Ain't technology grand?!

Can JVC deliver the goods or what!? A clock radio AND a televison! They sold me on the title, "the time machine."

Is this actress Marge Redmond?

I need your help. I was watching Mad Men (Series 4, episode 9 - The Beautiful Girls) when I almost fell off the sofa seeing what I think is actress Marge Redmond. Marge was of course, Sister Jacqueline in The Flying Nun and so many other classic shows. I searched the credits and her name is not listed, searches on the internet have also proved fruitless. If you can help, it would be most appreciated. It looks like her....it sounds like her...what do you think?

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Antonio Bay. The town in John Carpenters, 1980 thriller, The Fog. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d have a chance at visiting locations from The Fog.

The original Fog was filmed in Northern California, Inverness, Bodega and Point Reyes, all which helped become the fictitious, Antonio Bay. Interiors were filmed at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. The film starred Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Tom Atkins and James Canning.

Late last year I found myself in Bodega as part of a vacation. I was so obsessed with planning my visit to Bodega & the location of Hitchcock's, The Birds I didn’t think to plan surrounding possibilities. I saw a sign in Bodega for the Point Reyes Lighthouse. I knew it was in The Fog so I made a plea to Randy to go for a drive and check it out. Little did we know how far away it was.

Heading towards the lighthouse, just like in The Fog

After getting lost (so much for satellite navigation) and driving past countless farms, we finally ended up at the Point Reyes Lighthouse after what seemed hours of driving. Upon seeing the lighthouse it was instantly recognizable and looked as if time had stood still. It was radio station KAB Radio 1340 right before my eyes.

Then there was this sign...

Going down was easy...getting back a nightmare

It’s a long walk down the lighthouse, 300 stairs. There was such a sense of joy heading towards the lighthouse, once I was there I knew there was only one way back ...climb 300 stairs!

Climbing up the stairs I saw a crowd of people watching me. (I'll admit I had to stop a few times to catch my breath) humiliating to say the least. I soon discovered why they were watching. The park ranger had closed off the stairs as it was too windy and too dangerous to walk to the lighthouse. At least we arrived in time. Desperate to catch my breath I asked the Ranger about The Fog and where I could find the house featured in the movie. She said something about the “mushroom house”. Mushroom house hunting is extremely difficult when you have no idea what your looking for. I noticed some onion dome minarets on a house. Was this it? Was this the house from, The Fog.

After some Internet detective work, it IS the house used in The Fog. I'm so glad we stopped for a photo. Randy again can't be thanked enough for being so great that day. There are other local places around Inverness The Fog filmed but it was late in the day and we headed back to San Francisco. It was a perfect way to be introduced to the sights of Northern California.

Debbie Reynolds amazing collection for sale

Years ago, actress Debbie Reynolds, amassed an amazing collection of costumes and props when MGM did a sell out of it's inventory. Through her connections in Hollywood she's also been able to own a variety of the screen worn items from various other studios. Debbie has, for years, tried to open a museum to display some of Hollywood's most seen (and beloved items) from Hollywood's history. Debbie was lucky to be offered many of Marilyn Monroe's screen worn gowns before the auction went public. Sadly, nobody seems interested in helping Debbie fund a museum to contain her amazing collection. So now Debbie has decided to auction her entire collection. Highlights are the dress worn by Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly, Julie Andrews costumes from The Sound Of Music, Debbie's own costumes from Singin' In The Rain and the Unsinkable Molly Brown, and so many others. Sadly these costumes will now (most probably) end up in the hands of private collectors, never to be seen again. My hope is the Hollywood History Museum can obtain some of these treasures for future generations to see.

http://www.profilesinhistory.com/

A pictorial visit to Disneyland

I have to admit that anytime I hear the word, "Disneyland" my ears prick up. Since I'm so far away from The Happiest Place On Earth, I treasure every photo I take. So here's a few holiday snaps taken on my last visit, Christmas week , 2010.

Farewell to the Sahara

The iconic casino, The Sahara, in Las Vegas has announced it's to close its doors on May 16th. The Sahara was built in 1952 and has, for 59 years been apart of Las Vegas history. When I was in Las Vegas I went through the Sahara a few times, coming or going to the monorail station. It wasn't as busy as the other resorts so the closing has not really come as a surprise. Walking past Wynn's I over heard a conversation between a few men in their 20's.

Man 1: "What's down that way?"
Man 2: "Not much, just old school"
That pretty much sums up people's feelings about history and the Northern part of the Strip. People don't seem interested in the resorts that really put Las Vegas on the map. If your in Las Vegas go to the Sahara, reacquaint yourself with a this iconic casino. Take a photo for prosperity.

My visit to Bodega

Finally, a dream come true. To visit Bodega Bay seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. I discovered a tourist web site offering a day visit to Bodega and the surrounding Sonoma Coast for a minimum of $500 per person. My dream of visiting Bodega finished right there. A few days before I arrived in San Francisco my good friend, Randy, offered to drive me to Bodega so I could fulfill my wish of seeing where The Birds was filmed.

The day started early (there was no way I was going to sleep in) catching up with Randy and driving to Bodega. It was a fun drive, from San Francisco catching up with our lives and the latest goings on with Hollywood celebrities past and present. The weather wasn’t very co-operative and it started raining on the drive to Bodega. I wasn’t too concerned, you don’t see a lot of blue sky in The Birds. The weather made it more atmospheric. Before I knew it, Randy said, “there’s the church!” At that moment the rain stopped. We were then driving up the same road towards the school house just as Melanie Daniels did! I was so excited but was trying desperately to keep it controlled and not freak Randy out. Needless to say, standing in front of the school house was pretty awesome and naturally I wanted to be attacked by any passing pigeon.

The school house (now a private residence) in 2010

Walking past where the schoolyard play equipment used to be, it's now covered with trees. Sadly there's no bench to sit on either.

The Jungle Gym in the school yard was once at this location.

However, a very odd moment was glimpsing a few bird cages in the yard. Luckliy, I'm easily impressed!

I wandered the street, totally in awe of being there. The house where Annie Hayworth lived was a facade built for filming , however a new stands there today.

The Annie Hayworth House (technically a facade)

The new house stands at the Annie Hayworth location

The home opposite is seen briefly as Melanie Daniels gets into her car. Again, it’s as if time has stood still. The house opposite the Hayworth facade

The same house in 2010

The original Druids Hall (only seen briefly) is now an antique store.

Druids Hall is now an antique store

There’s (I’m going to call it a Hitchcock museum) but it’s probably better described as a general store with Hitchcock items. The man who runs the store guessed pretty quickly why Randy and I were there. He promptly turned on a DVD of The Birds for us. It did feel super exciting seeing The Birds on the TV and looking out the window towards the schoolhouse. There were some wonderful items for sale and I could have purchased them all.

Next stop was lunch at The Tides. Yes, The Tides.

Although it’s been remodeled a few times I was impressed to see some Birds lobby cards inside the entrance. You now pass a huge Bodega souvenir shop where Randy promised me I’d find some Birds related items. Bodega is a small fishing community and naturally The Tides sells a lot of seafood in their menu. Not being a lover of seafood I chose a cheeseburger and promptly souvenired a Tides placemat as a memento.

Of course, the one thing any Birds fan wants to see outside The Tides is a gas station and phone box.

In the movie, these were standing sets at Universal Studios in Hollywood. BUT, across the street from The Tides is a gas station! AND a phone box! Seeing a phone booth, a gas station AND The Tides was pretty nifty.

You can make out the "S" of the Tides in the distance

Sitting in The Tides you can see across the bay towards where the Brenner farm house was. We went for a drive around to visit the location. The actual property burnt down in the late 1960’s and the land is now owned by the Government but I snapped a photo of where the Brenner facade stood.

The former location of the Brenner home...the trees remain.

Then it was off to visit Taylor Street, another street seen in The Birds. There’s two locations seen in The Birds. Bodega and Bodega Bay. If the children had run from the school to The Tides they probably would have died from a heart attack. It’s a good six miles between the two locales. So, if you see the children running with the school behind them, they’re on Bodega Lane in Bodega. If you see the children running towards The Tides, they’re on Taylor Street in Bodega Bay. Ahh the magic of movies!

Running on Taylor Street in Bodega Bay

Taylor Street in 2010

Another location is the farm house Lydia visits. It's not too hard to see the trees still standing (although one farm house looks like another). In the movie it's Dan Fawcett's farm but it's still good to see it's still a farm property.

The farm property in 1962

The same farm property in 2010

I still can't belive that Bodega is the same as it looked in 1962 when The Birds filmed. It's well worth checking out if your ever in Northern California.