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No matter where fate propels Oliver Twist—from the workhouse to the funeral home to the hideout of a master pickpocket—the orphan maintains a fierce sense of who he is, plus a willingness to stand up for himself and, yes, even ask for more in his pursuit of a loving home. And Benjamin Pajak, the actor who plays him, is on a similarly dogged quest: a nearly one-kid glorious mission to rescue the New York City Center’s lumpy revival of Lionel Bart’s 1960 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic novel Oliver Twist.

If it felt like hyperbole to praise the 10-year-old playing Winthrop Paroo in the revival of The Music Man as the most electrifying performer on stage, there’s no need to pull punches now that he’s taken on a title role. Indeed, Pajak, now 12 years old, is a marvel in Oliver! For one, his...

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens was embraced by the British public from the moment it first dropped in 1843; it was an instant bestseller and the work has never been out of print since (via ThoughtCo). Almost 60 years later, the festive tale took a leap to the new-fangled medium of cinema with "Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost" in 1901. That title hinted at a vision of Film Adaptations Yet to Come; Scrooge was the star of the show and would become a juicy role for dozens of famous actors over the next 120 years.

Since Daniel Smith donned Scrooge's nightcap in that pioneering first adaptation, George C. Scott, Albert Finney, Reginald Owen, Patrick Stewart, and Henry Winkler have all given their distinctive take on the role, while Alastair Sim remains many people's definitive version of the character. Bill Murray put a modern spin on the tale in "Scrooged," while in animation we've had Mr. Magoo,...

Leslie Bricusse, Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter whose songs for Broadway and Hollywood include “What Kind of Fool Am I?” and “Pure Imagination,” died Tuesday in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. He was 90.

Bricusse wrote the lyrics for James Bond theme songs “Goldfinger” and “You Only Live Twice,” as well as songs for movies including “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (including “The Candy Man”), “Scrooge,” “Hook,” “Doctor Dolittle” and “Superman.”

His close friend, Dame Joan Collins, announced the death on Instagram this morning, calling him “one of the giant songwriters of our time.” Bricusse’s son Adam also announced it on Facebook; neither indicated a cause of death.

Over seven decades, the London-born writer-composer was in demand for his clever, witty and tuneful songs, sometimes in collaboration with others and sometimes serving as both lyricist and composer.

“The music illuminates the meaning of the lyric, just as the lyric can have only that melody and no other,...

Welcome to this week’s Nxt review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and I’m Wayne Brady b–ch! We gotta wham that ham! I didn’t watch this Crap…capital Crap. C-c-c stink! I’ve been studying from the Frank Zappa book of reviewing. “Say whatever you watched gave you a boner”. Hey people, this s–t gave me a boner. Nxt…erect and lovin’ it.

Match #1: Dexter Lumis def. Austin Theory The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Austin Theory looked as intense as we’ve ever seen him in Nxt, likely as a result of Dexter Lumis’ hurtful comments about Theory’s “abdominal region” — at least if one believes Johnny Gargano. “All Day” scored several near-falls, though eventually Lumis appeared to be ready to let bygones be bygones, offering Theory a handshake. Theory bought it hook, line and sinker, responding with a hug...

With a fair number of grimly sardonic dramas like The Third Man and Odd Man Out on his resume, Carol Reed might have been seen as an odd choice to direct a big budget musical version of Dickens’ Oliver Twist. But Reed managed to balance the bright show tunes with the dark side of Dickens’ sprawling tale – Ron Moody cuts a sinister figure as the rapacious Fagin and the animalistic Bill Sikes is played to a T by Oliver Reed. The film triumphed at both the box office and the Academy Awards where it won Best Picture and a director’s statuette for Reed.

The post Oliver! appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

By Todd Garbarini

Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts theater will be presenting a 50th anniversary screening of Carol Reed’s Academy Award-winning 1968 film Oliver! The 153-minute film, which stars Ron Moody, the late-great Oliver Reed, a very young Mark Lester, and Shani Wallis, will be screened on Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 3:00 pm.

Please Note: At press time, actress Shani Wallis is scheduled to appear in person for a discussion about the film prior to the screening.

She will be on hand at 2:30 pm in the lobby selling posters for $50.00 and photos for $20.00, and will also autograph them. All proceeds will go to charity.

From the press release:

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

Oliver! (1968)

50th Anniversary Screening

Sunday, July 15, at 3 Pm

Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre

Q&A with Actress Shani Wallis

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 50th anniversary screening...

