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It’s not every day the public gets to see memorabilia from Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather.”

Los Angeles historian Alison Martino has a rare original script from the film that belonged to her father, Al Martino, better known to the world as singer Johnny Fontane in the classic film.

Martino was joined by “Waltzing With Brando” cinematographer Garret O’Brien at the Variety 120 Screening Series presented by Barco, a summer-long program hosted by Jazz Tangcay that celebrates Variety‘s 120th anniversary by showing iconic films such as “All About Eve” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Martino explained how “The Godfather” was the first film she ever saw: “I wanted to see it again and again.” She also shared how she was able to ask her father about the making of the film and being involved in the production. “They had no idea it would be anything like this,” she said.

Bobby Sherman, the pop singer and Here Come the Brides actor whose image graced bedroom posters, lunch boxes and fan magazines as a heart-fluttering teen idol of the 1960s, has died. He was 81.

Sherman’s death was announced Tuesday by his second wife, Brigitte Poublon. It was revealed in March that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

“Bobby left this world holding my hand — just as he held up our life with love, courage, and unwavering grace through all 29 beautiful years of marriage. I was his Cinderella, and he was my Prince Charming,” she wrote.

Discovered at a Hollywood cast party when he was 20, Sherman got a big break when he was signed as a regular vocalist for the ABC musical variety show Shindig! in 1964. He spent about 16 months on the program, which showcased the top acts and songs of the day, through January 1966.

The blue-eyed, brown-haired Sherman had...

Lou Christie, the singer-songwriter who reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966 with the lush “Lightnin’ Strikes” and had another top 20 hit that year with the (for its time) sexually explicit “Rhapsody in the Rain,” died Wednesday. He was 82.

Christie died at his home in his native Pittsburgh after a short illness, his wife, Francesca, told The Hollywood Reporter.

With his signature falsetto, Christie broke out with two songs in 1963 that he penned with longtime collaborator Twyla Herbert — “The Gypsy Cried” and “Two Faces Have I” — and he made it into the top 10 again with “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” in 1969.

“Lightnin’ Strikes,” arranged, conducted and produced by Charles Calello and featuring backing vocals from Bernadette Carroll, Peggy Santiglia and Denise Ferri of The Delicates, was released on MGM Records in December 1965 and made it to No. 1 two months later on Christie’s 23rd birthday.

In a 2016 examination of...

This essay is excerpted from Hollywood High: a Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of Teen Movies, by Bruce Handy, out May 20 from Avid Reader Press.

Leap Day, 1940. The city: Los Angeles. The place: the Ambassador Hotel’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub, where Hollywood’s biggest names were gathered for the 12th annual Academy Awards ceremony. Among the stars smiling for the cameras: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, Greer Garson, Hedy Lamar, and emcee Bob Hope.

Professional jealousy was not the evening’s theme, not officially. So surely no one resented the fact that by one important measure — the measure — the answer to the question: Who is the biggest star in the room? was . . . .

None of the above.

Just a month earlier, the nation’s theater owners had conducted their annual poll and named not Gable, not Davis, not Stewart, but the young,...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps star Joseph Quinn has revealed what will separate his version of Johnny Storm / The Human Torch from past cinematic incarnations. The Human Torch is a fascinating Marvel character, especially when it comes to the two previous actors to play him, Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan, who went on to have significant roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America and Kilmonger, respectively. This certainly puts a lot of expectations on Quinn's version to stand out, particularly after Evans reprised his role in a brief cameo for Deadpool & Wolverine. After two iconic actors played the character, what do Quinn and Marvel Studios have in store for this Human Torch?

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Quinn talked about how he, director Matt Shakman, and Kevin Feige wanted to move Johnny Storm away from being a womanizer, one that many fans associate with Chris Evans's depiction of the character.

Exclusive: After supplying the 2023 fall box office with $261M with his Taylor Swift: Eras Tour concert film, Sam Wrench is directing a redo of the 1980 United Artists feature film, The Idolmaker for Amazon MGM Studios. The movie will rep Grammy nominated and Emmy winning music documentary and live event filmmaker Wrench’s narrative directing debut.

Friday Night Lights Emmy winner Jason Katims is writing the script.

Released in 1980, The Idolmaker was Academy Award nominee Taylor Hackford’s first film and earned Ray Sharkey a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The movie was based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marcucci, who discovered, among others, Frankie Avalon and Fabian. It was written by Edward Di Lorenzo and produced by Hawk Koch and Gene Kirkwood, the film counts a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and also starred Tovah Feldshuh, Peter Gallagher, and Paul Land. Kirkwood and Hawk Koch will return to produce the film, with Bill Gerber (A Star is Born) also producing.

