MORT DRUCKER : MAD magazine's Best Caricature Artist!

Remembering MAD artist Mort Drucker on his birthdate: March 22, 1929! He's always been my all-time favorite artist. Mort's cartoons were the feature I always looked forward to whenever I got the latest issue of MAD. When he left the magazine, I stopped reading it but never forgot his artwork and I still keep revisiting him often! 

The First and the Best James Bond 007!

Remembering Sean Connery on his birthday. The first and the best James Bond 007!

"Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!"

 

Of course, that was one of Oliver Hardy's most familiar catchphrases along with "Why don't you do something to help me?" and "Hard boiled eggs and nuts! Hmmh!"  Unforgettable words, always directed at his slow-witted partner Stan Laurel in their many short films from the 1930s. Unlike most comedy double acts who consisted of a funny guy paired with a straight man, Laurel and Hardy were a comedy team formed by two equally funny comedians, each one in his own particular style which complemented and counterbalanced the other.  Considered by many film scholars as being the greatest comedy team ever, Laurel & Hardy have always remained a very important and recurring part of my life. Every mistake, downfall, calamity, disaster, stupid move, wrong turn or spill I've experienced in my daily existence, always remind me of something that happened to The Boys. And then I realize I am not alone, for Laurel & Hardy were echoing all humanity with its many shortcomings and foibles. Therefore, I will always remain grateful that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy existed and even though they are gone now, their influence still remains with me and those like me who remember them fondly.

'Twas Ever Thus!

I was 6 years old when Ollie passed away and I vaguely remember my grandfather making some comments about it. I guess I was much too young to be really impressed mainly because most of the comedians I watched on TV from the silent era and early talkies had almost all died by then, a fact my parents were quick to provide whenever they saw me watching those films.

“Hey, ma! Look at this funny guy here! Who’s he?”

“Oh, he’s Harry Langdon. He’s dead now!”

STAN LAUREL (1890 - 1965)

As we do every year on February 23rd, we take a moment to pay tribute to one of the greatest  comedians to ever grace the silver screen: Mr. Stan Laurel!

                                                You can check Stan's entry on IMDb here:

                                                                         STAN LAUREL

"I'm Mr Hardy; Oliver Norvell Hardy!"

              Every January 18, I remember one half of the greatest comedy team in movie history!                                                                                    Bless you, Oliver Hardy!

OLIVER HARDY

REMEMBERING SEAN CONNERY

                                                                 Born August 25th, 1930

 

STEVE McQUEEN : The King of Cool!

 

March 24, 1930 marks the birth of Steve McQueen, one of the truly great stars of the 60s and 70s. McQueen died in 1980 at the very early age of 50, due to a rare form of lung cancer, associated with asbestos exposure. However, his film legacy will keep his name alive for generations to come. 

BULLITT (1968)           McQueen in 1980

Today would have been his 92nd birthday and in his memory, I will post this list of some of my favorite McQueen films. I have already seen most of his filmography and, to be perfectly honest, I admire all of his performances, although these few here are the ones that stand higher in my very personal preference.

THE BLOB (1958)

WANTED : DEAD OR ALIVE  TV Series (1958-1961)

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)

THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)

LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963) 

THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)

NEVADA SMITH (1966)

THE SAND PEBBLES (1966)

THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968)

BULLITT (1968)

LE MANS (1971)

THE GETAWAY (1972)

 "Punch it, baby!" -

PAPILLON (1973)

THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974)

TOM HORN (1980)

THE HUNTER (1980)

STEVE McQUEEN

Forever, the King of Cool!