In honor of Johnny Depp’s birthday today I tried to narrow down my five favorite Depp films. It was tough folks.

Here we go…

Edward Scissorhands

Johnny Depp becomes a lovable man-creature in Tim Burton’s modern day fairy tale Edward Scissorhands. I think this is the role where Depp stood out from most actors of the time, securing his place as the best character actor in Hollywood. Did you know Tom Cruise could have been Edward Scissorhands? Rumor has it Cruise turned it down. Thank goodness Burton met Depp.

Let’s watch as Arsenio Hall asks them a few questions about the movie.

Cry Baby

Oh that single salty tear! Cry Baby cry!

I grew up listening to Elvis Presley & Ricky Nelson so when I saw Depp as a swooning bad boy heartthrob I was in love. Johnny lip synched in this movie, James Intveld supplied his sexy singing voice. Johnny Depp did dance though and that’s good enough for me.

Pirates of the Caribbean

I remember the day I stepped out of a movie into the foyer and noticed a movie poster of Captain Jack’s face under the title Pirates of the Caribbean. Imagining my favorite actor meshed with my favorite Disneyland ride was too much for my Pop Culture Syndrome mind to handle.

I’m not the only one, look at this fan video of Johnny as Captain Jack saying hi to some eager fans. Can you imagine this happening to you every time you went to work?

Oh no only two more left. Like I said, tough folks. Depp is getting closer to 50, and so is the amount of films he’s made. I don’t like every movie he’s been involved in. Let’s take Private Resort for instance. Let’s not. Instead we’ll move on to number 4 on my list.

Sweeney Todd

Unlike the movie Cry Baby, Depp does sing in this one and he isn’t half bad. I love the soundtrack too.

Like most Burton/Depp creations this movie has enough humor to balance out the film. Some people don’t think they can handle Sweeney Todd because of all the blood and gore. I say give it a try because it really is a bloody good time.

Whenever I need a laugh, I watch this interview.

Trying to pick one last film is nearly impossible because I like so many. I went back and forth many times, but because I said Five Fave, I’m sticking to the plan.

Benny & Joon

You can tell Depp is a young actor in this film but you can also see how much he is getting into his role without being serious about it. Some say his interest in silent movies and use of his “acting eyes” came from preparing for this role.

Johnny Depp had to watch a lot of Charlie Chaplin to get this one right.

Remember this is just 5 of my favorite Depp films. My list could go on and on. Can you narrow down five favorites?

Awhile back I was humming a little tune I remembered from a Chiquita Banana ad. Of course I went searching for it on YouTube. Here it is:

The voice of the tropical Chiquita banana is so inviting I had to find out who was behind it. Monica Lewis is an actress, singer and true Golden Age Siren. It just so happens that the collective pop-culture conscious was whispering to me again because Monica Lewis came out with her first book this May.

Her book is entitled Hollywood Through My Eyes: The Lives and Loves of a Golden Age Siren. I received a copy and had great fun not only reading about her lives and loves but seeing so many fabulous pictures. The book is hardcover, and reminds me of a coffee table book. Something you’ll want to keep out for display and not kept hidden on a shelf. The back cover is like a pop culture who’s who with images of famous actors, singers, producers & even a few politicians that have been part of Monica Lewis’s life.

“Monica’s book is filled with fun facts, and deep feelings. She hits all the right notes.”—Ginny Mancini, founder, Henry Mancini Institute and Society of Singers

Inside the pages we find pictures of her with Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, Danny Kaye, Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, the list goes on. The stories take us from her childhood days where she says, “Music: We lived it, breathed it, spoke it”, to her radio broadcast days, her theatrical debuts, her talent as an advertising gem, her military camp shows and touring troupe days. We read and view the images of her lives and loves, without the usual Hollywood melodrama but instead a constant optimism.

Her marriage to producer Jennings Lang put her right in the middle of 70’s disaster films. She worked on blockbuster movies such as Earthquake with Ava Gardener, Airport 77 with Jack Lemmon, Olivia de Havilland & James Stewart, and Rollercoaster starring George Segal and Richard Widmark.

