Judee Sill had a turbulent childhood, a turbulent adolescence, a turbulent adulthood and an early, turbulent death. The child of a broken marriage, Judee violently fought with her parents. As a rebellious teen, she and a partner began robbing gas stations and liquor stores in Southern California until the pair were arrested. It was during …
Percy Helton’s IMDB page lists 237 credits over a career that began in 1915. He made his stage debut at two years old and never looked back. Percy Helton? Never heard of him! Well, he’s one of those unsung, unnoticed, uncredited “that guy”s that keep Hollywood going. With his high-pitched, breathy voice and his amiable …
As a child in Oregon, Daveigh Chase entered local talent shows where her vocal ability was warmly recognized and critically praised. On a trip to Los Angeles, she began attending casting calls, eventually landing a role in a Campbell’s Soup commercial at the age of seven. In 1998, Daveigh was cast in a small role …
After a successful run on regional stage and summer stock, Queens-born Joy Harmon was a contestant on the final season of Groucho Marx’s game show You Bet Your Life. Groucho was so taken by Joy’s good looks and bubbly personality that she was tagged to appear regularly on his follow-up series Tell It to Groucho. …
Born in Trinidad, Hazel Scott moved to the United States when she was four. Labeled a child prodigy, Hazel began music studies at the Julliard School of Music at 8 years old. She was able to pick out any tune she heard on the piano. At 13, she joined an all-girl jazz band, playing piano …
Angela Aames had a handful of roles in both B pictures and Hollywood blockbusters. Relegated to roles reserved for dimwitted buxom bombshells, Angela made her big screen debut in Harry Hurwitz’s Fairy Tales, an adult take on familiar bedtime stories, as “Little Bo Peep.” She also appeared in Scarface, Bachelor Party, All The Marbles and …
Evelyn West was a pioneer… sort of a Hernando de Soto of Burlesque. In the early days of the art form theater, the emphasis for titillation was placed on sexy walks and suggestive pelvic gyrations. Evelyn, with her reputed 39 1/2 inch bust line, moved the focus upward. She employed her own style of publicity, …
Poor Sal Mineo. After a couple of film roles (including one for which he beat out another up-and-coming actor named Clint Eastwood), Sal Mineo was cast as “John ‘Plato’ Crawford” in Rebel Without a Cause alongside James Dean and Natalie Wood. The film earned Sal an Academy Award nomination and made him a household name, …
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! It’s October! Summer is over. Hallowe’en is approaching! Pumpkin spice everything is just…. who are we kidding? Pumpkin spice flavoring has been infiltrating our cornflakes, lattes, hand soap, shoelaces… our everything since the last week of July! Nevertheless, October also marks the arrival of Inktober, the annual drawing exercise …
While working as a model, Imogene Robertson was discovered by Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld and immediately he put her into his famous follies, performing under the name “Imogen ‘Bubbles’ Wilson.” Entertainment columnist Mark Hellinger noted that only two people in the country could draw out every reporter in New York — The President of the …
