Has Shirley MacLaine Retired?
(Feb 24, 2017 | Parade)
Not at all! Shirley MacLaine, 82, appeared on TV's Glee (as socialite June Dolloway) and has worked on several films since wrapping her role as Martha Levinson on Downton Abbey. In the upcoming The Last Word, in theaters March 3, she stars as a retired businesswoman who writes her own obituary to control what it says. MacLaine follows that with The Little Mermaid, a live-action...read more
Forget La La Land, the real goddesses of the silver screen had substance as well as style
(Feb 24, 2017 | Guardian)
La La Land, a favourite to win at the Oscars, has been celebrated as not only a tribute to the great films of classic Hollywood, but as a movie that might inspire audiences to rediscover them. If it does so, great. But anyone who thinks La La Land embodies the spirit of old movies hasn't seen very many of them. It has style, but little substance. Like Woody Allen's Café Society,...read more
Sidney Poitier And Denzel Washington's Longstanding Connection Is About More Than Oscars
(Feb 24, 2017 | Huffington Post)
Denzel Washington has always admired the historic achievements of Sidney Poitier. This year Washington made some history of his own by becoming the only African-African actor to land seven Oscar nominations, and is on the verge of becoming the first black actor to win three Academy Awards.Washington has often referred to Poitier as a mentor, and said that the actor was instrumental...read more
Fate of Bob Hope estate pits the family against an L.A. councilman
(Feb 24, 2017 | LA Times)
Fading memories might be all that remain of a 1939 Toluca Lake estate that Bob and Dolores Hope owned for six decades.That would suit the late couple just fine, according to daughter Linda Hope.In a familiar fight between property owners and preservationists, Linda Hope is pitched against Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu, who in September introduced emergency legislation to declare the property...read more
'The African Queen': THR's 1951 Review
(Feb 20, 2017 | Hollywood Reporter)
On Feb. 20, 1952, The African Queen opened at the Capitol Theatre in New York. The sweeping drama was nominated for four Oscars at the 24th Academy Awards, claiming a win for Humphrey Bogart as best actor. The Hollywood Reporter's original review is below.As charming as the C.S. Forester novel on which it is based, The African Queen is top flight entertainment, delightful, different,...read more
Gerald Hirschfeld, Cinematographer on 'Young Frankenstein' and 'Fail-Safe,' Dies at 95
(Feb 20, 2017 | Hollywood Reporter)
His résumé also included 'The Incident,' 'Two-Minute Warning,' 'Diary of a Mad Housewife' and 'My Favorite Year.'Gerald Hirschfeld, the veteran cinematographer who shot the films Fail-Safe and Young Frankenstein in beautiful black and white, died Feb. 13 of natural causes at his home in Ashland, Ore., a family spokesman said. He was 95.Hirschfeld was the American Society of Cinematographers'...read more
Angela Lansbury Confirmed for Mary Poppins Sequel
(Feb 17, 2017 | Playbill)
Five-time Tony Award winner Angela Lansbury has officially joined the cast of the forthcoming Mary Poppins film sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, Walt Disney Studios has confirmed.Playing a character called Balloon Lady, she is part of a cast that already includes Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke, Lin-Manuel Mirand, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters,...read more
Hollywood's Golden Age in pictures: 'Time machine' photos of stars including Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant from Oscar-winning cinematographer's archive go up for auction
(Feb 7, 2017 | dailymail.com)
The personal archive of rare studio photographs and Hollywood memorabilia that belonged to the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind All About Eve, Three Coins In The Fountain and The Seven Year Itch is to be auctioned.Milton Krasner, who died in 1988 aged 84, worked on dozens of successful productions during a career spanning 40 years and was in his prime during the golden age of film-making in Hollywood.Brooklyn-born...read more
'Battlestar Galactica' actor Richard Hatch dies at 71
(Feb 7, 2017 | LA Times)
Actor Richard Hatch, perhaps best known for playing Captain Apollo in the original "Battlestar Galactica" TV series, has died. He was 71.A representative for the actor says Hatch died Tuesday afternoon after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Manager Michael Kaliski said Hatch's son, Paul, was by the actor's side.After an early role on "All My Children" in 1971, Hatch worked steadily as an actor,...read more
'Feud': A Timeline of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's Infamous Rivalry
(Feb 5, 2017 | Hollywood Reporter)
Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. Kanye West and Taylor Swift. Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell (and now pretty much everyone). Hollywood feuds have been around for decades; certainly as long as there's been an actual Tinseltown, at any rate. So it was only a matter of time before someone capitalized on the subject matter.Ryan Murphy's latest anthology series, FX's Feud, tackles the infamous...read more
Pictured: Judy Garland's new resting place after her remains are moved from New York to Hollywood 'to be near her three children'
(Jan 31, 2017 | dailymail.com)
This is Judy Garland's new resting place in Hollywood after her remains were moved from New York to 'be near her three children'.The 'Wizard Of Oz' star's body was moved cross-country from a crypt in New York's Ferncliff Cemetery to Hollywood Forever Cemetery - intended as a resting place for daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft.The space in the mausoleum, renamed the Judy Garland Pavilion,...read more
Barbara Hale, 'Perry Mason' Actress, Dies at 94
(Jan 27, 2017 | Variety)
CBS-TV/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKJANUARY 27, 2017 | 04:42PM PTBarbara Hale, who played secretary Della Street in the "Perry Mason" television series and movies, died Thursday. She was 94.According to a Facebook post by her son William Katt, Hale passed away at her home on Sherman Oaks, Calif....read more
John Hurt, Oscar-Nominated Star of 'The Elephant Man,' Dies at 77
(Jan 27, 2017 | Variety)
JAMES SHAW/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKJohn Hurt, the wiry English actor who played a drug addict in "Midnight Express," Kane in "Alien," the title character in "The Elephant Man," and Winston Smith in "1984" has died. He was 77.He died on Wednesday at home in Norfolk, his widow, Anwen, confirmed in a statement to Variety. Hurt had disclosed in 2015 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer....read more
Shirley MacLaine Reveals How She Found the Courage to Be Herself
(Jan 27, 2017 | Vanity Fair)
It has never been easy to be a woman in Hollywood. But in the industry's less politically-correct early days, Shirley MacLaine managed to do the impossible: be a girls' girl and a guys' girl, the kind who could pal around with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. And during an interview at this week's Sundance Film Festival, the Oscar-winning actress revealed the secret to her incredible decades...read more
Mike Connors, 'Mannix' Star, Dies at 91
(Jan 26, 2017 | Variety)
Mike Connors, best known for playing detective Joe Mannix on 1960s and '70s show "Mannix," died Thursday in Tarzana, Calif. He was 91.He had been diagnosed a week ago with leukemia, according to his son-in-law Mike Condon."Mannix" ran for eight seasons from 1968 to 1975 and was the last series from Desilu Productions. Connors won a Golden Globe for his performance as a tough, athletic investigator,...read more