Requiescat in pace -- Ann Blyth

Ann Blyth left us last night at 98 years of age. Her millions of fans join her family and friends in sorrow for her loss, but we can continue to celebrate her memory as a profoundly talented actress and singer, and a wonderful human being.

I have written so much about her career, I will not repeat it here, but here is a link to a People online obituary that summarizes her achievements.

She was two months' shy of her 99th birthday.  We classic film fans will inevitably mourn the passing of our idols and favorites as if they were family.  But for one who has lived such a long, healthy, productive, and apparently happy life, my thought is that she is with her dearly beloved husband, and perhaps also her mother, whom she lost when she was a teenager.  Ann Blyth McNulty surely deserves that eternal perfect peace her faith promised her.  

Requiescat in pace - June Lockhart

Farewell to June Lockhart, who passed on October 23rd, having reached her 100th birthday last June.  She was another treasured link to the Golden Age of Hollywood, before she became better known to younger generations through two television series and guest spots.

We will remember her as Belinda Cratchit, her real-life parents Gene and Kathleen Lockhart playing Bob Crachit and his wife in A Christmas Carol (1938), and as Lucille Ballard in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).  She had a brief role in Keep Your Powder Dry (1945) here.

She also won a Tony Award in 1948 for Outstanding Performance By a Newcomer in For Love or Money.

It is a triumph to reach the century mark, but especially gratifying when one has lived a life so full of personal and professional accomplishments.

John Hayes - Requiescat in Pace

This is to post a belated public farewell to a dear friend and colleague, John Hayes.  I "met" John in the early years of this blog, and some of you may remember his eclectic blog, Robert Frost's Banjo.  A musician as well as a poet, some years ago John and his partner wrote and performed on the movie track a musical score for Nell Shipman's silent film The Grub-Stake (1923) which I covered in this previous post.

Most recently, John published a three-volume book set of poetry, which I posted about on my New England Travels blog here.  Another volume of poetry will be published by Askance Publishing posthumously.  He was overjoyed at the contract and the accomplishment even as he bravely faced rapidly declining health.  A gentle man of extraordinary perspective, he faced his mortality with grace and gallantry.

For many years he was also my proofreader of my books, and I will miss his friendship.  Unlike most of the dear friends I've gratefully come to know through this blog, I actually was delighted to have met John in person.  He had been living on the West Coast, but on a trip to Boston to visit his mother, he kindly made arrangements to visit me in western Massachusetts, and we went to lunch.  

I read his poems from time to time and I feel the comfort of his big heart, his intellect, and his spirituality.  He has left us in his poetry a precious gift: himself.

Here is his obituary as published in The Oregonian.

John Hayes Obituary

John (Jack Hayes, his pen name) entered the light of heaven July 12. Born in 1956 to Elizabeth (Atkinson) and John Hayes Sr. in Bellows Falls, Vt., Jack was a warm, loving man with a generous, kind spirit. He received his BA in English from UVM and his MFA in Poetry from UVA and had a lot of passions, including music, baseball, and Tai Chi, but poetry was his calling. He published 11 books of poetry, most recently Prayer Wind (Askance), and has one more collection slated for publication posthumously. In life, as in his poems, John saw beauty in the ordinary and the unordinary, often in nature. He shared music that he loved, played with, and taught both guitar and ukulele.
In 2018, John married his true love, Sandy Pullella. Besides her, he leaves behind her family; his sister, Naomi (Mort) Rosenberg; niece, Jessie; nephew, Ethan; their children; several cousins; and his beloved dog, Chloe; and cat, Curious.
John felt enormous gratitude to the Taoist Tai Chi Society, where he practiced in Portland, Ore. for many years. He developed lifelong friendships with two nuns from the Marymount Hermitage in Mesa, ID and also felt deeply connected to his editor and friend, Sheila Graham-Smith.
Thank you to the teams of Kaiser Permanente Hospice and Palliative Care, Portland, Ore., OHSU, and the Alpha One Foundation. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Kaiser Hospice, the Alpha One Foundation, or the Marymount Hermitage. John's body has been donated to the OHSU Body Donation Program. Mass will be at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church 7600 N. Hereford, Portland, July 28, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. 

