KAXAN!

Local celebrity dog KAXAN made an appearance at the big Dog Walk the day -- he's all dressed up for a news show. He really does show up on KXAN, Channel 36, sometimes.

Austin Film Festival Awards

The Austin Film Festival award for Excellence in Television went to Norman Lear this year. Here he watches the proceedings after being introduced by Mary Kay Place and accepting his award.

On East Sixth?

Glanced up and saw this on East Sixth during SXSW. Guess it's promoting a new TV show.

A Blast from the Past

I did a story on Bond's TV here in Austin for West Austin News. Bond's has a whole set of shelves holding fantastic antique TV sets. Like this little number which dates back to 1949! They also had one that used to be in the LBJ Library. Entering this store is like taking a step back into time. Fact is though, they can do entire home theater systems and even retrofit them to existing homes with historical interiors.

Upstaged

Larry Hagman, featured yesterday, was upstaged last night by his lovely wife of 55 years, Maj, left, and Linda Gray who was famously his on again/off again wife, Sue Ellen, on TV's "Dallas." In presenting the Texas Film Hall of Fame award to Larry, Linda told how during the filming of "Dallas" Larry showed all of them around to get them comfortable with all things Texas. He was the only Texan among the major players. Of course, Larry's mother was famous actress Mary Martin. Texans are often asked about the prime time soap opera "Dallas" which ran in syndication all over the world. The answer is that there is oil and cattle in Texas but it doesn't always look like a soap opera and plenty of people have neither.

Who Shot Whom?

(Left to right: Larry Hagman, actor who will be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame by co-star Linda Gray tonight; Evan Smith, President and Editor-in-Chief of Texas Monthly; Julie Thornton, hostess and owner with her husband John of one of the most spectacular homes in town.)

My team member on this blog (husband FFP) shot this picture. He is often the one who gets a shot like this...because he is willing to ask! Not that he asked for the hostess of the party to pose like that or Larry Hagman (best know around the world as J.R. Ewing) to make a gun with his hand. (He put down the soda he was drinking to make a better picture. You can still see a linen cocktail napkin in his hand. You know it's a nice party when the cocktail napkins with the drinks and passed apps are all linen.) The party was a reception leading up to tomorrow night's Texas Film Hall of Fame awards gala.