The Silver State Chronicles

Dragnet Star Passes Away

Veteran actor Harry Morgan, most famous to modern audiences as Colonel Potter from the MASH  and After MASH TV series, has passed away.  Here at The Silver State Chronicles, we fondly remember him as Bill Gannon, partner of Sgt Joe Friday in the 1960′s incarnation of Dragnet.

He shall be missed.

A nice article at The Muskegon Chronicle…

Actor Harry Morgan went from Muskegon High School performer to Emmy winner
By Megan Hart

Harry Morgan came a long way from the young man who acted in Muskegon High School productions.

Morgan, who was best known for the role of Col. Sherman T. Potter on the TV series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday at age 96.

He was born Harry Bratsburg and graduated from Muskegon High School in 1933. He later attended Muskegon Junior College (now Muskegon Community College), where he was also active in drama.

Morgan left Michigan for good to perform in New York and on the East Coast in the late 1930s. He broke into film and moved to California shortly before Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, which was the subject of a feature in Monday’s Chronicle.

Morgan performed in more than 100 films and TV shows, spanning more than six decades. His last appearance was in the “M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion” in 2002. Some of his notable roles were in the 1960 film “Inherit the Wind,” and in the TV series and film “Dragnet.” He won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series for his role as Col. Potter in 1980.

He returned to Muskegon only once, to film a Lifesavers commercial in 1978 with two Muskegon High School students.

“I don’t think I ever enjoyed myself more than going to high school, here,” Morgan told The Chronicle in 1978. “I was very enthusiastic about coming back, and it’s regretful that it’s too short a time to visit. There really was no reason to come back before. Most of my close friends and relatives have gone elsewhere. I’ve been invited to the class reunions, but the arrangements were too complicated.”

All we need is young Lee Remick and a baton

Oh no, there goes Tokyo!

Blue Oyster Cult – Godzilla

Lyrics:
With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He pulls the spitting high tension wires down

Helpless people on a subway train
Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

Oh no, they say hes got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah

Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Godzilla ga ginza hoomen e mukatte imasu!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!

Oh no, they say hes got to go
Go go Godzilla, yeah
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla, yeah

History shows again and again
How nature points up the folly of men
Godzilla!

Happy Birthday, Larry Fine!

Today would have been the 107th birthday to one of the alltime great movie funnymen, Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg) of The Three Stooges.

Thanks for all the laughter, Larry! You shall live forever in the hearts of your fans!

Rot in prison, Junior.

Think of the amazing repartee!

Probably the only memorable thing about the 1967 film Dr Dolittle is this song, Talk To The Animals.  In the film, it’s performed by Rex Harrison with a slow placed, almost conversational delivery.  I prefer the faster paced renditions, like those performed by Sammy Davis Jr. and in this video, Vanda King.

The song is a personal favorite of mine and has been since childhood.  I find the lyrics quite clever and the melody infectious.  The only problem I have with the song is the same problem I have with the film – both are way too long.  Dr Dolittle clocks in at almost three hours when the intermission is included – a brutal exercise, punctuated by the fact that the film is primarily for children.  Expecting kids to sit there for 3 hours is just too much, I think.

For years, I have felt that the narrative should have been tweaked and Dr Dolittle should have been presented as two 90 minute films, released a year or so apart.  That’s much easier for children to digest, and a lot easier for the adults in the audience, too.

As it stands, the film was enormously expensive and, sadly, a commercial failure, and caused financial mayhem with 20th Century Fox, which continued to feel the pain until almost a decade later when they released Star Wars in May, 1977.  Dr Dolittle also marks the beginning of the end of major leading roles for Rex Harrison.  20th Century Fox also launched an all-out marketing blitz for the film, further compromising the bottom line.

In the end, Dr Dolittle has earned a warm spot in the hearts of many fans over the decades.  Perhaps its most enduring legacy is that it marked the end of this type of film: a musical children’s adventure that’s nonetheless good for fans of all ages.  These days, that niche is dominated by animated films featuring the voices of established stars, a genre that’s grown tedious and tiresome.  I’d like to see this type of film make a comeback – I think if it were done well, it could be huge.

So, what courageous filmmaker has the guts to try it?

The Weirdest Western Hero arrives

Megan Fox told MTV.com that her character in the upcoming supernatural western Jonah Hex isn’t one you’ll recognize from the comics.

“They’ve changed her name a couple of times—it’s Leila now,” Fox told the site. “She is a prostitute. She’s a good ol’ working girl, and she’s a love interest to Jonah [Josh Brolin] … of sorts. I mean, it’s by no means a classic type of relationship.”

The movie, directed by Jimmy Hayward and based on the DC Comic, also stars John Malkovich, Will Arnett and Michael Shannon. It opens Aug. 6, 2010.

“That movie is gonna be amazing,” Fox said. “It’s a post-Civil War, apocalyptic-type western. The director, Jimmy, is a lunatic, and he might be a genius. From some of the things I’ve seen him shoot, it’s a badass movie.”

Actione! Velocita! Terrore! Suspenso! Romanza!

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6A3C5D3CC67B38D6

My Favorite Song From Phantom Empire

Last Thursday’s Gene Autry song ‘Don’t Bite the Hand That’s Feeding You’ was such a hit here at The Silver State Chronicles that I decided to post another great tune from the Autry collection!

This time, I looked into one of my alltime favorite movie serials, Phantom Empire. Now an extended discussion of PE would require a well researched book, but for now let’s just describe it as a Musical-Western-Science Fiction tale. Indeed, it’s quite an adventure – both mesmerizing and confusing at the same time.

Well, Gene Autry is the star of the 12 chapter serial, and in between episodes of fighting futuristic villains, he finds time to get back to the ranch for the daily live radio show. During one of those broadcasts, Gene (along with his posse which includes his longtime sidekick, the legendary Smiley Burnette) sing this classic little tune, ‘Uncle Noah’s Ark.’

Enjoy!

Amazing Armor, It’s Iron Man

Back in the early 1960s, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others were blazing new trails in comic history as they were ushering in what would be known as The Marvel Age of Comics. Their creativity and output was at a peak, and numerous classic characters broke onto the scene, changing comic books forever!

At the time, Marvel published several weird tales/fantasy/science fiction comics. Among those titles was Tales of Suspense, an anthology series comprised of short stories usually dealing with a monster or other supernatural theme. Well, with great characters like The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man forming the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe, the wizards at Marvel decided to create a new hero for Tales of Suspense – The Invincible Iron Man!

So since Iron Man will enjoy a major movie release in just a few weeks on May 2nd, I decided to feature Tales of Suspense #39 in the Greatest Comic Covers series. That’s the origin and 1st appearance of Iron Man!