Administrator Profile

The first black and white film I ever remember watching was A Night to Remember on television when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Then when I was eleven, I got my very own portable black-and-white TV set for my bedroom, and I discovered It's a Wonderful Life which became my favorite movies of all time. The first time I watched the film, I saw the last half hour with Clarence. This entire sequence really had an impact on me. I would watch the film again in its entirety on PBS in the days when it was shown on TV many times during the holidays. I learned more about Jimmy Stewart, and realized he had made many other films besides this one. For a long time, Jimmy Stewart and George Bailey were one person.

For my birthday when I was 14, I got a huge movie history book: LIFE Goes To The Movies, a pictorial history of Hollywood and filmaking, which pretty much was my primer into the history of American films. I was impressed with so many of the profiles and photos, and soon began to find video stores that had these rare gems on VHS tape. Ha ha! That's when video stores existed (Before Net Flix!). I remember travelling across the city by public transportation (City buses, trains, etc) to get to a public library to find copies of certain films.  In my freshman year of high school, I began to watch more films: The Odd Couple, The Apartment, Johnny Belinda, Earthquake!, Bonnie and Clyde.  And on a memorable road trip in college my friend and I went on a 3-day road trip to see James Dean's grave site and museum in Fairmount, Indiana and the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The picture at the top of his post is me in front of the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto, California. They have year-round film fests, and I'm a sucker for classic movies, obviously. That weekend I was there they were showing a Cary Grant double feature.

So how big of an It's A Wonderful Life nerd am I? Well, I love the colorized version, believe it or not. Yes, I'm not so much as a purist in that regard. I have watched the colorized version and noticed things I haven't seen before. I have  watched IAWL on the big screen twice and have met Karolyn "Zuzu" Grimes in person.  But of course, I not only love the movie, but I also love Jimmy Stewart, my favorite actor of all time. One of the biggest thrills ever was to see his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as well as his footprints in the cement at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

My other favorite movies of Jimmy's are Harvey, The Shop Around the Corner, Winchester 73, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rear Window, and The Mortal Storm. I'd say those are my absolute favorites of his. To many people's surprise, I am not such a fan of Vertigo. There's just something about that story that creeps me out.  But don't get me wrong, I will watch it and I do appreciate it.


I hope you enjoy this blog; I don't think I will update it every day but if I see something on You Tube I might share the video clip. Also I have alot of magazine articles in my archives that I hope to upload soon, as well as some photos.