Jerry Orbach (1935-2004)

If you happen to catch this week's 20th anniversary screenings of Dirty Dancing, keep in mind the fact that one of the cast members - legendary stage, screen and Emmy-nomimated TV actor Jerry Orbach - spent several years of his childhood in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Jerome Bernard Orbach was born in the Bronx in New York City on October 20, 1935. According to a Scranton Times article from 2003, Orbach's family moved frequently throughout his childhood, even settling for a time in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where his grandfather worked as a coalminer, when he was six years old. The Orbach family also lived in Scranton, PA for a year and a half in the Hills section; furthermore, according to the Internet Movie Database, Orbach also lived for a time in Nanticoke, PA. Orbach's family eventually settled in Waukegan, Illinois.

Orbach studied drama at both University of Illinois and Northwestern University; upon moving back to New York, he studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.

Orbach's first major Broadway role was as a replacement for the character Smith in the original 1955 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera (his co-star Bea Arthur would later reunite with Orbach in an episode of The Golden Girls). Orbach's extensive stage career includes starring in the original 1960 off-Broadway cast of The Fantasticks, his Tony Award-winning performance in the 1968 musical Promises, Promises and creating the role of lawyer Billy Flynn in the original 1975 Broadway production of Chicago. He also starred as Julian Marsh in the original 1980 Broadway production of 42nd Street.

Orbach has had a successful film career since the 1950s and has starred as Martin Landau's shady brother Jack in Woody Allen's Crimes & Misdemeanors (whose production designer was Wilkes-Barre native Santo Loquasto), tough corrupt cop Gus Levy in 1981's Prince of the City, the voice of candlestick Lumiere in Disney's Oscar-nominated Beauty and the Beast, and, of course, as Baby's father in the 1987 classic Dirty Dancing.

Orbach's most popular TV work is his role as Detective Lennie Briscoe on Homicide: Life on the Streets; the character was later spun off in the popular television drama Law and Order.

Sadly, Jerry Orbach passed away on December 28th, 2004 in Manhattan after a courageous battle with prostate cancer.

The 20th Anniversary edition of Dirty Dancing starring Jerry Orbach will be showing Tuesday, May 1st and Wednesday, May 2nd, at Cinemark in Moosic.

Several films and television series starring Jerry Orbach - including several seasons of Law and Order, the films Crimes and Misdemeanors, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Dirty Dancing, the special Broadway's Lost Treasures II (featuring Orbach as Billy Flynn in Chicago) and CDs including the original soundtrack for Broadway's 42nd Street - are available to borrow on DVD from the Lackawanna County Library System. Furthermore, the Reference Department's collection includes a Local History Vertical File on the actor.

To read Rich Mates's October 26, 2003 Scranton Times article "'Law' and Orbach: 'Law & Order' Detective Proud of Scranton Roots," click here.

Naked by David Sedaris (1997)

Humorist David Sedaris, author of such bestselling essay collections as Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and Holidays on Ice, as well as a regular guest on The Late Show With David Letterman, included a somewhat unique reference to the city of Scranton in his 1997 collection Naked. Naked is a collection of nonfiction essays in which Sedaris write about his unusual life experiences.

The title essay in the book details Sedaris's weeklong trip to a nudist camp. Upon his arrival, the camp residents stare accusingly at Sedaris (a New York resident) for supposedly bringing the cold front from "the lakes" with him.

"'I don't know anything about any lakes.' There was a rising panic in my voice. 'It was hot and sunny when I left New York this morning, really, it was. It turned cold around Scranton, but I didn't even get off the bus. It's the truth, you can ask the driver.' It was ridiculous to stand before a group of strangers denying my responsibility for the weather, but surrounded by their stern accusatory faces, the charges seemed frighteningly plausible."

Naked by David Sedaris is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System; to place a hold on the book, click here.

NASCAR Driver (and Berwick Native) Jimmy Spencer to Speak in Scranton May 21st

Berwick native and former NASCAR champion Jimmy Spencer will be speaking in Scranton on Monday, May 21st at 7 PM at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton, PA.

Tickets are FREE with your Lackawanna County Library System library card; to apply for a card online, click here.

