Las Vegas in The Vegas Strip War

The Vegas Strip War was a 1984 made-for-TV movie, starring Rock Hudson. James Earl Jones is unintentionally hilarious in the role of a Don King-type, complete with wild hair (which is clearly a wig). Every time Jones' character enters the picture, rollicking New Orleans style jazz begins to play ('cause he's black). I kid you not. Perhaps another blogger can get into that aspect of it. My interest is purely in the setting.

The IMDb plot summary:

Rock Hudson (in his last made-for-TV-movie role) plays Neil Chaine, a charming Las Vegas hotel/casino owner who tries to turn his decaying building into The Strip's top attraction to avenge his outting by his former partners who run a more fancy hotel/casino just across the street.

In this video you will see the Vegas Strip and Fairmont Street as they were in 1984. You will also see a young Sharon Stone in an early role, and unfortunately, a clearly ailing Hudson (who would be gone within a year).

Fairmont Street appears to be completely unchanged since its inclusion in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. I have dreams about doing what Hudson does on that long, gone street, with perhaps a less dour expression. If you can make it through those shots, there is some great footage of Fremont Street.

R.I.P. "Sexy Sadie"

"Maharishi Mahesh Yogi dies"

The Beatles with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Wales, late '67 or early '68
What did The Beatles do in 1968, at the very pinnacle of their popularity and fame? They packed up and headed to Rishikesh, India, for a few weeks of a Transcendental Meditation teacher-training course. Luxury it was not. They were focused on the spiritual, not the material. And they did it together. They were a real "group"! And although the Rishikesh experience ended on a sour note*, they did write a ton of great songs, many of which ended up on my favorite Beatles album, The Beatles ("The White Album").



*From the Wikipedia entry:

Controversy surrounded the Beatles and their relationship with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during a 1968 TM teacher-training course they attended in Rishikesh, India. John Lennon (who left the course with a "bad taste", and described his "partings" as "not always as nice as I'd like them to be,") was inspired to write the song "Sexy Sadie" about the Maharishi, with the refrain "what have you done? You made a fool of everyone".

A popular rumor of the time involved Mia Farrow, although her autobiography is ambiguous on the matter. According to several authors, Alexis Mardas (Magic Alex) deliberately engineered these rumors because he was bent on undermining the Maharishi's influence on the Beatles.

George Harrison's statement, "Now, historically, there's the story that something went on that shouldn't have done—but nothing did," is supported by comments made by Sir Paul McCartney in his approved biography. In a recent article carried by the Telegraph.co.uk, Deepak Chopra, cited in the article as a confidant of both Maharishi and George Harrison, addresses the rumors surrounding Maharishi and the Beatles, saying that there was no truth in the theory that Maharishi was womanizing.

Morning breaks in Nacogdoches

Saturday morning, Main Street and around the historic downtown square:




Location of the plain, modern (c. 1958) Nacogdoches County Courthouse:

Remembering Buddy Holly

The way I see it, without Buddy Holly there wouldn't have been a Beatles, or at the very least, there'd have been a profoundly different Beatles. For example, would John Lennon have so confidently worn glasses from 1967 onwards if it weren't for Buddy Holly? Would they have written "Love Me Do" or "Please, Please Me" or "She Loves You"?? Would Lennon have thought of "Beatles"???

Don McLean's tribute to Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens -- "American Pie" (#1 hit for four weeks in 1972). There's a nice montage of Holly photos at the beginning of the video.


"Peggy Sue" (1957, went to #3)

Jerry Lewis waits for an elevator

Jerry Lewis waits for an elevator in The Bellboy:

"Across the Universe"

"NASA beaming Beatles tune to the stars"
Part of me thinks this is all simply a publicity stunt to benefit the release of the movie on DVD.

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Across the Universe" is a song by The Beatles that first appeared on a charity release in December 1969, and later, in modified form (bird sound effects were removed from the beginning and end and it was slowed down to its original speed), on their final album, Let It Be. The song features John Lennon singing lead, who was also the primary composer (though, as with all Beatles songs written by either composer, the song is credited to Lennon/McCartney).

The video makes use of the Phil Spector version (the first one I heard, and grew up hearing) -- full orchestra and chorus backing added to the February 1968 master.

Jerry Lewis in Cinderfella

I'm beginning to understand why Jerry Lewis was considered to be a genius in France, at least back in the '60s. Here's a segment from Cinderfella (1960) in which Lewis does his old, pre-Dino nightclub act to the tune of Count Basie's version of "Cute." What a radio!!


According to the Cinderfella trivia section at IMDb:

Lewis' musical entrance down the grand staircase was done in one take, a Lewis trademark. But his seven-second rush up the same 63 steps put too much of a strain on his heart and landed him in the hospital.

Confirmed by the Wikipedia entry:

In the Ball scene where Lewis arrives it was one take going down the stairs and one take going up. He ran the stairs in 7 seconds and collapsed at the top, where he was taken to hospital and ended up in an oxygen tent for 4 days. This delayed filming for 2 weeks.