Tag Archives: popular culture
Psycho: A Novel by Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch was an author of pulp science fiction and crime stories. A protégé of H.P. Lovecraft, he grew up reading Weird Tales magazine and after high school began writing science fiction stories for the magazine himself. Bloch moved away … Continue reading
A Friendship Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick and Gerald Fried
Gerald Fried, a Julliard trained composer for television and film and a still active nonagenarian, began performing music in his Bronx neighborhood during the 1940s. There he met Stanley Kubrick, who would go on to become a celebrated film director, … Continue reading
Spotlighting Communism & Hollywood in the papers of Sesame Street’s Mr. Hooper
One of the most recognizable figures of the first thirteen years (1969-1982) of PBS’s Sesame Street was Mr. Hooper the grocer, played by veteran actor Will Lee. He was one of the four original human characters on the show. Before … Continue reading
Exhibit at the American Heritage Center honors Barbara Stanwyck, 1907-1990
The astounding and legendary life and career of Barbara Stanwyck began in Brooklyn, New York. The youngest of 5 children born to common laborers, Stanwyck was originally known as ‘Ruby Stevens.’ She became orphaned by the age of 4. After … Continue reading
Celebrating Black History Month: The June Vanleer Williams Story
African-American journalist and editor June Vanleer Williams is not necessarily well-known, but what a rich life she led. Williams was an actress, a casting director, a journalist, a playwright, a poet, and an active member in Karamu House, which is the … Continue reading
David Brown and Steven Spielberg: Through Thick and Thin
Film producer David Brown (1916-2010) began his career in 1951 heading the story department at Twentieth Century Fox. His success began early through his involvement with The Robe, an American Biblical epic film that received an Oscar nomination for Best … Continue reading
Carl Stalling, Music Animator
A chance meeting in the early 1920s at a Missouri movie theater led to some of the most beloved cartoons ever created. Carl Stalling was improvising on the organ while accompanying a silent film. A young Walt Disney was in … Continue reading
