DVDs, TV

“Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” return in fully restored Americana glory

There’s nothing like keeping it all in the family.

One of the most popular series in television history is making a comeback,  fully restored,  in association with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and from the original 35mm picture and sound elements. Welcome The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet: Seasons 1 and 2 (MPI Media Group), arriving to entertain old fans and new viewers  on four-DVD sets on June 21, 2022. The two sets contain 39 episodes each, representing the complete first two seasons (78 episodes) of the long-running sitcom ranked number 6 on Vulture’s list of “The 50 Most Definitive Family TV Shows.”

For a record-breaking 14 seasons and 435 episodes, the series aired on ABC from 1952 through 1966, becoming one of the most cherished cultural touchstones of the 20th century. The positive, wholesome series epitomized an idyllic American ’50s lifestyle, its gentle humor brought to the screen by the real-life Nelson family: Ozzie and wife Harriet with their sons, David and Rick, all portraying themselves in a trend-setting blend of fact-meets-fiction comedy decades before Seinfeld and other semi-reality-based shows.

The series humorously chronicled the daily lives of the Nelsons as David and Ricky grew up before millions of weekly viewers. While Ozzie  had been a real-life bandleader and Harriet a singer, the series would help launch the musical career of their younger son, Ricky, who would become a teen idol with such enduring hits as “Travelin’ Man” and “Hello Mary Lou.”

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was the longest running live-action sitcom in U.S. television history until It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia surpassed it on December 1, 2021, when that series debuted its 15th season. But Ozzie and Harriet still hold the record for most episodes produced: 435. Among its Emmy nominations and many other accolades, TV Guide placed Ozzie Nelson at number 21 on its list of “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time.”

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And now, for the very first time, in association with the Nelson family, the entire series has been digitally restored for its 70th Anniversary with complete episodes from the original film negatives for superior picture quality.

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Season One contains all 39 full, fun-filled episodes on four DVDs, starting with the premiere show and other rare adventures not seen on television in decades. Don DeFore appears as Ozzie’s neighbor pal Thorny along with guest stars from classic television and films, including Hal Smith, Ellen Corby, Janet Waldo, Joseph Kearns, Frank Nelson and other familiar faces. Season Two also contains 39 episodes––with more lost moments appearing for the first time since originally broadcast—and features such guest stars as Frank Cady, John Carradine and Lurene Tuttle.

Books, Kiddie Fun, Kids' Books, Young Adult Books

“Is This My Home”? takes a delightful, interactive look at a traveling nurse’s adventures

It’s just what the doctor ordered, a most delightful interactive children’s book that follows Nanette, a young nurse travels across the country caring for wee ones who find themselves needing a nurse’s love.
Is This My Home? (Made For Me, $16.95/$12.95) is the first book in the Tales of a Traveling Nurse series, a most welcome treat that gives young readers ages 4-8 a look into the adventurous profession of travel nursing. Kids will have fun searching for Nanette as she enjoys a new city while following the children who find themselves needing a nurse’s care, from California to New York, Texas to Hawaii and beyond. With her big smile and fun bubble necklace, Nurse Nanette helps make a scary ‘trip to the doctor” that much easier!Inline image
Is This My Home? goes beyond engaging educational adventures: Shay Larby’s colorful and interesting illustrations give kids a look inside hospitals’ pediatric emergency departments while highlighting the importance of child safety and accident prevention.
The book is based on first-hand experiences: Author Sheri Sturniolo has been a registered pediatric nurse for more than 20 years. She started her career as a traveling nurse and her many adventures became the inspiration for the Tales of a Traveling Nurse series.  She enjoys writing children’s books that help little ones better understand the world around them while opening up important conversations between the reader and child. (Sheri began her author journey with her first series, You Were Meant for Me, written for her own children.) See more at talesofatravelingnurse.com
A must-have prescription for fun, facts and educational filled journeys!

