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Monday, January 20, 2014

007 Feature #3 - The Spy Who Loved Me featuring Moore...Roger Moore

Welcome to the special Monday Matinee series, the third in a six-part series.  And, yes, today we're going to be having a look at another James Bond movie!



God, I love that theme!  So mysterious and yet so recognizable!

So, over the last couple of weeks, we've done a spotlight on one of the six actors who have played the role of James Bond over the franchise's fifty-two year history.  On January 6, we did a feature on Sean Connery, who was the very first Bond, who appeared in the very first Bond movie, 1962's "Dr. No".  And on January 13, we took a look at Bond #2, George Lazenby, whose one and only turn as Bond was in the 1969 film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

Well, as the 1960s came to a close, and the 1970s began, Sean Connery decided to play Bond once more in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever" before leaving the Bond franchise for at least a dozen more years.  Once Connery was out as Bond, Eon Productions needed a brand new Bond to continue the tradition, beginning with 1973's "Live and Let Die".  Of course, Eon decided to throw caution to the wind and asked Connery to reprise the role for his seventh Bond film overall, but Connery was not up to another James Bond film and turned it down.

Interestingly enough, Clint Eastwood was considered to take over the role and producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman approached him with the offer.  We all know that Eastwood turned down the part, as he flat out told the producers that James Bond should remain British (despite the fact that George Lazenby - Bond #2 - was Australian).  But United Artists did consider changing James Bond's nationality to American, and reportedly Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, and Paul Newman were brought up as replacement actors for the departing Connery.

Yeah, an American James Bond?  No.  Just no.

For the record, Broccoli agreed that the next James Bond should hail from the UK, and among some of the front runners for the role were Julian Glover, John Gavin, Jeremy Brett, Simon Oates, John Ronane, William Gaunt, and Michael Billington.  Billington, in particular was a strong contender for the part.



But ultimately, the third James Bond was British born actor Roger Moore, whose previous acting experience included the role of Simon Templar on the British television program "The Saint" - a role that he held for seven years.  Now, because Roger Moore was 45 years old when he began playing James Bond (fifteen years older than both Connery and Lazenby when they debuted as Bond), it was predicted that he would only do a couple of films, so they kept Michael Billington on standby.  But as it turns out, Billington wasn't called back, as Moore stayed on for seven Bond films - tying the record with Sean Connery for most Bond films.

And the lucky seven films were in order...

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
MOONRAKER (1979)
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
OCTOPUSSY (1983)
A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)

And today's featured film happens to be the very first James Bond film that I ever remember watching.  And, it happens to be a film that happens to have a weird obsession with the number seven.

You know, seven seemed to be a good number for Roger Moore.  He made seven films as 007, and the film that ended up being the very first Bond film that I remember watching as a child originally debuted in theatres on the seventh day of the seventh month of '77!

And to top it all off, I do believe I was seven when I first watched this movie!  Of course, I wasn't technically supposed to watch the movie, as my parents sort of restricted my television viewing back then.  But it was on cable TV, and I was hooked from the opening credits!



Yes, we're looking at the 1977 film "The Spy Who Loved Me" - the film that was released on July 7, 1977 (which I had to wait until 1988 to watch, as I completely missed 1977).  Good theme song by Carly Simon, by the way.



This was the tenth Eon produced James Bond film made overall.  And to be honest with you, I think that this was one of the better movies that featured Roger Moore as James Bond.  My opinion of Roger Moore is such that he is kind of in the middle of the pack when it comes to ranking all of the Bond actors.  And, I find that the newer the film, the less I liked it.  I mean, the films that Roger Moore did during the 1970s were among some of the better Bond movies ever made, but in the 1980s, the films didn't do much for me.  1981's "For Your Eyes Only" was a decent enough movie, but somewhat predictable.  1983's "Octopussy" had a rather unfortunate name, and it wasn't exactly a plot that I could follow along with.  And many people consider 1985's "A View To A Kill" to easily be the worst of the whole Bond franchise.  I actually kind of liked that one (and besides, Duran Duran did a fantastic job with the theme for that song), but that film certainly didn't age well.  Even Roger Moore hated it.

But, "The Spy Who Loved Me"...that was classic Bond, and a wonderful film.  But it was also a film that was filled with a lot of setbacks.  For one, it was the first Bond film made since Harry Saltzman was forced to sell his share of the franchise for twenty million pounds following his own personal struggles during the 1970s.  For another, the film was having trouble finding a suitable director.  Steven Spielberg was considered, but he was too busy working on "Jaws" at the time to commit.  Guy Hamilton was also considered, but left the project to go work on the 1978 film "Superman" (only for himself to be replaced by Richard Donner).  Finally, Eon Productions settled on Lewis Gilbert, who had already directed "You Only Live Twice".  And, script problems caused the name of the main villain of the film to be changed, as Kevin McClory was the owner to the rights of the "Thunderball" film and refused to let the character of Blofeld or the SPECTRE organization to be mentioned or referred to in the film.

This said, once all the problems were ironed out, filming went very well, with location shoots in Egypt, Italy, and The Bahamas.

So, what's "The Spy Who Loved Me" all about?  Well, I think I'm just going to bullet point the main plot facts, as I really don't like giving out plot details.  Here's all you need to know.

- Ballistic-missile submarines belonging to both Britain and the Soviet Union go missing.
- Bond is sent out to investigate the disappearances, and this happens.
- Bond learns of the plans for creating a highly advanced submarine tracking system, and travels to Egypt to get his hands on the plans before the enemy can.
- While in Egypt, Bond meets his rival for the plans - KGB Agent Triple X - otherwise known as Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach)
- At some point, Bond and Triple X team up and call a truce in order to keep shipping tycoon Karl Stromberg (Curd Jurgens) from getting access to the plans.
- Naturally, Bond and Triple X start to develop feelings for each other after Bond saves her life from assassins.
- Apparently James Bond STILL has the coolest fleet of cars that any man could ever hope to own!
- The relationship between Bond and Triple X gets complicated after Triple X realizes that Bond was responsible for the death of someone very close to her.
- And, finally, James Bond and Triple X discover that Stromberg is the mastermind behind the missing submarines, and he plans to cause a global war by using the nuclear missiles from the submarines to destroy both Moscow and New York City in hopes of serving as the catalyst behind the Cold War.

