August, 2025

This month the focus is on real-life, interesting people.

“Relentless” (Kanopy 2024) Diane Warren, self-taught songwriter, wrote over 400 songs for the major singers of the 80’s and 90’s. Even if Cher, Celine Dion, Beyonce and the many other singers who relied on her for hits leave you with a “meh” reaction, you will still enjoy this up close and personal documentary of a success story that defied all odds.

“Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill” (Kanopy 2024) In stark contrast to the award winning achievements of Diane Warren, this is a tragic story of a great talent who could not overcome her demons. Unlike Warren whose songs have enormous popular appeal, Sill wrote Bach-influenced, Blakean themed songs with mostly esoteric appeal. Yet she was admired by ’60’s/70’s mainstream singers including Linda Ronstadt and The Turtles (some of my readers probably remember “Happy Together”? Well, that was a Judee Sill song.). Sad? Yes. Don’t watch it if you are looking for something amusing and up-beat. But still this is a well-made documentary that honors an obscure, unique “sinner/saint” revered and mourned by many of her musical contemporaries.

“Marlee Matlin-Not Alone Anymore” (PBS American Masters, Apple, Fandango, Amazon 2025)This is a lovely and inspiring film about the personal struggle of the very talented Marlee Matlin and her pioneering crusade to change perceptions and the exclusion of the deaf population. Highly recommended.

“Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan” (2023 Netflix) I’ve saved the Best for last (so sorry–I couldn’t help the pun). but it is indeed an absolutely wonderful story of a man many of us in my generation dismissed as a kind of fuddy duddy conservative–a relic of the world we Baby Boomers rejected. Well, we were very wrong. Sullivan was a brave early television pioneer whose wildly popular variety show broke racial barriers. Network executives ordered him to exclude Black performers on the premise that Southern viewers would object. He simply ignored them: in 1948 The Ink Spots, followed over the years by singers such as Bo Diddley, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown and many more appeared, not once but often. And not just rock and roll–opera singer Leontyne Price, jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan–too many to list here. (film clips of these fabulous artists are terrific). In the midst of Civil Rights violence and hatred, here was television’s favorite star, not only praising and highlighting black performers, but hand shaking, hugging and kissing. Apparently although publicly spewing vile hatred in public, in the privacy of their homes, white racists watched and enjoyed the show. As a testament to the power of the media in changing attitudes, the film implies that Sullivan’s efforts may have contributed to a shift in consciousness of some. (just as it has radically changed my perception of Sullivan)