Review: "Turning Red"

Domee Shi first began her career at Pixar, interning as a storyboard artist in 2011. Her first Pixar film credit was as a storyboard artist on the Oscar-winning Inside Out (2015), written and directed by Pete Docter, her mentor. She was also credited for her work on The Good Dinosaur (2015), Incredibles 2 (2018), and Toy Story 4 (2019). During her time on “Inside Out,” Shi pitched to Docter the idea for the shot film Bao (2018), about a dumpling magically coming to life. He approved the project, making Shi the very first woman to direct a short film for Pixar. “Bao” won the Oscar for Best Short Film Animated, a fact that led Docter to approve her first feature film project, Turning Red, which was released on Disney+ on March 11th, 2022. Here’s my review of “Turning Red.”

“Turning Red,” is the story of 13-year-old Meilin Lee, who lives in Toronto with her family  in a temple that they all help take care of in tribute to their late ancestor, Sun Yee. Meilin is close to her family, though her mother, Ming Lee, is overprotective and expects her daughter to be perfect all the time. The stress she endures from her mother, the excitement of her first crush in school—maintaining her friendships with school mates Abby, Miriam, and Priya—ultimately cause Meilin to magically transform into a giant Red Panda. It continues to endure throughout the film whenever she experiences strong feelings of emotion, and leads to her learning about her family’s remarkable connection to Red Pandas.

Domee Shi based “Turning Red,” on her own real-life upbringing in Toronto. As a 13-year-old-, Shi never turned into a Red Panda, but in the Disney+ Documentary Embracing the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022), you’ll hear her talk about how she had an overprotective mother and how being 13 was a “turbulent” time in her life. Back then, she also binge-watched anime shows, i.e.: Ramma 1/2 (1986-1997), Sailor Moon (1992-1997), Inuyasha (1996-2008) and Fruits Basket (1998-2006), which influenced the looks of the movie. Shi’s movie is inspiring because it acknowledges how the stress in life often brings out the monster in all of us, and we often don’t know to handle it, especially teenagers. I can certainly identify with that for being on the Autism Spectrum.

“Turning Red,” is in a sense, a more mature “Inside Out,” except it’s not about the emotions within, it’s about dealing with stress in life that causes us to have the emotions within.  As human beings we might struggle to be a certain way, and there might be things in life that we desperately want, but ultimately we have to accept that life doesn’t always work out exactly how we want it to. Hopefully, we can learn to embrace every side of ourselves, and will have family and close friends to help us through, exactly what Meilin has.

“Turning Red’s” voice cast includes newcomer Rosalie Chiang as the voice of Meilin and Emmy Nominee Sandra Oh as Ming Lee. The voice cast also includes Orion Lee as Mei’s father Jin Lee, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park respectively as Miriam, Priya, and Abby, and James Hong as the Lee’s neighbor, Mr. Gao. (Fun Fact: James Hong and Sandra Oh both voiced characters in Disney’s Mulan franchise: Hong voiced Chi-Fu, the Emperor’s Royal Advisor, in Mulan (1998) and Oh voiced Ting-Ting, Ling’s love interest in the direct-to-video sequel Mulan 2 (2004)). “Turning Red’s” music was scored by Ludwig Goransson who won the Best Original Score Oscar for scoring Marvel’s Black Panther (2018). The film’s Production Design was done by Rona Liu who also collaborated with Domee Shi on the production designing for “Bao.”

All in all, “Turning Red,” is a great movie. It’s one of the best animated films that I’ve seen in a really long time as well as being quite inspirational. As someone on the Autism Spectrum, I can relate to putting pressure on one’s self to be perfect all the time. This movie made me feel inspired to embrace my imperfect side and to not fear messing up. I imagine this movie can do the same for you to, whether you’re on the Autism Spectrum or not. 

   

 

 

Review: "The Batman"

This past weekend, Robert Pattinson donned the bat suit in Warner Bros. The Batman (2022), the next addition in a very long line. Bob Kane and Bill Finger co-created Batman in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30th, 1939. 27 years later, the “caped crusader” was incarnated into television on Fox/ABC’s sit-com Batman (1966-1968), of course portrayed by Adam West. Michael Keaton portrayed him 23 years later in Tim Burton’s Batman film released in 1989. In addition to West, Keaton, and Pattinson, Batman has had other incarnations: Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995), George Clooney in Batman & Robin (1997) and by Oscar-Winner Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012). And let’s not forget Kevin Conroy voiced Batman in Warner Bros. Batman: The Animated Series airing on television from 1992-1995. Here’s my review of the latest take on Batman.

When Edward Nashton, otherwise known as “The Riddler,” begins murdering political figures in Gotham City and leaving riddles to solve them, Batman joins forces with Selina Kyla, aka “Catwoman” and Commissioner James Gordon to sniff out and stop The Riddler. Things get more complicated for Batman, however, when his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, discovers that the Riddler has evidence acknowledging that Bruce’s deceased parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, weren’t always the decent human beings Gotham City believed them to be. It turns out that Martha suffered from mental illness and Thomas hired someone to murder a journalist who was going to reveal the condition, hurting Thomas’s chances of being elected mayor. (This even leads him to reconnecting with another old nemesis, Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, aka “The Pengquin.”) Overcome with confusion by the Riddler’s riddles, Batman struggles to find hope within his own life (all the while reconnecting with another old nemesis, Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot…aka “The Penguin.”)

Directed by Matt Reeves (Director of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)) and co-written by Reeves and Peter Craig (writer of The Town (2010) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 (2014-2015)) this film is extremely dark and confusing. It’s also quite scary at times. Compared to “The Dark Knight” trilogy, however, it’s hard to know which is darker, but it does manage to be entertaining from the perspective of a comic book movie. And one can appreciate Bruce Wayne’s sentiment in the film of not wanting to give up hope, despite having to accept complicated/hurtful truths sometimes.

This film’s supporting cast is tip-top from Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, to Colin Farrell as the Penguin, to Paul Dano as the Riddler, to Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, they all deliver exceptional performances. The film was co-produced by Reeves and Dylan Clark who also produced “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.” The film’s Cinematography was done by Greig Fraser who received Oscar nominations for the Cinematography for Lion (2016) and was nominated this year for Dune: Part One (2021). The music was composed by Michael Giacchino who also composed Marvel’s Spiderman: No Way Home (2021) and the costumes were designed by Two-time-Oscar-Winner Jacqueline Durran who won Oscars for Anna Karenina (2012) and Little Women (2019), though Robert Pattinson’s bat suit was co-designed designed by David Crossman and Glyn Dillon.

Robert Pattinson is the youngest actor every to portray Batman on the big screen and what makes his performance special is that he makes the “caped crusader” more human. Although the villains he faces are diabolical in every sense of the term, Batman/Bruce Wayne himself also is an arrogant schmuck who thinks he was born into the perfect life, Batman himself uncovers his own arrogance. As someone who thinks he was born into the perfect life with perfect parents, feeling that he lost them too soon makes him bent on revenge. This film is his discovery that his family was anything but perfect, and he needs to let go of his desire for vengeance and become hopeful, bringing that hope into Gotham City.

All in all, “The Batman,” is an intense but well-made movie. The intensity does make it hard to process but ultimately it carries an overall positive message. I would recommend it if you enjoy comic book movies, but I wouldn’t rank it as one of my all-time favorite movies of 2022.  

 

 

 

A Tribute to Dave Smith

When Walt Disney passed away on December 15th, 1966, there was a great deal of concern at the Walt Disney Company. While the main concern was whether or not they would be able to remain in business without their founder, but employees were also concerned about what to do to preserve Walt Disney’s papers, awards and memorabilia. Fortunately, they were able to find a man who not only preserved them, but even started the Walt Disney Archives, which gathers and preserves historical things pertaining the Walt Disney Company as well as Walt Disney himself. His name was Dave Smith.

A native of Pasadena, California, Smith received a B.A. in History from the University of California in Berkeley. After working part-time in the Manuscript Department of the Huntington Library, where he worked for six years, he received a Masters Degree in Library Science from the University of California and was handpicked to be an intern at a program offered at the Library of Congress.

After returning to California, he worked as a Reference Librarian at the UCLA Research Library. It was not long after that he heard the Walt Disney Company was looking for someone to put together a bibliography on Walt Disney. Smith answered the call and spent over a year doing research on Disney productions and and publications. This led to Smith writing columns that regularly appeared in The Disney Channel Magazine, Disney Magazine, and the Disney Newsreel. He also wrote for publications known as Starlog, Manuscripts, American Archivist, and California Historical Quarterly. Smith officially became a Walt Disney Company Cast Member in 1970, when he officially started the Walt Disney Archives.

