hollywood

Fame, fortune, and power stand at the top of the heap when it comes to what we call success. Most peculiar of these is fame. It seems the rule, which is rarely spoken out loud is, anyone who is very well known didn’t get that way because they did everything wrong. Oh really! Who hasn’t heard the names of some famous criminals like John Dillinger or Al Capone or John Wayne Gacy? Many of these criminals were even trusted and held hero status in the minds of some people.

Actors after all only portray the very worst human behavior so they are held above any level of culpability. Ignoring the power of suggestion and the force of example they are generally held guiltless. That thousands of youth, weak minded individuals and those with a penchant for criminal activity may be directly influenced by actors is not supposed to be addressed. How easy it is to portray those who decry this evil influence as extremist, right wing extremist, bible thumpers, self righteous or a few other appellations I can’t mention here. Does fame change the standards of morality, sadly for many Americans the answer is, yes?

Faith in God is among other things a call to get rid of the influence laid upon us by the rich, powerful or famous. It is addressed many times throughout the Bible with admonitions like this one. “Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous.” Deuteronomy 16:19 For those deeply influenced by celebrities, it requires a lot less than a gift but only a glimpse or a word from their favorite star can get them onboard some perverted or twisted secular view or cause in the proverbial New York minute. This is the rape of the mind. These minds are not weak minds but according to the Bible they are blind minds and are easy prey. 2 Corinthians 4:14

In his brazen and irreverent style as a political humorist Bill Maher has caught the attention of millions of American minds. That these minds were largely suspended in mid air by absolutely nothing made them easy prey. His show “Politically Incorrect” which ended in 2002 won several Emmy awards during its run. In the summer of 2006 Mr. Maher appeared on the Jay Leno show and in his usual pompous style espoused a good bit of his liberal hype to the enthusiastic applause of the audience. The most excited applause was elicited from the audience when Mr. Maher decried the resistance to stem cell research that Maher attributes largely to the Bush administrations policies.

He raised the audience to the heights when he said that what stifle the good efforts of stem cell researchers are men like George Bush who have decided all on their own when exactly life begins. He inferred that it was Mr. Bush’s religious persuasions that have brought him to resist the great high priests of the secular world, the scientists. To the average couch potato trying to relax in his own home this may have gone unnoticed but perhaps a few good folks may have wondered how Mr. Maher decided when life does or does not begin. Why should his view of it be any more valid than the presidents?

If the beginning of life takes place at some unknown point after conception that is arbitrarily determined by just anyone then how easy it would be to make a mistake. Those that say it’s after the first trimester could be wrong by a month, a day or even a minute. What reasonable person would like to take a chance on that deadly error? Do the math, those that say life begins at conception could be dead wrong but that would still leave no one dead. The proponents of abortion have no such assuring outcome to their beliefs.

According to Mr. Maher and others who aren’t so sure when life begins, the Chinese who are attributed for stating the following proverb must be wholly incorrect. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” I suppose if we’re really to know if the proverb is true or not we could just start traveling to Hollywood from wherever we are. When we get there we could knock on the door of some celebrity and ask them if our trip started on the first mile of the journey or at some other point along the way. Oh, by no means takeoff for Washington D.C. because we already know what that dumb old president is going to say. He is going to tell us our journey began with the first step and with the first mile. Who could trust that nonsense?

The priests of ancient Baalism offered children as sacrifice to appease their gods. The Bible says these gods were actually no more than demons. Is the offering of our unborn to the priests of science and secularism all that much different? Has the end justifying the means now become an acceptable substitute for doing what is natural, right and obviously moral and humane? Humane? What would the animal rights activist do if they got wind of a group of veterinarians who were pulling out whole litters of puppies from their mothers bodies for some experiment? How many animal hospitals would get picketed, burned or worse?

Mr. Maher and his enthusiastic audience may not be as sure as Mr. Bush about when human life begins but there is one place they may want to visit to help them in their decision. Instead of the Hollywood tour of celebrity stars maybe they should travel to Wichita Kansas to see the building that Operation Blessing recently purchased. The building was formerly used by Central Women’s Services as an abortion clinic. On August 7th of 2006 it was reported by several news agencies that the people of operation Blessing sprayed the walls ceilings and floors of the building with a substance known as luminol. They took both still photos and videos of the inside of the former clinic that would curdle the blood of anyone regardless of how heartless or hardened they may be. The room glowed like something out of the worst horror movie of the decade. From the floors, walls and even the ceilings an eerie glow of death filled the room and one photographer grew so sick they had to flee the room before fainting.

