Banner Graphic, Volume 12, Number 41, Greencastle, Putnam County, 24 October 1981 — Page 6

A6

The Putnam County Banner-Graphic, October 23,1981

People in the news 'Miss Colbert, it's Broadway calling' Claudette Colbert was relaxing in the sunny surroundings of her beachfront home in Barbados, enduring nothing more strenuous than her daily swim, when an envelope arrived in the mail one day from Audrey Wood, the literary agent. Inside was the script for "A Talent for Murder," a new “suspense-comedy" by Jerome Chodorov and Norman Panama Miss Colbert jumped at the chance to return to Broadway in the starring role of Anne Royce McLain, a best-selling author of mysteries who wears a stunning Bill Blass wardrobe and drives around her mansion in a motorized wheelchair. "I had delusions," the pert, 78-year-old actress was saying with a rueful smile the other day in her dressing room after a performance. “I thought the play would be fun, fun, fun.” As things turned out, the play has been work, work, work. Three weeks into the run, Miss Colbert and her companions in the cast are still learning new lines in an effort to improve “A Talent for Murder” and keep it going. Critics were decidedly cool toward the play on opening night; and although they expressed delight at seeing the indomitable Miss Colbert on the stage again, they wondered why she had picked this particular vehicle. “The character amused me,” said the actress, wrapped in a ruffle-trimmed dressing gown. “I thought it would be fun to play this old gal who smokes too much and uses fourletter words. I’ve always been so proper. Except for De Mille, when I did ‘The Sign of the Cross’ and ‘Cleopatra’ for him. And I thought the wheelchair would be a barrel of fun. Well, it wasn’t at first. I was fighting that damn thing in rehearsal and wishing I were in Barbados.” Miss Colbert added that the script has never stopped changing; "You would never recognize it now from the version I first read. Very early on, the murderer was someone else. And just last night, a new scene was put in at the end.” With all this tumult, isn’t Barbados looking all the more appealing? “Oh, no,” she replied. “Once you’ve had that first smell of the greasepaint, you never get over it. This play isn’t George bcniard Shaw, but it’s fun, and people are entertained. I adore making people laugh.” Miss Colbert mentioned that she is two years away from celebrating her 60th anniversary on the stage: “I started in 1923. That is a long time. Once in a while I hear myself saying, ‘This is probably the last play I’ll ever do.’ But then I say, ‘Bite your tongue.’ I don’t want it to be. My » mother lived to be 99. I’ve always thought she died because she was bored.” NEW YORK (AP) Nancy Reagan has laid to rest any rumors that might have arisen up after Washington gift shops started selling postcards showing the first lady dressed as a queen. “I never wear a crown,” Mrs. Reagan joked Thursday at a dinner in New York City. “It messes up my hair.” During brief remarks at the annual Alfred E. Smith memorial dinner honoring the late New York governor, Mrs. Reagan said she wanted to tell the 1,000 guests about some of her activities, such as fighting drug abuse and supporting the Girl Scouts. “And then, of course, the Nancy Reagan home for wayward china,” she quipped. Referring to criticism of the $209,000 set of state china purchased through private donations, Mrs. Reagan said she was just glad to be able to “make as much money as I did for the White House.” “Ronnie thinks I did such a good job he wants me to help with the deficit.” • “Timing,” Parker Fennelly was saying Thursday, “is very important for an actor that’s why I had my birthday fall between games of the World Series.” Because of his foresight, Fennelly had no distractions when a few friends dropped by his Peekskill, N.Y., home to help him celebrate his 90th birthday. Best remembered for his portrayal of Titus Moody in the Allen’s Alley segment of the old Fred Allen radio program and later as the television spokesman for Pepperidge Farms, Fennelly seemed amused that he had finally reached the age of many of the characters he had played as a younger man. “I was born old,” he said, “and I played old parts most of my life.”

6:00 0 0 NEWS O WELCOME BACK, KOTTER 0 0 ABC NEWS O CBS NEWS © © NBC NEWS © SNEAK PREVIEWS Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel host an informative look at what's new at the movies. 6:30 0 M*A*S*H O © LAVERNE & SHIRLEY 0 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT 0 © P.M. MAGAZINE A visit to Joe Namath football camp; two Chicago housewives who became recording stars. © FAMILY FEUD © MACNEIL / LEHRER REPORT © HERE'S LUCY 7:00 0 © © NBC MAGAZINE (1 HR.) 0 HAWAII FIVE-0 (1 HR.) 0 © BASEBALL Live coverage of game three of the World Series from the city of the National League Champion. (3 hrs., 15 min.) 0 © CBS NEWS SPECIAL "Everything You Wanted To Know About Monsters... But Were Afraid" Charles Osgood takes a look at some of Hollywood's infamous monsters. (1 hr.) © WASHINGTON WEEK ® MOVIE **'/} "Fade To Black” (1980, Suspense) Dennis Christopher, Linda Kerridge A disturbed young movie fan reacts to romantic rejection by committing murders in the guise and style of his favorite screen villains. R' (1 hr., 41 min.) 7:30 © WALL STREET WEEK 8:00 0 © MOVIE * * Revenge Of The Stepford Wives" (1980, Drama) Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner While investigating the town of Stepford, a TV reporter discovers a horrible secret (R)(2hrs )

Friday's TV programs

Q JOKER’S WILD O © THE DUKES OF HAZZARD Bo and Luke recover a fortune in diamonds from a hijacked airplane. (1 hr.) © HEE HAW © ENTERPRISE "Fast Horse In A Bull Market" Eric Sevareid looks at one of the hottest international investments today - thoroughbred horses - with a focus on horse breeder Tom Gentry. 8:30 O TIC TAC DOUGH © BEN WATTENBERG AT LARGE "Progress In Medicine" Ben Wattenberg discusses medical science and practice with Dr. Lewis Thomas, Dr. Philip Handler and Dr. Donald Fredrickson. 9:00 O NEWS (1 HR.) O © DALLAS With the help of Miss Ellie, J.R. gains entry to Farlow’s ranch to regain his son. (1 hr.) © SHARKS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR (1 HR.) © SOUNDSTAGE Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes perform “Paris," "Time" and "Little By Little." (R)g(1 hr.) ® MOVIE "Snake Fist Fighter" (Adventure) Jackie Chan. The making of a martial arts warrior involves long hours of arduous training. ‘R’ (1 hr., 23 min,) 10:00 0 0 © © © NEWS O NEWLYWED GAME © DICK CAVETT Guests: Marsha Mason and Neil Simon, 10:15 ©NEWS © THE ODD COUPLE 10:30 0 © © THE BEST OF CARSON Guests: Donna Summer, Charlie Callas, The Oak Ridge Boys, Calvin Trillin. (R)(1 hr.) o STARSKY AND HUTCH 0 NIGHTBEAT © BEHIND THE SCREEN Brian

JAM ES STEWART: Subject is roses

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) Actor James Stewart says he plans to turn out for the 93rd annual Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. In fact, he’s going to lead it. The 73-year-old actor was named Thursday to be grand marshal of the parade. “I’m honored to have been chosen,” he said, adding that his wife and possibly his daughter’s family would join him in the ride along the parade route lined by an expected 1.5 million spectators. Stewart joins a long list of celebrities who have served as grand marshal of the parade, including Walt Disney, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Lome Greene, Shirley Temple and Mary Pickford. Stewart’s acting career spans five decades and includes 78 westerns, dramas and comedies. • If Harry Rigby can figure out a way to start in the middle, his problem will be solved. Rigby, a Broadway producer, is putting together the Broadway segment of the benefit “Broadway Salutes the New York City Opera” at the New York State Theater next Monday night, and he has 19 eager performers in the wings each perfectly willing to open or close the show. “We may have to draw lots,” Rigby said, noting a certain undercurrent of competition among his largely feminine cast. “Now the ladies have all been scrupulously polite,” he said, “but they have a way of asking ‘and where do I come in the bill?’ ” Thankful for small favors, Rigby noted with relief that it was not he, but the opera company’s general director, Beverly Sills, who had the responsibility of scheduling the 16 solo opera singers for the opening “longhair” segment of the evening or evening, night and morning, as the case may be in the 35-act benefit. “She has the sacred segment and I the profane,” said Rigby, who may have hit on a way to treat his solo singers equally upstaging them all with “40, count ’em, showgirls,” in a full-scale producion number. “They’re the most gorgeous girls in New York,” he said, “I’ve cornered the feather market.” • HERMITAGE, Pa. (AP) The highest-ranking diplomat among the Americans held hostage in Iran came here to pray at a bronze memorial to the eight servicemen who died in an aborted attempt to rescue him and the other captives. Bruce Laingen, former charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, paid his first visit Thursday to the cemetery that helped the nation keep its 444-day vigil for the hostages. After laying a wreath at the memorial in Hillcrest Memorial Park, Laingen was asked about the effect on him of the ordeal, which ended last January. “We’ll always be different because of it,” he said. “We’ll never forget.” Laingen, who was in the area to speak at Penn State University’s Shenango Valley branch campus, said he had wanted to visit Hillcrest Memorial Park, where a flag had been raised each day of the hostage crisis. Sixty-one flags remain, one for each of the 53 hostages and the eight servicemen.

