Coogan’s Bluff: Rare Unseen Artwork

Coogan’s Bluff: Rare Unseen Artwork

I’m always surprised by the amount of rare and unseen artwork that continuously appears to surface. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, I’m contacted by eagle-eyed fans who have spotted various lost treasures. In this case I have to thank my good friend Davy Triumph for finding these beauties. 

Below are some resent concept designs that surfaced for Don Siegel’s classic crime thriller Coogan’s Bluff (1968). The designs were made by Studio Favalli of Italy. 

33 x 18 cm tempera on thin cardboard

51,5 x 27 cm tempera and photographic film on cardboard

3 preliminary artworks, 16,5 x 23 cm each, pencil on paper

Below: a finished example of the final Italian poster used for the film’s release. 

Below: Another unseen design, this one by Rodolfo Valcarenghi, 38 x 54 cm, tempera on thin cardboard

Joe Kidd star Lynne Marta dies at 78

Joe Kidd star Lynne Marta dies at 78

The Footloose and Starsky & Hutch star passes away after battle with cancer... just weeks after death of her ex-partner David Soul.

Actress Lynne Marta died Thursday at the age of 78 in her home in Los Angeles following a cancer battle. Marta's friend Chris Saint-Hilaire confirmed her passing to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Marta spent four decades in show business, with her most prominent work coming in the movies Footloose and Joe Kidd; and on the TV shows Love, American Style, Starsky & Hutch, Barnaby Jones, The F.B.I. and Medical Center. Marta's death comes weeks after the January 4 passing of her longtime lover, Starsky & Hutch actor David Soul, at the age of 80. In 1983, she described their relationship to People as an 'open relationship,' as Soul had been married at the time to actress Karen Carlson.

The magazine reported at the time that throughout the Starsky & Hutch years from 1975-1979, 'David and Lynne lived together but spent time with other people.' Marta would appear with her late lover on his 1977 special, David Soul and Friends. Marta had previously been married to late actor Brick Huston from 1968-1975. He died in August of 2018. 

Marta, who was born October 31, 1948 in Somerville, New Jersey, was the younger daughter of father George, who served as the state's air and water pollution commissioner. 

In the 1972 film Joe Kidd for filmmaker John Sturges, Marta played Elma, the partner of landowner Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall), who would catch the attention of the film's titular bounty hunter character, portrayed by Clint Eastwood.

The actress played the role of Lulu Warnicker, the aunt of Kevin Bacon's Ren character, in the 1984 film Footloose. 

On TV, she had also been features on a number of shows produced by the late Aaron Spelling, including The Mod Squad, Charlie's Angels, The Rookies, Matt Houston and Vega$. She also had worked on a number of series produced by the late Quinn Martin, such as The Streets of San Francisco, Dan August, Cannon, Caribe and The Manhunter.

Marta's first appearances in front of the camera came on The Lloyd Thaxton Show, a dance show. In 1966, she appeared on the TV shows Gidget and The Monkees, paving the way for her to land a spot on Love, American Style. She had appeared in a pilot in 1973 for a sci-fi series penned by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry titled Genesis II, but ABC did not pick it up. Other TV shows Marta made appearances on included Gunsmoke, Kojak, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Rockford Files, Trapper John, M.D., Knight Rider, Designing Women, Law & Order and ER, with her final role coming on the 2004 show American Dreams.

Her work also spanned soap operas such as Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless and Passions. On the silver screen, Marta had been seen in movies such as 2002's Time of Fear, 1990's Three Men and a Little Lady, 1980's Blood Beach, 1974's Help Me … I'm Possessed and 1971's Red Sky at Morning.

