DAILY DIRT: Steve will always give 110 percent and take it one game at a time

August 9, 2022 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Steve Eighinger: Man of Action — Eighinger Family Archives

Raise your hand if you liked those old Molly Ringwald films … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 364 of The Daily Dirt.

1. What is the most annoying — not to mention overused — cliche dealing with sports, or life itself?

Here are the ones I am really, really, really tired of hearing, whether it be from the talking heads on TV or in face-to-face interviews:

Gold medal: “He/we/she gave 110 percent”: I’m pretty sure there is a law of physics or something saying such an act would be physically impossible.

Silver medal: “We’re taking it one game at a time”: Well, I think — but am not positively sure — it is impossible to play two games simultaneously.

Bronze medal: “World champions”: This might be nit-picking, but it has always drove me nuts that all champs of major U.S. sports declare themselves “world champions” when, in essence, they are actually the champions of North America.

2. I found some interesting items the other day when perusing the background stories of some of my favorite films from yesteryear.

I was reminded of some of the great actresses whose films helped fill many theaters during the period of the 1960s-1980s, which, of course, is our favorite era in the land of the Daily Dirt.

Here are my 10 favorite actresses from that great period, ones I feel who had the biggest impact on particular decades:

1. Molly Ringwald: She was the queen of the so-called “Brat Pack,” and for much of the 1980s was the top female draw at the box office, thanks to movies like “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty In Pink.”
2. Susan Sarandon: She cemented her star status in the 1975 cult classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and eventually reached superstardom, thanks to “Bull Durham” in the late 1980s.
3. Meryl Streep: Streep is unquestionably one of the true generational talents whose films have been with us since the early 1970s. My favorite film of hers, as I’ve mentioned in the past, is “Bridges of Madison County” with Clint Eastwood in 1995. That’s outside of our 1960s-1980s timetable, but worth mentioning. (Like No. 5 Meg Ryan on this list, Streep will likely be even higher when we put together a rankings from 1990 onward. That’s when she reached superstardom.)
4. Kathleen Turner: Turner was an immediate sensation when arriving on the scene in the 1980s. Her finest effort of that decade was probably “Romancing The Stone” in 1984. Her public acceptance, however, began to drop off rapidly following 1989’s “War Of The Roses”.
5. Meg Ryan: Meg earns a spot on this list with sort of an asterisk. Her breakthrough film was not until “When Harry Met Sally” in 1989. When we eventually do a 1990s list like this, I can guarantee she will be much higher.
6. Katharine Ross:She was kind of an unsung hero in this era, but had two distinct highlights in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) and “The Graduate” (1967).
7. Ali MacGraw: “Love Story” (1970) will always be what she is best remembered for, and well it should be. Hard to believe that film was in the theaters 52 years ago. Fun fact: She once appeared in 14 episodes of “Dynasty”.
8. Cybill Shepherd: She burst on to the scene via “The Heartbreak Kid” in 1972, and has been a steady, if not spectacular, leading lady throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
9. Liz Taylor: Her star burned out rather quickly as the 1960s progressed, but there was a period when she was boffo box office.
10. Raquel Welch: Let’s be honest. Ms. Welch was never that much of an actress, but the movie studios loved to feature her on the posters of just about every film she had a role in, especially back in the 1960s. For all baby boomers reading this, Raquel is now 81.