Craig's energy level at the Fest was a great surprise to him, he'd had very low energy for nearly a month.  And he'd been given bad news just prior to the Fest about the amount of cancer in his system, and that the experimental treatment from Sloan-Kettering was ineffective.  He's said to me and others here that he has no regrets, he's had the life he dreamed of as a child with his photography and writing in New York City, and finding a supportive and loving life partner, Joe.  We should all feel so blessed but yes, this is sad news to me who's been lucky to call Craig my friend.

I  agree with you MB too many things are reiterated as fact without much foundation (remember we didn't almost learn about Watergate because Woodward and Berstein couldn't get a required follow up confirmation of their story for the longest time) .  But when researching this particular topic, I found the same "boredom" response  reiterated in "era" articles and in more than one or two interviews--and that meets today's journalistic standards.  

Seems to me that the most important behind-the-scenes decision (the actual details of which now seem likely never to come to light) that resulted in DS leaving the airwaves in April 1971.

I'm not quite sure what is seen as a mystery here?  Dan Curtis was tired and ready to move on, so was half he cast + JF didn't want to play a vampire anymore?  Its been said many times that Dan wasnt really knowledgeable about the serial daytime format and reusing the same plot devices over and over again just with different characters --he didn't want to kill off Dr Hoffman to restart the "somebody figures out Barnabas's secret" plot story.  I would also guess ABC wasn't offering anyone gobs of $$ to continue.

the plan is to put the video on  YouTube but a few clearances are required first.

I did not speculate in the book about the Graduate but I understand Nichols originally wanted Charles Grodin (it was offered to others but both have said in interviews the original choice was Grodin) to play Benjamin. . . perhaps when they ultimately switched to Dustin Hoffman they thought he and G weren't a good physical match--or didn't have the chemistry??

http://www.filmsite.org/grad.html

May I ask what phrases/words Nancy Barrett had to say in Spanish & French? (And you mention Grayson was fluid in Span & French...do you have any background on why she was?)

She said Jose Quintero (who was Panamanian) and pronounced the title of Grayson's French film in French.

Grayson studied French starting in high school and took lessons off and on for the rest of her life. 

Well now that the bio is officially released .. I will confirm Grayson's birthday was actually September 18, 1922 not 1923. 

Source:  Grayson Hall:  A Hard Act to Follow (2006).

Baseball coach Clyde Selby dies
Known for his years with youth league, strong patriotism

BY BOB HERTZEL, The Dominion Post


Clyde Ira Selby is best known for his work in Morgantown's youth baseball program, but the retired carpenter and contractor was also a passionate member of the American Legion. Selby, 90, died Tuesday.

Selby not only coached Morgantown's Post 2 Legion team to state championships in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, and served as state American Legion baseball commissioner, but he was also state president of the American Legion.

"He was an extremely patriotic man," said WAJR-radio general manager Dale Miller, who took over as manager of the American Legion team from Selby in 1985 after Selby had coached it for 40 years.

Miller noted that Selby would attend games after leaving as manager and would offer a scowl if both the American flag and the American Legion flag weren't displayed.

"We would have the American flag and either the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem before every game," said John Raese, head of Greer Industries and senatorial candidate. Raese played three years for Selby.

Selby was known as a level-headed leader of young men. "He wasn't a coach that yelled, cussed and threw things," said Karl Sommer, a local pharmacist. "He treated you like an adult. If you had a problem or needed to talk to him, he was there."

"He made you want to play for him," said Rick Rice, who played with four brothers in the American Legion program under Selby and later would manage the Post 2 team. "He enjoyed the relationships with the kids. You wanted to win for him."

Selby was an accomplished carpenter who built his own home, worked on many houses in the Morgantown area and who helped to build the Little League field in Marilla Park.

Selby's son, David, is a noted character actor who has appeared on Broadway, in films and in such television series as "Falcon Crest," while his other son, Craig, is president of the Charleston Newspapers Inc.

His wife, Sarah E. McIntyre Selby, died two years ago.

A memorial service for Selby will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Spruce Street United Methodist Church, of which he was a lifetime member.

The new biography of actress Grayson Hall is now available for ordering from Barnes and Noble

Go to www.GraysonHall.net and order now! Or ask your local bookseller to stock ISBN # 0-595-40462-6.

Grayson Hall was a widely acclaimed New York Theatre actress, 1964 Academy Award nominee and co-star of the 1960s-70s iconic Gothic television serial, Dark Shadows. Grayson Hall: A Hard Act to Follow (2006) reviews the evolution of Philadelphia's Shirley Grossman into the cosmopolitan Grayson Hall. The biography discusses her early life surrounded by eccentric socialist-revolutionary minded aunts and uncles, her early first marriage and subsequent second marriage to writer Allison Samuel Hall. The biography reviews, summarizes and provides anecdotes on her wide range of theatrical, television, radio and film appearances including John Huston's Night of the Iguana, the heralded turns on stage as two of Jean Genet's madams -- Irma in The Balcony and Warda in The Screens, and corrects the record regarding Grayson's arrival on, and participation in, ABC's Dark Shadows.
Comments and reminiscences from Grayson's family, friends and colleagues including Sam and Matthew Hall, Sylvia Miles, Ted Mann, John Guare, etc. pepper the text. Included are several previously unpublished personal and theatical photos.


WWW.GraysonHall.net