1965: Charlton Heston and a big cast in "Major Dundee"

The Western retro channel was showing "Major Dundee" with Charlton Heston this week.    

It was released in 1965 and includes quite a cast:   Richard Harris (Capt. Tyreen), Jim Hutton (Lt. Graham), James Coburn (Samuel Potts), and Senta Berger (Teresa Santiago).   

"Major Dundee" is the story of an officer punished by being sent to command a Texas prison camp.  The story is often a bit slow but it makes sense at the end.   

Please watch the film but you may have to view it a few times to understand what the whole thing is about.

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Martin & Lewis: "At War With the Army" was so funny!

Martin & Lewis: "At War With the Army".......

Click HERE to get the movie:

The story of the Sullivan brothers

A couple of years ago, I was flipping channels and saw a bit of a movie about 5 brothers who enlisted in the US Navy after Pearl Harbor.   

All 5 were killed in 1942 when the USS Juneau was hit by enemy fire and exploded on the way back to port.  

It's a true story!   Shortly after, the US restructured its policy on siblings serving together. 

Later, two destroyers were named after the Sullivans. 

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A new book about The Beatles for a rainy day

Rain and more rain!  So we have a little time to discover a good book about The Beatles:   

July 1991: Natalie Cole reached #1 with an album of her father's songs

It was a great musical moment.  Natalie Cole used modern technology to sing with her late father:  The result was a #1 album.

Natalie died on December 30, 2015, after a long and very successful career as a female vocalist.  In my opinion, this album was her greatest accomplishment.

Click here for a digital version of the wonderful album.

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Andy Garcia's "The lost city" was a great movie

Let me issue a disclaimer.   I am not a movie critic.  Frankly, I don't watch movies with a critical eye but rather to be entertained.  

In recent years, I enjoyed "Gods and Generals" because I love anything about the US Civil War.  

"March of the Penguins" was well done.  
I liked "The Rookie" because it is such an uplifting story.   "I walk the line" was fun and informational about Johnny Cash.

"The Lost City" tells a story that most Cuban exiles can relate to.  This is not a pro-Batista movie or presents Cuba as a pre-Castro paradise.

This is a movie about the betrayal of Cuba by Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra.

This is about the young men who died to restore the 1940 Constitution rather than impose a communist dictator.

This is about the Cuban middle class who stood up to Batista.

This is about Fidel Castro canceling elections and bringing the Soviets into Cuba.

This is about Che Guevarra's firing squads.

I was there but too young to remember most of it.  Yet, our home in the US was always full of Cuban stories.  My parents always reminded us of what we left behind.

I won't spoil it but the movie is about a family caught up in the turmoil of 1958-61.

Want more? Watch the movie!

The music is spectacular. The choreography of old Havana is stunning. Close your eyes and you will feel back in the elegance of La Habana.

You need to watch or download "The Lost City" by Andy Garcia.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

The Boone baseball family

This is a really neat story:

Ray Boone joined the fathers & sons list when his son, Bob Boone, made his Major League debut on September 10, 1972.

Bob Boone joined the fathers & sons list when his son, Bret Boone, made his Major League debut on September 19, 1992, then added another name to the sons “column” when his second son, Aaron Boone, made his debut on June 20, 1997.

The Boone family was the first in baseball history to be included in the Baseball Grandfathers, Fathers and Sons section of the Baseball Almanac Baseball Family Tree.

Ray Boone was an All-Star in 1954 and 1956. Bob Boone was an All-Star in 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1983. Bret Boone was an All-Star in 1998, 2001 and 2003. Aaron Boone was an All-Star in 2003.

The Boone family was the first in baseball history to send three generations of players to an All-Star Game.    

A few years ago, Bret Boone wrote a book about his baseball family.

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We remember Dave Henderson (1958-2015)

We remember Dave Henderson who was born in California on this day in 1958.   He died in 2015 at the age of 57.

Who remembers watching the Red Sox and Angels in the 1986 ALCS?   It was Dave Henderson who hit that 9th inning HR to keep Boston alive.    It was one of the most dramatic swings in baseball history.  

The Angels were one strike away from winning the AL pennant.    Instead, the ALCS went back to Boston and the Red Sox won.   

Overall, he hit 197 HR with 708 RBI.   His best years were with Oakland (1988-93) when he was an outfielder in those great A's teams.

He will always live in the hearts of Red Sox fans.

 

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We remember Moe Drabowsky (1935-2006)

    

Myron Walter Drabowsky was born on this day in 1935 in Ozanna, Poland.    His family came to the US and Moe started playing baseball.       Moe broke with the Cubs in 1957 and won 13 games in 1958.    

In 1966, Moe was traded to Baltimore and was a part of the team that won the World Series.     Moe played with the 1970 Orioles, too.    

The underdog Orioles got off to a great start in the top of the first inning of the 1966 World Series.

Eventual MVP and Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson hit a 2-run HR and Brooks Robinson followed it with a solo shot.    It was suddenly 3-0 Baltimore vs Los Angeles Dodgers!

Dave McNally could not get out of the 3rd inning but Moe Drabowski pitched 6-plus innings of relief to preserve the win.    It was one of the great long relief performances ever in the post season.   How often does a guy go 6-plus in relief anymore?

Final score: Orioles 5, Dodgers 2.    The Dodgers did not score again in the series.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Elvis and the 1956 mystery kiss

We finally know the story of that famous Elvis kiss:   

"“The Kiss”—as the photograph is sometimes called—is in fact the most enduring of the 3,800 exposures that photographer Al Wertheimer made of Elvis Presley, many of the best taken during a two-day period in June 1956. 
While chronicling the rock prince on the threshold of becoming the King, Wertheimer, then 26, famously caught Elvis on the road and at his home in Memphis with his family and entourage. 
But that prize frame has become one of the classics in the rock-photography canon: Elvis, in a stairwell at the Mosque Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, minutes before a concert, darting a mischievous tongue toward the deliciously reciprocating mouth of a mysterious girl in black."

And now we know.......The Elvis-Kiss Mystery-Solved! https://t.co/HyuifENVeC

— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) July 28, 2016

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send, and drop a dime here.