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William Sanderson: Actor and native Memphian

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William Sanderson.jpgI haven't subscribed to HBO in years, so I usually catch up on the network's great series ("Sopranos," "The Wire," etc.) on DVD. It just happens that my fiancee and I had been revisiting "Deadwood" when I happened upon this interview on A.V. Club with William Sanderson, the veteran character actor who plays the cowardly, conniving hotelier E.B. Farnum on the Western masterpiece. In fact, Sanderson -- a native Memphian who got his bachelor's and law degrees from then-Memphis State University -- is also the subject of a John Beifuss article coming in Sunday's editions of The Commercial Appeal.

It turns out that Sanderson is making the media rounds to promote this Sunday's start of the second season of the HBO vampire series "True Blood." (Season 1 just hit DVD, so that might be our next viewing project.)

The A.V. Club piece gets Sanderson talking about his many roles over the years, from the eccentric Larry on "Newhart" to J.F. Sebastian in "Blade Runner" to Farnum and the sheriff on "True Blood." Also, Sanderson, who comes off as nothing but genuine and humble, recounts some Memphis memories:

One night I saw Jerry Lee, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Elvis for a dollar, if you believe that, in an open-air concert. Presley, I got to meet and go into his house and so forth. My wife says I should quit tellin' that story, 'cause they'll know how old I am.

I'll link to Beifuss' piece once it is posted, which should be later this afternoon.

UPDATE: Read John Beifuss' story here at gomemphis.com.

Jerry Schilling talks about Elvis in Florida

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mwjerry_3048907.jpgJerry Schilling, a former member of the "Memphis Mafia" and past president of the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission, will be in Naples, Fla., on Saturday to sign copies of his memoir "Me and a Guy Named Elvis." In an interview with The News-Press of Fort Myers, Schilling recounts the story of meeting a 19-year-old Elvis during a pickup football game:

Even back then, there was a superstar quality about Elvis.
"It was like James Dean had just walked out of 'East of Eden,'" recalls Schilling, 67, of West Hollywood Hills, Calif. "And it was kind of magical."

Me and a Guy Named Elvis_3048906.jpgSchilling's appearance coincides with an exhibit called "The Art of Elvis" at the American Royal Arts gallery in Naples.

The story appears to have at least one fact wrong, when it says the show "coincides with what would have been Elvis' 75th birthday this year. The Commercial Appeal's stylebook gives Elvis' date of birth as Jan. 8, 1935, so he wouldn't have been 75 till next year.

In other news of former Elvis associates, Red West continues to receive high praise for his starring performance in the Ramin Bahrani film "Goodbye Solo." Says Jack Garner of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat-Chronicle:

(W)ith Goodbye Solo, West offers a touching breakthrough performance at 72 that reminds me of how veteran Richard Farnsworth forged a latter-day career as an actor in his 70s with The Grey Fox, The Natural and The Straight Story. For that last film, Farnsworth became, at 79, the oldest nominee ever for an Oscar.


Chris Brown to Film in Memphis This Summer

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Embattled R&B star Chris Brown will come through Memphis this summer to work on a new film, according to the New York Daily News (I saw this first on sohh.com.)

Due in court Thursday in his assault and criminal-threat case against ex-girlfriend Rihanna, Brown plays a homeless character in an as-yet-untitled "tearjerker," the News reports, according to a "pal." Filming will take place over three weeks in Los Angeles and here in Memphis.

Brown's IMDB.com page lists him working on two films in pre-production for 2010 release, but it doesn't appear that this Memphis-filmed project is either of those.

UPDATE: Brown didn't actually appear at today's hearing, though he is due at a preliminary hearing June 22.