Author: DOuG pRATt

In 1951, Jeanne Crain and Jean Peters appeared together in the fluffy film Take Care of My Little Girl. When I see Jeanne I think she was more beautiful than Jean, and when I see Jean I think she was more beautiful than Jeanne. When they’re together I can’t make up my mind.

Jeanne and Jean became close friends. They looked as though they could have been sisters, and in a bit of casting that was equally obvious and inspired, they played sisters in Vicki, from 1953.

As a murder mystery Vicki isn’t a great movie, but it’s fast-paced and entertaining. Along for the ride with Jeanne and Jean there is Richard Boone before Have Gun Will Travel, Carl Betz before The Donna Reed Show, and Aaron Spelling before he became a TV producer.

I’ve been going through old recordings on my FiOS TV DVR. How old? Last night I watched an episode of Louie that was recorded on August 2, 2012. “Whoever dies first,” says Robin Williams. Almost exactly two years later, he committed suicide.

Williams had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. An autopsy revealed Lewy Body Dementia. Then Louie C.K. pulled a “metoo” and committed career suicide, but it was temporary and he’s been back on stage for a while.

Patrick O’Neal, whose brother Michael was one of the finest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, stars in Assignment to Kill, from 1968. The pitch for the movie seems to have been along the line of, “James Bond, insurance agent.” An overlooked 60’s gem? I’ll know after watching it.