Books, Young Adult Books

“Young Cyrano” introduces young readers to the teenage de Bergerac

We could toss about many so-little known (or unknown). We’ll choose two: Benoît-Constant Coquelin, Edmond Rostand. We’ll add a third: Sir Paul Cicchini.
Yet they all are related. Sort of.  Coquelin was a legendary French actor who originated the role of real-life Hercule Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac whose life was fictionalized in Rostand’s legendary play Cyrano de Bergerac back in 1897. Yep, he’s the Cyrano known for his large, misshapen proboscis; (mis)adventures of fighting, courageous sword fighting, action and, of course, the kiss given to gal pal Roxanne.
Cyrano was, and remains, hot. There have been many stage and screen adaptations. A new stage version starring James McAvoy takes centerstage at Brooklyn’s Academy of Music; little person and Big Star Peter Dinklage stars in the new big-screen musicalization.
And so enters New Jersey school psychologist Cicchini.
He has written Young Cyrano ($12.99), a novel that takes a breezy look at Cyrano when he was an awkward teenager. Before he became a self-assured hero, Cyrano and his best friends Le Bret and Roxanne took part in many of those teenage exploits with which today’s teens find pleasure . . . and perhaps pain.
Young Cyrano is written with a  flair that guides those in grades 7 through 12 into  playful and perplexing periods of youth, mystery and mayhem with the welcoming and wonder of what is to become.
To learn more about Young Cyrano or its author Sir Paul Cicchini, visit paulcicchini.com.


 

Books

The problem with ‘The Art of Bob Mackie’? The book was already written, back in 1979.

It’s a large, lavish coffeetable book, this expensive ($50) book that celebrates the fashions of Mackie and the women he (un)dresses. The Art of Bob Mackie (Simon & Schuster) has Mackie’s approval, but it was written by two die-hard fans.
Yet nearly 50 years, Mackie himself wrote (with co-author Gerry Bremer) Designing for Glamour (A& W Publishers), a smaller $14.95 volume that is packed with lots of color BM costume photos,

scores of dos and don’ts for fashion-driven success, even a (first) foreword by Carol Burnett. Sure, the book is long out of print,. but I stole a copy on eBay for $5, postage included.
The Art of Bob Mackie is an embarrassment of riches. Balancing the book on your lap is tough enough, but after a while, page after page after page of Mackie illustrations look that same, as seen below.

Most of the same  ladies are covered in both books (Carol, Cher, Diana, Ann, Mitzi, Bette, Barbra) and some of the photos are duplicated.
Perhaps if Dressing for Glamour was updated, and there was less Carol Burnett gab and more of Cher’s (or reversing the two). The Art of Bob Mackie would have more style.

2021 Holiday Gift Guide, Books, Carole Estby Dagg, William McKinley, Young Adult Books

History As It Happened: Carole Estby Dagg’s New Book Recounts a ‘Walk Across America’

As Santa’s elves—sometimes known as book publicists—continue to drop “gifts”—sometimes known as review copies—under our tree, we remain steadfast, promising to find the best of the best.
And then recommending those titles.
When we stumbled across Carole Estby Dagg’s new book, The Year We Were Famous: Helga and Clara’s Estby’s Walk Across a Changing America ($15.49), we were as impressed not only by the subject (more in a bit) but by her professional tagline, that she spends her time “writing about history as ordinary people  lived it”.
In this, Estby novelizes the true tale of her her suffragist great grandmother, Helga Estby, and Helga’s daughter, Carole’s grand aunt Clara, who walked 4,000 miles from their farm in Mica Creek, Washington, to New York City in 1896 in a heroic attempt to win $10,000 that would save the family’s farm . . . and prove women were invincible.
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Equipped only with satchels containing compass and maps, first-aid supplies, journals, pistol and a curling iron (!), they headed east along the railroad tracks. The walk began on May 6, 1896 in Spokane, Washington, and ended in New York City  232 days later, on December 23. The women  crossed mountains, deserts and plains; survived a highwayman attack, a flash flood and several blizzards; and went days without food and water. Let’s not forget that Helga and Clara wore out a total of 32 pairs of shoes.
During the year they walked and talked, they became famous, meeting governors and mayors, camping with Indians, and visiting the new president-elect, William McKinley.
Helga and Clara intended to write a book about their adventures, but the publisher reneged on her big-buck promise. Fortunately, newspapers across the country reported on their travels, so Carole was able to write her book based on those articles, with her imagination filling the gaps between facts.
By the way, we aren’t the only ones who were pleased by such a gift from the Jolly Fat Man’s helpers: The Year We Were Famous
won the Will Rogers Medallion; the Sue Alexander Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; and the Willa award from Women Writing the West. It was also selected by the American Library Association for its 2012 Amelia Bloomer List of Best Feminist Fiction.
Santa’s elves have delivered a perfect pick for gift giving.
To order the book and for more info on the author, click caroleestbydagg.
DVDs, TV