Published by The Oregonian from Jul. 22 to Jul. 28, 2024.

Requiescat in pace - Janis Paige

Recently, we bid farewell to Janis Paige, after an extraordinary 101-year run.  Her career may have spanned only 60 of those years (“only” 60, she says), but a life of many experiences and accomplishments, as we know, is not left on the soundstage or the stage door.  One suspects she made the centenarian club because she finally did everything she wanted to do and wasn't leaving the party before she was finished.

A native of the state of Washington, she moved to Los Angeles after high school, did some modeling, and was discovered as a singer at the famed Hollywood Canteen during World War II.  Warner Bros., snapped her up (she had a brief role as a studio guide in the movie, Hollywood Canteen—see this previous post), and she appeared in a number of musicals with Dennis Morgan or Jack Carson, but left in 1951, dissatisfied with Hollywood, to work in theatre.  She came back for a bit in the 1950s, but enjoyed a long and varied career on stage, and television, where she had her own sitcom for one season, and appeared as a guest in many shows over many decades.

Here below is one of my favorite clips.  I never tire of it.  Janis holds her old with Fred Astaire and despite the workout she’s getting, seems to get a kick out of it.

Here's Janis and Fred Astaire from Silk Stockings (1957) "Stereophonic Sound."

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Our greatest gift from the Greatest Generation was freedom from fascism. Relive, and celebrate, how evil was faced, discussed, dramatized...and fought. Classic films were Hollywood's weapon.

Get your copy of my book Hollywood Fights Fascism here at Amazon in print or eBook, or FREE here for a limited time at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and a variety of other online shops.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Movies in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century and Hollywood Fights Fascism and Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

 

Requiescat in pace - Bill Hayes

Bill Hayes, longtime cast member of the daytime drama Days of Our Lives, passed away at 98 years of age.  Remarkably, fans of the show will note he worked right up until the end -- appearing at the annual Christmas episode with his wife and castmate Susan Seaforth Hayes (reportedly, they were introduced to each other by castmate Macdonald Carey).  (The program left broadcast television in 2022 but continues streaming on NBC's Internet "Peacock" channel.)

Mr. Hayes very kindly allowed me to interview him on Ann Blyth for my book, Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. in 2014.  (Has it really been ten years?)  He was charming, funny, and gracious.  I enjoyed talking with him very much and listening to his memories of his career in theatre and television.

He first appeared with Ann Blyth in the summer theatre production of Brigadoon in 1968 at the St. Louis Municipal Opera (MUNY), and in 1985 they appeared opposite each other in Song of Norway at the Long Beach Civil Opera.  In 1992, they formed a cabaret act and sang together at New York's exclusive Rainbow & Stars room atop Rockefeller Center and continued to play other dates across the country in the early 1990s.

His contribution to my book was invaluable, and I'll carry the warm memory of my chat with this dear man always.  My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.  As Ann Blyth is still with us, this is, undoubtedly, her loss as well.

For more on Bill Hayes' long career, have a look at this article in The Hollywood Reporter.

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Our greatest gift from the Greatest Generation was freedom from fascism. Relive, and celebrate, how evil was faced, discussed, dramatized...and fought. Classic films were the weapon.

Get your copy of Hollywood Fights Fascism here at Amazon in print or eBook, or here at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and a variety of other online shops.

  ************

Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Movies in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century and Hollywood Fights Fascism and Christmas in Classic Films. TO JOIN HER READERS' GROUP - follow this link for a free book as a thank-you for joining.

Angela Lansbury -- Requiescat in Pace

While we mourn the passing of Angela Lansbury, we also are moved to celebrate her long, loving, generous life and an extraordinary career of some 80 years.

