Yale Gracey joined the Walt Disney Company in 1939 as a layout artist, working on Disney’s second feature-length motion picture Pinocchio. He contributed to many Disney classics like Fantasia and The Three Caballeros. Taking the newly-coined title of “Imagineer,” Yale designed some of the more memorable effects seen in attraction is Disneyland. He developed the …
At 8 years old, little Diane Irgens auditioned in Hollywood for two different studios. She was asked to return to make a movie. She made her big screen debut in 1946 in the film Ginger, using the stage name “Diane Jergens.” She went on to appear in a number of small roles, alongside big names …
D’urville Martin enjoyed a string of small roles in television and movies. He was featured in supporting parts in Black Like Me, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Rosemary’s Baby. He co-starred in two unaired pilots for All in the Family playing “Lionel Jefferson.” The role was recast when the series was finally sold. A …
Harry Chiti had a pretty unremarkable career in Major League Baseball, but he did manage an interesting piece of baseball trivia. With a lifetime batting average of .238 and 41 homeruns and 179 RBIs, Harry bounced around the majors as a back-up catcher. He played for Chicago, Baltimore, Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland, and both New …
Judee Sill had a turbulent childhood, a turbulent adolescence, a turbulent adulthood and an early, turbulent death. The child of a broken marriage, Judee violently fought with her parents. As a rebellious teen, she and a partner began robbing gas stations and liquor stores in Southern California until the pair were arrested. It was during …
Percy Helton’s IMDB page lists 237 credits over a career that began in 1915. He made his stage debut at two years old and never looked back. Percy Helton? Never heard of him! Well, he’s one of those unsung, unnoticed, uncredited “that guy”s that keep Hollywood going. With his high-pitched, breathy voice and his amiable …
I discovered the Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1978 when I was a junior in high school. Talk of Rocky Horror spread through the halls of my Far Northeast Philadelphia high school. Every Monday morning, there was new buzz about this raucous audience participation phenomenon that occurred every weekend evening at the TLA Cinema, an …
Dolly Parton carefully crafted her signature look. Her over-the-top glamor was based on the women she thought were beautiful. Despite young Dolly’s admiration for them, they were known by the rest of the population of Pittman Center, Tennessee as the town tramps. Nevertheless, Dolly was determined to look “beautiful” and they were Dolly’s vision of …
C.C.A. Baldi was the embodiment of the “Great American Dream.” Born in Salernoo, Italy, young Charles Baldi dreamed of going to America. As a teen, he helped his nighbors write letters to relative that had already immigrated to the “New World.” He dreamed of living in America and taking advantage of all the opportunities American …
Hal Smith started off as a DJ in upstate New York. He soon was tapped to be “The Pancake Man” on a morning kids’ show on local Los Angeles television sponsored by International House of Pancakes. Dressed in a classic chef’s uniform, she showed cartoons and told jokes to the amusement of his juvenile audience. …
