seniors long beach - Page 7

There are so many things we may not know about one of the most familiar faces in Hollywood – Michael J. Fox. For instance, did you know that Fox, who was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to William and Phyllis Fox in 1961, adopted the “J” as his
middle name (his real middle name is Andrew) in honor of his favorite character actor, Michael J. Pollard?

In an interview, he said he tried to register with the Screen Actors Guild as “Michael Fox” but the name was already taken. So, he replaced the “A” with a “J” because he “didn’t want the teen magazines to use headlines such as “Michael A. Fox!”

If you are reading this, you are most likely old enough to remember watching “I Dream of Jeannie” on TV, starring the effervescent Barbara Eden, one of Hollywood’s busiest actresses since the early 60s.

The “Jeannie” show became an instant hit, ran for five seasons and has been airing continuously on cable and in syndication worldwide for more than 50 years. Since then, her career has amassed more than 25 feature films, five network TV series, 19 made-for-TV movies and hundreds of guest appearances on film, TV, stage and concert halls throughout the world.

Lowe’s family moved from Charlottesville, Va., his birthplace, to Dayton, Ohio, where he was raised in a “traditional American setting,” attending
Oakwood Junior High School. Following his parent’s divorce, he moved to the Point Dume area of Malibu, Calif. with his mother and brother. In California, he attended Santa Monica High School, where he met Charlie Sheen.

One of Lowe’s earliest roles came in the 1983 TV film “Thursday’s Child,” for which he received his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film. He also appeared in the music video for The Go-Go’s song, “Turn to You.” His breakthrough role was his big-screen debut in 1983 when he and Emilio Estevez were cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders.” Lowe played the role of Sodapop Curtis, the brother of the main character Ponyboy Curtis (C.Thomas Howell) and Darrel Curtis (Patrick Swayze). Lowe and Estevez reunited in “St. Elmo’s Fire,” making them the two more prominent actors from the group known as the Brat Pack. “About Last Night” followed with Demi Moore, who had starred alongside Lowe in “St.
Elmo’s Fire.”

At 52, the Australian-American superstar actress is not slowing down, not by a longshot. The bright lights of Hollywood continue to shine on Nicole Kidman, whose fame was gained not only from the movies she has appeared in, but also from her two marriages, first to Tom Cruise and currently to star singer and guitarist Keith Urban.

For anybody reading this publication, they know that the name Bob Barker is synonymous with TV and in particular, TV game shows, and even more specifically, “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right.”

Now retired at the young age of 96, his legacy and unmistakable mellow voice are fixtures in our memory, going all the way back to the 1950s when game shows were, in fact, the prime time of the tiny black and white, tube-driven electronic phenomenon known as television.

Did you watch the Country Music Awards last month? If so, you would have seen one of the main highlights of the show – a performance by Sheryl Crow, a legitimate superstar of the genre.

At 57, the singer, songwriter, musician, and actress is still bringing down the house as an entertainer, and it was vividly on display at the CMAs in Nashville. In a tribute to legendary Kris Kristofferson, Crow teamed with fellow country music stars Dierks Bentley, Chris Janson, John Osborne and Joe Walsh in a rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee.”

One of the most famous singing groups the world has ever known hails from the orange groves and bean felds that dominated the Orange County landscape prior to the 1960s. Of course, I am talking about The Righteous Brothers – Bobby Hatfeld and Bill Medley. The group’s career is storybook, beginning in 1962 and ending abruptly when Hatfeld died in 2003 from heart failure caused by his cocaine use. In the wake of the tragedy, Medley returned to perform solo like he did during the 1970s following the duo’s breakup in 1968. Despite their on-and off relationship throughout their early – and most successful – years, the group’s lone survivor continues to evoke fond memories of his deep bass-baritone vocals that are sometimes dubbed “blue-eyed soul.”