Robert Sorrells made his acting debut in a first season episode of the anthology series Twilight Zone. In “The Mighty Casey,” Robert played an emotionless robot recruited by a losing baseball team as their pitching “secret weapon.” In typical Twilight Zone fashion, Robert’s robot was, at first effective, but gained human sensitivity and felt bad …
I will admit… I wasn’t the biggest Mac Davis fan that ever lived. I didn’t dislike him. I heard his songs on the radio throughout the 70s. It was difficult not to! He had a lot of hits in those years. I watched his variety show when it premiered in 1974. I was 13 and …
Ron and Russell Mael moved to England in 1973 with plans to conquer the United Kingdom. The brothers placed an ad in Melody Maker to fill out the new incarnation of their band Sparks. Along with bassist Martin Gordon and guitarist Adrian Fisher, they signed self-taught drummer “Dinky” Diamond. The newly-formed band recorded and released …
Not wanting to interrupt her modeling career, 17-year old Marsha Hunt reluctantly accepted a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. She made 12 movies in her first three years at Paramount, before her contract was terminated early. She headed to the smaller studios, appearing in run-of-the-mill Westerns. Growing impatient with Hollywood, Marsha headed for New York …
Norm Macdonald told this joke often… A moth goes into a podiatrist’s office. “What’s wrong?” asks the podiatrist. The moth replies: “Doc, I hate my career. My marriage is failing. My family is exhausting. My relationships with my children are terrible. Sometimes it’s all too much to bear. I don’t know where to turn.” “You …
Josephine Workman was born in Los Angeles in 1882, one of seven children. With no experience or aspirations, she innocently answered an ad in a local newspaper seeking women with “the physical attributes for playing a Native American.” The ad was placed by Bison Motion Pictures’ director/producer Thomas Ince, known in Hollywood as “The Father …
At 17, Dee Lampton made his big screen debut in a 30 minute short subject opposite Charlie Chaplin. He was billed in the silent production as “Fat Boy.” Dee was signed on to producer Hal Roach’s stable of players, usually relegated to playing characters that exploited his considerable weight. At nearly 300 pounds, Dee was …
Born to an affluent Philadelphia family, Marc Blitzstein was something of a child prodigy. He displayed a natural talent to for the piano, playing Mozart pieces at age 7. Later, he studied under Alexander Siloti (himself a student of Tchaikovsky and Liszt) and made his professional debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at 21. Marc’s musical …
Born the tenth of eleven children to a grocery store owner in Tacoma, Washington, Helen Greco, as they say, came out singing. She began belting out songs at the age of 4 and by 8, little Helen was singing on local radio. While performing on a Seattle variety show, a young Bing Crosby caught Helen’s …
Murray Roman… the man who would be Lenny Bruce. Murray was a clean-cut observational comedian much in the same vein as George Carlin. And like Carlin, Murray’s act changed when he began dabbling in and experimenting with LSD and marijuana. He managed a few small roles in episodic television, including brief appearances on The Monkees, …
