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CANDY TO GO-GO

This post is courtesy of my friend Shaun who graduated from San Gabriel High School in California years after perennial go-go girl Candy Johnson. Though Lada Edmund, Jr. was the go-go girl of the small screen, Drive-in Dream Girl Candy Johnson owned the silver screen as she wiggled, shimmied, and gyrated on the sands of Malibu in Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964)and Pajama Party (1964). She was such a teenage favorite that she even branched out into the music business starting her own record label Canjo where she recorded two albums with her back up band The Exciters.

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WESTWARD HO!

As a kid during the late Sixties, I was never a fan of western TV shows such as Gunsmoke or Bonanza, but I do remember two that I watched semi-regularly for some reason. One was Lancer starring James Stacy and Wayne Maunder. Looking back now I know why I watched that one–James Stacy hubba hubba!

The other was The High Chaparral. It was the story of the powerful Cannon Family who ran a ranch in the Arizona territory of the 1870s. Among the stars were Leif Erickson, Henry Darrow, Linda Cristal, Cameron Mitchell and Mark Slade. It lasted four seasons and never really aired much in syndication and is not on DVD.


Surprisingly there is a huge fan base and reunion convention held yearly celebrating the show. Who knew? Click here for more information.

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WOOD IT BE TRUE

Twenty-eight years ago Natalie Wood drowned off the coast of Catalina when purportedly slipping off her yacht Splendour while trying to get into or trying to secure a dinghy after a fight with her husband Robert Wagner. After what the public presumed was a thorough investigation, the police have long closed the case after the LA coroner ruled it an accidental drowning. However, in the new book Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, co-written by the ship’s skipper, new allegations are brought to life including shoddy police work leaving many unanswered questions.

The book has opened Natalie’s sister Fantasy Femme Lana Wood eyes to these claims and she has joined the authors in demanding that the case be reopened. Click here to read more.

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A FUNERAL WORTH ATTENDING

In my book Film Fatales (co-written with Louis Paul) we profile German actress Eva Renzi who co-starred with Michael Caine in the second Harry Palmer spy film, Funeral in Berlin (1966), which was produced by Harry Saltzman, a co-producer of the James Bond movies. Eva won the role after actress Anjanette Comer withdrew just before filming began.

And in an odd twist, Renzi, based on her excellent performance in Funeral in Berlin, was offered one of the femme fatale roles in the Bond adventure You Only Live Twice by Saltzman but she declined (Karin Dor got the part) commenting, “Bond pictures are good for pretty girls but not for actresses. I would rather sell shoes.” Perhaps that is what she is doing today in the netherworld. She passed away a few years ago.

Click below for an interesting look at the making of Funeral in Berlin: