Flu Season and a Jogged Memory

Above, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart in The Shootist.

My "honorary sister" sent me this article on an unusual type of flu virus that is dominating this flu season.

Thank goodness I've already had my flu and pneumonia shots

While reading the article, it mentioned the B/Victoria flu. Although it has been a while since I heard of any kind of Victoria flu, it jogged a memory from 1976.

I emailed this reply to her:

Funny, they mentioned B/Victoria flu. Whenever I hear about a Victoria flu, it reminds me of 1976 when Paul Bannai's office told me they were trying to get John Wayne for a fundraising dinner. It was about the time he made "The Shootist" and he had to decline as he was down with A/Victoria flu. They had to shoot around him until he recovered.

It is interesting that some things bring back dormant memories.

40 Years Ago: "The Shootist" Released

From the John Wayne Facebook page:

July 19, 1975 ~ "The Shootist" was released to movie theaters 40 years ago today. A dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity. 

"Put it in a nutshell? You couldn't put it in a barrel without a bottom. You're the longest winded bastard I've ever known. " ~ John Bernard Books/JOHN WAYNE 

This film was released by Paramount Pictures on DVD and can be found at many retail outlets.

The Shootist ended up being Wayne's final movie. He died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979. 

Lauren Bacall, R.I.P.

Above, Lauren Bacall in the 1940s.

It was in the early or mid-1970s that I first took notice of actress Lauren Bacall. It was in To Have And Have Not, her first on-screen pairing with future husband Humphrey Bogart.

Her sultry looks and mannerisms leaped off the screen. She definitely had it. It later became the "the look" that Bacall became famous for. And that voice of hers, husky but sexy at the same time.

Since then, I saw other films in which she was in, some with Bogart like Key Largo and The Big Sleep, and others with John Wayne such as Blood Alley and The Shootist (Wayne's last film).

Lauren Bacall died yesterday at home at age 89, reportedly from a massive stroke. She had a good run. She never really retired. She continued acting up to this year. Not bad.

Above, Ron Howard, Lauren Bacall and John Wayne in a lobby card for The Shootist.

Her passing, it is being written, marks the "end of an era" of the golden age of Hollywood. At this moment, I really can't think of any other stars remaining from that era. Lauren Bacall was definitely in the "upper tier" of stars from that era. Thankfully, her work lives on in film and forever preserved on DVD.