By Todd Garbarini

Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts theater will be presenting a 50th anniversary screening of Carol Reed’s Academy Award-winning 1968 film Oliver! The 153-minute film, which stars Ron Moody, the late-great Oliver Reed, a very young Mark Lester, and Shani Wallis, will be screened on Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 3:00 pm.

Please Note: At press time, actress Shani Wallis is scheduled to appear in person for a discussion about the film following the screening, as well as taking time to autograph memorabilia available for sale. The price is $50.00 to sign posters, which will go to charity.

From the press release:

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

Oliver! (1968)

50th Anniversary Screening

Sunday, July 15, at 3 Pm

Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre

Q&A with Actress Shani Wallis

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 50th anniversary screening of the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 1968, Oliver!

“The Shape of Water” numbers three acting bids among its leading 13 Academy Awards nominations for lead Sally Hawkins and supporting players Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer. According to our exclusive Oscar odds none of them is predicted to win on March 4. Should that scenario play out, does that mean that their film won’t win Best Picture?

Not so fast.

While 53 of the 89 Best Picture champs to date include an Oscar-winning performance, 36 of them (40%) did not win any acting awards. And among those three dozen winners are four of the eight films — “The Hurt Locker” (2009), “Argo” (2012), “Birdman” (2015) and “Spotlight” (2016) — decided by preferential ballot under the newly expanded slate of Best Picture nominees.

Surprisingly, an even dozen of the Best Picture winners did not even reap any acting nominations. That is welcome news for “Arrival,” which does not number an acting bid among its eight nominations. However, four of those films...

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in ‘La La Land’ (Courtesy: Lionsgate)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

Not only is La La Land breaking records as the most-nominated musical in Oscar history but that haul of 14 nominations for its lead pair, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Musicals don’t often get that much love from the Academy Awards and getting recognition in both the best actor and best actress categories is even rarer. Let’s take a look back at the history of this happening and see how Stone and Gosling’s nominations — and potential wins — are important.

Taking a look at this year’s nominations, Stone is favored to win more than Gosling is for their work in the Damien Chazelle-directed musical. Gosling is up against Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), and Denzel Washington (Fences) — with the latter expected to reign supreme.

Ron Moody in Mel Brooks' 'The Twelve Chairs.' The 'Doctor Who' that never was. Ron Moody: 'Doctor Who' was biggest professional regret (See previous post: "Ron Moody: From Charles Dickens to Walt Disney – But No Harry Potter.") Ron Moody was featured in about 50 television productions, both in the U.K. and the U.S., from the late 1950s to 2012. These included guest roles in the series The Avengers, Gunsmoke, Starsky and Hutch, Hart to Hart, and Murder She Wrote, in addition to leads in the short-lived U.S. sitcom Nobody's Perfect (1980), starring Moody as a Scotland Yard detective transferred to the San Francisco Police Department, and in the British fantasy Into the Labyrinth (1981), with Moody as the noble sorcerer Rothgo. Throughout the decades, he could also be spotted in several TV movies, among them:[1] David Copperfield (1969). As Uriah Heep in this disappointing all-star showcase distributed theatrically in some countries.

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

Ron Moody in 'Oliver!' movie. Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' actor nominated for an Oscar dead at 91 (Note: This Ron Moody article is currently being revised.) Two well-regarded, nonagenarian British performers have died in the last few days: 93-year-old Christopher Lee (June 7, '15), best known for his many portrayals of Dracula and assorted movie villains and weirdos, from the title role in The Mummy to Dr. Catheter in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. 91-year-old Ron Moody (yesterday, June 11), among whose infrequent film appearances was the role of Fagin, the grotesque adult leader of a gang of boy petty thieves, in the 1968 Best Picture Academy Award-winning musical Oliver!, which also earned him a Best Actor nomination. Having been featured in nearly 200 movies and, most importantly, having had his mainstream appeal resurrected by way of the villainous Saruman in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies (and various associated merchandising,...

Sometimes an actor stumbles into a role that defines a career. Ron Moody, who died Thursday at the age of 91, sang his way in. A journeyman British movie and television actor and musical revue performer, he was 36 in 1960 when he accepted the role of Fagin, master of a gang of child pickpockets, in Lionel Bart’s musical stage version of Charles Dickens’ "Oliver Twist" after two other actors had turned the part down. (Watch Moody perform "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" in the video below.) "Fate destined me to play Fagin; it was the part of a lifetime," Moody once said. He played Fagin again in "Oliver!" Carol Reed’s Oscar-winning 1968 film. That time Fagin won Moody a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Moody had turned down an offer to go to Broadway with "Oliver!" after the musical’s London run because he felt it would trap him.

Moody as Fagin with Mark Lester as Oliver Twist and Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger.