Tickets are available at any Lackawanna County Library System Library, the Scranton Cultural Center box office, and the Everhart Museum.

Documentary Filmmaker Gregory T. Matkosky to Appear at Meet The Authors April 18th, 2007

Documentary filmmaker Gregory T. Matkosky (Stories From The Mines; An Empty Place at the Table; Looking to the River) will be at Albright Memorial Library on Wednesday, April 18th at 7 PM as part of "Meet the Authors" and National Library Week.

Stories From the Mines (both a documentary and a book co-authored by Matkosky, who was born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania) traces the miners’ epic human rights battle from their arrival in the United States to the Great Strike of 1902 (in Scranton, PA) and the inception of the United Mine Workers. The film blends dramatic reenactments and never-before-seen archival footage and photographs to recount a conflict that inspired the involvement of Clarence Darrow and Theodore Roosevelt.

An Empty Place at the Table documents an exhibit of table settings, the empty chairs representing victims of domestic violence.

In addition to his work as a filmmaker and author, Matkosky is also the creative director of WVIA.

For more information on "Meet the Authors 2007," click here.

Call to register at 570-348-3000, x3043.

Click on the image above (by Michele Murphy) for more information.

NBC's The Office The Subject of 3 (Count 'Em, 3) Articles in Today's Citizens' Voice

(cover image courtesy of www.citizensvoice.com)

Though it isn't my intention to make the Scranton/W-B Entertainment blog something devoted exclusively to NBC's The Office (set in Scranton, Pennsylvania), regular readers of this blog can see that the numerous references to Scranton on the hit sitcom are abundant and almost impossible to ignore.

Today's Citizens' Voice (serving Wilkes-Barre and other areas of Luzerne County) has devoted three articles and an interactive multimedia page (website only) in today's edition (April 5, 2007) to The Office. The articles are linked below:

"Office" Cast Imagines What Scranton Is Really Like (cast members imagine what the real Scranton is like)

A Peek Into 'The Office' (this article lists several Scranton-related items, locations, etc. that were featured in episodes)

It's Just Another Day At 'The Office' (two writers from Times-Shamrock newspapers visit the set of The Office)

'The Office' Multimedia Tour of Scranton (includes video interviews with cast members)

www.citizensvoice.com

Live With Regis & Kelly (Monday, March 19, 2007)

Isn't it weird when you're half-watching a morning talk show and, out of the blue, someone drops the word Scranton? As with The Ellen Degeneres Show a few months back, the city of Scranton was referenced on this morning's Live With Regis & Kelly by guest Rainn Wilson, star of NBC's hit sitcom The Office (that, of course, is set in Scranton, PA).

Rainn Wilson was interviewed this morning by Kelly Ripa and guest co-host Howie Mandel. When discussing Mendel's success on the popular NBC game show Deal Or No Deal, Wilson quipped, "I'd be a guest if they held it at a Scranton mall." No doubt Wilson was referencing his recent visit to the Steamtown Mall in Scranton this past December.

Scranton Native/Author Lauren Weisberger to Speak in Scranton September 6th

Scranton native and bestselling author Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada; Everyone Worth Knowing) with return to the city of her birth in September as a guest speaker of the Lackawanna County Library System 2007 Library Lecture Series.

Weisberger will be speaking on Thursday, September 6th at 7 PM at the Scranton Cultural Center. When available (I'll post a message in the blog when they become available, which should be sometime in August), tickets will be free with a Lackawanna County Library Card and will be available from any Lackawanna County Library, the Scranton Cultural Center box office and the Everhart Museum.

For our previous blog entry on Lauren Weisberger, click here.

www.LaurenWeisberger.com

Photos of Lauren Weisberger and book jacket courtesy of press page on Miss Weisberger's official web site.

UPDATE 7-26-07 FREE TICKETS FOR LAUREN WESIBERGER ARE AVAILABLE NOW AT THE CIRCULATION DESK!

W-B/Scranton In Entertainment Blog Now Available as RSS Feed via Feedburner

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To subscribe to the Scranton/W-B Entertainment Blog, click here.

To learn more about RSS, click here.

Daniel McDonald (1960-2007)

Being a huge fan of Broadway, I was shocked and saddened when I read yesterday that Scranton native and Broadway actor Daniel McDonald died on February 15th at the age of 46. In addition to his Tony-nominated work on the New York stage, McDonald made several appearances on TV and in film.

Daniel McDonald was born in Scranton, PA on July 30, 1960. He was raised in Romulus, NY and was the youngest of seven children (his brother is actor Christopher McDonald (Thelma & Louise, Quiz Show). He graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY and also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

McDonald's work on the Broadway stage includes 1997's Steel Pier, a Kander and Ebb musical set in Atlantic City, which earned him a Best Actor Tony nomination; he also won the Theatre World Award foor best Actor for the role. McDonald also starred in the stage version of Cole Porter's High Society in 1998. His most recent work on Broadway was as a replacement in the role of Sam Carmichael, one of Sophie's three possible dads in the smash musical Mamma Mia!

He also wrote and starred in Chesterfield, a one-act inspired by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, which played in both New York and Los Angeles.

McDonald made his film debut in the 1984 sex comedy Where The Boys Are '84, co-starring Lisa Hartman. In a 2001 interview on Broadway.com, McDonald looked back fondly and humorously on the making of his debut movie. His other roles include 1985's The Falcon and the Snowman, starring Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton, 1993's What's Love Got To Do With It? starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, and Ang Lee's 1997 film The Ice Storm, starring Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Tobey Maguire and Christina Ricci.

McDonald's television credits include episodes of Law and Order, D.C., Sex & the City, and CSI: Miami.

Daniel McDonald died Thursday, February 15th, 2007 in New York City after a long and brave battle with brain cancer. He is survived by his wife and two children. His obituary has appeared in newspapers across the country, including USA Today and the Broadway magazine Playbill.

According to Broadway.com, McDonald was recording a CD of standards from the American songbook including two songs from Steel Pier. That album is due to be released in April.

One of Daniel McDonald's songs, First You Dream, from Steel Pier (a duet with Karen Ziémba), is featured on a CD titled Broadway in Love, which is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System by clicking here.

To make a donation in Daniel's memory to Team Continuum, which cares for the immediate needs of cancer patients from all over the world, click here.

The Reference Department sends our heartfelt condolences to Daniel McDonald's family on the passing of this truly talented Scranton native.

"South of Scranton" by Peter Blume (1931)

Peter Blume (American, born Russia, 1906–1992)

South of Scranton, 1931

Oil on canvas; H. 56, W. 66 in. (142.2 x 167 cm)

George A. Hearn Fund, 1942 (42.155)

© Estate of Peter Blume/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Image Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC

In addition to film and music, Scranton, Pennsylvania also has a history as inspiration of fine art, as depicted in Peter Blume's 1931 surrealist painting South of Scranton, which was inspired by a car trip he took here in the Spring of 1930.

Artist Peter Blume (1906-1992) was born October 27, 1906 in Smorgon, Russia; he and his family emigrated to the United States in 1911 and settled in New York City.

Burke died on November 30, 1992 in New York City. He studied art at the Educational Alliance Art School from 1919 to 1924, at the Art Students League of New York and at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design. He had his first one-man show in New York City in 1930.

Blume's art first gained fame and notoriety with the exhibition of his 1931 painting South of Scranton. Taking about a year and a half to complete, the painting was inspired by a car trip Blume took across Pennsylvania. Often stopping for repairs, Blume was inspired by the coal mines, locamotives and steel mills he encountered along his trip. He told reporters at the time, "I moved in my mind from Scranton to Bethlehem to Charleston.... Things lost their logical connection as they do in a dream."

South of Scranton was awarded first prize at the 1934 Carnegie International Exhibition; its selection for the prize evoked both harsh criticism and glowing praise from the art world. In 1942, South of Scranton won the second prize at the Artists for Victory Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. During World War II it was sent to the Tate Gallery in London by the U.S. Government as one of a group of outstanding works by living American artists.

Peter Blume died in New York City on Nov. 30, 1992.

