Bobby Driscoll was Walt Disney’s Golden Child. He was the typical cute, scrappy All-American boy and Disney Studios milked that image for all they could. Bobby starred in a string of classic live-action pictures for Disney, including Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart and Treasure Island. He was also provided the voice for …
In 1919, eighteen year-old Ub Iwerks was working for the Pesman Art Studio in Kansas City, Missouri. It was here he met another eighteen year-old, a fellow artist named Walt Disney, who would become his oldest and best friend. Disney and Iwerks moved on to work as illustrators for The Kansas City Film Ad Company. …
Ray Chapman was born in Beaver Dam, Kentucky in 1891. Ten months later and 150 miles away the man who would kill him was born. Ray was an above-average shortstop playing with the Cleveland Indians in the early twentieth century. He led the league in several hitting and fielding categories. He batted .300 in three seasons …
The word of inspiration on Inspire Me Thursday is “cheeks”. When Harpo Marx was a kid in New York, he perfected “The Gookie” his signature, sure-fire, laugh-getting face. Harpo worked “The Gookie” into every comedy act and movie for his entire career. The face involving the puffing of the cheeks, the crossing of …
The word of inspiration this week on the Inspire Me Thursday website is “chalk”. They’re out to get you, better leave while you can Don’t wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man, You wanna stay alive, better do what you can So beat it, just beat it
In 2006, Jaco Pastorius was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived” by reader submissions in Bass Guitar magazine. His short, but extremely influential career ended abruptly, but not unexpectedly. From unlikely beginnings in Norristown Pennsylvania, Jaco Pastorius moved with his family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida at a young age. He started his …
When I was five or six, my favorite singer was Allan Sherman. I listened to my parents’ Allan Sherman records. They had his first five releases. I knew every lyric to every song. I knew the order of every song on every album. My Mom and Dad roared with laughter at Sherman’s songs and laughed …
Doug Kenney was one of the founders of National Lampoon magazine. He served as writer and editor from its inception in 1972 until 1977, when he left to pursue his dream of screenwriting. Along with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis, he co-wrote the screenplay for National Lampoon’s Animal House. Kenney even had the small role …
Karl Wallenda was born in Germany in 1905 to a circus performing family. He himself began performing at age 6. In 1922 he put together his own act with his brother Herman, a family friend, and a teenage girl, Helen Kreis, who eventually became his wife. The act toured Europe for several years, performing some …
Sarah Holcomb only appeared in four movies in her brief three-year career. Chances are, you’ve seen half of them. At 18, Sarah made her film debut in National Lampoon’s Animal House as Clorette DePasto, the underage virginal daughter of shady mayor Carmine DePasto. She meets Larry (played by future Academy Award nominee Tom Hulce) when …
