Oscar Gold

 

Hello, my friends. I finally got to update the picture I did a few years ago of all the Black Actors that had won Academy Awards for Acting. In the past years, there have been a host of new winners. I happily included the most recent 2024 winner:  Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Best Supporting Actress.

This is a constant source of inspiration for my own acting career. Dreams do come true! These happy winners show that. Whatever dreams you have, keep making them real! 

Happy Birthday to Mark and Chris

 

Happy Birthday to my two favorites born on the same day of September 25th. Mark Hamill is 72 today; and Christopher Reeve would have been 71 today.

I know I have said this before but Mark and Christopher have been an integral part of my childhood and life over all. 

Today, I watched The Machine with Mark co-starring with Bert Kreishner, as his father, it was endearingly funny. Mark is going to be part of the ensemble cast of the Netflix series is The Fall of the House of Usher which comes out on October 12th. Though Christopher passed away in 2004, he left a legacy of movies that you can watch in him. I recently watched Christopher in the Bostonians from 1984. Chris doing a southern accent was a hoot to watch!

Thank you Mark and Chris for everything.

Death of a Gunfighter

Today is Lena Horne's Birthday. I got inspired to watch the movie Death of a Gunfighter (1969).

She plays Claire Quintana, who is in long relationship with Marshal Frank Patch (Richard Widmark).

Frank finally decides to marry Claire as the clock is ticking for him. The town Frank is sworn to protect is turning against him.

This is one of the few dramas that Lena got a chance to act in. She is good in this; alas, I wish she had gotten the chance to do more dramatic roles in her movie career.

I loved her wedding dress in the film, so I tried to take as many screenshots as I could.

    I adore how Frank looks at Claire in this shot; Lena and Richard had a nice chemistry in the film.

Here is a nice shot of Claire's wedding dress and hat from the back.

As they leave the courthouse happy, the realities of what is going on in the town hit the newlyweds.

I wish that there is a happy ending for Claire and Frank; It is worth watching for Lena Horne and Richard Widmark. Here is the trailer below. 

Happy Birthday, Lena.

Happy Birthday Mae

Happy Birthday to one of my all time favorites: Mae West. The wit and wisdom of Mae is enduring and still stands today. If you have never seen her any of her movies I suggest : She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel to watch first.

"Knowing what you want is the first step toward getting it."

 "No, you needn't be beautiful; you just make the men think you are beautiful, and that's not hard. In the first place, you have to know all about yourself; your good points, and your not-so-good ones."

"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!"

"Here are things that I never can resist: tall, dark handsome men, diamonds, writing, stories in bed, reading, calling policemen by their christian names, and food, more food."

Happy Birthday Mae. You are still much loved by many fans all over the world!! Here is a song to close out for the Birthday girl. 

Diana and Billy Dee!

To start off your Monday right. Here is
Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams singing You've Got What It Takes.
Seriously, I never knew Billy Dee ever sang! Enjoy

Manifest Monday: Keep growing and keep learning

Wisdom from The man himself! The Incomparable Denzel Washington.

via GIPHY

Miss Diahann Carroll

To kick of Black History Month is the late and great Diahann Carroll.
I still miss her. She is one of my Golden 11 ladies of Black Actresses
who have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Only
Halle Berry has won.



Here she is singing Quiet Nights. Enjoy

Happy Birthday Ricardo

Ricardo Montalban has always been one of
my favorites. I cherish my memories as a kid
watching Fantasy Island. It was so great as
an adult to find his older work in musicals
and other dramas.




There was always this big debate about who or
what Mr.Roarke is. I love his take on this.
Showing an actor can have an internal life for
a character that goes beyond what the writers
created. Ricardo making this choice gave Mr.Roarke
depth.




This is a great quote about his career.:
"It is to TV that I owe my freedom from bondage of the Latin lover roles.
Television came along and gave me parts to chew on. It gave me wings as an actor."



And my actor's heart loves this. I think I'll use this as a personal motto for myself.
"Ask not what the role can do for you; ask what you can do for the role."



Happy Birthday Ricardo. You are still missed and remembered well.

Farewell Diahann

I was so sad to hear about the passing of Diahann Carroll. She has
been one of my favorite actresses since I was a little girl. She is from
The Bronx like me; only a year older than my mom. I always
thought of Diahann as my glamorous other mother.

Her famous show Julia, showed her as a R.N. raising her only child.
The show exactly mirrored my mom. She too was a single mom and
a registered Nurse raising me.

She always exuded an innate elegance and glamour. Something she
had to fight to get more juicy roles such as Claudine or Elzora.
That glamour fit her like a glove for Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty.
Fun fact, I like to imagine myself on Dynasty as her daughter. One of
my lifelong goals was if I ever had a choice who would play my mom
and dad, I cast her and Billy Dee Williams. Sadly, that will never happen now.

I am happy to know we have all her amazing work on television
and film that will live on. This beautiful trailblazing Tony, Golden
Globe Winner and Oscar Nominee for Best Actress will live on
in her family, our hearts and in her performances.

If you like to read more of my thoughts on Diahann go here.
One of my favorite movies she of her is Paris Blues. She costarred
with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Sidney Poitier. Who she
was in love with at the time too!!

Bless you Diahann always. Here she is talking about how she got
 cast on Dynasty.  A reminder how we always have to take control of our careers!

Mae West august 17th

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite stars:Mae West.



Here is her screen debut from the movie Night after Night (1932).




"Too much of a good thing is wonderful" said Mae. I agree with that. Do you?


I love her films. She always got what she wanted: men, money or both.

via GIPHY

Diamond,fur,glam and sparkle is all Mae .
Underneath that her characters always had a big heart which I adore.



If you have never seen I'm No Angel, please do. Her chemistry with Cary Grant crackles on screen.

via GIPHY

This picture of her is when she was in her late 60's or early 70's.
She looks fabulous.



Now, for something truly outrageous...Mae West in Myra Breckenridge. The movie is just nuts.
I watched it only for Mae. She is 77 in this, still doing her thing. Enjoy!



Wait, there is more. She Done Him Wrong
Click on it and you can see Mae's first movie that she starred in.

Lena and Ricardo in Jamaica

About a year ago, I found this picture of Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalban
together.Then I googled to see they starred in a Broadway Musical together
called Jamaica in1957. It ran for 558 performances



Looking at these pictures of Lena and Ricardo, I am sure they were magic
together on stage.



The story is an island girl named Savannah (Lena Horne) wishes to leave her
home to live in New York City. Her plans are changed when a fisherman named Koli
(Ricardo Montalban) saved her brother's life. Meeting him changes everything...



This is a play I wished I had been able to see. As far as I know
no performances were ever filmed. There is an original soundtrack.
A kind soul uploaded it on you tube. This is my favorite song from
Jamaica. Here is Pity the Sunset sung by Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalban.
Enjoy.

Actors on Acting #4 : Robert Taylor

After seeing Robert Taylor films back to back, I was curious to see if he any good insights on Acting. He sure did. Robert's quotes on Acting totally capture how I was trained as an actor.

"A screen metamorphosis is more psychology than histrionics. The thing is to analyze the character you are playing and then the various stages of self-development become a logical outgrowth of that individual finding himself."




"Know yourself", said the wise old Greeks. That is the simple but profound maxim which, I am convinced, has been largely responsible for my feet stepping firmly up the movie ladder. Unless you do know yourself, your capabilities, and--what is perhaps more important still--your limitations, then opportunity will go on knocking on your door in vain. If you analyze yourself and find out your own strength and weaknesses, then you have taken the first step towards understanding others and being able to interpret them. In its more direct application to the film business this will result in there being less likelihood of any miscasting. And, by carrying out these principles I very soon learned to resist the temptation of "flying high" and playing roles for which I was temperamentally and physically unsuited.I have rigorously kept to that rule of only playing roles for which I know myself to be fitted."

Hello, my name is Doris

When I saw the trailer for this movie about two years ago, I knew I wanted to see it. Sally Field plays Doris, a woman in her sixties, going through a rebirth with the passing of her mother and falling in love with a younger man. Doris is quirky, filled with insecurities and the audience roots for her from the beginning.

Sally Field is wonderful in this. It is a movie with heart and grit. Just like the wonderful Sally Field. If you can find it, please go watch it. Here is the trailer.Enjoy.



PS. Tyne Daly is in it too. Another powerhouse actress.

You ain't see the best of me yet...

I was 11 years old in 1980 when I stayed up, with my mom, to watch the Academy Awards for the first time. I went to bed tired and dazzled. I remember going to school going the next day vowing I be there some day.

I be like Rita...



Like Sidney..



Like Halle and Denzel...



But what happens to Dreams when Life takes you in a different direction. Now, I understand the words of Langston Hughes from one of his most famous poems called Harlem.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

My husband had a dream to finish college. Jake, born at 28 weeks, needed various therapies to help him. I deferred my dream for my family. As many mothers and fathers have done before me. Here at Swanofdreamers, I'm all about seeing the good in everything. I still do. Jake is in a special ed Kindergarten class and doing well. Sean is scheduled to graduate at year's end and become a counselor for people who have drug and alcohol issues. That is the good I see.



