Icons Radio Hour

Interview with actor JOHN KERR

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:26:56 -0400

A sensitive, boy-next-door leading man of American films and television in the 1950s and 60s, John Kerr (who was the son of actors) made a big splash in the Broadway (1953) and film (1956) versions of "Tea and Sympathy". His best known TV roles were as lawyers, a profession he opted to pursue in 1970, retiring from acting except for occasional appearances.

John Kerr's first appearance was as the son of Ruth Chatterton in "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" at Cape Playhouse in 1940. Kerr was educated at Phillips Exeter, and Harvard. During summers, Kerr became a junior fixture at Cape Playhouse, and appeared with the late Gertrude Lawrence in "O Mistress Mine" and "September Tide." Kerr entered Harvard in 1948 and he was a member of the Brattle Theatre Company. Kerr played in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Twelfth Night" and in Christopher Fry's "A Sleep of Prisoners."

Kerr made his Broadway debut just months after his 1952 graduation from Harvard in "Bernadine". The following year, he created what is perhaps his most memorable role, Tom, the prep school lad whom his classmates believe to be a homosexual and who is eventually bedded by the schoolmaster's wife "to save him" from such a life. Kerr earned a Best Supporting Tony for his work and was whisked to Hollywood. He made his feature debut playing a suicidal patient in a mental institution in Vicente Minnelli’s "The Cobweb" (1955). In "Gaby" (1956), he played a World War II soldier having an affair with Leslie Caron. That same year, he co-starred opposite Deborah Kerr in the film version of "Tea and Sympathy". Two years later, Kerr was the doomed Lt. Cable romantically paired with island girl France Nuyen in the musical "South Pacific". After these high profile features, he found himself by 1961 in the more modestly budgeted (to say the least) version of "The Pit and the Pendulum", produced by Roger Corman and co-starring Vincent Price. Kerr's film career effectively ended that year, although he played a few bit roles in features after receiving his law degree.

Throughout the years John Kerr has appeared in numerous television roles. Kerr had begun on the small screen in 1953, guest-starring on an episode of "Summer Studio One" (CBS). Throughout the 50s and into the 60s, he continued to appear in productions. He finally hooked onto a regular series with "Arrest and Trial" (ABC, 1963-64), a show that now appears to be a prototype for "Law & Order", splitting the action between the cops and the prosecutors, one of whom Kerr played. He again played a district attorney on "Peyton Place" (ABC), where his character was prosecuting Rodney Harrington (Ryan O'Neal) for murder. Since passing the California bar in 1970, Kerr has acted only occasionally.

He was in the TV-movie Western "Yuma" (ABC, 1971) and from time-to-time appeared on episodes of "The Streets of San Francisco" as a detective in one or two scenes. By the 80s, he was rarely seen, although one could catch him as a ferry captain in "Bay Coven" (NBC, 1987).

Interview with Actor HUGH O'BRIEN

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:00:00 -0400

"I believe every person is created as the steward of his or her own destiny with great power for a specific purpose: To share with others, through service, a reverence for life in a spirit of love."

– Actor Hugh O'Brian

Though actor Hugh O'Brian has appeared in hundreds of television shows and movies through the decades, there is one role with which he is immediately identified: that of frontier lawman Wyatt Earp. O'Brian played the lead role in the "Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp," a top-rated series aired on ABC television from 1955-61, catapulting him to stardom.

Born April 19, 1925 in Rochester, New York (as Hugh J. Krampe), O'Brian attended school at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, and Kemper Military School in Booneville, After a semester at the University of Cincinnati O' Brian, at 17, enlisted in the Marine Corps. He became the youngest drill instructor in the Corps' history, and during his four year service earned a Fleet appointment to The US Naval Academy. After passing the entrance exams, he declined the appointment, intending to enroll at Yale to study law.

Ida Lupino is credited with discovering his acting talent when she saw him on stage and signed him to play his first starring role in the film "Young Lovers" which Lupino directed. This brought him a contract with Universal Studios. O' Brian left Universal after three years to guest star in numerous television shows and in such films as "Broken Lance" and "No Business Like Show Business." His "big break" came when he was chosen to portray the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp on television. Shortly after the series debuted in 1955 as the "first adult western," it became the top-rated show on television.

O'Brian starred on Broadway in "Destry Rides Again," "First Love," and in the Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls." He has been a guest on numerous television and radio shows including the Today Show, the Larry King and Jim Bohanan Shows, Charlie Rose's Nightwatch and The Pat Sajak Show. Recent credits include "The Shootist," "Killer Force," "Game of Death," "Twins," and numerous appearances on "Fantasy Island," "Love Boat," the T.V. series "Paradise," "Gunsmoke II," "Murder, She Wrote," "L.A. Law," and a Kenny Rogers Gambler IV movie, "The Luck of the Draw: The Gambler Returns," and “Wyatt Earp: Return to Tombstone” – a made-for-TV feature movie.

Hugh O'Brian has dedicated much of his life to the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY). The concept for HOBY was inspired in 1958 by a nine-day visit O’Brian had with famed humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa. Dr. Schweitzer believed "the most important thing in education is to teach young people to think for themselves."

HOBY is a non-profit youth leadership development program that empowers 10,000 sophomores annually through its over 70 leadership programs in all 50 states and 8 countries. Since its inception in 1958, over 355,000 young people have been inspired by HOBY.

Icons Radio Hour Special Presentation -- POLITICS ON FILM

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:00:00 -0400

“Wherever there is greatness, great government or power, even great feeling or compassion, error also is great. We progress and mature by fault.”

– Ben-Hur (1959)

From the earliest days of film, politics was infused in the medium. Major works like D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane addressed some of the most contentious social and political issues of their day. During the Great Depression, Warner Brothers released a string of musicals that were full-on endorsements of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. William Randolph Hearst’s Gabriel Over The White House featured the angel Gabriel guiding the President of the United States as he dismisses his Cabinet and cures the nation of unemployment and poverty.

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) and Meet John Doe (1941), both directed by Frank Capra, dealt with government corruption and home-grown fascism.

Several pre-WW II films from WB took aim at the dangers of isolationism and Nazis in America, including Sergeant York and Confessions Of A Nazi Spy. World War II heralded a whole library of films produced with the politics of war in mind. In the film Sands of Iwo Jima, for example, John Wayne portrays Sgt. John Stryker, a gallant soldier heroically carrying forth the flag of American democracy (the film’s unsubtle patriotism was sliced-and-diced by two Clint Eastwood-directed films from 2006: Flags Of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima). And even seemingly unserious films such as Shirley Temple’s Bright Eyes and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ Flying Down to Rio presented a clear response by Hollywood to the social malaise of the early 1930s.

Politics, it seems, is not new to Hollywood. Harvard Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies John D. Connor has argued that, “It’s only the conservative critics of the 1960’s who think that movies were once placid entertainment that got ‘politicized’ by radicals of various kinds.” The cinema may allow its audience to travel to worlds of fancy, but those worlds have always responded to issues in contemporary society.

The intense political polarization and radicalization brought on by the Vietnam War brought with it a new breed of explicitly political cinema. Characterized by a more serious questioning of the government itself, this new era saw films that undermined particular leaders (All the President’s Men) and asked questions about the nature of war itself (Apocalypse Now).

In this year 2008, amid the Presidential race between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, politics in film is timely, indeed.

Patrick Wayne on JOHN WAYNE

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:56:55 -0400

“I want to play a real man in all my films, and I define manhood simply: men should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one either.”

– John Wayne

One doesn’t even have to know the famous marquee name. “The Duke” says it all. Still the biggest box office star of all time. Almost thirty years after his death, John Wayne remains one of the most recognizable and admired faces in the world. Millions continue to regard him as a national treasure, through movies that recognized old-fashioned values and simple yet true heroism – movies that are still popular both on television and DVD releases. Wayne was one of the first to admit that he was not a great actor, but he certainly possessed an abundance of what is known as “star quality” – that indefinable magic that graces only a unique few and transforms mere actors into larger than life personalities. And there is no question that John Wayne was larger than life. James Cagney once accurately summed up the Duke’s appeal: “A remarkable man. When one realizes he’s played virtually the same part over the years, wearing virtually the same clothing, and maintaining a very high status in the business, it’s clear that whatever John Wayne is, people love him, and that’s about the best recommendation I can think of.”

The screen’s quintessential Western hero entered the world on May 26, 1907 with the most unlikely name of Marion Morrison, the son of Iowa pharmacist Clyde Morrison and his wife Mary. Young Marion was a bright student who excelled at sports, earning a football scholarship to USC. Marion’s plan was to study law, but when cowboy star Tom Mix got him a summer job as a prop boy at Fox studios, Marion soon met and became friendly with director John Ford, for whom he began doing bit parts in pictures. It was Ford who suggested his 23-year old protégé for the lead male role in Raoul Walsh’s upcoming screen spectacular “The Big Trail” (1930), a role that was planned for and rejected by Gary Cooper. Marion got the part, had his name changed to “John Wayne”, and then saw his promising career almost come to a halt when the picture flopped.

Wayne managed to keep working – though in undistinguished “oaters” at lower-echelon studios, until John Ford again came to the rescue and offered Wayne the plum part of The Ringo Kid in the classic “Stagecoach” (1939). The picture made John Wayne a star and, just as importantly, solidified a close friendship with director Ford, who would go on to star Wayne in some of his most famous and enduring films, such as the cavalry trilogy: “Fort Apache” (1948), “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” (1949) and “Rio Grande” (1950), and the beautiful and lyrical “The Quiet Man” (1952). Wayne became an extremely popular hero in World War II films, earning a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role as Sergeant John Stryker in “Sands of Iwo Jima” (1949). However, many consider Wayne’s best performance to be the complex Tom Dunson in Howard Hawks’ “Red River” (1948). Wayne remained consistently in the list of top ten box office stars throughout the 1950s and into the mid-70s, though he often met with criticism due to his staunch conservative political stance. But his political leanings never affected his popularity with his movie fans – not even when his political stand was reflected onscreen, as in “The Alamo” (1960) and “The Green Berets” (1968).

John Wayne endured serious health crises later in life: the removal of a cancerous lung and heart valve replacement surgery, but he kept working hard at his beloved craft, finally winning a much-applauded Oscar for his role as one-eyed sheriff Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit (1969). His last role ironically featured Wayne as a former gunfighter dying of cancer in “The Shootist” (1976). A poignant yet perhaps fitting end to a glorious career.

Brigid O'Brien on actor PAT O'BRIEN

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0400

PAT O’ BRIEN: THE IRISH IN HIM

"Sometime, when the team is up against it -- and the breaks are beating the boys -- tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper..."
-Actor Pat O'Brien in Knute Rockne, All American (1940)

Whether playing second fiddle to his pals James Cagney and Spencer Tracy or starring in his own films, Pat O’Brien was one of the most enduring and endearing icons of Classic Hollywood. And, along with Barry Fitzgerald, the screen’s quintessential Irishman.

Offscreen he was known for his gift of blarney, which he would often use to charm boss Jack L. Warner when it came to contract negotiations. Or he would break into a favorite Irish tune that would bring tears to the eyes of Jimmy Cagney. He was a man completely free of pretense who was one of the best liked men and respected performers in Hollywood. Perhaps because what you saw of Pat O’Brien onscreen mirrored what he was like off-camera. A talented and extremely nice man.

