The Legends of tomorrow .......
.......are today's stars who carry on the legacy
of the past
and keep the promises
of the future.
Legends
of the Golden Age…. the golden age is now a part of history. It
began with Edison and Eastman and ended with the collapse of the studio
system and the rapid rise of television. The stars of that age are almost
gone now and it is time to pass the torch.
Legends
of the New Age…….Those fabulous actors who came after the
golden age had passed but who have gone on, leaving behind a remarkable
body of work. They have now become legends in our time and deserve their
own place in history.
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Legends
of tomorrow………..They are the talented actors of
today piling up treasures to insure their place in cinematic history.
You have chosen them to be in this honored group.
( also read “What Makes a Legend” Issue #19 )
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In Memoriam…
Farrah Fawcett 1947 – 2009 |
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The personal journal of her valiant fight against cancer was made into a documentary called “Farrah’s Story” with the conclusion yet to be written. The courageous star lost her life to the disease on June 25th, 2009 and her death was announced just hours before the voting ended making the film a competitor for an Emmy.
She was born Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett on February 2, 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas to oilfield contractor James Fawcett and his wife Pauline of French, English and Native American (Choctaw) ancestry. Her mother made up her first name because she thought it sounded nice and Mary was added for her Catholic baptism. Farrah began her education in a Catholic elementary school and ended it in her junior year at the University of Texas in Austin before heading to Hollywood to “try her luck”.
 "Charlie's Angels" |
She worked as a model, did small parts on television, made her film debut in “Un homme qui me plait’, a French movie made in America with Jean-Paul Belmondo….and married the “Six Million Dollar Man” Lee Majors. But on March 21, 1976 as Farrah Fawcett-Majors, she really struck gold! Along with Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, she became one of Aaron Spelling’s “Charlie’s Angels”. Her picture appeared on the cover of all the gossip magazines, her feather-blown hairstyle became a fashion rage and a poster of her wearing a swim suit became the pin-up that bested Betty Grable’s famous WWII pose.
 The Poster! |
But Farrah wanted to be a dramatic actress and the success of “Charlie’s Angels” didn’t deter her from leaving the show after 22 episodes. “When the show was number three, I thought it was our acting. When we got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wore a bra.” But the big budget films and roles they gave her did nothing to enhance her career. In 1979 her marriage to Lee Majors also went sour and they divorced with Farrah breaking all ties with him. In 1982 she met Ryan O’Neal and while they never married Farrah and Ryan were the parents of a son, Redmond. Their romance was of the star-crossed variety
( they would break up in 1997 only to rekindle in 2001 after he was diagnosed with leukemia).
 Farrah and Ryan |
In 1983 she decided to change her image by firing her manager, changing her hairstyle and doing an off-Broadway play “Extremities”. Then she went on to do what is considered by some as her greatest performance in the television drama “The Burning Bed” and got her first of four Emmy nominations. In 1986 she did the movie version of “Extremities” and got a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination. Finally Farrah wasn’t just a poster girl anymore.
 Farrah in 2006 |
Farrah got the first bad news in 2006 when she was diagnosed with a rare anal cancer. She began chemotherapy surgery but after a short remission the cancer came back. With good friend Alana Stewart, she began creating the filmed journal of her battle with the disease. The two hour documentary aired on NBC May 15, 2009 with an audience of over 9 million people. Farrah died exactly 61 days later at the age of 62 at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California with Ryan at her bedside. They had become engaged just days before she died. A private funeral was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels with burial in Westwood Village Memorial Park, Los Angeles.
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Now there is another angel in heaven.
 Farrah's grave |
Karl Malden 1912 – 2009 |
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One of Hollywood’s most complex character actors known for his craggy face and bulbous nose and often referred to as the uncommon common man. In 1937 he stunned Broadway with his amazing performances in Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” and Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire”. Then when after he served his country in WWII he came back to do it all over again on the silver screen. However he will probably be most remembered for his role as Detective Mike Stone in the television series “The Streets of San Francisco” and as the pitch man for American Express with his compelling “Don’t leave home without it”.
 "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Vivien Leigh |
He was born Mladen George Sekulovich on March 22, 1912 in Chicago, Illinois the eldest of three sons. His Serbian father, Petar Sekulovich worked in the steel mills and as a milkman and his Croatian mother, Minnie, was a seamstress. When he was five, the family moved to Gary, Indiana but Karl never spoke English until he went to kindergarten. After high school Karl worked in the steel mills for three years before leaving to attend Arkansas State Teacher College and then Chicago’s Goodman Theater Dramatic School. At 22 he changed his name by transposing letters in his first name and using it as a surname and adopting his grandfather’s first name. Karl realized it was necessary for his work in the theater but he loved the heritage the name carried with it. So he always made sure that name appeared somewhere in all of his work. *(see Notes)
 "On the Waterfront" with Marlon Brando |
In 1938 Karl met and married actress Mona Graham (Greenberg) and the marriage lasted over 70 years until his death. It was one of the longest successful marriages in Hollywood history. Karl made his film debut in 1940 but left shortly after that for military service. In 1944, as Cpl. Karl Malden he had a small part in the film “Winged Victory”.
 "Baby Doll" with Carroll Baker |
Karl won an Academy Award for his role in “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1951 and was nominated again in 1954 for “On The Waterfront”. He was also nominated for an Emmy for his work in “The Streets of San Francisco” four times but never won but did win for his portrayal of Freddie Kassab in the television movie “Fatal Vision”. From 1989 to 1993 Karl was president of the academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2003 he was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. Ironically one of the last things Karl did before he died was to videotape congratulations to Michael Douglas when Douglas won the same award in July, 2009.
 "The Streets of San Francisco" with Michael Douglas |
Karl Malden died at home of natural causes on July 1, 2009. He was 97 years old. On July 2, 2009 the lights dimmed on Broadway in his honor. He was buried in the Westwood Village Memorial Park ( the same cemetery where Farrah Fawcett now rests). But Karl has left us a wealth of fine films that will keep his memory alive for many years to come.
 ...at the SAG Awards 2003 |
| Notes: “Find Sekulovich” could become the next movie parlor game. Here are just a few… . “On the Waterfront” …Fred Gywnne’s character is named Sekulovich. . “Patton”….Malden calls to another soldier “Bring me that helmet, Sekulovich”. . “Dead Ringer” ….he tells another detective “Sekulovich, gimme my hat.” . “Fear Strikes Out” ….as Jimmy Piersall’s dad, he introduces his son to a baseball scout named Sekulovich. . “Birdman of Alcatraz”….a list of inmate names includes Sekulovich angering Karl’s father who said no Sekulovich would ever be found in jail. |
From Arabella’s mailbox…
here are your next selections!...
Michael Douglas….. |
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…...who just received the SAG Lifetime Award! |
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He was born Michael Kirk Douglas in New Brunswick, New Jersey on September 25, 1944 to actors Kirk and Diana Dill Douglas.
His first marriage to Diandra Luker ended in divorce after 23 years/ They had one son, Cameron.
His second marriage to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2000 gave him another son, Dylan Michael and a daughter, Carys Zeta.
 "Wall Street" 1987 |
Michael is on the legend fast track with a successful television show” The Streets of San Francisco” (1972-1976), an Oscar as producer of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1975 and another for Best Actor for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko in the 1987 movie “Wall Street” ( a sequel is in production). On July 16, 2009 he received the Screen Actors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award while his 82-year-old father was there to congratulate him.
But ask Michael what he wants most in life and he will tell you it is much bigger….nuclear disarmament and world peace and he is spending a lot of his time working for that. Thanks, Michael.
Cate Blanchett…. |
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….brilliant as “Elizabeth” and mesmerizing as Katherine. |
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She was born Catherine Elise Blanchett on May 14, 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria to Robert Blanchett, a U.S. naval officer and ad executive from Texas and his wife June, a land developer and teacher from Melbourne. There is an older brother and younger sister.
She is married to screenwriter/playwright Andrew Lipton and they have three sons.
 ...as Hepburn in "The Aviator" with Jude Law |
Cate made her international screen debut as an Australian nurse kidnapped by the Japanese in Bruce Beresford’s “Paradise Road” and her first leading role came next when she played Lucinda to Ralph Fiennes’ Oscar in “Lucinda and Oscar”. But her biggest attention-getter was the role of Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 film “Elizabeth” gaining her a Best Actress Oscar nomination only to see it go to Gyneth Paltrow for “Shakespeare in Love”. But she came back to take the Best Supporting Actress award for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator”. It was the first time in Hollywood history that an actor won an Oscar for playing a previous Oscar-winning actor.
I hear she is now at work playing Maid Marian to Russell Crowe’s “Robin Hood” in England, a job many of us envy her. And there are four other film stories with her name on them in development including, would you believe, a chance to play Lady Edwina Mountbatten!
