LOSING A FRIEND
There is no easy way to mark the loss of a longtime friend. Rick Scheckmanwas a quiet guy, the last one to call attention to himself in any situation. He was also a loyal friend and part of our…
BRANDO, HITCHCOCK, AND JERRY LEWIS—TOGETHER?
I’m not saying that these three legendary figures worked together, or even shared a lunch, but here is proof that they could have. On September 1, 1960 they were all working at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood: Brando on One- Eyed Jacks, Hitchcock…
MY FIRST-EVER OSCAR VOTE
I’ve been watching the Oscars since I was a kid, and writing about them for decades, but this year I did something I never dreamt of during all that time: I cast a vote. Last year, I was admitted…
NEW AND NOTABLE BOOKS January 2023
CARTOON VOICES OF THE GOLDEN AGE, 1930-1970 Volumes 1 and 2 by Keith Scott (BearManor Media) This is not so much a book as a life’s work for its author, a lifelong cartoon fanatic who wound up providing voices…
TURN EVERY PAGE: THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT GOTTLIEB AND ROBERT CARO
Speaking as a writer who has worked in the publishing world for decades, I view Turn Every Page as a true-life Superhero movie. This portrait of two legends—veteran book editor Bob Gottlieb and venerable biographer Robert Caro—offers a closeup look at…
CATCHING UP WITH RECENT MOVIES
December is the busiest month of the year for me, as it’s when I have to catch up with as many movies as possible. I vote in several year-end awards and polls and I want to make good choices,…
BABYLON: AN ELEPHANTINE TIME TRIP
Give Damien Chazelle credit for loving movies and Hollywood history. That’s what led him down the long and winding road to Babylon. But we all know what the road to hell is paved with, and this movie is a shining…
