The Five nominees for Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series are:PETER KRAUSE for "Six Feet Under"
DENIS LEARY for "Rescue Me".
CHRISTOPHER MELONI for "Law & Order SVU"
MARTIN SHEEN for "The West Wing"
KIEFER SUTHERLAND for "24"
Another really tough category for me. All of these men are truly 'outstanding' and fantastically talented actors! Once again, a very very difficult decision. Okay, going alphabetically:
Peter Krause played Nate Fisher in "Six Feet Under" for the whole 5 or 6 seasons it had been on the air, having ended it's run this year. All of the Fishers are flawed neurotic people---in other words, human...but lovable as all get out! Nate, is no exception. Never happy that he had to return to Los Angeles when his father died. He was pretty much forced to carry on the Undertaking business with his brother David and you most of the time you felt that Nate had one foot out the door. His relationships with women were all terribly complicated and the two woman he married were pretty neurotic and crazy, as well....But this sure made for interesting and realistic television. All of the Fisher's at various times, would 'see' and have conversations with their dead father. Nate was no exception. The episode Peter Krause chose 'for our consideration' was a very interesting one because he got to show us Nate's ambivilance about his marriage and his wife's pregnancy and towards the end of the episode his incredible rage at just about everything is shown, killing a bird in a kind of displaced display of terrifying anger. A wonderful choice by Mr. Krause for us to watch. I've always felt that Peter Krause was an actor of great range and that his portrayal of Nate Fisher gave him the opportunity to show that range...especially in the episode I just saw. An incrediby talented actor at 'the top of his game'.
Denis Leary is an amazingly talented actor and writer. This series, "Rescue Me" on FX, is absouletly riviting in every way.
He plays Tommy Gavin, an alcoholic New York City Fireman who is in great turmoil after the September 11th disasater, having lost not only his fireman cousin, but many other people, too. The series has such a ring of authenticity to it----beautifully written and wonderfully acted by an ensemble cast, all of whom are as 'real' as everything else about this series---there is the ring of truth in every episode including the humor that is a very big part of the show. The episode Mr. Leary chose 'for our consideration' was a devistating one. It begins with the 'wake' for his young son, who has been killed in the street by a drunk driver and Tommy's wife holds him responsible for this because she says he wasn't watching his son closely enough. Tommy Gavin hasn't really broken down yet and felt his own terible pain and guilt about the loss of his son...suffice it to say, this breakdown happens in this episode, and in the most unexpected yet terribly real way and when this happened, I was devistated too as I watched this man's complete breakdown----this man---who has a very very hard time showing emotion. A superb performance by Mr. Leary. (A Side Note: Leary is one of the creator's of this series, as well as the lead actor.)
Brilliant actor Christopher Meloni plays Detective Elliot Stabler in "Law & Order: SVU" and is Olivia Bensen's partner on the show. (Actress Mariska Hargity, as stated in my previous post....).
Over the years of this very successful series we have watched the character of Elliot Stabler struggle with his inner demons and occassionally things have been revealed through story lines that have touched upon these demons. As the series progressed, Stabler's wife has now left him and has taken his children away so he does not see them...a very painful thing for Stabler, to say the least. This particular episode is one of those revelatory story's where we see Stabler's inner rage come out and in such a huge way that he takes himself to the police shrinky person...and again, as in the previous show mentioned above, we see a man who has trouble showing emotions breaking down with the truths of his life that are forced to the surface by the probing of the police psychiatrist. A masterful acting job by Christopher Meloni if ever there was one. So far, the score is three for three. Oy!Next, there is the veteran actor Martin Sheen who plays Jed Bartlett, the President of The United States in "The West Wing".
A beautiful actor who has been nominated before for this role, but, has not won. This series ended with this season. And as many of you know, I hated to see this series go off the air. But off it went. And the episode Martin Sheen chose 'for our consideration' was the very last episode of the series...the changing of the guard so to speak, when Bartlett is leaving office and Santos is coming into office. There was not any big emotional scene in this episode, just the subtle pain of the end of a very full and important eight years in a man's life as President of The United States. Mr. Sheen was perfect. He was perfect as The President, and he was perfect here in his very 'he makes it look so easy' last hurrah as the outgoing Jed Bartlett. Beautiful performance in every way. A superlative actor if ever there was one.
Now we are four for four. Oy Oy!
And last but not least, we have Kiefer Sutherland a truly lovely actor who plays Jack Bauer in this wonderfully imaginative series, "24", where everything that happens in each episode happens in "real" time.
And that real time is one hour, eventually making up the 24 hours of a day, thus the title of the show. The story is almost too complicated to explain so I won't try. Except to say, in this episode, Jack Bauer is supposedly dead, but of course, he is not. The former President of The United States, played by Dennis Haysbert is assinated at the top of this episode along with two other people who are seemingly not connected and yet....and yet.......Then there is a fourth person that is almost killed. And it turns out the one thing that all four of these people have in common is, they were and are the only people in the world who knew that Jack Bauer was not dead. So this episode that Mr. Sutherland chose for us to see revolves around him trying to help this last person from not being killed and it takes place between 7am and 8am on that day. Jack Bauer is a tender man often tines but a tough man, too. This episode showed the many sides of Jack Bauer and Kiefer Sutherland gives a fabulous performance, as always. Okay. Five for Five. Oy Oy Oy!
The same impossible voting system is in place for this category as was in place for the Actress Category. And these gentleman arrived at their Nominations in the very same way, as well. Another very very difficult near impossible task lies before me. Good luck to me! (lol)
More To Come....
Reminder: Don't forget to go by Wendy's Auditions today....It sure is fun cause you get to visit a lot of lovely people and she has the BESTEST Snacks to be found and eaten anywhere in the virtual blogesphere.....
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The five actresses nominated in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series are: FRANCES CONROY for "Six Feet Under"
GEENA DAVIS for "Commander In Chief"
MARISKA HARGITY for "Law & Order: SVU"
ALLISON JANNEY for "The West Wing"
KYRA SEDGWICK for "The Closer"
These are five really incredibly talented actresses. I have now watched all five performances, and this is a very difficult catagory. First of all because there isn't a bad performance in the bunch, and secondly, the voting is a bit different in this category than it was for the last panel I viewed. (More on this later) Those nominated pick one episode from the 2005-2006 season to be viewed. This can be a difficult choice depending on the characters involvement in the story line during the season. In alphabetical order....lets begin with Frances Conroy.
Frances Conroy is a wonderful wonderful actress. In the ensemble show "Six Feet Under" she played the matriarch of the Fisher Family. At the beginning of this series, Nathaniel Fisher, her undertaker husband, died in the very first episode. The 'family' consists of her three grown children, her oldest son Nate, her middle son David, and her only daughter and youngest child, Clare. At the start of this series, the character of Ruth Fisher was a pretty uptight unhappy woman. As the series progressed, Ruth Fisher grew and changed and loosened up quite a bit. And Francis Conroy grew with her character. This series ended this season, I'm sorry to say. If you are unfamiliar with this show it is wonderfully written with superlative actors in every role and is very very much worth renting or buying, for that matter. The episode Frances Conroy picked to be viewed happened to be the very last episode of the series. In it her character goes from abject despair, because her eldest son has died, to a kind of resignation and then a kind of a 'peace' with her situation...a 'moving on as best she can' situation, if you will. Ms. Conroy's performance was very moving and totally believable. An extremely demanding and difficult job of acting for her in this, the very last episode ever, of "Six Feet Under", and she was more than up to it....she was brilliant.
Next, Geena Davis in "Commander In Chief". This series started out and was the highest rated ABC series of the new season this past year.
But it ran into problems in the production schedule, and the Writer/Creator/Executive Producer Rod Lurie, was fired and Steven Bochko was brought in to take over the Executive Producing duties. For about eleven weeks during the height of the television season, this show was off the air. And when it came back on, it seemed to have lost it's way as well as it's time slot. The original concept was changed somewhat, as well. The character that Ms. Davis played was still the first woman President of The United States, but the series was now no longer 'character driven' so much as "crises" driven, and it became rather unbelievable. Each week a different horrible world dilemma had to be dealt with and solved and of course this is why it became very unbelievable, to me. So, the episode that Ms. Davis chose 'for our consideration' was the Pilot Episode. A wise choice I think, because it showed her character in a very clear way when the series had a really much clearer focus of what it was about and where it was going. I think it is too bad that the circumstances of this series undercut it's ability to hold an audience and it was canceled before it even actually had aired all of it's filmed episodes. What started out so high, ended on a rather low and sad note....no fault of Geena Davis', I might add.
