A Cinematic Clip Tour Of Dirty Old New York

Over at The EV Grieve, they've posted the fifth in a series of cinematic clip tours of New York from back in its less glamorous period. These were created by cinephile Jonathan Hertzberg, who is obsessed with the dirty old NYC of the late 60s, 1970s and 1980s. His latest 25 minute tour de grit is put together with a number of notable films (TAKING OF PELHAM 123, SUPERMAN, TAXI DRIVER) and some lesser known films, some of which even I couldn't guess (what is Barbra Streisand doing with a bunch of thugs cruising down the East River?!).

Some of the clips are classics, others curiosities, but the real interest is often the background or the location itself. There's one remarkable shot of 1970s Times Square that shows not only the old HoJo's (one of my favorite spots) but also a still-operating Horn & Hardart automat. And there is a great sequence of shots around the 8:00 minute mark of Jessica Lange and King Kong at the old World Trade Center, ending with Kong dead on the wide beach that used to abut the site made from the excavation of the twin towers and later developed into Battery Park City and the World Financial Center.

Make sure you stay 'til the end for an Oscar-like tribute to actors associated with NYC who are no longer with us.
Dirty Old New York aka Fun City, Part V from Jonathan Hertzberg on Vimeo.

MUNSTERS Reboot MOCKINGBIRD LANE To Air Once As H'Ween Special

Over the last couple years, NBC reportedly spent 10 million dollars on a remake of the 60's classic show THE MUNSTERS called MOCKINGBIRD LANE (the street where the original TV family lived). But it didn't get picked up as a series this fall and, with an all-star lineup (Eddie Izzard and Portia de Rossi) and major talent behing the camera (Bryan Fuller and Bryan Singer), there were questions as to what was going to happen to the expensive show. Well, those questions were answered today as the Hollywood Reporter has the news that they will air the pilot as a "Halloween Special" on Friday October 26th at 8pm.

When I heard "Halloween Special" I immediately thought of another infamous, one-night only network trick/treat that occurred back in the 1970's. It was the PAUL LYNDE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL which is one of the weirdest and wackiest hours of network television ever unleashed upon the American public. It is hard the describe the culture clash of Kiss performing disco songs with Paul Lynde, Florence Henderson, and Margaret Hamilton (not to mention Donny and Marie!). It's unclear if MOCKINGBIRD will rise to this level of camp craziness but it will be worth watching.....at least once.

Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny, 1925-2011

One of the first proponents of equal rights for gays and lesbians, Franklin Kameny of Washington DC died yesterday at his home.  He was 86 years old and there is a full obituary at the Washington Blade's website today.

In 1958, after being discharged from the Army for being gay, Kameny started fighting the fight and rounding up protestors in respectable ties and jackets to picket the White House for equal rights.   In a time when "homosexuals" were considered deviant and their activities criminal, Kameny took to the streets in the spirits of the '60s to make his case for equal rights.

I wrote about Kameny last year when he attended President Obama's signing of the bill to end the military's discriminatory policy against gays and lesbians. And it's amazing that he died just a couple weeks after witnessing the official end of that policy which made him an activist.  He was a true pioneer for equal rights for gays and lesbians.

An Advertising Sign Of The Times--Weight Gain For Women

If you watch TV or flip through a magazine, when there is an ad about women and their weight it usually involves how to lose it.  But back in the not so distant past, women were often concerned with being too skinny.  Seriously.

I was doing some research on Raquel Welch (long story) and came across this advertisement circa 1967 of Raquel advertising a weight gain product for women called "Wate-On". Checking the ingredients, it's essentially a precursor of "Ensure" which is popular today.  Anyway, I do love the line at the top of the ad--"I can't afford to be skinny." As another ad famously used to say, you've come along way baby....

Remembering MLK And The 1960s

When I was a junior at Boston College, I took a class called "Remembering the 1960's".  It was taught by a woman who lived the decade and knew the subject intimately.  In fact, she had attended Bob Dylan's bar mitzvah!  Anyway, it was an amazing class as she told the story of how the decade that changed this country actually began in the 1950's, most notably in the 1955 Montgomery, AL bus boycott organized by a young preacher named Martin Luther King.  As she told the story of Dr. King and his use of non-violence to change the hateful Jim Crow laws across the South, I was deeply moved and also somewhat inspired.  Dr. King's words and actions showed a great nation that it had forgotten one of its founding principles...that ALL men were created equal.

While many in my class bemoaned the fact that the 80's were not as interesting as the '60s and that there was nothing to fight against, I knew this was not true. The AIDS epidemic was killing the gay community and polarizing the straight world and, once again, there was the assumption that a certain group of people (gays and lesbians this time around) were not so equal as the rest of Americans.  I wondered why the nation viewed us as The Other?  I thought one reason was that this country hardly knew us, outside of what they'd gleaned from Elton John and episodes of SOAP.  And so I started writing openly and honestly about my experience as a gay man.  It began as short stories in a writing class that same year, then became films and books and even some plays.  But, looking back, I can trace the inspiration for all my writing back to that history class in which I learned about the civil rights movement and how one man raised his voice and made a difference.  Even though I was not a politician or a preacher, I thought I would do what I could to show people that we were not The Other.  We were human, just like everyone else, and wanted the same things that all Americans are promised; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Anyway, as I reflect today on the the legacy of Martin Luther King, I can see that the struggle for equality and equal rights is not over.  Though we have certainly come a long ways since his death more than 40 years ago (we've got an African American President!), his remarkable dream is not quite complete.  Gays and lesbians still suffer from hate and discrimination and a lack of equality when it comes to some pretty basics rights, including the right to marry.  So in honor of Dr. King, I urge you to look around and do what you can to support the continuing struggle for equality for all.