“I had a vague idea that I’d like to see the Pacific Ocean and perhaps drown in it…”*

by chuckofish

Well, today happens to be the birthday of two of my favorite actors: Leslie Howard (1893-1943)

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and Doris Day (b. 1922).

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What a quandary this puts me in! TCM is showing Doris Day films all day:

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(so set your DVR)…

but I think I will opt for an evening of Leslie Howard. The Petrified Forest (1936) was the movie that made me a lifetime fan. I was in the tenth grade and was just dumbstruck by how great he was. I still think so.

Add Humphrey Bogart, a young and appealing Bette Davis, funny, old Charlie Grapewin and you have a stellar cast in a really good play by Robert Emmett Sherwood, who was one of the original members of the Algonquin Round Table and won four Pulitzer Prizes and an Academy Award (for the screenplay of The Best Years of Our Lives.) You can’t go wrong.

Anyway, a toast tonight to Leslie Howard AND Doris Day!

P.S. I will also toast Stephen Bochco, who died on Sunday. You remember, he was the producer behind such groundbreaking series as Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, and L.A. Law.  He enjoyed pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. Those shows (especially NYPD Blue) were terrific, and so much better than anything on television today. With large ensemble casts supported by great writing, these shows were character-driven and real. Andy Sipowicz is, in my humble opinion, one of (if not) the all-time best characters in TV history.

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*Alan Squier in The Petrified Forest