Almost missed it. Today is Thomas Edison's 164th birthday.To read a bit about his not inconsiderable place in film history, click here.
Also, it's Tina Louise's birthday today. She's not 164. Which begs the question, Ginger or Mary Ann? I know the fashionable answer is Mary Ann, but I've always been a Ginger man, myself.
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22 comments:
I sense Tina Louise's life would have been much happier if Jayne Mansfield had agreed to portray Ginger on "Gilligan's Island." She might not be as famous, but if she was remembered, it would be for more than kitsch.
It seems like with any television show of note, there's always one cast member who hates to be remembered for it and one who doesn't want to be remembered for anything else. Tina Louise ran from Gilligan's Island, Alan Hale Jr. wore the Skipper's hat for the rest of his life. Susan Dey won't acknowledge The Partridge Family, Danny Bonaduce has built a career on it. Guy Williams moved to Argentina after Lost in Space, never to return, Billy Mumy has been hawking reunion script ideas for decades. And while I don't know if anybody on The Brady Bunch actually liked the show, apparently the dog hated it so much he lay down behind the tire of Robert Reed's car and got himself run over.
Of course, I've never been to a reunion of any kind in my life, so I'm not really one to talk ...
Which begs the question, Ginger or Mary Ann?
I started to be the customary word asshole, and gently chide you for inaptly using the phrase "begs the question" rather than "raises the question"
then I realized you might have laid a trap for me.
To "beg the question" is quickly rising as one of the more misused phrases, hastening the decline in the integrity of logical inquiry.
To beg the question is to assume a premise that requires proof. Should the stimulus spend money on highway improvements or high-speed rail to more-rapidly add jobs? begs the question whether spending money adds jobs.
Whereas one might say He fell down the well at midnight -- which raises the question [no begging involved, baby] why he was near the well at midnight. . . .
Now I thought you misused the phrase -- you were saying "it's Tina's birthday, which raises the question -- is you a Ginger guy, or a MaryAnne guy?"
But you were begging the question whether either was attractive an somebody was one of their "guys."
tricky
Right?
Which leads to more begging:
"Which will shut this fucker up? Yelling at him in these comments, or ignoring him?"
Which begs the question
. . . .I'll shut up now.
[debate borrowed from late-2008 Facebook comment line.]
btw -- I would like to have wild sex with Ginger, and then have MaryAnne ride the hobby horse while telling me stories about her wild sex with Ginger.
But that's just me.
I mean,
that's me.
I'm an aggressive gambler.
Mr. Vegas.
which raises the Judy question: Marta Kristen, or Heather Graham?
I started to ... gently chide you for inaptly using the phrase "begs the question" rather than "raises the question"
No, I'm pretty sure if I were stranded on an island with Ginger and Mary Ann, my questions would involve a lot of begging.
btw, my ex-wife co-hosted a fundariser for "Women in Film" that involved a boat ride on the Potomac River with members of the Gilligan's Island cast.
That's right; Tina Louise and Dawn Wells.
I shit you not.
Tina Louise, who had been inveigled into the appearance by the then-head of WIF for DC, was by all accounts the most unpleasant person to appear at one of their events in the
history of their events.
I shot photos of Mary Steenburgen at one, and while she was cold, Ted Danson was a fucking hoot.
I thought he and I were gonna leave together and go find a place to have a few few drinks. . . . .
but I digress
again
I think if you were stranded, and bided your time, you might hear some begging.
You frisky l'il monkey you
which raises the Judy question: Marta Kristen, or Heather Graham?
Hmm. I definitely prefer the television Lost in Space to the movie -- as bad as the t.v. show was, the movie was just another generic soulless action picture -- but Heather Graham is a redhead (at least when she's not bleaching it blonde), so I have to go with H.G.
Ted Danson was a fucking hoot.
Ted Danson strikes me as a naturally pleasant guy. Even when he was playing the preternaturally unpleasant Becker, he was my kind of people.
Matt Cimber is one of the most underrated low-budget 1970's exploitation directors, responsible for such minor classics as "The Witch Who Came from the Sea". This film is kind of a disappointment, however. First off, it's very talk-y and stage-y, relying on a lot of theatrical-style acting, which is almost never a good thing in a movie, even with great dialogue and very talented performers. To make things worse, however, the two main performers are definitely not very talented. Marta Kristen (from the 1960's "Lost in Space" TV show) comes to LA to visit a friend (Kathy Kersh). Both of them are trying to make it in Hollywood, but they both learn that it's not such a nice place to be. They eventually decide to lead town, but not, of course, before having a steamy lesbian sex scene!
