MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

[Bronxgirl48]

Dean Martin mentions Millard Fillmore in BELLS ARE RINGING.

I think in the Drop A Name sequence.

[kingrat]

My mom and yours would have been great friends....

"Picnicking, Mr. Pennell??"

Let me try and guess that politician....is it Millard Fillmore?

LOL

Yeah, that's him, "alright"! Good ol' Millard!

(...btw, I've always thought the sound of his name is somehow the funniest sounding one of all the presidents)

Dargo, an acquaintance swore that he knew a guy named Millard Fillmore Strunk. The guy went by Fillmore.

[Bronxgirl48]

A blessed Easter to all who celebrate.

[Dargo]

My mom and yours would have been great friends....

"Picnicking, Mr. Pennell??"

Let me try and guess that politician....is it Millard Fillmore?

LOL

Yeah, that's him, "alright"! Good ol' Millard!

(...btw, I've always thought the sound of his name is somehow the funniest sounding one of all the presidents)

Dargo, an acquaintance swore that he knew a guy named Millard Fillmore Strunk. The guy went by Fillmore.

So KR, considering the average American tends to lack much of a knowledge of American History, well, I'm now wondering here what the percentage of people this guy ever met and introduced himself to would have even recognized that he shared a name with our 13th President?

AND which now reminds me of another little story here...

For ten years, from 1993 to 2003, my job was as a boarding gate supervisor for Northwest Airlines (merging with Delta A/L in 2007) at LAX. I usually worked nights. I'd surpervise about 12-15 agents during each of my shifts.

For a few years every Fourth of July night that I worked and because the load factors were usually pretty low on the redeye flights that particular evening, I performed a "game show" kind'a thing with the passengers. This game consisted of the following statement I'd make over the loudspeaker to those waiting in the boarding area for their flight to begin boarding:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, can I have your attention please! In honor of our country's independence which we are celebrating today, I'm going to run a little game for those traveling on tonight's flight. For the first person who can walk to me at this podium here and tell me the first few words of The Declaration of Independence, I'll upgrade you and whoever you might be traveling with tonight to First Class!" ( I could do that back then)

And soooo, guess how many people would (and REMEMBER here, this was a few years before everyone had a smartphone in their possession) walk up to me at the podium and would say, "I DO! I DO! I know THIS! The first few words are "We The People", RIGHT?!, and to which I'd have to tell them, "Nope, sorry. That would be the first few words of our Constitution", and BEFORE someone would finally walk up to me and say, "Yes, I know this. It's "When in the course of human events".

Yep, you guessed it. It usually was about five or six people before someone actually knew and told me the correct answer.

(...and so the very reason I said that thing up there about "the average American's lack of knowledge of American History"...yep, I proved it every Fourth of July back then)

[Detective Jim McLeod]

A blessed Easter to all who celebrate.

[dianedebuda]

For some reason I was thinking about past Easters this morning. One year, when our daughter was about 4 and son was 2, I rented a bunny costume and went for a surprise visit to their daycare. Was a huge hit with the staff and all the kids except 1 ... my son. Finally took him aside and lifted the costume head. His eyes got huge as he said "Mommy Bunny!" All was fine then. Sure couldn't do such a spur of the moment stunt these days.

And the first time we had an egg hunt at the house. Had filled some of the eggs with chocolates. Nope, you don't do that in Texas when the temps at or above normal.

[txfilmfan]

Yeah, I guess GC would qualify as a guilty pleasure for me....even if I don't really think of it as such....(that would be something like BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA -- yes, it's a real movie)

I've got DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE on, mainly because I'm waiting for WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? which follows -- it's one of my favorite Reynolds' roles and performances.

It looks like GOODBYE CHARLIE didn't make it to Watch TCM so it doesn't look like I'm going to get to see it tonight as I hoped.
Maybe I'll rent it one day if the price is right.

Bronxgirl, I also love WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? although I do feel bad for the rabbits.
If it's on Watch TCM, I'd love to share it with the sweetie and see the reaction to the ending with Shelley Winters playing the piano.

GOODBYE CHARLIE is worth seeing but around here I'm the only person who thinks so, lol.

Oh, yes, Helen and her bunnies. Poor creatures. Not "goodie-goodie" for them.

Love Debbie's dancing!

Noticed that it will be on FXM on 11 April. My DVR records things regardless of channel, so it picks up other showings unless I cancel the recording.

[Andree]

I haven't finished my chocolate Easter eggs and still haven't stared nibbling on my
chocolate Easter bunny. Will power.

[Hibi]

Dargo, when I moved to Los Angeles (Hollywood) from San Francisco in 1977, the rent on my one bedroom apartment was $265.00.

OMG!!!!!!!!!! Those were the days!

[Hibi]

Agnes Moorehead pops up in WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? She and Debbie were close friends.

According to some gossips more than best friends (LOL). I can't picture it though.

[Hibi]

Well I made it through half of Goodbye, Charlie. I was just so bored with it, I couldn't spend any more of my time watching it. I'll try to finish it (for completions sake) another time. (not like I need to remember anything). Very talky and very unfunny 60s sex comedy all glossied up. An interesting idea that goes nowhere (at least in the first hour). When you spend your time looking at the 60s sets and costumes (and wigs!) you know the film is in trouble. My memory of the film was correct! I do like the title tune. (the Previns).

[Hibi]

Does anyone know when or why Ellen Burstyn changed her name? She hadn't hit it big when I first saw this so I didn't know who she was (or would be) at the time.

According to Wiki:

--1932: born Edna Rae Gillooly [now you know why she changed her name!]
--flunks out of high school her senior year; works as a dancer and model under the name Kerri Flynn
--1955-1956: as an "Away We Go!" dancer on the Jackie Gleason Show, she uses the name Erica Dean
--After that, she decides to become an actress and chooses the name Ellen McRae
--1964: she marries her third husband, Neil Burstyn, and decides to use his last name

I would guess that she kept reinventing herself and didn't want a trail back to a comparative lack of success. She kept at a career long after many would given it up, and her career took off at an age when other women might have had more difficulty finding roles.

LOL. I figured Mcrae wasn't her real name either. That's quite a name trail! It's amazing with that history and at her age she finally made it! Thanks.

[Hibi]

Does anyone know when or why Ellen Burstyn changed her name? She hadn't hit it big when I first saw this so I didn't know who she was (or would be) at the time.

She married Neil Burstyn in 1964,divorced 10 years later,he was mentally ill...Her original name was not McRae something like Gollolly whatever,,,,

Thanks.

[Hibi]

No one enjoyed Walter Matthau as Sartori?

I'm crushed, lol. But seriously, I guess I'm still the only one around there who really likes GOODBYE CHARLIE. Oh, well!

At least there were no p.c. lectures at the intro or outro! That's always a good thing!

Sorry, but I thought he was awful. (at least in the first hour!)

[Hibi]

Check out Debbie this evening in WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? She is terrific as the brittle, self-absorbed, ambitious Adele. A very charismatic performance and I think one of her best!

Not so crazy about THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN. Reynolds can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned but I've never cared for the movie -- no memorable songs or production numbers -- everything is frankly a galumping (is that a word?) bore, lol.

HOW SWEET IT IS. Avoid...at...all...costs.

THE RAT RACE. I don't know which is more overheated -- the brassy, life-is-tough SOME CAME RUNNING-ish score or Don Rickles as "Nelly", dance hall owner and pimp. Tony Curtis is supposed to be from Milwaukee, the same way Sinatra is from Indiana in THE TENDER TRAP; both do not even try disguising their New York/Jersey accents. In a vain attempt to convince us he's a Midwesterner, Tony tries to be soft-spoken and polite but it really doesn't work. Debbie at least is a tad more believable as the more cynical of this pair. Thank goodness for good old Jack Oakie -- best thing in the film.

Helen has everything going for it except a good script. It's too bad. It starts out very good.