Mariska Hargity is a lovely actress who until recently hasn't received the attention by the Television community that she deserves.
This series is a very solid one in the "Law & Order" 'franchise', as it is known, and is extremely well written and well acted, too. In this series Ms. Hargity plays Olivia Benson, a cop who along with her partner, played by Christopher Meloni, (Also up for an Emmy this year) handle 'sexually based heinous crimes' for the NYPD...thus the name Special Victims Unit. We have seen her in all sorts of situations over the years. And in the episode she chose 'for our consideration' she is on the phone for almost the entire episode with a young girl of nine, so we are told, who has called 911 for help because she is being abused sexually by a man she says is her father. The way this story unfolds the police are not sure this phone call is 'for real', but Olivia is pretty sure it is authentic. It is a rather complicated script with many twists and turns and as with all the "Law & Order" shows, as things unfold they aren't always what they seemed to be at first. Mariska Hargity is pretty much the featured person in this episode and she must show frustration, compassion, fear, disgust, sympathy, heartbreak...you name it and she had to 'act' it. She was superb, and I can see why she chose this episode for our viewing.
Allison Janney is a very very special actress, to my way of thinking.
I have seen her do any number of parts over the years and she always seems to embody the character she is playing in a way that is not only completely believable, but you think, well, this must be who she is herself---and it is different every time. She has, I believe won two Emmy's for her portrayal of C.J. Cregg on "The West Wing", already. And I believe she has had at least 4 nominations before this for the very same role. Did she deserve to win the Emmy both times? Yes! Absolutely. Over the life of this series her character went from being the press secretary to being the Chief of Staff to the President, and it was completely believable within the context of her character. "The West Wing" ended it's run with this season and there was a lot of winding up to do as the Bartlett Administration was ending it's tenure and the newly elected President, Matt Santos was about to be sworn in as the new President. The episode Allison Janney chose 'for our consideration' was packed full of all the qualities we have come to know and love about C.J. Cregg, and then some. And Ms. Janney was, as always, smashing.
And last but not least, we have Kyra Sedgwick. This was a new series this year, like 'Commander In Chief'...on the FX Network.
An interesting premise....a young woman from the south is brought into the L.A.P.D. as someone who is capable of 'closing' cases fast and with a special insight that separates her from the pack. Kyra Sedgwick is a very wonderful actress and this is her first time as the lead in a Television Drama series---she has made many many films and is always terrific. The episode she chose is one where she gets to show her 'acting chops'....a girl has been raped and murdered and Sedgwick's character is trying to pinpoint exactly who the rapist/murderer is. When interviewing a suspect she wins him over by pretending to be this forgetful southern-belle type young woman, but turns completely when needed, to the very strong direct smart southern woman that she actually is, to "close" out the case. This nomination is well deserved.
Here is the really tough part about voting in this category. You have 5 levels of excellence assigned to you by number...The number one (#1) being the best and each number thereafter going down from there...till you have assigned all five numbers. number five (#5) being the least best. And you can only use each number once! As I said, no one is bad in this categiry or in any category for that matter...Ten or Fifteen (I cannot remember cause it is a new voting rule this year) Nominees were voted on by the entire Performing Members out of around 50 or 60 women who were submitted in this category. Then, a second level of Panels was held at The Academy where other volunteer Performer Members picked these 5 women as the final-final top five for this important category, having watched their tapes/dvd's. And now, it is up to those of us who are doing the "At Home Judging" (possibly 300 to 400 people or more) to decide who is the very best of these five.
Quite honestly, I am finding this a very very tough call.
More To Come....
Special Reminder: Wendy's First Of The Month Auditions, begin tomorrow...(It's the 31st in New Zealand you know....) So do go by and pay her a visit. It's loads of fun to play and you get to meet lots of nice fun people, too. And, she gives out a prize at the end of the few days...Pass your curser over her name just above and that will take you right there! Have fun, and I'll see you there!
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BooMama had this great idea and here we are today, on the very day and date we are supposed to post our Tour-Of-Your-Home-Photo's. And all the links to ALL the Tours are over at BooMama's....so pass your cursor over her name right here and that will take you to her page and all the links to all the other people...Okay. So here is mine.
I have two shots of my front door...One from outside, at night, (above) and one from inside the house, too! Here in the hills, it is a "must" to have Security Gates, I'm sorry to say. I tried to make them bearable by designing something that reflected the look of the front door and not like I am in a prison, you know? As iron gates go, I think these are rather pretty....but, they are what they are and there is no getting away from that.
So here is the front door from the inside....I am sorry it is rather dark, but there isn't very good light here in this little vestibule...but as you can see, there are little windows on either side and the outside shot of the gate has these same kinds of panels going down each side. I put lights on either side of the outdoor gate to make it look more cheerful and welcoming.Okay. Where I blog is pretty messy looking, but I know where everything is and this is how I like it. Looking at this, you would think that "Clutter" is my middle name. (lol)
I blog in my bedroom. I've always worked in my bedroom. I painted more than 700 paintings of all sizes in this room and thousands of drawings, too. My bed is like my desk in many ways. (Not all the time, mind you...) And that's the way I like it, too. There was a time, before computers...yes, there actually was a time before computers....when I wrote in the dining room. In fact, I wrote all my plays on a typewriter there on the dining room table. But I write music, at this piano.
This is the piano I grew up with and learned to play the piano on. In fact, all of my siblings learned to play on this piano. This is a corner of my living room, near the windows that face the city.
I was standing by the piano when I took this next picture.
One of the things I have always loved about my house is how one room flows into the next and it is a very spacious house. As you can sort of see, though it is dark, the front door is beyond the living room, where there is a very wide and open hallway, almost like another room in itself....And here is the view looking from the other side of the living room back towards the piano which is on the extreme left of this next picture....
And you can see on the far middle right there is another little white piano....this is an electronic piano, and it looks just like a Baby Baby Baby Grand....and just beyond the little piano is the Dining Room....like I said, one room flows into another and it is a very open house...
And here is the little Baby Baby Baby piano, all by itself.
Next, there is my Kitchen. This shot is just a portion of the kitchen. The light in there is really not great, but, I think you get the gist. I have not changed anything in this kitchen since I moved here 42 years ago, except the floor, and I repainted, but made the color of the shutters exactly as they had been before. I wouldn't have changed the flooring, but it was a must. Otherwise, all the appliances and woodwork is "original", and I love it that way! (I keep saying that, don't I...lol) It's very "retro" they tell me....
This is a "lived in" Kitchen. This is a "lived in" house. I will show one more picture of the kitchen because I want you to see the fridge.
You have to remember that my home was built 45 years ago. This Kitchen was considered fabulous, at the time! I mean a "pink" Fridge...now you don't see that too often and one that opens right to left, too! In fact a "pink' dush washer, too....This stove is Electric, (not so great with the power outages and truthfully, not so great for cooking, either)...and, it all sort of folds up and that four burner thingy goes back into the wall, so it all looks kind of flush. I leave it out most of the time cause it's just easier that way.
And last, but not least, one more photograph of an area of another room in my home. This is one wall of my Den/Library.
I love this room....there is another full wall of books to the left of this picture with cabinets below for my stereo equiptment and 'records' and CD's, and some of my Sheet Music Collection. And there are more book shelves, as you can see, on the right wall as well....I feel like my home is very conducive to creativity. This room is kind of inspiring in it's way, just as each of the other rooms are, too.
This has been fun and I may do some more posting of some of the 'Objets' that grace the walls and tables...these things inspire me, too, and have deeply enriched my life with their presence. Hope you have enjoyed this "Home Tour" as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
More To Come, As Always....
Update: Two more Judging Envelopes arrived today. These two are for Acting and they are: Outstanding Actor In A Drama Series, and Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series. I have my work cut out for me for this weekend, so forgive me if I am unable to post and visit....more about this later.