So, an interesting story, nonetheless.  But how did it fare at the box office?  Extremely well!  On a budget of $14 million, the film made over $185 million!

Now you understand why the Bond franchise has lasted as long as it has!

So, that's my look back on "The Spy Who Loved Me".  And, I think that of all the Bond films that were made, this one will forever hold a very special place in my heart.  It was the very first Bond film that I remember watching, and it was really the movie that got me interested in all things Bond.  It easily ranks in my Top 5 list of favourite Bond films of all time, and is absolutely my favourite film featuring Roger Moore as James Bond.

And now, some behind the scenes facts regarding this movie.



01 - It comes as no shock to some of you, but Barbara Bach, the Bond girl for this film installment, has been married to Beatle Ringo Starr since April 1981.

02 - Bach was actually cast in the film just four days before principal photography began on the production.



03 - Curd Jurgens name is misspelled in the opening credits of the film, where he is referred to as "Curt Jurgens".



04 - Richard Kiel, who played "Jaws" in the movie reprised his role in the 1979 film "Moonraker".

05 - Caroline Munro, who played Stromberg's personal pilot Naomi, was cast after producers saw her in an ad campaign.

06 - The car used in the film was a Lotus Esprit, and was sold in auction to Elon Musk in October 2013 at the cost of just over six hundred thousand pounds.  Interestingly enough, Musk plans to refurbish the car so that it will actually be able to be driven on land and in sea!

07 - Watch the closing credits at the end.  The credits proclaim that you'll see Bond next time in "For Your Eyes Only"...but "Moonraker" was actually released in between the two films.  But at least Roger Moore was available to play Bond by the time "For Your Eyes Only" was being filmed.

08 - This was the very first Bond film to be recorded in Dolby Stereo.

09 - Stromberg's hands are actually webbed.  Look closely and you might be able to make it out.

10 - It is said that this film was the last one that Elvis Presley would ever see, viewing it just six days before his August 16, 1977 death.

11 - One of Albert R. Broccoli's favourite James Bond films.

12 - The metal teeth that Richard Kiel wore in the film as Jaws were extremely painful and uncomfortable - he could only wear them for thirty seconds at a time before having to take them out again.

13 - One million dollars alone were spent on the interior shots of Stromberg's supertanker.  At the time, it was easily the largest soundstage ever built.

14 - This film marked the very first appearance of General Gogol in the James Bond film franchise.

15 - In this film, we finally learn that "M" stands for Miles.

16 - The white Lotus Esprit soon became the hottest car on the market shortly after this movie was released.  The demand was so high for that particular car that customers were put on a waiting list that lasted well into 1981!

17 - Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts and was on the charts for a total of 25 weeks, making it one of the most commercially successful Bond themes ever released.

18 - The ski stunt at the beginning of the film was actually shot on Baffin Island, Canada.

19 - Although the film was successful, Ian Fleming was less than happy with the book that inspired this film.  He was so disgusted with the book that he refused to let the book be published in paperback.  It was only after Fleming's death that the book soon became available in paperback format.

20 - Rick Sylvester performed the parachute jump at the beginning of the movie, and according to Roger Moore, the stunt could have gone badly.  A disengaged ski had struck the Union Jack parachute as it was falling, and everyone was worried that the ski could have caused the parachute not to open.  Fortunately, everything turned out all right, but it certainly was a scary experience.

21 - The film crew weren't thrilled with Egyptian cuisine, so Broccoli had arranged for a refrigerated truck filled with English food to keep them happy.  But when the refrigeration failed and the food went bad, Broccoli went into town to buy supplies, and he cooked and prepared an entire feast for the crew served by him and Moore!  Who knew that Broccoli was such a great chef?

22 - Ironically enough, Michael Billington - who was once considered for the role of 007 - makes an appearance in this film as Sergei Barsov - Anya's lover.

23 - One of the models in the opening credits of the film was named Penelope Smallbone.  That name would be given to one of the characters in 1983's "Octopussy".



24 - Caroline Munro turned down the role of Ursa in "Superman" to play Naomi in this film.

25 - Roger Moore ended up contracting shingles while filming this movie.  Ouch!

Coming up next week in the Monday Matinee, we take a look at Bond #4 - and sorry to say, my least-favourite of the Bonds.  But not for the reasons that you might think...

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Two Hearts

Okay, so once again, I'll tell you all what I'll be doing for this year in the Sunday Jukebox. I've decided that for the Sunday Jukebox, I would throw in a little bit of a Tuesday Timeline in the mix and do songs that were #1 hits at one point in time. So, what you'll be seeing in today's blog will be a song that hit the top of the charts this week many years ago.

But I'll admit that this week, I'll be doing a song that actually didn't hit #1 until January 21, so it's not exactly a true timeline spotlight. However, since the song did hit the top of the charts the same week, I thought I'd cheat a little.

(Besides, I kind of like this song better than the song that actually hit the charts January 19, 1989.)

So, yes, I thought it fair to announce that we'll be going back in time at least a quarter-century to the year 1989, in which one of the final singles of 1988 hit the #1 position for two weeks. And, well, we'll be talking about the song itself, the man who was responsible for the single, the creative music video behind it, and the 1988 film that the song appeared on its soundtrack.

So, are you ready to take a look at today's Sunday Jukebox? It comes courtesy of the man who also performed as the drummer/lead singer of the progressive rock band, “Genesis”.



ARTIST: Phil Collins
SONG: Two Hearts
ALBUM: Buster – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
DATE RELEASED: November 29, 1988

PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 2 weeks


Today we're looking at a song by British musician Phil Collins – and it also happens to be in what I could call one of my three favourite Phil Collins songs (the other two being 1981's “In The Air Tonight”, and 1999's “You'll Be In My Heart”). 




So, what do we know about the song?

