This purpose of this blog is to put together a virtual list/collection of memorable (if fleeting) references to the cities of Wilkes-Barre, PA or Scranton, PA in movies/TV/music/Broadway/books (in the script, setting, lyrics, etc).
We'd like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support and suggestions for the Entertainment blog. I'll continue adding these as blog entries as time permits.
Producers from Comedy Central'sThe Daily Show With John Stewart recently visted Scranton and interviewed 82 year-old Hazel Price, who watched Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton grow up as a child.
Yesterday's Citizens' Voice published an article about James Thomas Martin III, a Forty Fort native who recently appeared in the hit film Step Up 2 the Streets.
Martin was also featured in Flo Rida's music video for Low.
I'd like to give a HUGE Thank You to Raye Hollitt for generously giving me permission to include photos from her awesome official website (www.rayehollitt.com) in our blog.
Everyone is entitled to be a little bit envious of Raye Hollitt. She's gorgeous, she's a champion bodybuilder, she was an original American Gladiator, and she continues a successful acting career in Hollywood that began 20 years ago. What's even more incredible is that Raye Hollitt is a native of the Wilkes-Barre area.
Raye Hollitt was born in Wilkes-Barre on April 17, 1964. She grew up in the Harvey's Lake area of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
In 1982, at the age of 18, Hollitt moved to Los Angeles, where she became a competitive weighlifter and bodybuilder, competing in and winning numerous bodybuilding titles in Los Angeles, California and Reno, Nevada. Among her titles are 1988 Ms. Los Angeles Weightlifting and the 1989 Women's Extravaganza Strength title winner. She has also appeared on the cover of 14 national bodybuilding magazines throughout her career.
In 1987, Hollitt began her acting career in the action film Penitentiary III, playing a female boxer.
Hollitt gained worldwide recognition for her role as Lonnie Jones, a bodybuilder with a lust for womanizer John Ritter in Blake Edwards' 1989 comedy Skin Deep. Another interesting note: out of a cast of nine women who play girlfriends and ex-girlfriends of hard drinking, womanizing writer Zach Hutton (John Ritter), Hollitt was the only cast member besides Ritter featured in the trailer for the film's release. In the film's most famous scene, Zach strips and crawls into bed, waiting anxiously for his date Lonnie Jones to emerge from the bathroom. As Lonnie emerges, she states that she has worked 5 years to develop her body, "but for one night, it's...all...yours." Then Lonnie proceeds to flex and pose her incredible physique, asking Zach, "How do you feel about THAT?" Zach's response: "Like Mrs. Arnold Schwarzenegger."
Following Hollitt's success in Skin Deep, she continued to act in several Hollywood films (including 1991's The Last Hour, 1993's Hot Shots: Part Deux, and 1994's Cyborg III) and guest-starring on several popular television shows (from JAG to Baywatch to Manhunt--and even an episode of Muppets Tonight).
In 1989, Hollitt gained an extra massive fan following as Zap in the hugely successful show American Gladiators, in which professional athletes competed with average people in stamina-testing challenges such as Power Ball, Assault, The Wall and Hang Tough. Hollitt starred in the series from 1989 through 1994 and competed in almost 100 episodes of American Gladiators. The show remains a mainstay in popular culture and was even recently revived this past year on NBC.
During her time with American Galdiators, Hollitt became the official spokesperson for Ye Olde Clock & Gift Shoppe in Dallas, PA, and her commercials continue to air on local television stations to this day.
Hollitt contines to act in Hollywood, and she will next been seen in Nilanjan Neil Lahiri's upcoming drama The Ode.
Hollitt also continues her successful bodybuilding career in Los Angeles. She also operates her official website, http://www.rayehollitt.com/ and her MySpace page.
Thomas Coley from Parson recently sent me the following email:
"I came across the blog while searching for a music group from Wilkes-Barre who were a one hit wonder in the late 60's early 70's.