In Katims’ modern-day reimagining, a singularly talented musician and equally gifted “idolmaker” navigate the complications of the music industry and the real world.

Wrench received a 2023 Grammy nom for Billie Eilish Live at O2 in the Best Music Film slot. He’s also directed episodes of American Idol and Rhythm + Flow. He is represented by CAA and Yorn Levine.

Katims also created NBC’s Parenthood which pumped out 103 episodes. He also wrote the near $200M global grossing Channing Tatum-Rachel McAdams movie The Vow. He is represented by CAA and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.

Americans love their folk heroes and historical figures that seem larger than life and generate interest and veneration. In the 19th century, as the country was expanding its borders at the behest of manifest destiny, many were fascinated by Davy Crockett. Crockett, a frontiersman from Tennessee who not only had his own mythology attributed to him in his lifetime but also was elected to Congress, still captures the imagination today. Not surprisingly, Crockett has been brought to life in several movies, and in 1960, John Wayne, one of the screen’s biggest legends, portrayed the folk hero in The Alamo.

The Alamo, a film that not only featured John Wayne in the lead role, was also produced and directed by the actor. The Alamo is entertaining for its action, scale, and scope, but it was also rife with historical inaccuracies. The saga of the last stand at The Alamo ultimately serves...

Stars: Frankie Avalon, Richard O’Sullivan, George Sewell, Jill Haworth, Dennis Price, Mark Wynter, Gina Warwick, Carol Dilworth, Robin Stewart | Written by Michael Armstrong, Gerry Levey | Directed by Michael Armstrong

Tigon’s The Haunted House of Horror (aka Horror House) is a peculiar blend of 1960s camp, teenage angst, and Gothic horror that struggles to find its footing but still manages to intrigue. Directed by Michael Armstrong and starring Frankie Avalon, Richard O’Sullivan, and George Sewell, the film ambitiously sets out to combine youthful rebellion with the chills of a classic haunted house tale.

The story begins with a group of swinging London friends who, in search of thrills, decide to spend a night in an abandoned mansion rumoured to be haunted. What starts as playful banter quickly turns deadly when one of their number is brutally murdered. The group’s paranoia grows as they attempt to solve the mystery,...

The 1970s saw a variety of musical movies, of which many have now become classics, among them Grease, which has two very dark Elvis Presley coincidences, one of them the result of a tragedy. It’s not unusual for stage musicals to be adapted into movies, and in 1978, it was Grease’s turn. The musical, by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, made its debut in the early 1970s to great success, and just a couple of years later, it was brought to the big screen by director Randal Kleiser.

Grease takes the audience back to 1958 to meet the T-Birds’ greaser leader Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Australian new girl Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John). Danny and Sandy meet at the beach over the summer and fall in love, and to his surprise, when he returns to school, Sandy is the new girl. Danny and Sandy’s romance goes through many ups...

Stars: Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel | Written by Jay Simms, John Morton | Directed by Ray Milland

Panic in Year Zero is a gripping 1962 Cold War-era film that serves as both a survivalist thriller and a cautionary tale. Directed by and starring Ray Milland, the film explores humanity’s descent into chaos following a catastrophic nuclear attack on Los Angeles. With a focus on a single family’s attempt to survive, the film offers a mix of taut suspense, moral dilemmas, and a haunting depiction of societal breakdown.

Plot Summary

The film follows the Baldwin family, led by patriarch Harry (Ray Milland), as they embark on a camping trip. Their outing is disrupted when a sudden nuclear explosion devastates Los Angeles, throwing the nation into disarray. Harry, along with his wife Ann (Jean Hagen), teenage son Rick (Frankie Avalon), and daughter Karen (Mary Mitchel), scrambles to secure safety in the countryside.

John Wayne has been, and continues to be, one of the main icons in American Western cinema, with plenty of fist fights and action in his films. Known for his commanding and authoritative presence, he maintained a larger-than-life persona that included playing many characters related to law enforcement, war, and the frontier environment that he made his own for so many years. His penchant for playing good guys who took on the biggest and baddest challenges led to many scenes of action and violence and none so memorable as his iconic fistfights throughout his storied filmography that defined John Wayne's career.

His most memorable brawls highlight and elevate the narratives being told with his unmatched physicality and intensity during the scenes. The final scene of The Quiet Man is celebrated as one of the best fist fights in all of cinema, a raucous and, at times, comical fight that perfectly ends the film.

Alan Hale, Jr. became a performer as part of his family's legacy. His mother was actress Gretchen Hartman who appeared in dozens of films in the 1910s, while his father, Alan Hale (real name: Rufus Edward MacKahan) racked up hundreds of credits in the silent era, typically as a reliable sidekick to Errol Flynn. Hartman retired from acting in 1929, and Hale, Sr. continued to work until his death in 1950. Alan Hale, Jr. first appeared on the screen as an infant, "starring" opposite his mother. Hale made his Broadway debut in 1931, when he was only 10, appearing in a very, very short-lived show called "Caught Wet" (it opened and closed in the same month). In 1933, Hale played uncredited role in William Wellman's Depression-era drama "Wild Boys of the Road," and it may be the first movie a casual observer would recognize him in. 

Staring in 1941, Hale began his acting career in earnest,...

This can be written with great confidence: You know a Paul Anka song. Right now, you’re either thinking, “Well, yes, of course I do,” or you’re thinking, “I do not.” If you are in the latter group, you are wrong. There are, of course, his big hits like “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” But then there are the songs he’s written for others, most notably “My Way,” which he wrote for Frank Sinatra and has been covered by Elvis, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Sid Vicious, and countless others. It’s in the conversation for one of the most famous songs ever written.

That’s kind of the remarkable think about Paul Anka — who is at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, returning to his Canadian roots for the premiere of John Maggio’s documentary “Paul Anka: His Way” — that he’s written so many famous songs for others.

As unexpected choices go, few in recent TV memory approach the opening title sequence to The Perfect Couple.

Netflix’s six-part adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket-set novel kicks off with a suspicious death on the eve of a wedding — casting doubt on every have and have-not in the deceased’s orbit. But before they get to the bottom of their murder mystery, they gotta dance! The entire ensemble, including star Nicole Kidman and the victim, spend the 45-second opener of every episode partaking in some rough and ready choreography to Meghan Trainor’s “Criminals.”

If you’ve yet to see it — and this is no spoiler — imagine one of those numbers from an Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon surf movie from the 1960s, only everybody looks like they belong to a country club with deeply problematic membership requirements. (Or just watch the embed below.) The choice is very intentional.

Two of the credited screenwriters on Leonard Nimoy's "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" were Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes, the screenwriters behind the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello flick "Back to the Beach," the two-Van-Dammes-for-the-price-of-one movie "Double Impact," and the 1999 would-be Oscar darling "Anna and the King." "Star Trek IV" was one of their first major screenwriting gigs, and it was a dizzying experience. The screenwriters remembered meeting with Nimoy and with producer Harve Bennett for a brainstorming session, and it seems that no one could come to any kind of solid conclusions. Bennett mentioned that he wanted the next movie to be a throwback to "The City on the Edge of Forever," one of the most celebrated episodes of the series. Nimoy was in a weird headspace, talking about environmentalism and biodiversity. Meerson recalls: "Leonard started talking about plankton, cells, that cells become plankton, that things eat plankton...

"Gee, Pee-wee, do you think you asked for enough?" There's not many new updates at this time of the year (the grey zone between Christmas & New Years) but this is a fun video to feature. Actor / comedian Paul Reubens passed away earlier in 2023 at the age of 70. In remembrance of his work, the Pee-wee Herman Yt channel uploaded a pristine, 4K quality copy of his iconic Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special that aired on CBS in 1988. If you're not familiar with this X-Mas special, wondering why it's being brought up again, there's an entire Vulture article discussing its legacy within entertainment. "One of the strangest, most glorious, most improbable, most confident pieces of entertainment to appear on [TV]." Special guests include Frankie Avalon, Charo, The Del Rubio Triplets, Annette Funicello, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, Grace Jones, Little Richard, Joan Rivers, Dinah Shore, & Oprah Winfrey. Enjoy the laughs. // Continue...

Sofia Coppola's new movie Priscilla doesn't feature any performances or recordings of Elvis Presley songs. The decision to omit Elvis' music was not in Coppola's hands, as the estate did not accept her request for the rights. By not using any of Elvis' music, however, the film focuses solely on Priscilla and her story, providing an honest perspective without pressure to flatter Elvis' image.

Sofia Coppola's new movie Priscilla doesn't feature any Elvis songs, which might seem like a strange choice for a movie about the wife of the King of Rock. Depicting the true story of the famous couple's romance from her perspective, Priscilla is based on Priscilla Presley's book Elvis and Me. Written and helmed by acclaimed movie director Sofia Coppola, Priscilla's cast stars Cailee Spaeny in the titular role, with Jacob Elordi playing music icon Elvis Presley.

While Jacob Elordi has perfected Elvis Presley's voice and accent,...

As we approach another anniversary of August 9, those who participated in “the decision” are all but gone.

But the reminders are with us, thanks to a new book by Evan Thomas, “Road to Surrender,” the forward for which reads “To save lives, it was necessary to take lives — possibly hundreds of thousands of them.” And, of course, Christopher Nolan’s epic portrait of the man who was never allowed to forget, Robert Oppenheimer.

We can’t hide under our desks anymore, but we can view ten other works that scared the hell out of us.

“On the Beach” (United Artists)

“On the Beach” (1959)

As a little girl in 1959, I found my parents watching this black and white film on TV. Excited, I asked if it was the latest with Annette and Frankie Avalon. Uh, no. They allowed me to stay, and two hours later, I was shaken to the core.

Pat Cooper, the famously fast-talking and angry stand-up comedian who often appeared on Ed Sullivan and Howard Stern’s shows, died Tuesday in Las Vegas. He was 93.

Cooper appeared on “Seinfeld” in the Friars Club episode, playing himself. He also appeared with Robert DeNiro in the 1999 film “Analyze This” as Salvatore Masiello and reprised his role in “Analyze That.”

He was a frequent guest host on the Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, and appeared many times on the Howard Stern show throughout the 1990s and 2000s, where he was known for his cranky persona.

Born Pasquale Caputo to an Italian family in Brooklyn, he started out playing local New York clubs. In 1963, he landed a spot on “The Jackie Gleason Show,” and then began performing at the Copacabana, where he opened for acts including the Four Seasons and Jimmy Roselli.

Cooper went on to perform at clubs across the country,...

One of the very, very few topics that virtually every film and TV fan can agree on is that “Grease” is fantastic. The 1978 musical — which stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as two high schoolers who find their summer romance tested by the social dynamics at Rydell High School — is the kind of timeless, feel-good entertainment that’s virtually impossible to dislike.

The film rode the wave of 1950s nostalgia that swept the nation in the ’70s (see: “Happy Days” and “American Grafitti”) to become one of the most recognizable films ever made. An incredible songbook that includes all-timers, from the “Summer Nights” solo and “You’re the One That I Want” duet to Frankie Avalon’s dreamy “Beauty School Dropout,” make it the sort of film that you can rewatch any time, anywhere and almost always enjoy yourself.

How do you put your own spin on a property that’s so beloved?...

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is set four years before the story it's based on, but breaks musical rules that make its story even better. Grease opened on Broadway in 1972 and was turned into the highest-grossing movie musical in 1978, though the story is set in 1959, with music by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, and John Farrar to match. The Rise of the Pink Ladies series is set in the mid-1950s and takes a different approach to the music, but it’s this specific rule-breaking from the source material that improves its story.

As successful as the Grease film was, its soundtrack was just as, if not more, successful. It expanded on the score from the Broadway show, adding four huge songs, “Grease,” "Sandy," "You're the One That I Want," and the Academy Award- and Grammy-nominated “Hopelessly Devoted to You.” Grease was such a success that it even spawned a sequel,...

Hollywood stars and filmmakers joined for a weekend of celebrating film legacies and the impact they have had on cinema at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival.

To kick off the festival at the Los Angeles’ Tcl Chinese Theatre, The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43, Angie Dickinson chatted with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz on opening night Thursday about Rio Bravo, her role as Feathers and starring opposite John Wayne and Dean Martin.

When talking about what it was like working with director Howard Hawks, Dickinson said, “He was a man of few words,” and while filming, he told her and the crew to “just relax, and he and I sat there, talking about nothing. It was just to relax me and get me to the point that he wanted me to be for the scene.”

Directors Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson also took part in a...

When John Farrar turned up to a movie set at dawn clutching a demo of his hastily written “emergency song”, he didn’t have high hopes. The call had only come in the previous day, crying out for a last-minute number to plug a hole in the musical score for when the greaser with heart gets the good girl turned bad. Farrar hadn’t exactly been inspired in scratching it together – “desperate is probably the word”, he says. The director took one listen and hated it, but the last-day-of-school shot was already set up and they were all out of options. A choreographer threw together a dance routine on the spot. The scene went in the can inside seven hours, and so wrapped this hokey teen musical presumably bound for oblivion.

Or not. The movie was the 1978 musical smash Grease. The track, “You’re the One That I Want”. A...

When John Farrar turned up to a movie set at dawn clutching a demo of his hastily written “emergency song”, he didn’t have high hopes. The call had only come in the previous day, crying out for a last-minute number to plug a hole in the musical score for when the greaser with heart gets the good girl turned bad. Farrar hadn’t exactly been inspired in scratching it together – “desperate is probably the word”, he says. The director took one listen and hated it, but the last-day-of-school shot was already set up and they were all out of options. A choreographer threw together a dance routine on the spot. The scene went in the can inside seven hours, and so wrapped this hokey teen musical presumably bound for oblivion.

Or not. The movie was the 1978 musical smash Grease. The track, “You’re the One That I Want”. A...