South of Scranton is part of the Permanant Collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Mary McDonnell (1952- )

Actress Mary McDonnell is a renowned stage and screen actress with two Academy Award nominations to her credit. She has appeared in several critically acclaimed films, Broadway plays, and television series. She was also born in Wilkes-Barre.

Mary McDonnell was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on April 28, 1952. However, she was raised in Ithaca, New York.

McDonnell began her professional acting career in 1980 as Claudia Colfax on the long-running soap opera As The World Turns. She soon moved to film work in supporting roles in such films as Garbo Talks (starring Anne Bancroft) and Tiger Warsaw (starring Patrick Swayze). Her first major film role was in the 1987 independent film Matewan, directed by John Sayles (Sayles would also direct McDonnell in 1992's Passion Fish, which earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination).

McDonnell has been nominated for two Academy Awards - - Best Supporting Actress for her role as Stands With A Fist in Dances With Wolves (1990), directed by and co-starring Kevin Costner, and Best Actress for Passion Fish (1992), directed by John Sayles and co-starring Alfre Woodard (Betty Applewhite from the hugely popular ABC series Desperate Housewives) and David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck).

McDonnell's other film credits include 1991's Grand Canyon (directed by Lawrence Kasdan and also starring Steve Martin and Kevin Kline), 1992's Sneakers (starring Robert Redford), the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day (starring Will Smith), and 2001's Donnie Darko (starring both Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal).

McDonnell's most recent work has been on two successful television series - she portrayed Eleanor Carter in the 2001-2002 season of ER, and she starred as President Laura Roslin in the Sci-Fi Channell's reimaging of the television series Battlestar Galactica from 2004-2006.

In addition to her work in film and on television, McDonnell has also appeared in a number of Broadway plays including The Heidi Chronicles (1990) and Summer and Smoke (1996).

Several of McDonnell's films, including Dances With Wolves, Passion Fish, Matewan, Grand Canyon, Independence Day, and Donnie Darko, are available on DVD and VHS from several libraries in the Lackawanna County Library System. Seasons One and Two of Battlestar Galactica (as well as the original 2004 miniseries that kicked off the television series), are available though the library catalog.

James Karen (1923- )

Have you ever seen an actor in a movie or on TV, then see him again and again in other movies and on other TV shows and think, "Wait a minute! I've seen this guy before...but WHERE?" One of the most prolific of such actors is James Karen, who is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Karen is a veteran character actor whose work has been seen in numerous films, TV shows, and the Broadway stage.

James Karen was born Jacob Karnufsky in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on November 28, 1923.

Karen began his acting career on the Broadway stage in 1948, and his stage work includes work as a standby for both characters George and Nick in the original 1964 Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Karen would go on to stage work in such plays as Cactus Flower and The Country Girl.

Karen's television and film career began with an episode of Car 54, Where are You in 1962. He made his first film two years later in 1965's Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster. From 1967 to 1970, Karen's image became familiar for soap opera fans in his role as Dr. Burke on the long-running As The World Turns; Karen also became a regular on All My Children in 1970 as Linc Tyler.

Throughout the 1970s, Karen made appearances in episodes of several iconic shows of that decade such as Starsky and Hutch, The Waltons, The Streets of San Francisco, The Bionic Woman, Macmillan & Wife, Eight is Enough, One Day at a Time, and The Rockford Files.

The 1970s and 1980s brought about memorable appearances in films such as Poltergeist, The China Syndrome, Frances, Wall Street, and The Return of the Living Dead.

Karen's TV work continued in memorable episodes of The Golden Girls, M*A*S*H, Dynasty, Seinfeld, The Practice, and Judging Amy. Karen even made an appearance on the Scott Baio sitcom Charles in Charles, whose title character hails from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

His most recent film appearaces include the recently released The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith, Superman Returns (his scenes with Eva Marie Saint were cut from the final film, but can be seen in the deleted scenes section of the DVD), Any Given Sunday (directed by Oliver Stone), and Mulholland Dr. (directed by David Lynch).

It's quite possible that James Karen has appeared in everything!

James Karen was recently profiled by Leonard Maltin as one of Hollywood's best-kept secrets on Reelz Channel's Secret's Out.

