The Lounge with Michael Horn on CRN: July 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

07/30 Chef Thomas Keller, Julia Child Week

Join MIKE HORN on the

ENTERTAINMENT EDITION of THE PM SHOW
talkin' about ALL the hot topics...

Chef Thomas Keller stops by in honor of Julia Child Week !

Culinary icon Julia Child would have turned 100 years old on August 15th of this year. To honor her, her publisher Knopf has launched the JC100: a national campaign involving restaurants, chefs, bookstores, and bloggers, all celebrating Julia and her legacy. The goal is to raise one million voices in tribute to Julia. Celebrity chef Thomas Keller, former restaurant critic of The New York TimesRuth Reichl, and food writer Amanda Hesser, has selected their most beloved 100 Julia Child recipes to be shared for people to map, eat, share and enjoy.

Thomas Keller is renowned for his culinary skills and his exceptionally high personal standards. He has established a collection of restaurants that set the standard within the hospitality industry. He began his culinary career at a young age, working in the Palm Beach restaurant managed by his mother. He relocated to France in 1983, where he worked in several Michelin-starred houses including Guy Savoy and Taillevent. He opened his first restaurant, Rakel, in New York City in 1986, then moved westward to California to work as the Executive Chef at the Checkers Hotel in Los Angeles.

In 1994, Keller took ownership of The French Laundry in Yountville, quickly garnering nationwide acclaim. His French bistro Bouchon debuted down the street in 1998, with Bouchon Bakery following five years later. He now has eight restaurants and two bakeries in the United States, including his home-style restaurant Ad Hoc also located in Yountville, Per Se and Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center in New York City, and outposts of Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery in Las Vegas. In November 2009, he opened Bouchon in Beverly Hills and introduced his newest concept Bar Bouchon in an adjacent space. In Spring 2011, Keller opened a Bouchon Bakery in New York City's iconic Rockefeller Center.

Keller values genuine collaboration. He has successfully assembled an expert staff that shares his philosophy and vision, thus enabling him to concentrate on his many varied interests. He is the author of the award-winning "The French Laundry" and "Bouchon" cookbooks, as well as "Under Pressure," on sous vide cooking. His most recent release is a book of family-style recipes titled "Ad Hoc at Home." The book has received awards from both the IACP and the James Beard Foundation and has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 6 weeks.

Keller has collaborated with Raynaud and the design firm Level on a collection of sophisticated white porcelain dinnerware called "Hommage." He has launched Modicum, a Napa Valley Cabernet and consulted on the films Spanglish and Ratatouille, the latter winning the 2007 "Best Animated Feature Film" category at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

In 2001, Keller was named "America's Best Chef" by Time magazine. In 2003, Johnson & Wales University conferred upon him the honorary Degree of Doctor of Culinary Arts for his contributions to the industry. His accolades include consecutive "Best Chef" awards from the James Beard Foundation and "Chef of the Year" by the Culinary Institute of America(CIA). In 2010 he was elected to the CIA's Board of Trustees, contributing his unique perspective and leadership to furthering the school's educational mission. Keller is the only American-born chef to hold multiple three star ratings by the Michelin Guide, having received a total of seven stars in the 2011 editions.

All this and MORE only on THE PM SHOW!

Monday, July 23, 2012

07/23 Mariah Carey, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Spice Girls, Beatty, Bening

Pam McNeeley joins MIKE HORN on the
ENTERTAINMENT EDITION of THE PM SHOW
talkin' about ALL the hot topics...

Is Mariah Carey 'NIGHTMARE' to Work With?

KUTCHER & KUNIS CAUGHT KISSING!

SPICE GIRLS REUNITING FOR OLYMPIC CLOSING CEREMONIES!

BEATTY & BENING’S TRANSGENDERED SON DISCUSSES TRANSITIONING!

All this and MORE only on THE PM SHOW!

Friday, July 20, 2012

07/20 Robert Blake

Blake was born Michael James Vincenzo Gubitosi in Nutley, New Jersey, to Giacomo (James) Gubitosi (1906–1956) and Elizabeth Cafone (b. 1910). His brother was James Gubitosi (1930–1995) and his sister was Giovanna Gubitosi (1932–1985).