By Lee Pfeiffer

There is an old adage that says bad things happen in "threes". That seemed to be the case when it came to distinguished British actors in the past week.  On the heels of news that both Richard Johnson and Sir Christopher Lee had passed away comes notice that Ron Moody has also died. He was 91 years old. Moody was undoubtedly the least famous of these three gentlemen but he was no less talented. He originated the role of Fagin in Lionel Bart's classic stage musical, "Oliver!", based on the Dickens classic "Oliver Twist". Moody won kudos for his role as the charismatic con man and head of a London gang that employed young boys as pickpockets. He was astonished when he was chosen to play the lead in the 1968 film version,...

Wouldn’t want this to get lost in all the coverage of Christopher Lee’s passing. When I saw Oliver, the musical version of “Oliver Twist” on stage at the Muny Opera in St. Louis in 1976, hometown hero Vincent Price essayed the roll of Fagin, the leader of the gang of juvenile pickpockets. Price was terrific but the role belonged to Ron Moody who had originated it on Broadway and received an Oscar nomination for Oliver, the Best Picture-winning film version in 1969 (he lost to Cliff Robertson for Charly). Moody starred in Mel Brooks’ The Twelve Chairs in 1970 and had other film roles but was best known for his stage work. Moody died today in England at age 91.

From The New York Times:

Ron Moody, a British character actor who rose to prominence in the role of Fagin, Dickens’s guru of thievery, in “Oliver!”, the stage and movie versions of “Oliver Twist,...

Today saw the passing of three very notable people in the entertainment world. Christopher Lee, Ron Moody and the one who meant the most to me Ornette Coleman. The father of "Free Jazz" completely melted my mind the first time my ears were graced with the sound of his Saxophone.  In no particular order, here are five selected tracks over his 57 year career that changed my life. 1960 "Birdfood" on Change of The Century 1959 "Focus on Sanity" on The Shape of Jazz to Come 1971 "Monk and The Nun" on Twins 2006 "Turnaround" on Sound Grammar 1960 "Una Muy Bonita" on Change of the Century Share your favorite track and memories in the comments below!

Ron Moody as Fagin Ron Moody has died at age 91. His agent said he had been ill for some time.

The London born comic and acting star had a career spanning more than 60 years but was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as arch-thief Fagin in the 1968 Charles Dickens screen adaptation Oliver! He won a Golden Globe for the role and was nominated for a BAFTA - losing to Spencer Tracy, who won the award posthumously for Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.

Born Ronald Moodnick, he was the son of Jewish immigrants, and didn't come to acting until ater a stint in the Raf and a spell at the London School of Economics, where acting in revue shows became a passion. In later life he became familiar to television audiences through his voice work on animated series The Animals Of Farthing Wood and in the guest role of Edwin in EastEnders.

Ron Moody has passed away. The British actor, best known for his Golden Globe award-winning performance as Fagin in the 1968 British musical film Oliver!, died this week at the age of 91, the BBC reports. Moody's wife Therese Blackbourn told British media he would be "greatly missed." "He brought joy to his family and to the hearts of many and will be greatly missed. He was singing until the end," she said. Moody is survived by his widow and six children. Moody's performance in Oliver! not only garnered him with a Golden Globe win, he was also nominated for an Oscar in 1969. Although he didn't nab the Academy Award, the film did win six Oscars including Best...

Oscar nominated actor Ron Moody, best known for a career of playing Fagin in the musical "Oliver!," died on Thursday, June 11 at the age of 91. Moody was the original Fagin in Lionel Bart's West End production of "Oliver!," which premiered in 1960. He was able to play the pick-pocketing grifter in Carol Reed's 1968 film adaptation, which won the Best Picture Oscar, earned Moody his lone Oscar nomination and also earned him a Golden Globe win for Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy. Over the years, Moody returned to various productions of "Oliver!" to great acclaim, even picking up a Tony nomination for a 1984 Broadway revival. Moody famously turned down the opportunity to replace Patrick Troughton as the third Doctor, but he did appear in a "Doctor Who" audio play in 2005.  His other credits include "EastEnders" and performances as Merlin in both "Unidentified Flying Oddball" and "A Kid in King Arthur's Court.

The world of entertainment has been paying tribute to Sir Christopher Lee, who has died at the age of 93.

The prolific British actor was best-known for his work with Hammer Horror as well as The Wicker Man and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and many stars and fans have paid tribute to the star on Twitter today (June 10).

It's terribly when you lose an old friend, and Christopher Lee was one of my oldest. We first met in 1948.

— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) June 11, 2015

I'm saddened by the deaths of Sir Christopher Lee and Ron Moody. Both starred in films that are treasured by millions.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 11, 2015

The great, always criminally underrated Sir Christopher Lee has left us. A Titan of Cinema and a huge part of my youth. Farewell.

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) June 11, 2015

An extraordinary man and life lead, Sir Christopher Lee. You were an icon,...

A Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee for Carol Reed’s 1968 film musical, Oliver!, Ron Moody has died. He was 91. Moody, who was born in Tottenham in 1924, originated the iconic role of Fagin in Lionel Bart’s West End stage version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist in 1960. He went on to portray the petty criminal who leads a gang of pickpocketing children in the 1968 Best Picture Oscar winning feature for which he was nominated as Best Actor. He won the Golden Globe…...

A Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee for Carol Reed’s 1968 film musical, Oliver!, Ron Moody has died. He was 91. Moody, who was born in Tottenham in 1924, originated the iconic role of Fagin in Lionel Bart’s West End stage version of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist in 1960. He went on to portray the petty criminal who leads a gang of pickpocketing children in the 1968 Best Picture Oscar winning feature for which he was nominated as Best Actor. He won the Golden Globe…...

Actor Ron Moody has died at the age of 91.

The British star was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Fagin in Oliver!.

Moody also played Jim Branning's nemesis Edwin Caldecott in EastEnders, and the wizard Merlin in Disney's A Kid in King Arthur's Court.

"He brought joy to his family and to the hearts of many and will be greatly missed. He was singing until the end," his widow Therese said.

Born Ronald Moodnick in Tottenham in 1924, his Jewish father anglicised the family name to Moody several years later.

After originally planning to be an economist, Moody didn't take up acting until he was in his late 20s.

He won a Golden Globe award for playing pickpocket master Fagin in the musical version of Oliver Twist in 1968.

Moody had also said that his biggest regret was turning down the chance to play The Doctor in Doctor Who.

Other notable...

Britain lost a veteran star this week as Ron Moody has passed away. According to the BBC, the acclaimed actor died at the age of 91. The late Moody boasts decades of stage, film, and television work and rose to fame with his impressive portrayal of the antagonist Fagin in 1968's big-screen adaptation of Oliver! The English thespian earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role and nabbed the Golden Globe at the 1969 ceremony.  Moody went on to appear in EastEnders, Murder Most Foul, and The [...]...

Ron Moody, best known for his portrayal of Fagin in the 1968 Charles Dickens adaptation Oliver!, has passed away at the age of 91, his family has announced.As well as earning a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for his role as the infamous miser, Moody's career also saw him play EastEnders' Edwin Caldecott and legendary wizard Merlin in both 1995's A Kid in King Arthur's Court and 1979's Unidentified Flying Oddball.It is as Fagin he will be best remembered, however, a part he not only played in Carol Reed's classic film but also on stage both in the West End and on Broadway. "Fate destined me to play Fagin. It was the part of a lifetime," he told The Guardian in 2012.Born Ronald Moodnick in Tottenham on January 8, 1924, his casting as Dickens' villain changed his life immeasurably, earning him a host of job offers afterwards, some of which he turned down,...

'Sherlock Holmes' movie found at Cinémathèque Française (image: William Gillette in 'Sherlock Holmes') Sherlock Holmes, a long-thought-lost 1916 feature starring stage performer and playwright William Gillette in the title role, has been discovered in the vaults of the Cinémathèque Française. Directed by the all-but-forgotten Arthur Berthelet for the Chicago-based Essanay production company, the approximately 90-minute movie is supposed to be not only the sole record of William Gillette's celebrated performance as Arthur Conan Doyle's detective, but also the only surviving Gillette film.* In the late 19th century, William Gillette himself wrote the play Sherlock Holmes, which turned out to be a mash-up of various stories and novels featuring the detective, chiefly the short stories "A Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Final Problem." ("May I marry Holmes?" Gillette, while vying for the role, telegraphed Conan Doyle. The latter replied, "You may marry or murder or do What you like with him.

1976 saw the publication of John Brosnan’s excellent book The Horror People. Written during the summer of 1975, it makes interesting reading 40 years down the line. Those who feature prominently in the book – Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Jack Arnold, Michael Carreras, Sam Arkoff, Roy Ward Baker, Freddie Francis, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson and Milton Subotsky – were still alive, as were Ralph Bates, Mario Bava, Jimmy Carreras, John Carradine, Dan Curtis, John Gilling, Robert Fuest, Michael Gough, Val Guest, Ray Milland, Robert Quarry and Michael Ripper, all of whom were given a mention. Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Junior, Michael Reeves and James H Nicholson were not long dead. Hammer, Amicus and American International Pictures were still in existence. George A Romero had yet to achieve his prominence and Stephen King wasn’t even heard of!

