Myrna Loy

Today marks the 104th anniversary of the birth of the late Myrna Loy. The actress, who died in 1993, was best known for her portrayal of Nora Charles in the six Thin Man movies (1934-47). She was hugely popular in the 1930's and 40's, having also appeared in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948 opposite Cary Grant), and Cheaper by the Dozen (1950). She began her career in the silent film era where she often played the role of the exotic femme fatale. After the advent of sound her roles switched to that of the witty, urbane, professional woman or loyal housewife. Legend has it that Loy was the favorite star of famed outlaw John Dillinger and that he came out of hiding in 1934 just to see her in Manhattan Melodrama. He was gunned down by FBI agents upon leaving the theater. If you've never heard of Myrna Loy or have never seen the Thin Man movies, it's about time you sat down for a marathon.

100

Last year Entertainment News released its list of the 100 most list-worthy individuals, setting off a firestorm of water-cooler debate and fanhood posturing. Essentially, it was a list of the people who most deserve to be on a list. A year has passed and we now present the 100 Most List-worthy Individuals of 2009. As was the case last year, eligibility rules are simple:     1. The person must be either real or fictitious.     2. If real, the person must still be alive.     3. The person need not be a person at all. All other criteria is strictly confidential. Click here for the expanded list which includes photos, descriptions and prior rankings.   1. Chuck Norris   2. Xuxa   3. Xena: Warrior Princess   4. The Most Interesting Man in the World   5. Duane Chapman   6. Fabio   7. Hobbes   8. Sinbad   9. Rowlf  10. Winnie the Pooh  11. Vin Diesel  12. Antonin Scalia  13. Bat Boy  14. Stephen Hawking  15. Buster Bluth  16. Edson Arantes do Nascimento  17. Arthur Fonzarelli  18. Lex Luthor  19. Colonel Mustard  20. Ivan Lendl  21. Chief Clancy Wiggum  22. Ichiro  23. David St. Hubbins  24. Detective Lennie Briscoe  25. Alex Trebek  26. Pauly Shore  27. Dirk Benedict  28. ALF  29. Patrick Swayze  30. Garth Algar  31. Plácido Domingo  32. Brigitte Bardot  33. Jim Nantz  34. Danielle Steel  35. Mr. T  36. Lara Croft  37. Fat Lever  38. Eleanor  39. Ahmad Rashad  40. Vidal Sassoon  41. Melanie Chisholm  42. Grimace  43. Count Chocula  44. David Bowie  45. Jessica Rabbit  46. Neil Diamond  47. Meatloaf  48. Patrick Star  49. Ringo Star  50. Steve Buscemi  51. Q  52. Q-Bert  53. Franka Potente  54. Tom Servo  55. Edward Scissorhands  56. Delta Burke  57. Alfred E. Neuman  58. Warwick Davis  60. Bibleman  60. Rachel Ray  61. Willie Nelson  62. Betty Crocker  63. Derek Jacobi  64. Casey Kasem  65. Abe Vigoda  66. Lando Calrissian  67. Vanna White  68. Dr. Egon Spengler  69. Norm Abrams  70. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind  71. Weird Al Yankovic  72. John Astin  73. Gromit  74. Sally Jesse Rafael  75. Gloria Gaynor  76. Billy Zane  77. El Guapo  78. Dan Quayle  79. Pierluigi Collina  80. Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer  81. Laura Bush  82. The Phoenix Suns Gorilla  83. Sonic the Hedgehog  84. Billy Joel  85. The Noid  86. Heather Mitts  87. Dr. Strangelove  88. Usain Bolt  89. Michael J. Fox  90. Mercer Mayer  91. Jenny Berggren  92. Ernest Borgnine  93. Tyra Banks  94. Makoto Nagano  95. Alan Greenspan  96. Brian Doyle-Murray  97. Angela Merkel  98. Detective Harry Callahan  99. Michael Vick 100. Kim Jong Il

August and Nothing After

It's been three months since my last post and I have to admit I don't really miss it. I have therefore decided to hang up the blog and walk away for a while. But before I go, I'm going to turn over my bucket of ideas. I'm going to fizzle out with a bang as it were. So during the month of August I will be adding to my web log like mad. My previous best for a single month was November of 2006 where I wrote 8 web log entries. I'm going to far surpass that next month. Among the topics to be highlighted are the 100 Most List-worthy Individuals of 2009 (see the 2008 list here), some comic book movie talk and the Entertainment News Web Log Entertainer of the Year, so stay tuned.

Lego Arrested Development

I came across these photos the other day. The first is the stair car. This one's the Banana Stand. The flame is supposed to represent "Yeah, but where'd the lighter fluid come from?"

