Ron Ecker

Right. Did a Google search. He and TrineDay were co-defendants in a suit brought by soldiers who claimed they were libeled in his book. The jury found for the defendants. https://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20060202/jury-finds-for-author-in-lawsuit

Yeah, I think that guy's name was Daniel something. If he has passed on, maybe he can ask Pitzer now if he actually killed himself. I'm sure you've heard the joke about the researcher who dies and goes to heaven and asks God who killed JFK. And God says, "I've got a theory about that."

I recall a lawsuit against TrineDay several years ago. I think they were sued by the subject of one of their books. I want to say that it had to do with the Pitzer death at Bethesda but I'm not sure. Does anyone remember that suit and how it came out?

Interesting. But if I pause the film and do a frame by frame advance of that scene, it won't be to look at a mural.

Before it's over he could be "The Man Who Shot Liberty."

I think Expendable is the movie where a guy tastes a spoonful from a pot in the kitchen and tells the cook that his soup is lousy. The cook informs the guy that it's a pot full of dish water.

I wonder what super patriots John Wayne and Ward Bond would think of Donald Trump if they were alive today. Would they see him as a threat to the republic, which he is, or would they wear MAGA hats and sound like Jon Voight?

I have a screenplay in which Eva Peron doesn't die but becomes a vampire. Juan thinks she just ran off (she was sick of him) and fakes her death with a body double to avoid the humiliation. (It's a horror comedy)

Thanks. As good as "Blazing Saddles" is, I have to say that my Brooks favorite is "Young Frankenstein." I guess because I loved those old horror movies so much as a kid. Brooks captured the atmosphere perfectly. Frankenstein's monster was probably my favorite movie character, although Roy Rogers was my hero. I remember looking in a mirror as a little boy and asking my mother if I didn't look just a little bit like Roy Rogers.

Wow, I've seen the movie several times and I don't remember that line. That means I've got to watch it again.

I remember when Garfield died. I read about in the paper and had never heard of him. Of course that was 1952, long before TCM and other movie channels on TV. I don't know if we even had a TV set. The earliest things I remember watching on the tube are "Howdy Doody" and "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet." I even sent off and got a Space Cadet ID.

I'm sorry to hear that about Ward Bond. Always joined his acting, he seemed to be in everything from "Gone with the Wind" to all of Wayne's movies. But I guess if you can't separate actors from their personal lives and beliefs, you'd almost have to stop watching movies. I had to force myself recently to finally watch "Forrest Gump."

I think my favorite line in "Blazing Saddles" is "Work, work, work, work, work, work." (I wonder which writer came up with that.) My second favorite is "It's twue! It's twue!"

According to WGA guidelines, a co-writer must write at least one-third of a script to get co-writing credit. What I don't understand is how five screenwriters share the screen credit for "Blazing Saddles." According to my limited math skills, that comes out to five thirds. I'm sure there are other examples of more than three writers on a script, each writer contributing a least a "third."

If Trump gets reelected, I seriously question whether there will be an election in 2024. No, wait, it couldn't happen in America.

Does anyone think that Trump can make it to November without doing something so horrendous that he can't win even with the electoral college? I'd say the odds are 50-50. But should we hope for it? I suppose it depends on what is is.

I can't mention "Lawrence of Arabia" without paying tribute to the French composer Maurice Jarre, winner of three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes. He wrote the score for "Lawrence" and "Dr. Zhivago" (the unforgettable "Lara's Theme") among others. Born in Lyon, died in Malibu. Film music composers don't die in Lyon.

Yes, as I recall the guy who slaps him for laughing is the same guy who wants to shake his hand later. I don't know about the guy at the beginning. But I guess the message is clear: You can't judge a book by its cover. (Or a rather weird British officer by his Arab garb.)

Right, it came out later. Lawrence said it. Which is the only earthly reason I would assume it. He seemed immensely to enjoy a massacre later. But I doubt that this came from Lawrence's book, and I've always questioned why this was thrown into the characterization. I think it would have been more understandable if he had said that he enjoyed the time he had to spend with Jose Ferrer. (More true to Lawrence's life?)

Looking on the bright side, Lawrence enjoyed killing him. I don't know why, but whatever turns you on.

It's a theme heard over and over in the media that Trump can win reelection if the economy remains good. Which tells me that Carville was right, it seems to be the main thing that voters pay attention to. Trump's crimes won't matter in Trump's America. .

Unfortunately it was also Carville who stated years ago why the career criminal will win if he does: "It's the economy, stupid." I personally find it hard to believe that people check the latest unemployment figures or the latest stock market values or other economic indicators before they go out to vote, as if that's all that matters, but apparently that's the case.

Yep, the Medal of Freedom ain't what it used to be. Reagan gave it to Frank Sinatra, before Ronnie found out (or did he ever know?) that Frank had called him "a stupid bore" and called Reagan's wife Nancy "a dumb broad with fat ankles."

Try Jon Voight, who has said that "God answered all our prayers" with Donald Trump, "the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln."