Seeing Stars: Part Four

Some of you are probably like, "Part FOUR? Where the hell are parts one through three?!" I assure you that they do exist. They were just posted four years ago! Ha ha! The Variety Club tributes were televised in the 1980s and whenever I've watched one it's been so compelling I've felt the need to post about it. But I haven't seen one since the prior offerings until recently. (If you're of a mind, you can click these names to see the posts on Clint Eastwood, Lucille Ball and Dame Joan Collins.) Today's is all about Mr. Burt Reynolds. He was honored in 1981 and as a result was treated to an all-star tribute culminating in a hospital wing being named in his honor. 

These affairs took place on a cavernous sound stage with multiple levels and foliage galore. Apart from featured speakers and performers, you never knew who in the world was going to be spotted at a table, merely attending without participating. That's much of the fun; spotting the stars. 

No less than Mr. Jack Lemmon was called upon to introduce the honoree and he spoke admiringly and affectionately of the actor.

In comes Burt, greeted by a plethora of guests. To the right is Sammy Davis Jr's wife Altovise. He's embracing M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit.

Reynolds can be a bit of a polarizing figure. I'm firmly in the camp that adores him, though he has his detractors. But whatever one's opinion may be, there is no denying that he had a circle of friends who were utterly devoted to him and to whom he was always generous and caring. Many of those people are on hand here and their love for him is palpable. (The lady next to him here is his rarely-seen sister Nancy.)

One of the things I liked about Burt was his complete respect for the movie stars of the '30s and '40s. He was mesmerized by them and had a genuine affection for them, along with appreciation for their work. Anyway, the show begins with a number written especially for the occasion by one of our national treasures...

Miss Dolly Parton, at the time filming The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) with Reynolds, put together a catchy ditty for the occasion. The lyrics of this song couldn't be more needed than this very day! If you are a fan of Miss Parton (and if you aren't, please seek help), you really ought to watch her here. I needed to view this show more than once and I'm still tapping my foot to her song.

The filming of Whorehouse was actually not a very pleasant experience for either star, but they did get along well with one another and established considerable chemistry. (Rich Little can be spotted at the table behind her.)

Typical of Reynolds, each person who performs at the event gets a standing ovation from him. Seen in the lower part of the pic are his parents. Throughout the night, star after star make it a point to acknowledge them and include them in the celebration.

Burt Sr. and Fern were simple, hardworking people thrust into an unusual limelight on this occasion. I think you can really see a lot of Burt in his mother's face.

Then comes frequent costar and close pal Dom DeLuise. He engages in a little skit about Burt's morning routine waking up in his elaborate bedroom (and ends it with a hilarious sight gag.)

As he nears the climax of his routine, we see Hugh O'Brian and Pat McCormick in the crowd.

A reed-thin Jerry Reed, Reynolds' costar from Smokey and the Bandit (1977) pops in to sing that movie's theme song. Check the pockets on those jeans...!

Prior to Stroker Ace (1983) and to their 1988 marriage, we find Loni Anderson introducing some castmates of Burt's. (Seen behind her are TV legend Art Linkletter and Keenan Wynn.)

Veteran actor Pat O'Brien (who'd played Anderson's elderly boyfriend on an old episode of WKRP in Cincinnati!) was in The End (1978) with Burt, playing his father. Myrna Loy was his mother in that as well.

Levar Burton is seated just behind Jim Nabors, who offers a tribute to Reynolds. Nabors was in Whorehouse with Burt and would proceed to roles in Stroker Ace (1983) and Cannonball Run II (1984.)

Reynolds' favorite song, at least at the time, is revealed to be "You Needed Me" by the pristine songbird Anne Murray (who nonetheless sometimes came off as an emotional automaton and who was hysterically parodied by Andrea Martin on SCTV!)

I didn't know a damned soul among the plentiful onlookers here! LOL Murray's spot on rendition of her hit song ends in a way that completely blew my mind.

This is director Hal Needham, a close pal of Reynolds'. Seen behind him are Angie Dickinson, Earl Holliman, Charles Nelson Reilly and Miss Julie Harris!

There to sing "Me and Bobby McGee is that song's co-writer and Reynolds' costar from Semi-Tough (1977) Kris Kristofferson.

About the last person I would anticipate being there and the last person I would expect to be beaming during this song is one Anthony Hopkins!

The aforementioned Reilly stands up to reflect on the tremendous good that Reynolds was doing in the world of live theatre, with several student actors from his then three year-old program proceeding to Broadway, television and the movies.

A quartet of costars from Sharky's Machine (1981) is led off by Charles Durning, each one paying the actor personal tribute.

Bernie Casey, who would later reunite with Reynolds in Rent-A-Cop (1987.)

Henry Silva, who I hope had a certain place he always stored those glasses...!

And finally Brian Keith, who relayed the tale of how young upstarts Clint Eastwood and Reynolds were unceremoniously dumped prior to becoming worldwide stars.

Another original song (cowritten by Sammy Cahn and Jack Lemmon) is delivered by Miss Madeline Kahn, who knocks it out of the park in her loony fashion. Kahn costarred with Reynolds in At Long Last Love (1976.)

As in the case of Parton, if you're a Kahn fan, you owe it to yourself to check her out here.

Just after her number is finished, Burt gets a big surprise that I won't spoil.

Finally, Monty Hall steps out to reveal that an Atlanta hospital (Georgia is where Reynolds was born) will be the home of the "Burt Reynolds Heart Center for Underprivileged and Handicapped Children."

Announcing that Reynolds will now take the floor to respond to the tribute is non other than the great veteran actor James Stewart. Like everyone else there, Stewart is effusive in his praise.

Always pithy and self-deprecating (even amidst his customary swagger), Reynolds takes the floor. There is still one big surprise, though with, again, I will not spoil. But I must say it was a jaw-dropper. There is a YouTuber who made a whole video about the moment, calling it one of TV's saddest moments ever. I found it more touching than sad, but I do have to confess that during the telecast, I was choked up by one thing or another several times. Next on Lifetime Movie Network, the premiere of "I Cried on the Treadmill!" Ha ha!!!

I'm going to wind this up with some additional shots of various attendees of note. These aren't called "Seeing Stars" posts for no reason. On the right are longtime married couple Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen. Behind Lemmon's head, wearing a beret for some reason, is his longtime wife Felicia Farr. Hard to get a good shot of her.

Shown here in the back is Eileen Brennan. In the foreground are Dolly (Read) Martin of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) and her husband Dick Martin.

Famed Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda.

TV cops from different worlds: Erik Estrada of CHiPs and Michael Conrad of Hill St. Blues.

Genie Francis of General Hospital, prior to her stab at prime-time TV.

Here's a better look at Loretta Swit.

And here's a closer look at Miss Angie Dickinson and Earl Holliman, former costars on Police Woman.

Here we find Linda Evans with then-beau George Santo Pietro. (He would later marry Vanna White and produce two children before their divorce after a dozen years.) No one could guess that Evans would soon enough be playing Francis' mother in the TV miniseries Bare Essence! Behind Francis is veteran games show host Tom Kennedy.

Here is another shot of Evans, near the beginning of her run on Dynasty.

Charlie's Angels' Cheryl Ladd.

Behind this gentleman is Miss America 1976 Tawny Godin, who became a Los Angeles news anchor and occasional actress.

And, lastly, Jill Ireland and Charles Bronson, who were frequently in attendance at these functions. Needless to say, I recommend watching this program. You can do so by clicking here. This particular link also includes the original 1981 TV commercials. Let me tell you. Many of them are as entertaining as the show! Ads were SO much more enjoyable then. Not a prescription or a Medicare announcement to be found.

:::: BONUS PICS ::::

Lest you think I'm kidding, I give you a pre-Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck in a great commercial for Chaz cologne.

If you've been loitering in The Underworld the past few weeks, you know that I've somehow become deluged with shower pics! Ha ha! But who better than vintage Tommy to keep the flow going...?

Very soon after this, Selleck would go from a working actor to a super-hot television STAR. That's it for now, possums. I'll be back asap with more shenanigans.

It's Tub Time!

We've done many posts over the last dozen years regarding the art of on screen bathing. (A couple of early ones here and here.) Initial inspiration came from a 1975 book I have called "Movie Stars in Bathtubs," but I've gone on (and on) in an effort to provide further examples of the scenario. Any time I come across an appropriate instance, I save it for a future collection and I now have enough to put out yet another brief installment. Today's cover "boy" is Burt Lancaster, soothing away some of his troubles in a tinted lobby photo from 1963's The Leopard. And now we hurl ourselves back even further than that and work our way forward.

Bet ya weren't expecting me to go back this far! This sequence is from 1937's King Solomon's Mines. An African manservant is dousing someone with a bucket of water...

The joke here is that the person bathing (in a galvanized barrel) keeps his monocle on throughout the deluge!

Turns out it is Roland Young, who plays a clean-freak while exploring the wilds of Africa.

Quirky, bemused Young isn't the first person who springs to mind when referring to on screen flesh revealing.

Yet here he is, with costar John Loder, standing in his makeshift bathtub.

He somehow got in there all right, but is now faced with the prospect of how in the world to get out!

Loder determines that there's no better method than to just rock the barrel over onto its side and spill the naked Young onto the ground!

So that's just what happens.

Trouble is, that's just about the moment when Anna Lee has chosen to come and speak with Young about joining her on her quest to locate her missing father, who's gone off to search for the title treasure.

Presumably, she can see more from her angle than we the audience can and she is amused at the sight of the the bare-assed Young on all fours.

Later in the film, shortly after bathing in the river, Young is only partially dressed when his group is accosted by some hostile natives. But they decide he is a God when they catch a glimpse of his white legs!

In a similar vein, the assisted bath, we come to 1939's The Fighting Gringo. Note the large bucket way up high on the platform, but who's that in the tub?

Upon closer inspection, we discover that it's our beloved George O'Brien!

O'Brien had one of the most notable physiques of Hollywood's golden era.

We like his burly, beefy face, too.

Seems like there are worse ways to earn a living than to be the one washing and drying off ol' Gorgeous George!

Next subject is Mr. Ricardo Montalban in a 1951 swordplay saga called Mark of the Renegade. There are a few occasions in which he shows off his well-defined chest.

And then, as you might guess, he also takes a bath.

Like so many before and after him, his bath is only private for a brief while until it's interrupted.

Montalban maintained his fit physique for many years after this, including his turn as Khan in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) in which he was wrongly accused of having used a prosthetic chest because some believed it couldn't really be his own! 

Flipping the switch for a moment to TV, we have a 1964 episode of Wagon Train. Denny Miller (inset) is trying to convince a filthy Noah Beery Jr. that it's time for his first bath in a long while. 

Beery is having none of it...!

So Miller and his pals take matters into their own hands. They pick him up, take him over to the lake and (off camera) shuck off all his grimy clothes.

Next thing you know, he's lathered up and being forcibly washed by the other guys.

The illusion that he's naked in the water is destroyed when he bucks a couple of times and the camera catches that the actor has on some flesh-toned briefs.

After his impromptu time getting a bath, Beery is also given his first shave in a while.

Then the final touches are applied to his makeover. If you haven't already noticed, former Tarzan Denny Miller had cute buns in his western trousers. He was billed as Scott Miller on Wagon Train because it was determined by producers that Denny wasn't "masculine" enough!

Before and after!

Now we come to Sergio Fantoni, bathing in the 1967 thriller Diabolically Yours.

Star of the film is an amnesiac Alain Delon.

Not sure if what he saw in the tub was memorable or not...! Ha ha!

This is Bud Cort in one of Robert Altman's all-star opuses, Brewster McCloud.

His offbeat character, who longs more than anything to fly, takes a bath in the film in a plastic-lined vessel.

His bath is observed by guardian angel Sally Kellerman (note that her wings are removed...!) This was not a particularly revealing trip to the tub, but the movie offered up one other interesting example.