Some of her film work has been mentioned on this blog previously, such as roles in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960), her debut role in Gaslight (1944), as well as two episodes of her beloved television series Murder She Wrote:  "Reflections of the Mind" with Ann Blyth, and a mention of her clever "sequel" as Jessica Fletcher sorts out the solution from a 1949 movie Strange Bargain.

As a theatre fan, I always looked forward to her appearances at the Tony Awards (she won 5 Tonys).  Here's a reunion of Miss Angela and Bea Arthur reprising their roles from Mame.

She did it all.  She adapted to each era and each new audience.  Had there never been a 12-year run of Murder She Wrote on TV, or her voice work in animated features such as Beauty and the Beast where her rendition of the title song still charms and breaks the heart -- she would still have had a prestigious place in the history of film.  But she just didn't stop there, and there was no reason to.  She embraced all opportunities.  We should all be so lucky as to carry her sense of purpose and enjoyment of life.

She was just five days shy of her 97th birthday.  I wish there could have been at least one more adventure with Jessica Fletcher, but I'm glad I have some DVDs to visit my old friend from time to time.

Angela Lansbury doesn't require mourning from us; she deserves, rather, a standing ovation.

Requiescat in pace - Marsha Hunt

Marsha Hunt left us last week at 104 years old, a sparkling human being of whom we can truly say had a life well lived.  There are fewer film actors from the 1930s left to us these days, so it is remarkable that the lady came to Hollywood -- and thereby to us classic film fans -- in 1935.

She played opposite everyone:  John Wayne before his stardom took off, John Barrymore, Mickey Rooney, Lana Turner, Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson...you name it.  Of the last two mentioned, we covered her work in Pride and Prejudice (1940) here.  Her role as Mary is some of the best moments of the film:  

"In Marsha Hunt we have one of the funniest Mary Bennetts on screen, with her broad, almost campy playing of the unattractive and dull sister, particularly in her too-eager reaction when her mother admonishes her to smile at a party. The sour note she hits in her performance of “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton” is priceless."

Mary has been played by others as awkward and foolish, dour and pompous, but Marsha Hunt captured the absurdity in the character that I think Jane Austen would have applauded. 

Marsha Hunt had a sense of humor and a sense of humanity, and she would need it.  In 1950, she was blacklisted and the Radical Right, by means of Hollywood, torched her career.  The blacklisting episode, an era that ruined the careers and lives of many liberals and progressives in the film industry, is what seems to have been most captured in the headlines about her passing.  We covered her work in the radio program Hollywood Fights Back here.

But she was more than someone who got thrown under the bus for her integrity.  She went to work in theatre, which is famously tolerant and wonderfully belligerent to those who are intolerant, and we mentioned her appearance at the LaJolla Playhouse.

She was, above all, a humanitarian, and worked on behalf of the poverty-stricken, the homeless, the hungry for many decades.  In her work, and in her life, she was a champion.

The 2015 documentary, Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity tells her story, and if it pops up again on TCM, which I expect it may in a tribute to her, don't miss it.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Memories in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century. Her newspaper column on classic films, Silver Screen, Golden Memories is syndicated nationally.  Her new book, a collection of posts from this blog - Hollywood Fights Fascism - is available here on Amazon.

Patricia Nolan-Hall, a.k.a. The Caftan Woman - Requiescat in Pace

 

Twitter photo - posted by Maureen Nolan

 

The classic film blogging community is mourning the loss of Patricia Nolan-Hall, known as Paddy, known as The Caftan Woman.

She was a lady of intelligence, keen humor, and enormous generosity.  I’ve posted before on this wonderful person here and also here, and her kind and insightful comments to my posts are peppered throughout this blog, but to really appreciate her knowledge of classic film and television, you need to read her blog here.

My deepest condolences to her family and friends, most especially to her beloved children and husband whom she shared with us; but also, to the classic film bloggers who loved her, and for whom as well this is a heartbreaking loss. 

Photo from The Caftan Woman blog

It would be fitting to hold an annual blogathon in her name, since she participated in so many and was such a faithful and supportive commenter on other’s blog posts.

