During Shirley’s 1938 summer vacation, one of her stops was the city of Boston. Naturally, she had to take a spin on one of the famous Swan Boats. This shot is from August 3, 1938.
Located in the Boston Public Garden, the Swan Boats have been in operation since 1877.
Back in 2008, unaware of Shirley’s journey some seventy years before, I snapped some shots of the fiberglass creatures that tourists love to ride.
The design of the boats has changed very little over the years.
Thanks to Melissa, aka “The Colonel,” for graciously lending this photo from her collection!
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
I was surprised to see James Dean trending on Twitter the other day; it wasn’t the anniversary of his birth or death, so I couldn't figure out why. When I clicked on the hashtag to see what would pop up I was baffled to see the reason: he is being resurrected from the dead. It has been announced that Dean’s family has granted the rights to Magic City Films to use a CGI version of the dead actor to appear in the upcoming movie “Finding Jack,” which is based on the existence and abandonment of more than 10,000 military dogs at the end of the Vietnam War.
Director Anton Ernst gave this comment to the press:
"We searched high and low for the perfect character to portray the role of Rogan, which has some extreme complex character arcs, and after months of research, we decided on James Dean."
I find it very hard to believe that there is not one single living actor who could not do an outstanding job in this role, let alone a credible one. What a slap in the face to the acting profession.
Ernst continued on:
"We feel very honored that his family supports us and will take every precaution to ensure that his legacy as one of the most epic film stars to date is kept firmly intact. The family views this as his fourth movie, a movie he never got to make. We do not intend to let his fans down."
Since Dean died back in 1955, NOBODY has any real idea today as to whether Dean would have picked this part or not. There is also no way that anybody could definitively say what choices Dean would have made as an actor if he had decided to play this role. Who makes those decisions? While the Director would obviously be coaching the performance, ultimately the facial expressions and movement would be in the hands of the digital artist who is creating the CGI version of Dean. Not only is it bordering on creepy, it begins to muddy the waters as to who James Dean is. Sure, it’s sanctioned by the family, but I would also hazard a guess that the licensing company (CMG Worldwide) had a large hand in pushing this through. By putting James Dean in a current movie, they potentially garner a new generation of fans and a slew of new merchandise. As they say in the biz, follow the money.
While I can’t state what Dean himself would say about this, I would guess this is what his expression would be once he found out:
I’d never heard of it before, but thankfully a coworker and friend clued me into the existence of the Pittock Mansion in Portland. This 46-room French Renaissance-style château was finished in 1914 as a private home for publisher Henry Pittock and his wife. Surrounded by 46 acres it is now owned by Portland's Bureau of Parks and Recreation.
Unfortunately, it was not open by the time we arrived. Regardless, even the grounds and the exterior of the house were worth the visit.
The views from here were crazy incredible:
Framed by the fall foliage, I could have spent a few hours here. Oh wait...I did!
And the details...you all know how I love my details.
I was able to get one "interior" shot through a window. Next time…
See more Pittock Mansion photos at my main website.
Although I love her dearly, I have not seen her in over THREE YEARS! Who am I referring to? Why, the Redheaded Wench from Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean dark ride attraction. The panoramic view of this scene opening today’s post was shot back in December 2015. The following shot was from the last one I took of her, June 2016.
What happened to her? As you may or may not know, the Marc Davis designed animatronic became a victim of misguided political correctness. Afraid of offending, the Disney Corporation replaced the “wench” with a redheaded female pirate...HOLDING A GUN. Yes...that’s so much better.
Here’s a brief history of our gal, beginning with this July 1967 publicity shot:
A guest shot from April 1970:
A few that I captured from October 2005, digitally:
…and with a film camera:
A nice juicy closeup from May 2008:
What happened to the original animatronic? Currently on display at the Walt Disney Archives, she looks damn good for her age! I’m not quite sure where the hairdo came from, but it was still good to see her. Perhaps they used beer cans to curl her hair?
Want to see her shoes? I knew you would:
Last one for today is a “behind-the-scenes” image taken by a former cast member, showing the bare-bones of the animatronic itself:
I have yet to see the new version, and can’t say I'm really anxious to.
See more Disneyland Pirates of the Caribbean photos at my main website.
Today, it’s back to “Captain January,” where Shirley’s character, Helen “Star” Mason, took a stab at Opera. The photo above shows her with the widow Croft (Jane Darwell), who has just finished altering the gown to fit Star. Found in a trunk when Star was rescued at sea as a baby by Captain January (Guy Kibbee), it is AMAZING how it fits Shirley perfectly! Designed by Gwen Wakeling, the detail on this costume is truly incredible.
