A BRADLEY SALUTE!

Ed Bradley 1941-2006

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This past weekend's "Jazz Fest" in New Orleans contained a remarkable salute to Ed Bradley, who for 25 years brought stories to life in our living rooms as a Correspondent with "60 Minutes". Ed passed away last November at age 65 from leukemia. Musician Jimmy Buffett first brought Ed to the New Orleans "Jazz Fest" and last Friday, an official funeral procession was held with a portrait of Ed set inside a golf cart. The procession ended at Ancestors Garden. Mike Wallace, funny enough, was "nursing a hangover" from the previous night's tribute dinner and recalled that Ed always circled the date on his calendar for "the food, the fun and the mischief". I did see Wynton Marsalis, another close pal of Ed's play an impromptu sad to cheery send off solo on his trumpet during "CBS News Sunday Morning" that was quite moving. I think it is good for us to celebrate the life of someone as beloved as Ed Bradley, if not for any other reason than the fact that our world is now more deprived with his absence.

ALMOST FAMOUS!

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"Friday Movie Suggestion Night" soldiers on! Hey, if you love Rock and Roll and either haven't seen this film in a while, or you managed to miss it altogether, this is a treat! Written by the Academy Award Winning writer and film director Cameron Crowe, (who actually was Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine before he went into the film industry) this autobiographical film centers on 15-year-old William Miller, an aspiring rock-and-roll journalist who writes stories for underground newspapers in San Diego, and an up and coming band he winds up joining on their tour bus. Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) is a tenderhearted and humorous groupie who befriends William and in the weeks ahead the two become swept up in every aspect of the music business. A phone call from Ben-Fong-Torres, Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine causes a change of fate when Torres mistakenly believes William to be older, after reading his band reviews in a rival magazine. The teen is assigned to tour with the band, "Stillwater" for exclusive interviews and possibly a front cover issue. The adrenalin fueled highs coupled with the ugly realities of betrayal experienced by Penny Lane and William leads to some unexpected life lessons. The story takes an unexpected twist that will ultimately touch your heart.

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The Cast: Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond; Frances McDormand as Elaine Miller; Kate Hudson as Penny Lane; Jason Lee as Jeff Bebe; Patrick Fugit as William Miller; Zooey Deschanel as Anita Miller, Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs. By just the opening of the film, I was grinning knowing this would be fun. Academy Award Nominations for 2001: Nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Cameron Crowe; Nominated Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Kate Hudson; Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Frances McDormand; and Best Editing: Joe Hutshing and Saar Klein.

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ENJOY!

"NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER"!

An improvised scene that was left in the film

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Can it really be 20 years ago that the movie "Dirty Dancing" struck a chord with the public who promptly fell in love with the story, the music, the dancing and the tale of uptown girl "Baby" (the beautiful Jennifer Grey) and bad-boy "Johnny Castle" (Patrick Swayze)? If you loved this feel-good movie, Lionsgate is releasing newly remastered prints plus a 30-minute bonus feature May 1st and 2nd in only 330 theaters in the United States, and 45 in Canada. On May 8th, a newly remastered soundtrack with a bonus DVD of five music videos, a photo gallery and even a karaoke version of the Oscar winning soundtrack "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" will also be released. And to think that the movie took more than 10 years to be made! Eleanor Bergstein wrote and co-produced the movie on a budget of $5 million and recalls worrying the film would be a flop. The film was based on her summer vacations to New York's Catskils. "We had no encouragement", she said. "We were told it would be out a weekend before it went to video". A May 8th DVD has an interview with Swayze and a tribute to the late Jerry Orbach who died in 2004. Forbidden romance and dreams that still lay ahead drive this film and ignite the passions and dreams within each of us. It's a great escape movie with an unmistakable magic. It's always special for me to see something endure that is positive in the world. And this film will thrill audiences forever!

LEO BUSCAGLIA & LOVE 1-A !

Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D. 1924-1998

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He was born Felice Leonardo Buscaglia Ph.D., of Italian descent. For 40 years he served as a Professor at the University of Southern California. In the late 60's, a young student in Leo's class committed suicide. Shocked to his core, Leo was determined to understand how this tragedy could have happened. He concluded that human disconnectedness and the meaning of life required open and positive dialogue in a class where the students guided the direction of the topic. So he started a non-credit class called "Love 1-A", where he delivered dynamic and invigorating lectures. Leo focused on the need for self-love, overcoming everyday stresses, communication gaps between generations, and social and mental barriers that prevented people (from celebrities to the disabled and the elderly in nursing homes) from expressing outwardly their love for one another's uniqueness. A staff member from a local PBS television station happened to be in the audience at one of his lectures, and this encounter led to a long-running series on PBS Television stations across America on the topic of "Love".

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Among his most famous quotes:
"It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely."

