Radio Show for August 27, 2021
Special Holidays
Tarzan Day…August 27
Today we celebrate TARZAN, the popular tree-swinging, ape-raised character who made his first appearance on August 27 in 1912 in the novel Tarzan of the Apes which was originally published in installments in the “All-Story Magazine”. The novel was published in full in 1914, by author Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The ‘lord of the jungle’ was the subject of 24 novels by Burroughs as well as sequels by other authors. He’s also been the main character of a radio program, newspaper comic strips and comic books, many tv shows and countless movies.
Tarzan was born in the African jungle to Lord John and Lady Alice Greystoke. After the death of his parents Tarzan was taken and raised by the ape Kala. He grew up knowing nothing of his human life, always thinking he was an ape. With the help of the books and tools left in what was once the cabin where his parents lived he was able to teach himself to read and write. Once he was found by an American gentleman and his daughter (Jane) who visited the jungle to find buried treasure, the Tarzan adventures begin.
Elmo Lincoln played the first Tarzan in the silent film “Tarzan of the Apes” (1918) followed by several other actors including Johnny Weissmuller, Ron Ely, Jock Mahoney and Buster Crabbe to name a few in feature films, however, there were many television Tarzan series as well.
There have been Tarzan festivals world wide. Morgan City, Louisiana in 2012 hosted a Tarzan Festival celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the character’s debut. The event also honored the city’s role in the first movie version as it was filmed in Morgan City. Filmmakers, actors and circus acrobats fought malaria, unbearable heat and the swamp of the Louisiana Atchafalaya River to bring to the silver screen the “Tarzan of the Apes”. It is one of the first times that Hollywood shot on location. In this case it was the moss covered trees that persuaded the filmmakers, as it matched the descriptions straight from Burroughs’ story. For the larger primates they used people from the New Orleans Athletic Club who had to act in costumes that they said were ‘unbreathable’.
The movie was an instant hit with audiences and one of the top six motion pictures of the silent era and shot in Morgan City.
“The Ghosts of Morgan City” was also a television series led by Ben Hansen (ufologist and paranormal investigator from the show “Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files”).
International Bat Nights…August 27-29
Over 30 countries (including the United States) celebrate “International Bat Nights” and have since 1997 and always the last weekend in August. This holiday encourages us to learn more about this mostly nocturnal being, there are over 1200 species of this creature known as the ‘bat’ and only 3 of these are actual bloodsuckers.
Vampire bats are found in the tropics of Mexico, Central and South America generally consume the blood of sleeping cattle or horses and usually it’s just a quick bite and goes unnoticed.
Despite what movies and novels might say bats aren’t just creepy they play an important part in keeping balance in nature.
Did you know?
*Bats consume insects that spread disease and damage crops like rice, corn, coffee, tomatoes and cucumbers.
*Little brown bats in Kansas eat over 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour.
*They are the gardeners of the rainforest. Bats help distribute plants by passing seeds through their feces.
*Bats can live more than 30 years and can fly at speeds of 60 miles per hour.
*The world’s largest bat is the “flying fox” with a wingspan up to 6 feet. The world’s smallest bat is the bumble bee bat of Thailand which is smaller than a thumbnail.
Birthdays…. August 27
Lester Young…August 27, 1909-1959
Lester was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was born in Woodville, Mississippi. His father was a teacher and band leader, the whole family was musical. He grew up in New Orleans and worked from the age of five to make money for the family, selling newspapers and shining shoes. By the time he was ten he had learned the basics of trumpet, violin and drums. ‘The Young Family Band’ toured with carnivals and playing regional sites. He and his father clashed and he often left home for long periods.
Young left the family band in 1927 and became a member of the Bostonians playing the saxophone.
In 1933 he joined Count Basie when he settled in Kansas City and rose to prominence. Over the years he became a part of other groups He was considered as one of the most influential players on his instrument and later was known for his hip, introverted style and popularized much of the hipster jargon witch came to be associated with the music.
In 1957 he appeared with Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins and others in the CBS tv special “The Sound of Jazz”. It was a reunion with Holiday when she was in physical decline and near the end of her career. It was said that Lester got up and played the purest blues and ‘in the control room all were crying’.
In his final studio recordings in Paris in 1959 he ate next to nothing and drank heavily, only days later Lester passed away at 49 due to internal bleeding from alcoholism.
Lester Young won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2004 and is said he greatly influenced many saxophonists including a direct inspiration on young Charlie Parker who was a leading musical figure in the development of ‘bebob’.
James Wong Howe…August 28, 1899-1976
Howe was an American (Chinese born) cinematographer who worked on over 130 films during the 1930’s and 1940’s. He was one of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood due to his innovative filming techniques.
Howe was born in Guangzhou, China and immigrated at age 5 as his father worked on the Northern Pacific Railway. They settled in Washington state where the family owned a general store. He had an early interest in photography as a child.
After his father’s death the teenaged Howe moved to Oregon to live with his Uncle and briefly considered a career as a bantamweight boxer. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in hopes of attending aviation school, ran out of money and moved to Los Angeles. Once there he took several jobs including as a commercial photographer’s delivery boy and as a busboy at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
He landed a low level job at the film lab at the Famous Players Lasky Studios and connected with director Cecil B. DeMille and eventually became a camera assistant, took publicity stills for Hollywood Stars and moved up to director of photography.
He maintained the reputation for making actresses look their best through lighting alone without the use of gauze or other diffusion over the lens to soften their features as other photographers did. He worked steadily as a cinematographer from 1923 until the end of the silent film era.
