Dan Duryea

             On Tuesday morning I worked out the chords for the first verse and more than half of the second verse of “Les Araignées” (The Arachnids) by Boris Vian. It’s a pretty subdued melody that seems to be made up of all B chords so far. 

             I worked out the chords for the intro and over half the first verse of “Flashback” by Serge Gainsbourg. 

            I played my Martin acoustic during song practice for the first of two sessions and the B string went out of tune a lot. 

            I weighed 88.05 kilos before breakfast. 

            Around midday I applied a second coat of primer to the top of my bathroom lazy Susan and a first coat of primer to the top of the metal rack where I keep my dental care things. I’ll probably have time to do the undersides on Friday. 

            I weighed 88.7 kilos before lunch. 

            I weighed 88.25 kilos at 18:00, which is the heaviest I’ve been in the evening since June 8. 

            I was caught up in my journal at 19:23. 

            I worked on the n the Movie Maker project to create a video for the studio recording of my song “Insisting on Angels” I continued deleting bits of the old video of the song to synchronize it with the audio and made it as far as the first chorus. 

            I compared the song practice video of my October 2, 2024 performance of “I Love You. Neither Do I” to that of September 4. They are close enough to being equal for me to choose October 2, since it’s already a Movie Maker project. I compared October 8 to October 2 and October 8 looks too good to not be the winner. I compared October 14 to October 8 and October 8 is by far better. So if I upload this song to YouTube it will be the one from October 8. 

            I had a potato with gravy and a chicken leg while watching episode 31 of Checkmate. 

            Dr. Hyatt is about to give a lecture when he receives a letter telling him it’s urgent that he meet William Edgerton Gray the commandant of the Deerville Military Academy on the subject of murder. He’s met by Gray who turns out to be a teenaged cadet at the academy. He shows him a secret entrance to the grounds that is hidden in the bushes. He says that Major Wilson, the real commandant is the murderer. He introduces him to his friend and fellow cadet Freighter, who is about ten years old. They take Hyatt to the gymnasium to show the scene where the gym teacher was murdered. He broke his neck and they claim it was a rope climbing accident but Gray shows how the rope was secure. He says there is a motorcyclist who comes at night, hides his cycle in the bushes and meets with the major. Hyatt thinks this is all a children’s fantasy but decides to lodge at a nearby motel and call on Wilson in the morning. Hyatt tells Wilson he’s doing a study of problem boys. Wilson says his boys have expensive problems. He tells him Gray is obsessed with spying and has an overactive imagination. As Hyatt is leaving, outside the gate he sees a motorcyclist arrive and hide his vehicle in the bushes. Hyatt tells Don and Jed at Checkmate about the problem. They are also skeptical of Gray’s story but Jed decides to apply to be the new Phys-ed instructor and gets the job. His cabin still has the possessions of the previous instructor and among them he finds a schedule with an entry for that day at 15:30. He is to meet Jasmine de Gama from Flight 56 of International Airlines. Don goes to meet her and she discretely passes him a package. It contains an ancient Chinese painting from the 12th Century. They have uncovered a smuggling ring. The motorcyclist Henry Creasy confronts Wilson about the missing scroll. He threatens to expose the fact that he was a coward in Korea and caused his own platoon to be slaughtered. Jed comes to the major with the scroll and says someone delivered it to the gym by mistake. Hyatt comes to see Wilson again and lies that the scroll is a forgery. Creasy swears it’s real but the major says it will be difficult to sell now. Creasy sees Gray spying on them but the boy gets away. Creasy leaves and Wilson catches Billy. He orders him to go to the gym. Creasy returns and Hyatt and Jed follow him to the gym. Wilson hides Billy in a mat and Creasy is looking for him. He is about to get Billy when Wilson attacks him and is shot to death. Jed swings on a rope and knocks out Creasy. 

            Major Wilson was played by Dan Duryea, who worked in advertizing before pursuing a career as an actor. A mild heart attack during that hectic career led him to return to his first love of drama. He made his Broadway debut in Dead End and became the lead. His acclaimed performance in The Little Foxes led to his film debut in the cinematic adaptation of the same play. He almost immediately became typecast as a villain. He co-starred in Scarlet Street, Black Bart, River Lady, Another Part of the Forest, Criss Cross, Battle Hymn, Taggart, Too Late for tears, Johnny Stool Pidgeon, Black Bart, One Way Street, Winchester 73, Silver Lode, Ride Clear of Diablo, Storm Fear, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Hills Run Red He starred in White Tie and Tails, Chicago Calling, Kathy O, The Bounty Hunter, The Marauders, 36 Hours, The Burglar, Do You Know This Voice, He starred in the TV series China Smith and The New Adventures of China Smith. He had a recurring role on Peyton Place. In personal and family life he was the opposite of his dark screen persona. He knew that if he played against his own character he would have a successful niche. He chose type casting over artistry because he needed to survive.