Well, we know that the song spent at least two weeks on the top of the charts between January 21, 1989 and February 3, 1989.  And we know that it was one of Phil Collins' biggest hits.  But did you also know that the song actually won a Golden Globe Award in 1989?  Well, okay...technically it tied for the award for "Best Original Song" with Carly Simon's "Let the River Run" from the 1988 film "Working Girl".  It was still a win!  And this particular song was also nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Song" that same year.  Unfortunately, it did not win - losing to Carly Simon.

But whatever the case, it was - and remains - a great song.  

Now, the music video might seem a little bit familiar to you, because the concept has been repeated at least twice.  You might recall that the 1960s variety show angle has been used before in Nirvana's "In Bloom" and Outkast's "Hey Ya".  But this version of the music video has Phil Collins also doing the variety show spoof (and note that he did it before Nirvana and Outkast), and doing it quite well.

Directed by Jim Yukich, the video above features Collins as four members of the same band, as well as him acting as some sort of film editor behind the scenes.  And all five Phils happen to have their own distinct look.  I imagine that a lot of crafty camera angles and editing techniques were used to make this video seem extremely cutting edge at the time, and I think it looked great.  I especially like the idea of the Phil Collins video being filmed in such a way that the performance really looked as if it were shot during the 1960s!  It was a nice added touch!

TRIVIA:  Although this is the music video that most people associate with the song, it's actually not the only video for this song.  A second version was filmed (also directed by Jim Yukich) that featured Phil engaged in battle with wrestling champ "The Ultimate Warrior" in a ring.  That particular video was featured in a television special that aired on CBS in 1990, and you can watch a clip of that video below.




But just going back to the other, cooler, 1960s themed video that I posted near the beginning of this blog entry, you might notice that the video is peppered with clips from what appear to be a movie.  So, let's talk a little bit about the film in which this song is featured in, shall we?



As it turns out, Phil Collins not only contributed music to the 1988 film "Buster", he also starred in the film in the lead role!

Now for those of you who were around fifty and a half years ago, and if you happen to live in the UK, you might recall the events of August 8, 1963, in which a Royal Mail train en route from Glasgow, Scotland to London, England was hijacked and robbed by a group of fifteen robbers.  It was an event known nationally in the UK as "The Great Train Robbery".



Well, one of those robbers was a man by the name of Ronald "Buster" Edwards.  And, Phil Collins played the role of Buster Edwards.  The film depicted the events immediately after the train robbery, what Buster did to try and escape charges, and the impact that it had on his family.

(And because this technically is not a Monday Matinee, I certainly won't hold back on spoilers.  In fact, in order to finish off this blog right, I have no choice but to reveal the ending of "Buster".)




So, anyway, when the film begins, we are immediately introduced to Buster, an East End criminal who before the Great Train Robbery committed petty crimes.  Despite his criminal acts, Buster's wife June (Julie Walters, whom you might remember as Ron Weasley's mother from the Harry Potter film series), does everything she can to support her husband as well as their young daughter, Nicky (Ellie Beaven).  But when she learns that she might be married to one of the fifteen people that orchestrated the Great Train Robbery, she is quite conflicted.  A part of her wants to stay with him, and the other part wants to kill him, especially after the entire family is turned in to the police by a nosy neighbour.

But Buster seems to have found a way out.  Another one of the robbers, Bruce Reynolds (Larry Lamb, who played Archie Mitchell in EastEnders from 2008-2009) has used the majority of the funds he stole in the robbery to live a life of luxury in Acapulco, Mexico.  Buster flies out to Mexico to get settled in before sending for June and Nicky.  But, June decides that living a life on the run with a felon husband is not the best life for her or her daughter, and she and Nicky head back home to England.  Now, this decision must have been very hard for June as she knew that if Buster followed her home, he would be arrested on the spot.  And once June and Nicky are gone, Buster certainly misses them, and wonders if the money that he stole is really worth it if those who mean the most to him weren't there.

So, I'm sure that if you read up on the real life story of Buster Edwards, you'll know that he spent nine years in prison after deciding to return to England to face the music so he could finally do right by his family.  He later set up a flower stall outside of Waterloo Station, but was found dead in November 1994, apparently by his own hand.





But while the ending for Buster Edwards wasn't so happy, the ending for Phil Collins was grand.  Sure, "Buster" ended up getting mediocre reviews, but Phil's performance was praised.  And besides, two songs from the "Buster" soundtrack hit #1 in North America!  "Two Hearts", and this other song above!  I'd call it a win-win!



Saturday, January 18, 2014

Hypocrite, Thy Name is Helen Lovejoy

I do have some business to take care of before I go ahead with today's blog topic. And, while today's topic has nothing to do with either man, I thought I would mention them at the very beginning of this entry.

On January 16, 2014, we said goodbye to two actors who certainly made their mark on pop culture and entertainment – Russell Johnson, 89, who played the role of The Professor on “Gilligan's Island”, and Dave Madden, 82, who played the role of Reuben Kincaid on “The Partridge Family”. Although I was too young to watch either show when they were brand new, I remember watching “Gilligan's Island” in reruns and loving every single episode. Truth be told, the Professor was always one of my favourite characters from the show. And of course, “The Partridge Family” aired on MuchMusic for many years, and that's how I got to remember watching Reuben Kincaid act as the band's manager.

Both men certainly were a huge part of my childhood, and the childhoods of an entire generation and their children, and both will be dearly missed by those who remember watching them, and for those who were lucky enough to have worked with them both.

And now on with this week's blog topic, which is technically supposed to be an animated show (which it is), but never really aired on Saturday mornings (even though on some channels, it can air on Saturday afternoons). But you know, there's something that has been on my mind. It's kind of a ranting piece, if you will...and this is sort of surprising, as I usually don't rant. But in this case, I'll be ranting about who I would consider to be my least favourite character on this particular show.

I imagine that some of you probably feel as though I've focused a lot of blog entries on “The Simpsons”, and you're probably right. But when you consider that the show is the longest running sitcom (and animated program) of all time and has a total of over five hundred episodes, I'd say that it's worth writing another entry on.

Now, as you may know, “The Simpsons” have had the same five main characters featured in every episode. And, certainly, I love everything about Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and little Maggie. But what about the secondary and tertiary characters of “The Simpsons”? Well, I admit that I like most of them too from Apu to Artie Ziff (hey, what can I say, Artie Ziff is easy to make fun of). You can count on Sideshow Bob coming up with an elaborate scheme to kill Bart off, you can shake your head at Principal Skinner's stupidity, and you probably enjoy hearing all of the wonderful quotable quotes that Ralph “What's a diorama” Wiggum says.

But admittedly, there are some Simpson characters that I cannot say I enjoy. In small doses, I can handle Ned Flanders, but when he starts with the diddly-iddlys and the okely-dokelies, I tune out in a big way. I can't say that I enjoy those heinous twins...what are their names? Sherri and Terri? Yeah, they can get sent away somewhere. And Lisa's supposed best friend Janey? She's a complete fraud.

And, of course, I'm sure everyone has thought about shooting Mr. Burns at one point.

But you know, not even Mr. Burns is a character that I can say I absolutely despise. Truth be told, I actually kind of like the guy, only because Harry Shearer does such a fantastic job playing him. And, I think part of the reason why I cannot stand this Simpsons character is because she represents everything in a person that I absolutely loathe. She has all the qualities and quirks that I find a real turn-off in real people, and I have my doubts that I could be friendly with anybody who acts the same way that she does.

I suppose that her husband is someone who could also be someone who I could probably dislike as well, but the thing is that at least he doesn't try to hide who he is. He generally doesn't care about helping people and openly admits to it. At least Reverend Lovejoy is honest about how he feels about people – which is really not much.

His wife on the other hand...well, she's a real piece of work. I actually happen to have come across quite a few people in my life who act just like her, and I actually kind of refer to those people as the “Helen Lovejoys of the World”.



And that's what this blog is all about. Helen Lovejoy and the many traits that make her my least liked Simpsons character ever.

Now, upon first glance, you might not understand what makes this woman so bad. I mean, judging her from appearance, you'd probably make the assumption that she is actually quite the nice, respectable woman. And, in some instances, I suppose that she does look the part. Her hair is always neatly styled, her clothes are modest but somewhat fashionable, and she is very heavily involved in her church and her community. On paper, she seems like the perfect woman.

But if you were to really dig deep...dig really, really deep into the various layers that make up the personality of Helen Lovejoy, you might find a woman who is absolutely blind to the fact that she comes across as a shrieking harpy shrew, a judgmental hypocrite, and basically not a nice person at all.



I mean, sure, Helen Lovejoy might come across as being a nice churchgoing wife. But that's just the image that she wants to give off. You might think that she's hanging around Marge Simpson, Agnes Skinner, and the late Maude Flanders because she genuinely likes to be in their company and wants to be a true blue friend...but in reality, she's secretly judging each and every single person in Springfield. She's secretly taking notes of everything they say, everything they do, and everyone they hang around – all for the sole purpose of using it against you on a later date. And certainly, when that time comes, she wastes no time in taking all of those secrets and exposing them to every single person who will ever listen to her. And what is very interesting about it is that most often than not, nobody in town ever suspects her of intentionally stirring the pot.

But she does...hoo boy she does.

I mean, how could you forget the time in which she spearheaded Marge Simpson's buyout from their own business entrepreneurial group just so she could take the credit for starting up her own pita business? I mean, sure, Marge ended up starting up her own pretzel wagon which also did some success before the two groups began hiring hitmen to put the other out of business, but the fact is that Helen Lovejoy essentially managed to turn all of their mutual friends against Marge with just a snap of her fingers. That's cold.

And, remember that time in which Homer promised Marge that he would not have one drop of alcohol at the Springfield Chili Cook-Off (which ended up being a promise that Homer couldn't keep as he overindulged on beer and hot chili which caused him to hallucinate a talking fox voiced by the late Johnny Cash).

Anyway, while Marge was trying to enjoy herself at the cook-off, Helen just couldn't help herself in telling Marge that Homer was downing enough beer to supply the Duff Beer warehouses for the next six months. And, I don't mean that she simply told Marge...she practically rubbed it in her face until her face turned red and Marge was about ready to punch her in the face. Of course, the sullen-faced Reverend Lovejoy actually somewhat liked Marge Simpson, and tried to diffuse the situation as best he could, but the fact that Helen took great delight in other people's mistakes and misery...well, there's a word for that. Schadenfreude. A German word meaning shameful joy.

(And, yes...I learned that from an episode of “The Simpsons” too. Who says that TV doesn't teach you things?)

Oh, and can we talk about Helen Lovejoy's most famous, yet incredibly annoying catchphrase? I believe it goes something like this...



Oh, please! Won't somebody please think of the children? Anybody? I mean, Bart, Lisa, Milhouse, Sherri, Terri, Martin Prince, Nelson, Jimbo, Maggie, the unibrowed baby who hates Maggie, Uter...hell, anybody in Springfield under the age of sixteen, really. Someone has to think of the children! Won't somebody please think of the children?

I mean, seriously, someone has to – since Helen Lovejoy sure doesn't. Heck, she can't even make sure that her own kid is always on the straight and narrow as her daughter Jessica is as bad as they come. Heck, Jessica Lovejoy even made a naturally born hellion like Bartholomew J. Simpson seem like the most angelic of choir boys in comparison.

And, when you stop and think of it, she only seems to care about the children when she wants them to stop having fun. She was one of the people who protested against the Itchy and Scratchy show when she agreed with her fair-weather friend Marge that it was too violent. Yet, she's not one to shy away from using violence to get what she wants. Case in point, the episode “24 Minutes”, which had Helen getting into a physical confrontation with Marge Simpson over a box of raisins!

Can we say...hypocrite much?

And, when Marge was sent to prison for shoplifting a bottle of bourbon from the Kwik-E-Mart, upon her release, Helen promised that she would use her gossip for good instead of evil!

I mean, I don't use abbreviations much in this blog, but WTF?!? Gossip is still gossip, and spreading half-truths and lies about people in the community isn't exactly something that I would consider good behaviour.


And, I mean, I know so many people who are just like Helen Lovejoy. People who claim to act one way in a public setting, and when people's backs are turned, they turn into something completely deplorable. It's absolutely ridiculous and impossible to try and deal with someone like that, so I don't even try to have a relationship with them. I'd rather focus my time on someone who does appreciate me for who I am and will hold my feelings and thoughs in confidence...not someone who uses my secrets against me and who only befriends people so they can use them against themselves or someone else later on.

