The Lady Said No

Born 105 years ago today, Tennessee Williams was one of the greatest playwrights of the American theater. In the 1950s, when he was near the peak of his success, Shirley Booth was widely regarded as one of Broadway's finest dramatic actresses, with the Tony Awards to prove it. What could be more natural than the idea of teaming them up?

Reportedly, Williams was an admirer of Booth's work, and offered to create a play tailored to her talents. Yet though she recognized the playwright's gifts, saying he "writes beautifully," she discouraged any talk of a collaboration. It wasn't until 1966, when she accepted the role of Amanda Wingfield in a television production of The Glass Menagerie, that she found herself speaking Williams' words. Even then, the experience was not a happy one. To find out why, read Shirley Booth: A Biography and Career Record.

Heflin's Lives

Derek Sculthorpe's Van Heflin: A Life in Film (McFarland, $35) could easily have been subtitled "Lives in Film." As this thoroughly researched, intelligent appreciation of his career makes clear, the talented actor (1908-1971) demonstrated his versatility in a number of well-remembered films of Hollywood's Golden Age. Heflin's subtle, layered performances -- skillfully delineating men of widely varied backgrounds, temperaments, and abilities -- are capably covered here, in a book his admirers will want to pick up.

Naturally, full attention is given to the roles for which most of us know him, in films like Johnny Eager (1942), which netted him an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, Airport (1970), and especially Shane (1953). Sculthorpe's analyses not only encouraged me to see more of Heflin's work, but also gave me a new appreciation for what he contributes to films I'd already seen, like Possessed (1947). Although the emphasis here is on his film work, I appreciated the attention the author paid to Heflin's radio career as well. Too often, biographers overlook, or downplay, the importance of this medium; Sculthorpe gives it the attention it merits. Also interesting was the author's account of Heflin's work in television, a medium he was decidedly slow to embrace, yet one in which his talent could have easily taken him farther.

Both the book, and the actor it memorializes, are worth your attention.

NOTE: I was furnished a review copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

It's That Time Again

For many of us, Sunday, March 13 is the day we Spring Forward into Daylight Savings Time. Hopefully you have an easier way to adjust your clocks than the one demonstrated here by the great Harold Lloyd. Enjoy your weekend!

Birthday of the 50-Foot Woman

Given that her claim to cinematic fame would be the title role in the cult classic Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958), it's ironic that birthday girl Allison Hayes (born March 6, 1930) confessed to being self-conscious about her height. In school, as she told a Los Angeles Times columnist, "I shot up ahead of everyone else, and it embarrassed me to be so much taller than the other girls." But her lush, statuesque beauty, along with her acting skills and stage presence, won her roles in numerous films of the 1950s. Some of them, like the guilty pleasure Zombies of Mora Tau (1957), were more drive-in fodder, but she took pride in pictures such as Count Three and Pray (1956), in which she appeared alongside Van Heflin and Raymond Burr.

Unfortunately, health problems she experienced in the 1960s slowed her career progress, and she died young, of leukemia, in 1977, never having attained the full measure of fame her abilities merited. But she's still being discovered by movie watchers decades later, who sit up and take notice when Allison Hayes appears on-screen -- even when she's not playing the tallest lady in town.

Betty White's "Men!"

Remember watching a game show called Just Men! hosted by Betty White? Yeah, me neither. That's probably because it lasted only 13 weeks on NBC, from January to April 1983. But despite its quick demise, Betty has a pretty terrific memento from the experience -- her Emmy Award as Best Game Show Host. She was the first, and thus far only, woman to be so honored, in a field long dominated by men.

As it turned out, losing this gig didn't turn out to be such a bad break. Always in demand, she went on not only to reprise her role as Ellen Harper in the sitcom Mama's Family, but to be cast in one of the biggest hits of her career -- The Golden Girls, for which she would be awarded yet another Emmy.

If you're curious to sample Betty's short-lived game show, you can watch an episode here.

Remembering Rue

Happy birthday, in memoriam, to the one-of-a-kind Rue McClanahan, born on this date in 1934. Rue deservedly won an Emmy for her flamboyant, joyous performances as Blanche on The Golden Girls. The role became so firmly identified with McClanahan that it's hard to picture the original concept, which was for Betty White to play Blanche, while Rue would portray the sweetly naive Rose.

If you haven't done so, check out Rue's memoir My First Five Husbands ... and The Ones Who Got Away, a fun, juicy, candid account that covers her career on the New York stage,  her rise to fame with Maude, and even a little backstage dish about The Golden Girls. Like the lady herself, the book is one you won't soon forget.

President Duke

First Couple Ted Bessell and Patty Duke.

In honor of Presidents' Day, here's a chief executive you may or may not remember -- President Julia Mansfield, as played by Oscar and Emmy winner Patty Duke, in the 1985 ABC sitcom Hail to the Chief.

The show was created by Susan Harris, the mastermind behind the popular comedy Soap. Like that show, Hail to the Chief utilized a serial format, with stories that continued week to week. Unfortunately, as Duke noted in her autobiography, though she thought Harris' pilot script "was the best thing I'd ever read for half-hour television," subsequent episodes fell short, and ABC canceled the show after only seven weeks.

Now, more than 30 years later, life may catch up with art, if voters elect our first Madam President this fall. As for Patty Duke, aside from her continuing popularity as an actress, she went on to serve as president of the Screen Actors' Guild, and become a respected advocate for mental health awareness. Not bad for a lady whose TV term was over almost before it began.