US presidents. What a bunch of fuckers. Literally. A larger collective of men who can’t keep it in their pants never existed. Take a look at this list: Declaration of Independence author and third President Thomas Jefferson fathered six children with Sally Hemmings. a slave he inherited from his wife. When beloved 32nd President FDR died in …
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Have you ever watched an old movie on television and a nameless character actor prompts the rhetorical question, “How did this guy ever become an actor?” I’m sure Dwight Frye and Skelton Knaggs have evoked that query many times. Dwight Frye made a career playing mentally unbalanced and deranged characters. He earned himself the nickname …
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What if super hero costumes were just another option for everyday clothing available to everyone? I guess super heroes would seem less super.
Eighteen year-old Leo Gorcey had just lost his job as a plumber’s apprentice. His father and younger brother, both successful vaudeville performers, persuaded Leo to try out for a part in the play Dead End. The Gorceys each got small roles as members of a street gang. When featured actor Charles Duncan left the production, Leo …
While visiting her aunt in New York City, 16 year-old Peggy Shannon (then, just little Winona Sammon from Pine Bluff, Arkansas) was hired for the Ziegfeld Follies. She was spotted on Broadway by a production head from Paramount Pictures and was offered a contract. Whisked off to Hollywood, she was touted as the next “It” …
Pete Ham formed his first band at the age of 14. The band evolved over the next few years, experiencing personnel changes until they gained local notoriety as The Iveys in 1965. The Iveys caught the attention of Mal Evans, personal assistant to the Beatles, and they were soon signed to Apple Records. Changing their …
In the late 70s, Glenn Shadix left his Bessemer, Alabama roots behind him and headed to New York City with dreams of a career in show business. While working as a production assistant at the St. James Theater in Manhattan, Glenn began a friendship with legendary playwright Tennessee Williams. Young Glenn spent long hours at the …
Michael Dunn wasn’t going let a little thing like dwarfism stand in the way of his career aspirations. A veritable child prodigy (reading at one; spelling bee champ at 13), Michael also began to develop his entertainment skills as a youngster. He would often gather small audiences on street corners and give an impromptu singing …
During his two and a half seasons on the Cincinnati Reds, Willard Hershberger primarily served as the back-up catcher for Hall-of-Famer Ernie Lombardi. Though not an everyday player, he had a .316 lifetime batting average and even had two at-bats with an RBI in the 1939 World Series. However, Willard holds a singular, albeit dubious, distinction among ballplayers, …
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With initial plans to become a writer, Yvette Vickers took an acting class at UCLA and enjoyed it so much, she switched her major to drama. While still a student, she began making commercials. During a trip to New York, she was cast as “The White Rain Girl” in hairspray ads and commercials. She soon …
