Day 14: Sinatra Centennial Memorabilia Celebration

I may be out of step, but I've always been that way...

...since I've always preferred:

Lost in Space to Star Trek

Jose Feliciano's "Light My Fire" to The Doors'

network television to cable

The 12 Chairs to any other Mel Brooks film

Miracle on 34th Street to any other Xmas film

Popeye to any other Robin Williams film

most films without Robin Williams to films with him

and, just to make it clear,

Mindy to Mork.

I also prefer:

Zelig to Forest Gump

Ava Gardner's Barefoot Contessa to that cook's

Peggy Sue Got Married to Back to the Future

gambling on baseball to PEDs

American Graffiti to any other Lucas film

Richie Cunningham to Fonzie

Susan Saint James to Jill Saint John and Eva Marie Saint

Roger Moore as "The Saint" to Roger Moore as "James Bond"

Pierce Brosnan as "Remington Steele" to Pierce Brosnan as "James Bond"

The Montefuscos to The Sopranos

Toy Story II to Toy Story

30 minutes of Cronkite to 24/7 of any other news

Bewitched (the series NOT that Will Ferrell thing) to Harry Potter

Homicide to The Wire

Mr. Bubble to Michael Buble

Law and Order to Law and Order SVU, CI, MIA, PDQ, and WTF

Neil Sedaka's "Stairway to Heaven" to Led Zeppelin's

and, of course,

The Scarlet Letter to The Catcher in the Rye

MGM's "Show Boat" will just slay ya!

 

I just finished Ed Ifkovic's Make Believe, a murder mystery set in 1951 Hollywood and part of his Edna Ferber Mystery series.  The book was sent to me by another mystery writer, friend, and former colleague at CCSU, Carole Shmurak, because of my interest in two of the real-life characters in Make Believe, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra.

And, let me say, Mr. Ifkovic's depictions of the two stars, both individually and as a problematic couple, work very well.  He captures the tabloid-hot-copy nature of their relationship on the verge of their marriage on 7 November 1951 but still manages to create well-rounded characters that the reader can care about.

The nature of a mystery novel makes writing a review difficult since the reviewer doesn't want to give anything away, so I won't say anything more than the plot nicely interweaves a murder or two; the impending release of MGM's Show Boat, the musical based upon the novel by Edna Ferber (the sleuth of Ifkovic's series) and starring Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, and William Warfield; the Ava/Frank relationship; and the investigations of the House Un-American Activities Committee.  The various strands of the plot make for several viable suspects, of course, and offers a peak into the star-making machinery of Hollywood's heyday.

That said, the book starts off more slowly than is best, I think, although the last half really kicks into high gear as Ms. Ferber, away from her familiar NYC haunts, gains her balance amongst the West Coast backstabbers and makes it clear that this older woman, who's usually the smartest one in whatever room she walks, won't be taking any guff from anyone.  For Ferber offers Ifkovic a fine and credible crime-solver: successful enough in show business to give her access and talented enough in wordsmithing to be witty in both the moment and upon  reflection.

If you like the mystery genre, or old Hollywood, or Show Boat, or Frank and/or Ava, or Edna Ferber, you'll enjoy this book.  It may not change your opinions about any of these characters, but it'll certainly make you long for the days when the stars were big -- before "the pictures got small."

An Ava Gardner photo I'd never seen before!

from listal

I'm not really sure the form is classic...

...but I do believe Ava's score would be LOVE - LOVE - LOVE!

 

 

If you're going to be around the central Connecticut region in late May through June, and are...

...looking for a course to take, might I suggest this 5-week/4-days-a-week course at Central Connecticut State University:

Eng 214: Studies in World Literature: Frank and Ava

By focusing on one of the most high-profile and explosive couples of the 20^th Century and by using international and American works, this course will examine the many ways that writers the world over have created and employed their own Frank Sinatras and Ava Gardners, as individuals and as a couple, in a variety of genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama).  The course will focus on the techniques, expectations, and possibilities that each genre offers to the writers and some of the cultural attitudes that shape their literature.

"No reason, she just could"

And that, Ms. Kensit, when it comes to Ava Gardner, at least, seems like a perfectly valid reason to me!  Furthermore, it emphasizes that I've not been hanging out in hotel lobbies drinking champagne nearly enough.

An Ava Gardner Cloud!

A cloud of the introduction to my anthology Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus (Entasis Press, 2010)!

So, my publisher and I thought that a perfect place for an entertaining, thoughtful, and wide-ranging Ava Gardner anthology...

...might be the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina, since folks interested in Ava would also be interested in her continuing cultural relevance.  We figured they would think visitors to the museum would want to read a book that includes what such great writers as Robert Graves, Margaret Atwood, and Allan Gurganus, not to mention many others from around the world, thought and felt about Miss Gardner.  We figured that the inspiration Ava still offers all of these artists would, if not fascinate them, then at least be a source of a little curiosity to them.

Well, we were wrong, I guess.  The Museum has chosen not to carry the book or display it at their upcoming Ava Fest because they feel it runs counter to the mission of the museum since, in their opinion, the volume too often shows Ava in a bad light and contains too much sexuality. 

Ava and sex?  Who woulda thunk it?

I always thought museums were supposed to be education institutions, y'know, organizations unafraid of art and what art can reveal about life and people.

My apologies, Miss Gardner.  I think you really would have liked the volume.