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: WATCH “DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT” AND RELIVE CLASSIC TV OF THE PAST

Old-time actor [read: great actor] Brian Donlevy stars in the old-time TV series [read: great TV series from yesteryear] Dangerous Assignment: The Complete Series (MPI Media Group]. Here, the veteran plays U.S. Government Agent Steve Mitchell, who travels the globe investigating cases of espionage, sabotage and threats to National Security.
Sound familiar? Donlevy originated the character on NBC Radio. The set includes all 39 episodes of the action-packed TV series from the 1950s.
DVDs, TV, Uncategorized

The forgotten police series “Code 3: LA Sheriff’s Case Files” comes back in all 39 episodes

Interested in binging on an arresting (but forgotten) police series? All 1020 minutes spanning 39 episodes? Then mark July 20 on your must-get list; that’s the date Code 3: LA Sheriff’s Case Files hits the shelves.

In 1957, Hal Roach Studios and producer Ben Fox brought the fast-paced drama to television, starring Richard Travis as Sheriff George Barrett of the Los Angeles County Police Department, Denver Pyle as Sgt. Murchison and Fredd Wayne as Sgt. Bill Hollis.

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Like its sister series Dragnet, Code 3 featured true crime cases–this time from the files of the search and rescue branch of the Los Angeles Police Department–always “changing the names to protect the innocent.” At the end of most of the broadcasts, the real-life Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Eugene W. Biscailuz, made an appearance to recap that night’s adventure.
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Code 3 enjoyed a healthy run in television syndication and featured lots of guest stars. Instead of naming names, we are going to tease you by tossing out the names of other TV series from which the guests were imported . . . Star Trek, The Patty Duke Show, Bewitched, Gilligan’s Island, Mannix, Zorro and The Dukes of Hazard.
DVDs, Movies

Alain Delon + Jacques Deray + Cohen Film Collection = Three French Films that are Must-See

Die-hard film fans know  that Alain Delon (a) French actor is a handsome hunk and (b) Jacques Deray is a daring director. Pair them together,  and French fireworks explode.
Save the date: On August 31, Cohen Film Collection releases “Three Men to Kill: Two New Restored Films by Jacque Deray.”
The Gang (1977): In 1945, as World War Two comes to a close, five small time crooks unite to form a gang lead by Delon. After several bold robberies they become notorious as “the front-wheel drive gang.” The police attempt to stop their crime spree with little success . . . but how long will their luck last?
Three Men to Kill (1980): In this gritty, violent and suspenseful thriller, Delon plays Gerfaut who comes to the aid of a man laying wounded in the road, not knowing the man has taken two bullets to the belly.

Soon he becomes the target for the killers, who see him as a dangerous witness. But Gerfaut has been around the block a couple of times and he won’t be so easily eliminated.
Books, DVDs, Movies

George Chakiris’ autobiography will leave some readers (dis)pleased

Read it. Digest it. And after coming up for air after a whirlwind read of George Chakiris’ autobiography, My West Side Story: A Memoir (Lyons Press, $24.95), you realize you were dazzled.

And duped.

We will explain.

It’s obvious Chakiris loved dancing, a skill so streamlined and stylized that it launched him into a pretty nice career, most notably for West Side Story.

The actor/dancer was first cast in the London production as Riff, gang leader of the Jets. The musical premiered in London in late 1958, and Chakiris received rave reviews, playing the role for almost two years.

The actor, who is of Greek descent, then auditioned for the film version, but the producers thought Chakiris’ dark complexion made him more suitable for the role of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks. (Russ Tamblyn got the role of Riff.)

Switching sides to play Bernardo, brother to Natalie Wood’s Maria and partner to Rita Moreno’s Anita, secured him the role on Broadway after seven months of filming. The film (also co-directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins) returns to theaters for two days only as part of Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies’ TCM Big Screen Classics series with an introduction from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. The beloved movie musical will play in select theaters June 24 and 27 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time both days.

The movie not only gained Chakiris a huge  following but also the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in Motion Picture.

West Side Story, all three versions, made him a star.

“I know exactly where my gratitude belongs,” Chakiris writes, “and I still marvel at how, unbeknownst to me at the time, the joyful path of my life was paved one night in 1949 when Jerome Robbins sat Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents down in his apartment and announced, ‘I have an idea.'”

