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Julian Sanchez | March 9, 2006

And the Oscar for erstwhile film titan committed to the memory hole goes to... Michael Young's grandfather.

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|3.9.06 @ 10:33AM|#

OK, this was a genuinely nice and touching piece from Mr. Young. I am sure this will sound like an insult to him, but I like him much better on this level. Sure, in part that's becasue I disagree with some of his favorite hobby horses (or at least former ones), such as the inevitability (or even, in some cases, the desirability) of "democracy" in the Middle East, at least in the near term. But it is also because it is kind of refreshing to see the human behind the policy positions.

Here's to your grandfather, Mike--he would have been proud, I'm sure.

|3.9.06 @ 10:38AM|#

"The Scarlet Pimpernel" is one of my favorite movies, and isn't seen nearly as much as it should be.

|3.9.06 @ 11:36AM|#

Thank you for the remembrance. Loved "Pimpernel" and "Caballeros."

|3.9.06 @ 12:05PM|#

I just saw the Scarlet Pimpernel for the first time recently, probably on TCM, and I liked it. I like all of Korda's films that I've seen. Your grandfather had cause to be proud of his work.

I had one uncle who travelled the globe as a photographer for MGM, and my grandfather was "Bootlegger to the Stars" during Prohibition. Which explains why my family has such a large number of lovely family portraits from the 30's, and a bit of sass when comtemplating nanny-ish laws. You can't seriously expect Germans to do without alcohol, now, can you?

I've lived in LA all my life, and I think it can be a wierd, and even an unpleasant place to live. It's like hope comes here to die. Or get a collagen injection. I would never counsel anyone to pursue a career in entertainment. I look at the poverty, frustration and exploitation, and I wonder why anyone would put themselves through it. There must be other avenues of expression you can pursue, if you are creative.

|3.9.06 @ 12:48PM|#

I thought this was a neat piece, as well. I love how carried away you can get by just looking at one entry in Wikipedia!

|3.9.06 @ 12:52PM|#

ob. Simps. ref.:
"And when it's time to do the dishes, where's Ray Bolger? I'll tell ya, Ray Bolger is looking out for Ray Bolger!" --Homer Simpson

|3.9.06 @ 1:15PM|#

"It's like hope comes here to die"

Hollywood is a sausage grinder with fake tits.
(I hereby enter this in The Worst Mixed Metaphor Ever contest.)

|3.9.06 @ 2:13PM|#

My mom (72) often talks about the stars who were absolutely huge when she was a young girl, a teenager, and in her early twenties. Most of their names are no longer instantly recognizable to anyone who's gone to the movies - the Gables and Monroes and Hudsons are few and far between - this isn't a comment on acting talent, just on the fickleness of fame's durability. Anyway, it makes me wonder - 40 years from now, will my grandkids immediately recognize Clooney or Pitt when an old movie comes on? Or will I say "oh, yeah...that's George Clooney...he was a huge star a long time ago."

|3.9.06 @ 3:14PM|#

"They seek him here.
They seek him there.
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in Heaven?
Or is he in Hell?
That damned, illusive, pimpernel."

I must have seen Leslie Howard in that film about thirty years ago. He was great. The poem has stuck in my mind ever since.

Wadday want? I live in Barstow.

|3.9.06 @ 6:13PM|#

I can't wait for the day that Jessica Simpson wakes up and finds out she's Susanne Summers.

|3.9.06 @ 8:13PM|#

OMIGOD! Michael's granddad directed the great Zasu Pitts! That's infinitely cool.

My brush with Hollywood turns out to be less exciting, but a few years before I was born, "This Property Is Condemned" was filmed right behind my grandmother's house in Bay St. Louis, MS!

Natalie Wood at about 26. Hubba hubba. You get the picture. My dad "made me" watch it every time it was on TV. And he took swimming lessons with Jeff and Beau Bridges. That is all.