Johnny Carson

Fernando Valenzuela

Dodger-Yankees

John Lithgow

Robert Reed

Amy Linker

Dionne Warwick

Tim Robbins: Breaking out with “Bull Durham”

Tim Robbins, at right, in the 1988 film "Bull Durham", with co-star Kevin Costner.

Source: https://x.com/nytimes/status/1669380264907112452?lang=ar

(May be subject to copyright)

“Nuke” Laloosh had a million-dollar arm and was destined to pitch in the major leagues – he just wasn’t that bright and needed to mature in the minors. Helping him do that was Crash Davis, a catcher and longtime minor leaguer, who showed “Nuke” how to act when he got to “The Show”.

On the bus one day, Crash was trying to teach “Nuke” how to act in the big leagues

Crash told him to be cocky and confident, play the game with fear and arrogance.

“Right, fear and ignorance,” “Nuke” said.

Crash kind of cringed.

“No, you hayseed,” Crash said. “It’s arrogance not ignorance.”

It is hard to believe Tim Robbins, the man who played the dimwitted Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh in “Bull Durham”, also played the thoughtful, intense Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption” a few years later.

When I saw it was his birthday today, it reminded me of the movie that really put him in the public eye, and a springboard to an award-winning career that continues to this day.

In the beginning
Tim Robbins’ first role on television was a three-episode stint on “St. Elsewhere” in 1982. He was also in “At Ease” and the TV movie “Quarterback Princess” with Helen Hunt in 1983; “Legmen”; “Hardcastle and McCormick”; “Santa Barbara”; “The Love Boat”; and “Hill Street Blues” in 1984; “Moonlighting” and the TV movie “Malice in Blunderland” in 1985; and “Amazing Stories” in 1986.

His first movie was “Toy Soldiers” in 1984. He was also in “No Small Affair” in 1984; “Fraternity Vacation” and “The Sure Thing” in 1985; “Howard the Duck” and “Top Gun” in 1986; and “Five Corners” and “Tapeheads” in 1988.

Summer of ‘88
I returned to Southern Alberta in the Spring of 1988. A lot had developed in my eight-month absence, including a new theatre complex in Lethbridge as part of the new Park Place Mall.

“Bull Durham” was one of the first movies I saw there. Kevin Costner plays Crash Davis, a career minor league catcher whose job often is to groom pitchers for the major leagues. Tim Robbins plays Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh, a major league pitching prospect, who Crash is tasked with mentoring.

It was the first time I ever saw Tim Robbins and, for awhile, whenever I saw him in anything else, could not help but associate him with that dim-witted “Nuke” LaLoosh.

That would change though.

Robbins closed out the ‘80s in “Erik the Viking”; “Miss Firecracker”; and “Twister”, all in 1989.

The years after
Tim Robbins’ career would absolutely take off in the ‘90s, as an actor, director, producer and writer. He was in “Jacob’s Ladder”; “Cadillac Man”; “Jungle Fever”; “I.Q.”; “Pret-a-Porter” or “Ready to Wear”; “The Shawshank Redemption”; “The Hudsucker Proxy”; “Nothing to Lose”; “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”; and “Arlington Road”.

He was just brilliant in “The Shawshank Redemption” as Andy Dufresne, a prisoner in a prison where he befriends a fellow convict played by Morgan Freeman to form a lifelong friendship.

Robbins where was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical in 1993 for “Bob Roberts”; won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical in 1993 for “The Player”; won a Golden Globe in 1994 for Special Award for Ensemble Cast for “Short Cuts”; and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director in 1996 and nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for ”Dead Man Walking”.

In the 21st Century, he was in “Mission to Mars”; “High Fidelity”; “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”; “War of the Worlds”; “Green Lantern”; and so much more.

He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2004 and won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture in 2004 for “Mystic River”.

On television he has been in episodes of “Jack and Bobby”; the television film “Cinema Verite”, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor Series, Miniseries or Television Film; “Portlandia”; the miniseries “The Spoils of Babylon”; 10 episodes of “The Brink”; 10 episodes of “Here and Now”; part of the main cast of “Castle Rock”; 10 episodes of “Silo”, and more.

Parting thoughts
I met Tim Robbins when he played “Nuke” LaLoosh in “Bull Durham. He was dense, thick, and not that smart. Every time after that for a long time, when I saw Tim Robbins, I thought of that dim-witted performance as “Nuke” LaLoosh.

His characters in “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Mystic River” are excellent, both clever and intelligent, but nothing like “Nuke” LaLoosh.

Funny thing about first impressions. They can stay with you.

