanny Woolf, a vaudevillian and early Hollywood choreographer. I heard her name dropped during a talk about MGM studio where she apparently worked. Photo comes from the archive of Washington University. Fanchon & Marco website here. Another write-up here. Thank you University of Washington Libraries ...
Michael Jackson’s gold trousers
Google michael jackson gold trousers. There are a bunch of images. It’s a look he liked, and it reminds me of the Yellow Brick Road. At left, the gold sequined pants he dons so terrifically in the rehearsal documentary, “This is It.” I saw the film last weekend and was thunderstruck by how talented and ...
MJ, not dying, not depressed, in “This is It”
We spent the last two years thinking that on some level Michael Jackson wanted out. A disaster was heading his way in the form of the humongous London tour he was embarking upon. This is what we assumed. It is therefore startling to see in Kenny Ortega’s wonderful rehearsal documentary, “This is It,” Jackson working ...
Michael Jackson rehearses “Billie Jean,” “Human Nature,” from “This is It”
Two years plus after Michael Jackson died, I finally had the heart to rent this film. This is only a portion of “Billie Jean” and he’s just sketching, but good god what an original mover. The clip below just heartbreaking. What a waste. Like this? Read more: Death of a Great Dancer
“West Side Story” 50th anniversary special screenings nationwide 8
Robert Osborne, Marni Nixon, George Chakiris and Walter Mirisch discuss “West Side Story” at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Credit: Mark Hill / TCM NCM Fathom and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) are presenting The West Side Story 50th Anniversary Event in 400 cinemas nationwide Wednesday, November 9, at 7 pm local time. The West Side ...
Something’s comin’, I dunno what it is, but it is, gonna be great! 1
arts·meme Facebook pal Marcus Galante shares this crazy capture of a gangland ballet class on the set of the film, West Side Story. The commandant, Jerome Robbins. Now, we’ve seen ballet instructors wielding sticks, batons, no, not clubs, but sometimes microphones. The bullhorn’s a new one. [Click photo for detail.] Looking forward to the big ...
Golden State murals, endangered treasures, on view Saturday 2
A rare opportunity comes this Saturday afternoon when two extraordinary murals that grace the lobby of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building in the Historic West Adams neighborhood of Central Los Angeles go on view. The West Adams Heritage Association, California African American Museum, Los Angeles Conservancy and Mural Conservancy LA are collaborating on ...
Happy birthday, Egyptian Theatre!
Oct
18
2011
Okay, doll, you’re 89 years old, but in this town that’s a drop in the bucket! In L.A., we like our ladies well preserved — jowls, cheekbones, and posteriors properly nipped and tucked. So hang on, Egyptian Theatre, you’re a great survivor. And a genuine happy birthday, as well, to the 30-year old American Cinematheque, ...
The latest from Leo the Lion
Oct
17
2011
I very much enjoyed seeing Jack Goldstein’s art film, “Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer” (1975) screened by LA Filmforum as part of “Industry Town: The Avant-Garde and Hollywood,” one of Pacific Standard Time’s offerings around L.A. This journey through eight short experimental films amply showed the shadow side of filmmaking in Los Angeles. Directors as disparate as Kenneth Anger, ...
Hans Burkhardt, master artist of Los Angeles @ Jack Rutberg Fine Arts
Oct
17
2011
The expansive and influential career of Hans Burkhardt (1904–1994), who constantly updated and reinvented as a painter in Los Angeles is the focus of a survey exhibition of paintings and drawings, “Hans Burkhardt: Within & Beyond the Mainstream.” In the video, gallerist Rutberg notes, with certain contained astonishment, that Burkhardt, who transferred to L.A. after ...