#he inherited the theatre kid disease

[guiltypandas]

It's that time of year where I redesign Tails' parents!

This year we got BIGGG changes--- including younger versions (bottom of 1st pic) of the two!

I just thought it would be funny to make them like theatre actors idkkkk! Give them something other than just "Tails' parents"

Plus a bonus doodle! Feel free to check out my previous designs for them! I improved way too much in a year HELP.

[readingbooksinisrael]

October 2022 Wrap-Up

Rereads

Ender’s Game/Orson Scott Card (sci fi)-Ender is a genius. Like all geniuses, he is sent to Battle School to prepare for the event that the alien race, the Buggers, will come back. Ender isn’t just any genius, though. He’s a genius even among the geniuses and the higher-ups have a special plan for him.

The Road to Yesterday/L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables #11) (realistic short story collection)-A series of vignettes into the lives of the Glen St. Mary citizens, from the 1890s till the 1940s.

5 stars

Not My Problem/Ciara Smyth (young adult realistic fiction)-Aideen cannot control her mother’s drinking, her father’s popping in-and-out of their lives or her failing grades. She’s even running out of excuses to get out of PE. But when she finds Maebh Kowalska, overachiever, crying because of stress, and she agrees to break her ankle so she can stop at least some of the stressful things, everything begins to gather force.

4.5 stars

We Are Okay/Nina LaCour (new adult realistic fiction)-Marin’s grandfather died two weeks before she left for college. Now it is winter break and she is going to be alone for a month. Before that, though, her best friend, whom she hasn’t spoken to since her grandfather died, is coming to visit.

3.5 stars

Inside the O’Brian’s/Lisa Genova (adult realistic fiction)-Joe O’Brian is a police officer from Boston’s proud Irish community. When he begins falling and dropping things he ignores it, but when he cannot stay still in a line-up he makes a doctor’s appointment. The diagnosis is Huntington’s disease, a deadly disease which each of his four children have a 50% chance of inheriting.

Selected Stories/H.G. Wells, ed. Kingsley Amis (sci fi and horror short story collection)-A collection of short stories by H.G. Wells, ranging from some of his earliest to some of his latest.

A United Chalet School/Elinor M. Brent-Dyer (Chalet School #15) (mg realistic adventure fiction)-With midnight theatre, mid-trip rainstorms and Josephine Bettany, the Chalet School is as exciting as ever.

3 stars

Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl/Jenny Wren (satire essays)-Inspired by Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. A Victorian woman’s collection of satiric essays about her life and high society.

Left Neglected/Lisa Genova (adult realistic fiction)-Sarah has the perfect life. Three kids, a loving husband and a high-paced job. She struggles to keep up and simultaneously enjoys the race. When she crashes her car she is left without the job (for now), her mother coming back and an inability to realize that the left side of her body exists.

Toys as Culture/Brian Sutton-Smith (psychology non-fiction)-Toys make up a large part of children’s lives. How do they form our culture and how are they informed by it?

2 stars

Jean and Johnny/Beverly Cleary (young adult romance)-Jean is so excited when an older boy asks her to dance. She just wishes that she had on the right shoes, no glasses and wasn’t quite so short.

[undiscoveredstory]

if you're down for it, could we get some philip hamilton facts? he seems like a p neat guy!!

Since I murdered your emotions with his parents’ reaction to his death last night, I figured we’d make tonight’s topic a little less sad! (Tho I will still cover his death... you have been warned!) 

Philip Hamilton was born at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany on January 22, 1782

He was named for Eliza’s father, Philip Schuyler

(Pretty much all the Schuyler children named a kid Philip... it’s hella confusing) 

Philip spent the first two years of his life with his parents at the Schuyler Mansion

This is how Ham described Philip when he was only seven months old: 

“It is agreed on all hands that he is handsome, his features are good, his eye is not only sprightly and expressive, but it is full of benignity. His attitude is sitting by its connoisseurs esteemed graceful and he has a method of waving his hand that announces the future orator. He stands however rather awkwardly and his legs have not the delicate slimness of his father’s. It is feared He may never excel as much in dancing which is probably the only accomplishment in which he will not be a model. If he has any fault in manners, he laughs too much.” (Hamilton to Richard Meade)

