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.
My colleague Martina S. was so excited when she came to work today because she was dying to tell me about a reference to Scranton on last night's NCIS (Navy Criminal Investigative Service. The CBS series stars Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly as leaders of a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
Last night, December 16th, NCIS aired its 11th episode of its current season (Season 6). Titled Silent Night, the NCIS teams is stuck working on a case over Christmas involving a crime suspect who is presumed dead.
In the episode, the team finds an unusual clue--a shirt button that they trace back to a button company in Scranton, PA.
To watch the complete Silent Night episode of NCIS, click here.
Mondo thanks to the sharp-eared Martina S. for this reference.
Don McKeon, who has contributed many wonderful Scranton and Wilkes-Barre references to the blog, emailed me yesterday with a reference to the Pocono Mountains in the classic 1940 film Kitty Foyle, starring Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan:
"Hi Bill, I'm not sure if I wrote this item in or maybe you have it already, but I was watching an old Ginger Rogers film the other night called Kitty Foyle and the Pocono Mountains are mentioned. This film was made in or around 1940 and I believe Ginger Rogers won an Academy Award for her performance (for Best Actress in a Leading Role).
The story originates in Philadelphia, where Kitty envies the "Main Line" way of life in comparison to her own. She falls in love with a Main Liner and eventually marries him, but the gap between their societal upbringing dooms the marriage.
Long story short, Kitty flees to New York and meets a doctor who falls in love with her. She agrees to marry him; but when her former husband comes back into her life, she faces the ultimate choice......................I won't spoil the ending.
Disregard this if you already are aware of of the film. Merry Christmas. Don"
Including Ginger Roger's Best Actress win, Kitty Foyle received a total of five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Wood, who also directed 1935's A Night at the Opera with Old Forge and Scranton native Allan Jones), and Best Screenplay (Dalton Trumbo, who also went on to write Roman Holiday, Spartacus and Exodus).
And a big thanks again to Don McKeon for not only this contribution, but for all of the references he gave me that I would otherwise be unaware of. You're the best, Don!
There is a brief reference to Wilkes-Barre in this week's issue of the recently-resized Rolling Stone. Issue 1067, the one with Britney Spears on the cover, is also the 2008 Hot Issue, detailing all the musicians and actors that hit it big in the last 12 months.
Included in the Hot Issue (page 69) is the band The Answer, a new band that is presently on tour with AC/DC as the legendary band's opening act.
"When the Irish foursome step on board (their tour bus)--right after finishing an opening set for AC/DC in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania--the time warp continues."
I just finished reading Bob Eckenstein's The History of the Snowman and I absolutely loved it. What a clever book that was so much fun to read. Yes, I was nicely surprised that Mr. Eckstein is a native of Hawley, PA, but I was also pleasantly surprised when I got to page 153 of the book and saw an illustration with a reference to Scranton.
In a side blurb to the text titled "What's in the Snowman's Future?"Eckstein ponders why the snowman has not become the symbol or mascot for a major sports team. And in a collection of four potential logos of snowman-inspired sports teams,Eckstein suggests the following names: Spokane Snowmen, Philadelphia Frosties, Schuylkill Chill, and (my personal favorite, of course), Scranton Snowball Heads.
A nice local touch to an incredibly groovy piece of literature.
And don't forget that Bob Eckstein will be presenting at Albright Memorial Library on Thursday, January 8th from 6-8 PM. For more information on this event, click here.
Albright Memorial Library proudly welcomes Hawley native Bob Eckstein, author of the hysterically funny and entertainingly informative bestseller "History of the Snowman." He will be conducting a 30 minute multimedia presentation on the history of snowmen, as well as decorating the library display cases with snowmen.
Special GuestWNEP'sMike Stevens will also be on hand to co-judge a snowman competition.
Remember the Night stars Fred MacMurray as an assistant DA who takes shoplifter Barbara Stanwyck (whom he is prosecuting) home with him for Christmas. The film also features a fleeting reference to the city of Scranton towards the end.
Remember the Night will be shown on TCM on the following dates:
Saturday, December 13th @ 6 PM
Wednesday, December 24th @ 11:15 PM
Thursday, December 25th @ 6:15 AM
Click herefor the previous blog entry on Remember the Night that details the reference to Scranton in the picture.
Remember the Night is long out-of-print on VHS and has never been released on DVD. I saw it last year and absolutely loved it, so I highly recommend it--especially to those who are all It's-A-Wonderful-Lifed out.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day today!
For the first time in a few years, I decided to catch the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade and, wouldn't you know it, there was a very funny reference to Scranton, courtesy of one of the stars of The Office.
Kate Flannery (Meredith) and Oscar Nunez (Oscar) were briefly interviewed on the sidelines of the parade. When asked by the host what they thought of this morning's festivities, Kate cheerfully replied, "It's almost as big as the Scranton St. Patrick's Day Parade. Almost."
Even when it's only yet-another-one-of-the-numerous-references-to-The Office references, I must admit I still get giddy when I see Scranton mentioned in my favorite magazine, Entertainment Weekly.
