from my sketchbook: ed delahanty

On September 4, 2012, the struggling Philadelphia Phillies dropped another heartbreaking loss – this time to the National League Central-leading Cincinnati Reds. It was during this game that shortstop Jimmy Rollins racked up his 2000th career hit as a member of the Phillies, joining an elite club of only three additional members – each in …

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from my sketchbook: gary vinson

Gary Vinson began showing up in guest roles on popular TV series in the late 1950s. He appeared in comedies like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, dramas like Perry Mason  and Westerns, like Gunsmoke  and Bat Masterson.  In 1960, he was cast as a regular in the short-lived drama The Roaring 20s  with Dorothy …

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from my sketchbook: lillian hall-davis

At 19, Lillian Hall-Davis entered the world of acting. Hoping to convey a sophisticated upbringing and high social status, she listed her place of birth as the fashionable Hampstead section of London. In reality, she hailed from the working-class neighborhood of Mile End, where she led a far-from-glamourous life as the daughter of a cab driver. …

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from my sketchbook: robin graham

On November 14, 1970, Robin Graham went out with some friends. Around quarter-to-two in the morning, after a night of fun, Robin was dropped off at her car, which she had left in the parking lot of the Pier 1 Imports store where she was a part-time employee. Robin waved and bid her friends ‘good …

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from my sketchbook: i love television

I love television. But, my relationship with television has changed over the years. My formative years with television were the late 60s and early 70s. In the pre-cable days of television, I watched weekly series with diligent regularity – both comedies and dramas. On local UHF* stations, I revisited some of the classic shows from …

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from my sketchbook: maggie mcnamara

While she attended Textile High School in New York, Maggie McNamara worked as a teen model, becoming one of the most successful models at the John Robert Powers’ modeling agency. At 23, she made her acting debut, replacing Barbara Bel Geddes in a stage production of The Moon is Blue.  Later the same year, she debuted on …

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from my sketchbook: betty blythe

After her five-year contract expired, silent film sex symbol Theda Bara retired from the silver screen. Fox Studios scrambled for a suitable replacement. Stage actress Betty Blythe fit the bill. Betty was recruited to appear in a series of costume productions originally tagged for Bara, including the famously risqué The Queen of Sheba  in 1921. …

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from my sketchbook: brian keith

Brian Keith had show business in his blood. The son of stage actor Robert Keith and actress Helena Shipman, young Brian made his motion picture debut in the 1924 silent film Pied Piper Malone at the age of 3. After his parents’ divorce, Brian’s father briefly married actress Peg Entwistle, whose claim to fame was …

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from my sketchbook: george carlin

I was always a big fan of George Carlin, the original purveyor of counterculture, hippie humor. I remember watching him on The Tonight Show, always amused by the hearty laughs he coaxed out of host Johnny Carson. I remember hearing a George Carlin comedy album at a friend’s house and rolling on the floor in hysterics at …

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from my sketchbook: helen chandler

By the late 1920s, Helen Chandler was a huge star on Broadway. Her credits numbered twenty plays ranging from broad farce to Shakespeare. As the 30s approached, she hoped her popularity would continued as she headed for Hollywood. Helen had roles in a few pictures including the film version of her popular stage production Outward Bound,  about passengers …

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