Ms. Belle Simon - 3rd Grade Teacher

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Permalink Reply by Peter Monroe on June 5, 2008 at 1:55pm

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karen,
james wong howe also i believe shot "Picnic." (his last movie?) although the 2nd unit guy did the closing shot of the frieght train from a helicopter ("masters of light" or something the name of the doc about cinematographers was how i discovered that).

re: "Body and Soul" - john garfield was jewish...

"Funny :ady" better visually than a movie - esp. the "diving into the water" scene with all the tracking shot of all the beauty queens (somewhat comically ending with close-up of Fanny Brice/Streisand"

peter

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Permalink Reply by Karen Huie on June 5, 2008 at 2:11pm

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Peter:
Yes, JWH shot Picnic and according to my conversation with Haskell Wexler, JWH gave HW the opportunity to do the aerial shot. He also gave John Alonzo (too early departed) a chance in a movie I can't think of right now. My screenplay about JWH starts with Cecil B. DeMille (I recently shot a scene in my short near his grave), includes Mary Miles Minter, John Garfield (Jewish and blacklisted, which many say killed him), James Cagney and many others but I ran out of room to include the later DPs. Masters of Light is a wonderful doc about cinematography. JWH was brought on to replace Vilmos Zigmond (I went to see Passion of the Christ with Laslo Kovacks) on Funny Lady and although he was very ill, he said he wanted to die with his boots on.

Karen

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Permalink Reply by Peter Monroe on June 5, 2008 at 2:46pm

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k,
you know alot and seem to be well-connected in the industry. however, the industry seems to have a ton of talented women (famous ones) who made movies (dyan cannon, diane keaton come to mine) who made movies that no one saw...(not to mention poor Ida Lupino). right now i am newly obsessed with the lost footage/pre-mutiliated version of "The Magnificent Ambersons" having just finished Barbara Leaming's Bio and for the past 3 years haunted by the David Kamp piece in Vanity Fair. i throw these obscure references out guessing you know. i have a website; however it is very funny and messy. i am going to sit down and clean it up soon to make it available to anyone. my next california (group show) is called "Darkroom Divas" (shooters who still print their own prints/soup their negs/don't do digital). gonna be at the Robert V. Fullerton Museum Cal State in San Bernardino. You might remember i was profiled in the L.A. Times "Calendar" 5 years ago when i had a solo show called "Mama's Boy" there. had pictures included and was about older men who still live with their mother.

JWH sounds like John Huston who worked on "The Dead" wearing a respirator if i recall.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Huie on June 5, 2008 at 3:02pm

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At the risk of sound too California, Buddhism taught me to roll with whatever comes and life will be right.

Society is hungry for perspective and understanding so it reaches for art and discards it (and the artists who make it) after consumption. As a teenager, dead writers were my best friends and now dead directors and actors are. Didn't JWH shoot "The Magnificent Ambersons"? I should know, I tried to hunt down all 130 of the films he did shoot but it's been a while and Sanora, his widow died a few years ago at 97 1/2. I've been shooting short films and am currently trying to catch up with all the Hitchcock films.

I enjoy shooting, processing and printing, though I've gone digital. Of all my cameras, I have to say I had the most fun with the Holga. (now I really know I'm boring everyone!). I'll probably head to NY for the summer, but I'll try to catch your show at Cal State. I didn't see the piece in Calendar but I'll look for it.

Yes, John Huston was wearing a respirator on "The Dead". I heard stories from Walter Hill.

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Permalink Reply by Debra Gerson (Levy) on February 15, 2009 at 11:19pm

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Hi Jeff, I'm so glad I found this site. I googled Mrs. Simon's name last night and also came apon her obituary. So sad to hear that she passed away, but what I long life! Do you remember the party that she threw in the class after Paul and Art won the Grammy award for "Bridge Over Troubled Water"?

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Permalink Reply by Ed Siegel on March 7, 2008 at 6:48pm

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I had Mrs. SImon for 1st and 3rd grade. I'm really happy that I was in her class twice. Not only was she a great teacher, but she was a great person. Other than school stuff, I vividly remember her bring in Mother and Child Reunion before it was released and playing it on one those old phonograph's. I also remember her bringing in Bridge Over Trouble Waters in a plain while album sleeve. When she played that, one of the teachers came by and told her to turn down the noise!

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Permalink Reply by Elliot Forchheimer on March 7, 2008 at 8:47pm

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I had Mrs. Simon in 1st and 3rd grade too. I actually re-connected with Mrs Simon about 4 years ago. I had purchased tickets to a Paul Simon concert at Jones Beach and Mrs. Simon was at the concert and shown on the video screen. I swear she did not look a day over....90.

Anyway, when I got home I wrote her a letter c/o Paul Simon's talent agency and a few days later she called me and we had a "chat." It was a very pleasant conversation.

She was a great teacher to have--made you feel very empowered as a 3rd grader to be taller than your teacher.

Elliot Forchheimer

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Permalink Reply by Karen Huie on March 7, 2008 at 9:02pm

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What a cute observation about feeling empowered for being taller than your teacher. I think it was in Speed Vogel's book about Joseph Heller getting sick (can't recall the title) that I saw mention of Mrs. Simon palling around with Neil Simon and other NY celebs.
Karen

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Permalink Reply by Peter Monroe on June 4, 2008 at 5:18pm

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karen,
i actually read that dual-authored book (can't recall title, but easily Googled). also enjoyed Heller's "Something Happened." seems like 164 alumni have somewhat similar sensibilities/literary taste/fondness for nostalgia.
regards,
peter

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Permalink Reply by Karen Huie on June 4, 2008 at 8:09pm

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Peter:
Wasn't the memoir called 'Something Happened'? Long story short, I knew a man who was part of that Gourmet club--Adolph Green, Joe Heller, Speed Vogel, Mario Puzo, Craig Claibourne and I can't remember some of the other Chinese food gourmands. He told me lots of stories about living in the same building with Mel Brooks and Zero Mostel and Joe Heller. Not sure any of them went to PS 164, so this is going off base, but since I live in LA, I'm way off base anyway! Do you work in the entertainment business also, Peter?
Karen

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Permalink Reply by Karen Huie on June 4, 2008 at 8:10pm

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Whoops, didn't mean to imply Joe Heller lived in that building. He didn't.
Karen

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Permalink Reply by Peter Monroe on June 5, 2008 at 12:40pm

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karen,
well, i was a commercial photog in the music industry for many years. transitioned to fine-art a while ago. but i am good in trivia, esp pop culture (a former Jeopardy contestant). "Something Happened" was Heller's novel about mundane office work/politics; very droll.

Heller's auto-bio about riding his bike and growing up near coney island was a good read.

ok, i have to look you up now and see your profile/what class you were in and stuff...

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