Chexy's Saturday Matinee

Here's Czech singer Ondřej Havelka and his Melody Makers with "Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar."



Here's Fred Astaire (with Fred Clark) in "Daddy Long Legs." Nice furniture!




James Brown... Papa's Got a Brand New Bag! From Shindig!




Beat Me Daddy, another way. Here's Maurice Rocco. The dancer is Mandy Lee.

Carla in London

First Lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy manages to find the camera as she and her Napoleon-sized husband Nicolas and Prince Chuck find their way to a statue of Charles de Gaulle in London, where they laid a wreath to commemorate de Gaulle's broadcast to Nazi occupied France on June 17, 1940, in which he declared himself the leader of the "Free French," which went on play a key role in defeating the Germans.

The full text of de Gaulle's speech is inscribed in a plaque on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris:

"The leaders who, for many years, have been at the head of the French armies have formed a government. This government, alleging the defeat of our armies, has made contact with the enemy in order to stop the fighting. It is true, we were, we are, overwhelmed by the mechanical, ground and air forces of the enemy. Infinitely more than their number, it is the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans which are causing us to retreat. It was the tanks, the airplanes, the tactics of the Germans that surprised our leaders to the point of bringing them to where they are today.

But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No!

Believe me, I who am speaking to you with full knowledge of the facts, and who tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that overcame us can bring us victory one day. For France is not alone! She is not alone! She is not alone! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can align with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. She can, like England, use without limit the immense industry of the United States.

This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is not over as a result of the Battle of France. This war is a worldwide war. All the mistakes, all the delays, all the suffering, do not alter the fact that there are, in the world, all the means necessary to crush our enemies one day. Vanquished today by mechanical force, in the future we will be able to overcome by a superior mechanical force. The fate of the world depends on it.

I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, invite the officers and the French soldiers who are located in British territory or who might end up here, with their weapons or without their weapons, I invite the engineers and the specialized workers of the armament industries who are located in British territory or who might end up here, to put themselves in contact with me.

Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished. Tomorrow, as today, I will speak on the radio from London."

France was occupied by the Germans for over four years. Paris was liberated August 25, 1944.

Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Remembering Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens, seen here at age 38, died at age 58 on this day in 1870, five years to the day after surviving the Staplehurst train crash.

He is buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.


for Sean and Wendy

That's Where You'll Find Me

Ninety-year-old "Wizard of Oz" Munchkin Jerry Maren, a wax figure of Judy Garland (who would have turned 88 tomorrow if she hadn't died of a barbiturate overdose in a London bathroom in 1969), lemon-drop delicious child star Margaret O'Brien, 73 (who worked with Judy on "Meet Me in St. Louis" in 1944), and Judy's rarely seen son, Joey Luft, 55.

Gay Pride Month Tidbit: It was the funeral of Judy Garland that mobilized gay unity, leading to the Stonewall Riots against persecution in NYC.

Getty

Warm, Touchin' Warm

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, 52, at last night's CFDA Fashion Awards gala, and her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in 1991 at 62.


And her aunt, the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, in her 80s.


Mrs. Schlossberg, below center, with her children (l to r) Rose, Tatiana and Jack Schlossberg, in August 2008 at the Democratic National Convention.


Forty-two years ago today, Caroline's uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, was buried at Arlington.

Getty/Dimitrios Kambouris
LIFE/David McGough
Paul J. Richards/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

When You Find a Look That Works, Keep It

Singer Nana Mouskouri has sold over 300 million records worldwide since the mid-1960s. She toured with Harry Belafonte and sang with Elvis. Now 75 and retired (really retired, not "Cher" retired), she appeared in Germany last night at a benefit for Africa.


Still fabulous.

Here she is on a French TV show in the '60s with some weird puppet.



Florian Seefried/Getty Images

Rue Pall

"Well pardon me, Dorothy, but we can't all come from places as socially acceptable as Brooklyn."

--Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux on "The Golden Girls"

Memorial Day

Remember the soldiers who fought the good fight on the side of good.

Chexy's Saturday Matinee

It's Memorial Day weekend, so here's some folks entertaining the troops.

Judy Garland, introduced by Bob Hope.



And here's a few clips of Bob Hope and the soldiers over the years. In one of these clips, he's 87.



Today would have been JFK's 93rd birthday, so here's his brother-in-law, Peter Lawford, and Marilyn Monroe to sing him Happy Birthday. Everybody! (for GL)



And here are the trailers for "This is the Army," and "Hollywood Canteen." Surprise guest stars!