Howe’s best known work was almost entirely in black and white, yet he successfully made the transition to color films and earned his first Academy Award Nomination for the color film “The Old Man and the Sea” with Spencer Tracy, his second for Paul Newman’s “Hud”.
During the late 1960’s he taught cinematography at UCLA’s Film School with his students being Dean Cundey who became the cinematographer for the films “Halloween”, “Romancing the Stone”, “Back to the Future”, and “Apollo 13” to name a few.
James Wong Howe was nominated for ten AA awards and won two for Best Cinematography….”Hud” and “The Rose Tattoo”
Short List of James Wong Howe Films
*The Thin Man…1934..director W.S. Van Dyke, starred William Powell and Myrna Loy, film nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture
*Kings Row…1942..director Sam Wood, Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, starred Robert Cummings, Ann Sheridan and Claude Rains, film nominated for 3 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Cinematography
*The Rose Tattoo..1955…director Daniel Mann, starred Burt Lancaster, film nominated for 8 AA awards and won 3 including Best Cinematography
*Picnic…1955…director Joshua Logan, starred William Holden, Kim Novak, film was nominated for 6 Oscars including for Best Picture
*The Old Man and The Sea..1958, director John Sturges, starred Spencer Tracy, film nominated for 3 awards, won one
*Hud…1963…director Martin Ritt, starred Paul Newman and Patricia Neal, film nominated for 7 AA awards, won 3 including Best Cinematography
*Seconds…1966…director John Frankenheimer, starred Rock Hudson, film nominated for one AA award (for Best Cinematography)
David Fincher…August 28, 1962
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards including 3 for Best Director.
He was born in Denver, Colorado, his mother was a mental health nurse who worked in drug addiction programs. His father was an author who worked as a reporter and bureau chief for Life magazine.
When he was two years old, the family moved to San Anselmo, CA where George Lucas was one of his neighbors. Fincher was fascinated with filmmaking at a young age when he began making films with an 8mm camera.
In his teens he moved to Ashland, Oregon where in high school he directed plays, designed sets and lighting after school and became a production assistant at a local television news station. He supported himself by working as a busboy, dishwasher and fry cook.
In the mid 80’s he became employed as a production head at John Korty’s studio and became a visual effects producer working with George Lucas. David was eventually hired by Industrial Light and Magic as an assistant cameraman and worked on “Return of the Jedi” and “Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom”.
After directing commercials he went on to directing music videos for Rick Springfield, Paula Abdul, George Michael, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
David Fincher has been nominated for 3 Oscars for Best Director.
Short Film List directed by David Fincher
*Alien 3…1992, starred Sigourney Weaver, Pete Postlethwaite, and Lance Henriksen, film nominated for one Oscar
*Se7en…1995, starred Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow, film nominated for one AA award
*The Game…1997..starred Michael Douglas and Sean Penn
*Fight Club..1999..starred Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, film nominated for one AA award
*The Case of Benjamin Button…2008, starred Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, film nominated for 13 Oscars and won 3
*The Social Network…2010..starred Andre Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara, film nominated for 8 AA awards and won 3
*The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo..2011..starred Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard, film nominated for 5 AA awards and won one
*Gone Girl…2014..starred Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris, film nominated for one Oscar
*Mank…2020..starred Gary Oldman, film nominated for 10 AA awards and won 2
Mary Shelley…August 30, 1797-1851
Mary Wollstonecraft (Godwin) Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the popular Gothic novel “Frankenstein” which is considered an early example of science fiction. It remains widely read and has inspired many theatrical and film adaptations.
Shelley’s mother died less than a month after she was born. Her father remarried when she was four to a woman whom she had a troubled relationship with. She married poet and philosopher Percy Shelley and once they found themselves penniless to her surprise her father refused to have anything to do with her. They left home often to dodge creditors.
Mary and Percy spent a summer at their friend Lord Byron’s villa. It was raining as they all sat around a log fire telling German ghost stories. The discussions turned to the ‘nature of the principle of life’. Mary said perhaps a corpse would be re-animated, “galvanism had given token of such things”. As her imagination started to swirl she began writing what she assumed would be a short story which turned into her first novel ‘Frankenstein’ (or ‘The Modern Prometheus’) and was published in 1818.
Another one of her novels was “The Last Man” published in 1826 is considered the first piece of dystopian fiction published. As the story goes in the late 21st century, Europe was ravaged by a mysterious pandemic illness that rapidly sweeps across the entire globe resulting in the near extinction of humanity.
Percy Shelley drowned in his own sailboat at 29. Mary’s last years was devastated by illness, headaches and bouts of paralysis and died at 54.
Honorable Mentions
Donald O’ Connor…August 28, 1925-2003
Donald was an American actor, dancer and singer of at least 12 films. Most memorable is “Singing In The Rain” in 1952.
Ben Gazzara…August 28, 1930-2012
Gazzara was an American actor of over 38 films and was a director of film, stage and television.
On This Day
Mary Poppins movie released on August 27, 1964, directed by Robert Stevenson, produced by Walt Disney, starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, film nominated for 13 Oscars and won 5
Gravity released at the Venice Film Festival August 27, 2013, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, starred Sandra Bullock, George Clooney and Ed Harris, film nominated for 10 Oscars and won 7 including for Best Director. Other Alfonso Cuaron films include “Roma”, “Children of Men” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”.
*Did you know the lead roles in Gravity could have been played by Robert Downey, Jr. and Angelina Jolie? Other actresses tested for the part were Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts, Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz.
*Alfonso was inspired by the film “Marooned” (1969) which starred Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna and Gene Hackman
