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- “A lot of people try to equate me with guys like Frankie Avalon and Fabian, but in the old days I sold a lot of records over a period of time, and you can’t sustain that by being just another pretty face.” — Ricky Nelson
- “You are not acting so much as being. The result is realism.” — Gary Cooper
- “I started at the top and worked my way down.” — Orson Welles
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: As You Like It
- “Is there any virtue, for literature, for poetry, in the simple continuity of a tradition? I believe there is not.” — Thomas Kinsella
- “I’ve always had everything I wanted, and I never wanted a great deal. ” — Aline MacMahon
- “I was never totally involved in movies. I was making someone else’s dream come true. Not mine.” — Mary Astor
- “Fear and the absence of hatred may go well together.” — Niccolò Machiavelli
- “I only got a seventh-grade education, but I have a doctorate in funk, and I like to put that to good use.” — James Brown
- “It’s the sexiest toughest chord change in all of rock ‘n roll.” – Steven Van Zandt on “Rumble.” Happy Birthday, Link Wray
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- Brett Hetherington on The Books: A Collection of Essays, ‘Charles Dickens’, by George Orwell
- Dan on “A woman came up to me after one of the screenings with tears pouring down her face and sobbed, You’ve defined my entire life for me on the screen.” –Jill Clayburgh
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Category Archives: Movies
“You are not acting so much as being. The result is realism.” — Gary Cooper
It’s his birthday today. Cary Grant had a funny theory about Hollywood and how stardom was being like a crowded streetcar. Peter Bogdonavich asked Cary Grant to elaborate. Grant said: Becoming a movie star is something like getting on a … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
9 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
“I’ve always had everything I wanted, and I never wanted a great deal. ” — Aline MacMahon
“I pass emotions through a filter not generally used by actresses. I find the ground to meet my characters and am able to move from one feel to another. It is real stuff — no tricks, simply expressed.” — Aline … Continue reading
“I was never totally involved in movies. I was making someone else’s dream come true. Not mine.” — Mary Astor
“The reminder that there are people who have worse troubles than you is not an effective pain-killer.” — Mary Astor It’s her birthday today. Her memoir is great, by the way. Her story was told – by everyone else – … Continue reading
“If one devalues rationality, the world tends to fall apart.” — 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
“A woman came up to me after one of the screenings with tears pouring down her face and sobbed, You’ve defined my entire life for me on the screen.” –Jill Clayburgh
This was part of a larger series. I would throw a name at Mitchell, ask him to describe that person in “one word” and then we would discuss. Here’s our discussion on Jill Clayburgh, whose birthday it is today. SOM: … Continue reading
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson
“Ninety-nine percent of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice. That’s what makes the jukebox play.” – Willie Nelson Legend. It’s his birthday today. I will never ever forget his performance of “America the Beautiful” in the telethon … Continue reading
It’s (not) a beautiful day in the neighborhood …
Michael, the “star” of a couple of pieces I’ve written here has a movie hitting streaming called Monkey’s Magic Merry-Go-Round (which … lol). I don’t post about all the cool shit he does, because I’ve got my own cool shit … Continue reading
“I don’t cook and I don’t care.” — Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret entertaining US troops in Vietnam, 1966 Today is Ann-Margret’s birthday. Her autobiography, Ann-Margret: My Story is wonderful. What a career. And it’s still unfolding. There are so many classic scenes. Tommy. Carnal Knowledge. Of course, too, there is the … Continue reading
“I have been done in by both men and women. I don’t have any preference.” — Anita Loos
“I’ve had my best times trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I’ve always loved high style in low company.” — Anita Loos Anita Loos’ screenwriting credits are so extensive it’s impossible to absorb them. She’s most well-known … Continue reading