Viv Stanshall hated being referred to as “eccentric”. He felt it suggested that he was putting on an act. He wasn’t. When he and band-mate Neil Innes first met, Viv was wearing checked pants, a Victorian frock coat, purple glasses, pink rubber ears and was carrying a euphonium. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (originally “Dada” Band, …
I love scary movies. I have loved scary movies since I was a kid. The problem is… they don’t really scare me. The classic Universal Monster movies from the 30s and 40s were great, but I thought Dracula, Frankenstein and even The Wolf Man were cool, just not scary. When I was a teenager my …
Just after separating from her second husband, twenty-one year old Barbara Payton took her young son and set off for Hollywood to take a shot at stardom. At a Hollywood nightclub, Barbara, a fun-loving “party girl” caught the attention of a Universal Studios executive. She was given the female lead opposite Lloyd Bridges in the …
This week’s Illustration Friday challenge word is “scattered”. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. Matthew 26:31 This quote from the New Testament has Jesus basically telling the apostles: “When I …
Everyone knows professional wrestling is fake. The fans know. The wrestlers know. The officials know. Everyone. But, professional wresting has remained popular ever since it was the only thing to watch in the early days of television. In fact, it has exponentially increased in popularity and made a fortune for its promoters, most notably Vince …
You need a bear? Call Janos. You need a gorilla? Call Janos. You need a monster? Call Janos. For fifteen years, Janos Prohaska was Hollywood’s “go-to” guy when a script called for a ursine, simian or otherworldly character to interact with a leading actor. Janos would don one of his many homemade costumes and happily …
This weeks Illustration Friday challenge word is contraption. This is the second of two illustrations for the topic. Here is the first. Elijah McCoy worked as a fireman and oiler on the Michigan Central Railroad in the late 1800s. He often tinkered in his home workshop trying to devise new methods for lubricating machinery. He …
This week’s Illustration Friday challenge word is “contraption”. This is the first of two illustrations for the topic. Here is the second. In 1970, 25-year old Steve Wozniak was working at a California company on their mainframe computer. He met a summer employee, 20-year old Steve Jobs and the two became friends. Jobs got an …
Diana (pronounced “DEE-ana”) Dors was under contract to The Rank Organization, a large British entertainment conglomerate, and appeared in many of their films beginning in the mid-1940s. Her portrayals of femme fatales and objects of unrequited love, coupled with her striking, yet familiar, good looks led to her comparison to a certain American sex symbol. By …
The Illustration Friday challenge word this week is “hibernate”. “Grrr … just five more minutes… okay?”