I loved her, and one of my wishes in life was to one day meet her in person. I will think of her all my days and with every old movie I sit down to watch, wondering what she might have thought of it. We are lucky that she left a written record of so many.  It is a testament to her noble spirit that so many in our classic film blogging community who never met her will miss her so much.  I hope that tribute of their love and respect for her might be of some small comfort to her family.

May angels guide her to her rightful place in heaven, now that her valiant struggle is over.  She was, as her father might say, “a dandy.”

Requiescat in pace - Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier, a young Bahamian-American who failed his first acting audition when he was a teen because he could not read the script (was, as he recalled in interviews, tutored for weeks by an elderly Jewish waiter to learn to read and to pass his audition to join the American Negro Theater), became a giant in the acting profession, a leader in social causes, a diplomat, and a role model.

He was driven and he was talented, and he was truly great in that he aspired to and achieved greatness.  He can be admired for many achievements in his life, but what I will miss most about him is that he was a man of his era.  I will miss the movies of deep social comment that don't seem to be made anymore, and I will miss an era of elegance and glamor at the Oscars that has long since faded away under the auspices of a cruder generation that doesn't seem to know how to behave in such a venue, or indeed, in public.

I'm glad Sir Sidney came to us when he did, and was not struggling to launch his career in films in say, the 1930s when the kinds of films which he made in the 1950s and 1960s were not being made.  He was a man of his time, thankfully, and we are the better for that.

Requiescat in Pace - Jane Powell

 A memory of Jane Powell in a simple, elegant, long-sleeve gown with a bateau neckline at what must have been some televised awards show (how many years ago?), and especially comments made by some reviewers in effect that she outshone all the younger female entertainers.  It was true.  It was not a patronizing tribute to her representing a fond remembrance of Old Hollywood, like a treasured fossil we take down from the shelf and pay homage to that they don't make them like that anymore -- rather, it was the honest acknowledgement that this lady displayed class and that class is timeless.

I remember feeling proud of her, with that sense of ownership old movie buffs generally have for Old Hollywood.

One would suspect, however, that her elegance and her class on this evening was not effortless; a troubled childhood and difficult apprenticeship in the film industry -- a career she never wanted -- she revealed in her autobiography, The Girl Next Door and How She Grew.  

An interesting quality Jane Powell had, however, was that she was able to observe that world like a fly on the wall and inspect it for what it was, holding herself apart.  Her diffidence might have given her that quality, but her impressions, feeling as she did like an outsider looking in, give us a view of the studio system that we don't find in other memoirs. It's also interesting that Jane Powell finally found personal peace and happiness with another child actor with conflicting feelings on his film career, and first met Dick "Dickie" Moore when he was writing his own book: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Don't Have Sex or Take the Car.

She eventually accepted her role as an alum of that rare world, and took it in good grace, as evidenced in her appearances in film industry events, and especially taking over the host position on TCM in 2011 when Robert Osborne was on medical leave. She had a long career on film, television, and the stage, and if being the girl next door in her early movies was such a small part of her life, she seemed resigned to allowing us to cherish it, even if it did not mean quite so much to her.  

Requiescat in Pace - Jane Withers

Jane Withers, who passed away at 95 years old on August 7th, was one of Hollywood's greats, who deserves more recognition.  She began as a child of prodigious talent, and grew to be a lovely and generous lady.  She performed on radio, film, stage, and her commercials as "Josephine the Plumber" for Comet cleanser turned out to be one of the longest-running characters on television.  

Her gift for mimicry was splendid, such that during the post-production of Disney's animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) when Mary Wickes passed away, Jane stepped in and finished the role of Laverne the gargoyle, mimicking Mary Wickes' voice and reprising the role in the sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002).

We covered Jane Withers' work here in Paddy O'Day (1935) and Bright Eyes (1934).  She and actress Ann Blyth were devoted friends.  Jane appeared on an episode of This is Your Life in 1959 that paid tribute to Ann, and Ann appeared on an A&E episode of Biography that paid tribute to Jane Withers in 2003. 

