Clik here to view.
Two and a Half Bond Girls on "The Fall Guy"
In 1984, in the wake of the dueling James Bond movies that were released the previous year--the official Cubby Broccoli produced Bond film "Octopussy" (1983) starring Roger Moore and the unofficial...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inadvertent Life Lessons from a Deluded 1960s Starlet
On the eve of my birthday, I wanted to share an anecdote concerning one of the major life lessons I experienced years ago when I was still in my twenties. Before I moved East for law school, I was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Welcome Back, Arsenio Hall
A few months ago, a married couple who are good friends invited me over for dinner with their family. We had a great time laughing and socializing and they both told me that they enjoyed having me...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holly Harwood's Memorably Graceful Exit from "Dallas"
A few months ago I commented on the wrong way to write a character out of a TV show, but now I want to comment on the appropriate way to close out a character that had made a strong impact and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Joanna Pettet lays down the Law on "Knots Landing"
The depiction of law enforcement on most 1980s prime time soaps are usually perfunctory characterizations with professional, workman-like actors brought in as plot devices to help expedite the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Concurrent Love Squares on "Dallas" and "Flamingo Road"
It's not unusual when a hit television series inspires a host of imitators containing elements that are similar to the show that preceded it. What is unusual is when the original hit show starts to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bo Derek Outshines Morgan Fairchild and Redeems "Fashion House"
A couple of years ago, during my last year of law school, I started noticing advertisements for a newly launched network called MyNetworkTV, which was comprised of former affiliates of the WB and UPN...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mark Harmon and Jo Ann Pflug Learn About Life While Patrolling in "Adam-12"
Growing up as a kid, "Adam-12" was one of my favorite TV shows. It ran almost concurrently with my childhood years being raised in a Los Angeles that still had remnants of its past glories as it was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Positive Memories and Impressions of Jacqueline Bisset
I was dismayed to see all the negative comments and ridicule directed at Jacqueline Bisset ever since she gave her admittedly unfocused, slightly profane, and eccentric acceptance speech at Sunday's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lisa Lu: An Authentically Asian Actress
While I was growing up, I used to be intrigued by Nancy Kwan and France Nuyen because, being an American of Chinese descent, I thought that it was cool that two Asian actresses during the 1960s, a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Taking Bruce Broughton's side in the "Alone Yet Not Alone" Song Nomination...
Undoubtedly my favorite entertainment news story of the week is the rescission of the Academy Award ® song nomination for the independently produced, Christian-themed movie "Alone, Yet Not Alone"...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Still Pick Ginger
I've been on the losing side of a popular culture question for the last 20 or so years (and I don't care). Whenever people ask "Ginger or Mary Ann," in terms of who they prefer from the 1960s sitcom...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Guest Starring Jess Walton..."
Actress Jess Walton is best known for her successful and continuing 27 year run as Jill Foster Abbott on the CBS daytime soap opera "The Young and the Restless."Â However, before she hit her stride in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
"There's No One Left to Fly the Plane!"
Karen Black's passing this week of cancer at the age of 74 has brought back a flood of memories of how following her career, and watching her movies, greatly expanded my knowledge of cinema and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Since You've Gone: An Interview with Cristina Raines
Establishing and maintaining a successful acting career usually represents the pinnacle of an actress' life and accomplishments, which is understandable and to be expected given the competitiveness of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rediscovering and Reuniting Veteran Los Angeles-area "News Geezers"
Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s, I loved almost all the local television news programs, particularly KTLA Channel 5's "News at Ten" and the ones on KNBC Channel 4. Â The various...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lois Chiles remembers Richard Kiel
In the wake of his passing earlier this week, actress Lois Chiles, a friend of this blog, asked me to share with the public her memories of her friend and colleague Richard Kiel, who she worked with on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ludicrous Headline of the Week - "Morgan Fairchild: Badass Foreign Policy Wonk"
I read with interest and amusement The Daily Beast's piece earlier this week titled, "Morgan Fairchild: Badass Foreign Policy Wonk." (To borrow a phrase from the author of the piece, Asawin Suebsaeng,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Positive Memories and Impressions of Jacqueline Bisset
I was dismayed to see all the negative comments and ridicule directed at Jacqueline Bisset ever since she gave her admittedly unfocused, slightly profane, and eccentric acceptance speech at Sunday's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
(Hopefully) Suggestions of a Feud Have Been Greatly Exaggerated by "The Rest"...
Last night, Caprice Crane, the daughter of Tina Louise (and a witty racounteur in her own right on her Twitter feed @capricecrane), emailed me that her mother had started an official Facebook page and...
View Article