Movie Memories

What if obituaries had to be honest?

Honest obits might go something like this:

Myra Ruth Littleberg

Funeral arrangements for Myra Ruth Littleberg, 91, of Ithaca, New York, who passed May 1, 2019 while reading a book at home, are pending at Ike’s Nondenominational Funeral Emporium on Hickory Street.  Littleberg served as No. 2 Librarian for 25 years at the main Ithaca Library. She kept to herself, spoke in a whisper and was quick to “shush” loud talkers even outside the library.  While researching Littleberg’s quiet life at work and at home with her three cats (Purrcy, Cuddles and Twerk), this reporter discovered, and thus must report, that Littleberg previously worked for years as a topless dancer who called herself Babs at the Check These Out Gentleman’s Club, located way down the gravel road on the shore of Cayuga Lake.

Fall guys

Courtesy: IMDb.com

Don't let Gary Kent's personal kindness and gentle demeanor fool you.

Inside Kent, the subject of Joe O'Connell's fascinating documentary Danger God, rages a cunning creative lion of a stuntman, writer, filmmaker, author and actor who fell off a horse for a young Jack Nicholson in some Monte Hellman Westerns in the 1960s, got in a knife fight with The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant in the '70s, flipped cars, orchestrated and participated in scores of cinematic fist fights and had a run-in with Charles Manson (Yes, that Charles Manson) along the way.

Rush, rush, busy, busy: Great week

What a busy, crazy-good week at Camp Movie Memories last week.

Tuesday: "A Salute to the Great War Movies" at The Preston of the Park Cities.

Thursday: "'Casablanca' -- Hollywood's Classic Happy Accident" at the Southwest Women's Club meeting in Duncanville with Suellen offering a great assist (resulting in a 5-star review on Thumbtack.com).

Friday: "Hollywood's Hot Movie Scandals" before a large, enthusiastic crowd at the Canyon Creek North Garden Club in Plano.

Secrets & Lies

(Courtesy: google.com)

Let's face it, thanks to the Age of Social Media everyone is free to spew their political stance, opinion, jokes, opinion disguised in jokes, photos of cute kitties romping with lions (and/or mice, doggies, etc.), what we're having for breakfast, lunch, brunch and munch and things really much too personal for universe-wide distribution ("Does this look infected to you?")

The line between truth and fiction has become severely Mr. Magooed.  For those of you who don't know and are probably under the age of 100, that means blurred.  (Mr. Magoo, you see, was ... Oh never mind!)

So, how about some unabridged truth?

Daddy Dearest

Father's Day was June 16.  So here's a question:  Who is the best movie father in cinematic history?

(Courtesy: Walt Disney)

We could certainly make a case for Geppetto, the elderly woodcarver of Pinocchio, Walt Disney Productions second full-length animated feature of 1940.

Geppetto wanted a son so badly that he carved one out of wood.  A Blue Fairy gave the puppet life and freed the lovable-but-gullible "boy" from his strings.  My nose would grow and grow if  I denied that Pinocchio made an indelible impression on me as a boy.

Crimes and Mister Meanies

You're probably familiar with the current crop of #Me Too movement suspects and convicted perpetrators. 

To mention just a few:  Major indie studio movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's trial for alleged sexual abuses of dozens of female complainants is coming up soon.  Excellent actor Kevin Spacey, facing charges for allegedly groping a teenage boy, has seen his "House of Cards" crumble.  And, sadly, Bill Cosby, formerly known as "America's Dad," is doing 3-to-10 in the slammer after being convicted on three counts of sexual assault.

What about those I'm calling the #Them Too perps?  I had a great time over at HarborChase of the Park Cities retirement community (in the Dallas area) recently with my Movie Memories presentation titled "Hollywood's Hot Movie Scandals."

Can you hear me now? Yes, indeedy

(Courtesy: sonnymelendrez.com)

My heartfelt thanks go out to legendary San Antonio-based radio personality and good friend Sonny Melendrez, the nicest guy I know and one of the finest keynote speakers in the U.S., for having me on his radio show Sunday morning.

I had the honor of serving as sidekick and movie guy on Sonny's top-rated San Antonio radio show a few years back. Now Sonny is back on the air with the all new "Sonny Melendrez Show" Sundays at 11 a.m. on San Antonio's 930 AM The Answer.  You can listen live by going to the station's website.

Sonny and I had a great time on his new show Sunday morning.  It was like old times, but fresh and new.

What, you missed it?  What if I said you didn't, not really?

Sonny, always on the cutting edge of radio and technology, archives his weekly shows as podcasts.  If you're in the mood to have some fun and find out how yours truly slowly morphed from a shy guy afraid to even raise his hand in class in high school to a nationally known film critic, public speaker and comedian, click on this link to hear the podcast.

The mother of reinvention

(Courtesy: VoyageDallas.com)

Have you ever pondered how you got to the place you're at in your life right now?  This minute?

I have more times than I care to share.  Usually it's in the wee hours of the night or early morning, when I'm tossing and turning in bed. I toss and turn sometime when I'm not in bed, which is not pleasant to witness and may be what "threw my back out" as they used to say.

My innermost self evaluations most often come down to "Why me?" or "Why now?" or the dreaded "Oh [EXPLETIVE DELETED], not now!"

Occasionally, though, there's a "Well, how about that. What a pleasant surprise." That's what today's contribution to literary history is all about.

Oscar rocks, rolls out 'non-hosts'

Original Queen members Brian May (guitar) and Roger Taylor (drums) with Adam Lambert. (Courtesy: spin.com)

For those of you who might have missed the non-hosted 91st Academy Awards Sunday night on ABC, here's all you need to know to keep up with the conversations at the iphone charging station or flavored-water machine today.  Of course we used to have these after-event debates around the water cooler, but try finding one of those these days.

Marion or The Duke: It's all John Wayne

John Wayne about to hitch a ride to fame as The Ringo Kid in "Stagecoach" (1939).

So what's your favorite Marion Robert Morrison movie?

We're talking the late, great "everyman" movie star John Wayne, of course.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring The Duke, Jimmy Stewart, Vera Miles and Lee Marvin as the title character is my favorite, Pilgrim.   That heartfelt-yet-hard hitting Western of love, unrequited and otherwise, giant pan-fried steaks and Marvin as quite possibly one of the Top 5 big screen baddies of all time, only edges out True Grit by an eyepatch or two.

Oh I see, your holiday event is coming up soon

I can't read your mind or anything, but I'm guessing you're looking for something a little different for your office, corporate or facility holiday gathering this year.

Well, look no further.  I have two suggestions for you, and they both just happen to involve, ahem, me.

Hooray/Son-of-a-!! -- Passing milestones, kidney stones

It's been quite a week around Movie Memories headquarters.  How often, for instance, does one pass a milestone and a kidney stone in the same day?

Not me and not the actual kidney stone, but it sure felt about that big. (Courtesy: www.pinterest)

Let's get the kidney stone out of the way first.  OK, it wasn't quite as huge as the photo you see, but it sure felt like it.  When did it happen, you ask?  Well, remember the other day when:

your cat jumped straight up and all its hair was standing on end,

when the dog's ears suddenly shot up and he began howling,

when you felt the Earth move a little bit under you,

when all the car alarms in the neighborhood were going off?

That was when.

Savoring Covenant Retirement Community memories

John and Ellie Milton with You Know Who

Be grumpy and/or glum about politics, the tragedies on the local newscasts almost every night and things going wrong at work or around the house if you want.

 I, on the other hand, am in the mood to celebrate.

Recently back from my Movie Memories with Larry Ratliff swing through the Chicago area, I'm savoring the fact that I was lucky enough to meet scores of very nice people, make some new friends and enjoy the best chicken salad sandwich of my life.

Summer in Texas, 2018: I got out of the kitchen, and I still can't stand the heat.

I'm free, and open to the public

If you like movies and fun, this is a semi-rare opportunity not to be missed.

So many of my Movie Memories with Larry Ratliff presentation events are private affairs.

Not this time, though.

Making 'Movie Memories' in Chi-Town

I'll never think of Chicago and its metro area as The Windy City, Second City or Chi-Town again.

From now on, Chicago is where Movie Memories with Larry Ratliff goes national.

The play-by-play's the thing

With apologies to the Beatles:

It was 50 years ago today
Professor Mercer taught the band to play-by-play

Two days have passed, and I still can't get over the fact that legendary sportscaster Bill Mercer sent an invite to join him for lunch to me and about 20 others from his 35-plus-year University of North Texas (UNT) broadcasting and sportscasting teaching span.

Mercer is famous in the sports world for wrapping his feet with plastic wrap in an attempt to stay warm enough to call the famous “Ice Bowl” NFL championship game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in 1967, not to mention the Cowboys first two Super Bowl appearances.  He was in the booth when the Texas Rangers set up shop in Arlington and those slightly long of tooth will recall Mercer at the mic when "Studio Wrestling," taken seriously by many back in the 1960s or so, was taped before a small audience in the KRLD-TV (now KDFW) studios.

His credits are too numerous to mention.  Suffice it to say that the Texas Pro Baseball Hall of Fame, Texas Radio Hall of Fame and Dallas Press Club “Living Legend of North Texas Journalism” member who shared the broadcast booth with Don Drysdale when the Texas Rangers first hit the field was/is larger than life.

The thrill of the (Harbor) Chase

Making Movie Memories with (from left) Bridgette, Lisa and Glenda from HarborChase of the Park Cities.

I was humbled to be asked by Bridgette Walshe, executive director of HarborChase of the Park Cities, to present my "Life Lessons I've Learned at the Movies" Movie Memories presentation Tuesday afternoon at the historic Highland Park Village Theater in the trendy Park Cities area of Dallas near the George W. Bush Presidential Center and Southern Methodist University.

It's always a little special when I speak about the magic of the movies and my adventures interviewing internationally famous movie stars like Tom Hanks and Shirley MacLaine (just to namedrop a couple) and see the presentation spring to life on a huge movie theater screen.

Destiny's child -- The other one

I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. -- Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)

Looking for treasures?  You might try the garage.

You know, lurking in those musty boxes weakened by time and multiple relocations over two or three decades

Digging through way too many of those boxes to admit we even had over the weekend in preparation for an upcoming garage sale, we came across my birth announcement from way back in 19-something or other.

Who's your 'Mother!'

Jennifer Lawrence as the title character in "Mother!" (Courtesy: geektyrant.com)

Generally speaking, horror-thrillers come and go these days without much interest from this aisle seat.

Until now.

Mother!, written and directed by Oscar-nominated Darren Aronofsky, is the exception.  Simply put, Aronofsky, whose Academy Award nomination came for calling the shots and putting Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis on their toes as driven ballet dancers in  Black Swan (2010), knows how to creep us out.