From my essay on Paddy O'Day, we leave this image of Jane Withers' gift for friendship, her kindliness, and her loyalty to a newcomer on that movie, Rita Hayworth:

"Rita, 16 years old, was nervous on the set, more terrified than the immigrant she was playing. Jane, nine years old, but already a veteran and the star of the movie, felt protective of her.  Before the cameras rolled, Jane held Rita’s hand and said a prayer to comfort her. 

Decades later, in 1987, when Rita Hayworth died, Jane was asked to deliver the eulogy at her funeral.  She repeated on that occasion the prayer she said while holding Rita’s hand on the set of Paddy O’Day:

 

“Lord, this is Rita and she’s afraid… Please be with her because she’s special.”

Jane Withers is pretty special too."

May she be remembered for her many, many special gifts.

Norman Lloyd - Requiescat in pace

Norman Lloyd, who recently left us, was an actor of skill, intelligence, with an astounding resilience that gave him a life of 106 years and a career over 90 years.  He was well known to classic film fans, not only for his indelible presence in such films as Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942), with that iconic scene of him dangling off the Statue of Liberty, but for his jovial  and spirited appearances at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

His energy, his interest in his craft and in the world, not to say his longevity, made him the delight of younger fans and earned him the admiration and fame that character actors perhaps did not enjoy when he was a young man in Hollywood in the 1930s.

What I particularly admire about him is his range of work that extended to theatre, movies, television, radio, and even spoken records.  He produced and directed as well as acted, and was connected with some of the best productions and the finest talent in his industry, from his early work with the Federal Theatre Project, to Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre, and he seemed to connect again and again with actors like himself who floated effortlessly between stage and screen.  One such person he worked with on different occasions and was friends with for decades was Dorothy McGuire.  He first met her when they were in summer stock together in 1937.  He once said of her: “She was an actress of great instinct and she trusted her instinct."

“If you think of the performances [in movies] like Gentleman’s Agreement, Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Friendly Persuasion, what you got was almost a definitive American woman: With her look, her manner, her breeding, she represented the best in what we would conjure up as a perfect American woman.”

Though there are several movies I could use to illustrate Mr. Lloyd's career, I'd like to instead highlight one of his last important starring roles, that of Dr. Auschlander on the television program St. Elsewhere, which ran for some six seasons in the 1980s.  Though he was in his late sixties into his early seventies at the time of the run of this show, he was nowhere near to retiring.  Neither was his guest star on a three-episode arc from 1986:  Dorothy McGuire.

Broadcast in January and February, the three episodes deal with Miss McGuire as the matriarch of a Massachusetts political family who is undergoing a cardiac procedure.  In the first episode, Mr. Lloyd's character, a physician and administrator of the Boston hospital, is resentful of the attention she is commanding from the hospital administration, mainly because her politician husband denied him an important state appointment because Dr. Auschlander is a Jew.  

Two particular scenes between them are a gift to classic film fans.  First, when he confronts her with his disgust and she responds with the knowing sadness of her husband's bigotry, and the second is when she leaves her hospital room and visits his office, giving him the large certificate announcing he has at last been given this prestigious appointment. She has pulled some strings on his behalf.  In turn, he gives her a painting of a lighthouse done by his wife that he hopes will remind her of her beloved home on Cape Cod.   As she enters his office, he is playing a record of the opera La traviata, which she recognizes.  It is a favorite of hers, and she asks to remain to listen with him.

They each sit quietly in chairs opposite each other, he perusing the certificate she has given him, and she admiring the painting in her arms.  The camera pulls back above them, so we look down upon them, both reaching a blissful moment of contentment late in their lives -- but not too late.

That perhaps is the theme of Mr. Lloyd's later years.  It was never too late.

____________

An Appreciation of Dorothy McGuire in the words of Director Norman Lloyd (- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PIgWgRYxVM)

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Memories in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century. Her newspaper column on classic films, Silver Screen, Golden Memories is syndicated nationally.  Her new book, a collection of posts from this blog - Hollywood Fights Fascism - is available here on Amazon.

