The Terrible Catsafterme

With his pleasing South Carolina twang, Bo Hopkins almost made the character of the Pharaohs’ gang leader Joe Young a likable sort-of guy. Throughout the classic film American Graffiti, he acts as a menace to poor Curt Henderson, played by Richard Dreyfuss – first just picking on him, then trying to initiate him into the gang. Although this is the most notable of Hopkins’ many roles to me, he had quite a few other memorable parts in other films. Read the rest of this entry »

I had only been back in Myrtle Beach for one evening – and we were already taking another road trip to a nearby city. A group of us had taken the jaunt to Charleston, South Carolina, two years earlier and visited Fort Sumter – but at the time I wasn’t visiting the graves of the Vice Presidents, so that was my primary motivation for returning here again. Besides, it’s a cool place. Aaron and Bob also wanted to see it as they hadn’t visited before. Ashleigh and Briana were more interested in their boy suitors who had somehow joined us during the week, so they stayed back in Myrtle Beach. The rest of us got up early, loaded up the car, and were on the road by 9:30am on the morning of Thursday, July 30, 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m one of those freaky people who is a sucker for a rainy day. I actually enjoy them. I love the coziness of being in the house or car with the pitter patter of the raindrops hitting the roof. So I quite enjoyed Thursday, June 17, 2009, as Bob and I made our way into the northern portion of New Jersey via motorcar in the driving rain. Even though we had to frequently hop out of the car in the downpour, we both had our umbrellas so we didn’t do much complaining. Read the rest of this entry »

Edie McClurg has the face and perky voice that one will never forget. She’s made appearances in several TV shows, even as a regular on The Hogan Family, and films. Two particular films come to mind in which she had parts so memorable, she stole the scenes in which she appeared. The first was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where she appears as the befuddled secretary Grace to Mr. Rooney. The second is the subject of this posting. Read the rest of this entry »

The Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, nestled at the bottom of the north slope of the Santa Monica Mountains, is certainly one of the most beautiful and majestic of the cemeteries in Hollywood. Before the cemetery was built, the location was actually used in the film The Birth of a Nation. It is also one of the two cemeteries that I have most often visited. This is because it is where Stan Laurel is buried, and thus far, I have have visited it every year that I have been to California. This means that I was here in 1980, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2005,  2007, and 2008. So as you might guess, I am quite accustomed to the surroundings here. Read the rest of this entry »