wouldbestar

I knew there was something wrong when he seemed to lose weight so suddenly a year or two ago. My sympathy to his family. His acting life began when he played himself in Marie as he was her attorney when she took on Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton who was selling paroles and pardons while in office. From there we had a career most actors will kill for. Some people didn't like his style and referred to him as a "non-actor" but I usually liked his work. He came very close to being George W. Bush's VP until No. 43 was induced to go with Chaney. I think he would have been re-elected to the Senate had he not chosen to leave. What was funny to me was that during this time only his heroic roles were mentioned in the media. The one I most remember him for was as the leader of a "white supremist" group on Wiseguy in the 80's. At the end we learn he doesn't really believe what he's preaching but just trying to make as quick a buck as he can. He goes on to selling retirement condos in Florida and has the gall to send Vinny, the undercover cop whose brother his group killed, a letter pitching one for him "and your lovely mother" That's one the media didn't bring up. RIP, Sir. I didn't always agree with you but you did more than just mouth off; you served.

My "Kid-Sister" Annie is 58 today. She is the gutsiest woman I've ever known for reasons I can't mention here. The Austin flood came within inches of her back door but she rode it out and says she's fine. I hope the rest of you posters in similar situations are too.

My quote: I never caught 'Wishbone's" real name, thank you for another uncanny moment. I will look for Cattle Drive, who doesn't love Joel McCrea? It's called Cattle Empire and I just watched it. Thanks for spreading the word, Movieman! I loved it. It's quite a different take on the usual plot of this theme which kept you watching to see what came next rather than if you were right about how it went. Charles Marquis Warren was the director and Endre Bohm the co-writer so of course it's easy to consider this a precursor to Rawhide. You were right about the casting: Charles Gray, who was Clay Forrester, was there and a character was named Quince, the name of one of the drovers on the series. As for Paul Brinegar, this was a total dress rehearsal for Wishbone, as he did on the series he nearly stole the film. Another thing I liked was that two actors who usually have only small supporting roles really got to shine here in larger parts: Bing Russell and Phyllis Coates, who actually came from Texas cattle country. Bing actually got to be a good guy here and Phyllis was a lot softer and feminine than she usually is on Superman or some of her other appearances. And Gloria Talbot was fine as the love-struck young girl trying to convince the hero that she's all grown up and just what he needs. Also the actor who played Ralph Hamilton is unknown to me but he could sing and was very convincing as a blind man. If you've not seen this movie, you are in for a treat . It's just what you'd expect from people of this caliber and that's a lot.

Another "You can't make this up" moment. I watched an early 1956-57 season Cheyenne episode, Lone Gun, about a cattle drive. One of the hands was played by Paul "Wishbone" Brinegar and Hal Baylor was the second in command, a character named "Rowdy". This was a little more than two years before those "other drovers" began that seven-year drive on CBS. Of course nobody had any idea that was coming. I often catch ironic moments like this on the vintage shows but this one was a dilly.

Robert Keith was Brian's father? That I did not know. In this case talent did run in the family. The Mask is one of the best Twilight Zone episodes and he had a very good role in Drumbeat, a Western I heartily recommend. I'm forever learning something new on the Boards.

Emily Dean wrote: Classic TV fans: Gunsmoke's first episode is scheduled for next Monday, October 26th, noon CST on ME-TV with Dennis Weaver and Burt Reynolds...so at sometime on ME-TV you are able to see Dennis Weaver in Gunsmoke and then on the late night mystery movie you can see him as a cowboy in New York City in "McCloud". So be on the alert! These are not the first episodes; they were only 30 minutes long. These are the first hour-long shows from 1961-1966 that have been on Encore Westerns for several years. They are in b&w and bridge the time between those hard-hitting early plots and the softer color shows that made up the last ten years of its run that have been on TV Land. The series seems to have been divided into three different packages for syndication along the above lines.

Rock Hudson with his pal birthday boy George Nader This is interesting although not surprising to those of us who know the truth about these men. Rock would later go on to co-star with George's nephew, Michael, on Dynasty. I've seen some of George's movies and remember his being in a lot of Loretta Young Show episodes. He was okay but didn't get my attention much. I seem to recall a "photo op" from a fan magazine with game-show host George DeWitt and him hosting a party with only female guests. My grandmother commented "Well, you know what they have on their minds". (I was too young to know but guessed she didn't think it was good). I'm betting that this is exactly what the public was supposed to think and therefor conceal their true orientation. This seems all so childish today.

