2010 Necrology - Celebrity Edition PART 1 of 3

It is the end of another year, and this is when I like to look back and remember all of those we have lost. These celebrities have brought us many decades of joy. Good-bye to you all.

(this will be done in parts)


Jimmy Dean
Born: Aug. 10, 1928 (Olton, TX)
Died: Jun. 13, 2010 (Richmond, VA)
Age: 82

Jimmy Ray Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean Sausage brand, he first rose to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad John"; and became a national television personality in the 1960s. His acting career included a supporting role in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. He lived near Richmond, Virginia, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

Lena Horne

Born: Jun. 30, 1917 (Brooklyn, NY)
Died: May 9, 2010 (New York, NY)
Age: 93

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne broke through racial barriers as the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. Throughout her career, she was a passionate advocate for civil rights. She was honored for Lifetime Achievement at the Kennedy Center in 1984, was recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1989, and a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Artist in 1999. She received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for music, the other for film.

Dennis Hopper
Born: May 17, 1936 (Dodge City, KS)
Died: May 29, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)
Age: 74

Actor, Director. He was considered one of Hollywood's most outspoken and versatile actors. He appeared in over 150 motion pictures during his lifetime, working as both an actor and film director, in a career that spanned over five decades. Known in the motion picture industry for his anti-establishment reputation, he was nominated for two Academy Awards during his professional career. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002, he suffered a recurrence of the disease in October 2009, which ultimately resulted in his death. He made his final public appearance on Friday March 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California, accepting a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.



Art Linkletter
Born: Jul. 17, 1912 (Canada)
Died: May 26, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)
Age: 97

Television and Radio Personality, Author. He hosted two of the longest-running programs in broadcast history and was a presence in American media for more than six decades. "Art Linkletter's House Party," a variety show, debuted on radio in 1944 and was seen on CBS television from 1952 to 1969, and "People Are Funny", which he helmed on radio from 1943 and on NBC television from 1954 to 1960.


Rue McClanahan
Born: Feb. 21, 1934 (Carter County OK)
Died: Jun. 3, 2010 (New York, NY)
Age: 76

Best known as the co-star of the popular TV sitcom The Golden Girls. Born Eddi-Rue McClanahan, she grew up in Ardmore, Oklahoma, graduated from the University of Tulsa, and began a career as an actress in 1957. She died from a stroke.



Tom Bosley
Born: Oct. 1, 1927 (Chicago, IL)
Died: Oct. 19, 2010 (Palm Springs, CA)
Age: 83

He will be remembered for his role as the patriarch Howard Cunningham in the popular TV series "Happy Days". Born in Chicago, he served in the US Navy, and attended DePaul University following his return home. After becoming interested in an acting career, he studied at the Radio Institute of Chicago, and began performing on various radio programs. He made his debut on Broadway in the production "The Power and the Glory" (1958 to 1959), and began a lengthy television career during that same period. He died from heart failure.


Barbara Billingsley
Born: Dec. 22, 1915 (Los Angeles, CA)
Died: Oct. 16, 2010 (Santa Monica, CA)
Age: 94

Born Barbara Lillian Combes, she attended Los Angeles Junior College in the mid 1930s and then moved to New York City, where she worked as a model. In 1945 she received a contract from MGM, and she appeared in several films during the late 1940s and 1950s, sometimes without screen credit. In 1957 Billingsley began starring in the sitcom "Leave it to Beaver" as June Cleaver, mother to Wally and Theodore, nicknamed "Beaver". She appeared in her most famous role for 234 episodes, remaining with the show until it ended after six seasons. She died at her home after having dealt for several years with the effects of a rheumatoid disease.


