#vanda hudson

[atomic-raunch]

Vanda Hudson

[ozu-teapot]

This, That and the Other! | Derek Ford | 1969

This, That and the Other (original title A Promise of Bed) is one of those British sex comedies which isn't particularly sexy or funny.

It's a portmanteau movie of three stories. In the first an actress decides the best way to convince a producer she's the right person to play an older woman who seduces a younger man is by seducing his son, the second concerns a lonely man whose plans for a nice quiet evening of suicide are derailed by a home invasion of would be partygoers, and the final story follows a taxi driver through a surreal dream sequence in pursuit of his fare.

Like many films of this type while it's not actually "good" it is kind of interesting for it's oddness and for it's cast which features a bunch of familiar Brit film and TV faces of the era, Dennis Waterman, Victor Spinetti, Vanessa Howard, John Bird, Yutte Stensgaard, Alexandra Bastedo, Valerie Leon, etc.

[pseudo-satisfaction]

[vintagequeens]

Vanda Hudson

[cinemaquiles]

Uma verdadeira novela: "O circo dos horrores" (Circus of horrors, 1960)

[gerardlesudiste]

L'actrice Vanda Hudson.

[ilovedamsels1962]

Vanda Hudson in Circus of Horrors (1960)

[irkajavasdream]

[habit-forming]

Vanda Hudson

[ozu-teapot]

This, That and the Other! | Derek Ford | 1969

[papermoonloveslucy]

ROCK HUDSON

November 17, 1925

Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer Jr. on November 17, 1925 in Winnetka, Illinois. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, Hudson's screen career spanned four decades. 

A prominent heartthrob of the Golden Age of Hollywood, he achieved stardom with his role in Magnificent Obsession (1954), followed by All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Giant (1956), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Hudson also found continued success with a string of romantic comedies co-starring Doris Day: Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964). 

Unhappy with the film scripts he was offered, Hudson turned to television and was a hit, starring in the popular mystery series McMillan & Wife (1971–77). His last role was as a guest star on the fifth season (1984–85) of the primetime ABC soap opera Dynasty, his final screen appearance before ill health forced him to retire. 

Lucy fans remember his guest appearance as  himself on “In Palm Springs” (ILL S4;E26) aired in April 1955, but filmed a month earlier. 

In it, Lucy and Ethel retreat to Palm Springs to get away from their irritating husbands for a bit. 

Ricky and Fred ask Rock Hudson to visit and tell them a morality tale about appreciating someone despite their flaws. 

Hudson spins the tragic tale of Adele Sliff, who disliked her husband’s whistling - and then regrets it. 

Eavesdropping Ricky and Fred come out of hiding and the foursome are happily together again. 

At the time the episode was filmed, Hudson’s box office popularity had taken a dip - from #17 to #24. This may have played a role in his decision to do this, his first television show. Two years later - in 1957 - Hudson was #1 at the box office. 

1955 was a busy year for Hudson. A week after this episode was filmed, Captain Lightfoot premiered. The film is mentioned in the episode. That was followed by One Desire in November, and All That Heaven allows in December. 

Although Hudson was discrete about his sexuality, the above moment is telling. Instead of talking to the female extras seated in the background, Hudson gravitates toward a handsome, reclining male extra. Despite this, in November 1955, Hudson married Phyllis Gates, no doubt bowing to studio pressure. The marriage lasted less than three years. 

ROCK DROPS! 

In “Lucy Goes To A Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20) in 1966, Mrs. Foley (Reta Shaw) tells Lucy Carmichael that she watched Rock Hudson change a tire in front of her Beverly Hills map stand.

In “Lucy, the Philanthropist” (TLS S7;E7) in 1967, Mr. Mooney says from the side he is often mistaken for Richard Burton, but from the front it is Rock Hudson!    

In “Lucy, the Matchmaker” (HL S1;E12) in 1968, Vivian says she can tell from Lucy’s face that her date was no Rock Hudson.  

In “A Date for Lucy” (HL S1;E19) in 1969, Lucy Carter and Mary Jane are talking about dreams dates for a fancy soiree and mention Rock Hudson!

For the small screen version of “The Three Musketeers” that Flip Wilson is rehearsing in “Lucy and Flip Go Legit” (HL S4;E1) in 1971, Flip says that Rock Hudson is playing Anthos, Andy Williams is Porthos, and that he is the ‘token’ musketeer.

In “Lucy Gives Eddie Albert the Old Song and Dance” (HL S6;E6) in October 1973, Lucy, Mary Jane and Vanda are talking about Eddie Albert.

LUCY:  “Eddie Albert has a beautiful home. I saw it when I went on a tour of the movie stars’ homes.” MARY JANE: “Is that the same tour when you sneaked into Rock Hudson’s back yard and tried to peel an orange?”