The James Bond franchise is known for including over-the-top action sequences with effects to match 007’s epic displays of derring-do. Still, there’s a chance for mediocrity in all things, even when the world’s most famous fictional spy is a part of the equation. Speaking with Yahoo! Movies, Bond film director Lee Tamahori says he regrets decisions made about filming the infamous kitesurfing sequence for Die Another Day. According to Tamahori, he wishes he didn’t use CGI for the scene. CGI is standard in film today, but Die Another Day hit theaters in 2002 when VFX methods were still rough around the edges. Watching the clip online, I can see why Tamahori cringes at the sight of Bond’s all-too-fake tsunami surfing.

“The only thing I’d do differently [with Die Another Day] would be the kitesurfing sequence,” Tamahori told Yahoo! Movies. “I don’t know how you’d do it differently.

Music is one of the best ways to set the mood for the holidays, and the soundtrack of Netflix’s holiday rom-com Falling for Christmas has no shortage of tunes to help conjure the holiday spirit. The Netflix movie follows Sierra, who gets amnesia after a skiing accident and finds herself falling for Jake, the man who takes her in, as she helps him save his struggling lodge. Falling for Christmas utilizes its soundtrack well to establish the Christmas spirit, making the rom-com that much more charming.

Falling for Christmas’ soundtrack has something for everyone, featuring renditions of classic holiday tunes and original songs by its multi-talented cast, including Lindsay Lohan and Chord Overstreet. The soundtrack is not entirely Christmas classics, however, and also includes a few non-holiday-themed tracks. The Netflix rom-com is also rounded out by an original score by Nathan Lanier. Whether it be a Christmas classic, original song,...

From Eraserhead to Mulholland Drive, David Lynch is a master filmmaker with a firm grasp of fantasy worlds. Lynch utilizes dream sequences to flesh out psychological analysis and provides emotional depth to the story in a spirited presence.

Dream sequences are meant to be sweet, but sometimes they can be beautifully depicted nightmares. Whether it is for storytelling and/or artistic purposes, a dream scene can either enhance or diminish the film. Users of Reddit share which of cinema's dream sequences are the most spectacular.

This article contains discussions of triggering topics such as substance misuse and sexual content.

Stuck In Traffic — 8 1/2

Federico Fellini revolutionized Italian cinema and the surrealist genre with his 1963 film 8 1/2. The dramedy is gorgeous and glamorous in its story and execution. Reddit user OkDokeComputer feels that the film's first scene is "a big prototype for a lot of dream sequences after that".

The opening sequence is...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on Star 96.7 Wssr-fm reviewing the new Blu-Ray edition of “Back to the Beach,” the 1987 parody of Frankie and Annette beach movies from the 1960s, featuring of course Frankie and Annette.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello portray offbeat fictional versions of themselves, married and stuck in Ohio after Frankie (nicknamed the Big Kahuna) wiped out on a monster wave called the Cowabunga from Down Unda, and left the California Beach to raise rebellious Bobby (Demian Slide) and grown daughter Sandi. When Frankie and Annette go back in California to visit Sandi, the old wave meets the new wave.

Extras: Watch anywhere Digital Movie Code, Special Feature “Filmmaker Focus” spotlighting Director Lyndall Hobbs.

’Back to the Beach’ on Blu-Ray

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com reviewed “Back to the Beach” during the Eddie Volkman...

Bobby Rydell, the pop singer and actor best known for his role as Hugo Peabody in the 1963 film “Bye Bye Birdie,” died Tuesday, a spokesperson confirmed to Philadelphia’s Wpvi-tv. He was 79.

According to a statement posted to Rydell’s official Facebook page, the Philadelphia native died at Jefferson Hospital in his hometown from pneumonia complications unrelated to Covid. He was days away from celebrating his 80th birthday. Rydell remained active up until his death, and was scheduled to perform at The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City in June.

Typifying the “teen idol” sensation of the 1950s and pre-British invasion the early ’60s, Rydell made a name for himself with his first hit song, 1959’s “Kissin’ Time.” That year, he signed with Cameo/Parkway Records. Other popular tunes from this era of his career included “We Got Love, “Little Bitty Girl,” “Swingin’ School,” and “Ding-a-Ling.” Hit song “Wild One” reached the No.

Bobby Rydell, one of the first music idols to spur teen fandom in the Fifties and Sixties, has died at age 79. His death was caused by complications from pneumonia, a rep for the artist confirmed in a statement.

“He had the best pipes,” his good friend and radio legend Jerry Blavat told the Inquirer. “He could do Sinatra, he could do anything… He could do comedy. He played the drums. He was a great mimic… He could have been as big as Bobby Darin, but he didn’t want to leave Philadelphia.

Bobby Rydell, the Philly-born teen idol of the early 1960s whose hits included “Volare” and “Wild One” and who took part in a scene-stealing dance number with Ann-Margret in the 1963 film Bye Bye Birdie, died today. He was 79.

