sixties

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CAROL LYNLEY

If you have read my Blog before, you know that I am a huge Carol Lynley fan. But even I can admit that post-1978, Carol’s career went straight down the toilet. She had one opportunity to make it big when she was the first choice to play Valene in a two-part episode of Dallas but had to turn it down for personal reasons.

Most of what Carol did film-wise in the 80s and 90s is treadful except for her brief rols as a DA in the violent cult film Vigilante (1982), her mother from hell in the suspenseful thriller Blackout (1988), and her turn as a pistol-packing thief partnered with Barbara McNair in the entertaining road movie ala Thelma and Louise Neon Signs (1996). In the latter, Carol is a hoot playing a foul-mouthed meanie. Check out the trailer on YouTube.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To Drive-in Dream Girl, Laurel Goodwin. As with many ’60s starlets, Laurel had a very brief career (too tall for Gidget and not talented enough for major leading lady roles). She is best remembered for appearing in the original TV pilot for Star Trek as the perky ensign and starring opposite Elvis in one of his biggest hits, Girls! Girls! Girls! Check out this photo montage tribute to the movie on YouTube featuring the film’s hit song, “Return to Sender.”

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I’M BACK

Well I’m finally Blogging again. Been a busy couple of weeks. My publisher sent me the copy proofs for Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood so had to work on that. Trying to meet a deadline so the book is released before the Oct. 5 Chiller Theatre convention held in New Jersey, which I hopefully will be attending.

I then got a freelance gig writing a piece on Sixties Beach Girls for Neiman Marcus’ The Book. Basically it is a high-end catalog with essays. Hard part of it was that since the article was for an advertisment they didn’t want me to mention actresses’ names just the characters. I had to slip in Annette Funicello but don’t know if they are going to keep it in or not.

Finally, though she changed her mind at least three times Gail Gerber will NOT be attending The Night-of-a-Thousand-Stars in Memphis on August 16-18.

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RIP

Actor Kerwin Matthews passed away this week at the age of 81. Kerwin who? you may be asking. He was one of Hollywood’s most handsome actors in the late Fifties and early Sixties. Resembling Sean Flynn and just like Sean’s daddy Errol, Kerwin excelled in swashbuckling adventure or fantasy movies such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The Three Worlds of Gulliver, and Jack the Giant Killer.

I personally was not a fan of these movies but Kerwin deserves kudos as the openly gay actor wouldn’t play the Hollywood closet game and for a time only found work in Europe. Among his films was a chance to co-star opposite the luschious Tina Louise in the Italian historical epic Warrior Empress. Click the link to a great tribute page to him on the fantastic web site, Brian’s Drive-in Theater.