DCS: bob weir
I am a Deadhead by marriage.
I met the future Mrs. Pincus — the Deadhead referenced in the first sentence — in February 1982. By April, I found myself attending my first (of many) Grateful Dead concerts. Although we made it a point not to discuss our musical leanings while we were dating… we knew. We both knew. She was a devoted and loyal Deadhead and I was not. Nevertheless, I accompanied my girlfriend, then fiancé, then wife (all Mrs. P) to many Grateful Dead shows. Most were in the Philadelphia area. One was at the Meadowlands (then called the Brendan Byrne Arena). We went to a couple of Jerry Garcia solo shows. And then we went to a rather unusual performance by Bob Weir.
In the early 90’s, my wife’s politically-affiliated cousin offered us tickets to a fundraiser for a US Representative from her jurisdiction. Cousin didn’t have a lot of details on the event, but it was our understanding that this was a serious, political, adult benefit. I was expected to dress accordingly and that — I presumed — meant a tie and jacket. The real reason Cousin offered admission to Mrs. P was the featured performer at the benefit was the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir. The event was hosted by The Barn, a now-defunct venue known for cheap beer, rowdy patrons and a regular roster of cover bands.
The night of the show, Mrs. Pincus and I dressed in our conservative best. Upon our arrival at The Barn, we realized our miscalculation in attire, as we were greeted by a knot of spinning, patchouli-stinking, tie-dye draped Bohemians, some of whom I’m sure I recognized from previous Dead shows. Some of them, I think, I remembered passed out in the parking lot of the notorious Philadelphia Spectrum.
A local Grateful Dead “tribute band” — Swirled Whale — pacified the crowd prior to the arrival of the evening’s headliner (the main draw) Bob Weir. Bob, however, was running late. Very late. Very, very late.
Swirled Whale played for a tedious hour and a half. The band’s lead singer, a sinewy fellow with a long, unkempt mane of dirty blond hair, was draped in the prerequisite tie-dye. The way he prowled the small stage and contorted himself around the microphone stand, made it very clear that he was convinced that the crowd was there to see him.
Finally, a harried Bob Weir cut through the crowd from the back of the room. He sprinted to the stage, acoustic guitar in hand. He greeted the crowd with a smile and a wave. He had a few brief words of introduction and stumbled over the benefitted candidate’s name. He quickly adjusted a few pegs on the neck of his guitar and began his first song. He raced through two more songs, thanked the audience and split. He may have even been checking a train schedule as he departed the stage. His entire presence took up less than twenty minutes… and that is being generous.
Bob Weir passed away this week. He had been ill on and off over the past few years, including a successful battle with cancer. In the end, an underlying lung ailment took the beloved singer-songwriter at the age of 78.
Although rarely discussed, Mrs. P and I were well aware of each other’s favorite bands. She knew I liked Queen and it was quite obvious that she liked the Grateful Dead. Those two bands could not be further from each other as far as musical visions. The Dead prided themselves on a freeform, unstructured presence, rarely playing the same songs on consecutive nights of their exhaustive touring schedule. Queen were a precisely intricate group of perfectionists. They were slaves to the studio and often had difficulty reproducing their signature sound live in concert. But, like the Dead, they boasted a rabidly devout fanbase that would love anything they did. Both bands, curiously, progressed into their twilight years with eerie similarities. Both bands lost their iconic leader at a relatively young age. Both bands carried on with some remaining original members, some replacement members and some members who wisely decided not to carry on with the band.
When Queen’s charismatic front man Freddie Mercury died, many of my friends who knew I was a Queen fan, offered me their heartfelt condolences. When The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia died, Mrs. Pincus experienced similar sentiment from her friends.
Last night, after the news of Bob Weir’s passing broke, a wave of condolences flooded Mrs. P’s Facebook page, in addition to a slew of text messages.
It was sad. Even for an in-law.
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DCS: annisteen allen
Ernestine Allen’s early life is kind of sketchy. The sultry jazz vocalist offered different stories of her humble beginning throughout her life. She fudged on dates and locations. She claimed she sang at clubs that weren’t yet established during the times she gave for her performances. Nevertheless, there is no denying Ernestine’s talent and appeal.
She sang with and recorded for a number of swing and big bands including the charismatic Lucky Millinder. Millinder was an interesting character. As a band leader, he couldn’t read or write music, didn’t play an instrument and rarely sang. He was, however, a compelling figure and an accomplished showman. He renamed young Ernestine as “Annisteen” as a tribute to his hometown of Anniston, Alabama. The newly-christened Annisteen had a half dozen hits with Lucky Millinder in the early 1950s.
Later, Annisteen signed a contract with Capitol Records and toured with the doo-wop group The Orioles. She scored a big hit with “Fujiyama Mama” a tune later made famous by rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson.
In the 1960s, Annisteen retired from singing to take a job in a hospital administrative office. It was a job she held for the next twenty years. In August 1992, at the age of 71, Annisteen suffered a fatal heart attack.
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DCS: merna kennedy
After her parents separated, Merna Kennedy’s mother packed up the family and moved to California. Mama Kennedy began to teach, prep and train seven-year old Merna and her brother Merle to perform as a song-and-dance duo. The siblings were a popular vaudeville act and were featured often at Los Angeles prominent vaudeville theaters. They caught the eye of Lita Grey, Charlie Chaplin‘s second wife. Sadly, Merle broke his leg, putting an end to the act.
Through her connection to Lita Grey, Merna landed a role in Chaplin’s film The Circus. Because of the leg strength she gained from dancing, Merna was given the role of a bareback rider.
Merna made more films, including two dozen talkies, but called it a career in 1934 when she married choreographer/director Busby Berkeley. The union only lasted two years.
In December 1944, Merna married Master Sergeant Forrest Brayton. Just four days after the marriage, Merna died from a heart attack. She was 36.
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inktober52: sunset
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DCS: john toomey
For 20 years — for 20 Christmases — jovial John Toomey played Santa Claus for Macy’s at its famed Union Square location in San Francisco. And boy!, did John fit the part. Sporting a chest-length white beard and cherry-red cheeks, John was the spitting image of the traditional Santa Claus that danced in the minds of boys and girls for decades. Every year, John could be spotted on his golden throne at Union Square, smiling broadly as children climbed upon his lap to reveal their wishes for Christmas morning. He delivered a hearty “ho-ho-ho” to the delight of his small visitors and their parents alike. During the year, he was recognized running personal errands and, despite wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt. Locals referred to his as “Santa John” and he was just fine with that. And every year, he’d return to his familiar place at Union Square.
Until 2010.
A few weeks before Christmas, an older couple was visiting Santa John. He asked them if they had been naughty or nice, setting them up for a punchline he had used hundreds of times over the years. When they replied “Nice, of course!,” he laughed and said, “That’s too bad, because I know where all the naughty boys and girls live!” The couple did not find Santa John’s joke funny. They complained to Macy’s management and John Toomey was promptly fired. Folks who later brought their children for their annual visit to Macy’s Union Square Santa were greeted by a different Santa… and they were very disappointed. Picket lines popped up. Loyal patrons voiced their anger to Macy’s, but the department store stood firm on their decision.
Local San Francisco bar Lefty O’Doul’s came to the rescue. The popular neighborhood watering hole offered John Toomey a gig as Santa Claus. Owner Nick Bovis offered John double his previous salary as well as a larger throne… plus the promise that he could tell any sort of jokes he liked. John happily accepted. Lefty O’Doul’s charged $10 for photos with Santa, with all proceeds going toward the San Francisco Fire Department’s Toy Drive for less-fortunate children. Crowds flocked to Lefty O’Doul’s. Lots of money was raised for a good cause. And John Toomey was offered a lifetime contract with his new employer.
In July 2011, John Toomey was discovered dead in his room at San Francisco’s Market Street residential hotel. He was 69-years old.
In 2025, Macy’s quietly eliminated the appearance of Santa at the Union Square location, putting an end to an 80-year tradition.
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inktober52: capricorn
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DCS: mădălina manole
Heavily influenced by her parents’ love of traditional Romanian folk music, teenage Mădălina Manole began taking guitar lessons and joined a local youth choir. After college, Mădălina worked as an air traffic controller while performing at festivals in her free time. She met and married fellow singer Şerban Georgescu, who took an interest in furthering his wife’s career. Through connections with Romanian radio, Mădălina got airplay with a song composed by her husband that became very popular. She signed a recording contract and a favorable article in Billboard magazine boosted her popularity. She played hundreds of shows in her native Romania, including a bill with Los del Rio, the band famous for the international dance hit “Macarena.”
On July 14, 2010 — her 43rd birthday — Mădălina took her own life by drinking a half-liter of carbofuran, a highly toxic pesticide.
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inktober52: villain
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DCS: june wilkinson
June Wilkinson was a born performer. She danced on stage at twelve and, at 15, became the youngest topless dancer at London’s venerable Windmill Theater. While on a promotional tour of the United States, the young star-to-be caught the eye of publisher Hugh Hefner. He immediately arranged for a photoshoot for the 18-year old and June made her first of seven Playboy pictorials in 1958. Hef christened her “The Bosom” and exaggerated June’s already impressive measurements in promotional material as “45-22-35.” (June later admitted that the actual figures weren’t that far off.)
In 1960, June was cast in the low-budget voodoo adventure Macumba Love. She followed up with roles in the stage productions of Norman, Is That You?, The Marriage-Go-Round and Come Blow Your Horn. Director John Cassavetes cast her in a small role in the 1962 biopic Too Late Blues with Bobby Darin.
Although she made her final appearance in Playboy in 1962, June’s photos appeared in men’s magazines, newspapers and advertisements for over twenty years, making her one of the most photographed women of the era.
In 1972, June met NFL quarterback Dan Pastoirini and the two were married the following year. They had a daughter before divorcing in 1982. June never remarried. In 1997, at the age of 57, June posed nude for Playboy one final time for a special “Then and Now” feature.
After many years out of the spotlight, June passed away in July 2015 at the age of 85.