Hope Summers made her Hollywood debut at the age of fifty, beginning a career of playing essentially the same character. Hope was the older, genteel neighbor in countless Westerns, sitcoms and medical shows in the early days of television. She was featured as Hattie Denton, the friendly and helpful proprietor of the North Fork general store, …
The Illustration Friday challenge word this week is “unbalanced”. They don’t come much more unbalanced than Armin Meiwes. WARNING! His story is not for the faint of heart. Armin Meiwes was an active member on the fetish fantasy website, The Cannibal Cafe. In December 2001, he posted a message seeking a dinner guest. After screening several …
Thirty-year-old Erin Fleming was hired as secretary to eighty-year-old Groucho Marx in 1970. The two began a relationship. She persuaded Groucho to perform a one-man show that proved to be wildly popular. A performance at Carnegie Hall was recorded and released as An Evening with Groucho. That, too, was a huge success. Groucho’s son, Arthur, …
Charles Browning grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a huge baseball fan and he was pals with his uncle, “Old” Pete Browning, a 3 time batting champ, who stole 103 bases in 1887. Charles’ Uncle Pete’s commissioning of a bat provided the start of the Hillerich & Bradsby bat company, famous for their Louisville …
Willie Best arrived in Hollywood by way of Sunflower, Mississippi as chauffeur for a vacationing couple. He began performing with traveling shows in California. He became a regular character actor in Hollywood after a talent scout discovered him on stage. Along with black actors like Lincoln Perry (better known as “Stepin Fetchit”), Willie was usually …
Alberta Nelson played “Puss,” one of the Rat Pack Gang members behind dim-witted leader Eric Von Zipper, as played by Harvey Lembeck, in seven “beach” movies produced by American International Pictures in the middle 1960s. Alberta, the tall, leather-clad blond, had only a few lines of dialogue, but she was the only actress to appear in …
This week’s challenge on Monday Artday is “chicken”. In 1930, Harland Sanders owned a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. He would cook chicken dinners, using his own secret recipe, for travellers stopping to refuel. He served his customers in his living quarters in the service station. Through word of mouth, his local popularity grew, and …
In 1968, John Lennon and Paul McCartney held a press conference to announce the formation of Apple Corps, their new multimedia conglomerate. John was asked to name his favorite American artist. He replied, “Nilsson”. Paul was asked to name his favorite American group. He replied, “Nilsson”. In the early 60s, Harry Nilsson pursued his song …
This week’s challenge word on Illustration Friday is “fast”. It all happened so fast. In September 1949, Howard Unruh walked methodically through his Camden, New Jersey neighborhood, and murdered thirteen people in just under twenty minutes. Unruh is considered the first single-episode mass murderer in U.S. history. Unruh was a decorated hero in World War II. …
This week’s word on Illustration Friday is “frozen”. Ted Williams was one of the greatest players in the history of professional baseball. Despite his career being interrupted twice for military service, he was a two-time MVP and a seventeen time All-Star. He was the last player with a single season batting average above .400. Nicknamed …