attempts to break Hammer’s control over Janie-Claire Willow. © CAPTIONED ABC NEWS ® BIZARRE John Byner shows you things stranger than truth, larger than life, and zanier than anything you’ve ever seen. 10:45 O © ABC NEWS NIGHTLINE 11:00 0 SATURDAY NIGHT (1 HR., 30 MIN.) © MACNEIL / LEHRER REPORT ® MOVIE "Superman" (1978, Fantasy) Christopher Reeve. Margot Kidder. Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent dons his red cape and uses his superhuman powers to thwart an arch criminal’s plot to destroy the West Coast with a giant earthquake. ‘PG’ (2 hrs., 23 min.) 11:05 © MOVIE ★** "Cannonball" (1976, Adventure) David Carradine, Robert Carradine. A cross-country race results in motorized mayhem with stunt driving, chilling chases and spectacular wrecks. (R) (2 hrs.) 11:15 O BENNY HILL © FRIDAYS (1 HR., 10 MIN.) 11:30 0 © SCTV NETWORK 90 (1 HR., 30 MIN.) O MOVIE "Frankenstein Created Woman" (1967, Horror) Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg Dr. Frankenstein experiments with bodies of both sexes. (2 hrs.) © DAVE ALLEN AT LARGE 11:45 0 FRIDAYS (1 HR., 30 MIN.) 12:00 © SCTV NETWORK 90 (1 HR., 30 MIN.) © LESEA TELETHON (CONT’D) (2 HRS.)

Dickinson 1 GfiHfflSorvlcss.lnc

12:25 © WEATHER 12:30 O AMERICA'S TOP TEN 1:00 0 © NEWS 0 RUBY POWELL 1:15 O EVENING AT THE IMPROV (1 HR.) 1:30 O MOVIE *'/? "Planet On The Prowl" (1970, Science-Fiction) Jack Stuart, Amber Collins. A group of spacemen attempt to track down a floating alien planet, which they believe is responsible for disasters occurring on Earth. (2 hrs.) © RAT PATROL ® MOVIE "Stay As You Are" (1980, Romance) Marcello Mastroianni, Nastassia Kinski. A married, middle-aged man embarks on an affair with a teen-age girl who may be related to him. (1 hr., 45 min.) 2:00 © NEWS © LESEA TELETHON (CONT’D) (2 HRS.) 2:15 0 ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT 3:30 Q MOVIE *'/i "Blood Of Dracula" (1957, Horror) Sandra Harrison, Louise Lewis. A young girl is put under a vampire s curse by her chemistry teacher ® BIZARRE John Byner shows you things stranger than truth, larger than life, and zanier than anything you’ve ever seen. 4:00 © LESEA TELETHON (CONT’D) ® MOVIE "Fade To Black" (1980, Suspense) Dennis Christopher, Linda Kerridge. A disturbed young movie fan reacts to romantic rejection by committing murders in the guise and style of his favorite screen villains. 'R’(l hr, 41 min)

Peanuts

HIT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SLEEP IF If PLEASE .05E ALL 1. THINK A TEN PODNP THE u)|POU>S A* FROG FROM SOUTHWEST CAMEROON MAY COME AMP / ‘ i I JUMP ON YOUR STOMACH <Q) \ c ' ? 1 Km mm

Garfield

I WOULDN'T e>AY YOU'RE FAX GARFIELD, BUT IF YOU WENT ON s* A Pi EX TWO UNDERDEVELOPED ( 5-H-3-2-I ] •. , NATIONS WOULD HAVE V ) N TO EAT <*<=>

John Darling

JOHN YOUN/E just WRITTEN ANC? “THE FIRST vy 7 WHAT'S YOUR. JIU THIS GREAT NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY THING 1 WANT I AUTOBIOGRAPHY «OUT. Pi

Buz Sawyer

/ MAKE YOURSELVES WE’LL PO A CTJH'RTV MIJOUTES LATER. JT .1 V AT HOME,GENTS. M 81LL... THANKS. BALL OR SOME I|§|§ SHALL I WE’LL SE(£ OUR—EIU.. E . .1.. .

Beetle Bailey

HI MERE'S ANOTMEC’ \ l 1 /'T - '' 1 ONE FI?OM HIM. | TAKE SEC.DNPS ( a 1 "CHOW HALL'. I X. 4

Hi and Lois

■( DITTO COLLECTS J|| A ip DADDY '? TOY CARS COLLECTSJ I O SHOULD EiND 1 ■ STAMPS ) £TtO A MOPE ) ■ interesting) ■ n W O .IKa,/, ■: T. HOBBY O V 3 AA\ I ’ 45 Tg figfip — / ) *-R c. ! 'I--C-tA'

Blondie

HONEY DAISY NEEDS A \( Tu p OC MDO Pl_£A COLLARS KILL. ( 1 THiM I CANJ X MEW FLEA COLLAR that or just ( AMSWB THAT/ - ' r ...i-,.: them r 1 .

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith

ZZZACCORDIN TO MV ~ ~ / WITH GUSTY ) 4 CT4) BIG TOE WE RE AM WINDS J

Redeye

IVE HEARD THAT unw you eu vs shed often 2 & our £v£RV YOUR SKIN * FIFTY THOUSAND i SUTMERS i gr|g j j