"Logan's Run" (1976)

Above, Jenny Agutter and Michael York in Logan's Run. MGM Photo.

During the same week that Elvis Presley died, I went with my parents to the Studio Drive-In Theater in Culver City to see a double-feature: The Spy Who Loved Me and Logan's Run.

On Logan's Run, the following is from Wikipedia:

Logan's Run is a 1976 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett, and Peter Ustinov. The screenplay by David Zelag Goodman is based on the 1967 novel Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. It depicts a utopian future society on the surface, revealed as a dystopia where the population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by killing everyone who reaches the age of thirty. The story follows the actions of Logan 5, a "Sandman" who has terminated others who have attempted to escape death and is now faced with termination himself.

Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film uses only the novel's two basic premises: that everyone must die at a set age, and that Logan and companion Jessica attempt to escape while being chased by another Sandman named Francis. After aborted attempts to adapt the novel, story changes were made including raising the age of "last day" from 21 to 30 and introducing the idea of "Carrousel" [sic] for eliminating 30-year-olds. Its filming was marked by special-effects challenges in depicting Carrousel and innovative use of holograms and wide-angle lenses.

Since that viewing, I have only seen bits of it here and there on television. Until now. 

A Blu-ray copy of Logan's Run arrived in the mail today and I watched it this evening. It was as enjoyable today as when I first saw it. Jenny Agutter was alluring as always. Farrah Fawcett-Majors had a small role, but it was good to see her in her prime again.

I was struck by the premise that this "utopia", as with all so-called utopias, provided pleasures and anything else the population of the city wanted. But with a catch (naturally). Everyone must die at age 30. The utopian police-state government (it is hard to say who, except maybe the computers) knows what's best for everyone, while at the same time has to lie in order to stay in power. It it only after Logan comes back from "the outside" and reports what he found, the computers go haywire and destructs. It reminds me of the "utopia" the Democrats have been pushing these past few years. The change from age 21 (the book) to age 30 (the movie) actually makes more sense to me. 

Logan's Run holds up quite well after 44 years.

Dearly Departed Tour - Part Four

One of the highlights of the Dearly Departed Tour was a 25 minute stop at the Westwood Cemetery, were several celebrities are buried.

Here are some of their graves:

Above, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, singer Minnie Ripperton. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the unmarked grave of George C. Scott. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Walter Matthau. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Merv Griffin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Farrah Fawcett. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Rodney Dangerfield. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Jack Lemmon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Archie Bunker himself, Carroll O'Connor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Peter "Columbo" Falk. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Armand Hammer. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Celebrities Dropping Like Flies

It seems that for the past several days celebrities are dropping like flies.

First it was Ed McMahon. (Not too surprising, given his age.)

Then it was Farrah Fawcett. (Her passing wasn't unexpected, unfortunately).

Next it was Michael Jackson. (He was only 50, but word had leaked out previously that he had drug addictions and other issues.)

Then word came that Sky Saxon of The Seeds unexpectedly passed away. (It appears to have been due to an internal infection.)

Shocking news came that TV pitchman Billy Mays was found dead at 50. (That truly was a shocker! He was so full-of-life in his ads.)

If those weren't enough, now comes word that actress Gale Storm also passed away. (She was about 87, so that's not so surprising either.)

Maybe we should start some "dead pools" and make some money!

Michael Jackson Dead At 50

Above, Michael Jackson at the White House in 1984 with Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Jackson died at a hospital named in honor of President Reagan.

Michael Jackson Dead At 50

by Armand Vaquer

Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop”, died today at age 50 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood from an apparent heart attack.

At around 12:21 PM, paramedics were called to his residence and found Jackson non-responsive and in full cardiac arrest. It is rumored that he had an injection of Demerol or other drugs just prior to the attack.



He was rushed by ambulance (above) to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where doctors tried to revive him for about an hour, but couldn’t, according to his older brother Jermaine Jackson.

When news got out of Jackson’s passing, throngs of people gathered at the medical center and at Jackson’s home. The only comparable events of a celebrity’s passing of Jackson’s magnitude were John Lennon’s murder in December 1980 and Elvis Presley’s death in 1977. Media trucks from U.S. media outlets along with those of Australia, Japan, France, England and others gathered at the medical center or at the Jackson residence.

