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Robert “Bob” Ullman, a longtime Broadway and Off Broadway press agent whose career spanned Ethel Merman, A Chorus Line, Curse of the Starving Class and many others, died of cardiac arrest on July 31 in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. He was 97.

His death was announced by longtime friend (and former Broadway press agent) Rev. Joshua Ellis.

Among the many Broadway productions on which Ullman worked were Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals.

Actors and theater greats with whom Ullman worked include Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, James Dean, Dame Edith Evans, Geraldine Page, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Rosemary Harris, James Earl Jones, Sam Waterston, Colleen Dewhurst,...

William Cameron Menzies. William Cameron Menzies movies on TCM: Murderous Joan Fontaine, deadly Nazi Communists Best known as an art director/production designer, William Cameron Menzies was a jack-of-all-trades. It seems like the only things Menzies didn't do was act and tap dance in front of the camera. He designed and/or wrote, directed, produced, etc., dozens of films – titles ranged from The Thief of Bagdad to Invaders from Mars – from the late 1910s all the way to the mid-1950s. Among Menzies' most notable efforts as an art director/production designer are: Ernst Lubitsch's first Hollywood movie, the Mary Pickford star vehicle Rosita (1923). Herbert Brenon's British-set father-son drama Sorrell and Son (1927). David O. Selznick's mammoth production of Gone with the Wind, which earned Menzies an Honorary Oscar. The Sam Wood movies Our Town (1940), Kings Row (1942), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943). H.C. Potter's Mr. Lucky...

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the TCM Festival in Hollywood. I had a full weekend and got to enjoy the true movie experience---great movies projected on big screens with enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. Between films we'd emerge onto Hollywood Boulevard with its own movie being created live and in the moment. As comedian Dana Gould said in his introduction to Freaks "the Boulevard was the only place you are likely to stand next to Cher at the urinal in the men's room. Take a look at the schedule, Here

Among the celebrities I saw on the red carpet and clicked photos of were Maureen O'Hara (still gorgeous), Kim Novak, Shirley Jones and Margaret O'Brien---and in the background were Chaplins, Marilyns, Elvis, Michael Jackson and multiple copies of Spiderman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Star Wars characters, Transformers, Pirates (I heard one woman excitedly say, "Oh my god...it's Johnny Depp."), Mickey and Minnies and Elmo. In the parking lot elevator one night I stood next to a tall African American male, his Elmo head ticked under his arm next to his furry red body. I asked if he had a long and hot day. He told me that he comes around 4pm when it isn't so warm and works until midnight. "Do you do ok?"

"An average weekend brings in $700-800 and it is fun." I asked him what he does the rest of the week and he told me he created movie money props for films and sells copies on ebay.

I saw 17 films and three special events. What a pleasure to see classics projected on the big screen (a mix of 35mm and Dcp) to packed houses of appreciative fans. Once again I was impressed with the diversity of the audiences. Couples, young people and people of color far out-numbered the stereotype of middle aged white film geek guys. And they knew their movies.

I saw a few classics I had never seen --- Mary Poppins (when it came out in 1964 a left-leaning high school kid would not be caught dead seeing that) and The Best Years of Our Lives (I just never saw it--no excuses). Both were great for different reasons.

There were rare discoveries such as the pre-code Hat Check Girl (racy Ginger Rogers) and the powerful and all but forgotten The Stranger's Return directed by King Vidor withLionel Barrymore and Miriam Hopkins (when will someone do a major tribute?)

But the true revelation was the 1944 British comedy of mannersOn Approval . This was a joy of witty banter, great acting and certainly one of the most bizarre finales I have ever experienced with stuffed animal heads coming to life among other visions you have never seen. The first show sold out so an extra screening was scheduled and it too was full. Lucky or me I got in after being turned away from the first one. The film was restored by that hero of lost cinema, David Shepard.

I just got an email from Jessica Rosner that she will have a 35mm print available. There is also a BluRay and if there is enough demand the owners might consider making a Dcp.

She wrote:

“It is about two couples in Victorian England ( and Scotland) who try a shocking experiment in living together to see if they are "compatible" before marriage. The magnificent foursome is led by Clive Brook who also directed and adapted the famous play upon which it is based. The extraordinary Beatrice Lillie co-stars in one of her very few film appearances and she is aided by the lovely if oddly named Googie Withers and the always fine Roland Culver.

This Brand New print is from a negative made from a nitrate fine grain at the BFI. It is not flawless but it looks excellent.

Below is a link to the write up on the fest site about On Approval and audience reaction to it. I urge you to read it as it really captures the film much better than my write up.

http://filmfestival.tcm.com/on-approval-sparkles-with-wit/

This second link is for local news station festival write up highlighting On Approval as fest fave

(scroll down till you see the still) http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/apr/14/rants-and-raves-tcm-film-festival/

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Thanks Jessica. After the screening I wanted to know how the film could be shown in cinemas and you have answered my question.

And here are some good articles about the movie.

http://www.examiner.com/article/clive-brook-adapts-directs-and-stars-on-approval-1944

http://www.examiner.com/article/classic-films-focus-on-approval-1944

Anthony Slide writes: http://books.google.com/books?id=Rf5CCA7_Lv4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false...

It is one of Beckett's most famous – and most startling – images. But what inspired the half-buried woman in Happy Days? His friend and biographer James Knowlson tracks down the first Winnies

Samuel Beckett was a passionate lover of art and a friend of many painters and sculptors. He loved Dutch and Flemish painting in particular – and art almost certainly inspired some of his most memorable theatrical images. Even his earliest plays, such as Waiting for Godot or Endgame, recall the old masters: the character Lucky in Godot may well remind you of a Brueghel grotesque; Estragon and Vladimir's physical antics echo scenes in Adriaen Brouwer's paintings ("Dear, dear Brouwer", Beckett called him); Hamm in Endgame appears to share genes with some portraits by Rembrandt, staring out at the viewer – Jacob Trip in his armchair, perhaps.