Visiting this former clinic may not answer the question of when life begins but it would go a long way to show how and in what manner life ends. After that, the first question may be given a great deal more attention and thought. For most of us with an average measure of common sense we don’t need the Bible, the President or Hollywood celebrities to tell us that most things beginat the beginning.

Rev Bresciani has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote “Hook Line and Sinker or what has Your Church Been Teaching You,” publisher, PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book published by Xulon Press entitled “An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ.” His book is now being heralded as the clearest book on the subject of the second coming of Christ since Hal Lindsey’s “Late Great Planet Earth” Rev Bresciani’s website is,

http://americanprophet.org

Share This

Hollywood was an attractive place for the early filmmakers to settle, full of good weather, orange and lemon trees. For producers who owed money on borrowed camera equipment if a creditor came after them, they could hide among the trees. It was a hard business full of causalities and took a pirate’s mentality to survive. Most of the studio heads were from poor backgrounds, with limited English skills and never forgot their childhood or a personal slight. Included were Jack, Harry, Albert and Sam, the four Warner Brothers from Youngstown, Ohio. They had begun with showing movies off the side of a tent in Youngstown, borrowing all the chairs from the local undertaker. Every time there was a funeral in Youngstown, they had to give all the chairs back and the film patrons were forced to stand.

As a boy Jack Warner wished to be a singer and a comedian. His brothers, recognizing his lack of talent instructed him to sing in the tent when they wanted the audience to leave. He was later advised that the money was not in performing, it was in paying performers. Among the stars that would be under contract to him would be Betty Davis, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn.

The silent days were a struggle for Warner Bros. Rin Tin Tin, a German shepherd that according to his publicity was born in a foxhole in World War I, was their biggest star. Heroic as he might have been on the screen, he proved to be, like many stars, cantankerous in person. Jack Warner took the dog on a publicity tour. As he introduced him to the crowd, his ungrateful employee bit him on the behind, leading to the dog’s dismissal. It proved to be a prelude to Warner’s many future battles with stars.

Trying to make a name for themselves, the four brothers got great publicity by announcing that the renowned opera tenor Caruso would be arriving from Italy to make a film for them. They paid him 25,000 dollars and then put him in a silent movie.

The movie studios had the technology to make talking films years before they made them. One of the reasons why they resisted the idea was that they didn’t want to risk losing their overseas market. Stars like Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford rarely ever had a flop as their films were shown around the world and knew no language barriers. But in 1926 the silent films faced their biggest competition with a new device called the radio. As movie attendance dwindled the studio heads shut their eyes and pretended the radio was not there. But the Warners lead by the ambitious Sam, decided to push the envelope and try to save their sinking studio by experimenting with movie sound.

Sam purchased an experimental sound system called Vita-phone. They then acquired the rights to The Jazz Singer, a popular play about a young man who had a beautiful voice and is offered a Broadway career against the wishes of his Old World Jewish father. In the play the son gave in to his father but the Warner’s, wishing to reach a wider audience, Americanized the story by having the son follow his own dreams. Star Al Jolson adlibbed the dialogue,” Wait a minute, wait a minute you ain’t heard nothing, yet!” The Warner’s were only intending singing but at the last minute they impulsively kept the line in the film. The Jazz Singer received a standing ovation when it premiered in New York in 1927 and went on to make three and half million dollars at a time when admission costs 20 cents. The sound revolution was under way!

Movie audiences had often been loud and noisy while watching silent films. Now the theater’s got quiet as people strained to hear every word. Movie Theater’s had to be rewired for sound, costing major studios like Paramount and Fox millions of dollars. Movies now had to film mostly at night as any passing truck noise could ruin a sound recording. ” How boring!” said Mary Pickford. “At first we moved! Now everyone is standing around talking!” One enterprising actor was hired for one day’s work. When the director wasn’t looking he let a bunch of crickets loose on the set. It was five days before the crew could round up the chirping crickets, and the actor kept on hold received five times the paycheck.

