Happy Birthday, Lt Col(ret) Frank Burns, MD!

Lt. Col Frank Marion Burns was born on June 13, 1914. He grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he attended St. Jude's Academy, then Indiana University. During University he enrolled in the ROTC. He graduated in 1934 and then attended Indiana University School of Medicine-Fort Wayne. He graduated in 1940. When World War II broke out in 1941 he was immediately commissioned as an Army Major and was assigned to assist in military physicals at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. He spent the entire war at this post, where he served adequately. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Burns was assigned to one of the newly-created Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals that were set two miles from the front-lines. He was awarded a Purple Heart in 1951 after he was wounded by a shell due to the proximity of combat. After nearly two years of honorable service he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and transferred to Linville Medical Center in Indianapolis. He retired from the Army with full military honors in 1964. He died April 10, 1972 from a heart attack brought on by high blood pressure.*

















*Well, it COULD be true.....! ;-)

Happy Birthday, Helaine!

Today, June 12, would have been my friend Helaine's 48th birthday. She was a Gemini and a pretty strong believer in astrological stuff. She once told me that because I was a Libra (the scales) I was naturally attracted to similarly "balanced" signs such as Gemini (the twins) and Pisces (the fish). Well, although I don't really believe that stuff, it is true that my best friends were all born in February, March, May, June, September, and October. My wife was born in March. So....although I don't actually *believe* in Astrology, I don't really DIS-believe, either! 

Astrology doesn't have anything to do with anything except as an example of how much I miss my friend. Thinking about Astrology makes me think of Helaine. Like so many other things! Out of the blue I'll see or hear or think of something, and that triggers a brain pulse memory and that triggers something else and that makes me think of that time....with Helaine. You know what I mean, right? When she died in December 2005 for several weeks I teared up ALL THE TIME because some song on the radio or some movie or some article would remind me of her, and that would remind me that she was gone. The hurt now isn't as raw as it was then, but still, if I am in a certain mood I won't listen to anything by Prince or Steely Dan or to "California Dreaming" by the Mamas and the Papas because all those songs can evoke fun memories BUT remind me that she's gone.

Don't mourn that she is gone; rejoice that she was ever here. (sigh)  

Recently I was at a conference or meeting at some off-site event. I didn't feel very comfortable when suddenly in the background I heard a Steely Dan song. I smiled to myself thinking maybe Helaine was watching over me, and I got through whatever it was I was doing OK.

Helaine LOVED music. She had music on ALL the time. She sang ALL the time. In the car we would sing to the radio on the way to friends' houses or to pick up Chinese food. She was one of the great car radio-changers. She loved going to concerts, too, although I never wanted to spend the money to go with her so I only went with her once. It is one of my true regrets that I never did get to see Prince with her. 

To help celebrate my friend Helaine, and to represent all the others who are gone (too soon), here is a song that we enjoyed back when we were in high school. It's a remake of a song originally done by Dionne Warwick, but it was not a *huge* hit for her, so I would argue that now, forty+ years later, this version is just as well known if not better known than hers is. I do remember that both Helaine and I knew that it was originally a Dionne Warwick, song, though. It was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Yes, I'm talking about "Always Something There to Remind Me" by Naked Eyes from circa 1983.

Happy Birthday, Helaine!

 I'll choose a Steely Dan song next time, I promise. ;-)

 

Happy Birthday, Len Wein!

Len Wein is a comic-book writer and editor who is directly responsible for me reading comic books. He was the writer of the first comic-book I ever remembering *wanting*, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. My friend Brian had bought a copy on some family trip of his, and he brought it to school to show us. It had all the famous super-heroes, and I was *hooked.* I convinced my parents to fill out the subscription page in the comic and I started getting JLA delivered "straight to my door." Thus started the hobby that I have never given up.

I was lucky enough to meet Len at a few conventions. He seemed personable and knowledgeable. I was wearing an Aquaman t-shirt both times and mentioned that he was my favorite; he said that Aquaman was one of *his* favorites, too. He signed several of my comics, too, which thrilled me to no end. 

Today is Len Wein's 65th birthday. Here's to you, Len!

Happy Birthday, Len Wein

...and THANK YOU for all your years of great comic-books!

 

 In 1972 Len brought back The Seven Soldiers of Victory...

....then he added The Phantom Stranger to the JLA universe....

 ...then he added The Elongated Man as their newest member....

....followed by Red Tornado one issue later!

then he formed and named The Freedom Fighters,

a band of Golden Age super-heroes....

