The Gangster Of Hollywood

     There are probably some who don't know this but Hollywood had its gangsters beside actors, theaters, etc. One in particular was Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegal. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 28, 1906. He was a vicious gangster. No one dared to called Siegal "Bugsy" to his face if they wanted to live a long life. Siegal hated that nickname. Not even his friends called him "Bugsy" to his face. This was how vicious Siegal was. But then again, being in the Mafia it was rare for a gangster to die of natural causes any way. Why by trouble though?

     Siegal's violent method of doing business struck terror in the heart of his enemies and the public. His infamy was acknowledged by a journalist working for the Time as "the most famous mobster of his era". J. Edgar Hoover acknowledged Siegal as "America's most dangerous criminal". The Mafia called Siegal valuable.

     In 1937, Siegal moved west to Los Angeles to find new markets to further his career in the Mafia. At that time, California was booming economically. There was surely businesses to get involve in and extort, some people to blackmail.

     While living in California in 1946, Siegal began work on a multi-million dollar casino called The Flamingo in Las Vegas with William Wilkerson. When Wilkerson ran out of money to finish The Flamingo, Siegal took over. In taking over the additional financing Siegal used 5 million dollars of mob money, which belong to Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. One does not take money from Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky without asking.

     On June 20, 1947 before midnight, Siegal was walking by the front window at his mistress's home. Gunshots rang out. Siegal was killed. He didn't get the chance to react, which is usually the case during a mob hit back then.

     Unfortunately for the Mafia, they should of brought an exorcist of some kind after the hit to make sure the deed was done. Rumor has it, Siegal's ghost haunts his mistress's house to this day. So if you ever go by the house don't call out "Hey, Bugsy", you might have more trouble than you bargain for.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea-Deadly Creature Below

 

     Here is the last and fifth video of 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'. The episode is 'Deadly Creature Below'.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea-The Ghost Of Moby Dick

 

     Here is the fourth one of 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'. The episode is called 'The Ghost Of Moby Dick'.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea-Submarine Sunk Here

 

     I am sorry I have been slacked in posting. I have been doing research and the Christmas thing. Here is the third video. This is the episode I did the music video on called 'Submarine Sunk Here'

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea: The Menfish

 

     Here is one of the color episodes. It is from the 2nd season of 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea-Eleven Days To Zero

 

 

This is the pilot episode of 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (TV Series)

Image via Wikipedia

 

     In 1961, Irwin Allen created the movie then the television series both called 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea'. The show's main theme is underwater adventure. 'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' was broadcasted on ABC from 1964 to 1968.

     Out of the 110 episodes, 32 were broadcasted in black and white. The rest were in color. The first seasons took place in the then future of the 1970's. The last two episodes took in the 1980's.

Cast

• Richard Basehart-Admiral Harriman Nelson
• David Hedison-Captain Lee Crane
• Bob Dowdell-Lt. Commander "Chip" Morton
• Henry Kulky-Chief "Curly" Jones (1st season)
• Terry Becker-Chief Sharkey (2-4 season)
• Del Monroe-Kowalski
• Arch Whiting-Sparks
• Paul Trinka-Patterson
• Allen Hunt-Riley
• Richard Bull-The Seaview doctor (2nd season, 3 episodes)
• Paul Carr-Casey Clark (1st season, recurring afterwards in stock footage scenes.)

Facts

• The pilot episode 'Eleven Days to Zero' was filmed in color but broadcasted in black and white.
• During season 2, the flying sub was introduce into the series.
• Captain Crane was not captain of the Seaview during the pilot. The captain was Captain John Phillips. Phillips was killed and replaced by Crane.
• In the film, Admiral nelson had a secretary named Cathy Connors, who worked on the Seaview. In the series, there is no Cathy Connors, only a long list of secretaries that worked on land and are basically interchangeable, and only last one episode.
• The stock footage of the Seaview was used in the 'Wonder Woman' episode 'The Bermuda Triangle Crisis'.

    

 

Smooth Criminal Featuring Fred Astaire

 

     When I saw this video, I had to put it up on my blog. I was completely amazed by it. The scenes were in the range of Michael Jackson's version.

     To find out the reason why this video was made you will have to go to Fred Astaire+Michael Jackson-Smooth Criminal and read the more info part.

Gene Kelly-Singing In The Rain

     This video is of Gene Kelly singing 'I'm Singing In The Rain' and dance from the movie with the same name.

     This video was put up on You Tube by Emeuh83.

Forbidden Images From The Old Days

 

 

     These images are tame compare to what we watch today.

     This video was put up on You Tube by CineGraphic.

Some Comic Relief From A Drive-In Concession Stand.

 

     Well, you can't enjoy a good movie at the drive-in without some snacks or some food but at this drive-in it might be best to bring your own snacks and food. Don't get food from this concession stand. There is no telling what kind of stomach problems you can get. Unfortunately, the video doesn't mention which drive-in this concession stand is at. Enjoy some laughs from watching the video.

     This video was put up on You Tube from CineGraphic.

Movie Legends-David Niven

 

 

      The video was put up by basilnelson on You Tube.  The music on the video is an Overture called 'The Marriage of Figaro' played by James Last and his Orchestra.

Yul Brynner And Deborah Kerr (The King And I)

 

 

The clip is from the 'The King And I' with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. This video was put up on You Tube by dfactoryusa.

Pink Panther-The Scarlet Pinkernel

 

 

     Okay, so I am a little kid at heart. I loved watching the Pink Panther when I was a kid and had to take a trip down memory lane.

     By the way there is a moral to this particular cartoon. "No good deed goes unpunished." Enjoy the cartoon.

Perry Mason Moments

  

     I made this video of a few Perry Mason Moments from the old TV series. The clips are from the episodes of 'The Antic Angel', 'The Festive Felon', and 'The Shifty Shoebox'. The song on the video is 'Eyes Without A Face' sung by Billy Idol. 

     For those of you who rather just hear the words instead of music, you can listen to the video below. Just words. No Music. The videos are the clips I put in the music ones.

 

 

 

James Cagney-Death

 

     James Cagney died of a heart attack at the age of 86. He is buried at the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York. Ronald Reagan, who was president at the time, gave the eulogy at Cagney's funeral. His pallbearers were boxer Floyd Patterson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, actor Ralph Bellamy, and director Milos Forman.

James Cagney-Political Views

Image via Wikipedia

 

     Though Cagney claimed in his autobiography he had no political view when he was younger, the Fanzines in the 1930's says he views were radical. The view was exaggerated by his wranglings with Warners at the time, his joining of the Screen Actors Guild, and his revolt against the Merriam tax.

     Cagney supported the Thomas Moody's defense fund but he was repelled by the behavior of some of Mooney's supporters at the rally. During the Spanish Civil War, Cagney gave money for the Spanish Republican Army ambulance. Cagney also became involved with a liberal along with Ronald Reagan however both quit the same night.

     Cagney was accused of being a Communist sympathizer in 1934, and again in 1940. The 1934 accusation came about form a letter from a local communist official found by police alleging that Cagney would new members to meetings. Cagney denied the accusation. Lincoln Steffens backed him up saying the money he gave was to help striking cotton workers in San Joaquin Valley. The 1940 accusation was about the donated money for the striking cotton workers. Cagney was cleared of the charges.

     Cagney became President of the Screen Actors Guild in 1942. He took an active role in the Guild's work against the Mafia. Around this time the Mafia had taken an active interest in the movie industry. Because the Mafia couldn't scare Cagney and the Guild off, they called Billie to tell her Cagney was a dead man. Cagney said they did send a hit man to kill him by dropping a heavy light onto his head. Upon hearing about the rumor of the hit, George Raft canceled the hit.

     During World War 2, Cagney took part in raising war bonds in racing exhibitions at the Roosevelt Raceway and sold seats for the premiere of 'Yankee Doodle Dandy. He even let the Army practice maneuvers at his Martha's Vineyard farm. After the war, Cagney got involved with the presidential campaigns. Cagney supported Ronald Reagan's campaign. 

     As Cagney got older, he became more and more conservative. Cagney regarded the move totally natural because of the undisciplined elements in our country referring to the hippies and their mind set.

James Cagney-Personal Life

Image via Wikipedia

 

     James Cagney married Frances Willard "Billie" Vernon on September 28, 1922. They met on the chorus line of 'Pitter Patter'. In 1941, they adopted a boy and named him James Cagney Jr. They had a daughter, Cathleen "Casey" Cagney. While Cagney was willing to give press interviews, he still remain a private man. He also remained out of the public eye during his private times.

     When Cagney was a young man became interested in farming, do to a soil conservation he attended. During his first walk out from Warner Brothers, he bought a farm in Martha's Vineyard. The house on the farm was run down but Cagney loved it but Billie was reluctant at first to live in the house. As time moved on, Billie grew to love the place. Cagney began to spread a rumor that he was going to hire a gunman after he got inundated by movie fans. The ruse was so good that when Spencer Tracy came to visit, the cab driver wouldn't go up the drive way to the house. The cab driver told Tracy. "I hear they shoot!" Tracy ended up walking up the driveway.