Brosnan devoted a chapter to a new British company called Tyburn Films. Founded by the charismatic and ambitious Kevin Francis,...

Mickey Rooney was earliest surviving Best Actor Oscar nominee (photo: Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy in ‘Boys Town’) (See previous post: “Mickey Rooney Dead at 93: MGM’s Andy Hardy Series’ Hero and Judy Garland Frequent Co-Star Had Longest Film Career Ever?”) Mickey Rooney was the earliest surviving Best Actor Academy Award nominee — Babes in Arms, 1939; The Human Comedy, 1943 — and the last surviving male acting Oscar nominee of the 1930s. Rooney lost the Best Actor Oscar to two considerably more “prestigious” — albeit less popular — stars: Robert Donat for Sam Wood’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Paul Lukas for Herman Shumlin’s Watch on the Rhine (1943). Following Mickey Rooney’s death, there are only two acting Academy Award nominees from the ’30s still alive: two-time Best Actress winner Luise Rainer, 104 (for Robert Z. Leonard’s The Great Ziegfeld, 1936, and Sidney Franklin’s The Good Earth, 1937), and Best Supporting Actress nominee Olivia de Havilland,...

Feature Alex Westthorp 28 Mar 2014 - 07:00

In a new series, Alex talks us through the film roles of the actors who've played the Doctor. First up, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee...

We know them best as the twelve very different incarnations of the Doctor. But all the actors who've been the star of Doctor Who, being such good all-rounders in the first place, have also had film careers. Admittedly, some CVs are more impressive than others, but this retrospective attempts to pick out some of the many worthwhile films which have starred, featured or seen a fleeting cameo by the actors who would become (or had been) the Doctor.

William Hartnell was, above all else, a film star. He is by far the most prolific film actor of the main twelve to play the Time Lord. With over 70 films to his name, summarising Hartnell's film career is difficult at best.

Mark Harrison Sep 13, 2016

From James Bond to Willy Wonka, Matilda to The Witches, we chart the big screen work of Roald Dahl...

Roald Dahl has often been referred to as one of the greatest storytellers for children in the 20th century. His books have delighted children for generations, with their dark and inventive sense of humour and their eccentric, dastardly adult characters.

Likewise, his written work for adults has just as much wit and creativity, and over the years, he also worked as a screenwriter on a number of projects, including TV work on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and his own anthology series, Roald Dahl's Tales Of The Unexpected.

Given how it doesn't even take the likes of J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer five years to have their popular works adapted by Hollywood, there has inevitably been an extensive crossover between Dahl's written work and the big screen. His work...

Feature Mark Harrison 3 Mar 2014 - 07:02

From James Bond to Willy Wonka, Matilda to The Witches, we chart the big screen work of Roald Dahl...

Roald Dahl has often been referred to as one of the greatest storytellers for children in the 20th century. His books have delighted children for generations, with their dark and inventive sense of humour and their eccentric, dastardly adult characters.

Likewise, his written work for adults has just as much wit and creativity, and over the years, he also worked as a screenwriter on a number of projects, including TV work on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and his own anthology series, Roald Dahl's Tales Of The Unexpected.

Given how it doesn't even take the likes of J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer five years to have their popular works adapted by Hollywood, there has inevitably been an extensive crossover between Dahl's written work and the big screen.

Pickpockets to highwaymen, bank heists to drug smuggling, the readers' collective Robin Hood act has made a treasure chest

Under the cover of darkness they came. Precious time was snatched to deliver. One reader endured terrible pain and went to hospital, another is set to move house, but this did not stop them. And another, more delightfully, saw the delivery of a beautiful baby (I dedicate this blog to you, prolific Rr regular BeltwayBandit - congratulations!), and despite all of this, during this crazy pre-Christmas period, you still brought riches. Thank you, me hearties, for your bountiful song booty! From rampant robbery to surreptitious smuggling your treasures cascaded through the cellar door of the Readers Recommend and I spent many hours admiring, examining, analysing and enjoying. I am a man poor in time, but rich in song.

And now my turn again to stand and deliver. And indeed, among all the thieves,...

