Dig A Hole: Army Archerd
September 9th, 2009 by Scott Marks
Long before I became hooked on Chicago’s preeminent celebrity columnist/gossip whore Irv Kupcinet, I knew the name Army Archerd. First off, how many people can you think of with such a militaristic first name? Second, while “At Random” bored me to tears in my youth, Army had guest shots on “Batman” and was even asked to don monkey makeup in “Planet of the Apes” and two of its sequels.
He was a columnist for Variety for 52 years and the passing of Army Archerd marks an end to old school style publicity machines. Yes, he was a bit of a studio shill, particularly for 20th Century Fox, but there was a gentlemanly quality about AA that has all but vanished in today’s cutthroat world of mega-hype. Unlike James Bacon, who reveled in revealing such scandalous tidbits like Forrest Tucker, Milton Berle and Roddy McDowall were Hollywood’s three “biggest” actors, Army was strictly first class.
Back in the day the studios would reward star columnists by giving them walk on roles. In addition to “Batman” and the “Apes” pictures, Army appeared in “Teacher’s Pet,” “Wild in the Streets,” “That Girl,” “The Mod Squad,” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” to name but a few. I still crack up every time I see Army grilling Frankie Fayne about the smear campaign aimed against him in “The Oscar.
Ironically, the squeaky clean journalist was the first to break the news that Rock Hudson had AIDS. He was also one of the first journalists to stand up against Joe McCarthy’s blacklist. He never forgot. When Elia Kazan won an honorary Oscar in 1999, Archerd wrote, “I, for one, will not be giving him a standing ovation.”
Archer is survived by his wife of 39 years, Selma.
Here is proof positive of Army’s clout. He was a celebrity roaster on Dino’s “salute” to Bette Davis. Don’t blink when or you’ll miss AA. I defy you not to laugh when you see who’s seated on Army’s left. Mr. Haney was a big Bette Davis fan.
Tags: army archerd, army archerd dead, army archerd dies, Bette Davis, dean martin roast, elia kazan, Obituary, pat buttram, PLANET OF THE APES, rock hudson aids, the oscar movie, VideoFiled Under Obituaries
New Photos Added: Johnny Depp, Orson Welles, “Baby Jane,” Angie Dickinson, Jack Brickhouse, Cary Grant, Jean Seberg, Jerry Lewis, etc.
October 4th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Jean Arthur (with Charles Boyer) - 1 Photo added from History is Made at Night.
Chicago TV and Radio - 3 images of Jack Brickhouse added. HEY! HEY! (Thanks, Rob!)
Cartoon Movie Posters - New gallery with 84 images added.
Raymond Burr - New gallery with 11 images added.
Kirk Douglas - 1 image added from Lust for Life.
Johnny Depp - 2 images added from Arizona Dream (with Jerry Lewis).
Cary Grant (poolside with Randolph Scott) - 1 image added.
The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon - 1 image added.
Angie Dickinson in Point Blank - 1 photo added.
Jean Seberg - 1 image added.
Frank Tashlin - 24 images added.
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Some Came Running - image added.
Orson Welles - 16 images added. (Thanks, Rob!)
Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Maidie Norman in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? - New gallery with 34 images.
Jayne Mansfield, Tony Randall, Joan Blondell and Shamroy in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? - New gallery with 13 images.
Tags: Angie Dickinson, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Jack Brickhouse, Jean Arthur, Jean Seberg, Jerry Lewis, Joan Crawford, Johnny Depp, Kirk Douglas, Orson Welles, Raymond Burr, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?Filed Under Image Blog
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