Besides his magazine columns, Smith also wrote the Disney encyclopedia, Disney A to Z. He co-wrote four volumes of The Ultimate Disney Trivia Book with Kevin Neary, and with Steven Clark he co-wrote Disney: The First 100 Years and he also edited The Quotable Walt Disney. He authored the introductions to several other Disney-themed books as well. While working for Disney Smith said “The thing I like best is the tremendous variety in our work. We never know when we come to work in the morning what we’ll be doing that day. It keeps the job interesting when you’re not doing the same thing day in and day out.” 

Dave Smith passed away at the age of 78 on February 15th, 2019. On January 24th, 2022, he was a given a window with his name engraved on it above the Fortuosity Shop on Main Street, U.S.A, at Disneyland Park. The celebration that revealed the window featured Smith’s close family and friends, along with current Disney cast members, as well as the cast of Pinocchio (1940), which was one of Smith’s favorite Disney movies. Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock, who spoke at the celebration said “Like our friend Jiminy (Cricket) Dave’s work has helped to guide and shape us into who we are today—and it is evident in our cast, our resort and our amazing company. There is no greater wish come true than to realize that your contributions have served so many, so well. And as time moves on, Dave’s work will be more important than ever because it provides us with a lasting connection to the past.”

Even though he didn’t know Walt Disney personally, it is remarkable what Dave Smith did, but also special in terms of the variety of what he wrote, and his in-depth preservation of Walt Disney’s legacy. He lived his life to the fullest and considered every day an adventure as he researched and wrote. That should be an inspiration to everyone!

                 

Review: "American Underdog"

To say that Kurt Warner is a great football player is an understatement! As a twelve-season professional quarterback, mainly for the St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals, and a two-time winner of the MVP (Most Valuable Player) Award in the Super Bowl, his career has been amazing. That said, the story of how he got there is incredible! He worked tirelessly, enduring many disappointments along the way. It’s no wonder that Andrew and Jon Erwin believed that Warner’s story had movie potential. The Erwin Brothers’ latest film, American Underdog (2021), was released on Christmas Day, 2021. Here’s my review of “American Underdog.”

As a young boy, Kurt Warner wanted nothing more than to be a Super Bowl and an MVP Quarterback. As an adult (played in the movie by Zachary Levi), he became a slightly rebellious, though exceptional quarterback at the University of Northern Iowa. While he was desperate to be drafted by the NFL, he was initially rejected and found employment at a Hy-Vee grocery store stocking shelves. During that time, he began dating calendar model, Brenda (played by Oscar-Winner Anna Paquin), a single mom who has two kids that Warner bonds with and helps look after. Warner’s career ultimately gets back on track when he is asked to be the quarterback for the Iowa Barnstormers, and later the St. Louis Rams. However as a result, his relationship with Brenda becomes strained so Warner has a faith struggle: what does he value more, a career as a quarterback or his love-life?

“Underdog,” tells the story of Kurt Warner’s success as a quarterback, which didn’t happen overnight. It was due to rejection that Warner thought time and again that he would never be able to become an NFL Quarterback. He never stopped talking to God about how disappointing it was to be rejected. Though he did not give up his faith in God, it became confusing for him as he was also convinced that basically God gave him a dream that he wouldn’t be able to achieve. He was at the end of his rope.

However, he learns through his faith that disappointment is a big part of life and it’s important to know how to act when you face disappointment. What’s miraculous, though, is overcoming disappointments can lead to great successes! That’s an important lesson for everyone to learn, and it’s what inspired Kurt Warner to write the book (with Michael Silver) All Things Possible (2000), the basis for the movie. 

In addition to Zachary Levi and Anna Paquin, the supporting cast includes Dennis Quaid as St. Louis Rams Head Coach, Dick Vermeil and Bruce McGill as owner of the Iowa Barnstormers, Jim Foster. Co-directed and co-produced by the Erwin Brothers, Jon Erwin also co-wrote the screenplay for David Aaron Cohen and Jon Gunn while Andrew Erwin co-edited with Sean Albertson. Gunn also executive produced. The film’s cinematography was done by Kristopher Kimlin. Gunn and Kimlin previously collaborated on the Erwin’s previous film I Still Believe (2020). The film was scored by John Debney who also scored “I Still Believe.”

