So, what do Desi Arnaz Jr.,Joseph Bottoms,Marilyn Hassett,Irene Miracle, andPia Zadora have in common? As almost everyone who answered the question guessed, they all won the Golden Globes’ now-defunct prize for the year’s most promising newcomer in movies. Lucy and Desi’s son won for 1971’s Red Sky at Morning. Bottoms won for 1974’s The Dove, Hassett for 1975’s The Other Side of the Mountain, Miracle for 1978’s Midnight Express, and most notoriously, Zadora for 1981’s Butterfly (pictured). Zadora was the giveaway for most of you, since her victory led to widespread accusations of payola (her husband, Las Vegas casino owner Meshulam Riklis, had wined and dined many of the voters). No wonder the award was discontinued shortly thereafter. The truly trivia-minded among you knew that Butterfly wasn’t even Zadora’s film debut; rather, she first starred nearly two decades earlier as a green-skinned alien child in the thoroughly forgettable Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964).
As many of you noted, none of these folks really lived up to their supposed promise. (Yes, a few of you will argue for Zadora’s singing career; "Her duet with Jermaine Jackson, ‘When The Rain Begins To Fall,’ is one of my all time favorite songs," writes John Odalen. Uh, okay.) Which is galling, since they all beat actors who’ve had actual, you know, longevity. (Reader Todd LaPlace has done the math: Arnaz beat Shaft’s Richard Roundtree; Bottoms beat Sam Waterston; Hassett beat Stockard Channing and Lily Tomlin; Miracle beat Mary Steenburgen and Annie Potts; and Zadora beat Elizabeth McGovern and Kathleen Turner.) PopWatcher Charles Neal wishes they were still giving out the award so that Jennifer Hudson could have won it this year, but fellow reader Daphne Perkins fears they might also have given the trophy to the likes of Paris Hilton for House of Wax or Kevin Federline for his CSI guest spot.
The names of the statuette-worthy readers who guessed correctly are listed after the jump.
Congratulations to Eddie Applegate, Laurie Baker, David Baskind, Jerome Billingsley, Florrie Brafman, Adam Bonin, John Book, Markus Boos, Janet Clark, Lee Cochenour, Leah Cole, Joe Cortazzi, Clay Cruz, Nick DeRenzo, Maggie DiDonna, Kathy Felps, Dan Flave-Novak, Joel Fowler, Bob Garrett, Tyler Geditz, Timothy Greening, Dave Guerin, Tianne Haines, Stephaan Harris, Mandy Hoge, Brian Horsham, Thomas A Hopp, Simeon Humphreys, Geoff Huntsman, Erin Konrath, Matt LaPierre, Todd LaPlace, Dominique Lefebvre, David Levy, Laura Linderman, Scot Manning, Sean L. McCarthy, Rakeem McKinney, Mozz Mendez, James Mintz, Megan Moorhouse, Charles Neal, John Odalen, Christian K. Ogi, Elizabeth Owens, Daphne Perkins, Tonya Perrotto, Scott Pesner, Kryss Peterson, Tim Priester, Aramis X. Ramirez, William Rees, Mary Beth Revesz, Harold Reynolds, Cliff Rives, Marcy Robb, Robyn Rogers, Gary T. Sanginario, Donald Sears Jr., Darren Sextro, Wendy Swiggett, Surafel Tsega, Autumn Tysko, Kathy Vieira, Scott Walker, Kaiulani Watson, Zachary Wilcha, Jan Willemsen, James Wood, Patrick A. Yearout, and Sarah Zabrenski.
Thanks for playing, everyone! Come back Friday for another HeadScratcher…
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snore….
you spelled “discontinued” with an unfortunately placed “u” …
discuntinued? ouch :p
D’oh! Typo is fixed. We blame “Saturday Night Live” for the error.
I thought that Zadora had divorced that guy and is now narried to cheezball B movie producer Menacham Globus who was responsible for all of the M.I.A. movies with Chuck Noriss?
Pia’s then hubby, whom she calls “Rik” has a grown son Ira Riklis. Ira and I had a relationship for many years — during this time Pia Zadora wanted to have a baby. Ira told me his father asked for his sperm! I guess now you all know who the father of Pia’s kids really is.
