R.I.P.

[Moraldo Rubini]

Everyone (in the press and otherwise) mentions Ronald Reagan as her husband, but I haven't seen any mention of the man who gave her the name Wyman: her first husband Ernest Wyman. She was also married to Myron Futterman and (shades of Elizabeth Taylor) married Fred Karger twice... Who were these other men?... she seemed so plain next to Marlene Dietrich in Stage Fright... as a kid I used watch Miracle in the Rain; now it seems to never play... The Lost Weekend which made her an overnight star after a decade of hard work in the movies... when she won the Oscar for the mute Johnny Belinda, she took the award and announced, "I accept this very gratefully for keeping my mouth shut for once. I think I will do it again."... Supposedly Reagan was devastated by their divorce, but he joked, "I considered naming Johnny Belinda as a co-respondent."... she became glossy in the 1950's in Douglas Sirk's operatic soaps and as the fictitious fashion icon Lucy Gallant... she has two stars on Hollywood Boulevard...

[mrsl]

Moraldo:

Much as I hate to do it, I have to disagree with your statement "she seemed so plain next to Marlene Dietrich in Stage Fright... ", but just about anybody would look plain next to the gaudy, burlesque queen Marlene with her constant clown make up (all she was missing was a red bulb on her nose). It seems to me most self respecting men would prefer quiet, pretty Jane over the woman who looks like she just left a bordello. I'm not saying Marlene WAS a hussy, I'm only saying she dressed and made up like one, and I've said that all along. To be fair, compare Jane in Night and Day where she is prettily made up with any role of Dietriech.

Dietriechs' make up people didn't learn until later in her life that less is more. Most of her life time was spent with fright masks on, similar to Lizabeth Scott.

Anne

[Moraldo Rubini]

Much as I hate to do it, I have to disagree with your statement "she seemed so plain next to Marlene Dietrich in Stage Fright... ", but just about anybody would look plain next to the gaudy, burlesque queen Marlene with her constant clown make up (all she was missing was a red bulb on her nose). It seems to me most self respecting men would prefer quiet, pretty Jane over the woman who looks like she just left a bordello. I'm not saying Marlene WAS a hussy, I'm only saying she dressed and made up like one, and I've said that all along. To be fair, compare Jane in Night and Day where she is prettily made up with any role of Dietriech.

It wasn't meant as aspersion, of course. She was supposed to look plain next to Dietrich. It was just such a funny contrast. Dietrich, a product of Hollywood, wasn't human. Jane's character was supposed to be the human one. Dietrich had the glitter; but they were both gold.

And I can't believe that I forgot her as the stern mother in The Yearling!

By the way, TCM has announced that they'll pay tribute to Jane on Friday. They'll be showing:

The Doughgirls, The Lost Weekend, Cheyenne, Johnny Belinda, The Lady Takes a Sailor, A Kiss in the Dark, Here Comes the Groom, Let’s Do It Again. As usual, I'm sorry to see that there's no earlier works; but it's nice to see that they're paying tribute.

[moira finnie]

To honor Jane Wyman, TCM has announced that on Friday, September 14th, the following films will be shown. All times are EDT.

6:00 AM The Doughgirls (1944)
7:45 AM The Lost Weekend (1945)
9:30 AM Cheyenne (1947)
11:15 AM Johnny Belinda (1948)
1:00 PM The Lady Takes a Sailor (1949)
2:45 PM A Kiss in the Dark (1949)
4:15 PM Here Comes the Groom (1951)
6:15 PM Let’s Do It Again (1953)

[Mr. Arkadin]

Joe Zawinul died today. Legendary keyboardist with Miles Davis (wrote In a Silent Way) and went on with Wayne Shorter to form the legendary band Weather Report.

Here they are with Birdland (written for the NYC Jazz club) which actually became a hit in 1977 and recieved radio play. Yes, that is the late, great Jaco Pastorius on the bass:



Teen Town:

[mrsl]

Sorry Moraldo:

I've never seen Stage Fright, and didn't know there was an analogy being offered. Any comparison to Dietriech seemed unfair. A one on one with Alexis Smith may have been possible, but Dietriech!!!!

