THAT GIRL
Check out this new web site called That 60s Girl. It is a great companion site to mine. The site salutes mostly the bigger names of the decade while mine of cause celebrates the lesser knowns. It has cool information, wonderful graphics, and lots of images. It is a work-in-progress so keep checking it out. Highly recommended!
R.I.P.
Though she wasn’t a ’60s starlet, I must pay tribute to comedienne Brett Somers who passed away this week. As a kid during the Seventies, she was such a part of my TV viewing. First as Oscar’s wisecracking, alimony-grabbing ex-wife Blanche on The Odd Couple and then as a regular on my favorite game show Match Game. Every day after school, I’d be glued to the TV at 3:30pm to see Brett exchange playful barbs with Charles Nelson Reilly, host Gene Rayburn, or the rest of the panel (usually consisting of Richard Dawson, Fannie Flagg, Patti Deutsche, Jo Ann Pflug, Bert Convy, Marcia Wallace, Ann Elder, etc.). Brett was caustic, witty, gruff, and always seemed to be enjoying herself. The chemistry she had with the flamboyant Reilly was brilliant. When the show ended, Brett slowly disappeared from TV. Strangely, she passed only a few months after Reilly. Their pairing has to go down in TV history as one of the best ever on a game show or any other TV program. We’ll miss you Brett!
CHILLED OUT
I am pissed off to no end that my publisher backed out of the upcoming Chiller Theatre convention to take place on Oct. 5-7. I received an email from them saying it wasn’t worth the expense as the state of New Jersey has levied higher taxes on outside vendors and made it more difficult for them to sell merchandise at conventions. Though the guest list for Chiller sucks I was looking forward to going and selling some books.
It is real tough these days for authors to promote their books…even more so for authors like me who have a small niche audience. Barnes & Noble could care less of having me do a reading from any of my works. You really have to have the drive and determination (and balls) to knock on every book store’s door but that is a quality I lack. The few signings I do are with the publisher as they pick up all the convention costs while I have to pay my travel and accommodations. I wind up losing money but it is nice once in awhile to meet in person fans of your work who appreciate your writing and actually read the books. And from writing this Blog I have been contacted by many nice people including one of my fave 80s hunks, Gregory Harrison!
Tonight at 4:00am, TCM is show a rare airing of Gaily, Gaily (1969) co-starring Melodie Johnson whom I interviewed for my new book, Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood. Excerpt below:
Melodie played the beautiful duplicitous niece and ward of George Kennedy’s crooked politician in the lavish turn-of-the century comedy Gaily, Gaily (1969) starring Beau Bridges as “Bible-toting country boy” Ben Harvey who comes to Chicago in quest of fame and fortune. Based on the life of writer Ben Hecht, the film was directed by Norman Jewison and co-produced by Hal Ashby. With this much talent behind the scenes, Gaily, Gaily was predicted to be a hit. Unfortunately, movie audiences didn’t find it very gaily and it flopped.
Not available on DVD, this lost comedy is worth checking out.