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Raised Roman Catholic, Dr. Buscaglia enjoyed his visits to Asia and understanding Buddhist thought. On a trip through Hong Kong, he met a Chinese refugee who, with his family, lived in extreme poverty. The young refugee's name was Wong. In order to find work, Wong needed to learn English. Dr. Buscaglia paid Wong's tuition to an English-language school. Years later, Wong wrote to Dr. Buscaglia. By then he was able to get his family out of the refugee camp and pay back what he saw as his "debt." Instead, Dr. Buscaglia encouraged him to find another determined person such as himself and to give the money, with love, "from Wong and Leo", with the hope that in this way it might touch many lives.

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Among his 14 books in publication is "A Memory for Tino", his first book for children to show them "the Joy that is possible by thinking of others". It was later made into a 1996 movie. Among the first books I read by Leo was "Loving Each Other". In this book he outlines "human relationships, fears of commitment," and he makes a case that "society's flippant and suspicious attitudes toward tenderness, compassion, caring, sharing and love, has created detached, apathetic people". "Because I Am Human" is a photo book of life as seen through the eyes of a 4-year old. His book, "The Fall of Freddie the Leaf" is, “Dedicated to all children who have ever suffered a permanent loss, and to the grown ups who could not find a way to explain it.”

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There's not enough room in this Blog to go much further except to add that the combination of his profound subject struck a responsive chord within millions of people who felt their lives were deficient. By 1998, Leo's books had reached eighteen million copies in print in seventeen languages. Leo died of a heart attack on June 11, 1998 at his home in Glenbrook, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe at age 74. The tragic events over the past 6 years in our country and throughout the world continues to bring me back to rebroadcasts on PBS, DVD's for rent at the library of Leo's broadcasts and even his first groundbreaking book that coincided with the founding of his Class, "Love 1-A". The title of his book? "LOVE". For more information go to: http://www.buscaglia.com/

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ENJOY!

THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN!

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This "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" pick is a light, entertaining film with romance and a bit of the Old West in the background. Directed by Sydney Pollack, it pairs Robert Redford and Jane Fonda for the first time since 1967's classic "Barefoot in the Park".

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In today's world of manipulated, hyped up images and shock entertainment, I went back to take a look at THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN and found a good ally in the movie's theme. The story surrounds Sonny Steele (Redford) a retired rodeo rider whose career has degenerated into hawking "Ranch Breakfast" cereal in television commercials and scheduled appearances. The cereal is manufactured by an unscrupulous conglomerate on the verge of a $300 million merger. One of its properties is "Rising Star", a $12 million thoroughbred. Redford actually purchased this horse for himself after the film's production. Sickened at the direction his life and career have taken, Steele discovers that the sponsor cereal company, has been injecting the horse with steroids to increase its muscle mass, along with tranquilizers to make it possible for it to walk with a strained tendon. Steele's daring plan to free the horse encounters an overly-ambitious television reporter seeking an "exclusive story" named Hallie Martin (Fonda). Fate takes another hand and after a tug of war over the real issue of ethics--Steele and Martin fall in love and wind up on a real adventure in the Las Vegas desert. The climactic ending is memorable. As I said this is a purely entertaining movie that points the audience in a direction outlining the simpler beauties in life, and the potential abuse of both people and animals. This is a fun Cast: Robert Redford as Norman 'Sonny' Steele, Jane Fonda as Alice 'Hallie Martin, Willie Nelson as Wendell Hickson, John Saxon as Hunt Sears, Wilford Brimley as the Farmer, Valerie Perrine as Charlotta Steele, Basil Hoffman as Toland, James B. Sikking as Dietrich and Allan Arbus as Danny MIles. Composer Dave Grusin is always refreshing. The movie received a 1980 Academy Award Nomination for Best Sound.

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ENJOY!

ED WOOD!

Hey, "Friday Movie Suggestion Night" resumes its normal schedule!
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"If you want to know me, see 'Glen or Glenda'. That's me, that's my story, no question. But 'Plan 9' is my pride and joy. We used Cadillac hubcaps for flying saucers in that."

- Ed Wood.

