Jean as Mary Pondering the future

“The Happy Ending,” 1969, well this classic movie should really be titled,  “And they lived Unhappily Ever After.” As I watched it, I had to wonder what hellish consequences were unleashed on society by this selfish couple. It felt as if I were watching Fran Dodsworth (Ruth Chatterton) in pre-code movie “Dodsworth,” only with a feminist twist.

Jean Simmons plays Mary Wilson, a “poor, little rich” wife who turns to pills and alcohol to fill her empty existence. She is married to a highly successful husband, Fred, played by John Forsythe, who is ever absent at home in many ways. It’s their twentieth anniversary and Mary feels she’s in a rut. What to do? Mary indulges in reckless behavior; she runs up charge accounts, drinks like a fish, and packs up her crap and goes to the Bahamas to “find herself.” Mary bumps into an old college chum, played by Shirley Jones, whose life is even more screwed up than hers. Whereas Mary is bored with her dumb-ass husband and the drudgery of being a wife, Jones is the almost 40 happy hooker, who has played the “other woman” for years, and is now desperate, and desires to marry the current married man she’s with, played by Lloyd Bridges. Well maybe Mary and she should just trade places! I seem to remember something along the lines of “grass is greener…” Duh

At home Mary is supported emotionally  by her pill-popping cleaning woman, Agnes, fabulously played by Nanette Fabray. Agnes is the “go-to” girl for Mary. She is always there for Mary’s many crises. I see something totally wrong with this picture.  I can, in a way,  understand Agnes popping pills; one can only imagine the drudgery of her life. If Mary thinks her life is hell, what did she think Agnes’ life was like? Did Mary ever even ask?  Mary’s mom played by Theresa Wright, is of no help, as she is clueless and still trying to find her way around the new and changing times. Mary’s husband, Fred is a dumb-ass, plain and simple. He is a man who had too much drive at the cost of ignoring his family. He may give them all the material things in life, but he is a failure at everything else. And as most men in Fred’s position have done, and continue to do, they live wildly and are apathetic about those closest to them. As long as he gets what he needs at the moment, everything else is secondary. There are exceptions of course, but money and power does things to people.

Mary goes to jail...

The film has some great performances, especially that of Jean Simmons as the bored wife. Jean got the Oscar nomination for this role that year. Nanatte Fabrey as the cleaning lady was superbly good and funny. You have to love the cleaning lady’s attitude despite her hard life. Forsythe as the clueless, but well-meaning hubby was good.  What I found hysterical were the flashbacks of the once happy couple Mary and Fred. Simmons & Forsythe played both roles! Give me a break they looked old in those college day flashbacks! They really should’ve used younger actors.

Giving Mary a piece of my mind…

I really tried to get in Mary’s head, and I understood some of her problem, but not all.  I have very little compassion for Mary, life happens Mary. I can only wonder what other women in her very community and in her day had to do to take care of their families, like work two jobs, etc. and they didn’t turn to drugs and alcohol, or take “find myself” trips. Instead they put on their “big girl” panties and dealt with it. They had no time to be “bored” with their lives. You Mary had too much time in your hands, believed in fairy tales, and got too caught up in the emerging feminist movement. Mary had valid reasons to want to be autonomous and find her way in a pre-feminist time, but it takes two to tango. Fred was not the perfect husband, nor Mary the perfect wife. If you believe life is a big fairy tale…you will live unhappily ever after no matter what path you take because life happens.

My husband just can’t figure me out, each and every time he wants to watch a movie on our large screen TV,  I choose to stay upstairs in our bedroom with my 32’ inch TV to watch “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” or “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.” Ok, so why do I do this? I am totally fascinated with how Hitchcock can take a half hour or hour show and keep an audience captive.  These anthology shows were, as I put it, wonderfully done! The shows deal with the dark side of humans. You know, the little bad guy in the red suit in your head, having the battle with the angel on your shoulder.  Infidelity, jealously, greed, & murder, it doesn’t get better than that. I guess I love these the most because this is how I was introduced to Hitch. I remember as a little girl seeing the reruns of this show. Everything would stop at our house because Hitch was on.

