Monday, August 15, 2011

Maverick: New, Young and Classic ;->

Howdy Partners!

I just found a couple of interesting videos on YouTube.

The first is a 1979 promo for the ABC-TV film The New Maverick, which originally aired in 1978. It introduced yet another member of the Maverick clan--Cousin Beau's boy, Ben. Jack Kelly appears
:



But, I'm not thrilled that they gave him third billing at the end, after that upstart new Maverick. I mean, the announcer could have said, "Starring James Garner, Jack Kelly, and introducing Charles Frank as Ben Maverick". (Just sayin'.)

The second video is the intro for the short-lived 1979 TV series Young Maverick, which starred the aforementioned Mr. Frank as the aforementioned Ben Maverick, only he'd moseyed over to a different network (CBS). Neither JK nor JG appear here, but I do like the way the original Maverick theme and the gambling motif is used:



New Maverick? Young Maverick? No thanks--I'll just stick with the best: classic Maverick. :-)



Sunday, August 14, 2011

"My Husband, Jack Kelly" - Pt. IV

Howdy All!

Here's the fourth and final part of "My Husband, Jack Kelly" by Mae (May) Wynn:

"Kelly is a very good and careful driver, who sticks to the speed limit to the letter. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who gets nervous if anyone but myself drives. And, I show it. His reaction the last time he slammed on his brakes because someone was cutting in front of us and I automatically went through the same motions on my side, was typical.


'Gee whiz, Mae, maybe I better have your brakes fixed.'

As could be expected, Kelly is a stickler for being on time. Not so Mrs. Kelly. I was even late for my wedding.

We were supposed to leave for Arizona at two in the afternoon. About one, Kelly called on the phone. 'Ready to go?'


'I'm not even dressed!' I cried out. 'I've got a million things to do yet...'

'Like what?'

Suddenly, I couldn't think of anything left to be done except pack.

I was just my usual self--late. 'I'll be ready in an hour,' I promised.

I wasn't ready to leave till seven that night! And he didn't get mad at me.

I was even late for our second wedding.

Because we had eloped the first time, we decided to get married again, in a church. The date was November 10, 1956; the time, 1:30; the place, St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Hollywood.


The groom was ready at 1:30 sharp.

I finally managed to get there by 2:45, and believe me, this time I tried to be on time. It just doesn't work. But again, and ever since, Kelly has been most gallant about the whole thing. He never utters a word of complaint.

Kelly is definitely not a typically domesticated male--for which I'd like to take some credit. I don't believe a man who works hard all week long should put on an apron and do the dishes or any other kind of housework when he comes home. Kelly couldn't agree more.

On the other hand, he is such a connoisseur of food that he can taste almost any dish and identify the ingredients. To just what extent was never more apparent to me than when we were in Hong Kong, starring in a picture shortly after we were married.

Chinese food didn't agree with Kelly at all. After he was ill several meals in a row, he went to the kitchen of the Carlton Hotel where we stayed, and showed the chef how to prepare all sorts of delicacies--from cabbage fried potatoes to mushroom sauce with wine! By the time we left, I'm sure the chef knew as much about non-Chinese dishes as the ones he was used to cooking all his life!

Kelly also has excellent taste in clothes--women's clothes. Not long ago we were invited to a formal party in honor of Dimitri Tiomkin. That afternoon I took an old evening gown I was going to wear out of the closet, and hung it on a wardrobe knob.

When Kelly came home he took one look at the dress and decided it was too old. Without letting me know what he was up to, he left the house again, went to an exclusive dress shop on Ventura Boulevard, and returned with a beautiful black and white lace gown--which fit to perfection. Although I still don't know how he managed, it didn't surprise me. By now I'm used to the fact that I married a most unusual man." :)

(From Silver Screen, December 1959)

Well, that wraps up this amazing article, but stay tuned...there's more fun comin' up in TDS:




  • Stop and smell the roses with JK and...?



  • JK turns up the heat in a cold climate



  • And some surprises ;-)