 

My Very First.

That's Len's signature in silver over the JLA logo.

 

....THEN he helped create some group called The X-Men. You might have heard of them. :-)

Later still, he was part of the team that created The New Teen Titans.

You might have heard of them, too. :-)

Remembering DeForest Kelley

On June 11, 1999 the world lost a great actor when DeForest Kelley passed away. He was 79 years old.

If you don't know who DeForest Kelley is, you must have come across this site by accident! Of course he was the third side of the triangle in Star Trek (The Original Series):  Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the Starship Enterprise. He was the overly-emotional one who balanced out the overly-logical Mr. Spock (portrayed by Leonard Nimoy) in numerous discussions with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

As a kid Mr. Spock was my favorite. He was an alien, which was cool. He wasn't Captain Kirk, who seemed like a jerk even then. As I got older, however, I suddenly found myself gravitating towards McCoy. He was the emotional one, but he was also a professional. He had a sense of humor, but he was not a fool. He ended up represented all the other officers and staff on the starship when there wasn't a budget to show thousands of others (let alone the seven or so semi-regular co-stars who kept getting little to do in the scripts). In the series he played the down-home doctor to perfection, and the teasing that he and Mr. Spock got into only masked their genuine affection and admiration they had for each other. In the second season episode "AMOK TIME" Spock invites McCoy to the planet Vulcan as one of his companions. From that moment, even when they were arguing hysterically, you knew they still liked each other. In the movie THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK it is McCoy who literally saves Spock's life.  

But all of this is about Dr. McCoy; I want to talk about DeForest Kelley. McCoy was brought to life by DeForest Kelley. He was one of the last actors chosen for the series, and during the first season was a contracted Co-Star. Yet, Kelly's excellence at playing off of Nimoy and Shatner, and of bringing the scripts to life, pushed McCoy into the lead and allowed him to become an iconic TV figure.

From everything I have read about Star Trek (TOS), it sounds like Kelley was a fun-loving man and a joy to work with. For example, after Nimoy directed THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK Shatner insisted on directing THE FINAL FRONTIER. When asked if he, too, wanted to direct, Kelley was heard to say something akin to, "Direct? Nah, somebody has to hold the acting standards up." He attended numerous conventions and seemed genuinely involved with his fans. I am sorry I never got to meet him.

Rest In Peace, DeForest Kelley   

Happy Birthday, Judy Garland!

Frances Gumm was born on June 10, 1922. "Judy Garland" was a name she chose when she was still in the vaudeville circuit with her sisters as The Gumm Sisters. By the time she signed with MGM in 1935 she was known as Judy Garland. 

We all know Judy Garland from The Wonderful Wizard of OZ. It's a classic performance in a classic film. However, she recorded for years, first on Decca records while under contract with MGM and then later for Capitol Records. She had numerous musical hits from her films, among them "You Made Me Love You," "Over the Rainbow," The Trolley Song, " "On The Atcheson, Topeka, and the Santa Fe," and my all-time favorite Christmas song, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."

I will always love "Over The Rainbow," but for sheer HAPPY there's no beating her 1950 hit from her last MGM musical, Summer Stock, "Come On, Get Happy." If only she could have.

Judy Garland was nominated for two Academy Awards but didn't win. Her only accolade from The Academy was Best Young Performer in 1940 for OZ.

 

Happy Birthday, Judy Garland!

Happy Birthday, Donald Duck!

According to Walt Disney Company, the character Donald Duck made his debut on June 9, 1934, and that is marked as his official birthday. There is also some talk that his birthday is in November (he had a 50th Birthday TV Special in November 1984) but I couldn't find out why or where that date is supposed to come from.

Donald Duck made his debut in the Silly Symphony cartoon, "Wise Little Hen." It was released on June 9, 1934, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Donald was never my favorite character, but I always liked watching his cartoons. What I mean by that is, he had a rich history what with his Uncle Scrooge McDuck and his girl-friend Daisy and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. He also faced off with great adversaries like Chip & Dale, a hungry elephant named Dolores, and society in general. I think my favorite Disney cartoons were the ones where Mickey, Goofy, and Donald teamed-up: that way there really was something for everybody.

I leave you with three of my favorite Donald moments.

Happy Birthday, Donald!

 

His debut feature: he appears at the 2 minute mark

(co-starring with Peter "Porky" Pig!!)

