Imogen Hassall was born into a creative family. Her grandfather, mother and aunt were all illustrators. Her father was a poet and lyricist. She claimed, at various times, that her godfather was prominent Welsh composer Ivor Novello. Other times, she said it was British composer Sir William Walton, with whom her father often collaborated. These …
In the summer of 1973, while attending the funeral of Clarence White, a musical colleague and member of the country-rock band The Kentucky Colonels, Gram Parsons, the singer-songwriter-guitarist who was influential in the “alt-country genre,” instructed his friend and manager Phil Kaufman to cremate his body at Joshua Tree National Park when his time came. …
He was a bird and a grouch and we will miss him.
I am not embarrassed to admit that one of my all-time favorite movies is The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. The film was released in 1966 and starred comedian Don Knotts who had just left a five season run on The Andy Griffith Show. Knotts played nervous deputy “Barney Fife,” a role which earned him (incredulously) …
Dallas McKennon was one of the most prolific actors you never heard of. He was featured in a slew of uncredited roles going back to the 1940s. Dallas was a recurring character in the TV action series Daniel Boone starring Fess Parker. He was featured in a number of Westerns, including Death Valley Days, Wagon …
Michael J. Pollard enjoyed a long and prolific career as a character actor, appearing in quirky roles on television and in movies. His most recognizable role was as “C.W. Moss” in the 1968 film Bonnie and Clyde. The role earned Michael an Oscar nomination. In 1990, actor-director Warren Beatty, Michael’s co-star in Bonnie and Clyde, …
Once and for all, Mama Cass Elliot did not choke to death on a ham sandwich in 1974. Stop saying that she did. Born in Baltimore, the former Naomi Cohen adopted the name “Cass Elliot,” while in high school, taking her first name either as a tribute to actress Peggy Cass or Ziegfeld comedienne Cass …
In her native Cuba, Luisa Cira Castro Netto worked as an accountant. She left Cuba amid the political upheaval of the early 1960s, arriving in New York City with aspirations of a career in acting. Wanting to disassociate herself from Fidel Castro, a distant relative, she adopted the surname “Moritz,” from the Hotel St. Moritz. …
On September 30, 2019, The Waycross Journal-Herald ceased publication. Its publisher, Roger Williams Jr. made the announcement to his distraught staff. The paper had been in the Williams family since Roger’s grandfather Jack purchased it in 1916. Roger Williams Sr., Jack’s son, served as publisher until his death in 1957. Jack Williams Jr. took over …
Bill Macy earned a living as a Brooklyn cab driver for over a decade until he landed a spot on Broadway. Well… sort of. He was cast as Walter Matthau’s understudy in the 1958 production of Once More, With Feeling. In the 60s, he landed a small role of a cab driver in the soap …
