In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed Earl Butz to his cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture. Earl was a vocal supporter of farmers and was instrumental in changing agricultural policy implemented by Franklin Roosevelt‘s “New Deal.” His first order of business was to abolish the program that paid farmers not to plant crops. His motto to …
Joe Burrus wanted desperately to be as famous and as beloved as Houdini… and he was very, very determined. Billing himself as “Amazing Joe,” the recovering drug addict began performing magic around the Southern California area, sometimes bringing his act all the way up the West coast. His fascination with Harry Houdini grew until it …
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was born in Lugos, Hungary in 1882. As a teenager, he began acting in plays and operettas. He moved to Budapest where he performed in dozens of roles with the National Theatre of Hungary. He always claimed that he was “the leading actor of Hungary’s Royal National Theatre,” but there is …
What if Tracy and Hepburn were more than just friends?
Rip Taylor was more than just a one-liner spewing, confetti-throwing, manic comedian. Sure, that’s what he was best known for, but there was more to his career than just that. Rip longed to be a Las Vegas comedian and, after a debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, his wish came to fruition. He …
Kathy O’Dare was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of a popular local TV show host. She followed in her father’s show biz footsteps, making her acting debut in 1968 at the age of 11 as a member of the notorious “Sour Grapes Bunch” on the children’s psychedelic showcase The Banana Splits. Her second role …
After his discharge from the Royal Air Force, Christopher Lee could see returning to his job as a switchboard operator at Beecham Pharmaceutical. Instead, he thought about the few stage roles he had in school productions and decided to pursue a career as an actor. After discouraging meetings with several producers, including one who told …
What if Gary Cooper was the first action hero?
In 1951, Ike Turner (yes, that Ike Turner) released a single titled “Rocket ’88′” under the name “Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats.” (Jackie was the band’s saxophone player.) The song, an ode to the popular Oldsmobile sedan that had been introduced just the year before, was two minutes and 48 seconds of infectious, piano-driven …
If you ever heard any kind of popular American music — either from your radio or your record player — chances are, you’ve heard Gerry McGee play the guitar. The son of popular Cajun fiddler Dennis McGee, Gerry developed his own style of guitar-playing as a teen, influenced by Jimmie Rodgers, Chet Atkins and Lefty …