His death was reported by Philadelphia’s CBS affiliate. Additional details were not immediately available.

So engrained in the early ’60s pop milieu that the musical Grease named its Rydell High School after him, Bobby Rydell recorded a few local hit songs before scoring with his first Top 20 in 1959 with “Kissin’ Time.” That song earned him a spot on an Australian concert tour with The Everly Brothers, The Crickets and others.

His next hit was even bigger: “We Got Love” went gold, and was followed up by “Wild One”, a 1960 million-seller that remains a staple of Golden Oldies radio. Later that year came “Volare,” which went to #4 on U.S. charts.

His...

Bobby Rydell, the epitome of the early ’60s “teen idol,” who parlayed that fame into a starring role opposite Ann-Margret in the 1963 film “Bye Bye Birdie,” died today at age 79. The cause of death was pneumonia.

His death just days away from his 80th birthday was confirmed by radio legend Jerry Blavat, Rydell’s longtime friend from the singer’s South Philadelphia stomping grounds. “Out of all the kids” from that era, Blavat said, “he had the best pipes and was the greatest entertainer. He told the best stories, did the best impersonations and was the nicest guy.”

Rydell’s fame as the epitome of an American teen pop star in the days just prior to rock’s British Invasion was such that Rydell High School in the Broadway musical and subsequent film “Grease” was named after him. An actor also portrayed him in a performance scene in the film “Green Book.

Dwayne Hickman, whose turn as eternal romantic Dobie Gillis made him a teen idol in the 1960s, has died this morning at age 87 in his Los Angeles home of complications from Parkinson’s Disease.

An actor, producer, director and artist, Hickman starred in the hit TV series The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He died on the birthday of his dearest friend and former “Dobie …” cast member Bob Denver, whom he again costarred opposite in the CBS, movie of the week, Surviving Gilligan’s Island, playing a CBS network executive.

Born Dwayne Bernard Hickman on May 18, 1934 in Los Angeles, Hickma’s earliest screen appearances included began at age six, making his film debut, as an extra in The Grapes of Wrath.

As a teen he starred in his first television series opposite Bob Cummings, where he honed his comedic skills under the watchful eyes of...

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By Hank Reineke

On the very month that Roger Corman’s The Raven was to hit theaters in January 1963, Aip announced that they had just signed a four year eight-film contract with that film’s co-star Peter Lorre. The contract was an interesting one as it wasn’t exclusive: the actor wasn’t necessarily barred from accepting acting offers from other studios. But the contract stipulated Lorre could not accept any roles offered of “the horror, science-fiction, macabre type,” and certainly not in any competing non-aip Edgar Allan Poe film adaptation. Such movies would remain the domain of Aip, which had recently been on a hot streak with their churning of Gothic horrors. Arkoff and Nicholson triumphantly announced they had already readied two new projects for Lorre, one titled It’s Alive (reported to co-star Elsa (The Bride of Frankenstein) Lanchester and a second,...

"Life's A Beach"

By Lee Pfeiffer

When it comes to defining cinematic guilty pleasures, one need not look any further than the lame-brained beach movies that were marketed to teenagers in the mid-1960s. The formula started in 1963 with "Beach Party", teaming Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon for the first time as loved-starved teens who are addicted to fun and sun in the surf. The film was such a hit that it spawned numerous sequels, delighting producers Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson and American International, which was mining gold by making big profits from low-budget productions. The beach series didn't vary much in terms of content and many of the most popular actors were utilized in each successive film. There were also simlarly-themed films starring Avalon in different geographical settings. But if the beach series burned brightly, its flame was short-lived. By 1965, the young audiences that initially craved...

Monday’s episode of Dancing With the Stars can only be described as systematic, hydromatic, and y’know what, while we’re at it? Ultramatic, too.

The ABC competition traded in Mickey Mouse ears for Pink Ladies jackets on Week 5, in celebration of the movie musical Grease. And since we’re about halfway through the competition, it seems about time for a shocking elimination, which went down at the end of the broadcast.

More from TVLineDancing With the Stars Recap: Disney Week Wraps With a Double EliminationTom Bergeron Unpacks DWTS Firing ('I Wasn't Surprised'), Admits Season 28 'Was Not the Show...

Grease is the word this week on Dancing With the Stars, which will feature a fan-favorite guest of honor! Actress and singer Olivia Newton-John, who played the female lead, Sandy Olsson, in the hit 1978 musical film, will make her return to the show and appear on the themed episode on Monday, Oct. 18, a rep for the show told E! News exclusively. "Olivia Newton-John will be making a surprise guest appearance on Monday's show, in support of the competing couples who will dance to the music from her iconic film role," the rep said. ABC had announced last week that its upcoming Grease Night episode will feature fellow movie alum and crooner Frankie Avalon, 81,...

