Upon his graduation from college, Gunpei Yokoi was hired as a maintenance man at the Nintendo Corporation. His job was to maintain the machinery on the assembly line that produced the company’s main product, Hanafuda cards, a deck of playing cards used for various games. In 1966, after a year in his position, Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president …
Twenty-year-old photographer’s model Susan Hayward headed to Hollywood in 1937. Her goal was to land the coveted role of “Scarlett O’Hara” in the big-screen adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone with the Wind. She lost the role to Vivien Leigh, but was cast in bit parts until her breakout role opposite Gary Cooper in …
Right out of high school, Ralph “Putsy” Caballero signed a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. After a few years in the minor leagues, Putsy made his major league debut at third base for the Phillies in 1948. In his one season as an everyday player, Putsy achieved a batting average of .245, amassing only 86 …
Brooklyn-born Carmine Tilelli grew up in the close-knit, predominately Italian neighborhood of East Passyunk in Philadelphia. Just after his 18th birthday, tough Carmine turned to boxing. He made his professional debut in Atlantic City, New Jersey using the name “Joey Giardello,” supposedly a cousin’s name he used in an attempt to join the army before he …
She was a lovely lady, just like the song says.
I saw Sharon Jones and her band, The Dap Kings, at one of the last Appel Farm Music and Arts Festivals in Salem County, New Jersey. Despite blistering hot temperatures, Sharon and her nattily-dressed rhythm ensemble brought the crowd to its feet with its infectious funk. Sharon’s powerful and soulful voice soared and filled the stage …
I did my best, it wasn’t much I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you And even though it all went wrong I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
What was that magical power Rex Harrison had over women? This is the third story I’ve presented about a woman who was obsessed with the late actor. Kay Kendall appeared in both comedies and dramas, including a Golden Globe-winning performance in 1957 musical Les Girls, opposite Gene Kelly. She had a lengthy romance with Charlie …
Lupe Velez got her show business start singing and dancing in Mexican vaudeville in the 1920s. She was recommended to American theater director Richard Bennett (father of actress Joan Bennett) by a friend who had seen her perform. Bennett needed an actress to play a Mexican cantina singer for a play he was staging and Lupe fit …
It was pretty apparent that Pete Burns was unique when, at 14, he was sent to the headmaster’s office for arriving at school one morning with no eyebrows, flaming red hair and one gigantic earring. While working as a clerk in a Liverpool record store, Pete formed his first band, the short-lived Mystery Girls. He then …
