Over the 1921 Memorial Day weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 19 year-old African-American shoeshiner named Dick Rowland was accused of assaulting a 17 year-old white woman named Sarah Page. Rowland was taken into police custody. A group of angry white members of the community stormed the courthouse. Rumor spread among the black community that Rowland …
What if Doris Day and James Cagney didn’t make a musical?
The girl with the dragonfly tattoo.
Alberta Hunter began her career singing in brothels. She struggled until she was able to find an audience in whites-only men’s clubs in Chicago. She worked alternately singing in dark, smoky cabaret rooms and peeling potatoes in the kitchen of the same establishments. Her persistence paid off and Alberta soon found herself headlining at the …
What if Roscoe Arbuckle didn’t attend that party?
Gertrude Baniszewski was a monster in the truest sense of the word. Over a period of three months in 1965, Gertrude tortured, and eventually murdered Sylvia Likens, the 16-year-old daughter of two acquaintances she was charged with watching over while the couple traveled with a carnival. The details of what Gertrude did to young Sylvia …
Sterling Magee was a session guitarist in the 1960s, playing on recordings by Ray Charles, James Brown, King Curtis and Marvin Gaye. He also released a few solo recordings on Ray Charles’ record label. But, Sterling walked away from it all, angered by the way black musicians were treated in the music industry. Sterling landed …
What if Busby Berkeley introduced a new trend in dance?
More than a decade ago, I did a drawing that I called “Jesus on his day off.” Since the Inktober 52 word this week is “remote,” I thought it would be a good time to revisit the concept.
Johann Hölzel was determined to be a pop star. Exhibiting a natural musical talent, young Johann began playing in various bands in the Vienna Underground music scene. Bucking trends set by the crowds, Johann presented a clean-cut image, sporting short hair, dark glasses and stylish clothing. He played bass under the stage name “John DiFalco” …
