DCS: tony demeur

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Tony de Meur formed The Fabulous Poodles with his friend poet/lyricist John Parsons in the late 1970s. Jumping on the budding “new wave” bandwagon, The Fabulous Poodles’ songs were  filled with humorous, often sarcastic. lyrics and very “hooky” riffs. Their first album was produced by Who bassist John Entwistle, who was a fan and played bass on several tracks.

In 1979, a compilation album – consisting of songs from the The Fabulous Poodles first two British releases – came out ion the United States. The band embarked on a small US tour as the opening act for The Ramones and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. During a stop in Philadelphia, the band paid a visit to Temple University. Their tour manager led them to the office of The Temple News, the on-campus publication. The only person in the office that day was my brother, who was the paper’s sports editor. The tour manager explained to my brother who these bewildered young British gents were. My brother jogged his memory and said, “I think my brother has your album.” Tony spoke up and announced, “Well, let’s give him a call!” Sure enough, the phone in the Pincus house rang and I was speaking to Tony de Meur. I remember being very excited. I also remember not understanding too much of what he said through his thick British accent.

After The Fabulous Poodles broke up, Tony adopted the stage name “Ronnie Golden” and began performing stand-up comedy. He became a well-known and familiar face on the BBC. His comedy career was very successful, bringing Tony/Ronnie accolades for over four decades.

On September 26, 2026, Tony’s live-in girlfriend reported that Tony had suffered a fatal heart attack while she was out walking the dog. Tony was 78 years old.

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inktober 2026: week 4

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This is the fourth week of JPiC’s Inktober 2026, and today’s featured made-for-television movie in Dark Night of the Scarecrow.

By the time the 80s rolled around, made-for-television movies had worn out their welcome. Home video, specifically “direct to video” features, were coming into their own. The production values were slightly higher and distribution was more wide spread. But that didn’t stop CBS from entering the burgeoning “slasher” trend that was gaining fans with films like Halloween and Friday the 13th.

Just in time for the 1981 Halloween season, Dark Night of the Scarecrow premiered on CBS. Charles Durning at his “asshole-iest” played mean-spirited postal worker “Otis Hazelrigg,” the ringleader of a band of small town miscreants out to make life miserable for mentally-challenged gentle soul Bubba Ritter (played by typecast Larry Drake). When Bubba is falsely accused of killing little “Marylee Williams,” Hazelrigg and his cohorts set out to lynch the hapless Bubba. Bubba’s mother hides her son in a field in the guise of a scarecrow. But the Hazlerigg’s posse discovers him and shoots him to death.

But, of course, it doesn’t end there.

The spirit of Bubba exacts revenge and each member of Hazlerigg’s gang meets a horrible demise. The movie was pretty intense and slightly more gory than previous for a made-for-television entry. However, it was far tamer than its theatrical contemporaries. Dark Night of the Scarecrow was well-received by the horror community and has come to be a cult favorite. The film featured Marlon Brando’s sister Jocelyn and Alice Nunn (best remembered as “Large Marge” in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) in supporting roles. Larry Drake, as Bubba, made a career playing mentally-challenged characters beginning with his Emmy-winning portrayal of “Benny Stulwicz” on L.A. Law.

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inktober52: hooray

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Billion Dollar Babies, the 1973 release by Alice Cooper, kicks off with a dark, bombastic performance of Canadian singer-songwriter Rolf Kempf’s “Hello Hooray.” The song, with its glam-rock roots and its plaintive anticipation of an evening’s performance is actually a cover.

In 1968, popular folk singer Judy Collins began her seventh album with the song, only she performed it as it was intended — as a folky ballad. Judy’s version is a wistfully light-hearted descant, more upbeat and far less foreboding than Alice Cooper’s take.

The song became a signature concert opener for Alice, introducing the shock-rocker to the stage over 600 hundred times.

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DCS: yale gracey

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Yale Gracey joined the Walt Disney Company in 1939 as a layout artist, working on Disney’s second feature-length motion picture Pinocchio. He contributed to many Disney classics like Fantasia and The Three Caballeros. Taking the newly-coined title of “Imagineer,” Yale designed some of the more memorable effects seen in attraction is Disneyland. He developed the realistic “fire” effect used in Pirates of the Caribbean. It was so effective that the Disneyland fire department requested an emergency switch to turn it off in case of a real fire. The character of “Master Gracey” in The Haunted Mansion was named in his honor. After a long and successful career, Yale retired from his position at The Walt Disney Company in 1975 to spend more time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

On September 5, 1983, just two days after turning 73, Yale and his wife Beverly were asleep in their cabana at the Bel Air Beach Club, an exclusive private club in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. An intruder broke into the vacation residence, shot the sleeping couple and fled towards the beach. Yale died and the case still remains unsolved. Beverly, who survived the shooting, passed away in 2017 at the age of 95.