Philip traveled with Eliza from Albany to Philadelphia in January of 1782 to visit Hamilton where he was currently staying while in the Confederation Congress

He was baptized alongside his sister Angelica and brother Alexander at Trinity Church on October 12, 1788, when he was six

His Schuyler grandparents, Aunt Angelica Schuyler Church, and Baron von Steuben were present for the baptism 

Eliza taught the children at home when they were young

She paid special attention to religious instruction, as she was very pious

Philip’s brother, James, recalled that Eliza had the boys each read a chapter from the Bible or a chapter from The History of Rome by Oliver Goldsmith each morning while she prepared breakfast

When Angelica had to end her visit to NYC and return to England in 1789, Philip, then seven, went with his father and Baron von Steuben to the docks to see her off

(Eliza was too distraught at her sister’s departure to attend...) (Are you crying?) (Because I sure am!)

Philip went to a boarding school in Trenton, New Jersey when he was nine

He seemed to have been happy there, and was a good student!!

In 1791, when Philip was nine, he spent the summer with his mother and siblings at the Schuyler Mansion to escape yellow fever, which was running rampant in Philadelphia 

In 1793, yellow fever struck Philadelphia again, and this time Hamilton contracted it

He and Eliza put the children in a house adjoining to theirs to keep them safe from the disease

But then Eliza fell ill, too.....

So the children were sent to the Schuyler Mansion

Can we just imagine how scary that must have been for Philip and his siblings?! 

He was only eleven!!!

He was leaving his parents behind, not knowing if he’d ever see them again

Yellow Fever was deadly, so the possibility of Ham and/or Eliza dying was all too real

Thankfully they survived, though, and were reunited with their children at Albany that fall :’)

In 1800, when Philip was 18, Hamilton wrote up this super intense set of rules for him

Philip had to get up by 6 every morning from April to October and had to go to bed by 10 all year

The main focus of the schedule was studying law

This makes sense as Philip would have been in college at the time

Philip attended Columbia College (now University), just like his father, graduating at the age of nineteen in 1801

He graduated with high honors!!! :’)

He was also known for being a good orator, much like his father!

(He also seemed to like flowery speech like his father lmao)

And he’d studied to be a lawyer, also like his father

Angelica in a letter to Eliza wrote: “Philip inherits his father’s talents”

Hamilton thought of Philip as the shining star of the family, referring to him as the “eldest and brightest hope”

He did have a bit of a bad side, with Hamilton once referring to him as “Naughty young man” in a letter

On July 4, 1801, George Eacker gave a speech disparaging Hamilton

Philip came across it in its published form and was appalled at everything Eacker blamed his father for

On November 20, 1801, Philip saw Eacker at the Park Theatre in Manhattan, where he was watching The West-Indian

Philip and his friend snuck into Eacker’s box and started going at him for his 4th of July speech

Witnesses said Eacker tried to ignore Philip and his friend at first, but they began to disrupt the theatre

They stepped into the lobby, and things escalated quickly 

Eacker grabbed Philip by the collar at one point

They went to a tavern after this, and Eacker, for the second time, called Philip and his friend rascals (which was a big insult in the time period)

It became obvious they were going to settle this on the dueling grounds

Philip consulted his Uncle John Church (Angelica’s husband), as he was the family’s dueling expert

(That should tell you a lot about John Barker Church lmao)

He suggested Philip try to resolve it with letters first, since he’d started the confrontation 

Eacker refused to take back calling Philip a rascal

So at 3:00 PM on November 23, 1801, Philip and Eacker dueled at Paulus Hook, New Jersey

At his father’s advice, Philip planned to delope, or fire his gun into the air

When Philip and Eacker were commanded to fire, they both stood there staring at each other for a few minutes

Then Eacker raised his gun...

Philip raised his gun....

Eacker fired, and shot Philip above his right hip–– the bullet going through his body to his left arm

Philip’s gun fired, but likely not on purpose

Philip was taken to Angelica’s home in Manhattan

Henry Dawson recalled Philip’s final hours:

“On a bed without curtains lay poor Phil, pale and languid, his rolling, distorted eyeballs darting forth the flashes of delirium. On one side of him on the same bed lay his agonized father, on the other his distracted mother, around his numerous relatives and friends weeping and fixed in sorrow.”

