HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO RODGER & HAMMERSTEIN'S "OKLAHOMA"

On this day in 1943, the greatest musical theatre collaboration began as Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma made its premiere on Broadway in 1943. Nineteen songs by R&H plus a full fifteen minute ballet at the end of Act One created by the amazing choreographer Agnes De Mille helped make this musical the legend it has become. Does anyone know that the original title of this musical was "Away We Go!" -- I don't think that title would have gone well. Most of the productions of this classic musical usually exclude a big powerful ballad sung by Jud in Act One called "The Lonely Room". This is a big powerful beautiful piece sung by the villain. It really makes you empathetic with his cause. The R&H library is now requiring it to be included in any new production of the piece or they will not license the musical to be done. By the way, Happy 73rd birthday to the star of the movie "Oklahoma" -- Shirley Jones who turns seventy-three years young today. Today also in 1968, Lyndon Johnson refused to run for another term as President of the United States. I was watching that broadcast back then and I remember just how shocked I was when I heard those words "I will not seek and I will not accept another term as your president!" Wow-- was that a shocker! The re-write on "The Traveling Companion" has begun and the storyboard approach is going to be implemented before a word of new libretto is typed out by me. So "Away We Go" on the big rewrite-- wish me well!

GOODBYE VIETNAM AND HELLO RE-WRITE

On this day in 1973, the last American troops left Vietnam-- the costliest mistake in all of United States history. We had never lost a war before-- but we sure lost this one-- and badly. So many young Americans lost their lives defending a cause that simply couldn't be won with conventional warfare. It ruined the presidency of Lyndon Johnson and it was a sad commentary on the futility of war. Perhaps we will learn our lesson finally in Iraq. I read this morning where the United States Senate has passed a resolution that would mandate all troop withdrawal from Iraq by March of 2008. The president has vowed to veto it, but we shall see. I am hoping that Congress stands its ground. Enough is Enough!

Let's leave! For the good of the country!

A bitter lesson was learned by me on Sunday at the reading of "The Traveling Companion" Now I know what Ricky Nelson encountered at his infamous rejection at the "Garden Party" way in 1963. Lots of folks couldn't find the school we held the reading at and so we had none of their feedback. But unfortunately, "Traveling" is just too long and too linear. Today's audience wants the MGM version of "The Wizard Of Oz"

Not simply a great story dramatized. It will take me some time to recover the beating up that I got. But I need to pray about it too-- because much of the criticism came from kids in high school-- and we all know how long their attention span is. These are also the same kids who think Frank Sinatra is boring! But I think I have an approach to the re-write-- it simply is going to take me awhile to gather up the courage to do it. It may not be very Hans Christian Andersen by the time I finish with it and I may have to say on the credit page that it's simply "suggested by the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, instead of "based on the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. There is one bright note-- Act Two is far better than Act One and its usually Act Two that is traditionally the part of the show that brings it down. I wrote an old friend about it-- Mr. Charles Strouse (the composer of "Annie" and "Bye Bye Birdie". We had met at an ASCAP membership meeting in Los Angeles when I attended with J.T. Steele. He reminded me in a phone conversation that he's had more failures than successes in his life. We all know how wonderful "Annie" and "Bye Bye Birdie" was but as he reminded me there were shows like "It's A Bird, It's A Plane" (the Superman musical that opened on this date in 1966 and closed seventy-five performances later, the sequel to "Annie" called "Annie Warbucks" which opened and closed in five performances and of course the sequel to "Bye Bye Birdie" called "Bring Back Birdie" (with Donald O' Connor in a jump suit as Birdie) which opened and closed with the critics wrath in seven performances and the biggest loser of them all was with Stephen Schwartz, himself called "Rags" which opened and closed in 1986 after just four performances. "The critics assassinated that one and Stephen is still cringing after all this time" he told me. Joseph Stein "("Fiddler On The Roof) wrote the libretto. So Mr.Strouse gave me some tips, and I'm going to use them to help me do this re-write. Now I simply have to find the courage to begin.

TWO HUNDRED JOURNAL ENTRIES AND THE FIRST PUBLIC READING OF "THE TRAVELING COMPANION"

Well today's journal entry marks blog number TWO HUNDRED. That is TWO HUNDRED journal entries made by me in this blog! Wow! I would have never guessed, I could keep it up this long! Today also is a day of hope! Tim and I are holding our first reading today for our musical "The Traveling Companion" We are gathering at Tim's school Wilson High in Hacienda Heights at 1PM to read through the play and have our first public performances of the many songs we have written together. Roberta and David Meinke and Bill Lewis will be there and I am praying that all will go well and that the actors and others who hear it will really like it. A lot of blood, sweat and tears has gone into this magnus opus, not to mention money and both of us hold high hopes. Financial woes burden both Tim and I at the moment, but with God's help we'll get out of these things. Now I know why my poor dad felt so hopeless at his age-- but as that great old lyric goes by Sondheim "I'm still here! and I really do believe that you just can't walk away "five minutes before the miracle" -- because the miracle always follows and is knocking at your door four and a half minutes after you do. Work was very busy this week and Easter approaches April 9th. So I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed for today's reading! Wish us well!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TWO MUSICAL THEATRE GIANTS: STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER!

