Hiatus Announcement

This should come as no surprise to anyone who's aware that I live in New Jersey, but I am putting this blog on hiatus effective immediately due to Hurricane Sandy.  I don't expect to have electricity or cable access in my house after tomorrow afternoon, even though the area where I live is expected to take less of the brunt of the storm than other areas - central and southern New Jersey are expected to be hit even worse - but saying it won't be as bad in northern New Jersey as in the rest of the state is like saying Cleopatra is a better movie than Heaven's Gate. 

The hiatus is indefinite, but I'm counting on resuming this blog on November 7, the day after Election Day.  I'm calculating that my electricity, if it does go out, will have been restored by that date, and the electricity and Internet service at my local library, if they go out, will be restored before then.  But even if I don't lose power (my public utility expects half of its customers to be blacked out), I think I'll wait until after the election anyway.  I had already planned to devote November 2012 to pictures of women that I've featured before; I have several such retrospective posts saved as drafts, ready to go.  Then, I'll concentrate on a fourth round of ballet and modern dancers for December.  (When I started this blog, it hadn't been my intention to feature dancers every other December, but that's how it worked out, so I'll stick to that.)   After that, it's on to a regular A-Z round for the start of 2013.

So, I'm saying goodbye for now, but not forever.  Hopefully, I'll be back according to schedule.  If you're in the path of Hurricane Sandy (and I'm sure a lot of you are), stay safe. 

The Latest Numbers

I have up to now posted pictures of 633 different women on this blog. I am well on track to reach a thousand different subjects by this blog's tenth anniversary in 2016.

I also have a new "pageview champ," as seen in the statistics shown below.

My original entry devoted to model Sheila Johnson, which was posted in September 2009, has now received 6,290 views since Blogger.com began collecting all-time statistics in May 2008, making it more popular than any other entry in that time. This entry replaces my post paying tribute to model/actress Joan Severance, from February 2011, as my most popular post since May 2008. I have no explanation for Ms. Johnson's sudden surge in popularity, as she was a recognizable figure in the modeling trade but somewhat anonymous. As I noted, she was usually credited in Avon catalogs as "Our model." But she clearly has a look that my viewers like.

But here's the even bigger surprise.  My entry depicting NBC correspondent Kristen Welker, which I posted in July 2011, is now in second place, with 5,510 views, ahead of my post depicting Joan Severance (now at 5,323 views).  I believe that this interest in Ms. Welker may be due to her ubiquitous reporting on President Obama, especially for  MSNBC.  Also showing surprising strength is my post for actress Meg Ryan from February 2011 (number eight, at 1,413 views).  She may be one of the last classic movie stars Hollywood has produced.   

And to think my April 2009 post of Willow Bay, who hasn't modeled since the 1980s, has pulled ahead of my more recent post (March 2012) for that of "How I Met Your Mother" actress Cobie Smulders, who has been on that show longer than Willow Bay modeled for Estée Lauder.  The 2009 post of Ms. Bay has been viewed over a thousand times, while the entry for Ms. Smulders - my second entry depicting her - has only been viewed less than nine hundred times.  But then, the latter post hasn't been up as long as the former one, and thus the my original post of Ms. Bay has been viewed at a slower rate, so these numbers could flip later on.     

These figures should keep you entertained for awhile.

Fashion model Sandra Zatezalo

I know "Sandra" is a name "Sandy" is short for, but the hurricane (more about that soon) had nothing to do with my choice of model Sandra Zatezalo for this post. In fact, I chose to include her at this time weeks in advance. It was her last name that led me to choose her - I'm closing out my current A-Z run, and I wanted to end with Ms. Zatezalo because her surname begins with the letter "Z." :-)

Anyway, about the woman of the day . . .. Sandra Zatezalo is originally from New York State, and she modeled throughout the eighties through various branches of the Elite agency.  She appeared on the covers of Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Glamour magazines.  She also appeared in one of Revlon's late-eighties "Unforgettable Women" ads. 

Oh yeah, if you need another reason I chose Sandra Zatezalo for today's post . . . well, look at her - she is freakin' gorgeous!  Her long luxurious hair, those wonderfully huge earrings, the low-cut strapless dress . . . need I say more? :-) 

MSNBC commentator Alex Wagner

Alex Wagner is one of the rising stars of the MSNBC cable news channel.

The daughter of an American father of German/Irish descent and a Burmese immigrant mother, Ms. Wagner was the cultural correspondent for the Center for American Progress, a progressive research group, as well as the editor of the pop-cultural magazine The Fader from 2003 to 2007. She was the White House correspondent for AOL's Politics Daily and later wrote for the Huffington Post. She currently hosts "Now With Alex Wagner" on MSNBC at noon, Eastern time. 

 Alex Wagner is a journalist with a liberal bias, and she makes no bones about it.

Toko Encore!

A friend of mine on Facebook noticed my latest post and, being very familiar with Toko, was kind enough to send me a color photo of the Japanese fashion model.

She also provided me with a modicum of information about Toko. She appeared in numerous fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan in the early eighties for the top designers of the time. She was one of the leading models of the catwalk then, I'm led to understand.

I believe this picture is from a Milan fashion show, and my friend tells me that Toko is shown modeling for Gianfranco Ferré, but do you think I, a heterosexual male, care about either where the fashion show was or who designed these clothes? :-D 

 Thanks to my Facebook friend Alfred for making this additional post possible. :-)

Fashion model Toko

I don't know much about this stunning model of Asiatic origin - I don't even know her last name! - but I know that her first name is Toko.

Her exotic, arresting looks make her inclusion here pretty much de rigeur, though. 

A Japanese model, she was based in New York in the early eighties, and she was represented by the Zoli agency.

British actress/dancer Femi Taylor

Oola la! :-D

Fans of the original Star Wars trilogy remember Oola, a Twi'lek in gangster Jabba the Hutt's court, from the first trilogy's closing chapter, Return of the Jedi.  A Twi'lek is a humanoid being with twin tenticular appendages protruding from the head.  Oola was Jabba's slave dancer - at least until she displeased him so much, he fed her alive to his monster.   

Ever wonder who the actress playing Oola was and what she looked like? Wonder no more! Here she is, the woman behind the costume . . . Femi Taylor! 

Femi Taylor is a British actress and dancer who got her first big break as Tantomile in the original London production of Cats (which I bring up only because I featured Janet Hubert, the original Tantomile from the New York production of Cats, on this blog in September 2009 - not because I actually liked that musical!) when she learned that she got the role of Oola in Return of the Jedi.

She actually reprised her role for a 1997 special edition of the 1983 film for new scenes that were added to it. 

Because of this role - and, quite possibly, because she turned out to be a beautiful woman under that costume, and with a cool British accent at that - Femi Taylor has appeared at Star Wars conventions throughout the world. 

Fun fact: Her brother, Benedict Taylor, appeared in The Phantom Menace, the first episode of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, as a fighter pilot.    

Actress Eden Sher

Eden Sher is not a geek. She only plays one on TV.

Eden Sher, of course, is known for playing Sue Heck on ABC's criminally underrated sitcom "The Middle," about a hapless, utterly dysfunctional family in small-town Indiana.  The Hecks are so star-crossed, you wouldn't wish your worst enemy to have them as neighbors. :-D

Sue, the nerdy and overexcited middle child and only daughter (and the only Heck kid with a normal first name), is always trying to succeed at something and fails at practically everything.  She's so invisible that even her teachers don't recall her presence in their own classrooms.      

Although she appears to be the early-teen high school student she plays, Eden Sher is actually a bit older than that; she turns 22 in December 2012.

How is she so convincing as a geeky teenager? Acting, my dear! :-D  

Fashion model Saki

Saki is a single-named model who was represented by three different agencies in Paris.

The agencies were Christa, Karins, and Elite's Paris office. 

 She was also represented by Model Team in Brussels.

An Announcement About My Photo Reserves

Some visitors to this blog may be aware that I keep pictures of subjects for future posts until I'm ready to post and share them.  Well, I'd like to explain how I collect, store and manage photographs I haven't posted here yet.

When I find a picture of a woman that I intend to use later, I keep them on file in Windows folders on my personal computer.

Not in binders! :-D 

Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Ladies and gentlemen, the good Dr. Rice!

Dr. Susan Rice has had a distinguished career in diplomacy and international relations.  She served in the Clinton administration as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and she has served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations since January 2009.  She played a key role in handling the crisis in Libya   and helping to bring about the downfall of Qaddafi.  While conservative politicians have accused her of misleading the public over the Benghazi incident - even as the Obama administration angrily rejects efforts to play politics with the issue - she has resisted calls to resign her post.

