For Gene Kelly's 100th Birthday

                  
Because this would have been Gene Kelly's 100th birthday, I've been thinking about him a lot today. Here are three of my favorite movies starring this dynamic entertainer:

The Pirate. Although Kelly's character is a circus clown and not really the dreaded “Mack the Black of the Caribbean,” he pretends to be this notorious pirate in order to win over spunky Judy Garland -- and it's a dazzling performance. Kelly’s athletic dancing here wowed everyone.

Anchors Aweigh. Kelly was simply delightful dancing with Jerry the Mouse and even received an Oscar nomination for this role.

Singin' in the Rain. Kelly co-directed my all-time favorite movie as well as performed the most wonderful dances ever filmed.

And I have to mention that my husband and I were so impressed with this “unforgettable” actor, we named our son “Kelly” after him. Gene Kelly is a true screen legend indeed!

Underrated Book Gems

So many books, so little time! That’s why it’s important for book lovers to obtain help finding neglected or underrated literary gems. Fortunately, the “Underrated Reads” website provides excellent assistance in this area. When you’ve read the intelligent reviews on that site, you’ll know whether or not a certain book is one you’ll probably enjoy. And you may not have even heard about it before, like Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders and Through These Veins, which are the latest reviews posted by J. D. Jung.

Here’s the link to check out this wonderful site:

http://www.underratedreads.com

Fun with Rita Moreno and Robert Osborne

What a treat it was for BlogTalkRadio listeners when the great Rita Moreno -- who’s quite the Diva -- called in during our Movie Addict Headquarters SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN 60th Anniversary show last month and stayed for the entire time! I had no idea this was the FIRST time Robert Osborne and Rita had met each other and talked together, so I pretty much gave them free reign for most of the episode, and they were fascinating.

It was not the show I had planned, but sometimes opportunities like this are too hard to resist. Robert is the wonderful host of Turner Classic Movies, and Rita (who is an Oscar-Tony-Grammy-Emmy-winner) played Zelda in the film being honored. My decision to just let them talk together turned out to be a good one. Here are comments posted by listeners:

Absolutely terrific show! No network production could have been done any better. – Denny Reese from Wandering Press

Perfection! – Vicki S. Nikolaidis, Host at The Vicki Chats, Global Perspectives

Fabulous show! – Olivia Wilder, BTR Featured Host

Great show! – Nancy Lombardo, Actress/Comedian

We really appreciate those enthusiastic responses. Thanks also to Robert Osborne and Rita Moreno for being such terrific guests and to everyone who helped with this episode, including film historian James Colt Harrison, Diana Saenger from Classic Movie Guide, producer Nikki Starr, and Neil Haley, our production assistant.

Listen to the archived segment of this fun show by clicking on the link below.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieaddictheadquarters/2012/07/10/singin-in-the-rain-60th-anniversary