     In 1955, Cagney bought a farm in Duchess County, New York. He named the farm Verney Farm, taking the first syllable from Billie's maiden name and the second syllable from his own surname. Cagney turned the farm back into working order. He expanded the farm over the years to a 750 acre site. Cagney's enthusiasm for farming got him an honorary degree from Rollins College. He surprised the staff by writing a paper on soil conservation because he didn't want to "turning up with Ava Gardner on my arm" was the way Cagney put it.

     Cagney was a sailor. He own boats on both the east and west coast of the U.S.A. Cagney enjoyed painting. Cagney only sold one of his paintings which was to Johnny Carson to benefit a charity.   

James Cagney-Retirement

Image via Wikipedia

 

     Cagney retired from show biz in 1961 and remained so for a little over twenty years. He made few public appearance. He preferred to spend winter in Los Angeles and summers either at his Martha's Vineyard farm or at Verney Farms in New York. When spending time in New York, Cagney and Billie had numerous parties at a restaurant called Silver Horn. both got to know the proprietress of the restaurant, Marge Zimmerman.

     Cagney was diagnosed with glaucoma and was taking eye drops for it but continued have problems with his eyes. Zimmerman recommended Cagney seeing another doctor. Cagney went to the different doctor and found out he was misdiagnosed. His problem was diabetes not glaucoma. Zimmerman took it upon herself to prepare Cagney's meals to help bring down his blood triglyceride level. She succeeded in bringing Cagney's blood triglyceride level down that he had lost 20 pounds and his vision improved before he made a rare appearance at Lifetime Achievement Award's ceremony.

     Many Hollywood stars attended the ceremony that it was said if a bomb went off in the room it would have been the end of the movie industry. During Cagney's acceptance speech of an award, he lightly chastised impressionist Frank Gorshin by saying "Oh, Frankie, I never said 'Mmmm, you dirty rat!' What I said was 'Judy, Judy, Judy!'." 

     In 1977, Cagney had a minor stroke. He spent two weeks in the hospital. Zimmerman became his full-time carer, traveling with Cagney and Billie.

     Cagney wasn't able to undertake many of his favorite pastimes. He became depressed. To help Cagney get over his depression, Billie and Zimmerman encouraged him to accept an offer to star in the film 'Ragtime'. Cagney accepted the offer.

     The film was shot at the Shepperton Studios in London. Cagney got a warm welcome from the British as soon as his ship dock. The officials said they had never seen anything like it even though they had experienced past visits from Marlon Brando and Robert Redford.

     During the filming, Cagney's sciatica worsened but he kept going. Cagney and co-star Pat O'Brien appeared on the Parkinson talk show. Cagney even made a surprise appearance at the Queen Mother's birthday performance. Cagney's appearance on stage prompted the Queen Mother to rise to her feet. It was the only time the Queen Mother did during the whole show. Later, she went backstage to speak with Cagney.

     In 1984, Cagney made a rare TV appearance in 'Terrible Joe Moran'. Afterward he completely retired.

James Cagney-Films

 

1930
The Doorway to Hell
Sinners' Holiday

1931
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots'
Blonde Crazy
Smart Money
The Millionaire
The Public Enemy
Other Men's Women

1932
Winner Take All
The Crowd Roars
Taxi!

1933
Lady Killer
Footlight Parade
The Mayor of Hell
Picture Snatcher
Hard to Handle

1934
The St. Louis Kid
The Hollywood Gad-About
Here Comes the Navy
He Was Her Man
Jimmy the Gent

1935
Mutiny on the Bounty
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Irish in Us
G Men
Devil Dogs of the Air
Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
A Dream Comes True
Frisco Kid

1936
Great Guy
Ceiling Zero

1937
Something to Sing About

1938
Angels with Dirty Faces
Boy Meets Girl
For Auld Lang Syne

1939
The Roaring Twenties
Each Dawn I Die
Hollywood Hobbies
The Oklahoma Kid

1940
City for Conquest
Torrid Zone
The Fighting 69th

1941
The Bride Came C.O.D.
The Strawberry Blonde

1942
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Captains of the Clouds

1943
Johnny Come Lately
You, John Jones!

1944
Battle Stations

1945
Blood on the Sun

1947
13 Rue Madeleine

1948
The Time of Your Life

1949
White Heat

1950
The West Point Story
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

1951
Starlift
Come Fill the Cup

1952
What Price Glory?

1953
A Lion Is in the Streets

1955
Mister Roberts
The Seven Little Foys
Love Me or Leave Me
Run for Cover

1956
These Wilder Years
Tribute to a Bad Man

1957
Short-Cut to Hell
Man of a Thousand Faces

1959
Shake Hands with the Devil
Never Steal Anything Small

1960
The Gallant Hours
Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.

1961
One, Two, Three

1968
Arizona Bushwhackers

1981
Ragtime