Category: Celebs

RIP Shelley Winters

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Academy Award-winning actress Shelley Winters, who appeared in over 125 movies during her career, died today at the age of 85.

I’m not the biggest Shelley Winters fan in the world, but I did admire her ability to morph throughout her career so that she could continue to act well into her 70s.

Before making it in movies, Winters worked as a chorus girl and on the stage. When Winters first came to Hollywood she roomed with another future star by the name of Marilyn Monroe. Although Winters started out as another blonde bombshell, her best roles and recognition came when she worked as a supporting actress.

Not content to just act, Winters also wrote two popular biographies in which she talked about her intimate affairs with many of Hollywood’s leading men, including Sean Connery, Errol Flynn, William Holden and Burt Lancaster [among others]. Shelley was a playa before the term was invented.

My two favorite Shelley Winters roles occured in movies that were made 17 years apart.

In “Night of the Hunter” Shelley played Willa Harper who falls victim to the wonderfully evil preacher, Harry Powell [Robert Mitchum in perhaps his greatest performance]. The scene of Winters dead and strapped in a car at the bottom of a lake… with her hair floating in the currents is one of the most haunting images ever. In 1972, Winters was no longer the young wife, now she was the aging overweight wife, Belle Rosen, whose ultimate sacrifice [she dies of a heart attack after a long underwater swim to save Gene Hackman] allows others to survive. Looking back now, I find it somewhat strange that she dies in both of my favorite roles and ends up underwater.

Shelley Winters died today. She leaves behind many wonderful family members, friends, fans and movie roles.

John Spencer – RIP

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A few minutes ago it was announced that John Spencer has died of a heart attack.

Most of you that recognize the name probably know Mr. Spencer from his work on
the West Wing where he played Leo McGarry.

Others may know him from his roles in LA Law, Cop Land, Black Rain, The Rock, Ravenous or one of the many other roles that he played in his career.

I always, always enjoyed it when John Spencer was on the screen. Even, like in Cop Land when he was playing a bad guy, I liked him. I wasn’t alone in my admiration for Mr. Spencer‘s acting. You can tell that from the many awards that he won over the course of his career.

Mr. Spencer was just 59 years old. He was still appearing on the West Wing where his character had been chosen to run for Vice President [under the likely winner]. Even with the potential of this being the last year for West Wing, John Spencer, and his fans should have had many more years to enjoy his acting.

Sadly that is not to be. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Richard Pryor – RIP

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As you’ve probably already heard, Richard Pryor died yesterday. He’d turned 65 a little over a week ago, but had suffered with multiple sclerosis for years. The disease made Richard seem older and robbed him [and us] of years that he could have been performing.

In the coming days you will hear testimony from comics, celebrities and others about Richard Pryor. Most will proclaim him to be one of the greatest comedians of all time. They’d be right, but Richard Pryor was much more than just a guy who told jokes.

Richard was a former soldier [two years in the army]. He was a great stand-up comedian. His comedy albums are classics. Pryor worked in television as an actor and writer [even starring in a short-lived series that was ahead of it’s time]. He also appeared in nearly 40 feature films, several of which he wrote, produced and/or directed.

Pryor’s comedy was raw. Sure, the language was quite often foul, but that’s not what I mean when I say his comedy was raw. Pryor’s comedy wasn’t superficial. He didn’t just relate funny stories. Pryor’s comedy crossed age barriers, color differences, and made you think even as you were laughing till the tears came. That’s because Richard’s comedy was founded in truth. He talked about racism, drug addiction, sex, male -female relations, and more.

Sure, he made us laugh… but equally important, he made us think.

The funniest movie that I ever saw was Richard Pryor Live. I saw it in a crowded theater in 1979. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s a concert movie. Richard Pryor, a microphone and a crowded ampitheater. I never laughed so hard in my life.

Truly.

I laughed to tears and beyond. My sides were truly hurting by the time the movie was over. And I wanted to hear more. I talked about the movie for days. Telling others that they should go and sharing laughs with people who’d seen it. Heck, it’s 26 years later and I’m still recommending it.

I’m sad to hear that Richard Pryor is no longer with us. I’m just as sad that he had to suffer so long from multiple sclerosis.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans.

Tampa Con Report

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Hey Zoners… ok, I’m picking up the tale of our four middle-aged playas after they’ve
arrived at the show. If you want to read more tales of the trip then click HERE and
John “The Dude Abides” Beatty will fill you in.

Tim Gordon’s Tampa Comic Book and Toy Convention is the best one day show
that you’ll find anywhere. There are media guests, comic artists, costumers,independent filmmakers [with a continuously running screening room] , and
dozens and dozens of dealers.

Yes, that’s the look of fear that crossed Mark and Stephanie Heike‘s faces when
they discovered that the Mild Bunch [John “Johnny Star-Warz” Higashi, James
“The James” Howell, John “The Dude Abides” Beatty, and yours truly] had arrived.

Larry Thomas, better known as “The Soup Nazi” from Seinfeld, had a table. He was selling autographed pictures and soup ladles for $20 a pop. I’m a huge Seinfeld fan.
I loved the series and thought “The Soup Nazi” episode was a riot. However, $20
bucks for an autographed picture? Five samoleons and I’m there, heck, I’d have
even bought a couple, but twenty of my hard-earned smack-a-toons for one?
No thanks.

So, I’m waiting for Pat Broderick to arrive and up walks Beatty. He says that every
time he tried to get a photo of “The Soup Nazi,” the “Nazi” turned or raised his hands
to insure that the picture wasn’t a good one. I laughed it off. Later Beatty came up to
say that he’d tried for a photo several more times, but each time the “Nazi” thwarted
his efforts. This, of course, makes me want to get a candid. I did, but as you can tell
from the full shot, Mr. Thomas did not seem to happy about it. If that’s the case, I’m
sorry, Mr. Thomas… and I really would have bought a couple of autographs had
they been cheaper!

Now the guy that I really was there to see was Pat Broderick. I’ve known Pat for
nearly 30 years! We first met at an OrlandoCon back in the 70’s. Pat‘s a great guy
and a heck of an artist. He and Beatty even teamed up on a couple of comic series
over the years! I was curious to see if Pat would be interested in doing a piece for my Stallone gallery. Lucky for me he was! I’ll post it later this weekend with my SZ update.
Higashi and Howell also set up sketches with Pat.

The next guy on our hit list was Karl Moline who was sharing a table with Randy
[Edward Scissorhands Collection] Martin. While John Higashi and I set up sketches
with Karl, The James scooted over to arrange a take-home commission with Pablo Marcos.

Then it was over to the film room where we caught some of Joel D. Wynkoop‘s film
“Lost Faith.” Joel was at the show, and as you can see HERE has made a lot of films.
Joel is very approachable and obviously has a love of film. It might be cool if he and
Bill Black ever hook up for a project.

Beatty got that look in his eyes that said it was time for lunch. Howell said he was
ready for a bite too. Even Higashi said he’d eat [which is a rare thing for Johnny SW
to do at a show]. I wasn’t hungry, but said I’d join them for a Coke. We ended up in the hotel’s sport’s bar. As we were yacking away waiting for the food to arrive, the NY
Giants were on tv playing the Philadelphia Eagles. Howell suddenly blurted out, “I’ve
got five bucks for anyone who’ll yell “Go Giants!”

I immediately yelled, “Go Giants! Go Giants!” and before I could collect my fiver, a
loud chorus of “Go Philly!” “Giants Suck” “Go Philly” erupted from behind me. I
turned to see probably 30 or 40 grown men [most of whom were wearing Eagles
jerseys] looking our way. Of course, this just made Beatty an instant Giants fan who
began to LOUDLY cheer for the Giants way and BOO the Eagles.

Two things saved us from the situation getting ugly. 1] Beatty‘s sandwich arrived and
2] Mrs. Pat Broderick came by the table to say, “Hi.”

After lunch we headed back to the show. Pat and Karl had finished my sketches.
They had [independently] decided to draw Deke from Nighthawks! And both did
really, really cool sketches. I’ll post them tomorrow with the SZ update.

I’d been wanting to get a sketch from Derrick Fish for a while. Luck was with me
because when I checked with Derrick, he had a spot on his sketch list open. 
Derrick completed my sketch trifecta by doing a really nice cartoon of Rocky
knocking out Dandy.

Soon it was time to say our goodbyes and load up the “Jack Carter” car for our trip
home. As we snaked our way around the con to say we were heading out, we made
sure to let the Heike‘s know that we’d see them at the next show in May!

A Second Chance at Stardom

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I first discovered Mickey Rourke in Body Heat. Rourke was this skinny little guy who absolutely stole every scene he was in… and although there weren’t that many, Rourke made an impact. He was an actor to watch.

Mickey Rourke appeared in a few other films [getting excellent reviews] before I saw him again. This time the film was Rumble Fish. Rourke was again impressive as the ultra cool Motorcycle Boy.

The next few years saw him in Year of the Dragon, [playing an older cop fighting Chinese gangs], the controversial Nine 1/2 Weeks, and the even more controversial Angel Heart. Rourke was starring in big movies and earning rave reviews. Barfly with Frank Stallone was another well received role.

But then things seemed to go downhill… Johnny Handsome directed by Walter Hill didn’t really work… and neither did Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Wild Orchid or White Sands. Rourke‘s personal life seemed to be out of control as well. Reports of drug and alcohol abuse as well as abuse of his love, Carrie Otis began to make more headlines than his movies.

And almost as quickly as Rourke‘s star had risen, it sank. Sure, he still worked, but usually in straight to video features. Most people counted Rourke out. He’d had his shot and blew it.

Then in 2000, Rourke co-starred in Get Carter with Sly Stallone. Sly wanted Rourke for the role and Rourke brought his “A” game. The following year, Sean Penn was directing The Pledge and he had a role for his friend Mickey, who again turned in an excellent job. Reports began to come out that Rourke had given up his bad boy ways. High profile parts in both Once Upon A Time in Mexico and Man on Fire paved the way for his starring role in Sin City.

Man, Rourke was perfect for the part of Marv. Fans and critics alike sat up and took notice. He received some of the best reviews of his career. Suddenly Rourke began to get better scripts and the opportunity to work with A list actors and directors again. Rourke was back and getting a second chance at stardom.

And if you read THIS INTERVIEW you’ll see that he knows how fortunate he is.

Bob Denver’s Legacy

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Bob Denver, the clueless hero of “Gilligan’s Island” has died at the age of 70.

Denver, as Gilligan,. set sail on what should have been a three-hour tour but instead ended up being a 40 year adventure entertaining several generations of fans.

I was five years old when “Gilligan’s Island” premiered and I can remember watching each week. They castaways were funny. Especially Gulligan.

The show ran for only three seasons. The funny thing is it never died. Bob Denver has 25 credits listed in the Internet Movie Database. Eight of them have direct ties to Gulligan’s Island. Talk about creating an enduring and endearing character.

I didn’t care much for Gilligan’s Island once I was older. I remember watching Rescue from Gilligan’s Island and thinking how stupid it was. It wasn’t stupid though, it was silly. The kind of silly that little kids eat up… like I did when I used to watch Gilligan and the castways in their initial run.

Bob Denver‘s three hour tour will never end. He’ll continue to entertain generation after generation. Smiles and the sounds of laughter is a great legacy.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and fans of Mr. Denver.

Bruce Lee Lives!

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On November 27th of this year, Bruce Lee would have been 65 years old. Amazing isn’t it?

It’s hard to imagine Bruce as ever being older than 32, since that’s how old he was when he died on July 20, 1973. Think about that for a second. Bruce Lee died 32 years ago. Bruce has been dead now for a longer period of time than he lived. And yet, you can say his name to almost anyone of any age and they know who Bruce Lee was.

My guess is that he’s more popular now than he was while alive. I say that because each year a new generation discovers Bruce Lee and his movies [and he only made a handful of kung fu movies before he died].

I’m old enough that my first memory of Bruce was as Kato on The Green Hornet. Man, Kato was cool! Of course, that was because of Bruce‘s charisma.

After The Green Hornet, Bruce‘s next onscreen performance was with James Garner in Marlowe. Bruce had a small role as a martial artist thug.

I also fondly remember my anticipation to see Bruce in the tv movie “Longstreet.” Lee played the part of a martial artist who trains a blind insurance investigator the art of self defense. When the movie spun off into a short lived tv series, Lee was brought back for four of the 23 episodes.

It wasn’t long after that Bruce Lee‘s Fist of Fury aka The Big Boss hit the US. It was quickly followed by The Chinese Connection and Return of the Dragon [with Chuck Norris fighting Bruce to the death]. Bruce Lee fever was growing, but it wasn’t until the release of Enter the Dragon that Bruce Lee mania really soared. Sadly, Bruce Lee died three weeks prior to it’s premiere in the USA.

As you probably know, Enter the Dragon is the classic Bruce Lee movie… it’s still the best kung fu movie ever made… and arguments can be made the best action movie as well.

After Bruce‘s death, producers sought every way possible to continue to make money from Bruce Lee. Green Hornet episodes were combined and released as features with Kato getting top billing! The Game of Death, the movie that Bruce was working on when he died was completed with a look-alike and bad effects and it was released. Several movies were released “based” on the life of Bruce Lee [but made to look like new Bruce Lee movies], equally as bad were the movies starring guys like Bruce Li or Bruce Le trying to pass as the original. The one excellent documentary that should be in every Bruce Lee fan’s collection is
Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey.

Earlier this year Bruce Lee was named “Chinese Film’s Bright Star of the Century.” This November, in honor of Bruce‘s 65th birthday and bigger than life bronze statue of Bruce will be errected in Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars. You can read the details HERE.

Yeah it’s true that Bruce Lee died 32 years ago… but it’s equally true that Bruce Lee will live forever!

“Marlowe” rates a C+
“Fists of Fury” rates a C
“Chinese Connection” rates a C
“Return of the Dragon” rates a B
“Enter the Dragon” rates an A+
“Game of Death” rates a C
“Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey” rates an A+

Mariahs’s Fake Abs – You Make the Call

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Remember when I told you that I thought that Mariah Carey looked like she had painted on her abs for her 4th of July Macey’s performance?

I thought it was just a funny little item and was surprised when it was picked up here and a bunch of other places.

The July 25, 2005 issue of US Weekly even has the story in it’s This Minute You Want to Know About section.

The piece, Did Mariah Fake Her Six-Pack? brings everyone up to speed: “Sure, Mariah Carey‘s back on top of the charts, but who knew her stomach muscles were also making a comeback?” The author then asks a make-up expert and a rep for Mariah Carey to weigh in on the subject.

The make-up artist [Sally Blenkey-Tchasova, owner of one of the places that started the whole “spray-on” craze] was quoted as saying, “It looks like she was helped by make-up or air-brush tanning. Even if a woman is really ripped, abs are generally not that symmetrical.”

You’re probably as surprised as I am [meaning not very], that Mariah’s rep denies that the abs are fake without every really saying their not. “This is ridiculous. She has been eating right and working out for three hours a day. Mariah has never looked or felt better.

The picture to the right was taken about three weeks before the one at the top of this post. So, ZONErs… what do you think?

Diamond Dave an Obvious Choic

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Some things just seem so obvious, once you think about them. It looks like David Lee Roth  will replace Howard Stern next year when Stern switches over to Pay-Radio.

Diamond Dave has already done a couple of weeks on the radio and according to reports has “kind of turned the town on its ear.“

I don’t think that Roth doing well with Stern‘s audience should surprise anyone. Diamond Dave does enjoy the… ah, same types of things as Stern and truth be told is probably more entertaining to listen to.

Still my bet is that Howard scores big when he moves to Pay-Radio and he’ll probably find a cable channel to air his program without the restrictions he had on E. Yeah, Howard Stern will continue to rule the airwaves for those willing to pay.

That’s obvious… if you just think about it.

Mariah and the Painted-On Abs

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Last night as I was flipping the channels, I happended across Mariah Carey performing at the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. Now normally, that wouldn’t be worthy of commenting here but…

As I was watching the performance I said to my wife, “Hey, doesn’t it look like someone painted on Mariah’s abs?”

She didn’t think so and attributed it to Mariah working out and dancing. Still it looked kind of funky to me.

Before flipping on to new channels, I said, “I still think it looks like she had those abs painted on.”

Well guess what…

War of the Worlds and War of the Words

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Tom Cruise has been in two battles lately. One, The War of the Worlds with Steven Spielberg; the other, The War of the Words with Brooke Shields.

Let’s start with the one that most people can get behind, The War of the Worlds. This update is a worthy successor to the classic 1953 film. And although I’ve never read the book by HG Wells, what I have read indicates that the film doesn’t veer too far from Wells‘ basic ideas.

War of the Worlds is a movie that should be seen in a crowded theater. It’s a big, explosive, exciting summer picture worthy of the Independance Day Weekend slot. Cruise does a fine job of being a jerk of a father who finds himself forced to be responsible for the lives of not only himself but also his two children.

Dakota Fanning is, as always, excellent. She is one of the finest actors working today. Tim Robbins shows up in a supporting role and pulls it off better than I would have expected since he’s playing against the type of role we usually see him play. And of course, Stephen Spielberg rules. Any quibbles I would have with this film would truly be nitpiks and War of the Worlds was too much scary fun to do that. If you haven’t seen War of the Worlds, you should. And before it comes out on dvd.

Now for Cruise’s recent War of the Words with Brooke Shields and Matt Lauer. Tom‘s been acting strange lately. In fact, it’s been the talk all over the internet and entertainment news shows. I’ve avoided discussing it here, since I figured that Tom was just in love and attributed his jumping on couches and screaming, to his infatuation to Katie Holmes and her apparent conversion to Scientology.

Yet, Tom‘s recent behavior has gone beyond what can be excused by the excitement of a new romance. When Cruise spoke out against psychiatry and the use of medicine, well, that’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it [as wrong as he may be].

But when he personally criticized Brooke Shields for her use of medication while dealing with depression and then argued with Matt Lauer while claiming that he [Cruise] knew the “history of psychiatry” when he so clearly doesn’t have a clue… to me crosses the line.

I wonder what’s up with Mr. Cruise. He used to be such a respectful, polite guy. Something has gotten a burr under his sadle.. .

Or maybe he just needs to take a “chill pill.”

“War” of the Worlds rates a B+

War of the Worlds and Water

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It’d probably take an alien invasion to stop Steven Spielberg‘s “War of the Worlds” from being a blockbuster hit.

Not even all of the negative publicity that Tom Cruise has been getting in regard to his “enthusiasm” for Katie Holmes could derail this summer crowd-pleaser. “War of the Worlds” is going to score big from opening day and who knows how long the movie will rule at the box office? I doubt that the Fantastic Four will make much of a dent, and truly, what else is coming out this summer to challenge it?

And speaking of Tom Cruise, did you happen to see or hear about the “idiot” that threw water on Cruise? At the London premiere for the “War of the Worlds” a man squirted Cruise with a water pistol disguised as a microphone. Police arrested the prankster as well as three other men who filmed the incident. The four were working on a new comedy show for British TV which targets celebrities for practical jokes. I guess the joke was on them.

Hollywood Animal

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Joe Eszterhas was, at one time, the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood. He was also the first screenwriter to make the 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood list.

Eszterhas’ first movie was F.I.S.T. which starred Sly Stallone. Before the movie was released Eszterhas and Sly had a few very public squabbles although they did ultimately patch things up. Eszterhas went on to write some of the most popular movies being produced. Movies like Flashdance, Jagged Edge, and Basic Instinct.

On Tuesday, Eszterhas‘ latest book, Hollywood Animal : A Memoir will be released. It promises to be a “shocking and often devastating look inside the movie business. It intimately explores the concept of fame and gives us a never-before-seen look at the famous. Eszterhas reveals the fights, the deals, the extortions, the backstabbing, and the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll world that is Hollywood.”

Man, if it does all of that, I’ll bet it could make a good movie. Hmmm… I wonder who’d write it?

“Cinderella Man” – Bad Title, Good Movie

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Cinderella Man [hate that title] came in under the radar.

I should have seen it coming. It stars Russell Crowe and Rene Zellweger… is directed by Ron Howard… and is the story of how Jim Braddock shook the boxing world back in the ’30’s.

Still somehow, it slipped by me until I saw the trailer.

I’ll bet it doesn’t get missed come Awards time.