Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis had, if anything, a colorful career with a lifetime win-loss record of 138-119 and a career earned-run average at a respectable 3.46. His career was highlighted by events including famously beaning Reggie Jackson in retaliation for a home run in the 1971 All Star Game. In 1972, Dock was sprayed …
Boris Sagal, father of Married with Children star Katey Sagal, was a busy director from the middle 1950s until his death in 1981. He directed mostly episodic televison, including Mike Hammer, Peter Gunn, and several installments of anthology series like Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Boris had a few forays into theatrical features, directing Elvis …
Roy Kinnear began his career in repertory theatre before making his film debut in the early 1960s. He worked mostly in his native Great Britain appearing in popular sitcoms and variety shows. He was most successful in films directed by his good friend Richard Lester, including Help! with The Beatles, A Funny Thing Happened on …
Martha Mansfield was an active and popular actress in silent movies. On November 30, 1923, while working on location in San Antonio, on the film The Warrens of Virginia a Civil War costume epic. Martha was playing the role of Agatha Warren and had just finished her scenes and retired to a car when a …
J. G. Parry-Thomas was a race car driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. On April 27, 1926 at Pendine Sands Beach in Wales, Parry-Thomas took his car to over 170 miles per hour, despite poor conditions and soft, wet sand. The record would stand for almost a year until it was …
The neighbors in Hyde Park knew her as “Tootie”, the devoted daughter who came to take care of her ailing mother. She had the back porch enclosed and turned into a bedroom so she could stay with her mother full time. She was a devout Jevhovah’s Witness and was active in raising awareness of the persecution …
This week’s challenge word on the Illustration Friday website is “pioneer”. Louis Jordan, a pioneer in jazz, blues and rhythm & blues, was the link between big band swing and rock and roll. He was a prolific songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was known as “The King of the Jukebox” and was very popular with both …
On September 10, 1995, two men robbed a convenience store in Lorena, Texas. 27 year-old Jeff Wetterman was shot and killed during the robbery. The two men, David Vest and Michael Johnson, each named the other as the gunman. Vest pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and, in exchange for an eight-year sentence, testified against Johnson. …
D. Boon was the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the California punk group The Minutemen. The band was known for their intelligent, yet radical, songs and minimalist approach to music. A typical Minutemen live performance would cram 50 songs into less than 40 minutes. The Minutemen released a series of albums and EPs between …
This week’s challenge word on the Monday Artday website is “family”. Years before Joseph Jackson was humiliating his kids into pop stardom, there was Murry Wilson. As a young man, Murry Wilson desperately longed to be a songwriter. He worked at a Goodyear factory and even suffered the loss of an eye in an industrial …
