Helen Logan, Happy Birthday! Born December 13th; 1906-1989

Helen Logan began her screenwriting career in 1935, with Fox Pictures and stayed with them until she stopped writing in 1946. Along the way she penned a few film-series (Charlie Chan, The Jones Family and The Cisco Kid), spending the better part of the 1930’s writing B-pictures.

In the 1940’s Logan moved up to A-films; working with such actresses as Betty Grable, Sonja Henie, Carmen Miranda, Vivian Blaine, and Alice Faye. As I look back over the films that she wrote, I feel quite sentimental, because these are the movies I grew up watching on TV on Saturday afternoons. Many of these are the staples of film-fun. With that said, I think her best work (and most recognizable) came in 1944 with ‘Four Jills in a Jeep”.

By C. S. Williams

Frank Sinatra, Happy Birthday, December 12th; 1915-1998

At the age of nineteen, in 1935, Frank Sinatra got his first big break, joining a group called “The Three Flashes”, with James Petrozelli, Pat Principle and Fred Tamburro. With Sinatra in, they changed the name to “The Hoboken Four”, and sang frequently on the popular radio show “Major Bowes Amateur Hour”.

The Hoboken Four (Sinatra far right) with Major Bowes (center) of the “Major Bowes Amateur Hour” Radio program

Frank Sinatra started his film career with two uncredited appearances in “Las Vegas Nights”, 1941 and “Ship Ahoy” in 1942. “Reveille with Beverly”, 1943, saw Frank with his name on the theater-bill for the first time. In 1944 Sinatra got top billing in “Step Lively”, but it was in “Anchors Aweigh”, 1945 that he hit the jackpot, costarring with Gene Kelly, the film garnered five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Gene Kelly), winning for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Most of the roles afforded Sinatra were musical until 1953 and his Oscar (Supporting actor) winning performance as Angelo Maggio, in “From Here to Eternity”; that as his springboard, he never looked backward, and began to produce as well, and a very fine producer at that, with nine credits including: “A Hole in the Head”, 1959 and “Robin and the 7 Hoods”, in 1964. In 1965 he produced, directed and starred in “None but the Brave”. Sinatra acted in nearly sixty films and his range was extensive, his approach was spontaneous and sincere; he had two Academy Award nominations: the aforementioned “From Here to Eternity, and he was nominated for Best Actor for “The Man with the Golden Arm”, 1955; all in all, a powerful resume, no, not just powerful, but a career filled with movies we love to watch.

By C. S. Williams