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 …
Rasmus Karl Therkelsen Gottlieb was born in 1886 in central Copenhagen, Denmark. As a teenager, he apprenticed as a machinist. He married and had two children, but with the outbreak of World War I, he entered the military. In 1916, after his discharge from military service, he headed to America alone, hoping to send for …
The illustrationfriday.com challenge word this week is “foggy”. Let me start off by stating that although this story ultimately ends with THIS, it is not the same type of celebrity story found elsewhere on this blog. Mel Tormé was most famous for his beautifully mellow voice, but he accomplished so much in his career. He …
The challenge for this week on Monday Artday is “cocktail lounge”. I’m sure the topic of “cocktail lounge” conjures up images of swingin’ little cozy hideaways where a cool cat can order a hip martini-du-jour and smooth-talk a sophisticated chick. Think Frank Sinatra, Buster Poindexter and Dean Martin with a bit of Lord Buckley’s silky …
The illustrationfriday.com challenge word this week is “sour”. The Fox and The Grapes One hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing …
