Poor Steven Duren. He had dreams. He was heavily influenced by AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper. But, he wasn’t nearly at their level… and he knew it. But that wouldn’t stop the ever-determined Steven. Steven changed his name to Blackie Lawless and fooled around on the guitar and bass. He formed a few bands, …
With aspirations of stardom, Rita Johnson set out for Hollywood after two years of acting on Broadway. She made her motion picture debut in 1937’s London By Night, a lighthearted mystery starring George Murphy, long before he was elected to the US Senate. Rita continued to be cast in films throughout the 30s and 40s. …
Ben Raleigh was writing songs as far back as the 1940s. His songs were recorded by Eddie Fisher, Dinah Shore and Nat King Cole among others. In 1946, Sammy Kaye and his Orchestra had a Top Ten hit with Ben’s composition “Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside).” Pop singer Leslie Gore recorded Ben’s “She’s a Fool” and song stylist Johnny Mathis had a …
When it comes to horror in films, there is one true master. You’re probably thinking of names like Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter or David Cronenberg. Some might even throw in the name of Italian director Dario Argento, whose beautiful on-screen depictions of blood-and-guts slayings have been compared to fine art paintings. But the real master of …
In 1946, Abe Saperstein, enjoying success from his exhibition basketball team The Harlem Globetrotters, decided to try his hand at baseball. In the same fashion, he assembled a squad of barnstorming all-stars called the Cincinnati Crescents. He signed 6′ 4″ Luke Easter to play first base. Luke was thrilled, as he was only able to …
Sheldon, a rookie agent from the S.I.S. (Sheep Infiltration Squad), realized he was on a suicide mission.
Mary Fuller began making one-reelers for Vitagraph Studios as an eighteen year-old. Soon, she joined the cast of Edison Studios’ 1910 production of Frankenstein, playing the notorious doctor’s fiancée. This was the first filmed version of Mary Shelley’s horror classic. By 1914, Mary Fuller was a bona fide movie star, rivaling top box-office draw Mary …
Nothing. Not a single flake of snow. It was only a little overcast, but probably because it was nearing 4:30 and it was just getting dark. But, there was absolutely no sign of the potentially-devastating monster storm that we saw reported on The Weather Channel and on local Orlando news broadcasts. When I’m stuck in …
This week’s Illustration Friday word is “wheel”. “The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius.” Sid Caesar
As a teenager, multi-talented Ernest Crowdus performed as a singer, dancer, musician and comedian in traveling minstrel shows. He changed his surname to “Hogan” to capitalize on the high regard for Irish singers. In 1895, he wrote a comedic song called “Pas Ma La,” based on an exaggerated dance he made up while touring with …
