Yes, These Famous Stars Are ALL Still Alive!

 

Bob Mackie, The Master Of Sequins, Rhinestnes

Rest in Peace Bob Mackie. 

Mackie was born March 24, 1939, in Monterey Park, California, to Charles Robert Mackie and Mildred Agnes (née Smith) Mackie. His father worked at Bank of America. He has an older sister. He was best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts, and live stage shows. 

Mackie was the costume designer for all of the performers on The Carol Burnett Show during its entire eleven-year run, and the creator of memorable ensembles for Cher and Elton John. He is referred to alternatively as the "Sultan of Sequins", the "Rajah of Rhinestones" or the "Guru of Glitter" for his sparkling and imaginative designs. 

Mackie once said, "A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed." Mattel partnered with him to produce outfits for collectable Barbie dolls, and he introduced cultural diversity to their features and outfits to reflect the heritage of real-life women. 

Over his lifetime, Mackie received nine Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for his work. He was nominated for the Oscar for costumes in Lady Sings the Blues (1972), Funny Lady (1975 and Pennies From Heaven (1981) and Emmys for The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family, The Sonny and Cher Show, Cher, Mrs. Santa Claus, Gypsy, Fresno and many others, Mackie received one honorary award and 9 competitive awards from 32 nominations

In April 2023, Mackie was accepted  the inaugural Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award by RuPaul at the RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 finale Some of his other famous clients included Dolly Parton, Raquel Welch, Ann-Margeret, Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Farrah Fawcett, Doris Day and Oprah Winfrey among others. On March 14, 1960, Mackie married LuLu Porter (née Marianne Wolford), a singer and actress, and later an acting teacher. The couple divorced in 1963. They had a son, Robert Gordon Mackie, Jr. (known as "Robin"). Robin, a makeup artist, died in 1993 at the age of 33 of an AIDS-related illness due to drug use, predeceasing his parents. 

As featured in the 2024 documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, Bob and Lulu had remained very close throughout the years and later discovered that they share a granddaughter (through their son) with whom they enjoy a close relationship. They also have  two great grandchildren. 

Beginning in 1963, Mackie's significant other was costume designer Ray Aghayan, whom Mackie worked with as an assistant. The two worked together through the 1970s, as well as having separate clients. They remained together until Aghayan's death in 2011. Mackie created all of the costumes, including evening gowns, character outfits and dance clothing for guests during the run of The Carol Burnett Show, including the famous curtain dress from the "Went with the Wind!" sketch (spoofing Gone With the Wind) which was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. 

he announcement of Mackie's death says he died of natural causes at 87 years old.

We Honestly Couldn't Agree More: Looney Clooney!

 

Remembering A True American Oridinal!

While I enjoy country music, and liked Dolly Parton, I can't say that I was a fan.

I did see her perform live, in person once. It was at The Borgata in Atlantic City at the hotel's cavernous Event Center. It was not the best venue but if you wanted to see Dolly, you had to be prepared to share her with thousands of others. She was a legendary performer and, like many others, I wanted to see her perform live.

And guess what? Even though she appeared on a vast stage in a casino complex with bars dotting the auditorium and alcohol flowing freely and even though my seat was nowhere near what could be called the orchestra, she was in total command of the evening and she was wonderful.

She looked the way you expected her to look. She performed with all the musical accompaniment and bells and whistles you'd expect. She was in fine form, sounding exactly as you'd expect her to sound. She was responsive to the audience throughout and yes, she sang every song you wanted to hear -- all the hits!

That was Dolly Parton.

She was pure entertainment. The glitter, the glamour and the showbizz were all there but they were combined with just the right amount of down home folksiness you'd expect from Dolly. 

Her career was exceptionally well-managed but that was a testament to Dolly herself -- her savvy, her smarts, her good instincts and her professional discipline. I get the feeling she expected the best of her people every minute of every day just as she delivered the same. 

There was never a hint of scandal surrounding this woman. She never allowed herself to be drawn into partisan politics nor did she lecture her audience from the stage or via other avenues. A woman of great faith, she conveyed a sense of generosity, kindness and caring without a scintilla of righteousness.

A complete American success story, there's no doubt she loved this nation and its people and was the grateful embodiment of her own American journey, complete with all its tribulations and triumphs.

Dolly Parton was an American original!

When They Tried To Get Her To Go Political

Dolly didn't play. Sure she had her opinions, but she selflessly valued the opinions of her fans, all of them, more. She wasn't just a once-in-a-lifetime talent, she displayed a once-in-a-lifetime humility that too few share. https://t.co/2QpXIgGjsF

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 26, 2026

It failed! Miserably!

Celebrity's Seduction And The Outing Of Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been outed.

Outed as a shameless glitterati wannabe. Outed as a relentless attention seeker. Outed as a star-crossed celebrity worshiper.