Hmm...maybe a better way to describe Helen Lovejoy is that she's a human dustbuster...

Friday, January 17, 2014

92 Years Of Betty White!

This is probably going to be one of the most ambitious blog entries that I have ever done in the history of “A Pop Culture Addict's Guide To Life”. Of course, I say that about EVERY entry that I've ever done. But this one is especially ambitious because it's basically a celebration of life for one of Hollywood's most beloved actresses.

The funny thing about it is that if this actress happened to come across this blog (and, look at me getting my hopes up in thinking that actual celebrities read this blog), she'd probably flat out tell me to my face to do something more constructive with my time! And, surprisingly enough I would be okay with hearing that as long as it came from her and only her!



Today, we'll be celebrating the life and times of the wonderful Betty White, who today turns 92 years old. And with Betty currently working on both “Hot in Cleveland” and “Betty White's Off Their Rockers”, she shows absolutely no sign of slowing down! Her career has spanned a total of eight decades overall! That's especially impressive, since a lot of people don't even live eight decades total! And, whether you loved her as Sue Ann Nivens on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls”, or Elka Ostrovsky on “Hot In Cleveland”, she has had one of the greatest show business careers of all-time. And unlike the stars of today, she made it happen with virtually zero controversy.

So, I thought that to celebrate every single one of Betty's ninety-two years on this earth, I would do something rather ambitious. What if I found 92 different facts about Betty White and wrote them all in one huge blog? I mean, certainly Betty's career has lasted long enough that I could find 92 pieces of trivia about her. The question is...do you think you could make it through a list of 92 things that you may or may not know about Betty White? I'm hoping you can.

But, if you can't...I'm doing it anyway!

I will be supplementing this list with video clips and pictures though, so it will make the read a little bit easier. How does that sound?

Okay, so let's kick off the list of 92 things that you may or may not know about Betty White!

01 – Her birth name is Betty Marion White. Contrary to what some may believe, the name Betty is not a derivative of Elizabeth.

02 – Her birthdate is January 17, 1922, and her birthplace is Oak Park, Illinois.



03 – Betty White's natural hair colour is dark brown.

04 – Her acting career began in the year 1939, when she began appearing on radio shows. The reasoning behind her decision to do radio came from Betty's own belief that she wasn't photogenic enough to appear on film.

05 – During World War II, Betty joined the “American Women's Voluntary Services”.

06 – Her very first sitcom was the series “Life With Elizabeth”, which ran for three years between 1952 and 1955.



07 – Betty White served as the hostess and official commentator of the Tournament of Roses Parade for nearly two decades.

08 – She also hosted the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for another ten years after that!



09 – Betty White has been married three times. Her first marriage to U.S. Army Corps pilot Dick Barker didn't even last a year. Her second marriage to Hollywood agent ended in 1949. Her third marriage was to game show host, Allen Ludden, whom Betty had met while taping episodes of Ludden's “Password” game show. They married each other in 1963, and the marriage lasted until Ludden's death in June 1981.



10 – Speaking of game shows, Betty White took a turn hosting one herself in 1983. The show, “Just Men!” debuted in January of that year...but only lasted three months before it was cancelled.

11 – But don't feel so bad for her. She ended up winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 1983 – the first female game show host to accomplish that feat!

12 – Betty White in total has earned a total of SIX Emmy Awards. Her first one was awarded in 1975 for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, and her most recent one was in 2010 for hosting “Saturday Night Live”.



13 – At the age of 88, Betty White became the oldest person to guest-host “Saturday Night Live” in May 2010 following a social media campaign to have her host the show!

14 – She has also become the oldest person to be nominated for an Emmy Award, receiving her latest nomination just last year!

15 – She also has the Guinness World Record for longest television career for a female entertainer!

16 – She is also the oldest person to win a Grammy Award, taking home the award in 2012 for Best Spoken Word Album!



17 – When Betty White was offered the role on “The Golden Girls”, initially she was to play the role of Blanche Devereaux while Rue McClanahan was to play Rose Nylund. But when Jan Sandrich – the man who directed the pilot episode – suggested that the two actresses switch roles so that they wouldn't be typecast, both agreed. I think it was a good decision, don't you?

18 – Betty White was the oldest of the four principal actresses on “The Golden Girls”. She is also the only one who is still alive. Estelle Getty died in 2008, Bea Arthur in 2009, and Rue McClanahan in 2010.

19 – Betty White has lent her voice out to several animated series including “Family Guy”, “The Wild Thornberries”, and “The Simpsons”.

20 – Betty White is a huge supporter of animal rights. She even released a calendar in 2011 where all proceeds went towards animal charities.

21 – Betty White was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.

22 – Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6747 Hollywood Boulevard – right next to the star of her late husband, Allen Ludden.



23 – Betty White played the role of Stephanie Forrester's mother, Ann Douglas on the CBS soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” off and on from 2007-2009.

24 – Betty White revealed in several interviews that while she got along with everybody on the set of “The Golden Girls”, she claimed that Bea Arthur didn't care for her too much as White felt that she was too chipper for Bea to deal with!

25 – Betty White has written seven books over her lifetime between 1983 and 2011.

26 – She was offered a part in James L. Brooks' film “As Good as it Gets” as Helen Hunt's mother, but she turned it down because she objected to how the dog was treated in the film.

27 – Although Betty White was born in Illinois, she has called Los Angeles home since moving there with her family at the age of two.



28 – Everyone knows that Betty White played Rose Nylund on “The Golden Girls” for seven seasons. But that's not the the only show where Betty White played Rose. Aside from “The Golden Girls” spin-off, “The Golden Palace”, she also played the role in guest appearances on “Empty Nest” and “Nurses”.

29 – Although she is the creator and host of “Betty White's Off Their Rockers”, Betty White has been extremely critical of reality television programming.

30 – Betty White was made an honourary mayor of Hollywood, California in 1955.

31 – She never had any children of her own.

32 – She is a registered Democrat.

33 – She appeared on episodes of the television series “Mama's Family”, which also starred her future “Golden Girls” co-star Rue McClanahan.