Philip Hamilton died on November 24, 1801, fourteen hours after the duel

The last thing he said was a statement of his faith in Christ

You can read about Hamilton and Eliza’s reaction to his death here

His mother, who was three months pregnant at the time of his death, named her final baby Philip in his honor 3 

Well, my emotions are once again murdered! I hope you found this useful! Thank you for indulging my love of history!

(Read Eliza Schuyler Facts Part One) (Read Eliza Schuyler Facts Part Two)(Hamilton insulted Eliza?) (Was Eliza smart?) (How did Eliza react to Ham’s death?) (Tench Tilghman’s crush on Eliza)

(Read Peggy Schuyler Facts) (Read Cornelia Schuyler Facts) (Read Info on Schuyler Siblings) (Read Caty Schuyler Facts)

(Read Lafayette Facts Part One) (Read Lafayette Facts Part Two) (Read Lafayette Facts Part Three)

(Read Lams Facts) (Read about John Laurens’ sexuality) (Do Laurens’ letters to Hamilton still exist?) (Read John Laurens Facts Part One)

(Read Angelica Hamilton Facts) (John Church Hamilton: Letter Ruiner) (How did Hamilton and Eliza react to Philip’s death?)

(Read Hercules Mulligan Facts) (Read Deborah Sampson Facts) (Read Maria Reynolds Facts) (Did Nathan Hale and Ben Tallmadge have a relationship?) (How did Mulligan and Lafayette react to Hamilton’s death?)

(My history tag)

[gokul2181]

The Big Brother of Bangalore

New Post has been published on https://jordarnews.in/the-big-brother-of-bangalore/

The Big Brother of Bangalore

K.H. Ramaiah, a prominent personality of yesteryear Bangalore, often referred Gubbi Thotadappa as a fatherly figure (appa), Janopakari Doddanna as (Anna), elder brother. The services they rendered encompassed a very large strata of the city irrespective of class, cast and creed.

A vivid description of the life and contribution of Doddanna to Bengaluru is found Prof. V Krishna Setty’s book (1997), who had a long association with the institution founded by Doddanna.

Doddanna Shetty was born on February 3, 1840 to a pious couple Nanjundappa and Siddamma. They belonging to a vegetable oil extracting and trading community. They lived in Commercial Street in Cantonment area during 1830s. In addition to being god fearing and spiritual, the couple were also widely known for their charity and hospitality. Nanjundappa was the head of the community and was referred to as ‘Yajaman’.

Doddanna, got the education required for the family business, and after the death of his father assumed the post of Yajaman, and continued the family trade. He had also inherited the parents’ trait of charity and hospitality and without any bias, helped the downtrodden to live with dignity.

He used to go during night with a few of his associates to distribute good food and blankets to help the destitute and vagabonds on the streets and also the wandering monks who took shelter at Poornaiah Choultry which was located next to Tulasi Thota near Dharmambudi Tank, the present day Kempegowda Central Bus stand.

Paramount Theatre  

He renovated the Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple, his family deity, on Old Poor House Road in Cantonment and liberally donated for such work undertaken by other temples in Bengaluru. He had also given away a portion of his land near Bangalore East Railway station for the use of Buddha Centre. Because of these liberal contributions he used to be even referred to as ‘Daanashoora Karna’, a prominent character known for such charitable acts in the epic, Mahabharata. In spite of being benevolent to the society, as if to test his inner strength to face the adversities, he lost three wives, one after the other. Though two sons were born to the fourth wife she too died soon.

Yet, he recovered from these onslaughts of the fate and continued to serve his city. During 1898, there was severe plague attack in Bengaluru and the first son Lakshminarayana fell a victim for the pandemic. Realising that isolation is the sole solution to prevent the spread of the disease, Doddanna got about two hundred shelters built in a village Venkatapura for the benefit of the members of his community. The plague had also deprived the education to many downtrodden children. To groom the future generation on proper moral and ethical grounds, he took some space near the present day KR Market in 1900 and started a lower secondary school to impart free education especially for poor children. He treated these kids as his own and took personal care even in giving them oil bath, food and clothing.