Today are the birthdays of two musical theatre giants. Stephen Sondheim turns seventy-seven years old today and Andrew Lloyd Webber turns forty-nine! Of course we know both have accomplished milestones in musical theatre, but Sondheim is the only composer-lyricist that has won every major award: He has won multiple Tony's, the Academy Award (for the song "Sooner or Later" from Dick Tracy) the Emmy, several Grammies and the Pulitzer Prize. Only six musicals have been awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Sondheim won for "Sunday In The Park With George" The others include: "Rent" by Jonathan Larson, "South Pacific" by Rodgers and Hammerstein and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" by the late great Frank Loesser. Sondheim almost quit musical theatre entirely with the failure of "Merrily We Roll Along" (one of my all time Sondheim score favorites. In the meantime, Andrew Lloyd Webber prepares for the new sequel to "Phantom Of The Opera"-- this time set in New York City. Chestnuts about Sondheim that I didn't know: (1.) Although he was a protege' of Oscar Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim and Richard Rodgers intensely disliked one another and their one collaboration (which he completed as an obligation to Hammerstein) was a huge failure-- it was called "Do I Hear A Waltz" ( I love that song) The second chestnut is that Sondheim actually wrote songs for "Mary Poppins" as part of his writing assignments under Oscar Hammerstein. Boy would I love to hear what Sondheim does to P.L. Travers. Happy Birthday to you both and also to dear Karl Malden who turns ninety-four years young today! The reading for "The Traveling Companion" goes on this Sunday at Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights. I have both fingers and toes crossed!

HAPPY 85TH BIRTHDAY TO CARL REINER

Today is Carl Reiner's 85th birthday. Carl, the eternal straight man to Mel Brook's "Two Thousand Year Old Man is an absolute legend of comedy. He was one of the great writers for Sid Caesar and the original "Show of Shows" and worked alongside Neil Simon. He also worked on Caesar's Hour with Brooks, Simon, Larry Gelbart, and Woody Allen..In 1961, Reiner created The Dick Van Dyke Show. In addition to usually writing the show, Reiner occasionally appeared as temperamental show host "Alan Brady", who ruthlessly browbeats his brother-in-law (played by Richard Deacon). The show ran from 1961 to 1966.Reiner began his directing career on the Van Dyke show. His first feature was an adaptation of Joseph Stein's play Enter Laughing (1967), which was on Reiner's book of the same name. Probably the best-known film of his early directing career was the cult comedy Where's Poppa (1970), starring George Segal and Ruth Gordon. Keep the laughter coming, dear soul-- Lord knows the weary world needs all that it can get!

THE FORD ZX3 FINALLY RETURNS HOME!!!!!!

Well, finally! On Saint Patrick's Day, I was finally able to pick up the Ford ZX3 that was involved in that Halloween night 2006 accident that I have described previously on these blog pages. $5,500.00 later and unbelievable car rental fees (almost $3,000.00) from Advantage Rent-A-Car. And then I had to fight the auto body shop to give me a warranty in writing! The previous owner of the body shop had to come to bat for me! What's wrong with people anyway? Well, I will tell you this: It's been a long, hard five months and I've learned a few lessons along the way. First is never trust an independent auto insurance dealer. And make sure you have GAP insurance on any automobile that you are financing! I also had to buy another car when the rental car company refused to rent me any more vehicles because they "couldn't make as much money on me than they could on individual renters." Crazy! Well, lessons learned the hard way-- and now we go after that woman who caused the accident in Small Claims Court.Well at least both John and I now have our own car and that will make things a lot easier! Stay tuned for further developments! I am praying I can win my money back in court!

