Beacon Street

There’s a hundred years’ worth of people worth talking about. Tune in Friday to see who I’ll profile!

Happy Halloween!

I was curious about those born on this eeriest of holidays. Did (do) they suffer teasing at the hands of schoolmates? Did/do they worry that they were somehow flawed or subject to paranormal leanings? My mother was born on Friday the 13th, and she always spoke as if that fact had skewed her luck for life. She was a bit of a pessimist, to be sure.

Born today were:
Peter Jackson, New Zealand filmmaker, of the Lord of the Rings franchise, King Kong; Happy 47th, Peter! (For his birthday, he wants The One Ring…)

John Candy, Canadian actor much beloved in our household; favorites are Planes, Trains & Automobiles as the annoying but amiable shower curtain ring salesman, and who could forget his portrayal of Barf, the “mawg” (half man, half dog) in the classic Spaceballs? Candy was taken from us much too soon; he was 43 when he passed on 3/4/04, a victim of a heart attack.

Dale Evans, cowgirl extraordinaire and wife to sweetheart cowboy hero Roy Rogers. She really did write “Happy Trails To You.” 1912 – 2001.

And… Michael Landon, eternally youthful heartthrob of the Ponderosa. (“Little Joe’s” hair would be a good rival for Patrick Dempsey’s today…) Michael was born Eugene Orowitz to Jewish and Irish Catholic parents, grew up in the East. Many people remember him for that role as the youngest Cartwright on Bonanza, and probably even more think of Charles Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie where he played one of TV’s most endearing dads.

But did you know he was married three times, and had nine children (including two step-children) that range thirty years in age? That his sports specialty was javelin throwing, which got him into UCLA on a scholarship? That he smoked up to 4 packs of unfiltered menthol cigarettes a day? (He later attributed his pancreatic cancer to years of poor eating habits, moderate drinking and, of course, the smokes. He was diagnosed just three months before his death at 54.)

He wore “lifts” when shooting with comparable giants Dan Blocker and Lorne Greene, his co-stars on Bonanza. It is said that he was devastated by the deaths of Blocker, and later, his Highway to Heaven co-star, Victor French. He counted among his close friends Johnny Carson, Ronald Reagan and Ernest Borgnine.

As to his stage name, Landon said he picked the name out of a Los Angeles telephone directory.

Landon is credited with saying, “I want people to laugh and cry, not just sit and stare at the TV. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I think viewers are hungry for shows in which people say something meaningful.” I tend to agree, and would venture to apply his philosophy to today’s viewers as well.

As a young child, I had quite the crush on Little Joe. (I swooned over Pernell Roberts until I was told he wore a wig!)

Oh, and Patrick Dempsey? I just couldn’t resist. It’s the hair, you know. You’ll have to wait until January 13th for more on McDreamy.

Not a lot of blog time this morning but couldn’t let October 16th pass. If you were born today, you share your birthday with some great literary talent, too much so to ignore as coincidence, right?

Happy Birthday to playwright Eugene O’Neill, born this date in 1888. O’Neill, who spent much of his life plagued by depression and alcoholism, won the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature and a number of Pulizers for popular works such as Beyond the Horizon, Anna Christie, and Strange Interlude. Some of his plays were made into films The Iceman Cometh, Mourning Becomes Electra, and Desire Under the Elms to name a few. Sadly, O’Neill disowned his daughter Oona for marrying comic film star Charlie Chaplin, and both of his sons committed suicide as a result of various addictions they suffered. O’Neill’s spirit is said to inhabit a dorm room at Boston University, the former Sheraton hotel room where he died in 1953.

Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde would have been 154 today. The author of The Picture of Dorian Gray was born in Dublin, but left Ireland permanently when his then love interest became engaged to writer Bram Stoker (of Dracula fame). He later lived in London, Paris and U.S., and spent years in prison over issues arising from his many homosexual and bisexual relationships. Also famous for the play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Like O’Neill, Wilde’s Dorian Gray, his only novel, has been brought to the big screen more than once. Wilde succumbed to cerebral meningitis in 1900.