O’Brien was one of Warner Brothers’ staples during the 1930s, appearing in a wide variety of roles that still, however, showcased his heritage. Whether playing a newsman, naval officer, aviator, cop or, most especially, a priest, he would come to be known as Hollywood’s “Irishman in Residence” a title of which he was proud.

O’Brien, though, was not born on the Emerald Isle. William Joseph Patrick O’Brien hailed from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whence came another Irish lad, Spencer Tracy, with whom O’Brien would become friends when both attended Marquette Academy. Interestingly, both boys harbored early ambitions to join the priesthood, but another calling awaited them. After attending Marquette University and serving in the Navy during World War I, O’Brien set his sights on a career in the theater. It was his role of Walter Burns in the Broadway production of “The Front Page” that brought O’Brien to the attention of Hollywood, though a casting snafu occurred when the studio, confusing Burns with the other lead role, ace reporter Hildy Johnson, offered O'Brien the latter role assuming it was the one he had played onstage. Nevertheless, O’Brien took the job. O’Brien appeared in a number of rather forgettable films at various studios until he was signed to a contract by Warner Brothers. He appeared with Bette Davis in the programmer “Bureau of Missing Persons” (1933), and the next year made the first of nine movies where he would co-star with his close friend James Cagney: “Here Comes the Navy” (1934). The teaming instantly clicked with movie audiences who enjoyed the usual onscreen rivalry between the calm and authoritative O’Brien and the undisciplined and feisty Jimmy. (Although in real life, it was Cagney who was the quiet homebody and O’Brien the gregarious nightclubber). O’Brien also made impressive solo films, such as “Oil for the Lamps of China” (1935) where he played the rather unsympathetic role of Stephen Chase, an American employed by an oil company in the East who takes his job so seriously that he neglects all but his company’s interests. He played another initially unsympathetic character in the sentimental “The Great O’Malley” (1937). His Officer James Aloysius O’Malley is so “by the book” that he causes a desperate man (Humphrey Bogart) to become a criminal.

Of course O’Brien’s signature role was the real-life Notre Dame football coach “Knute Rockne, All-American” (1940), which co-starred Ronald Reagan as George Gipp.

His movie career entered a decline in the 1950s, though he worked frequently on television. His big hit of the decade was as Detective Mulligan, a cop hot on the trail of gangster George Raft in “Some Like it Hot” (1959). O’Brien remained active in films, television and even on the stage until his death in 1983. His final film role was a cameo in “Ragtime” (1981), which also proved to be Jimmy Cagney’s cinematic swan song – and their first appearance in the same movie in 41 years.

Kate Burton on actor RICHARD BURTON

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0400

“An actor is something less than a man, while an actress is something more than a woman.”
-Richard Burton

Welsh-born Richard Burton was one of the most magnetic performers ever to grace the stage or films. He possessed a presence that radiated throughout the theater and transcended the motion picture screen. Gifted with piercing good looks and a voice destined to quote Shakespear’s immortal sonnets, Richard Burton was truly an Actor’s Actor.

The young Richard Jenkins was born on November 10, 1925, in Pontrhydyfen, Wales, the son of a coal miner. A life of hard labor deep in the mines was not to the liking of the ambitious lad who received a scholarship to the prestigious Oxford University to study acting. Adopting the name “Burton” from his schoolmaster and mentor Philip Burton, Richard quickly gained a reputation on the stage before making his film debut in 1949 in “The Last Days of Dolwyn”. He appeared in other movies, but it was not until he played the lead in “My Cousin Rachel” (1952) that his on-camera career really gained momentum. He starred in the Cinemascope blockbuster, “The Robe”, in 1953 (for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor) and essayed the title role of “Alexander The Great” (1956). He also maintained his allegiance to the stage, performing in productions both in the UK and on Broadway.

Perhaps his finest motion picture appearance was as the disillusioned Jimmy Porter in “Look Back in Anger” (1959), for which he was nominated for both a BAFTA Film Award for Best British Actor and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama. Burton’s work continued to be acclaimed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic. He scored a major Broadway hit starring as King Arthur in the musical "Camelot" in 1961. He then provided a good bit as a wounded British soldier in the all-star “The Longest Day” (1962). but hit a snag when he appeared as Marc Antony in “the flop that almost sunk a studio”: “Cleopatra” (1963). Of course, it was on this film that Burton fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor, whom he would later marry – twice).

From this point on, Burton’s acting career seemed to take a back seat to his personal life with Miss Taylor. Their relationship was both passionate and stormy, and the tabloids provided their readers with plenty of copy on the marital exploits of “Liz and Dick”.

The couple appeared in several films together, but with the exception of the high-powered “Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf” (1966), their movies were neither critically nor commercially regarded. Where Burton continued to excel was when he appeared in pictures sans Liz, as in “Becket” (1964), “Night Of The Iguana” (1964) and, what some feel is the finest espionage film ever made, “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” (1965). One of his last great solo roles was his Academy Award-nominated King Henry VIII in “Anne of a Thousand Days” (1969).

Sadly, during the 1970s the once great classical thespian began appearing in movies where both he and the pictures themselves were panned by critics and audiences. “Bluebeard” and “The Assasination of Trotsky”, (both 1972) were disasters, as were “The Klansman” (1974), “Exorcist II: The Heretic” (1977) and “The Medusa Touch” (1978). It was speculated that the reason an actor of Burton’s caliber would submit to appear in such terrible movies was to keep up alimony payments on his four failed marriages. He briefly rallied toward the end of his life by delivering fine performances in the films “Ninety Eighty-Four” (1984) and in the TV mini-series “Ellis Island” (1984). Sadly, with his career once more looking on the rise and finally finding happiness with fifth wife Sally Hay, Richard Burton passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage at his at his home in Switzerland on August 5, 1984.

Cass Warner on THE WARNER BROTHERS

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0700

HARRY M. WARNER: HOLLYWOOD’S UNSUNG PIONEER

“The history of Warner Brothers is the history of Hollywood itself.”

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" (Harry M. Warner speaking to brother Sam when Sam proposed sound in films to him)

Their names were Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack. But it was through their adopted surname that they achieved immortality: Warner. As in Warner Brothers Pictures, one of the premiere motion picture studios of Golden Age Hollywood, and a name that even today, 90 years after its inception, remains instantly recognizable to a new generation of moviegoers.

Although perhaps not as well-known as his showman brother, Jack L., Harry M. Warner was the President of Warner Brothers and was responsible for overseeing the business operations of the company. In fact, if not for Harry, it’s fair to say there probably never would have been a Warner Brothers.

Entering the movie business as as film distributors, the brothers eventually established a studio in Hollywood where they began producing their own pictures. But finances were often shaky for the enterprising Warners and they frequently found themselves at the verge of bankruptcy. It was in 1927 that the Warners’ fortunes changed. The studio’s 1927 production of The Jazz Singer introduced to the world the era of talking pictures, which would quickly revolutionize the movie business. When an enthusiastic Al Jolson blurted: “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet, folks, listen to this!” it was clear that movies with spoken dialogue were here to stay. The idea of adding synchronized sound to movies belonged to Sam Warner, who had to convince doubting Harry of their potential – and who, ironically, would not live to see his dream on the silver screen. The Jazz Singer was an enormous success, earning three-and-a-half million dollars and saving the studio from bankruptcy. A follow-up picture, again with Jolson, The Singing Fool (1928) brought into the studio’s coffers an astounding five million dollars and would remain the highest-grossing movie until Gone with the Wind in 1939.

Throughout the 1930s “A Warner Bros.–First National Picture” became a familiar sight to moviegoers, introducing such classic films as Little Caesar (1930), The Public Enemy (1931), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) and They Won’t Forget (1937). Tough urban crime dramas and films dealing with social injustices proved extremely popular for the studio. So were the musicals: 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933 and Footlight Parade (1933). And the swashbucklers: Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of the Light Parade (1936) and the Technicolor The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).

Warners’ chain of successes continued into the forties with The Maltese Falcon (1941), Yankee Doodle Dandy, Casablanca (1942), To Have and Have Not, Mildred Pierce (1945) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). The 1950s saw Warners experimenting with a new process known as 3-D in House of Wax (1953) and showcasing an exciting new screen performer named James Dean in two films dealing with teenage angst in East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause (1955). They also, finally and reluctantly, decided to enter into the medium of television.

Sadly, despite Warner Brothers’ numerous onscreen successes, there was often turmoil behind-the-scenes. Harry frequently clashed with his ambitious and volatile younger brother Jack and eventually suffered a final crushing blow when Jack double-dealed to gain total control of the studio. Harry suffered a stroke and never completely recovered – either physically or emotionally - from his brother’s betrayal, and died just two years later.

The story of Warner Brothers is a fascinating one – and at its core fans of great motion pictures have Harry M. Warner to thank. The enduring popularity of Warner Brothers movies stands as his ultimate legacy.

Nancy and Tina Sinatra on FRANK SINATRA

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:00:00 -0400

FRANK SINATRA : THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

“You better get busy living, because dying's a pain in the ass.”
- Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert Sinatra was unquestionably one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century as well as one of its most fascinating personalities. From humble roots growing up on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, young Frankie was determined to make it in show business. He started out working in saloons, but eventually got work as a band singer, first with The Hoboken Four and then hitting the big time with Harry James and, later, Tommy Dorsey. In 1942 he embarked on his solo career and became a sensation with the bobbysoxers. Frank’s popularity brought him to the attention of MGM, where he appeared in some of the best-remembered musicals of the 1940s, often paired with Gene Kelly, as in “Anchors Aweigh” (1945) and “On The Town” (1949). Frank’s career began to slide as the 1950s began. Both his movies and records were losing popularity with the fans. His personal life likewise received negative press when his affair with Ava Gardner broke up his marriage to Nancy Barbato. While Frank’s subsequent marriage to Ava Gardner ultimately ended in divorce, his career hit a surprising high when the singer won the dramatically-charged role of of Maggio in “From Here to Eternity” (1953). Frank’s unforgettable performance of the cocky young soldier doomed to die at the hands of the brutal Sergeant “Fatso” Judson (Ernest Borgnine) garnered him an Oscar for best supporting actor. While many claimed that Frank never took his acting career as seriously as his singing, he continued to give strong and memorable performances in such films as “Suddenly” (1954) “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955), “The Joker is Wild” (1957) and, especially, “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962). Frank certainly proved his worth as an actor of dramatic ability, but as he entered the 1960s he concentrated mainly on lighter roles, having fun with his pals Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop in the “Rat Pack” movies, such as “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960” and “Sergeant’s 3” (1962). Frank kept himself extremely busy throughout the decade. Besides the movies, he had hit-after-hit recordings and sellout concert appearances all across the globe. While his film career closed out in 1984, Frank continued entertaining his millions of fans with his live performances until ill health forced him to stop. His death in 1998 left a void that can never be filled.

Many have said that Frank Sinatra was a complex individual, generous to a fault but prone to a quick temper. What no one can question, however, is the man’s incredible talent and the legacy he left the world. When it came to entertainment, Frank Sinatra truly was “The Chairman of the Board”.

Author Stone Wallace on actor GEORGE RAFT

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0400

GEORGE RAFT: HOLLYWOOD’S RELUCTANT GANGSTER

“I must have gone through $10 million during my career. Part of the loot went for gambling, part for horses and part for women. The rest I spent foolishly.” – George Raft

During the filming of the 1952 movie “What Price Glory”, a bit player on the set overheard the film’s star James Cagney in discussion with actor Dan Dailey. What the bit player remembered from the conversation was how Cagney spoke with regret about the poor career choices his old Warner Brothers co-star and pal George Raft had made. Cagney lamented that if Raft had not turned down so many films that became classics, he could have become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

George Raft’s film career possesses all the elements of a Hollywood success story turned sour. At his height during the 1930s and into the mid-40s, Raft was one of the industry’s biggest and highest paid stars. During his years at Warner Brothers (1939-42) it was said that he was offered more movie roles than any other actor on the lot. The great director John Huston remembered: “Everything was intended for George Raft at the time.”

George Raft, of course, made his reputation in urban underworld roles. He was such a convincing hood that real-life gangsters, such as his pal “Bugsy” Siegel, attempted to emulate him – both in mannerism and in his style of dress. Less notorious figures like middleweight boxer Rocky Graziano likewise imitated the unique Raft image.

Yet sadly, Raft’s placement among the greats in movie history has been overshadowed by the missed opportunities that all but removed him from the pantheon of popular culture and relegated him to a virtual obscurity. The true tragedy is that it was George Raft himself who terminated his own career. Raft had scored many hits early in his career, from Scarface (1932) to Each Dawn I Die (1939), Souls at Sea (1937) to Spawn of the North (1938) and They Drive by Night (1940) to Manpower (1941). But by the late 1940s, Raft’s career was in trouble. His rejections of the films Dead End (1937), High Sierra (1941) and The Maltese Falcon (1942) pushed his rival Humphrey Bogart up the ladder to superstardom while Raft entered a decline from which he could never recover.

Nor could Raft be persuaded to take on the part of opportunistic insurance salesman in Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) – Raft’s last chance to salvage his career. He had his own idiosyncratic reasons for turning down each of these projects, based primarily on his desire to be perceived by movie audiences as the “good guy” and, to a lesser extent, not to die onscreen.

To keep his career afloat and maintain his expensive lifestyle, Raft worked at lesser studios in formulaic pictures, frequently cast, at his insistence, as the “good guy”. To a public that preferred to see the actor in more sinister roles, this image quickly became tiresome and redundant.

The one-time movie legend spent his final two decades working in bits and cameos in pictures with his reputation tarnished by a slew of forgettable films and his notorious associations with the underworld.

But to audiences familiar with the screen image of George Raft, he remains perhaps the most authentic tough guy of them all.

David Ladd son of actor ALAN LADD

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0400

“If you can figure out my success on the screen, you’re a better man than I.” – Alan Ladd

Though he stood only 5’7”, Alan Ladd loomed large on the silver screen. Or, as in such classic Westerns as “Whispering Smith” (1948) and especially “Shane” (1953), very Tall in the Saddle. Ladd’s short stature was compensated by his deep baritone voice and an onscreen presence that commanded attention. Cliché though it sounds, when Alan Ladd entered a scene, he dominated it. Hero, villain or everyman caught in extraordinary circumstances, Ladd convincingly filled the bill. Offscreen, Ladd was a modest, self-assuming man who was never affected by his stardom. He remained gracious to his fans, never refusing a request for an autograph. His professional kindness and generosity was noted when Ladd was twice awarded the Golden Apple (1944 and 1950) for Most Cooperative Actor. Yet sadly, Ladd suffered from his own personal demons borne of deep insecurities and a not particularly happy childhood. In a 1961 interview when Ladd was asked, "What would you change about yourself if you could?", he replied tersely: "Everything."

Yet onscreen there was rarely another actor who could convey such cool and complete confidence.

Alan Ladd first gained a reputation as a movie tough guy when he appeared fourth-billed as the hired gunman Raven in the noir classic “This Gun for Hire” (1942). His cold and calculated killer tracking down the men who betrayed him stole the show from the picture’s official stars. Following his success in that film, the previously struggling Ladd went under contract to Paramount where he became one of Hollywood’s biggest box office draws during World War II. His smooth, deep voice was also heard on many radio programs of the time, where after the broadcast he was often mobbed by fans. He was also one of the very few male celebrities whose cover photos sold movie magazines. In 1943, “Modern Screen" magazine ran sixteen stories on him in its twelve issues that year. So great was his popularity, in fact, that he held the unique distinction of being “starred” in a comic book series “The Adventures of Alan Ladd”. In his film work, Ladd was probably most noted for his pairings with the sultry and equally diminutive Veronica Lake, in such mysteries as “The Glass Key” (1942) and “The Blue Dahlia” (1946). After a career slump following too many routine roles in mediocre movies, like “Wild Harvest” (1947), “Saigon” (1948) and “Chicago Deadline” (1950), Ladd made a spectacular comeback as “Shane” in the film of the same name. His mysterious, ultra-cool former gunfighter who outdraws Jack Palance in the film’s famous climactic shootout became one of the foremost iconic figures of Western mythology. Ladd’s “comeback” was recognized when he was voted Most Popular Star at the 1953 Photoplay Awards. “Shane” proved a hard act to follow for the actor. While Ladd could never again recapture the success he enjoyed from that movie, he could take pride in the fact that he had created an unforgettable character through which his popularity continues to endure.

Ladd had his final screen triumph when he played the part of aging former cowboy Nevada Smith in “The Carpetbaggers” (1964). Fans and critics praised Ladd’s performance in the oft-panned film and predicted a new career for him as a solid character actor. Unfortunately, it was not to be as Alan Ladd died from an accidental overdose of alcohol and sedatives on January 29, 1964.

Francesca Robinson Grand Daughter of EDWARD G ROBINSON

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0400

Born Emanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Romania in 1893, Robinson immigrated to the United States at the age of 9 with his family, settling in New York's Lower East Side. After earning his degree from City College of New York, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on a scholarship. A noted linguist, he spoke 9 languages fluently and was an accomplished public speaker.

Robinson began performing using his new name in 1913. Over the next seventeen years, he appeared in 40 plays both on and off Broadway and was a member of the famed Theater Guild. In 1927, he captured the notice of Hollywood with his powerful performance in the Broadway play " The Racket." He also enjoyed a long run on the popular CBS weekly radio show, "Big Town," and made many acclaimed dramatic television appearances.

But he is probably best remembered for his work in the motion picture industry. His film debut was in the silent film "The Bright Shawl" (1923) and his first sound film was "The Hole in the Wall" (1929) with Claudette Colbert. Robinson won international fame for his vivid performance as Gangster Enrico Bandello in "Little Caesar" (1930), creating a prototype for American gangster portrayals. His last line, "Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Rico?" is one of the most famous lines in cinema history.

Robinson became one of the most sucessful leading men in the 1930's and early 1940's in such classics as "The Woman in the Window," "A Dispatch from Reuters," "The Sea Wolf'" "Double Indemnity," and his own personal favorite, "Dr. Erlich's Magic Bullet" (1940). He created another notable gangster in "Key Largo" (1948) opposite Bogart and Bacall, and co-starred in Frank Capra's "A Hole in the Head" (1959). He received the Cannes Film Festival award as Best Actor for "House of Strangers" (1949). Many feel he stole "The Cincinnati Kid" (1965) as the world-weary, experienced poker player who takes on Steve McQueen, and was deeply moving in his last film role, "Soylent Green" (1973).

A noted philanthropist, Robinson contributed to hundreds of relief and entertainment agencies and cultural and religious groups, and received the prestigious Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award and the French Legion of Honor, being the first Hollywood star to entertain in France after the invasion of Normandy. As a patron of the arts, his collection of rare books and impressionist art was considered among America's finest.

In 1970, Robinson received the Screen Actors Guild "Lifetime Achievement" award and in 1973 was awarded a special, honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement and outstanding contribution to motion pictures. The inscription reads: "To Edward G. Robinson who achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts, and a dedicated citizen... in sum, a Renaissance man. From his friends in the industry he loves."

Steve Rowland son of director ROY ROWLAND

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:00:00 -0400

Roy Rowland: Hollywood's Underrated Director

While perhaps not the most recognized name in the history of legendary movie directors, Roy Rowland certainly was responsible for some of the best and fondly-remembered titles to come out of Hollywood during the 1940s and 50s.

While some directors specialized in - or became best known for - specific genres: John Ford: Westerns; Cecil B. DeMille: Costume spectaculars; Alfred Hitchcock: Suspense, Roy Rowland never concentrated his efforts to establish himself as a “brand name”. Throughout much of his career, he played the field, and as such, was renowned for his versatility. Consider the range of his more memorable cinematic achievements: the sentimental “Our Vines Have Tender Grapes” (1945), the boxing drama “Killer McCoy” ( 1947), the Red Skelton comedy “Excuse My Dust” (1951), the Westerns “Bugles in the Afternoon” (1952) and the 3D-lensed “The Moonlighter”, 1953 (which offered a reteaming of “Double Indemnity” co-stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray), the dark musical fantasy “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T” (1953), the suspenseful “Scene of the Crime” (1949) and “Witness to Murder” (1954), and the tough noir thriller “Rogue Cop” (1954).

Incredibly, with such a wide variety of films to his credit, Rowland was never given an Oscar nomination and, in fact, received only one nomination: A DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for “Meet Me in Las Vegas” (1956).

Rowland began his directing career in 1934 with the all-star comedy/musical “Hollywood Party”, which featured such celebrities as Laurel and Hardy, Jimmy Durante, the Three Stooges . . . and even an appearance by Mickey Mouse!

Throughout the decade and into the early 40s Rowland directed a number of 10-minute MGM short subjects, starring humorist and writer Robert Benchley. These were known to audiences as the “How To . . . ” series, similar to the later Joe McDoakes shorts featuring George O’Hanlon.

In 1943 Rowland finally returned to features with “A Stranger in Town”, a compact political drama starring Frank (“The Wizard of Oz”) Morgan and Richard Carlson. His next film was the intriguing “Lost Angel”, starring Margaret O’Brien as a child raised by scientists in a completely sterile and unemotional environment.

Many of Rowland’s subsequent films were programmers, but he was hardly a “journeyman” director as he tried to add a unique quality to each. “These Wilder Years” (1956), for instance, featured the offbeat casting of James Cagney as a wealthy businessman on a quest to find the son he never knew and Barbara Stanwyck (one of his favorite actresses) as a sympathetic social worker. He also directed and co-wrote “The Girl Hunters” (1963), with mystery writer Mickey Spillane playing his own character of Mike Hammer.

Rowland also took a hand at producing episodes of the popular TV series “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” starring Hugh O’Brian as the title character.

In the mid-60s, Rowland closed out his directing career by filming three Spanish-made Westerns – a genre in which he was particularly active. He died in 1995.

