ending the year with Barbara Payton

bad blonde

my addiction to movie star bios began early. I stard buying them in my pre-teen years & still have some of those first volumes in my library.

this afternoon I finishd reading one of the most disturbing stories of anyone who ever made a film. John O'Dowd's Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye is the sad tale of Barbara Payton.



she was neither the most beautiful nor the most talentd starlet in Hollywood history but she was glamorous & she appeard in a few films still marketd on DVD. & her story is so tragic that it makes for riveting reading. in the '50s Payton's incandescence lit up the Sunset Strip. at one time or another she was the mistress of Bob Hope   the wife of Franchot Tone   the plaything of Guy Madison. a mere decade later she gave $5 blowjobs in an alley to support her booze habit.

from the archives

      little boy in Lorain

looking back

for many years my mother collectd autographs. when I retired from Kent State University she gave her collection to the library basically as a thank you for having given me a job all those years. a decade ago Special Collections put on a major exhibition of her collection. this is the case for "Politics/Diplomacy." among the signatures on display was that of Benazir Bhutto.

Pakistan

so depressing.

unlike my father

I have little kinship with tools. so today's achievement -- minor as it was -- looms a bit larger for me.

the faucet in the guest bathroom has been squirting water where water shdn't be. this morning I finally got so upset with it that I uncoverd my pliers & got the nozzle off. it was suffering from corrosion. so I undid it & put the parts in vinegar. I brushd but that did little. then I rememberd that I'd saved an old faucet for parts. now that alone is odd for me to have done. so I unscrewd that nozzle & put it in vinegar. when I came home from the gym I took the clean screen from the old nozzle & cobbld it onto the other & replacd the parts. so it now works.

salad gildzen

lobster & asian pear with a drizzle of oliveoil/lemonjuice/paprika blend.

in their Xmas card

Karen & John Ericson sent along a picture of their new puppy. the dog's name is Spencer -- in honor of John's co-star in "Bad Day at Black Rock." however this Spencer is a she.

a kiss from bee-stung lips

one of the great things abt the internet is its ability to act as a party host. over the years I've been intro'd to many dear friends via chatrooms & message boards & blogs. this past year brought Montgomery Maxton into my life.

currently he mentions me on his blog in connection with my longtime affair with the flickers. strange that he'd bring back to mind Clara Bow. just a month ago in Culver City I walkd past the house where she died.

baby it's cold outside

walking to the gym this ayem was a bitch. only 21. even in gloves my digits were numb.

video of Sal's nativity scene

the Kovach creche

for decades my cousin Sal has transformd his livingroom in Lorain into a nativity scene which draws hundreds of visitors. it began with his grandfather's original set of figures brought from Italy years ago. every year Sal purchases new Fontanini figurines to add -- often in memory of a friend or family member who died.

this picture of Mom & I with Sal was taken in 1988 & shows what I think was the original scene which is set up inside.

the other picture was taken outside looking thru the livingroom window into the larger scene in 1991. with Sal is artist Ira Joel Haber.

attend the tale

it's no secret that when it comes to Sondheim I'm daft. nor that I consider "Sweeney Todd" to be his masterpiece. since Harold Prince's monumental original staging   I've seen some 5 or 6 productions including the chilling performance of Brian Stokes Mitchell at Kennedy Center & real life husband & wife George Ball & Amanda McBroom on the west coast. I always find something new in the work.

when I heard it was to become a film I had a Mylanta moment. Broadway rarely survives the transition to cinema. & this is a complex & difficult piece. directors & cast members were in flux. finally that amazing team of Tim Burton -- who I consider an important filmmaker -- & Johnny Depp -- easily the best film actor of his generation -- were in place. but still   they were going to muck abt with a classic.

my initial viewing of the motion picture gave me mixd feelings abt almost every aspect. let's start with the cast. picking nonsingers was a risk that doesn't work. Depp has some powerful moments. he acts the part well. but having heard so many wonderful singers in the role it's difficult to fully embrace his Sweeney. the part was written for a baritone. Depp sings it as a tenor. this is a major flaw. the original range supports the gravity of the character. when Depp's voice slides off in those glorious arias the performance stumbles.

what can I say abt Helena Bonham Carter. we all have people whose physicality repulses us. I don't like looking at her. that monobrow & pinch of a face. I'd have trouble casting her in anything. maybe one of Oz's flying monkeys. at one time Imedela Staunton was set to play Mrs. Lovett & I was so looking forward to that. but Burton chose his mistress instead & I was immediately disappointd. however I must say that when she actd HBC was better than I was expecting. that sd   her inability to vocalize destroys what cd've been a major performance.

I cd write much more but I'm still digesting. it wasn't a horrid experience at all. it was better than many directors cd've pulld off but it wasn't as good as it deserves to be.

Rudy & Pola

I no longer remember when or where I acquird my Pola Negri tin. clearly from the '20s the can probably held candy. I do remember being astonishd to find an identical one in a case at London's Museum of the Moving Image in 1989. mine currently resides on the bottom shelf of the nicho in my guest bathroom. inside are clippings abt it & similar ones of other silent era stars including Valentino.

so when I opend Mary Ann's generous gift I knew that the ashtray had to come from the same manufacturer because the Valentino portrait was identical to the one on his tin.

Rudy & Pola never made a film together but the press suggestd they were "dating" shortly before his death. after he was safely gone Pola claimd an engagement. she gave perhaps the most memorable performance of her life collapasing at his funeral. so it seems appropriate for me to exhibit her can alongside his butt tray.

lovely surprise

in today's mail was a package from Mary Ann Begland. she sent me a Rudolph Valentino ashtray which had been in her family since the '20s.

I'm thrilld. . .

early in her career

Mamie had a bit in "His Kind of Woman." leading lady in that film was Jane Russell.

the day before the party I went to "Palm Springs Follies." this long-running show features a chorus of both men & women who are at least 50. currently the oldest is 84. the producer is an egotist who insists on "performing" as emcee. oy. & the show has a not-so-hidden right-wing agenda. but one of the current chorus members is Leonard Crofoot who I remember as a young Broadway star. so I went for the 1st 2 acts (exiting before the flag-waving finale).

just as the show was abt to begin an attractive older lady came down the aisle to her seat. it was Jane Russell. when the lights came up at intermission no one seemd to recognize her. so I went up to her to tell her she'd always been one of my favorites. we shook hands & I returnd to my seat.

& the star of the party

          MAMIE VAN DOREN

more party

Kimberly intro'd me to her artist friend Mandad at a book launch at Viceroy on my first nite in town. we had a great chat.

then at the Kabler party I saw him again & met his wife. this time he playd with the Century Dimes for me.

BTW the vintage chair we share is fun but one is so scrunchd that I resemble Quasimodo.

party time

I've heard abt Leisureland for some time. so when Kimberly Nichols invitd me to a party there I got plane tix.

Jamie Kabler is a Palm Springs legend who throws parties which have become part of the lore of that town. I'll reveal the reason for this one in a bit but for now soak up the atmosphere of the place.

I took this of Kimberly in the Valley of the Dolls bedroom:

Palm Springs

my regular room

where I wrote another poem