Quote of the Day/Week- Sidney Poitier

Since we just got back from The Bahamas and today is the start of Black History Month, we thought it would be nifty to quote Sidney Poitier, 84, who won an Oscar for "Lilies of the Field" (1963), the first African-American to win a Best Actor Oscar. More recently, in 2009, Poitier also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.

Though Poitier has lived in the United for a long time, he is a Bahamas-native and maintains dual citizenship. In fact, in 1997, Poitier was the Bahamian ambassador to Japan. We also learned that he is fluent in Russian.

Here is his quote: "History passes final judgment."

SIDEBAR ONE: The underground cult classic "Pretty Poison" (1968) with Tuesday Weld and the late Anthony Perkins, who was best-known for playing Norman Bates in "Psycho" begins a week-long run at the Film Forum in New York starting on Friday. We finally saw the film two years ago. And, for those of you in the Big Apple or even New Jersey, we highly recommend it.

SIDEBAR TWO: We would personally love to see actor Michael C. Hall, who plays Dexter on "Dexter," a Showtime series about a serial killer who kills off people whom he believes have killed people, say: "I am not a serial killer, but I play one on tv." Today, Hall turns 41, the same age as me. He is originally from Raleigh, NC. Happy Birthday, Dexter.

Quote of the Day/Week- Peter Falk

This month and perhaps next month as well, we will quoting famous people who died in 2011. Today, we quip Peter Falk, who died at age 83 on June 23, 2011. Falk is best known for his tv detective role Columbo in the series of the same name. But, he was also known for several outstanding film roles in addition to "Columbo," which ran from 1971-78 (we're not counting the tv movies with Columbo in more recent years).

Interestingly enough, the part of Columbo was originally offered to the late crooner/actor Bing Crosby.

Falk also appeared in many films with his friend, the late actor/director John Cassavetes, including "Husbands" (1970) and "A Woman Under the Influence" (1974), both film that Cassavetes also directed.

Falk fans can see him the movie "Pressure Point" (1962) with Sidney Poitier at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 16 on TCM.

Here is Falk's quote which alludes to Cassavetes:

"I never understood a word John Cassavetes said. And, I think he did that deliberately."

SIDEBAR: The answer to our last Bonus Road Trip was C.