While his feature film output was not as prolific as many of his contemporaries, Roy Rowland was unquestionably a unique and gifted filmmaker whose many memorable film achievements stand as testament to his t

Interview with actor ELI WALLACH

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0400

ELI WALLACH- QUINTESSENTIAL METHOD ACTOR

How did a Jewish guy from Brooklyn become the screen ideal in westerns as the swaggering, wise-cracking, mustachioed bandito with a huge sombrero?
Mention The Magnificent Seven and Eli Wallach’s nasty Mexican bandit, Calvera, pops to mind.
Bring up How The West Was Won, and it’s Wallach’s outsized train robber, the snarling Charlie Gant, which is immediately front-and-center in your mind.
Or, think of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, and Wallach’s deliriously captivating take on Tuco, The Ugly, is in your head.
In Ace High, a lesser known western of the “spaghetti” school, Wallach is Cacopoulos, once again a disarming villainous rogue. This time, though, the man from Brooklyn is Greek/Mexican.
But it wasn’t only westerns in which Wallach became the template for these foreign and ferociously charismatic villains.
How about The Moonspinners, in which Wallach is Stratos, another of his wicked villains. This go-around, though, he’s a Greek bad guy.
Or Lord Jim, where Wallach is the General, a vile, sadistic, cruel Asian warlord. Viewed one way, The General could be looked at as a forerunner to the later Tuco from The Good, the Bad & The Ugly; or, perhaps, the General is actually a more complex take on Wallach’s Calvera from the earlier Magnificent Seven.

Or both.

A lesser talent might well have become locked into this sort of scene-stealing role, typecast. But the man from Brooklyn is anything but a one-note talent. For Wallach played many other villains, all of a far different stripe.

Check out his bad guy performances in the following: Seven Thieves, as the rattled Poncho involved in a Monte Carlo jewel heist; The Line-Up, where his cold-blooded killer is also vulnerable, anxious, and even thoughtful; How To Steal A Million, in which his business tycoon, lusting after a sculpture, calmly breaks the law to own it. Nor has Eli Wallach confined himself to villains.

The man with the raspy voice, the man from Brooklyn, has proven himself a master in drama (The Misfits), surreal comedy (The Tiger Makes Out), sheer comedy (Movie Movie), noir (Zigzag), satire (Mistress), intense war drama (The Victors), crime (The Two Jakes), family epics (Godfather III), and the heart-warming (The Holiday).

And he’s still hard at it, making films. Wallach is currently shooting Tickling Leo, which will be released in 2008.

Tune in Sunday, June 29th 8 at PM ET, as Eli Wallach discusses his six decade career with ICONS Radio hosts Stephen Bogart and John Mulholland. With a disarming modesty, Wallach discusses his work with some of the most legendary people in Hollywood history: Gable, Monroe, Clift, McQueen, John Huston, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Audrey Hepburn, Peter O’Toole, Wyler, Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone, Elia Kazan, Gregory Peck, Carl Foreman, Edward G. Robinson, Lancaster, Douglas, Nicholson, Coppola, Pacino; and, of course, Wallach's wife, the illustrious Anne Jackson.

Catherine Wyler daughter of director WILLIAM WYLER

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0400

“It took a Jew to make a really good movie about Christ.” – William Wyler on Ben-Hur.

At the time of his death in 1981, famed Hollywood director William Wyler was considered by his peers as second only to John Ford as a master craftsman of cinema. During his lengthy Hollywood career, Wyler was nominated a record 12 times for an Academy Award and received three Best Director Oscars, second only to Ford's four. Among his other tributes are the Irving Thalberg Award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences ultimate accolade for a producer. And he was the fourth recipient of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the third director to be so honored, following John Ford and Orson Welles. Each of these tributes has been fitting amd well-deserved since it has been said that no director – not even Orson Welles – did as much to develop the basic principles of filmmaking technique than did Wyler.

His career spanned 45 years, beginning in the Silent era. While most of his output during the 1920s consisted of “B” Westerns for Universal, in 1929 Wyler directed his first "A" picture, albeit another Western: Hell’s Heroes (1930), Universal's first all-sound movie shot outside a studio. With the success of that film, “Willie” (as he would become known in the industry) was off and running. He directed both Counsellor at Law (1933) and The Good Fairy, 1935 (with his then-wife Margaret Sullavan) for Universal before moving on to begin a fruitful, if at times difficult, association with independent producer Samuel Goldwyn. The titles of his Goldwyn films stand as a roll call of some of Hollywood’s greatest achievements.

Just a few of William Wyler’s early pictures: These Three (1936), based on the Lillian Hellman play Dodsworth (1936), Dead End (1937), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Westerner (1940) and The Little Foxes (1941). On loanout to Warner Brothers, Wyler directed Jezebel (1938) and The Letter (1940), both of which featured Bette Davis in two of her best-remembered roles.

If Wyler was a true cinematic craftsman, he was also known in the industry as a hard-driving perfectionist, frequently requiring tens of takes for every shot in his films. This earned him the nicknanes '90-Take Wyler' and 'Once-More Wyler'. Actress Sylvia Sidney remembered that during the filming of Dead End it was not unusual for Wyler to do numerous retakes and even repetitions of the same dialogue or gestures until he got the “perfect” scene. Miss Sydney recalled that the cutting room floor would be covered with thousands of feet of unused footage.

Wyler was awarded his first Oscar for the classic Mrs. Miniver, 1942 (which also won the Best Picture Award). After serving in the Army Air Corps during WWII, where he filmed two propaganda documentaries, including The Fighting Lady (1944), which won an Oscar for Best Documentary, he directed what has probably become his most famous and endearing feature The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), an affecting and sympathetic look at the plight of returning servicemen. The film was a huge commercial and critical success and garnered for Wyler his second Academy Award, as well as a Best Picture nod for the movie itself. Other post-war successes included: The Heiress (1949), Detective Story (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), Friendly Persuasion (1956) and what is perhaps his crowning achievement, the multi-Oscar winner Ben-Hur (1959) – Wyler’s third Best director Oscar win. His career continued into the 1960s, where he remade his earlier These Three under its original title The Children’s Hour (1961), a more frank examination of Lillian Hellman’s exploration of lesbianism, and helmed the dark psychological thriller The Collector (1965). He had his last box office hit with the Barbara Streisand-starrer Funny Girl (1968), for which the novice actress won an Oscar for her first leading role.

Interview with actor FARLEY GRANGER

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:00:00 -0500

While still a teenager Farley Granger appeared in a Los Angeles little theater production, where he was spotted by a scout. Sam Goldwyn signed him to a film contract and he debuted onscreen as a Russian youth in The North Star (1943). Typecast as a troubled pretty boy or a vulnerable, sensitive, soulful young hero, Granger appeared in one more film and then served in World War II.

After the war, he returned to the screen as an intellectual thrill-killer in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) Early predictions that Granger would become a major star failed to come true, however; his career was mismanaged and he never lived up to his potential. After making a series of minor Hollywood films, he moved to Italy in the mid '50s and made one film there, then returned to Hollywood for two more movies before giving up his screen career in favor of work on stage and TV.

In the late '60s Granger began to appear onscreen again, mostly in little-known Italian productions. Later he played a psychiatrist and head of a family on the TV soap opera One Life to Live, while still acting occasionally in films and on the stage.

ICONS Radio Interview with Chris Lemmon son of JACK LEMMON

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0400

James Cagney wrote in his autobiography that after watching a young actor named Jack Lemmon play a role on live television where the actor performed every duty with his left hand, he was surprised to later discover that Jack was actually very right-handed and decided to reverse things just to give his performance a distinctive touch. Cagney said that he immediately knew that Jack Lemmon was a “thinking actor”.

Few actors were as versatile as Jack Lemmon. And few actors understood or could explore the human condition as well as he. From zany screwball comedy to intense, serious drama, Jack Lemmon could play it all. Throughout his almost 50 year motion picture career, Lemmon entertained audiences with performances that were both thoughtful and evocative. Humorous and tragic. His list of film credits is impressive, ranging from comedic turns in “Some Like it Hot” and Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” to powerful dramatic performances in “The Days of Wine and Roses” and “The China Syndrome” The key to Jack’s success and longevity in the business was that, no matter how outlandish or somber the role, he always projected that singular quality audiences could identify with: He was human. His characters could just as easily convey humor as they could sympathy, rage as equally as compassion. He could be neurotic. He could be heroic. It was all in the character. It was all in the man. He looked at life the way most people do: With bewilderment as well as amusement. Jack’s gift was that he could mirror onscreen our own experiences.

Jack’s talent was unique and sublime and he had ample opportunity to display it in some of Hollywood’s most popular movies. Cinematic gems such as Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” (one of 7 films Lemmon would make with the great director), “Irma la Douce” and “Glengarry Glen Ross”. Consider the scope of Jack Lemmon’s abilities as best displayed in his two Academy Award-winning performances: The young and cowardly Ensign Pulver nervously dodging fierce captain James Cagney onboard a naval ship for fourteen months in “Mister Roberts”. And then a 180 degree turn as businessman Harry Stoner, suffering a midlife crisis and nearing the end of his rope in “Save the Tiger”. Two roles that were poles apart, yet Jack played both parts convincingly and with conviction. Because like all of us, Jack had his own faults and weaknesses. He understood. And understanding is one of the secrets behind great acting.

While Laurel had Hardy and Abbott had Costello, Jack found his perfect partnership with his close friend Walter Matthau. They became the comedic team from the 1960s up until Matthau’s death in 2000. They appeared together in a total of 10 movies beginning with the classic “The Fortune Cookie” and climaxing with “Out to Sea”. Lemmon would also star Matthau in his debut directorial effort,“Kotch”.

In his later years, Jack would return to television from whence he’d made his start, appearing in such quality telefilms as O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night”, “Inherit the Wind” and the touching “Tuesdays with Morrie”.

In his personal life, Jack Lemmon remained one of the most well-liked men in Hollywood. And he would be proud to know that he continues to be an inspiration to some of today’s most accomplished actors. Fellow two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey has openly acknowledged his gratitude to Jack Lemmon for his talent and generosity.

There is no question he has left us an unforgettable legacy.

Icons Radio Hour - THE MONSTER MASH

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400

What do you get when you mix such literary luminaries as: Homer, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Mary Shelly, Conan Doyle, Poe, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, and J. K.
Rowling …

With such behind-the-camera film-making talent as:

Ang Lee, James Whale, Tod Browning, Stephen Spielberg, Jacques Tourneur, John Guillerman, Ivan Reitman, Robert Rodriguez, Peter Jackson, Ray Kellogg, Bert I. Gordon, Christopher Guest(?!?) …

And with such before-the-camera luminaries as:

Bela Lugosi, Eric Bana, Boris Karloff, Fay Wray, Matthew Broderick, Robert De Niro, Abbott & Costello, Frederic March, Lon Chaney (father and son), Elsa Lanchester, Jessica Lange, Naomi Watts, James Arness, Mara Corday, Dana Andrews, Richard Carlson, Steve McQueen, and Jeff Bridges?

What, you were expecting Hamlet? Paradise Lost? The Inferno? Or, maybe Brokeback Mountain, This Is Spinal Tap, Saving Private Ryan, Best Years Of Our Lives, Raging Bull, Gunsmoke?

