OSCAR WINNERS AND ME

 Please pardon my vanity. When I was growing up in the 60s in South Central Los Angeles, a Black kid who attended a high school in Watts was not expected by society to have a career that included interviewing Oscar-winning actors here and abroad. But I am proud to say that is indeed the career I pursued and was blessed to have. 

This is Oscars weekend, so I'm posting some of my chats through the years with Oscar-winning performers. I hope you fellow Academy Awards fans will like it and allow me to drag you down memory lane yet again. Here, you will see me with Oscar winners Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Holly Hunter and special Honorary Oscar recipient Kirk Douglas. 

Oscar winners, such as Jodie Foster and Ben Kingsley,  were guests on my old VH1 prime time celebrity talk show in the late 80s.

Shirley MacLaine won her Best Actress Oscar for TERMS OF ENDEARMENT which also brought Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director to producer/director James L. Brooks when it won for Best Picture and Best Director of 1983. Shirley and I talked about her accent choice in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.

The Beatles won Oscars for Best Music: Original Song Score. This was for the 1970 documentary, LET IT BE. I interviewed Paul McCartney in London for VH1. He revealed that he could have had the lead role in an Oscar-winning 1968 Shakespearian box office hit film.

Cameron Crowe won his Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his wonderful 2000 rock music story, ALMOST FAMOUS. He told me about screening the film for his mentor and inspiration,  famed director/writer Billy Wilder.

When it comes to the number of Oscar nomination received, Oscar winner Meryl Streep is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). She has won 3 Oscars. She's been nominated 21 times. She told me that very early in her career (Streep made her stage debut in 1975), she saw Oscar winner Liza Minnelli in the Broadway musical, THE ACT, directed by Martin Scorsese in 1977. It changed her approach to acting. This is from my VH1 show when Streep was promoting A CRY IN THE DARK.

And there you have it,. Thanks for your time. Have fun watching the Oscars.

Ray Milland as THE THIEF (1952)

Here's one for fellow classic film fans.

 About 10 years ago, I was visiting relatives in California for a spell. They went out for some Saturday night entertainment. I stayed in and searched YouTube for an old movie. I found one from 1952. A black and white crime thriller that ran only 90s minutes. It starred Ray Milland. Milland was a leading man and top star at Paramount in the 1930s and 40s. In the mid 40s, he won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in THE LOST WEEKEND directed by Billy Wilder. He was the lead actor in the first film Wilder directed, a 1942 Paramount screwball romantic comedy called THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR co-starring Ginger Rogers. Milland's 1952 feature is a United Artists release with an original angle that hooked and surprised me. I watched it again this week and I still like it. The movie is called THE THIEF. It's a no frills spy thriller. It has tension, suspense, some action, a sexy babe -- and not a single word of dialogue is uttered by any actor in the movie.

The story opens at night with a man in his apartment lying on his bed and he's fully clothed. He seems anxious. The phone rings. He gets up and goes to a mirror. We see a wall plaque honoring a Dr. Allan Fields for his work in nuclear physics. The man goes outside. On the sidewalk is another man.  He's in the shadows and walks. As he walks, he drops something. Milland's character picks it up, heads back to his room and reads the small piece of paper that was dropped. Then he burns it. In daylight hours, we see him head into the United States Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C. In an office, he wears a white lab coat and pulls out a tiny spy-like camera. He photographs documents marked "Secret." He leaves the office and we see a name on the door. He is Dr. Allan Fields. His full-time job is working at the Atomic Energy Commission.

His part-time job is betraying his country and passing secret information to shadowy characters.        

These transactions occur in D.C. and in New York City. In libraries, phone booths and even in Macy's. One of those criminal contacts will take the secret information with him on a flight to Cairo. Eventually, the FBI will catch on to this clandestine operation. THE THIEF a pretty good little thriller with that unexpected angle  of no dialogue. Milland is very good as the middle-aged American traitor. Why the physicist does it, we don't know.  We just accept the fact that some dark force got to him. Here's a clip with Dr. Fields feeling that he's being followed while also being overcome with guilt and self-loathing.

THE THIEF was co-written and directed by Russell Rouse. He's the same man who wrote and directed a 1966 film I included in my "Oscar Party Movie Tips" post a few days ago. He gave us that all-star Hollywood clunker called THE OSCAR  -- which I described as being "brilliantly bad" with fabulous costumes by Edith Head. Check out that post of mine and read all about it. 

