Do you like gladiator movies?

300?  No.  This is the mighty Hercules!

If you're a baby-boomer and remember Hercules...you'll know that Steve Reeves was Hercules.  Though Steve made lots of gladiator 'Sword & Sandal' movies, he only played the character of Hercules twice.  HERCULES (1957) and HERCULES UNCHAINED (1960 U.S. release)  He was 'the man' back in those days.

In 1954 he had a small role in his first major motion picture, the musical in ATHENA (with Jane Powell).  The same year Reeves had a small role as a cop in Ed Wood's JAIL BAIT.  These were the only two movies that Steve's Reeves real voice were ever used.  Once in Italy - someone else's burly voice was dubbed in.

Reeves was born in the United States but found his stardom in Italy doing some memorable (and many forgettable) low budget movies.  From 1959 to 1964, he was Mr. Gladiator to us.  I was too young to see them at the movies, but remember seeing them on television.  Anyone remember Tom York's Dialing for Dollars Show?  Do you know the count and the amount?

So here's some facts I found that you might not have known about Steve Reeves.  After the Sword & Sandal movie craze faded - the Italian Westerns came into being.  It was a real shot in the arm for Italy's flailing movie industry.  Steve didn't see it coming.  He just thought it was silly for Italians to go West - "that Italians can't make Westerns".  

Al conrario!

So when Sergio Leone came calling, Reeves turned down the leading role that eventually went to Clint Eastwood in A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964).  Steve Reeves also said that he said no to the role that later went to Sean Connery in DR. NO (1962).

Ouch!

Reeves' final film that he co-wrote was A LONG RIDE FROM HELL, an Italian Western that was an attempted to mimic one of Sergio Leone epics.  Too late....he missed the stagecoach.  I've never seen it and would like to - just for the heck of it.

Nevertheless, Steve Reeves is fondly remembered as the mighty Hercules.

...and don't call me Shirley

 Leslie Nielsen died yesterday, November 28th.  His was a familiar face through out our life.  He played mostly dramatic /leading figure roles on television and on the big screen throughout the first part of his career which spanned 60 years. The second half of his career changed drastically when he starred in the movie AIRPLANE!.  It was here Nielson played a comedic role straight.  AIRPLANE! took Nielsen's career into a whole new stratosphere.  For that last three decades Nielsen played the straight-funnyman.  My personal favorite is the short lived cop show spoof POLICE SQUAD which led to the NAKED GUN movies.  Leslie Nielsen will be missed.

Leslie Nielson & Anne Francis  in The Forbidden Planet (1956)

Have a Daisy Christmas!

One of my earliest posts here at Boomerville, USA was about boys and  B B Guns.  I won't go into it again, but did enjoy running across this old advertisement.  This is the kind of ad that a kid in my day could study over for hours on end.  Of course my parents didn't say "You'll shoot your eye out."  Heck, bad things happen in life...damn the eyes.  The boys in my family got their Christmas wish!

The Who behind our couch

Yes.  The Who lived behind our living room couch. 

We had a nice looking living room.  Mother kept a clean house considering she had six kids running amok.  The foyer, dinging room and living room were always clean and ready for company.  Just don't look behind the couch.

It was there where the guitars were kept, turn table, rigged speakers, cords and a pile of records.  It was never neat behind the couch.  House guest were just not supposed to look behind them while sitting on the couch.

It was here where I would pick up one of Brook's guitars and strum, hoping one day to become a player.  It was behind the couch that I flipped through my older brother's LP collection.

I'd listen to B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne, etc.  I found a lot of great music back there.  Let me tell you.  It was behind the couch that I discovered The Who.  Now I have a great appreciation for The Beatles - but I have a real love of The Who.

How many times did I lay on the couch with the headphones on, listening  and lost in Tommy.  They churned out so much good music.  How could three musicians put out that much sound?   Simply amazing.

Rocky & Bullwinkle

 Alex Anderson died today.  Alex is the creator of Rocky & Bullwinkle, one of my old Saturday morning cartoon favorites.  Note that he also created Crusader Rabbit (1948), which was the first made for television animation.