This time, Scranton was mentioned on page 9 of EW in the popular section called The Bullseye, which rates the pop culture news stories of the week ala a game of Darts (humorously, several events nobody cares about--usually those involving Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt--often miss the bullseye and the arrow lands two pages ahead).
On tonight's episode, titled Frame Toby (Season 5, Episode 8), Michael Scott is absolutely livid that former HR rep and his eternal arch nemesis Toby is back from Costa Rica and back at his old job at Dunder-MifflinScranton...and Michael will do anything in his power to get rid of him--including planting marijuana.
Michael approaches a couple of deliverymen from Vance's Refrigeration and asks if he could "buy some weed" from them. Though they don't really have any to sell, they offer to sell him some anyway for $500. When Michael reaches into his wallet for the money, inside the front card sleeve on full display is his library card from the Lackawanna County Library System. Oh, and the pot they end up selling to Michael is the salad Michael himself threw away that afternoon.
The legendary film noir actress Lizabeth Scott was born Emma Matzo in the PineBrook Section of Scranton, Pennsylvania on September 29, 1922. Emma attended Central High School and Marywood College (nowMarywood University).
After moving to New York City while only in her late teens, Matzo attended the Alvienne School of Drama. She also worked as a model.
Her first big break came in 1942 when she was hired to understudy the legendary actress (with a legendary acid tongue) Tallulah Bankhead in Thorton Wilder'sThe Skin of Our Teeth; unfortunately, Bankhead never missed a performance and Matzo never had the opportunity to perform. However, Matzo took over the lead in the play from Bankhead's ill replacement Gladys George and garnished rave reviews--the next night, Matzo was no longer needed.
Matzo's luck was forever changed when renowned Hollywood producer Hal Wallis discovered her in 1945 and offered her contract in Hollywood; however, Matzo put Hollywood stardom on hold when she was offered the lead in the Boston production of The Skin of Our Teeth. it was in Boston where Emma Matzo took the stage name Lizabeth Scott.
After moving to Hollywood, Scott made a total of 21 films between 1945 and 1957--her main studio was Paramount and her main producer was Hal Wallis. She made her film debut in 1945's You Came Along, directed by John Farrow (father of Mia). Her most famous film role was the femme fatale Toni Marachek in the film noir the classic The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. Scott acted alongside some of the best actors in Hollywood--her other notable films include: 1947's Dead Reckoning with Humphrey Bogart; 1947's Desert Fury with Burt Lancaster and Mary Astor; 1949's Easy Living starring Lucille Ball and Victor Mature; 1949's Too Late For Tears with Dan Duryea; 1950's Dark City with Charlton Heston (whom she also starred with in 1953's Bad For Each Other); and 1951's The Racket with Robert Mitchum.
Lizabeth Scott was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1624 Vine Street).
Her last screen appearance was in the role of Princess Betty Cippola in 1972's Pulp, directed by Mike Hodges and co-starring Michael Caine and Mickey Rooney.
For nearly forty years, Scott has mostly stayed out of the public eye.
Tina Fey made her third triumphant appearance this season as Sarah Palin on this past weekend's Saturday Night Live in a send-up of this past week's Vice-Presidential debate between Palin and Joe Biden.
Though it was hysterical (even featuring a cameo by Queen Latifah as debate moderator Gwen Ifill), I have to admit I was a little unnerved when SNL regular Jason Sudeikis (as Joe Biden) made a somewhat shockingly negative speech about Scranton. Granted, it was quite funny, but shocking nonetheless.
Jason Sudeikis
as Sen. Joe Biden:
You know I get a little tired of being told I'm an insider. I come from Scranton, Pennsylvania! And that's as hard-scrabble a place as you're gonna find. I'll show you around some time and you'll see. It's a hellhole! An absolute jerkwater of a town! You couldn't stand to spend a weekend there. It is just an awful, awful sad place filled with sad, desperate people with no ambition! Nobody, and I mean nobody, but me, has ever come out of that place! It's a genetic cesspool! So don't be telling me that I'm part of the Washington elite, because I come from the absolute WORST place on Earth: Scranton, Pennsylvania! And Wilmington, Delaware is not much better.
If you missed it Saturday, check out the extremely funny video above (the Scranton reference begins at 5:38). To read the complete transcript of the fake debate on SNL, click here.
I would love to hear your opinions on this. Feel free to vote in the poll on the top lefthand side of the blog, or post a comment--do you think the Scranton reference was funny or offensive?
I've seen the show three times and absolutely LOVED IT.
Xanadu opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre in NYC on July 10, 2007 to rave reviews. It was nominated for four 2008 Tony Awards, including one for Best Book of a Musical for Beane.
If you haven't seen it yet, this is your final chance. To purchase tickets,click here. Ticket prices range from $60 to $110, with steep discounts available through sites such as TheaterMania; in addition, a handful of tickets for on-stage seating (priced at $41) are available for every performance.
Congratulations to Douglas Carter Beane and the entire cast and crew of Xanadu for a successful run and a job well done.