TOP STARS WERE FANS Of THIS DRAG ARTIST

 A long time before RuPaul, Lypsinka and Charles Busch established themselves in the art, there was actor and drag artist Jean Malin. I first learned of him back in 2019 thanks to an article in a British publication called The Guardian. Today, Malin's act would be banned in Tennessee -- if you've been paying attention to recent national news. But, in New York City during the Prohibition era, he was a hit in the Broadway area. Ginger Rogers and Marlene Dietrich were fans of his work. He was a big man, built like an NFL star, who performed in a dress. He went to Hollywood. Unfortunately, his 1930s appearances in a William Powell RKO movie (DOUBLE HARNESS) and in an MGM film starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford (DANCING LADY) wound up on the cutting room floor. In the RKO removal, it was a clear and documented case of discrimination.

PBS aired a short biographical feature on Jean Malin. Take a look.

Here's a 1932 record that Jean Malin cut.

There you have it. Some LGBTQ show biz history that I found fascinating. History repeats itself. Thanks for your attention.

The Sensational Cyd Charisse

 When classic MGM musicals starring Cyd Charisse aired on local Los Angeles TV during my boyhood, my mother would stop what she was doing to watch her dance. Mom would constantly say, "Young women today should learn how to carry themselves like Cyd Charisse."

Would I have the same love for the MGM musical star that my mother had? Absolutely! During summer vacations and on weekends when I was allowed to stay up, I'd watch the sensational Cyd Charisse on the local CBS Late Show in 1955's IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER. That musical, like SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and BRIGADOON, paired her with Gene Kelly. In it, she plays a sharp advertising executive involved with a live nighttime TV show. In order to coordinate a booking for the show, she has a meeting at a boxers' gym. She charms the guys with her sports knowledge. Here's the "Baby, You Knock Me Out" number.

Her lovely legs seemed to extend from the MGM soundstage in Culver City, California all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. She made a guest appearance as the vamp in the "Broadway Melody" number Gene Kelly has in the 1952 MGM classic, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.

1953's THE BAND WAGON directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Fred Astaire. This one is in the Top Three of my all-time favorite movie musicals. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's a wonderful look at the behind-the-scenes headaches, frustrations and funny bickering of a group of artists trying to put together a Broadway show. 

At first, the two stars of the show cannot stand each other. Eventually -- you guessed it -- they will fall in love and their show will be a big hit. The romance begins when they take a walk through Central Park. This number with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, to the tune "Dancing in the Dark," is one of the most beautiful numbers ever done in a classic Hollywood musical. It takes my breath away.

SILK STOCKINGS was a Cole Porter Broadway musical based on the 1939 MGM romantic comedy, NINOTCHKA, starring Greta Garbo. The Broadway musical starred non-dancers Don Ameche and Hildegard Knef. MGM purchased the property to reunite Charisse with Astaire. She played the serious Soviet Union diplomat on a strict assignment in France who is beguiled by what Paris has to offer. A "Silk Stockings Ballet" was added to the 1957 film adaptation to showcase Charisse.

Sophisticated. Sensual. Always elegant. The dancer whom Fred Astaire described in his autobiography as being "beautiful dynamite." The sensational Cyd Charisse.

Oscar Party Movie Tips

 The telecast happens Sunday, March 12th. The Oscars. Hollywood Prom Night. The Gay Super Bowl. I love it and I have loved it ever since I was a youngster back home in Los Angeles. The Oscars telecast was always must-see TV in our home.

Some folks like to have Oscar parties pretty much in the same way folks have Super Bowl parties. If you want to put on a movie for your Oscars get-together or watch one that weekend to prepare to see which stars will go home with the 13-inch Golden Boy, I have a few recommendations.

There is A STAR IS BORN. Truly iconic Hollywood scenes are in the original 1937 version with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. They are repeated in the stellar 1954 remake with music that starred Judy Garland and James Mason. There's the famous scene in which a star is onstage speaking at the Oscars when someone else unexpectedly takes to the stage, disrupts the ceremony and slaps the person speaking.  Can you just imagine such a horrible thing happening in a live Oscars broadcast? Judy Garland and James Mason received Oscar nominations for their amazing, heartbreaking performances. Judy was the favorite to win the Oscar -- but she didn't. Hers still stands as one of the best musical/dramatic performances in classic Hollywood movie history.

