Category Archives: Memory Lane

Songwriter Steve Dorff in praise of Clint Eastwood

Posted on April 21, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett American songwriter and composer Steve Dorff, who turns 75 today, has a huge number of screen credits including TV series such as ‘Murphy Brown’, Spenser for Hire’ and ‘Major Dad’. In a Q&A for The Hollywood Reporter, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Henry Mancini and the best strip club in London

Posted on April 16, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett A memory of the great film composer Henry Mancini, who was born 100 years ago today: London’s Soho strip clubs in the Sixties (so I’m told) were shabby and sleazy, compared to which the long-gone Raymond Revuebar … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music, Recalling ... | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The sad fate of Carolyn Jones, the original Morticia Addams

Posted on April 10, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett The Ringwood Music and Dramatic Society production of the hit Broadway musical ‘The Addams Family’ this week is the latest in a long run of versions of the original one-panel cartoon series created by cartoonist Charles Addams … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music, Recalling ..., Television, Theatre | Comments Off on The sad fate of Carolyn Jones, the original Morticia Addams

Lauren Bacall, a friend’s death and a total eclipse of the sun

Posted on April 8, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Lauren Bacall was wrapping up the pre-Broadway run of ‘Applause’, the stage musical based on the feature film ‘All About Eve’, at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre in February 1970. After the final curtain in a nearby … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory Lane, Recalling ... | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Lauren Bacall, a friend’s death and a total eclipse of the sun

Marlon Brando: the man behind the myth

Posted on April 3, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The myth surrounding Marlon Brando, who was born 100 years ago today, has centred not only on his brilliant acting in films such as ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ (with Vivien Leigh above),  ‘On the Waterfront’, … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film, Memory Lane, Recalling ... | Comments Off on Marlon Brando: the man behind the myth

Lesley-Anne Down on filming with Patrick Swayze

Posted on March 17, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Lesley-Anne Down, who turns 70 today, was a stark contrast to Patrick Swayze, her co-star in the hit 1985 U.S. Civil War miniseries ‘North and South’. In interviews for Canadian TV Guide, the enormously likeable … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Lesley-Anne Down on filming with Patrick Swayze

James B. Sikking, the mad hatter on ‘Hill Street Blues’

Posted on March 5, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – ‘Hill Street Blues’, the American cop show that was a hit for most of the Eighties, had one of the best casts in television. Of them, James B. Sikking had probably the toughest job playing … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ... | Tagged , | Comments Off on James B. Sikking, the mad hatter on ‘Hill Street Blues’

Gregory Peck on Abraham Lincoln: ‘A secular saint’

Posted on February 12, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Oscar-winning actor Gregory Peck was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln, who was born 215 years ago today. In 1982, he fulfilled a dream when he portrayed the U.S. president in the TV mini-series ‘The … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ... | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Gregory Peck on Abraham Lincoln: ‘A secular saint’

How an NHL match led Norman Jewison to make ‘Rollerball’

Posted on January 26, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – ‘Rollerball’, Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison’s only film set in the future, also is his most action-packed and violent and it was inspired by an experience at a National Hockey League (NHL) game. 

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ... | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How an NHL match led Norman Jewison to make ‘Rollerball’

What movies meant to director Norman Jewison

Posted on January 24, 2024 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – ’It kinda scares me,’ Norman Jewison said when I asked him in 2011 about the digital revolution in movies and the future of cinema. ‘Everything I see today is so mixed with violence and action. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music, Recalling ... | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What movies meant to director Norman Jewison