HAPPY 81ST BIRTHDAY TO THE AMAZING JERRY LEWIS

Today is the 81st birthday of a genuine clown and incredible funny man, Jerry Lewis. I have been watching Jerry for years and simply love (still) some of his most classic films including "Cinderfella" (with Ed Wynn as the Fairy Godfather) and "The Bell Boy" and yes "The Family Jewels" and "The King Of Comedy" And yes, I admit it: I cry during those telethons. We have all heard about the bad qualities of the man, but I look for the good of people-- and always will. Jerry was born in Newark, New Jersey to a Jewish family. His birth name was Joseph Levitch, though Shawn Levy's biography, "King of Comedy", claims this is untrue and that Lewis' name at birth was Jerome Levitch. His father was a vaudeville performer. He began in burlesque in 1942 at age 16 (if the birth year of 1926 is correct) and married two years later in 1944 at age 18. He gained initial fame with singer Dean Martin, who served as a straight man to Lewis's manic, zany antics as the Martin and Lewis comedy team. They distinguished themselves from the majority of comedy acts of the 1940s by relying on the interaction of the two comics instead of pre-planned skits. In the late 1940s, they quickly rose to national prominence, first with their popular nightclub act and then as film stars. Critics often found it difficult to describe their chaotic act beyond the laconic "Martin sings and Lewis clowns". They continued to perform in film and on television until their partnership ended in 1956 . Following their split, the two became involved in a well-publicized and long-running feud that never truly ended; the next time they were seen together in public would be a surprise appearance by Martin on Lewis's telethon in 1976 arranged by Frank Sinatra . Lewis wrote of his kinship with Martin in the 2005 book Dean and Me (A Love Story) Although the pair eventually reconciled in the late-1980s after Martin's son died, there was never any reunion. Still and all I will always love Jerry Lewis! He simply makes me laugh! And that is so damn good for me. God knows I need all the laughter I can get!

REMEMBERING THE PREMIERE ON BROADWAY OF LERNER & LOWE'S "MY FAIR LADY"

On this date: March 15thin 1956, one of the greatest musicals of all times premiered on the Broadway stage. It was of course Lerner & Lowe's "My Fair Lady" and starred Julie Andrews, Rex Harrison and the incredible Stanley Holloway. The musical almost never came to fruition. A gentleman by the name of Gabriel Pasquale bought the rights from the George Bernard Shaw Estate in 1951. In 1952 he urged his good friend Alan Jay Lerner to make it into the musical he dreamed of making. But theatre was a dramatically different arena on Broadway in 1952. Many friends of Lerner including the amazing Oscar Hammerstein II urged him not to try any adaptation of this classic story in the 1952 world of Broadway. It would simply flop! In the original story by Bernard Shaw there was sub plot (aka the Freddy Farnsworth Hill --"On The Street Where You Live"story) Three years passed and in the interim, Lerner & Lowe famous for their fights had broken up during this period. As Lerner was reading Gabriel Pasquale obituary, he thought of the subplot of Freddy Farnsworth(mentioned in another Shaw short story) and called Frederick Lowe. They reconciled and Lerner wrote a brilliant libretto adaptation with the addition of the Ascot racing scene and the character of the mother of Henry Higgins played on Broadway by Catherine Nesbitt. The original musical production was directed and staged by the one and only Moss Hart who with George S. Kaufman wrote some of the most amazing comedies of all time including one of the funniest"George Washington Slept Here"and by himself "Light Up The Sky" I remember being involved in an amateur theatre of this great musical involving dear friends Gary Hamner, the late Ruth Ballanand a friend from Pasadena City College: Warren Chadwick. Kris Klain, daughter of a Social Studies teacher at Wilson High School played Eliza. And then my all time favorite actor from that period: Mr. John Higgins played Alfred P. Doolittle. How I miss all of my actor friends from that amazing little theatre group that was known as The Rafters. My little theatre days were indeed happy ones and I truly miss my late friends especially dear Elizabeth Gregory-- she was my mentor and probably the reason I love theatre so much to this day. God love you, Elizabeth wherever you may be. And of course I must mention dear George Von

Ravensberg and Jay Buck. All dear friends-- long gone-- but always cherished and remembered forever.

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TO "BRIGADOON" BY LERNER & LOWE

March 13th marks the 60th anniversary of one of the grandest musicals ever written. That musical is of course "Brigadoon" written by Lerner & Lowe. These gentleman also gave the world "My Fair Lady" and "Gigi". The original musical played only five hundred and eighty-five performances-- a pittance by today's standards, but it's magical score including the classic song "Almost Like Being In Love" will continue to be sung for decades to come.Lerner's story was based on a much older German story by Friedrich Gerstäcker about the magical and thus mythical, German village of Germelshausen that fell under an evil, magic curse. In 1947, memories of the second World War were too fresh to present a German-themed musical on Broadway, so Lerner and Lowe reimagined the story in Scotland, complete with kilts, bonnie lassies, bagpipes, Highland flings and "Heather on the Hill". Lerner's name for his imaginary locale was probably based on a well-known Scottish landmark, the Brig o' Doon (Bridge of Doon), in Alloway, Scotland, in the heart of Robert Burns country. According to Burns' poem Tam o'Shanter, this 13th century stone bridge is where the legendary Tam o' Shanter fled on his horse Meg in order to escape from three witches who were chasing him."Brig" is a common Lowland Scots word, meaning "bridge". It occurs in several English versions of Scottish placenames, e.g. "Brig O' Turk".Other sources suggest that "Brigadoon" was constructed from the Gaelic words: briga which means "strife" or "hill", and dùn which means "hill, hill fort, or hill village." The name may also be a reference to the Celtic Goddess Brigid as in "Brigid's Hill." The original Broadway production, directed by Robert Lewis. It starred David Brooks as Tommy, Marion Bell as Fiona, Lee Sullivan as Charlie, James Mitchell as Harry, and Pamela Britton as Meg. It shared a Tony Award for Agnes de Mille's choreography . It also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, and has had many well-received revivals over the years. It remains one of my all time favorite scores.

