1. Interest in Irish American history – preferably with a violent twist – apparently remains so strong that TV and movie producers just can’t resist. Perhaps spurred by the success of BBC America’s Copper (now in its second season), A-list director Martin Scorsese is trying to recapture the success of his 2002 film Gangs of New York with a TV show revolving around a similar … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
2013
Boston Marathon: The Road to Recovery
Jane Richard is dancing again. Jane Richard, the tiny Irish step dancer from Dorchester, who lost her left leg in the Boston Marathon bombing in April, endured 12 operations on her leg last Spring, followed by months of physical therapy at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Jane’s nine year old brother Martin was killed by the bomb, and both her parents suffered … [Read more...] about Boston Marathon: The Road to Recovery
We Will Not See His Like Again
Remembering Seamus Heaney. Lightenings viii The annals say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise Were all at prayers inside the oratory / A ship appeared above them in the air. The anchor dragged along behind so deep / It hooked itself into the altar rails And then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill, A crewman shinned and grappled down the rope / And struggled to release it. … [Read more...] about We Will Not See His Like Again
Those We Lost
Eileen Brennan 1932–2013 Eileen Brennan, whose low, coarse timbre was a fixture of the stage and screen (silver and small) for over half a century, passed away in her Burbank, CA home on July 28. She was 80 years old. Though she had been acting for over two decades prior, Brennan reached her widest acclaim in 1980’s Private Benjamin (and the 1981 CBS TV spin-off of the … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
On the Waterfront
Joe Weatherby repurposes old ships, such as the USS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a decommissioned World War II troop carrier, and turns them into eco-friendly sunken reefs that support sea life, attract divers, and even become an underwater museum. Combine the Life of Riley with a good amount of Walter Mitty; toss in a heap of Ernest Hemingway; add tons of water; and you’ll … [Read more...] about On the Waterfront