A TRIBUTE TO EARTHA MAE KITT (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008)

I saw Eartha Kitt in New Faces of 1952 in Chicago... she sang that fabulous
song "Monotonous" in a style that was unique and so sexy. I have been a fan
of hers ever since.


Earthy Eartha, The Diva


There never has been and never will be anyone like her.


Eartha at The Churchill Club 1951


Eartha in Anna Lucasta


Eartha with her daughter Kitt


Eartha with Julius LaRosa and Ed Sullivan


Eartha with Nat King Cole


Eartha with Kristin Chenoweth 2004


Eartha with daughter Kitt McDonald Shapiro


Eartha sings "I'm Still Here" from FOLLIES

She may be gone, but she will live on in our memories...

Here is a website for her fans from her daughter Kitt:
Eartha Kitt The Official Site

Jiva

LAUREN BACALL TURNS 84

FromThe Women on The Web, we have this great photo of Lauren Bacall at 84.
Doesn't she look great?! You have to love her, she is witty, wise, and gorgeous.



























The fellow who posted the above video, thought that Bacall's lines from the film To Have and Have Not, should be used by women everywhere as the way to get a man. But that's not why I posted it. His selection of her lines is right on the money, for simply reminding ourselves of just how great she was at twenty years of age.


She met Bogie in that film, married him, and they lived together until his death in 1957. Known to her friends as Betty, she has endured throughout the decades as one of our most talented entertainers.


Jiva

ANNE BANCROFT

On Thursday, my friend Sarah had a link to a film that starred Anne Bancroft, which started me thinking about what a fabulous actress she was, and the first time I ever saw her in a film called The Pumpkin Eater way back in 1964, which was also the year she married Mel Brooks. The following videos show her versatility, two that were unknown to me, amidst the amazing catalog of her theatrical and film work. The Pumpkin Eater was my favorite film drama of hers, but at the end of her career, my favorite was a comedy, a nostalgic look back at a family with all their dysfunctions and love. It's called Home for the Holidays. It has a memorable cast, and I watch it every year at Thanksgiving, to remind myself of my own seriously interesting family!

The gorgeous young Anne.

Anne and David Susskind in a spoof called BIMBO

Anne in a skit from 1970... a real tongue twister!

This is a wonderful clip of her many many faces... Love you Anne...

I hope you enjoyed these clips, and that you remember Anne Bancroft fondly. To me, she stood alone, completely separate from any other performer, not only because of her acting skill, but for her great wit, her sense of humor, that revealed her joy in living and her gift to us all.

Jiva

A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis

Seeing Bette Davis in Now Voyager was an event involving a full box of tissues for all the tears that came flowing down the cheeks of my mother, my sister and myself. Could there ever be one so courageous as to fight that dominating mother? To step out on the edge with no wings? To fall helplessly, hopelessly into the arms of a married man? To be a savior to his child? Ah, how could anyone play that part to perfection, as did dear Bette, to be so noble, so selfless, so enthralling. And those cigarettes! Well my dear, you never see anything like that anymore. Paul Henried would take two cigarettes, put them both in his mouth, light them, and take out one and hand it to her. They were BIG smokers! (Although I cannot remember ever seeing either one of them inhale). Somehow that scene has stayed with us over these many years.


If you are in Los Angeles, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in association with the Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art presents A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis Hosted by Robert Osborne with special guests Joan Leslie, Michael Merrill, Gena Rowlands and James Woods.


A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis will honor the legendary actress with an evening featuring clips of her indelible screen performances as well as onstage discussions with several of her colleagues and friends.


WHEN: Thursday, May 1, at 8 p.m.

WHERE: At the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

STANDBY TICKET INFORMATION: Additional tickets typically become available at the last minute due to no-shows or cancellations. On Thursday, May 1, a standby line will form at the corner of Almont and Wilshire at 5 p.m.; the number of standby tickets available for sale will be determined shortly before the 8 p.m. showtime.


For additional program information, please call (310) 247-3600.


“Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

The scene from Now Voyager, the ending...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2-KGiwGn1d8&feature=related

Courtesy of You Tube

See you next time!

Jiva

THE OSCARS !

I love the Academy Awards, I think I've been watching them ever since they first came on television! I was watching them when no one was watching them. I'd shut off the phone, fix some snacks and a drink, and settle down for a wonderful evening of red carpet arrivals, and all those excited winners and deflated losers. I loved trying to guess who would win, I'd root for my favorites and cheer them on, and become extremely agitated if they won, yelling YES YES! and even more so if they lost, as I'd be shouting at the screen, asking the academy how they could have voted for someone else. It was my favorite TV viewing night of the year.

And now it appears that the rest of the world has caught up with me, as now it is viewed by billions of people the world over, thanks to satellites and the prosperity of so many families that have TV's in their homes. Yes, the world is catching up to the United States in prosperity, thanks mostly to our exporting of democracy and captialism to other countries, they are enjoying the same benefits we enjoy.

The Oscars represent everything that is part of that great American Dream. It represents the best work of people who dream dreams, people who want to demonstrate what's possible. It's the people who create reality by creating fantasy, because not far behind these films comes the creation of similar ideas in life. Film is a medium so profound, it takes the old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words, and translates into a film being worth a million words. Films can wake us up out of our complacent stupors. Films inspire, motivate, and create nostalgic looks back in time. Film is the art of the Twentieth Century, and hopefully, it will continue for another hundred fabulous years. The billions of people who watch The Oscars, they are dreamers too.



Jiva