Debbie Reynolds Update - Classy Lady with a Busy Schedule

It’s neither a secret nor a surprise that those of us at The Bijou Blog are huge Debbie Reynolds fans. And it’s not just because she’s going to be the host of our new Matinee at the Bijou show on PBS. Debbie has a career that is virtually unsurpassed in the annals of modern entertainment. Her first major movie role came about in 1952 when she was cast as Kathy Selden opposite Gene Kelly’s Don Lockwood in the beloved Singin’ In The Rain.

Thirteen years later she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her role as the title character in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Over the ensuing decades, Debbie Reynolds has been busy acting, singing, dancing and entertaining.

Despite reaching the age of 75 this year, her schedule is remarkably full. She continues to add to her filmography, including a couple of films just last year. In 2006, she appeared in the Disney Channel movie Return to Halloweentown, and had a voiceover role in the animated film Lolo’s Café. And her ongoing live stage activity shows no signs of slowing down.

Here is a partial list of Debbie’s personal appearances over the rest of 2007:

August 2, 3 4 & 5, Drury Lane Theater, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
August 10, Sycuan Casino & Resort, El Cajon, California
August 27-31, Hilton, Atlantic City, New Jersey
September 10, Mountainside Rancheria Casino, Friant, California
September 14, Win River Casino, Redding, California
October 21, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California
November 2, 3 & 4, Suncoast Casino & Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
November 11, Del Webb’s Sun City, Palm Desert, California
November 20-25, Riverside Resort, Laughlin, Nevada
December 7, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, California
December 9, Del Webb’s Sun City, Palm Desert, California

The Bijou team salutes Debbie Reynolds on a career spanning five-and-a-half decades. And it's not over yet by a long shot. More on exciting new developments soon. As always, thanks for visiting.

Bijou Bob Answers Back

We really appreciate the reception you’ve given The Bijou Blog, and all the thoughtful input you’ve provided. Comments left on each of our posts often come with questions, and this is an opportunity to provide some answers.

One fan asks when in 2007 will the new series begin, and another noted that his TIVO has no clue about the show and also wonders when it will start broadcasting. The short and simple answer is that the Matinee at the Bijou team is currently seeking sponsorship. PBS has given the green light to the sequel series and is assisting in the sponsor search. As soon as that task is complete we’ll have a firm date for the series’ debut.

“Robert” wants to know if Matinee will air on KAET in Arizona. KAET is based in Phoenix on the campus of Arizona State University and covers 80% of the great state of Arizona. Once the show is funded and produced, PBS will feed the series each week to virtually all its affiliate stations throughout North America. We’re looking forward to bringing our unique content, including a cartoon, a short subject, a serial chapter, and a feature film, to our friends in Arizona and the rest of the country.

Another enthusiast asks whether we plan to show just public domain stuff or will we be including other material as well. This shows you folks are paying attention out there! The original Matinee at the Bijou which first aired back in the early 1980’s did indeed use only films that were in the public domain. However, the sequel series will be a mix of public domain and non-public domain films from private collections, independent studios, and some from the major studios. This will give viewers the advantage of seeing a much wider variety of entertaining film treats than ever before, and all in HD.

One alert commenter noted that we left Singin’ in the Rain out of the piece on our host Debbie Reynolds. OK, our bad. Certainly it’s one of America’s best-loved movies of all time, and it gave Debbie an illustrious beginning to what turned out to be a legendary (and still busy) career. One interesting item about the 1952 classic is that despite its enduring status as an all-time classic and groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece, it only earned two minor Oscar nominations (for supporting actress Jean Hagen and musical score by Lennie Hayton). More than a half-century later, Singin’ in the Rain is ranked as one of the greatest films ever, higher than all the movies that were nominated for best picture that year. The American Film Institute named it the number one movie musical of all time!

Bijou Bob thanks everyone for the comments and questions. We will continue to monitor the blog and will do our best to answer questions as they come up. Keep ’em coming, folks! With your help, the Matinee at the Bijou buzz is building, and the louder the buzz gets the sooner we’ll find that sponsor we need to get back on the air.

A Bijou Flashback

TV shows are produced mostly in Los Angeles, New York and Canada. So how did a television series from Oregon become one of the most popular shows on PBS? The tale spans a quarter century. Matinee at the Bijou first hit the tube in 1980, when two entrepreneurial film junkies from Oregon pitched the idea to PBS. Their vision was to bring back the pre-1960 movie matinee experience exactly as it was, when the trip included a cartoon, short, serial and feature. PBS embraced the concept and Matinee At The Bijou became one of the network’s top rated series throughout the 80s, sometimes rated among the top ten shows on PBS.

Bob Campbell, one of the creators, acquired the rights from his partner in 1982 and shepherded the series through five consecutive seasons. In the mid 90s, TV Matters, a Netherlands-based company, acquired the broadcast rights to the original episodes, gave the series a makeover, and re-edited the original 80 shows into 52 fresh episodes for a second time around on select PBS stations. Two new serials were added for the new versions and audiences once again raved and returned for more.

Fast forward to 2006. PBS has given the green light to a sequel series and is assisting in the search for show sponsors. Campbell has reunited much of the original team, including the director, editor, and songwriter – and added three distinguished film collectors with substantial film resources and access to rarely seen gems. (There will be more about these gentlemen in a future post.)

Best news of all is that the great Debbie Reynolds, the star of Singin’ in the Rain, is joining Matinee at the Bijou as our host. Ms. Reynolds will also be singing the new Bijou theme song, penned by Rich Mendoza, who wrote the original Rudy Vallee theme. Our fully digital Oregon production house (COBI DIGITAL HD) is geared up with all the latest HD technology and work is underway on the film selection process, production design, and spreading the word that BIJOU IS BACK.

Our Host

Debbie Reynolds, celebrated star of Singin’ in the Rain and Best Actress Oscar-nominee for The Unsinkable Molly Brown, has agreed to host the 2007 sequel series of Matinee at the Bijou. The ageless screen legend brings her considerable charm and talents to each of the series’ episodes. Each 2-hour matinee opens with a montage creatively edited to an original theme song performed by Ms. Reynolds. This leads into a customized episode billboard in which Reynolds describes that episode’s cartoon, short subject, action-packed serial chapter and entertaining feature presentation, shown as originally presented in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s.

Bijou Bob is thrilled and honored that the great Debbie Reynolds has accepted our invitation to host the return of Matinee at the Bijou. She is joining a distinguished roster of PBS celebrity host icons and week after week will be introducing the content of each episode. Ms. Reynolds’ natural wit and personality will set just the right mood for the film fare that follows.

Ms. Reynolds has done it all in the wide world of Hollywood entertainment. During the mid-fifties our host-to-be was one of Hollywood's most sought after female stars. More recently, on TV, she appeared in the continuing role as Grace’s mom on Will & Grace. Along the way she won an Oscar nomination for her title roll in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (1964), and a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Albert Brooks' MOTHER (1996). In addition she has been a perennial headliner on the Las Vegas casino-circuit.

Even the very young will remember her as the voice of "Lulu Pickles" in the animated film RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE. In 1988, she published her autobiography: "Debbie: My life" – a fascinating book about a fascinating life well lived. Ms Reynolds has never stopped entertaining America, and coming in 2007, she will be welcomed once again into America’s homes and hearts as the star of Matinee at the Bijou.

We’ll have much more to say down the road about Debbie Reynolds’ role in the return of Matinee at the Bijou to PBS. We’ll also be letting you in on how the new opening sequence is coming together. Our star host will perform her episode intros and the closing sequence from within an absolutely eye-popping set – especially as experienced in the magic of High Definition. A vintage marquee and an ornate box office completes the image. Add the voice of Debbie Reynolds singing our all-new theme song – and all you’ll need to bring along is your crew and lots of popcorn.