I know some may want to see this just to see "Will Robinson's" older sister engaging in full-frontal lesbian sex. Well, it occurs about 55 minutes in--use chapter-skip/fast-forward etc. and save yourself from having to watch the rest of the movie. I initially thought Marta Kristen was playing both roles, partly because the two actresses intentionally look a lot alike (thus the title), but also because it was hard to believe two different actresses could both be this bad. Kristen, at least was a lot better in "Lost in Space" so perhaps, Cimber deserves some of the blame. But then he got a great performance out of another TV actress, Millie Perkins, in "Witch". It's unfortunate also that his regular character actor, George "Buck" Flowers, who was so great in "Witch" only has a small part here as a cabdriver.
If you're just looking for "celebrity skin", you probably won't be too disappointed with this, but if you're a Matt Cimber fan (or you're more interested in thespians than lesbians), you almost certainly will be.
-via IMDB
Tina Louise ... was by all accounts the most unpleasant person to appear at one of their events in the history of their events
She comes across that way in the few interviews I've seen of her. I think she somehow views Gilligan's Island as having destroyed her promising career, but the fact is, she was in The Happy Ending in 1969 with Jean Simmons in a role that required a bit of heavy lifting and she couldn't pull it off. After that she worked as steadily on television and in B-movies as any actor of limited ability can hope for.
On the other hand, I've never had to answer 50 questions a day about something I did forty years ago. I'd be like if for some reason the Montross brief became a cultural phenomenon. You'd go on talk shows every day of every week for the rest of your life and I would run and hide, simply because that's who we are.
So maybe even though Tina Louise is an actress, she's a very shy, solitary, grumpy individual who hates talking about it.
Or maybe she felt like the "Women in Film" organizers hoodwinked her.
Or maybe she doesn't like boats.
Or maybe she and Dawn Wells did have a hot fling and she's smarting from the subsequent rejection.
Maybe she's tired of being on the losing end of "Ginger or Mary Ann."
Who knows.
Who knows.
The Shadow do
Oh, and I readily concede the "begs the question" point. I wrote it then read it later and thought "That doesn't sound right" but didn't bother to change it.
Now I wish to God that I had -- oh, the bitter realization that I've let down my fans. The most important one, too. Oh, well, they can't all be there when this comment arrives. I tell you what, Jamison, leave out a Hungerdunger and put in a windshield wiper instead. Make it three windshield wipers and one Hungerdunger.
And McCormick.
And a hard-boiled egg
[ps. Yes. I recognize that he who calls out the misguide or misspoken will be
hoist with his owne petar".
]
]
hoist with his owne petar
Sure, Jean-Luc Petar, captain of the Enterprise. Well, one of them anyway.
Personally, I always say "hoist with his own James T. Kirk," although what his "Kirk" would be is anybody's guess.
Begs the question sounds fine to me, but what do I know? If you want to get rid of it, just put it in brackets. No wait, it'll never get there in brackets; just put it in a box marked Fragilly. F-r-a-g...look it up in the dictionary, Jamison. Look under the table, if you don't find it there.
Oh what fun. ;)
I was reading along, catching up on your latest entries, and almost left comments on several of them, but kept on scrolling down, and reading instead; finally my self-centered nature forced me to leave a comment on this one (for the sake of making a joke I've now forgotten) -- Ginger or Mary Ann?
I like Mary Ann better. :)
If you want to get rid of it, just put it in brackets. No wait, it'll never get there in brackets; just put it in a box marked Fragilly. F-r-a-g...look it up in the dictionary, Jamison. Look under the table, if you don't find it there.
Quotes, unquotes, and quotes. That's three quotes? Well, add another quote and make it a gallon. How much is it a gallon, Jamison?
Ginger Ingenue writes:
forced me to leave a comment on this one (for the sake of making a joke I've now forgotten) -- Ginger or Mary Ann?
I like Mary Ann better. :)
With all due respect to you and your vote for Mary Ann, it's Ginger in no uncertain terms.
And I mean the good-smelling brunette writer Ginger, not that ungrateful washed-up actress-on-an-island. . . .
good-smelling
Boy, that's some internet connection you've got there, mister muleboy. And I thought FiOS was good ...
mister muleboy:
avid reader (of women's autobios), avid admirer, avid researcher
professional foole
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