In 1956, Bob Crane was the number one morning disc jockey on Los Angeles’ KNX-AM radio. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. Crane became known as “The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves.” With high ambitions, Crane pursued acting opportunities. He subbed for …
The current challenge word on sugarfrostedgoodness.com is “mischief”. In Northeast Philadelphia where I grew up, as in most places thoughout the United States, the night before Hallowe’en was recognized as “Mischief Night”. In the 1960s, the time in which I grew up, the so-called mischief was usually of the “prank” variety and, for the most part, …
The illustrationfriday.com challenge word this week is “poof”. I have always loved magicians. My mom introduced me to magicians when we watched Tony Curtis’ totally inaccurate portrayal of Harry Houdini in 1953’s “Houdini”. When I was a kid, on every “Ed Sullivan Show” on Sunday night between a performance by Vikki Carr and Morty …
The Monday Artday challenge word this week is “summer”. I love summer. I was born in the summer. I wait all winter for summer to come. I dislike the snow and the cold weather. Summer has always meant warm weather and vacations. Elsewhere on my blog, I have talked about going to pre-casino Atlantic City when …
The challenge word this week on illustrationfriday.com is “canned”. Arthur Godfrey ranks as one of the important on-air stars of the first decade of American television. As the new medium was invading American households, there was something about Godfrey’s wide grin, his infectious chuckle, his unruly shock of red hair and his folksy ukelele playing …
Bewitched‘s Samantha Stephens was a typical late-1960’s housewife. She was demure and straight-laced. She had a loving husband, Darrin, a hothead who was incompetent in his job. She had an adorable daughter who followed in her mom’s footsteps and an infant son. Her mother, Endora, who was estranged from her father, disliked Darrin. Oh, and …
At 17, Judy Tyler played Princess SummerFallWinterSpring on the Howdy Doody Show. She played the role for two years and moved to Broadway to star in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Pipe Dream. Judy appeared on the cover of Life Magazine and was nominated for a Tony award. Although she lost to Lotte Lenya’s performance in “A …
The differences between genres of music has intrigued me for some time. And as different as they seem, these four performers from different eras have something in common. Tommy Dorsey was a giant in the big band era. His orchestra included, at one time or another, trumpeters Doc Severinsen, and Charlie Shavers, drummers Buddy Rich, …
The illustrationfriday.com word this week is “enough”. Dayenu is a song that is part of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The word “Dayenu” means “it would have been enough for us”. This traditional Passover song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them …
The challenge word this week on Monday Artday is “steampunk”. This may be an unfamiliar concept to some, so I’ll do my best to explain it. According to Wikipedia, the Internet source for everything (including a little bullshit), steampunk is a genre of fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The …