Tony Curtis
Born: Jun. 3, 1925 (Bronx, NY)
Died: Sep. 29, 2010 (Clark County, NV)
Age: 85

Bernard Schwartz was brought up in poverty in a tough Bronx neighborhood. He developed an interest in acting after visiting a neighborhood settlement house, and following service in the US Navy, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill and studied at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research (New York City). He was formerly married to actress Janet Leigh (1927 - 2004) and was the father of actresses Kelly and Jamie Lee Curtis. In addition to acting, Curtis was a gifted painter. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Recently Watched Christmas Movies

All Mine To Give

The tag line to this movie (If you can see it at the top) says "Six Kids on a True and Wonderful Adventure!" I'm hear to tell you that this tag line is misleading. The movie itself was very good, and it is often cited as a Christmas movie. Here is what this movie is about in my words:

A Scottish couple emigrate to America (Eureka, Wisconsin) in the mid 1800s. They plan to live with the wife's uncle, but find him and his house incenerated when they arrive. They decide to stay and build their own home. Winter is fast approaching and the wife is pregnant with their first kid. The neighbors pitch a hand and get the house built before winter sets in. OK so far so good.

Time passes, the wife has five more children and the father is working as a lumberjack, eventually he owns his own boating business.

Dad dies, mom dies, six kids are left orphaned. The oldest boy makes a promise to his dying mother that he will find good homes for his siblings. He decides to do this on Christmas Eve, when people are the most generous. One by one he gives them away, but as for himself, being a 12 year old, he decides to leave school and follow in his father's footsteps to be a lumberjack, he walks off in the snow alone.

Very Very Very SAD! ACK! Not a feel good Christmas film. But it is a good movie and it is based on a true story, which makes it all the more sad.


La Buche

Noted French screenwriter Daniele Thompson makes her directorial debut with this lighthearted romantic comedy. After the December 21st funeral of Yvette's second husband, she is consoled by the three daughters from her first marriage to Stanislas, a Russian-Jewish violinist. The oldest, Lorba, lives with her father and makes a living by singing ballads in a Russian cabaret, Sonia is a fastidious middle-class housewife, and Yvette's youngest, Milla, is a go-getting businesswoman. As Christmas celebrations gather steam, Louba learns that at age 42, she is unexpectedly pregnant by Gilbert, her married lover of 12 years. Meanwhile, Sonia develops a habit of taking five-finger discounts while shopping, and Milla takes up with a mysterious drifter who lives as a boarder in Stanislas' house. - Jonathan Crow, Rovi

I usually like French films, but I've never seen a French Christmas film. La Buche (The Cake) is a very entertaining film with a lot going on. There are no lulls in this film, it moves at a good pace, although it is somewhat depressing in parts. The overall movie was good, from story-line to the acting. I recommend this film, even if you are not a fan of Foreign film, it is just good.

Thursday Thirteen - Week 98

13 Christmas Carols I love
1. What Child is This (Greensleeves)
A popular Christmas carol written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, English writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Yet out of his near-death experience, Dix wrote many hymns, including "What Child is This?", later set to the traditional English tune "Greensleeves"


2. Riu, Riu Chiu
A Spanish villancico that has attained some contemporary fame as a Christmas carol.


3. Silent Night (Stille Nacht)
A popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song Stille Nacht were written in German by the Austrian priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber. In 1859, John Freeman Young published the English translation that is most frequently sung today.

4. The First Noel (Nowell) A traditional English Christmas carol, most likely from the 18th century. In its current form it is of Cornish origin, and it was first published in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1823) and Gilbert and Sandys Christmas Carols (1833), both of which were edited by William B. Sandys and arranged, edited and with extra lyrics written by Davies Gilbert.

5. Gaudete
A sacred Christmas carol, composed sometime in the 16th century. The song was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish sacred songs published in 1582. No music is given for the verses, but the standard tune comes from older liturgical books. The Latin text is a typical medieval song of praise, which follows the standard pattern for the time - a uniform series of four-line stanzas, each preceded by a two-line refrain (in the early English carol this was known as the burden). Carols could be on any subject, but typically they were about the Virgin Mary, the Saints or Christmastide themes.