Here’s to 1,000

When I started this blog, my goal was to share, reflect on, and preserve the memories and experiences I had of growing up in the ‘80s. It was a formative decade. I was in Grade 5 when it began, and part way through my third year of university when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1989. Starting out as a young boy it concluded as a young man.

Much of my reflection has been on pop culture, whether TV, movies or music; sports; and news. It’s funny how so many memories are attached to songs, shows or events. I knew I had a lot I wanted to write and reflect on, but I never imagined it would eventually add up to 1,000 posts, with really no end in sight.

It has been just over 12 years since this blog launched and, at 1,000 posts, I have observed some interesting things.

Attribution and sources
Being a trained journalist, one of the things I am very cognizant about is attribution and plagiarism. I rely heavily on Wikipedia as my primary source of material. It is a pretty incredible resource.

I try to cite it directly when I find it puts something better than I can, especially when it is background information that I may not have known. Otherwise, I try to share my own recollection.

Something I have discovered, especially after I start a blog post by reading what Wikipedia says, is how often other websites will essentially copy and paste exactly what is on Wikipedia. What makes this extra disappointing is this is not exclusive to blogs or personal websites, but actual mainstream media outlets, and the official websites of professional organizations. I would expect them to do their own research, or at the very least rewrite Wikipedia entries.

What this really does though, is limit the voices out there. If I Google a topic, hundreds of websites come up. However, when I start reading through website after website, the same information appears – often word for word. I get it. If I am looking for a few sentences of background information to go in a story, the easiest way is to get it from Wikipedia. The thing is, with the Internet becoming the source of information, this is limiting.

That is why I try to dig deeper, look at a lot of websites, and look up the reference listed on Wikipedia to get more and different information.

Ideally, what I would like to do, and have done in the past, is actually go to primary sources, particularly past issues of periodicals such as “The Lethbridge Herald”, “Billboard Magazine”, “TV Guide”, and others.

Ideas and inspiration
A couple years ago, I mused about the goal of getting to 1,000 posts then thinking about what is next – keep going or stop? Would I have enough ideas to even get to 1,000, much less keep going.

I knew it meant having to write every day, which I have tried to do.

The challenge is to keep finding ideas every single day.

As it turns out, that really has not been a problem at all, and does not seem to be going forward. One of the sad things is that the people of that era are dying off, so eulogizing them provides a fair bit of material. So does anniversaries. That happens mostly in sports, when an athlete hits a milestone of some kind.

When there are no deaths or anniversaries, my go-to is the celebrity birthdays for that day. Only once or twice have their been no celebrities to blog about. Often, there are more than one. The other cool thing is that checking out celebrity birthdays provides names I would never have thought of but, when I see them, may be flooded by memories.

I guess that’s pretty much the definition of inspiration.

Production and process
After 1,000 posts, I do have to ask myself, am I tired of doing this? Is it becoming a grind or like work? The answer is no.

There are days when I don’t write, and that just causes the work to pile up. However, what I have discovered is that starting is the hardest part. That seems to be the story of all aspects of my life. Once I get started, I get into a flow that really takes on a life of its own, and I just want to keep going and going. Often, when I start late in the evening, I regret not starting earlier, because I get into this flow late in the day, when I really have to go to bed.

Earlier this year I had a streak of more than 40 straight days, and I put up more than 50 total posts in the month of June. The key to that production was starting earlier, before distractions sunk in their teeth, and writing every day.

Something I realized a long time ago. It is satisfying to write, but just as satisfying or moreso to have written. It is exceptionally gratifying for me to look back at a day of writing and see what I accomplished, or read something I wrote and going, “I can’t believe I wrote that.”

Parting thoughts
Having said I what I just did, I can’t believe I have written 1,000 posts. It is gratifying and energizing and motivating.

It is hard to imagine, and testament to achieving a goal by chipping away at it every day. One thousand posts seemed almost insurmountable to me at times, but doing a little bit every day piles up, and soon you’re there.

And I am here, with no end in sight.

So here’s to 1,000.

Emma Samms: Talented and versatile

Emma Samms, at right, as Fallon Carrington Colby,

in "Dynasty" with her co-star John James.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081856/characters/nm0759924/

(May be subject to copyright)

One thing, among many, fascinates me about soap operas. Someone can play a character for years, then leave. When the character returns, he or she is played by someone completely different, without anyone skipping a beat.

That is prevalent in daytime dramas such as “Day Of Our Lives”, where most long-standing characters have been played by multiple actors. That was rarely the case with night-time dramas such as “Dallas” or “Knot’s Landing”.

However, “Dynasty” had more than one character played by different actors. The first time was when Al Corley, who played Steven Carrington, left the show. He was replaced by Jack Coleman. This change in appearance was explained by the fact Steven survived an oil rig explosion and had to undergo plastic surgery.

