Below are some remarkable drawings of celebrities by Pablo Lobato – the famous Argentinian artist. Outstanding! It’s amazing how he captured them with just a few lines. My favorites are probably Madonna and Julia Roberts. I would love to see Lobato print his work on tees, canvas totes, mugs, and so on. I’d want two of each and Julia on everything.
Madonna
The Beatles
Brad Pitt
Julia Roberts
Elton John
Jack Nicholson
It’s all in the eyes, isn’t it? If you go back, you can see that each celeb was captured in the windows to the soul. What must it be like to have so much artistic talent?! Check out http://lobaton.wordpress.com/ for many more outrageously wonderful works of artistic brilliance.
Billie Holiday at Town Hall, New York City, 1948 Framed Art Print
Loren, Dennis
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Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Nicknamed Lady Day, Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and song writer that could stop traffic with her voice. She got intimate with songs and music the way most people get intimate with one another. She co-wrote several songs that have gone down in jazz history, notably “God Bless the Child”, “Don’t Explain”, and “Lady Sings the Blues”. She also became famous for singing jazz standards written by others, including “Easy Living” and “Strange Fruit”.
She’s often remembered as the lovely lady with a gardenia in her hair belting out songs like nobody’s business.
Sadly, as was the case with quite a few of the stars from the past, drugs were Billie Holiday’s undoing. She was arrested several times due to an addiction she never overcame. She was even arrested on her death bed – literally. Gilbert Millstein of The New York Times, who had partly written the sleeve notes for the album The Essential Billie Holiday, described her death:
“Billie Holiday died in the Metropolitan Hospital, New York, on Friday, July 17, 1959, in the bed in which she had been arrested for illegal possession of narcotics a little more than a month before, as she lay mortally ill; in the room from which a police guard had been removed – by court order – only a few hours before her death, which, like her life, was disorderly and pitiful. She had been strikingly beautiful, but she was wasted physically to a small, grotesque caricature of herself. The worms of every kind of excess – drugs were only one – had eaten her. … The likelihood exists that among the last thoughts of this cynical, sentimental, profane, generous and greatly talented woman of 44 was the belief that she was to be arraigned the following morning. She would have been, eventually, although possibly not that quickly. In any case, she removed herself finally from the jurisdiction of any court here below.”
An incredibly tragic and sad ending for a woman who left a beautiful mark on our musical history. She deserved better – what a shame that she didn’t realize it.
To learn more about Billie Holiday, buy her autobiography on Amazon: Lady Sings the Blues
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Josh Friedman, the creator behind Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (oh, how I loved that series), has gotten behind a new series for ABC. Well, it’s more like a reboot than a new series. It’s Charlie’s Angels and I’m hoping all goes as planned. Leonard Goldberg, who worked with Aaron Spelling to produce the original series, and Drew Barrymore, who produced and starred in the movie versions are also involved.
If John Forsythe returned as the voice of Charlie, it’d just be icing on the cake.
I think a new Charlie’s Angels series would be a huge success, if the casting is spot on and they give it an ideal time slot (and leave it there!). When FOX played “catch me if you can” with Terminator’s time slot, they doomed a great series.
Yes. Still bitter.
I’ll post more news about Charlie’s Angels when I get it. Fingers crossed.
I’ve been reading (and thoroughly enjoying) a recent Christmas gift to my husband from our oldest daughter. It’s a big, gorgeous gold book titled, James Bond: The Secret World of 007.
Thanks, in large part, to this great book – James Bond movies are occupying a great deal of my thoughts lately!
I thought I’d just run with that and start a series of posts about the actors and actresses who have appeared in James Bond movies.
I’ve already done quite a few posts about many of these stars – but, what the heck, can you really have too much Ursula Andress, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, or (my favorite Bond) Pierce Brosnan?
No, I didn’t think so.
Ursula Andress lead a pretty interesting life. Not only was she married to John Derek (until an affair she was having broke up the marriage), she had a relationship with Harry Hamlin. They met while making “Clash of the Titans.” Our girl Ursula was a cougar before the term was even born – she was 43 and Harry was 27.
She was also very involved with James Dean and was rumored to be with him when he picked out the car that he would later wreck (and die in).
Ursula Andress was, of course, Honey Ryder in Dr. No (1962). This movie marked Sean Connery’s first appearance as James Bond.
Dr. No is actually an enjoyable movie. In the film, James Bond’s investigation of a missing colleague in Jamaica leads him to the island of the mysterious Dr. No and a scheme to end the US space program.
Author Ian Fleming actually wanted his cousin Christopher Lee to play Dr. No. (Lee would later appear as Scaramanga in the 007 flick The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), and would play the character that inspired Fleming to create Dr. No, Dr. Fu Manchu, in several films.)
Fleming also asked Noel Coward to play the part of Dr. No. Coward turned down the part by replying with a telegram that read, “Dr. No? No! No! No!” One of Coward’s objections was having to wear metal hands. Max von Sydow turned down the part in order to play Jesus Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and would finally play a Bond villain in Never Say Never Again (1983).
In the end, the role of Dr. No went to Joseph Wiseman, the only early Bond villain not to have his voice dubbed by another actor.
All in all, however, Ursula pretty much emerged as the star of Dr. No and will forever be remembered as the original Bond Girl.
Reclined Marilyn Art Print
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This is one of the greatest quotes about Marilyn Monroe I’ve ever read. It’s by someone who knew her best, her ex-husband Arthur Miller: To have survived, she would have had to be either more cynical or even further from reality than she was. Instead, she was a poet on a street corner trying to recite to a crowd pulling at her clothes.
Love that.
To get an idea of just how intelligent and witty Marilyn Monroe was, check out the great Marilyn Monroe quotes I just posted on another blog. She had a lot more going on than most people ever gave her credit for.
Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood 1952 Art Print
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“THE BODYGUARD,” starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston will air this Friday, September 18, on TV LAND PRIME at 9PM/8PM. Check your local listings for the exact time in your area.
This romantic thriller marked beautiful Whitney Houston’s film debut. Costner plays an ex-secret service agent-turned-professional-bodyguard who never leaves anything up to chance, until he meets a pop superstar-turned-actress whose fabulous career takes a life threatening turn when she becomes the target of an obsessive fan.
Watch the original theatrical trailer here.
Did you know?
The film was originally proposed in the mid-’70s, starring Diana Ross and Steve McQueen, but was rejected as “too controversial”.
Whitney Houston’s character Rachel Marron lives in the same mansion as the “horse’s head in the bed” mansion featured in “The Godfather” (1972).
Madonna was originally considered for the lead role of Rachel. The deal was called off informally after Madonna met with Costner backstage during her Truth or Dare tour. Costner congratulated her and called the show neat. Madonna made fun of his “neat” remark after he left.
“The Bodyguard” soundtrack became the first album to sell more than a million copies in a single week and won a Grammy for “Album of the Year.” To this day, “The Bodyguard” remains the best selling soundtrack of all time – outselling “Saturday Night Fever,” “Purple Rain” and “Grease.”
“People always ask me if I’m like Blanche. And I say, ‘Well, Blanche was an oversexed, self-involved, man-crazy, vain Southern Belle from Atlanta — and I’m not from Atlanta!’” – Rue McClanahan
One of my favorite sitcoms of all time is The Golden Girls. The casting is sheer perfection and the chemistry between the actresses was the stuff most television producers only dream of. Like Roseanne, Good Times, I Love Lucy, Beverly Hillbillies, Sanford and Son, and Andy Griffith – this is a sitcom that where you just can’t find a down side.
Rue McClanahan was flawless in her role as Blanche Devereaux. I swear, I’m in a trance any time the woman comes on the screen. Her mannerisms, her voice, the way she loses herself in her character – sheer brilliance. As I watched an episode this morning with my cat, Alexa, it occurred to me that Rue McClanahan doesn’t get nearly enough credit or attention.
Which is exactly why I’m HERE right this minute paying tribute to this hilarious actress!
Rue McClanahan Trivia:
- Rue was born in 1934 in Healdton, Oklahoma.
- She was a New York stage actress in the 1950’s. She was discovered on stage by Norman Lear and cast in roles on “All in the Family” (1971) and later “Maude” (1972).
- Stands 5′3.”
- When Rue was cast as Blanche on The Golden Girls, she was reunited with Bea Arthur (whom she’d worked with on Maude) and Betty White (whom she’d worked with on Mama’s Family).
- Estelle Getty, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Bea Arthur all won emmy’s for their roles on The Golden Girls
- After Bea Arthur left the show after eight seasons, McClanahan, White and Getty returned for a brief spin-off in “The Golden Palace” (1992).
- Rue is currently married to her sixth husband.
- In 1997, Rue McClanahan was diagnosed with cancer. She had a lumpectomy and underwent five months of chemotherapy.
- Is a vegan and dedicated animal rights activist.
- An Honorary Director for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
It never fails? A ton of things you want to watch always seem to come on at the same time. But tonight, it’s just ridiculous.
At 7:00 (check your own listings for times, of course), each of the following are vying for our attention:
- How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998, with Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, and Whoopi Goldberg) on BET
- The Bachelor (Season Premiere – Jason is the Bachelor and Thanks be to God it’s not another Bachelorette.) on ABC
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003, with Sean Connery and Shane West) on FX
- Hook (1991, with Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams) on AMC
- Freedom Writers (2007, with Hilary Swank – love her) on TMC
There’s also, of course, a Bowl game on (the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl?) with Texas and Ohio State.
