Just after separating from her second husband, twenty-one year old Barbara Payton took her young son and set off for Hollywood to take a shot at stardom. At a Hollywood nightclub, Barbara, a fun-loving “party girl” caught the attention of a Universal Studios executive. She was given the female lead opposite Lloyd Bridges in the …
Everyone knows professional wrestling is fake. The fans know. The wrestlers know. The officials know. Everyone. But, professional wresting has remained popular ever since it was the only thing to watch in the early days of television. In fact, it has exponentially increased in popularity and made a fortune for its promoters, most notably Vince …
You need a bear? Call Janos. You need a gorilla? Call Janos. You need a monster? Call Janos. For fifteen years, Janos Prohaska was Hollywood’s “go-to” guy when a script called for a ursine, simian or otherworldly character to interact with a leading actor. Janos would don one of his many homemade costumes and happily …
This weeks Illustration Friday challenge word is contraption. This is the second of two illustrations for the topic. Here is the first. Elijah McCoy worked as a fireman and oiler on the Michigan Central Railroad in the late 1800s. He often tinkered in his home workshop trying to devise new methods for lubricating machinery. He …
Diana (pronounced “DEE-ana”) Dors was under contract to The Rank Organization, a large British entertainment conglomerate, and appeared in many of their films beginning in the mid-1940s. Her portrayals of femme fatales and objects of unrequited love, coupled with her striking, yet familiar, good looks led to her comparison to a certain American sex symbol. By …
Rugged, good-looking Eric Fleming began his acting career in low-budget features like Curse of the Undead and Queen of Outer Space opposite Zsa Zsa Gabor (yes, she was actually in movies). In 1958, the 6-foot 3-inch Eric was cast in Rawhide, a TV Western that joined the ranks and popularity of Gunsmoke, Bonanza and others …
Sixty-five years before Anna Nicole Smith set her sights on oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, there was Peaches. Wealthy New York real estate mogul Edward Browning just couldn’t pick women. At 41, Edward married Adele Lowen, a young lady 18 years his junior. Edward showered his new bride with gifts and jewels and furs and …
Continue reading ‘from my sketchbook: peaches heenan browning’ »
Chico Ruiz had an unremarkable career. He hit two home runs in his rookie season and never hit another. He played eight seasons in the majors with a lifetime batting average of .240. About average. But, on September 21, 1964, Chico Ruiz became the bane of every baseball fan in Philadelphia. In a scoreless game …
Beverly Neill was working as a telephone operator when she began to take some small roles in a few MGM productions. Using the stage name “Amanda Blake” , she appeared with Judy Garland and James Mason in the first remake of A Star is Born in 1954. The following year, she signed on for the …
Vicki Morgan wanted everything – money, sex, drugs, fame – and for the most part, she got it. Born in Colorado, the sixteen-year old willowy beauty was sent to a Catholic maternity home for girls in Los Angeles to hide her family’s shame over her unwanted pregnancy. At seventeen, she married Earle Lamm, thirty years …