"I went through the blog archives and did not see any reference to The Buoys who had a controversial hit with Timothy in 1971. I remembered them, as they used to practice some times a block from my home in Parsons, and always liked the song."
The Buoys was a progressive rock band from the early 1970s. Based in Wilkes-Barre, band members included Bill Kelly (later of the 1990s group Dakota), Fran Brozena, Jerry Hludzik, Carl Siracuse, Chris Hanlon, and Sally Rosoff. Many of their songs (including their major hit Timothy), were written by and featured piano by Rupert Holmes, best known for the 1979 hit Escape (The Pina Colada Song) and the Tony-winning musicals The Mystery Of Edwin Drood andCurtains.
The Buoys are primarily know as a one-hit wonder for their 1971 hit Timothy, which reached number 17 on the Billboard charts. Set against a groovy beat, Timothy tells the story of three men stuck in a mine after a cave-in. At the conclusion of the song, only two men leave the mine alive--with full stomachs--and Timothy is never heard from again.
When released in 1971, those listeners who thought Timothy was just a song with a good beat were quite shocked when they discovered the theme of cannibalism in the lyrics.
To read the complete lyrics of Timothy, click here.
There is a certain enigma and mystery about Timothy, due to several rumors--from Rupert Holmes being inspired to write the song after reading about a mine cave-in in Sheppton, to Holmes's primary intention in writing the song was specifically to get it banned from radio. Information about the history and theories of Timothy can be found by clicking here.
Though TheBouys also had a huge hit in Europe with their song Give Up Your Guns, The Buoys are primarily known in the US as a one-hit wonder for Timothy; The Buoys broke up in the early 1970s.
Timothy was released on a CD compilation titled Have A Nice Day: Volume 6. To place a hold on the CD, click here.
I could find very little published information on The Buoys; so anyone has any other facts or information about the group or their song Timothy, please email me.
A great big Thank You again to Thomas Coley for this Wilkes-Barre reference.
The fantastic Barb Williams from Memphis, Tennessee, a regular contributor to the movie blog, emailed me yesterday about a Scranton reference in a James Cagney boxing movie from the 1930s:
"While I was home with the flu last month, Turner Classic Movies showed The Irish in Us with James Cagney. Scranton was mentioned two times while Cagney's boxing protege was being prepped for a bout. The opposition's handlers, as I recall in my flu-dazed state, were telling Cagney's fighter (named Carbarn Hammerschlog) that the guy he is slated to fight killed his opponent during a boxing match in Scranton."
The Irish In Us features an impressive cast including James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Frank McHugh and Pat O'Brien; it was directed by Lloyd Bacon (42nd Street, The Fuller Brush Girl starring Lucille Ball).
The Irish In Us tells the story of three Irish brothers--policeman Pat (Pat O'Brien), fireman Mike (Frank McHugh) and boxing promoter Danny (James Cagney)--who live with their Ma. Though his brothers try to convince Danny to settle down with a secure job, Danny believes his boxing ingenue Carbarn (Allen Jenkins) will soon bring him fame and fortune. To complicate matters, Pat's fiance Lucille (Olivia de Havilland) starts falling for Danny. Also of note is The Irish In Us is said to feature an abundance of New York Irish stereotypes.
Though the film has never been officially released on VHS or DVD, an independent company (www.freemoviesondvd.com/) that sells copies of out-of-print and hard-to-find classic films does offer copies of The Irish In Us for sale on DVD. To purchase a copy, click here.
Much thanks again to Barb Williams for this Scranton reference. Barb, I hope you've fully recovered from your recent bout with the flu! Keep em' comin'!
I'm not sure if this film would qualify as an authentic Scranton reference, but 1931's Dance, Fools, Dance includes a character named Bert Scranton, played by Cliff Edwards.
Fearing her brother Roddy (William Bakewell) has become part of a bootleg gang, cub reporter Bonnie Jordan (Joan Crawford) volunteers to cover the follow-up story to the murder of the paper's star reporter, Bert Scranton (Cliff Edwards), while he is investigating a Prohibition-era massacre.
