Norma McCorvey, better known as the plaintiff at the heart of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, wasn’t seeking a big-screen film career.

She simply couldn’t pass up the chance to play a woman who tries convincing a pregnant woman to keep her baby.

McCorvey, who famously had a change of heart regarding abortion following the landmark ruling, has a small but pivotal role in the upcoming feature “Doonby.”

“Doonby” stars John Schneider, Robert Davi, Jennifer O’Neill, Joe Estevez and Ernie Hudson in the tale of a drifter who arrives in a small Texas town and creates a stir when his past is slowly revealed. The film will have several sneak screenings on Feb. 10 and 17 in Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee before opening in late spring/early summer.

Actor Robert Davi returned to his first love – music – this year with the celebrated disk “Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance.”

Now, the star of “Die Hard” and “License to Kill” is using his pipes for a very good cause.

Davi’s newest song, a re-imagined version of the Christmas classic song, “Mistletoe and Holly,” will soon be available via iTunes and Amazon.com. All the profits from the song, which goes on sale Dec. 13 for $.99, will go to help The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. The annual drive provides emergency assistance to millions of families in need around the holiday.

“Music has always been a big part of The Salvation Army, especially at Christmas, so partnering with a singer like Robert Davi is a great and natural fit,” said Major George Hood, national community relations and development secretary for The Salvation Army.

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Anyone who caught the delightful indie film “The Dukes” knows there’s more to Robert Davi than just the tough as nails actor seen in “The Living Daylights” and “The Goonies.”

Davi can sing, period. And he shows off his pipes in the new CD “Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance.” The album is already getting raves from music critics. Now, Davi is sharing his songs and memories of Ol’ Blue Eyes on SiriusXM.

Davi recorded a program for the satellite radio network called “Playing Favorites with Robert Davi,” set for rebroadcast at 9 p.m. EST tonight, as well as 9 a.m. EST Thursday (Nov. 17) and 3 p.m. EST Saturday (Nov. 19).

Here’s the skinny on the hour-long program:

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An actor can put on makeup, a wig or a costume to get into character, but the performance ultimately comes down to the person underneath.

The same holds true for singing, says actor turned singer Robert Davi.

“I was either cursed or blessed with a blending of the masculine and feminine… it gives you a certain kind of interpretive swagger that you get over the years,” says Davi, whose recording debut, ‘Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance,’ pays homage to the performing legend. “To sing these songs, you gotta live.”

And Davi has done just that for decades, forging a respected acting career in films like ‘Die Hard,’ ‘The Goonies,’ and ‘License to Kill’ while his considerable singing chops waited for the right time to be embraced.

‘Davi Sings Sinatra,’ produced by the legendary Phil Ramone and mixed by engineer Al Schmitt, marks just such an occasion. The album’s 12 tracks, including Sinatra staples like ‘The Best is Yet to Come’ and ‘Summer Wind,’ reveal Davi as a serious musician with a voice well suited for Sinatra’s romantic ballads. Even critics who might otherwise carp on an actor attempting a musical career are singing the album’s praises.

The actor isn’t simply attempting a career change. He studied music long before becoming one of Hollywood’s more respected performers.

Davi always envisioned himself forging a dual career like his idol, New Jersey’s own Francis Albert Sinatra. Davi studied opera as a young man, but his acting career took off first, eventually landing him parts in blockbuster feature films, working with the likes of Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood and Marlon Brando.

But the urge to sing never really went away.

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The press loves to smack down actors who break into song.

Don Johnson, Eddie Murphy, and William Shatner are just a few big name stars stung by reporters for daring to add the word “singer” to their résumés. But music critics are lining up to sing the praises of actor Robert Davi’s new disc, ‘Davi Sings Sinatra: On the Road to Romance.’

The actor, whose impressive career includes roles in ‘Die Hard,’ ‘Goonies,’ and ‘License to Kill,’ started out as a trained singer before Hollywood came calling. Now, he’s reclaimed his musical legacy, and several major publications like USA Today appear glad he did. Here’s another rave, the kind that must make the Sinatra fan in Davi light up:

“Listening to it, you just know Sinatra would have smiled, given Davi a light tap on the cheek, and said, ‘Nice job, kid.’”

