Introducing the Spring 2023 CMBA Blogathon: Big Stars on the Small Screen: In Support of National Classic Movie Day!

It's almost time for the CMBA Spring Blogathon! This year's topic is "Big Stars on the Small Screen: In Support of National Classic Movie Day." Topics can be on anything related to classic film stars appearing on TV, including regular TV series, mini-series, variety shows, made-for-TV movies, or even commercials! There’s a wide-open field of small screen productions to explore! 

The blogathon, for CMBA members only, will run May 15th through May 19th. Our participants to date are listed below. If you haven't yet picked a topic, there's still time to join in the fun! Just email the CMBA Board (classic.movie.blog.assoc@gmail.com) with your topic choice, blog name, and preferred date for posting, if any. Because there is such a variety of topics to choose from, we won't be accepting duplicates. (Please note, however, that it's acceptable to have one topic focus on an entire series, and others that cover specific episodes from that same series.) Topic selections will be accepted in order of receipt.

To promote the blogathon on your blog, take your pick from any of the banners at the bottom of this post.

We look forward to another great blogathon!

Monday, May 15, 2023

Diana Dors in "Children of the Full Moon on Hammer House of Horror – Real Weegie Midget Reviews

Vincent Price on The Brady Bunch – Whimsically Classic

Ray Milland on Columbo: "Death Lends a Hand" and "The Greenhouse Jungle" – Cary Grant Won't Eat You

Ida Lupino and Four-Star Playhouse – Let Yourself Go . . . To Old Hollywood

Lee Remick's TV Work – Lady Eve's Reel Life 

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

The Hollywood Palace – A Person in the Dark

Katharine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier in Love Among the Ruins – Filmland Follies

The Jimmy Stewart Show – Classic Film & TV Cafe 

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Classic Movie Stars on The Muppet Show – Virtual Virago

John Cassavetes on Johnny Staccato – Twenty-Four Frames

Murder, She Wrote and "The Days Dwindle Down" – Watching Forever

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Father Knows Best: "Kathy's Big Chance" starring Greer Garson – Another Old Movie Blog

Ava Gardner on the Small Screen – Ava Gardner Blog

Classic Hollywood Stars on The Dick Cavett Show – 4 Star Films

The Women of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour – The Last Drive-In

Friday, May 19, 2023

Classic Stars as Columbo Murderers – Once Upon a Screen

Raymond Burr as Perry Mason in The Case of the Sinister Spirit – Critica Retro

Film Noir Vets on Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Shadows and Satin

Old Hollywood Actors Who Starred in Night Gallery – A Vintage Nerd

We look forward to another great blogathon!

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CMBA Profile: A Vintage Nerd

 

Each month, the CMBA profiles a classic movie blog written by one of our members. This month we're featuring Daffny Laurito, who writes at A Vintage Nerd. 

CMBA: Why do you blog?

Daffny Laurito: I grew up watching classic tv shows like I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Lassie, and The Brady Bunch but I wasn't introduced to classic films until I was 11. My grandmother introduced me to Gone with the Wind (1939) and that experience changed me forever. Fast forward many years later and after the birth of my third child, I felt like I needed to get back to my passions. I started blogging and because of this I am constantly learning and honing my writing skills. I blog because I love to write, to share, and to connect with others. One of the major aspects of my blog is exploring old Hollywood. There is so much to learn, see, and discover when it comes to classic films and tv. Needless to say I am a big vintage nerd 🤓

CMBA: Besides classic movie blogging, what are some of your other passions?

Daffny Laurito: I am passionate about my family and raising my three children. I started showing them classic films and TV shows starting when they were little and we explore a few each month. I love showing them episodes of the Twilight Zone or watching a classic film on the big screen together. I also love to travel, going to museums, exploring my city (I'm a New Yorker), enjoying art, reading, and having fun with my personal style.

CMBA: If you could program a perfect day of classic movies for TCM, what would be the seven films on your schedule?

Daffny Laurito: This would be a dream come true other than hosting a series for TCM. If I could program a perfect day of classic movies for TCM I would want to give the audience a little taste from each decade. I would start with The Kid (1921), The Women (1939), Between Two Worlds (1944), Rebecca (1940), Queen Bee (1955), To Sir, with Love (1967), and Harold and Maude (1971). 

CMBA: What is a classic movie that you love, but most people don't know about -- and what do you love about it?

Daffny Laurito: I love exploring films from the 1960s and 1970s, especially British films. They tend to have a quirkiness to them that American films don't always have. One film I love is Georgy Girl (1966). It stars Lynn Redgrave, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling, and Alan Bates. I love so many things about this film. I love how awkward Georgy (Redgrave) is and how much she is like a regular girl, albeit a bit quirky. I love seeing London in the 1960s and you see a lot of it in this film. I also love how the film talks about different types of love and different ways of fulfilling your dreams. It is a unique movie, for sure.

CMBA: What is something that most people don't know about you?

Daffny Laurito: There are a few things most people might not know about me. I was born with a physical disability called Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT). It is a peripheral nerve disease that causes weakness in the arms and legs and fatigue among other things. I was also a teacher for seven years in an all-girls high school. It was a special experience. I am also a big horror and sci-fi movie/TV fan. I used to go to horror conventions and now I attend the Chiller Theater Expo once a year with my family. It's a great way to meet stars of yesteryear. I was lucky to have met Patty Duke (Valley of the Dolls), Ann Robinson (The War of the Worlds), David Bean (West Side Story), Tony Mordente (West Side Story), and Betsy Palmer (Queen Bee), just to name a few. 

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We thank Daffny for participating in our Q & A profile and encourage you to visit A Vintage Nerd!  

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