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Dwayne Hickman, whose turn as eternal romantic Dobie Gillis made him a teen idol in the 1960s, has died this morning at age 87 in his Los Angeles home of complications from Parkinson’s Disease.

An actor, producer, director and artist, Hickman starred in the hit TV series The Bob Cummings Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He died on the birthday of his dearest friend and former “Dobie …” cast member Bob Denver, whom he again costarred opposite in the CBS, movie of the week, Surviving Gilligan’s Island, playing a CBS network executive.

Born Dwayne Bernard Hickman on May 18, 1934 in Los Angeles, Hickma’s earliest screen appearances included began at age six, making his film debut, as an extra in The Grapes of Wrath.

As a teen he starred in his first television series opposite Bob Cummings, where he honed his comedic skills under the watchful eyes of...

Dwayne Bernard Hickman, an actor, producer and television director best known for his starring role in the 1950s and ’60s sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease on Sunday. He was 87 years old.

Hickman’s death was confirmed to Variety by the actor’s public relations head Harlan Boll.

Born on May 18, 1934 in Los Angeles, Calif., Hickman began screen acting at a young age with appearances in “The Boy With the Green Hair” and 1940’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” As a teenager, he starred as Chuck MacDonald in “The Bob Cummings Show,” acting alongside the titular comedian across the sitcom’s four-year run.

In 1959, Hickman earned the marquee role on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” The actor starred in all 148 episodes of the 20th Century Fox sitcom. As the first major television series to feature teenagers as its primary characters, “Dobie...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actress Yvonne Craig, who specialized in playing perky and sexy characters in TV shows and feature films, has died after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 78 years old. Craig broke into the film and TV industry in the late 1950s, making her big screen debut in the exploitation film "Eighteen and Anxious". Before long, she was not only co-starring with Elvis Presley in "It Happened at the World's Fair" and "Kissin' Cousins", but also dating him as well. There was no shortage of work for the attractive Craig during the 1960s and she appeared on numerous TV series including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." In fact, Craig filmed extra sequences for extended two-part episodes of the show that were released theatrically under the titles "One Spy Too Many" and "One of Our Spies is Missing".  However, it was when producer William Dozier cast Craig as Batgirl...

Rip our beloved Bat Beauty! A punch in the gut to Batfans. A first crush for men of a certain age, the beautiful Yvonne Craig has died at the age of 78.

Yvonne was born on the 16th of May 1937. In her early life before her television career she trained to be a ballet teacher. She gradually moved into acting during the 1950s. Before appearing on television she starred in a few films including; The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, Ski Party, and High Time. She even played alongside Elvis Presley in Kissin’ Cousins and briefly dated the King. During the mid-1960s Yvonne moved from film into television, where she appeared in many shows including Man With a Camera, Wagon Train, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. More famously she played “Marta” (a green skinned Orion) in the third series Star Trek episode entitled “Whom Gods Destroy” in 1968.

1967 she was...

The recent passing of Lesley Gore was not noted on We Are Movie Geeks, I’d like to correct that and as a tribute to her review one of the best concerts ever captured on film (actually on video but I’ll get to that soon.)

Born Lesley Sue Goldstein in New York City on May 2nd 1946 Lesley Gore passed on February 16, this year. She never tried her hand at acting (to my knowledge) yet she appeared in several films and many television shows singing one of or more of her considerable string of hits in a very strong voice, for such a little lady.

It’s My Party is probably her most famous and well remembered song but Judy’s Turn To Cry, Maybe I Know, Sunshine Lollipops, You Don’t Own Me and several other songs charted during her long career. She never resented being consigned to the...

What did 350 A-list entertainment and film industry influencers, including James Franco, Kellen Luz, Paul Oakenfold, Rj Mitte (pictured above), Anya Taylor Joy and Mel Debarge among many do this past Saturday?Last night, Dream Hotels and Nylon hosted an exclusive Après Ski party attended by James Franco, Kellen Lutz, Paul Oakenfold and other stars during Sundance Film Festival.Dream Hotels, in partnership with Nylon, hosted an exclusive Après Ski Party last night during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The star-studded event featured renowned DJ Mel Debarge and other NYC artists spinning for the elite crowd at a […]...

Although usually the domain of pre-Oscar, end of the year holiday season, the feature film biography, or “bio-pic”, will occasionally pop up amongst the big Summer blockbusters. A little over a year ago it was 42, the story of Jackie Robinson. Its late Spring release might also be seen as a response to 2011′s surprise Summer smash The Help which also explored American race relations, but used fictional characters. This weekend sees the release of Get On Up, the biopic of music superstar James Brown. And while most of Get takes place a decade after Robinson’s barrier-breaking entry into then all-white major league baseball, Brown shattered some similar barriers and became one of the first major black entertainers that captured fans of all races. And, wouldn’t you know it, the talented young actor who played Jackie Robinson last year, Chadwick Boseman, trades in his cleats for florescent platforms in...

Salli in Ski Party

by Tom Lisanti

I interviewed former 60s starlet Salli Sachse about 12 years ago for my first book Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema. Her name may not be familiar, but to fans of American International Pictures’ series of beach movies her face is easily recognizable. With her waist-long honey brown hair and adorable smile, Salli, literally plucked off the beach in San Diego, appeared in almost every beach party film beginning with Muscle Beach Party (1964) through The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) and everything else in between including Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965).

Recalling her time with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, Salli remarked, "Frankie and Annette were very easy going and a pleasure to work with but they weren’t real beach people. Frankie was raised in Philadelphia so I don’t think he ever saw a surfboard in his life!

By Tom Lisanti

To get in a warm weather mood with summer not approaching fast enough, here is a look at Hollywood surf movies from a different and albeit biased perspective. Gay men are always looking for gay subtext in movies and TV, and I am no exception. Am I reading more into these films? Probably—but it was sure a lot of fun doing the research.

The Sixties beach movie craze began with Gidget (1959) starring Sandra Dee and James Darren, a fictionalized look at teenager Kathy Kohner’s surfing escapades in Malibu during the mid-Fifties. It was groundbreaking as the movie contributed to the mass dissention of surfers on the beaches of Malibu and started a series of surf-theme films such as Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Ride the Wild Surf. The surf movie soon morphed into the beach-party film, whose heyday was from 1963 through 1965, where surfing was only used...