Ok so why am I such a fanatic about Hitch’s anthology series, firstly, they have intelligent plots, witty dialogue and a mouthful of murder. I once heard that Hitch himself was quite interested in the criminal mind. In fact, he based a lot of his movies on real life cases, such as “The Lodger,” (1926) loosely based on Jack the Ripper.  Another notorious English murder case he closely followed was the Hawley Harvey Crippen case in the early 1900’s. This was a case of a mild mannered doctor who was accused of murdering his wife, and buried her remains in the coal cellar. He then fled London to America with his lover. The lovers were then caught, and the new technology of wireless telegraphy was credited for their capture.  Many plots in “….Presents,” are precisely about this. I’ve seen at least 3 episodes of a husband burying his wife in some dark, clammy cellar. Was Hitch implying that murder begins at home? Humm…

The little fat master of suspense, with the British accent, himself introduces the weekly macabre stories, which 99% of the times, some type of murder occurs. I gotta tell ya, I am surprised at times at the grizzly detail on some of the stories, not so much for us today, but way ahead of its day. This wasn’t your typical TV show in the 1950’s. The best part for me is the guest stars. He had top-notch actors, like Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Rip Torn, Vic Morrow, and many more. The writers and directors for the series were also top-notch.  Hitch directed a few of the episodes himself.  Hitch took these shows to a whole new level with his funny and at times somber introductions. He uses props to illustrate the story, cracks jokes, and makes sure he takes breaks for his sponsors.  Here we get a glimpse of what it was to watch TV in the 1950’s.

1950’s TV land for all intents and purposes was quite boring. Not to say that shows like “I Love Lucy,” “Gun Smoke,” & “The Honeymooners,” weren’t good or had their funny & interesting moments. But these shows were quite predictable and unadventurous. Along comes this unconventional little fat guy with a British accent and changes conventional TV. Where most shows of the day had to have the guilty pay for their sin on screen at the end, Hitch didn’t. We see a lot of shows end with the culprit getting away with it. Later of course, Hitch informs us differently. Which is one of the things my husband does not like about the show. But in 1950’s TV land no crime could go unpunished, so Hitch assures the audience at the end, that the criminal got theirs. They were caught and sent to “the joint,” this done of course, to keep the censors at bay. Quite a clever way of doing it.

Hitch with one of his props for the show....

A couple of the shows dealt with social issues which still resonate today, one on child abuse, another on alcoholism. And on both these shows Hitch ends with a somber message and hoping that show helped someone. I have a few favorite shows from the series, like any other series, some episodes were better than others, but only rarely does one really disappoint.

I guess I consider myself an anthology fanatic in general. But Alfred Hitchcock Presents is my favorite, and the best, next to The Twilight Zone, in my humble opinion. The sets and sounds on the show make you feel like you are riding a time travel machine and looking out at a bygone era. And this fashion slave cannot get over the 1950’s fashion in the show, beyond beautiful and feminine! Even today in our hi-tech, supercharged, uncensored era, this series continues to entertain young and old alike. That says something about Hitch. Although the shows were not produced by Hitchcock, it mirrored his movie making personality. Evidently the Hitchcock brand carried weight and the producers made sure every episode reflected that.

I for one am glad this little fat dude with a British accent did something that many heavy-weights of his day didn’t dare do. He risked his reputation and stepped into our living rooms each week with dark, jaw-dropping stories. Many I’m sure, of his nose-in-air peers, sneered, but who is having the last laugh now? Hitch we proved them wrong! Your shows are still awesome, entertaining, and we are so glad you took the chance!

You can order seasons 1-4 on Amazon Hulu streams them for free, and one season is being streamed on Netflix.

Elizabeth Taylor (1932 – 2011)

The very first time I saw Elizabeth Taylor I was a little girl, I can’t remember what movie I was watching, but I remember thinking, how beautiful she was. She had these tantalizing eyes that left every man breathless. Her style and fashion sense was every woman’s envy.  My favorite movies with Liz are “Giants” (1956) where Liz plays a wife of a Texas tycoon, who is treated as an outsider in the royal family. She plays a very strong, independent woman, who refuses to conform to the folk ways of Texas. That’s probably why I love her role in this movie.  I absolutely loved her in “Butterfield 8,” Liz plays a tormented woman, who is a model/call girl. She drinks a lot, hops from bed to bed, and lavishes in using men to then dump them.  I heard it once said, she hated this movie, and she thought it was trash.However, she played the trashy woman so well, it won her an Oscar.  The movie is a little campy, but a riveting story of woman gone bad and in disparate need of love and compassion.  And Liz played the role to the hilt.

