Category Archives: Memory Lane

When US TV censored hip-swinging Tom Jones

Posted on June 7, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Fans of “The Voice” might not suspect that the venerable Sir Tom Jones, who turns 75 today, was censored on American television when he was younger. His show “This is Tom Jones” aired on the … Continue reading →

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Tony Curtis on Cary Grant, Kirk Douglas and more

Posted on June 3, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Nobody loved being a movie star more than Tony Curtis, who was born on this day 90 years ago and who died in 2010, and as he got older he liked nothing more than to … Continue reading →

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When Peggy Lee wondered ‘is that all there is?’

Posted on May 26, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Miss Peggy Lee, who was born 95 years ago today and died on Jan. 21 2002 aged 81, had come close to death in 1985 and she laughed when she told me, “Don’t you know … Continue reading →

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A nod from Orson Welles was good enough

Posted on May 6, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – I never spoke to Orson Welles – who was born 100 years ago today and will be the subject of a two-month season at the BFI Southbank – but he did respond with a nod … Continue reading →

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Recalling … Ernie Harwell, voice of the Detroit Tigers

Posted on May 4, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The first baseball game I ever saw was at Tiger Stadium in Detroit in 1970 and a bonus of living across the river in Windsor, Ontario, was that I was able to hear the club’s … Continue reading →

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Bernard Slade: From ‘Bewitched’ to Broadway

Posted on May 2, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Bernard Slade, who turns 85 today, created TV shows such as “The Flying Nun” and “The Partridge Family” but he had his greatest success with the smash hit Broadway play “Same Time, Next Year”. When … Continue reading →

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Why Carolyn Jones did not want to kiss Elvis Presley

Posted on April 28, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – When I interviewed Carolyn Jones, who would have turned 85 today, she told me she had been sick but she did not tell me she was dying. Famous as Morticia in the 1960s TV series … Continue reading →

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The serious side of Playboy’s Hugh Hefner

Posted on April 9, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – At the Festival de Cannes in 1999, the Croisette was filled with promotions for “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and the buzzword was “shagadelic”. When The Hollywood Reporter Cannes Daily ran a picture … Continue reading →

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When electronic darts machines made me weep

Posted on April 7, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett A long time ago in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, the local taverns began to sprout loud and offensive machines that, for a price, offered electronic darts. As a player of real darts, I took immediate offence and expressed … Continue reading →

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A birthday card from Paris from Gregory Peck

Posted on April 5, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Gregory Peck and I were born on April 5 and when he turned 80 he sent me a card from Paris on which he wrote, “This French graffiti describes perfectly how it feels to be 80 … Continue reading →

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