Merry Christmas (1957)

Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank

ABC-TV

December 20, 1957

Thanks to JazzWax for the share.

Portrait of a Spanish Poet (1959)

Portrait of a Spanish Poet by John Altoon, completed 1959

Los Angeles born artist John Altoon, spent nearly 5 years working on the painting he titled Portrait of a Spanish Poet. Often subtitled (Lorca), the piece is ostensibly a portrait of Spanish writer Federico García Lorca. It was completed in 1959 (the same year Altoon married B movie and television actress Fay Spain) and was included in Altoon's second solo show at the Ferus Gallery in 1961. By the time of that show Ferus had moved to its second location at 723 North La Cienega in West Los Angeles and had been under the direction of Irvin Blum for 3 years. Altoon's relationship with the gallery was firmly established by the late-'50s, being represented by Ferus. The painter had yet to fully transition to the more figurative approach he adopted in the 1960s, with the work being very much a product of his exposure to Abstract Expressionism due to his time spent in New York City as well as the Bay Area  School with exerted a strong influence on the LA art scene during the 1950s. 

John Altoon, Tony Lanreau, and Maggie Ryan, Venice, California, photo by William Claxton, 1959

The painting and Altoon made a cameo appearance on the dust jacket of the original 1959 edition of Laurence Lipton's The Holy Barbarians, the writer's survey of Beat Culture at the turn of the decade. Many (most?) had no idea that that giddy, shirtless beatnik in William Claxton's photo had painted the work of art hanging on the wall behind him, much less that he was the heart and soul of the burgeoning Ferus Gallery scene in West Los Angeles and Venice Beach. The connection was likely more due to Claxton, rather than Altoon laying any Beat Generation claims as the modern art circles on both Coasts tended to distance themselves from the Beat poets in spite of any lifestyle similarities.

Jazz Guitar: Jim Hall, Pacific Jazz 1227 12" LP, 1957, cover photo by William Claxton featuring John Altoon

Clax also played a role in Altoon's slightly earlier entree to mainstream exposure. As the staff photographer and cover art director for Dick Bock's Pacific Jazz Records, Claxton played a major role in the label's West Coast Artist Series that was begun some time in early 1956 as this excellent, highly recommended article outlines in detail. By the time it came to release guitarist Jim Hall's debut LP on the label, Bock and Claxton took a slightly different approach to the series by not only featuring the work or an emerging West Coast artist, but also by including a photo of the artist at work. The artist in question was John Altoon who was featured in the shot (albeit with his back to the camera). The device had already been used once the previously year for a Chico Hamilton Quintet release (also featuring Hall), but the Jim Hall/John Altoon/William Claxton image seems to capture the zeitgeist with slightly more authenticity. 

 Dick Bock, Jim Hall, John Altoon, and William Claxton, 1957

Altoon's career - and life - was short. He battled what some called true demons throughout his lifetime - but, in spite of his concerted efforts to manage his struggles, he died of a heart attack at the age of 44 in 1969. 

For more information about Altoon and the Ferus Gallery scene, I highly recommend Morgan Neville's 2008 documentary film The Cool School. 

If you live in or are going to be in the Los Angeles area before September 14, 2014, I strongly encourage you to visit the first major John Altoon retrospective, currently on exhibit at LACMA.

McGregor T.T. Convertible Sport Shirt (1954)

Magazine print advertisement, 1954

You may have noticed that one of the links I spotlight to the right of this column in the Blogroll is Shorpy. Their scope goes far beyond the somewhat narrow-minded confines of this particular space, so it is always refreshing to meander through their archives for glimpses of worlds other than this nebulous concept of modernism that I have. And yet, occasionally worlds do collide and, as I like to quote Charles Eames, eventually everything connects. Today's photo is a great example.

Mike Wallace and Buff Cobb, photo by John Vachon for Look magazine, 1952

Photo courtesy of Shorpy

Be sure to click through here for the full size photo. It is certainly something to take in. The Mike Wallace of 1952 was a far cry from the Mike Wallace of today. He had already made the transition to television from radio, but was not yet known as an investigative journalist. In fact, he spent a good deal of time hosting game shows and serving as an announcer both for regular shows and commercial breaks. But one achievement worth noting was the groundbreaking TV talk show Mike and Buff that ran on CBS from 1951 until 1953 and was based in New York. His co-host was actress Buff Cobb who he married in 1949. According to Shorpy the photograph is from a 1952 spread for Look magazine with the intent of showing off Italian style. Interesting. 

