Rest In Peace, Cindy Williams

I was very saddened to hear of the recent passing of Cindy Williams.  I had been a fan ever since her TV show, Laverne & Shirley, first debuted.  I was in sixth grade at the time, and I can still remember classmates talking about the show, the following day at school.

Cindy Williams ended up appearing on the cover of TV Guide (along with her co-star from the series, Penny Marshall), five times.  I saved those issues, and have kept them all these years.

1976:

1977 (artwork by Jack Davis):

1978:

1979 (artwork by Richard Amsel):

1982:

The 1977 issue featured an interview with Cindy Williams.

I was so much a fan of Laverne & Shirley, that I desperately wanted to see the show in-person.  After all, at the beginning of every episode, a voice-over would state, "Laverne and Shirley is filmed before a studio audience."  But I never knew how people got to be in the audience.  Then one day, my mom gave me something she had clipped out of the newspaper.  Someone had written in to the paper, and asked that very question.  The response included a list of addresses, one for each of the television networks.  I wrote to the address listed for ABC, and after not too long, received my tickets.

The show was filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, in a sound stage that had previously been a part of the Desilu Studios, and prior to that, the RKO Studios.  This aerial view of Paramount Studios is from the book, Above Los Angeles.  I've circled (in red) the doorway through which the audience entered.

Over the years, we ended up going back to see the show three more times.  During one of my visits, I took this pic of the sign above the audience entrance.

And I saved the tickets from two of the four shows we saw.

My mom knew how big of a Laverne and Shirley fan I was.  She pulled these pages out of one of her Good Housekeeping magazines.  Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams had both been given "makeovers," courtesy of Good Housekeeping.

This Laverne & Shirley jigsaw puzzle was purchased from our local Alpha Beta grocery store:

And this TV Favorites "fan" magazine came from our local Lucky's grocery store.

The magazine included articles about the show, both of it's main stars, and also one on Phil Foster, who played Laverne's father.  Below, is the article on Cindy Williams.  Unfortunately, the magazine was made with a cheap paper, almost like the kind they would use for comic books.  But I guess it's held up pretty well, considering it's 45 years old.

 This color photo was from the inside cover:

 Rest in peace, Cindy Williams!

Olivia de Havilland & Joan Fontaine

This is just a quick post, today. I will have my usual new "monthly" post, this Friday, so please check back at the end of the week for that. In the meantime, I thought I would share a few personal items from my collection.

With the passing of Hollywood legend, Olivia de Havilland, just last week, I was reminded that I had once written to the star. Beginning in high school, I became sort of an "autograph collector"....or at least, attempted to collect them when I had a chance. I even had an autograph book. Years later, I wrote to quite a few celebrities, and acquired a fairly large collection of signed photographs. Olivia de Havilland was one of the people whom I wrote to. She was living in France at that time, and I sent her the following two photos.

This first publicity photo (circa 1939), is from Gone With The Wind, a film for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, for best supporting actress. (She lost to Hattie McDaniels, for her supporting role in the same film.)

I believe this next photo is from the late forties, around the same time that she won an Academy Award for her leading role in, The Heiress.

After mailing these photos overseas, quite some time passed. Eventually they were returned, unsigned, along with the following letter:

As far as I know, she never did publish a complete autobiography about her life. She did write a book back in the sixties, about what it was like marrying a Frenchman, moving to France, and having to adapt to the French customs. Maybe she was still working on her complete autobiography, all these years later.

Now, I will give equal time to Miss de Havilland's sister, Joan Fontaine (Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland). They were just a little over a year apart in age, and Miss Fontaine went on to become just as big of a star, as her older sister. Joan Fontaine passed away in 2013, but about 10 years earlier, she had graciously autographed these photos for me.

In this first photo, she is posing with Cary Grant, in a publicity shot for the Alfred Hitchcock film, Suspicion. The film was released in 1941, and she won the Academy Award for her leading role, the following year.

One year earlier, Joan Fontaine had appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's first American film, Rebecca, and was nominated for an Academy Award in the title role. Here she is pictured with Dame Judith Anderson, who played Mrs. Danvers, the "obsessive" housekeeper.

I hope some of you enjoyed these photos. I have shared some Disney-related autographed photos in the past (Annette Funicello, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and Haley Mills), but it had been a while. I may post some more photos from my collection in the future, if anyone out there is interested.

And once again, please come back this Friday for my "regularly scheduled" monthly post. Thank you!

Elvira - In Wax, In The Flesh, and Lookalikes

This post is in honor of Elvira's return to television. Yes, the Mistress of the Dark is back on the boob tube and hosting her all new "Movie Macabre." For the Los Angeles area, her show is on Saturday nights at midnight on KDOC (home of the Mighty Ducks!) For other cities, please check your local television listings.

Elvira first hosted "Movie Macabre" back in 1981 on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles. In 1982, she made television history by being the first person to be taped and broadcast in 3-D. I still have my 3-D glasses from 7-Eleven!


In 1985, Elvira got her very own wax figure at Movieland Wax Museum which was located just up the street from Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. I took this photo in 1991. Unfortunately, Movieland Wax Museum closed it's doors for good in October of 2005.


Here's a publicity photo taken at Movieland with the real Elvira posing alongside her wax likeness. I'm guessing this was taken when her figure was unveiled to the public. Movieland often had the actual celebrities appearing at the dedication of their figures.

Now let's jump over to the Hollywood Wax Museum on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. I took this photo in 1993...the one and only time I was ever in that museum. I know it is still open and operating today, but I wonder how their business is doing now that Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum has opened just down the street?

And since we are in Hollywood, let's venture a few miles southwest and take a look at the annual West Hollywood Halloween Carnival which attracts about a half million people every year on Halloween Night. This is actually the Los Angeles area's second largest event, second only to the Tournament of Roses New Year’s Day Parade. Here's a photo taken in 2001 of "Elvira" and "Evel Kenievel." I thought that this woman really did look like Cassandra Peterson.

These next three photos were taken at the 2002 Carnival event. This Elvira costume actually could have been a mini parade float. The dummy in the background was part of the vignette, along with a table that had a fake guillotine blade hanging overhead that actually swung back and forth (inspired by a scene in the movie, "Elvira's Haunted Hills"). I remember it was so crowded, that I could not get back far enough to get the entire set-up in any of my photos.

The legs were actually fake. "Elvira's" real legs were underneath the table. The whole thing was on wheels and could be moved around when the crowd would allow it. There are some REALLY clever people out there, I tell ya!

Last up is a shot I took of the real Elvira performing at Knott's Berry/Scary Farm in 1988. I posted this photo previously in a "Knott's Halloween Haunt" post from last year. I do wish Elvira still appeared at Knott's for their Halloween Haunt nights. For now, I guess I will just have to be satisfied with seeing her on TV as she hosts her all new "Movie Macabre."

Unpleasant dreams, everyone!!!

***Post Update: To watch a short promo for Elvira's all new "Movie Macabre", click below: