Tag: 1940s

RIP, Jim Kelly

Actor, Karate Grandmaster and tennis player Jim Kelly has died. Kelly starred alongside Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon and in action/Blaxploitation classics such as Black Belt Jones, Three The Hard Way and Black Samurai. Our friends at Daily Grindhouse have an obituary as does The Los Angeles […]

RIP, Lau Kar-Leung

Actor, director, writer and action choreographer Lau Kar-Leung has died. Most widely known as the director of 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Lau has an extensive filmography. He collaborated with director Chang Cheh and, in his own work, brought humor to and a singular action choreography to his own […]

RIP, Richard Matheson

Writer Richard Matheson has died. Matheson’s influence on horror, television and film was incredible–from, “I Am Legend” to episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Night Stalker, The Martian Chronicles to writing Roger Corman’s Poe films to films based on his stories like The Last Man on Earth, The […]

Xanadu’s Persistence of Memory

I watched Xanadu on HBO dozens of times in the early 1980s. My obsession also included the soundtrack, which I listened to on a Walkman while attired in scarves, leotards, ruffled skirts, and legwarmers. Sadly, my skills at ballet, tap, and jazz did not translate into roller skating, […]

RIP, Esther Williams

Actress, singer and swimming champion, Esther Williams has died. Williams starred in elaborate mid-Twentieth Century MGM musicals with water set-pieces. The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter have obituaries. Here’s Williams’ segment in That’s Entertainment! (1974).