All posts filed under: BLOG INTERVIEWS

Michael B. Druxman talks to us about his new play

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Today the Baz is talking to Michael B.Druxman, author of Basil Rathbone, His Life & His Films, about his new one-person play Rathbone. Michael B. Druxman is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter whose credits include Cheyenne Warrior with Kelly Preston; Dillinger and Capone starring Martin Sheen and F. Murray Abraham; and The Doorway with Roy Scheider, which he also directed. His one-person play, Jolson, has had numerous productions around the country. Other produced stage credits include one-person plays about Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Spencer Tracy and Orson Welles. These and plays about Errol Flynn, Maurice Chevalier and Clara Bow have been individually published under the collective title of The Hollywood Legends. Additionally, Mr. Druxman is the author of more than fifteen published books, including several nonfiction works about Hollywood, its movies, and the people who make them. TB: Michael, can you tell me why you decide to revisit BR at this time? DRUXMAN: A major influence was your website, THE BAZ, Your research and the comments from some of your readers intrigued me. A lot of …

Interview with Richard Van Emden

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Today, to mark Armistice Day (Veterans’ Day in the US), THE BAZ is talking to Richard Van Emden, WW 1 expert and author of numerous books, including FAMOUS 1914-18 that features the war experiences of various well known people. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are two of those featured. Richard van Emden has been interested in the Great War since his teens. He interviewed 270 veterans of the conflict and has so far written twelve books on the subject. His latest, Boy Soldiers, is due out now. Richard also researches, produces and directs television programmes about both World Wars, including the award-winning Roses of No Man’s Land and Veterans. His most recent television programme Shooting the War, was broadcast earlier this year (2010) on BBC4, and he has also appeared as an expert on programmes such as The Boy Soldiers of the Great War (Channel 4), and most recently The Real War Horse on the History Channel TB: Ok – let’s kick this off by asking you to tell me briefly about your work on …

Interview with Helen Sheehy

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Today The Baz is talking to Helen Sheehy, author of Eva Le Gallienne: a Biography. Le Gallienne was Rathbone’s lover and Broadway co-star, yet her name is not even mentioned in his autobiography, and in consequence her role in his private life and artistic development will be entirely new to many of his admirers and indeed his past and future biographers! The Baz is very grateful to Helen for taking the time to talk about this neglected subject. It will certainly be a surprise to numbers of his longterm fans. TB: Let’s begin with you telling me a little bit about your book “Eva Le Gallienne: a Biography.” How you came to write it and what drew you to your subject. SHEEHY: When I finished my first biography, Margo: The Life and Theatre of Margo Jones, I looked around for another subject. Margo had single-handedly pioneered the resident theatre movement in this country – her legacy lives in the hundreds of non-profit theatres from coast to coast. So when I finished the book, I looked …

Interview with Marcia Jessen

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Today The Baz is talking to Marcia Jessen, creator and owner of basilrathbbone.net, the first and last resource for anyone looking to research Rathbone’s life and career. In addition to her chores as webmaster, Marcia is one third of the newly formed Rathbone Biography Project. We’re very grateful she’s made time in an incredibly busy life to talk to us. TB: Tell me about how you became interested in Basil Rathbone. Marcia Jessen is the creator of Basil Rathbone: Master of Stage and Screen. She hopes that researchers and fans alike find it a reliable resource of information. Marcia has been a die-hard Rathbone fan since the 1960s, when she saw the Sherlock Holmes films on television. Her “other” job is curriculum and production editor for Judson Press. She has one son, Michael, who is now grown and living in Boston. Marcia shares her home in Pennsylvania with her two cats, Boris and Natasha. JESSEN: Like so many people, I loved the Sherlock Holmes movies that Rathbone made. Then I saw Dawn Patrol and loved …

Michael Druxman answers a few of your questions

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We’re welcoming back Michael B Druxman, author of Basil Rathbone: His Life & His Films, to answer some of the questions put to him by our readers following his recent Q&A The Baz: We’d like to thank you Michael for taking the time to come back and do this. DRUXMAN: No trouble, and I want to thank your readers for all their kind words. It’s always great to know that your work is appreciated. THE BAZ: OK let’s begin… Bryony asks – I’d like to ask Michael Druxman if he ever met Basil DRUXMAN: Unfortunately, no. Winnie the Pooh asks – I have a question. Why does Mr Druxman think those like Cukor stipulated they wouldn’t talk gossip about Rathbone but not about Muni? Was it a tribute to him as a man? DRUXMAN: I didn’t interview Cukor about Muni. However, some people, like producer Henry Blanke, I did interview for both books.Perhaps the truth is very simple: Rathbone was a nice, gentle man who did his job and didn’t create waves, and Muni, the …

Interview with Robert Matzen

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Today as part of Biography Week(I) The Baz is talking to Robert Matzen, author of Errol & Olivia: Ego and Obsession in Golden Era Hollywood. As regular readers will know, Robert’s book came up for discussion in the comments when someone suggested he was claiming there had been a rivalry between Flynn and Rathbone for the favors of Olivia De Havilland. In a bid to set this matter straight, and also to explore something more of his thoughts on Flynn and the Baz, we asked Robert to spare a little time to talk to us. He was incredibly patient and obliging, and below you can all read the result. * * * TB: I’m gonna kick it off by asking you to sum up in a single para what your book Errol & Olivia is about Robert Matzen is the author of Errol Flynn Slept Here (2009), Errol & Olivia (2010), and three other books. He has also written many articles about classic films and stars. He appeared as an expert on the topic of …

Interview with Michael B. Druxman

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Basil Rathbone, His Life & His Films, is not just the only biography of the Baz yet written, it’s also an exhaustive and essential filmography, detailing the plot and background information for every one of Rathbone’s movies. It’s basically the essential reference work on the subject of Bazology. Anyone who has admired the man has probably at least glanced inside this book, and many movie freaks and/or hardcore Baz addicts have, like me kept a copy by their bed for constant reference until a visiting aunt spilled cough syrup all over it and stuck the pages together indelibly, so that trying to pry them apart with tweezers only made things worse and there was nothing to do but cry owned a copy at some time. So, we’re very excited here at The Baz that the author of this bible, Michael B. Druxman, has agreed to be the subject (or object?) of our first Q&A! He very graciously, over several days, put up with being bombarded with email and Word files as we compiled this interview. …