Hollywood Actors Archives - Page 44 of 128

Armand Assante

Armand Assante was born in 1949 in New York City. His parents were of Italian and Irish extraction. His movies include “Private Benjamin” in 1980, “Unfaithfully Yours” and this year’s “Dead Man Down”.

TCM overview:

With his ethnic name and exotic good looks, Armand Assante was often mistaken by casting agents early in his career for foreign talent. The native New Yorker paid his dues in regional theatre and as a regular on the soap opera “The Doctors” (NBC, 1963-1982), but work in films was longer in coming. Although Assante was courted by such 1970s auteurs as Francis Ford Coppola and Terence Malick, it was future action star Sylvester Stallone who gave him his first big breaks – as an extra in “The Lords of Flatbush” (1974) and as his co-star in “Paradise Alley” (1978). Typed as a slightly unreliable romantic leading man, Assante scored with moviegoers in “Private Benjamin” (1980) opposite Goldie Hawn and “Little Darlings” (1980) with Tatum O’Neal, but his first star outing, as Mike Hammer in the 1982 “I, the Jury” remake, was a box office dud. More successful on the small screen, Assante subspecialized in mobster roles in the trashy miniseries “Rage of Angels” (NBC, 1983), Jack Nicholson’s “Hoffa” (1992) and the HBO biopic “Gotti” (1996), while proving a credible leading man in the indie “Belizaire, the Cajun” (1986) and “The Mambo Kings” (1991) with Antonio Banderas. Disinclined to trade on his looks for A-list status, Assante quit Hollywood to live off the grid with his family in upstate New York. The actor spent the better part of his career bouncing between low budget films and made-for-TV fare, lending an inarguable intensity and a disarming level of intelligence to any job he chose to take on.

Armand Anthony Assante, Jr., was born on Oct. 4, 1949, in New York City. The middle child and only son of Armand Assante, Sr., a fine artist-turned-Madison Avenue ad man, and Katherine Healy, a published poet and teacher at the Manhattan School of Music, Assante moved with his family to the upstate New York town of Cornwall in 1957 but never forgot the lessons in tolerance and compassion he had learned in his ethically mixed neighborhood in Washington Heights. Interested initially in music, Assante was a drummer for the local band the Phaeton Four, performing professionally on weekends. Although he had flirted with the notion of joining the U.S. Marines after his graduation from Cornwall High School, Assante enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Winning the Jehlinger Prize for promising new actors in 1969, he was invited to study opera at the Manhattan School of Music but pointed himself instead toward the life of a professional actor.

During his journeyman years as a jobbing actor on Broadway and in regional theatre, Assante scored an early coup with a recurring role on the NBC soap opera “The Doctors” (1963-1982). An association with rising star Sylvester Stallone landed him extra work in the Columbia Pictures nostalgia piece “The Lords of Flatbush” (1974). Flush from his later success as the writer and star of “Rocky” (1976), Stallone would remember Assante and cast him in his directorial debut, “Paradise Alley” (1978). Set in Hell’s Kitchen during the Forties, with Assante as the ambitious brother of Stallone’s amiable meathead, the film set the tone for Assante’s early career as a dark-eyed actor of brooding handsomeness and banked fury. Early in his career, Assante dated the actress Dyan Cannon, ex-wife of Hollywood legend Cary Grant and 12 years his senior.

The Irish-Italian actor would be called upon to essay a plethora of ethnic types early in his career: an Arab in the CBS telefilm “The Pirate” (1978), an American Indian in John Frankenheimer’s revenge-of-nature thriller “Prophecy” (1979), and a suave Frenchman who woos Goldie Hawn’s vulnerable non-com in “Private Benjamin” (1980). Gaining international attention as much from his good looks as his acting abilities, Assante was slotted into the role of an adult camp counselor who contemplates a sexual liaison with an underage girl in “Little Darlings” (1980), opposite Tatum O’Neal. As a Cuban dictator patterned after Fidel Castro, Assante was lost in the twice-baked mix of James Toback’s critically-reviled “Love & Money” (1982), but proved an inspired and updated Mike Hammer in “I, the Jury” (1982), the second film adaptation of the classic pulp novel by Mickey Spillane. Unfortunately for Assante, the film was both a critical and box office failure.

Based on the trash classic by Sidney Sheldon, the NBC miniseries “Rage of Angels” (1983) widened Assante’s fanbase more than all his feature films put together. Growing weary of life in Hollywood, the actor relocated to upstate New York to raise his children near his parents, while frustrating publicists with his disinclination to trade on his image as a Latin lothario. He next appeared opposite funnyman Dudley Moore and actress Nastassja Kinski in “Unfaithfully Yours” (1984), an amusing but inconsequential remake of the Preston Sturges classic. A better use of Assante’s time was as an Acadian healer in the independent film “Belizaire, the Cajun” (1986), written and directed by Glen Petrie and shot on location in Louisiana. A fully-bearded Assante made the role a tour-de-force but the film was given only a limited release and remained one of his more obscure credits.

Alienated from Hollywood and no longer considered A-list material, Assante lapsed into a run of low budget and made-for-TV films, among them the ABC miniseries “Napoleon and Josephine” (1987), in which he played Napoleon Bonaparte to Jacqueline Bisset’s Josephine Beauharnais, and the Mexican morality play “The Penitent” (1988) with Raul Julia. Traveling to London for the CBS miniseries “Jack the Ripper” (1988) opposite Michael Caine, Assante threw himself into the part of famed stage actor Richard Mansfield and his signature roles of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Exhausted by the effort, Assante suffered a nervous breakdown upon completion of the film and was put onto the Concorde back to the United States in a wheelchair. He was paired with Karen Allen in the romantic comedy “Animal Behavior” (1989) but amped up his trademark intensity as a Puerto Rican drug lord in Sidney Lumet’s “Q&A” (1990).

It was Assante’s supporting performance in the Lumet film that won him a leading role opposite Antonio Banderas in “The Mambo Kings” (1992), in a part abdicated by Kevin Kline. Although the film’s producers wanted a more marketable name and pushed for the casting of Jeremy Irons, first-time director Arne Glimcher insisted on Assante, whose career enjoyed an appreciable uptake after the film’s release. Actor-director Jack Nicholson tapped Assante for the small role of a mobster in “Hoffa” (1992) while Ridley Scott cast him as Gabriel Sanchez, chief treasurer of the Spanish Court of Aragon, in “1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992). Comedy director Carl Reiner offered the actor a change-of-pace role in “Fatal Instinct” (1993), a broad spoof of “Basic Instinct” (1992) that allowed Assante to perform slapstick. Assante again appeared opposite Sylvester Stallone, as a Third Millennium psychopath bedeviling Stallone’s peacekeeping “Judge Dredd” (1995), and came to the rescue of FBI secretary-turned-pole dancer Demi Moore in “Striptease” (1996), based on the steamy crime novel by Carl Hiaasen.

