Category Archives: Memory Lane

20 Gene Hackman films you must see

Posted on January 30, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett With most movie stars it’s not very difficult to sort out a Top 10 of your favourite films but Gene Hackman’s exceptional 40-year career has included so many terrific performances in such a wide range of films … Continue reading →

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Peter Cook’s pact with the devil for Dudley Moore

Posted on January 9, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett There’s a general view that comic genius Peter Cook, who died 20 years ago today, was a bitter and unhappy man who resented the film success of his former partner Dudley Moore. That’s not how he appeared … Continue reading →

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Elvis: The man who fell to earth and changed the world

Posted on January 8, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett Little more than 10 years after the end of World War II, Great Britain was a cold, grey place in 1956 when Elvis Presley, who would have been 80 today, dropped from the sky. He changed everything.

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How Linwood G. Dunn blew up the Eiffel Tower

Posted on December 27, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett Linwood G. Dunn blew up the Eiffel Tower for $64, bombed Moscow and shot up ships and planes in both world wars, and got away with it. Dunn, whose birthday was 110 years ago today, was one … Continue reading →

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How I helped keep Bill Murray subversive

Posted on December 5, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett I had a bone to pick with Bill Murray. It was 1990, and all the rebellious early comedians on “Saturday Night Live” appeared to have lost their way. From radical satire they’d moved to mainstream comedy and … Continue reading →

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When Ricardo Montalbán killed off Frito Bandito

Posted on December 4, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett Chris Rock’s question “Is Hollywood Mexican enough?” in his essay about race in the current edition of The Hollywood Reporter reminded me of what the late Ricardo Montalbán told me a long time ago about the image … Continue reading →

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Rock Hudson and the Hollywood AIDS scare

Posted on November 17, 2014 by admin

Rock Hudson, who would have been 90 years-old today, had a more significant impact on Hollywood when he died than in a long acting career that included “Giant” (pictured), 1960s comedies with Doris Day and TV series “McMillan & Wife”. … Continue reading →

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TIFF 2014: A tale of three Equalizers

Posted on September 7, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett File under “it’s a small world”: I’m at my old pal Ron Base’s place in Milton for a Sunday brunch chatting with another guest, Hans Gerhardt, who ran the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto when it was … Continue reading →

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My dinner with Richard Attenborough

Posted on August 25, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett I met Lord Richard Attenborough, who has died aged 90, at the Ghent Film Festival in 2004 and it was a memorable encounter that included Sir George and Lady Martin. At a Ghent restaurant, Lady Martin sat … Continue reading →

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When Duane Eddy played in a supper club band

Posted on May 12, 2013 by admin

By Ray Bennett Duane Eddy, who turns 65 today, is celebrated rightly as one of the top rock ‘n’ roll guitarists of all time but there was a period after his first string of major hits that his career slumped … Continue reading →

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