Hah! Why, the MONSTER film, what else?Join Steve Bogart, John Mulholland and Meir Ribalow for a monstrously (we couldn’t resist, mea culpa) good time on ICONs Radio Hour on Sunday, October 28, at 8 pm ET, as they explore the monster film, in all its Grade Z/B and A glory.

Icons Radio Hour - THE SPY THRILLER PART TWO

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Espionage has been with us forever...

What was Judas, but a double agent?

The spy will "never" come in from the cold.

Which is fortunate indeed, for Hollywood...and the legion of fans the world over who continue to make the spy thriller among the most popular of all genres.

Sunday night, ICONS RADIO HOUR is proud to present part two of a discussion between John Mulholland, Stephen Bogart and Meir Ribalow where they will explore the history of the Spy Thriller. They will trace the origins of the Spy Thrillers through films such as; Mata Hari, Cloak & Dagger, The 39 Steps, North by Northwest, 13 Rue Madeleine, The Manchurian Candidate, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and many more!

Tonight, we invite you to listen to part two of this series. John, Stephen and Meir will continiue to trace the origins of the Spy Thrillers with films such as; The James Bond Franchise, Where Eagles Dare, The Matt Helm spoofs with Dean Martin, The Manchurian Candidate, Three Days of The Condor, and the Bourne Trilogy.

Icons Radio Hour - THE SPY THRILLER PART ONE

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Interview with actress JEAN SIMMONS

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Jean Simmons. Three films. One year: 1960.

The Grass Is Greener

Elmer Gantry

Spartacus

As fine a year as any performer has ever had. Three distinctly different films – comedy, drama, period spectacle. And three distinctly different characterizations by Jean Simmons. Each performance spot-on, not an off-note.

Or, take 1953. Four films. In this one year, Ms. Simmons starred opposite: Richard Burton, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, Deborah Kerr, Anthony Perkins, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, and Victor Mature, to name but a handful.
 
And yet, a glance at the career of Ms. Simmons reveals that these two years barely crack the surface of her remarkable talent and output.

Consider the following directors:David Lean. Laurence Olivier. Michael Powell. Basil Dearden. Ralph Thomas. Otto Preminger. George Sidney. George Cukor. Michael Curtiz. John Farrow. Joseph Mankiewicz. Robert Wise. William Wyler. Mervyn LeRoy. Henry King. Richard Brooks. Stanley Kubrik. Stanley Donen. Ted Kotcheff. Delbert Mann. George Schaefer. Bud Yorkin.

Or, consider the following actors:

Alec Guinness. Deborah Kerr. John Mills. Laurence Olivier. Claude Rains. Vivian Leigh. Stewart Granger. Dirk Bogarde. Anthony Quayle. Peter Cushing. Trevor Howard. Richard Burton. Victor Mature. Spencer Tracy. Teresa Wright. Anthony Perkins. Robert Mitchum. Charles Laughton. Gene Tierney. Marlon Brando. Frank Sinatra. Paul Newman. Gregory Peck. Charlton Heston. Burl Ives. Carroll Baker. Rock Hudson. Dorothy McGuire. Robert Preston. Shirley Jones. Kirk Douglas. Tony Curtis. Cary Grant. James Garner.

Jean Simmons has worked with them all. In a career which began in the 1940s, when she was a teen-ager (and which continues to this day – her latest, The Wreck, will be released in 2008), Ms. Simmons has played in Shakespeare, Shaw, comedies, dramas, westerns, noir, thrillers, spectacles, romances, melodramas, and musicals.

Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour this Sunday, October 14, 8 pm, EST, as Jean Simmons explores her extraordinary career with Steve Bogart and John Mulholland. Her warmth and intelligence shine through as Ms. Simmons discusses her co-stars, directors and films with a delightfully sharp British wit.

Icons Radio Hour - THE FILMS OF JOHN HUSTON PART TWO

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400

John Huston was a man of many interests - painting, boxing, sculpture, gambling, fox-hunting, etc. An eccentric rebel of epic proportions, he reigned supreme as director, screenwriter and character actor in a career that endured over five decades. The ten time Oscar nominated legend was born John Marcellus Huston of Scottish and Irish heritage in Nevada, Missouri, on August 5, 1906. The son of acclaimed stage and screen star, Walter Huston, he early on displayed keen interest in the arts.

Warners Brothers was so impressed with a young John Huston that he was signed on as both screenwriter and director for the Dashiell Hammett mystery yarn The Maltese Falcon (1941). The movie classic made a superstar out of Humphrey Bogart and is considered by critics and audiences alike--- 65 years after the fact--- to be the greatest detective film ever made. Hollywood glory came to him again in association with Bogart and Warner Brothers'. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), a classic tale of gold, greed and man's inhumanity to man set in Mexico, won John Oscars for both director and screenplay and his father nabbed the "Best Supporting Actor" trophy.

With the momentum in his favor, John hung around in Hollywood this time to write and/or direct some of the finest American cinema made including Key Largo (1948) and The African Queen (1951) (both with Bogart), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Red Badge of Courage (1951) and Moulin Rouge (1952). Later films, including Moby Dick (1956), The Unforgiven (1960), The Misfits (1961), Freud (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964) and The Bible (1966)

An ardent supporter of human rights, he, along with actor Humphrey Bogart and others, dared to form the Committee for the First Amendment in 1947, which strove to undermine the House Un-American Activities Committee. Disgusted by the Hollywood blacklisting that was killing the careers of many talented folk, he moved to St. Clerans in Ireland and became a citizen there along with his fourth wife, ballet dancer Enrica (Ricki) Soma. The couple had two children, including daughter Anjelica Huston who went on to have a bravura Hollywood career of her own. Huston and his third wife split after a son (director Danny Huston) was born.

Huston lived the macho, outdoors life, unencumbered by convention or restrictions, and is often compared in style or flamboyancy to both Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles. This maverick of a man's man who was once called "the eccentric's eccentric" by Paul Newman, left an incredibly rich legacy of work to be enjoyed by film lovers for centuries to come.

This Sunday, 10/7, at 8 pm, ET, author John McCarty - author of The Films of John Huston discusses the life and career of John Huston with ICONS radio hosts, Stephen Bogart and John Mulholland. The three discuss little known facts and off camera stories about John Huston.

John McCarty is a life long fan of the films of John Huston and has contributed articles and reviews to film and other periodicals as diverse as TV Guide, Film Heritage and The Journal of British Film Institute. His laest book Bullets Over Hollywood: The American Gangster Picture from the Silents to "The Sopranos" (Da Capo Press, 2004), was produced as a major documentary by Hugh M. Hefner's Alta Loma Entertainment, for the Starz/Encore cable network; it aired in 2005 and 2006 and has been released on DVD by Image-Entertainment. The author of more than 20 non-fiction books of his own on film and entertainment subjects, Mr. McCarty has appeared in conjunction with his work on such cable network programs as Fox News Saturday, CNN's mid-day news, A&E's Biography, the Bravo network series Backspin, as well as on numerous major market radio stations across the country.

Icons Radio Hour - THE FILMS OF JOHN HUSTON PART ONE

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Gail Buckley daughter of LENA HORNE

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Kerry Washington … Naomie Harris … Sanaa Lathan … Angela Bassett … Hallie Berry ... Kimberly Elise …

To name but a few current actresses. Each talented. Attractive. Successful.

And black.

Not so many years ago, fewer perhaps than we’d care to think, this many women of color dominating movie screens would have been unheard of.  

Not just unheard of. In fact, impossible.

Consider Lena Horne.

When this extraordinarily talented singer, actress was signed by MGM in the early 1940s, her future must have looked bright, indeed. Here she was, being directed by the likes of Vincente Minnelli. Appearing in films opposite Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Cyd Charisse.

But she was also black.

And therein lies a story Which Lena Horne’s daughter, Gail Buckley, discusses in depth this Sunday, 9/30, at 8 pm ET, on ICONS Radio Hour. Ms. Buckley explores her mother’s career, from her early days at The Cotton Club to all-black films in the late thirties and her years at MGM in the forties.

Did we forget to mention the House Un-American Activities Committee?  

Gail Buckley doesn’t.

Nor does she forget Humphrey Bogart’s response when neighbors showed up at his door asking for his signature on a petition to stop Lena Horne from buying a home in their Hollywood neighborhood. Rick Blaine come to life.

Kerry Washington … Naomie Harris … Sanaa Lathan … Angela Bassett … Hallie Berry ... Kimberly Elise …

On the shoulders of giants, none more important than Lena Horne.

Scott Reisfield nephew of GRETA GARBO

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 20:00:00 -0400

“Garbo talks!”

"Garbo laughs!"

The clichés abound.

“I vant to be alone” Not true, never said.

Nor was MGM’s publicity juggernaut hardly above the fray. As its 1926 publicity release demonstrates:

“Greta Garbo, discovered in stark(?!?) Sweden, is setting the heart of America aflame.

”And yet, behind every cliché is a buried kernel. Greta Garbo did indeed set the heart of America aflame. From her first silent films: The Torrent and The Temptress, both in 1926, Garbo reigned.

Her ability to convey emotion, inner turmoil, through her expression alone, signaled a new style of film acting (mirrored among male actors at the exact same moment by Gary Cooper). Garbo and Cooper were acting from the inside-out, letting their eyes reveal the inner truth. Decades later, this would become known as the Method, but Garbo and Cooper were first out of the starting gate. Which makes the fact that Cooper turned down Ninotchka opposite Garbo even more a shame.

Cooper & Garbo in Ninotchka … now there’s a marquee.

Garbo starred in so many films throughout the twenties and thirties:

Flesh And The Devil
Love
The Kiss
Anna Christie
Mata Hari
Grand Hotel
The Painted Veil
Anna Karenina
Camille
Queen Christina
Ninotchka

Each captures different aspects of her extraordinary screen presence. Yet, it is one of her lesser efforts that allowed Garbo to convey a myriad of emotions – mystery, tragedy, humor. It’s all there in Susan Lenox, Her Fall And Rise. Though perhaps among Garbo’s weaker films, it’s nonetheless a powerful example of her sweeping talent. A talent whose impact is felt very much today.

To fully appreciate Garbo’s impact on today’s actors, catch Charlize Theron’s understated performance in the current The Valley Of Elah. Even when expressing frustration, disgust, outrage, Theron is under control. It’s all happening underneath, out of sight. Only through her eyes and steely expression are we aware of the roiling currents inside her character.

This Sunday, 9/23, at 8 pm, ET, Scott Reisfield discusses his great-aunt’s life and career with ICONS radio hosts, Stephen Bogart and John Mulholland. With personal anecdotes, Greta Garbo comes alive, as artist and woman.

Icons Radio Hour - THE WESTERN PART TWO

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:00:00 -0400

On Wednesday September 19, 2007 at 8:00PM EST Meir Ribalow and John Mulholland continue PART TWO of their discussion comparing original western films to their remakes. The two will explore the differences between Pale Rider and Shane, Unforgiven and Man of the West, High Plains Drifter and High Noon, as well the influences of The Wild Bunch, Magnificent Seven, Vera Cruz... and many more.

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Meir Ribalow: playwright, professor, poet, critic, editor, director.