Bonnie is a former socialite who, after her father lost all his money in the stock market crash, has to find work.
Posing as a professional dancer, she infiltrates the gang of Jake Luva (Clark Gable), working in one of his speakeasies. Flirting with Luva, she finds out to her horror that her brother was not only involved in the gangland massacre, but was the one who murdered Scranton. Luva finds out who she really is, and he orders her killed. Luva, however, is killed after she shoots her brother.
Bonnie, rather than hiding her brother in the newspaper story she writes, tells the whole truth. In so doing, she wins the respect, admiration, and love of Bob (Lester Vail), the man who previously rejected her as a silly flapper in the days when she was wealthy and didn't make any contribution to life.
Though not available on DVD, Dance, Fools Dance, was released for a brief time on VHS as part of MGM's Forbidden Hollywood Collection. To purchase a copy of the video, click here.
Also, Don McKeon recently emailed me and told me he caught Dance, Fools, Dance on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Scranton is said many, MANY times.
The clip below features a passing character saying, "Hello, Scranton!"
My Judilicious colleagueJudi K., who is a HUGE fan of mystery author Janet Evanovich, was so excited to tell me that Evanovich included a reference to Scranton in one of her earlier books-- a romance novel titled Love Overboard.
Originally published in 1989 under the title Ivan Takes A Wife, Love Overboard was the second of a series of 12 romance novels Evanovich penned before gaining fame with her numbered mystery series featuring Trenton bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.
Love Overboard also features a Stephanie as its main protagonist--Stephanie Lowe, a woman who agrees to help out on a voyage of Ivan Rasmussen's Maine coastal cruise, and she goes from considering him "Ivan the Terrible" to falling for his looks, touch, and heart.
The Scranton reference occurs on page 104 of the paperback version. Stephanie tries to hide the fact that she is upset that another woman, Melody, is on board the boat with Ivan.
"'Does it bother you to have Melody on board? I can make more of an effort to get rid of her--'
'No. She really wants to finish the cruise. She lied to Ace about her age. She's only eighteen. Graduated from high school in June. But she was telling the truth about the band. She's from Scranton, and I don't think she saw too many options open to her.'"
Love Overboard is available to borrow in many formats from the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold on the paperback, click here. To place a hold on the large print edition, click here. You can also get Love Overboard as an audio book on CD, audiotape, or as a download from Overdrive.
Much thanks again to the eternally-lovely Judi K. for this reference.
I received an email today from Peter Metrinko, a regular contributor to our blog, about a poem written by a Pittson native that was published in the Washington Post -- the poem featured a notable reference to Scranton in the second line:
"I came across a reference to Scranton in the Washington Post today, which published a poem by noted writer Jay Parini, born in Pittston and raised in Scranton. (Parini even has a Wikipediapage.)
The poem is titled "The Crow-Mother Tells All" and was originally published in Parini's 1998 collection "House of Days." It begin:
"The empty oil drums rattled in the yard that day in Scranton, and the ham-red hills would shudder in the distance, thunder-chilled. "
Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton. After graduating from LaFayette College in 1970 and earing his doctorate from University of St. Andrews in Scotland in 1975, Parini taught at both Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and Middlebury Collegein Vermont; he has been a professor at Middlebury since 1982.
During that time, he began his professional career as a published and critically acclaimed poet. In addition to four volumes of poetry, Parini has also published six novels, two books of literary criticism, and biographies of John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Robert Frost. In 1976, he also co-founded the journal New England Review. In addtion, Parini was appointed literary executive for legendary author Gore Vidal.
"The Crow-Mother Tells All" is in two volumes of poetry that can be borrowed from the Lackawanna County Library System. To place a hold on 1998's Best of Days, click here; to place a hold on 2005's The Art of Subtraction, click here.
To read "The Crow-Mother Tells All" in the Washington Postarticle published January 27, 2008, click here.
Much thanks again to Peter Metrinko for this great Scranton reference.
UPDATED JUNE 3, 2008 Peter emailed me today with an update on this entry. According to an article on CNN.com, Jay Parini (a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont) has been given a unique assignment. When more than two dozen young adults vandelized Robert Frost's former home, their sentence was to take a two-day course on the poems of Robert Frost--which Panini is teaching. To read the full article, click here.
A few years before The Office made certain local landmarks famous, the New York Times profiled Scranton in their Journeys column in the Travel section on Friday, November 1, 2002. The article, titled "36 Hours / Scranton, Pa., profiles a weekend visit to Scranton (Friday night through Sunday morning) and highlights local landmarks and restaurants.
One Laugh At Least, the local comedy troupe behind the You Tube sensation "Heynabonics," will perform improv (AND the “Heynabonics” skit, YAY!) LIVE this Saturday, December 22nd at the Odyssey Fitness Center in Wilkes-Barre at 8:15 PM. Tickets are $12 for the general public or $10 for Odyssey members.
For more information, call (570) 829-2661 or visit the troupe's official website at www.onelaughatleast.com.
Fellow blogger Jason Schwass recently emailed me a link to his awesome Scranton blog. Titled From Crystal Club Soda to Gertrude Hawk Chocolate, the blog is a " a tongue in cheek look at Scranton, Pennsylvania." from eBay auctions of Scranton memorabilia to local news to local elections and politics.
Kevin Dougherty, a Wilkes-Barre resident and filmmaker,emailed me yesterday about an animated short he did that aired on Nickelodeon'sKaBlam!:
"'Fuzzball' takes place in the mythical "West Valley, Pennsylvania" and features church carnivals, bowling alleys...most of the locations are directly based on local stuff. If you look closely, you can see flyers on telephone poles for Cafe Metropolis in Wilkes-Barre (where I work)."
Kevin also added: "And speaking of Wilkes-Barre natives, I am finishing up a 3-page comic strip bio of Ham Fisher, creator of Joe Palooka. It is scheduled to run in Electric City paper December 28th. Its an interesting tale."
The short is awesome, by the way, so check it out.
In a letter published in the "Your Opinion" section of this morning's Scranton Times-Tribune, Vincent J. Vanston wrote a letter titled Rising Star about an off-Broadway play in New York titled Speech & Debate that he highly recommends. Of particular note is that the playwright, Stephen Karam, is a former Scranton resident.
A few weeks ago, one of our patrons, Gloria McDonough, also told me that Stephen Karam was a student at Scranton High School and his father was a principal. She also told me Mr. Karam went to Brown University and spend a semester at either Cambridge or Oxford University in the UK.
Currently playing (and recently extended) until February 24, 2008 and presented by the Roundabout Underground Theatre Company, Speech & Debate is a black comedy that tells the story of three misfits in a Salem, Oregon high school who reluctantly form their school's first debate team--only after discovering they are all linked together by their small town's sex scandal.
Karam's previous plays includeColumbinus, a drama (co-written with PJ Paparelli) inspired by the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School.
Much thanks to Gloria McDonough for this reference.
UPDATE 1/14/08 My new fantastic colleague in Reference, Michele L., told me tonight she went to Scranton High School with Stephen Karam and was even on the high school debate team AND in chorus with him. She also said that he is an incredibly funny person, even acting in the high school production in Once Upon A Mattress.
I'm not sure if this qualifies as a local reference or a simple "plug" but, being that it was heard on the only television channel I ever watch, I thought I'd include it.
Last night, I was watching a repeat of E's new late-night half-hour talk show Chelsea Lately starring Chelsea Handler (the episodes featured guests Bridget and Kendra from The Girls Next Door). Towards the end of her panel discussion that begins each show (usually with 3 guest comedians), Chelsea said, "By the way, I'll be at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre (she pronounced it Wilkes-BARRA) this Saturday night and if you can't make it...then suck it."
