Can it possibly be fifty years since ‘Goodbye, Columbus’?
Jul
22
2019
One of the landmark comedies of the 1960s and perhaps the best screen rendition of the work of Philip Roth was the adaptation of the author’s National Book Award-winning novella, Goodbye, Columbus. The movie launched the careers of its two stars, Richard Benjamin and Ali MacGraw, who will both join Laemmle Anniversary Classics host Stephan ...
Judy Garland plays The Barn
She pulverized the Palace, and made carnage of Carnegie Hall. She slayed in Las Vegas. But you ain’t seen nothing yet … till you see Judy Garland play the Barn. That is happening Wednesday June 12. And we’re going! Garland, known to be a droll wit, made numerous appearances on television in the ’60s that ...
Our day with Doris: June 5 at Laemmle Anniversary Classics
Jun
1
2019
Doris Day (1922 – 2019) From our friends at Laemmle Theatres Anniversary Classics, a tribute to America’s most spirited sweetheart, Doris Day, who died on May 13 at the age of 97. A double feature of two of her very best musical films—the Western romp ‘Calamity Jane’ and the dramatic story of 1920s torch singer ...
Beautiful unburdening: Rosanne Cash at the Soraya
Jan
24
2019
In promoting her new album, She Remembers Everything, country singer Rosanne Cash features photos of fellow female songbirds, among them Janis Joplin, accompanied by a plaintive lyric, “Who know who she used to be before it all went dark?” That’s a gripping start — as if she needed one, she doesn’t, following her triple Grammy-winning ...
To be young, gifted & Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul in ‘Amazing Grace’
“Amazing Grace,” with two-million vinyl discs exiting record stores, was the top-selling gospel record of all time and Aretha Franklin‘s top-selling album. Released in June 1972, the album coincided with the very same month I graduated from an all-white high school in suburban Pittsburgh. Right around that time, on Sunday afternoons, I used my new ...
‘Little Sparrow’ to Long Beach: ‘Piaf! The Show’
Jan
7
2019
Karen Carpenter would approve. She would be thrilled to learn that the noble performing arts center named in her honor will be presenting a concert by The Little Sparrow. Well, almost! The Sparrow once removed. “Piaf! The Show,” a delicious way to pass a Sunday afternoon, popped out at me when I studied the season ...
A singer’s love of language: Luciana Souza comes to Royce Hall
It’s been a recurring pleasure to chart the creative arc of Brazilian singer and songwriter Luciana Souza through her SoCal appearances over the years. We remember Jazz Bakery evenings where she held the room spellbound with a tempered vocal delivery on jazz-rooted arrangements and musical interaction. Souza’s clear soprano uses volume judiciously: she can send ...
O, Jackie! Mrs. K-O goes to the ballet
It is the stuff paparazzi’s dreams are made of: Jackie O, balletomane. Here we see Mrs. Bouvier-Kennedy-Onassis, posing, giggling, and shmoozing, on sidewalks, at banquets, and backstage with Rudik and Misha. Jerry Robbins is in there too. They are but a few of samples of the 50 works of the super “Rudolph Nureyev – Mikhail ...
You ‘Bette’r believe it! Ms. Davis @ Larry Edmunds Bookshop
Oct
10
2018
We received this missive this morning from Jeff Mantor, who runs the Hollywood history hot spot at 6644 Hollywood Boulevard, aka Larry Edmunds Bookshop. Writes Jeff: On February 15, 1988 the legend, the one & only Bette Davis did a book signing at B. Dalton on Hollywood Blvd. For you book historians, this site was ...
Backstage brawl for Michael Kidd & Dolores Gray’s mother
We’re always looking for good show-biz stories involving the estimable Dolores Gray. Jack Cole, who worked with Gray on several projects — Kismet, Designing Woman among them — had a few select words about Gray … and her mother. In this case, the story concerns Gray’s hiring for Destry Rides Again, the Broadway musical adaptation ...