It would all be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic. After all, Fauci is not some preteen little girl at a Taylor Swift concert. He's an 85-year-old man, a supposedly renowned medical doctor and self-proclaimed scientist who vaulted himself into the highest reaches of power and notoriety during one of the darkest periods in our nation's history. 

During that time, Fauci became enamored with himself -- seeing himself as the bright star, the luminous guiding light, the incandescent, all powerful Oz who would show us the way. But in truth, there was no one behind the curtain -- just a tiny gray haired man with beady eyes who was busy admiring himself in an endless hall of mirrors.

And it was in that hall of mirrors that Fauci lost his way, much as one would in a cheap, gaudy, touring carnival attraction. 

At the congressional hearing the other day Fauci pleaded the Fifth. But before he did so, he complained about efforts to embarrass him with the release of his diary entries. But it was Fauci who embarrassed himself. Because it was Fauci who, in his haste to sing his own praises, foolishly tapped out those daily diary entries on a government computer. Imagine! 

But no one should be surprised by all this. A friend of mine recently noted that there are countless Faucis everywhere -- forgotten bureaucrats, mid-level paper pushers, anonymous bean counters, faceless clerks, managers, mechanics and functionaries. They want to be Somebody. They want to sit at the Cool Kids Table. 

Every so often, for one in a gazillion of 'em, lightening strikes. It happened to Little Tony Fauci, a kid from Brooklyn who worked in his father's pharmacy tending the cash register, stocking shelves, and delivering prescription medicines to neighbors on his blue Schwinn bicycle. 

Somewhere within Anthony Fauci lived an insatiable desire to be recognized, to be validated. And soon enough he was recognized, and even honored and then revered. But it didn't ever seem to be enough. It must not have been glamorous enough, shiny enough or ego-fulfilling enough. And let's not forget that even a small dose of fame can be a dangerous thing.

So before long, Fauci was seeking more and more and more, gleefully cataloguing all his Big Time attention-grabbing moments, clutching his press clippings and fan mail like some Hollywood divo who kept everyone on the set waiting while he fussed and preened in his dressing room.

In his autobiography, published in 1868, Horace Greeley got it right: "Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident . . . Only one thing endures and that is character."

 

Why Moviegoers Naturally Crave Stars . . .

The great movie critic Pauline Kael explained it better than I ever could nearly 60 years ago, in 1968:

There’s hardly a star in American movies today, and if we’ve got so used to the absence of stars that we no longer think about it much, we’ve also lost one of the great pleasures of moviegoing: watching incandescent people up there, more intense and dazzling than people we ordinarily encounter in life, and far more charming than the extraordinary people we encounter, because the ones on the screen are objects of pure contemplation—like athletes all wound up in the stress of competition—and we don’t have to undergo the frenzy or the risks of being involved with them. In life, fantastically gifted people, people who are driven, can be too much to handle; they can be a pain. In plays, in opera, they’re divine, and on the screen, where they can be seen in their perfection, and where we’re even safer from them, they’re more divine.

Once Upon A Time, THIS Was Hollywood!

One Movie Star's Magnificent Legacy!

He starred in horror movies but in real life he was a sentimental man who LOVED children. His lifelong advocacy and commitment to youth charities are carried on by the Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation. 

White House: Mark Hamill Is 'Sick Individual'

 

MOVIES: Just In Case You Were Wondering . . .

 

When The Oscars Really Meant Something

And movies were movies, stars were stars and actual, top-notch acting really counted for something  . . . 1975 . . . 

How Ugly Media Bias Infects EVERYTHING!

 

Remembering Chuck Norris, An American Patriot

FLASHBACK: Chuck Norris: “I used to be a Democrat. Unfortunately, the Democrats went too far to the left and the Republicans moved into the position that the Democrats were 40 years ago... I realized that Republicans... are more focused on what is best for America.”

RIP🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/vKxjbhtNzu

— America (@america) March 20, 2026

When Philly Was A WORLD PREMIERE City!

Jacob Elordi: A Beautiful Moment Last Night!

Golden Globes Moment: Leo And Timothèe Lovefest!

Yes, One Or Two Real Movie Stars Left: Here's ONE!

Julia Roberts receives a standing ovation at the #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/DUYXZhfPBC

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 12, 2026

Magnificent, funny, charming, gorgeous -- at the Golden Globes last night!

 

Do You Miss Her AS Much As We Do?

 

Oh, WOW! You Don't Wanna Miss This!

.@TheSlyStallone’s incredible career took flight in 1976 when he wrote and starred in 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺.

The film chronicles an amateur boxer’s trials, tribulations, and triumphs.

𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺 is iconic—but it wouldn’t be the masterpiece it is without Bill Conti’s unforgettable score.… pic.twitter.com/MOBFcqa0HU

— The Trump Kennedy Center (@kencen) December 20, 2025