Classics
“The Godfather,” and the Making of Al Pacino
It was 1971, and the financially-strapped Paramount Pictures was about to take a big risk — actually several of them — in bringing Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” to the big screen.
Actors
Why Donna Reed Was Much More Than Your Average Housewife
Growing up in the early ‘60s, I had a huge crush on Donna Reed. I know I wasn’t alone. In those pre-feminist days, she seemed to my young, impressionable eyes like the perfect wife and mother. Yes, she was beautiful, but there was much more to her than that. She projected an inner calm and wisdom. You sensed strength and principle beyond her dazzling smile. She was no pushover. You loved her, but you also respected her. You didn’t mess with Donna Reed.
Actors
16 Famous Actors Known to Have a Drink, or Five
It’s a familiar story: a hugely talented performer — actor, comedian, musician- rockets to fame and discovers that their on-stage life is the only time they feel totally happy, totally free.
Actors
Heartthrob with Brains: A Tribute to Warren Beatty
He might not like to hear it, but it’s hard to think of anyone who was more of a Hollywood natural than Warren Beatty. He was born Henry Warren Beaty in 1937. He exemplified that old saying: women wanted him, and men wanted to be him. And what made him so appealing what that he wasn't the least bit self-conscious about who he was or what he had.
Actors
10 Films that Prove Burt Lancaster Was Larger Than Life
If any movie star was larger than life, it was Burt Lancaster. This athletic, vibrant man with the thousand-watt smile bequeathed to us a stellar body of work that, like the actor himself, simply cannot be ignored. A look at the trajectory of his career also reveals a savvy businessman whose mind was as strong and agile as his physique.
Actors
Why Boris Karloff Was Far From a Monster
With Halloween approaching, we’re saluting one of the great horror movie icons, Boris Karloff, originator of the Frankenstein monster. Reminding us again of how far removed the illusion of movies can be from reality, Karloff the man was the total opposite of the characters he immortalized on screen.
Actors
Why Claudette Colbert Was a Comedienne With Class
While the name recognition of female star Claudette Colbert has not held up to the same degree as her contemporary Bette Davis, she was just as talented, and at her peak in the ‘30s, almost as big a star.
Actors
The Quiet Strength of Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda once confided that the characters he played on-screen bore little resemblance to himself. Rather, they were who he’d like to be, if he could.
Actors
Peter O’Toole’s 6 Most Sensational Movies
The legendary Peter O'Toole's birthday is upon us, and thinking of him, part of me still can’t accept that he's really left us. The spirit of mischievous exuberance he brought to his life — and his work — somehow made me believe he could never die, even as years of carousing eroded his once startling good looks.