Jack Cole, Hollywood director 4
On the camera crane works Jack Cole (in white sweater, click photo for detail), directing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,” exactly as he did for all four GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) dance numbers (Two Little Girls From Little Rock, Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love, When Love Goes Wrong, Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best ...
Fitz featured in “Gatz”
Here stands the great American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald in what strikes me as his penultimate Los Angeles portrait. Bleary-eyed but putting a good face on things — what we do so well in L.A. Noshing one night at Greenblatt’s Deli on Sunset Boulevard, I chatted with proprietor, the son of the original owner. He ...
“Hollywood Unknowns” stories revealed @ Larry Edmunds
We received this nice note from our good friends at Larry Edmunds Bookshop: Author Anthony Slide is no stranger to the Larry Edmunds Bookshop. His association goes back much farther than my 22 years, and the number of books this resident film historian for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has written is ...
Jack Cole’s mid-century-modern dance design 1
A lost Jack Cole dance sequence from DOWN TO EARTH (Columbia, 1947). [click on the photo for detail.] Called the “New York number,” it used to be part of the larger “People Have More Fun Than Anyone,” number before it was cut from the film. It was absolutely common in Cole’s Hollywood career that his ...
Lurch on, Universal monsters!
Oct
17
2012
There have been frightening happenings at the film world’s Halloween Headquarters, also known as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — and they’re still going on. “A Monstrous Centennial,” the Academy’s month-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Universal Pictures, screening 13 classic horror classics, has reach mid-point. The series is augmented by ...
The Tramp meets the Dying Swan
Two great ‘movement artists, Charles and Anna, pose for a photo looking like something more than just “cordial colleagues.” The photo is dated 1922. Like this? Read more: Pavlov(a)’s dog of a movie. Anna Pavlova visits Hollywood Happy Birthday, Charlie Chaplin Charles Chaplin in China
Ninety-year-old men in tights: “Robin Hood” at the Egyptian Theatre
Oct
4
2012
Ninety years ago, Douglas Fairbanks and wife Mary Pickford, joined by Charlie Chaplin, turned out for the premiere of Fairbanks’ swashbuckling adventure at their pal Sid Grauman’s new Hollywood movie palace. This evening went down in history as the very first Hollywood movie premiere. Fairbanks historian Tracy Goessel will introduce the film with live piano ...
Happy birthday, George Chakiris
One of dance’s smoothest operators, a suave and velvety mover whose smoldering good looks propelled him to stardom — and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1962 — George Chakiris, born in Ohio, reared in California, celebrates a significant birthday today. Dance Magazine Editor Wendy Perron calls Chakiris “the sexiest dancer on film ...
Jerry Lewis, amped on technology
Sep
14
2012
“That was so nice,” murmured Jerry Lewis, 86, in acknowledgment of the heartfelt standing ovation that erupted when he stepped onto the Samuel Goldwyn Theater stage on Thursday night. The comedian/actor/producer-director and all-around entertainment legend was being honored at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Still emitting zingers but notably less frenetic than ...
Thank you, Turner Classic Movies, for “Choreography by Jack Cole” 1
May I express my gratitude to the wonderful classic-movie channel for “Choreography by Jack Cole” broadcast Monday night? I co-hosted the program with TCM’s great veteran host, Robert Osborne. Together, we screened four movies studded with dance sequences that were created by the massively talented American choreographer. And a huge ‘thank you’ to Mr. Osborne, ...