Movie Time

I just spent part of the last week catching up on a couple of movie classics, and one couldn't be more different than the other.

We'll start with "Caddyshack", a movie that came under discussion recently when we were discussing all time great sports movies. Caddyshack was released with no great expectations, and not much critical acclaim, but it has gone on to gain cult status among golfers, and it has grown in stature to the point that the American Film Institute ranks it as one of the Top 100 Movie Comedies of all time (#71).

Plot is not one of the strong points of the movie, but the set pieces in the movie are known by everyone:

The Caddy Tournament. "Miss it, Noonan."

Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) in the pro shop buying everything; Al at the Bushwood dinner ("This steak still has the marks from where the jockey was hitting it"; "Whoa, did somebody step on a duck."; "Now I know why tigers eat their young"; "Want to earn $14 the hard way?"

Judge Smails (Ted Knight). "Gambling is prohibited at Bushwood, and I NEVER slice."

Judge Smails christening his boat, "The Flying Wasp."

Carl (Bill Murray) and Ty (Chevy Chase) meeting in Carl's trailer. "Cannonball!!!"

Caddy Day at the Swimming Pool.

The Bishop playing in the rain storm.

"Cinderella Story"

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. And for those readers who are golfers, tell me how many times YOU have used a line from Caddyshack when you are out on the golf course, even if you happen to be playing with strangers while on vacation or during a business outing.

The second movie came courtesy of a showing on Turner Classic Movies this week: Billy Wilder's classic, "Sunset Boulevard." If you've never seen this one, you owe it to yourself to get hold of a copy and watch it. The movie was released in 1950 -SIXTY YEARS AGO!!! It starts Gloria Swanson and William Holden, and is a tale of a has been Hollywood actress and a much younger, down on his luck screenwriter, who come upon each other and proceed to use each other with tragic results.

When released, the movie was not popular among the Hollywood insiders due to the unflattering portrait it painted of the motion picture industry. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress. It won three awards, including Best Screenplay and a couple of other technical awards.

In 1997, the AFI ranked Sunset Boulevard at #12 in it's list of Top 100 American Movies of all time. It also produces two classic lines of dialog:

"I am big. It's the pictures that got small."

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille."

It's a compelling movie and one that I have to see to the end whenever I happen upon it on TV.

Catching Up on My Reading

In recent weeks, I have read some old books.  

"The Johnstown Flood" by David McCullough (1968).  This was McCullough's first book and it won him justifiable acclaim.  Now, being a native of Western Pennsylvania, I always knew that there was a famous "Johnstown flood", but I couldn't have told you for sure when it happened (1889) or why and how it happened, but this book sure filled in those gaps.  Living in an age where news is instantaneous (remember how we all actually watched the second plane crash into the World Trade Center?), I was fascinated by the fact that news was NOT instantaneous in 1889, not that I didn't already know that, of course.  For example, from the time the damn gave way, it actually took about 45 minutes for the wall of water to actually reach Johnstown itself.  Plus, with the water taking out many telegraph lines, it was difficult to communicate the complete nature of the disaster.  In Pittsburgh, people were aware that something bad had happened, but they didn't know exactly what it was.  That said, once the news people did arrive, the word did get out relatively quickly, and what happened afterward, in terms of rescue and relief efforts, as well as trying to pin the blame on someone for the disaster, makes for terrific reading.  McCullough's research and writing equals a great book.

"Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard" by Sam Staggs (2002).  The subtitle on this book also tells a lot of what it was about: "Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream".  As you can no doubt guess, the book is all about everything surrounding the making of and the history of the classic 1950 Billy Wilder movie, "Sunset Boulevard".  If you love that movie, you really should read this book.  Lots of great inside Hollywood stuff about Gloria  Swanson, Bill Holden, Billy Wilder, and others associated with the movie.  It also gives a lot of details about the development and production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.  In the end, though, the book went on a little too long, and author Staggs slipped into a lot of "film buff" pretentiousness.  He also seems to have an axe to grind with Billy Wilder, and that gets a little tiring as well.  Still, a worthwhile read.

"The Devil and the White City" by Erik Larson (2003).  This is the story of the staging of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and it follows the parallel story of a serial killer that was operating in Chicago at the same time.  It also tells the story of the City of Pittsburgh's big contribution to that World's Fair - the first Ferris Wheel. 