I can’t say I am a major fan of Liz Taylor, but I liked her, and now she is gone, and it saddens me. Because along with Liz goes a bygone era, an era I long for. Rest in peace Liz, now go tantalize the angels.

Don’t miss TCM’s 24 hour memorial tribute to Liz on 4/10.

Thomas Edison

Well I’m excited about TCM’s “Moguls and Movie Stars, the History of Hollywood.” It’s walk through Hollywood’s history. Being a history and classic movie aficionado, it gets no better than this. This whole month starting tonight we will learn of the humble beginnings of Hollywood and how it grew into a mega million dollar empire. The series airs tonight, and every Monday and Wednesday night through December 15th at 8:00 PM EST. Movies of the respective era featured will follow after the documentary. How exciting is that? Each segment will focus on a different era of American movie history, from the invention of the first moving picture to the cutting edge films of the 1960′s.

The moguls weren’t always moguls, let’s get that straight from the beginning. In fact, many were poor immigrants from Eastern Europe who came to United States and who were running away from very harsh conditions. And like most immigrants, they were penniless, and didn’t speak English. Strangers in a strange land. But they had a dream. The story of Hollywood is a story of American ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and hard work. I like how the producer of the series puts it, “They (moguls) weren’t necessarily charmers, but what made their stories so terrific is that essentially they put on the screen their own dream of what this country was or should be.” Many came from poor Jewish backgrounds and fortunately for them they got into film at its infancy. After arriving in America many owned nickelodeans before the age of theaters and production. We will learn in the series of the “undocumented” Samuel Goldwyn who came to America via the Canadian border. And many other stories of the great pioneers of film.

Samuel Goldwyn

The series will be narrated by none other than Christopher Plummer, who, I’m sure will make this series a pleasure to see. They don’t come any classier than he. The series will have classic film footage, photographs, and color footage from the great classic movie, “On the Waterfront.” Classic movie stars will be profiled and we will learn about their relationship with the moguls. I’ve heard some horror stories, but I’ve also heard some good stories. In addition, the series will have interviews with relatives of the moguls. That should be really interesting to see.

For me, I will see it as an American story. It is a story of how anyone can make it in our great country. I am sure that many of these moguls had all kinds of problems when they first came here. But nothing stopped them. They kept at it, and realized their dream and in the process made dreams come true for so many others. Now that, is an American story.

Carnival of Souls, (1962) is one of those B movies everyone makes fun of, but can’t help watching. If you decide to watch this film, just imagine you are seeing an extended episode of the “The Twilight Zone.” I remember when I was a little girl seeing this movie, it haunted me for days. Although the movie was done on a shoestring, it is scary, and director,  Herk Harvey does a fine job with it.

The movie opens up with a group of young people drag racing, if you want to call going 15 miles per hour drag racing; I guess that was the protocol back in the day. Mary Henry (Candice Hilligoss) finds herself on this ominous day on the passenger seat of one of the cars. When the cars race across a bridge Mary and her friends end up crashing into the water below. The credits roll, and then we see Mary’s ghostly like figure rising from under the water. She is pale, wet, and appears cold, but alive.

Although poor Mary is alive her troubles have only just begun. Mary is a church organist, and is offered a job in Utah. She packs up her little things and moves. On her drive to Utah in her beat up car, in a lonely and dark country road, she begins to see a pale, ghastly man. When she arrives in Utah, the ghastly man appears everywhere she goes and torments her relentlessly. The ghastly man, turns out, has friends, these zombie-like creatures who also pursue Mary. They beckon her to come to the other side. They dance a waltz to eerie, dark music, in an abandoned carnival that Mary is summoned to. As they dance, they smile at each other as if celebrating the new member, Mary.

Mary seeks help from people, but all think she has lost her mind. She continues to have flashes in which everything around her goes completely silent. As if for moments, she breaks the barrier between life and death. When she enters the silent world, she appears like a spirit in limbo. She cries out to people in the street, but they don’t hear her. Mary realizes she is caught between two worlds and must escape death’s grip. But can she?

The movie has campy dialogue, but the camera work is incredible. Shots of the organ and ghouls are eerie. The organ playing through out the film was a little too much, but tells a morose, dark, and eerie story. Hillgross’ performance was good, not Oscar worthy, but good. She captured the spirit of a detached, cold, & isolated young woman caught between two worlds. The guy who plays her neighbor drove me crazy. A pervert no one would want next door. Although Hillgross was the only real actor in the movie, the fact that the other characters were not fully developed adds to this film. They are like people in a dream, much like the dream Mary is in. OK, it’s a B movie, but it is scary in terms of mood, & setting, and well worth the watch. I must warn you, you may just not get up from this dream.

