LIve Aid at 40: Personal Reflections from the Day Pop Music Reached Its Pinnacle: Part 1

As we reach the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, many articles are being written and CNN is planning a multi-episode documentary about what was inarguably the greatest day in the history of pop music. Ahead of that documentary, and before I or anyone else is prejudiced by what we learn and how it's presented, here's my first-hand account of how the event went down and recollections (and recordedings) of someone who was completely immersed in the event from the moment it was announced:

This was going to be BIG

I'll begin by recalling the scant (by today's standards) coverage of the show's announcement. Remember this was the mid 80's so there was no internet; there were only three TV networks; and even basic cable (which many households still did not have) only provided about 40 channels. Still, it soon became clear that Live Aid (with its overlapping concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia) was going to be something huge. Both Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas", the charity record for famine relief in Africa that Bob Geldof had organized in December '84, and the American recording industry's answer, USA for Africa's "We Are the World", were both massive hits that generating millions. Now Geldof was announcing he'd be continuing that momentum by joining forces with American organizers and artists for a one-time music event taking place on two continents. An event that might quite literally include every relevant music artist in the world of pop and rock.

Indeed, Live Aid's lineup read like a who's who of the Top 40. Case in point, the week that Live Aid was announced, George Michael, Billy Ocean, Bryan Adams, Howard Jones, Simple Minds, Madonna, Phil Collins, Sade and Duran Duran all had songs in the Top 20. All would go on to appear at Live Aid. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Queen, Hall & Oates, The Pretenders, Adam Ant, Black Sabbath, Lionel Richie, The Cars, U2, Mick Jagger... The ever-growing lineup was so much of a wish list and so hard to keep track of, I felt the need to document it in one of my college notebooks and for this article, I went to the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and dug up this old momento. 

Note that the "L's" and "P's" specify which venue the artist apeared (London or Philadelphia) and the check mark indicates it was a performance I actually got to see. Looking back now I realize that I most likely copied this list of scheduled acts from one the early announcements in Rolling Stone magazine or an MTV news report. And it's clear it most have been an early announcement, as multiple acts lsted (e.g. Culture Club and Tears For Fears) dropped out and/or wound up not appearing.

MIAs

In addition to Tears for Fears, Huey Lewis and the News were one of the big names that wound up not appearing. Lewis apparently had questions about mismanagement of the "We Are the World" funds and whether the money raised was actually being used to feed the starving Africa. This created controversy with the organizers and Lewis and his band were soon struck from the Live Aid bill. Other notable artists who failed to appear included:

Prince - The purple one was scheduled to be a part of "We Are the World" but missed the recording session, with excuses ranging from his bodyguard getting into a scrape at the American Music Awards earlier that evening, to rumors he just flat out hated the song. Why Prince missed Live Aid is not clear but it's also not very surprising as he was always aloof and mercurial. 

Michael Jackson - One of the creative forces behind We Are the World, MJ would miss Live Aid with his publicist giving the excuse that Jackson was "immersed in heavy projects." (Tina Turner would go on to replace him in a planned duet of "State of Shock" with Jagger.)

Cyndi Lauper - Lauper almost took some bad advice and turned down her "We Are the World" invite. In the end, she was talked into by Lionel Richie. Apparently no such persuasion took place for Live Aid, and it's likely Lauper was asked to participate but passed.

Billy Joel - Geldof had a number of counter-intuitive and downright strange ideas for the Live Aid shows. He almost didn't ask Queen, foolishly figuring that their time had come and gone. As for Billy Joel, even with a storied career that at the time already included 11 studio albums, 10 Grammy noms and 5 wins, for Live Aid Geldof purportedly only wanted him to play piano. Joel and his management rightly felt this was a silly waste of his talents and no deal was ever made.

Eurythmics - The popular British duo was set to play but had to bow out of the show when Annie Lennox developed a throat infection.

Yes and Foreigner -- Both bands reportedly wanted in on Live Aid but by the time they asked to participate, the shows were booked solid and the organizers had to start turn them away. It's worth noting that as it grew in size and scope, Live Aid, despite being a charitable endeavor, lost its "come one, come all" vibe. After a slow start, momentum began to build and several artists who had been asked to play changed their answer from "maybe" to "yes". Additionally, more and more artists who hadn't been personally approached were now making calls asking to join. Some of this was fueled by genuine desire to do their part for such a good cause; some no doubt by record companies and artists' reps worried that their clients not being part of the show would diminish their perceived importance in the music world.

One who didn't have to plead for a spot was Bruce Springsteen. Geldof and company wanted him bad, but the latest leg of the Born in the USA tour had recently ended and the E Street Band was enjoying its first break in over 5 months. Springsteen felt it wasn't fair to reorganize everyone on such short notice so he politely declined.

In addition to Prince and Michael Jackson, it's also worth mentioning the multitude of other acclaimed black artists that for one reason or another were not at Live Aid. This list includes Earth Wind and Fire,  George Benson, Grandmaster Flash, James Brown, Chuck Berry, DeBarge, Rick James, Kool and the Gang and Donna Summer, as well as "We Are the World" veterans Ray Charles, The Pointer Sisters, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Al Jarreau, Jeffrey Osborne, Sheila E., James Ingram and Stevie Wonder. Chaka Kahn was also notably absent and in the weeks leading up to the event, publicly questioned the lineup's lack of diversity. Geldof fired back, implying that among the black artists he had asked to play the show, there seemed to be a lack of enthusiam and a general "I already gave at the office" attitude. In the end, the show's organizers did feel the need to include more black artists and Run-DMC (who curiously had initially been turned down), Ashford & Simpson, Patti Labelle, and Teddy Pendergrass secured spots.

The Broadcast

In America, coverage of Live Aid was split between MTV and ABC. MTV would begin its broadcast at 7:00 AM (ET) with the Wembley performances; ABC coverage would kick in late in the day and continue through prime time. At least one major New York radio station would simulcast the entire event, which pleased me no end, as in the days leading up to Live Aid, my plans to attend the Philadelphia concert were threatened.

And no, attending Live Aid in person wasn't some pipe dream for me. Philadelphia was just a short two hour ride down the turnpike from my home in north Jersey. What's more, I had tons of family living in Philly and had visited and stayed in the city (sometimes for weeks at a stretch) more times than I could count. Point being, I was familiar enough with the city that it wasn't an intimidating idea to plan on waking up early and making my way to JFK. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to secure tickets, not because they were too expensive (the $35 - $50 cost for a lineup of this magnitude was super cheap even for 1985) but because the process and logistics of buying concert tickets in the mid-80's were perhaps even more frustrating than the fiasco it often is today. First, just knowing when and where tickets were going on sale was a challenge. With no internet/social media, you relied largely on local radio to clue you in, which meant you needed to constantly be tuned in to your favorite station. Then, if you did hear that a record store or other venue would be selling tickets, there was often the rather time consuming and chaotic process of lining up (sometimes days in advance) just to receive a bracelet that would only make you eligible to buy tickets once they went on sale. When that day came, you had to return to the venue, line up all over again and hope tickets didn't sell out before it was your turn. The whole thing was as frustrating and unpalatable as it sounds, and somewhere along the way I missed a step. Live Aid quickly sold out and I was left ticketless.

But not to worry; I had a backup plan. Drive to the Philly show, purchase tickets from a scalper and witness music history.

It didn't quite work out that way. As I anxiously counted down the days to the concert, I waffled and wondered, "What if I drive all the way to JFK and can't find a scalper?" I had never scalped before and didn't know any tips or tricks to purchase tickets this way. Plus, I figured everyone was viewing this show the same way I saw it -- as a once in a lifetime event. In that case, anyone with tickets to sell was going to have a quick and easy job. What if I got to the venue too late and even the scalpers were sold out? Plus the drive from New Jersey to Pennsylvania was going to take at least two and half hours. With the drive back, this meant missing six or seven hours of the concert if I failed to score tickets. The idea of that made me nervous. Add that to the fact that attending the Philadelphia show, as great as that would be, would be at the cost of missing the entirety of the London acts. I pondered my decision and debated making the trip all the way to the night before the show, when by chance, I happened to be out with friends til around 3:00 AM... That settled it. I decided to forego my plan to see Live Aid in person, made it home, set my alarm clock for seven o'clock and hit the sack.

The Live Aid Tapes

Waking up early the next morning for the start of the London show (after barely three hours of sleep) I switched on the small 13-inch black and white TV in my room. I knew from the announced schedule that the first several acts included no one I was particularly excited to see. Status Quo, Style Council, Ultravox, and Geldof's band Boomtown Rats. I dozed for the next couple of hours and finally fully woke up in preparation to see one of my favorite artists at the time, Sting. I tuned in the simulcast, loaded the first of the brand new Maxell cassette tapes I'd purchased especially for this purpose, and started recording. It would be the first of over four hours of live performances I would capture and keep to this day. For literally decades, stereo recordings like this made by me and others would be the only way to relive Live Aid and enjoy these performances again. It would take nearly 20 years (2005 to be exact) before a DVD set of the event would be released. Rather curiously to this day, it seems there's still no CD or other digital audio format release. In light of that, I often weigh my decision not to make more of an effort to attend the concert in person. Seeing the Philadelphia show would have meant sacrificing seeing the London show (until 2005) as well as never having an audio recording to play back. As memorable as actually being there may have been, it would have been a tremendous loss to go through the remainder of my youth (and into my 30's) before getting to enjoy any version of the Live Aid performances again.

London

And so the acts rolled through and scores of memorable moments began. 

Sting performed a subdued, acoustic set of Police hits and introduced saxophonist Branford Marsalis, part of his new heavily jazz-influenced band that played on Sting's just released The Dream of the Blue Turtles album.

Phil Collins joined Sting halfway through his set and was equally subdued in his renditions of "Against All Odds", "In the Air Tonight" and "Long Long Way to Go".

Sade stood out with a sultry performance highlighted by "Your Love is King". Though by all accounts she hit the stage before Sting and Phil Collins, MTV's coverage made it appear that her appearance was much later. This was perhaps explained by something I'd learn weeks later:  as part of its deal, ABC had purchased the right to block live coverage of several acts — including David Bowie, Elton John and others — until later in the day. This meant that in some instances, artists performances on television were not taking place in treal time.

As morning gave way to afternoon, the London show hit its stride with back-to-back performances by Paul Young (at the time riding high on the charts with "Every Time You Go Away"), Alison Moyet, U2, Dire Straits (their soon to be #1 hit "Money for Nothing" had been released just two weeks earlier) and (drumroll please...) Queen.

Queen

So how great was Queen?...  Why are they getting a section of this article all to themselves?... Well, as  Queen's participation may have difficult to secure, but once they hit the stage, it was apparent from the start that the band's perfomace was absolutely iconic. Forty years removed, everyone from music historians to casual music fans agree on this. 

The best way to describe Queen at Live Aid?... It was like Michael Jordan in his prime. Anyone (even someone who knew nothing about basketball) could watch Jordan for a few minutes on the court and be able to point at him and say with confidence, "Yeah, that guy's the best one out there." That was Queen performing at Wembley that day. Even in a setting where they were measured against the best the music world had to offer, their performance stood above all others. Their set included some of their more recent cuts ("Radio Ga Ga" and "Hammer To Fall") along with signature songs "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". Queen is absolutely revered in England (maybe even moreso than the Beatles) and the fans at Wembley proved this yet again. Their energy during the band's performance reverberated over the airwaves, across the Atlantic, and through television screens like mine all over the U.S. If you haven't seen this performance, stop reading and watch it below.

Philadelphia and the Back and Forth Coverage

By the time Queen finished their epic performance, the Philadelphia show was already well underway. Joan Baez had kicked things off by rather ridiculously proclaiming to the crowd, "This is your Woodstock!" Sorry Joan, Woodstock was a seminal event in music and concert history, but Live Aid played out on a world (not just an American) stage, reached a far greater audience of 1.5 billion, had a much more important cause fueling it, and greater participation (i.e., more acts). You measure Woodstock by who was there; you think about Live Aid and ask, "Who wasn't there?" No offense Joan, but compared to Live Aid, Woodstock was just a backyard hootenanny.

As I went about swapping in fresh cassette tapes into my stereo, I knew I was recording something historic. Something to be kept and treasured for all time. One of the first Philadelphia acts I captured were the Beach Boys, who finished their fun set with "Surfin' USA". With the Philly show going and now two concerts to cover (plus the aforementioned ABC deal that blocked coverage of some acts until later in the day) MTV's hand was forced and the network began taking libertties with regard to performances on two continents overlapping and how to cover them. This resulted in times when only part of an artist's set was broadcast before the network would cut to someone (or something) else -- a fact I discovered with the 2005 DVD release. I along with millions of viewers around the world never knew that we missed songs by Sade, U2, and others. Even more disappointingly, some artists' performances (like Run-DMC, George Thorogood and REO Speedwagon) received little or no coverage at all. 

But back to the show... Shortly after the Beach Boys, I was able to catch the entireity of David Bowie (back at Wembley), The Pretenders (who, after Queen, might have given my favorite performance of the day) and Elton John. The latter was quite memorable for his reunion with Kiki Dee on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and his team up with George Michael on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". This was one of, if not the, first time the two had performed the popular power ballad in public. Michael's soaring vocals took the song to a different level, and six years later a studio version would be released that hit #1 on charts across the world.

And this brings us to back to U.S. for Madonna.

Oh yes, Madonna... I have some interesting backstory and distinct memories to share regarding her appearance at Live Aid... but I'll save that for Part II.

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This World Changing Event Took Place Under Cover of the New Millennium...

While exploring the Pop Culture Fiend Archives, I came across the New York Times from Jan 1, 2000 -- which I obviously saved because it was the first 21st century edition of one of the largest newspapers in the country. Upon examination, I noticed that overlooked among the banner headline and all the talk about the new millennium was a story about the surprise resignation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the installation of one Vladimir Putin. 

Yeltsin resigned due to several factors, including instability in his Cabinet, health issues, a bribery scandal, and cratering popularity among the Russian people due to overall ineffectiveness. Under Putin, Russia has reverted toward its former identity on the world stage as an aggressor, enemy of the U.S., and a major threat to world democracy. Indeed, "President" Putin has become a de facto dictator who, in just a few days, will almost certainly be "elected" to his fifth term thanks to his continuous suppression and outright elimination of any true opposition. 

For close to a quarter century now, Putin has created havoc across the globe -- allying with State Sponsor of Terrorism-designated Syria, cozying up with communist China, invading and advancing a war against Ukraine, poisoning and otherwise assassinating multiple political enemies, interfering in the 2016 U.S presidential election, and rigging elections in his own country. 

Clearly we all had no idea how thuggish and sinister Putin would be back on 1/1/00 but this issue of the New York Times unknowingly announced the start of it all.

FX's Capote vs. The Swans & How Iconic 80's Actresses Diane Lane, Molly Ringwald & Demi Moore Make it Great

 

One of the most enjoyable things about Murphy's series: seeing the three most iconic actresses of the 1980's sharing the screen for the very first time... we have Diane Lane, Molly Ringwald and Demi Moore who, forty-plus years after their initial fame, crush their roles and once again show us why they became stars. 

 

We are barely halfway through Ryan Murphy's latest offering, Feud: Capote vs. the Swans but we've already been treated to a once in a decade type performance by Tom Hollander who positively disappears into his (title) character role. Hollander perfectly captures Capote's dual nature -- amusing and endearing but also pompous and infuriating --- and also replicates his speech and mannerisms so precisely it's practically spooky. (To be honest, they should just skip the ceremony and give him the Emmy right now.)

That said, the "Swans" referred to in this series are a group of elite socialites (most of them New York-based) who befriended and patronized Capote after he reached fame with his sensationalistic novel In Cold Blood. After years of trusting some of their most guarded secrets to the author, he reveals them in a Esquire article that included excerpts from a new book titled Answered Prayers. The group then proceeded to ostracize Capote, forever banishing him from the high society circle he relished so much. Capote supposedly coined the term "Swans" to describe these women that were, by all appearances, perfectly composed but in reality were carrying tremendous weight and beneath the surface were always paddling furiously to keep themselves afloat.  

Often, elements of this story and the reaction of the Swans to Capote's betrayal are difficult to understand. Why would these women -- wealthy, refined and entrenched in the upper crust of society, care so much about Truman? Why are they so devasted when he exposes them this way? And why do they second guess themselves for even a minute about cutting them out of their lives?

It's because Capote's assessment of them was correct. Beneath their veneers of perfection, these women are struggling mightily. They've lost their identities after marrying bankers, European royalty, and other rich and powerful men and now deep down perhaps they're realizing that most of what they've accomplished was only made possible through their family and social connections. Maybe they're awakening to the thought that although they're the envy of many, their lives are largely empty, short of pruning the perfect garden, earning "best dressed" honors, or planning Truman's famous Black and White Ball. Or maybe the betrayal thrust these women into turmoil due to simple embarrassment. For the Swans, appearances (we quickly learn) are paramount. Confronting Truman and making a scene in a swank restaurant they frequent is deemed just as much a sin as the betrayal itself. Likewise, husbands' infidelities are tolerable but the thought of others knowing is not.

It speaks to why Capote was able to fall in with the Swans in the first place. He ingratiates himself with flattery, preying on their superficiality and appearance consciousness, even going so far as to toy with them (and send them into a competitive tizzy) by suggesting he'll be choosing one of them as guest of honor at his ball. In spite of his not so subtle pandering and social climbing, the Swans adopted Truman, introduced him to power brokers, brought him along on lavish vacations, all while sharing their personal doubts and fears. So yes they are clearly victims but not entirely sympathetic due to their own snobbery and pretentiousness. All of this makes them rich, multi-layered characters that any actress (particularly those of a certain age) would love to play.

Which brings me to one of the most enjoyable things about Murphy's series: seeing the three most iconic actresses of the 1980's sharing the screen for the very first time. In addition to Naomi Watts as Babe Paley, wife of CBS head William Paley; Calista Flockhart, as Lee Radziwill, younger sister of Jackie Kennedy, and Chloe Sevigny as fashion icon and author C.Z. Guest, we have Diane Lane, Molly Ringwald and Demi Moore who -- forty-plus years after their initial fame -- crush their roles and once again show us why they became stars.

Diane Lane first grabbed headlines at age fourteen when she starred opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in the 1979 feature A Little Romance. Olivier called her "the next Grace Kelly" and Time magazine put Lane on the cover, proclaiming her one of Hollywood's "whiz kids." This was at a time  when print was still a dominant form of media, so for a respected world news magazine like Time to dedicate a cover story to a Hollywood actress (especially one still in her early teens) was practically unprecedented. 

Lane next made waves in the cult classic Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains and the more mainstream family pic Six Pack. At the famous casting sessions for Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of The Outsiders, she beat out a who's who of other young ingenues for the role of the beautiful and conflicted Cherry Valance. The performance earned Lane a Young Artist Award nomination. Coppola was so taken with Lane that he cast her in his next film, Rumble Fish (also based on an S.E. Hinton novel.) 

In 1984, Lane took on the role of Ellen Aim, a kidnapped rock star in Walter Hill's vastly underrated Streets of Fire and later that year she scored her first "adult" role as singer/gun moll Vera Cicero in Coppola's brilliant The Cotton Club. Lane was just eighteen during shooting (her co-star Richard Gere was thirty-four) but brought a sultriness to her performance that helped establish her as one of Hollywood's leading screen sirens. (She would go on to star in two other films opposite Gere, the acclaimed Unfaithful -- for which she earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination -- and Nights of Rodante, adapted from the Nicholas Sparks novel.)

Diane Lane's other 1980's film roles included stripper/femme fatale Lorry in The Cincinnati Kid-esque The Big Town, and lead in the erotic thriller Lady Beware. She closed out the decade with an Emmy nominated performance in 1989's Lonesome Dove miniseries. 

Lane has one of the meatiest roles in Feud, portraying Nancy "Slim" Keith, who wed filmmaker Howard Hawks and Broadway producer Leland Hayward before marrying into British royalty. According to some accounts, Slim helped Capote land high powered agent Swifty Lazar and a million dollar book deal. Lane's Slim is resolute in her disdain and quest for revenge after Capote's backstab and Lane's strong performance portrays her as the icy ringleader of Capote's ostracization. As she did with her character in The Cotton Club, Lane plays Slim as calculating, direct and in charge. When it comes to the Swans, she is "the center of the center" -- as Slim describes herself in episode 3. Lane is also fantastic at replicating the high-born accent and affectations of New York's upper crust.

Though she's three years Lane's junior, Molly Ringwald's career path was eerily similar -- from starting out as a child actress, to having a cover story crowning her the new face of young Hollywood, to having her career propelled forward by a genius director. She first gained attention for her lead role in the west coast production of the stage play Annie. In 1979, at just eleven years old, she played Molly in the The Facts of Life but the show was retooled after its first season and the cast drastically reduced. It was a lucky break for Ringwald; she quickly found success in feature films, beginning with 1982's Tempest, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. But it would be 1984's Sixteen Candles that would rocket the young actress to fame. Writer-director John Hughes cast Ringwald as the film's protagonist Samantha Baker, a high school sophomore whose sixteenth birthday is forgotten in the chaos surrounding her older sister's wedding. Ringwald was praised for her tender and authentic portrayal and the film helped propel the teen movie genre into its High Renaissance. 

Like Coppola did with Diane Lane, Hughes was inspired by Ringwald and cast her in his next project -- the film that would come to define Gen X, The Breakfast Club. Ringwald would become something of a muse for Hughes and she next took on the lead role in the director's follow up, Pretty in Pink. A few weeks after the film's release, Ringwald was on the cover of Life magazine in a special issue that christened her as "Hollywood's Teen Queen". Two months later, her own Time magazine cover story cemented this status.

At this point, Molly was eighteen and ready to take on more mature roles. She turned down Hughes' Some Kind of Wonderful and starred as Cordelia in Jean Luc Godard's avant garde exploration of King Lear; played opposite Robert Downey Jr. in the Warren Beatty-produced The Pick-Up Artist; and finished her 80's run with the comedy For Keeps and the drama Fresh Horses, adapted from the stage play.

In Feud, Ringwald plays Joanna Carson, ex-wife of Johnny, who (like the New York Swans) is taken with Capote's charm, wit and intellect. Carson adopts the discarded Capote and brings him into her circle of elite (this time Hollywood) friends. Ringwald's signature red tresses are colored brunette for this role and at fifty-five years old she naturally no longer possesses her waif-like figure, so it's easy to forget who you're watching. As Carson, Ringwald brings the same effusiveness she did with her Pretty in Pink character Andie and her compassion for Truman is on display in several pathos-rich scenes that portray the man at his lowest.

Demi Moore's road to 1980's stardom was far different than Lane's and Moore's. She wasn't an accomplished child actor and in 1983 -- at the exact same time Lane was shooting scenes with the Academy Award-winning Coppola and Ringwald was about to become the face of the American teenager -- Moore was earning her bones as a recurring character on General Hospital. But in 1984, she starred opposite Michael Caine in the charming but overlooked romantic comedy Blame it On Rio. Though newcomer Michelle Johnson was the breakout star, it was Moore's first major film and she soon began a slow climb to success that would culminate with a run of critical and commercial successes through the 1990's. Ghost, A Few Good Men, Indecemt Proposal, Disclosure and Striptease (the film that made Moore the highest paid actress in Hollywood) were all in her future, along with her own iconic magazine cover, but her rise to fame largely began with the sweet and quirky 1984 teen comedy No Small Affair. The role of Jules in the seminal Gen X coming-of-age drama St. Elmo's Fire followed, as did a relationship with co-star Emilio Estevez and membership in the famous "Brat Pack". Moore then played John Cusack's love interest in One Crazy Summer and re-teamed with her St. Elmo's co-star Rob Lowe in the beloved About Last Night, both released in the summer of 1986. 

Her next film, The Seventh Sign (despite being highly anticipated) was a box office flop. Moore then closed her 80's career with the role of Molly -- a prostitute who befriends two escape convicts (Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn) masquerading as priests -- in the much-hyped Christmastime release We're No Angels.

Interestingly, though her box office hit rate was spotty, Moore's career never stalled during the eighties. She married Bruce Willis, who at the time was starring in the ABC hit Moonlighting but with the release of 1988's Die Hard would soon become a full on movie star. He and Moore became Hollywood's "it" couple which helped Demi move solidly onto Hollywood's A-list -- where she basically remained until the 2000's.

In Feud, Moore plays Ann Woodward, a former radio star and showgirl who was married to wealthy  banker William Woodward Jr. In what would become one of the biggest stories of its day, Ann killed William after mistaking him for a burglar. Speculation that it was murder ignited after Capote's book preview, which included a character based on Ann who was painted as a gold digger and murderess. In real life, Capote seemed to have personal disdain for Ann and publicly accused her of killing her husband.

Moore gives us a picture of Ann battling depression and straining to maintain her dignity amid the public stares. She displays venomous anger in certain scenes and intense vulnerability in others. At the ball, we see Moore at her best, portraying calm and elegance -- but when Truman calls security to have her ejected we see her shaken, pleading, humiliated. It's a scene where Moore demonstrates swan-like comportment as she calls Truman out for his misdeeds and it's reminiscent of another emotional scene in which Moore displayed similar range -- the break up scene in About Last Night.

For Lane, Ringwald and Moore, streaming shows and other high end television like Murphy's Feud offer strong, female lead roles that come few and far between in feature films. Past the age where they can star in rom-coms, take on "lethal lady" action roles (e..g., Black Widow, Atomic Blonde) or other parts written for younger actresses, fifty-something actresses are these days too often relegated to lesser fare -- guest shots on network shows or if they're lucky perhaps a starring role in their own series (think Tea Leoni in Madame Secretary or Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Veep.) Thankfully, Capote and the Swans shines a spotlight on three of the most talented and beloved mature actresses who by chance came up at almost the exact same time. You literally could not have chosen three women more representative of young Hollywood during the 1980's than these three. In fact, you almost wish Murphy would have made it an all-80's party and given the Watts, Sevigny and Flockhart roles to Elisabeth Shue, Lea Thompson and Winona Ryder instead.

Maybe next time : )

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A Deep Dive into Barry Allen's Speed: Exactly How Fast is The Flash?

With the recent release of the new movie The Flash, I've found myself pondering the iconic character, his bio, as well as his powers and abilities -- in particular, how fast he's portrayed to be. When it comes to comic book heroes and their superpowers, this sort of speculation is common and makes for great geek debate. But it's worth noting that the Flash character has undergone a good deal of retconning over the years. In addition, the recently concluded WB “Arrowverse” TV series The Flash has greatly added to and confused Flash's mythology, sometimes even venturing into storytelling that deviates from canon. So for this article, I chose to go back and look at the DC Comics Flash and bring to light references to the speed of this earlier version of the character. To help with this I dug into the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and my stash of DC comics from my youth. 

To begin, it's important to remember that 1956-1970 was the "Silver Age of Comics" and 1970-1985 (a timeframe that encompasses my aforementioned collection) the so-called “Bronze Age". The Flash from these two eras is none other than Barry Allen, a Central City police scientist who gained his super speed via an accident in which he's accidentally doused with a mix of chemicals after a lightning strike in his lab (more on this later.) This iteration of the Flash is widely considered to be the definitive version of the character – moreso than Jay Garrick, the original Flash created by Gardner Fox in the 1940's, and also more than Wally West, who began as Kid Flash before later succeeding Barry. The Barry Allen version is also the Flash appearing and/or referenced in the new Flash movie, the aforementioned Arrowverse series, 2017's Justice League and other “Snyderverse” DC pics, as well as several recent video games based on the DC Universe like Justice League Heroes and the Injustice series. So there's no question that when looking to determine how fast "The Flash" is, it's best to begin with Barry Allen, as this is the version who appears the most across all of pop culture.

So with Barry as the focus, when you examine his history and look for references in the comics about his speed, you discover a lot of inconsistency. Early Silver Age issues make a big deal about Barry running on water (something by the way, that would be scientifically possible for a human running even as "slow" as 50 mph) as well as overcoming gravity by running up the sides of  buildings. On the higher end of the scale, we see Silver Age Flash breaking the sound barrier. Comic book writers magnifying each of these specific exploits made a lot of sense at the time. In the 50's and 60's, rocket technology, jet engines, Chuck Yeager going Mach 1, etc., represented the outer reaches of what humans could achieve -- so an “ordinary man" gaining powers to match these types of things was superhuman enough for the comics. (It's very similar to the way Superman, around the same time, was heralded for being "more powerful than a locomotive.") But as we moved into the 1970's and travel faster than sound became so routine that even commercial airlines offered it, the limits of Flash's speed predictably creeped up and his exploits (as we'll see) became more fantastical. 

As Barry carried on through the Silver and Bronze Ages, his extraordinary speed resulted in cool new powers, like the ability to generate mini tornadoes and even time travel. (In the comics, this sometimes -- but not always -- occurs through a combination of Flash's otherworldly speed and a device known as the "cosmic treadmill", which was first introduced in 1961's The Flash #125.) Now follow me here: the speed of light has been calculated since at least the 17th century and in 1905 Albert Einstein theorized time dilation -- the idea that time passes more slowly for objects moving at high speeds and that this effect becomes more pronounced as the object approaches the speed of light. Further theorizing maintains that if a person could actually reach the speed of light, time would in fact stop relative to that individual. So if Silver Age Flash writers like Fox and John Broome knew all this, than by having Barry run so fast that he travels back in time, were they implying that Barry could move faster than the speed of light?...  It's entirely feasible, likely even, that the creative talents at DC were keenly aware of Einstein and his theories. He was, in fact, quite well known and heralded at the time of his death, which was only a year before the Barry Allen character was created. Is it crazy to think that the creators of a fictional character possessing super speed would use Einstein's thoughts on light speed as background and inspirational material for stories about the "fastest man alive?" It's worth noting that the concept of time dilation (i.e., time slowing down and potentially stopping as you approach the speed of light) has been incorporated into Flash comics and TV portrayals over the years, so it seems that at least some Flash writers familiarized themselves with the scientific implications of superspeed and used them to make the Flash and his flirtations with light speed more credible and "realistic." Silver Age Flash comics were also the first to recount incidents of Barry vibrating his molecules so quickly he's able to pass through walls and solid objects. Mastery of his body down to this molecular level is what enables what is arguably Barry’s most notable superpower --- traveling to other universes. This occurs in numerous Flash tales beginning with #123 Flash of Two Worlds. 

Flash's speed has even been defined via comparisons to Superman and in the pages of various DC titles the two have actually raced several times. Many of these head-to-heads were interrupted by emergencies of some sort but the record shows that Barry has bested Kal-El in the vast majority of their matchups. I bring this up because as I painstakingly poured through the history of Barry Allen’s Flash for references to precisely how fast he can run, I happened across a discussion of Superman vs. Flash that actually quantified the latter’s speed quite conclusively. Specifically, within my Justice League of America issues, I recalled an item in the "JLA Mailbag" (a monthly Q&A with DC's editorial staff that appeared at the back of many issues during the late 70's) where a reader asks how fast the Flash can run around the earth. The rather definitive answer given is that while fellow JLA member Superman can fly around the entire earth in about one second, the Flash can run around the earth in 1/10 (.10) of a second. With the circumference of the earth being approximately 25,000 miles, this means the Flash can travel 250,000 miles per second – about 33% FASTER than the speed of light. Extrapolating further, we get a measurement of Flash's speed of 15,000,000 miles per minute and a whopping 90,000,000 miles per hour! This 90,000,000 mph figure represents the highest quantification of Barry's speed during the Silver or Bronze Ages. It is not, however, faster than Modern Age Barry Allen. I'll explain...

For DC, the Bronze Age ended with 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths in which DC's "multiverse" was eliminated in favor of a single Earth and the entire DC universe was neatly consolidated. The fallout from this was particularly impactful for the Flash because in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 Barry Allen dies as a result of running so fast and with such intensity that he literally disintegrates. At the same time, to maintain consistency, The Flash comic was canceled. When it was brought back shorty after, Wally West became the new Flash until Barry's return in 2009's Flash: Rebirth. When Barry returns, he is notably faster than he was during his original run through DC's Silver and Bronze Age comics. This is significant because the explanation provided in Rebirth for Barry's absence for more than 20 years is that he wasn't actually dead but rather that he became one with (and/or was trapped in) the Speed Force. 

So now we have to take another step back...

The Speed Force is an energized plane of existence from which DC's "speedsters" draw power. Modern issues of The Flash, the WB series, the new movie, and every other modern take on the Flash include the Speed Force as part of the character's lore. It was introduced, in part, to address and/or resolve questions regarding the anatomical damage a human body would most certainly suffer by running at such incomprehensible speeds. The Speed Force puts a powerful aura around whoever is tapping into it, thereby protecting them from speed-related friction, G-forces, etc. In other words, the Speed Force explains why Flash's costume (and skin) don't tear off... how he's able to see and hear while he runs... and why he doesn't constantly cause sonic booms. 

But the Speed Force is much more than just a protective barrier. It’s also a cosmic realm speedsters can use to travel anywhere in space and time. Those deft or experienced with the Speed Force can enter it and exit anywhere they like. Those not so skilled can get trapped and lost in the Speed Force indefinitely.

But here's the thing... The Speed Force was never a part of the Flash's original lore... Not even close. The first reference to it occurs in 1994 in The Flash #91 written by Mark Waid. He and other Flash writers, including Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns, through their stories, established the Speed Force as an integral part of the Flash's mythology moving forward and also retroactively applied it to Barry Allen's history, along with Jay Garrick's, and well, all other speedsters (good and evil) who ever existed in the DC universe. 

This means that Barry's speed and all of his speed-related past deeds, including time travel, are now explained as being made possible by the existence of the Speed Force. Johns, in Flash: Rebirth even took things a step further by explaining that Barry actually created the Speed Force himself when the lightning bolt struck him in his lab. Once that happened, the Speed Force began expanding in time and space to empower all speedsters before and after Barry. (This origin, however, has been contradicted multiple times and it's now generally accepted that the Speed Force has always existed.) Still, as confusing as its origin may be, the main thing to know about the Speed Force is that it essentially removed all limits to how fast the Flash can travel, up to and including light speed and even beyond.

Modern Age DC comics back this up.  JLA Vol 1. #89 begins with Wally West outrunning a nuclear explosion to save a city of 532,000 people by carrying each inhabitant (1-2 at a time the comic tells us) 35 miles away to safety until every single person is evacuated. Wally does this in .00001 microseconds. I was told there'd be no math but I'm told this equates to a speed of roughly 13 trillion times the speed of light. (But again, that was Wally West and this article is about how fast the definitive Flash, Barry Allen, is.)

Upon Barry's "rebirth" he too demonstrates enhanced speed and performs feats infinitely more impressive than he ever had previously, including running in the sky. It seems the "new" Barry is more dialed into and able to draw more power from the Speed Force than most other speedsters apart from Wally West. This results in a vast increase in Barry's top speed during the Modern Age. And it's precisely because the existence of the Speed Force has been retconned into Barry's history, there are presumably no limits to how fast he potentially could have been during the Silver and Bronze Ages either. Looking at it this way neatly reconciles and gives more credibility to the 90,000,000 mph attestation by the DC editorial staff I identified earlier.

In the end, we know this is the world of comics, which is rife with inconsistencies, contradictions and countermanding in matters relating to both character bios and storylines. Arguably, it's Wally who has proved most adept at marshalling the Speed Force and usurping its power to reach new limits but Barry too has used the Speed Force to reach incomprehensible speeds. Depending on how much he's able to tap into it, he has unlimited speed -- faster than light, faster than thought, faster than death, faster than time... He's even fast enough to live an all-encompassing, entirely instantaneous existence... 

So yeah, he's pretty freaking fast.

Farewell Olivia

This one is a gut punch. 

I'll start with this: Olivia Newton-John was... IS... one of the best of all time. The sweet-voiced Australian crooner with the majestic name who became a global pop superstar. 

In 1978 (when I was an extremely young Pop Culture Fiend) my mom and I visited my aunt in Philadelphia for two weeks during the summer. I had just seen the movie Grease a week or so earlier and the film had a huge impact on me. Not only was it one of the most entertaining films I'd seen in my then young life, but the music was great and (like so many other pre-pubescent boys my age) I was crushing hard on Olivia Newton-John.

My aunt was fairly well-to-do and had a lot of nice things, including a fancy turntable and eclectic record collection. Her latest addition to that collection was the Grease soundtrack -- which I proceeded to play non-stop for the entirety of my two week stay. When it was finally time to go home, my aunt said to me, "You like that record so much; you can have it." 

That was the first album I ever owned.

Olivia Newton-John was one who broke a lot of trends, beginning her recording career with an entire album of covers, before ultimately evolving her own brand of country-pop, and scoring multiple hits on both of those charts (as well as the easy listening/adult contemporary.) She also set a lot of trends -- being one of the first major artists to release music videos. Her 1982 Physical video album and TV special would set a bar for the medium for years to come -- and the short haircut (with optional head band) she debuted for that album was emulated by women across the nation and became one of the most popular looks of the decade. That Physical video collection would go on to win a Grammy award and "Physical" the single was a chart topper for 10 weeks (a record that stood for ten years) making it the biggest hit of the 1980's. Olivia's aerobics themed video for the song was one that helped launch MTV (which debuted just weeks before "Physical's" release) and that same video was also clearly an inspiration for the current Apple+ series Physical, whose creators even "borrowed" the album's art design and font style.

And of course years before all of this, Olivia had become America's sweetheart when she made her Hollywood movie debut in a role customized just for her -- Australian exchange student, Sandy Olsson in the aforementioned Grease. The film broke box office records, becoming the highest grossing musical of all-time and establishing Olivia as a bona fide movie star. "You're the One That I Want", from the film's soundtrack, reached #1 and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" peaked at #3.

That same year, at the age of only 30, Olivia released her tenth studio album, Totally Hot. It reached #7 on the charts and the lead single "A Little More Love" spent three weeks at #2. Grease was the #1 film of the year, its soundtrack was the #2 album of the year, and Totally Hot went platinum. This was Olivia at the peak of her powers... she was the biggest female star in the world. Wholesome, alluring, a genre-crossing hit-maker in both music and film; she also had a squeaky clean image -- so everyone in entertainment jockeyed to work with her and advertisers in every industry wanted her endorsing their products.

This kind of success seemed almost inevitable for the talented and prolific artist. She had gained attention in Australia and Europe with her first two albums before breaking through internationally with her third LP, Let Me There, which went to #1 on the U.S. Country chart and earned Olivia a Grammy nomination for Best Country Female. The following year (1974) she continued to skyrocket. She represented the UK at 1974's Eurovision Song Contest (won by ABBA, who would later appear on one of Olivia's TV specials.) Later that year, she released If You Love Me Let Me Know, which topped both the country and pop charts. She then repeated this feat with her next effort, 1975's Have You Never Been Mellow. In doing so, she helped blaze a trail for crossover success that would later be traveled by other female singers like Crystal Gayle, Faith Hill, Shania Twain and Taylor Swift. 

Meanwhile, "I Honestly Love You" (off If You Love Me Let Me Know) soared to #1 in the U.S. (and several other countries) before winning Record of the Year at the 1975 Grammys. More cross-chart success and #1's (a lot more) followed, including:

• "Please Mr. Please" (from Have You Never Been Mellow) - #5 Country, #3 Pop, #1 Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary
• "Come On Over" (from the 1976 album of the same name) - #1 EL/AC
• "Don't Stop Believin'" (the title track from her 1976 album) - #1 EL/AC

All tolled, Olivia had 40 entries in Billboard's Hot 100. She racked up six consecutive gold albums from 1973's Let Me Be There through Don't Stop Believin' before releasing a greatest hits album and then taking on Grease, That film's success led to more movies roles, including the beloved cult classic, Xanadu, which spawned a title track that went top ten, as well as the #1 hit, "Magic" (about as perfect a pop song as was ever recorded.) Over her career, this perfection wasn't only modeled in Olivia's signature songs, but in her covers and deep cuts as well -- particularly the ethereal "Falling", "Carried Away" and "Silvery Rain" off of Physical.