Pouring a major chunk of his wealth he also started to construct a huge building to run the school. He wanted this structure to represent the culture and ethics of the land and should also be big enough to serve the purpose of a school, choultry, theatre and assembly hall. Later, his building became a landmark in the city as Doddanna hall and also as Paramount theatre.

Around the year 1900, the Mysore Government had started the construction of the building of Revenue Survey Office in Cubbon Park, near KR circle. The contractor, Tatayaa had given the responsibility of the construction to Rangappa. Everyday, while walking from Cantonment to his school in the City Market area, Doddanna used to pause a little and observe the construction and used to discussthe details with Rangappa. Finally, when the building was completed, he liked the elegant front elevation of the structure and the excellent quality of work. He wanted his building also to represent the native culture and tradition. He engage d Rangappa to give his dream a realistic shape.

Inspiration for Doddanna Hall  

The construction work under his personal supervision was going on. At this juncture, fate shot another major blow by taking away the life of his second and the only surviving son, Lakshminarasimha. Since the son died at the beginning of the construction, some elders advised him not to continue the work as his planetary positions were not in his favour. But, he accepted the adversities as challenges and proceeded with the work.

Doddanna’s philanthropic activities and his persisting efforts for the welfare of the downtrodden in spite of stumbling blocks, were known to the elite of the city.

Some other elders told him that his walking all the way from Cantonment to the City Market area was strenuous, Doddanna did not agree. “I can afford to have a personal coach for my movement. But, I feel, the money I spend for the same can be used to get few more cups of milk or oil to give bath to the poor little ones in my school…”

To continue…

sureshmoona@gmail.com

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[blackkudos]

Gregory Hines

Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer.

Early life

Hines was born in New York City, the son of Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines, a dancer, musician, and actor. Hines began tapping when he was two years old, and began dancing semi-professionally at the age of five. After that, he and his older brother Maurice performed together, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang. Gregory and Maurice also learned from veteran tap dancers such as Howard Sims and The Nicholas Brothers whenever they performed in the same venues.

The two brothers were known as "The Hines Kids", making nightclub appearances, and later as "The Hines Brothers". When their father joined the act as a drummer, the name changed again in 1963 to "Hines, Hines, and Dad".

Career

Hines performed as the lead singer and musician in a rock band called Severance in the year of 1975-1976 based in Venice, California. Severance was one of the house bands at an original music club called Honky Hoagies Handy Hangout, otherwise known as the 4H Club. Severance released their debut album on Largo Records (a subsidiary of GNP Crescendo) in 1976. In 1986, he sang a duet with Luther Vandross, entitled "There's Nothing Better Than Love", which reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard R&B charts.

Hines made his movie debut in Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part I. Critics took note of Hines's comedic charm, and he later appeared in such movies as The Cotton Club, White Nights, Running Scared alongside Billy Crystal, Tap and Waiting to Exhale. On television, he starred in his own series in 1997 called The Gregory Hines Show on CBS, as well as in the recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace. In 1999, he would return to voice Big Bill, in Nick Jr.'s television show Little Bill. In 2000, he starred in "The Tic Code."

Hines made his Broadway debut with his brother in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954. He earned Tony Award nominations for Eubie!(1979), Comin' Uptown (1980) and Sophisticated Ladies (1981), and won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Jelly's Last Jam(1992) and the Theatre World Award for Eubie!. In 1989, Gregory Hines created "Gregory Hines' Tap Dance in America," which he also hosted. The PBS special featured seasoned tap dancers such as Savion Glover and Bunny Briggs. He also co-hosted the Tony Awards ceremony in 1995 and 2002.

In 1990, Hines visited his idol, Sammy Davis, Jr., as he was dying of throat cancer, unable to speak. After Davis died, an emotional Hines spoke at Davis's funeral of how Sammy had made a gesture to him, "as if passing a basketball … and I caught it." Hines spoke of the honor that Sammy thought that Hines could carry on from where he left off.

Hines was an avid improviser. He did a lot of improvisation of tap steps, tap sounds, and tap rhythms alike. His improvisation was like that of a drummer, doing a solo and coming up with all sorts of rhythms. He also improvised the phrasing of a number of tap steps that he would come up with, mainly based on sound produced. A laid back dancer, he usually wore nice pants and a loose-fitting shirt. Although he inherited the roots and tradition of the black rhythmic tap, he also influenced the new black rhythmic tap, as a proponent. "'He purposely obliterated the tempos,' wrote tap historian Sally Sommer, 'throwing down a cascade of taps like pebbles tossed across the floor. In that moment, he aligned tap with the latest free-form experiments in jazz and new music and postmodern dance.'"

Throughout his career, Hines wanted to and continued to be an advocate for tap in America. In 1988, he successfully petitioned the creation of National Tap Dance Day, which is now celebrated in 40 cities in the United States. It is also celebrated in eight other nations. Gregory Hines was on the Board of Directors of Manhattan Tap, he was a member of the Jazz Tap Ensemble, and a member of the American Tap Foundation (formerly the American Tap Dance Orchestra). He was a good teacher, influencing tap dance artists Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, and Jane Goldberg.

In an interview with The New York Times in 1988, Hines said that everything he did was influenced by his dancing: "my singing, my acting, my lovemaking, my being a parent."

Personal life

Hines' marriages to Patricia Panella and Pamela Koslow ended in divorce. He had two children—a son, Zach, and a daughter, Daria, as well as a stepdaughter, Jessica Koslow, and a grandson.

Death

Hines died of liver cancer on August 9, 2003, en route to hospital from his home in Los Angeles. He had been diagnosed with the disease more than a year earlier, but had informed only his closest friends. At the time of his death, production of the television showLittle Bill was ending, and he was engaged to Negrita Jayde. Hines is interred at Saint Volodymyr's Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, the country in which he met Jayde. Jayde, who died from cancer as well on August 28, 2009, is buried next to him.

Awards and nominations

Awards

1979 Theatre World Award—Eubie!

1992 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical—Jelly's Last Jam

1992 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical—Jelly's Last Jam

1988 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture—Running Scared

1998 Flo-Bert Award—Lifetime Achievement in Tap Dance by the New York Committee To Celebrate National Tap Dance Day

2002 Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special—Bojangles

2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program —Little Bill

Nominations

1979 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical—Eubie!

1980 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical—Comin' Uptown

1981 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical—Sophisticated Ladies

1982 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement—Special Class—I Love Liberty

1985 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program—Motown Returns to the Apollo

1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program—Tap Dance in America

1992 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography—Jelly's Last Jam

1992 Tony Award for Best Choreography—Jelly's Last Jam

1995 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture—Waiting to Exhale

1998 American Comedy Awards Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series—Will & Grace

1998 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series—The Gregory Hines Show

2001 Black Reel Awards Network/Cable Best Actor—Bojangles

2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie—Bojangles

2001 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries—Bojangles

2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special—The Red Sneakers

2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Special—The Red Sneakers

Wikipedia

[how2to18]

Fame, if you win it, Comes and goes in a minute. 

— Jule Styne, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green, “Make Someone Happy” 

The pure products of America go crazy.

— William Carlos Williams, “To Elsie”

¤

DRIVE DOWN some of Hollywood’s major thoroughfares or visit some of its celebrated tourist attractions, like Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and you’re bound to see at least one mural featuring  bona fide pop icons like Marilyn, Elvis, and James Dean. Depending on the artist, the players joining Marilyn might include Sinatra, John Wayne, or Chaplin. If Duke Haney, the author of Death Valley Superstars, commissioned his own mural, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce might not approve. Yes, Marilyn would still be there, but her supporting cast would be a bunch of troublemakers as obscure as she is famous — Steve Cochran, Sean Flynn, Mark Frechette, Christopher Jones — as well as the notorious Lee Harvey Oswald and William Desmond Taylor, the victim of one of Hollywood’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