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Many of you have commented on me being chosen to 'judge' these Emmy panels and just so you understand, any Television Academy Member is eligible to judge any of the panels as long as they are not connected in any way to any of the programs they will be judging. Many members volunteer to do this and as long as you 'fit' into the prescribed rules set up by the Academy...you are accepted. So, because I fit these criteria, I have been accepted to judge the different panels I have volunteered for.An interesting thing about the voting in this particular category which I just finished watching, is the method of voting.
There are five levels which are available to you: Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, and Excellent. (Which is somewhat different than some of the other category's). You must choose one of these five for each of the programs that are nominated. And in this particular category you could give each one a rating of 'Excellent', if that is what you feel about it. In truth, this category: Outstanding Variety, Music, Or Comedy Special, is an impossible catagory because it isn't fair to judge a very heavily produced show, such as The Olympics, against a much simpler production such as Bill Maher or George Carlin.
So I find that it levels the playing field quite a bit that I can give each of these programs an "Execellent" if that's how I feel. There will always be someone else who feels differently about these programs than I do and so in the end the Emmy will go to the program that recieved the most "Excellent" votes. It may be a very close call ultimately, and of course there could be a 'tie', but a decision will be made with this system. I for one am very grateful that in this particular category you are able to use the same 'rating' for all of them if you feel that way, and truthfully, all five of these programs are very very worthy contenders.
Danny Miller commented on my previous post saying he wasn't happy when one Awards show honors another Awards show with, in this case, an Emmy. He said it felt like we were congratulating ourselves---or words to that effect. Well, having just finished watching the Academy Awards Show I must tell you that it was great Television viewing, in every way, and right up there with the four other nominees, in my book. Frankly, I had forgotten what a truly terrific show this was and so the Television Academy's insistence that one must watch all the 'enclosed dvd's' even if you have already seen the program is a well taken point. (One must sign an affidavit to this effect, by the way...) It was stunningly produced and filled with humor, and some very moving moments which brought me to tears. Admittedly I am in love with the movies and always have been for all of my life, so one could say I have a bias here....but I assure you, there have been years when The Academy Award Show was not that great and was for me a dissappoinment. This was not the case this year.
And a number of you asked if I can tell you how I voted...well, no, I don't feel that I can tell you. After August 27th I will tell you, but I don't feel right revealing that on my blog, before the fact. I do take this judging job very seriously because I know how these Awards things can go, and often do. By participating in this process I feel that my own personal integrity is involved and I care very much about how I vote. I know this is not going to change any really important things like World Hunger, or the AIDS Crises, but for whatever it is worth, I know I have done my best to judge these programs fairly. And that's really all I can do. My Ballot for this category will be in the mail tomorrow. And I am now waiting for the DVD's to arrive for the next panel that I volunteered to judge....I thought they would be here by today, but hopefully they will arrive by Thursday.
More To Come......
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On August 27th, 2006 The Academy of Television Art & Sciences will give out the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Television for 2005-2006.Right now, in many homes, apartments, offices and hotel rooms, members of the Television Academy are perusing DVD's in any number of catagory's so they can vote on what each feels is the "best" in whatever catagory of panel(s) they have volunteered to judge. And at this point I am three quarters of the way through the first category I signed up to judge: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
The Nominees are, in alphabetical order:
The 78th Annual Academy Awards.
I of course watched this show at the time it was broadcast in early March of this year. But, I must watch it again, now, so that I am seeing it at the same time as I am seeing the other four nominee's and vote based on my viewing of this 'special' show today. This is the one DVD in this catagory that I have not watched as yet. I decided, since it is over three hours. (the commercials have been completely removed ....) and that of the five nominee's this is the only one I actually had seen already, that I would watch the others first....more on this show after viewing the DVD....
Next:
Bill Maher: I'm Swiss.
This is an HBO Comedy Special. I had seen little bits and pieces of it at different times, as HBO shows their programing multiple times for the convenience of their subscriber's,
but I had not seen it from beginning to end....I enjoyed this show enormously. It is beatifully produced and so it looks really stunning. I happen to think Bill Maher is one of our comic geniuses so I enjoyed the content enormously, too. It was for me, not difficult to watch at all, and the show seemed to fly by....For those who are not familiar with his comedy...it is topical and political and though I depise these terms---it would be cosidered "liberal", which is just fine with me. He is tough on our leaders and our legislators and his subjects run from the Presidency and Foreign Affairs, to Domestic topics such as Gay Marriage. For those who haven't quite gotten the message yet, I agree with almost everything he says.
Next:
George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing.
I had not seen almost any of this Comedy Special when it was broadcast. Maybe the last 5 minutes or so, but that was all. Again, this is an HBO Comedy Special and it too, has had multiple showings on HBO. This is a dark look at life and at the world in all it's ambiquities. It is not always comfortable to watch, but Carlin's view of the world is one that I personally find incredubly thoughtful and somewhat depressing, yet truthful and very funny, too. This is a very very smart man.
A thoughtful man who's cynicism comes from living on this planet a good 70 years or more and looking at the truths of how screwed up our culture and society really is...he skewers just about everything and all of his humor is very much based in his view of how crazy everything about our world really is. This show fly's by and is packed full of descriptive poetic language, if you will....there is Suicide, Reality Television, and Auto-Eroticism to name just a few of the topics he touches on....Carlin is in some ways remeniscent of Richard Pryor---that same "shoot from the hip" style---nothing is scared. Nothing. Production values are simple but top notch. The set is a graveyad and the show was taped 'live' in a theatre in front of an audience, (as was Bill Maher's show). The production is 'him', and that is as it should be.
Next:
McCartney In St. Petersburg.
This was a Network Broadcast Music Special which I had not seen any of...though there was another McCartney 'Special' last year or the year before that was on HBO or Showtime...I cannot remember which...which was part of this same catagory the last time I judged it. That 'special' was quite memorable and beautifully filmed and it was longer than the one I watched this weekend.
This one had been an hour long, but without the commercials it was only about 40 minutes. In all honesty I found it difficult to watch because the entire 'special' was in that MTV Style of editing...no camera shot of anything throughout the entire show was longer than 2 seconds...maybe a few shots in that 40 minutes were 3 seconds. I personally find this kind of camera work very hard on the eyes and my concentration is poor too, because I don't get a chance to really 'see' or focus on anything long enough. Especially given that this was St. Petersburg, I thought there were missed opportunity's to be a lot more creative than what I saw. Another kind of boring thing about it was that all of the mucic was in a certain 'beat' with almost no change of pace and almost every song was in the same key so that it almost seemed like it was one l-o-n-g 40 minute song...! I found this aspect truly boring. So, this was a very dissapointing show for me, especially since the previous McCartney Special was such a surprisingly artful and beautifully musically rendered show in comparison to this shorter and less creatively imaginative one. This show did not fly by for me.
And last, but by no means least:
The XX Olympic Winter Games-Opening Ceremony.
I had not seen this program either. Not a moment of it. And this was a beautiful production in every way....so beautiful, in fact, that in brought me to tears. This particular program falls into the "Variety" part of this catagory.
It had everything. Music, Dancing, Shooting Flames, Beautiful Costumes and the camera work was fantastic....most satisfying, in every way. Nothing was missed. So as I watched this program I felt I was there in the stadium, and better, too, with close-ups and at times when they used the overhead cameras in the blimps, it was breath taking to watch. The home country for these games was Italy, as you may recall, and the Italians did a masterful and moving job of these opening ceremonies, particularly when the Olmpic Flame was finally lit...that was an awesome moment not soon forgotten. And it is a real plus to be able to see a program like this without any commercials. The cumulative impact is much greater when you are not interupted by the glory's of "Preperation H" or some other advertising...I would have to say that the Production values of this program were 'top notch' superlative! So, sometime today and or tomorrow I will try to watch The 78th Academy Awards and then make my final decisions on these five programs. I should be recieving the DVD's for the second panel I am judging today or tomorrow, depending on the mails....and then there will be more "uninterupted viewing"....
More To Come.....
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The rather small plant way over on the right and almost against the side wall of the house is a Euphorbia Ingens. A beautiful wonderful plant that grows fairly quickly because it is not a Cactus but more of a Succulant. This photograph was taken early on in the beginnings of my Cactus Garden. So this photograph was probably taken in 1986-87.
Here it is, about 4 or 5 years later...and you can tell how small some of these other plants were then...that sort of white fuzzy in the foreground is the plant that has all the Penis Flowers each year...it is taller than me now. And the spiky one at the left, the Yucca Rostratta is also taller than I am now, too.
