Very very interesting article! I, like many other folks my generation, grew up on all these 'monster' movies and their comedy tie-ins. Every kid pretended to be Frankenstein, Dracula or the Wolfman at some point... with their friends, around their brothers or sisters, on the playground at school or dressed at Halloween.

It's funny that Eddie mentioned Bela Lugosi appeared later in the movie "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla" (1952). That film starred two actors (Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo) who looked and sounded a lot like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. At the time they were capitalizing on the fame of Martin and Lewis (Jerry was reported as wanting to sue them). The strange connection is that Martin and Lewis were friends with Abbott and Costello. It was Lou Costello who paid for Dean Martin's nose job when they were starting off in the business. Funny how paths cross.

I really enjoy stories about things I remember from the past but had no idea about thei makings. Thanks Eddie!

A great article! I have been through California City a number of times and often wondered about the nature of people. Why is it that zillions of people want to crowd into an area like Los Angeles where the traffic is horrendous and the dwellers have such short tempers because of all the stress?

The I think of Las Vegas... the drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is interesting. It takes a little over an hour to leave the hustle-and-bustle of the LA area to be driving on a road in the middle of the empty desert. The in the middle of nowhere are a couple of towns (Baker, Barstow) before nothing again. Then smack in the middle of the vacancy appears Las Vegas!

It's kinda the thoughts I have when I've been through California City. It's also kinda the thoughts I have when I'm the first patron into a movie theater to find my seat and then the other people come in and sit right next to me instead of sitting any other place in the empty theater.

Great article for thought!

There are so many TV shows that fit the bill regarding Eddie's article about "Jumping The Shark". Remember "The Partridge Family"? Top rated show - sold millions of records - toys and novelties galore... Well, after three top rated seasons, David Cassidy was threatening to leave the series because his super-star status was taking a solo turn. The producers decided to bring in a new cast member, Ricky Segall, to play 5-year-old Ricky Stevens. The show went from being in 19th place in their third season to 78th place in the fourth and last.

Even today... You can see the "shark" either coming or going on shows like "Criminal Minds" where the most popular cast members are now leaving the show and being replaced by others who may or may-not make it thru one whole season.

Then there is the opposite... A show such as "Last Man Standing" which constantly receives good ratings suddenly gets cancelled for no announced reason (except maybe a political one). ABC decided to drown the show before the shark appeared.

Of course, there is also another scenario: Take a show like "Timeless" which never really seemed to get into the water at all. Rumor is that NBC will reverse it's decision to give "Timeless" a second chance to ski this coming year because of so many beach-goers bombarding NBC with calls and letters. (Remember "Star Trek"?)

Very interesting story. I didn't know much about Charlie Chaplin at all. I actually heard more about Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton than Chaplin. Probably because as a kid growing up I always remember the scene hanging from the clock tower or remembering Buster Keaton's face from some of the later films (like the Beach Party movies from the sixties).
Very interesting story about Chaplin indeed!

Well... it's like they say...

"You're only as old as the women you feel"

This is a very interesting article... we really don't hear much about stars like Bill Murray, even though he has made so many motion pictures!

Yes... but "Weird Science" is my favorite. Who wasn't in love with Kelly LeBrock (The Woman in Red!)????

Wow! VERY INTERESTING STORY!!!

Back in the 70's, an area of Los Angeles called "Westwood" was the "in" place to be if you were a young adult. The Village of shops, theaters and restaurants was built around the area of UCLA. I remember hanging out there a lot. On the edge of the Village, behind a smaller movie theater sits a graveyard - "The Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery". Most people who spent time hanging around in the village didn't even realize that the grounds were there a block from "Wilshire Blvd."

A LOT of celebrities are buried or interned there including Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn is in a crypt three rows up from ground level. Others interned in the same place are : Don Knotts, Natalie Wood, Richard Conte, Roy Orbison, Jim Backus, Dorothy Stratten (Playmate), Carl Wilson (Beach Boys), Lloyd Nolan, Lew Ayres, Darryl F Zanuck, Harry Warren, Buddy Rich, Ava Gabor, Truman Capote, Heather O'Rourke, Christopher George, Oscar Levant, Brian Keith, Peggy Lee, Billy Wilder, Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Les Brown, John Cassavetes, Cornel Wilde, Minnie Ripperton, Eve Arden and Dean Martin , among many more.