The term “lives” is a perfect fit because it’s surprising one person can pack so much into one life. Through her book, I learned not only a lot about Monica Lewis, but also a lot about Hollywood.

“I’m one of the millions who fell in love with Monica. After reading this book, I know why.”—Robert Wagner, veteran actor

Visit http://monicalewis.com and pick up your copy of her book Hollywood Through My Eyes: The Lives and Loves of a Golden Age Siren. Tell her Housewife in Hollywood sent you.

I have to admit something. I’m not a colossal Star Wars fan. Wait! Hold on! Put the tomatoes down! I do like Star Wars. The first one, I mean the fourth one. Oh it’s confusing.

I like the one that premiered in the 70’s, that had people wrapped around street corners waiting in line to see it. I like the one that introduced me to the coolness of Han Solo. He’s way more my type than Luke Skywalker. My favorite thing about Star Wars the movie was C-3PO, R2-D2 and the Jawas. I had the cutest Jawas figurines when I was a kiddo.

Since I’m not a huge Star Wars fan I was surprised to find out that today is Star Wars Day. Thanks to a few Facebook friends and status updates saying “May the fourth be with you, happy Star Wars Day!”
Of course there’s a Star Wars day, why not? If you’ve got a cereal, you’ve got to have a day.

Don’t forget the toys and games!

Anyone with a cameo on Sesame Street deserves a day.

Once you film a service announcement you know your own day will be on the calendar soon.

So to all Star Wars fans colossal or miniscule, may the fourth be with you!

When I think of Elizabeth Taylor I don’t think of Cleopatra first or her many glamorous leading lady roles. I don’t think of her friendship with Michael Jackson, her marriages or her perfume. I think of Young Elizabeth in roles like Lassie Come Home and National Velvet. Click here for the National Velvet movie trailer (1944).

When I was young I liked to watch vintage films on the weekends. Sometimes this led me to the library in search of the books that inspired these films. One of my favorites was Jane Eyre.

RIP Elizabeth Taylor (27 February 1932 – 23 March 2011) —legendary actress, businesswoman, and fearless activist.

Foolish mortals, does your Halloween spirit need a revival? Do you wish that ghoulish feeling could last all year long? Are you in need of some groovy music you can shimmy too?

The Ghastly Ones bring you spooky surf sounds from beyond the grave. Learn more about this groovy, or should I say ghouly band. I had a fun Q&A with Norman, aka Baron Shivers, take a look if you dare:

HIH:  Who came up with the name? Was there any inspiration from the 60’s horror movie with the same title?

Garrett “Dr. Lehos” and I wrote a bunch of names down and The Ghastly Ones stuck because it just had a cool spooky vibe to it but not too over the top. It came from an Andy Milligan film of the same name from 1968. It’s a pretty bad movie but we dug the spirit of the film, plus The Lively Ones was, and still is, one of our favorite surf bands from 60’s. The Deadly Ones was already used by a novelty band in the 60’s, so The Ghastly Ones was perfect.

HIH:  When I hear the word Surf band I think of music from the Ventures. Hearing Cemetery Surf, I think of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion theme song with its ghoulish lyrics and 60’s sounds. What made you want to incorporate the silly scary?

Growing up I really loved The Munsters and religiously watched Creature Features on late night TV. Both shows had a surfy sounding theme song and the idea clicked in my head to make the first real spooky surf group. The Deadly Ones was a novelty band that played instrumentals with groans and screams on top and several bands including The Ventures played around with spooky songs but no one had even done an all horror surf band, so The Ghastly Ones were born!

HIH:   There’s an event in the summer called Tiki Oasis. You played there this year and it sounded like a wild time. I’m fascinated by the mixture of tiki themes mixed with zombies. Can you give us an idea of where this mix came from?

Zombies and Tiki go hand in hand. Besides there being a famous tropical drink called the Zombie, Tiki imagery has always been steeped in mysterious island rituals and Voodoo practices but in a very romantic and idealized way. In the old days many restaurants and bars had this theme and the tradition carries on today.

HIH:  Can we purchase the single you did for the SpongeBob Scaredy Pants episode?

We don’t have that single for sale but we get asked about SpongeBob a lot. We really enjoyed creating music for that show. We just contributed music for another animated film called Los Campiones de La Lucha Libre. It’s from the creators of Mucha Lucha.

HIH:   You’ve been together since the mid 90’s. Has your band changed at all since then?

The biggest change was the addition of a permanent keyboard player, Dave aka “Capt Clegg”. He’s been on all of our recordings since day one but he joined our band officially in 2006. Other than that, we’ve been incorporating some more Davie Allan style fuzz numbers and recently we’ve been on a Japanese Instro kick. There were these cats in the 60’s, Yuzo Kayama and Terry Terauchi that did some amazing Ventures style instros but with a very aggressive guitar tone that we really like. We’re doing a tribute to them in January at Deke Dickeson’s Guitar Geek Festival here in the LA area.

HIH:   What is one of your favorite late night monster movies?

Wow, that’s a very long list! For starters anything by Mario Bava, Black Sunday, Black Sabbath, Kill baby Kill. Hammer films and the original Universal Horror films of the 30’s and 40’s are great. Horror of Party Beach is a big fave, Beach Girls and the Monster, Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster, and the Santo Wrestling films are non-stop fun too. This list could go several pages.

HIH:  In 2007, you performed for the first time in Japan, and on the East Coast. Was there a big difference between those audiences and your California fans?

The Japanese fans were amazing. They love to go nuts over there. A mosh pit started at one of our shows but it wasn’t violent, just kids having a great time. We love to see people out there moving dancing and jumping around, not just staring at our every move.

HIH:  What’s next for The Ghastly Ones?

More grave-diggin’, fuzz-fueled, reverb-drenched, brew-injected, hearse-powered skullduggery at a location near you!

For some hip, happening and haunting tunes go to:

 www.myspace.com/ghastlyones

The Ghastly Ones

“Baron Shivers” Drums and Vocals
“Dr. Lehos”  Lead Guitar
“Sir GoGo Ghostly”  Bass
“Captain Clegg”  Organ
“Necrobella”  Go-Go

After watching MTVs VMA 2008, I found myself feeling very out of touch with today’s music. Don’t get me wrong I can groove to Rihanna, and sing along with Kate Perry all day but I’m not too fond of the Jonas Brothers, or Miley Cyrus. It’s a fine line these days between the Disney Channel and MTV.

I read a couple, not so great reviews, about the UK comedian and host Russell Brand. I think he was quite funny actually. Love his 80′s rocker big hair, very Guns-N-Roses. Anyone with a British accent can pull off that continuously loud approach to speaking. Russell reminded the crowd that it was the 25th anniversary of the Video Music Awards. Remember when Madonna sang Like a Virgin on stage, rolling all around with her lace gloves, wedding dress and ankle boots on? Who could forget the Boy Toy belt. I wonder where that is now.

Ahh 1984, it was a good year. I was fourteen years old, and MTV was the biggest thing since the release of Donkey Kong for my Commodore 64. According to Wikipedia, The Cult banded together, and Earth, Wind and Fire disbanded, Bananarama released their album appropriately named Bananarama. Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter Kelly was born in 1984, and Marvin Gaye passed away. It was a big year for movies, with Gremlins, The Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Terminator, Romancing the Stone, Karate Kid, Splash, and Footloose.

Yes the most recent Hollywood event has made me a bit nostalgic. Wake up Housewife in Hollywood, it’s not 1984! Thank goodness for Netflix, remakes and YouTube. We can transport ourselves back to the past whenever we feel like it. Not to be confused with Back to the Future which premiered in 1985.

Check out this sociology project made by Manson287506 on YouTube using one of my favorite songs by Oingo Boingo: