For several years, I've been attending a 4th of July gathering in Beachwood Canyon, under the Hollywood sign. We sit down at tables in a red-white-and-blue backyard eat BBQ and drink Sangria. The first we were there, an elderly man sat next to me regaling the other guests with stories of old Hollywood. He looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place him at first. Suddenly, I … [Read more...]
Artists and Band Members of Our Generation on the Stairway to Heaven
On January 26th, sunken-eyed and lantern-jawed actor Abe Vigoda left this Earth. As a star of Barney Miller, his name evokes fond memories of our coming-of-age. His “timely” death at the age of 94 makes it difficult to be sad because he lived a long and accomplished life. On the contrary, the sudden “untimely” loss of some of the best musicians and actors of our generation has … [Read more...]
Movie Distributors Targeting the Over 50 Crowd
I was reading an article in Variety Magazine called “Graying Auds Help Seed the Specialty Biz.” It talks about how movie distributors has been actively promoting films for those of us over 50. There’s been an increase in films targeted to the over 50 crowd in recent years including “Woman in Gold,” “Rickie and the Flash,” “Mr. Holmes” and “Grandma.” The number of ticket … [Read more...]
Fabulous Older Actresses in Hollywood Rock TV
I’m fortunate that Doug is a member of the Television Academy because we receive numerous invitations to screenings and receptions to garner Emmy votes. In the last month, we’ve been to at least three screening/reception/panel discussions for television shows featuring fabulous older actresses in leading roles. They were Grace and Frankie, Veep and American Horror Story Freak … [Read more...]
Guy Fieri – TV Chef on a Mission to Create a Food Revolution
I was invited to a presentation/reception at the Television Academy in Burbank, California, hosted by The Food Network. The guest speakers were Guy Fieri, of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, (Triple D) and Bob Tuschman, the CEO of The Food Network. I’ve seen Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives several times and thought Guy was cool, but after seeing him in person I’m in … [Read more...]