70s Stars Performing Across the Pond

Helloooooo....from Hollywood....two audience favorites from 1970s TV hits - PAUL MICHAEL GLASER ("Starsky & Hutch") and HENRY WINKLER ("Happy Days") are in Britain this holiday season, both performing as the wickedly wonderful Captain Hook in two different productions of "Peter Pan" .....Reports Winkler, "Here, there is an audience of nearly 2,000 all screaming and yelling. The Americans don't understand the phenomenal give and take, the phenomenal interaction. There are three secrets to playing pantomime: One is stay healthy, two is stay healthy and three is have the most fun you can possibly have with your clothes on."......adds Glaser, "It's great that Britain has this tradition of pantomime. It's great that audience participation - which is at least as old as Shakespeare - still continues here today." .....love, HH

Animated Figures are Holly Jolly Once Again

Helloooooo.....from Hollywood....Fans of the 1964 stop-motion photography animated classic "RUDOLPH the Red-Nosed Reindeer" will cheer the good news that collector Kevin Kriess has restored the Santa and Rudolph puppets from the movie, thanks to some help from Screen Novelties International...although the characters seemed lifesized on screen, in actuality, Santa is 8 inches tall and Rudolph a mere 4-inches high....Kriess plans to have public showings of the newly restored figurines in the Chicago and Pittsburgh areas this month....KENT MCCORD ("Adam-12") may no longer be riding with partner MARTIN MILNER in a squad car, but continues to be busy in the entertainment industry, currently as first national vice president of the Screen Actors Guild....love, HH

Indy's Marion Still a Beauty

Hellooooooo...from Hollywood....KAREN ALLEN, the feisty Marion in the original "Indiana Jones" movie, will be back in the next installment, but this creative lady has carved out a wonderful life away from Hollywood, with her very own knitwear design studio in western Massachusetts (www.karenallen-fiberarts.com) ...
WILLIAM KATT ("The Greatest American Hero") serves as Grand Marshall of the Chatsworth, CA Holiday Parade and Festival this Sunday (www.lostoros.com), while JOE MANTEGNA ("The Godfather") takes part in the Studio City, CA Holiday Parade on main street Ventura Blvd. (www.studiocitychamber.com)......
Condolences to the family of veteran character actress Jeanne Bates (Nurse Wills on "Ben Casey") who died of breast cancer at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, CA in late November....love HH

Love Boat's Stubing Sails On

Helloooooo...from Hollywood...."The Love Boat"s beloved Capt. Merrill Stubing, GAVIN MACLEOD continues his association with princess Cruises to the present day, serving as company ambassador..."I've seen Princess evolve from a company with two little ships. it's been great for me because it's so wonderful to represent a business that makes people happy, that gives them things to talk about, expands their horizons.....DEBBIE REYNOLDS came thru for World War II vets who asked her to attend a special neighborhood tree lighting in North Hollywood, CA this past weekend and the former Miss Burbank of 1948 said yes in a heartbeat, saying "I owe those boys a lot"....TV's "Barney Miller" HAL LINDEN, currently starring in Wendy Graf's play "Lessons" at the Lee Strasberg Theatre in West Hollywood, admits when he first came to Hollywood, "I was the typical New York actor. I couldn't wait to get back to the theater and all that. But the next thing I know, I was a golfer. It's tough to be a golfer in New York. I like L.A......love HH

Johnny Celebrates 60th Tour for the Troops

Helloooooo.....from Hollywood......Godspeed to Honorary Mayor Hollywood JOHNNY GRANT, who embarks on his 60th - and final - overseas tour this week to entertain U.S. troops stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba...."The USO and military have been a big part of my life, ever since WWII" admits the 84 years young Grant....actress STEFANI POWERS is among Grant's entourage of entertainers joining in the historic trip....Happy birthday greetings this week to 87 years young RICARDO MONTALBAN ("Fantasy Island").....did you know that "Winter Wonderland", sung by JOHNNY MATHIS and many other famous crooners over the years is the most played Christmas song every holiday season.....and the wait is over for fans of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." who can now purchase all 105 episodes of the campy spy show, packaged in a single cardboard attache case....love HH

Mannix missing in DVD action

Helloooooo....from Hollywood....TV Detective MIKE CONNORS ("Mannix") is just as baffled as his fans as to why the popular series which ran for 8 seasons, has never been released by Paramount on DVD...Connors and wife of more than 50 years Mary Lou Willey, enjoy retirement these days in Encino, CA and Connors reports he frequently has dinner with another Hollywood legend, ROBERT WAGNER....sadly, co-star GAIL FISHER who portrayed loyal Gal Friday Peggy Fair, passed away in 2000....kudos to "Desperate Housewives" for featuring some veteran performers in recent episodes, including POLLY BERGEN and RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN....CHAMBERLAIN, ("Dr. Kildare", "The Thorn Birds") is now a resident of the Hawaiian isle of Maui and will make a public appearance in West Maui on December 8 to help open the new Borders Bookstore there and do a reading of his partner Martin Rabbett's newly released children's book, "Forever Buster"....Can songwriter DON McLEAN's popular 8 1/2 minute ode to "the day the music died", "American Pie" really be approaching its 40th anniversary....McLean continues to tour steadily when not enjoying his 175-acre estate in Maine, saying "I want to do touring until I can't do it anymore - and write an album if I can get a decent deal for it.".....love, HH

Gidget's Moondoggie Only Better with Age

Hellooooooo....from Hollywood....how lucky can one gal get....met the sauve and personable JAMES DARREN ("Gidget", "Guns of Navarrone", "T.J. Hooker") at the Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City last Friday....Darren was being feted by the Pacific Broadcast Pioneers (http://www.pacificbroadcastpioneers.org/) for his many years as a entertainer, including acting, directing and singing....Darren told me he continues his crooning career in Las Vegas, appearing twice annually at the South Point Resort....check out his upcoming appearances at www.jamesdarren.com....
DOLLY PARTON says "hell, I'm too old" to portray Doralee in the upcoming musical theatrical version of "9 to 5" that will have its pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in 2008...."I don't think they'd want somebody my age trying to play the red-hot secretary - although I think I could, I sure feel the same as when I played it.".....Parton has written almost 40 songs for the show, which have been narrowed down to 20, including the famous title song from the movie ....Condolences to the family of SIGRID VALDIS (born Patricia Olson "Hogan's Heroes") who passed away at the age of 72....she married "Hogan's" series c0-star BOB CRANE on the set of the prisoners of war comedy in 1970...."An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day" - Irv Kupcinet.....love, HH