Get a load of this scene! William Windom, in the tub, plays a corrupt businessman. The man at the chessboard is his assistant William Baldwin.

Already through the film it was suggested though clothing and body language that perhaps this was more than a business relationship. (You can't see it, but Windom's black vest in the inset is fringed along the bottom!)

In this sequence, Windom is put out because a phone call (from a woman) has come in on his line for Baldwin.

So there's an element of petty jealousy involved.

The (implied) naked Windom strikes a distracting pose while Baldwin chats with the caller.

This is clearly not a set, but an actual locale and it's captivating. The spa part is only big enough for one or two people while the rest of the "pool" is also very limited in scope. Shouldn't we all have a mini-pool and spa in our master suite (with putt-putt carpet all around it!)??

Television again. This time a 1976 pilot film called The Quest, starring Tim Matheson and Kurt Russell. The young gents played brothers, one captured and raised by the Cheyenne, who are in search of their sister, still a captive.

At one point in their journey, the guys take time out for a soak at the local bathhouse. 

The establishment is run by Keenan Wynn (whose real life son created the short-lived show which sprang from this telefilm.)

During his bath time, Russell suddenly changes expression and begins staring intently at something over Matheson's way.

Soon enough he pulls a gun and aims it in that direction!

An oblivious Matheson is sitting in his own tub (with legs sprawled apart and out of the water) reading the newspaper.

Suddenly he's jarred out of his complacency by the shot having been fired!

Only afterwards does he realize that a deadly snake had been lurking on the shelf above, ready to drop onto him.

Warm sudsy water, guns, snakes... is it getting hot in here? Paging Dr. Freud!

Wynn is the one faced with cleaning up all the slimy less at the bathhouse. The Quest series was clobbered in the ratings by Charlie's Angels. Fifteen episodes were filmed, but only 11 aired in the U.S. Matheson had previously taken a similar bath in The Virginian years before.

Another TV-movie pilot was the ill-fated The Legend of the Golden Gun (1979.) A hideous rip-off of The Lone Ranger, it spent most of its running time demonstrating the origin story for a character who would not see the light of day again afterwards. Keir Dullea was a featured guest star, playing General George Custer, seen here in his bathtub.

As is so often the case, his bath time is interrupted by the arrival of a visitor.

Get a load of the pipe he can't seem to let go of...

The star of the telefilm, Jeff Osterhage, steps into the tent for a discussion with Dullea.

He's incredulous at the sight of this young man, all duded out in the white buckskin that once belonged to a notorious gunslinger.

Naturally, he wants to examine Osterhage's gun closely...

Then he wants to feel the buckskin, too...! With the glances and the positioning of the weapon, can it even be possible that any homoeroticism is unintentional?

Osterhage is front and center as Dullea exits the tub. Duellea loves this obnoxious pipe and is quite proud of it, even as it threatens to upstage him!

See what I mean? It's got to be one of the rare occasions when a performer uses a prop to draw focus, but as a result, obscures HIMSELF with it!

Osterhage was a neophyte actor and struck this sort of naive, deer in the headlights expression quite often. But at least his pants sometimes added some interest to the proceedings. This was only his second project. His next one brings us to our finale for today...

That's Osterhage in the second tub behind Mr. Chest himself, Tom Selleck. This was in the western TV miniseries The Sacketts.

Looks like it was a fun day of filming!

Not shown in this scene, but starring in the miniseries, is Mr. Sam Elliott, who also possessed a chest o'death. His presence would have generated a holy trinity of hirsute hellaciousness!

Apart from the hairy chests, this scene, along with others from Selleck's career, has made quite a few foot fetishists happy as well!

Looks like it was a great moment for author Louis L'Amour to stop by the filming. Wonder who the lucky boom operator was that day! LOL Selleck did precious little on-screen nudity in his career, but there was that fleeting moment in the culture clash comedy Mr. Baseball (1992) in which he shucked down in the team's bathhouse. Which brings us to...

The End!