Spencer Tracy's kin marks 'Boys Town'\nBOYS TOWN, Neb. -- The family of the late actor Spencer Tracy helped a home for troubled youth celebrate the 65th anniversary of the movie that made it famous.\nTracy, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of the Rev. Edward Flanagan in the 1938 movie "Boys Town," was inducted Friday into the Girls and Boys Town Wall of Fame. Five members of the Tracy family were on hand for the ceremony.\n"Father Flanagan was one of his real heroes," said Joe Tracy, a grandson of the actor. Flanagan founded the home just west of Omaha in 1917, and Tracy gave his Oscar statuette to Flanagan.\nTracy, who died in 1967, returned to Boys Town at least twice after filming the movie, and wrote at least one letter to donors to help raise money for the home.
Rombe pays homage to late director Fellini\nROME -- Rome will pay homage to Federico Fellini this fall -- the 10th anniversary of his death -- with exhibits, photo shows, concerts and screenings of clips from his movies.\n"Romarcord" -- named after Fellini's Oscar-winning "Amarcord" -- will explore the director's relationship with the capital, where he lived for many years and set some of his classics, including 1960's "La Dolce Vita."\nThe tribute will begin in late September with a series of giant pictures displayed at some of Rome's sites that were significant to him, officials said this week.\nEvents also will include an exhibit with pictures, letters and sketches by Fellini, plus costumes and screenings of interviews and film clips; a concert featuring soundtracks from his films; and "Fellini Jazz," at the end of October, that will offer a jazz version of his soundtracks.\nFellini died on Oct. 31, 1993, at age 73. His career spanned some four decades and about 20 movies.
UCLA theater to be named for Wilder\nLOS ANGELES -- The Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, will name a new theater after late filmmaker Billy Wilder.\nAudrey Wilder made a $5 million donation in honor of her late husband to create the Billy Wilder Theater, the museum said in a statement Thursday. Construction will begin next year on the project, which also will be used for screenings by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.\nWilder died last year at 95. The influential Austrian-born writer-director's films included "Sunset Boulevard," "Some Like It Hot" and "The Seven Year Itch."\nAudrey Wilder said her gift "reflects Billy's passion for film and art, and his dedication to supporting and encouraging artists of all kinds."\nAs co-writer, director and producer of the 1960 film "The Apartment," Wilder collected three Oscars, the only person to do so for one film until Frances Ford Coppola won three for 1974's "The Godfather: Part II." \nWilder also won an Oscar in 1951 for co-writing "Sunset Boulevard" and two others in 1946 for co-writing and directing "Lost Weekend." Other hits included "Double Indemnity," "Stalag 17" and "Witness for the Prosecution."\nA nine-disc collection of Wilder films was recently released on DVD.