His father was born in Italy, arriving in the United States in 1907, and his mother was an Italian-American born in New Jersey. They married in 1929. In 1930, James worked as a die setter for a can manufacturer. Eventually, James and Elizabeth began a song-and-dance act. In 1936, the three children began performing, billed as "The Three Little Hillbillies." They moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1938, where the children began working as movie extras.

Then known as Mickey Gubitosi, Blake began his acting career when he appeared as Toto in the MGM movie Bridal Suite (1939) starring Annabella and Robert Young. Gubitosi then began appearing in MGM's Our Gang short subjects under his real name, replacing Eugene "Porky" Lee. He appeared in 40 of the shorts between 1939 and 1944, eventually becoming the series' final lead character. James and Jovanni Gubitosi also made appearances in the series as extras.

During his early Our Gang period, Gubitosi's character, Mickey, was often called upon to cry, and the young actor has been criticized for being unsubtle and unconvincing. He was also criticized for being obnoxious and whiny. In 1942, he acquired the stage name Bobby Blake and his character in the series was renamed "Mickey Blake." In 1944, MGM discontinued Our Gang, releasing the final short in the series Dancing Romeo on April 29.

To date, Gubitosi is one of the few living Our Gang actors from the original series. Other notable surviving members are Dickie Moore, Jean Darling, Sidney Kibrick, Jerry Tucker, and Jackie Lynn Taylor.
Blake as Little Beaver.

In 1944, Blake began playing an Indian boy, "Little Beaver," in the Red Ryder Western series at Republic Pictures, appearing in twenty-three of the movies until 1947. He also had roles in one of Laurel and Hardy's later films The Big Noise (1944), and the Warner Bros. movies Humoresque (1946), playing John Garfield's character as a child, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), playing the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket and getting a glass of water thrown in his face in the process.

According to Blake, he had an unhappy childhood with a miserable home life and was abused by his alcoholic father. When he entered public school at age ten, he could not understand why the other children were hostile to him. He had fights, which led to his expulsion. When he was fourteen, he ran away from home. The next few years were a reportedly difficult period in his life.

In 1950, Blake joined the Army. After returning to Southern California, he entered Jeff Corey's acting class and began working on improving both his personal and professional lives. He eventually became a seasoned Hollywood actor, playing notable dramatic roles in movies and on television. In 1956, he was billed as Robert Blake for the first time.

In 1959, he turned down the role of Little Joe Cartwright, a character ultimately portrayed by Michael Landon, in NBC's western television series Bonanza. Blake did appear that year as Tobe Hackett in the episode "Trade Me Deadly" of the syndicated western series 26 Men, which dramatized true stories of the Arizona Rangers. Blake also appeared twice as "Alfredo" in the syndicated western The Cisco Kid and starred in "The White Hat" episode of Men of Annapolis, another syndicated series. Blake appeared in various roles in the series Have Gun Will Travel and also guest starred on John Payne's NBC western The Restless Gun.

Blake performed in numerous motion pictures as an adult, including the starring role in The Purple Gang (1960), a gangster movie, and featured roles in Pork Chop Hill in 1959 and Town Without Pity in 1961 as well as Ensign Pulver (1964), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and other films. In 1967, he played real-life murderer Perry Smith in In Cold Blood; Richard Brooks directed, adapting Truman Capote's non-fiction book for the film.
As Baretta with Fred.

Blake played an Indian fugitive in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), a TV movie adaptation of Of Mice and Men (1981), and a motorcycle highway patrolman in Electra Glide in Blue (1973). He played a small-town stock car driver with ambitions to join the NASCAR circuit in Corky, which MGM produced in 1972. The film featured real NASCAR drivers, including Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough.

Blake may be best known for his Emmy Award-winning role of Tony Baretta in the popular television series Baretta (1975 to 1978), playing an undercover police detective who specialized in disguises. The show's trademarks included Baretta's pet cockatoo "Fred," his signature phrases — notably "That's the name of that tune" and "You can take that to the bank" — and a memorable theme song, "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow," written by Dave Grusin and Morgan Ames and performed by Sammy Davis, Jr.

He continued to act through the 1980s and 1990s, mostly in television, in such roles as Jimmy Hoffa in the miniseries Blood Feud (1983) and as John List in the murder drama Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993), which earned him a third Emmy nomination. He also had character parts in the theatrical movies Money Train (1995) and Lost Highway (1997). In addition, Blake starred in the television series Hell Town, playing a priest working in a tough neighborhood.