John DiLeo

After a very successful evening on October 4, 2011, at the National Arts Club in New York's Gramercy Park, in which I presented my TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY program to a large audience in a beautiful venue, I'm getting ready for my annual appearance at the Black Bear Film Festival in Milford, PA. On Saturday, October 15, at 1pm I'll be doing my other T. Williams program, the one I created for the Provincetown Williams festival last year. The title is "Under the Influence," and it covers influences in both directions, those who inspired Williams and those inspired by him. The location is 200 E. Harford Street.

My fifth book (and first written expressly for the e-market) is due around Thanksgiving. SCREEN SAVERS PART TWO: MY GRAB BAG OF CLASSIC MOVIES features extensive essays about ten overlooked movies, followed by 135 selected blog posts, and then 85 "matching" movie quizzes. The book consists of materials I have been writing over the last several years, finally collected as, yes, my grab bag of classic movies!

Nice profile of me in my alumni magazine, the IC View:
http:/​/​www.ithaca.edu/​icview/​20175/​

Off to New Orleans on March 22, 2011, for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. I'll be doing two programs on March 26th, the actual 100th birthday of Williams. First, I'm on a panel with Rex Reed about the TW movies, and then I'll be doing my film-clips presentation, the companion show to my book TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY: HIS ESSENTIAL SCREEN ACTORS.

On February 10, 2011, I have a book signing for TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY at the Port Jervis Free Library (138 Pike St.) in Port Jervis, NY, at 6:30pm. I'll be doing my film-clips program on the Williams movies. Light refreshments!

I'm hosting a free 2011 classic-movies series at the Emerson House (Milford, PA) on winter Wednesdays. All the films start at 6pm.

Here's the schedule:

Feb. 9: THE TALL TARGET (1951)
Feb. 23: ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932)
Mar. 2: DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950)
Mar. 16: BACHELOR MOTHER (1939)

Check out the December 2010 issue of U.S. News and World Report, the final print edition before it moves online. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY and I are featured on page 64!

On Saturday, November 13, 2010, I have my Milford (PA) book signing at the Bluestone Gallery at 104 E. Ann Street, right off of Broad Street. The event begins at 6pm and I'll do a 45-minute program of DVD clips and discussion before I sign any books. On Friday, October 29, I had my New York City book signing at the Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Center. It was a wonderful night, with an audience of 75 and plenty of books sold!

The Tennessee Williams Theater Festival in Provincetown was a major event (Sep. 23-26, 2010). My three film-clips programs were very well-received. The audiences were warm and enthusiastic. I met so many marvelous people, those running and working the festival as well as those attending it. And such spectacular weather! All this plus the pre-publication debut of my new book TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY: HIS ESSENTIAL SCREEN ACTORS. It felt great to be signing copies of a new work!

I will be a participant at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, MA, on September 23-26, 2010. My new book, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY: HIS ESSENTIAL SCREEN ACTORS, will be making its debut that weekend. I'll be doing a program called LAUGHING IN THE DARK WITH TENNESSEE, a compilation of clips connected to the festival's theme "Under the Influence." I'll be showing scenes from films that borrowed shamelessly from Williams, specifically STREETCAR, as well as films and actors who clearly had an influence on Williams' artistic sensibility. Finally, I'll show some scenes that pay humorous tribute to the Williams legacy. It's going to be eye-opening as well as great fun! I'll be doing three performances, on the evenings of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th.

On May 15, 2010, I'll be introducing a free screening of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) at the Delaware Valley High School in Westfall (PA) at 7pm. Then I'll lead a post-film discussion. Bring tissues!!

My two appearances at the CT Film Festival in Danbury were wonderful. Big turnouts, enthusiastic classic-film lovers, not to mention the festival's eclectic offering of movies, documentaries, shorts, and music programs. And I sold the box of books (SCREEN SAVERS) that I brought with me.

On May 8th and 9th, I'll be participating in the Connecticut Film Festival in Danbury. On the 8th at 11am, I will be doing SCREEN SAVERS, the companion show to my book of the same title, all about great underrated movies of the 20th century. On the 9th at 1:15pm, come see my show BLOOPERS, SECRETS, AND SURPRISES IN CLASSIC MOVIES, which is lighthearted fun and quite a hoot. Both programs will be at the Danbury Public Library. Go to www.ctfilmfest.com for more info.

In December 2009, I did my first gig as a cruise ship lecturer, doing five programs on classic movies on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas luxury liner. Fantastic experience! Around that same time, my essay about the Mitchell Leisen book, HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR by David Chierichetti, appeared in the anthology CITY SECRETS BOOKS.

On October 16, 2009, I did a program titled "Bloopers, Secrets, and Surprises in Classic Hollywood Movies" at the gala of the Black Bear Film Festival in Milford, PA. Then I did a program called "The Golden Age of the Hollywood Musical" at the festival's Film Salon on the 18th. Both events were held at Milford's historic Tom Quick Inn.

I am currently appearing inside two new books. In Michael Sragow's excellent biography, VICTOR FLEMING: AN AMERICAN MOVIE MASTER (December, 2008), I am quoted in Sragow's chapter on Fleming's 1938 classic TEST PILOT, specifically in his analysis of the film's homosexual overtones.

In CITY SECRETS: MOVIES (February, 2009), I am one of many film professionals who offers a short essay on a little-known movie that deserves wider recognition. My selection is THE TALL TARGET (1951), one of the 40 movies featured in my book SCREEN SAVERS. Among the other participants, you'll find Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Sidney Lumet. I was at the Rizzoli Bookstore at 31 W. 57th St. in Manhattan on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009, for a signing and reception.

I am now a blog! Go to screensaversmovies.com and join the conversation. It's a site devoted entirely to my new book, put together by my publisher. If you want to ask me about a certain movie or respond to the book, write to me there. I look forward to joining the blogosphere.

On Monday, September 22nd, 2008, Turner Classic Movies devoted its prime-time schedule to SCREEN SAVERS. Host Robert Osborne selected five movies from the book and introduced them on the air. He spoke about me, SCREEN SAVERS, and the movies he chose to be screened. It was an all-around wonderful night. The five movies were PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948), STARS IN MY CROWN (1950), ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932), DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950), and THE TALL TARGET (1951). A great quintet!

On Sunday, October 5th, 2008, I had a piece in the Washington Post. I wrote a round-up review of four new film books: biographies of Ronald Reagan, Claudette Colbert, and Fred Astaire, and Robert Wagner's autobiography. The review appeared in the Post's Book World.