All of these books make for good reading.

The Books of 2012

The final tally is in.  I read 56 books in 2012.  Some old, some new, some may be out of print and only be available at your local library.  In looking back, here are the highlights and the ones that I would highly recommend.

Non-Fiction

"Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Miller - The story of the assassination and death of President James Garfield in 1881.  You will learn that it was not so much the bullet that killed the President, but the medical treatment he received in trying to save him.  You will also learn how the phrase "Ignorance is bliss" came about.

"On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery" by Robert M. Poole - Great story about how the federal government appropriated the property of the Robert E. Lee family and turned it into the country's most hallowed ground.  Fascinating stories about how the Lee family sued the government to have their property returned (and won!), the rush job to arrange for the burial of President Kennedy, and the selections of the Unknowns from the nation's wars.

"American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and the Modern Age of Golf" by James Dodson - The title says it all.  It's great reading, but pretty much for golf fans only.

"The Best Pittsburgh Sports Arguments" by John Mehno - 100 questions raised and answered by sportswriter Mehno.  Examples: "Was the Super Bowl XXX loss really Neil O'Donnell's fault?" and "Was Barry Bonds really that bad a guy?" (Answers: No and Maybe)  Lots of fun stuff in here for the Pittsburgh sports fan.

"Over Time, My Life As A Sportswriter" by Frank Deford - A memoir covering covering the fifty year career of one of the great sportswriters of all time.

"One Shot At Forever"  by Chris Ballard - The story of a small time high school baseball team - and their unusual coach - that made it all the way to the Illinois high school championship game in the early 1970's.  A real life "Hoosiers", and a story of the impact a coach or a teacher can have on  young persons throughout their lives.

"Hellhound on His Trail" by Hampton Sides - The Story of James Earl Ray and how he stalked and killed Martin Luther King in 1968, and the FBI search to capture him.

"The Devil in the White City" by Eric Larson - The story of the World's Colombian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago and the concurrent story of a serial killer that preyed upon the city of Chicago during that Fair.

"The Johnstown Flood" by David McCullough - All about the calamity of the great Johnstown Flood.  Great "you are there" kind of reporting on an event that happened in the 19th century.

"Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard" by Sam Stiles - Terrific account of he making and the history of the classic 1950 Billy Wilder movie, "Sunset Boulevard".  Great book for movie fans and almost a must for fans of this movie in particular.

Fiction

"Cop Hater" by Ed McBain - This book was published in 1956 and is worth reading, or re-reading, because it was the first in McBain's 87th Precinct series of police procedural novels. This series was not only among the first, but perhaps the best of the genre.

"Victims" by Jonathan Kellerman - Any new entry in Kellerman's Alex Delaware series will always make my list.

"Stolen Prey" and "Mad River" by John Sandford - New entries in the Lucas Davenport and Virgil series, respectively.  Great detective/thriller/mystery yarns.

"This Is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper - The story about a thirty-something guy whose marriage is falling apart at the time of his father's death.  The Jewish family begins the seven day shiva after the death and all sorts of family secrets, problems, and peculiarities arise.  Not the sort of book I usually read, but I really enjoyed this one.

"The Racketeer" by John Grisham - This new thriller from Grisham is not up to his usual standards, but still a worthwhile read for a long plane ride or a day at the beach.

There you have it.  Right now, I am currently reading a book that I received for Christmas that I suspect will be on this same list in 2013.  It's about the Eisenhower Presidency.

Enjoy!

"Sunset Boulevard", the Musical

You always worry when one of your favorite books/movies/plays is transferred to another art form:  book to movie, play to movie, or, in this case, Classic Movie to Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Extravaganza.  


The 1950 Billy Wilder movie, "Sunset Boulevard", is by almost any source you care to sight, considered one of the Top Ten movies ever made in America.  It is the story of an aging silent screen movie star, Norma Desmond, who has been pushed to the Hollywood scrap heap with the advent of talking motion pictures, who meets up with down-on-his-luck cynical screenwriter Joe Gillis.  How the two meet, interact, and use each other makes for one of the most compelling movies you'll ever see.  The movie starred Gloria Swanson and the incomparable William Holden, and the thought of someone tampering with such a classic could seem almost sacrilegious.