And, Ira Riklis really hated Pia Zadora, I mean hated her almost as much as he used to tell me he hated his father, Meshulam. But then again, he used to tell his wife, Diana that he truly loved her…all the while he was telling me the same thing. Really, this man was totally obsessed. I disappeared from his life, never wanted to see him again, and he goes and pays $150,000 to have someone hunt me down in NYC and find me for him! This guy he pays the money to owns a small home security company…long/short…Ira Riklis becomes interested in the security biz — he’s huge now. Privately owned. But, he had a bad habit of keeping tabs on me…like tapping my phones and following me around…really weired stuff…and now I realize in his line of work, you can’t do that! The security business is regulated, much like the stock market. But, oh…those Riklis’…I guess rules just don’t apply to them. (More tidbits on request…like was he or not seeing a shrink?)
What is Pia doing now? We miss her…
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Ira Riklis is a good person and has done some really great things. Check out his accomplishments at http://www.irariklis.com/
reply to acd;s post here: So you’re one of the new guys ira Riklis has paid to keep his dirt from seeping out! Welcome aboard. This man you call a “good person” spied on me, placed wire taps in my store on Columbus Avenue, and called me obsessively 20-30 times day for years — and that’s just the tame stuff! So I doubt his wife, Diana, or myself who he also lied to would share your money-blinded opinion of Ira Riklis.
Kirby, really get a life! You insist on making yourself a victim, when if fact you were a hooker! Close your legs to married men and you won’t have to carry around baggage for twenty years! Take a look at the picture you posted of yourself on your website, no business suit for you, no a twenty year old picture in your oh yeah…business suit, lingerie! Talk about a woman scorned! Get some couseling!
Kirby, your vitriolic postings worked. You now have our pity, but not in the way you were hoping. Don’t you think it’s a little sophomoric to post diatribes against someone who has too little interest and too much class to respond? I think your unfounded comments say much about you. How sad! Get over whatever perceived slights in life are turning you into a cyber stalker. You can ask yourself… it’s apparent you do talk to yourself a lot… what I have to gain? The answer is nothing. You’re misinformed and I’d just like to correct the record. I don’t work for Ira, as you’ll accuse, but I know him well socially. Ira Riklis is a man of principle and character. I’ve seen him do more to help those less fortunate in life than dozens of others combined. His one flaw… he’s too generous with his time and money. Then “they” line up to take advantage. That’s the man I know. I could go on, but why bother? It’s transparent that you have an agenda. Why don’t you find someone more deserving of your, ahem, fixations? And, if its money you’re after, may I suggest driving while holding a hot cup of coffee from McDonalds on your lap? I’ve heard THAT one works.
I have known Ira Riklis for 20 years. Always, I’ve found him to be a generous man, always looking to the needs of others. To this day, he continues to donate hours of his personal time working at a soup kitchen, which he has done for the last 12 years. He has been involved with, and continues to donate thousands of dollars to organizations as Aish HaTorah, Wharton Business, The American Friends of Tel Aviv Foundation, to name a few. He’s an exemplar of giving back, not just to his local community, but to charities all over the world. Ira has an excellent reputation in the business community as well. Personally, he’s been a valuable coach and mentor. These are just some of the reasons why I find it extremely repulsive that someone can assassinate his good character on the internet, stalking every site that may give mention of his name, for their own self-serving reasons. I also felt the need to defend a man who, ironically, needs no defending, from someone clearly jealous of a better human being. As someone once said, “Good living is the ultimate revenge.” Live well, Ira.
I have also known Ira for nearly two decades, and here is my experience: he is trustworthy, genuine – and possibly generous to a fault. Anyone who spends even a few hours with Ira realizes that family is paramount to him. He has been a mentor to dozens of people that I have known throughout the years (maybe he is patient to a fault as well!), and his rock-solid integrity is something that has proven to be a defining characteristic. On a more personal note, Ira is one of the most positive and influential forces in my life – both personally and professionally. He has proven to be there in good times and bad, and I could provide countless examples that would make others wish they had more people like him in their own lives. However, after reading the other posts it has become clear that it would be similar to beating a thumb tack with a sledge hammer…
@Patricia: the photo was a gift to Ira for his birthday in 1992. He has the original. -Kirby
Patricia, beware. You mess with Kirby… you mess with the whole trailer park!