As an award-winning playwright, he has seen his plays produced around the globe: New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Paris, Estonia, Canada, etc. Mr. Ribalow’s plays Raindance, Sundance and Moondance are being produced in repertory this fall in L.A., by the Alliance Repertory Company.

Mr. Ribalow was Joseph Papp's production Associate at the New York Shakespeare Festival and is the founder of The American Repertory Company of London. He directed Brian Dennehy and Blythe Danner in a Gala Benefit of, The Nature of the Universe, at the Neil Simon Theater in NYC. Mr. Ribalow has directed plays in both NYC and London, working with such talent as: Ruby Dee, Christopher Walken, Holly Hunter, Ellen Barkin, Eli Wallach, and the late Zero Mostel.

Mr. Ribalow also serves as Artistic Director of New River Dramatists, a creative center in North Carolina which brings writers and actors together to develop new work.

His poetry and fiction have appeared in The Paris Review, The Literary Review, The New York Quarterly and Fishdrum, among other magazines. He writes frequently on film, theatre and music, and his articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Sciences, Hadassah, Midstream, to mention a few.

Mr. Ribalow is a artist-in-residence at Fordham University in New York City.

Icons Radio Hour - THE WESTERN PART ONE

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Tonight, ICONS RADIO HOUR is proud to present part one of a two part discussion between John Mulholland and Meir Ribalow where they will explore the history of “The Western”. We invite you to listen to part two of this series this Wednesday evening, September 19, at 8:00 PM EST. John and Meir will continue a conversation on western classics such as; Shane, The Magnificent Seven, High Noon, Pale Rider, The Wild Bunch and the cannon of OK Coral films.

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Meir Ribalow: playwright, professor, poet, critic, editor, director.

As an award-winning playwright, he has seen his plays produced around the globe: New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Paris, Estonia, Canada, etc. Mr. Ribalow’s plays Raindance, Sundance and Moondance are being produced in repertory this fall in L.A., by the Alliance Repertory Company.

Mr. Ribalow was Joseph Papp's production Associate at the New York Shakespeare Festival and is the founder of The American Repertory Company of London. He directed Brian Dennehy and Blythe Danner in a Gala Benefit of, The Nature of the Universe, at the Neil Simon Theater in NYC. Mr. Ribalow has directed plays in both NYC and London, working with such talent as: Ruby Dee, Christopher Walken, Holly Hunter, Ellen Barkin, Eli Wallach, and the late Zero Mostel.

Mr. Ribalow also serves as Artistic Director of New River Dramatists, a creative center in North Carolina which brings writers and actors together to develop new work.

His poetry and fiction have appeared in The Paris Review, The Literary Review, The New York Quarterly and Fishdrum, among other magazines. He writes frequently on film, theatre and music, and his articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Sciences, Hadassah, Midstream, to mention a few.

Mr. Ribalow is a artist-in-residence at Fordham University in New York City.

Jamie Niven son of actor DAVID NIVEN

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:00:00 -0400

That David Niven landed in Hollywood in 1933 without any theatrical experience hardly proved an obstacle. Within a remarkably short period, he was appearing in supporting roles opposite such stars as Gary Cooper (Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife, The Real Glory), Errol Flynn (The Charge Of The Light Brigade, The Dawn Patrol), Ronald Colman (The Prisoner Of Zenda), and Laurence Olivier (Wuthering Heights).

By 1939, Niven was himself starring – Raffles. If the role wasn’t particularly demanding – a gentleman thief – it nonetheless established the David Niven persona – urbane, suave, witty, and very much the British gentleman. Raffles was also the forerunner of one of Niven’s most popular roles -- Charles Lytton, gentleman thief -- in The Pink Panther (1963). Given the Peter Sellers stamp on the Inspector Clouseau series, it’s perhaps forgotten today, but David Niven was in fact top-billed in The Pink Panther.

Niven was among the first British actors to return to England after Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. For the next six years, Niven served in the British Army, with time off twice to appear in morale-building British war films – Spitfire and Immortal Battalion. Splendid raconteur though he was, Niven rarely ever spoke about his harrowing WW II service.

Perhaps nothing better sums up the man than his comment on why he never spoke of the war: “I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war."

Niven hit the ground running in 1946 with his first post-war film, Stairway To Heaven. In this sublime British film, director Michael Powell revealed depths in David Niven’s acting about which earlier directors could only have dreamed.  
In 1950, theappeared brighter. Michael Powell selected Niven to be Sir Percey Blakney, aka the Scarlet Pimpernel, in his new film, The Elusive Pimpernel. On paper, David Niven would seem the ideal Pimpernel. But things went disastrously wrong with this misguided production and the film was a resounding failure.

It would be 1956 before Niven escaped the career doldrums, when director Michael Anderson guided Niven and an enormous roster of cameo stars through the very successful Academy Award-winning Best Picture, Around The World In 80 Days.

Niven’s performance as the ex-military officer in Separate Tables turns his urbane and witty British gentleman inside out. It’s a brilliant, understated performance. And, strangely, not truly appreciated even yet in certain circles.  Niven continued his solid run throughout the sixties and seventies, starting with the hugely successful WW II adventure, Guns Of Navarone, followed by such films as: 55 Days At Peking, Bedtime Story, Paper Tiger, and Death On The Nile.
This Sunday, September 9, at 8 pm ET, Jamie Niven, son of David Niven, discusses his father’s roller coaster of a career on ICONS Radio Hour. Jamie spent time on the sets of many of his father’s films (he was on set when the guns of navarone were actually blown up). Every bit the magnetic story-teller as his father, Jamie brings him to vivid life with delightful anecdotes about his films, his war years, and his father’s closest friends, including Deborah Kerr, Noel Coward, Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, and Errol Flynn.

Rory Flynn daughter of actor ERROL FLYNN

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Who says there’s no audience for old Black & White films, for Classic Hollywood? The World Entertainment New Network has awarded Errol Flynn the top spot in its 2007 Best Movie Pirates Poll. Flynn, star of such swashbuckling hits as Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, beat out Johnny Depp’s Captain Sparrow, from the Pirates Of The Caribbean series, as the Number One Movie Pirate of all time.

And yet, it might never have been.

ROBERT DONAT as CAPTAIN BLOOD ???

Robert Donat was all set to play the title character in the 1935 WB pirate epic. But Donat inexplicably failed to appear as shooting was beginning. Turned down next by second choice Brian Aherne, a desperate WB turned to the frighteningly inexperienced 25 year-old Australian-born Errol Flynn.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

And what a history! Few, if any, actors have ever had a ten year run like Errol Flynn had from 1935 – 1945. Consider just some of the highlights:  

Captain Blood, Charge Of The Light Brigade, Prince And The Pauper, Adventures Of Robin Hood, The Dawn Patrol, Dodge City, The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex, Santa Fe Trail, The Sea Hawk, They Died With Their Boots On, Desperate Journey, Gentleman Jim, Edge Of Darkness, Northern Pursuit, and Objective Burma.

If, in the post-WW II years, Flynn rarely recaptured his earlier triumphs, there are success worth revisiting: The Sun Also Rises, the Roots Of Heaven, Kim, Master Of Ballantrae, and, in what might be considered art imitating life: Too Much, Too Soon, in which Flynn played John Barrymore.

Inescapably, there is the tabloid Flynn: Boozer, womanizer, all-around hellion. Certainly, there is no denying this hell-raising Flynn, but there is a flip side to the man, a side which only someone who knew the man as a father could know.

This Sunday, September 2, at 8 pm ET, on ICONS Radio Hour, Rory Flynn, daughter of Errol Flynn, discusses her father’s career, in all its wild fluctuations, and his very public and very private off-screen world. Without ignoring the tabloid image of her father, Rory Flynn brings to life another man entirely; a man passionately devoted to his children. In a fascinating discussion with MODA’s Steve Bogart and John Mulholland, Rory Flynn explores the sensitive, passionate man she knew, first and foremost, as her father.

Sarah Karloff daughter of actor BORIS KARLOFF

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:00:00 -0400

“Sure, I remember Boris Karloff. He was the monster in Frankenstein.”

Well, yes, but what about Scarface, one of the finest gangster films ever made, directed by Howard Hawks … and The Old Dark House, the granddaddy of all haunted house thrillers, directed by James Whale … and The Lost Patrol, the template for all the lost patrol films which followed, directed by John Ford? Not bad, not bad at all.

“Boris Karloff, he was in that horror flick, Frankenstein, right?”

For sure, for sure. But if it’s Karloff and horror, let’s not stop there. How about 1934’s The Black Cat, a wicked little gem which teamed Karloff and Bela Lugosi for the first time? Or 1935’s The Black Room, another nasty gem in which Karloff plays twins, one good and the other evil (and is he ever!)? Or The Raven, from 1935? Another Karloff/Lugosi delicious little horror thriller. These three solid thrillers work surprisingly well even today, 70 plus years after their releases.

“Boris Karloff, Boris Karloff? Wasn’t he in Frankenstein? Played the monster, I think.”

Certainly did, more than once. In addition to Frankenstein, he also played the monster in both Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) and Son Of Frankenstein (1939). In fact, there are those who say that his performance as the monster in Bride is the best of his career.

“I know who Boris Karloff was, he had the screws in his forehead, in that monster flick, Frankenstein.”

Sure did. But the screws were inside his head – and definitely not screwed too tight – in such enduring dark horror classics as The Body Snatcher ('45), Isle Of The Dead ('45) and Bedlam ('46). All three are Val Lewton productions, and each serves as a solid example of Lewton’s estimable work.
 
“Karloff, he was always the same, wasn’t he? The Frankenstein monster.” 
Don’t tell that to Danny Kaye, who played opposite Karloff in The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty; nor to Gary Cooper, who played opposite Karloff in DeMille’s Unconquered, both in 1947. Not a monster in sight, just a very, very fine actor named Boris Karloff.

Or tell that to Broadway theatergoers, who caught Karloff in Arsenic And Old Lace and Peter Pan opposite Mary Martin and The Lark opposite Julie Harris.

Or mention it to television viewers who caught Karloff’s Uncle Vanya on Masterpiece Playhouse, or his title role in Don Quixote or his King Arthur in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court or his turn as Father Knickerbocker in The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.

“Karloff, Karloff? Why do I know the name. …? Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, he was the monster in all those Frankenstein movies.”

This Sunday night, at 8 pm ET, Sarah Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff, discusses her father’s fascinating career on ICONS Radio Hour with Stephen Bogart and John Mulholland. Ms. Karloff offers first-hand anecdotes about her father’s approach to acting and, especially revealing, his feelings about his career in horror films  

Peter Riva grandson of actress MARLENE DIETRICH

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:00:00 -0400

“It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.”
Marlene Dietrich, SHANGHAI EXPRESS

Indeed.

Marlene Dietrich lived … truly lived.

Berlin, the 1920s. Before Christopher Isherwood brought Sally Bowles to life in the pages of Berlin Stories, before Kander & Ebb put her to music in Cabaret, Marlene Dietrich lived it -- she was a cabaret performer in Berlin. Among her Berlin colleagues during that legendary decade: Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch, and Joseph Von Sternberg.