JazzTimes.com fell for Davi’s decision to find inspiration from Sinatra without resorting to an unwise imitation:

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Robert Davi won’t be getting one-on-one time with President Barack Obama any time soon.

After all, the respected character actor turned crooner’s politics don’t exactly align with those of the Commander in Chief. But Davi still has a few practical thoughts he’d love to share with the president. He recently spoke with The Creative Coalition’s Robin Bronk on what he’d say to Obama if given the chance:

ROBIN BRONK: If you had five minutes in the Oval Office with President Obama, what would you discuss with him? What issue would you like him to know about?

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The Washington Times is wrong. Hollywood wasn’t AWOL in the War on Terror. In fact, just the opposite is true. Hollywood summoned every ounce of financial and star power at their disposal to fight this war.

Unfortunately, they chose to fight for the other side.

If our history is written by honest brokers, this generation of Hollywoodists will be remembered as those who openly enabled evil and spent hundreds of millions of dollars making bombs for the enemy — box office bombs. Over a dozen of them, specifically engineered with equal parts lies and hate and propaganda to undermine morale at home and on the battlefield in the hopes that we would lose this war.

Never forget the crime committed in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon on that terrible day.  And never forget  how Hollywood turned on your country.

There were some exceptions, however, and chief among them was Joel Surnow, the co-creator of “24.” Each week, for eight seasons, he gave this country a hero who openly loved America, did what was necessary to protect her, and who was willing to pay a terrible price for it. ”24″ also delivered the goods. Cathartic, exciting and righteous without being self-righteous, the addictive adventures of Jack Bauer became an oasis in a cesspool of Hollywood product delivering the exact opposite message.

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Hollywood Reporter’s Paul Bond:

A subplot in an upcoming film,a psychological thriller called Doonby, involves an unmarried woman during the 1960s who seeks a doctor to end her inconvenient pregnancy — and an elderly woman who tries to talk her out of it.

The role of the older woman is pivotal, and director Peter Mackenzie wanted to cast someone with the gravitas to deliver anti-abortion dialogue without being preachy. So last year, over lunch at a restaurant in tiny Smithville, Texas, he persuaded one of the most controversial living Americans to play the role, despite the fact she had never acted before. Her name: Norma McCorvey — aka Jane Roe, the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade.

“I thought she encapsulated American thinking on the issue,” says Mackenzie, a British filmmaker who also wrote Doonby. The niche title tackles abortion head-on, taking place in modern times but with significant flashbacks to an era when illegal abortions were conducted in back alleys. The filmmakers know they’ve created something controversial but maintain it is apolitical — a position that will be a tough sell beyond pro-life circles.

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[Ed. Note: Ticket information and Larry O'Connor's interview with Robert Davi can be found below the fold.]

As a veteran of the film industry for more than 30 years, Robert Davi has become one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable faces and voices of American cinema.  So if you haven’t heard him sing, you’ll probably be as surprised as I was to find that Mr. Davi is not quite so gravelly when he picks up a tune.  In fact, he’s an effortless crooner, classically trained and ready for the stage.

In 2010, he performed three sold-out concerts in New York, solo performances wherein he covered the works of Frank Sinatra.  Sinatra, and the works of the early 20th Century known as the “Great American Songbook,” are more than just a passing interest to Davi.  He feels that these are an essential piece of American history and culture that deserve a closer look in order to understand who we are.

Hearing a few snippets of his upcoming album of Sinatra covers, I truly marveled at the rich quality he was able to belt out of  these songs, exuding classy charm, freewheeling fun, and timeless romance.  But you don’t have to take my word for it.  Ervin Drake, one of the only surviving contributors to the Great American Songbook (among his other accomplishments, he wrote the Sinatra hit “It Was a Very Good Year”), attended Davi’s opening night in New York.  Aside from seeing the show again on closing night, Drake’s compliments included this personal message to Davi:

Robert Davi would make a worthy successor to the incomparable Frank Sinatra, whether in the fields of Stage, Screen or Television. And having been chosen years ago by the Master himself, to act in a film side by side with him, this is not a vain pronouncement.

