Dig A Hole: Corey Haim
March 10th, 2010 by Scott Marks
As easy as it would be to slam Corey Haim, I can’t. The kid could act.
“Firstborn,” Michael Apted’s divorce melodrama and Haim’s first feature, is a damn good little film with superb performances all around from a cast that included Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Robert Downey and Sarah Jessica Parker. Haim played one of two siblings impacted by the breakup of their family. He was a natural. Before decades of partying ravaged his looks, Haim was an adorable little kid with a killer smile and a talent for delivering dialog.
He had a few funny bits in the dopey teen comedy “Secret Admirer” and his third feature found him in a wheelchair battling werewolves in “Stephen King’s Silver Bullet.” At a time when lycanthropy was making a brief resurgence in Hollywood (”An American Werewolf in London,” “The Howling”), “Silver Bullet” was more than passable entertainment and Haim was wonderful as the young paralytic who acts as human wolfbane in order to save his small town from sharp fangs and dull dialog.
He had a supporting role in the James Garner, Sally Field romantic comedy “Murphy’s Romance” before delivering his career defining performance at the age of 15. I remember “Lucas” as being a sloppy, sentimental ode to suicide in which Haim was a standout.
Stardom and the title of teen heartthrob came calling with “The Lost Boys.” It was also the first of several collaborations with his future second banana Corey Feldman. It was all downhill from there. Their rich partnership would yield two more features (”License to Drive” and “Dream a Little Dream), a made-for-cable exploitation film (”Blown Away”) most notable for Nicole Eggert’s nude scenes, two direct to home video turds (”National Lampoon’s Last Resort” and “Dream a Little Dream 2″) and self-conscious cameo’s in the David Spade debacle “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.” The nostalgia ghouls at A&E gave the strung out duo one last shot at fame reality TV style with “The Two Coreys” a show that was almost painful to watch.
The 38-year-old Haim was found dead this morning of what authorities are calling an “apparent overdose.” According to the LA Times, “Haim was taken to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after being found unresponsive, reportedly by his mother whom he was staying with as she battled cancer.”
No one could claim surprise when the news hit. Haim had been battling drugs for years now. The long discussed sequel to “Lost Boys” went straight to DVD and the 10 projects he currently had in production were not enough to keep him on the straight and narrow. Both he and Feldman had long become human punch lines, but unlike his partner Haim had talent. I can’t claim to be shocked by his sudden passing, but I sure am saddened by it.
Tags: corey feldman, corey haim, Corey Haim dead, corey haim movies, corey haines, corey haines dead, corey haines died, corey hanes, corey haynes, Cory Haim, FIrstborn, lost boys, Nicole Eggert, Stephen King's Silver Bullet, the two coreysFiled Under Obituaries
KPBS Film Club reviews IL DIVO, WHATEVER WORKS, PUBLIC ENEMIES, THE HURT LOCKER and PONTYPOON
July 9th, 2009 by Scott Marks
Toni Servillo in “Il Divo”
Wendy, I’m home!
After a viscous virus that lasted fifteen day and spanned three Staples stores my computer is finally clean. Real clean. Like my conscience. Nice to be back.
So much has happened in the past two weeks, but nothing was more shocking than the passing of an architect of entertainment, an international icon who redefined an art form, and an industry giant. Of course, I refer to Kaiser of Copycats, the late, great Fred Travalena. The impressionist was dubbed “The Man of a Thousand Faces” for his uncanny ability to ape not only celebrity voices, but their anthroposcopy as well.
Mr. T died three days after Farrah Fawcett and already there is talk of a “Good Sports” curse. Mr. Travalena starred opposite Ms. Fawcett in the series premiere. In addition, the 1991 sitcom starred William Katt whose career died ages ago. There is also a Michael Jackson connection. Travalena appeared as Jacko on the 1992 MTV Music Video Awards. I have yet to unearth a link to Gale Storm or Billy Mays.
The impersonator will always have a warm spot in my heart for a blinding display of in-joke absurdity. Jim Nabors as played by Fred Travalena as played by Dave Thomas on SCTV’s “The Merv Griffith Show” was the first thing that came to mind when news hit of the entertainer’s passing. Fred Travalena was 61.
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While Michael Jackson was being interred I was in mid-turd watching “Adam,” a Lifetime disease-of-the-week movie erroneously being released in theaters. I only caught swatches of the funeral and if there is humor to be found in tragedy, take a look at the ghoulish getup Corey Feldman wore.
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This month’s Film Club aired on June 30. I am proud to say that business for “Il Divo” rose dramatically after Beth and I gave it an audiogenic bj. Sadly, the show aired on a Tuesday and Landmark’s bookings are put to bed on Mondays. The film only lasted one week at the Ken.
Kudos to Beth for unearthing “Pontypoon,” a Canadian zombie film (without any onscreen zombies) currently playing On Demand.
Fred Travalena on “Merv”
Tags: corey feldman, Farrah Fawcett, Film Reviews, fred travalena, fred travalena dead, fred travalena dies, KPBS Film Club, Michael Jackson, movie reviews IL DIVO, PONTYPOON, PUBLIC ENEMIES, THE HURT LOCKER, Video, WHATEVER WORKSFiled Under Rants
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