Honestly,it has been painful for me at times. I work on my monologues. I've looked at photographers to plan who I will take my new headshots. I think on the promise I gave Christopher. I am buoyed by my husband, my close friends and my mom who all are not even thinking of me giving up acting. That I can take up where I left off. So dreams do explode. Then you have to decide whether you let them lie on the ground destroyed or do you pick them back up to reshape your dream to where you are at now.



These are the 11 Black Actresses who have been nominated for Actress in a Leading Role. They are Dorothy Dandridge, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Diana Ross, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Gabourey Sidbe, Viola Davis, Quvenzhané Wallis and Ruth Negga. Ruth is nominated tonight for her role as Mildred Loving in Loving. Halle Berry is the only one to have won so far.

Will one day I'll be part of this list? Will I win one? I use to want it so much. For now, I want to get back to acting and work in my craft. I am open. I am hopeful. Whatever your dream was or is. It doesn't have to stay buried. I am 48. I am actor. I'll always be an actor.

The Voice and The Princess

When I was a sophomore in college, rooming with my one of my best friends at the time, she complained could I stop playing Faith by George Michael. I endlessly played the tape of it. I told her it was his only album. Since Prince had many more albums than him, she had more to choose from.


So she suffered. I happily played George finding solace in Father Figure and Faith, dancing to I want your Sex and Monkey, feeling wistful through One More Try and crying with Kissing A Fool over the heartache of my first real boyfriend. Then one of my pen pals gifted me with a tape of Wham's greatest hits. So I had two tapes to play.



George was gorgeous. That wonderful British accent. It was and still is his voice I loved. That soulful voice that touched my heart. I was blessed to see him twice in concert: The Faith Tour and the Cover to Cover. One of my favorite moments when he played Play that Funky Music white boy, the crowd including me went nuts.





I followed George from album to album. When he came out as gay,I didn't care. He was still my George. I loved him.



From Freedom to Heal the Pain to Waiting for that Day to Older to Fast Love to Calling to you to Freak to Amazing to Secret Love. That is just a fraction of his songs. To his amazing covers and collaborations, I could be here all day talking.


What haunted me the most is song White Light from his last CD. It talks about when he was near death from pneumonia a few years ago. I played that song on the night I heard of his death.

One more pill just one more beer
One less star in the atmosphere for us
But maybe she just wanted to be free
Heartless pictures on TV
Change that channel that could have been me I said
Maybe she just wanted to be free

So I just kept breathing my friends
Waiting for the man to choose
Saying this ain't the day that it ends
'Cause there's no white light and I'm not through
I'm alive I'm alive...
And I've got so much more that I want to do with the music
Was it music that saved me?
Or the way that you prayed for me?
Guess either way, I thank you I'm alive

I know George struggled with drugs; grief over losing his mother and a great love. At 53, it seems to me to young to go. So many years and music that is him in.


Like the lyric said Maybe he wanted to be Free. Though, it hurts to know he is gone. His music, videos and interviews are still here.All I can say is I love you, George.

George leaving was bad enough, oh no, 2016 keeps taking amazing artists. The sad news today that Carrie Fisher died. Sigh. If you spent anytime on my blog, you know like I am a life long devoted Star Wars fan. I was 8 in 1977. For me, Luke, Leia, Han, Vader, Chewie, Artoo and Threepio, Obi Wan are like family to me. As the series continued, my extended movie family grew.


Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia was the pretty kick-ass Princess who didn't take crap from anyone. At 8, she reminded me of my mom. Leia spoke her mind and didn't need to be rescued. She can save her own self, thank you very much.



At 19, Carrie Fisher was able to radiate strength, beauty and regalness. That is hard for an actor to do let alone all three. Carrie just had that naturally.



I always liked seeing her on screen, beyond Star Wars, because I knew she always be witty and bring edge to whatever character she played. Carrie had a successful career as a novelist and script doctor for Hollywood movies in the late 80's and 90's.


Carrie struggled like George with drugs. She said finally being diagnosed as bipolar helped her understand herself better. She became an advocate for mental health. Reminding people that there is no shame in getting help for your mental issues. Carrie leaves behind her daughter, Billie Lourd, who is an actress, her brother, Todd and her two half sisters, Joely and Tricia Fisher.



Unfortunately, at my reediting of this post, her mother, an legend in her own right, Debbie Reynolds passed away a day after Carrie.



I will have to do a post solely devoted to Debbie.



Carrie and George leave behind a legion of fans from Music and Film.
I wish I had been able to meet them in person. I feel I know them both through their works. I will miss them. Each one left indelible marks on my life in the best of ways. All I can say is Thank you, Carrie and George.