Ben Johnson

[Maricatrin]

Geez, did Patrick Wayne ever have an ugly duckling day in his life? Cute at 10, and cute at 70.

Took me a minute to find him, but there he was, in a pose reminiscent of Rusty on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin!

Did you see him in Rookie of the Year, from Screen Directors Playhouse? Still in his teens, but no ugly duckling stage there either. Some people!

[MissGoddess]

Nice pictures with that article, Paula. I watched an episode of Police Woman not long ago in which Patrick Wayne had a guest starring role. It was cute when he turned to Angie Dickinson and said, in character mind you: "You know, my father told me you were one of the most beautiful women he ever met."

[pvitari]

[pvitari]

I've been attacked by a cold but should be back in a couple of days... this is pretty much how I feel. :)

[Maricatrin]

I've been attacked by a cold but should be back in a couple of days...

So sorry to hear that ... stay warm, and don't forget the chicken soup. We'll look forward to seeing you back.

[JackFavell]

I hope you are feeling better soon!

[knitwit45]

Wagonmaster and chicken soup!

[MissGoddess]

I second Knitty's Rx.

[knitwit45]

Or just staring at Ms G's avatar for a while.......

[pvitari]

I had matzo ball soup but it had chicken in it, so I think that counts. And I did watch a part of Wagon Master. USA network had a Law and Order marathon yesterday all day and I just lay on the couch and dozed and occasionally watched that show -- never did watch any of the L&Os in first run but they're great re-runs. :)

The Reader's Digest arrived so that will be my post tomorrow. (Thank you Mary-Kate!)

Here's one for Valentine's Day. :) (I also changed the website's banner photos in honor of the occasion... and gave it a red color, but that color will be a one-day only thing.) ;) (I almost changed it to Shutterfly's red with hearts option but I decided that was taking it a bit too far.) :)

[pvitari]

Here's the Reader's Digest article. If you want to see what I wrote about it, go to the webpage. :) http://benjohnsonscreencaps.shutterfly.com

Thank you again, Mary-Kate!

[Maricatrin]

If you want to see what I wrote about it, go to the webpage. http://benjohnsonscreencaps.shutterfly.com

I'm almost speechless; I'm so pleasurably embarrassed! Once again, you (and fellow Ben & Ford fans) are so welcome to what my modest "detecting" could turn up. And thank you, my friend, for the super nice mention - I'll be walking on air today!

P.S. I hope you're on the mend from your wretched cold?

[pvitari]

Well, uh, I posted the article to dukewayne.com and also to a cowboy movies Facebook page and there was... zero reaction! Which I found surprising, to say the least. Oh well, at least we here at SSO know the value of what Mary-Kate unearthed for us. :)

But moving on... Blu-ray/DVD news.

Bite the Bullet is coming out on Blu-ray on March 13 from Twilight Time (a speciality label that licenses titles from the studios). It's finally available for pre-order at Screenarchives.com (the sole vendor, so don't go looking for it on Amazon).

Here is the cover art:



Here is the inside the package art -- love Ben's prominence right by Gene Hackman!


Also in DVD news, Shout! Factory is releasing Route 66-The Complete Series in a DVD box set on May 22. Ben appeared in two episodes, "Like a Motherless Child" (season 1) and "A Long Piece of Mischief" (season 2). Route 66 was released in season sets a few years back from a company called Infinity Entertainment, but there were all sorts of problems and glitches with the presentation of the episodes and the manufacturing of the DVDs. Hopefully Shout! Factory (a very reliable, responsible outfit) will fix all that.



Speaking of Gene Hackman, the Warner Archive right now has a free streaming of an FBI series episode in which Hackman plays an average, white-collar guy who is secretly a Communist agent! Bad Gene! Ruth Roman is the orphanage director working in China who is also secretly a spy! Bath Ruth! Very Manchurian Candidate. :)

[Maricatrin]

Well, uh, I posted the article to dukewayne.com and also to a cowboy movies Facebook page and there was... zero reaction! Which I found surprising, to say the least

Huh... that is odd. A devastating personal tragedy, followed by heroic perseverance and fulfillment of a life-long dream, make for a powerful story in my book (and that of everyone else here, it would seem.)

Nice scans of the article, by the way (I was biting my nails until I got official confirmation that it was the right issue!)

If you don't mind my asking a Hulu related question (I don't think you will ): are there any movies and/or shows currently on Hulu that feature Ben Johnson, besides And the Desert Shall Blossom and Grayeagle?

[pvitari]

I think that's all at Hulu but I've given up doing a search under Ben's name there because when you do, you get tons of stuff that has nothing to do with him.

There is a LOT of stuff with Ben on youtube but also not under his name -- you have to put in the TV show and episode title, or the movie title. Lots of Monroe episodes, his Laramie episodes, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc., etc., movies with John Wayne....and more etc.