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There are two taglines to this comedy that are side-splitting! "Movies were his passion. Women were his inspiration. Angora sweaters were his weakness". And: "When it came to making bad movies, Ed Wood was the best". This film focuses on eccentric filmmaker Ed Wood, whose low- budget horror and science fiction films with unsophisticated special effects is today regarded as humorous, earning him the title of one of the worst filmmakers of all time. Martin Landeau won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1994 for his portrayal of the late Bela Lugosi in his troubled twilight years. Wood was an eccentric filmmaker who created and completed film projects, casting and production often within days. Directed by Tim Burton, the movie also stars Johnny Depp as the cult movie maker, Sarah Jessica Parker as Dolores Fuller, Bill Murray as Bunny Breckinridge, Patricia Arquette as Kathy O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones as Criswell, Lisa Marie as Vampira, Juliet Landeau as Loretta King, and Vincent D'Onofrio as Orson Welles (voice actor Maurice LaMarche handled the uncredited dubbing for Vincent D'Onofrio as Welles), and George "The Animal" Steele as Tor Johnson. Shot in black and white, the movie focuses on Woods most prolific years between 1953 -1959 when "Glen or Glenda?" and "Plan 9 from Outer Space" were filmed. After Wood's death in 1978, his cult status began after he was mentioned in the book "The Golden Turkey Awards". The University of Southern California actually holds an annual "Ed Wood Film Festival", in which students of all disciplines are challenged to form teams to write, film and edit an Ed Wood-inspired short film based on a preassigned theme. Past themes from student submissions have included: "Rebel Without A Bra" (2004), "What's That In Your Pocket?" (2005), "Slippery When Wet" (2006), and "My Eyes Are Killing Me" (2007) notable for being accompanied by a theme object: a mirror! While not a hit initially upon its release, audiences rediscovered the film "ED WOOD" and embraced it for its humor. Enjoy!

Monday Coffee Break Question!

What's on your agenda for this week?

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR? (STAY TUNED)!

A Steve McQueen Recreation Center was dedicated at The Boys Republic in Chino Hills, California in 1983. A plaque that was installed outside the building reads:

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"Steve McQueen came here as a troubled boy but left as a man. He went on to achieve stardom in motion pictures but returned to this campus often to share of himself and his fortune. His legacy is hope and inspiration to those students here now, and those yet to come."

For further information about ways you can support Boys Republic, please contact their Office of Development, at (909) 628-1217, ext. 206.

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HAPPY EASTER & PASSOVER!

THE FESTIVAL IS CLOSED (MY TRIBUTE TO YOU)!

I simply want to say "Thank You" to every Blogger and Lurker alike who was gracious enough to stop by, even for a glance or a read here and there during The Steve McQueen Film Festival. I'm very grateful for your supportiveness and I hope this was a fun experience. As a Tribute to all of you, I've organized a collection below of movie posters representing every film we covered. Thank you for your patience and your kindness!

---Michael

"The King of Cool" Lives On!

POIGNANT REFLECTIONS

McQueen: "When a kid doesn't have any love when he was small, he begins to wonder if he's good enough. You know, if my mother didn't love me and I didn't have a father, then why, I guess I'm not any good"

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"I've done everything that there is to do. And a lot of my life, I've wasted. It was the women, and the dope, and running around".

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"I always did the things that other people wouldn't do. Some dangerous things. I never thought of myself as a particularly courageous person. I was always kind of a coward, constantly trying to prove myself. Taking everything right to the limit".

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"Now, I've change a lot, I used to be more macho and now, my ass is gone. My body's gone, it's broken. But my spirit isn't broken, my heart isn't broken".

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"I get tired of the pain, but there's something that keeps me wanting to hang on. I want to go to Idaho. Move everything. All my antique planes and cars. My wife and all my animals. Start living again, that's what I'd like. And to try to be able to change some people's lives, maybe somehow. With what I know of the Lord. What I have to offer with what's happened to me."

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Chad McQueen, Steves son: "You know, I never--ever, when he was sick saw him go 'Woe is me. Why me?' But you know, I feel blessed that I got to spend more time than most anybody, I think with him. Listen, he lived a full hundred years in 50 years. And he left a mark. He's been gone now--- 25 years and his legend still lives".

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Barbara Minty-McQueen, Steve's wife: "For me, the whole four years was just the most beautiful learning experience. And it was a gift. He was a great teacher and a beautiful man. And I loved him very much"

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Born March 24, 1930 Beech Grove, Indiana

Died November 8, 1980 Juarez, Mexico

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Steve's favorite Bible verse was John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

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TOM HORN & THE HUNTER (OUR FINAL FILMS)!

(Today's my Birthday ;-) And here's our final "Steve McQueen Film Festival" selection as it winds down this Sunday:

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Producer/Director Lawrence Kasdan ("The Big Chill") describes our final selection for tonight TOM HORN this way: "That was a very sad, odd movie where this is the end. The mature Western figure at the end of his journey". In fact, there is a sense of coming full-circle with "Wanted Dead or Alive" through "The Magnificent Seven" and "Junior Bonner" to this film. Steve made one more movie after this one, a drama/comedy called "THE HUNTER". Steve had been diagnosed with advanced Mesothelioma, a virulent form of Cancer associated with Asbestos exposure. In the Marines, he once had to work in the bowels of a ship removing Asbestos without proper breathing equipment. He also worked in a tire factory. It is absolutely amazing to me that he made both of these films when he was so ill. Nevertheless, his performances in each were terrific! Co-Star Linda Evans while a Guest on "Larry King Live!" last year, called this "an excellent Western that strangely enough, wasn't seen by too many people". At the time I remember thinking, 'Linda would know, having appeared in the Western TV Series "The Big Valley" so long ago. The Plot: McQueen starred in and executive-produced this gritty recreation of real-life Legend Tom Horn, a well-known former government army scout hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but later finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy that he never committed--a set-up for carrying out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions and manipulations of ranchers and corrupt officials at the turn-of-the-century Old West. Cast: Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush and Slim Pickens (also memorable in the final scene of "The Getaway"). Directed by William Wiard.

