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Home , Eleanor Parker, Michael Fassbender

lifestyle WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2013 ‘Sound of Music’ actress Eleanor Parker dies at 91 leanor Parker, who was nominated for Academy Hoffman and others, Parker was discovered at the Marjorie Lawrence, who continued her career after Awards three times for her portrayals of strong- Pasadena Playhouse. She was signed to a contract at contracting polio. Faced with having to lip-sync nine Ewilled women and played a scheming baroness Warner Bros., where she played only minor roles until arias in three languages, she holed up in a Lake in “The Sound of Music,” has died at 91. Family friend the studio recognized her dramatic depth and cast her Arrowhead cabin for two weeks and played records Richard Gale said Parker died Monday morning due to as Mildred Rogers in the 1946 remake of “Of Human eight to 10 hours a day. The result: her third Oscar complications from pneumonia. “She passed away Bondage.” nomination. Other notable films included “The Man peacefully, surrounded by her children at a medical The Somerset Maugham story had made Bette with the Golden Arm” and “” (both facility near her home in Palm Springs,” Gale added. Davis a star 12 years before. On Parker’s first day of opposite ) and “The King and Four Parker was nominated for Oscars in 1950, 1951 and filming, Davis sent her flowers and a note proclaiming, Queens” with Gable. Growing up in Cedarsville, Ohio, 1955, but then saw her career begin to wane in the “I hope Mildred does as much for your career as she Parker had yearned to be an actress, and when the early . Her last memorable role came in 1965’s did for mine.” But the film flopped, and Parker was family moved to Cleveland, she began taking acting “The Sound of Music,” in which she played the schem- again relegated to mediocre roles until her break- lessons. In the summer she worked as an apprentice in ing baroness who loses to Julie through performance as an inmate in a brutal prison a Martha’s Vineyard stock company, waiting tables to Andrews. in the 1950 film “.” The role brought Parker her support herself. She worked only infrequently after that, appearing first Oscar nomination, for best actress. After moving to Pasadena, she was cast in her first in films and on such TV shows as “,” Her second came the following year as Kirk movie role at 19, a bit part in “They Died With Their In this file photo, “Murder, She Wrote” and “.” She also Douglas’s frustrated wife in “Detective Story.” Her Boots On,” starring . Parker’s first three film actress starred in the short-lived 1960s TV series “Bracken’s career fully blossomed with such follow-up films as marriages ended in divorce: to Navy dentist Fred L Eleanor Parker World.” “I’m primarily a character actress,” she said in a “Scaramouche” with , “Above and Losse; producer Bert Friedlob, which resulted in visits Palm 1988 interview, explaining why she never achieved the Beyond” with Robert Taylor, “Escape from Fort Bravo” three children, Susan, Sharon and Richard; and Mallorca, while stardom of so many of her co-stars. “I’ve portrayed so with Holden, “Valley of the Kings” with Taylor, and “The painter Paul Clemens, with whom she had a son, trying to many diverse individuals on the screen that my own Naked Jungle” with . actor Paul Clemens. Her 1966 marriage to Shubert purchase personality never emerged.” She took on one of her most challenging roles in Theater manager Raymond Hirsch ended with his a villa in Like William Holden, Robert Preston, Dustin 1955 in “,” portraying opera star death in 2001. — AP Spain. — AP

For gifters Kid picture books with snowy themes

rrrr. It’s time for all good children, at least those in frozen castle, where he nearly perishes from chilly territory, to curl up with a good book featur- cold until his rescue by childhood friend Bing snow. Picture books abound showing off the Gerda.“Big Snow,” written and illustrated by white stuff. Here’s eight to get you started or pass on to Jonathan Bean, from Farrar Straus Giroux. gifters: “The Snowy Day,” written and illustrated by Ezra Tells the story of an antsy young boy who Jack Keats, reprint edition from Puffin. This 1963 Caldecott one was also first published in 1998. It tells the story of awaits a big snowstorm. Botching chores Medal winner is the tranquil story of a city boy named Vermont’s Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, a self-educated with his mother when changing bedsheets, fluffy flour for Peter who bundles up for crunchy outdoor adventures farmer who combined a microscope and an old bellows cookies and sudsy soap bubbles while cleaning the bath- after discovering it snowed overnight. Cutouts, watercol- camera to become the first person to photograph a single room lead him into a blizzard dream at naptime. “When it ors and the Brooklyn-born creator’s classic collage work. snow crystal in 1885. Snows,” by Richard Collingridge, from Feiwel and Friends. It’s considered the first full-color picture book to feature “Frosty the Snowman,” illustrated by Wade Zahares, A picture book debut that features not only an eery ode to an African-American protagonist. music and lyrics by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins, from mega-snow and various large icy creatures, but also a “Snow,” written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz, reprint Imagine. This retelling of the seasonal song standard fea- good word at the end for reading itself. edition from Square Fish. First out in 1998. A hopeful “boy tures a trippy looking Frosty in black top hat and green “Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow,” by David Soman and with dog” lives in a great, gray city inhabited by doubtful mittens. Includes a three-track CD with the song and oth- Jacky Davis, Dial Books for Young Readers. The latest in the grown-ups transformed with the season’s first snowflake. ers performed by Grammy winner Kenny Loggins. best-selling franchise by this husband-and-wife team. Lulu It earned Shulevitz, who survived the bombing of Warsaw “The Snow Queen,” by Hans Christian Andersen, illus- dons her trademark all-red ladybug look, dotted wings as a boy, a Caldecott Honor and may be just the thing to trated by Bagram Ibatoulline, from Harper. The black crow and tutu over puffy jacket and snow pants to romp in a cheer up a modern-day “grandfather with beard” who and troll practically jump off the page in detailed, lifelike magical big snow with her dog, Bingo. Joined by her utters: “It’s only a snowflake.” trated by Mary Azarian, reprint edition from HMH Books drawings by the Russian-born artist. The queen, with brother, they create lots of snow animals, including a nice “Snowflake Bentley,” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illus- for Young Readers. Another Caldecott Medal winner, this winged headpiece and icy eyes, lures young Kai to her likeness of her pet. — AP Blurring lines between fact and fiction on British TV wo TV shows in Britain showing “real” peo- isn’t saying ‘is this real, is it not real?’. They don’t ple in fictional situations-”The Only Way Is care,” she said. TEssex” and “Made in Chelsea”-have gained ‘Rooted in reality’ large audiences and unleashed a social media The major difference between TOWIE and US frenzy by blurring the lines between reality and shows such as “The Hills” is the rapid turnround fiction. When “The Only Way Is Essex” burst onto from production to broadcast-making it fresh for screens in 2010, it fast became Britain’s most suc- both the viewers and the characters, which cessful example of “structured reality TV”-a cast sparks instant exchanges on social media. “That of people going about their daily lives but with means it’s huge on Facebook and on Twitter, and story lines that were part fact and part fiction. with that audience, that’s what makes it so popu- Though inspired by US shows, the makers of lar,” Wrigley said. “The first time the audience sees A diver dressed in a TOWIE say it has built its success with a rapid it is the first time the cast see it. “Just as in their Santa Claus three-day turnaround from filming to screening, real lives, they would naturally take to Twitter to costume swims allowing participants and audience to discuss it say ‘I can’t believe she is saying that’-and that’s with fish at the online almost immediately. what they do with the show.” Sunshine Aquarium TOWIE features the twenty-something, spray- The cast of TOWIE do not have a script, and in Tokyo yesterday. tanned residents of Essex, a county to the east of neither are they actors. They discuss with the The show will be whose brashness has long made it the show’s makers, Lime Pictures, what is happening held to attract butt of jokes in Britain. It was followed a year lat- in their lives and act that out on screen. visitors until er by “Made in Chelsea”, about the well-funded “Everything in TOWIE is based in reality,” Wrigley Christmas residents of the upmarket district of west said. If, for example, one of the cast mentions Day. — AFP London that is the polar opposite of Essex. that they want to pass their driving test, or Despite the different social backgrounds, the become a model, it can be incorporated into the