The current challenge on Monday Artday is “the old west”. In addition to my finished illustration, I included my original pencil sketch. (I showed a pencil sketch once before on this post.) Coincidentally, almost two years ago, I did this drawing when another illustration blog posed the same challenge. When I did an illustration for “the …
My wife (who I’ll call “Mrs. Pincus”) and I have had a running joke for 27 years. We met in February 1982 and had our first date soon after. Our conversation was always great. We found that we had so many common interests. The joke was that we would never ask each other: “So, what …
I research a lot. I am always scouring the far reaches of the internet for interesting stories to illustrate. Several weeks ago I came across the story of Jimmy Boyd. In 1946, seven-year-old Jimmy Boyd was singing with his brother at a barn dance in Colton, California. He was approached by a local radio host …
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 …