Magazine print advertisement, 1954

I wrote about the early origins of Continental (a.k.a. the Italian influence) style in the USA a few years ago on these very pages. However, what is interesting about the Wallace photo is that it predates by 2 years the general consensus about its emergence on these shores. This brought to mind some recent eBay finds of mine. A couple of print ads dated 1954 show McGregor Sportswear offering their original TT Shirt styled in Italy. Now those of you that know McGregor know that while they were a solid American brand, they could seldom be accused of being ahead of any fashion curves. So what got me scratching my head was how did McGregor jump on this trend so quickly? Perhaps they did not. Perhaps the stylistic developments of 1954 were much more of a gradual process that I had previously found. Well, it looks like someone needs to get back to their research. There is obviously a little more to story.

The Twilight Zone (1959)

One of my lasting childhood memories, is that of staying home from school when I was sick. I would typically stay in bed through the morning, sleeping off whatever bug I had. Some time close to Noon, I would gather my blankets and migrate to the couch. It was there I would spend the next few hours, sipping 7 UP, eating soup, and watching The Twilight Zone. The television station was KTLA, a local Los Angeles area station owned by the singing cowboy Gene Autry from 1964 through 1995 (the station was also home to Autry's professional baseball team the California Angels, who were our team in those suburban days). If memory serves me correct, The Twilight Zone was aired weekdays at Noon - possibly with 2 episodes back-to-back, obviously well into syndication as this was the late-1970s and early-1980s. Between this and KTLA's annual Fourth of July Twilight Zone marathon, it was ensured that I saw nearly all 156 of the original episodes at least a couple of times. So it was with these memories at the back of my mind that I embarked upon the first season of The Twilight Zone last month when I had the flu.

Rod Serling, CBS Television Studios, New York, 1955, photo by Loomis Dean

The first season of the original series ran from October 1959 through July 1960 on CBS in the USA. It was shown on Fridays at 10:00 PM Eastern Time. All of the episodes of the first season had a running time of just under 30 minutes. According to this exhaustive listing, the first 36 episodes were pre-empted 3 times and 2 reruns were shown before its inaugural run was complete. It was, of course, the brainchild of a very peculiar figure in television history: Rod Serling. Serling, who turned 35 during the first season, had already won 3 Emmy awards for his screenwriting efforts before the series debuted. The series would earn him his fourth. Serling, who had fought for the U.S. Army and earned a Purple Heart during the Second World War in the Philippines, had his fair share of conflict with both sponsors and censors in his early television career as he was not shy about tackling controversial social and political issues. At the time in a televised interview with Mike Wallace, he called The Twilight Zone the culmination of 12 years work. Perhaps most important was Serling's attitude towards the serial. In the same interview with Wallace he referred to the episodes as "adult...extremely polished films." He was also quick to categorize them as a mix of fantasy, imagination, and science fiction. In short, it was a very serious view of the burgeoning entertainment medium and one that set him apart from many of his contemporaries.

The Twilight Zone, Season One introduction, second variation

Seeing these early episodes again, thirty years since I first experienced them, I was not only pleasantly surprised by the longevity of writing but enjoyed discovering the many Mid-century modern Easter eggs that I know understand helped shaped my young consciousness. The overall mood and style is still arresting. If modern jazz captured the psychosis of post-war years in sound (as has often been argued), I can think of no single television program that managed to do the same on dramatic terms. There is an over-arching anxiety the permeates every episode. Not the manufactured fright of the Red Scare, but the rather palatable fear of modern life in the shadow of the mushroom cloud. There is the anxiety that society is not what it thought it was. And there is the dissolution of the American Dream, an idea upon which the counterculture of the late-1960s would hinge itself. Sure, not every episode hits the mark, particularly over the course of the first few months over which principle writer Serling finds his footing. But when it is good it is good in a way the resonates in a manner of the some of the best art of our time. Did television ever really get any better?

Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Hermann on the set of Psycho, c.1959-1960

For us Moderns, there are treats at every turn. The original theme music, used throughout the first season, was composed by no less than the maestro of suspense himself Bernard Hermann. Hermann was quite well known by this time having recently scored Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. In fact, he was working concurrently on the score for Psycho at the same time as he scored some of The Twilight Zone  episodes (which he did in addition to the main title) and there are some stylistic similarities between the two ventures at times. It's a moody piece, not quite as aggressively avant garde as the theme written by Marius Constant for the second season (widely known to most as the theme to the series) and played by jazz great Howard Roberts on his Fender Telecaster electric guitar. The opening titles to the first season were created by the mad genius animators over at UPA and clearly echo the abstract feel of some of their more well-known work, particularly in the realm of children's animations. In fact, one of the cool things about the show is it's clear New York - Los Angeles axis, something not always evident in productions during this era. There is a definite New York feel to much of the show's content and story lines. But much of the production was done in and around Los Angeles (Serling himself remained a New York resident for quite some time). And of course, there are the many wonderful actors and directors who make their appearances at all points of their career junctures. It is simply amazing how many familiar faces grace the small screen over the course of the 18 hours of footage from the first season alone. But rather than bore you with a laundry list of names, I will just remark how surprised and pleased I was to see jazz and fashion photographer William Claxton's name appear onscreen as the director of The Last Flight (episode 18, February 5, 1960).

In parting, above is the Mike Wallace September 22, 1959 television interview that I referenced earlier in today's weblog. Clocking in at just over 20 minutes, it provides great context to this cornerstone of popular American culture at it's birth.

Merry Christmas (2012)

The Christmas Song, Nat "King" Cole, live on The Nat King Cole Show, December, 17, 1957

An Evening with Fred Astaire (1958)

A buddy and I were recently discussing the notion that there was NO way Fred Astaire could succeed in today's entertainment world. A stylish man with that much grace? No way. I am adamant about this. And it is a real shame as Astaire was SO talented and such an amazing artist. No he wasn't just an artist, he was an absolute artistic force. Just dig this 1958 television special. 

The clips do a good job of laying out the details, so I will be brief. This was originally broadcast nationwide on NBC-TV on October 17, 1958. I was recorded, in color, on videotape (an early use color videotape, I should add) in Burbank, Calif. at NBC-TV's Color City Studios. Color TV had been in development since the late-1940s (the first color CRT patent application was dated 1947) and introduced to the consumer market in 1954. Almost needless to say, this was the early days of the medium and very few viewers were able to see this entertainment special as it was intended. It would be another 3 years before Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color special in September 1961 would really gave the market a push. In spite of the challenges, An Evening with Fred Astaire enjoyed impressive ratings and was the recipient of several Emmy awards.

Now scroll back up to the top of this entry, sit back, and enjoy all 5 parts of the show (complete with original commercials)!

Barney Kessel (1962)

Jazz Scene U.S.A. was a 1962 television series of 26 episodes hosted by the late, great vocalist/composer/performer/activist Oscar Brown, Jr. The series was produced by critic and sometime pianist/songwriter Leonard Feather. More significant was executive producer Steve Allen, a fellow who contributed greatly to promoting jazz music in the mainstream in the 1950s. Filmed in Los Angeles, at CBS ultra-modern Television City facility (at the time, only 10 years old) on Fairfax, it featured mainly West Coast-based working combos as one might expect. But due to LA's role as a major stop for touring acts, several Midwest and East Coast combos put in appearances.

CBS Television City, 1958

Some time in the mid-1990s, a handful of episodes from the series were released on videocassette. They were an absolute revelation. The performances were top notch, the set and back-drop was stylishly modern (thanks to ex-Twilight Zone art director Robert Tyler Lee) and Brown unbelievably cool. Each act would play their own version of the show's theme tune as an intro/outro and the credits were set against shots of the Sunset Strip. In many ways the show was a riff on and a refinement upon Stars of Jazz, another LA production which ran from 1956 until 1958. It both musically and visually evoked the earlier show, although to the best of my knowledge the two do not share any of the same production personnel. The latter program went almost as quickly as it came and apart from the few episodes officially released posthumously, it had seemed to have eluded the YouTube phenomenon.

So it was with great surprise that I stumbled across Barney Kessel's appearance in it's entirety on the 'Tube. As far as I know, it has not been issued since it originally aired in 1962. Yes, that is onetime Charlie Parker-sideman Stan Levey on drums, plus LA-mainstay Buddy Woodson on bass. So sit back, stream the sound through a decent pair of speakers, and (as OBJ would say) dig...

