On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 7:41 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> Got off of work at the film school around 4pm. Walked a few blocks to > Musso & Frank's Grill and sat at the same bar where Wyatt Earp used to > drink. Some of the bartenders have worked there for over 50 years. I had a > few beers, then walked up to Grauman's Chinese Theater and waited to see > Kirk Douglas step his feet into the same piece of cement he stepped in five > decades earlier (50-years-ago he also pressed his famous chin into the > cement... not this time). He told a funny anecdote about the first "talkie" > he got to see as a kid. He'd saved up the usual amount for a movie, 10 > cents, only to discover to his horror the talking picture was a quarter. > Undaunted, our man Mr. Douglas snuck into the theater. Today in his honor, > Grauman's charged theatergoers a quarter to see Sparticus. Douglas reached > into his pockets and tossed quarters at the crowd to cover the cost. > > All-in-all, a good day in tinseltown. > Apropos your Kirk Douglas encounter, I just came upon his piece published in HuffPo recently - apparently the same day you saw him: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirk-douglas/we-are-spartacus_b_1588173.html Pretty good stuff, including: "(SNIP) A century ago, America was a beacon of hope to the world. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were ideals not clichés. Any boy could still grow up to be president. Today, few boys--or girls, for that matter--dream of that. The American dream has become about quick fame and easy fortune, not public service and hard work. I know something about this. I have been an actor for most of my life. When I started out, I didn't think about anything except what was good for me. Like many movie stars, I became all wrapped up in myself. When I threw off the wrappings, I wrapped myself in the character I was playing. My change came suddenly when I heard these words spoken by President Kennedy in his Inaugural Address in 1961: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' It was a moment of clarity for me -- like somebody had flipped a switch and the lights came on. (SNIP) But you do not need to be a movie star to stand up for basic human freedom. The fight against oppression and tyranny depicted in *Spartacus*is still going on all over the globe from Syria to Egypt to Iran. Even the Russians are once again facing the threat of a popular uprising. I believe much of the divisiveness in the world is caused by religious fanaticism, even in the time of Spartacus when they worshipped many Gods. Man was not placed on earth to tell God how great He is. He doesn't need our help. As you study history, you find that millions of people have been killed because of religious divisions based on false orthodoxy not genuine spirituality. After 95 years on this planet, I have come to the conclusion that the human spirit can never be crushed, no matter how cruel the oppressor or fanatic the belief. If we remember that simple truth--and act on it every day in small ways and sometimes in large movements--then freedom will ultimately win. And then we are all Spartacus." -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
