As a dad, Alan Ladd walked tall 5
Jul
20
2010
Read this story on The Huffington Post. “He got pegged as being short, 5’2″. But he was actually 5’6″ or 5’7″,” said actor/producer David Ladd, himself a very tall man and one of actor Alan Ladd‘s four offspring to work in the film industry. Ladd spoke about his father following the absolutely fantastic screening of ...
“King of Comedy” at TCM Film Festival
Mar
30
2010
The role of the (stalked) talk-show host in Martin Scorsese’s brilliant black comedy, “The King of Comedy” (1982), was first envisaged for Johnny Carson. When Carson declined, Scorsese, in a stroke of genius, turned to Jerry Lewis. Lewis is so fantastic in this movie; he skates the narrow edge of powerful, scary, and vulnerable. Really ...
Mike and Julia 4
After immensely enjoying the Nora Ephron film, “Julie and Julia,” I remembered that decades ago my father, Mike Levine, interviewed Julia Child on his talk show on KDKA, Pittsburgh’s 50,000-watt AM radio station. My dad, who during the “Madmen” era looked, dressed, and smoked like Don Draper, interviewed everyone — from his days as a ...
My date with Julius Shulman 6
with julius shulman The morning of the opening reception of her superb textile design exhibit at Design Within Reach, my ModCom friend Alexandra Becket called with a problem. No one was available to pick up architectural photographer Julius Shulman, she said. Julius, of course had famously photographed her grandfather Welton Becket‘s architecture. He dearly wanted to attend ...