Fay Spain was on her own at 14, living in the attic at the home of her English teacher. At 17, she lied about her age and got a job as a dealer at a Reno, Nevada casino. She proudly proclaimed she made more money than her husband who worked as a gambling shill at …
Scott Hutchison began singing at 19, despite being told that he couldn’t. Scott’s songwriting was influenced by American artists like Wilco and Ryan Adams. He liked playing guitar and performing, considering that he was always a shy kid growing up. In 2003, Scott started performing under the stage name “Frightened Rabbit,” a nickname he picked …
“You’ve got me? Whose got you?” We’ve got you, Margot.
Myrna Fahey was a former cheerleader and beauty pageant winner. However, she refused to coast along on her good looks alone. She was an avid skier and stock investor, insisting that her dressing rooms be equipped with a stock ticker. Myrna appeared in numerous episodes of TV Westerns, including Gunsmoke, Maverick and Wagon Train. After …
Doreen Tracey grew up singing and dancing, thanks to her father’s dance studio. At 12, young Doreen auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club along with hundreds of other talented children (including singer Paul Williams and actress Candace Bergen, who didn’t make the cut). She was picked and stayed with the show for all three seasons. Doreen …
After a two-month series of earthquakes, Mount St. Helens, in Washington state, erupted at 8:32 on the morning of May 18, 1980. The entire north face of the volcano slid away, creating the largest landslide ever recorded. Volcanic ash was shot 80,000 feet into the atmosphere, raining down over 11 states. Glaciers melted, forming …
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My brother was a big fan of professional wrestling in the late 60s and early 70s. Every Saturday afternoon, he’d monopolize the television and watch match after match after brutal match featuring such celebrated names as Larry Zbyszko, Chief Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon, Handsome Jimmy Valiant and the champ, Bruno Sammartino. There was another wrestling …
Sadly, Sharon Tate is remembered more for her senseless murder instead of her budding and potential film career. Sharon, a native Texan, was entered in numerous beauty pageants as a child. As her family moved around the country, due to her father’s employ with the US Army, Sharon entered more pageants, eventually gaining “celebrity” status …
Ray Milland, the Oscar-winning star of 1945’s The Lost Weekend, was Paramount Studios highest-paid actor from 1934 to 1948. He made some memorable films — Dial M for Murder, The Major and the Minor, Beau Geste, Reap the Wild Wind and my mom’s favorite The Uninvited — and starred with some of Hollywood’s greatest leading ladies — Gene Tierney, Grace Kelly, Lana Turner, Marlene Dietrich, Loretta Young, and Veronica …
Fourteen-year old Cuban native Estelita Rodriguez signed a contract with MGM studios in 1942. She was dropped by the studio, however, just prior to filming her first picture. She moved to New York and signed a five-picture deal with Republic Pictures, a studio that produced Roy Rogers movies and specialized in Westerns. Her debut was in Along …
