Wonder Woman at 80

 

art by Phil Jimenez

Today is being celebrated as the 80th Anniversary of the arrival of Wonder Woman in All-Star Comics #8.  

It's no secret we're big fans of Princess Diana/ Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman around these parts, and we're thrilled that Wondy is, today, as popular - or more so - than ever, thanks to any number of factors.  And, we think she could reach even higher heights!  After all, we firmly agree in her mission of peace and justice.  Plus, twirling!

Anyway, I can either do a TL;DR post about the greatness of Wonder Woman as character, property, icon, etc... OR I can cut it short and let you just bask in the tremendousness of 80 years of lassoing for Truth!

art by Alex Ross

WW84 is an imperfect movie, but it did give us this sequence of Wonder Woman in action as I imagine a Tuesday goes for her

I like many, many animated takes on Wonder Woman, from Super Friends to the WB Animated movies.  But this 3 minute sequence from Brave and the Bold is the most Wonder Woman ever packed into 3 minutes.  

and now.... twirling

Happy B-Day, Sigourney Weaver

 

Happy Birthday, Cassandra Peterson

As we're like to do around here, we're wishing actress, activist and savvy business-person Cassandra Peterson a happy birthday!  

You know her best as Elvira, Misteress of the Dark!  She and Shudder are teaming up for a Halloween special this year, she's got projects going in comic books, and she's got fashion lines and collectibles out there, as well as her work with fan conventions and whatnot.  

Anyway, she's got a lock on October as the spookiest of all months, so check in on what she's up to!  

Here's the announcement of the Special Special:

Happy Birthday, Lois Lane

art by the great Nicola Scott

Well, the internets (and especially Max) tell me today, August 17th, is the observed birthday of intrepid reporter, Lois Lane.  

If you've hung around these parts long enough, you'll know I'm a Lois Lane fan, be it comics, television, movies, cartoons, what-have-you.  She's as big a deal to me as anyone else in comics and very much the key to Superman as a character.  

It's been an absolute delight to have Lois on my television this year and realized in the capable hands of the astounding Elizabeth Tulloch.  She doesn't just get the character through and through, she's managed to sort out the Lois of the show and made her her own.  And made 100% clear how she's at least 50% of this package.

Anyway, any excuse to celebrate Lois, I'm going to take.  

Happy birthday, Lois!

Happy Birthday, Arnold Schwarzenegger!

 

Today is the 74th birthday of bodybuilder, actor, politician and mammal enthusiast Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Arnold is not only kind of the John Wayne of my generation, he's kind of become larger than life in my imagination since I started watching his films starting with Conan the Barbarian.  

I've not always been on the same page as Arnie, but in a better world, this isn't a huge deal.  And I think Arnie is genuinely concerned with making a better world. 

At 74, he's still making movies, worrying about how to remain in great shape and passing along tips on how to do so - and being wildly encouraging to the readers of his newsletter about us getting healthy, too (I'm trying, Arnie).  

Anyway - I hope he's having a great day out there, wherever he is.

Happy Birthday, Lynda Carter

Happy birthday, Lynda Carter!

Today is the 70th birthday of actor, singer, performer, and icon Lynda Carter.

She's got a new album out in a few days and her Wonder Woman episodes are streaming on HBOmax - so go get on it!  (And just last week, TCM aired her Mark Lester directed movie Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw).  

So, make it a Carter-tastic day!  Go listen to one of her records or watch a WW episode!

Happy Birthday Debbie Harry!

 

If you don't know, I am a fan of the band Blondie, fronted by Debbie Harry and with her husband Chris Stein (who is very good at the twitters and a great photographer in addition to his musicianship).

Here's a happy birthday to musician, actor, artist and icon, Debbie Harry.

Here's "Atomic"

Hey, it's Cloris Leachman's Birthday

She passed in January, and we were sad then, so let's turn it around and celebrate Cloris Leachman on her birthday!

I believe she would have been 95 today.

46

Dream Operator

Talking Heads - True Stories

When you were little

You dreamed you were big

You must have been something

A real tiny kid

You wish you were me

I wish I was you

Now don't you wake up

The dream will come true

Every dream has a name

And names tell your story

This song is your dream

You're the dream operator

It's bigger than life

You know it's all me

My face is a book

But it's not what it seems

Three angels above

The whole human race

They dream us to life

They dream me a face

And every dream tells it all

And this dream is your story

You dreamed me a heart

You're the dream operator

Shake-it-up dream

Hi-di-ho dream

Fix-it-up dream

Look at me dream

I've been waiting so long

Now I am your dream

Hard to forget

Hard to go on

When you fall asleep

You're out on your own

Let go of your life

Grab on to my hand

Here in the clouds

Where we'll understand

And you dreamed it all

And this is your story

Do you know who you are?

You're the dream operator

And you dreamed it all

And this is your story

Do you know who you are?

You're the dream operator

Happy Birthday, Ms. Crawford

 happy birthday to Ms. Crawford, born this date in 1904.

Shatner turns 90!

Happy 90th to the man who taught me it's all about hanging with your buds, having great hair and cruising around in a cool ride to meet girls and get into scrapes with the locals.  

Also, he was on Star Trek.

He's my Captain, and I salute him.  Happy birthday, Mr. Shatner!

Happy Birthday, Harry Belafonte

 

just over here, being handsome

It's Harry Belafonte's 94th birthday!  Happy b-day, sir!

Happy Birthday, Max

 

Happy birthday to Max, one of Texas' finest exports.  

You can find him at:

• https://twitter.com/FactoryMirror
• https://twitter.com/ItsPlasticMan

100 Years of Lana Turner

All I noticed was that - for reasons unknown - TCM was airing a full day of Lana Turner movies today.  They do this sort of thing, and I didn't give it a tremendous amount of thought other than - "gee, Lana Turner!".

It turns out today is the 100th birthday of screen legend Lana Turner.  

If you've never seen Turner in a movie and want to see what the hubbub is about, I'd check out The Postman Always Rings Twice.  

Turner was a thing of myth from her earliest career.  If you ever heard legends of actresses discovered at Schwab's Drug Store, that's Turner.*  She'd get dubbed "The Sweater Girl" for how she filled out her wardrobe.  Her personal life would take a few seasons of television to cover.  She was married nine times (starting with band leader Artie Shaw) and was probably most famous for her romance/ abuse situation with mob figure Johnny Stompanato that led to his death under confusing circumstances.    

But, as always, Turner rebounded.  I first saw her in the 1959 movie Imitation of Life (a thoughtful entry for a screening back in film school)  alongside fellow legend Juanita Moore.  If you've not seen it, fix that.  It's a terrific movie, a solid melodrama, and an examplar of the mid-century "women's picture" (and will give you a good idea what people are referring to when they reference Douglas Sirk).  

Like picking a Rita Hayworth film to watch, there's always the guilt of "why am I picking this movie?", but here's the deal - Turner was much more than her conisderable good looks.  Whatever was going on in her tragic and turbulent personal life (you can Google it), she's a natural actor and wouldn't have stayed on top for decade after decade if she didn't bring something special to her roles.  And she worked steadily from the late 30's to the mid-70's.  

I'm going to be watching Johnny Eager this week and might see if I can talk Jamie into Imitation of Life. But if you've not seen The Bad and the Beautiful, go for it.

*it wasn't actually Schwab's, but who are we or Turner to get in the way of a good story?

Ida Lupino at 103

 

Today marks Ida Lupino's date of birth, 1918.  She's a favorite here at The Signal Watch, and I probably go on about her too much, but that's just how we're gonna be.  I will defend this decision forever.

Happy Birthday, Dolly Parton

 

Today is Dolly Parton's 75th birthday, and if 2020 gave us anything, it's yet another wave of well-deserved Dolly-mania as Dolly showed us all, once again, what it looks like to be a decent human being who can also make grown adults cry with a song.

We're experiencing our own wave of Dolly-mania here at League HQ, so join us.

And here's Dolly's gift to us - a reminder that things can and will be better.

Happy birthday, Audrey Totter

 born this day in 1917

Happy Birthday to Helen Slater

Today is the birthday of Helen Slater, famous around these parts for playing Kara in Supergirl, as well as Lara on Smallville and Eliza Danvers on the CW show Supergirl.  She also starred in The Legend of Billy Jean, City Slickers, Ruthless People, The Secret of My Success, and has appeared in numerous shows, including the final episodes of Mad Men.  In addition, she loaned her voice to DC Superhero Girls as Martha Kent and Batman: The Animated Series as Talia al Ghul.  

If you didn't know, she's also cut a few records (she's pretty great!), and continues on her trend of being terribly crush-worthy.  

Today is the 100th Birthday of Noel Neill

Today is the 100th birthday of the late Noel Neill, the original live-action Lois Lane.  

Neill mostly famously played Lois Lane for five seasons of The Adventures of Superman alongside actor George Reeves.

Neill was active on the convention circuits and became a fixture at the Metropolis, Illinois Superman Celebration each summer until her very last years.  

Happy Birthday, Boris!

 Boris Karloff, born this day, 1887.  

He would have been 44-45 when he played the Monster for the first time.