Here in the picture above the Euphorbia Ingens is really growing bigger and better....this is probably 7 or 8 years growth....then in the picture just below the of E. Ingens...well...it was probably taken about seven or eight years ago...it is healthy looking and getting bigger and bigger...the arms are growing straight up as you can see....it is around 1998 in this picture....
This next picture I took in February of this year...and it is as big as it ever was....though the tops are not standing up as straight as they should...some of the little newer arms are kind of drooping, as you can see here...
In this close-up picture of the top arms, below....
you can really see, the little newer arms drooping somewhat. And the interesting thing is, it flowered profusely this year! They say that sometimes this happens when a plant is dying...here is a closer look in the picture below at the flowers already on the way to seed....I can't get over the incredible abundance of flowers this year...but...but...but....
About 2 months before my birthday, I noticed that there was some "brown" creeping up from the bottom of this plant that did not look good, at all....it must have already been doing that, but none of us had noticed it because the bottom of that plant is already very woody and brown...it was only when I looked more closely and carefully one day that I saw this strange thing appeared to have crept further up one of the arms and I finally realized there was a big big problem....I talked it over with my gardener and he tested those lower arms and it was indeed, very sickly. We knew it would have to be cut down, but I couldn't face another loss of another big plant....I said, lets wait till after my birthday. Having made this decision, I took some pictures of the creeping "brown" just to have a record of it....this was taken on July 7th....
This is how bad that creeping "brown" had become by the 7th of July. I knew the time had come to do something about this poor dying plant...So, on Wednesday, July 19th they came with the electric saw, and began to take down this once beautiful plant that was a little more than twenty years old.
The one man cut off the arms, a little at a time so as not to let anything fall and possibly destroy some other plants...(I had told the Foreman guy that it was very very important to me that nothing would be broken or damaged, and if anything was, I would not pay them...) Another man, Carlos, was up on the roof, taking each piece and carrying it to the edge and throwing it down on a tarp they had put down for just this purpose...
And here is Carlos, throwing a piece to the ground...
Then, down below, there were a couple of men waiting to take each piece and put them in the truck, where another man took a machete and cut up these pieces so they would fit in the truck better, and then be carted away.
And then the pieces went to the truck...
And in this next picture below, you can see the Euphorbia Ingens is a lot more spindly because there are fewer and fewer arms...so sad to say....
And here below, you can see that it is now, shorter, yet again...
And here, as this man Sikell used the chain saw to cut these pieces off, you can see little bits of the plant flying in the air...Oy!
And then Sikell would hand this other man on the ground another piece as this plant got smaller and smaller....it was painful to see this even though I know it had to be done....
And here in the truck is that really bad sickly looking arm with the creeping "brown" on it's arm....
And it is clear why we didn't see the problem sooner, becauuse if you look at that arm over on the left side of the picture you can see the woody part of it before the creeping "brown" started....
And then in this picture below, this once beautiful plant is almost, mo more....
And in this next shot, all that's left is the rest of the root which he has leveled off so it is not even a stump....
Then, this morning..Thursday, July 20th, another man came and used a kind of pick ax to get the root out....
Once that was done, all that was left was the sawdust from all that the chain saw did the day before...and a few of the cuttings from the Amak which we had to cut down in January which are in pots rooting now...
It is surreal to me to see this space empty. As if nothing was ever there. No real evidence that a little plant that became a beautiful big tree in twenty years was ever there at all. No arms to save...(too much sickness in the system of the plant)...no cuttings that will grow and become a new and beautiful plant/tree from that mother plant.
Now, it's just an empty space...lonely looking and sad....Rest In Peace dear Euphorbia Ingens...you lived a good life and you were a beautiful amazing plant. You will be greatly missed.
This post will stay up for a few days....I have a lot of DVD's to watch for The Television Academy At-Home-Judging...and there is a deadline involved....so if I don't come round to visit you, please forgive me...
More to come....
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This is the cluster that I mentioned in my last post...and they weren't wide open yet...and here below, another closer shot of this bunch.
Gee, I think these flowers are so fantastically magnificent! I know you all must be bored with me waxing on and the like, but I just cannot help it! So....here below, is another shot of this cluster-bunch....
The above picture is at a slightly different angle. I needed a ladder to get the full impact of all of these opened flowers....they were up higher than that first group from the last post...Now I wish I had taken my little step stool to get their full inner beauty. And one single beautiful perfect flower in this next picture...Oh, and btw, no moth last night....drat!
Sometimes it's hard to pick out the pictures I want to post because there are so very many interesting angles...So here below is another group-bunch shot...a slightly different angle, yet again....
It was so very lovely and quiet out there last night....just the flowers, the night, and me...! (And the hope of possibly being joined by that very important moth, lol)...
And because I am deeply excessive...here, below, is another "bunch" shot...I know, I know, I just can't help it!! Be grateful I'm not hooked on Porn and an exhibitionist to boot!
And last, but not least....another sweet dear single flower in all it's glory...I hate that this only happens one night once a year...
....because the window of time to actually see these elusive spectacular flowers even when there are 60 little fuzz balls, is so very very short. Nature gives so very much to us in the miracle of all plants and flowers....but some, like these, do seem touched by some special other worldly impossible-to-truly-understand magic...the hand of a mysterious presence that is completely devoted to the ephemeral....
And to finish this thought...here is the "bunch" today....daytime...They are closed up and over, in terms of the beauty of them as we understand it....But, I personally think that there is great beauty in the rest of the journey...this picture below just being the first day of that particular part their journey....
More To Come....
UPDATE: 12:50pm. Please do go over to visit Mort at The Octogenarian. What he has written about the current crises in The Middle East is important and very very enlightening. It explains so very much that is misunderstaood and has been misunderstood for years and years and years....
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This is going to be fun, I think! BooMama has come up with this great idea about a Bloggers Home Tour on July 28th, for one day....go over to her place and you can read all about it and how you do it, and if you decide you want to 'do it', you too can post this logo so people know you are participating....Pickalish over at Pickled Tink turned me on to this fun happening....So, you have 9 days to prepare....Ooooooo what fun!And because I think this is such a swell idea....I am going to give you all a little peek at one small place in my house....just a teaser of what is to come on July 28th!
And here it is....
Moving right along....
These flowers will open tonight! There are eight all together....seven, almost in a cluster of sorts....It's going to be an interesting look when they are all open at once!
And just to show you what happens to these beautiful flowers in a little more than 12 hours past midnight when they are at their most 'open'....here they were late last night...(just a reminder...)
And here they are today....
Finished. Ended. Over. For another year. And so...later tonight I will be hoping to capture the eight beauties that will be wide open and I'm also hoping if I'm real quiet, that wonderful pollinating moth will appear and let me get a picture of himself doing his thing or whatever!
And I will post the results on July 2oth!
Yes!
More to come.....
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Tonight, the Night Blooming Cereus has 11 blossoms that are all open at once...it is so incredibly magical to see them...I cannot tell you...So I will show you as best I can. Believe me though when I say photographs do not do this justice...I wish you all could see them "In Person"...it is quite indescribable... 
While I was out there taking pictures tonight, my neighbor from next door who was walking his dog stopped to take in this phenomenom...He had seen the flowers on Thursday night...well, early evening really, when they were not quite open yet and I'm not sure he 'got' what this was all about. So tonight he said to me.."I thought you said they were only open one night?" And I answered, "Yes, that's right. And those flowers are completely over and these are the flowers that opened just for tonight!" It is a hard concept. He was quite amazed and we stood and talked for quite a while about the flowers and their fantastic life-span and then the little son came out and he was rather in awe, too....
I pointed out to both of them the dead flowers from Thursday just so they could see how dried up these one nighters already were...(gee, that sounds kind of sleazy doesn't it...) But here, below, you can see one of the dead flowers from Thursday right next to the very alive vibrant one from tonight...
After a little bit, they both went down their driveway and back inside their house...I continued taking some pictures there in the quiet. About a half hour later when I came out once again to refine my picture taking another neighbor from the beginning of my street was walking his dog--a beautiful sweet Golden....The neighbor was so stunned by the flowers he said he was coming back with his camera, later....
