from my sketchbook: stanley fafara and sue randall

Poor Beaver Cleaver. He was a pretty nice kid, if only he didn’t give in to the misguided persuasion of idiotic Larry Mondello and two-faced liar Gilbert Bates. The antics got Beaver into a certain amount of trouble, though he usually walked away with nothing worse than a torn pair of pants or some lost lunch money. …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: stanley fafara and sue randall’ »

from my sketchbook: rachel roberts

Welsh actress Rachel Roberts appeared predominantly in British cinema, earning critical acclaim opposite Albert Finney in the 1960 British New Wave film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.  Her role in The Sporting Life, with Richard Harris, was recognized with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Rachel was regularly cast as women of questionable character, …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: rachel roberts’ »

from my sketchbook: victor kilian

At the age of eighteen, Victor Kilian began performing in vaudeville. In the 1920s, he moved on to Broadway and by the 1930s, he began a career in motion pictures as a character actor. He played minor roles but he was in demand for three decades. In 1942, playing a villain in Reap the Wild …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: victor kilian’ »

from my sketchbook: brad delp

Brad Delp was “the nicest, most considerate guy you could ever hope to meet,” according to colleagues and those close to him. Brad was the primary singer and rhythm guitarist for the popular 70s band Boston. Boston’s 1976 eponymous debut sold seventeen million copies and featured Brad’s soaring vocals and multi-octave range on many of the …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: brad delp’ »

from my sketchbook: bridgette andersen

Seven year-old Bridgette Andersen stole moviegoer’s hearts in her starring role as the title character in 1982’s Savannah Smiles. She followed that with the horror anthology film Nightmares  in 1983, guest roles on television series like Family Ties, Remington Steel, Fantasy Island,  and a TV movie playing a young Mae West. Despite a part in …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: bridgette andersen’ »

from my sketchbook: zero mostel

Brooklyn-born Samuel Mostel came from very humble beginnings, hoping to one day become an artist. After his graduation from City College of New York, when he took the same Beginner Art class over and over, he joined the Public Works of Art Project and began teaching art. He mixed his natural humor into his classes …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: zero mostel’ »

from my sketchbook: will the circle be unbroken

2010 came to a close last week, but it began almost 35 years ago, when I was in high school. After getting tossed out of the majority of my academic classes, I gravitated towards the art department. There, among those paint-splattered desks and rolls of brown kraft paper, I felt comfortable and had as much …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: will the circle be unbroken’ »

from my sketchbook: peter boyle

Young Peter Boyle joined a monastery, in his hometown of Philadelphia, just after high school. After losing his religious calling, he became a cameraman at a local TV station and later look acting lessons from Tony Award-winning actress Uta Hagen in New York City. He was cast in the title role of the violent and …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: peter boyle’ »

from my sketchbook: william holden

In 1939, ruggedly handsome, gravelly-voiced William Holden had the starring role in Golden Boy  opposite Barbara Stanwyck. He followed that with minor, forgettable parts through the 1940s until his breakout role as Joe Gillis in Billy Wilder’s classic — the hauntingly memorable Sunset Boulevard  in 1950. William received his first of three Best Actor Oscar …

Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: william holden’ »