Q: Years ago, I saw a movie I can't remember the name of. It is from the 1970s or '80s and involves a young man who kills someone. His mother hides him behind a false wall; she dies and a new family moves in, but the man is still living behind the wall. Is it available in any format?
A: First, the title: This appears to be "Bad Ronald," a 1974 TV movie starring Scott Jacoby and Kim Hunter. Andrew Peter Martin wrote the script, based on a novel by John Holbrook Vance; Buzz Kulik directed. It has been released on DVD and Blu-ray; I found it for sale in both formats on Amazon.com.
Where's 'Suzy Snowflake'?
Q: Back in the 1950s there was a special called "Suzy Snowflake" shown on TV at the same time as "Frosty the Snowman" and "Rudolph." Why is it never shown any more?
A: Some background: "Suzy Snowflake" was originally a pop song by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, songwriters who in their long careers also wrote pop songs such as "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" and dozens of tunes for Elvis Presley.
"Suzy Snowflake" was a hit for Rosemary Clooney in the early 1950s. The song then inspired an animated short that began airing on TV in Chicago's WGN in 1953. That version's music came from the Norma Zimmer and the Norman Luboff Choir. The black-and-white short has aired annually in Chicago, packaged with another holiday piece, "Hardrock, Coco and Joe: The Three Little Dwarfs" and an early "Frosty the Snowman" cartoon (not the famous one from 1969). An Ohio TV station also replays "Suzy" annually. And you can find "Suzy," "Hardrock" and this "Frosty" version on YouTube; there have also been DVD releases.
Reynolds left trust for son
Q: Did Burt Reynolds leave a will? What can you tell us about his son Quinton?
A: Reynolds, who died in September at 82, did leave a will. TMZ, which obtained a copy, noted that Quinton was left out of the will "but not because [Burt] wanted to disinherit him." Instead, Burt long ago created a trust for Quinton and put his own assets in the trust, with Quinton to continue to benefit from it. "This is typically done to avoid estate taxes," TMZ said.
Quinton, 30, is the son of Burt and Loni Anderson. The Internet Movie Database has dozens of credits for him on movie camera crews, but he appears to have led a quiet, out-of-the-spotlight life.
