Experience

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  Stelck for assembly campaign

  Mar 1964 - Nov 1964

  Multi-tasker, writer, issues development

  Worked as volunteer in the 64th Assembly District campaign of Dr. W. Ardell "Dell" Stelck, a Professor of American History at California State University at Northridge and one of my professors.An excellent grassroots political opportunity for a young student majoring in political science with a minor in history, namely myself.Prepared press releases, canvassed voters, worked in liaison with organized labor in getting out the vote, helped with issue development and to prepare position papers for candidate. Show less

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  Inglewood daily news

  Apr 1966 - May 1968

  Became the youngest Sports Editor in the Los Angeles area with the INGLEWOOD DAILY NEWS chain. The city was then home base of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, who played at The Forum in Inglewood. It was also home of Hollywood Park Racetrack.Also covered NFL football with the L.A. Rams and MLB baseball with Dodgers and Angels. Covered collegiate sports events of USC and UCLA.Covered first Super Bowl featuring Lombardi Packers. Covered World Series between Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles. Covered two Rose Bowl games between USC against Purdue and Indiana.Covered major boxing events involving Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry, Mondo Ramos, Raul Rojas, Andy Heilman, Joe Frazier and other major names. Show less Wrote features on films in progress, visiting studios, observing films and conducting interviews.Among the films:ICE STATION ZEBRA at MGM, interviewed performers Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan and Murray Rose, along with the movie'a director John Sturges.THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLAIRE at Twentieth-Century Fox, interviewed the film's female star Kim Novak.SPEEDWAY at MGM, starring Elvis Presley, interviewed film's producer Douglas Laurence, its director Norman Taurog and performers Bill Bixby and Gale Gordon.FINIAN'S RAINBOW at Warner Brothers, observing musical numbers featuring Fred Astaire and wrote feature article about film that was the first major film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Show less

  • Sports Editor

    Apr 1966 - May 1968

  • Movie Feature Correspondent and Interviewer

    Apr 1966 - May 1968
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  Union bank

  Jul 1970 - Nov 1970

  Assistant editor

  Interviewed bank employees and wrote articles on their professional activities at Union Bank's main headquarters office.

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  Classic screen magazine

  Mar 1975 - Apr 1977

  Associate editor

  Interview and Series on directing career of Rouben Mamoulian.Cover story on producer and director Mervyn LeRoy.Cover story on the acting career of Mickey Rooney from boyhood to adulthood.Feature story on Western star Don "Red" Barry.

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  Hollywood studio magazine

  Jul 1975 - Feb 1979

  Wrote articles on travel adventures, two around the world trips in 1975 and 1977 and a 1976 international journey encompassing Northern and Eastern Europe.The articles emphasized interviews and prominent locations involving film, stage and other aspects of international entertainment.Interviewed Run Run Shaw, President of Shaw Brothers Studios at studio office in Kowloon.Interviewed Douglas Fairbanks Jr. after viewing his London West End starring appearance in THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANY.Interviewed comedy star Doris Hare after viewing her appearance in long running West End comedy hit NO SEX PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH!Interviewed Arthur Howard, brother of Leslie Howard, after performance in same show with Doris Hare.Observed West End drama performances and wrote articles on John Mills, James Stewart, Alec Guinness, Margaret Leighton, Deborah Kerr, Dinah Sheridan and Robert Morley.Visited sets of Bollywood film studios in Bombay, India.Visited settings of The Great Wheel and Hotel Sacher used in Carol Reed's cinema classic THE THIRD MAN.Observed Sri Lanka location sets used inDavid Lean's cinema classic THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.Covered world heavyweight championship fight at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between champion Muhammad Ali and British challenger Joe Bugner.Observed Pagsanjan Falls, Philippines location of Vietnam War film classic APOCALYPSE NOW directed by Francis Ford Coppola.Saw and wrote about performance of Leningrad Ballet in the Russian city then known by that name. Show less

  • Great Film Directors Series Author

    May 1977 - Feb 1979

  • Travel Writer

    Jul 1975 - Aug 1977
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  Chargers weekly magazine

  Oct 1982 - Feb 1983

  Feature article writer

  Wrote a three part series on the evolution of the forward pass in National Football League History. The series was a natural for the magazine that featured activities of the San Diego Chargers. At the time the series was being written and ultimately appeared the Chargers under innovative Coach Don Coryell were setting NFL records with a point producing overhead-oriented offense led by ultimate Hall of Famers quarterback Dan Fouts and receivers Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow. The series explains and documents the gradual proliferation of the passing game beginning with the forties and quarterbacks Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman as well as receiver Don Hutson. It focused as well on attendance increases based on fans preferring the excitement of games featuring great passers and receivers. Show less

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  Trojans illustrated

  Apr 1983 - Feb 1984

  Contributing writer

  Wrote football articles for the magazine exclusively devoted to University of Southern California athletics and was editorially operated out of USC's Sports Information Department. That department was headed by then SID Jim Perry and assisted by its current Director, Tim Tessalone.Initial article was an overview of the Trojans' upcoming 1983 season. It was written and published after the conclusion of Spring Practice.Also authored a two part series on the greatest teams in USC football history. Part One covered the period from the twenties to 1950. Part Two extended from the fifties to the early eighties. Show less

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  Hispanic times magazine

  Jun 1983 - Jul 1985

  Assistant editor

  Interviewed world super bantamweight boxing champion Jaime Garza.Interviewed world bantamweight boxing champion Alberto Davila.Interviewed All-Star pitcher Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers.Interviewed Tom Flores, head football coach of the Los Angeles Raiders.Interviewed Lupe Sanchez, football star cornerback of the UCLA Bruins.Interviewed Jim Ventras, Managing Director of Salesian Boys Club of Los Angeles.Wrote exclusive feature profiles on all of the above sports stars and boys' group coordinator with an emphasis on the Southern California Hispanic scene. Show less

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  Blue and gold magazine

  Sept 1983 - Jan 1984

  Feature writer

  Writing feature articles on the history of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. At that time the publication was called GO IRISH!Did feature profile of Elmer Layden, one of the legendary FOUR HORSEMEN of the twenties under Coach Knute Rockne. The article focuses strongly on the middle to late thirties when Layden served as head football coach, a tenure that ended after the 1940 season whe he quit to become National Football League Commissioner.Wrote an extensive retrospective piece on the oldest intersectional rivalry in college football between Notre Dame and the University of Southern California. It opens with the first meeting of the teams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1926 and extending to the time when the article was written, featuring the showcase games and numerous All-Americans playing for both teams. Show less

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  Madison books

  Mar 1994 - May 1995

  International history writer

  On May 9, 1995 my Middle East historical work STRUGGLE FOR THE HOLY LAND: ARABS, JEWS AND THE EMERGENCE OF ISRAEL was published.While numerous Middle East works told the story of the land where civilization from one viewpoint or the other, my objective was to provide a point of intersection in which 3,500 years of history was covered by presenting the rich cultural histories of both the Arab and Jewish peoples.Rather than deal with a catalogued recitation of events, my intent was to present the march of history in the region through the narrative history approach.Major figures examined include Muhammad, Theodor Herzl, T.E. Lawrence, Albert Einstein, David Ben-Gurion, Winston Churchill, FDR and Harry Truman.Interviewed on BBC World Service television heard in English in UK and Arabic throughout the Arab world.Interviewed twice on WOR radio in Nee York City by Jay Severin and Santiago Nieves respectively.Interviewed on Chicago radio station WGN by Wes Bleed. Interviewed on Denver radio station KOA by Rick Barber.Interviewed on London, Ontario, Canada radio station CJBK by Jim Chapman.Interviewed on Cape Cod radio Booknotes program by Rob Morris.Reviewed by Publishers Weekly.Reviewed by Book List.Reviewed by London, England based international Arab publication Al-Majala. Show less

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  Mcfarland & company, inc., publishers

  Apr 2003 - Aug 2003

  Film history writer

  Wrote cinema historical book EARLY FILM NOIR: LUST, GREED AND MURDER HOLLYWOOD STYLE.This work details the early roots of film noir. The leading man as rebellious loner is explained with an emphasis on the screen personas of Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum.The rapacious and destructive influence of the femme fatale in film noir is detailed, as well as the combustible energy invoked through interlinking with rebellious leading men.Femmes fatales carefully analyzed include Jane Greer, Barbara Stanwyck, Claire Trevor and Mary Astor.These traits and thematic interactions are highlighted in the noir classics DOUBLE INDEMNITY, OUT OF THE PAST, THE MALTESE FALCON and MURDER, MY SWEET.Emphasis is also placed on the influence in popularizing the film noir genre among French intellectuals following World War Two. Show less

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  Mcfarland & company publishing

  Jan 2004 - Apr 2004

  Film history writer

  Wrote L.A. NOIR: NINE DARK VISIONS OF THE CITY OF ANGELS.A film noir work examining why, apart from being location of the famous movie studios, Los Angeles became an ideal location showcasing the genre's films.The love-hate relationship noir laureate Raymond Chandler beginning with his first night in the city in the Bunker Hill section is thematically analyzed.Chandler's famous screen adapted novel THE BIG SLEEP is explored for the manner in which Humphrey Bogart explores the city's rootlessness highlighted by characters who have come to Los Angeles from various cities and numerous walks of life.CHINATOWN reveals detective Jack Nicholson's efforts to uncover the great land grab effort of corrupt financial magnate John Huston amid controlling the city's water supply in a drama etched from the city's actual history.L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, adapted from noir novelist James Ellroy's bestseller, is built around the late forties and early fifties period of corruption affecting the Los Angeles Police Department. Show less

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  Political cortex

  Oct 2005 - Jul 2011

  Internet political writer-historian

  Wrote regularly on this site after beginning with its predecessor POLITICAL STRATEGY from February 2002 until the creation of POLITICAL CORTEX.A centerpiece of writing efforts included a regular feature called MEDIA SNAKE OIL. Its focus was calling attention to mainstream media efforts of major U.S. and international events that in my judgment oversimplified the major issues involved and failed to tackle the real questions involved.Also reported and analyzed national elections in the United States and Great Britain along with the candidates and major campaign issues. Show less

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  Mcfarland & company, inc., publishers

  Nov 2006 - Jan 2007

  Film history writer

  Wrote film history work HITCHCOCK AND THE METHODS OF SUSPENSE.An analytical work exploring the creative methods of the master director who began his long career in his hometown of London and then found a new home for his enormous creative talents in Hollywood .The work's analytical linchpin is the link between Hitchcock's creative methods and his instinct for appealing to public tastes, resulting in box office success. British and nascent fears about the road to World War Two was confronted in THE 39 STEPS in which a global organization seeks world domination. While never mentioned, it is easy to fill in the blanks and conclude that the organization is the Nazi Third Reich of Adolfo Hitler.At a time when Rachel Carson's warning about the vulnerabilities of the planet with her global best seller THE SEA AROUND US Hitchcock scored an artistic and economic triumph with THE BIRDS. In the film it was attacking birds that posed the risk to civilization.One of Hitchcock's most provocatively controversial works, PSYCHO, appeared in 1960 when black and white home television melodrama was achieving dizzying popularity heights. The brilliant director used the same tricks of the trade to craft a commercial success, even opting to make the film in black and white, making it more closely resemble what audiences were viewing on television.Another facet of the book explores Hitchcock's creative association with producer David O. Selznick. Their differences in outlook resulted in two strong-willed creative geniuses learning from each other and pooling their talents. Show less

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  Phoenix cinema

  May 2007 - Jul 2007

  Film noir historian

  Did a lengthy think piece on the craft of film noir entitled GREAT DIRECTORS OF FILM NOIR featuring glimpses into works of directors such as Robert Siodmak, Billy Wilder, Jacques Tourneur, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston and others.

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  Film noir of the week

  Nov 2007 - Feb 2012

  Film noir historian

  Did a variety of articles on this Internet film noir site, chiefly movie reviews.Did feature JOHN HUSTON: GREAT NOIR DIRECTOR.Did analytical reviews of Huston films THE ASPHALT JUNGLE and FAT CITY.Also did reviews of the following films:THE LOST WEEKENDBORDER INCIDENT WANTED FOR MURDERI CONFESS

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  Oped news

  Dec 2008 - Jul 2011

  Internet political writer-historian

  Writing articles on contemporary and historical issues both U.S. and internationally structured. Wrote pieces on the candidates and issues surrounding the 2008 American presidential campaign.Some film articles were also written on such topics as the artistic significance of the works of director Fritz Lang and obituaries evaluating the cinema and human contributions of actor Paul Newman and director Sidney Lumet.Wrote retrospective piece on the day I interviewed author, screenwriter and social activist Budd Schulberg at his Beverly Hills home. Show less

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  Seattle post-intelligencer

  Mar 2010 - Jul 2011

  Journalist

  Did a variety of articles on politics and social issues, many of which revolved around the city of Seattle on the PI's Internet website.Was one of several Seattle residents writing as continuing correspondents under the heading of CITY BRIGHTS.Did some film reviews.Did sports feature articles on local teams such as the Sounders, Seahawks, Mariners and University of Washington Huskies.

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  Mcfarland & company publishing

  Feb 2012 - Jun 2012

  Film history writer

  Wrote film noir book PULP FICTION TO FILM NOIR: THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GENRE.Details how Joseph Shaw of Black Mask magazine used his Depression publication to turn his two most popular authors, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, into popular detective writers whose famous novels helped forge an exciting new genre.Humphrey Bogart is described as an ideal Depression era loner and a perfect selection to star in adapted films based on the novels of Hammett and Chandler.Bogart's starring role in DARK PASSAGE opposite wife Lauren Bacall is examined from a Great Depression philosophical perspective. Bogart, aided by Bacall, struggles to clear his name after escaping from San Quentin Prison, where he has been sent after being framed for a murder he never committed.Horace McCoy, one of Joseph Shaw's Black Mask writing protégés, wrote one of the leading Depression works structured around a marathon dance competition with THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? The film classic resulting from the book he could not get adapted to the screen during his lifetime is closely examined for its historically timely thematic content. Show less

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  Freelance writer

  Sept 2013 - now

  At home in costa del sol, spain

  Working as a freelance writer in both the non-fiction and fiction fields.

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  Amazon kindle

  Oct 2014 - now

  Freelance e-book author

  Publishing regularly through Amazon Kindle.

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  Sabinillas enterprises

  Jul 2016 - now

  Managing director and writer-in-residence

  Writing and Publishing EBooks from Sabinillas Enterprises through Amazon Kindle.In April 2015 published Middle East historical work STRUGGLE FOR THE HOLY LAND: ARABS, JEWS AND THE EMERGENCE OF ISRAEL.In April 2015 published motion picture historical work EARLY FILM NOIR: GREED, LUST AND MURDER HOLLYWOOD STYLE with Foreword by Ken Annakin.On May 1, 2015 published SUNSET BOULEVARD MURDERS, Volume 1 of JEFF KELLY MYSTERIES, Cover Illustrated by Alvaro Armada Gonzalez.