Star dons the gown and proceeds to join January and Captain Nazro (Slim Summervile) in song. Doing their own version of the sextet from “Lucia di Lammermoor,” it is a comic masterpiece. Both Summerville and Kibbee were dubbed, but Shirley did her own vocals. While the song was written as a sextet by Gaetano Donizetti, I don’t think anybody missed the other three voices in Shirley’s version! In the original opera, the sextet occurs in Act 2; the full title of the song is “Chi mi frena in tal momento.” You can see the actual song being performed here:
I think I prefer Shirley’s version. Does that make me lowbrow?
Even movie critic Frank S. Nugent couldn’t resist the comic scene, as witnessed by his N.Y. Times column from April 25, 1936:
As a footnote to the operatic cycle, it must be recorded that Shirley Temple sings the sextet from "Lucia" in her latest picture, "Captain January," which was trundled into the Capitol yesterday after a preliminary brush with the law. It is an abridged version, of course, cut down to trio dimensions to suit the screen's favorite actress and her associates, Guy Kibbee and Slim Summerville. Mistress Temple skips the high notes but makes up for that later by tap-dancing the multiplication table when she runs—à la Bill Robinson—down a flight of steps. There is added compensation, too, in the rhythmic routine she steps with Buddy Ebsen, who yet may be her Fred Astaire when she has grown up to become a later-day Ginger Rogers.
Shirley’s rehearsal sheet music from the film was sold in the 2015 “Love, Shirley Temple” auction:
From the auction description:
Five accordion-folded sheets of music and lyrics from the 1934 film include "At the Codfish Ball" (labeled Shirley Temple's key), "Sextette from Lucia", "The Right Somebody to Love" (labeled Shirley Temple's key). "Malihini Mele" (which was written in 1934 by R. Alex Anderson, but was deleted from the final film), and "Early Bird". Circa 1936.
Presale Estimate: 200+ • Realized Price: $800
Below is the watercolor costume sketch done for this gown back in 1936:
Want to see how Shirley’s dress looks now? Here it is on display at the Santa Monica History Museum:
The back of the dress; just as beautiful!
After Shirley’s passing, Tim Smith from the Baltimore Sun recalled the Child Star and one of his favorite Temple scenes:
I do not hesitate to confess that some of my favorite times as a kid -- and, yes, in later years, too -- were spent watching her childhood movies. I didn't care how cornball or contrived the plots. I just loved her smile, her voice, her unpretentious talent. Not to mention the songs and the many vibrant actors who worked with her, helping to make even the silliest of the movies enjoyable and often quite touching.
Thanks to my pal Sebastian in Miami for reminding me this morning of a fabulous scene of Shirley Temple singing opera in the the 1936 film "Captain January." It's the well known "La La La" Trio from Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor." OK, so it's supposed to be a sextet and have a whole lot of very serious words, but who needs 'em when you get a performance this delerious?
I couldn’t have said it more beautifully myself!
I’ll end the post with the clip of Shirley, Guy, and Slim performing the sextet. Sorry for the (incorrect) colorization!
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
After a ten year hiatus, I returned to the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank for a visit. Parking in the Zorro garage (which replaced the area where the Disney “Zorro” TV series was filmed), I admired the stained glass portraits of some of Disney’s most famous animated characters.
Designed by Michael Graves in 1990, the primary building at the Studio is called the Team Disney Burbank building. It contains the office of President and CEO Robert A. Iger, as well as the boardroom for the Board of Directors. The building is sometimes referred to as the “Seven Dwarfs Building” because of the gigantic statues holding up the roof of the building. On January 23, 2006, in honor of Michael Eisner's 21-year leadership of the company, the Team Disney building, was rededicated as Team Disney - The Michael D. Eisner Building.
Today, whatever you do, DON’T call it the Eisner Building!
Ever wondered what the view was from the building? Wonder no more.
Or how it would look framed by a Mickey from one of the chairs in the private dining room?
Some closeups of the Dwarfs’ arms holding up the building:
The final one today is Daisy Duck’s portrait at the Zorro Garage:
More photos coming up from my trip to the Walt Disney Studio!
Today’s post is a mixed bag of new and previously published shots showing Mickey Mouse in front of the Disneyland Main Street Opera House. These were taken during the period when the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters resided inside the grand structure. Guarded by Toy Soldiers from the Babes in Toyland movie, it was a great temporary attraction while Walt figured out what to do with the building. First shot is from September 1963.
Two from February 1964:
Ah, my birth month and year! May 1964. What kind of partnership is Mickey forming with this mysterious lady in sunglasses?
Love the little girl with the pink purse; she already knows how to pose like a super model, circa November 1964.
Notice the people in line inside in this detail shot...and the poor little ginger boy who did not make the photo. Probably plotting his revenge at the very moment this photo was taken.
