A Star Dies

Obituary: Doris Day, America's archetypal girl next door

Big fan here, of her movies and her music. This day was inevitable, but...

Below is a link to the last post I did about her. At the end of it, are links to other posts I made about her.

Doris, we won't forget...

Doris Day's New Album: "My Heart"

     

Goodby Mr. Spock

Or goodbye Leonard Nimoy, actually:



Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83

Leonard Nimoy, the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut “Star Trek,” died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83.

His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mr. Nimoy announced that he had the disease last year, attributing it to years of smoking, a habit he had given up three decades earlier. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week.

His artistic pursuits — poetry, photography and music in addition to acting — ranged far beyond the United Federation of Planets, but it was as Mr. Spock that Mr. Nimoy became a folk hero, bringing to life one of the most indelible characters of the last half century: a cerebral, unflappable, pointy-eared Vulcan with a signature salute and blessing: “Live long and prosper” (from the Vulcan “Dif-tor heh smusma”). [...]

He was a man of many talents. He had a Master's degree in Spanish that he earned in his 40's, among many other accomplishments. Follow the link for photos, video and more.

     

Congratulations to Emmy winner Ann-Margret!

Read why she is is "One of the good ones":

Why It’s Nice That Ann-Margret Won An Emmy Last Night

On Saturday night here in Los Angeles legendary actor Ann-Margret finally won an Emmy after 6 previous nominations (she’s also been nominated twice for an Oscar). While the main Emmy awards are next Sunday, the “Creative Arts” subset were handed out Saturday night to behind-the-scenes people and actors nominated for guest-starring roles. The now 69-year-old performer won her statuette for Guest Actress in a Drama Series on Law & Order: SVU. Why they would not have category like this air on the main show is beyond me, but that’s another issue.

I mention Ann-Margret because in this day of Hollywood leading the charge against our military, making movies and television shows that regularly cast our troops as villains, it’s worth remembering that not all actors are, or have been, that way. Some have a genuine and deep appreciation for what our military does and a love for this country. Ann-Margret is one of those people.

While she has never been publicly politically active or worn her personal politics on her sleeve, we know where she stands when it comes to our veterans. While Jane Fonda was encouraging the enemy in North Vietnam, Ann-Margret regularly traveled with Bob Hope to the war theater to entertain our troops. Considering the left’s attitude even then about that war, not every one was rushing to join Hope’s team, but Ann-Margret was there and was one of his “regulars.”

While that was quite some time ago, her commitment and appreciation for our troops has been consistent. Probably the most illustrative story of her impact on our vets is already all over the net, but it’s worth bringing to you here. It’s the simple telling by the wife of a Vietnam vet who went with her husband to a book-signing so he could meet Ann-Margret. What happened changed his life. [...]

Read it, it's a great story. There's also more about Ann, and pics and video clips too.
     

Sun Lover George Hamilton Exposed

This guy always looks like he's been over-exposed to the sun -apparently he IS a sun lover- but recently his life story has been exposed in a new movie. Here is part of an interview with CNN:


George Hamilton puts his life out in the open

[...] "My One and Only" has the style of a film produced during Hollywood's golden age, but the tale is easily relatable to today. In the film, Hamilton's mother, Anne, played by Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger, walks in on her bandleader husband and another woman. She hits the road in a brand new Cadillac Coupe de Ville with her two sons, George and Robbie, en route to find a new husband and a new life.

Hamilton, 70, spoke with CNN about the film, old Hollywood and his mother. The following is an edited version of the interview.

CNN: There is a lot of heartache in this story. Why did you want to share it?

George Hamilton: I don't know that I really did want to share it. It's a fictional story based on a real story loosely about me. And I went to the movie to hate it.

And I looked at the movie and I thought, my God, [Zellweger] looks nothing like my mother, but she was able to portray the emotions just the way it was then. I couldn't speak. I was completely overwhelmed by what Renee did. That's a great actress. [...]

Read the whole thing to find out more about the story of his life. I'm going to excerpt one more part, about what he said about "Old Hollywood":

[...] CNN: What was old Hollywood like?

Hamilton: Well, it was mythological. It was a place [that] the first day, I saw Robert Mitchum sitting at a table and he looked at me and said, "I know they say I don't know my lines. It's not true. I'm just too drunk to say them." And I thought, oh, that's an interesting man. Next Fred Astaire walks by, "Hello," and I stopped: "Hello, Mr. Astaire" -- God I love that guy -- and I see Cary Grant sitting down. And he said, "You've got a nice suntan. Do you like the sun?" I said "Well, yeah, I love the sun." ... He was so incredible.

And I saw Gary Cooper, Ty Power, Clark Gable, and then they disappeared. You talk about "Gone With the Wind," Hollywood disappeared! And I had envisioned this because I was the last of the contract players, and I wanted to be like them, but they were gone!

And all the sudden I'm seeing Marlon Brandos, and Monty Clifts, and then a whole generation of soft young men, the Beat Generation or whatever. I couldn't relate to them then. Because I had related to what my mother and brother had seen years before. And that's all I ever wanted to be.

CNN: There can never be another old Hollywood.

Hamilton: No, but there can be older people in Hollywood, and that's where I am now. Just before death they turn you into an icon. And the other day I got a star on Hollywood Boulevard and I thought, God this is pretty good, and then it scared me because I thought, they give these things to you before it's all over. [...]

Becoming a Hollywood Icon... as a death sentence! He's got a pretty amusing way of looking at things. And some interesting memories. Sounds like the movie could be a good story.

Also see: IMDB Biography for George Hamilton