Peter O’Toole movies and Best Actor Oscar nominations (photo: young Peter O’Toole in the early ’60s) (See previous post: "Peter O’Toole ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ Actor: Eight-Time Oscar Nominee Dead at 81.") At the 2003 Academy Awards ceremony, Meryl Streep handed Peter O’Toole an Honorary Oscar. That remained O’Toole’s sole Academy Award "victory." In fact, with eight Best Actor Oscar nominations to his credit, Peter O’Toole held — or rather, holds — the Oscars’ record for the most nods in any of the acting categories without a single (competitive) win. He was shortlisted for the following films: ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ "I can’t imagine anyone whom I’m less like than T.E. Lawrence," Peter O’Toole himself admitted, but his characterization in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was widely admired all the same. The movie itself, however historically inaccurate, also received enthusiastic praise, and was perceived as...

Previous | Image 1 of 25 | NextBarbara Eden of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ still enchants.

Chicago – Every fall in the Chicagoland area, it’s “The Hollywood Show.” This annual event showcases celebrities from TV and film, both current and from the nostalgic past, greeting fans and signing autographs. The September of 2013 show featured “I Dream of Jeannie” TV show personalities Barbara Eden and Bill Daily, plus notable cast reunions of TV’s “My Three Sons” and the 1973 film version of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

HollywoodChicago.com covered the event, and photographer Joe Arce put the show’s participants in front of the lens. “The Hollywood Show” will be back in Chicago in September, 2014. Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. Barbara Eden’s hair by Angela Brasington. All images © Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com.

HOLSHOW1: Barbara Eden...

Musicals have been tap dancing their way into moviegoers' hearts since the invention of cinema sound itself. From Oliver! to Singin' in the Rain, here are the Guardian and Observer critics' picks of the 10 best

• Top 10 documentaries

• Top 10 movie adaptations

• Top 10 animated movies

• Top 10 silent movies

• Top 10 sports movies

• Top 10 film noir

• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s

10. Oliver!

Historically, the British musical has been intertwined with British music, drawing on music hall in the 1940s and the pop charts in the 50s – low-budget films of provincial interest and nothing to trouble the bosses at MGM. In the late 60s, however, the genre enjoyed a brief, high-profile heyday, and between Tommy Steele in Half a Sixpence (1967) and Richard Attenborough's star-studded Oh! What A Lovely War (1969) came the biggest of them all: Oliver! (1968), Carol Reed's adaptation of Lionel Bart's 1960 stage hit and the recipient of six Academy awards.

By Lee Pfeiffer 

The magnificent Oscar-winning best picture of the year for 1968, Oliver!, has been released as a Blu-ray special limited edition (3,000 units) by Twilight Time. This adaptation of the smash stage hit was a dream project for director Lewis Gilbert but, much to his dismay, the director's seat was given to Sir Carol Reed. How Gilbert's version of the film would have differed will never be known but suffice it to say, it's hard to imagine he could have improved on Reed's vision. There had been numerous previous screen versions of Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist, with the most notable being David Lean's 1948 movie with a star-making turn by Alec Guinness as Fagin. The 1963 stage musical by Lionel Bart was a sensation and it stood to reason that the screen rights were quickly scooped up. The film went against the tide when considering other major musicals of the period.

McM Expo/London Comic Con returns to ExCel London on 25th – 27th October. As well as hosting a galaxy of great sci-fi, movie, games, comics, anime and cosplay content, they’ve also got their usual huge line up of special guests – with more guests being added all the time! see www.mcmcomiccon.com for the latest London Comic Con news – but here’s a round-up of who’s been announced so far:

Red hot fantasy-noir show Lost Girl is coming to McM London Comic Com, with stars Ksenia Solo (Black Swan, Life Unexpected) and Rachel Skarsten (Transporter: The Series, Birds Of Prey) plus executive producer Jay Firestone (Andromeda, La Femme Nikita). Stars from hit sci-fi series Warehouse 13: Kelly Hu (Arrow, X-Men 2, The Vampire Diaries); Eddie McClintock (Bones, Desperate Housewives) and actor/director Saul Rubinek (Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm). The stars of new crime thriller By Any Means: Warren Brown (Luther,...

Blu-ray Release Date: Nov. 12, 2013

Price: Blu-ray $Tba

Studio: Twilight Time

Mark Lester (l.) and Jack Wild consider themselves at home in Oliver!

Oliver!, the 1968 film screen adaptation of Lionel Bart’s smash-hit musical, is directed by the great British filmmaker Carol Reed (The Third Man).

The film tells the charming yet dark tale of a runaway orphan (Mark Lester in the title role) who travels to London to seek his fortune, only to become ensnared in a den of child-thieves run by the unforgettable Fagin (Ron Moody).

Featuring Oliver Reed (Tommy) as the brutal Bill Sikes, Shani Wallis as the endearing Nancy, and Jack Wild as the impudent Artful Dodger, Oliver! won six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture.

