The son of Polish immigrants, Alan J. Pakula had no intentions of taking over the family printing business. Instead, the Yale graduate with higher aspirations, headed to Hollywood. He became the assistant to the head of Warner Brothers cartoon department, but he was still not satisfied. In 1950, Alan moved on to MGM Studios as …
This week’s Illustration Friday word is “zoom”. “One of these days, Alice! One of these days! BANG! ZOOM! Right to the moon!” Remember the golden age of television when threatening spousal abuse was funny. For a color version of this illustration, click HERE.
Former Pennsylvania state senator R. Budd Dwyer was elected Pennsylvania state treasurer in 1981. Around the time that Dwyer took office, a huge clerical error affecting state withholding tax (FICA, which contributes to Social Security and Medicare) was discovered by Pennsylvania auditors. The effects were enormous with records showing that state workers overpaid in the millions …
This week’s Illustration Friday challenge word is “tree”. Adlai Stevenson ran for president twice against Dwight Eisenhower and was defeated both times. He once said of Richard Nixon, Eisenhower’s vice-president: “Nixon is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump for a speech on conservation.” Stevenson, one-time governor of Illinois, eventually …
As a child, Little Willie John performed in a gospel group with his siblings in his adopted hometown of Detroit. But it was his appearances on local talent shows that caught the attention of noted record producer Henry Glover. Glover signed Willie to a contract with King Records, a one-time country label now specializing in “race records.” Joining a roster that included Hank Ballard & The …
The new Illustration Friday challenge word this week is “shy”. Phyllis Driver had dreams of becoming a concert pianist, but lacked confidence in her talent. Instead, the shy Phyllis became the humor editor of the Bluffton College newspaper. At 22, Phyllis married Sherwood Diller and resigned herself to the dull and expected life of a housewife. She …
17-year old Steve Took answered an ad in the music newspaper Melody Maker. Guitarist Marc Bolan was looking for a drummer to join his band and Steve fit the bill. The band, Tyrannosaurus Rex, performed one disastrous show and Bolan fired everyone but Steve. They remained a duo, busking in subways with Steve accompanying Bolan’s …
Young Billy Haines ran away from his Virginia home, with his boyfriend, at age 14. They worked in a dance hall (that was most likely a brothel), until Billy was discovered by a Hollywood talent scout and offered a $40 a week contract with MGM Pictures. In March 1922, Billy was off to Hollywood. Billy …
Jenny Maxwell, a distant relative of Marilyn Monroe, began her acting career in small roles — mostly in TV westerns and sitcoms in the late 1950s. She made her big screen debut with an uncredited part in the 1959 teen melodrama Blue Denim, which dealt with the then-controversial subject of abortion. After an unsuccessful audition for …
Jack Kerouac carried a notebook with him wherever he went. He chronicled his life, his actions, his feelings… everything. He traveled across the United States and Mexico meeting people, observing their lives and writing about what he saw. His journeys and scribblings became the basis for his most famous book, On the Road. Viking Press, the publishing company that finally …