6. O Come O Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
A hymn tune attributed to King John IV of Portugal (although the exact authorship is unknown and disputed). The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that John Frances Wade was probably the author.

7. Little Drummer Boy
A popular Christmas song written by Katherine K. Davis. It was popularised by the version of the Harry Simeone Chorale and has been adapted many times since.
The lyrics tell of a poor young boy who, unable to afford a gift for the infant Jesus, plays his drum for the newborn with the Virgin Mary's approval. The newborn seems to understand and smiles at the boy in gratitude.
(This song ALWAYS makes me cry)

8. Canon in D major (Pachlabel's Canon)
The most famous piece of music by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. Like most other works by Pachelbel and other pre-1700 composers, the Canon remained forgotten for centuries and was rediscovered only in the 20th century. Several decades after it was first published in 1919, the piece became extremely popular, and today it is frequently played at weddings and included on classical music compilations. Not a traditional Christmas song, not written as one, I recognize it as a Christmas Carol due to the following...

9. Christmas Canon
A Christmas song by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra from their 1998 album The Christmas Attic. It has debuted on the iTunes Top 100 download chart at #48 during Christmas time. The song is set to the tune of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major with new lyrics added. The group's rock version is entitled "Christmas Canon Rock", which debuted on their 2004 album The Lost Christmas Eve.

10. Carol of the Bells
is a choral miniature work originally composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych. The "Carol of the Bells" was premiered in December 1916 by a choral group made up of students at Kiev University. It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its concert tour of Europe and the Americas, where it premiered in the United States on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall. It was later adapted into an English language version by Peter Wilhousky in the 1930s, and to this day is performed and sung worldwide during the Christmas season.

11. Good King Wenceslas
A popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (the second day of Christmas, December 26). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by the heat miraculously emanating from the king's footprints in the snow. The legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935), known in the Czech language as Svatý Václav.

12. Mary Did You KnowMark Lowry wrote the words in 1984 "when his pastor asked him to write the program for the living Christmas tree choir presentation. It was while he was working on the project that Mark considered what it would have been like to have been Jesus' mother".



13. Halleluja Chorus
Originally, Handel wrote The Messiah to be performed at Lent or Easter. Today, however, the Hallelujah Chorus is most popular as a piece of Christmas music.

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Christmas Eve (Movies)

The 12 Days of Christmas Eve (2004)

Calvin has an accident and wakes up to find that he's essentially dead...He's meets Nurse Angie who is his guardian Angel and he is told, ala Scrooge that he has 12 days to set things right with the rest of his family and his life...or else. Shannon provides most of the laughs in her own usual manic way, basically hammering Calvin over the head on what he has to do. And of course in the end we have Calvin discovering the true meaning of Christmas and he sets things right with his family. The performances were very good it's just too bad there wasn't more of an original story for them to work with.
*Thank You Tim Janson from Amazon for the synopsis*


Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve

Trans Siberian Orchestra - THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS EVE - now available for the first time on VHS and DVD - is a unique fantasy trip through the magic of Christmas. Narrated by award-winning actor Ossie Davis, the production takes us on a journey of a runaway little girl's decision to return to her family after she enters a rundown theater for shelter and encounters an old caretaker who guides her on her journey. This magical story - which features appearances from Atlantic recording artists Jewel and Michael Crawford - was filmed entirely on location at the newly refurbished and historic Loews Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey, and includes performances of such tracks as "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Good King Joy," "Christmas Canon," "Music Box Blues," "Promises To Keep," and "This Christmas Day,".

Eve's Christmas (2004)
On Christmas Eve, a high-powered exec's guardian angel offers her a chance to live her life again with a different spin.

