This entry is an act of support for Dr. Rice - not to be confused with the former Secretary of State.

Model Kathy Quirk

There's a Quirk in my blog. :-D

Kathy Quirk was a ubiquitous model throughout the seventies and early eighties when she was represented by the Ford agency. She did several editorial assignments and appeared in numerous advertisements for all sorts of products. As fate would have it, I remember the ad below featuring Kathy Quirk, though of course I didn't know her name at the time. The ad shows Ms. Quirk in a very seductive pose, the kind of pose she was able to strike without effort.

Now take a look at the caption. :-)

Pretty clever, eh? The copy is actually frank in admitting the use of glamour to sell a rather utilitarian product!

This ad was photographed by Deborah Turbeville, and Kathy Quirk had the good fortune to work with several other famous photographers, including David Bailey, Helmut Newton and Sir Cecil Beaton. Ms. Quirk, a New York native now living in Minneapolis, has since become a photographer herself, specializing in portraits with an emphasis on children.

She's the second model-turned photographer I've featured this month. :-)

Go to her Web site for more information. :-)

Stage actress Jane Pfitsch

Jane Pfitsch is a young theater actress with many credits in front of the footlights. :-)

Her CV includes. among a staging of Neil Simon's Barefoot In the Park in Louisville, the role of  Beth in a production of Merrily We Roll Along in Cincinnati, and the part Clarice in a production of The Liar at the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey in Madison, New Jersey.

As of this writing, Ms. Pfitsch is set to return to Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey to appear in a production of the Don Quixote musical Man of La Mancha, as Aldonza.  It begins on October 17, 2012. 

CNN newswoman Soledad O'Brien

Soledad O'Brien has been with the news channel CNN since 2001.  

She was born to an Australian father of Irish decent and an Afro-Cuban mother.  She's been named one of the top one hundred Irish-Americans twice by Irish America magazine, she belongs to the National Association of Black Journalists and to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and she was named "Groundbreaking Latina of the Year" in 2005 by Catalina magazine.  

She's a one-woman Rainbow Coalition. :-) 

Soledad O'Brien got her start at NBC, working for the news departments of its affiliates in Boston and San Francisco.  On the national network, she was a reporter for Today and the weekend edition of NBC's nightly newscast, as well as a co-anchor for Weekend Today."  At CNN, she co-hosted "American Morning" with Miles O'Brien (no relation) from 2003 to 2007 and made several documentaries before becoming the anchor of the morning show "Starting Point," the successor to "American Morning," in January 2012.

She's also known for her hard-hitting interview strategy, forcing public figures to defend indefensible positions and to tell the truth.  Why didn't she moderate the first Obama-Romney debate? 

Fun fact: Her full name is María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien, and she's explained that her full name is Spanish for "The Blessed Virgin Mary Of Solitude."

British actress Emily Mortimer

Emily Mortimer is an actress from the mother country who has worked steadily for the past several years in both television and movies, in both Britain and America.

Her movie credits include Shutter Island, Young Adam, and Woody Allen's drama Match Point. She currently stars as TV news producer MacKenzie McHale, the ex-girlfriend of Jeff Daniels' news anchor character Will McAvoy, in the HBO television series "The Newsroom."     

Model and photographer Barbara Minty

Barbara Minty is another model who, like Louise Vyent, went from being in front of the camera to being behind it, becoming a photographer after her modeling career ended. She's best known, however, as Steve McQueen's widow.

Steve McQueen met her thanks to the perks of being a famous actor; after seeing her photo in an ad  in the late 1970s, he arranged to meet her through his agent, and they married soon after.  The marriage was sadly short-lived, as McQueen died in 1980 of complications from mesothelioma. 

Since then, Barbara Minty - also known by her married name, Barbara McQueen - has been an advocate for banning asbestos, which caused her husband's mesothelioma.  Steve McQueen was convinced  that his work removing asbestos-laden insulation from pipe in a ship's hold while he was in the Marines led to his condition, although he may have also been exposed to asbestos on movie soundstages and the protective suits he wore while racing cars.   

Barbara's collection of photos with her husband, "Steve McQueen: The Last Mile, Revisited," was published in 2012.   Her Web site is here.