Dances with Books Cat

[from My Photo a Day Adventure blog]

Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 8:21 pm — Teeny Tuxedo says … “I’ve been practicing my dance moves … How ’bout it, West Side guys? … Can I join the gang??” …

History and movies, all in one … Nice to have a stash at hand … The switch this past year, with libraries closed to in-person browsing, led to these purchases …

• Saw Glenn Frankel discuss his books:
• The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend, 2013  … one of my favorite John Ford films … set me on the trail to Monument Valley, Navajo Nation … 6 times!
• High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic, 2017 … High Noon’s not a favorite, but intrigued to see the Hollywood Blacklist connection

• Saw Peter Fitzgerald’s documentary, West Side Stories, 1996 … great behind-the-scenes footage, interviews (both stage and film) … sadly, has been removed from you-know-where. This led me to:
• West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic, 2020, Richard Barrios, Turner Classic Movies … LOVE the soundtrack … first heard in high school English Lit class, vinyl LP record album (what a terrific teacher, Mr. Somebody, just out of college) … the only weakness of the 1961 film (10 Oscars!), Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer (Maria and Tony)

Sofa Pillows Cat

Thursday, January 3, 2019, 1:55 am — Perkins … think she’s dreaming about Gloria Swanson and Buffalo Bill? …

New Scratchers Cats

Saturday, December 29, 2018, 5:52 am — New scratchers! … as soon as the first was unwrapped … Perkins was there! …

… sprinkled with catnip flakes … instant attraction! … and competition with Teeny Tuxedo … next to Buffalo Bill …

… I LOVE the new scratcher … mine … all MINE! …

… don’t worry, Teeny Tuxedo … here’s the second scratcher! …

… Teeny Tuxedo to Perkins … Wanna trade? …

… you bet! …

…  happy ending! …

Dreaming Cats

Friday, September 21, 2018, 3:52 am — Perkins … dreaming of Hollywood glamour … and Buffalo Bill in Cody, Wyoming … she knows someone who’s moving to Cody! …

3:53 am … Teeny Tuxedo … her dreams are a secret …

Yawn … “I’ll never tell” …

Ol’ Mose Westerns Cat

Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 2:30 pm — Teeny … “Hey! … I know this guy! … He’s that guy in The Searchers that says, “Thank ya, kindly!” all the time …” … [This is a publicity photo for Red River, 1948] …

He’s Hank Worden, 1901-1992 … raised on a cattle ranch in Montana, college educated, rodeo saddle bronc rider … recruited (with Tex Ritter) for a bit in the 1931 64-performance Broadway run of Green Grow the Lilacs, by Lynn Riggs, Guild Theatre … (the source of  Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1943 Broadway baby, Oklahoma!) …

Cowboys … and cowgirl … Green Grow the Lilacs … Hank Worden (billed as Norton Worden) second from right … opening night credits, Jan. 26, 1931, Internet Broadway Database …

• More Green Grow the Lilacs photos, New York Public Library Digital Collections
• Learn more about Lynn Riggs, who wrote Green Grow the Lilacs … Broadway’s Forgotten Man, by Charles Morrow

After this brief stint on Broadway, Hank moseyed back out west … before ambling into a string of over 200 movie and tv roles, 1935-1991 … Below,  Hank’s ol’ Mose Harper scenes, The Searchers, 1956 …

• Hank Worden: Ol’ Mose Knows – by Moira Finnie, April 8, 2009

Scottish Wool & Movies Cat

Thursday, September 10, 2015, 12:13 am — Perk’s finely tuned orange tabby cat ears …

What’s she watching so intensely? … (Lawrence of Arabia poster in background … “Winner of 7 Academy Awards”) …

Hey, don’t bother me! … This is a cliffhanger scene between James Stewart and Ralph Meeker! … The Naked Spur, 1953 …

Perk knows comfy quality when she feels it … the woolen throw I got for Mom in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1993 … Perk’s taking advantage of its temporary location …

Art Roundup Cat

Sunday, May 10, 2015, 4:04 am — Framed art is multi-purpose … Cat scratch deterrent for furniture …

Headrest for sleepy cats (Perkins) who’d prefer not to be disturbed …

Come Back, Shane

January 3, 2014 — Perkins … a Shane watchin’ cat …


Shane, 1953 … reflected in the coffee table …

Trigger – Smartest Horse in the Movies

June 23, 2013 — Perkins meets Trigger … who’s been in a box with my other horse statues for … 40 years!!

Trigger has been rough and tumbled and played with since Christmas 1959 … Nothing is left of Roy Rogers … only his white cowboy hat … I remember playing with the new Trigger and Roy in the dirt on the low backyard hill behind the Wilson River house, Tillamook, Oregon, 1960, before the 4th grade …

This is what he would have looked like on Christmas Day … By Hartland Plastics, Inc., Wisconsin. Selling on eBay, mint condition with box, $650 … My Trigger, battered and faded, is priceless!

Trigger’s original palomino color matches Perk’s orange tabby cat fur!