Ann Rutherford News

Actress Fay McKenzie Waldman passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of April 16th at the age of 101. She was born February 19, 1918 into a show business family where she was the youngest of two sisters and an actress cousin, and made her screen debut at only ten weeks old in "Station Content" (1918) in which she was carried in the arms of Gloria Swanson. Her parents, Eva & Bob "Pops" McKenzie were already veteran performers and apparently wanted their daughter to get an early start in films. She nearly stole the show from Oliver Hardy as "the baby" in the Alice Howell short "Distilled Love" (filmed in 1918 but released two years later). By the time she was six, Fay was considered an old hand, having played diverse parts in her father's stock company. Among her early films was the 1924 Photoplay Medal Winner, "The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln." 

This winter, the University of Washington School of Drama will present two works by eminent female dramatists, Rutherford and Son by Githa Sowerby, and In the Heart of America by Naomi Wallace. The productions are master's theses for our graduating MFA directors, Cody Holliday Haefner and Amanda Friou.

It's been almost 78 years since the Academy Award-winning movie, "Gone With the Wind," premiered, yet the 1939 film classic starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable remains one of the most popular movies of all time.

As my hand was turning to mincemeat while writing personal notes in Christmas card after Christmas card, I persevered, knowing that at the end of my travails there would be a reward: A much anticipated performance of Theatre Memphis' annual 'gift' to Memphis, Charles Dickens' venerable A CHRISTMAS CAROL. I must admit: I have not attended every performance of that classic since its inception. I have, however, infrequently stopped to hang my wreath at its door; and I've seen some fine 'Ebeneezers' over the years (I recall a former teaching colleague, Tom Ford, offering a tight, clipped interpretation and, of course, one of the best and most frequent of the actors donning those tattered gloves, Memphis acting favorite Barry Fuller). As I wrote card after card, I began to think about all the other interpretations of A CHRISTMAS CAROL that I have encountered through the years - Seymour Hicks; Reginald Owen (in the role MGM intended for an ailing Lionel Barrymore, who had become famous for his radio performance and who would have, no doubt, been superior; a not-all-that-bad consolation prize was his equally tight-fisted 'Mr. Potter' in Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE); Orson Welles (in a Mercury Theatre radio performance); Sir Ralph Richardson (a beautiful audio recording); Alastair Sim (in the early 1950's British film and offering my favorite interpretation of the role; Danny Peary, in his fascinating ALTERNATE OSCARS, selects him as Best Actor for that performance); and, certainly, George C. Scott, in what was considered to be the version to end all versions. (And does anyone recall Jim Backus' 'Mr. Magoo' in a delightful animated musical television special back in the 1960's?)

Warner Archive Collection announces New Releases, including Mr. Stewart Goes to Hollywood

Not only does the world love Betty White, but as Jamie Lee Curtis so poignantly pointed out at the 40th annual Actors and Others for Animals, Celebration of Caring, it seems every inhabitant of the world also wants Betty White to love them. Adding to a long list of organizations wanting, pleading and begging Ms. White to be their honoree, Actors and Others for Animals holds a very special place in Betty's heart. An organization she has been apart of since its first meetings, that helps those to whom her heart is fondest - Pets. A point Ms. Curtis illustrated by dawning puppy attire (furry floppy ears and paws), before bestowing the honoree with doggy kisses.

Dolly Parton, Colin Farrell, Sean Hayes, Chris Colfer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Allison Janney, Melissa Etheridge, Joel McHale, Kirsten Dunst, and Chaz Bono were among the celebrities who joined the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as it honored Kristin Chenoweth, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt, and the best in television and journalism last night at the 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles, hosted by Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. Check out highlights from the event by clicking below!

In February, a new rock musical got its World Premiere in Sarnia, ON (just outside of Toronto) and BWW was on hand to watch the event unfold and report back about the history behind this new show. Vampire Heart - A Musical with Bite was fifteen years in the making, and quite an entertaining piece of theatre.

Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and still history's all time domestic box-office champion[1] ($1.5 billion1), Gone with the Wind has long been considered the most celebrated motion picture of all time. On November 17, Warner Home Video (WHV) will honor the romantic epic with a stunningly restored and remastered version, available for the first time on Blu-rayTM. Gone with the Wind 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collectors Edition is sure to be a 'must-have' for collectors of classic films, available both in Blu-ray as well as on DVD.

Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and still history's all time domestic box-office champion[1] ($1.5 billion1), Gone with the Wind has long been considered the most celebrated motion picture of all time. On November 17, Warner Home Video (WHV) will honor the romantic epic with a stunningly restored and remastered version, available for the first time on Blu-rayTM. Gone with the Wind 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collectors Edition is sure to be a 'must-have' for collectors of classic films, available both in Blu-ray as well as on DVD.

On Saturday, November 15th, 2008, Universal Hilton and Tower Ballroom played host to a distinguished panel of toasters to celebrate the extraordinary career of Broadway legend and icon-Carol Channing.

Altar Boyz, the acclaimed musical comedy at Dodger Stages, winner of the coveted Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Off-Broadway, will have its 3rd anniversary Off-Broadway March 1st.

The new national touring production is playing a limited 2-week engagement at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood from April 5-17.