About The Author

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at www.hollywoodstories.com.

orgofhlly@aol.com

Share This

Gene Hackman once lamented that the worst thing about becoming a famous actor is that you lose the ability to observe people without being noticed yourself. But some performers are so good at disguises that notoriety is no obstacle. A case in point was John Barrymore trying to buy his first house in Beverly Hills in 1926. Frustrated by rising real estate prices due to stars like Tom Mix and Charlie Chaplin moving into the neighborhood, Barrymore went to look at a lot dressed as his most famous movie role, Mr. Hyde. The realtor was taken aback by the long haired, wild eyed, fiendish looking man who got out of the limo. Every time the broker would suggest a price he was met by an intimidating growl. Finally he made the sale by lopping twenty thousand dollars off the initial number.

Barrymore’s penchant for disguises did not end with his home purchase. The actor was often arrested and locked up for vagrancy, specifically being drunk and going through his rich neighbor’s trash cans to find scraps for his pet buzzard. His experiences were put to good use when he showed up to a costume party put on by Marion Davies dressed as a bum. Unfortunately, his outfit was so authentic he was turned away.

Sometimes an actor will believe that they are turning into the character that they play. The disguise will give them a confidence they don’t have in their own lives. Before Dustin Hoffman was famous he used to follow movie producers into bathrooms, wait till they got into the stalls, slide his head shots underneath the door and run away. He almost blew his audition for The Graduate (1967) by getting nervous and grabbing Katherine Ross’ breasts during his screen test. The insecure actor became more comfortable as he got outside his own skin, especially when he played Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie (1982). Dustin was so convincing as a flirty southern belle that he actually fooled his uncomfortable Midnight Cowboy (1969) co-star Jon Voight in New York’s Russian Tea Room. Their real life encounter was later turned into one of the film’s funniest scenes. After the experience was over he didn’t want to be Dustin again. “Maybe there can be a sequel where I give birth.”

Another uncertain star, Gregory Peck had his decision making powers rise up several notches when he played the title role in MacArthur (1977). Peck’s wife Veronique wished to buy a new lot in Holmby Hills and wanted Greg’s approval. Local residents were amazed to see what looked like Douglas MacArthur chauffeured around in an open convertible, wearing his full General’s Uniform, complete with the pipe and dark glasses that he was famous for. When he arrived, Veronique began telling him about the property. After two minutes he interrupted her,”Buy it!” He saluted, got back in the car, folded his arms and ordered the driver to move on. Later the former Berkley student said,” How refreshing to have the General’s decision making ability, Greg Peck would have dithered around for days.”

Method actress Kim Hunter was shocked when she saw her chimp make-up in the mirror for the first time while playing Dr. Zira in Planet Of The Apes (1968). She actually started crying. “Oh my God. I’m not Kim anymore. I’m an ape.” After she calmed down she turned in a great performance. The star of the film Charlton Heston attended the Planet Of The Apes premiere with his wife Lydia. Rare for a Hollywood leading man, Heston’s marriage has lasted over fifty years without a hint of an extramarital affair. A strange woman came running up to him. “Chuck, how are you? Nice to see you.” She began hugging him and kissing him. “Hey, get off me lady,” said Heston giving Lydia a bewildered look. Of course, it was Kim Hunter who Charlton had never seen outside her ape costume.

Heston and Hunter’s Apes co-star Roddy McDowall kept his humor throughout the make-up ordeal. He loved driving down the 405 freeway in his full ape costume waving at the other cars while stuck in traffic. Roddy also had fun at the expense of his old friend and Camelot co-star Julie Andrews. Miss Andrews was working on the Twentieth Century Fox lot, near where workmen were building the Ape City. One day she was in her dressing room, agitatedly smoking a cigarette talking to her analyst on the phone. “My God these people here. I don’t know who to trust. They’re all trying to backstab me. Don’t tell me I’m paranoid! My God there’s a giant ape coming through my window!”

About The Author

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at http://www.hollywoodstories.com.

orgofhlly@aol.com

Share This