Joe Meek was a pioneering record producer and songwriter acknowledged as one of the world’s first and most imaginative independent producers. His service in the Royal Air Force as a radar operator spurred a life-long interest in electronics and outer space. His most famous work was The Tornados’ 1962 hit “Telstar”, which became the first …
Spotted by a Warner Brothers talent scout while acting in a local Pasadena play, 27 year-old Byron Barr was off to Hollywood. After two years of bit parts, he starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck and Geraldine Fitzgerald in The Gay Sisters in 1942. He played a character named “Gig Young”. He and the studio liked the …
The word for inspiration on Inspire Me Thursday this week is “table”. As a kid, I was never a fan of The Beverly Hillbillies. I am a big fan of the Andy Griffith Show and I liked Green Acres. Petticoat Junction was okay, if not only for the Bradley girls. But, The Beverly Hillbillies never …
The illustrationfriday.com challenge word this week is “balloon”. This is the second of two illustrations I did for the topic. Here is the first. On Thanksgiving Day 1997, Kathleen Caronna was watching the annual Macy’s Parade at 72nd St. and Central Park West alongside her husband and her infant son. In 40 mile-per-hour winds, handlers marching in …
Just prior to turning nineteen, I went to Walt Disney World with three of my friends. This was my first vacation without my parents. I told about this trip in a previous blog post. My first day in Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom was great. After spending a fun but exhausting day, my friends and I headed back …
Last week, I resigned as a member of the weekly illustration blog, sugarfrostedgoodness.com. I had been a contributor and member since May 2007. The duration of my membership was not without its controversy (and I am all about the controversy!) In recent months, however, I have not been pleased with the direction in which the …
When Herbert Khaury was five, his father brought a gramophone to their small New York City apartment. Young Herbert immersed himself in the music of the past. He would spend hours in his room listening to artists like Rudy Vallee, Al Jolson, and Bing Crosby. He began singing and playing the ukulele in his naturally …
The illustrationfriday.com challenge word this week is “opinion”. A yawn may not be polite, but at least it is an honest opinion. Unknown
Joe Flynn almost made his motion picture debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, however his scene was left on the cutting room floor. But after a run of bit parts in movies and TV through the 1950s and early 1960s, Joe’s career took off. He enjoyed major success as Captain Binghamton, the spoiler to Ernest …
In the summer of 1980, I took my first real vacation without my parents. It was just before my nineteenth birthday. My two best friends, Alan Salkowitz and Scott Sadel, and I decided that another summer with a three-day trip to Betty’s Rooms in Atlantic City was more than we could stand. We thought a trip …