Now for one on the delightfully and unintentionally campy side.  Bette Davis plays a faded Hollywood star who has fallen on such hard financial times that she's auctioning off some of her belongings. When the out-of-work aging actress is approached by her agent, she snaps "Don't touch me with your 10 per cent hands!" The movie is the 1952 release, THE STAR. The overbaked performance that Bette Davis serves up in this 90-minute feature must have inspired future drag artists such as Lypsinka, Miss Coco Peru and Charles Busch.

Margaret Elliott (Bette Davis) is in need of money and a comeback role. My favorite scene comes after she verbally bruises some selfish relatives and then drives drunk through Beverly Hills with her Oscar on the dashboard.

This is nowhere near the quality of her work as the middle-aged Broadway legend, Margo Channing, in 1950's ALL ABOUT EVE. However, Davis still managed to hook herself a Best Actress Oscar nomination for this hunk o' cheese co-starring that hunk o' beef, Sterling Hayden, as the man who loves Maggie.

A must-see for any Oscars weekend is the brilliantly bad, star-packed 1966 drama, THE OSCAR. This is the SNAKES ON A PLANE of Oscar movies. Stephen Boyd plays the ruthless and handsome movie star with a tawdry past who will use anybody to win some Hollywood gold. This movie marked the film acting debut of singer Tony Bennett -- and his final film acting role. Also in the cast are Elke Sommer, Jill St. John, Ernest Borgnine, Joseph Cotten, Eleanor Parker, Edie Adams, Milton Berle and Merle Oberon. Costumes for this all-star deluxe cheese platter were designed by Edith Head.

Watching THE OSCAR is like witnessing a trailer truck jack knife on the highway. It's bad but you can't take your eyes away from it.

2006's FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION may not as popular as BEST IN SHOW or WAITING FOR GUFFMAN but this mockumentary co-written and directed by Christopher Guest is highly entertaining and features cast members from those other two mockumentaries. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION follows the publicity frenzy that sparks when three actors in the same film get Oscar buzz comments. Publicists build on the buzz and it changes the actors.

The highlight is the fabulous performance delivered by Catherine O'Hara as the serious actress Marilyn Hack. Marilyn is not exactly a top star. When she gets some Oscar buzz, she starts to alter herself to fit into an image that shallow Hollywood would like.

Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and Christopher Guest are also in the cast. I would have given Catherine O'Hara a real Oscar nomination for her work as Marilyn Hack.

Judy Garland, a 2-time Academy Award nominee (Best Actress for 1954's A STAR IS BORN, Best Supporting Actress for 1961's JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG) never won an Oscar. But the first time she played an Oscar winner was in a satirical number for the 1945 MGM musical comedy revue, ZIEGFELD FOLLIES. The number was intended for Greer Garson, the prestigious MGM Oscar winner who'd received nominations for dramatic biopics. Garson turned it down. Garland took it. Vincente Minnelli directed the musical spoof, Charles Walters choreographed it, the music was written by Kay Thompson and Roger Edens.  The number was called "A Great Lady Has an Interview."

Have fun watching the Oscars on March 12th.

The Fabulous James Hong

If you saw the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards telecast on Netflix, you know that EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE well and that one of the coolest highlights of the night was when 94 year-old cast member, James Hong, took to the microphone to speak when the film won for Best Cast in a Motion Picture. Hong, who got a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year, was hip, funny and relevant. He reminded folks that when MGM made the prestigious 1937 release, THE GOOD EARTH, the lead roles went to non-Asian actors because Hollywood felt that Asian actors in the Asian drama would not have box office appeal. James Hong reminded Hollywood in 2023 that representation matters.

He got his SAG card thanks to a bit part in a 1955 Fox film starring Clark Gable and Susan Hayward called SOLDIER OF FORTUNE. Hong went on to roles in FLOWER DRUM SONG, THE SAND PEBBLES, CHINATOWN, BLADE RUNNER, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and AIRPLANE! to name a few of his films. He got an extremely extensive list of film and TV credits.  (Yes, I know he did an episode of SEINFELD.)