All in all, “American Underdog,” is a great movie. I had neither read All Things Possible, nor did I even know anything about Kurt Warner before I had seen this movie. Nonetheless, I appreciated it’s inspiring message. Besides overcoming disappointment, the film is about never giving up on pursuit of what you believe is God’s calling on your life, no matter what obstacles stand in your way. The journey is worth-it no matter how long it takes.  

   

 

Review: "Spider-Man: No Way Home"

Stan Lee first created the character of Spider-Man in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15, which was published in August of 1962. Four decades later, and the main character is now live-action with several incarnations: first Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man (2002) and then by Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and in 2018, Sony and Columbia released Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which won the Best Animated Feature Oscar. After Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009, Tom Holland began portraying Spider-Man, first in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and just recently in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), released on December 17th, 2021. Here’s my review of “No Way Home.”

In the aftermath of Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Peter Parker loathes every minute of being a celebrity as people are accepting his true identity is Spider-Man from Aunt May (played by Oscar-Winner Marisa Tomei) to best friend Ned Leeds (played by Jacob Batalon), to his girlfriend Michelle Jones (MJ) Watson, (played by Tom Holland’s real girlfriend, Zendaya). As Peter continues to deal with celebrity pressures, he summons his friend/fighting partner from Avengers: Endgame (2019), Doctor Stephen Strange (played by Oscar-Nominee Benedict Cumberbatch) to see if he could possibly make the world forget he’s Spider-Man. Strange knows a magical spell that can do that, and follows through. However, the spell goes awry, and winds up giving Peter a battle bigger than “Endgame.” Soon, Spider-man is intermixed with villains from alternate universes including (Spoiler Alert!) Doctor Octopus (played by Tony-Nominee Alfred Molina), Electro (played by Oscar-Winner Jamie Foxx), the Green Goblin (played by Oscar-Nominee Willem Dafoe), the Sandman (played by Oscar-Nominee Thomas Hayden Church), and even the Lizard (played by Rhys Ifans) as well as the alternate Peter Parkers (once again played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield).

Written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (who also wrote “Far From Home,” Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), as well as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)), and the film directed by Jon Watts. Watts directed “Far From Home,” and “Homecoming,” but “No Way Home,” is the ultimate “Spider-Man,” adventure. The plot is difficult to follow at times, as it brings back actors who have had roles in “Spider-Man,” long before Disney acquired Marvel in 2009. Despite some confusion, the movie is totally worth seeing. It a touching homage to the character of Spider-Man and his heroic abilities to save the world and still protect his loved ones.

Spider-Man was the youngest of the Avengers and as such, still naive; but he still has determination and potential. He was fortunate to receive guidance from Tony Stark/aka “Iron Man,” in “Civil War,” “Homecoming,” Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and “Endgame.” However, with the passing of his mentor in “Endgame,” in “Far From Home,” and “No Way Home,” Peter Parker is having to face challenges without his mentor. Whether or not he can, and ultimately mature into a decent hero/adult man is the challenge. 

In addition to the returns of Maguire, Garfield, Dafoe, etc., the film also includes the return of Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons as disgruntled Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, and Benedict Wong as Dr. Strange’s sidekick, Wong. The film’s original score was composed by Michael Giacchino, who won an Oscar for composing Disney/Pixar’s Up (2009) and who also scored “Homecoming,” and “No Way Home,”. The Cinematography was done by Mauro Fiore who won an Oscar for doing the Cinematography on Avatar (2009) and the film was co-edited by Leigh Folsom Boyd who edited “Far From Home,” and Jeffrey Ford who edited each of the “Avengers,” movies (2012-2019). 

Overall, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” is great movie, period. I am not what whom you would characterize as the ultimate “Spider-Man” fan. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would because I had grown up on the earlier “Spider-Man,” movies and I wasn’t expecting “No Way Home,” to acknowledge the earlier films in the ways that it did. I wound up liking it even better than “Endgame,” which I didn’t think was possible knowing how epic a film that is. Taking these thoughts into consideration “No Way Home,” maybe the best “Spider-Man,” film ever!