For the made-for-cable movie “Gotti” (1996), Assante took on the role of real life New York Mafiosi, who had seized control of the Gambino crime family in 1985 and was then serving a life sentence for a laundry list of charges running from racketeering to murder. In 2000, Assante starred in the made-for-TV remake of the doomsday drama “On the Beach” and provided a voice for the DreamWorks animated feature “The Road to El Dorado.” Director Ridley Scott reunited with Assante for the fact-based “American Gangster” (2007), in which the actor appeared as a crime family capo. Assante was a racketeer of another stripe in the Hallmark Channel’s “Shark Swarm” (2008), in which his floridly named real estate magnate Hamilton Lux is the cause of the eponymous feeding frenzy, but he brought surprising pathos to the title role of “When Nietzsche Wept” (2007), as the famously troubled 19th Century German philosopher.

By Richard Harland Smith

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

“One critic reviewing ‘Dad’ said that Ted Danson was the best light comedian in the world – which was tempting providence, since Jack Lemmon was also in the film. Would anyone settle for the second best light comedian in the world? For some years now his bartender – formerly owner – of ‘Cheers’ has delighted millions. Sam Malone is ever hopeful, ever optimistic, a jock with a big head and a big heart . He has had a yen for both his leading ladies, Shelley Long and Kirstie Alle, both uppity dames in their different ways, but he has always been ready to overlook than when they shows signs of admitting what he knows to be true. that he is irresistible Lemmon is the most outstanding of his predecessors, in a line going back to William Powell – but no further since we are talking about the Sound era when their vowels and consonants can wander over a veritable glissando: at the same time Danson can be witty with his hands, his eyes, his chin – David Shipman in “The Great Movie Stars- The Independent Years”. (1991).

Danson will forever be remembered for his performance as ‘Sam Malone’ in the hit TV series “Cheers” which ran from 1982 until 1993. He has starred in movies too such as !”The Onion Field” and “Body Heat”. He is married to actress Mary Steenburgen.

TCM overview:

An ingratiating actor who projected an air of easygoing charm in both comedic and dramatic roles, Ted Danson reigned at the top of the television ratings heap for over a decade as Sam Malone, the lothario ex-pitcher-turned-bartender on the hit sitcom “Cheers” (NBC, 1982-1993). The show’s popularity translated into occasional film work for Danson, most notably “Three Men and a Baby” (1987) and its 1990 sequel. But it was the small screen that offered him the widest variety of projects, from a father accused of incest in the television movie “Something About Amelia” (1984) to Jonathan Swift’s famed explorer in “Gulliver’s Travels” (1996). None of his subsequent attempts at a series matched “Cheers” in terms of popularity, but he found some of his best roles guest starring as himself on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO, 2000- ) and the first season of “Damages” (FX, 2007- ), on which he played Arthur Frobisher, a manipulative CEO desperately trying to fend off a ruthless prosecutor (Glenn Close). Thanks to that role, Danson enjoyed a return to critical acclaim while opening doors to other projects, including the HBO comedy “Bored to Death” (2009- ) and the long-running hit series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS, 2000- ), making him a more viable performer than ever before.

The son of a prominent archeologist and museum director, Danson was born Edward Bridge Danson III on Dec. 29, 1947 in San Diego, CA, and was raised near the Navajo reservation in Flagstaff, AZ. Tall and athletic at an early age, he excelled at basketball while at prep school in Connecticut, and would have graduated from Stanford had he not followed a prospective girlfriend into an audition. He transferred to Carnegie Mellon to study drama during his second year, graduating in 1968. The stage provided his earliest roles, including a stint with Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare in the Park and as understudy in the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Inspector Hound,” but commercials and print work – including a run as the “Aramis Man” for the popular cologne – provided a steady paycheck. From 1970 to 1975, he was married to stage and television actress Randy Danson; shortly after their marriage dissolved, he landed his first recurring TV job as heelish lawyer Tom Conway on the daytime soap “Somerset” (ABC, 1970-76). After the show’s cancellation, he was a regular guest star on episodic series, which prompted a move to Los Angeles in 1978. By then, he had remarried to Casey Coates, with whom he had two daughters; Coates suffered a stroke during the birth of their first daughter, which required Danson to curtail some of his acting pursuits for six months while raising his newborn child single-handedly. The couple also adopted a second daughter, who experienced some public troubles later in life.

The following year, he landed his first movie role as the mournful and ill-fated Lt. James Campbell in Harold Becker’s “The Onion Field” (1979). Danson received positive reviews, but returned to television guest shots immediately thereafter. Another career peak came in 1981, when he was cast as the glib district attorney in Lawrence Kasdan’s terrific neo-noir, “Body Heat.” Producer Glen Charles caught his performance in the film and tapped Danson to play Sam Malone on his new series – a comedy set in a Boston bar called “Cheers.” A ratings disaster during its freshman year on the air, it eventually blossomed into one of NBC’s biggest hits and one of only a handful of quintessential sitcom classics in the history of the medium. The show’s sharp writing and terrific ensemble cast were among its many virtues, but few could ignore the chemistry between Danson and Shelly Long’s uptight grad student-turned-waitress Diane Chambers, which boiled slowly for three seasons before blossoming into full-blown romance by the fourth season. Long left the show at the end of its fifth season in 1987 under a cloud of controversy – most notably allegations of bad blood between she and the rest of the cast – but time healed most of those wounds over the next two decades, particularly between she and Danson. The actor’s testosterone-fueled, yet breezy delivery and charm made him very popular with fans, especially female viewers (many of whom were shocked when he revealed that he wore a hair piece on the series finale). Such was the popularity of Danson and his Sam Malone, he received two Emmys (in 1990 and 1993) and two Golden Globes (in 1989 and 1990). All in all, Danson was nominated 11 times for the Emmy and six for the Golden Globe.

Danson’s popularity on “Cheers” allowed him considerable leverage to explore other roles on television as well as in film; among his best efforts outside the series were the uncomfortable incest movie-of-the-week, “Something About Amelia,” which earned him a Emmy nod and a Golden Globe for his dramatic performance, as well as the blockbuster hit “Three Men and a Baby,” which partnered him with fellow 1980s superstars Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg. Danson also received good notices as a married man who falls for another woman (Isabella Rosellini) in “Cousins” (1989), a charming remake of the French comedy “Cousin, Cousine” (1975). He also dabbled with serving as producer on several made-for-television movies, including the solid mystery “When the Bough Breaks” (1986) and the short-lived series “Down Home” (NBC, 1990-91).