I had the pleasure of talking to co-producer Michael Knowlan about the ambitious web series, “The Projectionist”.    The official website says it best: ” A spiritual successor to the great anthology series of the 1960′s, The Projectionist speaks to a whole new generation with a fresh take on the anthology structure.”  Knowlan shares thoughts on the development process, pitching the series, and how the interwebs could potentially influence the series.

Visit the facebook fan page and the official web site for more information.  You can also see “The Projectionist” demo film here

Lets just get this out of the way, 1973′s “Serpico” is the greatest cop drama ever made.  There, I said it.  It has nothing to do that with the fact that it is based on a true story, but more to do with its cohesion of all aspects of perfect film making.  A tight script wrought with tension, intrigue, betrayal, and redemption.  Grade A characters played by Grade A talent.  Last but not least, Sidney Lumet’s direction is unparalleled.  It is this strong combination that offers us one of the greatest cop dramas that has managed to influence some of today’s more memorable movies.

I would say Michael Mann’s Heat, Scorsese’s The Departed, and Mike Newel’s Donnie Brasco are probably the best examples of movies that employ similar styles and techniques found in Serpico some 25 to 30 years earlier.  This isn’t a bad thing, all of the aforementioned films are all great in their own way.  However, to say films like Serpico or Willam Friedken’s French Connection weren’t incredibly influential would be grounds to call you insane.  Oddly enough I chose two movies that also feature Al Pacino, who I feel put on arguably the greatest performance of his career in Serpico.

As far as Crime dramas go, Pacino is king.  This guy has been my hero for ages, but it wasn’t until I saw his powerful and emotional performance as undercover cop Frank Serpico, that I realized just how damn amazing he is.  There are scenes in this movie that moved me to the point that I felt Serpico’s frustration, anger, resentment, loss, and fear.   Pacino is one these really rare actors that completely immerses himself in his roles to the point of believability. You can only imagine what it’s like to be a guy like Frank Serpico, the man who essentially created undercover police work. Here is this cool bohemian crusader for justice who happens to stumble upon an enormous corruption ring, and will stop at nothing until justice has been served.  He is the most unlikely hero, which is what makes him so awesome.

Watching this movie, I can’t help but root for Serpico.  When everybody was on the take, Serpico stood up for what was right not many people do that.  Pacino played the character so well, creating this likable, enviable, and down to earth cool cat who was damn near impossible not to love.  You have to admire  a guy so determined to do the right thing that he will sacrafice entire relationships as long as justice is served.  This could be considered a huge character flaw, but for me I can see why he does what he does.  For Serpico it’s all about principle, and when people disregard these things he literally goes insane.

Pacino is a very emotional actor and is able to convey the heartbreak of destroying a relationship , the sweet release of beating the hell out of  a mafioso, and the pain of being alone.  I felt Lumet’s end game was to show us a character that could be both revered and pitied at the same time.  That’s what Serpico was, a bearded crusader.  The hero nobody considered and the man with the balls to do whatever it took.  So Al, wherever you are, I have your statue.  You are my hero.

You can follow Jon on Twitter!  twitter.com/sellinthedream

©Jon Ortiz 2010

328 Chancey Street Today

Jackie Gleason patterned the Kramden apartment after the one he lived in with his mom at 328 Chauncey street. The building, like in the series, Gleason said, “… was dull. The bulbs weren’t very bright. The surroundings were very bare.”  If you asked anyone who knew Jackie, about him, they’d all say the same, he was “hilarious and had a heart as big as a house.” He was known to be generous, giving, and helpful, but his greatest gift was laughter. And if you are a fan, you know exactly what I mean. His true self came out in the character of Ralph Kramden, and he even said that. Ralph, although big, loud, and imposing, had a soft spot. The soft spot totally overpowered anything negative about Ralph. And maybe that’s why Ralph’s character was Gleason’s most loved one. He said of the character, “The poor soul hasn’t got a hell of a lot of ability. But he keeps trying. He gets schemes to make he and Alice happy. He fails. When he fails he feels a great deal of affection toward her and she knows why he did it. And he apologizes all the time. He’s just an ordinary guy who is trying to make it and can’t do it.”