As supplier Twilight Time prints up only 3,000 copies of each title, be ready to pre-order your Blu-ray discs directly from distributor Screen Archives or TCM Shop (http://shop.tcm.

Right now, it seems like everyone Is the Doctor. Firstly, there’s the mysterious “Doctor Who Never Was,” in John Hurt who debuted in shock fashion at the end of the last series. Meanwhile, Peter Capaldi is just a few months away from succeeding Matt Smith , who in turn will next been seen alongside David Tennant in the 50th Anniversary Special… not to mention rumours from the Radio Times that another Doctor will be seen on-screen this year. Wherever you turn, it seems there are Doctors everywhere – real, unexplained, returning and yet-to be.

This does also open up the question – how could things have been different in the past? Who could we have ended up with being alternative versions of our Timelord? Let’s find out…

11. Ron Moody Is… The Third Doctor! (1970)

In 1969, Ron Moody was riding high on the success of Oliver! and Doctor Who was suffering poor ratings...

With five Oscars on its plate, Carol Reed's musical version of Oliver Twist stars the huggable Mark Lester as the poor orphan who escapes the workhouse only to find himself amidst a gang of young city pickpockets led by sneaky scoundrel Fagin (marvellous Ron Moody). Memorable on every level, from the recreation of Victorian London and great performances (Jack Wild's Artful Dodger is just that and Oliver Reed makes the perfect bully as Bill Sikes) to the singalong numbers, including 'Food, Glorious Food', 'Consider Yourself' and, of course, 'You've Got to Pick a Pocket'. You want more?...

Graceful stage actor who stood out in Doctor Who on TV and the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

In a long and distinguished career, the actor Aubrey Woods, who has died aged 85, covered the waterfront, from West End revues and musicals to TV series and films, most notably, perhaps, singing The Candy Man in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), starring Gene Wilder, and playing the Controller in the Day of the Daleks storyline in Doctor Who (1972).

Tall and well-favoured in grace and authority on the stage, he played Fagin in the musical Oliver! for three years, succeeding Ron Moody in the original 1960 production. He was equally in demand on BBC radio, writing and appearing in many plays, including his own adaptations of the Mapp and Lucia novels by Ef Benson (he was a vice-president of the Ef Benson society).

In the early part of his career he...

The 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival continues to expand, with newly added appearances by legendary stars at screenings of some of their most memorable films, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan, Barrie Chase, Polly Bergen,Coleen Gray, Theodore Bikel and Norman Lloyd, as well as producer Stanley Rubin, Clara Bow biographer David Stenn, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) film collections manager Katie Trainor and director Nicholas Ray’s widow, Susan Ray. In addition, TCM’s Essentials Jr. host and Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader will present screenings of Shane (1953) and The Ladykillers(1955).

And The Film Forum’s Bruce Goldstein will present a special screening of Frank Capra’s The Donovan Affair (1929), complete with live voice actors and sound effects to replace the film’s long-lost soundtrack.Mel Brooks is slated to talk about his comedy The Twelve Chairs (1970). Carl Reiner, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Marvin Kaplan...

Former pop star and pin-up Samantha Fox is to join the stars of Harry Potter, Primeval, Doctor Who and James Bond at the upcoming McM Birmingham Comic Con & Memorabilia on March 16 and 17.

The Comic Con and Memorabilia events are held side by side at the NEC, Birmingham. Comic Con visitors get into Memorabilia free of charge. Children under 10 get in free if accompanied by a paying adult.

Listed below are some of the star guests lined up for the shows.

Potter Personalities: Chris Rankin, who plays Percy Weasley in six of the blockbuster Harry Potter films, Steffan Rhodri, who was Reg Cattermole in Deathly Hallows and Hugh Mitchell, who appears as Gryffindor student Colin Creevey in The Order Of The Phoenix. Steffan is also famous for playing Dave in hit comedy Gavin & Stacey, and recently won plaudits as the voice of Drippy in acclaimed video game Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch.

'Playing Fagin was one of the happiest times of my life. I loved the boys' mischievous minds – I wanted to make them laugh'

Mark Lester, actor (Oliver Twist)

The auditions had narrowed down to two other boys and me. We were put in a room in a London hotel and Carol Reed, the director, ordered the dismayed hotel barber to cut our hair badly to resemble a workhouse style. Then he just looked and looked at us, and we were sent home with this awful hair. When I heard I'd got the part, my reaction was that it was a chance to miss a lot of school. Actually, I spent most of the time in my dressing room reading Sherlock Holmes.

Ron Moody, who played Fagin, was very jolly and used to play cards with us boys between shoots. But we were all terrified of Oliver Reed. He was one...

