Coney Kid Makes Good
A new memoir is sure to interest cinephiles: A Life in Movies: Stories from 50 Years in Hollywood by Irwin Winkler. Now 87, he grew up in Coney Island and even worked for a time on a bumper car attraction. He has had a remarkable run in Tinsel Town. IMDb lists 62 titles under his name as producer, seven as director, three as writer. His first production was Elvis’ Double Trouble (1967). He has done the Rocky series, of which I’m not a fan, but which millions love. The first brought him his only Oscar. He has been nominated three other times. Here are the productions I think stand out above all his others: Point Blank (1967), Raging Bull (1980), The Right Stuff (1983), Goodfellas (1990). He has been married to Margo since 1958. She has appeared in small roles in many of his films. Here’s a pic of the maestro:
And here’s Margo in character in Goodfellas beside the ill-fated Morrie, her “husband,” played by Chuck Low:
I have not seen a single episode of Game of Thrones. I find the extensive coverage of its final season surprising, which show how out of touch I am with modern pop culture. And I’m not as fond of film or TV glitches as some folks are, but this one from today’s NY Post regarding GOT is funny.
Paging Maxwell Smart. For three days a woman trespassed at CIA headquarters and asked for “Agent Penis.” She was taken into custody and questioned. It wasn’t 99, aka Barbara Feldon. (Also from the Post)
From foxnews.com, edited by yours truly: Here’s an interesting twist on immigration. A 48 year-old Oregon man tried to bribe an ICE officer into having his wife and step-daughter deported. Eventually a sting was set up, and the guy was busted after offering $4000. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Also from fn.com: A couple vacationing in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee were singing The Bare Necessities upon arriving at their cabin:
It looked like it was going to be a zero sum session of the floating book shop until two gentleman showed late and bailed me out. My thanks to the one who bought seven DVDs, and to the other who purchased Dry: A Memoir about achieving sobriety by Augusten Burroughs, and Aftermath, a WWII novel by Ladislas Farago; and to the elderly man who donated two thrillers in Russian; and to my constant benefactress, who brought a mix of books and DVDs. I had a chat with Marty, NYPD retired, on guns. He doesn’t carry all the time. He conveyed an interesting bit of info. If one were to fire a rifle and, at the same time, drop a bullet from the hip, they would strike the ground at the same time.
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