
—Marilyn Monroe, 1950




The Window
oil on canvas

Passage Bavastrello, Valparaiso, Chile, 1952.

Burger Chef Interior
oil on canvas: 39 3/8 × 56 in.
1972
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts


—Gary Cooper


Screenplay by Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, Claudine West
Based on the 1941 novel Random Harvest
by James Hilton


California, February 2005
The accepted wisdom has been that the Drive-in is dead. But the Wuhan virus has resurrected these charming relics as an alternative to mainstream movie theaters.

Drugstore, 1927
Oil on canvas
29 x 40 1/8 in.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

—Elizabeth Taylor



Portrait of May Sartoris
circa 1860
oil on canvas
Height: 152.1 mm (5.9 in) Width: 90.2 mm (3.5 in)
Kimbell Art Museum


Congregation Shearith Israel, 1730

A police officer playing with children, New York, 1970

Nothing wrong with Hollywood. No more destructive than any other conglomeration of hard working, sensitive and extremely bright people. These pithy sentences polished for publication are not and should not be taken for any more than they are — space in someones gossip column, but fun to read.
The pic from Random Harvest reminded me that my grandfather, who traveled a lot for his business, always took the train. He’d buy books to read during his long trips. I still have his 1941 edition of Random Harvest and his 1936 edition of Gone With The Wind. I liked the book, Random Harvest, better than the movie for reasons I can’t divulge unless you’ve seen the movie or read the book.
Larry, I have as you have read the book and seen the film, but my preference is the opposite; the film struck me as a near great work, whereas, the novel more workman like, and by that I mean Hilton kept me at arm’s length.
Another nice Friday. Those little pistols were called “Pocket Murderers.” In England, there were no police until Peel established the Metropolitan Police in 1829. Any prosperous resident rode or carried a pocket murderer.
Bela Lugosi Jr went to SC with me and was on the swim team. He looked just like that photo of his father.
Drive-ins might make a comeback. The objection to the area required ignores the parking areas required for indoor theaters. Also indoor malls are dying and many have theaters.
Not the blonde bombshell Monroe persona of a few years later.
Thank you, Robert, for a Friday morning dose with Myrna.
I love the Ferrari Egg, but I’d need Jeff Bezos-like income to lay down $5-6 million for it.
The Abbbati painting is very realistic.
The Burger Chef interior shows some common 70’s sights — orange and teal interiors and cigarette machines.
I don’t know how well Napolean’s pistol shot, but it is definitely art.
In the Hopper Drugstore painting, I note that Ex-Lax seems to be more prominent than prescription drugs.
The watch is interesting, but I’m not sure…
This Liz Taylor seems very different than the young, fresh teen you’ve posted before. Here she looks a little… hard. Hard-drinking, hard-smoking, hardened by Hollywood?