The actress was also in proximity to one of the grimmest events in Hollywood history, when My Sister Sam actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered at the age of 21 on July 18, 1989 at her Los Angeles home by Robert John Bardo, a fan who was obsessed with her. Marta was a neighbour of Schaeffer, and testified in Bardo's trial about hearing the gunshots that claimed the life of the up-and-coming actress, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

RIP

The Passing of David Soul:

The Passing of David Soul: 

It’s awful to start the new year with such sad news, but yesterday we received word that Starsky and Hutch and Magnum Force star David Soul had died at the age of 80. 

The BBC said, his wife, Helen Snell said he died on Thursday "after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family. He shared many extraordinary gifts in the world as actor, singer, storyteller, creative artist and dear friend," she said. "His smile, laughter and passion for life will be remembered by the many whose lives he has touched."

The US-born actor was best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the classic crime-solving series Starsky & Hutch. He starred opposite Paul Michael Glaser in the series, which ran from 1975 to 1979.

He and Glaser reprised their roles in the 2004 remake Starsky & Hutch, starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch. Soul was also known for his roles in Here Come the Brides, Magnum Force and The Yellow Rose. He also starred in several British television programmes including Holby City, Little Britain and Lewis. In 2004 he obtained British citizenship.

Like a lot of the Eastwood fan community, the link and crossover between Magnum Force and Starsky & Hutch has always been strong. As a fan who was simply just too young to catch Magnum Force in the cinema on its initial release, we certainly had the chance to watch the classic TV cop show on a weekly basis in the 70’s. It was a great education which would lead us nicely into Magnum Force when it first emerged on home video. David Soul of course got his break as rookie officer John Davis in Clint's Dirty Harry sequel, and helped land him the part in Starsky & Hutch. 

Life and career:

Soul was born on August 28, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois. He began performing on stage as an actor in the mid-1960s, when he became a founding member of the Firehouse Theatre in Minneapolis. He travelled with the company to New York City in 1965, appearing in Bertolt Brecht's Baal and John Arden's Serjeant Musgrave's Dance. Soul first gained national attention as the "Covered Man" appearing on The Merv Griffin Show in 1966 and 1967, on which he sang while wearing a mask. He explained: "My name is David Soul, and I want to be known for my music." The same year, he made his television debut in Flipper.

In 1967, he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and following a number of guest appearances, including the episode "The Apple" from the second season of Star Trek, he landed the role of Joshua Bolt on the television program Here Come the Brides with co-stars Robert Brown, Bobby Sherman, and Bridget Hanley. The series was telecast on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968, to September 18, 1970. In 1972, he co-starred as Arthur Hill's law partner on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law. Following numerous guest-starring roles on TV, including The Streets of San Francisco, he was cast by Clint Eastwood in the film Magnum Force. 

His breakthrough came when he portrayed Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson on Starsky & Hutch, a role he played from 1975 until 1979. Soul also directed three episodes of Starsky and Hutch: "Huggy Can't Go Home" (1979), "Manchild on the Streets" (1977), and "Survival" (1977). During his career he made guest appearances on Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie, McMillan & Wife, Cannon, Gunsmoke, All in the Family, and numerous TV movies and mini-series, including Homeward Bound (1980), World War III, and Rage (1980), a TV movie commended on the floor of the U.S. Senate and for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. Soul also starred with James Mason in the 1979 TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot, which was edited and released as a theatrical feature film in some countries.

During the mid-1970s, Soul returned to his singing roots. He scored one US hit with "Don't Give Up on Us" (1977) which reached No. 1 in the US and the UK. "Silver Lady" (1977) hit No. 1 in the UK. From 1976 until 1978, he had five UK top 20 singles and two top 10 UK albums. From 1976 to 1982, he toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, Far East, and South America.

In the U.S., he continued to make guest appearances on various television series. He starred in the miniseries The Manions of America as Caleb Staunton in 1981. He starred in the short-lived 1983 NBC series Casablanca, playing nightclub owner Rick Blaine (the role that was made famous by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 film Casablanca), and co-starred in the NBC series The Yellow Rose during the 1983–1984 season. He also starred in the television adaptation of Ken Follett's wartime drama The Key to Rebecca (1985) directed by David Hemmings. He later starred as the infamous Florida robber Michael Lee Platt in the TV movie In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders (1988), which depicted the 1986 FBI Miami shootout, subsequently used as an FBI training film. Soul also directed the episode "No Exit" of the 1980s TV series Miami Vice. In 1987, Soul was cast as Major Oldham in the movie The Hanoi Hilton.

In the mid-1990s, Soul moved to the United Kingdom, forging a new career on the West End stage, including the role of Chandler Tate in Comic Potential and The Narrator in Blood Brothers. He also participated in the successful 1997 election campaign of his friend Martin Bell who ran as an MP for Tatton, as well as Bell's unsuccessful campaign in Brentwood in Essex in the 2001 General Election.

In 2001 and 2002, he appeared in Holby City as Alan Fletcher. In 2003, he appeared (as himself) in the first series of the BBC's Little Britain. In 2004, he appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot – Death on the Nile in the role of Andrew Pennington (he had also starred in the 1989 film adaptation of Christie's Appointment with Death). Soul was a guest on the BBC's Top Gear. He was one of the fastest drivers to have appeared on the show, but managed to break the car's gearbox (and subsequently a backup car's) very close to the finish. On July 12, 2004, he took over playing the role of Jerry Springer in Jerry Springer: The Opera at the Cambridge Theatre in London, televised by the BBC in 2005. He returned to the West End in 2006, playing Mack in a new production of Jerry Herman's musical Mack and Mabel at the Criterion Theatre. The production co-starred Janie Dee and was directed by John Doyle. He also appeared in the TV series Dalziel & Pascoe (Game of Soldiers). He had a brief cameo in the 2004 movie version of Starsky & Hutch, alongside original co-star Paul Michael Glaser.

In August 2008, Soul appeared in the reality TV talent show-themed television series Maestro on BBC Two mentored by Natalia Luis-Bassa. He appeared with Fred Ward and Willem Dafoe in the film Farewell directed by Christian Carion, which received its U.S. release in 2010. In June 2012, Soul made a one-week appearance with Jerry Hall at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, in a reprise of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play by A. R. Gurney, Love Letters. On July 29, 2012, he appeared in an episode of the British television detective drama series Lewis, playing a murder victim. He was also featured in the hit album by Fosseytango, singing on the track "Landlord". In 2013, Soul appeared in a cameo role in the Scottish film Filth lip-syncing his own recording of "Silver Lady". In 2014, Soul appeared in a British television commercial for National Express singing "Silver Lady" while driving a coach.

Soul was married five times and had five sons and a daughter. He was 21 when he married his high school sweetheart, Mirriam "Mim" Solberg (née Russeth), in 1964. The couple had one child, a son. The marriage lasted under two years, ending in divorce. Soul's second marriage was to actress Karen Carlson in 1968, after they met on the set of the television series Here Come the Brides. They had a son together, Kristjian Solberg, born April 3, 1971. The couple divorced in 1977. During the years he was filming Starsky & Hutch, Soul had an open relationship with actress Lynne Marta. On October 12, 1980, Soul married Patti Carnel Sherman, ex-wife of Bobby Sherman, teen idol and cast member of the television series Here Comes the Brides. Soul became stepfather to Carnel-Sherman's two children with Bobby Sherman. Soul was jailed and ordered to attend therapy classes for alcoholism and anger management after attacking her when she was seven months pregnant with his child. They reunited temporarily, divorcing shortly thereafter in 1986.

In 1987, Soul married actress Julia Nickson. The couple had a daughter, China Soul, who is a singer/songwriter. Nickson urged Soul to seek help for his excessive drinking, persuading him to enter a rehabilitation facility in 1989. Soul married his fifth and last wife, Helen Snell on June 26, 2010. Snell was an English public relations officer in the British stage production of Deathtrap. They had been in a relationship since 2002 after meeting when Soul was working in that play. He referred to her as his soulmate.

In 2004, Soul obtained British citizenship. He credited his relationship with Helen as his reason for obtaining citizenship and stated that he knew he "wanted to spend the rest of his life there with Helen." Soul was a three-pack-a-day cigarette smoker for fifty years. Although he had stopped smoking ten years prior to his death, he was seriously affected by COPD and had also had a lung removed due to cancer. Soul died in a London hospital, surrounded by his family. 

RIP David

Photo Opportunity #45

Photo Opportunity #45

We kick off the New Year with our regular, first of the month, Photo Opportunity – a shameless excuse to simply pull out a great photo from the files for all to enjoy. To begin 2024 I’ve chosen this great shot of Clint and the lovely Tisha Sterling (as Linny Raven) taken on the set of Don Siegel’s great crime thriller Coogan’s Bluff (1968). 

Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling (born December 10, 1944) is now a retired American actress. She is the only daughter of actor Robert Sterling and actress Ann Sothern. Sterling was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced when she was three years old.

Sterling started acting in the 1960s with an appearance on her mother's television series The Ann Sothern Show. She later appeared in episodes of The Donna Reed Show; The Long, Hot Summer; Bonanza; Batman episodes 43 and 44 as Legs, the daughter of Ma Parker (played by Shelley Winters); The Name of the Game; The Bold Ones: The Lawyers; Hawaii Five-O; Columbo and The New Adventures of Perry Mason.

She appeared in the feature films Village of the Giants (1965), Coogan's Bluff (1968), and Norwood (1970).

In 1987, Sterling played a younger version of her mother's character (in flashbacks) in The Whales of August. Following that role, she appeared in two other films. Sterling made her last onscreen appearance in Breakfast of Champions (1999), opposite Bruce Willis.

She has since retired from acting, and works as a florist in Ketchum, Idaho (where her mother lived for many years until her death in 2001) with her daughter, Heidi Bates Hogan. Sterling was married to Lal Baum (1937–1987), the great-grandson of author L. Frank Baum, from 1965 until 1970. Baum died of a brain tumour on July 21, 1987.

Happy Christmas and Yearly review 2023

Happy Christmas and Yearly review 2023

On reflection, 2023 has been something of another quiet (and somewhat disruptive) year. Nevertheless, we have still managed to conjure up some 90 new posts which I hope you have all enjoyed. Of course, a great deal of these posts have been retrospective in nature, but as always, keeping the spirit alive and kicking remains the common goal. We all have plenty of great Eastwood memories, and I’m determined to never let them fade.  

Back in January we began with a little Flashback feature – The Clint Eastwood Venice Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, and I posted a couple of Rare For Your Consideration Ads for Escape from Alcatraz. We also had another Flashback feature looking at The Gauntlet U.S. Release and Response. 

We followed this with a rare Any which way you can one day ad which became something of a restoration project – but finished up looking pretty good. We also did a little feature on the Clint Eastwood Region 1 DVD collections of 2003. Also, in the same month we posted some excellent Rare Japanese Poster Artwork for The Gauntlet and an equally rare Japanese poster for Pale Rider. We followed this with a nice little piece on The NATO American Movie Awards 1980 containing rare advertisements and photos. We also finished off a busy January with The Gauntlet unseen, a great piece featuring some cracking photos which surfaced. 

February was a little quieter, with a small piece, Clint's cops on cassette which featured some rarely seen WHV ads. The month was a little too quiet for me, so I set about putting together quite an extensive piece on Clint: Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, Paris, Europe and beyond January 1985. I was really pleased with how this came out and, in the process, managed to utilised some great photos I’d had sitting in files. 

We kicked off quite a busy month of March with a feature, The Fourth Annual Clint Eastwood Celebrity Tennis Tournament July 7th 1973. We followed this up with another piece I was particularly happy with, Design me a Poster, The Outlaw Josey Wales, from Camera to concept. 

