After stints as a nanny and a horseback riding trainer, 21 year-old Mercedes Grabowski entered the lucrative adult film industry, using the screen name “August Ames.” She began associations with some of the top distributors of pornography and was featured in some 270 films with titles like Dirty Talk, Don’t Tell Hubby, Flesh Hunter and Naturally Delicious. August was nominated …
Bertha Ricketts was born in Mississippi, where her mother and grandmother provided a homeschooled education. They also provided a nickname — “Cid” — based on her calm and “placid” nature. She furthered her education at Columbia University, where she earned a Masters Degree. Cid enrolled in nursing school, but dropped out after a year when …
Violette Morris excelled at sports — all sports. She was an avid and fierce boxer, often defeating men. She was selected for the French national water polo team even though there was no women’s team at the time. She won gold medals in football at the 1921 and 1922 Women’s Olympiads. She was also successful …
After performing in various stage productions in his native Kansas, Kendall McComas and his family relocated to Southern California to help Kendall in his pursuit of a movie career. In 1927, 11-year. old Kendall landed a small part in Mickey’s Eleven, a two-reel short subject that was part of the “Mickey McGuire” film series. This …
Ross Bagdasarian was a pretty ambitious guy. In 1939, 20-year old Ross co-wrote the song “Come On-a My House” with his cousin, author William Saroyan. After shopping the song around , it became a million-selling hit for ingenue Rosemary Clooney. It reach number one on the Billboard charts and launched Clooney’s career. Ross also was …
Kenyatta Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 2001 NFL Draft. He was chosen in the fourth round based on his on-field performance at the University South Florida. Kenyatta started in eleven games for the Pats, until he was placed on the “Physically Unable to Perform” list at the beginning of the …
In 1959, 14-year old Bernadette Carroll joined up with Lynda Malzone and sisters Barbara and Jiggs Allbut to form The Starlets. They made a few recordings for a small record label but, soon disbanded, leaving the door open for Bernadette’s solo career. Under the guidance of music impresario Bob Gaudio, Bernadette recorded several singles, including …