 

Mickey's Trailer (1938)

 

One of Donald's Academy Award-winning shorts,

Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)

Broadway Melody (Best Picture 1929)

Before I actually found a copy of The Broadway Melody to review, I saw bits of it on youtube. It looked like it was to Movie Musicals what Wings and All Quiet On The Western Front were to World War I and Cimarron will be to Westerns: epics in new genres that received the honor of the Award because they were in the right place at the right time, and not because they were necessarily great movies in their own right.

I was prepared to write just a few words here as a "space-holder" until I finally did track down a copy of the movie. Well, my library managed to find me a copy this past week! So although I have written reviews for the first few Best Pictures already, I had to scramble to watch this yesterday (6-1-13) to get this review written to meet deadline! Basically....I stand by my initial "gut" reaction written above.

When I decided to review all the Best Pictures I figured that some just would not stand the test of time. I thought that going in! I had heard that there were Classic Films that were *not* Best Pictures (obviously!) and therefore there would be Best Pictures that were NOT Classic Films.

I am sorry to say that the second time out we have a winner. Or, more precisely, a loser. I *just* finished watching this movie and I can not think of one thing that made this a "best" of anything.

I like the song "Broadway Melody." I knew it from Singin' In The Rain, where Gene Kelly sings in during his "Broadway Revue" bit. It's a catchy tune, but....the first time it was good. The second time they use it, when King sings it again to Page and Love was a bit much. The third time when a whole chorus dances around King as he sings it....well, by the time they were playing it as background music I was frankly sick of the tune! In fact, I always thought "Broadway Melody" was just a song; I didn't realize until I started this series that it was also a movie. In fact, it's a series of movies: The Broadway Melody of 1936, The Broadway Melody of 1938, and The Broadway Melody of 1940 are just three in the series! I wonder if the same song was used in all of them? Probably.

Here's the story in a nutshell: Charles King is a George M. Cohan lead/songwriter character "Eddie" who is in love with Bessie Love as "Hank." (Don't ask me why she's called Hank. Were girls ever called "Hank" before?) Hank and her younger sister "Queenie" (great names their parents gave them) are a semi-successful song-and-dance team in the West/Mid-West, but now they are in New York to become stars on Broadway. Queenie is played by Anita Page as beautiful but stupid....maybe. Although Eddie in engaged to Hank, he begins to fall in love with Queenie. Queenie is the beauty and gets noticed by disreputable producer who buys her jewelry and, eventually, an apartment of her own. Hank and Eddie try to stop Queenie from becoming a kept woman, but Queenie is doing all of this to help her sister and their act because nobody likes Hank *and* to stay away from Eddie. Hank eventually realizes Eddie loves Queenie, so she gives him up. Eventually Eddie marries Queenie and Hank goes back on "the circuit" because, well, because "she's a real trouper." The End.

I don't know where to begin to try to explain to you just how stupid this movie is. Shall I start with the sisters' agent, their Uncle Jed, who stutters for comedic effect? He's like a real-life Porky Pig! Later, the sisters' act is put into a Revue only to get cut because it was too long, (and really, how many times do we have to listen to "Broadway Melody," anyway?) Simultaneously a goddess (or something?) in the next song falls off her perch and the producers need a beautiful blonde STAT. They pick Queenie, and she manages to stand during the song I could not understand. Suddenly, she is the hottest thing on Broadway: because she stood on stage in a wig and a bathing suit!?! Later, Eddie sings another song I know from Singin' In The Rain, "You Were Meant For Me," but instead of singing it to his fiancée, he sings it to....you guessed it, Queenie. I have never watched a movie and cried out to the screen, "No! No!" until now.

There are a few other Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown songs, such as a wildly odd "Wedding of The Painted Doll" but seriously, if you want to know about Broadway Revues I would suggest 42nd Street and if you want to know about this era of Hollywood I would recommend Singin' In The Rain. For a movie that I had trouble tracking down and actually looked forward to seeing, I was extremely disappointed. 

The Broadway Melody (1928)

*Academy Award Best Picture 1928-29*

Produced by Harry Rapf
Directed by Harry Beaumont

Story by Edmund Goulding
Dialogue by
Norman Houston & James Gleason

The first (and best?) time Charles King sings the title tune

Also Nominated:

(in alphabetical order)

Alibi
Hollywood Revue of 1929
In Old Arizona
The Patriot

This is the second time in a row that I have to admit that I've never even heard of any of these other nominees. Warner Baxter won Best Actor for In Old Arizona portraying The Cisco Kid, a character I have heard of but never seen. He did not portray the character from TV that I am familiar with, though; that was Duncan Renaldo.