However, Andrew Lloyd Webber provided the music and brought his story to the London and Broadway stages back in the early 1990's.  The musical was highly acclaimed and even Billy Wilder was pleased with it ("I think it would make a pretty good movie", he said), so seeing it has long been on my bucket list.


Anyway, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera brought "Sunset Boulevard" to town this week at the Benedum, and we took it in yesterday.  We both liked it.  The show starred a Broadway actress named Liz Callaway as Norma, and  Matthew Scott (who looks a lot like Pirate Neil Walker) as Joe.  Joe is the character who holds the play together, he is in almost every scene, but it is Norma who draws all the attention, and the numerous dazzling costume changes almost every time she is on stage is just the least of the attraction.  Norma also has the two show stopping musical numbers, "As If We Never Said Good-bye" and "With One Look".


The show is true to the movie, and while there is very little spoken dialog, what there is taken almost directly from the movie, including it's two most famous lines:

• "I am big.  It's the pictures that got small."
• "are you ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille?"

Very good show, well staged by the CLO, and all of the actors.  It made for a great day at the theater.

However, one should never forget the source material, the great 1950 movie by the great Billy Wilder.  If you've never seen it, and you love movies, then make it a point to see it very soon.

One Last Visit From Janus

 

Before closing the book on 2025, I thought that I would call on the ancient Roman god, Janus, one more time in order to look at the year that was.

In many ways, 2025 was a most unsettling year due to the political situation in which we find ourselves these days.  I'm personally quite upset with what our country has become, and I struggle with, as the great cartoon from the New Yorker puts it, the "desire to be well-informed with the desire to remain sane."

However, I will choose not to address THOSE issues in this monograph today.  This blog was never intended to be one to address such weighty and divisive issues.  I will resolve, however, to try to be a kinder person in the year(s) ahead and do what I can to help those who need it.

I will also continue on in The Grandstander with my thoughts on movies and television shows that I have seen, books that I have read, games that I have attended, bets that I have won (and lost), and trips that we have taken.  And celebrity obituaries.  And endless screeds about the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Grandstander blog, by the way, turned 16 years old on January 8.  This post will be the 2,876th on this site.

On the topic of trips, Linda and I spent forty nights in 2025 where we were not at  home sleeping in our own bed.  These ranged from little one night getaways in downtown Pittsburgh and other western Pennsylvania spots, to our wonderful extended stays in Hilton Head, SC, Cooperstown, NY, and Nashville, TN, and the highlight of the year, our Viking cruise through Canada and the eastern seaboard.  We realize how fortunate we are to be able to have made these trips, and we take none of it for granted.  We made wonderful memories, made new friends, and saw some unforgettable sights.  We were, indeed, blessed in this regard.

Looking ahead, the only thing on our calendar is what we are hoping will become an annual trip to Hilton Head.  Maybe a trip to New York City at some point, but nothing is booked yet.

In the world of sports, I have three specific events that will stand out for me from 2025.  The first was our trip to Nashville to see the great Lionel Messi play for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.  In an analogy that I have used many times, when you get a chance to see Willie Mays play, you take it.  Messi delivered for us by scoring three goals and assisting on two others that night.  Second, was our trip to Boston to see the Steelers play the Patriots in Foxboro with our new friends from our cruise, Patti and Barry Rowe.  Third, was the run of the Robert Morris University men's basketball team to both the Horizon League's regular season and conference tournament championships and a earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.  And I'll throw in one more:  having Aaron Rodgers play a season at quarterback for the Steelers.  It didn't end up the way we had hoped, but we did get to see one of the all-time greats close out his career in Black and Gold.

I saw twenty-five movies in 2025.  I count among these some older movies that I had never seen before.  If it was a first for me, it goes on the list.  Here are my top five:

1. Nuremberg
2. September 5 (2024 release)
3. Song Sung Blue
4. Billy Joel And So It Goes (HBO Max)
5. Ninotchka (1939)

Of the twenty-five movies that I saw, only seven of them were in an honest-to-God movie theater.  The rest were seen via streaming or DVD in the comfort of my home.   We also saw two classic movies in theaters this year (Casablanca and Sunset Boulevard), so that means we made only nine visits to a movie theater.  Convenience, home comforts, and 65 inch HD flatscreens are great, but they come at the cost of us losing the "theater experience".  It is a slippery slope, as they say.

I read thirty-seven books in 2025.  If I had to give you a best list, I would say that the best non-fiction book I read was "Charlie Hustle", a biography of Pete Rose by Keith O'Brien, and the best fiction book was "Sunburn" by Laura Lippman.  As you can see, I've linked my original write-ups of these books in this post.  My goal for 2026 is to read thirty books.  I am already on my third book here in January.

Sadly, I only played 13 rounds of golf in 2025.  There were reasons and excuses for that, of course.  It is my sincere hope that I play more than that in this coming year.  Setting twenty rounds as my goal for 2026.

And, of course, I close out by thanking all of you Loyal Readers out there for sticking with this.  Please keep reading and commenting and tell your friends about The Grandstander.

I lost my Executive Assistant this year.

How we miss her. 😢

To Absent Friends - McCullough, Wills, Lansbury

The Grandstander has fallen way behind in what has been transpiring in the Departure Lounge of late, so let me take this opportunity to catch up....

David McCullough (1933-2022)

I first became aware of historian David McCullough when he served as the narrator for Ken Burns' epic PBS documentary, "The Civil War."   I then read several of his books over the years, including his terrific first book, The Johnstown Flood. McCullough made reading and learning history both enlightening and entertaining.

Born in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh and educated at Shady Side Academy, McCullough was honored by his home town in 2012 when the 16th Street Bridge was renamed in his honor.  He is also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush in 2006.

Maury Wills (1932-2022)

If I were to make a list of the most transformative baseball players in my life as a baseball fan, Maury Wills would certainly be in the Top Ten, and probably in the Top Five of such a list.  A rookie with the Dodgers in 1959, Wills alerted the baseball world in 1960 of what was to come when he led the National League in stolen bases with 50.  Two years later he stole 104 bases, coming the first to ever crack the 100 mark and breaking a record held by Ty Cobb for 47 years.  Just like that, the stolen base once again became a key weapon in baseball, and it was Wills who paved the way and begat future players such as Rickey Henderson, Willie Magee, Vince Coleman, and, yes, Omar Moreno.  Wills was named National League MVP in 1962.

Following the 1966 season, Pirates GM Joe L. Brown shocked everyone by pulling of a major trade that brought Wills to the Pirates.

The acquisition of Wills was to be the final piece that would put the Pirates, pennant contenders in 1965 and -66, over the top.  It didn't quite work out that way, but Wills did his part.  In two seasons with the Bucs Wills hit .290 and stole 81 bases.

I remember that it was always thought that Wills had what it took to become a successful major league manager, but that didn't work out either.  He spent parts of two seasons as skipper if the Seattle Mariners in the late Eighties, and was fired after a tenure marked by gaffes and blunders on his part.  It also became known at the time that Wills was also battling substance abuse demons.

Wills never came close to election the the Hall of Fame, but a case for his inclusion there could be made.  There a certainly lesser players than he with plaques on the wall in Cooperstown.

Angela Lansbury (1925-2022)

When Angela Lansbury died this week a few days short of her 97th birthday, she left behind a memorable career on stage, in the movies, and on television.  While many if not most people will think of her as Jessica Fletcher in the CBS TV series "Murder, She Wrote", I think of her as the scheming, traitorous, evil, and possibly incestuous, Eleanor Shaw Iselin in the terrific 1962 movie, "The Manchurian Candidate".

She also made a huge splash in 1966 when she opened on Broadway in 1966 as the lead in the smash hit, "Mame".  In fact, were it not for the  long run on "Murder, She Wrote", her role as Auntie Mame in that musical would no doubt have been the lead item in her obituaries.

I read a cute anecdote about her just today.   When "Murder, She Wrote" was about to premier, Lansbury made the rounds with TV critics to promote the show.  One critic asked what other plans she had, and she told him that she had been approached about starring in soon to be developed musical stage version of the movie "Sunset Boulevard."  The critic, thinking of the demands involved in doing a Broadway show and weekly TV series, asked if she has signed the standard five year contract with CBS.  Lansbury got a concerned look on her face and asked "You don't really think that this show will last five years, do you?"  It ran for twelve seasons.

RIP David McCullough, Maury Wills, and Angela Lansbury