We also put together an interesting little look at Clint and the Serbian comic book market, and how Clint’s image has been used over the decades. I also reproduced a RARE Interview from SHOW Magazine February 1970 on location during The Warriors which of course became Kelly’s Heroes. Also, we featured Clint Eastwood: Affluent Golfer, Rare Magazine Cover, introduced Pod Casty for me, a weekly pod cast by Jake Serwin & Ian Rhine – which I still tune in for religiously every week, and we reported for the first time on rumours surfacing about Juror #2 as Clint’s next movie. 

In April we featured the new Documentary: Clint Eastwood, la dernière légende, and I must thank my dear friend James – who unselfishly made sure I was kept updated on all documentary pieces – James you’re a legend, sir. We also featured a couple of Blasts from the Past: ranging from Target Magazine, May 1972 to Top Trump advertising from the 80’s. 

May was a bit of a mixed bag, aside from Clint’s 93rd Birthday, we featured some pieces including a beautiful Firefox crew Jacket, the elusive Style A Where Eagles Dare Quad poster, a Paint Your Wagon mystery photograph, and announced that Kiefer Sutherland was joining the cast of Clint's Juror #2. 

In June we posted a nice piece, 100 Years of Warner Bros. (2023) featuring some great photos of Clint. I also put together a little mid-year Flashback: Las Vegas, November 15th 1959 When Clint met Sammy, again with some great rare images. We closed June by reproducing an excellent piece I found, The Unusual Clint Eastwood Crime Drama The Mule Needs A Closer Examination – which was a fine piece of reading. 

July brought major disruptions in Hollywood; the strike officially began on July 14th. As part of the rules established on July 10th, actors could not engage in film or television productions and not take part in promotional work, such as press junkets, film premieres, and events. As a result, all work was suspended on Juror #2. However, we pushed on, and welcomed a new friend to the Archive, Australian Travis Trewin who supplied us with some great rare pieces from his collection. Also our French friend, David Fakrikian published his latest project DVDvision n°2 le Mook Clint Eastwood & Dirty Harry – a French text book which became a labour of love for David. 

In August we had a Flashback: Celebrating The Duke’s 40 years in film and that Paramount gathering – a nice piece which brought together all of those famous Paramount shots. August also saw me pulling my finger out and finally putting together an original piece on the Firefox Video and Arcade game – I had gathered quite a few pieces together over the decades, so it was nice to finally pull it all together and publish them. I also got around to scanning an original article in my collection - My Wife Maggie by Clint Eastwood, a nice rare 60’s feature. 

I also put together a piece on High Plains Drifter – The French Release 50 Years Ago Today – which included a nice range of French material. We followed this up with, High Plains Drifter 50th Anniversary - Rare Advertising from Universal. We concluded this mini celebration by publishing some High Plains Drifter High Res cast member photos. I also posted a small UK Dollar Nostalgia piece including a few rare pieces. I finished off the month of August by finally putting together an extensive Guide to collecting Eastwood related 7” Vinyl Singles, another project I’d wanted to piece together for quite some time. 

In September I posted a nice piece, How Donna Mills landed the role in Play Misty for Me which proved a popular article. We also posted Dirty Harry: The Independent Film Journal Review, December 23rd 1971. In the same month we reviewed Clint Eastwood: The Iconic Filmmaker and his Work, by Ian Nathan – an excellent publication and beautifully packaged. I also published a bit of restoration work on a Rare Japanese LP featuring Magnum Force on the cover art. On the subject of rare albums, I also featured a very rare Korean pressing which featured Hang em High as the main cover art. We also had a little Flashback feature: Christmas season 1980 and made good use of a Columbia – EMI – Warner in-house magazine which had been sitting in a file for an eternity. We closed September with an extremely rare Firefox insert poster which was secured by the Archive’s very own, Davy Triumph. 