Louisa Mellor Aug 1, 2016

With Steven Spielberg's The Bfg in cinemas, we look back at the 1989 Cosgrove Hall adaptation feat. David Jason…

On Christmas day 1989, ITV premiered the most charming child abduction story ever told: Cosgrove Hall’s animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Bfg.

Directed by Brian Cosgrove, co-founder of the UK animation studio behind The Wind In The Willows, Danger Mouse, Count Duckula and a whole raft of the sort of kids’ TV that thirty-somethings still get excited about in pubs, The Bfg was, and is, a lovely thing.

Imaginative, funny, and just on the trippy side of weird, the film tells Roald Dahl’s story of orphan Sophie and the titular Big Friendly Giant’s scheme to stop bigger, much less-friendly giants from roaming the globe and gobbling up human beans. But before Cosgrove and co-producer Mark Hall could relay that tale, they had their own...

Holby City fans will see veteran actor Ron Moody make an appearance on the show next month, Digital Spy can reveal. The 88-year-old, best known for playing Fagin in Lionel Bart's stage and film musical Oliver!, recently took on the guest part of Vincent Mancini for an upcoming episode of the BBC medical drama. Billed as a "stern old boy with a wicked sense of humour", Vincent is a war veteran who pays a visit to the hospital as he is suffering from a venous leg ulcer above his ankle. When Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley) (more)...

The double Oscar winner (The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth) turns 102 today! She's the oldest living Oscar nominee or winner! Her most recent appearance was just four short months ago when she showed up for her star ceremony in Berlin. They now have a "Boulevard des Stars" much like Hollywood's walk of fame and as the only German Best Actress winner (Hollywood and the media who nicknamed her "The Viennese Teardrop" promoted her as Austrian for obvious reasons in the 1930s), she was a natural for inclusion.

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear Luise,

happy birthday to you

.......and many more ♫

Odets and Rainer in Hollywood. Odets also romanced actress Frances Farmer (as seen in the Jessica Lange picture "Frances")Luise is on record as saying that she doesn't believe in the Oscar curse and her short-lived Hollywood career was her own doing.

"The Oscar jinx! There is no Oscar jinx.

Cliff Robertson passed away Saturday in Stony Brook, NY. The Oscar winner was 88. In 1969, Robertson took home the gold beating out Alan Arkin ("The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"), Peter O'Toole ("The Lion in Winter"), Alan Bates ("The Fixer), and Ron Moody ("Oliver!"). But Robertson's performance in "Charly" was deemed the best of the year (see clip below).

In 2002's "Spider-Man," Robertson, playing Uncle Ben, uttered the famous line that became the crux of the franchise -- "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

Here's more on the brilliant life of Cliff Robertson from the NY Daily News:

Robertson, a native of La Jolla, California, had already won an Emmy when he had his moment of big-screen recognition in 1968 -- 13 years after his feature debut in "Picnic." Though he played JFK as a young naval officer in "Pt 109 " - released five months before Dealey Plaza -- and gave an icy...

Forget Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee! There was one actor who truly epitomised classic Hammer horror, and that was the irreplaceable Michael Ripper. With a whopping 23 films to his name, he was to Hammer what Desmond Llewellyn was to James Bond.

Michael Ripper was born in Portsmouth on 27 January 1913. His father Harold was a civil servant who ran a local amateur dramatic company and taught elocution and speech therapy, his mother Edith worked as a teacher. Ripper had a very unhappy Victorian childhood; his dominant father was very much a stern disciplinarian.

A pupil of Portsmouth Grammar School, which he hated, Ripper was more or less pushed into acting by his father, who entered him in various poetry competitions. A close family friend and regular visitor to their Southsea home was the brilliant comic actor Alastair Sim.

Though he initially Ripper never wanted to be an actor, Ripper was eventually...

Pahrump - Call it Hof Vegas. Dennis Hof of HBO’s Cathouse no longer wants me to warn readers that his Bunny Ranch empire is in only Reno and not Las Vegas. He’s bringing his style of adult fun to the outskirts of Sin City. He called up the hotline from the middle of Crystal, Nevada to spread the news. The sounds of hammering and drills came from his end of the phone.

“We’re moving around here and getting some things done,” Dennis Hof said. “I bought two 35 year old rundown, rat trap brothels. What you’re buying is the licenses.”

The two old names were Cherry Patch Ranch and Mabel’s Whore House. The new places are Love Ranch and Dennis Hof’s Cathouse. “Those are name that are synonymous with good times.”

There are no good times for the former owner. He got arrested for bribing a county official.