Cloris Leachman…Never You Mind
May 5th, 2011
I had been rather excited just to see Cloris Leachman in-person when I saw the live performance of Dancing With the Stars on October 7, 2008. Afterall, not only had she been a star on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, spun off into her own starring series Phyllis, taken over for Charlotte Rae on The Facts of Life, been in three major Mel Brooks films (Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, and History of the World Part 1), and starred in a couple of Disney live-action films of the late 70’s/early 80’s – but she was an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actress in one of my favorite films, The Last Picture Show. Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes I stay at home on Saturdays, maybe do a few chores, watch a little TV. Sometimes things are more exciting and I travel up to Findlay or visit with family. Then there are Saturdays like the one on April 30, 2011, where I choose to spend Saturday in the New York City area, giving new meaning the phrase “New York Minute” – which is about how long I felt like I was there. You probably won’t be surprised that the event that precipitated this bizarre act of travel was the Spring Chiller Theatre Show. After attending not one, but two Hollywood Shows already in 2011, I hadn’t really been planning on attending Chiller already. However, it wasn’t long before the incredible line-up, which pretty much blew away both of the 2011 Hollywood Shows put together, convinced me otherwise. 
Although controversial in that it involves an adult man who is attracted to a 12-year old girl, the 1955 Vladamir Nobokov novel Lolita was somehow successfully adapted for American cinema, not once but twice. The first version was directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962 as a fabulous vehicle for James Mason and Peter Sellers. Although I prefer this earlier version, it was once again made in 1997 by director Adrian Lyne, and starred Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, and Dominique Swain. Although Swain was significantly older than 12 when she made the film, it was her deceptively innocent portrayal of Dolores, the title character, that really makes the second remake shine. 
I virtually grew up with the TV show The Facts of Life, which made its debut in 1979 and ran for nine seasons. It was a show that had to re-invent itself several times, sometimes successful and sometimes not-so-much. But regardless, meeting the stars of the show has always been on my bucket list. I got my first chance during the Hollywood Show on Saturday, February 12, 2011. Mindy Cohn, who had portrayed Natalie Green on the show for its entire duration, was making a first-time appearance. She was certainly nice enough, but I couldn’t help but walk away with a bad taste in my mouth about the encounter.