October began in great style with a Rare 1971 interview with Clint talking about A Fistful of Dollars, a big thank you to our friend Graham Rye, Editor of 007 Magazine for coming up with this gem. We also took a walk down memory lane with The Birth of UK Home Video – Dirty Harry’s first video release. October also saw the Propstore Auction: Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction: London 2023 – which featured some incredible Eastwood related items. This month also saw us cover some really nice and very rare posters such as Badge 373 / Coogan’s Bluff Double-Bill and a Beguiled / Two Mules for Sister Sara Quad. 

In November we featured Irene Cara’s Personalised 1984 City Heat Movie Cast Jacket and a Eastwood / Universal mystery promo leaflet which has us still scratching our heads. November also saw an end to the Hollywood strikes and that filming had restarted on juror #2 – and with it we found out that Chris Messina had joined the cast. We concluded the month of November with a picture of Clint seen filming on the Georgia set for Juror #2 – and wearing a bushy white beard – which, for some reason, seemed to be the focus of a minor media frenzy? 

So, in December we announced that Oscar winning actor J.K. Simmons had Joined the cast of Juror #2. With such an impressive ensemble cast growing, I’ll be very interested in finally seeing Juror #2.

Sadly, 2023 also saw the passing of some colleges and co-stars from the Eastwood circle of family and friends. We said farewell to Barbara Walters, Suzanne Somers, Roxanne Tunis and Richard Roundtree - all of whom helped the Eastwood light shine brightly and will be sadly missed.

Finally, a big Thank you to everyone for your continued support - and especially to my team of correspondents and helpers who continue to do a fabulous job in keeping the spirit alive. It's very much appreciated.

Have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year ~ Kindest, Darren 

J.K. Simmons Joins Nicholas Hoult in Eastwood’s Juror #2

J.K. Simmons Joins Nicholas Hoult in Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2

Toni Collette and Kiefer Sutherland are already on board the legal drama that recently restarted production.

The Hollywood Reporters states: Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons has joined Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette in Juror #2, the legal thriller Clint Eastwood is directing for Warner Bros. Shooting is currently underway in Atlanta.

In addition to Hoult and Collette, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Leslie Bibb, Chris Messina and Kiefer Sutherland are on the call sheet.

Per the studio’s official logline, the script by Jonathan Abrams follows family man Justin Kemp (Hoult) who, while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma … one he could use to sway the jury verdict to potentially convict — or free — the wrong killer.

Simmons will play one of the jurors.

Collette is playing the prosecutor, Basso the accused, and Messina the public defender. Deutch is playing Hoult’s wife, while Sutherland is the lead’s AA sponsor.

On top of directing, Eastwood is producing via his production company Malpaso. Tim Moore and Jessica Meier of Malpaso and Dichotomy’s Adam Goodman and Matt Skiena are also producing.

Simmons won an Oscar for his portrayal of the hard-driving music professor in Damien Chazelle’s acclaimed drama Whiplash, one of the actor’s many accolades for the role. He earned an Oscar nomination for his work opposite Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in 2021’s Being the Ricardos. He continues to lean into his audience-favorite role of Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson in various Spider-Man movies and voiced the character in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Photo Opportunity #44

Photo Opportunity #44

For our final Photo Opportunity of 2023, I’ve picked one of several photos that were taken at The Cannes International Film Festival on May 20th, 2008 in Cannes, France. Clint is pictured here with Angelina Jolie, the star of his latest film 'Changeling' which was premiering at the Palais festivals.  Jolie was heavily pregnant (with twins) at the time with her then partner Brad Pitt who was also in attendance. The premiere was quite a family event, Clint was there with his then wife Dina Ruiz and Clint’s children Kyle and Alison also attended. 

The President of the Official Jury was American actor and director Sean Penn. Changeling was entered officially in competition, but it was The Class (Entre les murs), directed by Laurent Cantet which would go on to win the Palme d'Or.