In March 1985, Lucille Ball and Rock Hudson were two of the 100 stars on the Radio City Music Hall stage for “Night of 100 Stars II”.  Sixth months later, Hudson died from complications due to AIDS.  He was 59 years old. 

[slutsandgutscom]

Vanda Hudson in Circus of Horrors (1960) #backintheday pic.twitter.com/Ct6K4L2ZFV

— Sluts and Guts (@sluts_guts) August 26, 2020

Vanda Hudson in Circus of Horrors (1960) #backintheday https://t.co/Ct6K4L2ZFV View On Twitter!

[theorangecurtainrev]

(photo credit: Susie Sprinkle–Hudson)

Written by Patrick Chavis 

A few years ago if I had mentioned Into the Woods, I may have been lucky enough to run into a theatre goer who had heard of the musical.  Now that Hollywood has adapted it into a film, the show is about as hidden for theatre folks as Comic-Con is for geeks. Everyone knows about it now, and that’s not changing anytime soon.  As a consequence this is a well-known show and with that comes interesting challenges for the performers. How do we make this production ours?  What is this show about, and how can we communicate it in the best way possible?  Vanguard University took on the challenge of producing such an epic musical and, under the direction of Vanda Eggington, pulled off an entertaining night of theatre but also missed opportunities to capitalize on the show’s vital moments.

Into the Woods is a story set in fairytale land and is about what happens to the fairytale characters after they receive their happily ever after.  The play follows a Baker (Austin Nunn) and his wife (Kate Frampton), who are on a quest to gather special items for a witch (Alexandra Miller) in order to break a curse that is preventing them from having a baby.  The quest leads to the Baker and his wife dealing with other characters such as Red Riding Hood (Megan Fox), who’s on the way to grandmother’s house, Cinderella and many other characters from children’s tales.  There’s much more to the story, but if you’re one of the few people who haven’t seen this show yet, I don’t want to spoil it for you –let’s just say this is not a show with a traditional fairytale ending.

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This story is dark with some rather gruesome scenes.  Despite not leaving them out, this production is rather sanitized, so the blood and gore is minimal at best.  Even though some of the visual darkness is slightly overlooked in this production, all the emotional themes and questions from the original story are used and performed well.

Into the Woods is lead mostly by the performance of the two main characters, the Baker and the Baker’s wife, and in this instance they happen to be two of the strongest actors on stage. Austin Nunn the Baker is now an Alumni now of Vanguard University, and he returns to the Lyceum Stage for a good reason, which is to play a fantastic Baker.  I’ve had the pleasure of watching Nunn in quite a few Vanguard plays now.  I’ve known him to play characters in a more theatrical way, but in this production he was a lot more toned down and measured in his performance as the Baker.  It’s great to see he has so many layers to his acting.  Kate Frampton as the Baker’s Wife mirrored Nunn’s acting, but she also impressed me throughout the entire show with her consistency in each scene. Her voice was excellent, and one of my favorite songs of the night was “The Moments In The Woods,” a song I had previously underrated. Because of Frampton I discovered that song is a treat, though it still remains very sad.

Ethan Boyle plays the character of the steward, who is a minor and probably overlooked role in the grand scheme of things, but Boyle makes the character thoroughly enjoyable in this show.  I can’t explain with words exactly what makes him funny.  You will have to see if for yourself, including the faces Boyle makes, which are classic. Alexandria Miller plays the Witch –probably one of the hardest parts in the play. First of all she probably has the most songs to sing during the show.  Secondly, the character was originated by Bernadette Peters, so the part has a high hill to climb.  Miller climbs that hill during that show and pulls off a solid performance.

Besides some minor singing issues with certain actors, the largest issue in this production are the failed opportunities during certain scenes. The actors seemed to play and sing certain pivotal scenes uncharacteristically safe –leaving space for improvement in the presentation of certain moments. 

Performing any Sondheim musical is an undertaking, and Vanguard University treaded familiar material with a respectable rendition.

GREAT SHOW [rwp-review id=”0″]

Grimm Happy Tales : Into The Woods @ Vanguard University in Costa Mesa – Review (photo credit: Susie Sprinkle-Hudson) Written by Patrick Chavis  A few years ago if I had mentioned…

[ozu-teapot]

This, That and the Other! | Derek Ford | 1969

Vanda Hudson

[pseudo-satisfaction]

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY GIVES EDDIE ALBERT THE OLD SONG AND DANCE

S6;E6 ~ October 15, 1973

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

When producing a charity show, Lucy asks Eddie Albert to star in it.  At the same time, a woman meeting Lucy’s description has been stalking Albert.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter)

Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter) does not appear in this episode, nor does she receive credit in the opening titles. Despite her absence, the final credits do state “Lucie Arnaz Wardrobe by Alroe.”

Guest Cast

Eddie Albert (Himself) began his TV career years before electronic television was introduced to the public. In June of 1936 Eddie appeared in RCA’s first private live performance for their radio licensees in New York City, a very early experimental television system. He first worked with Lucille Ball in the 1950 movie The Fuller Brush Girl. Today he is perhaps best known for playing lawyer turned farmer Oliver Douglas on CBS’s “Green Acres” (1965-71). He was nominated for two Oscars as Supporting Actor, in 1954 for Roman Holiday and 1972 for The Heartbreak Kid. He died in 2005 at age 99.  

Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane Lewis, left) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ” She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and Evelyn Bigsby in “Return Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26). She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in 1999 at the age of 83. 

Vanda Barra (Vanda Barra, right) makes one of over two dozen appearances on “Here’s Lucy” as well as appearing in Ball’s two 1975 TV movies “Lucy Gets Lucky” and “Three for Two”. She was seen in half a dozen episodes of “The Lucy Show.” Barra was Lucille Ball’s cousin-in-law by marriage to Sid Gould.

Doris Singleton (Patty) created the role of Caroline Appleby on “I Love Lucy,” although she was known as Lillian Appleby in the first of her ten appearances. She made two appearances on “The Lucy Show.” This is the second of her four appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”  She was originally intended to be a series regular but was written out after the first episode.

The character’s name is not used in the dialogue but is listed in the final credits.

Jerry Hausner (Jimmy) was featured as Jerry, Ricky’s agent in the pilot and first three seasons of “I Love Lucy.”  He left the show after a disagreement with Desi Arnaz. He returned to work with Lucille Ball in “Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (TLS S1;E23), shortly after Desi Arnaz resigned as Executive Producer and President of Desilu.  This is is his only “Here’s Lucy” appearance and his last time on screen with Lucille Ball.  He was seen in three episodes of “Green Acres” with Eddie Albert.

“Green Acres” is mentioned in the dialogue of the episode. Eddie Albert’s co-star on “Green Acres,” Eva Gabor, guest-starred in two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Many other “Lucy” actors appeared in Hooterville.  Among them, Barbara Pepper (30 episodes), Eleanor Audley (19 episodes), Robert Foulk (16 episodes), Jonathan Hole (7 episodes), Shirley Mitchell (4 episodes), Parley Baer (4 episodes), Jerry Hausner (3 episodes), Jesse White (2 episodes), John J. Fox (2 episodes), Roy Roberts (2 episodes), Maurice Marsac, Lou Krugman, Bob Jellison, Norman Leavitt, Romo Vincent, Elvia Allman, Gail Bonney, Ray Kellogg, Irwin Charone, Bernie Kopell, Charles Lane, Alan Hale Jr., Robert Carson, Jerome Cowan, William Lanteau, Paul Bradley, Leoda Richards, Hans Moebus, and Rich Little.  

An office scene between Lucy and Harry was originally written for “Lucy, the Peacemaker” (S5;E3) but deleted for time.  It was re-staged for this episode.  

Lucille begins to wear longer wigs again after having worn shorter styles earlier in the season.

Lucy, Mary Jane, and Vanda are having a lunch meeting to plan their annual “Girl Friday Follies,” a show that raises money to send underprivileged kids to camp. Taking Lucy’s suggestion to find a “big name”, Mary Jane suggests Engelbert Humperdinck – the ‘biggest’ name she’s ever heard.  The English singing sensation was previously mentioned on “Lucy and Liberace” (S2;E16) and “Lucy and Ann-Margret” (S2;E20) where Lucy mispronounced his name as 'Pumpernickel’ and 'Dumperhink.’

Looking at his desk, littered with food items from the girls’ lunch, Harry laments that he “missed the Iowa State Picnic.”  The Iowa State Picnic is an annual event that started in 1900 and was held in Long Beach, California, which was nicknamed “Iowa by the Sea.” They were attended by Iowans who had transplanted to the area in order to share their common roots. With attendance dwindling, in 2014 the picnic moved from Long Beach to San Pedro where the USS Iowa is docked.   

To find a star, Lucy looks at Joyce Haber’s column in the newspaper. Joyce Haber was the gossip columnist of the Los Angeles Times. She made an appearance (above) as a member of the Hollywood Press when “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (S3;E1) in 1970.  

Haber’s column mentions that Frank Sinatra is coming out of retirement.  In 1970, the singer went into a self-imposed retirement that lasted until 1973 with the release of the album “Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back.”  Sinatra was first mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in 1955 and his named has been dropped on both “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” Sinatra inadvertently appeared on “I Love Lucy” when a clip of him in the film Guys and Dolls was inserted into the MGM Executives Show in “Lucy and the Dummy” (ILL S5;E3) when it was running short.  The clip has since been removed and has never been seen in the context of the episode after its initial broadcast.

Lucy says she saw Eddie Albert in The Music Man. In 1959, Albert replaced Robert Preston in the  Broadway production of The Music Man. Coincidentally, the show’s author Meredith Willson was from Iowa, where the musical is set, and attended the 1959 Iowa State Picnic to lead the Long Beach Band playing the show’s rousing anthem “76 Trombones.”

When a preoccupied Lucy is idle at her desk, she tells Harry she’s worried about Eddie Albert. Harry tells her to get busy and let Margo worry about Eddie Albert. Margo Albert was a Mexican-American actress born as María Marguerita Guadalupe Teresa Estela Bolado Castilla y O'Donnell – so she simply went by the singular moniker Margo. Coincidentally, he was related by marriage to band leader Xavier Cugat, as niece of his first marriage to Carmen Castillo. Cugat was a mentor of Desi Arnaz’s and often mentioned as a rival of Ricky Ricardo. Margo appeared in a 1958 installment of “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” with Eddie Albert which was hosted by Desi Arnaz. The following year, she was seen in another installment with Arnaz as a co-star.  

Margo’s black and white photo is behind the sofa of Albert’s living room. Next to it is a photo of Albert’s son, Edward Laurence Heimberger (aka Eddie Albert Jr.), age 23.  In 1972, he was launched to fame from his portrayal of blind Don Baker in Butterflies are Free, for which he won a Golden Globe. He died of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2006, one year after his father’s passing.

When Lucy unexpectedly arrives on Eddie Albert’s doorstep he believes her to be his stalker, so Patty is sent to phone for the police. She rushes from the room saying “I feel like I’m on 'Mannix’!”  “Mannix” (1967-75) was a Desilu-produced TV show that was saved from cancellation after its first season by Lucille Ball. “Here’s Lucy” hosted a cross-over episode with “Mannix” in 1971 that also featured Mary Jane Croft and Gale Gordon. It, too, was written and directed by Ruskin, Davis, and Carroll.  

Trying to convince Eddie to change his conflict date and do the show, Lucy breaks into “There’s a Long, Long Trail” and then Albert joins in, harmonizing. At the end of the scene Harry, Mary Jane, and Vanda all join in.  The song was written by Stoddard King and Alonzo Elliott in 1913. In an episode of “The Lucy Show,” Lucy Carmichael and Viv sing the first two lines of the chorus in a failed attempt to entertain their kids after their TV set breaks down. The song’s title may have also influenced the title of the Lucille Ball / Desi Arnaz film The Long, Long Trailer (1953). 

“The Girl Friday Follies”

Mary Jane: “Nostalgia’s so old fashioned.”

The Girl Friday Follies opens with Mary Jane and Vanda taking their bows as the team of “Crime and Punishment”.  We never see what the act consists of, but it is likely not connected to Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel of the same name.  

Eddie Albert: “To know Harry is to love him!” Lucy: “I don’t think we’re talking about the same Harry.”

For the finale, Lucy and Eddie Albert perform “Makin’ Whoopee” written by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson.  The song was first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!  For the first time since her skiing accident, Lucy dances on television.

In her DVD introduction of the episode, Shirley Mitchell calls the show “old home week.” 

Aside from Lucy’s reunion with Eddie Albert from The Fuller Brush Girl, she also shares the sound stage with three members of the cast of “I Love Lucy”… 

Shirley Mitchell (Carolyn Appleby)… 

Mary Jane Croft (Betty Ramsey)… 

and Jerry Hausner (Jerry the Agent).  

The episode is written by the “I Love Lucy” scribes Madelyn (Pugh) Davis and Bob Carroll Jr.

Lucy says she saw Eddie Albert’s house on a tour of the movie stars homes. Mary Jane asks Lucy if that was the tour where she sneaked into Rock Hudson’s backyard to steal an orange. This is a variation on when Lucy Ricardo took a tour of the movie stars homes and sneaked over Richard Widmark’s wall to steal a grapefruit in “The Tour” (ILL S4;E30). 

Rock Hudson played himself on an episode titled “In Palm Springs” (ILL S4;E26). Rock Hudson is mentioned again later, when Patty reveals that the same woman who has been stalking Eddie Albert has also been bothering Rock Hudson.

Vanda asks if it is the same tour where she saw Dean Martin in his bathrobe dumping empty bottles in the trash?  Although this even never happened on screen, Lucy Carmichael did date Dean Martin on “The Lucy Show.”  

Where the Floor Ends!  In the office, the camera pulls back for a wide shot that exposes where the wall-to-wall carpet ends and the cement stage floor begins. 

“Lucy Gives Eddie Albert the Old Song and Dance” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

This episode is enjoyable for “I Love Lucy” (or Eddie Albert) fans. It is good to see so many folks from Lucille Ball’s past in one episode!