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One of Bruce Jenner's friends -- a former Playboy Playmate -- couldn't hold back her emotions about his transition ... and the impact he's having on society. Deborah Driggs -- Miss March 1990 -- told us she's known Bruce for years, and admitted outside Spago Saturday night ... she couldn't hold back the water works when we asked her about the ABC special. Watch ... Deborah's explanation about why she thinks Bruce is saving lives is pretty moving.

"Charlie Chan at the Olympics" (1937): Yes, really. Footage from the previous year's Berlin Olympics figures into this caper that takes the sleuth (Warner Oland) to those Games.

"Jim Thorpe - All American" (1951): Burt Lancaster surely had the physique for the title role in this portrait of the Native American who medaled in both the pentathlon and decathlon.

"Walk, Don't Run" (1966): Cary Grant made his final screen appearance in this comedy set against the backdrop of the Tokyo Olympics, where scarce quarters make roommates of strangers (Grant, Samantha Eggar, Jim Hutton).

"Chariots of Fire" (1981): Generally acknowledged as the top Olympics movie to date, confirmed by its Oscar for best picture, director Hugh Hudson's drama casts Ben Cross and Ian Charleson as British competitors in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

"Personal Best" (1982): An athlete (Mariel Hemingway) becomes deeply involved with a rival (Patrice Donnelly) for a spot on the U.

"Special From Next Avenue"

By Leah Rozen

Hollywood has long carried an Olympic torch for the Games and their charismatic champions

Before he wore a loincloth as Tarzan and yodeled while swinging across movie screens on a vine, Johnny Weissmuller was an Olympic swimming champ.

The strapping Weissmuller -- 6-foot-5, 190 pounds -- power-splashed his way to five gold medals in the 1924 and ‘28 Olympic Games. Recognizing a marketable hunk when it saw one, Hollywood snapped him up.

"It was like stealing," Weissmuller (1904-1984) once said of his Tarzan career, which included a dozen films between 1932 and ‘48. "There was swimming in it, and I didn't have much to say. How can a guy climb trees, say ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane,’ and make a million?"

I was a sucker for Weismuller’s Tarzan films -- as a kid, I used to watch the scratchy prints that repeatedly aired on Saturday afternoon TV.

In fact,...

After watching the men’s U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, we already had our eye on 20-year-old Jake Dalton (pictured), who made the team thanks to his phenomenal floor and vault scores and large cheering section of supporters wearing T-shirts with his face on them. But now, after reading the headline “Olympian Dalton inspired by American Anthem” on NBCOlympics.com, we’re officially fans.

Dalton says he was probably seven years old when he started watching the movie on VHS and realized he wanted to be like Mitch Gaylord (the member of the gold medal-winning ’84 team who stars in the...

Chicago – One of the great events in Chicago to interact with celebrity favorites is at the “Hollywood Celebrities and Memorabilia Show.” In 2011, the autumn event took place on October 1st and 2nd, and featured the “Happy Days” TV gang Henry Winkler, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, plus Barry Bostwick and Patricia Quinn from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

The latest Hollywood Celebrities and Memorabilia Show was the last such event for founders Ray and Sharon McCourt, as they headed for retirement. The show will go on, however, as new ownership will bring “The Hollywood Show” to Chicago in March, 2012.

HollywoodChicago.com photographer Joe Arce was at the October show, and recorded the following slideshow of celebrities that participated. Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All images © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com.

Celebrities1: Dominique Swain,...

For years, I have begged the entertainment gods to put 1986′s American Anthem, starring Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord and Janet Jones, on DVD. I’d given up hope. Then, today, I opened a package from an acquaintance, who happens to cover a lot of home entertainment, and found a gift-wrapped DVD with a note that said, “While I can appreciate the camp/pop culture importance of the movie, I found myself asking, ‘Who do I know who would fully love this release?’” He didn’t mention the title in the note, so I opened it skeptically… then gasped, teared up,...

Talk about a “Jai Ho“! (Slumdog Millionaire jokes are still in, right?) Here’s hoping that the next generation of young, American pole dancers — be they boys or girls, we support equal employment opportunities for strippers of all genders! — put away their tattered copies of Showgirls, Striptease and American Anthem and instead start drawing their inspirado from these outrageously gifted Indian gents. Eat your heart out, Mitch Gaylord! [Tip of the cap to our buddy Reihan Salam]...