Dallas McKennon was one of the most prolific actors you never heard of. He was featured in a slew of uncredited roles going back to the 1940s. Dallas was a recurring character in the TV action series Daniel Boone starring Fess Parker. He was featured in a number of Westerns, including Death Valley Days, Wagon …
Michael J. Pollard enjoyed a long and prolific career as a character actor, appearing in quirky roles on television and in movies. His most recognizable role was as “C.W. Moss” in the 1968 film Bonnie and Clyde. The role earned Michael an Oscar nomination. In 1990, actor-director Warren Beatty, Michael’s co-star in Bonnie and Clyde, …
Once and for all, Mama Cass Elliot did not choke to death on a ham sandwich in 1974. Stop saying that she did. Born in Baltimore, the former Naomi Cohen adopted the name “Cass Elliot,” while in high school, taking her first name either as a tribute to actress Peggy Cass or Ziegfeld comedienne Cass …
In her native Cuba, Luisa Cira Castro Netto worked as an accountant. She left Cuba amid the political upheaval of the early 1960s, arriving in New York City with aspirations of a career in acting. Wanting to disassociate herself from Fidel Castro, a distant relative, she adopted the surname “Moritz,” from the Hotel St. Moritz. …
On September 30, 2019, The Waycross Journal-Herald ceased publication. Its publisher, Roger Williams Jr. made the announcement to his distraught staff. The paper had been in the Williams family since Roger’s grandfather Jack purchased it in 1916. Roger Williams Sr., Jack’s son, served as publisher until his death in 1957. Jack Williams Jr. took over …
Bill Macy earned a living as a Brooklyn cab driver for over a decade until he landed a spot on Broadway. Well… sort of. He was cast as Walter Matthau’s understudy in the 1958 production of Once More, With Feeling. In the 60s, he landed a small role of a cab driver in the soap …
Inktober 2019 comes to an end and the final week’s illustration is Curt Siodmak. He was a novelist and screenwriter, best known for writing the screenplay for the 1941 Universal Studios horror classic The Wolf Man. Curt’s work created a lot of the legends associated with werewolf ethos, including the sign of the pentagram and …
Joshua Norton came to the United States during the Gold Rush of 1849. He landed in San Francisco and dove headfirst into the real estate business. He was successful at first, but he got greedy. He hatched a plan to take advantage of a rice shortage in 1853. However, when huge shipments of the grain …
All the home run hitters want to pitch a perfect game and all the pitching aces want to hit a grand slam.
I drew this picture to give to Diahann Carroll when I met her at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in 2018. She was among a group of celebrity guests that were attending the show to meet fans and sign autographs. I had been collecting autographed photos of “celebrities” for almost thirty years before stopping in 2017. …
