This is a journal about the world of entertainment and my thoughts about the movies, TV, music, videos and other forms of entertainment.
Served in Hawaii and Vietnam with the 25th Administration Company of the 25th Infantry Division from June 1963 till May 1966 as a postal clerk. Retired newspaper production worker having worked 36 years for Alexandria, Louisiana Town Talk. Have been fortunate enough to see Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Ted Williams in baseball games in Kansas City back in the 60's.Also have seen Elvis Presley, Beach Boys,Righteous Brothers, Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn,Merle Haggard, Buck Owens,Johnny Cash and seen Julie Newmar, Stefanie Powers and Sue Thompson in person. Enjoy southern gospel music especially the Dove Brothers Quartet. Like listening to old time radio shows from the 30's, 40's and 50's and like easy listening music by Diana Krall and Frank Sinatra. Emails can be sent to Niteowl049@msn.com
Found a DVD of 3 You Bet Your Life shows for a $1 at a dollar store. The shows played well on the DVD but most of all they showed the comic genius of Groucho Marx. There just don't make shows like that anymore. The contestants are as funny as Groucho and he knows how to make them even funnier with his ad libs. And it was fun seeing the old DeSoto commercials when cars had push buttons to change gears.
Last night Dick Van Dyke reunion show brought back many memories of the 60's sitcom. Dick Van Dyke except for the gray hair looked like he did back then. Missing from the show were Richard Deacon who played Mel Cooley and Morey Amsterdam who played Buddy Sorrell. They had both passed away since the show left the air. Rose Marie who played Sally Rogers is now 81 and has been in show business since 1926 when she was known as Baby Rose Marie on radio. The highlight of the reunion show was when they showed clips of Dick and Mary Tyler Moore who played Laura Petrie is now 68 and Dick Van Dyke is now 79. Carl Reiner who played Alan Brady is now 82. This is the kind of show you hate to see end but we will always have the reruns to watch.
Julie London's About the Blues CD lets music fans of today enjoy the blues music of the 50's and 60's. Julie sings songs like she is singing only to whoever happens to be listening. She was married to Jack Webb of Dragnet fame then later to musician Bobby Troup. To show there must not have been any animosity between them and Jack Webb he had them both acting in his Emergency TV series. Back to the album...if you will listen to the clips on this album at Amazon or CD Universe you will hear just how well
Julie could deliver lyrics in a way that may never be heard again.
Found a Broadway show called Smokey Joe's Cafe advertised online and ordered it. It is one of the most entertaining videos I have ever seen and is one of the few Broadway shows filmed in its entirety. It is a fast paced video since they sing 39 songs in 102 minutes so there are no slow places. There is no plot to get bogged down in....just great music by Lieber and Stoller who wrote so many hit songs for Elvis. As you watch the show you will notice just how many songs you recognize but didn't know they wrote them.All the performers do a great job. This is the final show of the run so there is a mixture of original cast and those who were added later. There are really too many stars to name them all but to me the one that stands out the most is DeLee Lively who doesn't sing much but dances very well. Some of the highlights are when she dances the shimmy in Teach Me How To Shimmy...when Victor Trent Cook sings Searchin' a very comedic performance...B.J. Crosby singing the reprise of Fools Fall in Love toward end of show and Victor Trent Cook singing
I Who Have Nothing which had the audience standing when he finished singing it.Have watched it over and over and enjoy it just as much each time. It is truly a performance you will never forget.
Once more Diana Krall has done it again with her latest release The Girl In The Other Room. My favorite is Almost Blue with Temptation also one I liked very much. The musical interludes add so much to the album. Diana Krall can play the piano just as well as she sings. Some people on Amazon have criticized this album but to me it is as good as her Grammy Award winning When I Look In Your Eyes album. When I think easy listening music Diana Krall is the first one that comes to mind.
Her husband Elvis Costello helped her on the album which some reviewers on Amazon didn't think was a good thing. The most up tempo cut on the album is Love Me Like A Man....this would have been good even without vocals....the musicians really are showcased on this one. Since I like the songs from the American songbook I liked her The Look Of Love album the very best. It has to be the most soothing music I have ever heard and great for insomniacs because they will be dozing off from the mellow sounds of her singing and playing the piano. This album was released Sept.18,2001 just one week exactly after the 9-11 tragedy. It came out at a time when people really needed that kind of music to get away for 30 minutes into a world away from stress of the day's news. When she sang Cry Me A River on the Look of Love album I knew she is a singer we will be hearing from for the next 20 or 30 years.