Bond Girl Lana Wood is in the news again about the mysterious death of her sister Natalie Wood many years ago. This time rather than alledging brother-in-law Robert Wagner had something to do with it, she is asking for his forgiveness as she finally comes to terms with the tragedy. I am guessing the author of the recent book Goodby Natalie, Goodby Splendour that paints an unfavorable portrait of Wagner, which Lana endorsed, is not too happy. Click here to read more.
sixties
Joyeux Anniversaire Alain Delon!
Though I am a day late, I wanted to post a greeting to one of the most handsomest sexist European actors that ruled the silver screen during the 60s and 70s, Alain Delon. Click here to read a tribute to his career and below catch a clip of him playing the amoral Tom Ripley in Purple Noon (1960) based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Below is a clip of the ending scenes. Though in French just enjoy looking at Delon.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pspj7-AczlM
WHERE’S THE BACK STORY?
Though I am not a huge fan of 60s starlet Stefanie Powers, I was looking forward to her autobiography hoping it would be a look into her acting career. For a short period of time she was a promising movie actress (Experiment in Terror, Palm Springs Weekend, New Interns, Die! Die ! My Darling, Stagecoach) up there with brunettes Pamela Tiffin, Diane Baker, Anjanette Comer but she instead followed Barbara Eden, Julie Newmar, Tina Louise into television with The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. When that was canceled, she worked non-stop on TV (trapped perhaps? though she did a feature movie here and there) making guest appearances and in TV-movies before landing the lead in the series Feather and Father Gang and then Hart to Hart.
Alas per two friends who have perused her book, she gives her acting career short shrift and instead it is another philosophical look at life ala Goldie Hawn, Richard Chamberlain and Raquel Welch. One friend says Powers even takes a back seat to her long-time boyfriend William Holden in her own memoir! When it comes to celebrity bios I want to know what went on behind-the-scenes of their TV shows and movies not their opinions about the human spirit. Geez, Goldie all I wanted to read was what was it like to work with Judy Carne instead of the New Agey claptrap you gave us. Hence, her book wound up in the garbage heap half read. I won’t make the same mistake with Powers’ book.
For a great read, Faye Dunaway’s autobiography comes highly recommended. She gives us readers the back story on all her movies and the actors she worked with that you expect from a celebrity bio. This is the one I will be buying.
PRESENTING MISS JULIE NEWMAR
A lot of people probably do not know that before Julie Newmar donned her catsuit to play the villainous Catwoman on TV’s Batman to purrrrfection, she won a Tony Award for her performance as a sexy Swedish exchange college student who decides her married professor will sire her child in the hit sex comedy The Marriage-Go-Round in 1959. (She reprised her role for the movie version in 1960 and received a Golden Globe nomination.)
Life magazine did a photo shoot on the stage set and just recently some never-before-seen photos have surfaced. Click here to read more and see below for a video tribute.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCiesUK9_Io