#StayHome Movie Recommendations – Classic Comedies

New Orleans is silent. There’s not one horn blowing in the French Quarter. Like most of the country, we’re staying home to help prevent the spread of the corona virus. Since there are no festivals happening, no free concerts or Pelicans games, etc., I have no events to blog about. Like many, we hunkered down for a weekend of “Netflix and chill.”

My industry is shut down. There’s no traffic in L.A. But our movies will help get the world through this. I decided to share a list of some of the movies that have shaped me as an actor/filmmaker and as a person – starting with comedies. I’m starting here because these movies were always there for me when I needed a laugh and some relief from my worries.

Our New Orleans Wedding and Second Line

If you’ve read this blog’s ABOUT page, then you know that one reason I moved to New Orleans after 18 years in Los Angeles was to find my mate. “I followed my heart here. My gut told me that everything I was looking for, denying myself while I furthered my career, was right here where I always wanted to be.” I met Andy at the Lost Love Lounge (yes, really) 8 months after moving here and we’ve been slowly walking toward the altar ever since. A few weeks ago, we finally tied the knot – New Orleans-style with everything from DancingMan504 and The Roots of Music to the Pussyfooters and “The Dude” (okay, he’s not New Orleans, but he abides everywhere).

French Quarter Fest Saturday

The French Quarter Fest is as much about local cuisine as it is about our amazing music with over 65 local vendors tempting tastebuds with everything from spicy seafood to sweet snowballs. Saturday, the  festival was also the proving ground for Rouses Crawfish Eating World Championship. There were several rounds of competition culminating with the 4th annual win for Sonya Thomas AKA “The Black Widow.” She managed to pack 2.2 pounds of crawfish into her 100 pound body in 10 minutes. Louisianan hunk Adrian Morgan came in second with 2 pounds. I finished one Pulled Pork Sandwich topped with Cole Slaw ($6) from The Joint while watching

The Dude in Baton Rouge

It takes stamina to hang with the Dude, stamina and good hearing. A marvel and a mumbler, Jeff “the Dude” Dowd, the inspiration for the Jeff Bridges character in The Big Lebowski, draws people in wherever he goes and can out-party people a third his age. Last week, he leant his considerable knowledge and marketing to help kickstart a new film festival in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana International Film Festival. The Dude helped launch a little festival known as Sundance years ago. 

L.A. – A Nice Place to Visit… Vol. 2

My trip to Los Angeles was for a dinner with the cast of Django Unchained. With the dinner behind me, I could enjoy the friends I miss so much. Janell and I started the day with a decadent breakfast at The Farm. Though I miss her children too, it was nice to spend the morning just the 2 of us like old times. We talked about life and did a little shopping before picking the kids up for an audition. In L.A., even the kids might be on TV and the industry tends to find children as beautiful and personality-packed as Janell’s.

L.A. to N.O.LA’s Favorite Things (in NOLA) 2010

I can’t get you all of this stuff, Oprah-style, but every item has links to their site. If you’d like to know more about why each is my favorite, use the search window on the lower right to find photos, videos and stories.

I continue to accumulate favorite things about New Orleans, but here’s my first year favorites in a nutshell.

Dude, check out my articles

In July, I confessed that I’ve been writing articles for a locally-base online paper, NOLA Defender. For those of you who’ve enjoyed my articles and in an effort to give you an easy reference, here are links to my latest articles.

The first links are part of an ongoing series of interviews with Jeff Dowd, the inspiration for The Dude in “The Big Lebowski.”

The Dude Abides

I first saw The Big Lebowski in 1998, when it was released. Because of my deep love for movies I was working one day a week tearing tickets at the largest theatre in the world at that time, the 18 screen multiplex at Universal City Walk. I’d stay after work and see movies nearly every Sunday.

I’ve been cheating on you

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I sometimes drop off the map for a few days. Yes, there are times when I’m just too busy living to write about life. But, the truth is that I took a position writing for a local paper and writing articles takes even more time and energy than writing my blog posts.

Sunday = Treme

You didn’t think I’d let a little thing like Jazz Fest deter me from commenting on this week’s episode of Treme, did you? I’m beginning to really love the show. I look forward to it every week, especially when I get to watch it with friends in the Treme, like this week.