And then while I was talking to him, the moth that pollinates these flowers came to do it's wonderful work and I think we kind of scared him so I couldn't get a picture of him. These moths are much bigger than any regular moths one might see...I so wish we hadn't scared him....well, maybe another night....
It is excitng to see eleven of these one-night-only flowers all blooming at the very same time...the same time clock at work. There will be more, (actually, it looks like there will be 7 more tomorrow or the next night...) and so if I'm lucky maybe I will be able to catch the amazing moth doing his thing, tomorrow...so I leave you with one more single flower in all it's beauty....
More to come, as always....
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As many of you know, our dear Wendy is going to The Emmy's this August and I will have the glorious opportunity to meet our beautiful New Zealander....In fact she will be staying just down the hill from me where one hopes there will be power! (lol)
Anyway, sweet dear Wendy has been looking for a dress for 'The Red Carpet', and the wonderful Mystery Lady started this campaign and contest to help our Wendy find a dress....I think this Beautiful 'Southern Belle Dress' is perfect for her...And I hope Wendy will think it's perfect, too...
If you want to play this fun game of finding a dress for Wendy, go to The Mystery Lady's site and find out what to do....
So here is my choice. I think it is elegant and gracious just like our very special Wendy. What do you think?
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For two nights in a row...we have had NO POWER up here on the hill....the whole hill...so, I don't have a lot to post except to say, I'm tired, I'm hot, I'm overwrought and I'm very pissed at the DWP...!There is something weird about the power going out two nights in a row at about the same time and coming back on at about the same time after 9 count them 9 hours, each night!
Whatever it is they are doing is just a little too planned....So, we may have the same thing happen tonight...and I won't have any power again...and I'm wilting fast here from the incredible humidity....!
Help Me Oh Nurse....!
Update: 1:45pm- The Power went out again....Yes, my dears, A-F**cking-gain....at 11am...And came back on about 20 minutes ago! I am living in a Third World Country, for sure! So I hope it stays on, but I'm not counting on anything here...
And all you movie buffs will get this reference:
PRAY FOR ROSEMARY'S BABY!
More Later.....
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There it is! One of the Night Bloomers, the first of this summer...this was taken last night...and I'm going to post a few more right here and now....
These were the two that looked like birds, remember? I just find these flowers so incredibly magical. To go from that little bit of whispy fuzz, to this in a little over two months is pretty extrordinary. How did nature devise this? Why? Where? In a way, I like not understanding any of it, you know? I so love that it "happens" though...I mean...
...from this above, to this below....I mean, there it is...the true magic of nature!
And these will open tonight...July 14th...Back to those first-of-the-season-flowers-that-opened-last-night-and-are now-closed.....And so here's another shot of those two sweethearts...the twins...the 'birds' as some people have said....
...wide open, exquisite in the night time silence...they speak volumes if you just stand still and look and listen....they bring such amazing beauty to the night, these glorious magical flowers....
And then, twelve or so hours later...their song is over for another year...
Completely closed up, and in less then a week, they will dry up completely and fall off the plant and drop to the ground and there will be no eveidence what so ever, that they were there at all---or had bloomed at all, except in your memory and in the magic of photographs....
Here's a side view of those twins...it's like they are singing a fabulous duet...that gorgeous heartbreak song from the Broadway Musical "Secret Garden" called..."Come To My Garden"....I want to say ...'Yes, Yes...I'll come to your garden, anytime....'
I love that those outer leaves that were acting as protection for the flower, are now wide open...even more than the flower itself...it is such a welcoming look, you know? It's like they have spread their arms and are saying...'Welcome, Welcome, do come into my world'....Beautiful....
And then there is this one that was sort of hiding behind the lamp post, now peeking out and also saying, 'Welcome'....
And then another 'Welcome', here below....
So, all together there were six flowers that opened at the same time last night...Tonight, there will be two more...and here they are, again...a few hours later than the photo above....
This is how much more they have opened at approximately 2:00pm, on their way to being completely open tonight....And, I just happened to see this litle guy very happily navigating this plant....
And by the way...he really seems to like those little fuzz balls! I watched him navigate over this one...my camera wouldn't take the picture! But....at least we can see him working his way towards it....
So....I will leave you with this thought. Right now, there are approximately 65 little fuzz balls in one stage of growth or another...all of them will grow and bloom....and I'll be documenting it as best I can...So, here is one more shot of one of the open flowers....
More Will Be Forthcoming....
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Here is the Pencil thin Cereus that sits out front and you can see that there is a little whispy white something, just beginning...this was in May....and below, another view of a fuzzzy whisp that is forming now....and this will become a Night Blooming Flower.
And so will this one, too...this is a bit later in the month. And it is hard to believe, that from this little bit of fuzz a big amazing flower will grow....but, I assure you, it will....
It is hard to tell exactly how long each of these little Fuzz Balls will take to grow into the beautiful amazingly huge flower it will become....
And above, this is the plant as it looks before there were almost any fuzz balls, at all....and just below is a closer look at the plant with some teeny tiny fuzzy's showing....
When these Night Blooming Flowers finally do open, I will probably post these pictures again...just so you can see the contrast....But, back to more Fuzz Balls....
Another couple of arms of this plant with some tiny fuzzy's....think of the size of a pea...and then imagine fuzz on it and that's about the size of these here above....
And this one in this picture above is starting to have a slight shape to it....I find this process so amazing that I wanted to document it as best I could from the start through to the Blooming Flowers...and hopefully I will catch some of these baby's wide open on whatever Midnight they actually do open....There have been years where 22 or more flowers opened in one night, all at the same time...streetside and also, inside on my patio...it's the same plant that has grown intertwining itself inside and outside on the Patio Wall....So here is a fuzz ball on the Patio side near some pretty Bouganvilla...
The other thing that you can see is, each one of these fuzz balls has it's own time clock...so that little one closer to the bottom of the picture will no doubt open a day ot two or even three, after the somewhat larger fuzzy...but they have to get quite a bit bigger before that will happen...Here are a few pictures from a later date...and the fuzz balls are growing....
And a few more of the fuzzy's....
And another view of three more....
And a few more little fuzzy's in different growth sizes...
And then below...we have another one taken on July 11th, that is somewhat bigger....more formed...looking more like the flower it will eventually become....
And outside on the streetside, we have this much growth as of 7/12...
It is thrilling to see the magical growth of these flowers...and here is another phenomenol fuzzy...on it's way....
And here is one last amazingness as of 7/12.....these two big ones are on the street side....
And of course, the smaller ones, too....in this picture alone, there are at least 7 other potential flowers at different stages of growth...like I said, amazing....More will be forthcoming....
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So, the party cointinued..... The very dear Parks Brothers talking with Kendall Hailey (Miller). And incidentally, Andy made a film which is in post production now and should be coming out in the next few months called "Trail Of The Screaming Forehead" . Made by the same film maker who made "The Lost Skeleton Of The Cadavra"...which Andy was in, as well. Both films are spoofs of the Sci-Fi Horror ("B" and "C") pictures of the 1950's. "Lost Skeleton" is hilarious and I have no doubt that "Sreaming Forehead" will be, too....If you loved those films of the 50's, rent "Lost Skeleton" for a truly fun evening!
Here is Betty illustrating something with everyone in rapt attention. Mary, (the lady in the white blouse) worked the party. She is a lovely person who has worked with Will Grover for many years...That's Danny Miller over on the left, sitting on the floor...and just behind Betty is her cousin Carol....
And here are the rest of the floor sitters, listening intently to what Betty was saying and as you can see, she was demonstrating something with her very expressive hands...That's the adorable Maddie, with her back to the camera, Kendall H. & her husband Danny M., all truly giving Betty their full attention. She is one of the great story tellers of all time...I love that the "silly glasses" look so huge in this photograph...(pass your curser over the name and you'll find the direct link to where you can buy those fun glasses...)
Dusk was just about to descend on the city outside my windows. (That is Betty's cousin Carol, once again)...The sun had not quite gone down completely, but you can see it was that summer kind of very early evening...the city is always changing depending on the time of day and the weather, of course. Often people will say to me...'Oh you are probably bored with your view by now'...Well, in a word, No...It is utterly fascinating and always interesting and wonderful to look out there....it is different almost each and every time, I assure you....Earlier, Andy Parks took this photograph of me conducting the last strains of "Happy Birthday, just before I blew out the candles on that beautiful cake.
Standing behind me and over to the far left is the fabulous Shawn Flannigan, who I mentioned earlier, and next to him is the very dear and wonderful Joe Umbrino....another terrific man that I first met in 1988 through my work with S.T.A.G.E....a good and dear friend....and then that darling Maddie over there on the right....
And now, evening has truly descended on Los Angeles and with the city in the background and my dear friend Glenn with his girlfriend in silouette, you get just a little glimpse of the beauty of Los Angeles at night....the party has pretty much wound down at this point and my Big Birthday Celebration is just about over....So, I have now begun my 76th year...Oh, I fnd this soooo very hard to believe, you will never know...My week, (almost) of Celebrations of my Birthday was absolutely wonderful and everything that happened---the "Virtual" Party and the Birthday Dinner on June 27th, and this party on July 1st, made this Brthday one of the best most special and memorable Birthdays I have ever had...
This was in the Hallway of my home as people arrived, and this photo was taken just before the start of the party on July 1st. All the Balloons were fresh and full and very much reaching for the sky....If there was any doubt in anyone's mind which Birthday this was...well, when they saw this, it was pretty clear. Two days later, I took this next photo. The Balloons had floated down and died, but the 7 and 5 Mylar Ballooons were still very perky!
I thank everyone of you out there in Cyberspace for your gracious and caring Birthday wishes and visits....the Blogworld was an unexpected and lovely lovely bonus for me on this rather profound occassion....three quarters of a century I have been on this earth and I know this sounds like a cliche, but from my vantage point right now as I write this...it all seemed to happen in a blink of an eye...of course I know it didn't...it's just that right now, it feels like it did, and that is utterly surprising to me. So, this Birthday may be over, and the Celebrations may be over, but.....More will still be forthcoming....
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So here are a few more "silly eyes"...this is the very talented Charley Berliner, a fantastic Set/Costume Designer, who both Betty and I have worked with....It is so funny what these 'glasses do to people...he felt like making a fish face kissing mouth (lol)...And I decided to do a 'goofy mouthed" one, cause I already had done the smiling one with Garrett...
And then I asked Will Grover, the Caterer, to put on a pair of these goofy glasses and I took a picture of him, too...Of course you don't know what he looks like ususally, but he is a very nice looking guy as well as being a wonderful caterer, too...
And then we have Betty and her two dear sons with their disguised eyes and in her case, nose, too! Silly? You bet! But such fun!
What's funny, too, is that Andy...over on the left, actually looks like he is looking at something away from the camera...I just loved these glasses and as you can see and the whole Parks Family loved them, too....Here is Maddie in her disguise-eyes and nose.
And then Betty's cousin, Carol Smith, who flew down from San Jose just for my Birthday Bash, has on the "silly eyes", too, in this picture. But she put them on upside-down on purpose, and you can't hardly tell the difference can you?
And because she loved the "silly glasses" too, and her Uncle Andy asked her to pose with the glum-looking-face-on, Maddie truly did look like one of those Keene paintings! A perfect finish to the disguises, don't you think?
And just so you can see a display of what was in the bags, Maddie had taken everything out of her bag and exhausted herself with doing that! (lol)...and some other people had, too...
I tell you this child is 10 going on 25! Those are her Daddy's feet behind her and her Grandma's feet over to the left...and you can just sort of see a teeny tiny bit of Danny & Kendall Miller over in the right hand corner, both playimg with the stuff from their bags...And here is Danny a bit earlier...talking with Seemah and Carol S.
And here are the ladies he was talking with...
I have two big bears from The North American Bear Company---one Pink and one Blue---that sit on that little couch and I love that people just moved them so they could sit down on the couch....These Bears have faded to some degree cause I've had them for a good 25 or more years...And in this next photo which is like Musical Chairs...Seemah is sitting on the couch (this was a bit earlier, I think...) And you can see the poor bears have been tossed aside in a haphazard manner...
But some nice kind person 'righted' them so that at least they were sitting up in the picture above.(lol). This is the back of Carol DeLuise talking with Michael Franks....That beautiful Light Green Marble Sculpture on the lower right is a wonderful Rabbitt and was done by an artist from Zimbabwe.That stone is the natural color found right their in that country....Now, one more will be forthcoming and then I think that will wind up 'the party'!
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Here is a nice photo of my friend Glenn standing in the Den/Library talking on his Cell Phone! (photo by Andy Parks) That funny little figure in the lower left corner is a silly Cactus Person. He moves and sings when you pick him up! As silly as it is, it does make you laugh...I love that he is wearing sun glasses, too...a Hollywood Cactus! (lol). You can see I had some Balloons in this room, too! Here's a photoigraph of Garret Parks and his sister-in-law, Katy Melody Parks, brother Andy's wife....(another Wedding that I officiated at...). People seemed to enjoy the food I'm happy to say...we had Crudites and Dips on the glass table in the living room, plus the already mentioned warm Brie with crackers, and some other little goodies were passed to people as they stood around...Then we had Chicken Cakes, (as apposed to Crab Cakes) with a dollop of some fabulous stuff on top of each, and some lamb skewers that were delicious, some turkey wraps, a beautiful salad, and fruit skewers with Marscapone cheese....YUM! And some Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Parmesan cheese...All lovely and delicious.
Here is another photograph of the dear Carol DeLuise sitting with Jonathan Kanes, one of my S.T.A.G.E. cohorts.
Jonathan is one of the Producing team for S.T.A.G.E. and sells a lot of tickets, too! He is our top seller, as a matter of fact. One of the sweetest men I know. This next photo, though rather dark is kind of historic in it's own way.(This photo was also taken by Andy).
On the left is Carol Deluise talking to Mitzie and Kenny Welch with Lee Meriwether in the background talking to Earl Holliman and Craig Curtis. Thank God for the lovely breeze coming in from the ocean that day....because it was very very hot and also quite humid for Los Angeles....so my deck was a popular place to be as I mentioned before.
And here is the lovely Audrey Franks who we met earlier with her husband Michael---(there were three couples at my party for whom I was the Minister for their weddings...
In the background you can see a few people chatting it up! That's one of the things I just love about my house. There are so many places for people to gather with each other...it is a very generous house in that way and also it can be very very cozy and intimate or in the case of a party like this, be exapansive. And it can handle a huge number of people, too. So it's a perfect party house no matter the size of the party. I've had over a hundred people here and I've had just two...it works either way!
Now it was time to open our 'gift bags'....these bags were filled with silly little toys, fun games, and candy---especially some great little chocolate pieces! Betty, always one who loves to play with toys and stuff, got into her bag with gusto!
Because of the extreme heat that day she had brought this hand-held personal fan with her that makes these spectacular different colorful wheel thingy's as it spins around! That was the most popular thing at the party. Everyone, including me, asked her where she got it and we all wanted one. Here is another picture and you can see there is a different design on the fan....
But then, Betty found one of the many fun things that I had put into the bags and I got a picture of her out on the deck with this amazing disguise.
Of course, each bag had slightly different things and some had the same things, like the 'plastic' lei that Betty has on in the above photo...so when people began finding these goodies, we put them on and pictures were taken! Here is a wonderful photograph of Garret and me, with our "special eyes"...
And then, more "special eyes". Here is a serious loking Andy Parks with those very very "special eyes"....lol.
As Andy said about these serious photo's...The Keene Family revisited...(Do any of you remember the artist Walter Keene? He painted all these pictures with people with these big sad eyes...His work was incredibly popular in a faddish sort of way during the early 60's...and now you can barely find anything by him or about him....) And then...(it's a family thing)...Andy's wife, with those "special eyes" and a kind of wonderful beaver/chipmunk mouth!
One more installment will be forthcoming, my dears....
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These arrived today and they are from a good friend and his partner who were unable to come to the party, due to illness...in fact he had to go back into the hospital on July 4th! He sent these flowers from his hospital bed and they are from another 'Primo' flower place, here in Los Angeles...in fact I used to use them myself till February of this year. These are absolutely gorgeous....(the color of the yellow is not accurate in this photograph...too dark....but, anyway)...it is all roses and a stunning combination of colors...as you can see. 
But, intertestingly enough...on close inspection with the camera these flowers are not as fresh as that other arrangement...Here is a closer look and you can see that there is already deterioration...it will be interesting to see how long this arrangement lasts as compared to that other one...But right now? It is really beautiful to look at!
