Kate Capshaw is best known for two things – her role as Willie in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and her marriage to Steven Spielberg.

Capshaw was born as Kathleen Sue Nail on November 3, 1953 in Fort Worth Texas. Her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri when she was five. She graduated from Hazelwood Senior High and went on to get a degree in education at the University of Missouri. She taught special education for a few years before trying her hand at acting.

Kate took the name Capshaw upon her marriage to Robert Capshaw in 1976. They had one child, Jessica, but later divorced in 1980.

Kate was chosen from 120 auditions for the role of Willie in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. She has appeared in a few films and television specials since, but has not really made a name for herself in Hollywood. In 1999, she appeared in The Love Letter based one of the books written Cathleen Schine. She married Steven Spielberg in 1991 (she converted to Judaism) and together they have seven children (one from her previous marriage, one from Steven’s previous marriage, one adopted by Kate before her marriage to Steven, one adopted by both and three together.)

Did you just recently get your stereo set up and every speaker mount in place for a true surround sound? Now all you need is some classic music to play!

The Princeton Record Exchange has been in business since 1980 and buys and sells old music and new releases. Unfortunately, you must live close by to access their inventory. Since it changes daily, Princeton Record Exchange does not handle mail orders or list inventory or sell online.

They do offer information pages to help you sell your old records, CDs and DVDs online!

I have been California Dreamin’ lately with the cold weather returning. Only one member of the group The Mamas & the Papas is still alive – Michelle Phillips. What happened to the rest?

The Mamas & the Papas was founded by John Phillips and included his wife Michelle, Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot. The band ran out of money and relocated to the Virgin Islands where Michelle earned them enough money through gambling to bring them back to New York. The song California Dreamin’ was released in 1965 was a chart climber as was another hit, Monday, Monday.

In June 1966, Michelle was kicked out the band after it was found that she was having an affiar with Doherty. A new girl was hired, Jill Gibson, but she was later released and Michelle hired back again.

The band released three albums and after a rude comment by John Phillips about Elliot in front of Mick Jagger, Elliot quit the band. However, she was contractually obligated to complete another album and she did. She also made a solo album that did quite well.

The band split again, but the record company threatened to sue each member if they did not make a fifth album. The album, People Like Us, was released in 1971 and was the final album.

Cass Elliot – Cass had a successful solo career after the break up. She died of a heart attack on July 29, 1974, she was 33 years old.

John Phillips – John continued to write and perform. In the 80s he formed a group called The New Mamas & the Papas with his daughter Mackenzie, Denny Doherty and Spanky McFarlane (from Our Gang). Denny dropped out after John returned to drugs and Mackenzie (also into drugs) ran away. He died of heart failure on March 18, 2001. He was 65 years old.

Denny Doherty – Denny had one single hit and later produced a stage musical – Dream a Little Dream, supposedly about the group. He hosted a children’s TV show in Canada in the 90s. Denny died of kidney failure on January 19, 2007, he was 66 years old.

Michelle Phillips – Michelle released an album in 1977 with no success. She later became an actress and starred in both Knot’s Landing and Beverly Hills 90210. She is the last surviving member of the group. She is 62 years old.

It was a very sad day, December 16th. Dan Fogelberg passed away quietly in his home in Maine from prostate cancer. He was only 56 years old.

Dan was born on August 13, 1951 in Peoria, Illinois. The son of a high school band director. Later, one of Dan’s songs would be a tribute to his dad – “Leader of the Band.” He graduated from high school in 1969 and began attending college and singing on the side. He decided to drop out of college and take up singing full time. His father, although not very happy, was supportive. He told Dan that he should give it a year and if it didn’t work out to return to college. Dan agreed.

Of course, the rest is history. In 1972 he released his first album, but it was not well received. His second album, Souvenirs made him a star.

Fogelberg wrote very personal songs and was involved in social issues such as peace, Native American concerns and “no nukes.”

In 2004, Fogelberg was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After a round of treatment, he thought he may have conquered the disease. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case and he passed away. He was married three times and his wife Jean was at his side when he died. He had no children.

Here’s to “The Leader of the Band:”

Some movies are just best listened to with a Bose home theater system. Why? Because the music is so great. The American Film Institute has listed the Best 100 Film Scores and here are the top 10:

#10 – High Noon (Dimitri Tiomkin) – loved the film and the music
#9 – Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith) – Huh?
#8 – The Magnificent Seven (Elmer Bernstein)
#7 – Laura (David Raksin)
#6 – Jaws (John Williams) – GREAT!
#5 – The Godfather (Nino Rota)
#4 – Psycho (Bernard Herrmann) – without the music, the film would have flopped!
#3 – Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre) – love this music
#2 – Gone With The Wind (Max Steiner) – who doesn’t hum this music for days after seeing the film

and

#1 – Star Wars (John Williams)

Of course, my favorites are not listed and include Pirates of the Caribbean (which came out after this list) and Field of Dreams (nominated, but did not make it).

Ever wonder where some of the old country stars are? You have to look no further than Branson Missouri. Branson is a very popular tourist site that hosts many, many shows and activities. I found Andy Williams, Glen Campbell, Charo, The Oak Ridge Boys, Bill Medley, Tony Orlando and even Elvis are doing show there (ok, maybe not the real Elvis). Next time you are down that way, stop by for a show or two and relive some of the past!

My daughter was preparing a skit for the camp she is attending and one of the songs they were going to use is “Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer. She had NO idea who MC Hammer was, so I made her watch the video. I told her she would have to do the MC Hammer dances, but she thought that would be too embarrassing.

On YouTube I found a great parody of the song – it is too funny! Aren’t you glad that parachute pants are no longer popular?

You might not recognize the name of Ron Miller, but he has penned some famous songs. Ronald Norman Miller was born in 1933 in Chicago and was discovered playing in a bar by Motown founder Berry Gordy.

Miller wrote one of Stevie Wonder’s hits – For Once in My Life. He wrote it the night that his daughter Angel was born. This song has been recored more than 270 times and is one of the most covered songs. Other songs written by Miller included Touch Me in the Morning (Diana Ross) and I’ve Never Been to Me (Charlene).

Miller passed away on July 23, 2007 in California. He died of cardiac arrest while fighting emphysema and cancer. He left behind his wife of 25 years and six children.

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