Remember The Night (1940)

UPDATED 12/2/10

Don McKeon has sent us another Scranton reference from a classic film:

"I had another great surprise hearing the name of Scranton mentioned in an old film. I watched a film called Remember the Night starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. It was broadcast on TCM and it was the first time they every showed this film. By the way this was the very first teaming up of Stanwyck and MacMurray - they made 4 films altogether (their most famous teaming, of course, being the 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity).

The film is a romantic comedy and features Stanwyck as Lee Leander, a con artist who steals an expensive bracelet (her third shoplifting offense). She faces trial (the setting is New York City) and is prosecuted by assistant D.A. John Sargent (MacMurray). It is Christmas time and the trial is delayed until after the holidays.

Sargent gets the trial postponed because it is hard to get a conviction at Christmastime, but he feels sorry for Lee nonetheless and arranges to pay her bail. Sargent learns that Lee hails from his home state of Indiana and decides to take her with him to visit her mother for Christmas. Lee hadn't seen her mother in years, but the reunion is anything but loving. Feeling sorry for her, Sargent takes her to his mother's home.

To make a long story short, when Sargent and Lee are leaving Indiana, his mom asks them if they are going back to New York by way of Scranton or Pittsburgh. By now, they are in love and even though Sargent has now changed sides and wants to get her acquitted, Lee decides to own up to her guilt so she can start her life anew.

It's a nice film, I hope you will be able to see it sometime."

Remember The Night had a rare holiday broadcast this past December 17th on TCM. Hopefully, it will air again.

Remember The Night was a very difficult film to get on video. Though never released on DVD, it was released in the early 1990s on VHS as part of the Barbara Stanwyck Collection, but the video is now out-of-print and a used copy typically sells for $40+.

Remember the Night was FINALLY released on DVD during the 2009 holiday season, which you can order directly from TCM by clicking here.

In addition, Albright Memorial Library now has the DVD of Remember the Night in its collection. To place a hold, click here.

Thanks again to Don McKeon for another great reference. Keep 'em coming!

Lady Sings The Blues by Billie Holiday with William Dufty (1956)

When legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday published her autobiography Lady Sings The Blues in 1956, she included a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

In Lady Sings The Blues (co-written, though some say ghostwritten, by William Dufty), Billie Holiday (1915-1959) writes in explicit detail of her turbulent childhood, her rise to fame as a jazz singer, her descent into heroin addition, her arrest and conviction of drug possession, and her triumphant return to the concert stage.

The Scranton reference in Lady Sings The Blues appears in Holiday's description of her grueling cross-country touring schedule by bus as a member of Artie Shaw's touring band. It was also a rarity at that period in musical history to have an African-American singer fronting an all-white jazz band as she did. The Scranton reference is on page 75:

"Getting a night's sleep was a continual drag, too. We were playing big towns and little towns, proms and fairs. A six-hundred-mile jump overnight was standard. When we got to put up at a hotel, it was usually four cats to a room. We might finish at Scranton, Pennsylvania, at two in the morning, grab something to eat, and make Cleveland, Ohio by noon the next day."

In 1972, Lady Sings The Blues was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday.

You can visit Billie Holiday's official website by clicking here.

More excellent information on Billie Holiday can be found at http://www.clickitticket.com/holiday/ 

Brian Ufberg, Film Editor

Film editor and NEPA native Brian Ufberg (right), with fellow film editor Mick Austley and Brian's agent Julie at a concert on Santa Montica Pier, August 1990. Photo by Bill C.

Film editor Brian Ufberg was born and raised in Edwardsville, PA and attended Wyoming Seminary.

Brian's first film as an apprentice film editor was the 1987 dramedy Nobody's Fool, starring Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts and Oscar winner Louise Fletcher. In an earlier scene in the film, Brian's full name is mentioned as a radio reporter.

