In 1960, 22 year-old budding DJ Robert Smith began his career as Daddy Jules on a Newport News, Virginia station. In 1962, Smith moved to a station in Shreveport, Louisiana and became Big Smith. It was here that he first began to develop his famous alter ego Wolfman Jack. Later in ’62, Smith was recruited …
The inspirational word on Inspire Me Thursday is “silver”. Long before Bob Denver, Fred Gwynne and Barry Williams were typecast in an acting role, there was Clayton Moore. Moore’s big break came in 1949, when George Trendle spotted him in “Ghost of Zorro”. As producer of the radio show and creator of “The Lone Ranger” …
This week’s word of inspiration on the Inspire Me Thursday illustration blog is “lace”. “Hell-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bay-BEE!” Long before speaking those famous words, Jiles Perry Richardson, Jr. was a disk jockey on Texas radio’s KTRM, where he hosted the “Dishwashers’ Serenade” show from 11 AM to 12:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Richardson changed to late afternoons and …
The 1963 movie Bye Bye Birdie was jammed with actors and actresses whose careers were flourishing. It also was the springboard for some about to start careers destined to be long and prosperous. Dick Van Dyke made his film debut in “Birdie”, a full year before his Golden Globe-nominated performance in Mary Poppins. Janet Leigh …
The challenge word this week on Illustration Friday is “climbing”. George Mallory, along with Andrew Irvine, joined the 1924 Mount Everest expedition, believing it would be his last opportunity to climb the mountain after two previous attempts. The pair attempted to reach the top via the North Face route. Mallory and his climbing partner both disappeared somewhere …
“Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night/Now they blew up his house too”. “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen Angelo Bruno headed the Philadelphia branch of the Gambino Family-sanctioned operations for two decades. Bruno’s leadership of the family was regarded as successful. He avoided the intense media and law enforcement scrutiny …
The new word to inspire on Inspire Me Thursday is “fuse”. If you were not a moviegoer before 1948 or at least a film buff, you most likely don’t remember Edgar Kennedy. A former professional boxer, Edgar started his active film career in 1911. He was one of the original Keystone Cops. He worked with …
The first word of the new year on illustrationfriday.com is “resolve”. “You may be whatever you resolve to be.” — General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was arguably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee. Military historians consider Jackson to be one of the greatest tactical commanders in United States history. …
1930s radio comedian Harry Einstein changed his name to Harry Parke. But, he was most famous as “Parkyakarkus”, a name taken from a line in his act. When he asked you to sit down, hed say park yer carcass! He became known by his character name rather than his stage name. He was a featured performer …
You may not know Paul Frees, but you know his voice. Paul had one of the most sought after and recognizable voices in movie and television history. At one time, he was employed by nine different animation studios. He started as a voice actor in the 1940s in radio. His career led him to movies, …