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Steve's final film is "THE HUNTER".

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This is a story about a modern day Bounty Hunter who drives a Yellow 1952 Chevy convertible around Chicago picking up people who skip their bail bond hearings. Co-star and long-time friend Eli Wallach recalls: "He was just so happy to see me, I couldn't believe it! We hadn't seen each other in fifteen years and here I was a stage actor and Steve, the big star of Hollywood and by now at the top of his craft. But we knew he wasn't feeling well throughout the film. But we had no idea! One day, I'll never forget this--we were filming in a tall building and Steve looked out the window and watched a young guy in jeans and a T-shirt climb into a truck and drive off. And he said to me, 'You know what? That's what I want to do. Just fire everyone who works for me and just get in a truck and drive away' ".

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In 1974, Steve's paycheck for "The Towering Inferno" was 10 percent of the gross, which friend and Actor Robert Vaughn today says is an extremely difficult deal to make in Hollywood. Steve netted $14 Million (which today would exceed $32 million) for the film. In a controversial move, Steve stopped acting for 4 years, and following a divorce from Ali MacGraw, later married model Barbara Minty. According to Barbara their first date was a very casual dinner and then a long ride on Steve's motorcycle until 4 A.M. Barbara recalls: "It was instant attraction". Interestingly, Barbara was not familiar with Steve's celebrity status as a Hollywood Legend when they met. After they began living together, she recalls often having to leave the room (to laugh) as Steve went over his lines from scripts finding it hard to believe he "was paid millions of dollars to do that!" Steve had one contractual obligation left in 1978 with First Artists to make a film. While at a swimming pool one day he picked up a paperback of Henrik Ibsen's classic "An Enemy of the People" and said "I'm going to do this" . In that film, he plays the role of the doctor who discovers that the town's water supply has been poisoned.

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During their wedding ceremony, according to wife Barbara, Steve appeared ill and she assumed it was just the Flu. Some time later, he stopped by Neille Adams' home, and she was shocked to look out her front window to see Steve using a cane to walk up the driveway. Doctors felt he needed to leave the desert environment, so he and Barbara purchased a neat little house in Santa Paula, California. While waiting for the house to be remodeled, the couple lived in Steve's airplane hanger where he had neatly assembled his collection of toys from childhood, antique motorcycles, and racing cars. Both Steve and Barbara became general aviation pilots and later bred horses. It was a happy time, but McQueen sensed instinctively that something was going wrong with his health. One day Barbara found him alone miles away from the house. He had taken a long ride on his motorcycle. She encouraged him to see a doctor. Biopsies revealed advanced Mesothelioma and Steve was told he had a short time left to live. After Steve received his diagnosis, he asked Barbara "Well, do you want to spend it out here or should we try and get well?" Her immediate answer was "Try and get well". During the latter part of 1980 Steve recorded an audio message to all of his fans from his hospital bed in an Alternative Cancer Clinic located in Juarez, Mexico thanking them for their years of loyalty and assuring them that he would get better. It was aired on television's "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite". After enduring a regimen of alternative medical treatments, Steve elected a radical surgery to remove the tumors. Neille Adams visited Steve with their two children Terry and Chad in Mexico, and later consulted her own doctor back in the United States who said "He'll not survive that surgery". Following surgery on November 7, 1980 Steve McQueen died of a massive heart attack that night. He was just 50. Today, 27 years later--his legacy endures.

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Steve took notice of Actor Levar Burton and liked his work. Steve felt that Levar needed to be featured in more films and so he hired him for a role in "The Hunter".

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A few BLOGS ago, I listed a website to type in and click onto where long-time stuntman Loren Janes described Steve's generous heart during the filming of this movie, from visiting the dying Mother of a young girl who served as a film extra and taking her in, to providing footballs to the city's many needy children. If you missed it, simply go to http://www.mcqueenonline.com/lorenjanesremembers.htm. Click On "DOWNLOAD". (One of these days, I'll learn how to "button" this for you). So much for my crude skills. Thanks so much to all Bloggers and Lurkers alike who have shown so much patience throughout this feature since February. I sincerely hope what follows through this Sunday is something you will really come to enjoy and I submit it with great Respect to Steve McQueen.

---Michael