The second time around, Fallon Carrington Colby, played by Pamela Sue Martin, disappeared, presumably never to be seen again. However, one day, her husband Jeff Colby, played by John James, saw a face in a picture that looked like Fallon.

He eventually tracked her down – but now she was played by Emma Samms.

Unlike Jack Coleman, who I had never seen before, I had seen Emma Samms before. It was in another soap opera and, although she looked as attractive as ever, she sounded much different.

Emma Samms came across my newsfeed a couple days ago, and it reminded me of that soap opera switcheroo and much more.

Starting out
Emma Samms was born in London, England in 1960. Her first credited role was in the 1979 movie “Arabian Adventure” where she plays a princess.

In 1980, she appeared in the TV movie “More Wild Wild West”, a reunion of the 1960s western spy show with Robert Conrad and Ross Martin reprising their roles. The following year, 1981, she was in the miniseries “Goliath Awaits” where scientists discover an underwater community surviving in the wreck of an ocean liner that sank during the Second World War.

Her world would change completely in 1982, when she landed a role she plays on and off to this day.

Smitten with Scorpio – and Spencer
“General Hospital” was the hottest daytime drama in the first half of the ‘80s. It was fuelled by intriguing story lines that involved more than romance, cheating, and scheming. It delved into espionage, international intrigue and more. At the centre of the action was the power couple of Luke and Laura Spencer, played by Anthony Geary and Genie Francis.

Luke became best friends with Robert Scorpio. He was an agent with the World Security Bureau then police commissioner of Port Charles, the community in which “General Hospital” is set. Scorpio, played by Tristan Rogers to this day on and off since 1980, is Australian, and very charismatic on screen.

Samms played Holly Sutton, who originally got involved with Luke Spencer when he and Laura were no longer together. After various twists and turns, she became involved with and married Robert Scorpio. The three became embroiled in a love triangle, but she eventually chose Robert and Luke reunited with Laura.

Eventually, Robert and Holly decide to move to Australia in 1985. Sadly, Holly is in an airplane crash and believed dead.

In reality, Samms was leaving “General Hospital” because she landed another role in a soap opera.

This one took her into primetime and millions of living rooms across the continent.

Two shows for the price of one
Emma Samms was cast to play Fallon Colby, a character returning to “Dynasty”. She appeared in eight episodes of the sixth season of “Dynasty”, then was spun off into her own series “The Colbys”. She continued as a guest star on “Dynasty” appearing in one episode at the end of the sixth season and two episodes of the seventh season.

“The Colbys” lasted two seasons from 1985 to 1987 for a total of 49 episodes, before it was cancelled.

Samms returned to “Dynasty” as Falon Carrington Colby in the eighth season premiere of the show in September of 1987. She stayed on with the show through the eighth and ninth seasons, when it was cancelled.

She also returned in 1991 for the miniseries “Dynasty: The Reunion”.

Staying busy
One of the reasons Emma Samms landed the role of Falon Carrington Colby was by appearing in two episodes of “Hotel” in 1984 and 1985. There she met Aaron Spelling who was not only the creator of “Hotel” but “Dynasty” as well.

Samms also appeared in the miniseries “Ellis Island”; the TV movies ”Murder in Three Acts”, “The Lady and the Highwayman”, and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”; and episodes of “The New Mike Hammer”; “Throb”; “Newhart”; “Murder, She Wrote”; and “My Two Dads”.

The years after
Emma Samms kept on acting, appearing in several TV movies as well as episodes of “Get a Life”; “Diagnosis Murder”; “Dave’s World”; “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”; 12 episodes of “Models, Inc.”; “Tales from the Crypt”; 40 episodes of “Doctors”; and much more.

She continues to act to this day, including as Holly Scorpio on “General Hospital”.

Parting thoughts
The first time I heard about Emma Samms was in an issue of “TV Guide”, when a story described the love triangle of her character Holly Scorpio with Robert Scorpio and Luke Spencer. Shortly after, I saw her on “General Hospital”, and could see the chemistry she had with both men.

What amazes me about Emma Samms is how differently she was on “General Hospital” and “Dynasty”. She was definitely British married to Robert Scorpio, but once she moved to Denver and became part of the Carrington family, that British accent disappeared. Had I not seen her on “General Hospital”, I would not believe Falon Carrington Colby was played by the same actor who played the very British Holly Scorpio.

It was a more striking transformation than seeing Pamela Sue Martin play Falon one day, then seeing Emma Samms playing the same character the next.

It just speaks to how talented, and versatile, Emma Samms is.