By 1993, however, Danson’s career found itself in the weeds. “Cheers” had rung the bell for last call to great fanfare that year, and despite the success of the “Three Men” movies, he was still Sam Malone in the minds of most Americans. His marriage to Coates was floundering as well, and many cringed when he began a very public romance with Whoopi Goldberg, his co-star in a DOA comedy called “Made in America” (1993), while still legally married. A subsequent appearance at a Friar’s Roast for Goldberg, for which he donned blackface and ate watermelon, only cast him further adrift (the ensuing furor over his performance tended to ignore the fact that Goldberg herself had written much of the material). Danson, now divorced from his wife, dropped out of view for a few years, and popped up in harmless family fare like “Getting Even with Dad” (1994) and independent dramas like “Pontiac Moon” (1994). The latter production proved fateful for Danson, as it introduced him to acclaimed actress Mary Steenburgen, whom he would marry in 1995. Her relationship with then-First Lady Hillary Clinton kept Danson in the news courtesy of photo opportunities with President Bill Clinton, and the couple were frequent and public campaigners for the environment and other liberal endeavors.

Television offered a way back for Danson. He scored a substantial success as Lemuel Gulliver in an award-winning miniseries adaptation of “Gulliver’s Travels” (1996), but stumbled with “Ink” (CBS, 1996-97), a much-publicized return to sitcoms, with Danson and Steenburgen playing divorced journalists who still carry a torch for one another (Danson also served as executive producer). “Becker” (CBS, 1998-2004) proved more popular, though the show aimed for easy targets in its story of an easily annoyed medico and his tolerant staff and friends. Danson also popped up in supporting turns for two high profile movies during this period; he was seen briefly in Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) and Lawrence Kasdan’s comedy “Mumford,” though neither appearance sparked a revival of his film career.

Though “Becker” kept him busy, Danson managed to find time to star in several TV movies, including a Secret Service agent involved in a controversy brewing over refused treatment to Gulf War vets in “Thanks of a Grateful Nation” (1998), a Satellite Award-nominated turn as psychic James Van Praagh in the creepy “Living with the Dead” (2002), and “It Must Be Love” (2004), a cute romantic comedy which afforded him screen time with Steenburgen. The couple also began appearing as themselves in Larry David’s offbeat HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm;” Danson in particular seemed to enjoy playing the occasional foil to David’s crotchety TV persona, and at times evinced a gleefulness not seen since his “Cheers” days.

After “Becker” closed down shop, Danson appeared in several high-profile television movies, including “Our Fathers” (2005), about the Roman Catholic abuse scandals, and “Knights of the South Bronx (2005), for which Danson earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for his portrayal of an inner city teacher who inspires his students through chess. As expected, Danson returned to regular series work with “Help Me Help You” (ABC, 2006). The show, about a troubled therapist (Danson) and his patients, was axed mid-season due to low ratings, and a comedy feature, “The Amateurs” (2005) about small town citizens attempting to raise cash by shooting an adult film went unreleased until 2007.

That same year, Danson landed one of his best roles to date in “Damages” as Arthur Frobisher, an unscrupulous businessman who attempts to cover up a massive scheme to defraud his employees of their savings. A congenial family man on the surface, Frobisher shows his true colors by unleashing all manner of vicious schemes to keep the legal team, led by the ruthless Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), from uncovering his machinations. Critics hailed Danson’s performance, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2008. The busy actor also returned to the movies with several projects in 2008. He co-starred as Diane Keaton’s husband in the comedy “Mad Money,” lent his voice to an animated children’s feature, “The Magic Seven” (2008), and reunited with Steenburgen onscreen in a supporting role in “Nobel Son” (2007). Meanwhile, Danson revived Arthur Frobisher for the second season of “Damages,” which earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2009. Returning to comedy, Danson was one of the stars of “Bored to Death” (HBO, 2009- ), playing the party-going boss of a neurotic writer-turned-bungling private detective (Jason Schwartzman) who tries to solve mysteries to varying degrees of success. Back with “Damages” for the third season, Danson again earned an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Arthur Frobisher. On a late-career roll, Danson made entertainment headlines when it was announced that he would be replacing Laurence Fishburne as the new head of the fictional crime lab during the 12th season of the long-running forensic procedural “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS, 2000- ). Much to the relief of his “Bored to Death” fans, the actor had no plans to leave the quirky comedy, and would accommodate the demands of both shows into his increasingly busy schedule.

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Salome Jens was born on May 8, 1935 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. She is an actress, known for Seconds (1966), Green Lantern (2011) and Cats & Dogs (2001).

Betsy Blair is perhaps best remembered by moviegoers for her performance in “Marty” opposite Ernest Borgnine in 1955. She was born in New Jersey in 1923 and began her acting career on the Broadway stage. In her late teens she married the actor/dancer Gene Kelly and went with him to Hollywood. Her film debut came in 1947 in “A Double Life” which starred Ronald Colman. She was also featured in “Another Part of the Forest” and “The Snake Pit” which starred Olivia de Havillamd. After her divorce from Kelly, she married the British based film director Karel Reisz and settled in the UK whereshe made such movies as “A Delicate Balance” in 1975. She died in 2009 in London.

Brian Baxter;s “Guardian” obituary:

Few film-makers of the left emerged unscathed from the Hollywood witchhunt led by Senator Joe McCarthy. Some died, some were ruined, some headed for Europe. Others named names. Among its victims, the actor Betsy Blair, who has died aged 85, considered herself fortunate.

Despite being blacklisted, she was made less vulnerable by her marriage to fellow socialist Gene Kelly who, by the early 1950s, was virtually untouchable thanks to such succesful movies as On the Town, An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain. Eventually she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in the 1955 film Marty. Blair began acting in films in the late 1940s, with small roles in sturdy dramas such as The Guilt of Janet Ames, George Cukor’s A Double Life and Another Part of the Forest, from the play by Lillian Hellman. She fell out of favour for activities that included substantial fundraising for leftwing causes. After Kind Lady (1951), where she nearly lost the part, she found herself unemployable. But, cushioned by wealth and a highly intelligent, inquisitive mind, she coped – still in her early 20s – with “committee” work, as wife to a superstar and mother to their five-year-old daughter.

Born Elizabeth Winifred Boger in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, she had started her career very early. After graduating from high school at 15 and being too impatient to wait to take up her scholarship at university, she went – with her teacher mother’s connivance (her father was an insurance broker) – for an audition as a dancer in a New York night club. The teenager from a sedate, small-town background found herself in the big city, directed by and in love with the choreographer Gene Kelly. She understudied the role of Laura in the Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie and took the lead in Willliam Saroyan’s play The Beautiful People. When Hollywood beckoned, the newly married couple headed west, arriving in Los Angeles on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, 7 December 1941.