The personalities on Haney’s mural are just some of the subjects he profiles in his engrossing new collection of essays, Death Valley Superstars: Occasionally Fatal Adventures in Filmland. All but one of Haney’s pieces were originally published on Brad Listi’s literary website The Nervous Breakdown, where I discovered his work in December 2013. Familiar with Haney’s experience writing screenplays and acting in low-budget films, Listi, who had published Subversia (2010), Haney’s first collection of essays, invited him to begin writing about Hollywood. Haney twice demurred, not wanting to be known as just another Kenneth Anger. “I had been struggling to start a novel for two years to no effect,” Haney recently told Listi on his podcast, “and it might rejuvenate me to work instead on a quirky tour of a neglected career and colorful life [tough guy actor Steve Cochran] — an appreciation with elements of biography.” He accepted Listi’s invitation and began writing biographical essays on some of destiny’s darlings, and a number of also-rans who briefly achieved a measure of fame only to see it undone by scandal, misbehavior, or malign fate. Superstars isn’t restricted to luminaries of the screen: Hugh Hefner, Jim Morrison, and the aforementioned Lee Harvey Oswald show up in its pages. Haney’s deep research, fresh insights, and engaging prose bring these subjects to life. He also includes several lively accounts of his own experiences working for legendary cheapjack producer Roger Corman and even more marginal Hollywood operators.

Haney leads his book with a powerful memoir, “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth,” a real cri de coeur recalling how the New Hollywood films of the ’70s celebrated in Peter Biskind’s book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls inspired him to journey to Hollywood to make the same kinds of films, only to discover that the blockbuster success of Star Wars and its successors had already killed the New Hollywood movement, torpedoing the career Haney had imagined for himself in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he had immersed himself in movies screened at the palatial Paramount Theater and a local revival house. There, he discovered the Holy Trinity of Method acting — Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and James Dean — and their ’70s equivalents — Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, and Dustin Hoffman — all of whom he had hoped to emulate once he hit Hollywood.

Haney’s essay could easily be titled “Star Wars and Its Discontents.” He spends a hefty chunk of “Dinosaurs” expounding on the detrimental effect of that beloved franchise. Star Wars did more than merely change Hollywood’s commercial ecosystem, infantilizing movies. It became a cultural Death Star, Haney contends, whose puerility pervaded society, reducing adults to Peter Pans who are not ashamed to line up at the box office for movies that would once have been considered strictly kid’s stuff and to buy “adult” coloring books.

In the powerful conclusion of “Dinosaurs,” Haney recalls his childhood self going to see a movie (When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth [1970]) for the first time:

I can picture him now, about to see a movie alone for the first time. He walks up the long corridor, carpeted in red, of the Paramount Theater, pausing at the concession stand to gawk at thumbnail photos of the posters for sale, and a voice in his head says, Don’t look. God doesn’t want you to look. But the voice is quiet in the darkness of the auditorium, where the boy watches a girl in a fur bikini cavort anachronistically with a dinosaur, and the boy thinks, Man, I would love to be that dinosaur, never dreaming that, when he’s a man, a dinosaur is just what he’ll be.

Someone once wisely said that participation in sports doesn’t create character, it reveals it. The same can be said of the effects of fame and its pursuit, something personified by Marilyn Monroe and Lee Harvey Oswald, Haney’s most famous subjects. They were both pathetic wretches who thought that fame would enable them to escape the pain of anonymity. Monroe was a perpetually unhappy woman who never knew her father and whose mother had a disordered mind. The response she got for modeling for some rather chaste cheesecake photos set her direction. With considerable effort, she became a worldwide sex goddess, but her fame only exacerbated her unhappiness. She finally found release in a bottle of Nembutal one lonely night.

In “Golden State Girl,” Haney argues that Monroe was a genuine artist whose greatest creation was her inimitable screen persona.  “There’s no pathos in the image they propose,” Haney writes, after describing several instances of her hateful behavior,

but there’s pathos aplenty in the image of Marilyn as a wounded stray, as the candle in the wind of Elton John song, as a martyr of celebrity, of Hollywood, of men and patriarchy and the male gaze. This image — and it’s finally a single image — excludes those traits it can’t, and doesn’t want to, accommodate: opportunism, toughness, willfulness, petulance, all of which, and then some, can be found in a convoluted woman with a genius for appearing the opposite.

Lee Harvey Oswald was born two months after his father died. His mother was a kook. He believed that he deserved to be a major actor on the stage of history, not just some nobody sweating his life away stacking boxes of schoolbooks in an old warehouse. The secret delight he must have enjoyed after making himself the focus of the world’s attention lasted only two days before a .38 bullet in his belly ended his life. In “Oswald Has Been Shot,” Haney explores the possibility that three movies that Oswald saw — We Were Strangers (1949), Suddenly (1954), and The Manchurian Candidate (1962) — may have inspired him to kill the president.