One of the best - and most heartbreaking - episodes of The Virginian , The Brothers, is running now on INSP. Robert Lansing, Andrew Prine and Jan Shepherd are the stars but a 12-year old Kurt Russell is in there also. The story is like one of the early Gunsmokes; since Norman Macdonnell produced it that's not a surprise. One of last week's shows had William Shatner as a Southern outlaw. This is what I love about vintage TV; you see stars on their way up, some getting new life after fading careers and the best character actors in the business. Keep them coming!

Drago: Thank you for your advice. I've been trying to utilize it all weekend but I'm not too media savvy and don't quite have it yet. Once I will you all will know it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY This is where Mongo usually treats us to a pic of the honoree in his or her younger days with a caption such as "wouldbestar is 70" at the bottom. I scanned one of me from thirty years ago onto my computer then transferred a copy to Microsoft Word but can't get it to transfer here. All I get is a bunch of computer jargon. Since this is the only 70th I'll ever get I wanted to play "Star". If anybody but me really cares, and it's allowed, how do I do it?

Sepiatone is talking about "Number 12 Looks Just like Me" with Richard Long, Suzy Parker, Collin Wilcox and Pam Austin. Wilcox's character doesn't want to be transformed from what everybody thinks is plain to beautiful and look like everybody else. Eventually she is tricked into getting the makeover and ends up looking like BFF Pam aka the "Dodge Rebellion" girl. This seemed to be a ongoing theme of the series. The original title of the Donna Douglas episode is "The Private World of Darkness" which is mentioned in the story. However the "beholder" quote is so well known-and also in the story-that it's what the episode became known by. When it's shown on TV, neither title is shown. If the elderly lady who sees her husband become young again was Celia Lovsky, I can understand why her performance was so powerful-she couldn't be anything else. I want to be as beautiful at that age as she was. My personal favorites are "Long Live Walter Jameson", "I am the Night, Color Me Black" and the signoff episode "The Bewitching Pool". This is the 60's series that had the most effect on my life and how I formed my values. I know, it started in '59 but ran until '64 so I count it as a 60s show.

It's your birthday and we get the presents? I thought that only happened on Christmas. I hope you're having a great one. I never knew Helen Hayes was so beautiful in her youth. Like most of us my age I only knew her from her TV and film work from the 50's on up. While I still think she stole that second Oscar from Maureen Stapleton she was one of the great American actresses of any period. I'd have written this sooner but couldn't take my eyes off the Richard Jaeckel photo. He was the villain in so many roles that you didn't see his charming smile that often. And I thought I'd have to wait until Thursday for my gifts; thanks a lot for the early start.

De-de, de-de, de-de, de-de "There is a fifth dimension, one we call The Twilight Zone," and this film came from there. John Kennedy, played by Dick Powell, tries to stop an assassination of Abraham Lincoln on his way to his inauguration. He does this time but is not around four years later at Ford's Theater. As we all know Evelyn Lincoln was the secretary to another John Kennedy who would occupy the office exactly 100 years later and suffer the same fate. The only thing missing was Rod Serling's commentary. Actually this was a good movie with several recognizable actors in the cast: Marshall Thompson, Paula Raymond and Will Geer for starters. I'm curious as to why it's never been promoted that heavily due to all the ironies. Thanks TCM, for helping us discover it.

KEVIN CORCORAN (1949 - 2015) R.I.P. We've lost "Moochie"? I can't believe it. He could outcry a Watson brother and was so adorable you stayed glued to the screen when he was on. It's great that he had such a successful business and personal life after that. My sympathies to the rest of the clan who have also given us so much entertainment over the years.

Nobody's mentioned The Bravados in which she starred with Gregory Peck. She is the moral center in this tale of revenge and does quite well as a Tex-Mex cattlewoman who loves Peck's character and tries to save him from himself. It's hard to believe this is the same woman who "doesn't want to die" in Land of the Pharaohs.