Blair’s initial disdain for movies allowed her to concentrate on theatre work, motherhood, keeping open house to the elite of Hollywood and fundraising. She was turned down by the Communist party, which feared that her joining might compromise Kelly’s outside activities. After a handful of parts and an enforced hiatus between 1951 and 1955, she was tentatively offered the role of Clara in the movie version of Paddy Chayevsky’s teleplay, Marty. Thanks to pressure from the writer and Kelly, she was finally given the role, despite the blacklist.

The film, a tender portrait of a lonely butcher (Ernest Borgnine) and a plain girl who fall in love, became a sleeper: a critical and box-office success despite unknown actors and a small budget. It led to Oscar nominations for both leads. Borgnine took the best actor award. For Blair the outcome was different: “I got the nomination. I won the best actress award at the Cannes film festival and was hot for 200 days.” She later took the best actress award at Bafta and found herself more famous in Europe than in America where, despite the accolades, she found no work, except in a Joseph H Lewis western, The Halliday Brand (1957). She left the US and Kelly for France, a Frenchman and a new life.

A small role in Tony Richardson’s BBC TV production of Othello (1955) was followed by Meeting in Paris, a comedy with Claude Brasseur. More notice was paid to her next movie (in Spain) where she played a variation of her role as Clara. Calle Mayor (Main Street, 1956), directed by Juan Antonio Bardem, cast her as a small-town spinster who is duped into bed by the local lothario with a promise of marriage. Unfortunately for Isabel, he is doing it for a bet. During the shooting Bardem was arrested by the Franco regime but, thanks to international pressure, was released and completed the rather melancholy film to some acclaim. Blair followed it with Il Grido (The Cry, 1957), directed by the great Michelangelo Antonioni. This neo-realist drama set in the industrialised Po valley of northern Italy came at the end of the cycle of such films, and was only a modest success. Blair continued working in movies, including an early version of Lies My Father Told Me (1960) in Ireland, and two Italian movies, I Delfini (1960) and Senilita (1961). Following a move to Britain, she made Basil Dearden and Michael Relph’s All Night Long (1962), a film set in the London jazz scene.

Blair decided to stay in London where, in 1963, she met and married Karel Reisz, then established – via the Free Cinema movement and his feature debut Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – as an important director. For years she worked only sporadically, including Das Bombe (1964) and Claude Berri’s comedy Marry Me, Marry Me (1968). She also returned to the theatre – an early highlight was an elegant evening of music and poetry, The Spoon River Anthology (1964), at the Royal Court theatre. She was also among a remarkable cast in the film version of Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance (1973), directed by Tony Richardson. But during this period she decided to train as a speech therapist – to the bemusement of her friends. In the mid-1980s she embarked on a spate of television and movie work, beginning with an excellent thriller, Descent Into Hell (1986), made in France. She made Flight of the Spruce Goose (1986) in Poland, was the mother in the poor television revamp of a Hitchcock classic, Suspicion (1987), and featured in the series Thirtysomething (1989).

More than 30 years after her last Hollywood movie, she returned there to film Betrayed (1988), a political thriller directed by Costa-Gavras. This gripping story of a white supremacist (Tom Berenger) being tracked by an FBI undercover agent cast her as the racist’s mother. Blair matched Berenger’s chilling performance with authority and grace. A spot in one of the Marcus Welby television episodes, and a role as Sister of Mercy in the sprawling mini-series Scarlett (a sequel to Gone With the Wind, 1994), were – disappointingly – all that followed. In 1999 she was one of many distinguished contributors to the documentary The Rodgers & Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty and – not surprisingly – turned up in both the Gene Kelly and Judy Garland episodes of the BBC Hollywood Greats series (2000). In 2002 she was due to feature in Stephen Daldry’s The Hours, playing the older Laura Brown; in her younger guise, the depressive 50s housewife was played by Julianne Moore. In the event Blair did not, because Reisz became ill and died later that year; Moore ended up playing those scenes with old-age makeup.

Blair’s autobiography, The Memory of All That: Love and Politics in New York, Hollywood and Paris, was published in 2003. She declared herself content, having, she said, no regrets about the blacklist, which obliged her to mature as a person and – consequently – as an actor. Modestly, she once said, “it certainly wasn’t much of a career. For all my ambitions, I think my life was more important to me.” Her daughter Kerry Kelly Novick and stepsons Matthew, Toby and Barney Reisz survive her.

Arabella Weir writes: I first met Betsy when I was a know-it-all 12-year-old via my friend, her stepson, Toby, Karel Reisz’s middle son of three. Betsy presided over a large, friendly, uniquely inclusive house. She had a charming, relaxed, sunny attitude to the stream of friends her stepsons would bring home at all hours. Betsy was unlike any grown-up I’d ever met – happily offering endless, delicious meals, more often than not a bed, tolerance and inclusion in adult conversations whenever we, “the kids”, would pop into view. Eventually Betsy and Karel became my friends independently, supporting and encouraging me as I started a career in acting. Although Betsy was an intelligent, informed and outspoken woman, it’s impossible to think of her without thinking of Karel. Whilst devoted to him, Betsy never seemed like anything less than his equal. Karel and Betsy’s house was often filled with the great and good, yet Betsy was never grand or precious with her guests. They were just their friends, like the rest of us.

If Betsy was in your corner you’d always be OK, but when you got into trouble she could be very steely. Betsy had a very distinctive, singsong way of saying “hello” when she answered the phone. One time she caught Toby, Barney and I larking around doing an exaggerated version of her unique “hello” – something as young teenagers we naturally found hilarious. Betsy did not and with one look we were chastened. You didn’t mess with Betsy. She was a tremendously loving, loyal and ceaselessly supportive friend – and really good, often wicked, fun. You could talk to her about absolutely anything – nothing shocked her. I’m extraordinarily lucky to have had her as my surrogate mother for 40 years.

• Betsy Blair (Elizabeth Winifred Boger), actor, born 11 December 1923; died 13 March 2009

Gary Brumburgh’s entry:

Betsy Blair was born in Cliffside, New Jersey, a child model before finding work as a chorus dancer at the early age of 15. She received her first mini-break on Broadway in “Panama Hattie” in 1940 delivering a single line, but by the next year she had copped the ingénue lead in William Saroyan‘s “The Beautiful People.” At around the same time, she met dancer extraordinaire Gene Kelly and married him in 1940. Despite her background in dance, Betsy was admittedly not in the same league as a Vera-Ellen, Cyd Charisse, or Ann Miller, so she was never afforded the opportunity to glide with Gene in films. Moreover, she never even appeared in a musical film.

