Waldina

Seventy-seven years ago today, the film Gaslight premiered. It has a topnotch director and cast and a horribly disturbing plot that will live in the back of your mind for the rest of your life.

The psychological term gaslighting, which describes the form of psychological abuse in which the victim is gradually manipulated into doubting their own sanity, originated from the play and its two film adaptations.

Today is the birthday of the actress Ann B. Davis, Alice from The Brady Bunch. She so encapsulated her role that it wasn’t until much later when I was watching an interview with her and she mentioned that every year that she was on the show, she would buy herself a new Porsche 914. That didn’t track with all that I new about her and I realized that she was a real person outside of the role she played. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

Today is the 73rd birthday of the magician and friend of the Muppets Doug Henning. I loved his TV specials when I was a kid. Those teeth, those leotards, that mustache? It’s a lot to process, but so worth it. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

Today is the 115th birthday of the actress Mary Astor. Have you seen Red Dust, The Palm Beach Story, The Maltese Falcon, and Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte? You need to. For so many reason, if not only for Mary Astor. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

Fifty-nine years ago today, the film The Brain That Wouldn’t Die premiered as half of a double bill with Invasion of the Star Creatures. Due to a flawed copyright notice, it has always been in the public domain and has had several versions, one three minutes longer that advertised extra gore and an extended stripper catfight scene. It’s been featured on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, adapted into at least four musicals and one satirical film, and Jack Nicholson’s character goes into great detail of the movie plot in Heartburn.

Eighty years ago today, the film Meet John Doe premiered. The ‘Every Man’ story was where Frank Capra excelled, but adding Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck to it is extraordinary. You should watch this movie.

Seventy-four years ago today, the holiday favorite Miracle on 34th Street premiered. I too was initially confused why a Christmas movie was released in May, but learned that studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May, arguing that more people go to the movies in warmer weather.

In 2005, Miracle on 34th Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Today is the 127th birthday of the silent film actress, movie producer, and Buster Keaton’s sister-in-law Norma Talmadge. One of the legends of how Grauman’s Chinese Theatre started casting hands, feet, and even legs in concrete is that Norma accidentally stepped in a patch of wet cement. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

Today is the birthday of the singer Lesley Gore. Her songs are icons of the 60s. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.

Today is the 76th Birthday of Bianca Jagger.  She wore a red off-the-shoulder Halston dress and has been incorrectly reported that she rode a white horse into Studio 54 at her 30th birthday party.  Technically, she walked into the discotheque with Mick Jagger and once inside, there happened to be a horse. Why do people even bother to celebrate birthdays after that? With all her recent humanitarian work, the world is a better place that she is in it.