So, continuing on with the party journey, if blogger will allow me to upload my pictures. (Grrr, it has been giving me a hard time...and that's why this post wasn't up this morning)...More old friends arrived...Here are Ron and Iva Rifkin...a darling sweet couple if ever there was one (this photo by Andy Parks)....I first met them around 1967, I think...we met at mutual friends who lived in Trancas at that time..(that is out in the Malibu area...) Ron was a struggling but working actor at that time and Iva had been a dancer...They had a charming apartment in Beverly Hills and both loved beautiful things...they collected all sorts of lovely china and antiques. And they both loved to Needlepoint...more about that later...
Ronnie's career is one of the great show business story's...talk about a "comeback"...He had done a lot in the business...but somehow Television and Films just didn't seem to "get" him. He worked a great deal in tv, but it was in the theatre where his career seemed to soar. He starred in some very wonderful plays and then, it seemed as if his career was at a standstill. He and Iva started there own business completely away from 'the business of show' and were very very successful with it. They sold there very beautiful home and moved back to New York, where they were both from originally, and Ronnie continued to do plays when he could. A very talented young writer named Jon Robin Baitz wrote a wonderful play, "Substance Of Fire" with a part specifically for Ron. It was a huge success and it was then made into a film...Then Ron was featured in the fantastic revival of "Cabaret" on Broadway in 1998 and won the highest Theatre Honor there is...The Tony Award.
He did a lot of films after that...this brilliantly talented man was definitely having a great great second act, as they say...then came "Alias", and playing that evil/nice character of Arvin Sloane...And in the fall his new series will be coming on the air, "Brothers & Sisters". Back in the 70's I rented a house in Hawaii and I was there for 14 weeks...lots of people came and visited, staying a week at a time...Ronnie was one of those people...and we had a glorious and memorable time with lots of photographs that he has, but which I promised him I would not post on this blog when he sends them to me since everyone was, shall we say...in the All-Together, if you get my drift....As people arrived here I tried to take as many pictures as possible, but I didn't really get everyone, though I think I did pretty well...Here is Milo Mandel, a very dear and terrific man...Betty's Lawyer/Manager, taking over where his father left off when he died...talk about having a long relationship with someone...
The Mandel Family and The Parks Family have been intertwined in a personal and professional way since Betty first began her career. Here is Milo with the darling Andy Parks, Betty's younger son.
And here's Andy, and Maddie Clair Parks, And Maddies Daddy, Garrett Parks and Isabel Mandel, Milo's very dear sweet beautiful wife. When I was still able to be 'out in the world', I would always go to The Mandel's for Thanksgiving. Isabel is a fantastic cook. They have four beautiful daughters and something like 10 grandchildren. And Christmas has always been spent at The Parks House, so I have known The Mandel's since 1962...
Meanwhile, back inside in the living room, people were gathering around the glass table and having a good old time eating some of the goodies on same. And in this case, sitting in the living room...
Here is the wonderful Shawn Flannigan with whom we all work on The S.T.A.G.E. Benefit. Shawn is our Event Co-Ordinator and I don't know how we would do this Benefit without him. He covers so very many bases and helps each one of the Executive Committee members in such a way that we all would be lost without him. And his job is not an easy one since we are a pretty dysfunctional group! (lol). He really is one of my newer friends. I've only known him about 15 years!
In the foreground is my dear buddy John Kusmiss, and on the couch are Dianne Travis and Jacguie Scott, with just a little bit of Charley Berliner showing behind that lamp as he is standing behind this group...And that knee to the left there in the foreground belongs to Craig Curtis, mentioned earlier....The Brie on the table is one of the yummiest wonders of the food world. There are apricots in there and then it is warmed up and is like Ambrosia! Very very dangerous stuff, let me tell you.
And another shot of this group...Jacquie and John in the foreground and Charley B. with Jacquie's husband Gene Lesser standing behind. Do you frog lovers see the Flying Frog hanging in the upper right corner? He is supposed to be protecting me and my home from all things bad, and creating a peaceful atmosphere...it was sent to me by a very good friend many years ago.
And one more shot of these two fabulous ladies on the couch, both consumate actresses...Dianne & Jacquie. Dear Dianne was at the wonderful Thai Birthday Dinner on the 27th of June here in my house, and she brought the BEST BEST Coffee ice cream....Hagen Dazs....is there any other?
Here is a very sweet picture of Garrett Parks with his amazing 10 year old daughter, Maddie....Betty G.'s Grandaughter....She is an incredibly bright, funny and talented girl who looks much older than her years...
Well for one, she is very very tall, and she had on small heels that day, too...but just look how tall she is next to her daddy? People were starting to gather around the table for the cutting of the cake...So of course, there some candles that were lit and people sang Happy Birthday which is always a must...!
And as you can see, we had a fabulous Strawberry Cake, too, for those that either cannot eat chocolate or who like a bit of variety in their desserts...These two cakes were just wonderful, beyond words! And here is a close-up of the cake with the lit candles, just before I blew them out...
More will be forthcoming, my dears....(If Blogger co-operates! lol)
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Okay, Okay...here is a picture of me! My hair is blowing in the 'thank-God-we-had-a-breeze' wind and I am much heavier than I would like to be...but, this is me at the beginning of the party out on my deck taken by the fella that worked 'the bar'....this crowd is sooooo not a drinking crowd....Some of them used to be drinkers many years ago, (quite a few 'recovering' people)...but given that there were 35 people...only one full bottle of Chardonay was gone and just a dollop of Red wine....and almost no hard liquor, at all....Amazing!I got some flowers for the glass table in the living room...this place that I got the flowers from is called 'The Conservatory' and the man that owns it does extrodrinary arrangements....truly special and simply Gorgeous!
There were some flowers in this arrangement that I do not recall ever having seen before, in my life! And I just spoke with the Owner/Designer trying to find out what these flowers are...
He said that the Big Round Dark Purple is Allium...Here is a close up of one of those blossoms, in it's fifth day....taken today!
And when I asked Van, the owner/designer what the second smaller little dark purple ball of a flower--with slight pale tan highlights--was, well, he honestly couldn't remember what he used! (lol) Here is a photograph of this incredible flower and if anyone (Judy?) out there knows what this is, please do leave it in a comment or email me...
These 'miracle' flowers just brightened up the living room in every way and I think about 25 of the 35 people who were here for the party Ooood & Aaaaad at the beauty of this arrangement, and I did too. And just because I love flowers so very much, here is one more photograph...
Again, this was taken today, July 5th, and this rose is still totally awesomely gorgeous! I may have to call Van right now and get some flowers for Saturday, again...It is so wonderful to have 'fresh' flowers in my house....And as you all probably know by now from my posts about my garden, Cactus Flowers last such a short time there is no way one can cut them and keep them...Okay, back to the party! Here are Danny Miller and his wife Kendall Hailey with Kendall's Mom standing with her back to us, all out on the deck, talking. I love that we can see that wonderful mountain right behind them. BTW: Kendall and Danny are the people who started me blogging....And Danny is one of the most interesting men around.
And, he has a wonderful blog called "Jew Eat Yet?". (It used to be called "Andy Hardy Writes A Blog")....Danny is a wonderful writer and if you haven't visited him, do...He has a very very interesting review of the latest "Superman" incarnation in his next to most recent post.
Here, just below, is Betsy Hailey (Kendall's Mom) from the front! She is sitting talking with the very dear Katy Melody, (on the left) married to Andy Parks who took this photograph.
Betsy wrote a wonderful novel a number of years ago called "A Woman Of Indepedent Means". It was a very inovative book at the time and was extremely successful. It was in the form of letters and covered the span of one woman's lifetime...it was based on her Grandmother's life. Betsy, by the way, has written a number of other books as well. Check it out at Amazon.com. And daughter Kendall is a published author as well. (Click over her name in that first paragraph where I mention her and it will take you to a place where you can read a lot more about the lovely Kendall...and just above here the link on her first name will take you to her book at Amazon ).
The wonderful Welchs'---the extremely talented couple--Ken & Mitzie Welch. (Kenny wrote my first nightclub act back in 1954-55) who I have written about before---the Mother/Daughter/Grandmother series were here and in this photo they are talking to the beautiful Lee Meriwether...