She made her large screen debut in 1947 and, for the next couple of years, appeared in a number of above-average dramas such as The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947), A Double Life(1947) starring Ronald Colman, The Snake Pit (1948), wherein she played a demented inmate alongside Olivia de Havilland, and a shining role in Another Part of the Forest(1948). After such promise, things came to a halt. Betsy had been involved in SAG politics as early as 1946 proposing the formation of the first Anti-Discrimination committee. Within a year the House Un-American Activities Committe began to investigate Betsy and others in the motion picture industry and what they considered left-wing extremist viewpoints. Her name appeared in the “Red Channels” and that was that. Her career was undone. By the early 1950s, all film offers had dried up. The only reason Betsy won the female lead in the 1955 cinematic classic Marty (1955) was because her husband threatened to stop shooting at MGM if they didn’t let her work despite the blacklist. It would be the role of a lifetime for Betsy. As the touching plain-Jane girlfriend of Ernest Borgnine‘s title butcher, Betsy won the Cannes Film and British Film acting awards, not to mention an Oscar nomination. It did not help her overcome the blacklist, however.

By 1957, she was divorced from Kelly and had moved to Europe to avoid the Hollywood shun. Shortly thereafter, she lived with French actor Roger Pigaut. In 1963, she married producer/director Karel Reisz. They would remain together for almost 40 years until his death in London of a blood disorder in 2002. Betsy later published her memoirs and discussed quite candidly her life on Broadway, life with Gene Kelly, and life amid the blacklisting. She continued to live in England before passing away from cancer on 13th March, 2009. She was 85 years old.

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Michael J. Pollard is a gifted American character actor who was especially popular in the 1960’s. He played ‘C. W. Moss’ in “Bonnie & Clyde” in 1967 and then “Hannibal Brooks” with Oliver Reed. He died in 2019.

TCM overview:

With his impish grin, the diminutive Michael J Pollard became a familiar face to moviegoers and television viewers in the 1960s, often in offbeat roles. The stage-trained New Jersey native racked up numerous credits on and off Broadway from his 1958 debut in “Comes a Day”, including “A Loss of Roses” (1959), co-starring Warren Beatty, the musical “Bye Bye Birdie” (1960), “Enter Laughing” (1963), as the oddball friend of the leading character, a role he recreated in the 1967 feature version, and Sam Shepard’s “Curse of the Starving Class” (1978).

Pollard entered films with Martin Ritt’s “Adventures of a Young Man” (1962) and went on to portray a number of small roles in films ranging from “The Stripper” (1963) to the motorcycle drama “The Wild Angels” (1966). Pollard received his widest exposure in Arthur Penn’s groundbreaking “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967). For his turn as the getaway-car driver C.W. Moss, he received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor. Despite the acclaim, Pollard lacked leading man qualities and except for “Little Fauss and Big Halsey” (1970), he was relegated to playing quirky supporting parts. Among his better-known features are “Melvin and Howard” (1980), “Roxanne” (1987), “Tango & Cash” (1989) and “Dick Tracy” (1990).In 1991, Pollard’s voice was heard on the animation series “The Toxic Crusaders” (1991). After working on several projects, he was cast as Mr. Cummings in Gavin O’Conner’s drama feature “Tumbleweeds” (1999). Since he began his career in the late 1950s, Pollard has been a frequent guest on TV on everything from “The Andy Griffith Show” to “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” to “Star Trek”. He was a regular in support of Harvey Korman and Valerie Perrine in the short-lived sitcom “Leo and Liz in Beverly Hills” (CBS, 1986). Pollard was formerly married to actress Beth Howland, remembered as Vera in the long-running sitcom “Alice”.

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

Robert Montgomery was one of the major Hollywood actors of the 1940’s. He was born in New York. His most famous role was in 1937 in “Night Must Fall”. His daughter was the actress Elizabeth Montgomery. He died in 1981.

TCM overview:

Dapper, talented MGM contract lead from 1929, primarily cast as amusing, boyish, upper-crust playboys opposite stars such as Greta Garbo (“Inspiration,” 1931) and Joan Crawford (“The Last of Mrs. Cheyney,” 1937). Besides Crawford, he was most often paired with glamorous Norma Shearer, opposite whom he co-starred in five films between 1929 and 1934; their best teamings were “The Divorcee” (1930) and the uproarious adaptation of Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” (1931). As the decade wore on Montgomery fought for a wider range of roles, and achieved notable success as the deranged killer in “Night Must Fall” (1937). Another change-of-pace role came in an even more acclaimed and popular film, the comic fantasy, “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” (1941), with Montgomery as a pug who is “removed” to heaven by an angel before his appointed time and is allowed to continue his life on earth in another body.

Montgomery’s image toughened even more after WWII, during which he had distinguished himself in naval action in Europe. Montgomery made his directorial debut when an ailing John Ford was unable to complete “They Were Expendable” (1945), and he attracted considerable attention with his screen adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s “Lady in the Lake” (1946). The film was related entirely from a “subjective” camera perspective, and is considered one of the more interesting failed experiments in cinematic narrative. Montgomery kept making films until the early 1950s, and while never entirely eschewing the light entertainments with which he was long associated (e.g., “June Bride,” 1948, opposite Bette Davis), he did make the occasional worthy offbeat item (e.g., the noir “Ride the Pink Horse,” 1947, which he also directed).

Montgomery subsequently trained his sights on TV, hosting the well-received “Robert Montgomery Presents” anthology series for eight years. He also ventured onto the stage, winning a Tony for directing “The Desperate Hours” in 1955. At times Montgomery also became active in politics: he was, unfortunately, a friendly witness at the infamous HUAC hearings which led to the Hollywood blacklist; later, Montgomery served as a communications consultant to President Eisenhower following the 1952 campaign.

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

1694966 Cover of french magazine “Pour lire a deux” september 1934: Robert Montgomery and Joan Crawford; (add.info.: Cover of french magazine “Pour lire a deux” september 1934 : Robert Montgomery and Joan Crawford); PVDE.

Nanette Fabray starred in one of the major MGM musicals, “The Band Wagon” in 1953 with Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan and Cyd Charisse. She made her film debut in 1939 in “The Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex” with Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. Her other movies include “The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima” in 1952 and “The Happy Ending” with Jean Simmons and Teresa Wright in 1969. She is the aunt of Shelley Faberes.

Gary Brumburgh’s entry:

A sparkling, entertaining, highly energetic presence ever since her early days (from age 4) as a singing and tap dancing child vaudevillian, Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Fabares in San Diego) was once billed as “Baby Nanette” and working with the top headliners of the era, notably Ben Turpin, in the Los Angeles area. She also sang on radio. It was widely rumored that she appeared in the “Our Gang” (“Little Rascal”) film shorts of the late 1920s; however, this was not true. Later the young hopeful received a scholarship to theMax Reinhardt School of the Theatre and appeared in the school’s productions of “The Miracle”, “Six Characters in Search of an Author” and “A Servant with Two Masters”, all in 1939.

The musical comedy stage, however, would be Nanette’s forte. Appearing in such hit New York productions as “Meet the People” (1940), “Let’s Face It” (1941), “By Jupiter” (1943) and “Bloomer Girl” (1945), she capped this period of great productivity earning awards for her Broadway work in “High Button Shoes” (1947 – Donaldson Award), and “Love Life” (1948 – Tony and Donaldson Awards).

Strangely, Nanette never obtained a strong foothold when it came to film. Aside from secondary roles in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) starring Bette Davisand Errol Flynn, and the melodrama A Child Is Born (1939), her one claim to movie fame would be her vital participation in the blockbuster MGM musical The Band Wagon (1953) in which she memorably performed the songs “That’s Entertainment” and “Louisiana Hayride,” and joined Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan in the standout “Triplets” number.

Into the 1950s, Nanette started checking out what TV could do as a possible medium for her. It did a lot. She managed a fine feat by winning two consecutive Emmy awards asSid Caesar‘s partner on the now-called Caesar’s Hour (1954) following the departure of the seemingly irreplaceable Imogene Coca earlier. This led to Nanette eventually starring in her own sitcom, the short-lived Westinghouse Playhouse (1961) (aka “Yes, Yes, Nanette”), in the role of a Broadway star who becomes a makeshift mom after marrying a widower (Wendell Corey) with two children.

Broadway musicals continued to flourish with perfs in “Arms and the Girl” (1950) and “Make a Wish” (1951). Nanette later copped another Tony nomination starring as a fictional “First Lady” opposition “President” Robert Ryan in the musical “Mr. President” (1962). Other tailor-made stage vehicles for her came in the form of “Plaza Suite”, “Wonderful Town”, “Never Too Late”, “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and “Cactus Flower”, among others.

On the TV front, Nanette adjusted well into a lively and graceful support player. She served up a number of delightfully daffy moms, wisecracking friends and intrusive relatives in guest appearances — sometimes alongside her own niece, actress Shelley Fabares, as was in the case of their regular roles on One Day at a Time (1975). Nanette was also a popular game show personality during the 60s and 70s, appearing on The Hollywood Squares (1965), The New High Rollers (1974), Password All-Stars (1961) andThe Match Game (1962), among others. The singer-comedienne also could be counted on for TV musical variety appearances courtesy of headliners Dinah Shore, Andy Williams,Dean Martin and Carol Burnett.

Most importantly, Nanette’s humanitarian efforts over the years have been long recognized. A positive force as a hearing-impaired performer, she has given much time and effort in achieving equality for all types of handicapped and disabled people, including actors. Nanette is the widow (since 1973) of writer and sometime director/producer Ranald MacDougall, appearing in a few of his credited works, including the film Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970), the TV pilot Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966) and the TV-movie Magic Carpet (1972). She and MacDougall have one child. Still as lively as ever, Nanette appeared most recently in an L.A. musical revue entitled “The Damsel Dialogues” (2007).

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

One of the most popular TV show as “Happy Days” the story set in the U.S. in the 1950’s of young teenager Richie Cunningham’. However it was a subsidiary character ‘The Fonz’ that was the standout of the show, which ran from 1974 until 1984. He was played by Henry Winkler, who afterwards concentrated on writing and directing. He directed the Billy Crystal “Memories of Me” in 1988. He has acted recently on “Law & Order : SVU”.

TCM overview:

Impressively able to channel his 1970s star-making sitcom turn into one of the most varied and long-lasting Hollywood success stories of all time, Henry Winkler built an impressive career as an actor, producer and director in television and films. Immortalized in Americana as the good-hearted greaser “The Fonz” on “Happy Days” (ABC, 1974-1984), Winkler benefited from his career-long association and multiple collaborations with co-star Ron Howard. After “Happy Days,” he brilliantly diversified his Hollywood portfolio with success in acting (1982’s “Night Shift”), producing (“MacGyver” (ABC, 1985-1992)) and directing (the Billy Crystal starrer “Memories of Me” (1988)). The award-winning 1994 Weezer music video for the ultra-catchy “Buddy Holly” – which integrated the modern band into the “Happy Days” universe – introduced him to a new generation of fans, and he followed up with supporting roles in a string of successes aimed directly at them, including “Scream” (1996) and “The Waterboy” (1998). With multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards under his belt, Winkler remained highly in demand both in front of and behind the camera, as well as one of America’s most beloved pop cultural figures.

Born Oct. 30, 1945 in Manhattan, Henry Franklin Winkler was the son of Ilse Anna Maria and Harry Irving Winkler, a Jewish couple who had emigrated to the United States before the outbreak of World War II. He graduated from Emerson College in 1967, earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama in 1970, and broke into acting by landing several commercials and prominent TV guest spots. He debuted memorably in film with the role of Brooklyn gang member Butchey Weinstein alongside Sylvester Stallone in “The Lord’s of Flatbush” (1974), but lightning struck when Winkler was cast as greaser Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli – better known as Fonzie or The Fonz – on Garry Marshall’s retro sitcom “Happy Days” (ABC, 1974-1984). Originally slated to be a supporting character to the clean-cut antics of Ron Howard and his friends, Winkler’s cool tough guy with a heart of gold quickly stole the show. With his thumbs-up catchphrase of “Aaayyy!!” and Winkler’s winning characterization, The Fonz ruled the nation and became a cultural icon of enough resonance for his leather jacket to eventually hang in the Smithsonian.

With two Golden Globes Awards and three Emmy nominations under his belt, Winkler rode a tidal wave of success by reprising his beloved character in multiple related projects, including in episodes of “Laverne & Shirley” (ABC, 1976-1983), “Mork & Mindy” (ABC, 1978-1982) and “Joanie Loves Chachi” (ABC, 1982-83), but notably turned down the lead role of Danny Zuko in “Grease” (1978) to avoid being typecast. Winkler branched out, narrating the Oscar-winning documentary “Who Are the DeBolts? (And Where Did They Get 19 Kids?)” (ABC, 1977) and earning an Emmy nomination for executive producing the television version. Next up, Winkler starred alongside Harrison Ford and Sally Field in the dramedy road trip “Heroes” (1977), but fared better in the likable brothel-in-a-morgue comedy “Night Shift” (1982). Very much of its time, the good-natured flick earned Winkler a Golden Globe nomination, but was most notable for giving co-starring roles to a young Shelley Long and Michael Keaton, as well as giving Ron Howard one of his first directing jobs. More pragmatic about his opportunities than most would have been after “Happy Days” ended in 1984, Winkler moved behind the camera to form Winkler-Rich Productions, which would produce several successful TV shows, most notably “MacGyver” (ABC, 1985-1992). He took home a Daytime Emmy for producing the “All the Kids Do It” episode of “CBS Schoolbreak Special” (1980-1996) and earned a nomination for directing it.

