A very happy 75th to Al Pacino. Truly one of the friendliest, nicest celebrities one could hope to meet.

One of the reasons Stephen King said Kubrick's version of THE SHINING didn't work for him was because Jack Torrance was to start off sane and begin a gradual descent into madness. King remarked that with Nicholson, he looked "off-balance" right from the get go. The picture above kinda prov...

Pacino seemed a little shy, but a true class act. Actually most of the celebrities I've met or spoken with were first-class people. Particularly the older stars. Down to earth, no airs about them, and often very funny. I've found, in fact, that some of our local so-called "celebrities" - m...

When I had my modeling/talent agency, my partner Elissa and I made frequent trips to California to attend various conventions. Back in 1994, we attended a convention in L.A. We were booked into the Knickerbocker Hotel (in a pretty crummy part of the city) while the convention was held at the Beverly...

You might be interested in hearing a unique Howard Keel story. When I was in Vegas over ten years ago working with Dolores Fuller on her autobiography, she had written a musical play based on her life with Ed Wood that she hoped to produce on Broadway. She'd written some terrific songs that I had th...

Sad news to report. Actor and all-'round nice guy James Best has passed away. http://www.msn.com/en-ca/tv/news/james-best-dukes-of-hazzard-star-dead-at-88/ar-AAaxLUX?ocid=ansentnydailynews11 He had said some nice things about a Western novel I'd wrote and I'd just sent him off copies of my latest tw...

Joe, you should have done a "Guess Who?" with that recent photo of Michael York. I doubt anyone would have got it.

Hope you don't mind, Joe, but a correction on the Cagney photo. The bespectacled gentleman is not Jim's brother Bill, but Dr. Edward Cagney.

Nice shot of the Begley's, though I never would have guessed Ed Jr. in a million years. To me, he almost looks like a young Clu Gulager.

Great photo of Joan acknowledging her fans, Joe. I've heard that while Joan could often be temperamental if not downright difficult on the set, she was every inch the true movie star when it came to her admirers and in later years made it a point of answering every fan letter she received with a not...

Looking at that Tierney photo, you gotta ask yourself: Who won that fight?

The great character actor Richard Bakalyan has left us at age 84. Never had the chance to meet him but some years back wrote to him, requesting a photo that I could display in the studio of my Media Actors Workshop. He not only forwarded a personally-inscribed picture but also included two signed st...

A childood icon and darn fine actor/director has left us on his final voyage. God bless him, he left a warning for all cigarette smokers - or those intending to take up the habit. RIP Leonard Nimoy. http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-of-star-trek-fame-dies-at-83-1.2256676 http://www.w...

A very happy birthday to "Tessio" from my all-time favorite movie -- Abe Vigoda, who, like Burt Mustin, was a senior citizen even when he wasn't a senior citizen --

Or so it seemed.

Very sad news. One of the last Queen of the Noirs - thankfully Coleen Gray is still with us. She was very generous with her fans and thanks to Alan Rode who got me in contact with her when I was seeking info on her early career, she responded both in answering my questions and providing me with a pe...

Thanks for that great candid shot of the Carradine clan, Joe. A talented if, for the most part, somewhat eccentric (and, sadly, even tragic) family. I've interviewed a number of people who worked with Papa John, and from what I've been told he certainly was quite the character. Often played his role...