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TO "LES MISERABLES" AND LIZA MINELLI TURNS SIXTY-ONE!

Today-- twenty years ago in 1987, an most extraordinary musical opened to some very rave reviews. I remember quite well seeing this amazing spectacle on the New York Broadway stage back in 1993. It was simply the best musical I had ever seen and remains in my memory forever. Now Les Miz is back on the Great White Way for a limited engagement and I urge all of you who have never seen it to experience it while you can. The same writers will soon premiere their newest musical extravaganza "The Pirate Queen". I can only hope that this show is as wonderful as this masterpiece. Today is the also the 61st birthday of Liza Minnelli-- one of my all time favorite performers. How well i remember her in "Cabaret" and of course she is the one (not Frank Sinatra) who introduced the song "New York, New York" to the world in a film by the same title-- written of course by those song writing geniuses Kander & Ebb. We lost Fred two years ago, but his work goes on through a new musical called "Curtains". Our new refrigerator has arrived here at our apartment and we need to go fill it. So bye for now!

SEVEN YEARS AGO WE BEGAN

Today my song recording journey began in the year 2000. For on this day in March of 2000, Tim Doran and myself began a series of recordings featuring the amazing voice of our dear friend Tony Westbrook. We were recording back in the old Glendale recording studio on Victory Blvd in the same complex where my literary agent office had been four years previusly. So many memories. That old antique grand piano where the sound was so challenged and the recording studio that was experimenting with its craft each and every recording session. But it was so much fun. I remember we recorded the very first take of "If You Really Want To Know" and "Fly Me Home For Christmas" --still two of my favorite songs. And I will always remember the thrill of hearing Tony's voice. It was simply amazing. And what's more, he was a great editor and knew how to deliver and sell any song that he tried. So thanks to my arranger and dearest friend Tim Doran and thanks to Tony Westbrook. I miss him! Those old recordings are simply classic! My ambitions are still strong and I am working all the time. God will show me the way! And I am in His Hands!

A TRIBUTE TO THE "ODD COUPLE" AND DANNY SIMON

THE

MOVIE VERSION OF
"THE ODD COUPLE"