Continuing to supplement his successful producing career by donning his director’s cap, Winkler lensed the Dolly Parton holiday fairy tale “A Smoky Mountain Christmas” (CBS/Fox, 1986) as well as the big screen Billy Crystal comedy “Memories of Me” (1988) and the Burt Reynolds kids’ caper “Cop and a Half” (1993). His behind-the-camera success gave Winkler the freedom to work in front of it whenever he chose, and he returned to TV by playing “Monty” (Fox, 1994), a conservative pundit in the vein of Rush Limbaugh. Although the show died a quick death, Winkler’s heyday as the ultimate American icon of cool enjoyed a retro rebirth when the band Weezer set their video for their 1994 hit “Buddy Holly” in an alternate-universe episode of “Happy Days.” Seamlessly weaving together old and new footage to create a performance that never was, the success of the video and song did much to re-establish Winkler’s credentials as a pop culture hero. Winkler capitalized by turning in a fun cameo as the ill-fated principal in Wes Craven’s horror smash “Scream” (1996) and earned big laughs as a sweet college football coach who takes a chance on Adam Sandler’s slow-witted Bobby Boucher in “The Waterboy” (1998). The massively successful comedy netted Winkler a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination and reinforced his ties to audiences of all ages.

Unlike many of his peers who tasted major success early in their careers, Winkler was able to transition gracefully from the epitome of 1970s cool to a respected figure in the irony-soaked, self-aware postmodern world of the late 1990s and beyond. He voiced a biker dude in an episode of “The Simpsons” (FOX, 1989- ) and cameoed as a bee-covered version of himself in Adam Sandler’s son-of-the-devil comedy “Little Nicky” (2000). That same year, Winkler took a larger role in the romantic comedy “Down to You” (2000) as Freddie Prinze, Jr.’s celebrity chef father. He earned another Emmy nomination for his recurring role on “The Practice” (ABC, 1997-2004) and continued to appeal to younger viewers by appearing as Shia LaBeouf’s father in the well-reviewed kids’ adventure “Holes” (2003), as well as recurring with a voice role on “Clifford’s Puppy Days” (PBS, 2003-06). He received a Daytime Emmy for his work on the latter and another nomination when his production company took over the popular reboot of “Hollywood Squares” (NBC, 1966-1980, 1983-84; syndicated, 1971-1981, 1986-89, 1998-2004). Winkler also appeared on-camera several times as a wisecracking panelist.

Although Winkler held a variety of advanced degrees, including two honorary PhDs, he revealed in 2003 that he had struggled with a learning disability his entire life. An undiagnosed dyslexic until the age of 31, Winkler described how difficult this disability had made parts of his life, leading the actor to co-write a successful string of children’s books about Hank Zipzer, a dyslexic fourth grader who nonetheless enjoys amazing adventures as “the world’s greatest underachiever.” Promoting his My Way! campaign to empower and assist children with learning disabilities, Winkler spoke often and eloquently about still bearing the scars of abuse from his parents and teachers who lacked the patience and understanding to fully empathize with his unique struggles. The actor was also indirectly responsible for a new pop culture catchphrase. Taken from the fifth-season opener of “Happy Days” when Fonzie – complete with leather jacket and water-skis – jumped over a shark to prove his bravery, the Internet-driven phrase “jump the shark” entered the popular lexicon as shorthand for the moment when a previously beloved production outlived its prime and crossed into obsolescence, usually with a desperate or absurd development. Continuing to prove he had no problem making fun of himself, Winkler again reunited with Ron Howard to recur on the critically adored but low-rated “Arrested Development” (Fox, 2003-06) as hapless attorney Barry Zuckerkorn, giving a wink to audiences when the character jumped over a dead shark on a pier.

The actor left “Arrested” to star in the family-of-doctors sitcom “Out of Practice” (CBS, 2005-06) but found big screen success as Adam Sandler’s father in the magical remote control comedy “Click” (2006). He made uncredited cameos in the long-shelved Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle “I Could Never Be Your Woman” (2007) and in Adam Sandler’s hit “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” (2008). He played an inept judge in the kids’ movie “Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh” (Nickelodeon, 2008) and voiced a self-loathing German teacher on the blink-and-its-gone run of the “Arrested Development” team’s follow-up project, the animated teacher comedy “Sit Down Shut Up” (Fox, 2009). Winkler delighted many fans with a recurring role on the dark Robb Corddry series of shorts “Childrens Hospital” (TheWB.com, 2008; Adult Swim, 2010- ) which not only exemplified the strange and unexpected directions American comedy had taken in the years since “Happy Days,” but also Winkler’s ability to stay relevant and seek out buzzworthy projects. Perhaps one of the best indicators of his enduring success as an American icon came in 2008 when the city of Milwaukee immortalized him by unveiling a life-sized bronze statue of Winkler as Fonzie. Winkler continued to be in demand as an actor, recurring on “Royal Pains” (USA Network, 2009- ) as the absentee father of the Lawson brothers Hank (Mark Feuerstein) and Evan (Paulo Costanzo). He received what was arguably his most impressive award in early 2011 when Queen Elizabeth II honored him with an Order of the British Empire award for his work with British children with learning disabilities.

Winkler guest starred in a 2012 episode of his “Arrested Development” pal Will Arnett’s sitcom “Up All Night” (NBC, 2011- ) as the star-struck dad of Maya Rudolph’s talk show diva. There was also a supporting turn in the Kevin James-produced comedy, “Here Comes the Boom” (2012), in which a good-hearted teacher (James) attempts to save Winkler’s underfunded high school music program by entering mixed martial arts competitions. Winkler’s schedule remained busy when it was announced that “Arrested Development” (Netflix, 2013- ) would return for a fourth season to be aired on Netflix’s live-streaming application. With his recurring character of inept former Bluth family attorney Barry Zuckerkorn promoted to regular player, Winkler was slated to join original cast members Jason Bateman, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor for what fans hoped would be a precursor to a feature adaptation of the acclaimed series.By Jonathan Riggs

The above TCM overview can also be accessed online here.

The Quiet Gun, poster, US poster, bottom from left: Mara Corday (lying down), Lee Van Cleef, kathleen Crowley, Forrest Tucker, 1957. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)

For lovers of Hollywood B Horror Movies of the 1950’s, Mara Corday is a cult icon. She was often cast unbelievably as a scientist or a marine biologist in such movies as “Tarantula” and “The Black Scorpion”. She had been under contract with Universal Studios with Clint Eastwood in the early 1950’s and years later Eastwood cast Mara Corday in his movies “The Gauntlet”, “Sudden Impact” and “The Rookie” which is her last film to date.