Requiescat in pace - Carl Reiner

Carl Reiner will be remembered for his long career and incredible talent, for being a mensch, for being a pioneer of early television.  For just a moment, let's remember a scene from those early years and the man who came into our living rooms as a friend we loved and looked forward to seeing.  Here from the fantastic Your Show of Shows, he provides support to Sid Caesar in one of the funniest sketches ever performed on television.  How fitting that it is also a parody of television. From April 3, 1954...

Requiescat in pace - Vera Lynn

Dame Vera Lynn (2017-2020) has died at 103 years old, but longevity in a challenging world is only one of her accomplishments.  She was still topping the charts in her nineties and past 100 with her exquisite voice.  

Beloved in the United Kingdom for her lovely renditions of "We'll Meet Again," "The White Cliffs of Dover," and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," among others, she performed on radio and for the troops during World War II. Such was her popularity that in 2009 she was named the Briton who best exemplified the twentieth century.  

That's quite a label. The sentiment, the patriotism, the pluck, and heartbreaking sweetness of the songs she sang and her impeccable renditions of them perhaps expressed humanity's indomitability in a dark time.  May her voice and those lovely songs echo in our cultural memory for a long time to come.

Requiescat in pace - Kirk Douglas

It is rare these days for the world of the classic film fan to intersect with news of modern pop culture, for our heroes were of the past, in a studio system long gone and by most, forgotten. When we mourn the passing of a figure from Hollywood's heyday, as happens more frequently as the years pass, non-classic film buffs may say, "Who?" and wonder cynically at our bereavement. 

The passing of Kirk Douglas yesterday gives occasion to remember a great actor known not just to a nostalgic and narrow old movie fandom but also a man who by his long career and longer life is still identifiable as a celebrity, which is certainly unusual.

He was 103 years old when he passed, and remained in the public eye long after his last TV role some twelve years ago.  We old movie buffs know he began his career in 1947, supporting Barbara Stanwick, no less, in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.  He was soon cast as leads, and he never looked back. His career stretched from film noir of studio system days to big budget blockbusters in the fifties and sixties, to eventual character parts and comedy cameos. He wrote his memoirs. He was a humanitarian. But just remaining in the public eye for so long and allowing us to see him age, rather than retreat into private life, is a testament to his vigor and his sociability, despite serious health events over the years. He was joined in the business by his famous actor son, but never replaced by him.  It was good to witness in a society that tends to marginalize the aged.  

We discussed his work in Strangers When We Meet (1960) here, and Seven Days in May (1964) here.

Requiescat in pace - Carol Channing

Carol Channing, whom we lost this week at 97 years old, performs a hilarious skit on the downfall of a silent movie star.  God bless her.

Prelude to War - Requiescat in Pace, Greatest Generation

Tomorrow, December 7th, marks the 77th anniversary of the day America stood on the precipice of World War II, and a generation -- now referred to as The Greatest Generation, faced another moment of destiny.

Yesterday, we held a national day of mourning for former President George Herbert Walker Bush, who was our last president to have served in World War II.  Characteristically of that generation, he enlisted on his eighteenth birthday.

Here is archival footage of twenty-year-old  Lt. J.G. Bush being rescued after being shot down.

To keep faith with that Greatest Generation and the continuing gift of freedom they have left us, we need to remind ourselves of the reasons they had to give up their youth, in many cases, their lives, to a higher purpose.

Hollywood contributed a unique perspective and legacy of that era.  We classic film buffs are familiar with the wartime dramas, the musicals, the patriotic messages, as well as the number of actors who left their careers to enter the military and the hundreds of others who supported the nation's war mission by entertaining troops, appearing at bond drives, and volunteering in many ways.

We've discussed in this previous post about the Hollywood Commandos or the FMPU which produced wartime training films.  One of the most important projects made by this unit was director Frank Capra's Why We Fight series.  This was meant to inform, inspire, and provide the necessary background to the purpose of why the service personnel were required to fight.  Training them to use certain weapons, or how to act in certain situations was not the only important education they received in boot camp.  The fight against fascism was as intellectual and emotional as it was tactical.

