Remembering Valerie Perinne (1943-2026)

 

Valerie Perinne, voluptuous actress born September 3, 1943 in Galveston, Texas, passed away from Parkinson's disease in Los Angeles.  Her first film was Slaughterhouse-Five in 1972.  It was her performance in Lenny that gained her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

She portrayed Lex Luthor's moll Miss Eve Tessmacher in Superman I and Superman II. She had the lead role in Can't Stop the Music with the Village People, which was a spectacular failure at the box office.

She continued acting until her retirement 2016, a year after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015.

Valerie Perrine in Cannonball Run

"Superman" wins 5 Saturn Awards 1979

Superman, directed by Richard Donner and released in the US December 15, 1978, was nominated for eight Saturn Awards, at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films February 24, 1979. It won five awards:

Best Science Fiction Film

Margot Kidder for Best Actress for her performance as Lois Lane.

John Williams for Best Music

Colin Chilvers for Best Special Effects

A Special award: John Barry for Best Production Design.

Superman was nominated for Best Actor for Christopher Reeve, Valerie Perrine for Best Supporting Actress, Best Director for Richard Donner, and Best Costumes.

Margaret Hamilton received a Honorary Award. 

Benny Hill and Alien actress Helen Horton born 1923

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the shrewish wife with the shrill, cackly voice on the Benny Hill Show was also the flat voice of Mother, the computer in Alien. Helen Horton, born November 21, 1923 in Chicago, Illinois, appeared in the Poirot episode One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Superman III, and Miss Marple's At Bertram's Hotel.

Helen passed away in September 2007 in Vero Beach, Florida.

"Superman" released 1978

Superman, released December 15, 1978, was a triumphant return for the Man of Steel on the silver screen.  Christopher Reeve starred as Superman with Margot Kidder as Lois Lane.  

Superman won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects.  I remember the tagline being "You will believe a man can fly." It won five Saturn Awards: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress, Best Special Effects, Best Music for John Williams, and Best Production Design.

John Williams won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition.  

"Invasion, USA" released 1952

Invasion, U.S.A, released December 10, 1952, is a kinda creepy movie, as people in a bar watching TV observe an invasion by the Soviet Union.  I was introduced to this movie via Mystery Science Theater 3000.  A lot of the movie is stock footage of airplanes, and the ending is an interesting twist, although a bit of a cop-out.

One scene has Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill working as airline ticket agents.  Both women played Lois Lane opposite George Reeve as Superman.  

The film is considered a success, bringing in a profit of over $1.2M.

Kirk Alyn, first Superman, born 1910

Kirk Alyn, born October 8, 1910 in Oxford, New Jersey, was the first actor to play the live version of Superman.  He starred as the Man of Steel in serials from 1948 to 1950 with Noel Neill as Lois Lane.  She would go on to reprise the role in Adventures of Superman with George Reeves in the title role.

He passed away in March 1999.

"Adventures of Superman" premieres 1952

Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves in the title role, first appeared on television September 19, 1952.  It ran for six seasons and ended after Reeves' passing in 1959.  Phyllis Coates played Lois Lane in the first season and, after she left the show, Noel Neill replaced her for the rest of the series.

My favorite movies - 1975-1978

1975 - The Hindenburg with George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft.  Nominated for 3 Academy Awards and awarded an Oscar for Special Achievements.



1976 - Murder by Death starring everybody.  I loved the snarky humor and the spoof of whodunits.



1977 - Star Wars. Duh.  It is ranked by IMDB.com as the 20th most popular movie of all time.  It won 6 Oscars: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Effects, Visual Effects and Best Music, Original Score (to John Williams).




1978 - Superman starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder. John Williams was nominated again for Best Music, Original Score but lost to Giorgio Moroder for Midnight Express.

Superman comes to the big screen 1948

"Superman" the first movie starring the super hero, was released July 15, 1948.  It starred Kirk Alyn in the title role and Noel Neill (who passed away just days ago) as Lois Lane.  Alyn and Neill had cameos in the 1978 "Superman" movie as Lois Lane's parents, riding on a train when a teen-aged Clark Kent outruns it.

Special effects being what they were in the late 1940's were costly so Superman's flying sequences were animated to make them seem more realistic.

Remembering Noel Neill 1920-2016

Noel Neill, who appeared as the first Lois Lane in "Superman" (1948) and "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1950), passed away Sunday, July 3 at 95 in Tuscon, Arizona.  Her last two appearances were as Aunt Lois is the hysterical "Surge of Power" and as Gertrude Vanderworth in "Superman Returns".


 

"Iron Man 3" released 2013

Probably the most exciting movie of the trilogy, "Iron Man 3" was released May 3, 2013.  Another trifecta was Guy Pierce as Aldrich Killian, the main bad guy.  Now all three main actors from "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" have played super-villains.  Terence Stamp (Bernadette) played General Zod in "Superman" and "Superman 2".  Hugo Weaving (Mitzi Del Bra) played the Red Skull in "Captain America: The First Avenger".


This is one of the most exciting scenes from Iron Man 3.

Happy birthday, Lois Lane!

Noel Neill, born November 25, 1920, is probably best known for her portrayal of Lois Lane in "The Adventures of Superman" which ran from 1952 to 1958.  She replaced Phyllis Coates who starred in the role from 1952-1953.  Both Neill and Coates starred in "Invasion USA", a wonderfully forgettable sci-fi movie about the Soviets invading the USA.  Joel and the bots conducted a battle of the Lois Lanes when they featured "Invasion" on "Mystery Science Theatre 3000".