As his essay on Oswald demonstrates, outsiders fascinate Haney. And that fascination extends to Hollywood’s outsiders, the nearly forgotten actors who were deserted by fame in their own lifetimes. Haney is their champion. In Superstars, he tells the stories of Sean Flynn, Mark Frechette, Steve Cochran, and Christopher Jones in captivating detail and provides us with the most complete biographies these men are ever likely to get. 

Sean Flynn inherited the handsomeness of his father, legendary screen swashbuckler Errol Flynn, but lacked his casual élan in front a movie camera. Sean sought adventure as a photographer in war torn Vietnam and Cambodia, where he disappeared in 1970. Steve Cochran possessed a kind of oily charisma that suited his portrayals of shady characters in films like White Heat (1949) and Private Hell 36 (1954). He was an uncomplicated man who cared only for masculine luxuries — exotic sports cars and boats — and women: he had an insatiable sexual appetite. He could also be physically violent with them. He died horribly when a mysterious disease suddenly struck him as he was sailing his yacht Rogue in the waters off Guatemala, while a crew of barely legal Mexican women he had hired to help him promote a film project could only look on helplessly.

Mark Frechette never wanted to be an actor. He didn’t know what he wanted to do until he fell under the spell of cult leader Mel Lyman in Boston. After a talent scout for director Michelangelo Antonioni spotted Frechette in New York, Antonioni cast him as a campus radical running from the law in Zabriskie Point (1970). Frechette often sparred with Antonioni during the shoot. It didn’t matter; he was only doing it for Mel. Frechette’s misbegotten idea of a revolutionary political statement was to rob a bank, which got one of his accomplices killed. Frechette died in prison when a barbell fell on his neck, asphyxiating him. He was only 27.

Christopher Jones rocketed to stardom in only his second film, Wild in the Streets (1968), a political fantasy about a 22-year-old rock star who becomes president. He bore a striking similarity to James Dean, with the same mesmeric ability to seduce an audience. Jones quit acting abruptly after filming Ryan’s Daughter (1970) and became an enigmatic recluse until his death in early 2014 at age 72. In what may be the most fascinating piece in Death Valley Superstars, Duke Haney does much to unravel the shadowy mystery of Jones’ post-Hollywood years for the first time.

“I think Hollywood is the true Death Valley,” says Haney, “because it’s where dreams go to die, and sometimes the dreamer.” Fortunately, Haney is still with us — and we owe him our thanks for Death Valley Superstars, a dream of a collection.

¤

Peter L. Winkler is the author of Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel (Barricade Books, 2011) and the editor of The Real James Dean: Intimate Memories from Those Who Knew Him Best (Chicago Review Press, 2016).

The post Hell Down in Hollywood: On Duke Haney’s “Death Valley Superstars” appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books http://bit.ly/2UITses via IFTTT

[paulodebargelove]

Luther Vandross, Gregory Hines - There's Nothing Better Than Love

Remembering yesterday's birthday Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer.

Early life

Hines was born in New York City, the son of Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines, a dancer, musician, and actor. Hines began tapping when he was two years old, and began dancing semi-professionally at the age of five. After that, he and his older brother Maurice performed together, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang. Gregory and Maurice also learned from veteran tap dancers such as Howard Sims and The Nicholas Brothers whenever they performed in the same venues.

The two brothers were known as “The Hines Kids”, making nightclub appearances, and later as “The Hines Brothers”. When their father joined the act as a drummer, the name changed again in 1963 to “Hines, Hines, and Dad”.

Career

Hines performed as the lead singer and musician in a rock band called Severance in the year of 1975-1976 based in Venice, California. Severance was one of the house bands at an original music club called Honky Hoagies Handy Hangout, otherwise known as the 4H Club. Severance released their debut album on Largo Records (a subsidiary of GNP Crescendo) in 1976. In 1986, he sang a duet with Luther Vandross, entitled “There’s Nothing Better Than Love”, which reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard R&B charts.

Hines made his movie debut in Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part I. Critics took note of Hines’s comedic charm, and he later appeared in such movies as The Cotton Club, White Nights, Running Scared alongside Billy Crystal, Tap and Waiting to Exhale. On television, he starred in his own series in 1997 called The Gregory Hines Show on CBS, as well as in the recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace. In 1999, he would return to voice Big Bill, in Nick Jr.’s television show Little Bill. In 2000, he starred in “The Tic Code.”