The first film in that series, Prelude to War is up at the top of this post.  One hopes that in an era where fascism has found a foothold in our country, and young people know next to nothing about World War II, that an imperfect, decades-old training film, called "propaganda" today, is not so remote that it would not touch even the most stupid and cynical teenager posing for a class photo while giving the Nazi salute, or painting swastika graffiti, or draping a rope noose where it will be noticed.

Requiescat in pace, President Bush.  Requiescat in pace, Greatest Generation.

Requiescat in pace - June Foray - 1917-2017

Animator and director Chuck Jones said of June Foray, "June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc; Mel Blanc was the male June Foray."

For a cartoon voice artist, there can be no greater tribute.  There were other tributes as well during her long career, many awards, among them she holds the honor of being the oldest person--at age 94--to be nominated for, and win, an Emmy.  June Foray died last week just shy of her 100th birthday.

I take particular pride in noting that she came from my neck of the woods, western Massachusetts.  She was born and raised in Springfield, graduated from Classical High School in that city, and her first work as a voice artist came on the local Springfield radio station WBZA.

Fortunately for us, her work was recorded on video, audio, children's records, a wide array of media--and the sound media that gave her a career will continue to give us enjoyment of her talent.   She lived a century, and her work reflects the media explosion of that remarkable century.  Here is a clip on YouTube of only some of her voice characters.  Have a listen, and look at her cartoon characters.  You can't help but smile.

Robert Osborne - Requiescat in Pace

When I recorded a movie on Turner Classic Movies, I often tried to get Robert Osborne's intro on the recording.  I will miss that very much.

Classic film fans mourn the passing of our Robert Osborne this week.  It is, for us, the end of an era.

We know something about the ending of eras.  To love classic films is to be acutely aware of the passage of time.  Fractures in the timeline are part of the study of classic films as much as they are in life.  Acknowledging them involves a degree of mourning, to be sure, but they always are accompanied by the sweet, blessed balm of pleasant memory and lessons learned.  So it will be with Mr. Osborne.

We'll always have Paris.

His appeal as a host to me and millions of old movie fans of all ages -- he is as dear to the millennials as he is to senior citizens -- is likely that rare mixture of wisdom, geniality, gentleness, and the respect he gives us as movie buffs.  Such gentlemanliness engenders our respect for him.  Also, for those of us who began our fandom long before the days of the Internet, who know what it was like to research a favorite film or actor from Who's Who volumes in the local town library -- we appreciate what effort it must have taken for him to compile his first book in 1965, Academy Awards Illustrated. Maybe we even used that book, if we were lucky enough that our library had a copy, for our own exploration of info on old movies.

Mr. Osborne is gone.  But that's almost like saying Humphrey Bogart is gone, or Clark Gable, or Barbara Stanwyck.  Are they really? If TCM gives us regular visits with our friends on the silver screen, then how are they gone?  We will still enjoy Mr. Osborne's influence in our lives, and enjoy the memory of his visits with us.

TCM is to hold a tribute weekend next week showing some of Mr. Osborne's many interviews.  I hope that they will make this a regular feature on the channel, perhaps at least once a week.  It will be delightful to visit with him again, in between our reunions with Hattie McDaniel, Bette Davis, and Paul Henried.

Several wonderful classic film bloggers have paid tribute to Robert Osborne this week.  Here are a few of them:

A Shroud of Thoughts by Terence Towles Canote.

Comet Over Hollywood by Jessica Pickens

Journeys in Classic Film by Kristen Lopez

Requiescat in pace - Debbie Reynolds

For her wonderful talents, for her humor, for her dedication to the preservation of Hollywood film history, and for her heartbreak at the loss of her daughter, we pay tribute to Debbie Reynolds, but we do not say goodbye.  We can still visit Tammy, and Molly Brown, and all the rest of them.  They, like her memory, will always bring a smile.