February 1 Birthday Wishes

John Ford [1895 - 1973]

Clark Gable [1901 -1960]

Bruce Gordon [1916 - 2011]

Stuart Whitman [1928 - ]

Manco: That picture of John Ford just about sums it all up for me as far as western movies go. One look and I can't help but think, "nothing more needs to be said." Bullfrog Bill

I totally agree Bullfrogb it say's it all.

Bruce Gordon was probably best remembered as Frank Nitti on The Untouchables.

The first time I saw Stuart Whitman (that I can recall) was in The Longest Day. He played an informant that helped bring down Lepke Buchalter in Murder Incorporated. Seen him about a thousand time in the past couple years as "Mon-sewer" Paul Regret in The Comancheros, as well as reruns of Cimarron Strip.

Howdy Pards!!

Yep, that photo of John Ford looking over his favorite shooting location of Monument Valley says a lot about the man and his vision of the American west.

That picture of Clark Gable, is from his last film, The Misfits, with Marilyn Monroe and Eli Wallach. He died of a heart attack while making this film. He was only 59 years old.

Bruce Gordon always played a villain of some sort. Either a gang leader in the westerns or a mafia don in crime films. Like Leo.G.Gordon, he just had the face for it.

If you can believe the rumor mill, Stuart Whitman is one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood, with an estimated worth of over 100 million dollars. That photo is from the 1960's series, Cimarron Strip, which Whitman owns all rights to and sells each episode on v.c.r. tapes for 20.00 dollars apiece, the last I heard. Just between you and me and the fencepost I don't believe he made it all on the v.c.r. tapes!!

Ed

First film I remember with Stuart Whitman was when he played one of Dan Duryea's henchmen (along with Alan Hale Jr & Harry Carey Jr) in "Silver Lode." Then a bit later he played a cavalry officer in Randolph Scott's "Seven men From Now." Those, of course, were before he became a star. One of my favorites with him was a non-western called Sands of the Kalahari which co-starred Stanley Baker, Susannah York, Harry Andrews, Nigel Davenport, Theodore Bikel, and a passle of baboons. A good one filmed in South Africa.
Bruce Gordon, however usually a bad dude in films, started off in one of the Marx Brothers comedies. An extremely nice guy when he wasn't mowing rivals down with a tommy gun in The Untouchables.
What can you say about John Ford & Clark Gable. They were both kings in their respective fields in the motion picture business.

Howdy Tom!!

Pard, I know the film you're talking about with Stuart Whitman. Sands Of The Kalahari was a great little movie. As I recollect, they crash landed in the desert and Whitman was some sort of white hunter or safari guide and went ape with his bolt action rifle on the local baboons. Even after the group were rescued, Whitman decided to stay, which was his last mistake. A great film and I havn't seen it in ages!!

Ed