Rooty Toot Toot (1951)

UPA logo, Alvin Lustig, 1950

Among the cartoon cognoscenti, UPA is a legend. Formed in 1944, United Productions of America developed very quickly into THE postwar progressive animation studio. It reached its zenith within a few short years of its existence and almost as quickly it dissipated due to internal conflicts and external pressures. Regardless, it left a legacy which continues to heavily influence animators as it has since the early-1950s. Its long and storied history has been well documented online, this link as well as this one being two good places to start for some of the details.

John Hubley, c.1950

One can make a rather strong argument that the heart and soul of early UPA was John Hubley. Having paid his dues over at Disney over the course of 10 years, Hubley left after the labor disputes of 1941. While at Disney he worked mainly on backgrounds, perhaps most notably (for the purposes of this particular weblog) on the animation of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" (1913) for the Fantasia feature length film in 1940. Not only did this segment receive the approval of the composer himself who visited the animators studio during production, but it also represented some of the most avant grade work that Disney's animators produced - certainly up until that time. Setting aside the fact that Disney and Stokowski took GREAT liberties with the piece, it is a remarkable achievement - not to mention my first exposure to Stravinsky.

The Rite of Spring, Directed by Bill Roberts & Paul Satterfield, Fantasia, 1940

Another visitor to the Disney studios was architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1939. In a move that is not at all surprising, the maestro brought along a 1934 film by Russian/Soviet animator Ivan Ivanov-Vano that he felt the Disney talent should be aware of. The Tale of Czar Durondai would be very influential indeed, especially on Hubley and another progressive animator with pro-union and genuine communist interests, David Hilberman. Sadly, the aforementioned film seems MIA online, but here is Ivanov-Vano's 1933 Black and White which gives you an indication of his animation style at the time.

Black and White, Directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano, 1933

After the Disney strike of '41 and the studio's subsequent settlement with the Screen Cartoonists Guild, Hilberman was one of the first to leave Walt's behemoth. Along with several other like-minded Disney refugees he started Industrial Film & Poster Service in 1943. With the Second World War not yet over and the Soviet Union still an ally their progressive politics, hopeful ideals, and attendance at US Communist Party meetings was not yet considered "anti-American". In fact by the time Hudley joined the organization and it was renamed United Productions of America in 1944, much of its work was for US Government-sponsored animated shorts (propaganda by any other name). However this ground to a halt at the conclusion of the war, when the most famous Red Scare in American history started seeping into the political and social landscape. In short, Hilberman was "named" (by Disney, no less) which successfully ended UPA's lucrative government work and forced them into the theatrical animation business.

The forced move resulted in some of the most innovative animation to date as well as some of the most influential animation every created. Their success was not only critical, but popular as well, receiving academy awards for both 1949's "The Ragtime Bear" (featuring Hubley's most well-known creation, a caricature of a McCarthy-ite named Mr. Magoo) as well as 1950's "Gerald McBoing-Boing" (based on a story by Dr. Seuss).

The Ragtime Bear, Directed by John Hubley, 1949

Gerald McBoing-Boing, Directed by Robert Cannon, 1950

1951's "Rooty Toot Toot" was an even further visual and musical innovation. Visually, the animated short's closest kin were the contemporaneous album covers drawn by David Stone Martin for Mercury and Clef Records. The music (by noted bandleader Phil Moore) was a mix of jazz, blues, and modern classical and took the advances of the Stravinsky Fantasia segment a step further and firmly into the post-war mid-century world. The voices include the legendary Thurl Ravenscroft and Annette Warren. While the latter also served as a singing stand-in for both Lucille Ball and Ava Gardner around this time, the former's voice is well known to anyone that has every been to Disneyland, watched and old Kellogg's Corn Flakes commercial (that features Tony The Tiger, that is), or has sung-along with 1966's "Your a Mean One, Mr. Grinch". On top of it all, the subject matter is very adult and quite serious - albeit handled in a playful manner only possible through animation. It's a retelling of the 19th Century Frankie and Johnny folk legend, popularized by everyone from Mississippi John Hurt to Sam Cooke. The short was again nominated for an Oscar, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessors.