Review: "Being the Ricardos"

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were undoubtedly two of the most popular people in television. Married for more than 20 years, they collaborated together on beloved CBS sit-com I Love Lucy (1951-1957), in which their relationship as husband and wife was always portrayed as happy and loving. Off-screen, however, their relationship was tumultuous. While their relationship has been the subject of two TV movies, it was recently given a theatrical and streaming release: Amazon’s Being the Ricardos, starring Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as Ball and Arnaz. Here’s my review of that film:

During a hectic production week in the third season of “I Love Lucy,” Lucille Ball is wrongly accused of being a communist while Desi Arnaz is accused of not being faithful to Lucy. The future of their show, as well as their relationship and careers, and even their friendships with co-stars Vivian Vance and William Frawley (respectively played by Tony-Winner Nina Arianda and Oscar-Winner J.K. Simmons) is on the line. Overcoming the backlash they received is the major story line, paired with the stories of how they met, fell in love, got married, and worked together to get their show off the ground at CBS. The film also includes the reflections upon that pressure-packed week years later by “I Love Lucy,” screenwriters Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh-Davis, and Bob Carroll.

Written and Directed by Academy-Award-Winning Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (Winner of Best Adapted Screenplay for The Social Network (2010)), “Being the Ricardos,” tells the story of Lucille Ball’s and Desi Arnaz’s remarkable partnership. During their marriage, they were deeply in love and they never stopped relying on each other’s creative instincts. They ran their show together on their own terms and if the network had a problem on how they were running it, they worked together to remedy it. And although their marriage sadly ended in divorce, they never truly fell out of love with each other.

Although one could argue that Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem don’t look exactly like Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in real life, their skills at bringing realism to every role they play show up well in this movie. Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for The Hours in 2002 and Bardem won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for No Country for Old Men in 2007, though I would say their performances in this movie are award worthy as well. Nina Arianda and J.K. Simmons are exceptional as Vivian Vance and William Frawley, and the supporting cast includes the talents of Arrested Development Alum Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and Emmy-Winner Tony Hale, respectively as the younger versions “I Love Lucy,” writers Madelyn Pugh-Davis, Bob Carroll, and Jess Oppenheimer (with Linda Lavin, Ronny Cox, and John Rubenstein as their older counterparts). Marvel Cinematic Universe alum Clark Gregg co-stars as fictional network executive Howard Wenke.

“Being the Ricardos,” Cinematography was done by Jeff Cronenweth, who received a Best Cinematography Oscar Nomination for “Social Network,” and it was Edited by Alan Baumgarten who received a Best Editing Oscar Nomination for The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) which was written and directed by Sorkin as well. The music was composed by Daniel Pemberton, who received a Best Original Song Oscar Nomination for the song “Hear My Voice,” written for “Trial of Chicago 7.” Ball and Arnaz’s children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., also served as Executive Producers of the film.

All in all, “Being the Ricardos,” is a very well-made film. Personally, I got so lost in the film that I forgot I was watching people act. I honestly felt like I was watching the real people who were there tell their own version of the story, which hasn’t happened very often in my life. I would recommend that all “I Love Lucy,” fans see this movie, even if you have reservations about being exposed to the more complicated, not-so-funny truth about the show. Although the truth about “Lucy,” is complicated, everyone who made “I Love Lucy,” in reality were relentless in their efforts and the film makes you love them all even more, especially Lucy herself.

Sally Ann Howes: Truly a Treasure

When Walt Disney produced Mary Poppins (1964), the film became the envy of “James Bond” series producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli. Broccoli had successes with the early James Bond movies: Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), etc., though his three children: Tina, Tony, and Barbara were too young for those movies and Broccoli wanted to produce a movie that his children could grow up on—that could possibly imitate the success of “Poppins.” 

Broccoli discovered that Ian Fleming, ironically the author of the “James Bond” novel series, had also written a book called Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car as gift to his son Caspar. Hence, Broccoli brought the idea of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a movie-musical to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. When it came to cast, Broccoli had hoped to reunite Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews as the respective two leads, Caractacus Potts and Truly Scrumptious. While Van Dyke agreed to play Potts, Andrews declined Scrumptious. Broccoli instead, found another renowned Broadway performer, Sally Ann Howes. While Truly Scrumptious became Howes’ best-known role, she mad quite a versatile career. 