34 – Betty White, along with the other three actresses from “The Golden Girls” flew to London and acted out an episode of “The Golden Girls” in front of the Queen of England, after she wrote all four women a fan letter asking them to perform a live show!

35 – Betty White received a nomination for every single season she was on “The Golden Girls”. The only other actress to match this feat on the same show was Estelle Getty.

36 – Betty White was originally hired for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” as Sue Ann Nivens for one episode only! But because the audience loved her, she was brought on a recurring basis, and shortly thereafter was promoted to contract status.



37 – Betty White's character in “Hot in Cleveland” is named after Howard Stern's wife, Beth Ostrovsky.

38 – Betty White appeared in several episodes of the television series “Boston Legal” between 2005 and 2008.

39 – On “Boston Legal”, White played the role of Catherine Piper – a role that originated on another David E. Kelley program “The Practice”.



40 – Betty White poked a little bit of fun at herself in the 1999 film “Lake Placid”, in which her character is accused of mistreating her cows by PETA. In reality, White is a spokesperson for the organization.

41 – Though, admittedly in the same movie, Betty's character proclaims that she hoped the man-eating crocodile in the film swallowed people whole!

42 - “Lake Placid” is also one of the few movies in which you'll hear Betty White curse like a sailor!

43 – Although Betty White has had several successful sitcoms over the years, she didn't always strike gold. A sitcom that she did with Marie Osmond, “Maybe This Time” only lasted eighteen episodes during the 1995-1996 season.

44 – Another sitcom that she did was the 1993 sitcom “Bob”, which was offered to her after “The Golden Palace” was not picked up for another season by CBS. It too didn't last a full season.

45 – Betty White also made some guest appearances on the NBC soap opera “Santa Barbara” as part of a viewer contest in 1988.

46 – She has been on two different television series that were named after her. The first was a talk show that ran during the 1950s, and the second was a sitcom that lasted for one season in 1977.

47 – She appeared on the 1986 television special “Walt Disney World's 15th Anniversary Celebration”.

48 – Her 90th birthday in 2012 launched a television special on NBC. One year later, a second special - “Betty White's Second Annual 90th Birthday” followed in 2013.

49 – She appeared as herself on the 2011 television series “Ace of Cakes”.

50 – Has appeared on several game shows including “Password”, “Wheel of Fortune”, “Hollywood Squares” and “Match Game”.

51 – Though one show that she may not appear on any time soon is “The Price is Right”. Allegedly, she has been involved in a long-running feud with former host Bob Barker. Though now that Drew Carey is hosting the show...



52 – Betty White did a series of commercials for cosmetics in the late 1950s.



53 – She also performed a spoof of Miley Cyrus' “Wrecking Ball” this past year. But then again, who hasn't?

54 - And, never challenge her to a game of Beer Pong.  Jimmy Fallon learned the hard way.

55 - She has received twenty Emmy nominations over the course of her entire career.

56 - She was awarded an honourary degree and doctor's coat from Washington State University in 2011.

57 - Reuters conducted a poll for whom people would think was the most trustworthy celebrity.  Betty White beat out Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, and Denzel Washington!

58 - In November 2010, Betty White's childhood dream came true, as she was made an honourary Forest Ranger.

59 - Betty White was awarded the American Veterinary Medical Association's Humane Award in 1987.

60 - Betty White is a supporter of gay rights, and she was one of the few who knew that Liberace was gay, accompanying him to several high-profile functions as his date in an attempt to throw off suspicion.

61 - She listed Charles Darwin as one of her heroes in a Vanity Fair article.

62 - Was named an "Ambassador of the Animals" by the City of Los Angeles.

63 - She attended Beverly Hills High School, much like other famous faces.

64 - Her first appearance in a motion picture was in 1962's "Advise & Consent".  She played a senator!

65 - Considers the time she played the role of Sue Ann Nivens one of the highlights of her professional career.

66 - She has appeared in all four versions of the "Password" game as a panelist.

67 - Her character on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was known as "The Happy Homemaker".

68 - Initially, Betty White was unsure if she could play the role of Rose Nylund on "The Golden Girls" until she was given the instruction to play her as if she were terminally naive instead of just plain stupid.

69 - Her guest appearances on "The Practice", "Yes, Dear", and "Suddenly Susan" earned her Emmy nominations!

70 - She appeared as herself in a spoof of "Ugly Betty" called "Ugly Betty White" for the 2007 TV Land Awards.

71 - She was featured as one of the roasters on Comedy Central's Roast of William Shatner in 2006.

72 - Has made numerous guest appearances on "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson".

73 - Had a scene-stealing role in the Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds film "The Proposal".

74 - Despite the fact that it was a Facebook petition that helped secure Betty White's hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live", Betty White claimed that Facebook was a complete waste of time!

75 -  Betty White's appearance as host on the May 8, 2010 episode of "Saturday Night Live" was the highest rated episode since 2008!

76 - Has played the role of Mrs. Claus at least twice in her career.

77 - Also voices a character on the cartoon series "Pound Puppies".

78 - Starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "The Lost Valentine" - which ended up being the highest rated movie in the Hallmark series in four years!

79 - Appeared as herself in a British tourism video encouraging residents of the UK to visit California.

80 - Served as a judge at the American Humane Association's Hero Dog Awards in 2011.

81 - She released this music video with British singer Luciana!



82 - Donated $100,000 of her own money to the Los Angeles Zoo in April 2008 alone!

83 - When asked by an interviewer if she would marry again, she responded with this quote "Once you've had the best, who needs the rest?"

84 - She is a practicing member of the Unity Church.

85 - Played the role of "Witch Lady" in the television series "My Name is Earl".



86 - Reunited with the female cast members of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" on the set of "Hot in Cleveland" in 2013.

87 - Her height is listed as being 5'4".

88 - She is probably the oldest woman to win a Teen Choice Award (sharing with Sandra Bullock for "Best Dance").

89 - Featured in commercials for PetMeds in 2007.

90 - Has been deemed "The First Lady of Game Shows".

91 - Betty White is an only child.

And finally...

92 - She starred in this Snickers commercial which aired during the Super Bowl!