UPA logo, Alvin Lustig, 1947

"Rooty Toot Toot" was a visual reflection of much of what UPA was about at the time. Alvin Lustig had designed UPA's initial 1940s logo as well as their 1950 re-branding which is now instantly recognizable and somewhat iconic. Both designs represent the modernist aesthetic at its finest. John Lautner, the father of Googie Architecture and a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the UPA Burbank studio in 1949 around the same time he designed West Hollywood's landmark Googie's coffee shop. And there was a strong contingent of modern jazz fans among the UPA ranks, Hubley in particular. Chico Hamilton reportedly even contributed to a later episode of Gerald McBoing-Boing. Even in subject matter, the cartoon reflected something of the egalitarian atmosphere cultivated by the principals of UPA, with no small degree of ambiguous morality.

Here, without further ado, is the film in question...

Rooty Toot Toot, Directed by John Hubley, 1951

Unfortunately, UPA crumbled soon after the release of the above short. Hilberman had left early on for NYC, his own firm and mostly advertising shorts before briefly leaving the country and then settling in the San Francisco-Bay Area where he taught at San Francisco State University for a number of years. The increasingly threatening activities of the House Committee on Un-American Actitivies forced many either out of the business or at least temporarily out of Hollywood. Hubley was summoned and refused to name names. By 1952 he was out of UPA, working out of LA for another 3 years, before moving to New York. He continued to work in independent animation until his death in 1977. UPA has continued to operate over the years but is a pale reflection of its former self.

For further reading and insight into some of the ideas behind UPA in its original incarnation, I do recommend this 1980 article on Dave Hilberman. 

In 1983, Walt Disney's nephew, Roy Disney, purchased the Lautner-designed UPA building in Burbank, California. He offered significant financial incentives to the occupants at the time to move out immediately. He then completely razed the building. All that survives of the era in the area is The Smoke House restaurant next door built in 1949 and frequented by the UPAers over the years both for their hamburgers and booze. Next time you are in that part of the world, stop in and raise a glass for Hubley, Hilbermann, and Mr. Magoo. 

The Subject is Jazz: Swing (1958)

Produced in New York City by National Educational Television for classroom use and in conjunction with the National Broadcasting Corporation for broadcast. If you had a television in 1957-1958 and were lucky enough to get one of the affiliate stations, this is a sample of what you would see Friday night at 5 PM.

I've been reading series host and pianist Billy Taylor's Smithsonian Jazz oral history transcript available here. Just follow the link and scroll down to Dr. Taylor. There were so many good things about Billy and The Subject is Jazz is just one of them. Check out the clips, read the transcript, and check out some of Taylor's recordings (many of which are available on iTunes).

Side note: this series features the wonderful guitarist Mundell Lowe, a personal favorite and probably one of the last dozen or so living musicians to have played with Charlie Parker.

Art Ford's Jazz Party (1958)

If you lived in the greater New Jersey area in 1958 and could get your self to a television at 9 PM on Thursday night, you could catch Art Ford's Jazz Party. A 90-minute program, broadcast by WNTA-TV on Channel 13, it lasted from May 8th until December 25th of that year. In an era where television was good to jazz music in general and particularly to Modern Jazz, it offered a unique mix of musicians from nearly all streams of the music - from New Orleans through Swing, plus some Modernists. Recorded sessions were reportedly conducted without rehearsals or set-lists and featured rare glimpses of both legends and obscure stylists.

A kinescope transfer of most of the September 18th broadcast is currently up on YouTube and below for your viewing pleasure. Several other clips have surfaced over the years in varying degrees of quality. What I like particularly about this episode is the appearance of guitarist Mary Osborne, who is sadly overlooked by many if not most jazz historians due in no small part to her relatively small recorded output, and perhaps more so due to the fact that she was a woman. She was one of Charlie Christian's most talented disciples and actually knew the legend during his lifetime. She definitely deserves more ink, virtual or otherwise, so in addition to reading this month's Vintage Guitar magazine, do your self a favor and search around the 'net a bit.

Guitar Geek Note: it looks to me that Mary is playing an extremely rare Stromberg G-5 made in the early-1950s in ridiculously small batches. It could be one of only a dozen of these guitars made. There are some beautiful photos of a slightly earlier, but similar, Stromberg here. Add to that the rarity (and admitted something of an oddity) of a Gibson-manufactured "finger rest pick-up" (aka the Ted McCarty Pick-up) being used to amplify the guitar, and you have quite a sight (and sound) indeed. Incidentally, Jason Lollar is making a reproduction of the McCarty Pick-up for those that might be interested. Enjoy!