Poll Question

The Favorite Kelso poll is now closed. If the results tell us anything, it is that I have more friends who watch Scrubs than friends who are teen-age girls. The new poll question (on the right) concerns Bruce Willis. It asks which big-budget action movie is more unbelievably over the top, Armageddon or Live Free or Die Hard.

Entertainer of the Month: Alan Arkin

We here at Entertainment News would like to wish a happy 75th birthday to the great Alan Arkin. To celebrate we are naming him March's Entertainer of the Month. You probably know him best from... well, that depends on how old you are. He got in to the entertainment industry back in the 1950's as part of the musical group The Tarriers. With them he co-wrote a Jamaican calypso folk song called "The Banana Boat Song" which later became better known as Harry Belefonte's hit "Day-O." In the 1960's Arkin turned to acting. He starred in the 1967 thriller Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn. Later he played Captain Yossarian in the movie adaptation of Catch-22. In more recent years he has shown up mostly in comedies like Grosse Pointe Blank, Little Miss Sunshine (which won him an Oscar) and most recently Get Smart. One of my favorite roles of his is as the police chief in So I Married an Axe Murderer. His scenes opposite Anthony LaPaglia (below, 3:29) are my favorites in that movie.

Entertainer of the Month: Adam Baldwin

February's Entertainer of the Month is Adam Baldwin. Best known for playing a tough guy, Baldwin can seen on NBC's Chuck as super agent John Casey. Prior to that, he was gun-loving muscle head Jayne Cobb in the short-lived series Firefly and its subsequent movie followup Serenity. However, one of my favorite Adam Baldwin moments comes from the movie Independence Day when his character, Major Mitchell, is asked if the glass separating them from the killer alien is bullet proof. He responds by pulling out his gun and saying "No, Sir!" For your viewing (and listening) pleasure, below is a video (2:36) of Baldwin singing his version of "Hero of Canton," a song from an episode of Firefly. And in case you were wondering, he's not related to the Baldwin brothers.

Tears of a Rapper

If you hadn't noticed, Bret & Jemaine are back for Season 2. Get me a small man's wet suit, please.

Entertainer of the Month: Doug E. Doug

The polls are closed and pulling away late in what turned out to be a land slide, January's Entertainer of the Month is Doug E. Doug. Early on in the voting, four entertainers, LL Cool J, David Bowie, Neil Diamond, and Doug, emerged in a tight race that seemed like it would go down the wire. But as the race went on Mr. Doug seemed to gather momentum and finished 10 percentage points ahead of the competition. Some are pointing to voter irregularities and I myself do suspect ballot box stuffing (Worthington?). Nevertheless, I am certifying the vote and declaring Doug E. Doug the winner. As for the other 19 candidates, they all presented themselves well, except of course for Kirstie Alley, who failed to garner even a single vote. Better luck next January. As for Mr. Doug (real name: Douglas Bourne), he hasn't been up to much lately. He was pretty big stuff for a brief run in the 1990's with starring roles in some Disney hits including Cool Runnings with John Candy, Operation Dumbo Drop with Danny Glover and Ray Liotta, and That Darn Cat with Christina Ricci. He plaid wacky neighbor Griffin Vesey in Cosby, Bill's not-quite-as-successful followup to The Cosby Show. Other notable roles include Eight Legged Freaks (pictured below) with David Arquette and a not-yet famous Scarlett Johansson, and Shark Tale. His most recent acting credit is voice work in the Cartoon Network show My Gym Partner's a Monkey. He was in an episode that also featured Ziggy Marley. Apparently now he's a high school teacher in New York or something. For those that miss him, one of his earliest films Hangin' with the Homeboys will be on Comedy Central a few times this week. Trivia: In That Darn Cat, Doug E. Doug plays Agent Zeke Kelso, a role that was filled by Disney super star Dean Jones in the original 1965 version of the film. Jones also appears in the 1997 version, this time as Mr. Flint. In honor of characters named Kelso, the new poll question (right) asks who is your favorite Kelso: Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso from That 70's Show or Ken Jenkins as Dr. Bob Kelso from Scrubs.

Heir(s) Apparent

The physical comedy of the comedic fat man has been around as long the the joke. Still, I consider John Belushi the first modern king of the funny fat guys. His crown was surrendered upon his death and later claimed by Chris Farley, who too died on the thrown. I've been waiting and wondering who is the rightful heir. After seeing Orange County, I was certain it was Jack Black. But then Cedric the Entertainer emerged on the scene. However, with his new movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop opening today, Kevin James is staking his claim. But there can be only one king. Who will it be?