Continuing his pursuits, Davi is wrapping up work on his album with famed producer Phil Ramone, who has worked with Sinatra himself, and on January 15th, Davi is performing a concert with expanded orchestral arrangements entitled “Davi Sings Sinatra: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, the Great American Songbook, and America,” at the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles.

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Yesterday I walked into my local supermarket to find they already had a massive Christmas tree up ornamented with gift cards. Yes, it’s quickly approaching “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and that means gifts to buy, preferably before you find yourself scrambling from store to store in a panic on Christmas Eve.

With that in mind, here are five drool-worthy stocking stuffers for the cinemaphiles in your family, all of them due to be released in the next few weeks.

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1. Frank Sinatra: Concert Collection (November 2, 2010, $54.99 at Amazon)

Get hep to this, man: seven discs containing fourteen hours of TV specials and filmed concerts, with Ol’ Blue Eyes joined by Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Gene Kelly, Antonio Carlos Jobim, John Denver, Bing Crosby, and of course Dino. Four of the specials have never been released, and a host of isolated TV clips are thrown in for good measure. Top it all off with a 44-page booklet chock full of rare photos and scholarly commentary, and the Chairman of the Board is truly back in all his scotch-soaked glory.

The seventh “Bonus Disc” sounds like the perfect thing to have playing in the background while you are decorating your tree: a “Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank” color TV special. (more…)

This past Thursday night, I attended the Prima Notte Gala at the Los Angeles Feast of San Gennaro in Hollywood, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla.  This was a fundraising event and auction held to pay tribute to the US Military and recognize the outstanding efforts that Italian-Americans have made to serve America during times of war and to support the San Gennaro Foundation.

Robert Davi and Connie Stevens

Jimmy Kimmel, producer Douglas DeLuca and some of Los Angeles’ most prominent Italian-American citizens created The San Gennaro Foundation to benefit underprivileged children and the homeless in Los Angeles.

Master of Ceremonies, Mark DeCarlo, hosted the evening’s celebration that featured performances by Pete Jacobs’ Wartime Radio Review, an old-fashioned USO show, complete with a swinging band.  Actors Connie Stevens and Robert Davi were recognized for their charitable work, especially their work with our military.

I arrived early and was able to sample much of the food that’s available at the Feast.  I had purposely skipped dinner so I was ready to dive in.  I stopped by a booth run by “Nonna” (Italian for “grandma”) and she gave me a sample of some biscotti that was out of this world.  When I came back for seconds, she shooed me away with a wink while surreptitiously slipping some more biscotti into my hand.  If you get a chance, look up Frankie’s Old World Biscotti.  You won’t regret it.  Another standout was Pagano’s Seafood.  Don’t pass their booth without buying something. (more…)

Because many of us who write for Big Hollywood spend the majority of our time pointing out the hypocrisy and liberal bias of leftists in Hollywood, it is oh-so-pleasant to be able to write a post which draws attention to a fantastic cause that many in Hollywood will soon undertake. The cause is honoring our troops while simultaneously raising money for children in need. The charity behind the cause is The San Gennaro Foundation, and the name of the event they’re hosting is “The 9th Annual Precious Cheese Feast of San Gennaro.” (The event begins September 23rd with a fundraising gala, and continues through the 26th.)

This year’s event, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and comedian Adam Carolla, with Mark DeCario as Master of Ceremonies, is structured around honoring the service of Italian-Americans who served during World War II. There will be appearances by special guests like Connie Stevens and Robert Davi, as well as performances by the Peter Jacobs Wartime Radio Review. Moreover, the entire event will be broadcast as a live USO show for our Military personnel overseas. (Way to go, USO!!!)

While typing this post, I was able to catch up with Robert Davi and get his take on the Feast of San Gennaro and his ties to the Italian-American experience in World War II:

AWR: What is it about being involved in The San Gennaro Foundation’s “Feast of LA” that means so much to you? (more…)

Last Saturday I drove to Long Island, NY to see my friend’s long-awaited performance from the Sinatra songbook at Hofstra University. There were several times during this seven hour drive that I wanted to just turn around and go home. Traffic was terrible, I wasn’t familiar with the area and the friends I was planning to go with had canceled. Still, I didn’t want to miss the show.

