D. Boon was the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the California punk group The Minutemen. The band was known for their intelligent, yet radical, songs and minimalist approach to music. A typical Minutemen live performance would cram 50 songs into less than 40 minutes. The Minutemen released a series of albums and EPs between …
“Iceberg right ahead!” Those famous words were spoken by lookout Frederick Fleet aboard the the RMS Titanic on April 14, 1912. Just after seven bells, Fleet saw a black mass in the ocean ahead. He immediately struck three bells and telephoned the bridge. His report received the standard “Thank you” reply. While still on the telephone, the ship …
Dora Gerson was a singer and silent film actress in Berlin, Germany in the early 1920s. She was performing in an ensemble troupe when she met film director Veit Harlan. They married in 1922 and divorced in 1924. Harlan would eventually direct anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda films on orders of Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. In …
1965 was a tumultuous time. The country was still healing from the wounds brought on by a presidential assassination. Alabama state troopers clashed with civil right activists in Selma. The first wave of US Armed Forces was being deployed to the jungles of Viet Nam. In 1965, I fought a demon of my own. My …
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, …
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 …
As I watched the 2009 baseball postseason, I thought about my long association with the Philadelphia Phillies. As a kid, I was never a sports fan. My brother and father would park themselves in front of the television and rabidly watch anything that remotely resembled a sporting event. Depending on the time of year, our …
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 …
Clara Bow was born in a Brooklyn slum. She was the third child; the first two, also daughters, died in infancy. Between 1905 and 1923, the Bows lived at at least 14 different addresses. Aside from being a weak provider, Clara’s father, Robert was often gone, leaving his family without means to survive, forcing Clara’s …