Anne

[benwhowell]

Jose Luis de Villalonga died of natural causes August 30, 2007. He was born in Madrid, Spain Januaray 9, 1920.
His most memorable roles (for American audiences) would be as Holly Golightly's Argentinian rancher in "Breakfast At Tiffany's," Julie Christie's Italian prince in "Darling" and Fellini's "Juliet Of The Spirits."

[sugarpuss]

but just about anybody would look plain next to the gaudy, burlesque queen Marlene with her constant clown make up (all she was missing was a red bulb on her nose).

I don't think you were clear enough, Anne. Did you think Marlene wore too much makeup or not enough?

Not sure if this is surprising news or not (I'm not a huge Marlene fan myself), but she did her own makeup. From the Arthur Kennedy book, Rancho Notorious section:

Marlene put on her own makeup and spent at least 4 hours doing it. She'd get there at 4 am and be ready to work by 8:30. One day, she didn't show up till 10:30 or 11. Turns out that the makeup man hit Marlene's arm--about 2 hours into her ritual--and she had to start all over again.

I've never cared for "Stage Fright" as I fell asleep during the middle of it. It just never clicked with me. I wished TCM would have shown "Larceny Inc" and "You're in the Army Now" for her tribute. I've never seen the latter, but I would have loved to see the once-record long screen kiss.

I really wish some network would start showing the 1950 version of "The Glass Menagerie" again. I'm not sure what the ownership is. It used to be a WB film, but Fox holds the rights now (which explains the abrupt intro at the beginning). HBO/Cinemax used to show it in 2005 and then it went back to Fox Movie Channel in 2006. I thought Jane was a lovely Laura, although I've read reviews that said she was too old for the part. I thought she had just the right amount of sadness and fragility. It's my favorite of the three versions, and one of my all time favorite movies. All the performances are top notch, even Kirk Douglas whom I'm not so big on.

[Moraldo Rubini]

I've never seen Stage Fright, and didn't know there was an analogy being offered. Any comparison to Dietriech seemed unfair. A one on one with Alexis Smith may have been possible, but Dietriech!!!!

Ah Anne, Dietrich is a glamorous entertainer. Wyman is harboring Dietrich's lover who is suspected of murdering Dietrich's husband. Wyman "disguishes" herself to get a job as Dietrich's maid and find the real murderer. So there's all these shots of a glamorous Dietrich with the key light hitting her just right, standing over a drably dressed Wyman in her shadow...

Marlene put on her own makeup and spent at least 4 hours doing it. She'd get there at 4 am and be ready to work by 8:30. One day, she didn't show up till 10:30 or 11. Turns out that the makeup man hit Marlene's arm--about 2 hours into her ritual--and she had to start all over again.

I love that story!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Joe Zawinul was legendary, Mr. Arkadin. Anyone who can counter to Miles
Davis...

And, Ben, I loved Jose Luis de Villalonga. What a honey!

[jdb1]

I read in the NY Times yesterday that veteran supporting actor Percy Rodriguez passed away recently at the age of 83.

An imposing Canadian-born actor of African and Portuguese ancestry, Rodriguez was in dozens of films, and even more television programs. He generally played authority figures, and had a beautiful speaking voice, which allowed him to do a great deal of voiceover work. He was one of those actors whose face was familiar, if not his name.

[jdb1]

Percy Rodriguez in his United Federation of Planets Uniform

[benwhowell]

I remember him from numerous guest roles on TV and "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter." Too bad there isn't a list of all the trailers with his voice over narration.

[jdb1]

I remember him from numerous guest roles on TV and "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter." Too bad there isn't a list of all the trailers with his voice over narration.

I've been looking on the Internet, and I don't see a formal listing of his narration work - apparently he was the voice in a great many movie trailers ("Jaws" is listed), did voices for cartoons (I see "Hugo the Hippo"), and also narrated many "making of" shorts, as well doing lots of commercial voiceovers. The names of most of these are not mentioned. It's a loss for filmdom, in any event.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Mr. Rodriguez had a wonderful speaking voice, and a true presence on the big or little screen. Sad to hear of his demise.