Called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”, Noah Webster also shares this popular birthdate. The title is well-deserved; who hasn’t referred to a Webster dictionary in their lifetime?

While she is not known as an author herself, she plays one on TV: Angela Lansbury, sometimes better known as Jessica Fletcher from “Murder, She Wrote”, turns 83 today. Ms. Lansbury deserves a whole blog page onto herself, and will get one in the near future.

Where were you the first time you saw or heard John Lennon sing? I remember well, 1963, when we had a little black and white portable on a shiny gold wire rolling stand in the eating area of our kitchen. Someone (probably me) yelled, “fix the antenna!” and my dad lumbered over to adjust the rabbit ears so that we could get a better picture of the The Beatles doing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the Ed Sullivan Show. I was in 4th grade.

Likewise, I remember exactly where I was seventeen years later when the announcer on my car radio sadly proclaimed that John Lennon had been shot and killed. Today, October 9th, is the 68th anniversary of this genius’ birth, tagged “Imagine Day” by followers. It is also the birthday of his younger son, Sean Ono Lennon, aged 33. “Imagine”, the song probably most representative of Lennon’s philosophies and non-materialistic ways, paid homage to his belief in the possibility of an ideal world.

Like Lennon, American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne is no stranger to expressing political and social convictions through music. Born in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1948, Browne has been called “precociously gifted” and “introspective”, writing and performing tunes that fueled the confessional movement of the early 70’s.

His roots were folksy. In 1966, Browne was a member of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He later wrote songs performed by Joan Baez, Tom Rush, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds, but signed with Asyllum Records in 1971 and began his solo career with the release of “Doctor My Eyes” in 1972. He has since become an icon of socially conscious efforts, participating in organizations such as Musicians United for Safe Energy (“MUSE“) and No Nukes, playing numerous concerts benefiting Farm Aid and various presidential campaigns. A longtime liberal, Browne supported Ralph Nader, John Kerry (as part of the “Vote For Change” tour) and most recently, John Edwards. In August of this year, he sued John McCain and the Republican party for using his 1977 hit “Running on Empty” in a campaign attack against Barack Obama. As one of the most politically immersed artists of his generation, Browne was “incensed” at the illegal use of his material.

In 2007, Jackson Browne covered John Lennon’s “Oh My Love” on the album “Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.”

It would appear that these two music giants share more than just a birthdate.

~Anne – Beacon Street Books

I was going to begin this piece with, “Cancer steals another of my heroes…” but I didn’t want the focus to be on either me or on cancer. This insidious scourge already gets more press than it should.

Still, Paul Newman was nothing if not a hero. He was my hero, for as long as I can remember watching him on the big screen. So much so that he became a sort of “role model” for Dane Pierce, the classic bad boy anti-hero of STARCROSSED HEARTS, my first big contemporary romance (Wings ePress, Sept, 2001)

Apparently, I am not alone in my appreciation of this sexy, shining star. Nominated 9 times for Academy Awards, he took Oscar home only once for “The Color of Money.” He remained married to his second wife, Joanne Woodward, for fifty years. He created a charitable empire unrivaled by his peers.

One of my favorite experiences of Paul was his appearance on “Inside The Actors Studio” (he was their first guest) where he was interviewed by James Lipton. Normally elusive, this serious Hollywood icon was candid, comic, self-effacing and charming. I couldn’t stop smiling during the entire program.

I can’t really add anything to the multitude of eulogies being written this week about Paul. I loved him, I’m grieving, and I feel so much remorse over his suffering. My heart goes out to Joanne and their daughters, who most certainly are devastated at his passing.

Here is a brief video prepared by NEWMANS OWN organization. Grab a hanky.

Rest in peace, dear Paul.