IMDB entry:

The actress was born Marilyn Watts in Santa Monica, California, 17 years before she put her foot on the bottom step of the show biz ladder, dancing in the back row of the chorus in “Earl Carroll’s Revue” at the famed showman’s theater-restaurant in Hollywood. Modeling for photographers led to wider exposure and ultimately to TV roles and bit parts in low-budget movies. As a Universal-International contract player, she was in most every type of B picture that the studio made. She gave up acting in the early ’60s to concentrate on marriage and motherhood during 17 tumultuous years as the wife of actorRichard Long. Since his 1974 death, she’s played supporting parts in her friend Clint Eastwood‘s movies, just as he played a supporting role in one of hers (Tarantula (1955)).

– IMDb Mini Biography By: Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com>

Interview with Mike Fitzgerald in “Western Clippings:

Exotic and sexy describes Mara Corday! A talented actress from the ‘50s, she’s known for her numerous appearances in westerns as well as her many battles with Tarantulas, Black Scorpions and Giant Claws in sci-fi classics.

Mara was contracted by Universal-International in the early ‘50s. “Mamie Van Doren and I received the most fan mail at the time. It was because of our frequent pin-up sessions, I’m sure. Actually, Julie Adams had a great figure but it was often hidden in period costumes and ankle-length ‘50s dresses!”

In Mara’s first western, “Drums Across The River”, the leading man was Audie Murphy. “Audie was psychotic—insane! After killing all those people during the war, you’d have to be a little nuts! We were shooting on the backlot—it got to be suppertime and Audie asked me out for a little dinner. We got in his car, anxious to get that prime rib! It was turning dark and we were at a stoplight. There were kids in back of us and when the light changed, they honked because Audie didn’t start right away. The teenagers gave him the finger—and took off up the street. And right behind were Audie and me. He reached in his glove compartment—while rolling down his window. He got a gun and said, ‘I’m gonna get them!’ We followed along Ventura Boulevard—I said, ‘My God, I just signed a contract. I can’t die now!’ Audie said to me, ‘Oh, I scared you, didn’t I?’ I told Tony Curtis, ‘I’m terrified of him.’ Tony told me a story about Audie shooting up one of his sets one day! Audie was very quiet, soft-spoken and boyish—yet a flirt with the girls. But he had a short fuse, so you walked around on eggshells whenever he was near.”

Mara especially adored “Drums” co-star, Walter Brennan. “A sweet, professional man. One time, Lyle Bettger asked, ‘What is my motivation?’ Walter said, ‘Just say the damn line!’ Hugh O’Brian was very intense—didn’t kid around. He was about as serious as Jeff Morrow!”

“In ‘Man Without A Star,’ my option had just been picked up. Kirk Douglas has mellowed extremely since then. Early on in the film I played a whore—there were two scenes at a dancehall. All the guys were leaning on the bar. All of us girls took a poll as to which butt was best. We picked Richard Boone’s. We told him, ‘We pick you’ and Kirk heard. It made him so angry at me! Publicity wanted a photo of Kirk grabbing me by the necklace—he grabbed it and almost choked me! When I said something he stated, ‘I’m not acting! You should take this business more seriously. I don’t like your attitude and your kidding around.’ I said, ‘Go screw yourself, I just got renewed!’ How dare he tell me I can’t kid around! Kirk also treated little King Vidor, the director, badly. Whatever King said, he had to defer to Kirk. In the ‘70s—13 or 14 years later, I met Kirk and now he’s the sweetest man in the world!”

“Steve McQueen pulled the same antics on ‘Wanted Dead or Alive.’ He was an egomaniac at the time—the most unprofessional actor I’ve ever worked with. He’d go off and ride his motorcycle. We’d all sit around waiting. Director George Blair was a recovering alcoholic. We were getting way behind schedule because of McQueen’s delays. Steve proclaimed, ‘Hey, I’m enjoying my bike better than a little TV show.’ I noticed George’s breath had alcohol—and at the last of the show, Steve McQueen was directing it! I had a line—‘Are you bounty hunters?’ I naturally spoke to Wright King because it was plural. McQueen didn’t want Wright King acknowledged. ‘You keep looking at me!’ I told him, ‘Then you must change the line—to bounty hunter.’ That muffled him up. Another scene, he wanted me to go crazy. I said I shouldn’t go that high. I asked George Blair, ‘Do you think I’m doing alright?’ He said, ‘Yes,’ but McQueen said, ‘I don’t!’ He had a huge ego!!”

“In ‘Raw Edge’ I enjoyed working with Yvonne DeCarlo, but she worried about our coloring. She made me wear a dark fall—over my real hair, which had to be dyed black. I knew I’d have dark makeup as well. But Yvonne and I became very close friends. She confided in me she was going to marry Bob Morgan, the stuntman. She asked if she was doing the right thing. I said, ‘Do you love this man? Then you are doing the right thing.’ Yvonne is adorable, very professional. Bob’s accident—losing a leg while filming ‘How the West Was Won,’ was a big tragedy. It affected both of them—it was just a matter of time before they split up.”

“A Day of Fury” was a Technicolor CinemaScope western. “I didn’t like it. The director, Harmon Jones, a nice man, had been an editor. He told you line readings—in otherwords, how to say the lines. He’d put emphasis on certain worlds that I wouldn’t have. It made everyone stilted. Jock Mahoney was like a wooden stick. I was horridly rigid. Dale Robertson overacted. However, Jan Merlin, a good actor, did a very fine job in the show! He was the villain who shoots the preacher! Dale Robertson is my old buddy. I’d known him since my Earl Carroll showgirl days, ‘47-‘49. Dale dated a cute blonde girl in the show. I did skits with Pinky Lee.”

“Naked Gun” was made during Mara Corday’s freelance days. “I shot it in five days. It started off as ‘Sarazin Curse.’ Two days later, they changed it to ‘The Hanging Judge’—and decided to have the story revolve around him. Then the next day it was called ‘Naked Gun’—all this while we are shooting it! It was the first thing I did after Universal. I knew I was in trouble when they asked what I wanted to play—the heavy or the ingenue.” One of the “Naked Gun” co-stars was Veda Ann Borg. “Veda was sad—she was getting a divorce around this time.” And Jody McCrea—the son of Joel McCrea and Frances Dee? “Jody had a big crush on me—but he was a little nuts. He’d turn into a werewolf; I later heard he caused a lot of trouble on one of those A. C. Lyles Paramount westerns.”

In “The Quiet Gun” Mara played an Indian, “Probably because of my sharp features, but actually I’m Welsh.”

The above “Western Clippings” interview can also be accessed online here.