It’s no longer “Summer Nights,” but that’s not going to stop “Dancing with the Stars” from doing a “Grease” Night. The remaining 11 couples will perform to tunes from the iconic musical on Monday because the show is hopelessly devoted to theme nights.

You’ve got all the usual suspects from “Grease” and will be treated to a double dose of one song: Melora Hardin and Artem Chigvintsev will perform their Viennese waltz to “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” while JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson will foxtrot to the reprise. For the first time this season, the Charleston will be performed — Suni Lee and Sasha Farber will do one to “Born to Hand Jive.” The other dance styles are foxtrot, jive, Viennese waltz, rumba and quickstep.

See the full list of dances below.

Jimmie Allen and Emma Slater: foxtrot (“Sandy”)

Melanie C and Gleb Savchenko:...

In “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain play Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, the self-styled Christian TV personalities who did more than anyone else to mold televangelism into a game-changing, culture-shaking, credit-card-maxing industry/cult/diversion. The movie, which is a ticklishly fascinating rise-and-fall saga, was directed by Michael Showalter, who almost always makes comedies, so you might expect him to treat the Bakker saga as a delicious slice of kitsch — which, in a sense, it was.

There’s a bit of that, but Showalter is up to something more sly, and maybe more artful. In “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” he gives Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker the full dignity — and scandal — of their humanity. He knows that a lot of people think of the Bakkers as walking caricatures, and that in the case of Tammy Faye, with her infamous troweled-on ’60s-raccoon-from-Maybelline clown-freak makeup, she verged on self-parody.

Michael Nader, an actor who appeared on “Dynasty” and “All My Children,” has died. He was 76.

Nader’s manager confirmed his passing to TheWrap. Nader died on Monday from an untreatable form of cancer.

Michael’s wife, Jodi Lister, released a statement to soap opera writer Michael Fairman: “With heavy heart, I’m sharing the news of the passing of my beloved, Michael. We had 18 wonderful years together with the many dogs we fostered and adopted. Recently, Michael was so thrilled to reconnect with his friends from the cast of ‘Dynasty’ during Emma Samms virtual event to help raise funds for Long-Covid research. Michael was working on a book about his life and addiction at the time of his death. He was a beautiful and fascinating man with many talents and skills. I will miss him forever.”

Nader was best known for playing Farnsworth “Dex” Dexter on the 1980s primetime soap opera “Dynasty.

Very sad news is coming in as it's being reported that actor John Paragon has passed away. The talented performer, who was widely known for playing Jambi the Genie on the 80s children's program Pee-wee's Playhouse, reportedly died in April, though word of his death is just starting to make the press. His passing was confirmed by the Riverside County Coroner, but a cause of death has not been revealed. Paragon was 66 years old.

Many fans of Pee-wee's Playhouse would say Jambi the Genie was just as important to the show as Pee-wee Herman. The character's bedazzled face would frequently appear in a jeweled box every time Herman wished for something, usually with a big smile behind blue makeup. Paragon also provided the voice of Pee-wee's pterodactyl pal Pterri and served as a writer and director for several episodes.

Along with Paul Reubens, Paragon co-write the hit 1988 television special Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special.

Two attractive teenage boys, one of whom is shirtless, energetically dance to “Skechers” by DripReport, their sun-streaked curls bouncing, palm trees and stucco pseudo-Renaissance architecture in the background.

It’s a snapshot from an idyllic teenage dream, the 2020s version of the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello beach party movies. One would be forgiven for not immediately realizing that it was posted amidst the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The boys, Jack and James Wright, are 16-year-old twins and members of the L.A. Hype House, a creator collective comprised of about 20 young,...

As controversy builds around “Richard Jewell” and its depiction of female journalists, it’s nothing new for women music writers on the silver screen.

Although “Crazy Heart,” which premiered 10 years ago this month, was basically 2009’s equivalent of Bradley Cooper’s remake of “A Star Is Born,” it hasn’t had quite the staying power of some other archetypal music-based films. Jeff Bridges won his first Oscar for his portrayal of a washed-up, alcoholic country singer, and Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for her performance as the much younger love interest who tries to save him from self-destruction. The main difference in this film written and directed by Scott Cooper (no relation to Bradley) is that Gyllenhaal’s character is not a fellow singer-songwriter ripe for mentoring, but rather an aspiring journalist in search of a story.

Before long, however, business and pleasure intermingle and Bridges and Gyllenhaal wake up in...

A celebration of the life of Jack Gilardi, an ICM agent for 68 years, will take place this Monday, December 9, at 7:00 Pm at Paramount Studios.

Industry friends are welcome to attend, but must RSVP to obtain a drive-on to the Paramount lot. The RSVP email is  Gilardimemorial@icmpartners.com.

Gilardi passed away September 19. During his long career, he represented major stars, directors, music artists, and athletes, including Sylvester Stallone, Joe Mantegna, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLain, Ann Margaret, Charlton Heston, Frankie Avalon, Walter Hill, Walter Becker, Frankie Valli, Howie Long and Annette Funicello, whom he married and had three children with. The children will speak at the memorial, along with many of the stars that Gilardi represented.

The official invitation is below:...

Jack Gilardi, a longtime ICM Partners agent whose license plate read “ICM Jg,” died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles at age 88, the agency announced.

During his seven-decade career, Gilardi represented Hollywood legends such as Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLaine and Charlton Heston. Longstanding clients who have remained with him until the end include Ann-Margret, Joe Mantegna, Walter Hill, Frankie Avalon and Jaclyn Smith, among many others.

He was also married to actress and former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello from 1965 to 1981; the couple had three children together.

Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2019 (Photos)

The Chicago native got his start in talent representation while serving in the U.S. Army, where he was placed in charge of bringing entertainment to the soldiers stationed at Fort Knox. In October 1954, following his completion of service, he began working as an agent with General Artists Corporation, which later joined Creative Management Associates,...

Jack L. Gilardi, a longtime ICM Partners agent whose client roster over the years included Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLaine, and Charlton Heston, died this morning at age 88.

His death was announced by ICM Partners. No cause of death was given, but the company notes that Gilardi passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by family.

Gilardi would have celebrated his 65th anniversary at the company next month. Longstanding clients who remained with Gilardi until the end include Ann-Margret, Joe Mantegna, Walter Hill, Frankie Avalon, and Jaclyn Smith, among others.

Among his early clients was former Mouseketeer and star of American-International’s “Beach Party” film franchise Annette Funicello, who he would marry in 1965. The couple had three children before divorcing in 1983. (Funicello died at 70 in 2013 of complications due to multiple sclerosis).

Born on October 5th, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, Gilardi would go on to join the Us Army and,...

Jack Gilardi, a longtime ICM Partners agent who represented such stars as Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone, Jerry Lewis, Charlton Heston and Shirley MacLaine, died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 88.

Gilardi was known for his gentlemanly style, love of the Los Angeles Dodgers and his skill at representing top actors. He would have marked his 65th anniversary at ICM (and its predecessor Creative Management Associates) next month. Gilardi remained active as a talent rep on behalf of longtime clients including Ann-Margret, Joe Mantegna, Walter Hill, Frankie Valli, Frankie Avalon and Jaclyn Smith. He was married to one-time client Annette Funicello for 17 years in the 1960s and ’70s.

A native of Chicago, Gilardi served in the U.S. Army at Fort Knox in Kentucky, where he was in charge of arranging entertainment for the soldiers. That led him to pursue a career as a talent agency after his discharge...

Jack Gilardi, the dapper agent who spent the past 64-plus years with ICM Partners and its predecessor companies, has died. He was 88.

Gilardi died Thursday morning in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family, a spokesperson for ICM announced.

He was married to the late actress Annette Funicello — he first met her on the set of her 1961 film Babes in Toyland and served as her agent and manager — from 1965 until their divorce in 1981.

Gilardi's roster of current clients included Funicello's frequent co-star Frankie Avalon as well as ...

Jack Gilardi, the dapper agent who spent the past 64-plus years with ICM Partners and its predecessor companies, has died. He was 88.

Gilardi died Thursday morning in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family, a spokesperson for ICM announced.

He was married to the late actress Annette Funicello — he first met her on the set of her 1961 film Babes in Toyland and served as her agent and manager — from 1965 until their divorce in 1981.

Gilardi's roster of current clients included Funicello's frequent co-star Frankie Avalon as well as ...

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini

Blu ray

Olive Films

1965 / 2.35 : 1 / 93 Min.

Starring Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Mickey Rooney

Cinematography by Floyd Crosby

Directed by William Asher

Sam Arkoff and James Nicholson, the men behind such teen-friendly drive-in fare as Reform School Girl and High School Hellcats, caught a monster wave with 1963’s Beach Party and hung on for three long years before sinking into the sunset with Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, a haunted house spoof starring Tommy Kirk and a frail Boris Karloff.

It was a wild ride sustained by Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon and a rotating cast of fun-loving deadbeats who would become as familiar to 60’s audiences as Eugene Pallette and Hugh Herbert were to depression era movie fans. As weighty as a cherry popsicle in July, the movies were aimed at high schoolers but the gags were older than dirt – vaudeville humor with that Coppertone tan.