Hines made his Broadway debut with his brother in The Girl in Pink Tights in 1954. He earned Tony Award nominations for Eubie!(1979), Comin’ Uptown (1980) and Sophisticated Ladies (1981), and won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Jelly’s Last Jam(1992) and the Theatre World Award for Eubie!. In 1989, Gregory Hines created “Gregory Hines’ Tap Dance in America,” which he also hosted. The PBS special featured seasoned tap dancers such as Savion Glover and Bunny Briggs. He also co-hosted the Tony Awards ceremony in 1995 and 2002.

In 1990, Hines visited his idol, Sammy Davis, Jr., as he was dying of throat cancer, unable to speak. After Davis died, an emotional Hines spoke at Davis’s funeral of how Sammy had made a gesture to him, “as if passing a basketball … and I caught it.” Hines spoke of the honor that Sammy thought that Hines could carry on from where he left off.

Hines was an avid improviser. He did a lot of improvisation of tap steps, tap sounds, and tap rhythms alike. His improvisation was like that of a drummer, doing a solo and coming up with all sorts of rhythms. He also improvised the phrasing of a number of tap steps that he would come up with, mainly based on sound produced. A laid back dancer, he usually wore nice pants and a loose-fitting shirt. Although he inherited the roots and tradition of the black rhythmic tap, he also influenced the new black rhythmic tap, as a proponent. “‘He purposely obliterated the tempos,’ wrote tap historian Sally Sommer, ‘throwing down a cascade of taps like pebbles tossed across the floor. In that moment, he aligned tap with the latest free-form experiments in jazz and new music and postmodern dance.’”

Throughout his career, Hines wanted to and continued to be an advocate for tap in America. In 1988, he successfully petitioned the creation of National Tap Dance Day, which is now celebrated in 40 cities in the United States. It is also celebrated in eight other nations. Gregory Hines was on the Board of Directors of Manhattan Tap, he was a member of the Jazz Tap Ensemble, and a member of the American Tap Foundation (formerly the American Tap Dance Orchestra). He was a good teacher, influencing tap dance artists Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, and Jane Goldberg.

In an interview with The New York Times in 1988, Hines said that everything he did was influenced by his dancing: “my singing, my acting, my lovemaking, my being a parent.”

Personal life

Hines’ marriages to Patricia Panella and Pamela Koslow ended in divorce. He had two children—a son, Zach, and a daughter, Daria, as well as a stepdaughter, Jessica Koslow, and a grandson.

Death

Hines died of liver cancer on August 9, 2003, en route to hospital from his home in Los Angeles. He had been diagnosed with the disease more than a year earlier, but had informed only his closest friends. At the time of his death, production of the television showLittle Bill was ending, and he was engaged to Negrita Jayde. Hines is interred at Saint Volodymyr’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, the country in which he met Jayde. Jayde, who died from cancer as well on August 28, 2009, is buried next to him.

Awards and nominations

Awards

1979 Theatre World Award—Eubie! 1992 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical—Jelly’s Last Jam 1992 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical—Jelly’s Last Jam 1988 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture—Running Scared 1998 Flo-Bert Award—Lifetime Achievement in Tap Dance by the New York Committee To Celebrate National Tap Dance Day 2002 Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special—Bojangles 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer In An Animated Program —Little Bill Nominations

1979 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical—Eubie! 1980 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical—Comin’ Uptown 1981 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical—Sophisticated Ladies 1982 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement—Special Class—I Love Liberty 1985 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program—Motown Returns to the Apollo 1989 Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program—Tap Dance in America 1992 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography—Jelly’s Last Jam 1992 Tony Award for Best Choreography—Jelly’s Last Jam 1995 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture—Waiting to Exhale 1998 American Comedy Awards Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series—Will & Grace 1998 Image Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series—The Gregory Hines Show 2001 Black Reel Awards Network/Cable Best Actor—Bojangles 2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie—Bojangles 2001 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries—Bojangles 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Special—The Red Sneakers 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Special—The Red Sneakers