brief random pop culture notes

last night's 'leverage' was a bit touching. not for the storyline itself, which was, as usual, fun,  but for the understated tribute to tim hutton's father, the actor jim hutton, who died way too young many years ago. he had starred in the tv series 'ellery queen' in the mid 1970s.  in last night's show, the plot centered on a 'famous detective' costume party, during which a real murder occurs, which the team has to solve before anyone realizes it isn't just a part of the theme game.  not only does nate, tim hutton's character, come as ellery queen in a costume i recognized  instantly because it looked like  his father's e.q. outfit, but toward the end, they did an updated verbal resolution of the crime, with nate talking on his hidden mike to his associates, just as years ago the show would end with ellery telling the audience how he'd figured it out.  i found it very touching, and i suspect there were other hints about the old series that i didn't pick up on.  [This may be a stretch, but one of the team was using the name Yma Sumac, who was an actress from the '40s and '50s, and was picked up on in the episode when someone remembered who the real yma sumac was.] on a whim i just looked up sumac's name in a tv history directory, and found one reference; she was a guest star in a 1950s variety show starring someone named ina ray hutton. so i'm wondering.......

anyway, my other little note is about the new statue of ronald reagan in london, paid for by a ronald reagan foundation.  there was a picture of it in the NY Times.  the thing is, when i first looked at the picture, i thought it was something about donald o'connor! doesn't look at all like good old ronnie, even in his early film days. and why a statue in london?  i'll have to have a look next time i get there......