An Underworld Anniversary

It's been a celebratory time lately even though I am stretched to my absolute limit and find it hard to post as much as I would like. This past Monday was my own birthday, but today is the birthday of Poseidon's Underworld.  Kicking off on August 24th, 2009, PU (how's that for some evocative initials?!) is four years old today.  And this is the 384th post, so it won't be long until we're celebrating the 400th. Today's entry is less a post than an announcement of the occasion, but I've tried to include a few interesting photos along the way, at least.

The Underworld began as a place for me to explore, exhibit and elaborate upon subjects near and dear to my heart.  The Sound of Music (1965), the first movie I can recall seeing in a theater, and some of its stars, like Christopher Plummer and Eleanor Parker have occasionally been lauded, though a full-on tribute to Music is yet to come.

Needless to say 1970s disaster movies were and still occasionally are a major point of focus.  The Poseidon Adventure (1972) changed my life forever, but so did other ones such as Airport (1970) and its sequels...

...as well as Earthquake (1974)...

and especially The Towering Inferno (1974), which gave me an incurable obsession with both Faye Dunaway and chiffon.

It also, along with other movies such as the 1970s Agatha Christie mysteries like Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978), led to a deep love of all-star casts.

Faye Dunaway was the first actress whose name I knew and who I'd seen in more than one film.  She was and is my favorite post-1970 actress.

My favorite pre-1970 actress, and a frequent subject in The Underworld, is Joan Crawford.

Imagine the effect of having Dunaway portraying Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981), one of the most fascinatingly lunatic pieces of celluloid ever to hit cinema screens.  (I presume this is Dunaway's makeup artist in this publicity photo??  If so, Lee Harman worked with her a dozen times, though often with a roller coaster-like relationship.)

Of course men have never gotten short shrift in The Underworld either.  My big three favorites have been featured time and again.  Hugh O'Brian, the lean, hirsute hunk whose work in Love Has Many Faces (1965) alone ensured him a place in my heart forever.

Then there's cutie Van Williams, who made a clean-cut, handsome hero on The Green Hornet (1966 - 1967), but also had a delectable body, which was sometimes seen to good effect on Surfside 6 (1960 - 1962.)

My own "perfect" man, though, is Clint Walker - aka God - whose towering, burly physique, baby blue eyes and warm, resonant voice combined to make me a fan for life.  I have never seen a still photo that truly does him justice.  He has to be seen in motion to be fully appreciated as far as I'm concerned.

Other gents have been profiled here, many of them huge favorites of mine as well like Robert Conrad, Chad Everett, William Reynolds, Steve Reeves and many others.  Lee Majors was a massive childhood crush of mine and was one of the stars of The Big Valley (1965 - 1969), a series that is a top five favorite of mine.

Dynasty (1981 - 1989) was another show that I was nuts over and which was profiled here.

And while I haven't ever done a tribute to The Golden Girls (1985 - 1992), the three comic genius stars Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan have all gotten tributes to their lives and careers.

Almost accidentally, The Underworld became a source for male stars in skimpy swimwear or tight-fitting pants that showed off their wares.  After seeing how popular a few posts along those lines became, I started to periodically come up with more. ("Come for the bulges, stay for the fun!" -- ?)  This shot below is NOT an outline of Clint Walker's penis, just a wrinkle, but how staggering (on a couple of levels) if it were!

Several repeat features such as "Fun Finds" or "Oh, What a Character!" caught on and amused or otherwise engrossed many readers, while the attempted "Pop Quiz" went over like a turd in a punchbowl...  Oh well, you can't win'em all!

Sometimes I wonder if I have said all I need to say, since I do occasionally repeat myself and also run dry on topics, but then somehow another person or movie or photo grouping comes along and I'm back in it again!  At present, my biggest challenge by far is TIME, but the chaos I'm in right now can only last so long.  I have a slate of topics in mind for the coming weeks and months, so though it might be slow going at times, I'll be diving back in like Shelley and giving it my all.

THANK YOU so much to my loyal followers and other regular readers who come here and share their own reflections and recollections about the topics here.  It never ceases to amaze me that anyone would share the same viewpoint as me, but it's true!  That alone has been validating to me, as I have rarely run into people in my regular life who appreciate the same things I do.  Best wishes to you all and bye for now!