happy birthday stanley kubrick

actually, its a late birthday. and i've gotta run through it really fast, and stanley really doesn't derseve that, but i've got a communication on the other line. so, yesterday... (maybe two days ago by now) was master stanley kubrick's birthday. the source i was looking at said he was 81. that can't be right... is that right? well, anyway, here he is in 1962, during the filming of the daring film 'lolita,' with the title character, played by sue lyon, in between takes. you hardly recognize him without his beard, right? i've seen this film recently. and although the 60's version is rather diluted, when it comes to the sexual content, its still an incredibly compelling piece of storytelling. required viewing. i wanted to post a shot from 'the shining,' or 'barry lyndon,' but since i didn't have the time or energy to do so, this shot will have to do. i know MY head wouldn't be what it is today without kubrick... so, yeah... he's a Master of the Art. happy birthday.

happy late birthday robert powell

man, i'm tired. i had a full week. i was unable to post last night on account of a disruption in our internet service. and now, i'm typing with my right index finger bandaged due to a freak umbrella accident earlier in the day. so bear with me as far as like, typos and other carelessness due to fatigue and an injured finger. that being said, i checked my celebrity birthday source, and realized i should probably say happy 65th birthday to the english actor robert powell. apparently most people would probably recognize him from his starring role in the 'jesus of nazareth' miniseries. but i know him best from his great work in ken russell films. he played the doomed captain walker in 'tommy,' which was probably the first time i ever saw him. and then he also starred as gustav mahler in russell's 1974 fantastic biography picture 'mahler.' (one of ken's best... it manages to seamlessly stitch classic realism with moments of high camp outrageousness.) in this shot, we see powell-as-mahler, in one such fantasy sequence, sword in hand, silver swastika on his chest, atop an english hill, about to chow down hungrily on the head of a pig. in fact, it looks like he might already have his mouth full of snout. mmm, tasty isn't it, gustav? it might go down well with a big swig of milk. so umm, happy late birthday, robert. you are a very cool member of the planet.

happy birthday gary

hey, it seems like i'm doing a lot of celebrity birthdays lately... but after checking my sources, i couldn't let this one go by... anyone who's been paying attention to 'the planet' lately knows i have a recent serious crush on mr. gary oldman. although i think he looks much hotter 'with age,' i couldn't resist snagging this picture when i ran into to it tonight. i have no idea what year this was taken, but it seems to be a younger gary, all done up somewhat like a hot british 'teddy boy.' yeah, he's got the slightly combed-up hair, the dissheveled late 60's suit, and the cool smokin' cig hangin' on. yes, he looks great. cool as always. i don't know if this 'look' was for a movie he was doing, or what. but he looks delicious, doesn't he ladies? the omnipotent computer 'movie source' tells me that he was born on march 21st, 50 years ago. one of his first on-screen performances was a blink-and-miss-it cameo in the 1990 steamy 'nc17' flick, 'henry and june,' starring his then-wife uma thurman. (as june.) he was apparently credited as 'maurice escargot.' cute, gary. (click to enlarge)

happy birthday jean

okay, i can't do this post without admitting a lesbian crush. i've been wild about jean simmons since the first time i saw her ... playing the 'prim-on-the-outside, wild-on-the-inside' sgt. sarah brown in the 1955 film adaptation of the damon runyon musical classic 'guys and dolls.' she starred opposite a sexy and young singing marlon brando, and she turned me on every bit as much as he did. i loved her voice and her delicate dark features. she and marlon both did their own singing. she's actually english, born in a small part of london known as crouch hill. and in her later years, she was evidentally a bit of a drinker. (good luck, sister.) she was also striking in 'elmer gantry,' alongside such greats as burt lancaster and the sassy shirley jones. i love her because she proves that a smart dark-haired 'good girl' can be every bit as sexy as a blonde slutty one. so happy 80th birthday, miss jean merilyn simmons. i dig you the most. (click to enlarge)

happy birthday wolfgang

hey, while i'm busy cranking out the celebrity birthdays, (since i have no real ideas) i might as well give a shout out to an insane genius... yes, apparently the very talented wolfgang amadeus mozart would'v been a cool 253 years old today, had he lived. (mmm, doesn't really make much sense to say that, in this instance. like, i know he died young, be even if he hadn't like, boozed himself to an early grave, i seriously doubt he'd be walking around now, writing jingles like, '...i'm lovin' it!') so, here's a decent shot from the classic milos forman film. you can see jeffery jones as the emporer. hey, he ended up being kind of a freak, didn't he? (jones, not the emporer.) and yes, we see the prodigy mr. tom hulce, as the hyper and screwed-up wolfgang mozart himself. hey, i love that movie. i know it by heart. but f. murray abraham is the real star if you ask me. i love this scene that's pictured here, where mozart plays salieri's own piece back to him, only like, 'mozarted up,' to suit the masses. (and hey, that's christine ebersole as katarina, the songstress... the same chick who gave michael dorsey his 'why are you so wired?' brush-off at his birthday party in 'tootsie.' ) (oh, and as a last footnote: have you seen a recent picture of tom hulce? i have only two words for you: mountain man. google it at your own risk.)

happy birthday dean

yes, i realize i might lose some 'cool points' in the eyes of some people for this post, but i just had to give a heartfelt happy birthday to the very talented dean jones. i grew up with dean jones, thanks to his extended stint in various live action disney movies. 'million dollar duck' comes to mind. and of course, the 'darn cat' movies, a couple of 'love bugs,' and the surprisingly entertaining 'snowball express.' but a lot of people don't realize that dean was a very talented vocalist. i developed the warmest crush for him and the sound of his voice several years ago when i discovered the original soundtrack to the 70's sondheim musical 'company.' the soundtrack to that show is in my top three favorite broadway albums. i never get sick of it. dean's voice is so warm and expressive. so, who cares if he looks alarmingly like ted bundy when he wears a turtleneck, i still have real love for dean. his vocals from 'company' always takes the edge off when i'm feeling lonely. i guess a lot of credit goes to sondheim, too, for writing such terriffic songs. so, hey... call me square if you want to, but i'm blowing a kiss and saying; happy 78th birthday dean... i dig you! (the girl in the shot is susan browning. they're recording the magnificent number 'barcelona.')

happy birthday

make a wish, martha. i hope you have a peaceful day and at least one decent slice of cake. you deserve it. you're so beautiful. i love you, and i love it when you're happy. so i hope the movie below makes you smile. i wish i could do more, but at least i can do this for you. i love you. love, love, love you!

my mommy.

(kisses)

me