In 1990, Brian was the assistant editor on the critically acclaimed film The Grifters, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Anjelica Houston, John Cusack (whom Brian said was very critical of his own performance in the film), and Annette Bening. On The Grifters, Ufberg worked closely with both director Frears and editor Mick Austley (pictured above with Ufberg); the three would work together again on 2002's Hero, starring Dustin Hoffman (who was present with Ufberg in the editing room) and Geena Davis. Brian and Mick also worked together on Neil Jordan's 2004 hit Interview With The Vampire, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

Ufberg's other film credits on his impressive resume include Twelve Monkeys, X-Men, 21 Grams, Good Night & Good Luck, and the 2006 remake of The Pink Panther.

Ufberg's next film is the upcoming Zodiac, directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Panic Room). Zodiac is based on the Robert Graysmith books about the real life notorious Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco with a string of seemingly random murders during the 1960s and 1970s. Zodiac, which stars Jake Gyllenhall, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards and Robert Downey, Jr., is scheduled for release on March 2, 2007.

Several films edited by Brian Ufberg, including Nobody's Fool, Good Night & Good Luck, Interview With The Vampire, X-Men, and The Grifters, are available to borrow on VHS and DVD from the Lackawanna County Library System.

ACTOR RAINN WILSON, "DWIGHT" FROM TV'S "THE OFFICE" TO APPEAR AT SCRANTON'S STEAMTOWN MALL DECEMBER 17TH

Actor Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight on the NBC Emmy-winning sitcom The Office (set in Scranton, PA), will make an appearance at Scranton's Mall at Steamtown on Sunday, December 17th from 1 PM - 3 PM in Center Court.

For more information, visit the Mall at Steamtown's Special Events page.

UPDATE DEC 18TH: An article appeared in today's Citizens' Voice detailing Wilson's visit to Scranton; over 1,000 people showed up. To read the article, click here. To see a VIDEO CLIP of his visit, click here. Also, check out the Office article "The Paper Chase" from the December 11, 2006 issue of The New Yorker.

Robert May, Film Producer

Though technically not from Wilkes-Barre or Scranton, film producer Robert May was born and raised in Dallas, PA in Luzerne County.

May produced the 2003 critically acclaimed and award winning independent film The Station Agent, starring Academy Award nominees Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April, High Art, HBO's Six Feet Under), and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Halloween H20); the film also stars Bobby Cannavale (The Bone Collector, Shall We Dance?). May attended a screening of the film at Cinemark in Moosic, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

May also co-produced the 2003 Academy Award winning documentary The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara.

2006's The War Tapes, also produced by Robert May, had its national premiere screening in Wilkes-Barre, PA on July 14, 2006 at the recently opened RC Movies 14. May was in attendance and held a Q&A with the audience after the screening.

In 2006 May also produced Bonneville, a drama will a stellar cast including Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen, and Christine Baranski (Chicago).

Two of Robert May's films, The Station Agent and The Fog of War, are available to borrow on DVD from the Lackawanna County Library System.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, November 27, 2006

It's always interesting when you're watching a talk show and a guest or audience member happens to mention that he/she is from Scranton, PA.

Today's Ellen DeGeneres Show, dubbed "the celebrity look-a-like show," featured videos of viewers who resembled several Hollywood stars. Audience members were asked to guess which celebrity these videotaped viewers looked like. One videotaped female audience member said she hailed from Scranton, PA and stated that people have told her she looks like Michael J. Fox.

An interesing reference, isn't it?

Santo Loquasto (1944 - )

Photo courtesy of AP Photo Archive

Being a huge fan of the films of Woody Allen and having seen Julia Roberts's Broadway debut in Three Days of Rain this past summer (which included truly remarkable sets), you can imagine my astonishment that the person responsible for the look of these (and numerous other) productions was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre, PA. His name is Santo Loquasto.

Santo Loquasto was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on July 26, 1944. He recieved a B.A. in English Literature from King's College in Wilkes-Barre. He also designed sets and costumes for Showcase Theatre in Wilkes-Barre (now located in Exeter, PA). He earned his Masters of Fine Arts degree from Yale Drama School in 1969.

Soquasto began his professional career as a set designer on Broadway in 1972; ironically, one of the first shows he worked on was the original Broadway production of That Championship Season, written and directed by Scranton native Jason Miller.

