Happy Birthday, Ann-Margret!

I just love Ann-Margret, as she seems to epitomize the 1960's girl for me! There is a wonderful kinetic energy about her that just sums up all the fun and excitement I equate with the entertainment of that era. Ironically though, by her own admission, Ann-Margret claims that she really isn't like that off-screen. I remember reading a few years ago in her 1994 autobiography, Ann-Margret - My Story, where she described how she could switch that high energy movie persona on and off, and that she was in reality very shy and quiet due to her proper Swedish upbringing.

But it is that high energy, vivacious on-screen persona that we all love and remember from her major hit movies like Bye Bye Birdie and her pairing with Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas. For this caricature, I decided to sketch Ann-Margret from the opening and closing titles from Bye Bye Birdie, in which, over the course of the film, she has evolved from a flighty teenager infatuated with a famous pop music idol, to a (supposedly) more mature young woman who has come to the realization that her loyal high school sweetheart is a better man than the flaky pop star. This YouTube video combines both those beginning and end sequences, and it's quite amazing how Ann-Margret contrasts the evolution of her character through her vocal performance and body language:



Another quality I love about Ann-Margret is her willingness to mug for the camera, pushing her facial expressions in a song performance. This adds a slight eccentricity to her sexiness, which for me only adds to her great appeal. And look at this song sequence from Viva Las Vegas, in which she's preparing lunch for her boyfriend (Elvis), pouting over the fact he's spending more time fixing his race car while neglecting her. This performance, requiring singing (lip synching to her pre-recorded song, more specifically), while performing various perfectly timed physical feats as she travels throughout the houseboat cabin, is achieved in one continuous shot without any camera cuts! Ann-Margret has always been the consummate professional at anything she does, and she remains one of my all-time favourite actresses. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Jim Garner!

As you may have noticed, this blog has been pretty inactive for awhile. In fact, it's been inactive for exactly one year, as my last entry was also in celebration of James Garner's birthday!

Well, be that as it may, here is my latest caricature in tribute to my all-time favourite actor. I've always loved Jim's 1969 comedy western, Support Your Local Sheriff, so I thought I'd revisit that film with my cartoon interpretation of the scene where Jim's character, a drifter named Jason McCullough proves himself worthy of accepting the position of sheriff to the town Mayor, played by that wonderful character actor, Harry Morgan. Of course, TV audiences from that time will fondly remember Harry Morgan from two hit series of the era: as Officer Bill Gannon, the partner to Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet, as well as his long-running role on M*A*S*H as the gruff yet loveable Colonel Sherman Potter.

In this scene, Jason McCullough attempts to prove to the town officials his marksmanship by tossing a metal washer up in the air and shooting a bullet through the hole in it. Unconvinced that the bullet passed through the hole, Mayor Perkins places a piece of tape across the hole and asks him to do it again. When the washer comes down with a hole clear through the tape, the Mayor realizes he's dealing with a professional gunslinger and appoints Jason the job of town sheriff.

Luckily, that very scene is available to view on YouTube in this video clip. Enjoy!