
Hollywood has the “Oscars.” Now Washington has the “Honors.” Sponsored by the American Veterans Center and Northrop Grumman Corporation, hundreds of millions will have the opportunity to be enriched by our military heroes’ “full measure of devotion” when “The Honors”
by Mary Claire Kendall13 Nov 2014, 6:55 AM PST0

On March 2, on the Red Carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood where the Oscars were about to begin, I asked the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences if the community could do anything to
by Mary Claire Kendall13 Aug 2014, 11:33 AM PST0

On July 6, 2007, when I was interviewing A.C. Lyles, a.k.a. “Mr. Paramount,” he suggested I write about someone, who was never a star, but had an enormous impact on the life of one of Hollywood’s greatest. He was referring
by Mary Claire Kendall26 Jun 2014, 1:01 PM PST0

Some 30 years after Judy Garland first publicly performed Over the Rainbow on June 29, 1939, previewing the upcoming The Wizard of Oz, this quintessential girl-next-door reached for more sleeping pills and hoped-for sleep, only to be, mercifully, granted eternal rest. Garland always wanted to
by Mary Claire Kendall22 Jun 2014, 9:36 AM PST0

Recently, Hollywood’s elite gathered for Variety’s “Purpose Family Entertainment + Faith-based Summit” at the Four Seasons Los Angeles Hotel at Beverly Hills. In association with Rogers & Cowan–joined by Disney Publishing Worldwide, Faith Driven Entertainment, Persecuted, Pure Flix, and Walden Media and
by Mary Claire Kendall17 Jun 2014, 2:29 PM PST0

Thirty-five years ago today, John “Duke” Wayne, made famous by playing the rugged hero in westerns directed by John Ford and Howard Hawks, went to his reward. In May 2012, I interviewed writer-producer A.J. Fenady (1), known for The Rebel, Branded, Hondo
by Mary Claire Kendall11 Jun 2014, 11:55 AM PST0

“D-Day was a completely incredible experience and one that I haven’t yet been able to write about satisfactorily. So much of it is a matter of feeling and sensation that you don’t write when you’re writing for a newspaper or
by Mary Claire Kendall5 Jun 2014, 1:40 PM PST0

As we wind down this “Military Appreciation Month” on this the 146th anniversary of the Memorial Day–first celebrated on May 30, 1868 as “Decoration Day”–most of us have no real idea of what it is like to “give the last
by Mary Claire Kendall30 May 2014, 4:51 PM PST0

What do you know? The Cannes Film Festival that yearly transforms that quiet French Riviera town into a colliding cacophony of celebrity and cinema, is once again pinpointing with amazing precision the most artistically pre-eminent and therefore most commercially viable
by Mary Claire Kendall23 May 2014, 8:17 AM PST0

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who died 20 years ago today at the age of 64, was a heavy smoker. It was a closely guarded secret. Image mattered most. Always image! A hundred years ago this June, her mother-in-law Rose Kennedy became
by Mary Claire Kendall19 May 2014, 2:16 PM PST0

This Palm Sunday, more than 2 billion Christians worldwide will celebrate Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem 1981 years ago–mere days before his Passion. To mark the occasion, UP Television will show The Passion of the Christ (2004) in its commercial TV debut at
by Mary Claire Kendall11 Apr 2014, 3:50 PM PST0

After Mickey Rooney hit the big time at MGM, he was “embarrassed” by his father, burlesque comedian Joseph Yule, Sr., according to producer Ewing Miles “Lucky” Brown, an old friend of the Hollywood legend. Brown recently reminisced about his old
by Mary Claire Kendall9 Apr 2014, 3:38 PM PST0

Sir Alec Guinness, born 100 years ago today on April 2, 1914 in Marylebone, England, was a star’s star. While Spencer Tracy, born just three days later in 1900, was ranked his fellow stars’ favorite, Guinness had dramatic gifts rivaling Tracy for
by Mary Claire Kendall2 Apr 2014, 9:53 AM PST0

Watching the 86th annual Academy Awards from the red carpet was a real eye-opener. The sun miraculously came out on cue at precisely 2 p.m. (EST) as the stars started parading down the red carpet. Before that moment, three days of
by Mary Claire Kendall8 Mar 2014, 8:58 AM PST0

In 1970 when John “Duke” Wayne won an Oscar for his starring role as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969), the industry was a shadow of its current self. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. Veteran writer-producer, A.J. Fenady,
by Mary Claire Kendall2 Mar 2014, 5:43 AM PST0

As Hollywood goes through the annual ritual and frenzy of the Oscars, celebrating all it is and aspires to be through the prism of this year’s films, it’s worth noting that on this day 100 years ago the first feature
by Mary Claire Kendall15 Feb 2014, 9:49 AM PST0

When The Beatles splashed onto the American scene on February 7, 1964, at JFK International Airport and, two days later, on “The Ed Sullivan Show”–love was in the air, evidenced by all the screaming girls, Baby Boomers all! Two nights later, The Beatles performed
by Mary Claire Kendall14 Feb 2014, 3:39 PM PST0

Shirley Temple, one of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars at the height of the Depression–her break out film Bright Eyes (1934), featuring “On the Good Ship Lollipop”–has gone to her reward. She joins her good friend, and my friend, the former film producer
by Mary Claire Kendall11 Feb 2014, 11:27 AM PST0
by Mary Claire Kendall29 Sep 2009, 2:40 PM PST0
Thirty years after Judy Garland-“Dorothy”-first publicly performed “Over the Rainbow” on June 29, 1939, previewing the soon-to-be-released Wizard of Oz, this quintessential girl-next-door reached for more sleeping pills and hoped-for sleep, only to be, mercifully, granted eternal rest. She always
by Mary Claire Kendall22 Jun 2009, 3:21 PM PST0
For navel-gazing Republicans, in the throes of a full-blown identity crisis, the 30th anniversary of John “Duke” Wayne’s passing this June 11th, couldn’t come sooner, reminding us of what it was like when giants were in our midst. The Duke,
by Mary Claire Kendall11 Jun 2009, 11:53 AM PST0