Another reason to hate HD ("high definition TV" not the author)

from the NY Times "How HDTV Scrambles Beauty Standards":

Screen idols like Montgomery Clift and Ava Gardner, known for the contrasts in their coloring, which played especially well in Technicolor and other early color systems, can seem garish in high-def, which makes colors “pop,” often unpleasantly. Stark contrasts — a formerly winning combo like black hair, rosy skin and green eyes — can actually be ruinous these days, Carmindy wrote. “Super pale skin with dark, dyed hair does not look as nice as natural coloring, i.e. light skin light hair, medium skin brown hair, etc.” High def likes monochrome. (Carmindy also pointed out that “dark skin always fares better than lighter skin as it does not show as many lines, veins and discolorations as lighter skin.”)

"Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus" is now available!

My third book, Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus, has just been published by Entasis Press in Washington DC. The website is http://www.entasispress.com/.

The book is an anthology of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and song lyrics, each of which treats Ms. Gardner in some direct (or indirect) way. It is, in concept, a sequel to my 2008 volume Sinatra: But Buddy I'm a Kind of Poem, which looks at the many different Sinatras that poets and songwriters have created over the years. And, while Sinatra, not surprisingly, also makes appearances in this volume, the focus always remains on Ava and her compelling mix of talent, strength, beauty, insecurity, and, yes, excess.

Some selections see the actress as a symbol of beauty or tenacity, others as a marker of times past and glories gone, and others as an unattainable dream or a keen reflection of the strong women in their own lives. In selection after selection, the power of Ava's work in film also rings out: Mogambo, Pandora..., On the Beach, Show Boat, Night of the Iguana, and The Barefoot Contessa, etc., a body of work that resonates still.

The authors whose works are included are quite varied: from the very well known (Margaret Atwood, Robert Graves, Allen Gurganus, Suzanne Vega, and Ava's own Mario Cabre) to those perhaps known primarily in poetry circles (Michael S. Harper, Virgil Suarez, Peg Boyers, Kirpal Singh, and Pere Gimferrer), from Ava's contemporaries to those from almost every generation since.

Reflecting Ava's own cosmopolitanism, the anthology also boasts authors not just from North America, but from all around the world: Spain, France, England, New Zealand, Greece, India, and the Philippines.

I'm pretty sure there's no other book on Ms. Gardner like this: It celebrates not just who she was, but the meanings the world has made of her -- not to mention the fascination her life, her films, and her spirit still hold for us all.

As Lee Server, the author of the internationally best-selling biography Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing of Ava, writes about the collection:

For nearly a hundred years she has inspired and inflamed her idolators, from matador to billionaire, guttersnipe paparazzo to head-in-the-clouds poet. Professor G.’s unique anthology—a rich mix of hymn, recollection, random invocation—is a divine tribute to the Goddess of sex, glamour, and passion.

Fridays with Ava: The Ava Gardner Film Series at CCSU (Part I)

A small but enthusiastic turn-out for film #1, The Killers (with an introduction by Hemingway scholar Dr Barry Leeds), yesterday in Diloreto Hall 001, on the campus of Central Connecticut State University! The film series, free and open to the public sponsored by the CCSU Alumni Association, drew a nice mix of current students, staff, and faculty, as well as alumni and emeriti faculty.

Film #2, with an intro by African American History and Philosophy scholar, Dr. Felton Best, is now less than two weeks away -- February 19th: SHOW BOAT!

Spread the word.

First look at the cover of the new Ava Gardner anthology due out from Entasis Press this coming April!

Tomorrow on "Frank, Gil, and Friends"

Today, 25 January 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of Ava Gardner's death,

so, tomorrow, we'll be playing songs Frank recorded in 1951 and 1952

(the years leading up to and immediately following their marriage on 7 November 1951)

WITH A SPECIAL AVA SET STARTING AT 9 AM!

Frank, Gil, and Friends

Tuesdays 8-10 AM

on-air at WFCS 107.7 FM New Britain/Hartford

on-line at www.live365.com/stations/wfcs

For more program info go to http://home.comcast.net/~g18gigliotti/site (The "Frank, Gil, and Friends" website)

An idiosyncratic "Today in History"

It's the Feast of the conversion of St. Paul, so try and at least get knocked off a horse (if you can't actually get on the road to Damascus).

Ava Gardner dies in 1990.

The New Ava Gardner Museum Blog and other Ava News

I'm quite excited that the Ava Gardner Museum now has its own blog -- a chance for all of us who aren't in shouting distance of Smithfield, NC to keep up with events, exhibits, etc. at the Museum.

Other news...

Just heard from my publisher, Entasis Press, that we're looking at an April release for the new anthology, Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus.

And the free Ava film series at CCSU, "Fridays with Ava," sponsored by Alumni Affairs Office, will include a pre-screening reception at each movie! Ava with snacks on a Friday afternoon. What could be better that that?

I'm also trying to arrange with Playhouse on Park a free morning screening of Ava's One Touch of Venus. Details as they become available.

And this Tuesday at 9:00 AM on the "Frank, Gil, and Friends" radio show, we'll mark this Monday's 20th anniversary of Ava's passing with a special Ava playlist!!!!! (Just return here on Tuesday and click on the WFCS station link right on this blog!)

Ava Gardner-- alive and well in central Connecticut!

Fridays with Ava: An Ava Gardner Film Series

The CCSU Alumni Association

presents

FRIDAYS WITH AVA

An AVA GARDNER Film Series

(with each movie introduced by a CCSU professor with an expertise in a related field)

February 5

THE KILLERS (1946) w/ Professor Barry Leeds

February 19

SHOW BOAT (1951) w/ Professor Felton Best

March 5

MOGAMBO (1953) w/ Professor Burlin Barr

March 12

THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954) w/ Professor Cindy White

April 23

ON THE BEACH (1959) w/ Professor David Blitz

CCSU's DILORETO HALL 001, 2 PM

Screenings are free and open to the public