When the curtain went up, the 30-piece orchestra came alive. A man with his back to the audience stood at the top of the stairs. The stage was awash in light blue and a clear voice sang out:

I’ve got the world on a string,
Sittin’ on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger,
What a world, what a life, I’m in love!

His performance sounded beautiful and effortless. When veteran actor Robert Davi turned around to face the audience, I couldn’t help but smile. He was in his element and could have no greater inspiration than Frank Sinatra. The show, “Davi Sings Sinatra: A Tribute to Sinatra, the Great American Songbook and America” packed Hofstra’s famous John Cranford Adams Playhouse for two evening shows and one matinee. The opening act, Tommy Dressen, is a top-notch, “old school” comedian that toured with Sinatra for more than a decade and has made hundreds of television appearances. It was the perfect opening act for passing the torch from Sinatra to Davi. (more…)

Biases up front: Robert Davi is a friend of mine. I’ve know the guy for almost four years, personally like him, admire his talent, and most certainly admire the fact that he was one of the first of the familiar Hollywood faces willing to come out of the conservative closet to speak up for his country. Other than a quick conversation at a film festival, the first time I met Robert was around the time his writing/directing debut The Dukes was out winning all kinds of festival awards. Aware of his politics, I sent a blind email to his production company introducing myself and my site and asked for an interview. Within a few days Robert invited me to his house, bought me lunch and was unfailing gracious and generous with hours and hours of his time.

It’s worth pointing out that this happened long before Big Hollywood, before I knew Andrew Breitbart, when I was running a site that on a good day received a few thousand hits. The fact that Robert had never heard of my site and still treated me like a feature writer from People Magazine  — the fact that he was doing me a favor and never acted as though he was — was not lost me on then and still isn’t.

Yes, I am biased. Now you know that. No secrets here. And if you believe my bias has in some way colored the case I’m about to make exposing Zachary Woolfe, a writer at Capital New York and the New York Observer, as yet another left-wing hitman disguised as a “journalist,” that’s what the comment section is for. (more…)

Deadline Hollywood Daily’s Editor-In-Chief Nikki Finke has declared a Red State Alert over the news that documentary filmmaker and Oscar-winner Michael Moore has just been elected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors. She writes, Hollywood-hating conservatives are going to have a field day with this[.] (And predictably the L.A. Times’ Patrick Goldstein knee-jerks with this: You could hear the outcry in conservative quarters from a million miles away[.])

If for no other reason than she saves me from having to spend money on a “Variety” subscription, I love Nikki, but this conservative has no problem whatsoever with Michael Moore being elected to the Academy’s prestigious Board of Governors, because this conservative believes Michael Moore has earned it.

Yes, Michael Moore is a liar, a shameless propagandist and an anti-American leftist of the highest order. But he’s also one helluva talented filmmaker and it would be wildly hypocritical for me to believe or argue that anyone should be blacklisted from AMPAS due to their political beliefs. And that’s the only reason I could possibly use to argue against this appointment. (more…)

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Obviously, the Left opposes The HAPPY Act. Anything that takes money from an out-of-control central government and gives it back to the people who actually earned it is anathema to them — but there’s been some polite opposition from our side, as well.

What you might call “killing the good in pursuit of the perfect” reasoning: (more…)

ABC News:

“What a pro-active way to be able to help the economy and change the culture in this country around animals,” Robert Davi, a veteran actor (“The Goonies,” “Die Hard,” “License to Kill”) who was a main force behind the bill’s introduction, told ABCNews.com in a telephone interview. 

“This money goes back into the economy, and it encourages people to understand the social responsibilities we have toward animals,” Davi said. …

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A bill making the rounds on Capitol Hill marries two feel-good propositions — tax cuts and pet ownership — to generate a novel idea: A tax break of up to $3,500 per person for pet care expenses. (more…)