 

Sally Ann Howes was born on July 20th, 1930, in the St. John’s Wood district of London, England. A career as a performer was natural thing for her because she was born into a show business family. Her parents were British comedian Bobby Howes and actress Patricia Malone, brother Peter was a professional musician, grandfather Capt. J.A.E. Malone was a London theatrical director of musicals, and her uncle Pat Malone was an actor on stage, television, and film. Most of her childhood was spent with her nanny and her parents’ theatrical friends, though it was organized and peaceful.

After appearing in school productions, Howes received her first major film offer when a friend of the family, who also happened to be a casting agent, recommended her for the leading role in a film called Thursday’s Child (1943). Producer John Argyle had tested two hundred girls for the part, to no avail, until he saw Howes’ test. After appearing in another film called The Halfway House (1944), Ann Howes was put under contract by Michael Balcon of London’s production company, Ealing Studios, and she appeared in seven films before the age of 20 including: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947) and Anna Karenina (1948) with Vivien Leigh.

After getting another contract at Britain’s Rank Organization, she appeared with Sir John Mills in The History of Mr. Polly (1949) and Fools Rush In (1949). Television and stage later came calling and she appeared in the BBC’s Cinderella (1950) as the title character and made her first professional stage appearance in Sandy Wilson’s Caprice in London’s West End that same year. She also married H. Maxwell Cooker that year, but they soon divorced. In 1953, she co-starred with her father, Bobby, in West End’s original production of Paint Your Wagon, featuring music by Frederick Lowe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. It flopped on Broadway, but ran for 18 months in London’s West End.

Lerner & Lowe’s next Broadway musical project, My Fair Lady, opened to rave reviews on March 15th, 1956 and starred Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins. When Andrews left the show 1958 to recreate Eliza Doolittle in London’s West End, Lerner and Lowe needed a permanent replacement and they offered the part to Howes. She declined their first offer, as she was attached to appear in Admirable Crichton (1957) with Kenneth Moore. Lerner and Lowe continued to persist and Howes finally accepted their third offer. She was even paid a salary higher than Andrews. During her first performance, she filled in for Andrews before she had officially left and the show’s director, Moss Hart announced that she would play the role and the audience was appalled by the news of Andrews’s absence. When Sally came on stage to perform, she stopped the show with the numbers “The Rain in Spain” and “I Could Have Danced All Night,” and Howes was later quoted as having said her debut in “Fair Lady” was “the most exciting day of my life,” and she remained fond of American audiences for the rest of her life. ’58 was also the year she married Richard Adler, composer of Broadway musicals such as The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, and she adopted his sons Christopher and Andrew.

In 1962, Howes starred in New York City Opera’s revival of Lerner and Lowe’s Brigadoon and she received a Tony Award Nomination for her performances as the Leading role of Fiona MacLaren, making her the very first Broadway actor ever to receive a Tony Nomination for a performance in a Revival. It caught the attention of “Cubby” Broccoli, who knew instantly he had found his Truly Scrumptious for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” In addition to casting Dick Van Dyke, Broccoli also hired many of the same creative team behind “Mary Poppins,” including composers/lyricists Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman, Choreographers Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood, and Conductor/Music Supervisor Irwin Kostal. “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was initially a commercial flop, but it has achieved near cult status today, and was even re-adapted for Broadway in 2005, playing a total of 285 performances and receiving five Tony nominations, including a Best Actress in a Musical nomination for Erin Dilly for her performance as Truly Scrumptious.

Howes divorced her second husband in ’66 and after “Chitty,” continued to appear on stage in touring productions of The King and I in Britain and The Sound of Music in the United States. In 1972, she married Douglas Rae and they were married for 49 years until his death in September 2021. She appeared in two seasons of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music as well. She never made another film appearance until 1980’s Death Ship. In 1990, she debuted in her one-woman show “From This Moment On,” at the Edinburgh Festival and later brought the show to the John Drew Theatre at Easthampton, New York as a benefit for the Long Island AIDS Association. Her final stage appearance was in a U.S. Tour of My Fair Lady though in this production, she portrayed Mrs. Higgins. (She was later replaced in the tour by Marni Nixon, who ironically had provided the singing voice for Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 film adaptation of My Fair Lady.)

Sally Ann Howes died just this week of natural causes at the age of 91 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She will forever be remembered as Truly Scrumptious, though her career was “truly” remarkable.