The Terrible Catsafterme

The great Mary Ann vs. Ginger debate has raged since time immemorial. Or at least since 1964 when Gilligan’s Island first made its campy debut. Dawn Wells’ career began in Hollywood with a few TV show guest appearances which led to her roll as Mary Ann Summers, one of the subjects of the great debate. I had asked Bob to pick me up the signed photo seen at left at one of the Hollywood Collectors Shows during the late 1990’s – but I had never had the opportunity to meet her (as I did with castmate Russell Johnson). Read the rest of this entry »

I was particularly interested in getting a photo take with Spin and Marty so that I could share it with my Dad. I know the power of nostaligic TV shows from one’s childhood and the serial installments of The Adventures of Spin and Marty on the Mickey Mouse Club were a major one for him. Although I own the Walt Disney Treasure DVD (in the collector tin) of the first of three seasons of their series, I have only had time to watch a few of them. Obviously though, as die-hard Disney buff and aficionado, I had enough interest in having Bob pick up a dual signed photo of the boys’ team when they had made a rare joint appearance at a Hollywood Collectors Show. Read the rest of this entry »

When I first watched the classic teen beach romp film Beach Blanket Bingo, there was one thing I couldn’t get out of my head: the red hot Donna Loren crooning It Only Hurts When I Cry. I even downloaded it from LimeWire and put it on my iPod. That’s it. That’s my story. Donna Loren’s story continued though with another slew of beach films. Among them Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, and Pajama Party. Read the rest of this entry »

For some strange reason, I had thought that Martin Landau was dead. In fact, when I met his daughter Juliet Landau (who played Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer), I had mentioned to her that I had been a big fan of her father – implying that he was no longer with us. In fact, I practically accused my friend Bob of being nutty when he told me that Martin Landau would be appearing at a Hollywood screening of my very favorite film North By Northwest at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to being one the most popular and acclaimed sitcoms of all time (and certainly one of my favorites), Seinfeld boosted the fame and recognition of many up-and-coming performers. There are few who are more recognizable for playing one single role in one episode (plus a cameo in the series finale) as Larry Thomas, who portrayed The Soup Nazi in the episode of the same name. Granted he did a great job in this role, and was even nominated for an Emmy for it, but I’m guessing that he has made more money in peddling his autograph over the past five years or so than he ever made in this solitary role. Read the rest of this entry »