Susan Hayward on my Mind

Yikes! It just occurred to me that February is on its way out and I haven't posted any Susan Hayward material! I'll admit that other interests have intruded on my Haywardian pursuits, but I plan to remedy that in future entries. The fact that Susan DVDs aren't as plentiful as a star of her caliber deserves. Plus, I don't have cable, which is another hindrance. Anyway, it would seem that Hayward is buzzin' over at the TCM Movie Morlocks blog. Suzidoll wrote a fine piece on the star's 1958 Oscar triumph in I Want to Live! and discusses the performance in superior fashion.

Never Refuse an Award

John from Twenty-Four Frames and Carrie of Classic Montgomery have honored Hollywood Dreamland with the Premio Dardos award. Which, according to the citation:

The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

I'm self conscious enough as it is, but I can't refuse an honor from my peers, can I? So instead of pulling a Marlon Brando and sending Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse the honor, I say "Thank You!" to those who feel this small corner of the bloggosphere is worthy. I'm touched.

It's rewarding to have someone think what you do for your own amusement is worthwhile, but I enjoy comments on what is written more than anything else. Many of my followers are just content to read, and that's great, really! But for those of you who take the time to post comments, I thank you, because it's what I look forward to the most when I log in.

A Place on the Shelf: Thank you.

The rules state that I have to pass this on to five other blogs I deem worthy...I enjoy many blogs, but these are some of my favorites who deserve your time(even though three of the five don't know I exist).

Trixie at That's Just Stupid What You Said

August West at Vintage Hardboiled Reads

Chris at Ultra Swank

Jason at Spy Vibe

Lolita at Lolita's Classics

Jerry Lewis: It's About Time!

Tonight at the 81st Academy Awards, filmmaker extraordinaire Jerry Lewis gets some recognition--The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:

"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recognized Jerry Lewis with one of its greatest honors, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The award, named after renowned actor, past Academy president and motion picture industry supporter Jean Hersholt, is bestowed by the Academy on an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry."

Jerry Lewis should have received the Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award years ago. Heck, he should have at least gotten a certificate for coming up with the Video Assist in 1960, when making his directorial debut (in Miami!) in The Bellboy.

But let's face it: comedy never gets the recognition that drama does. Comedy is infinitely more difficult to do, if it weren't, they wouldn't need laugh tracks on most every situation comedy ever produced. Dramas don't require a "sobbing track" or a "suspense track" of a faux audience reacting to dramatic action onscreen, do they? Lewis was Paramount's big moneymaker in the 1950s and 1960s and was given full control over his work. Such was the confidence that studio founder Adolph Zukor essentially gave the star anything he wanted because the producer knew that a Lewis film would make a tidy profit at the box office. Lewis was/is a perfectionist and demanding. He had zero tolerance for incompetents, as he states in the DVD featurette for his 1963 masterwork, The Nutty Professor.

However...

...the Hersholt award is an award honoring humanitarians, and it's one Lewis should have received decades ago, because no one in Hollywood is more associated with charitable work than Lewis. His Labor Day Telethons (held annually since 1960) are the stuff of legend, and I can remember watching them in the 1970s, when Lewis had infinitely more screen time than he has in recent years. I even recall Lewis' Sinatra-planned reunion with Dean Martin in 1976; that was my first time watching the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon! I was only vaguely aware of who Dean Martin was, but before I knew of Lewis the auteur, I recognized him as the "Jerry's Kids" sponsor. I'll bet a couple of generations do the same. I mentioned in a previous post that I wouldn't be watching the Oscars this year, however, I'll be tuning in at my usual booth at The Purple Pit--but only for Jerry's long overdue recognition.

A Jerk Supreme: Jerry Lewis as professor Julius Kelp's alter ego, Buddy Love, in 1963's 'The Nutty Professor.'

Who Was Florine McKinney?

Who is this woman? She's Florine McKinney, that's who. Who? Florine McKinney. I found this MGM picture of her a couple of years ago and never followed up on what this actress ever did. In fact, when I went to retrieve the photo from the Hollywood Dreamland "archives", I failed to even remember her name, typing it as Florence McKinney. She seemed destined for obscurity. She still is, but not entirely. It turns out that McKinney (1909-1975) was a glorified extra in a handful of movies in the 1930s and 1940s, including my beloved The Philadelphia Story. And as many times as I've seen that movie, I cannot recall Miss McKinney's appearance as the "Main Line Society Woman." She also had an uncredited bit in the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers (1932). Her final film appearance (at age 33) was in a Johnny Mack Brown entry, 1942's Little Joe, the Wrangler, where she even got to play a character with a name, Mary Brewster. And that was the end of Florine McKinney's movie career.

Florine McKinney lived to be 65 and it got me thinking as to what stories she may have had to tell about her small taste of Hollywood. What this girl from the town of Mart, Texas did to leave her hometown to head for the promise of fame in Tinsel Town. I guess I'll never know, but the fact that this photo exists enabled me to become aware of her contribution to one of my favorite movies, however small it may be. I just would have liked to hear her story and know of her experiences in those heady days of Hollywood.