As for Beckett's late miniature works – recently revived by the Royal Court with a tour...

Versatile actor who brought depth and humanity to supporting roles

The actor Pat Keen, who has died aged 79, had a successful career in supporting roles for more than half a century. She possessed an uncommon versatility, as happy in Chekhov and Ibsen as she was feeding lines to Les Dawson, whom she adored. For all that she was in demand in later years to play harridans and busybodies, she never resorted to caricature. She believed in the people she portrayed, breathing life into the stereotypes beloved by too many writers of comedy for television. She refused to take the easy route of playing for laughs, whether on stage or screen.

Pat was born and raised in Willesden, north-west London. She left school after taking A-levels, and it was because of her ability to speak very good colloquial French that she secured a post at the Foreign Office when she was 18. Two years later,...

Singer, dancer and theatrical agent who represented Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

Bernard Hunter, who has died aged 92, was a precocious young performer, a popular singer and dancer, and, later, a theatre agent who represented many stars in Britain and the Us, including Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Olivia de Havilland. He continued to represent clients into his late 80s. Hunter's approachable good looks and air of a casual boulevardier seemed to attract consistent good luck.

Born in London, Hunter described his childhood in Islington as full of "maniacal happiness". Asked what his father did, he was apt to quip affectionately: "As little as possible." His father was in fact devoted to horses and the racetrack. Through gambling, he lost the money that was supposed to be for his son's education. However, at 16, Hunter won a singing competition at a local cinema. The prize was an appearance in a week's variety at the Winter Gardens,...

Intrigued by The Artist but don't know where to start exploring the silent film archives? Try these five classics, which lead to plenty more…

It doesn't take long for a novelty to be hailed as a trend. Internet film rental service Lovefilm reports that the buzz around The Artist has sparked a boom in curiosity about early cinema, with a 40% rise in the number of people streaming silent films on its site in the week leading up to the Oscars.

The top 10 most-streamed silents include a clutch of Buster Keaton's ingenious comedies, some heady Hollywood melodrama (A Fool There Was, starring Theda Bara, and The Son of the Sheikh, with Rudolph Valentino) and creepy Swedish horror The Phantom Carriage. There are only two films on the list that seem to bear any relation to Michel Hazanavicius's surprise hit: Frank Borzage's mournful romance Seventh Heaven (which inspired the...

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has unveiled its list of 10 Most Influential Silent Films in celebration of Michel Hazanavicius’ ode to the silent era, The Artist, which won three Golden Globes® Sunday night, including Best Picture . Musical or Comedy, Best Actor . Musical or Comedy for Jean Dujardin and Best Original Score. The Artist also picked up 12 British Academy Film Award nominations. The Weinstein Company will expand its release of The Artist nationwide on Friday.

TCM’s list of 10 Most Influential Silent Films spans from the years 1915 to 1928 and features such remarkable films as D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking (and controversial) The Birth of a Nation (1915), which revolutionized filmmaking techniques; Nanook of the North (1922), a film frequently cited as the first feature-length documentary; Cecil B. DeMille’s epic silent version of The Ten Commandments (1923); Sergei Eisenstein’s oft-imitated Battleship Potemkin (1925), which took montage techniques to an entirely new level; and Fritz Lang’s...

"He's a chin." Such was Josef von Sternberg's summation of Clive Brook, delivered when Marlene Dietrich asked what her leading man in Shanghai Express(1932) was like. Since Brook had already given a sympathetic and subtle performance for Sternberg in Underworld (1927), and since he was one of the few actors who actually liked Sternberg, this remark should perhaps be taken less as an insult, and more as a statement of intent: in Shanghai Express, Sternberg reduces his chum to a chin, rigid and inexpressive.

The real Brook was different, as his sole film as director attests. On Approval (1944) climaxed Brook's acting career (he returned to the screen in 1963 for John Huston, in The List of Adrian Messenger: the rest is silence) and serves as a definitive rebuttal to Sternberg's put-down, as it's a gay, wildly creative, consistently funny comedy. Being based on a play that was then fifty years...

American actor known for his role as Danno in the television series Hawaii Five-o

One actor in his time plays many parts, so it is a mixed blessing for a performer to be forever associated with one role and one catchphrase. James MacArthur, who has died aged 72, was instantly identified with Detective Danny "Danno" Williams in the long-running television series Hawaii Five-o (1968-79), in which he was habitually told "Book 'em, Danno" by his superior officer, Detective Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), after villains had been captured.

From the outset, MacArthur could not escape being reminded that he was the son of celebrated parents. His mother, Helen Hayes, always flagged as "the first lady of the theatre", had a long career on stage, in television and films, winning two Oscars 40 years apart, and his father, Charles MacArthur, co-wrote and co-directed several films with Ben Hecht, one of which, The Scoundrel (1935), won a screenplay Oscar,...

42nd Street Moon proudly presents High Spirits, the musical version of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, opening March 21 and running through April 12 at the Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street in San Francisco. As previously announced, it replaces The Baker's Wife, which will be presented next season. High Spirits, with a book, lyrics and music by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray, adheres closely to Coward's original text, which was about a man who is haunted by the mischievous spirit of his dead wife. The playwright was delighted with the adaptation, and agreed to direct the Broadway show, which starred Edward Woodward, Louise Troy, Tammy Grimes and Beatrice Lillie. The show garnered eight Tony nominations in 1964, and proved to be Ms. Lillie's final Broadway appearance.