I recently read Monster: My True Story by Aileen Wuornos with Christopher Berry-Dee and to my surprise, the book reference Scranton as the place that Wuornos's girlfriend Tyria Moore hid out from the police (as opposed to Wilkes-Barre reference in the much superior telling of the story, Sue Russell's Lethal Intent).
Two Scranton references occur in Chaper Fourteen: Aileen Wuornos's Confession -- In Her Own Words on page 133:
"She (Tyria Moore) had fled her parents' home and was living with her sister in Scranton, Pennsylvania...He (Major Dan Henry) booked into a local motel with one of his prime suspects, Tyria, and then he summoned Jerry Thompson of Cirtus County and Bruce Munster of Marion County who flew to Scranton to interview her."
As a side note, if you have a choice of the two books to read, I would strongly recommended Lethal Intent as the better of the two books. Monster: My True Story features only about 10 out of 238 pages of actual interviews with the co-author. The rest of the book is comprised of court transcripts, police interviews and a sketchy reading of the events of her life.
Check out the cover art for the just-released DVD set of The Office: Season Four. The sign in the background reads "Scranton Business Park." In addition, one of the Special Features listed is The Office Convention: Writer's Block.
If you plan to buy the DVD, you may want to consider picking it up at Target; they're offering an exclusive box set with special packaging that also includes an exclusive bonus disc featuring the hour-long cast Q&A from The Office Convention in Scranton, PA, filmed atUniversity of Scranton. Unfortunately, the Target exclusive is not available for purchase online.
Season Five of The Office starts Thursday, September 25th at 9 PM on NBC.
Pittston/Scranton native and author Jay Parini's 1990 novel The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year is being made into a major motion picture.
The Last Station, the novel as well as the film, is a drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things and a troubled marriage.
Directed and co-written for the screen by Michael Hoffman (Soapdish, Restoration, The Emperor's Club) the film version of The Last Station includes an impressive roster of actors--Christopher Plummer as Leo Tolstoy, Helen Mirren as his wife Sofya, Paul Giamatti as Vladimir Chertkov, and James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov.
The film version of The Last Station will be released this winter.
Novelist and poet Jay Parini was born in 1948 in Pittston, Pennsylvania and raised in Scranton.
To place a hold on Parini's novel The Last Station, click here.
Lethal Intent, subtitled "The Shocking True Story of One of America's Most Notorious Serial Killers," is a 2002 true-crime book by Sue Russell about Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who was arrested, convicted, and executed for the murders of seven men. She was the subject of the 2003 film Monster, winning Charlize Theron a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Wuornos.
Lethal Intent also details Wuornos's lesbian relationship with a woman named Tyria Moore. According to the book, Moore hid out for a time with friends in Wilkes-Barre, PA, where the police tracked her down with some of the belongings of the victims. However, they believed her claim not to have been involved with any of the murders and she was not charged with any crime. Moore also agreed to turn state's evidence against Wuornos.
In the film Monster, Tyria Moore was morphed into the character of Selby, who was played by Christina Ricci.
To read excerpts from the book Lethal Intent, click here. To purchase a copy of Lethal Intent, click here.
A few weeks ago, my colleague Martina S. was watching The Antiques Roadshow on WVIA and heard a passing reference to Wilkes-Barre.
On the episode that aired Monday, August 11th, a woman exhibited a $75,000 chest that dated back to 1780. She said her relatives lives in Wilkes-Barre at one time and thought it was a Pennsylvania chest, but it was actually a Connecticut chest.
My colleague Brian Detrick, who works in our library's Technical Services Department and is a true horror buff (check out his awesome blog, Were80s Horror), recently showed me a copy of a screenplay he purchased of the recent horror flick George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead; he told he was shocked to see a reference to Scranton, PA in the dialogue.
In Diary of the Dead (a continuation of the zombie film series that Pittsburgh native George A. Romero began with 1968's Night of the Living Dead and continued with Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead), a group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.
The Scranton reference occurs early in the scripy (pages 18-19), when the filmmakers are riding in a van and filming introductions of themselves. The script is dated July 2006:
DEBRA
Debra Moynihan. I'm just trying to get home, too. Like Mary.
JASON (O.S.)
Where's home, Debra? Where are you trying to get to?
DEBRA
You know where I live.
JASON (O.S.)
Say it.
TONY (O.S.)
Say it, Debra. For the camera.
Tears well up in Debra's eyes as she SHOUTS...
DEBRA
SCRANTON! (Then, calming down) Scranton, Pennsylvania. That's my home. My parents' home, anyway. And my little brother's.
However, I'm not certain this was the final version of the script used in the 2007 film. According to the Internet Movie Database, the character of Debra--who actually says Scranton in the screenplay--is not listed as a character in the film.
If there are any readers of the blog out there who has seen Diary of the Dead and knows for certain if the Scranton reference was included in the actual film, please email me.
Thanks again to Brian Detrick for this truly terrifying Scranton reference. And check out Brian's Were80s Horror blog.
Check out the trailer for Diary of the Dead below:
My colleague Martina S. was so excited when she came to work today because she was dying to tell me about a reference to Scranton on last night's NCIS (Navy Criminal Investigative Service. The CBS series stars Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly as leaders of a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