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inktober 2026: week 3

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Week Three of JPiC’s “Inktober 2026” spotlights The Legend of Lizzie Borden.

After nine seasons of playing America’s favorite witch, Elizabeth Montgomery was looking to explore more challenging roles. In 1972, she tried her hand at a sort-of sequel to the popular theatrical film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Taking over the role played by Katherine Ross on the big screen, this made-for-television endeavor showed Elizabeth as a feisty, determined “Etta Place” seeking a reunion with her beloved Sundance in Mrs. Sundance. 1974 brought A Case of Rape, another made-for-television drama, with Elizabeth giving a brutally realistic portrayal of a rape victim. The role earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination.

Later in 1974, Elizabeth brought the notorious Lizzie Borden to life in a surprisingly well-made take on the New England spinster accused (but acquitted) of murdering her parents. The made-for-television movie co-starred Fritz Weaver, Katherine Helmond, Ed Flanders and Hayden Rorke, but it was Elizabeth Montgomery’s captivating performance that made the movie so memorable. The presentation of the actual murders showing a strategically-shot nude Lizzie wielding a hatchet was unforgettable in the minds of viewers — especially 14-year old boys. The spattered blood, the look of  frustrated anger on Elizabeth’s face and her blasé, post-killing attitude earned her additional recognition from the Emmy Award board.  Although it was a made-for-television movie, The Legend of Lizzie Borden was released theatrically in Europe where it ran for four additional minutes and featured heretofore hidden nudity.

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DCS: diane jergens

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At 8 years old, little Diane Irgens auditioned in Hollywood for two different studios. She was asked to return to make a movie. She made her big screen debut in 1946 in the film Ginger, using the stage name “Diane Jergens.” She went on to appear in a number of small roles, alongside big names like Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart. She landed leading roles in a series of teen dramas like High School Confidential and Sing, Boy, Sing.

Diane turned her attention to television with appearances in Dragnet, The Danny Thomas Show, The Addams Family, and 77 Sunset Strip, as well as a recurring part on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. She married fellow TV actor Peter Brown, star of the Western series Lawman. Later, she married New Christy Minstrels founder Randy Sparks. At the ripe old age of 30, Diane retired from acting to raise a family.

Out of the spotlight for over fifty years, Diane passed away in 2018 at the age of 83.

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inktober 2026: week 2

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It’s Week Two of the JPiC version of Inktober 2026 – a salute to “made-for-television” horror movies. Today, it’s Crowhaven Farm.

Fresh off her two-season Emmy Award-winning stint as “Carolyn Muir” in the sitcom The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, a breezy, updated take on the 1947 film, Hope Lange showed up in Crowhaven Farm.

Camp TV impresario Aaron Spelling presented Hope Lange and rugged Paul Burke as a young and unsuspecting couple who inherit a New England homestead with the ominous name “Crowhaven Farm.” Poor Hope starts having disturbing visions that lead to a very convoluted story involving witches, a Satanic cult, reincarnation and bonnet-wearing Puritans. The movie culminates in a disturbing scene in which Hope is placed beneath a wooden door which is then laden with heavy stones. It was mildly controversial for the time… which was 1970.

Crowhaven Farm was not overtly gory. It was more of a slow build. It featured a crew of television stalwarts like Patricia Barry, Milton Seltzer and the perfectly sinister John Carradine. The final film was banned by the apartheid censor board in South Africa, despite the fact that the country had no television service until 1975.

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DCS: d’urville martin

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black history month 2020 week 2

D’urville Martin enjoyed a string of small roles in television and movies. He was featured in supporting parts in Black Like Me, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Rosemary’s Baby. He co-starred in two unaired pilots for All in the Family playing “Lionel Jefferson.” The role was recast when the series was finally sold.

A veteran of several films in the “blaxsploitation” genre, D’urville’s big break came when he directed the 1975 film Dolemite starring comedian Rudy Ray Moore. This film is cited as genre-defining, paving the way for a successful run for hundreds of films in the 70s. Stars like Fred Williamson had great success, and rappers like Snoop Dog and Notorious B.I.G. found inspiration from D’urville’s cinematic vision.

D’urville passed away in 1984 at the age 45.

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