One of these days, Alice!

For a guy who made everyone laugh, he had a hard life, and offers valuable lessons we can learn from. Growing up in Brooklyn’s Bushwick area, I’m sure, was no paradise. He lost his older brother when he was 3, his father skipped town when he was nine, and he was raised by an overprotective mother. The loss of his father haunted him the rest of his days, and often he wondered if his dad was part of the audience which watched him. He once said: “I would always wonder whether the old man was somewhere out there in the audience, perhaps a few seats away. I guess I always kind of expected him to appear backstage suddenly, saying ‘Hi, I’m your old man.’ Then one day, I realized that wherever he was, it would be easy for him to contact me–if he really wanted to.” He adored his mom, but because she was afraid to lose him, she overly protected him. He wasn’t allowed to go out and play with the kids. He didn’t even start school until he turned 8. He once said, that he got the “poor soul” look from the days he’d pressed his face against the window watching the kids play outside.

"Do the Hucklebuck..."

Eventually his mom loosened up a bit and at the age of 12 Gleason landed a job racking up balls for a local pool hall. And we know how he used this experience in movies like, his Oscar nominated role in “The Hustler” (1961) & The Sting II (1982). I have you know that most actors will use stunt doubles for pool playing shots, but Gleason did not. So, how did he enter show business? In a 60 Minute interview he said, “I was in a grammar school graduation play and I got a laugh. That laugh was the greatest thing that happened to me. And if you can go out in front of an audience and do things that make them happy and make them laugh, there’s no greater thrill. The instant critique of laughter and when you achieve it—it’s wonderful.” What a guy, huh? At 19, his mom died, and Gleason had 32 cents to his name. He said, “I knew no fear. I was stupid, brash, arrogant and broke.” I think we can all say the same for ourselves when were 19! He took the subway to Times Square and the angels of fame kissed his brow.

Not all in Gleason’s life was “peachy cream.” We all know he had alcohol issues, but he denied ever drinking on the set. His appetite for food is said to have been due to childhood deprivation. He married three times, and by-the-way, his grandson is actor, and hottie, Jason Patic. His third time at marriage with Marilyn Taylor is said to have been his happiest. Marilyn and he married in 1972 and she was by his side when he died in 1987.

We can say that Gleason modeled a lot of his well known characters after himself. Reginald Van Gleason, big drinker and extravagant spender that Gleason was known to be and Ralph Kramden the hustler always trying to make the big time. But it’s all good because it seems to me, that Gleason fulfilled his mission on earth, he made us all laugh. Thank you Jackie, Ralph, and Reginald! “Baby you’re the greatest!”

By Jon Ortiz

Forgive me.  There will be no steamy Penthouse letter experience here, despite the horribly misleading title, this will bore you.  Remember the 1981 cult classic Clash of Titans ? The fantasy flick based on the myth of Perseus?  I mean, why wouldn’t you? You have a veritable who’s who of the greats of yesteryear, such magnificent thespians as Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ursala Andress, and uh Harry Hamlin.  Not teeming with excitement?  Well perhaps the films tag line “You will feel the power. Live the adventure. Experience the fantastic.” is enough to compel you to cram another needless addition to your cluttered Netflix queue.  This, my dear friends, is essential viewing.

In the early 80′s it was all about the death of Disco, birth of Heavy Metal, and Korg keyboards.  The sex, drugs, rock and roll mantra reigned supreme, and the films of the era oozed just that. Scarface , Fast Times at Ridgemont High
, and Valley Girl spring to mind.  Suddenly I want to swear profusely, smoke copious amounts of pot, and be a part of an absurd coming of age story.  This is when films were starting to break out of their shell, and began to reflect the excessive culture the 80′s brought with it.  Sign me up.  Fantasy was an unfairly derided sub-genre at the time (Until Conan the Barbarian and Arnold flipped the script in 1982, the year my ass entered this wonderful world), seeing as most of them were not very marketable.  Not like now, when everyone is spitting out a fantasy flick a week, most of which are horrendously bad.  Can you blame them? We just gobble this shit up, you have emo vampires, teenage wizards, and the shameless raping of every animated series I held dear in my childhood .

What happens next?  Desmond Davis ripped the film world apart with Clash of The Titans is what happened.  Probably the biggest feature film of his career, Davis was a TV luminary , and totally old school. MGM took the gamble, and Davis changed my life.  He showed that fantasy could be just as gritty as Tony Montana and a mountain of cocaine.  Nudity? Check. Decapitations? Check. Flying horses? Check.  It wasn’t afraid to be bold and fantastical at the same time.  This movie terrified me as a child ,thanks to Ray Harryhausen’s exceptional stop motion visual effects, and mesmerized me as an adult.  It’s everything you want in a fantasy flick: Hero has to come to the rescue of a city, get the girl, lose the girl, rescue the girl, and slay the enormous leviathan.  Are you kidding me?  This is the stuff of legends.  Let’s not even get started on the cast here. Laurence Olivier plays Zeus, and that’s exactly how I imagined him, a man so dignified he needs a throne.  Ursula Andress, gorgeous as ever, plays Aphrodite as only she could.  I detest cliches, but they just don’t make them like this anymore.

Today it’s all over-stylized CG nonsense, terrible casting choices, and sloppy directing.  My God, what happened to the charm, passion, the pizazz, blood, sweat, and tears of good fantasy? There are few this side of Jim Cameron and Peter Jackson who can claim they have retained the best of old, and fused it with best of the new. If I sound jaded, it’s because I am.  It’s okay, I’ll go to sleep, wake up, and wonder ‘What was I talking about?’ Clash of Titans was the last of its kind, a relic of old never to be forgotten once we “Experienced the fantastic.”  There has to be a foundation, and I believe Desmond Davis built it.  Desmond if you’re reading this, I would like to share a drink with you, shake your hand, and simply say thank you for providing us with such a rare classic.  They just don’t make them like this any more.

I want to start with Peter Falk who is now 82 years old. I saw him recently in the O’Reilly Factor, still as he always was, funny, confident, and endearing. I love Peter Falk because he reminds me of the many times I have stayed up late with my husband watching classic TV’s Columbo on DVD. I’m a wannabe sleuth, so watching a crime show where the sleuth cracks the case in under an hour is fascinating! Columbo, the eccentric detective who pretends to be a dunderhead, but is actually a genius at detective work, and always 3 steps ahead of the criminal, is the character most of us remember him for. I will never forget the role he played in Murder, Inc ( 1960) his first movie, and first Oscar nomination.

Falk was born September 16, 1927 in my hometown, New York City, but raised in upstate Ossining. Acting came early for him. His first stage role was at the age of 12 in a production of “The Pirates of Penzance.” He graduated Ossining High School, president of his class and star athlete. He joined the Merchant Marine where he served as a cook. He then attended college and got a B.A. in political science, he then went on to get his Masters degree in public administration in 1953. He applied for a job with the CIA which he didn’t get. He went on to get a position as a management analyst with the Connecticut State Budget Bureau in Hartford. In his spare time he acted with Mark Twain Maskers in Hartford and studied at the White Barn Theater in Westport. It is at this time he gave acting some real thought and took the plunge. He left his job and moved to the Village in NYC and basically declared himself an actor!

Peter was lucky enough to land roles in play after play off Broadway for 3 years. He enjoyed success on the stage, but an agent told him not to expect to make it in movies. You see, Peter has a glass eye and it just wasn’t attractive for the movies. His right eye was removed by surgeons when he was three years old due to a tumor. But this didn’t stop Peter from trying to land a movie role, and boy did he. He landed his first role in “Murder Incorporated.” After this first movie he did another 117, and was nominated one more time for an Oscar, and got another 19 wins (Emmys, etc), & 18 nominations. His latest movie is “American Cowslip” (2009) where he plays a priest.

I love Peter Falk because although he was told he wouldn’t make it in films he proved them wrong. I love him because he didn’t let age stop him from using his gifts and passion. Sadly, Peter Falk has advanced stages of Alzheimer’s today. I get a feeling that if he could, he’d overcome that too. In a sense we’ve already lost this Golden Age star and I only wish Lieutenant Columbo could solve this one. I can just see him getting out of his beat up Puegeot with his dingy rain coat (could never figure out why he wore that in sunny California!), mussed up hair, cigar in hand, and walking as if drunk. He looks the disease right in the face with his wonky eye, and stupefied stare, slaps his forehead as if to let out all the confusion, and says, “Excuse ma’am…there’s just one more question…who let you in, and how can I get you out?” Thank you Peter Falk (Columbo) for the memories and for  keeping me grounded and rooted in old school values and principles!