ø FORREST GUMP

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel. The cast consists of Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, and Gary Sinise. It's a story of a borderline mental retarded little boy named Forrest Gump who went through life unselfishly meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture and how he became a millionaire.

One famous memorable quotation by Forrest Gump: My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." 

The film garnered multiple awards and nominations, including Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, People's Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards, among others. Music by Alan Silvestri.

1994 Academy Awards (Oscars)

Won - Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role — Tom Hanks

Won - Best Director — Robert Zemeckis

Won - Best Film Editing — Arthur Schmidt

Won - Best Picture — Wendy Finerman, Steve Starkey, Steve Tisch

Won - Best Visual Effects — Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, Allen Hall

Won - Best Adapted Screenplay — Eric Roth

The world will never seem same once you've seen it through the eyes of... Forrest Gump.

ø Dr ZHIVAGO

Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 film directed by David Lean based on a novel by Boris Pasternak relating to events happened during World War 1. The cast involves KGB General Yevgraf Zhivago (Alec Guinness), poet and doctor Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), and his mistress Larissa ("Lara") Antipova (Julie Christie). Music score "Lara's Theme" by Maurice Jarre which became one of the most popular in cinematic history.

ങ KOJAK

Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the eponymous, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978 on CBS.  Kojak's Greek heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was prominently featured in the series. The series is set in New York City's Thirteenth Precinct. It revolves around the efforts of the incorruptible Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas), a tough, bald New York City policeman who was fond of lollipops and for using the catchphrase, "Who loves ya, baby?" Lt. Kojak displayed a dark, cynical wit and a tendency to bend the rules in order to bring a criminal to justice.

In the early episodes of the series, Kojak smoked heavily; in order to reflect the anti-smoking sentiment gaining momentum on American TV, the writers decided that Kojak had quit smoking. He began sucking on lollipops as a substitute, which became a trademark of the character (although Kojak is frequently seen smoking a cigarillo when he winds up a case by interrogation of the main suspect(s)).

The somewhat more well-known first Kojak theme, in two distinct arrangements is the work of Billy Goldenberg, who scored the early episodes. John Cacavas composed the second main title theme used throughout the show's 5th and final season. [wikipedia]

ങ GHOST ~ RIP Patrick Swayze

Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker. It was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning for Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg. It has also inspired a musical stage version which will open in the West End in 2010.

Maurice Jarre (13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores for motion pictures, particularly those directed by David Lean: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984). All three of these scores won Academy Awards. Other notable scores of his include The Message (1976), Dead Poets Society (1989) and Ghost (1990). Jarre was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [wikipedia]

Patrick Wayne Swayze (Aug 18 1952 - Sep 14 2009) the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then brought tears and broke them with "Ghost," died on Monday after a 20 months battle with pancreatic cancer. Swayze passed away peacefully at age 57 with family at his side. A three-time Golden Globe nominee, Swayze became a star with his performance as the misunderstood bad-boy Johnny Castle in "Dirty Dancing."

൯ FANTASY ISLAND

Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network. Before it became a long-running original television show, Fantasy Island was introduced to viewers in 1977 through two highly-rated made-for-television films in which Mr. Roarke and Tattoo played relatively minor roles. Airing from 1978 to 1984, the original series starred Ricardo Montalban as Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of a mysterious island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, where people from all walks of life could come and live out their fantasies, albeit for a price.

Roarke was known for his white suit and cultured demeanor, and was initially accompanied by an energetic sidekick, Tattoo, played by Hervé Villechaize. Tattoo would run up the main bell tower to ring the bell and shout "The plane! The plane!" to announce the arrival of a new set of guests at the beginning of each episode. This line, shown at the beginning of the show's credits, became an unlikely catchphrase because of Villechaize's spirited delivery and French accent (he actually pronounced it, "Ze plane! Ze plane!").

Villechaize proved a difficult actor on Fantasy Island where he continually propositioned women and quarrelled with the producers. He was eventually fired after demanding that his pay be on par with that of co-star Ricardo Montalbán. The show's popularity waned after this move, and it was soon cancelled.

Tribute to Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (April 23, 1943 - September 4, 1993) was a French actor who achieved worldwide recognition for his role as Tattoo, in the television series Fantasy Island (1978 - 1984). His big break was getting cast in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 playing the evil henchman Nick Nack, by which time he had become so poor he was living out of his car in Los Angeles. Prior to being signed up by Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli, he made ends meet by working as a rat catcher's assistant near his South Central home. But from what his co-actor Christopher Lee saw, The Man with the Golden Gun filming was possibly the happiest time of Hervé's life, Lee likening it to honey in the sandwich between an insecure past and an uncertain future.

In addition to being an actor, Villechaize became an active member of a movement in 1970s-1980s California to deal with child abuse and neglect, often going to crime scenes himself to help comfort abuse victims. Villechaize's former co-workers recalled that despite his stature, he would often confront and chastise spousal and child abusers when he arrived at crime scenes. In the early morning hours of September 4, 1993, Hervé shot himself at his home. He left a suicide note saying he was despondent over longtime health problems. RIP Herve. [wikipedia]

൯ LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE

Little House on the Prairie is an American one-hour dramatic television program starring Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls, a farmer who cares very much about his family. It aired on the NBC network from September 11, 1974, to May 10, 1982 bumping the long-running Adam-12 series to Tuesday nights. During the 1982-83 television season, with the departure of Michael Landon, the series was broadcast with the new title (spin off) Little House: A New Beginning. A three-hour compilation special called The Little House Years was aired in 1979. (The series itself was preceded by a two-hour pilot movie that first aired on March 30, 1974).

Michael Landon directed the largest number of episodes (87); producer William F. Claxton handled the majority of the remaining shows (68). Co-star Victor French helmed 19 episodes. Maury Dexter, directed only a handful. The series theme song was titled The Little House and was written and conducted by David Rose. [wikipedia]

Love to watch Michael (Charles Ingalls) who set a very good example as a great person, husband, friend, and father who truly takes good care of the family and inculcate virtue in the young against the vast contrast of the mean Mrs Oleson. We rarely have this sort of "values" series nowadays and hoping and wishing some producers and directors to film more of this kind.

൯ HART TO HART

Hart to Hart is an American television series starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. It ran from 1979 to 1984 on the ABC Television Network.

Jonathan Hart (Robert Wagner) was a self-made millionaire and the CEO of Hart Industries, a globalconglomerate. His wife Jennifer (Stefanie Powers) was a beautiful freelance journalist. Living the jetset lifestyle, the glamorous couple spent their free time as amateur detectives and in every episode they found themselves involved in cases of smuggling, theft, international espionage and, most commonly, murder. At their opulent Californian home, they were assisted by Max (Lionel Stander), their loyal, gravelly-voiced butler, cook, and chauffeur who also helped out in their "cases". The Hart's pet dog was "Freeway", named so because he was a stray they had rescued when he was found wandering on the freeway. [wikipedia]