It’s obviously Chakiris was not best friends with Jerome Robbins, the legendary choreographer who was a former Communist Party member and named 10 communists in his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Robbins did propel Chakiris into WSS stardom and the actor dishes Robbins. Up to a point. He doesn’t tap dance the legendary truths about the mercurial, relentless Robbins, but in a few breaths he credits him with shaping Bernardo into such a memorable character.

Yet, before his became known for his stage work, Chakiris  had made a bunch of films—dancing, of course, but unbilled and in teeny roles He was one of the dancers in Marilyn Monroe’ “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).

It’s sad to know that, though Monroe was 23 years old and Chakiris was 19, they did not became friends, something he misses.

As he writes: “Marilyn had a quality that can’t be taught, or created with wardrobe and makeup, a quality you’re either born with or not. . . . Many decades later I accepted an invitation to participate in a documentary about her.  I said then what I’ll always say—I’m sorry I didn’t get to know her, but I’ll always be grateful I had the pleasure working with her.”

Can you spot him in the snippet below?

He appeared as a dancer alongside Rosemary Clooney, as she warbled “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me” in White Christmas (1954). See him?

TV shows, two record albums, sundry stage work and more films were wedges between his years. It’s sad that his film career was so spotty. Two films made in France—Is Paris Burning? (1966) and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort  (1967) are really good and still hold up; The Big Cube (1969, watch Lana Turner on LSD!) and Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again  (1982) are jokes.

Today, the 86-year-old thespian still creates, this time making sterling silver jewelry—pendants, bracelets, earrings. What started as a hobby blossomed into a full-time business. Chakiris’ stunning works can be seen (and bought) at georgechakiris.com/jewelry.

And before you ask, the answer is no. In the book, Chakiris refuses to confirm his sexual orientation.

He has kept details of his love life hidden from the media’s attention, yet it is widely believed among Hollywood actors and actresses that he is gay – even the popular movie and TV series rating website IMDb has featured him  in their “500 Gay Actors & Personalities” list. Some have even claimed that George secretly married his long-term partner sometime in the 2000s, but no proof has been provided to support the claims.

His is a terrible bother to me, born one day after Chakiris came out (of his mother) and into the world. If he is gay, it would serve as a great benefit to those boys and girls, men and women, questioning their sexuality, fighting the bullying, dancing around suicidal thoughts. I have the same feeling about Lily Tomlin and Barry Manilow’s queer denials—the singer especially. Everyone knew he was gay yet for decades he made up girlfriends and excuses. When he finally married his long-time partner and manager Gary Keif in 2004, his excuse for the delay: “I thought it would hurt my career.”

That’s why my Manilow CDs have been destroyed and why Chakiris  book was given away.

Not all acting succeeds.

 

Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, TV

How and why Dolly and I are bosom buddies and breast friends…from 9 to 5 and beyond

I knew Dolly Rebecca Parton and I would become fast friends when she let me hold her left breast. Before you start calling the tabloids or TMZ, let me explain. It was 1987, and we were in a photographer’s studio on the Upper East Side where Dolly was being photographed for the cover of Redbook.

She was dressed in a handmade denim blouse (size 0), the wig was perfectly placed, the makeup flawless. She eyed the catered buffet and picked up a piece of chicken with her two fire-engine red (fake) fingernails, brought it to her mouth and, plop!, the sliver landed on her blouse, smack-dab on her left . . . well, you get the picture.

The adrenaline kicked in. “Quick, Dolly!” I said. “You hold and I’ll wipe.” I poured water on a paper towel and began to very gently dab the spot. Dolly grabbed a portable hair-dryer and with that infectious giggle cooed, “Now quick! You hold and I’ll dry.”

With those seven simple words, my entry into the dizzy, delightful world of Dolly Parton—40DD-17-36—had begun. “One day,” I thought to myself, “I will live to write about this.”

The shoot was a success, and as Dolly climbed into her limo, I whispered, “I feel like your bosom buddy.” Without missing a beat, she said, “And my breast friend.”

And so Dolly—so surgically streamlined so many times she’s starting to look like a Siamese cat—continues to be honored and remembered, in books, TV specials, films, a failed Broadway musical, a Time-Life super-duper (and expen$ive) DVD box set and the marvelous PBS program Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Opry.

The Queen of Country Music celebrates 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Recorded live in Nashville, this amazing special pays tribute to her songs and career with special performances from Dolly and her star guests, including Lady A, Emmylou Harris and Hank Williams, Jr. This incredible concert brings together five decades of hits & memories into one unforgettable evening of entertainment for everyone to enjoy.