Q: I am a longtime fan of Raymond Burr's "Perry Mason" (1958-66). Was the executive producer, Gail Patrick Jackson, the same as the actress, Gail Patrick, who appeared in such movies as "My Man Godfrey" with William Powell and Carole Lombard?
A: Yes. Ephraim Katz's "The Film Encyclopedia" notes that Patrick was "particularly effective in cold, often nasty 'other woman' roles." She quit acting in the late 1940s following her (third) marriage to Thomas Cornwall Jackson, who was also the literary agent of Erle Stanley Gardner, the novelist who had created the Perry Mason character. The Jacksons made a deal with Gardner for a "Perry Mason" TV series, where Gail Jackson was executive producer — the rare woman in that role in those days. Gail Patrick Jackson died of leukemia in 1980.
Familiar song, movie
Q: There is a terrific song at the end of the movie "Human Capital." Would you happen to know its name and artist?
A: The song is called "Heartbeating" by the band Bodies of Water. "Human Capital," for those of you tuning in late, is a 2019 movie starring Liev Schreiber and Marisa Tomei; it's a reworking of "Il Capitale Umano," a 2013 Italian film.
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