Mitzie, Lee and Kenny...I know it must seem like everyone in show business knows everyone else...well, sometimes it feels that way, too, and truthfully, there is a lot of 'six degrees of separation' if you have been around for a long time, as many of the people who were here at the party, have. Mitzie Welch is the person who said to me back when we were both 29 years old, "You know it's all over Nay, when we turn Thirty"! (lol) Oh how wrong she was....and every time we have our Birthdays, (hers is almost the end of July) we remind each other of her statement which btw, she really believed at the time. I've known Kenny for almost 53 years and Mitz I met when Kenny met her a few years later! And Lee...well, I joined Theatre West in the fall of 1962 and that's when I met Lee and Betty G., too. It's fun to remember that Lee understudied Betty & Joyce Van P. and me, when we did "Spoon River" at The Theatre Group at UCLA and she would have gone to New York and Broadway with us but for the fact that she was pregnant with her first daughter, Kyle.
Let's see...here is a photogrph of my pal Earl Holliman and another very dear man in the foreground, Craig Curtis. I met Earl at Theatre West, too...that was around 1964, and we became good good friends and I'm happy to say we still are after all these years. During the years of the television show "Police Woman" in which Earl co-starred with Angie Dickenson (and FYI the first season is out on DVD now), I was cast in a very small part in one episode in I think the 2nd season...not really sure of that....
I was a Bank Manager and my little scene was with Earl and Angie D. There had been a robbery in the bank that I managed and I had seen the robbers. One of my lines was in response to Earl's character asking me had I seen what the thieves looked like...And my line was; "No, I didn't, because they all wore Gas Masks!"....for all these years...this line has become a catch phrase between us....every so often he or I will say..."...and they all wore gas masks..."....A memorable line if ever there was one...(lol).
More will be forthcoming on the morrow....
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The party was just like this fantastic photograph taken by Andy Parks, (Betty Garrett's younger son...), Festive, Fun, Bright and Beautiful! What more could one want? I took a picture of the Cake, which was a Very Very Big Round Deep Dark Chocolate one, as you can see...And as you can also see, it had a few other names on it because these dear friends had Birthdays right around mine, too.
And I wanted to include them and celebrate their Birthdays, too! David Galligan and Jacquie Scott were the first two names after mine. I just happened to get a sweet picture of the two of them sitting together during the early part of this gathering....
Jacquie Scott is a brilliant actress and I have mentioned her before...I've known Jacquie and her husband Gene since 1961...I met them within the first months after I moved to Los Angeles. Jacquie has probably acted on every major Television show for the last almost 45 odd years, plus she works in the theatre all the time. David Galligan is the Director and one of the founders of S.T.A.G.E., (Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event) the oldest AIDS Benefit in the world, for which Betty G. and I are Co-Chairs. David has Directed them all....ALL 22 years of them and he will be continuing to direct this years show in March, 2007, #23, again. The 'Maxine' on this cake is Maxine Stuart, the wonderful actress who I wrote about when I showed the first Mother/Daughter Series pictures...Maxine and her dear husband David Shaw couldn't come because David was not feeling well at all on the day of the party...they were missed, a lot, too!Here is the darling wonderful Glenn Washington who is a dear dear friend and a fine fellow, all around.
Glenn is one of the 'newer' friends in my life. I've only known him since 1983. He is a wizard on so very many levels...not the least of which is he so generously changed all those lights for me out on my deck, just to make it look as pretty as could be....When I first met Glenn he was very involved in the setting up of Media Rooms---a very popular thing here in Los Angeles. His passion now is Children's Theatre and running a Non-Profit Children's Theatre and all that goes with it.
You remember in one of my recent posts I alluded to my Avocation of Minister in The Universal Life Church, (no church at all, really), and I showed two photo's of two different weddings which were interestingly enough, two weeks apart from one another in the fall of 1991. One was Garret and Karen Parks Wedding, and the other one was Michael and Audrey Franks Wedding. Well, here they are.
Almost 15 years later, and still very happy and very much in love. And as I have reported before I met Michael's Dad, Danny Franks, before he met Michael's mother Ruth....and I was at Michael's Briss....Now how is that for continuity of friendship? And just below is another sweet photo of Michael Franks talking with Carol DeLuise. Her darling husband Dom was unable to come because of health issues....
I've known Carol since 1952 when she was just Carol Arthur, which she still is, (as well as being Mrs. DeLuise) because she too is a fabulous actress. Not only has she been in lots of films, she has also appeared on Broadway and she has done the S.T.A.G.E. Benefit two different years. It's one of the great things about 'show business'---these long wonderful friendships which often overlap into work as well as 'play'. Carol & I went to the same Drama school in New York City. The Feagin School of Drama & Radio! I was a few years ahead of her...In fact I think I had already graduated when I went back to help them out with something and that was when I met Carol.
And you may recall that I wrote about Classic Arts Showcase, the wonderful program that is funded by the Ledler Foundation. And I wrote about the extremely talented Jamie Rigler who puts that show together---he makes all the choices and edits it and has done so, since it went on the air 12 years ago.
Jamie also runs the Ledler Foundation and is one of the dearest most generous people on the planet! I was thrilled that he could be here for the party because he travels a great deal and is not always in Los Angeles for those times of play like my party. I love this picture and the fact that you can see the city which was behind me reflected in the window in the picture! And in fact, you can see my shadowy figure taking this picture! (lol)
I also loved this 'silhouette' type picture...I took it from inside the house looking out on my deck....I was actually in the hallway....
It was a beastly hot day by the way, but luckily there was a lovely breeze coming in from the ocean so it was extremely comfortable out on that deck....
To be continued....Part 2 will be forthcoming....
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I Wish Each And Every One Of You A Very Happy 4th Of July....
We Have So Very Much To Be Grateful For Living In This Beautiful Country Of Ours....
And We Must Never Forget To Protect And Safeguard The Hard Earned Precious Freedoms That Our Ancestors Fought So Hard To Give Us....
They Gave Their Lives To Protect And Nurture This Dream Called Freedom....The Freedoms That We Take For Granted....The Freedoms That Must Never Be Eroded, Weather From Without Or Within This Beautiful Special Country....'Give Us Your Poor.....' 
So Let There Be Fireworks To Symbolize All The Thanks We Give To Those Who Dreamed The Dream....And Helped To Make This Country "happen"....
So...Here's to a Fabulous Fourth.....Long May America Wave Like Our Beautiful Flag Waves....Please Bring Our Boys Home Safe And Sound Very Very Soon....
And....
Let Freedom Continue To Ring....
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So this is how the Living Room looked just before the "party" started, at about 2:55pm on Saturday...all the balloons were heliumed-up-to-the ceiling. So the room was looking festive and filled with hope...
And the above photo...looking in the other direction.And then....the morning after.
And, than again, looking in the other direction...>
So....that's it! Well, not all of it, of course....It's all I'm up for at the moment. But as soon as I recover somewhat, (I am extremely tired from a wonderful week of Celebration...) I will post a lot of pictures...and just let me say, it was everything I hoped it would be, and more....the body is exhausted but the heart is very very 'full', 'light' and 'happy'....More will be forthcoming, my dears
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Today is The Big Bash Birthday Party...the last of the 75th Birthday Celebrations for this OldOldLady Of The Hills....This is 'the big one' and it will take place between 3pm and 7pm and there will be food and fun and frivolity and favorite people galore....!
My dear gardener really worked hard to get the garden and the walkways clean & safe...everything looks all spiffed up and now I just need to get some sleep and in the morning I will be raring to go so I can take care of all the last minute things that one can only do "on-the-day-of"...I am so very happy because a number of people that I don't see very often but who are old old friends and who have lived through all sorts of things with me and me with them for many many years, will be here...!Lucky me!Lucky Me! I'm thrilled at the prospect of seeing them later today.
And of course, the 'usual suspects' will be here, too...those sweet dears who were all here on Tuesday, plus some more dear ones as well....!
Some of these people you have heard me speak of...and some you have not...I hope to take lots of pictures of everyone and pray that they are good photographs...So for now, that's it my dears. I'll post again when I recover...(lol). Hope you all will have a lovely lovely weekend and in case I forget to tell you this again, have a Very Very Happy July 4th, and drive safe, please....More will be forthcoming..... links to this post
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