Happy 92nd birthday, Betty White! 

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Gimme a Head With Hair...Long Beautiful Hair

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?  And I'm not talking about making sure that you had enough money, or a car that is brand new, or having the chance to go on a game show to win a million dollars.

I'm talking actual physical attributes here.


As much as most of us out there claim to be one hundred per cent happy with ourselves physically, the truth is that all of us have something that we'd love to change about ourselves.

Perhaps you want to tone up your muscles or wish that you had a flatter tummy.  Or, maybe you aren't happy with the way your nose looks and you wish that it could be smaller.  Some people might be regretting that tattoo that they got on a binge-drinking expedition during their nineteenth year of life.  The point is that there's not one person out there who wishes that they could change something about themselves.

The only reason I say this is because of the fact that I have a little bit of a secret to tell you.  Well, okay, maybe it's not so much of a secret to those of you who actually know me in person (which admittedly is not a lot), but to most of you reading this blog, you have - until now - seen the image of me that I want you all to see.


But the truth is that although I'm definitely in a good spot when it comes to understanding and even liking who I am, there has always been one thing about myself that I have always hated about myself.  No matter what I did to it, it never turned out right, and I am really struggling to find even one picture in which it actually looked presentable.




Here's a clue above, as well as a clue below.  Have you figured it out?




If you haven't...well...here's the whole "hairy" story below in my own words...such as they are.  Enjoy.



(And, yes, I am trying to make these videos better...I just haven't figured out how yet...)

So, if you have any suggestions, I'm open-minded.  I am due for a trim after all.  :)



Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Allow Me To Teach You a Game...



It's January 15, 2014, and it happens to be a Wednesday.  I suppose this means that it's time to dust off the old bag of Clue character cards and select one at random to determine the subject for today's blog.  After all, as you can see, it is Whatever Wednesday day.

(Remind me to get this logo updated to the current look.)

Let's see what I have here.





Oh, I see that I have drawn the Mr. Green card today.  You know what that means?  It's a blog entry in which I will be talking about some sort of toy or game.

I suppose that in many ways, I'm glad to have drawn this card.  I skipped the toy entry last week to talk about hot chocolate of all things.  But here's my dilemma.  What am I going to talk about in this particular blog entry today?  And, to make matters even more pressing, this is one of those entries in which I have very limited time to complete this blog.  I need an idea, and I need an idea fast.


Well, I suppose that I could also make this blog entry a video blog.  Coming up with something to write about could take me two to three hours, but filming a video only takes fifteen minutes tops.  Yeah, I think that's what I'll do.

In fact, why don't I use this blog to teach all of you a game that was a huge fad twenty years ago?  As luck would have it, I came across my own personal collection of tokens used for this very game not too long ago, and it kind of gave me the inspiration to do up a full blog on this subject.

So, this is my idea.  Film an instructional video about this game, while talking about its origins, and showing off some of the mini collection that I had when I was a kid (and yes, I have saved them for over two decades...scary, I know.)

So, sit back and relax...because our feature presentation begins in five, four, three, two...



Tuesday, January 14, 2014

January 14, 2013

Today's Tuesday Timeline might not seem all that impressive at first...particularly since we're actually not going back in time that much at all this time around. However, the subject of the timeline is definitely a person who made a huge impact on the world of television, and for that, I feel justified in making this person the subject for today's blog entry.

Of course, before we go ahead with the Timeline, let us take a look at what else happened in the world on today's date. The following took place on January 14.

1539 – Spain annexes Cuba

1724 – King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne

1784 – Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain

1858 – Napoleon III escapes an assassination attempt

1907 – More than one thousand people are killed in Kingston, Jamaica following an earthquake

1911 – Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition makes landfall at the Ross Ice Shelf

1915 – Television producer Mark Goodson (d. 1992) is born in Sacramento, California – responsible for creating television game shows “The Price is Right” and “Family Feud”

1919 – Journalist and longtime 60 Minutes collaborator Andy Rooney (d. 2011) is born in Albany, New York

1933 – Australian cricket captain Bill Woodfull is seriously injured after he takes a cricket ball to the heart thrown by England's Douglas Jardine

1943 – The Casablanca Conference is held by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt

1952 – NBC's “The Today Show” debuts with Dave Garroway as host

1954 – The American Motors Company is created following the merge of the Hudson Motor Car Company and the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation

1967 – The “Human Be-In” takes place in San Francisco, California's Golden Gate Park

1969 – Twenty-seven people are killed after an accidental explosion aboard the USS Enterprise occurs just outside of Hawaii

1972 – Queen Margrethe III becomes the first Queen of Denmark since the year 1412

1973 – Elvis Presley's television special “Aloha from Hawaii” is broadcast live via satellite, making it the most watched broadcast by a single entertainer in television history

1984 – Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's, dies of heart failure at the age of 81

1986 – Actress Donna Reed passes away at the age of 64

1999 – Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman calls in the army for assistance after a huge snowfall (more than three feet fell over the city in a twenty-four hour period)

2006 – Actress Shelley Winters passes away at the age of 85

2007 – Actress Darlene Conley – best known to soap fans as Sally Spectra from “The Bold and the Beautiful” dies of cancer at the age of 72

2010 – Yemen declares open war against al-Qaeda

And, there happens to be a lot of celebrity birthdays for January 14. So, I'd like to wish the following famous faces a happy birthday; Fred Beckey, Warren Mitchell, Lucille Wheeler, Jack Jones, Faye Dunaway, Barry Jenner, Holland Taylor, T-Bone Burnett, Carl Weathers, Lawrence Kasdan, Jim Duggan, Geoff Tate, Steven Soderbergh, Mark Addy, Shepard Smith, Emily Watson, Saskia Wickham, LL Cool J, Jason Bateman, Dave Grohl, Georgina Cates, Angela Lindvall, John Reuben, and Jack P. Shepherd.

Now, what date are we going back to? Prehistoric times? The Middle Ages? The Swinging Sixties?



Nope. How about the wonderful date of January 14, 2013?

No, seriously, we're going back in time one whole year to 2013. I know some of you are disappointed and I imagine some of you probably want to forget all about 2013. But, what if I told you that 2013 was merely just the date where it all ended for one man?

