Eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter, known to his friends as “Murdock”, picked up his girlfriend Patty Bredahoff early on December 6, 1969. Meredith, a flashy dresser with a large Afro, was decked out in a lime green suit and matching derby hat. His destination was an all-day concert at Altamont Speedway featuring some of the top …
With their time winding down on the popular sitcom Leave It to Beaver, Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly began working up ideas for a new show. It would be a parody of the typical depiction of the American family à la Donna Reed. Only this family would be a family of monsters. Mosher and Connelly …
Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: conflict on mockingbird lane’ »
Wally Cox hated the role that made him famous. After beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he starred for three seasons as mild-mannered science teacher Robinson Peepers in “Mr. Peepers”, an early sitcom that co-starred Tony Randall, Jack Warden and Marion Lorne. In interviews, Wally constantly argued unsuccessfully that he was nothing like the shy and timid character he …
This week’s Illustration Friday challenge word is “slither”. The remarkable Prince Randian was one of the most successful sideshow performers of the 1930s. He was brought from his native British Guyana to the United States by showman P.T. Barnum in 1889. Despite being born with no arms and no legs, Prince Randian demonstrated his ability …
In 1999, former child actress Dana Plato committed suicide at the age of 34. It was the culmination of a tumultuous life that went from starring in a popular weekly television series to robbing a video store and forging a prescription for Valium. The day before her suicide, an upbeat Plato appeared on The Howard …
Kam Tong Chun’s teacher misunderstood his name and taught him to write Kam Fong Chun. Later in his life, he had his name legally changed to Kam Fong Chun. In the early 1930s, his family was broken apart when it was discovered that his father had an affair. His parents divorced and his mother raised …
Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: kam fong chun and gilbert kauhi’ »
The current Illustration Friday challenge word is “early”. In 1961, billionaire industrialist J. Paul Getty gave his simple, three-part formula for success: Rise early. Work hard. Strike oil.
William Darby, the son of a freed slave, was born in 1796 and orphaned as a child. As a youngster, he joined up with William Batty, the owner of a small travelling circus. The young Darby quickly picked up numerous acrobatic skills. Soon after, he trained with another circus owner, Andrew Ducrow, under whose guidance …
A small role as the young George Jorgenson in the controversial Christine Jorgenson Story led ten-year-old Trent Lehman to be cast in the sitcom Nanny and The Professor in 1970. Trent co-starred opposite Juliet Mills as mischevous middle son Butch Everett. Fifty-four episodes of the popular show were filmed and it held a coveted time slot on ABC …
In the fall of 1964, Elizabeth Hartman was offered the leading role of Selina in A Patch of Blue, with Sidney Poitier and Shelley Winters. The role won Elizabeth widespread critical acclaim and the crew at the Youngstown Ohio playhouse, where she got her start, were especially proud. Twenty-two year-old Elizabeth received an Academy Award …
