Hollywood Flashback
When Hollywood First Dreamed Up a Woman President
The election of the first female U.S. president was played for laughs when Kisses for My President hit theaters six decades ago. Directed by Curtis Bernhardt, the Warner Bros. film stars Polly Bergen as President Leslie McCloud, who navigates relations with Soviets and a dictator in Central America. Meanwhile, her husband, Thad (Fred MacMurray), struggles […]
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Hollywood Flashback: When ‘Dark Shadows’ Vampires Enchanted Lifelong Fans
Nearly 60 years before FX’s comedy What We Do in the Shadows earned its third Emmy nom for best comedy series, the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows brought supernatural storylines featuring vampires, ghosts, werewolves and witches to TV — albeit with less overtly comic qualities — when it premiered in June 1966. Filled with melodramatic […]
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Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig Were Also Up for Emmys at the Same Time 12 Years Ago
Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig have quite a few things in common beyond getting their start on Saturday Night Live. This year, they’re both Emmy nominated for outstanding actress in a comedy series: Rudolph for Loot and Wiig for Palm Royale, both on Apple TV+. But before their success with scripted series, the duo had […]
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Hollywood Flashback: When Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Stormed the Box Office
Prince took his stardom to new heights when he made a splash with Purple Rain. Director Albert Magnoli’s musical drama starred Prince as the Kid, an aspiring musician from an abusive upbringing who navigates a rivalry with another performer (Morris E. Day) and a romance with a fellow singer (Apollonia Kotero). Following the success of […]
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Hollywood Flashback: When Clint Eastwood Saved the Day
The drama and intrigue of an attempt on a president’s life gripped moviegoers when In the Line of Fire debuted 31 years ago. The thriller from director Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One) stars Clint Eastwood as Frank Horrigan, an aging Secret Service agent tormented over his inability to stop President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Frank […]
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Hollywood Flashback: When (Bob) Hope Ruled Hollywood
If you were to stick a pin in a timeline to find a key moment in Hollywood philanthropy, it could land on May 6, 1941. That’s the date Bob Hope took to a stage at an Army Air Corps Base in Riverside, California, and opened the curtains on the very first USO Camp Show. The United […]
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Hollywood Flashback: ‘Queer Eye’ Hit Fab Status at the Emmys 20 Years Ago
Queer Eye has proven to clean up quite nicely, with the unscripted television franchise having collected 12 Emmy wins from 38 total nominations. It landed its first Emmy for its debut season after initially launching as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on Bravo during the summer of 2003. Focusing on five gay men known […]
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Hollywood Flashback: Meet Drag King OG Gladys Bentley
Standing proud in tux and top hat, Gladys Bentley was a trailblazing blues singer and pianist who flouted gender conventions long before Janelle Monáe rocked a three-piece suit. At 16, Bentley ran away from her family home in Philadelphia — where her parents, worried about her masculine tendencies, were subjecting her to hormone treatments — […]
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Hollywood Flashback: Karen Arthur Broke the Directors’ Glass Ceiling
CBS’ Cagney & Lacey, the female-fronted police procedural, became a groundbreaking series for women upon its debut in 1982, but the 1985 Emmy Awards were notably historic for the show that starred Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless as NYPD detectives. During the ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Karen Arthur became the first woman to […]
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Hollywood Flashback: How the 1980 ‘Shogun’ Was Pretty True to Japan
Paramount Television’s Shogun was arguably the original international event series. The five-part TV adaptation of James Clavell’s sprawling 1975 novel of the same name became a pop culture sensation when it aired on NBC in 1980, winning an Emmy for outstanding limited series and the Golden Globe for best television series in the drama category. […]
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Hollywood Flashback: How Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock Revved Up for ‘Speed’
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock hurtled onto the A-list 30 years ago with the action hit Speed. Jan de Bont (Twister) made his feature directorial debut with the film about LAPD officer Jack Traven (Reeves) trying to prevent the detonation of a bomb rigged to blow up a bus unless it stays above 50 mph. […]
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Hollywood Flashback: Kelsey Grammer Won His First Emmy 30 Years Ago
There are few actors who have played one character for longer than Kelsey Grammer has portrayed his highfalutin alter ego, Dr. Frasier Crane. The refined yet often self-sabotaging psychologist first popped into a certain Boston neighborhood bar 40 years ago, during the third season of Cheers, and remained a fixture as the NBC sitcom wrapped […]
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