There’s this phenomena called “Jewish Geography.” I don’t know how far it reaches or if it is known by other names in other parts of the country, but in the great I-95 Corridor that runs from New York City to roughly just north of Baltimore (including a big geographical leap to the many tribesman transplants …
She was a singer, an icon, a pioneer, an inspiration and a fighter. Ronnie Spector passed away in January 2022. A fighter to the end.
While working as the executive producer of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Ken Kragen met singer Kenny Rogers and soon became his manager. Eventually, Ken was managing a full roster of popular singers, including Lionel Ritchie, Travis Tritt, Dottie West and Trisha Yearwood. Singer-actor Harry Belafonte was so moved after hearing the song “Do They …
On August 13, 1980 — the two-year anniversary of her arrival in Los Angeles from her native Vancouver — Dorothy Stratten was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider, who then turned the gun on himself. But, this isn’t really a story about Dorothy Stratten, the beautiful, but ill-fated actress and Playboy centerfold. This story …
Betty White. She missed one hundred years on this earth by a mere seventeen days. But, oh, what a life.
In 1976, I bought a copy of Anne Rice’s debut novel Interview with the Vampire. I was a fan of horror films and books and I thought this one would be right up my alley. It wasn’t. I forced myself to read the first several chapters. It was like a high school reading assignment. It …
When Mike Nesmith answered an ad in Variety that read: “Madness!! Auditions. Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17–21. Want spirited Ben Frank’s-types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview.” he thought this was his chance at rock and roll stardom. …
In 2010, 58-year old Leroy Fick won two million dollars in the Michigan State Lottery. As chronicled on the reality television show Lottery Changed My Life, Leroy took his winnings on the “lump sum” option. He netted a little under one million dollars after taxes. Leroy’s first order of business was to demolish his house …
In 1955, Charlaine Karalus was working hard in the subscription department of Playboy magazine, the fledgling publication started by Hugh Hefner, a former copy editor for Esquire magazine. For the first year of its existence, Playboy used professional models in the magazine’s famous pictorials. But Hefner want to portray a different type of woman. He …
Eddie Mekka was more than “Carmine Ragusa,” the singing-dancing, on-again-off-again tough guy boyfriend of Shotz Beer bottle capper “Shirley Feeney” in the 1970s sitcom Laverne & Shirley. Before landing the part of “The Big Ragu,” Eddie performed on Broadway in the rock opera The Lieutenant, a role that earned him a Tony Award nomination. Post-Laverne …