That photo of Groucho shows why he was such a ladies' man. If that's not a "Hi there, I'm the guy your Mother warned you about" look I don't know what is. I'd have been tempted to ask "What the heck took you so long?" Uncanny that he shared a birthday with Bud Abbott. I've only seen Henry Hull in his 50s and up so that photo is a revelation. He has an interesting face there but the older man makes a bigger impression.

Andy M108 wrote: I'm sure that there were other movies like that, but I can't think of any where the older woman and younger man were believably romantic in traditional Hollywood terms. I'm not thinking of the two movies with Mae West and Cary Grant, which was about as unlikely a match in real life as Harold and Maude. Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. In Magnificent Obsession it was not at all noticeable; in All That Heaven Allows it's at the heart of the story. Then there's Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor in Camille or Marlene Dietrich and Arthur Kennedy/Mel Ferrer in Rancho Notorious. I'm certain there are more.

They remade VOTD last year? I didn't know that. Might have been interesting to see how the story was updated. As it was said, living together would not be the no-no it was in the time period of the book and the idea of nudity hiding as "art" films would not fly today leaving talentless Jennifer with no career. I think the book, written in the mid-60's, covered the late 40's and 50's; at any rate it takes the women into nearly middle age. Lyon and Anne do marry but she comes to regret it and turns to the "dolls" to help her cope being the last holdout. The first line of the book, something like "It was 95 degrees the day she hit New York" pertains to Anne and the last one describes her swallowing some of the pills.

When I was about ten I thought Lee Aaker was the cutest thing on TV and hoped I'd run into him when I grew up. I'd never have recognized him from that photo; he looks like "Caitlyn" before the switch. I'm afraid "the thrill is gone". I did not know George Raft was ever married. I'd always read he was so devoted to his mother that there was no other woman that interested him.

Yogi was the one Yankee you could never hate not even when the rest of then were trashing your team. I always felt bad that he was the one who got burned when that Mazarowski homer won the World Series for my Granddad's beloved Pirates. He was a credit to the game and the human race. Rip, Yogi, this hurts!

From Drago Hey now, wouldbe! Whaddaya mean "dorky" here, huh?! Forget the guy once made no less a tough hombre as Clark Gable back down while they were talkin' politics in that movie made about the Civil War South'? Yes and he got Marilyn Monroe at the end of Ladies of the Chorus. I meant he, along with other talented actors who didn't fit the "he-man" image, often ended up on the losing end of the romance or bit the dust before the end when, if she had any sense, the lady would have gone with them. Like many men, he became more attractive as he aged. As I said, I was a fan.

I always believed that Jimmy would one day be "Chief" and regaling the cub reporters under him with tales of how it was with him and Superman. It's a shame that Larson, like George Reeves, was typecast because of this role but great that he found other ways to be successful in the business I knew he was gay; perhaps his success helped open the doors-closet and otherwise-for those who came after. A class act regardless. RIP, Sir.

When Rand "Charles Hamilton" Brooks was acting on the TV version of Rin-Tin-Tin as "Corporal Boone" he showed he had quite a singing voice as well. A few years later I recognized it in commercials for Phillies Cigars. Although he never seemed to get past the "dorky" second lead roles I always liked his work. Thanks for giving him some deserved recognition.

I swear this is true. Twenty years ago I did go home from work sick. I fixed some tea, honey and rum and turned on the TV. Misery had just started on the second station I picked and I kept it on to see Kathy Bates win her Oscar. After what she put poor James Caan through my ailments didn't seem so bad; okay, maybe my concoction helped too. No Down Payment was on next.

Watched the Oscar clip; Roger Bannister could not have caught up to her in that run to the stage. Hey, that was cool of JL to have her come back for another round of applause as she'd waited so long to get her man. I finally saw The Conqueror and understand the negative comments I've been reading. Never mind the miscasting; It was so confusing I couldn't follow the plot. Dick Powell became an acclaimed director and producer of some of the best ever-TV programs so he was not to blame. That goes to the writers and John Wayne who tried to make the character him rather than himself the character. Maybe he couldn't. Susan did the best she could with what she had to work with. The "hate to love" thing was simply too quick to be believable. Wayne and she made a good team as both were tough no-nonsense types and their other films together were much better. I saw several members of the "company" listed in the credits but could only pick out Leo Gordon and that was by voice. All in all a film to be forgotten.