On this day in 1965, a Broadway show premiered on the Great White Way that was inspired by the genius on the left and written by another genius-- the man on his right. For here are the "Brothers Laughter" as I have dubbed them: Danny Simon and his world famous brother, Neil. I had the absolute privilege of studying comedy with Danny for four years back in the 1980's. Bar none, it was the most wonderful joys of my life. Danny was pure genius and as dead honest as they come. Oh yes, the criticism could be very tough-- "Hey, kid, this is just not funny enough". I kept writing-- and I'm still writing today because of this wonderful man's influence. So how did this all start?Mr. Simon initially wrote for radio shows with his brother. While in their teens, they pleased radio humorist Goodman Ace with a line about a witless movie usher explaining a film plot: "Joan Crawford's boyfriend is sent to the electric chair -- and she promises to wait for him."Danny Simon felt overshadowed by brother Neil. "By Neil's standards of success, I'm a nothing," he s the genius"
But together as a writing team, their rapid-fire absurdity won them work in the early days of television. The SImons wrote for Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Red Buttons, Phil Silvers and, most memorably, for Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows," which Neil Simon fictionalized in his Broadway comedy "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" (1993).One of their colleagues, Woody Allen, spoke admiringly of Mr. Simon, telling an interviewer: "I've learned a few things on my own and modified a few things he taught me, but everything, unequivocally, that I learned about comedy writing, I learned from Danny Simon."
Mr. Simon continued writing scripts and eventually directed TV shows, and Neil Simon fled to the theater to seek his own voice. He used his older brother as inspiration for various characters, including the ladies' man in "Come Blow Your Horn" (1961), the Hollywood producer in "Plaza Suite" (1968) and the older brother in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1983), a comic look at their unhappy, fatherless childhood in Brooklyn."There have been more plays written about me than about Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc and Julius Caesar all put together," Mr. Simon said.Many of Neil Simon's depictions of his older brother were less than flattering. The younger Simon once told Time magazine, "My complicated relationship with Danny stems from the fact that when I was growing up, I saw him as my father. It wasn't until much later that I saw him as a brother. He'd tell me when to go to bed, how to behave, give me all the rules of life." Neil Simon's enduring play "The Odd Couple" (that opened on March 10, 1965 and ran for 996 performances on Broadway) was born out of his brother's divorce. Mr. Simon had moved in with a newly single theatrical agent named Roy Gerber in Hollywood, and they invited friends over one night. Mr. Simon botched the pot roast.
The next day, Gerber told him: "Sweetheart, that was a lovely dinner last night. What are we going to have tonight?"
Mr. Simon replied: "What do you mean, cook you dinner? You never take me out to dinner. You never bring me flowers."
The banter left Mr. Simon thinking there was a kernel for a play, and he typed out fifteen and two thirds pages, which he showed to an approving Neil. But Danny disliked the solitude of play writing and, despite encouragement from his brother to finish, he returned to collaborative television writing. Neil Simon took over the play, which became a popular stage show that was succeeded by film and television versions.Although Mr. Simon received a slice of the royalties,(15 and 2/3 %) he was left out of the acknowledgments, which rankled him and caused a decade-long rift. He suffered in his younger brother's shadow and, when asked how it felt to be Neil Simon's brother, usually replied: "Well, it's better than being Neil Simon's sister" I wanted to always dedicate something to him, but in his own gruff way he had always said "What if isn't good enough!" So my aim is to make a success of it and then say "I think this makers it good enough!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED!

Today is Ed Mcmahon's 84th birthday. What an incredibly blessed life this good and kind man has known. He was the perfect foil for the late great Jonny Carson one of the funnierst men who ever lived. Ed was born in Detroit, Michigan, and was raised in Lowell , Massachusetts attending both Boston College and The Catholic University of America, majoring in speech and drama. At The Catholic University of America, he joined the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. Believe it or not, kind friends, Ed McMahon began his "showbiz" career as a bingo caller in Maine when he was fifteen. Prior to working as the announcer, he worked as a carnival barker for three years as a teenager and put himself through college as a pitchman for of all things-- vegetable slicers on the Atlantic City boardwalk. No wonder he was such a perfect pitch man! In the 1950s, he emceed the game shows Snap Judgment , Concentration and Who Dunnit?. During World War II, McMahon was trained as a United States Marines fighter pilot and also served as a flight instructor and test pilot. He was discharged in 1946, remaining in the reserves.[ After college, Ed was re-activated into active Marine duty. He was sent to Korea in February, 1953. He flew unarmed OE Bird Dogs on 85 tactical air control and artillery spotting missions. Amazingly, he remained in the Marine reserves, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1966 and was then commissioned as a Brigadier General in the California Air National Guard Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson first worked together as announcer and host on the daytime gameshow Who Do You Trust? (1957-1962). McMahon and Carson left that to do The Tonight Show in 1962. For more than 30 years, McMahon introduced the Tonight Show with a drawn-out "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" His booming voice and constant laughter earned him the nickname the Human Laugh Track. My memories of him with Johnny Carson are strong and wonderful. So Happy Birthday dear Ed.

Today would have been my dad's 100th birthday. I wanted to share some pictures of him today with you, but the computer wouldd not co-operate. Bar none my sweet dear father was the kindest, most loving and amazing person. He would literally give you his last dime. I am so humbled to have had this wonderful man as my father. He gave literally until it hurt. No Christmas was poor. No birthday was forgotten. My Catholic faith and my relationship with God is possible today only because my father kept his promise to my mother and raised all of us kids in the Catholic faith. Now understand, my dad could have kept that promise by simply driving us to church every Sunday. But oh no, he supported my mother's wishes by arranging that all four of us kids attended parochial school. I dare say that without nuns and priests as my guide during all these many years, I would not be the man of faith I am. I think I would have given up a long time ago. My life has been a challenge, but i am blessed with the gift of music and my dear and wonderful friends: especially Tim Doran

who makes all the music possible. My dad was a character beyond them all. He loved opera and Enrico Caruso and oh how this man could paint. Beautiful landscapes! Amazing portraits! My painted with brushes. I paint with words. Not a bad gene share. I will always be grateful to my dad for all of his many sacrifices. He was honest. He was kind. He was the most giving of fathers. And I miss him to this day. I was just getting to know and appreciate when I lost him at the tender age of eighteen. You are my hero, my dear father! I love you-- still and always!

THE 200TH BIRTHDAY OF HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW AND ELIZABETH TAYLOR TURNS 75

Today is the 200th birthday of one of the finest American poets of all time. His name is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. What an incredible poet. Of course my favorite is "Paul Revere's Ride" and the famous line "One if by land and two if by sea" Longfellow was such an admired figure in the United States during his life, that his 7oth birthday in 1877 took on the air of a national holiday, with parades, speeches, and the reading of his poetry. He had become one of the first American celebrities, and was widely versatile poetry.His work was immensely popular during his time and is still today, although some modern critics consider him too sentimental. His poetry is based on familiar and easily understood themes with simple, clear, and flowing language. His poetry created an audience in America and contributed to creating American mythology
Longfellow's poem "Christmas Bells" is the basis for the Christmas carol "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day".Longfellow's home in Cambridge, the Longfellow National Historic Site, is a U.S. National Historic Site, National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Place . A two-thirds scale replica was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Minniehaha Park in 1906 and once served as a centerpiece for a local zoo. Today is also an historic day as the elder George Bush declared in 1991 that the war had been won in Kuwait and that Saddam and the Iraq army had been totally defeated. Well, too bad we didn't finish the job back then. Today is also Elizabeth Taylor's 75th birthday. A true Hollywood legend is she. Had a very close call at work last night as a gun was pulled on us at work. The thief stole a fifteen hundred dollar camera and a two hundred dollar spotting scope. He got away and the manager (who had not seen the gun pulled) followed him out to get the camera. The thief fired a shot and missed her-- but not by much and then escaped. The police were at the store the rest of the evening and we closed early. Never a dull moment. Earlier in the day, a customer had been waiting for a DVD transfer and was going to wait in his car eating his lunch, waiting for the job to be finished-- we talked him out of it-- saying that he be much better off enjoying his lunch relaxing in a nearby restaurant. Good thing he didn't-- a city utility truck came along and plowed into it. Had the customer remained in his car, he most certainly would have been killed right in front of our store! Crazy! Crazy day! I'm certain God was watching over all of us!

WE REMEMBER JIM BACKUS

This would have been the 94th birthday of the late great Jim Backus aka "Mister Magoo" and of course Mr. Thurston P. Howell of Gilligan's Island fame. But Jim was also a most fantastic straight actor as well. You only have to watch him portray James Dean's father in "Rebel Without A Cause" to discover that. But Mr. Magoo is what I will always remember him for and most especially two animated feature films featuring the near sighted myoptic wonder. One was a U.P.A cartoon called "A Thousand And One Arabian Nights" in which Magoo portrays Alladin's father and Hand Conreid portrays the voice of the villain "The Grand Vizier". Dwayne Hickman (yes, "Dobie Gillis) portrayed the voice of Alladin. The second feature was "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" that I always will consider to be a Christmas animated masterpiece. Oh it certainly varies from the original story by Charles Dickens, but it has heart and warmth and some wonderful songs by Bob Merill and Jule Styne composers of "Funny Girl" The cartoon's framing device consists almost entirely of Jim Backus as Quincy Magoo singing "It's Great To Be Back On Broadway", thus explaining in song that the character Magoo is portraying a character in a Broadway theatre production. The next song is "Ringle, Ringle", Scrooge's theme song about "coins when they mingle", is half-sung by Jim Backus as Magoo, and serves to delineate the character's change of heart. Initially he appreciates the coins aesthetically and for the wealth they represent, while Jack Cassidy as Bob Cratchit sings in counterpoint that "it's cold, it's frightfully cold", and musically begs Scrooge to spare the expense of "just one piece of coal" to warm him. Later, in a musical reprise, Scrooge sings that the coins are "meant for passing around" as he spends the coins to help the Cratchit family.Joan Gardner as Tiny Tim ("played" by the animated character Gerald McBoing-Boing) sings of "razzleberry dressing" and "woofle jelly cake." in "The Lord's Bright Blessing". The Cratchit children's requests for better food, a tree and presents are countered by Jack Cassidy as Bob Cratchit singing of what the family has, in his view: "the Lord's Bright Blessing, and knowing we're together" - a togetherness that Scrooge lacks. In the Christmas Past sequence, Backus/Magoo as Scrooge sings in poignant duet with Scrooge's younger self (sung by Marie Matthews) left behind in boarding school after all the other children went home for Christmas. "In perhaps the most touching moment... Magoo is transported back to his childhood, where he stands side-by-side with his youthful self. He watches his 'child' sing When You're Alone, Alone in the World, tracing his hand on the blackboard, hoping to find a hand of his own to hold... the quavering elderly voice blending with the clear, sweet youthful one, the invisible Magoo putting a transparent arm around his 'child'
"A hand for each hand was planned for the world
Why don't my fingers reach? "Hundreds of grains of sand in the world, why such a lonely beach? Where are two shoes to click to my clack? Where is that voice to answer mine back? I'm all alone in the world"-- that lyric used to grab me every time I heard it! Jim was born the same year as my mother and passed away on July 3, 1989 from complications of Altzheimer's disease! God bless you, Jim wherever you are! Happy Birthday!

THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CALENDAR AND MY FATHER'S PORTRAIT

Today is the birthday of the calendar as we know it today. The man who invented our modern day Gregorian calendar was none other than Pope Gregory VIII. This was a struggle of immense proportions: the final acceptance of which did not occur until 1923. And you thought things were difficult to gain acceptance today! The transformation of the calendar, producing our modern day Gregorian calendar came about with the aid of Jesuit priest/astronomer Christopher Clavius The reason for the reform is that the average length of the year in the Julian Calendar was too long, and the date of the actual Vernal Equinox had slowly slipped to March 10, whereas the calculation of the date of Easter still followed the traditional date of March 21.This was rectified by following the observations of Calvius and Johannes Kepler, and the calendar was changed when Pope Gregory XIII decreed that the day after October 4, 1582 would be October 15, 1582. He issued the papal bull "Inter Gravissimas" to promulgate the new calendar on February 24, 1582. On October 15, 1582, this calendar replaced the Julian calendar, in use since 45 BC, and has become universally used today.
The switchover was bitterly opposed by much of the populace, who feared it was an attempt by landlords to cheat them out of a week and a half's rent. However, the Catholic countries of Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Italy complied. France, the Protestant Netherlands and various Catholic states in Germany and Switzerland (both countries were religiously split) followed suit within a year or two, and Hungary followed in 1587.Because of the Pope's decree, the reform of the Julian calendar came to be known as the Gregorian calendar. However, the rest of Europe did not follow suit for more than a century. The Protestant German countries adopted the Gregorian reform in 1700. By this time, the calendar trailed the seasons by 11 days. Great Britain (and its American colonies) finally followed suit in 1752, and Wednesday, September 2, 1752 was immediately followed by Thursday, September 14th 1752. And you thought times flies today! Well anyway, this traumatic change resulted in widespread riots with the populace demanding that the eleven days be given back! The Gregorian Calendar was not accepted in eastern Christendom for several hundred years, and then only as the civil calendar. The Gregorian Calendar was instituted in Russia by the communists in 1917, and the last Eastern Orthodox country to accept the calendar was Greece in 1923.While some Eastern Orthodox national churches have accepted the Gregorian Calendar dates for "fixed" feasts (feasts that occur on the same date every year), the dates of all movable feasts (such as Easter) are still calculated in the Eastern Orthodox Churches by reference to the Julian Calendar. So as you can see people were just as stubborn throughout the ages about change as anyone today. Well, today I make the great trade. My cousin Brian asked me last week about the portrait of my dad painted by the renowned painter Theodore Lukas who had been my father's art teacher. I told it had been damaged and needed serious restoration. He offered to trade me the damaged painting and to restore it, give me a computer enhanced copy so that I could have a new portrait made from our company's Rembrandt lab. The painting would require over a thousand dollars in repair and since I have never had the extra money to have it done, I thought I would do this to honor my father in a great way. That painting adorned the walls of my boyhood home all of my young life and to let it waste away unrepaired and unnoticed still after all these years was simply not right. I loved my dad. He was a most special man. His great heart was the most amazing ever. He was the kindest most loving father I could have ever had. This year he would have been one hundred years old-- my goodness, does that make me feel old!

IN MEMORY OF THE LATE GREAT STAN LAUREL

On this day in 1965, we lost one of the most amzing comedians of all times, Mr. Stanley Arthur Jefferson better known in the world of slapstick comedy as the incredible Stan Laurel. My affection for this man is boundless. I can watch him together with Oliver Hardy countless times (and I have) and still laugh at the same places and find new delights to laugh at. Of course his teaming with Oliver Hardy was a pure God-send and was a total accident. Oliver Hardy had burned himself removing a huge leg of lamb from his home oven and couldn't appear with another actor for a certain picture-- the delay for Hardy's recovery that the burn required made the other actor forced to go on to his next comittment-- and Stan (who was only going to direct the picture) was asked to fill in. Well that was the most happy accident of all time. The chemistry between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy was a brew made in heaven itself.

They made some of the funniest pictures of all time including the one film that I picture here: "The Music Box" which was the only Laurel & Hardy film to receive an Oscar. I've seen them all including the classic "Big Business". In this film Laurel & Hardy are selling Christmas trees and try to sell one to Scottish comic star Jimmy Finlayson. He refuses and slams the door-- and that would be funny enough-- but in this film the tree gets stuck in the door and the war begins. Pretty sooon the entire house is demolished. Now here is the funny part: Hal roach had arranged to purchase the house in its and its considerable contents because the owner was moving to Europe and didn't want to moving expenses. Well guess what? The film makers went to the WRONG house on the same street and because nobody locked their houses in those days, the Hal Roach Studio crew just set up and started filming the whole scripted scenario. Can you imagine coming home to find laurel & hardy destroying your home? The secret to understanding the Laurel & hardy team is to understand that Oliver Hardy was dumber than Stan but didn't know it!In 1961, Laurel won a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in the field of comedy. He had achieved his lifelong dream as a comedian and had been involved in nearly 190 movies. He spent his final years living in a small apartment in the Oceana Hotel in Santa Monica. Always gracious to fans, he spent much of this time meticulously answering fan mail. His phone number was listed in the Santa Monica telephone directory, and fans were amazed that they could simply dial the number and find themselves talking to Stan Laurel.
He died on this day February 23, 1965 several days after suffering a heart attack. A comedian until the very last, Stan Laurel, just minutes away from death, told to his nurse he would not mind going skiing right at that very moment. Somewhat taken aback, the nurse replied that she was not aware that he was a skier. "I'm not," said Stan, "I'd rather be doing that than have all these needles stuck into me!". A few minutes later the nurse looked in on him again and found that Stan Laurel had quietly slipped away.Dick Van Dyke a friend and protege of Laurel's during his later years, gave the eulogy at his funeral; the great silent screen comedian Buster Keaton was overheard at Laurel's funeral giving his assessment of the comedian's considerable talents: "Chaplin wasn't the funniest, I wasn't the funniest, this man was the funniest".Stan Laurel even wrote his own epitaph; "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I'll never speak to him again." He was buried at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
In 1989 a statue of Laurel was erected in Dockwray Square, North Shields , where he lived at No. 8 from 1897 to 1902 , and where the steps down from the Square to the North Shields Fish Quay were said to have inspired the piano-moving scene in The Music Box!

THE REAL GEORGE WASHINGTON BIRTHDAY IS TODAY!

The George Stewart Portrait

Today indeed is the REAL birthday of the father of our country George Washington. My dear late father used to tell us kids this wonderful tale of George as if he were the son of an Italian merchant. And of course, George is given a hatchet for his birthday, chops down the cherry tree and is in big trouble for doing so. But "Papa Washington" extols his so called young "Italian" son "to tell him the truth" which of course he does by saying "Yes, papa, I can tell a lie, I chop a down the cherry tree, cha chong, cha chong, cha chong" --"down she go" and Papa Washington is so proud as he says "George, I no punish you for chopping down the cherry tree, cha chong cha chong , cha chong-- you tella me the whole truth--so now, I am taking you to Washington DC to become the first president of the United States". It was simply a classic story that was priceless and my dear father performed this story for us kids every February 22nd. We waited for it. We cherished it and we cherished him. My father was a very brave man. He raised four kids with my dear mother and was bar none the most generous kind hearted soul on this planet! He would have given you his last dime-- and so many times he did. I miss him to this day. I was just getting to really know him and appreciate him when he died. It is also the 75th birthday of Edward Kennedy, the sole survivor of that great family destiny. Happy birthday, Mr. Kennedy. Today I'm going to Tim's to put music to that new song for our musical "The Traveling Companion'-- the old one just doesn't work. We need to get this musical off with a bang! And this brings the Sebastian Monroe (The Traveling Companion) into the story a lot earlier than before! It should provide a very exciting begining as a town suffers a great malady and blames its own doctor for the demise of many of its citizens. It is typical of how people can turn on someone they have loved.

WE REMEMBER JOHN GLENN'S ORBITAL FLIGHT AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LATE ANSEL ADAMS!

Imagine that! Forty-Five Years ago today: John Glenn blasted into outer space for the first trans orbital mission around the world! I remember getting up at Two AM to watch those proceedings on television. As a kid, I was simply fascinated and intrigued by the space program. I watched every interview and every aspect with robust attention. To me--it was simply incredible. I still remember how the city of Perth, Australia had left all of their lights on as a beacon of welcome and cheer for the young astronaut. John Glenn was my hero! Today also Sidney Poitier turns eighty years old and it is also the birthday of famous photographer Ansel Adams. Tim and i have set the date for the first reading of our musical "The Traveling Companion for Sunday, March 25, 2007. Off to work for another day of retail. My best wishes to Tim that his house appraisal goes just the way he needs it to! Fingers and toes crossed here!