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Once upon a time, in a little period of history called World War II, America was sorely in need of heroes, specifically heroes who personified the ideals by which America defined itself: courage, humility, toughness, and the chance to start small and end up big. Gary Cooper was that hero. Perhaps his friend John Wayne fit that mold too, but in a larger, more mythical way. Coop was quieter, more deliberate and unassuming, but no less powerful. If they’d made a movie in the thirties about Charles Lindbergh, surely Gary Cooper would have played him. Cooper grew up on a ranch in Montana and knew early on the meaning of hard work. He also knew a thing or two about horses, which came in handy when he first went to Hollywood and found work as a stuntman in Westerns.

Late last night, one of Hollywood’s old guard passed away in his home, surround ed by his family. Mickey Rooney was 93.  Though he would later become known as one of Hollywood's premier character actors, in his youth, Rooney was the box office draw, playing the plucky protagonist in a series of “Andy Hardy” films. From 1939 to 1941, America couldn’t get enough of Rooney’s eager face.  All of that changed with the coming of World War II, when Mickey joined the effort. In fact he may have signed up in part to get a break from playing those enthusiastic, spunky, can-do characters; Rooney once said of those years, “I was a 13-year-old boy for 30 years.”

You can’t help but be moved by the tragic life of actress Gene Tierney. Though endowed with astonishing beauty and talent that won her early fame, a series of misfortunes would eventually bring her to the brink of suicide.

Not surprisingly, people frequently ask me, “What’s your favorite movie?” It sounds like a reasonable question, but actually it’s maddening for the simple reason that there are so many fabulous movies that attain the same superior level of quality, but are wildly different. That said, if someone forced me to compile a “Top Ten” list, Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” would definitely make the cut. While I’d watch it most anytime, it is for me the ultimate New Year’s Eve film.