    

Finally, as we reached the mid-80's and entered the 90's, Olivia's superstar status began to give way. There were still concerts, occasional film and TV roles (including Two of a Kind, which reunited her with former co-star and friend John Travolta), Grease reunions, and albums that blipped on the charts... and there was a lot of time spent battling the cancer she was first diagnosed with in 1992. 

By the 90's, amidst the rise of hip-hop/urban music, it was no longer cool to like Olivia Newton-John. She was considered too square, too white bread... a relic from the 70's.

I didn't care. Whenever the subjects came up in conversation, I continue to proudly re-state facts:

First album I ever owned: Grease soundtrack

First single I ever owned: "Hopelessly Devoted to You"

First album I ever bought with my own money: Physical

I still have all three of these (the first two on vinyl, the latter on cassette) plus ONJ's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 and Soul Kiss, both of which I bought when they were still on the charts. Years later I would add more from her catalog, including the anthology, Olivia Newton-John: Gold... 

And in memory of this talented, beautiful lady; this icon and seminal artist, I think I'm gonna charge up my AirPods, dig into my collection, and play every single one of her songs. 

R.I.P. ONJ.

The Pop Culture Fiend's Long, Complex History with Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick releases tomorrow and the sequel to the Tom Cruise starrer and #1 film from 1986 has me as charged up as I've been for any film since before the pandemic. Why am I so stoked for this pic?... Well first, the trailer simply blows you away. There's the amazing cinematography, the musical cues borrowed from the original film's soundtrack, and several intriguing callbacks to the first movie --  Goose's son, Maverick's motorcycle, "Great Balls of Fire" and more.

Next it's the characters. Val Kilmer  is (seemingly) returning as "Iceman", aka, Lieutenant (now Admiral) Tom Kazansky. I'm also fully expecting a cameo by one or two other actors from the first film -- possibly Meg Ryan as Carole Bradshaw.

One character we know we'll see is Penny Benjamin, the admiral's daughter alluded to in the first film as someone with whom Maverick had "a history of high-speed passes." It was throwaway line, a simple quip intended to give us insight into Maverick's reckless nature with both planes and women. But the Top Gun: Maverick screenwriters (Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., who by the way, also penned the first film) ran with it. Penny Benjamin is now embodied by actress Jennifer Connelly (and by the way, how refreshing is it to see Cruise finally doing a movie where his love interest is age-appropriate instead of 20 years younger than him like Annabelle Wallis was in The Mummy?)

But the main reason I'm so excited for this film is that Top Gun and I have serious history. So allow me if you will to not just provide my usual type of commentary and discussion, but also offer some detailed personal tales and anecdotes about one of the most important films from my youth.

Back to the 80s

In 1986, I was working as an usher at Loews Wayne Sixplex in Wayne, NJ. It was my third summer at the theater, which at the time was one of the premier multiplexes in the state. It was early May and after about a week on the job I showed up for work one day and was greeted in the theater lobby by a roughly 8' high, 6' wide promotional display for some new movie about fighter pilots. It starred Tom Cruise, who was coming off the colossal flop Legend. In fact, at the time Cruise had starred in only one bona fide hit -- Risky Business. Even so, solid performances in All the Right Moves, The Outsiders and Taps, had Cruise on the edge of stardom... but he still needed a breakout hit.

But back to that lobby display. This thing captivated me with both its sheer size and the fact that it wasn't just a static, stand up, cardboard standee; this thing had depth; it lit up and it had moving parts. Thoughts began to stir: "This thing would look great in my room."

The hit of the summer

Top Gun was released on May 16, but few know that its release date was moved up a week from May 23. I know this because the display included a prominent "Coming May 23" declaration. Presumably, the studio (Paramount) felt good about the Top Gun's positive advance previews and also may have feared going head to head against Sylvester Stallone's Cobra, as well as Poltergeist II, which were both also released on May 23rd.

Any such fears soon proved ridiculous. Top Gun was an immediate and massive hit -- a summer popcorn movie driven by young male moviegoers who flocked to see it with their best buds (or girlfriends they'd talked out of seeing Short Circuit instead.)

As for me and my usher brethren (Mike, Steve, Kirk, Lou, John and Marcus) we embraced Top Gun probably more than any other film that played at Loews during our multi-summer tenure there. This included incessantly quoting all the best lines from the film:

• "This is what I call a 'target-rich' environment"
• "The bet is 20 dollars. You have to have carnal knowledge (of a lady this time) on the premises."
• "I don't like you because you're dangerous."
• "Slider... You stink."
• "I feel the need... The need... for speed."
• "That was some of the best flying I've seen yet. Right until the part where you got killed."
• "Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full."
• "We're too close for missiles; I'm switching to guns."
• "Goose you're such a dickhead. Whose butt did you kiss to get in here."
  "Well, the list is long  but distinguished."
  "Yeah, well so's my johnson."

We also re-enacted our favorite scenes -- even going as far as banding together to loudly sing along on "You've Lost That Loving Feelin'" in the back of a packed auditorium. Steve, meanwhile, was obsessed with Kelly McGillis's love scene halfway through the film and would regularly duck into the auditorium to catch it. We even adopted the call signs of all the Top Gun characters. Mike was "Goose"; Steve was "Hollywood"; Kirk was "Wolfman"; Lou was "Slider", John was "Merlin" and Marcus was "Sundown". 

And me?... I was a big Val Kilmer fan, so I of course was "Iceman".

But even as Top Gun continued to bring in big audiences week after week, I kept careful eye on that display. Then finally, on one of my off nights, I was out with my friend Brian (who had also worked at Loews for years) and formulated a plan. We came to the theater, seemingly just to say hang out in the lobby for awhile, but as the place was closing, we intentionally left one of the back doors slightly ajar. Then we left, waited about an hour and drove back to the theater. 

An inside job

Brian and I crept up on theater door we left cracked. Sure enough, no one had noticed, so we peeled it open and ducked into the lobby. Now because I worked there, I knew the theater had just invested in a new alarm system, complete with motion detectors, but being little more than teenagers, we didn't let that stop us. We crept along the walls to dodge the motion detectors (which we later learned weren't even activated yet) down to the lower lobby where the display sat. To get it out of the theater (and transport it back to my house) we knew we'd first have to disassemble it and put it back in the gigantic box it was shipped in. It wound up taking close to an hour to get the display broken down using tools Brian had brought.

Ultimately, we got the display into the box and were ready. We each grabbed an end and headed out the fire door, then somehow lashed this behemoth to the roof of my car, and I made the half hour drive home early in the AM, at a speed of little more than 35 mph.

Disappointingly, after reassembly, I realized the display was too tall for my converted attic room so I actually had to saw off close to foot of it in order to stand it back up. But finally the deed was done and there my Top Gun display stood for more than a decade -- Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis staring out like sentinels at me all through my twenties.

More history

In 1992, my dad took a business trip to San Diego and brought my mom, sister and me with him to have sort of a mini-vacation. Upon arrival, my mind immediately went to Top Gun and the opportunity I now had to see filming locations for one of my all time favorite movies. I visited the beaches where a lot of second unit stuff was shot, as well as Naval Air Station Miramar, home of the actual TOPGUN (Navy Fighter Weapons School.) The streets near my hotel are seen in the sequence where a pissed off Maverick speeds away on his motorcycle pursued by Charlie (McGillis). It had been six years since the film's release but the city of San Diego, I found, was still using its connection to the movie to appeal to tourists. So yeah, I bought my fair share of Top Gun t-shirts and merchandise. 

But the absolute highlight for me was visiting the Kansas City Barbecue. The place is right on Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego and was the location for the Top Gun scenes where Goose (Anthony Edwards) and Maverick drink, play piano and sing "Great Balls of Fire." I stumbled across it purely by accident but visited twice during my trip. Predictably, this bar/restaurant was packed with Top Gun memorabilia -- movie stills, framed photos, the piano Goose plays, and yes, the same exact promotional display I had pilfered from Loews. The place even proudly advertised itself as "Kansas City Barbecue: Top Gun sleazy bar scene filmed here" and sold t-shirts declaring the same.

Kansas City BBQ

Eight years later I actually moved to California and my first residence, before eventually planting stakes in the city of San Diego proper, was in Oceanside, which sits way up in north county San Diego. It's famous for its surfing, its pier and of course, its connection to Top Gun. Charlie's cozy little beachside cottage, where Maverick arrives late for dinner, sat literally steps from the beach and the aforementioned pier. During my first few months living in Oceanside, my workout runs took me unknowingly right past this house. I literally jogged by it dozens of times and only later learned of its cinematic pedigree.

Years later, what came to be known as the "Top Gun house" fell into disrepair and when "downtown" and beachfront Oceanside (including the block the house sat on) underwent redevelopment, its future seemed uncertain. Fortunately, the local historical society recognized the home's significance, funded its restoration and had it moved north from its original location to the beachfront courtyard of the Mission Pacific Hotel, about 200 yards up the street. The house was repainted to match its 1986 light blue color, restored close to its classic look, and is now home to (of all things) a specialty pie shop  where tourists come to see the Top Gun memorabilia on its walls and take pictures on a replica of Maverick's motorcycle parked out front.

The Top Gun house on film (left) and in real life (right).

The Top Gun house - May 2022

So why was Top Gun such a hit and why does it deserve all this remembrance anyway? 

Well for starters, it was a riveting actioner that didn't rely on the usual conventions -- gunplay, speeding cars and the like. Plus, the action didn't take place in the usual (i.e., terrestrial) setting. Instead, Top Gun gave us rarely seen action in the form of supersonic jets -- soaring, dipping, spinning, engaged in aerial combat -- and it gave us this action 40,000 feet in the air. It was an unprecedented offering that appealed to both testosterone-infused young male audiences and military enthusiasts.

Speaking of the military, we shouldn't underestimate Top Gun's leveraging of the Cold War, which in 1986 was still very palpable. Like Rocky 4 and Rambo: First Blood Part II, both released the year prior, Top Gun made villains of the Russians and played to a strong sense of jingoism. Audiences cheered unashamedly when Maverick shot down the Russian MIGs, the same way they did when Rocky knocked out Ivan Drago. Indeed, Cruise's character was seen as something of a modernized Eddie Rickenbacker. In fact, Top Gun's popularity was so rousing and its glamorization of fighter pilots so profound, at the Loews I worked at, representatives from the U.S. Navy showed up one day asking if they could set up a temporary recruiting station outside the theater.

Top Gun also endures due to a perfectly cast ensemble of actors. Cruise was the perfect actor to play the Maverick role:  a burgeoning matinee idol with a cocksure persona and shit-eating but lovable grin. Women wanted him and men wanted to be him. Kilmer, who had already starred and impressed in both Top Secret and Real Genius was just as handsome and charismatic. McGillis, Kilmer's classmate at Julliard, also had two major roles on her resume. She had starred in the critically acclaimed Reuben, Reuben and had earned Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for her role in Witness, which at the time put her on the short list of Hollywood's top young dramatic actresses. Anthony Edwards, as Goose, was Maverick's likable, wisecracking sidekick, and Meg Ryan (in her first major role) as Goose's wife was positively adorable. The cast was rounded out by the stern and steady Tom Skerritt as "Viper" and the rough and rugged Michael Ironside as "Jester".

The onscreen chemistry was a byproduct of real life. The cast's principals clicked, formed friendships and sometimes more. Edwards and Ryan would later become a real-life couple, McGillis started a relationship with Barry Tubb (Wolfman) and they and the rest cast would regularly hang out together after shooting wrapped for the day. 

Top Gun's music also plays a part in its longstanding popularity. Beginning with the film's opening shot, when Harold Faltemeyer's beacon-like instrumental gives way to searing Steve Stevens guitar work, music is an integral part of the Top Gun experience. Legendary producer Georgio Moroder, one of the architects of disco, was the driving force behind the the Top Gun soundtrack. Moroder had a track record of writing and producing hits for movie soundtracks, including Blondie's "Call Me" from Amercan Gigolo and Irene Cara's "Flashdance... What a Feeling" from Flashdance. For Top Gun, Moroder penned "Danger Zone" which was performed by Kenny Loggins and became a Top 40 radio smash. Moroder also composed Teena Marie's "Lead Me On" (played during the bar scene when Maverick first meets Charlie) and Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", which went to #1 in the U.S. and several other countries and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The rest of the soundtrack featured tunes by heavyweights Cheap Trick and Loverboy, plus another cut by Loggins -- "Playing With The Boys". Though never a radio hit, the song was instantly memorable (and later became something of a gay anthem) due to its placement during Top Gun's famous beach volleyball scene.

So now it's now 36 years later and Top Gun remains an 80's classic and "guy movie" staple, right up there with Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. It's sequel is already getting fantastic reviews and being hailed as one of the best movies (not action movies, "movies") in years. There's also been plenty of advertising and promotion -- billboards, bus shelter ads, the works. All of it gets me even more charged for this film. So when I go see it this weekend, fair warning to all the movie chains out there... Keep close tabs on your lobby display.