As with Presley’s and Lennon’s deaths, radio stations began to play Jackson’s music. Fans continued to gather at his home and at the hospital. All subsequent events received non-stop coverage. Television cameras tracked the helicopter bearing Jackson’s body from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s facilities on North Mission Road, northeast of downtown L.A.

The news of Jackson’s sudden death eclipsed the news earlier in the day of actress Farrah Fawcett’s passing. Her death was not unexpected. Jackson’s was. He was about to embark on a 50-concert tour “comeback” within weeks.

It cannot be denied that Michael Jackson had talent. He began his career with four of his brothers as the “Jackson Five” in the 1960s. He decided to go solo in the 1980s. His “Thriller” album is still the biggest-selling album of all time. He moonwalked his way to the top. Musically, the 1980s were Jackson’s.

In the mid-1990s, Jackson showed up at a monster convention dressed as Nosferatu. Nobody knew that it was him. It was allegedly arranged by "Thriller" video director John Landis.

Somewhere along the way, something happened to Jackson. He began to act eccentric and reclusive. He morphed into what the tabloids called “Wacko Jacko.” He underwent plastic surgery on his face. His skin inexplicably turned lighter. He wanted to buy the “Elephant Man’s” skeleton. He married Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa (that lasted about 19 months). He gave a bizarre interview in which he said he liked to share his bed with little boys. He had to settle a child molestation suit for millions of dollars out of court. He was charged by another child to be a child molester and had to undergo a trial that turned into a bizarre media circus. Jackson showed up to court one day in pajamas. Although he was acquitted of the charges, the damage was done.

Jackson fled the United States and his “Neverland Ranch” to live abroad. But he felt the pressure to rebuild his musical career (he was also heavily in debt) and was rehearsing his act for a tour. A new album would also be released.

Whether or not the molestation charges were true and despite his bizarre behavior in his later years, Jackson will be forever immortalized by his music. It is too bad that things went awry personally for him. Maybe now he found peace. It is too bad that he had to die to get it.

UPDATE (6/26/09): I was heading home from work at 11:00 tonight in the San Fernando Valley and noticed helicopters hovering over Encino, the location of the Michael Jackson's parents' home. As I approached Ventura Blvd. and Hayvenhurst Ave., I saw that Havenhurst was barricaded by traffic control officers. The Jackson's residence is only a few yards south of Ventura Blvd. I grabbed a quick video with my cell phone (after all, this is history) of the location. The video is below. You can't see a whole lot as it was dark and I was moving.



UPDATE (6/26/09): Reports are circulating that authorities are looking for a doctor, allegedly his personal physician who lived with Jackson, to question him on injecting Jackson with Demerol about an hour before Jackson suffered a full cardiac arrest. A vehicle, purporting to belong to this physician, was seen towed from Jackson's residence. The doctor has not been found. This is sounding like a "Dr. Nick" (George Nichopoulos) who fed Elvis Presley with drugs, all over again.

Farrah Fawcett, 1947 - 2009

Above, the famous poster that sold 12 million copies.

Actress and Hollywood icon Farrah Fawcett has passed away from cancer at age 62.

According to the Washington Post:

Farrah Fawcett, 62, golden-haired sex symbol of the late 1970s most remembered for her appearance on bedroom posters and the detective series "Charlie's Angels" and who later found a niche portraying troubled women in made-for-television dramas, died today from cancer.

Ms. Fawcett was a Texas-born college dropout who parlayed success as a model for toiletries such as Ultra Brite toothpaste and Wella Balsam shampoo into a viable acting career.

Still a relative unknown, she achieved two iconic roles at the same time in 1976. On Wednesday nights, she was Jill Munroe, the blond Angel on the ABC detective drama produced by Aaron Spelling. The rest of the week, she was the star attraction on a poster that sold a record 12 million copies.

Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett was born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, where her father started a pipeline construction company. She was an art major at the University of Texas at Austin and began modeling for a local clothing store. She was voted one of the 10 most beautiful women on campus, and Hollywood publicist David Mirisch urged her to quit school for a career in show business.

Fawcett was once married to actor Lee Majors but that marriage ended when she took up with Ryan O'Neal.

It is sad to see her go, but it is a blessing that she's no longer suffering.