from my sketchbook: kim walker

Kim Walker appeared in guest roles on a dozen television shows. She was featured regular cast member in the nearly forgotten, short-lived series The Outsiders,  based on the film of the same name. Kim’s big screen roles mostly included a handful of throwaway roles in little-known films. The exceptions being the John Cusack favorite Say …

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from my sketchbook: claudia jennings

Claudia Jennings’ life was filled with “almosts”. Born Mary Eileen Chesterton in St. Paul, Minnesota, she moved with her parents and two younger sisters when her father got a job with Motorola in Evanston, Illinois. Mimi, as she was nicknamed, was a star student all through school, bringing home top grades and honors. So, when …

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from my sketchbook: douglas corrigan

Ever since a visit to a California airfield, Douglas Corrigan became interested in flight. He began taking flying lessons at an airfield where aircraft manufacturers B.P. Mahoney and T.C. Ryan ran a small airline. He eventually took a job at their San Diego factory. Just after Douglas was hired, a young aviator named Charles Lindbergh …

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from my sketchbook: allison hayes

Even after winning the 1949 Miss Washington DC Pageant, Mary Jane Hayes wasn’t interested in a career in movies. She did some modeling, though, and it was during a photo-shoot that she was approached by a talent scout from Warner Brothers Studios. Mary Jane turned down his offers of “stardom”, but on a subsequent visit …

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from my sketchbook: max manning

For 28 years, Max Manning taught sixth grade in Pleasantville, New Jersey before retiring in 1983. In those years, how many students knew anything about their teacher’s past? Max was born in Georgia and grew up in South Jersey, just outside of Atlantic City. He was a stellar athlete on his high school’s baseball team. …

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IF: capable

This week’s Illustration Friday challenge word is “capable”. “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” — Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi began a law practice in South Africa in the late 1800s, after several failed attempts at establishing a practice in his …

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DCS: jill banner

Jill Banner was born Mary Molumby near Puget Sound in Washington. Her widowed mother moved around the country when Jill was a child until the family finally settled in Glendale, California. Jill attended Hollywood Professional School with classmates Peggy Lipton (of TV’s Mod Squad and future mother of actress Rashida Jones), Carl Wilson (of the Beach Boys) …

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from my sketchbook: bo díaz

After bouncing between the minor leagues and the bigs, Bo Díaz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the ’81 off-season. With the departure of All-Star catcher Bob Boone, Bo became the Phillies starting backstop. His game-calling skills helped Phils ace Steve Carlton become the league’s only twenty game winner in 1982. Bo finished the …

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from my sketchbook: frank olson

Senior U.S. microbiologist Frank Olson was a scientist at a lab in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Here, Frank worked for the CIA researching and conducting experiments with assassination techniques, biological warfare, terminal interrogations, and LSD mind-control. He was aware of highly-confidential information and he was uncomfortable with that knowledge. On Monday, November 23, 1953, Frank told …

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