Dietrich also made half-a-dozen silent films, and by the time the decade had closed, she was a popular film star in Germany. Moving to Hollywood, she became an immediate presence in the U. S. with the 1930 release of the deliriously romantic Morocco. Dietrich’s scenes opposite Gary Cooper, deftly challenging gender roles, are riveting, still erotically charged.

Dietrich continued to challenge conventions and expand her repertoire of strong women throughout the thirties, in such films as: Shanghai Express, Dishonored, Desire, Garden Of Allah, Blonde Venus, and ,Destry Rides Again.

Among her leading men, in addition to Cooper, were Cary Grant, Charles Boyer, James Stewart, and Robert Donat.

By the time America entered WW II in 1941, Dietrich had long been an outspoken and vociferous opponent of Hitler and Nazi Germany, unlike many in the Hollywood community. Her work on behalf of the allies during the war years – getting refugees out of Germany, working with the OSS, troop appearances in Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge! -- is worth a film in itself.

Moving to New York after the war, Dietrich cut back on her film work. She even began performing a solo act in Las Vegas. Eventually, she would bring her one-woman act to Broadway, for a sold-out run. And though her film output was considerably less than during her pre-war years, Dietrich continued to work with some of the best directors -- Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Orson Welles, and Fritz Lang.

But it wasn’t until1961 that Marlene Dietrich took on the most emotionally wrenching part of her entire career, in Stanley Kramer’s Judgment At Nuremberg.

This Sunday night, Aug. 19, at 8 pm ET, on ICONS Radio Hour, Marlene Dietrich’s grandson, Peter Riva, discusses her career in front of -- and beyond – the camera. He also elaborates on her long friendship with Ernest Hemingway. Riva offers a revealing portrait of a complex woman, passionate about her art and passionate about life.

Kerry Kelly Novick daughter of actor/dancer GENE KELLY

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Certain images of Gene Kelly are so indelible – dancing and singing in the rain, say … or hailing New York, New York at the Brooklyn Navy Yard – that we tend to forget, perhaps, the sheer joyous breadth of the man’s artistic accomplishments.

Consider the astonishing “Alter Ego” number from 1944’s Cover Girl, in which Kelly dances and argues with himself. The entire brilliant number, still fresh and innovative even today, was designed, created and choreographed by Kelly.

Or take “The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore Upon St. Patrick’s Day” from Take Me Out To The Ball Game in 1949. Kelly’s six-plus minute solo song-and-dance is as delicious a valentine to the Irish as has ever been put on film.

The list goes on – I Got Rhythm and the Newspaper Dance and the Roller Skating number and the Tom & Jerry dance and the Rope dance –

And on – Good Mornin’ and the Garbage Can dance and Moses Supposes and Gotta Dance and For Me And My Gal and Go Home With Bonnie Jean…

And on.

But Gene Kelly was not simply a great song-and-dance man, he was a very fine actor. Though often overlooked, Gene Kelly was an actor of depth and considerable subtlety.

In the unfairly neglected Christmas Holiday, Kelly plays a murderer. He’s pitch-perfect, offering a multi-layered performance. Watch him in The Black Hand, with a solid Italian accent in a story of Italian hoods in early 20th Century NYC. Or in Inherit the Wind, as a cynical reporter. In the film’s ultimate scene, Kelly and Spencer Tracy put on an acting clinic.

Or, watch Kelly in An American In Paris, as he explains why it’s difficult for a painter to give up his paintings, unlike a novelist or musician selling their works. He invests the scene with a depth of emotion which is rare indeed in the musical genre.

As if singer, dancer, choreographer, actor, wasn’t enough, Gene Kelly was also a director. And if some of his directorial efforts fell short, one aspect of his directorial endeavors never fell short, his ability to elicit the best from his actors. One prime example, the early scenes in The Cheyenne Social Club, in which cowboy friends James Stewart and Henry Fonda are riding for days on end. That’s all, no action, no histrionics, no f/x. Just two old pros with some wonderful dialogue, a director who knew where to put the camera and when to give actors their head, and what you’ve got is a wonderful sequence.

Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour this Sunday, August 12 – which happens to be Gene Kelly’s birthday -- at 8 pm ET, as Kerry Kelly Novick discusses her father’s remarkable career as singer, dancer, actor, choreographer, and director. Kerry also elaborates on her father’s liberal politics and his involvement with the hot-button issues of his times. Kerry knows her father’s career, but she also knows well the man behind the public song-and-dance man image, the man who was her father.  

Interview with Paramount Pictures Producer AC LYLES

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 20:00:00 -0400

How to nail the career of A. C. Lyles?

Where to begin with a man who recently celebrated his 77th year with Paramount?

That is right - 77 years! From office boy through publicity to producer, A. C. Lyles has covered all the bases.

Drop a Paramount name, go back, all the way. To the start of talking pictures. Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby, Clara Bow, William Wyler, DeMille, Bob Hope, Claudette Colbert.

Drop a Paramount name from the war years, the post-war years, Alan Ladd, William Holden, George Stevens, Frank Capra

James Cagney? Spencer Tracy? Shirley Temple? Dana Andrews? Dorothy Lamour? John Wayne? Of course.

Clint Eastwood? Natch. In fact, Lyles knew Eastwood before he was Eastwood. Lyles exec-produced the TV series, Rawhide.

Ian McShane, of Deadwood? Well, since A. C. Lyles was script consultant on the HBO series, of course.

And, most moving of all his compatriots, his six decade friendship with Ronald Reagan.

Yet, beyond his unique and extraordinary career, there is another A. C. Lyles. There is A. C. Lyles the man. The very personification of the word, gentleman.

A. C. Lyles, a gentle … man.

Tune in to ICONS Radio on August 5, at 8 pm ET, as A. C. Lyles explores both his professional and private life. Every bit the mesmerizing raconteur, A. C. Lyles spins tales as only one who has been in the business for seventy-seven years can. In other words, as he alone can.

Michael Daves son of director DELMER DAVES

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:00:00 -0400

What do the following actors (talk about a Hollywood Who's Who) have in common?

Cary Grant, John Garfield, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Charles Bronson, Richard Widmark, Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Jack Lemmon, Van Heflin, Karl Malden, George C. Scott, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Dorothy McGuire, Maureen O'Hara, and Henry Fonda.

All starred in films directed by Delmer Daves.

Over a Hollywood career spanning five decades, Delmer Daves did it all: actor, writer, director, and producer. But it was as director that he left a lasting legacy, proving himself a master in everything from westerns to war, soap operas to suspense. Among his memorable films are: 3:10 to Yuma, Dark Passage, Destination Tokyo, The Hanging Tree, Jubal, The Red House, Broken Arrow, etc.

This Sunday, July 29, at 8 pm EST, Michael Daves appears on ICONS Radio Hour to discuss his father's fascinating career. Michael Daves is himself a Hollywood vet, having worked as assistant director on such films as Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf , In Harm's Way, Goin' South, etc. And as only an insider can, he offers a richly illuminating analysis of his father's career, especially the remarkable westerns he directed in the late fifties. ICONS RADIO HOUR is a weekly show co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and writer, director and film historian John Mulholland.

David Goodrich nephew of screenwriters HACKETT and GOODRICH

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Pick a film genre.

Musical: How about The Pirate, Easter Parade, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, In the Good Old Summertime?

Comedy: How about Father Of The Bride, Father's Little Dividend, The Long, Long Trailer?

Mystery: How about The Thin Man, After The Thin Man, Another Thin Man?

Drama: How about The Diary Of Anne Frank -- based on their own Tony-Award winning play, no less! and The Hitler Gang?

Frank Capra created his own genre, so how about It's A Wonderful Life.

Husband/wife screenwriters Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich did it all. And though it might have been known as, say, a Spencer Tracy film, a James Stewart film, a Judy Garland film, or a Vincente Minnelli film, a Frank Capra film, a George Stevens film, it was also very much a Hackett/Goodrich film. For the buzzsaw wit and remarkable talent of Hackett/Goodrich was as dominant as any star or director.

Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour at 8 ET on July 15, as their nephew, author David Goodrich, offers a fascinating, and ultimately quite moving, account of the enduring careers of Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. These two originals stand as vital proof that the director as sole auteur surely needs a critical reassessment. ICONS RADIO HOUR is a weekly show co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and writer, director and film historian John Mulholland.

Chris Costello daughter of LOU COSTELLO

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Costello: You know the fellows' names?

Abbott: Certainly!

Costello: Well then who's on first?

Abbott: Yes!

Costello: I mean the fellow's name! Abbott: Who!!

Costello: The guy on first!

Abbott: Who!

Costello: The first baseman!

Abbott: Who!

Among the funniest routines ever created, Who's On First? has defined Abbott and Costello ever since they performed it in 1945'sThe Naughty Nineties. If they had done nothing else their entire careers but Who's On First?, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello would still rank in comedy's top tier. For this signature A & C piece -- sheer genius -- is one of the most influential comedy routines of all time. But A & C are known for far, far more, of course. Ask men or women of certain generations the scariest film they saw when young, and the answer, almost invariably, is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Not some straight horror flick, but A & C Meet Frankenstein. Abbott and Costello. The two names are inseparable. Can't have one without the other. But Lou Costello and Bud Abbott most definitely were not joined at the hip. Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour this Sunday, July 22, at 8 pm EST, as Chris Costello discusses her mercurial father. Not just the public Lou Costello, the legendary comedian. But the fascinating human being behind the public legend. Lou Costello as father, husband, private man.
ICONS RADIO HOUR is a weekly show co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and writer, director and film historian John Mulholland.

Interview with actress ARLENE DAHL

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Brains ...

Beauty, and ...

Talent.

Arlene Dahl possesses all three. No matter the genre, whether a Fred Astaire musical (Three Little Words), a wild Red Skelton comedy (A Southern Yankee), film noir masquerading as period piece (Reign Of Terror), "chick flick" (Woman's World), western (The Outriders), romantic action/adventure (Desert Legion), dark film noir (Slightly Scarlet), or sci-fi fantasy (Journey To The Center Of The Earth), the "hat trick" that is Arlene Dahl showed through loud and clear.

Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour this Sunday, July 8, as Ms. Dahl, deliciously dry and witty, explores her Hollywood career. With refreshing candor, she offers insight into the positives and the negatives of the studio years. Ms. Dahl also discusses the role she turned down in one of the greatest musicals of all time, and admits that, more than once, she has wondered, what if ...
ICONS RADIO HOUR is a weekly show co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and writer, director and film historian John Mulholland.

Danny Selznick son of producer DAVID O SELZNICK

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 20:00:00 -0400

The name David O. Selznick is synonymous with the term producer. Neither before Selznick, nor since, has there been such a powerful producing presence.

Personal producing presence.

For it was Selznick's personal vision, not necessarily the director's, which defined a Selznick film. Whether we're talking King Kong, David Copperfield, A Tale Of Two Cities, Prisoner Of Zenda, A Star is Born, Gone With The Wind, Rebecca, Since You Went Away, or Duel In The Sun, each of these films bears the Selznick stamp. Given today's deification of the director above all others, David O. Selznick is an especially intriguing -- and controversial -- Hollywood legend.

Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour as Daniel Selznick (himself a producer), son of David O. Selznick, discusses his father's remarkable career. ICONS RADIO HOUR is a weekly show co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and writer, director and film historian John Mulholland.