For more than 30 years, Loquasto has worked on numerous Broadway productions doing both set and costume design for shows including 1989's Grand Hotel (for which he won the 1990 Tony Award), Neil Simon's 1991 play Lost in Yonkers, 1999's Fosse (Tony Winner for Best Musical) and 2002's Movin' Out (based on the songs of Billy Joel). In 2006, Loquasto was the set designer for the Broadway play Three Days of Rain, which marked the stage debut of Julia Roberts. In addition to his 1990 Tony Award for Grand Hotel, Loquasto also received Tony Awards in 1989 (Best Scenic Designer for Cafe Crown) and 1977 (Best Costume Designer for The Cherry Orchard).

Most of Loquasto's film work as a production designer has been with legendary directory Woody Allen. His work with Allen (a collaboration that includes 21 films) began with 1987's Radio Days and also includes Crimes & Misdemeanors, Shadows & Fog, Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite and Sweet & Lowdown. Loquasto's last film with Woody Allen was 2004's Melinda & Melinda.

His other films include Big, directed by Penny Marshall and starring Tom Hanks, Desperately Seeking Susan starring Madonna, Falling in Love with Robert de Niro and Meryl Streep, She-Devil with Meryl Streep and Roseanne, Bright Lights Big City with Michael J. Fox, and 1981's The Fan with Lauren Bacall.

Loquasto also worked in film as a costume designer for such films as Desperately Seeking Susan, three films by Woody Allen (Stardust Memories, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, and Zelig), and the 2001 television adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Fosse.

On June 10th, 2006, Loquasto returned to his hometown of Wilkes-Barre to receive the Governor's Awards for the Arts award.

Loquasto will also be featured in the 2007 documentary World Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies.

The Lackawanna County Library System has several copies (on both VHS and DVD) of films that include production design by Loquasto including Big, Desperately Seeking Susan, and many of his films with Woody Allen. In addition, the collection includes a VHS of the Tony-winning musical Fosse.

Green Acres (1965), Season 1, Episode 14

Don McKeon emailed me with the following:

"There is an episode of Green Acres entitled 'What Happened in Scranton?' which aired in the 1965-66 season of the hit comedy. Whatever happened (we never find out) involved Oliver's mother."

Green Acres is the classic 60s sitcom (also a spinoff of Petticoat Junction) that starred Eddie Albert as Oliver Douglas, a New York attorney who decides to become a farmer in the bizarre town of Hooterville, much to the dismay of his metropolitan wife Lisa (the late, great Eva Gabor).

On December 22, 1965, during its premiere season on CBS, an episode of Green Acres titled "What Happened in Scranton?" aired for the first time. In the episode, Lisa discovers to her horror that Hooterville has no beauty parlor, so she takes it upon herself to set up one of her own. Not surprisingly, Lisa is a success beautifying the wives of the local farmers. But her business proves to have an negative effect on the community when the wives refuse to do any of their customary chores, for fear of ruining their glamorous new hair-dos.

I've never seen the "What Happened in Scranton?" episode of Green Acres, so I have no idea if Scranton is mentioned anywhere in the episode aside from the title. If anyone has seen it and could give me more information, please email me at refdept@albright.org

Green Acres: The Complete First Season (featuring the episode "What Happened in Scranton?") is available on DVD through the Lackawanna County Library System; click here to place a hold.

Much thanks again to Don McKeon for this reference.

UPDATE 11-16-06

Mr. Brent C. Dickerson from California State University, Long Beach, sent me the following email:

"I can help you sort out a mystery . . . somewhat . . .

I just happened to see the “What Happened in Scranton” episode of “Green Acres” the other night. The episode involves Mrs. Douglas trying to start a Beauty Parlor in Hooterville. She asks her New York mother-in-law (also “Mrs. Douglas,” of course) for help in obtaining a hairdresser; mother-in-law happens to know a hairdresser who can be (in essence) blackmailed into doing things by mentioning to him the word “Scranton,” which presumably reminds him of some dark deed which he does not want brought up (the significance of Scranton is never further explained).

Much thanks to Brent C. Dickerson for this update. And, if you get a chance, check out his two excellent websites:

Web Site: www.csulb.edu/~odinthor

Unknown Los Angeles: www.csulb.edu/~odinthor/socal1.html