If I arrived early and had some extra time, I would often visit the small serene park and just walk around (no... I'm not creepy!). Some of the headstones and tributes are very interesting to say the least. A main reason so many stars are here is because of it's proximity to the Beverly Hills area.

One thing I had always noticed was that there were ALWAYS FLOWERS left on Marilyn's crypt... not necessarily put there by Joe DiMaggio... but fans would bring flowers every day. They would even leave notes taped or placed on her marker. The same goes for Dean Martin's crypt after he passed on.

Westwood Village is not the same as it was back in the 70's,80's and 90's... but it's still there (just more commercialized and not as quaint)... but if you are ever in the Los Angeles area, it is a very nice and interesting place to stop, visit and pay your respects to Marilyn and all those who has entertained us for years.

Thanks for your interesting story Eddie!

I had met Ernest Borgnine many times over the years, and Eddie's article is right... he was the nicest person you'd ever want to meet. He always asked about you and he would really listen with intent, responding back with definite answers, not just an "uh... huh".

I didn't know that he was married to Ethel Merman once. It's no surprise that the marriage only lasted days... my memories of Merman were that she was not a very pleasant upbeat person.

I actually saw this movie as a double bill at a drive-in in Pennsylvania. Just being at an actual "drive-in" was more thrilling than the movie. It was funny (and sort of sad) to see people start up their cars, turn their lights on and pull out of the lot during the middle of the movie .

I grew up watching Superman with George Reeves and reading the comic books. Little did I know that Superman once could only "leap" and that he could "mold his face" into a different look. Gosh... I wish I could do that with mine!
But... "Matter-Eater Lad" and "Arm Fall Off Boy" are great! Can you imagine making "Arm Fall Off Boy" into a movie today? they could have "Mater-Eater Lad" chew it up and then invent another character call "Re-growth girl" to make another arm for her crime-fighting partner that was bigger and stronger . Maybe she's also make something else...

Eddie's story on Jerry Lewis blew me away! I spent many years around Dean Martin at NBC, where we housed his TV variety show, and even housed a short lived Jerry Lewis show. I knew Dean well, but I didn't get to know Jerry.

Shortly after Dean's death, I became friends with Joe Stabile (who was Jerry's manager) even had only a little contact with Jerry himself - but still never really got to know him.

Over the years I have talked to so many people who were around Jerry Lewis (especially in those early days with Dean) and everyone has a different story or memory to tell. I have come to realize that Jerry Lewis was a complicated man who seemed to have lived ten lives at once. When I Eddie's story about the "early" Jerry Lewis years, it helped me get a different view to add to the whole body of thought who Jerry Lewis really was. I perceive Jerry as a man who pushed himself constantly to achieve his goals. Sometimes he came off harsh, but I think the man was just tired out all the time.

One thought that stands out the strongest are the years that Jerry spent supporting and raising money for Muscular Dystrophy. No matter what you may think of his movies or comedy... Jerry did the ultimate good.

Rest in Peace Jerry.

Eddie, your story was very very interesting! I always loved "A Hard Day's Night" because it reminded me so much of the time period and being young and having fun. Whenever I see it, it still makes me smile. It was a movie that had the feel of a documentary of the time.
When "Yellow Submarine" came out four years later in 1968, the Beatles and the world had gone through many transitions. I always liked everything the group did musically (even tho I prefer the earlier stuff), but the movie Yellow Submarine just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed SEEING the Beatles in human form rather than their images... somehow I connected their music and messages with their faces.
Now after all these years, I really learned a lot by reading your article Eddie! I think I'd like to get a copy of the movie and re-watch it again today. I'll bet it will mean so much more and entertain me all these years later knowing more about it's history!