| Archives of Nolan's Pop Culture Review | ||
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 LA FLORIDIANA Bill Beuret: The Man Who Brought A Touch of Elegance and Taste of Paradise to Altamonte Springs....Movie Star Memorial...."William Moriaty's Florida" Book Now Available by William Moriaty | ||
THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW The Longest Yard by Mike Smith | ||
CHILLER CINEMA The Horror Movie Beware List by Drew Reiber | ||
CREATURE'S CORNER "Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"...The Return of Hal Jordan, Green Lantern by John Lewis | ||
MIKE'S RANT Bugs Bunny....Passing On....Best Wishes....New From England....More Music For A Good Cause....The Story of Jaws by Mike Smith | ||
LETTERS | ||
Established A.D. 2000, March 19. Now in our sixth calendar year!
Number 271 (Vol. 6, No. 22). This edition is for the week of May 30--June 5, 2005.
To all the under thirty-somethings out there: I'm referring to the super-secret insider source who gave Washington Times reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein the evidence they needed to link then President Richard Nixon to the bungled burglary at the Watergate hotel (the site of the Democratic Nat'l Convention) and the subsequent cover-up.
Those too young to have lived through it can hardly know what a life-changing and innocence-shattering time that was. The president of the United States was guilty of a crime (actually several) and, facing certain impeachment, resigned from office, the only American president to do so.
The only identification Woodward and Bernstein ever gave to the secret source who knew so much was "Deep Throat". Over the decades everyone close to Nixon at the time from speechwriter Pat Buchanon to chief-of-staff Alexander Haig was considered a possibility. Then there was the number two man at the F.B.I., W. Mark Felt. He was considered as well, but like the others, had denied it.
Woodward and Bernstein had steadfastly maintained they would never reveal their source until he or she was dead. Two days ago, 91-year-old retired FBI man Mark Felt relieved them of their responsibility by coming forward and admitting he was Deep Throat. Within 24 hours, The Washington Times, Woodward and Bernstein confirmed it.
So, after thirty-plus years, why now? At 91, deathbed confession time springs to mind, I suppose. But the old man confided in his family first. To his surprise, they regarded his actions during Watergate as heroic. There is speculation Felt wanted to set the record straight. Others have interviewed the family and gotten the impression the younger members wanted to capitalize on his fame (or infamy) before Woodward and Bernstein most assuredly would do, say with book deals or something. That makes sense.
For the record, Watergate accomplices John Dean and G. Gordon Liddy, recently interviewd, are less-than-thrilled with the revelation. Dean is confused as to how Felt could've been in the loop so intimately, to say nothing of making time to meet with reporters in dark parking garages. Liddy remarked about how if Felt wanted to do his duty, he could've shared his knowledge with the grand jury.
There is also the question of...why then? Why did a top FBI man break his "vow of silence" or whatever they call it to reveal sensitive government secrets to two reporters thirty years ago? The record shows Mark Felt was passed over for promotion by Richard Nixon, so he could've had an axe to grind. Those more sympathetic, while acknowledging the snubbing, suggest maybe he really did think he was doing the right thing by exposing Nixon.
Whatever. That tumultuous chapter in our nation's history is finally closed, the last secret revealed. Have the lessons learned truly stuck?
Sad Hollywood Passings PCR Horror Column Renamed
Deep Throat Revealed
Sad Hollywood Passings
PCR Horror Column Renamed
I suppose if I had been asked to pick three out of the top five mysteries of a baby-boomer's life, I could very well say "Who Really Shot J.F.K?", "Does the Government Have Any Knowledge of Extraterrestrials?" and "Who Was Deep Throat?". Now, of course, by "Deep Throat", I'm not referring to the triple-X rated movie of the early '70s or the porn actress who starred in it, Linda Lovelace---we know who she was.
In the movie "All The President's Men", based on the events of Watergate, Hal Holbrook played the chain-smoking and nervous government snitch. In the TV series "The X-Files" a trusted shadowy gov't insider our heroes named Deep Throat came to the aid of Mulder and Scully on more than occasion, usually through clandestine meetings arranged by secret signals (much like Felt is reputed to have done with the reporters). Unlike Mark Felt, however, Mulder's source didn't survive past the second season and was assassinated.
Eddie Albert died recently at the age of 99. Mostly remembered as the star of the '60s sit-com Green Acres (and deservedly so, it was nearly career-defining), he was also the star of the Bert Reynolds movie, The Longest Yard, which coincidentally opened last weekend (sadly, Albert died the day it opened). He also played Roswell Gilbert in a TV movie concerning the crime story of how Gilbert shot his wife to put her out of her misery. Many people don't know this, but the studio supporting I Love Lucy in the '50s didn't want her real-life husband Desi Arnaz to play Lucy's husband--they wanted Eddie Albert! Of course, this just barely scratches the surface of a 60+-year career in films and television. Our own Mike Smith will do his regular superb job summarizing the career of Eddie Albert in this week's Mike's Rant.
Last week Howard Morris and Henry Corden, both 85, died, and Mike did speak about those two men. Although Howard Morris started on Your Show of Shows in the '50s, my strongest memories of him are playing Ernest T. Bass, the arch-typical wacko hillbilly on the original Andy Griffith Show (or Andy of Mayberry, whatever). His physical comedy was quite convincing and surreal at the same time.
Henry Corden was the second actor to be the voice of Fred Flintstone. Playing the role since the '70s, he'd been the voice of Flinstone longer than the original actor who did the voice, Alan Reed, who was the Fred Flintstone I grew up with (and who died before Corden took over). I was very slow to warm to the replacement, but like everyone else, my resistance faded with age and I accepted him. The moral here is we're losing a second generation of baby-boomer talent! I now wonder when we'll mourn the loss of Mel Blanc's replacement who does Bugs Bunny now?
PCR writer Drew Reiber complained recently I misnamed his new column when it debuted last week, The Horror Movie Update. He said while we were out at Hooters the previous weekend, he told me the name of the column but I must've missed it and the "Update" he titled his first column was...well... the update to that column. (Terence Nuzum said he thought he heard him say it was to be called "Horror Time" or something like that. Oops, guess I was asleep at the beer pitcher, sorry.) Drew Reiber's new column is now offically entitled Chiller Cinema. Check out the latest issue.
"William Moriaty's Florida" the perfect-bound large format paperback book is now being carried on CafePress! Will has a few more details in this week's La Floridiana, but to peruse the website and maybe contemplate purchasing a copy, check out his spot on the CafePress website.
