Pierce Urges Fans to Support Red Cross, Roots and Shoots and Humane Society

Brosnan Asks For Holiday Charity Donations
by Tim Saunders

Actor Pierce Brosnan has wished his fans a Merry Christmas on his official blog and has asked a special Holiday favor.

“In the spirit of giving this holiday season please consider making a small contribution to those in need,“ he wrote. “The following organizations were on our holiday gift giving list: the Jane Goodall Institute, Roots & Shoots, American Red Cross, Kauai Humane Society.

“These funds will be used to sponsor environmental education and youth based humanitarian programs, provide clean, safe drinking water to a developing nation by distributing thousands of portable water purifiers, offer relief services for the victims of the Southern California Wildfires, and care for numerous stray animals while also supporting the spay and neuter shelter program on the island of Kauai.“

Brosnan and his wife Keely Shaye are committed environmentalists, with interests that include clean air and water campaigns, marine mammal and wetland protection, and opposing environmentally disruptive projects such as the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility being proposed off the coast of Malibu. In 1997 he was awarded the Environmental Leadership Award by Green Cross International. He is also a member of Oceana’s Ocean Council.

“Holiday Blessings from my home to yours and every good wish for the coming year ahead,“ he wrote. “May the spirit of the season fill you with love, joy and peace.“

You can read Pierce's Blog at piercebrosnan.com

Beverly Garland, Laura's Mom, Dies at 82

A B-movie actress with spontaneous appearances in movies and on T.V., and a cult movie following from the 1950's, Beverly Garland died Friday in her Beverly Hills Home. According to the LA Times, Garland's died, at age 82, following a lengthy illness.

I saw her play Fred Mac Murray's second wife on "My Three Sons." She also played Bing Crosby's wife in the short-lived "Bing Crosby Show."

Garland may be best known by cult movie fans of "D.O.A," "Swamp Woman," and "Not of This Earth."

Most of her 1950s movies were before my time, but self described as a woman who wasn't apt to play the sweet, lovable woman on film or T.V., she captured interest in her 50 year career span of television and movie appearances.

It seems like those actresses who dare to be real and not pour on the syrupy sweetness, especially in those days had a way of sticking with you. At least they did with me.

Every time I remember her showing up she was gutsy, a little coarse around the edges, and to the point. Those roles seemed to suit her well in a variety of films. Of acting in B-movies Beverly Garland has said,

"You don't have to act in these pictures. All you have to do is possess a good pair of lungs. I can scream with more variations from shrill to vibrato than any other girl in pictures."

Garland could scream and stumble with the best of them. She admits they didn't try to over-act, but in retrospect also had the insight to see how far the movie industry had come.

Garland continued her career showing up as the mother of three high risk television characters. All of them were women. She played the mother of...

- Laura Holt, played by Stephanie Zimbalist, on "Remington Steele" in 1982.

- Amanda King, actress Kate Jackson, in "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," in 1983.

- Lois Lane, played by Teri Hatcher, in 1993 in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman."

You wouldn't expect anyone other than a Beverly Garland character to birth girls that turned out like those three challenging female television characters.

Beverly got her screen name from Richard Garland, to whom she was married for a couple of years. She was married to Fillmore Crank for over 30 years, until his death in 1999.

Take a Chance on Singing ABBA in Boston

Mamma Mia! Will they ever let him live this down?

From the Boston Globe

"Mamma Mia!" is now available on DVD, which means you can spend your Christmas day in pajamas, eating ice cream, and belting out "Take a Chance on Me." But isn't it more fun to watch the musical on the big screen? Today in Beverly, you can catch a theater screening of the wildly popular movie that's based on the show that's based on ABBA's hits. The Cabot Street Cinema will be screening "Mamma Mia!" throughout the day and welcomes all dancing queens and guys who sing as poorly as Pierce Brosnan. They won't judge. 5:30 and 8 p.m. $8. Cabot Street Cinema, 286 Cabot St., Beverly, 978-927-3677.