Christmas Eve (1986)
(VHS ONLY)

Story of a well-to-do elderly woman, who befriends the homeless and volunteers her time with children, who learns she has an incurable illness and wants desperately to reunite her three grown grand children (who are scattered across the U.S. living their own lives), with their estranged father, her son. She hires a private detective to search for them so as to try to get everyone together on Christmas Eve A heart warming story line that most can relate to. Loretta Young brings her strength, intelligence and charm to this role. My regret is that I can't find this film on VHS to add to my collection. I would love to be able to enjoy it over and over and over again.

Christmas Eve (1947)

Eccentric Matilda Reid (Ann Harding) wrestles with a greedy nephew who seeks court action to have her declared incompetent so he can "administer" her wealth. But a caring judge will intervene if Matilda can rally together her three adopted sons on Christmas Eve to help her keep the estate. Unfortunately the sons have gone in wildly different directions: one is a bankrupt playboy, the second is a hard drinking cowboy intent on a flirtatious social worker, and the third is tangled up with a Nazi war criminal. Is there any hope for Matilda?

Lord & Taylor Window Display New York City

I found myself down near Lord & Taylor this morning, and I had my little camera with me, so I took some pictures of the window display. There is some glare, but they came out pretty OK.

Christmas 1950

Christmas 2010

That TV in the background was really playing Rudolph. It has to be the smallest tv I'd ever seen.

Christmas Movies?

These following movies I have either read or heard were Christmas related in some way. Perhaps just a scene or two, or maybe it is Christmas themed, I don't know, I haven't seen them. But I plan to watch them this year, if possible.


Room For One More

Anne and "Poppy" Rose are the average American family, with three quirky kids. Anne has a good heart and gives lost cats and dogs a home - and one day also the orphan Jane, a problem child who already tried to kill herself once. At first Poppy is worried and wants to get rid of her, but with love and patience they finally manage to integrate her into the family. Just then Anne invites another orphan, the aggressive handicapped Jimmy-John, to their summer vacation.

Susan Slept Here

Mark Christopher is a successful thirty-five-year-old Hollywood screenwriter who has suffered from partial writer's block since winning an Academy Award and has been unable to produce a decent script. One Christmas Eve, he receives an unexpected and very unwanted surprise present.



Fitzwilly

When Miss Vicki's father dies, she becomes the world's greatest philanthropist. Unfortunately, she is flat broke! Her loyal butler, Claude Fitzwilliam, leads the household staff to rob from various businesses by charging goods to various wealthy people and misdirecting the shipments, all to keep Miss Vicki's standard of living. After Fitzwilly's mother died Miss Vicki helped raise him and he loves her like a mother and would do anything for her. With Fitzwilly's encouragement, Miss Vicki writes a "Dictionary for Dopes" which contains all possible phonetic spellings of a word, and gives the reader the correct one, and for that she needs a secretary. Juliet is the one who is hired, soon she is caught up in the intrigue and falls in love with Fitzwilly. They agree to carry out one more caper before they get married, to keep Miss Vicki comfortable for the rest of her days.

The Wingless Bird

"On Christmas Eve, 1913, Agnes Conway is working in her family's confectionery shop when she meets well-to-do Charles Farrier. Despite their different backgrounds, Agnes and Charles are immediately attracted to one another. But Agnes soon becomes preoccupied with a family crisis that has consequences far worse than any of them could imagine"--

Radio City Rocketts

No Flash Photography, No Audio or Video equipment, No SLR camera's with Zoom Lenses Digital or otherwise....yeah right. I was descrete, I was in the 2nd Mezz, and had my 18-200mm zoom lens. No flash needed since I set the ISO to 1600. I got some pretty good shots for trying to hide the camera. I love this particular shot because it has movement and pattern.

I have never been to see the Rocketts before. I lived in New York all of my life, and for the past few years I have wanted to go, but it was too expensive. Oddly enough, the year I don't have a job is the year I can go. Me and my daughter went, although my son is home for the Thanksgiving holiday, he had no interest, and mom didn't want to go. We had a good time, this was a great treat for us.

We went to TGIFs for lunch, did some looking around at the St. Bart's Holiday shops.