Russ Tamblyn, Leader of the Jets
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way. From your first cigarette, to your last dyin’ day. And that goes double for Russ Tamblyn, the actor, dancer, and choreographer best known for his role as Riff, the leader of the Jets in the Oscar winner for Best Picture in 1961, West Side Story. Tamblyn had appeared at one of the Hollywood Collectors Shows at the Winter Hollywood Show this year along with fellow cast members from that film. But during his appearance at the same show on Saturday, October 9, 2010, he was there as part of the Twin Peaks reunion. In that TV series, he portrayed Dr. Lawrence Jacoby, the eccentric psychiatrist that murder victim Laura Palmer was seeing just before her death. Read the rest of this entry »
There are a plethora of great crummy films of the 1980’s that I spent my teenage years gawking over. Coming in near the top of the list was the teenage fantasy sci-fi film Weird Science. With my good friend Eric Hubble, perhaps no other film from this genre was more quotable. So I was understandably more than stoked to get the chance to meet the film’s star Kelly LeBrock, who played the painfully sexy Lisa, the creation of two geeky underdog teen-aged boys (like us), when she was slated to appear at the April 24, 2010, Hollywood Show in Burbank. She was perhaps even the highlight of the show for me. So you can just imagine my disappointment to learn that the thickness around that once-sexy waist had also apparently extended to the inside of her head. 
David Naughton’s most well-recognized contribution to the world of pop culture came from his starring role in the John Landis classic An American Werewolf in London. While this film is in fact a fun classic, there are three other things that David Naughton did, each of which mean more to me than that film. The first is his appearance as recovering alcoholic Dick in a 1991 episode of Seinfeld. Even more so was his starring role in the hideous but beautiful Disney film Midnight Madness, which also starred Michael J. Fox. 
I was a little bit conflicted on how to refer to Harry Anderson in the title of this posting. On one hand, he was Judge Harry Stone on the often hilarious sitcom Night Court from 1984-1992. But on the other hand, he had a memorable recurring role on one of my all-time favorite sitcoms Cheers as Harry the Hat, the local magician and con man who often frequented the bar, usually swindling the patrons out of some cash. What never entered the mix was the role he played on Dave’s World, a sitcom based on the life of columnist Dave Barry that lasted four years. This was not because it was a bad show, it was just that I had never seen it. 
Step back Daniel-san! There be enemies lurking about! For those whom have enjoyed the Karate Kid movies, it is important to note that Daniel and the ever-lovable Mr. Miyagi could not have achieved the level of lovability and niceness that they did had there not been brutal enemies to offset their likeability. While attending the Hollywood Show in Burbank on Saturday, April 24, 2010, I had the opportunity to have run-ins with three of them, starting out with the slimiest of all…sensei John Kreese.