I know it's not a large role, but I love Hong as Kahn, the butler to Faye Dunaway's character, in CHINATOWN. The way he plays Kahn and the way she reacts to him, I believe the butler knew Evelyn Mulwray's heartbreak and dark secrets. He's protective of her.

With that in mind, I want to recommend another James Hong performance. He was reunited with Jack Nicholson in a sequel to the 1974 classic. Nicholson and Hong were Jake Gittes and Kahn again the 1990 sequel, THE TWO JAKES. Nicholson directed the sequel.  It's not as great as CHINATOWN, however it's not bad. To me, the real heart -- the melancholy heart -- of the film is the scene where Jakes goes to visit Kahn. It's well-written and very well-acted. Robert Towne, writter of the CHINATOWN original screenplay, wrote the screenplay for THE TWO JAKES.

My other recommendation is a silly yet fun sports comedy that came out in 2007. I saw it at a critics' preview screening. The room had a plenty of stuffy veteran male critics who did not laugh.  Veteran critic Thelma Adams and I sat next to each other and we laughed a lot. The comedy is BALLS OF FURY starring Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Terry Crews ... and James Hong as the blind mentor to a former ping-pong champion now doing undercover work for the FBI. Heck, the movie is only 90 minutes long and James Hong steals it with his comedy performance. Here's the music video.

....and a scene from the movie.

In closing, let me again write something that I wrote well over a year ago: The Motion Picture Academy should give James Hong an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar!

He deserves it.

On Seeing BOBBY (2006)

 This post is sort of a sequel to my previous one which focuses on the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. I'm writing now about a screening for movie critics that I attended in 2006. At that time, I was reviewing films on WAKE UP WITH WHOOPI, the name of the live national weekday morning radio show out of New York City that was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. She got me hired for the show.

In a midtown Manhattan deluxe screening room, there was an afternoon preview screening of BOBBY. The star-packed film, directed and written by Emilio Estevez, is a fictionalized story of the hours leading up to the shooting of Senator Robert F. Kennedy in L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel. Senator Kennedy, a presidential hopeful, had just won the Democratic presidential primary in California. He was shot on June 5, 1968. I was a student then, attending a parochial high school in the Watts section of South Central Los Angeles. I awoke to the tragedy that had happened in the pre-dawn hours. I was shaken. So was my mother. That was one of the worst days of my life. When I got to school that morning, we were all stunned and zombie-like due to the news. All of us. Students and faculty alike. The principal dismissed classes before noon and after a campus mass was held so we could pray for Senator Kennedy. Ours was a school of predominantly Black Catholic young men. We had some Black and Black/Latino priests as teachers. We lost Senator Robert F. Kennedy to an assassin's bullet in June. We lost Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to an assassin's bullet in April. Our world had grown dark.

In the screening room with its plush seats, I -- as usual -- looked around to see if any other Black film reviewers were there. No. I was the only in the room which had a good number of folks in attendance. One of the folks was ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA film critic, Joel Siegel. Here's a trailer for 2006's BOBBY.

Nick Cannon is in the film. He played a Kennedy supporter from South Central L.A. In one scene, his characters talks about the sheer joy and hope he had running behind Senator Kennedy's convertible as the senator was driven with his wife into our neighborhood to campaign and greet the Black residents. That scene put tears in my eyes because I had been one of those enthusiastic, hopeful and happy kids running behind the senator's car. He spoke just a few blocks from my high school. I still vividly recall how robust and happy he looked. I vividly recall how he saw us. He touched us, talked to us, listened to us, saw our homes.

While seated, before the film started, and afterwards, on his way to the elevators, Joel Siegel was somewhat holding court telling fellow attendees that he was native Los Angeleno who had been a joke writer for some of Senator Kennedy's speeches.

I didn't tell anyone that I had been one of those kids in South Central L.A. happily running behind Senator Kennedy's convertible, showing our support for him. But, when I heard the late Senator's words end the film, I wondered what he would've thought at the sight of only one Black person in the room -- and no Black people seen on national TV doing the kind of work Joel Siegel did. They were available and ready, but they weren't seen because they were denied equal opportunities.

That's a reason why I support the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.