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I was recently offered the chance to take a peak “Behind the Screen Door” and read about the life of Richard Gregson, a Hollywood agent and producer and former husband of Natalie Wood. Even though I had admittedly never heard of him before, I accepted the offer because the book sounded like it would provide an interesting glimpse into life in 1960′s Hollywood.
The 1960′s are not necessarily my favorite decade for movies, but I do enjoy hearing about the social scene from that time period, like for instance, stories about Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Just looking at this cool picture of the group standing in front of The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas makes me wish I could take a trip back in time and be a part of that scene.
As Richard Gregson discussed some of his encounters with Frank Sinatra and his relationship with Natalie Wood, the book did at times bring me back to where I could imagine myself being there with him as he socialized with some of Hollywood’s elite. However, that is not the main thing I took away from reading this book. Besides learning a lot about the ins and outs of working as one of Hollywood’s top agents, I also took away a couple of lessons that I think anyone can learn from and apply to their life. Continue reading »
Was anyone else a big fan of Rachael Ray’s tv show “$40 a Day?” If you’re not familiar with it, it was a show on the Food Network where for each episode Rachael would spend 24 hours in a certain city with only $40 per day to spend on meals and snacks. The cameras would follow her around each city, and she would give tips on what local attractions to see, how to find bargains, and how to eat on a budget. That brief description doesn’t really do the show justice, but I’ll just say that I absolutely loved watching it, and it inspired me to want to travel more and take short trips to various cities throughout the United States.
My Classic Movie Trip Wish List
I’ve only taken one such trip so far – a three day visit to Boston a few years ago, but I plan on going on many more in the years to come. One thing I dream about doing on those trips is visiting as many classic movie related attractions and events as possible. It may be a while before I can fully realize that dream, but in the meantime I’m assembling a wish list that seems to be growing bigger every week. Some examples of the places I would like to visit and the events I would like to attend include the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Pennsylvania, the Warner Brothers Museum in California, the Clark Gable Museum and Bed & Breakfast in Cadiz, Ohio, and the annual Noir City Film Festival in San Francisco. Continue reading »
The 83rd annual Academy Awards ceremony is just around the corner, and although I haven’t paid much attention to the Oscars for probably the last decade or so, I recently started looking into their early history, especially the Best Original Song category.
The Academy Award for Best Original Song, which was first given out in the seventh year of the Academy’s history, is given to the songwriter and composer of the winning song. The original performers are only included if they also had a hand in writing the music or the lyrics. The song must be written specifically for the movie in which it is featured, a rule that was established after the 1941 awards.
My Top 10 Favorite Best Original Song Winners
I thought it would be fun to listen to each of the winners from 1934-1960 and compile a list of my top 10 favorite Oscar winning songs from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Following are the first five on that list with the remaining five to come on Oscar Sunday:
10. The Continental (1934) – Featured in the movie The Gay Divorcee, music by Con Conrad, lyrics by Herb Magidson. Originally performed in the movie by Ginger Rogers, this was the first song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
This is a charming song that Ginger Rogers sings to Fred Astaire as part of a lengthy but wonderful dance number. It won’t be the last of this pairing you’ll find on my list. Continue reading »
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