Month: October 2018

Post-Modern Reality Simulation Gets Lost in Space

Post-Modern Reality Simulation Gets Lost in Space

Comparatively speaking, this installment shall qualify as lighter fare to one’s loyal readers.

The author is cognizant some regular visitors may not remember the subject of this installment or perhaps never had the opportunity to view the classic show that brought this particular actor to public prominence. During the 1960’s, the late veteran Hollywood character actor, Johnathan Harris, added what was perhaps the only saving grace or entertainment value to an otherwise short-lived and pathetically juvenile science fiction and fantasy television series, entitled “Lost in Space”.

Although over the course of his career, Harris compiled an impressive resume, starring on Broadway and on the silver screen from decades before, it wasn’t until he assumed the iconic television role of Lost in Space’s Doctor Zachary Smith, the villainous scoundrel with a heart of gold, that he gained celebrated renown and became a recognizable celebrity.

But, Harris was hiding a secret, and as an accomplished man of the theater prior to working in the medium of television, he had certainly learned all the necessary tricks of the theater’s trade in creating inscrutable masks for an array of characters.

The persona of Jonathan Harris, those eccentric affectations that became synonymous with the man who allegedly grew up in the Bronx, New York, but nonetheless rose to fame and fortune in the theater and then on to starring on American television, were nothing more than purposefully created theatrical flourishes.

Indeed, Harris was yet another example of a celebrated actor hiding behind a well-crafted mask.

As it turns out, however, in the case of Harris, one speculates he harbored personal reasons in choosing to adopt a pseudonym while starring as the incomparable Doctor Zachary Smith.

And perhaps, given Harris’s genuine identity, his reasons for doing so were by no means sinister in nature. Rather, they had everything to do with preserving what he perceived to be his theatrical and artistic integrity. Continue reading “Post-Modern Reality Simulation Gets Lost in Space” →

Howard Hughes: Man of mystery revealed (part I)

This time, one shall present to one’s loyal readers the story of a man who became one of the twentieth century’s most legendary, if not enigmatic characters.

While still a young man, though he appeared before the public both adored as a triumphant hero and scorned as a villainous scoundrel, the question remains: did Howard Hughes ever really exist?

Though often a genuine enigma, Hughes’ indelible image left such a lasting impression upon the general public’s consciousness, that he managed to eclipse both fame and infamy within the span of a single lifetime.

But, was this self-made tycoon, this epitome of the American dream, this eccentric hermit flesh and blood or, did he merely exist as a celluloid image?

Was he, in fact, merely yet another actor in history’s grand stage play?

The answer to those pertinent questions, may duly reveal itself during our near thorough examination of yet another of the twentieth century’s grandest Hollywood mavericks and legends, the director, writer and producer of Citizen Kane, the cinematic epic that featured a mythical narrative about the rise and fall of an eccentric, tyrannical, and even self-destructive American billionaire uncannily resembling Howard Hughes, the brilliant creator of the transcendent movie that for decades, movie critics have heralded as the single most seminal example of American cinema – Orson Welles.

Although it has been by now well-established Kane was a cinematic portrayal of  billionaire newspaper magnet William Randolph Hearst, does the possibility exist Welles may have secretly designed the movie’s narrative as an epic sketch of Hughes?

Is it possible, the controversy between Welles and Hearst subsequent to Kane’s release was drummed up by Hearst himself? Could it be, that Wells and Hearst were genealogically related, and that their vicious public feud was merely a ruse, hatched and perpetrated for nothing more than mutual profit?

And, perhaps more intriguing still, does the possibility exist that Hughes was merely a celluloid characterization of Welles’ alter ego?

Could it be, Hughes was a fictional character after all, and that none other than Orson Welles was his host actor?

If so, were there other characters Welles portrayed throughout the course of his storied career?

Stick around folks, because you may be surprised to learn that Welles – it must be remembered – was not only first and foremost a man of the theater, and himself an accomplished actor, but a genius thespian, who wore several, publicly prominent masks. And one of these, he wore as an active participant in the JFK assassination hoax!
Continue reading “Howard Hughes: Man of mystery revealed (part I)” →