Turning 70 is an important milestone not just for me but I guess for anyone who is lucky enough to get this far in life. I thank my lucky stars in looking after me all these strenuous years where I've had my ups and downs, like everybody else, but where I've also managed to keep my sense of humor, my sanity, my health and my family and friends who have tolerated me for lo, so many years!
Hopefully, this elevator will still keep climbing a few more floors above!
I'm a big fan of all the James Bond films but after 1971, I always regret it's not Sean Connery who's playing 007.
Somehow, the image set in my mind of how should James Bond look and act, is of Sean Connery which is understandable, since my first encounter with Ian Fleming's super spy was in the film DR. NO, in 1962. As I read Fleming's novels, I always pictured Sean Connery as Bond and whenever I heard the James Bond theme, it was the image of Connery that popped into my mind. When he retired from the role, it became apparent that no one would ever replace him. And to this day, James Bond still looks like Sean Connery to me!
Stan Laurel along with his partner Oliver Hardy, were the greatest comedy team ever to grace the silver screen and on this date, I always honor Stan's memory by listening to the music from his films and watching several of his best shorts and long features. I've been repeating this ritual for several years and I never get tired of admiring Stan's artistry and comic genius, over and over again!
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.
D-Day 1944, has inspired many films since then, including SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and to me, the best of all, THE LONGEST DAY, released in 1962.
I remember watching this movie around 1964 (back then, movies took that long to be released in Mexico) and, of course, my biggest interest was in watching Sean Connery's brief appearance, since by then, I had seen DR. NO and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and was eagerly awaiting for the premiere of GOLDFINGER.
Sean Connery asked that his scenes be filmed quickly so he could get to Jamaica in time to star in Dr. No (1962).
In addition to Sean Connery, who made his debut as James Bond the same year this movie was shot, two other actors in this movie were Gert Fröbe and Curd Jürgens, future Bond villains. Also appearing is longtime Bond actor Walter Gotell, who first appeared as the SPECTRE agent Morzeny in From Russia with Love (1963), and later appeared in six Bond films starring Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, in the role of Gen. Anatol Gogol, head of the Soviet KGB.
WIKIPEDIA: "Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s and was emblematic of the era's sexual revolution."
Marilyn Monroe's career as an actress spanned 16 years. She made 29 films, 24 in the first 8 years of her career. The Internet Movie Data Base lists 33 films to her credit which includes shorts and TV appearances.
So much has been written about her, it is quite pointless to dwell on her career and life details here.
All I can say for myself is that she had sex appeal, charm and talent comparable to no other actress before or since. She has become an icon for several generations and is one of the very few personalities from the 50s that is instantly recognizable today.
Some interesting facts about her:
The licensing of Marilyn's name and likeness, handled world-wide by Curtis Management Group, reportedly nets the Monroe estate about $2 million a year.
The first time she signed an autograph as Marilyn Monroe, she had to ask how to spell it.
She didn't know where to put the "i" in "Marilyn".
Often carried around the book, "The Biography of Abraham Lincoln."
There are over 600 books written about her.
When she was told that she was not the star in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) she verbally said
"Well whatever I am, I'm still the blonde."
Her classic shape, according to her dressmaker, is actually measured at 37-23-36.
Although Monroe's famous nude calendar grossed $750,000,
the actress only got $50 and a bad cold out of it.
Today, 95 years after her birth, Marilyn Monroe is still remembered as one
of the movies most beautiful and widely admired stars.
Here's one of Marilyn Monroe's better remembered songs, from SOME LIKE IT HOT,
featuring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.
MARILYN MONROE:
ONE OF THE FEW TRUE LEGENDS OF HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE.
I had a crush on Raquel Welch back in the 60s, ever since I got a glimpse of her wearing that famous furry skin bikini in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C.
Raquel will be 81 this year and two things haven't changed: her wonderful looks...and my crush on her.
From WIKIPEDIA:
Raquel Welch (born Jo Raquel Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress and singer.
She first won attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer Film Productions, for whom she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although she had only three lines of dialogue in the film, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became best-selling posters that turned her into an international sex symbol. She later starred in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970) and Hannie Caulder (1971). She made several television variety specials.
Welch's unique film persona made her an icon of the 1960s and 1970s, due to her portrayal of strong female characters and breaking the mold of the archetypal sex symbol. Because of this, her rise to stardom in the mid 1960s was partly credited with ending Hollywood's vigorous promotion of the blonde bombshell.
These wonderful Star and Stripes bikini shots are from her 1970 film MYRA BRECKINRIDGE.
In celebration of his birthday, from the 1948 film A SONG IS BORN, here's a great rendition of "Stealing Apples". Starring Danny Kaye and Virgina Mayo, the film also features some swing greats like Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Lionel Hampton on the vibes, and many others!
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is devising ways to convince people to be vaccinated for COVID by offering lottery tickets as a bonus but I can think of another way to lure the male population into getting the shots.