content is similar-delving into who is going out show. “In real life that might take years to come with whom, break-ups and arguments, with fre- to fruition. If you ask TOWIE, we can very quickly Sundance announces 2014 premiere lineup quent visits to bars and nightclubs. TOWIE has make it happen.” even ushered in a new vocabulary to Britain- But she insists, “we’d happily show them from “vajazzling”, the adding of diamante studs being rejected as a model too, and film their he Sundance Film Festival will premiere Gyllenhaal. A bizarre comedy about a Sevigny and Josh Lucas. In the shadow of a to the nether regions, and “well jel” for really jeal- reaction.” For a relatively low-budget formula, it is 117 independent feature films and 11 wannabe musician who joins an avant garde mining accident, three people in a quaint ous. Ruth Wrigley, the co-creator of TOWIE who wildly successful-each episode of TOWIE was Tdocumentaries at its 30th anniversary rock band guided by a musical genius named American coal town are drawn together. previously oversaw the early series of “Big watched by around 1.2 million viewers on ITV2 in next month - a lineup representing the 2014 Frank. “Love is Strange,” directed by Ira Sachs and Brother” UK, describes her show as “a combina- its most recent run, while E4’s “Made in Chelsea” fest’s most prestigious films. The premiere list, “Hits,” directed by David Cross and starring starring John Lithgow and Marisa Tomei. tion of reality and drama, so at its best it should attracts 900,000 viewers. In 2011, TOWIE beat announced Monday by the festival, features a Matt Walsh and Wyatt Cenac. In a small town Finally marrying after 39 years together, Ben look and feel like a drama”. bigger-budget shows to win a prestigious BAFTA wide range of genres, from comedies to mys- in upstate New York, recklessness disturbs the and George must rely on family and friends for In the final episode of the 10th series YouTube award voted for by the audience. It is a teries, and is populated by such A-listers as lives of the people who dwell there as they money after George is fired from his job as a screened in November, the hunky Mario Falcone formula that other countries want to copy-the Michael Fassbender, , Philip wallow in unrealistic expectations. result of their nuptials. brought his new girlfriend to an ‘80s-themed dis- owners of Lime, all3media, are in talks with a Seymour Hoffman and . Here are “I Origins,” directed by Mike Cahill and star- “A Most Wanted Man,” directed by Anton co, providing the perfect opportunity for his for- Spanish production company and two major some of the more anticipated films of ring Michael Pitt and Brit Marling. A molecular Corbijn and starring , mer love Lucy Mecklenburgh and her friends to broadcasters about a version based in Madrid. In Sundance 2014. Watch for many of them at biologist and his lab partner discover evidence Rachel McAdams, and Robin discuss the delicate situation on screen. Germany the formula has been adopted with a your local multiplex in the months ahead: that could alter society as we know it. Wright. A modern-day thriller based on a John Although the scene is acted-somewhat wooden- twist in shows such as “X-Diaries”-the cast are “Calvary,” directed by John Michael “Laggies,” directed by Lynn Shelton and le Carre bestseller. ly-Falcone and Mecklenburgh used to date in also real people, but unlike in TOWIE they follow McDonagh and starring , starring Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell, Chloe “The One I Love,” directed by Charlie real life. Wrigley, a mother of five, argues that the a script. Some TV critics may despair, but Wrigley Chris O’Dowd and Kelly Reilly. A black comedic Grace Moretz and Mark Webber. A coming-of- McDowell and starring Mark Duplass, critics’ fretting over the blurred lines is irrelevant predicts the genre has a bright future. “I think it’s drama about a priest whose life is threatened age story, which follows a 28-year-old woman Elisabeth Moss and Ted Danson. As a couple to the show’s youthful target audience-some- a generational thing. Everyone thinks their lives following a confession. who can’t seem to grow up. fights to keep their marriage intact, they go thing she first spotted by observing her own chil- are worthy of a reality show-and quite frankly, if “Frank,” directed by and “Little Accidents,” directed by Sara away for the weekend to reconnect, but dis- dren’s reaction to “Big Brother”. “Their generation they’re produced properly, they are!” — AFP starring Michael Fassbender and Maggie Colangelo and starring Elizabeth Banks, Chloe cover an unusual dilemma. —AP