Personnel Note: be sure to click through to the 'Tube for some fairly detailed personnel notes as well as some interesting comments. If you want a more concise listing of personnel, click here and scroll down to September 18, 1958.

Billy Taylor (1921-2010)

The Subject is Jazz, 1958

Rest in Peace, Dr. Taylor

The Subject Is Jazz: Cool (1958)

1 of 13 thirty-minute episodes broadcast on WNBC television in New York City in 1958 featuring musical director and pianist Billy Taylor. These are slowly re-emerging thanks to YouTube and Billy Taylor himself. There are so many great things about this episode: Taylor, Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Don Elliott (on horn AND vibraphone!), discussing the Lennie Tristano influence...the list goes on. Still I have to admit that I keep coming back to it for Mundell Lowe's beautiful understated playing. Once you have digested his playing, check out his D'Angelico complete with DeArmond pick-up and an Ampeg "Fountain of Sound" amp. Did it get any better? Of course I could probably write an entire other column about the suits alone. At any rate, sit back and dig what real "Cool" jazz is all about.

Time & Life Building (1959)

1271 Avenue Of The Americas

New York, New York 10022

Like so many others, I am a HUGE fan of the weekly soap opera Mad Men. Yes, it's a soap opera, although perhaps the most existential one to ever hit the airwaves (and, no, Dark Shadows does not count). My enthusiasm is somewhat odd as I can count the hours per week that I watch television on one hand and with few exceptions have yet to get sucked into many of the serial dramas that have been all the rage ever since The Sopranos changed the vernacular of water cooler conversation in 1999. I will admit was attracted me most to the series was the style and portrayal of the era. The transition years from as the 1950s became the 1960s, and more specifically "pre-Beatles" America, has long been an interest of mine - so I guess you could say I was a target audience of sorts. But what has kept me interested since the series began 3 Summers ago (and, yes, I did watch the first season premier "live" when it happened), is double-whammy of excellent screen writing and a meticulous attention to detail about which I have found very little to complain about over the course of 3 seasons.

One of those wonderful little details was this season's first episode in-passing reveal that the new firm is renting office space in the Time & Life Building. The actual building, built in 1958 and ready for occupancy 1959, would have been fairly new in November 1964 - which is the time frame this season begins. The building was the first of several buildings designed for an expansion of Rockerfeller Center. The Time & Life building was designed by the Rockerfeller family architect, Wallace Harrison. Originally, Time Inc. occupied 21 of the 48 floors, so the notion of an upstart advertising agency renting one of the floors is very much in keeping of the reality of the historic building.

Fortunately, the glass, aluminum, and limestone building is fairly well-preserved - including the lobby area. One of the notable characteristics of the design (and perhaps what many New Yorkers would recognize it by) are the swirling designs on the sidewalks and in the lobby which, in true International Style, were patterned after the sidewalks bordering the beaches of Rio De Janiero's Copacabana Beach. Murals by Josef Albers and Fritz Glamer still grace the lobby walls.

But before you get too obsessive over a fictional historical dramatic soap opera, AMC has yet to reveal which floor Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are occupying.

Patrick McGoohan (1928-2009)

No sooner did my brother hip me to this (thanks Tim!), then news hits the stands that Patrick McGoohan has passed away.
I undoubtedly first saw McGoohan on television some time in the late 1970s when I was a child. Perhaps it was The Man in the Iron Mask with Richard Chamberlin? I think so. At any rate, his intense visage and unique voice are ingrained deep in my memory. Like many others my age, I discovered his meisterwerk, The Prisoner, long after it's 1967 debut but was captivated by the serial. Much popular art from that highly vaunted year seems terribly dated now - and there are bits in The Prisoner which do place it firmly in a specific time and place - BUT overall it manages to be timeless on a lot of levels, not to mention enjoyable.

Goodbye Patrick McGoohan. Rest in Peace, No. 6

The Original Maverick (1957)

Enough with the lies already! You all are making my head spin. EVERYBODY knows the Original Maverick was James Garner. Here is a shot of him with his running mate - erm - co-star Jack Kelly in 1958.