Happy Birthday, Sterling Hayden

Yesterday marked the 106th birthday of reluctant movie star Sterling Hayden.

I don't think it's a huge surprise that I'll pick any of a number of female stars from the mid-20th Century as a perfectly good reason to watch a film, but the number of male stars who push a movie to the top of my watch pile is smaller.  Up at the top of that list is, and always will be, Sterling Hayden.

Hayden didn't seem to think much of acting, I guess, but it was how he made his living when he wasn't running off on a boat.  He has an insane war record that includes lying about who he really was (he wasn't famous yet) and winging up in the OSS where he was basically a Howling Commando.

In films, Hayden always plays someone reflecting his presence, but it's cops, thieves, cowboys, pirates and eventually General Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove.  He's better than he probably ever gave himself credit for, and while not every film he was in was a homerun, he was never the issue.

Anyway, if you haven't ever see a Sterling Hayden film (and you have, he's the policeman in The Godfather who Michael takes care of in the restaurant.  Spoilers, I guess.), I'm happy to suggest a few.

PodCast 190: "Showgirls" (1995) - A Day-Drinking Surprise Birthday Movie Exchange w/ Jamie and Ryan

Watched:  03/19/2022

Format:  BluRay

Viewing:  Second

Decade:  1990's

Director:  Paul Verhoeven

For more ways to listen

NSFW!!! This year for their birthdays, Jamie and Ryan are exchanging movies, but each will surprise the other with their selection. For Jamie's birthday, Ryan rolled out the martinis and 1995's most notorious camp-tastic hit in glorious NC-17 style. It's a wild world of the American Dream if your dream is to DANCE. Mine isn't, so this mostly seemed like it was trying very hard to make a point, but forgot what that point was multiple times along the way.

SoundCloud 

The Signal Watch PodCast · 190: "Showgirls" (1995) - A Day-Drinking Surprise Birthday Movie Exchange w/ Jamie and Ryan

YouTube

Music:

Vision Thing - Sisters of Mercy

Goddess - David A. Steward, Showgirls OST

Ryan's Random Cinema

The Signal Watch PodCast · Ryan's Random Cinema

Happy B-Day, Joanie!

Today is Joan Crawford's birthday!  Get out there and drink a Pepsi.

It's my Brother's Birthday!

Everyone wish my brother, the amazing Steanso, a terrific birthday.  

I started blogging way, way back in 2003, and back then, he was but a simple attorney who played a lot of GTA and the bass in a band.  Now, he's a respectable attorney, a family man, and drives a crossover SUV to keep the kiddies safe.  But he does still play the bass!

101 Years of Cyd Charisse

Today marks the 101st birthday of film star Cyd Charisse.  

Charisse is one of those people that - if you know *anything* about classic film, you're like "of course, Cyd Charisse".  If you don't know who she is, study up.  

I'll put my cards on the table and say, Cyd Charisse made quite an impression on me as a young film student.  An amazing dancer - maybe one of the five or so best I can think of in film, and seemingly with the most diversity in her dancing bag of tricks, Charisse was also not just movie-star gorgeous, but had a restrained sexiness that the studios deployed with as much taste as possible. 

She was a partner of choice for Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and other giants, and it's no wonder.  Ballet, modern, whatever was needed for a sequence, she was there and making someone like Gene Kelly somehow look even better as a dancer.

Happy Birthday, Laura Dern

Happy Birthday to the one and only Laura Dern!  And, hey, they released the trailer for Jurassic World Dominion today.  So, our gift is more Dr. Ellie Sattler.  And that's never a bad thing.

Happy Belated Birthday to Ida Lupino

 

Yesterday was the birthday of film star, producer and director, Ida Lupino.  

She's in several amazing films, including a personal favorite, While the City Sleeps.  In the movie, she plays the fast-talking gossip reporter for a major newspaper, who wants to get with Dana Andrews (and does, somewhat on screen enough that you know offscreen the characters hooked up) but he returns to his pure as the driven snow girlfriend in the film's finish.  

Dana Andrews made a wrong choice.

you fool, Andrews.  

Happy Birthday, David Lynch

Happy birthday to David Lynch.  

Happy Birthday, Nichelle Nicols

Happy 89th to the great Nichelle Nichols.  Trailblazer, sci-fi hero, performer and all around favorite.  

Happy Birthday, Audrey Totter

Today marks the birthdate of film star Audrey Totter, born December 20th. 1917.  

As you should well know, this is an Audrey Totter fansite.  

Raise a glass today for Ms. Totter!  One of the best.  And who knew how to exit a car.

Happy Birthday, Sarah Douglas!

 

Happy birthday to Sarah Douglas!  Among other things, this site is a Superman fan site - and what would Superman: The Movie and certainly Superman II be without the casually-delighted menace of Sarah Douglas's Ursa?  I won't get into her full filmography, because that is what we call "a storied career" and you can IMDB her on your own.  You will begin realizing "man, I really have seen and heard her voice work in a shocking amount of stuff".  

Ms. Douglas is also on twitter, and seems as cool as you would hope!  

Here's to Ms. Douglas, and let's hope she's celebrating with pals.

Happy Birthday, Rita Moreno - she's 90!

Happy Birthday to Rita Moreno, who has been a stone cold fox for what I am aware is, like, 7 decades.

Accomplishments?  She's got them.  Storied career?  Achieved.  Awards?  spilling off her mantle.  Dramatic romance with Marlon Brando?  Check.  Still wildly great at her job?   Absolutely.  Lady who yelled "Hey you guys!" at the beginning of The Electric Company?  You know it.

Here's to Rita Moreno, who is an absolute g-d delight.

Happy Birthday, Marie Windsor

Today marks the birthday of noir icon Marie Windsor, born on this day, 1919.  

Happy B-Day, Jamie Lee Curtis

 

Today is the birthday of Signal Watch hero and our second favorite Jamie, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Y'all put out some good vibes into the universe today in honor of JLC.

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!