Captain America

Hooray! They stopped the Nazis!

From March, 1941, Captain America
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Memorial Day Weekend

Remembering the soldiers of WWII -- and one of their favorite pin-ups, Esther Williams. (click pic to enlarge)

Paris Entertains the Soldiers

No, it's not a new porno from Paris Hilton, she's "entertaining" US servicemen at the USO Swinging Salute to our Troops Fleet Week kickoff at The Union Square Ballroom in Manhattan.

It's Memorial Day Weekend, so take a moment to remember the soldiers, and Paris Hilton.

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Chexy's Saturday Matinee

How about a little gorgeousness to ease you into your Saturday? Here's the work of Claude Monet.



The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra with Erik Satie's Gymnopedies #1.



From 1962's "Gypsy," You Gotta Have a Gimmick, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Natalie Wood as Gypsy, Faith Dane as Mazeppa, Roxanne Arlen as Electra, Betty Bruce as Tessie Tura. Costumes by Orry-Kelly. (for Gail W.)



Billie Holiday toward the end, with "Strange Fruit," which began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men.

A Star is Born

Oh the horror. There's talk of remaking "A Star is Born" yet again, perhaps with Beyoncé and Russell Crowe.

There have been three so far; the 1937 version with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, then Judy Garland's version in 1954 with James Mason, and the ghastly 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.

The Janet Gaynor version has some great dialog and was one of the early color films. Janet walked away from Oscar-winning success in films in 1938, and returned nearly 20 years later for one more, "Bernardine" with Pat Boone, of all people.


In 1978, she appeared on the Oscar telecast, handing Diane Keaton the Best Actress award for "Annie Hall."


Her last acting gig was on "The Love Boat" in 1981.


Janet Gaynor was riding in a taxi in San Francisco in 1982 with her husband and Mary Martin and her manager. A drunk driver in a van ran a red light at Franklin and California Streets, hitting the cab, and Gaynor suffered 11 broken ribs, a ruptured bladder, a broken collar bone, kidney damage and pelvic fractures. The taxi driver and the drunk sustained minor injuries.


She lived for two more years. Martin's manager, Ben Washer, was killed. The van driver, Robert Cato, was convicted of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 3 years.



Gaynor is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery next to her second husband, one of filmdom's great fashion designers, Adrian.


In September of '84, Cato was paroled after getting time off for good behavior. Janet died that same month of injuries attributed to the crash. Rather than pursue another charge against Cato, the DA chose not to investigate her death... at the request of Gaynor's family.

Happy Birthday, Katharine Hepburn

Today would have been Kate's 103rd birthday. Katharine Hepburn's stamp was issued today in Old Saybrook, CT, her home for many years. She died in 2003.

The image on the stamp is from 1942's "Woman of the Year," her first of nine films with Spencer Tracy.

"Life is hard. After all, it kills you."

--Katharine Hepburn

Goodbye, Dustin Shuler

Los Angeles artist Dustin Shuler has died at age 61 of pancreatic cancer.

Shuler was commissioned in 1989 to create a sculpture for this Berwyn, Illinois shopping plaza. He built this 50-foot "Spindle," known by locals as the "Car Kabob."

After efforts to save the work failed, it was taken down 20 years later so they could build a Walgreens on the spot.

Angie Dickinson Appears in Hollywood

Rat Pack pal Angie Dickinson, 78, looking great in a crummy old hat, made a rare appearance yesterday at the dedication of the Johnny Grant Post Office in Hollywood. In January of 2007, her 40-year-old daughter Nikki (from her marriage to Burt Bacharach) committed suicide. Nikki had Asperger's Syndrome.

Goodbye, Lena Horne

That's Lena Horne in 1944's Broadway Rhythm, as you've probably heard, she passed at age 92 on Mother's Day.


Here's Lena with her most famous song, from Stormy Weather.



And here's Lena in 1998 with Rosie O'Donnell.




And here's Lena in 1974 with Kermit.

Real Gone Places: Jimmie's Bar

Jimmie's Bar... was somewhere on Tamiami Trail, aka SW 8th Street in Miami, Fla.



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Goodbye, Leslie Buck

Auschwitz and Buchenwald survivor Leslie Buck, designer of the "Anthora" coffee cup used by nearly every diner in New York City, has died at age 87 at his home on Long Island.

We are not happy.