Also of note, a few days after The Office Convention in Scranton, The Office'sMelora Hardin (Jan) was a guest on Chelsea Lately. During the interview, Chelsea asked her, "Wasn't there some sort of convention you just got back from?" Though they discussed the convention for five minutes, neither Chelsea nor Melora mentioned Scranton by name.
Don McKeon from Scranton, one of our regular contributors to the blog, emailed me a few days ago with the following:
"I was watching a show from the 1980's sitcom: Amen with Sherman Hemsley (from The Jeffersons), and the name of Scranton came up. The plot of the show featured the Deacon, Sherman H., trying to win a humanitarian award so he and his daughter could win the grand prize, a trip to the Holy Land. Sherman says to his daughter not to worry if they don't win the trip because, THERE'S ALWAYS SCRANTON!"
Amenaired Saturday nights at 9:30 PM on NBC from 1986 to 1991. Sherman Helmsley starred as Ernest Frye, the lawyer and scheming deacon of First Community Church of Philadelphia, who loses some semblance of control when the new minister, Rev. Reuben Gregory (Clifton Davis), had other ideas; every week, the two would have some sort of conflict over the runnings of the church. In addition, Frye's 30-year-old romantically frustrated daughter, Thelma (Anna Maria Horsford), developed a massive crush on the new pastor. The show also featured other great characters like sisters Amelia (Roz Ryan) and Casietta Hetebrink (Barbara Montgomery).
The Scranton reference appeared on the final episode (number 22) in the first (1986-87) season of Amen; titled "What's Up, Deacon?," it originally aired Saturday, April 22, 1987.
Thanks again to Don McKeon for another great Scranton reference. Keep 'em coming!
I also wanted to quickly add that I noticed that the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Entertainment blog has passed 10,000 hits. Now I know that 10,000 hits over two years may seem a little low compared to daily hits for YouTube videos or visitors to Britney's website (heh heh); but honestly, when I began this blog, it was simply a labor of love for a movie fan who was fascinated how much the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton (both pre- and post-Office) have permeated all aspects of entertainment and, quite frankly, I had no idea that other people would dig it as well. So, to everyone who contributed to the blog, to everyone who has looked at it, and to everyone who told me (either in person or via email) how much they enjoy it, I just want to say THANK YOU!!!!!!!! You really made my day :-)
If you happen to catch a look at this week's Entertainment Weekly, be sure to check out pages 54-55. On a US map detailing the Most Entertaining Places of the Year, spot number 14 is:
Dr. Moylan C. Mills will lead a discussion of Pennsylvania stars, their lives and careers, including M. Night Shyamalan, James Stewart, Richard Gere, and Grace Kelly among others.
A few months ago, during the Reference Internships our department conducts every year for other librarians in our district, one of the attendees (and if you're reading this, PLEASE email me with your name so I can give credit where credit is due) told me about a recent bestseller, The Woods by Harlan Coben, that she read which references the city of Wilkes-Barre.
In The Woods, county prosecutor Paul Copeland of Essex, New Jersey is inadvertently tied to a murder investigation that he believes may be related to his sister's case--which has remained unsolved for over twenty years.
The reference occurs on page 373 of the novel, which relates the biography and career of Dr. Tara O'Neill, a pathologist:
"But during her years in Philadelphia, O'Neill had returned home every weekend. She eventually ran for coroner and made extra money working for a pathologist in Wilkes-Barre."
For more information on The Woods (including video clips of author Harlan Coben discussing the novel), click here.
Again, I completely forget the name of the person who gave me this reference, but I know it was one of the following: Mary Jablonowski, Denise McManus, Justine Yeager, Meg Galenas, Mary Wickizer, Terri Collins, or Julie Pacheco. So THANK YOU!
Producers from Comedy Central's The Daily Show With John Stewart recently visted Scranton and interviewed 82 year-old Hazel Price, who watched Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton grow up as a child.