Peter Ford son of actor GLENN FORD

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Glenn Ford was the consummate leading man. In a career spanning an astonishing seven decades, Ford was the top box office star in 1958. He was equally at home in drama, noir, comedy, war, and the western. Too often nailed as an actor who only played himself, Ford in fact was one of the most versatile leading men in the history of Hollywood. Check out his seductively attractive killer in the masterful 3:10 To Yuma, his befuddled army officer opposite Marlon Brando in Teahouse Of The August Moon, his bitterly vengeful detective in the brilliant noir thriller The Big Heat, his naïve teacher in Blackboard Jungle, his small-time hustler in Gilda, his gentle Ben Hogan in Follow The Sun, his corrupt cop in The Money Trap, his con man in Pocketful Of Miracles, or his wily sheep herder in the very underrated comedy western, The Sheepman. These are not performances from a man who only played himself. Tune in to ICONS Radio Hour as Glenn Ford's son, Peter, explores the rich legacy of his father's remarkable career. Peter Ford also reveals the fascinating man behind the Hollywood persona, a man as interesting and versatile off-camera as he was on. ICONS RADIO HOUR is a weekly show co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and writer, director and film historian John Mulholland.

Interview with producer RICHARD SHEPHERD

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Richard Shepherd is one man who truly has been around the entertainment block. Starting out as an independent film producer, Shepherd segued into studio production chief, only to step away to create his own agency, the Artists Agency.

In producing such classic films as The Hanging Tree, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Fugitive Kind, and Robin And Marian, Shepherd worked with luminaries like Gary Cooper, George C. Scott, Audrey Hepburn, Patricia Neal, Marlon Brando, Sean Connery, and Richard Harris.

As head of production at both Warner Brothers and MGM in the 1970s, he oversaw some of that decade's finest films. And as founder of the Artists Agency, Shepherd gained yet another perspective on the film business.

Tune in to ICONS Radio as Richard Shepherd reminisces about his five decade Hollywood career. He has stories to tell, stories only an insider would know. And only one as candid as Dick Shepherd could tell.

Interview with actress JOAN LESLIE

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 20:00:00 -0400

How’s this for hitting the ground running? In 1941, at 16, Joan Leslie starred opposite Gary Cooper (Sergeant York) and Humphrey Bogart (High Sierra). At 17, opposite James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy) and Henry Fonda (The Male Animal). And at 18? How about Fred Astaire (The Sky’s The Limit)? And two of Leslie’s co-stars, Cooper and Cagney, won Best Actor Oscars playing opposite her.

Nor was she afraid to challenge her screen image as the sweet and supportive woman. Looking for richer roles, Leslie went the independent route in the late forties. In 1948’s Northwest Stampede, she plays the foreman of a ranch, every bit as tough as the men. In 1950, she worked with director Nicholas Ray in the underrated film noir, Born To Be Bad.

Tune in to ICONS Radio this Sunday at 8PM ET as this luminous actress shares memories of her long and fascinating Hollywood career. Leslie worked with a who’s who of Hollywood royalty: Cooper, Cagney, Astaire, Fonda, Bogart, Robert Ryan, Ida Lupino, Joan Fontaine, Randolph Scott, Jane Russell, Sterling Hayden, and so many others.

Leslie Epstein son/nephew of screenwriters THE EPSTEIN BROTHERS

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Author Leslie Epstein, who has dealt with both the world of classic Hollywood and growing up in that world with such acclaimed novels as Pandaemonium and San Remo Drive, knows of what he writes. For he happens to be the son of Philip Epstein and the nephew of Julius Epstein, who just happen to have co-written such enduring classics as: Casablanca, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Strawberry Blonde, Mr. Skeffington, and Arsenic and Old Lace. Leslie Epstein also happens to be the father of Theo Epstein, general manager of the Boston Red Sox, but that’s a topic for another day.

Listen to Leslie Epstein’s fascinating first-hand account of growing up in Hollywood, during its Golden Era. He offers delightful anecdotes of his father and uncle – the legendary Epstein brothers. And many, many others. Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Bette Davis, Jack Warner, Elizabeth Taylor, they’re all here front and center in Epstein’s witty and stimulating ICONS Radio interview.

And if you’ve ever wondered why J. D. Salinger has refused to sell the film rights to Catcher in the Rye, tune in to the ICONS Radio interview with Leslie Epstein. He knows why.

Interview with actor TAB HUNTER

Sun, 27 May 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Memorial Day Weekend broadcast - interview with Tab Hunter, one of the most popular Hollywood stars of the 1950's. He worked with directors such as John Huston, Stanley Donen, George Abbott, and John Waters and starred opposite Hollywood legends including: Fred Astaire, Sophia Loren, John Wayne, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, and ... Divine!

Interview with TCM personality ROBERT OSBORNE

Sun, 20 May 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Robert Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the host of the Turner Classic Movies network since its inception in 1994. As of 2006, he also co-hosts TCM's The Essentials, with Molly Haskell from 2006 to 2007, with Carrie Fisher from 2007 to 2008, and with Rose McGowan from 2008 to the present. He formerly hosted films on cable television's The Movie Channel.

Osborne graduated from the University of Washington's School of Journalism, and began his career working as a contract actor for Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's Desilu Studios. As an actor, he appeared in small parts in such shows as The Californians and in the pilot episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. Ball suggested to Osborne that he should combine his love of film with his abilities as a journalist. Osborne, always awed by Ball, took this advice, though he has continued to appear in a number of small parts in television and film, including an appearance parodying his TCM hosting job on Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.

Osborne has been writing a column for The Hollywood Reporter since 1982. In 2003, Abbeville Press published Osborne's 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards.

George Stevens Jr. son of director GEORGE STEVENS

Sun, 13 May 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Tonight's broadcast features an interview with George Stevens, Jr., son of writer/director George Stevens whose credits include Gunga Din, Women of the Year, Talk of the Town, The More the Merrier, A Place in the Sun, Shane, Giant, The Diary of Anne Frank, among others.

Our interviewee this week, George Stevens Jr., founded The American Film Institute (AFI) and Kennedy Center Honors. He wrote and directed George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey, John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning Day of Drums, George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin, & Separate But Equal. He produced Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line and has recently written, Conversations with the Great Moviemaker's of Hollywood's Golden Age at the American Film Institute.

ICONS Radio 30 features exclusive interviews with those who know the Icons of Hollywood the best - close friends, relatives and co-workers. Each week, a special guest will share his/her personal memories, anecdotes and memories; tune in for a witty, insightful and entertaining thirty minutes of Hollywood nostalgia.

The hosts and guests are accepting e-mail inquiries from listeners, which they will answer on air the following week. To submit questions and/or comments, send e-mail to: iconsradio@modaentertainment.com.

Duffy Hecht son of director HAROLD HECHT

Sun, 06 May 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Harold Hecht started his involvement with the New York stage at age 16. He appeared in numerous classical stage productions and later danced with the companies of the Metropolitan Opera and Martha Graham. Then in the 1930s he became a dance director on film productions.

Harold Hecht is probably best remembered today for his association with the actor Burt Lancaster whom he "discovered" on the New York stage and brought to Hollywood, and with whom he formed an independent film production company, breaking from the then-powerful studio system. Their companies were Norma Productions, the Hecht-Lancaster company and, later with the writer-producer James Hill, the Hecht-Hill-Lancaster company.

Patrick Hemingway son of writer ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

One of the most famous American novelist, short-story writer and essayist, whose deceptively simple prose style have influenced wide range of writers. Hemingway was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was unable to attend the award ceremony in Stockholm, because he was recuperating from injuries sustained in an airplane crash while hunting in Uganda.

n 1916 Hemingway graduated from high school and began his writing career as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. There he adopted his minimalist style by following the Star's style guide: "Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative." Six months later he joined the Ambulance Corps in WWI and worked as an ambulance driver on the Italian front, picking up human remains. In July 1918 he was seriously wounded by a mortar shell, that left shrapnel in both of his legs, and he was awarded the Silver Medal.

Hemingway participated in the Spanish Civil War and in the World War II, by taking part in the D-day invasion of France. He took an active part in the military action. In one case he attacked the Nazis by throwing three hand grenades into an SS bunker and killing SS officers. He was decorated with the Bronze Medal for WWII. His military experiences were emulated in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940) and in several other stories. He settled near Havana, Cuba, where he wrote "The Old Man and the Sea" (1953), for which he received a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. The eponymous film, starring Spencer Tracy as the Old Man, was nominated for three Academy Awards and won one Oscar.

War wounds, two plane crashes, four marriages, and several other affairs took their toll on his hereditary predispositions and things fell into pieces. Hemingway was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and insomnia in his later years. His mental condition was exacerbated by chronic alcoholism, diabetes and liver failure. After an unsuccessful treatment with electro-convulsive therapy, he suffered severe amnesia, and his condition worsened. The memory loss obstructed his writing and everyday life. He committed suicide in 1961. Posthumous publications revealed a considerable body of his hidden writings, that was edited by his fourth wife, Mary, and also by his son Patrick Hemingway.

Interview with director MICHAEL ANDERSON

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

This week's broadcast on April 22nd features a special interview with director Michael Anderson. Among his most noted films are Private Angelo, Around the World in Eighty Days, & The Wreck of the Mary Deare. The stars he has worked with include James Cagney, Sophia Loren, Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Natalie Wood, Rock Hudson, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, and many others. Don't miss the show live this Sunday at 8:00 PM ET!

Interview with actress LIZA MINNELLI

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

This week's broadcast features a special interview with Liza Minnelli, daughter of Academy Award winning director Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland. Liza discusses her mother and father working together in Meet Me in St. Louis. Liza has won an Oscar, Tony and an Emmy for her work.

Interview with actor CHARLTON HESTON

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

Here at MODA Entertainment, we extend our condolences to the family of Charlton Heston upon his passing. Mr. Heston granted MODA an interview some time back. Perhaps uncertain as to our intentions, he requested we submit questions in advance before agreeing to the interview. After reviewing the questions, he agreed, stipulating that we had 20 minutes, no more. By the time the interview concluded, an hour-and-a-half had gone by. Unfailingly gracious, Mr. Heston was an utter delight during the two hours we spent at his home in Beverly Hills -- witty, sharp insightful. Those two hours with Charlton Heston --talented, eloquent, bright, complicated -- are two hours we will forever treasure.

Steven Bogart son of actor HUMPHREY BOGART

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400

MODA Entertainment is proud to present the premiere of its new blog talk radio show ICONS Radio 30, co-hosted by Stephen Bogart, son of Hollywood legends Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall and writer/director & film historian, John Mulholland.

The ICONS radio program will feature exclusive interviews with Hollywood insiders who know the icons of classic Hollywood the best - their close friends, relatives and co-workers in the industry. Stephen and John's guests will share personal anecdotes, the real stories behind the on-screen stories and much more in what promises to be an insightful and entertaining thirty minutes of Hollywood nostalgia.

Towards the end of each program, the hosts and their guests will be accepting email inquiries from listeners, which they will answer on air. To submit your questions and/or comments send an e-mail to: iconsradio@modaentertainment.com.