Blog
I was born in a trunk on a Hollywood sound stage.
Okay, not true, but I always wanted to say that.
Actually, I was born in Hollywood hospital. I’m a second-generation member of the film/TV industry, having started as a kid actor at the age of two. At the age of 21, I began my career as a makeup artist in the industry.
My dad, Larry J. Blake, was a character actor for almost 40 years. He was one of those actors you recognized, but likely never knew the name. His credits include such films as High Noon, Sunset Blvd, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Man of a Thousand Faces, The Will Rogers Story, Flaming Road, The Shaggy Dog, Gunsmoke, Here’s Lucy, Adam-12, Kung Fu, Dennis the Menace to name a few.
My childhood was surrounded by actors, studio sound stages and back lots. Even today, if I walk onto an old sound stage and inhale that musty smell, I feel right at home. For me, a sound stage brings back so many wonderful and happy memories. I have always considered Universal Studios as my “home lot.” As a kid I worked there several times, and as a makeup artist, where I spent the first 3 ½ years of my career.
Since everyone says I should have a blog (seems it is a social media must for writers), I had to come up with a name. I tried all sorts of titles that were quickly sent to the trash pile. Finally, I came up with “Blake’s Babbling Blog.” Original, no? Well, it fits what I want my blog to be about − babbling about things that interest me – and, I hope, you.
If you’re interested in Lon Chaney, John Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, Film History, the Wild West and the American Civil War, you have come to the right place. I will do my best to be informative, not boring, and keep the “in my day” memories to a reasonable tally.
I hope you will find the babbling blog of interest.
Michael F. Blake
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A Corking Good Time!
A Corking Good Time! That is how Theodore Roosevelt explained his Great Loop Tour of 1903. It also expresses my feelings on my latest book (number 7!), Go West Mr. President: Theodore Roosevelt’s Great Loop Tour of 1903, that hits bookstores on June 1st. After my last book on TR, I really did not want […]
WHATZZZUP?
WHATZZZUP? Contrary to various rumors that I’m running on the TR Bully ticket for President in 2020, or ensconced in a bunker viewing Chaney’s lost “London After Midnight”…… The honest truth is I have just been busy. In May, I gave two speeches at the Grand Canyon about Theodore Roosevelt. I was very honored […]
BULLY!
On This Date – January 6, 1919: “The Old Lion Is Dead.” Archie Roosevelt, who was home after being severely wounded in World War I, telegraphed his two brothers, Theodore Jr. and Kermit, who were still overseas, with those words. Theodore Roosevelt died at at the age of sixty a hundred years ago today. For […]
One of the brightest memories I have of the Christmas season was the day before Thanksgiving
One of the brightest memories I have of the Christmas season was the day before Thanksgiving. My mom would pick me up at my school (Hollywood Professional) and we’d drive down Hollywood Blvd. Across the street from the Pantages Theatre, KTTV (local station in L.A.) had their scaffolding up, lights were set, cameras ready for […]
ME and ADAM-12: 50 Years Ago
My God…50 years ago today. It only seems like it was a week ago. This was my first interview for ADAM-12. Little did I know how much a television show would have an impact on me, just like GUNSMOKE. Stuart Lee and I were on something of a roll. We were currently working on the […]
BREAD OR BLOOD
April 2, 1863: The cry of “Bread or Blood!” filled the streets of Richmond, Virginia as women rioted and broke into stores and warehouses holding food. By 1863, Richmond, like many other Southern cities, was experiencing a crisis in food shortages. Prices leaped, some by 10 times the normal price, and many items became scarce […]
SONG AND DANCE MAN
So what was Lon Chaney doing on his 29th birthday in April 1912? He was performing with Fischer’s Follies in downtown Los Angeles. E. A. “Pop” Fischer was a well-known musical comedy producer on the California coast at the time, starting first in San Francisco, before setting up shop in Los Angeles in 1906. At […]
Marshal Dillon and Me
Marshal Dillon and Me I have always told actors to never underestimate the power they possess as a child’s hero. Many actors I worked with over the years have been a childhood hero due to a role in a TV series, or in a movie. No actor should ever dismiss what their performance can mean […]