Here are 10 things you should know about Ann Harding, born 116 years ago today. Her time in the spotlight was relatively brief, though she worked steadily for 35 years on the stage, in motion pictures and on television. As with Kay Francis, TCM has gone a long way in renewing interest in—and appreciation of—Harding’s movie career.
Tag: Texas
Remembering May Robson on Her 160th Birthday
Here are 10 things you should know about the delightful character actress May Robson, born 160 years ago today.
Remembering Joan Crawford on Her 112th (or so) Birthday
The intrepid Joan Crawford was born 112 years ago (give or take) today in San Antonio, Texas.
Here are 10 things you should know about Joan Crawford…
Corndogs and touchdowns
We spent the past weekend taking our dad from Oklahoma City down to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry, the Oklahoma-Texas game (we’re talking college football here, don’t you know).
Dad’s made his way to Big D for the big game every year but three since 1948, which means he’s been on hand for 58 percent of the 106 games played between the two heated rivals—a pretty impressive feat, in our view. The series, which kicked off in 1900, has been played in the Cotton Bowl, on the state fairgrounds (while the State Fair of Texas is underway, mind you) since 1929, and it’s a setting like no other in college football.
The stands are divided at the fifty-yard line—half the stadium’s sporting burnt orange, the other half crimson—and everyone’s out for blood (figuratively speaking, mostly). Dallas sits halfway between Norman, Oklahoma, home to OU, and Austin, Texas, where UT is found, so, aside from those locals who may have scored tickets, it’s an away game for everyone, and the fans behave accordingly (for good and ill).
Our Sooners took care of business in a big way this year—55-17 is an all-out beatdown in this typically competitive game—but we won’t bore you with video highlights from that big win. Those wouldn’t fall within this site’s purview.
Instead enjoy this five-minute roundup of the 1957 contest. The Sooners were 43 wins into their all-time record 47-game winning streak, and though the Longhorns made a strong showing, they would suffer their sixth loss in a row to the Crimson and Cream (OU was really good in the 1950s).
Enjoy the action, and note the fun narration throughout. If you like your football commentary alliterative, this is the clip for you.
P.S. If you missed the latest installment of Pitch Perfect on Monday, don’t fret. It’ll return on October 17. We’ve been dealing with computer issues over the past week, but we’re almost back up to speed.
Mirror Images: Guinn Williams and George W. Bush
If we told you the picture on the right was George W. Bush in Ronald Reagan drag, you’d almost believe it, wouldn’t you?
It certainly looks like Dubya, only with the Gipper’s hair.
But it’s not—it’s character actor Guinn Williams, often called “Big Boy,” whose career began in 1919 and lasted until the 1960s.
Big Boy and Dubya share more than just facial features. They’re both Texans, though Williams was the genuine article, born and raised in the Lone Star State. They both shared a name with their fathers. And they both were sons of politicians, though Williams’ dad began his career as a rancher (and we’re guessing he did more than clear brush) and a banker before first becoming county clerk of Wise County, Texas, from 1898 to 1902, serving as a member of the State senate from 1920 to 1922, and then serving in the House of Representatives from 1922-1933.
Oh, and the senior Williams was a Democrat, another key difference.
Rep. Williams’ son Guinn was given the nickname “Big Boy” by none other than Will Rogers. Guinn stood 6 feet, 2 inches tall and was muscular, so the handle was an apt one.
Though he acted in many other types of pictures, Williams was perhaps best known for his work in westerns, in which he generally portrayed a dim but likable second banana to the picture’s rootin’-tootin’ hero.
We’ve never seen a Guinn Williams picture without being reminded of Dubya; we find the resemblance striking. Watch the clip below, taken from Rafter Romance (1933) and also featuring Robert Benchley and Ginger Rogers, and see if you don’t agree.