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Author Archives: sheila
“You can’t study comedy; it’s within you. It’s a personality. My humor is an attitude.” — Don Rickles
It’s his birthday today. When Don Rickles died, John Stamos and Bob Saget couldn’t stop talking about him. Rickles, famously cantankerous, had loved both of them like sons. The stories they told about Rickles, on the late-night talk-show circuit were … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day
7 Comments
“I started at the top and worked my way down.” — Orson Welles
It’s his birthday today. When Orson Welles was just a teenager, he traveled to Ireland. And although it seems improbable (perhaps not, because this is Orson Welles we’re talking about), he decided to audition for the newly-formed Gate Theatre, and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Directors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre
Tagged Micheál MacLiammóir, Orson Welles
18 Comments
“Is there any virtue, for literature, for poetry, in the simple continuity of a tradition? I believe there is not.” — Irish poet Thomas Kinsella
The Dolmen Press, operated out of Dublin, was founded in 1951 by Liam Miller, and played a crucial part in the development of Irish poetry in the mid-20th century. It was a strictly nationalist operation; before The Dolmen Press, poets … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Austin Clarke, Ezra Pound, Ireland, Irish poetry, John Montague, Michael Schmidt, poetry, Seamus Heaney, Thomas Kinsella, W.B. Yeats
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Review: Jeanne du Barry (2024)
A sweeping historical drama about the controversial mistress of King Louis XV, Madame du Barry. I reviewed for Ebert.
Posted in Movies
Tagged France, historical drama, Johnny Depp, reviews, women directors
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“The reminder that there are people who have worse troubles than you is not an effective pain-killer.” — Mary Astor
From the calculating dangerous Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon … … to the tender warm matriarch of Meet Me in St. Louis… … this was Mary Astor’s flexible range. To those who “knew her when”, Astor’s transformation into playing … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Niccolò Machiavelli: “Fear and the absence of hatred may go well together.”
Prologue, The Jew of Malta, by Christopher Marlowe, written in 1589. Machiavelli died in 1527. You can see his posthumous reputation had ballooned, just 60 years after his death. Enter MACHIAVEL. MACHIAVEL. Albeit the world think Machiavel is dead, Yet … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Christopher Marlowe, Italy, Machiavelli, politics, war
2 Comments
“It’s the sexiest toughest chord change in all of rock ‘n roll.” – Steven Van Zandt on “Rumble.” Happy Birthday, Link Wray
When Link Wray wails “Have you heard the news? There’s good rockin’ tonight” in his version of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” … it sounds like a threat that could topple civilization. And when he goes up the octave? Forget about it. … Continue reading
“I still get a chill when I sing, ‘You Don’t Own Me.’ I find some new feeling in it every time.” –Lesley Gore
A re-post of what I wrote when Lesley Gore died in 2015 at the age of 68. Below you will find a clip of Lesley Gore, performing “You Don’t Own Me”, on the now-mythical 1964 T.A.M.I. Show, directed by Steve … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
45 Comments
“My films are about ideals that clash with the world. Every time it’s a man in the lead, they have forgotten about the ideals. And every time it’s a woman in the lead, they take the ideals all the way.” — Lars von Trier
It’s his birthday today. So … happy (?) birthday to this provocative sometimes-maddening always-fascinating auteur. Question mark due to the doubt that “happy” has anything to do with the Danish film director, who has been poking the bear from the … Continue reading