Yes, sadly, on January 14, 2013, today's blog subject passed away.  And his death at the age of 89 marked the end of a television career that spawned several decades.  At the peak of his career, he was on two successful television series back to back between the years of 1972 and 1986.  This would be great success for young actors alone, but when you consider that in 1972, he was just shy of turning fifty years old, this was especially impressive, as back in those days, fifty was the age in which most people slowed down their career ambitions.  But not this man.

Mind you, he had other success stories throughout his career.  But the two television series that helped make him a star were "Maude" and "Diff'rent Strokes".  And certainly he helped make the characters of Dr. Arthur Harmon and Phillip Drummond two of the most recognizable sitcom characters of the 1970s and early 1980s.





Today, we'll be looking back on the life of actor Conrad Bain, who passed away on January 14, 2013.

Now, many people might not know this about Conrad Bain, but he was born on February 4, 1923 in Canada.  Lethbridge, Alberta, to be exact. 

(In case you're wondering where Lethbridge is, it's just southwest of Calgary.)

And, I bet some of you might not realize that Conrad Bain was an identical twin.  Although his twin brother Bonar didn't have as much success as an actor as Conrad, he did appear on a couple of episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Maude".  Bonar Bain passed away in 2005.

But, anyway, Conrad Bain grew up in Alberta, Canada, and actually served in World War II after enlisting in the Canadian Armed Forces!  I tell you, the things you learn about celebrities when you feature them in the Tuesday Timeline.  I think it's one of the reasons why I love this feature a lot!

After the war ended, Conrad opted to go to America to attend college, and found himself in New York City studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  While he was studying in New York, he made the decision to become an American citizen, which he accomplished in 1946, when Bain was just twenty-three years old.


TRIVIA:  One of Bain's classmates was comedian Don Rickles!

Of course in the earliest stages of his career, Bain took work wherever he could get it, and that sometimes meant returning to Canada to take work there.  He even took a job at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.  And when he first began his career, he did so in front of the Broadway lights, taking a role in the Broadway revival "The Iceman Cometh", in which reviewers praised his performance.

In addition to Broadway musicals, he acted in a few plays off Broadway, and even held a role on the daytime soap opera "Dark Shadows".  Unfortunately, his character was killed off of that serial, but when you consider that the main character of "Dark Shadows" was a vampire, I guess it was somewhat inevitable.


But here's one interesting fact about Bain that I didn't even realize.  Did you know that he was one of the key players in implementing the Actors Federal Credit Union in the early 1960s?  It's true!  And apparently the reason why he took a stand and was a driving force behind its creation was that back in those days, it was very difficult for actors to establish a line of credit.  It was incredibly difficult for working actors to even be respected by financial institutions, let alone get access to credit, and thanks to Bain's effort, this is no longer the case.

Mind you, it still doesn't prevent some stars from filing bankruptcy anyway, but at the very least, Bain made it easier for people in the acting industry to be approved for loans without getting any scrutiny for it.  I suppose I would call that a win.


But of course, his two biggest roles were in the world of television...as as it so happened, they were one right after the other!




Now, I wasn't born when "Maude" was on the air.  A quick look at Wikipedia tells me that the series ran for six seasons between September 1972 and April 1978.  As you all well know, "Maude" starred future "Golden Girls" star Bea Arthur in the title role as the ultimate liberal feminist who was pro-abortion, pro-civil rights, pro-equality, and basically pro-Democrat.  And while the 1970s were considered a decade of radical change for the world, the early 1970s were still very conservative, and Maude certainly was quite a controversial show for its time.  I recall reading an article which stated that many people were up in arms when an episode was screened in which Maude became the very first sitcom character to have an abortion on the show.  I can certainly see it, especially as in 2014, abortion is still a rather hot topic.

Well, what kind of person would act as the ultimate foil for the very liberal Maude?  How about having a neighbour that is as Republican as Republican can be?  Enter Dr. Arthur Harmon, a very conservative minded individual whose values completely clashed with Maude's.  It's actually kind of a miracle that Maude and Arthur even had a relationship with each other because both were so different.  But of course, Arthur was best friends with Maude's husband (Bill Macy), and Maude was best friends with Arthur's wife (amusingly enough played by Rue McClanahan), so I suppose that there was already a built in tolerance between Maude and Arthur.

Still, if you click on THIS LINK, you can see Conrad Bain in action as Arthur.  I think that episode best showcases Bain's acting abilities alongside Bea Arthur's...which is actually quite good, considering that it's a first season episode.





Now, the role that I best remember Conrad Bain for was that of Phillip Drummond from "Diff'rent Strokes".  And the role that he played on that show was quite different from that of "Maude".  Sure, he still played a rich American who lived in a penthouse with his daughter, Kimberly (Dana Plato), but he also took in two boys from Harlem (Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman) and raised them as his own.  In fact, I found THIS episode of Diff'rent Strokes that I think probably best showcases Bain's acting abilities.  It's actually the episode called "The Bicycle Man", which is probably one of the most talked about episodes of the whole series.

Now, the reason why I posted two episodes of Bain in action was to show that he could play two completely different roles in two completely different ways, and still pull it off flawlessly.  That took real talent.

And, would you believe that Bain played the role of Phillip Drummond on three different shows?  It's true.  First of all, he played the role on "Diff'rent Strokes" between 1978 and 1986.  In between that, original cast member Charlotte Rae left the series to go and film "The Facts of Life" and Bain crossed over with the rest of the cast to help Rae with the transition.

But he also made an appearance on the very last episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" which aired in 1996.  Have a look!






As it happened, that appearance would be the last one that Bain would make in his life.  He would spend the last few years of his life in quiet solitude, until January 14, 2013, in which he passed of natural causes at the age of 89.

Although it's only been a year since he passed, his legacy remains.  He was one of the last cast members to pass away from "Maude" (well, aside from Adrienne Barbeau, that is), and with his death, only Todd Bridges and Charlotte Rae remain from the original cast of "Diff'rent Strokes".  But to me - and likely thousands of fans out there - he was and will always remain a class act.





Thanks for the memories, Mr. Conrad Bain.