Happy Holidays to Everyone!

This time of year everybody gets busy with many things, especially preparing for the upcoming holidays, so I'm going to take a break from blogging.

At this time, I wish Everyone a Happy Healthy Safe Fun Holiday Season, and a Healthy Safe Prosperous 2009!

Thanks for reading, and hope you'll all return when I do, sometime in 2009.

I'll close with some Christmas-themed paintings by my favorite contemporary artist, Thomas Kinkade. I've included his comments under each painting.

Home for the Evening - The title for this tiny painting was originally Cookies Baking. As I worked on the piece, I could almost smell the sweet aroma of homemade cookies coming from inside the snow covered cottage. By the way, the number "5282" that appears on the mailbox in front of the cottage is a tribute to one of my favorite dates, May 2, 1982 — the day my wife, Nanette, and I were married. — Thomas Kinkade

Silent Night - I was so taken with the simple message of the classic Christmas carol, Silent Night, with its images of sleeping villages and the coming of the Christ child, that I decided to give the annual Christmas release the same title and evoke a bit of the song's mood. I hope this image will remind each of us of the message of hope and peace that is the true meaning of Christmas as illustrated in the Savior's birth. — Thomas Kinkade

Home for the Holidays - is an example of memory and imagination blending together to create an idyllic vision. Who hasn't daydreamed about taking a frosty sleigh ride to visit friends for a bit of Christmas Eve cheer? Presents will be exchanged, prayers offered, and perhaps a mug of steaming cider will send you on your way. By the way, my three year old daughter, Merritt, is a wonderful model for paintings like this, and in tribute to her efforts, her name adorns the mailbox to the right of the sleigh. — Thomas Kinkade

And here is my favorite - I have a signed framed print hanging above the sofa in my living room.

New York, Snow On Seventh Avenue, 1932 - For the most part, I paint places I can see and experience first hand, though occasionally I enjoy the challenge of creating a romantic vision of another era. I have tried to capture the bustling activity of New York in the twenties and early thirties in New York, Snow on Seventh Avenue. — Thomas Kinkade

And just for some nostalgic fun, here's Alvin, Simon, and Theodore singing "The Chipmunk Song".

Della Lind - "Swiss Miss"

Della Lind was a Viennese musical star who was brought to Hollywood in the 1930s to appear in several movies. She'd previously appeared on stage and in musical comedy movies in her native Austria, under her birth name Grete Natzler.

Her best-remembered Hollywood movie is 1938's "Swiss Miss", in which she co-starred with Laurel and Hardy.

Al Kilgore, one of the founding members of the Sons of the Desert (the International Laurel and Hardy Society), asked me if I could locate her. This was in 1978. Researching the clippings files at the New York City Performing Arts Collection at Lincoln Center, I'd found reference to Ms. Lind being married to composer Franz Steininger. Further research found an obituary - he died in 1974, and was survived by Ms. Lind. Mr. Steininger was affiliated with the Turnabout Theatre in Hollywood founded by fellow composer/songwriter Forman Brown. I called the theatre and spoke to Mr. Brown, who was still in contact with Ms. Lind. He gave me her phone number and contact was made.

It was a few years before I found a nice portrait of Ms. Lind. I sent it to her in 1982, and she returned it within two weeks.

Tommy Steele

Tommy Steele is an English-born entertainer - actor, singer, and musician. He is considered to be Britain's first teen idol and rock 'n' roll star, in the 1950s, with his recording of "Singing the Blues" reaching #1 on the charts.

Mr. Steele's musical talent led to his performing in stage and film musicals. Of the latter, he starred in "Half a Sixpence" (1967), "The Happiest Millionaire" (1967), and "Finian's Rainbow" (1968).

I sent this photo to Mr. Steele in 1980, to his residence in England, and he returned it within one month.

Dennis Quaid

Dennis Quaid is an actor who became known after starring in several movies in the 1980s. Among his features are "The Seniors" (1978), "Breaking Away" (1979), "The Right Stuff" (1983), "The Big Easy" (1987), "Great Balls of Fire!" (1989), "Wyatt Earp" (1994), and "Frequency" (2000).

I sent this photo to Mr. Quaid in 1982, and he returned it about two months later.

Elke Sommer

Elke Sommer is a German-born actress who became a popular 'sex symbol' in movies of the 1950s and 1960s. She was featured in movies of all genres, such as "Don't Bother to Knock" (1962), "A Shot in the Dark" (1964), "The Money Trap" (1965), and "The Oscar" (1966). She also guest starred on several tv shows in the 1970s and 1980s.

While she still acts on occasion, she has concentrated on painting in recent years. She has held several one-woman art shows, featuring her works.

In 1982 I sent this photo to Ms. Sommer, and she returned it within two weeks.

Don Knotts - "Barney Fife"

Don Knotts was a comedic actor who is best remembered for his role of 'Deputy Barney Fife' on the 1960s tv sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show". His second most popular role was as the landlord 'Ralph Furley' on the 1980s sitcom "Three's Company".

Mr. Knotts also starred in several comedy feature movies, such as "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964), "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), and "The Shakiest Gun in the West" (1968). He also appeared in several Disney movies including "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975) and "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" (1977).

In 1984, I wrote to Mr. Knotts and requested a photo, and he complied within one month, with this autographed photo.

Dorothy Revier

Dorothy Revier was an actress in many silent movies in the 1920s, and in several sound movies of the 1930s, mostly 'B' features.

Some of her silent movies are "The Broadway Madonna" (1922), "The Wild Party" (1923), and "The False Alarm" (1926). Among her sound features are "Hold Everything" (1930), "Sally of the Subway" (1932), "The Fighting Ranger" (1934), and "The Cowboy and the Kid" (1936).

Today Ms. Revier is mostly remembered by fans of B-Westerns for her roles in a few, as leading lady to Buck Jones, with the latter movie above being her final feature.

I sent this photo to Ms. Revier in 1982, and she returned it within two weeks.

Gilbert Roland

Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born actor who had a lengthy career in American movies. His career began in silent movies in the 1920s and continued into features and tv shows through the 1980s.

Among his better known roles were those in "We Were Strangers" (1949), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" (1952), and "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef" (1953). He also guest-starred in episodes of many popular tv shows of the 1950s and 1960s, such as "Wagon Train", "Frontier Circus", "Gunsmoke", "Combat" and "Bonanza".

In 1984 I sent him this photo, and he returned it within one month.

Anne Gwynne

Anne Gwynne was an actress primarily in feature movies of the 1930s and 1940s. She appeared in several horror movies, and became known as a "scream queen" because of her roles in which she expressed her terrors by screaming. Among some of her horror features are "Black Friday" (1940), "The Black Cat" (1941), "The Strange case of Doctor Rx" (1942), and "House of Frankenstein" (1944).

In 1982, I sent this photo to her, to her California residence, and she signed and returned it within two weeks.