Who knows what Suzan Ball’s career could have been?

At 13, young Suzan Ball moved from Jamestown, New York to Hollywood to a home near Universal-International Pictures (a division of Universal formed from a merger to distribute lower budget films and British imports). Suzan, second cousin to comedienne Lucille Ball, landed her first acting job at 17 playing a harem girl in Aladdin and His Lamp  for Monogram Pictures. Mary Castle, a popular actress in the late 40s, took a liking to Suzan and got her an interview at Universal-International. Suzan signed a contract and was immediately cast in Untamed Frontier and began an affair with her leading man Scott Brady (the younger brother of actor Lawrence Tierney). A year later she began an affair with married actor Anthony Quinn, with whom she was starring in City Beneath the Sea.

One afternoon, at the Universal Studios commissary, she met actor Richard Long and it was love at first sight. The two were inseparable and, by the end of 1953, they were engaged. During the filming of her next picture, War Arrow,  Suzan experienced fatigue in her leg. A doctor’s examination revealed a malignant tumor. Soon, an operation was scheduled to remove the tumor.

Just prior to surgery, Suzan was in her apartment and slipped on some spilled water and broke her leg. She was rushed to the hospital. The tumor removal was unsuccessful and it was determined that Suzan’s leg needed to be amputated. She received attentive post-operative care and, now fitted with a new artificial leg, married Richard Long in April 1954. After the wedding, Suzan went right back to work. She was cast in Chief Crazy Horse.  Director George Sherman campaigned for her in the role of “Black Shawl” over the studio’s choice – Susan Cabot. While rehearsing her next project, a television drama, Suzan collapsed on the set. She was taken to the hospital and doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to her lungs.

Prognosis was not good and heavy medication altered Suzan’s personality drastically. Dealing with anxiety and pressure of the situation, Richard began an affair with Suzan’s nurse. In August 1955, just six months after her 21st birthday, Suzan passed away. Her last words – “Tony”- a reference to her relationship with Anthony Quinn, dealt a major blow to Richard Long’s already fragile emotions.

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Viv Stanshall hated being referred to as “eccentric”. He felt it suggested that he was putting on an act. He wasn’t. When he and band-mate Neil Innes first met, Viv was wearing checked pants, a Victorian frock coat, purple glasses, pink rubber ears and was carrying a euphonium.

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (originally “Dada” Band, as an homage to the Dada art movement) was formed in the early 1960s by Viv Stanshall and fellow art student Rodney Slater. Viv named the band after a popular comic strip dog from the 20s. They were soon joined by Neil Innes, Vernon Dudley (to whose name Viv added “Bohay-Nowell”), Sam Spoons, Roger Ruskin Spear, “Legs” Larry Smith and Bob Kerr. They played an eclectic blend of 1920s jazz and novelty tunes. Their live “drinking music” was embraced by pub frequenters although their ventures into recorded music didn’t bring the popularity they had hoped for.

In 1966, songwriter Geoff Stephens, using the name “The New Vaudeville Band” released “Winchester Cathedral”, a novelty number that mimicked Rudy Vallee’s 1920s megaphone vocal style. The song was a worldwide hit and Stephens’ record company requested a tour. However, The New Vaudeville band was comprised of session musicians and wasn’t a real band. Stephens tried to recruit The Bonzo Dog Band to accompany him on tour, since they played a similar style of music. Only Bob Kerr accepted the offer. The remaining Bonzos were left in the unusual position of reclaiming their sound as the original and not look like “wannabes” in comparison to the copycat, yet more popular, New Vaudeville Band.

One of the Bonzos famous fans came to their rescue. Paul McCartney asked Viv and his band to appear in the Beatles film Magical Mystery Tour  and perform their song “Death Cab for Cutie”. This was followed by their signing on as the house band to a weekly BBC television show called Do Not Adjust Your Set.  The show, aimed at children, was a collection of off-the-wall comedy skits performed by Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin in their pre-Monty Python  days. The Bonzos raucous performances fit right in.

As The Bonzo Dog Band’s popularity increased through the 60s and 70s, Viv suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and stage-fright. He battled his fears with alcohol and Valium. Between tours, Viv spent time in and out of hospitals trying to get a hold on his addictions. He managed to remain productive during these bouts, even producing several solo albums and contributing to fellow artists’ recordings, like Steve Winwood and Mike Oldfield.

Viv created Rawlinson End,  a satirical take on British aristocracy. It spawned a film and an album. He followed Rawlinson End  with Stinkfoot,  a comic opera. He continued to collaborate with other musicians, do commercial voice overs and publish a print version of Rawlinson End.  Whether it was being creative or fighting his demons, Viv always kept busy.

The reckless Viv often drank and smoked in bed, once even setting his beard on fire. On March 6, 1995, Viv was found dead in his North London apartment following a fire. He was 51.

In 1997, Washington singer-songwriter (and Bonzo Dog Band fan) Ben Gibbard honored Viv’s memory by naming his band “Death Cab for Cutie”.

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Just after separating from her second husband, twenty-one year old Barbara Payton took her young son and set off for Hollywood to take a shot at stardom. At a Hollywood nightclub, Barbara, a fun-loving “party girl” caught the attention of a Universal Studios executive. She was given the female lead opposite Lloyd Bridges in the 1949 prison drama Trapped.  She auditioned for John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle,  but lost the role to Marilyn Monroe. She also began an affair with beloved comedian Bob Hope. Upon discovering the affair, Universal terminated her contract.

In 1950, Barbara tested for a role in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye  starring James Cagney. The film’s producer, James’ brother William Cagney, was so taken by Barbara’s beauty that he signed her to a joint contract with William Cagney Productions and Warner Brothers. Barbara was paid a weekly salary of $5000, an unheard of amount for someone with no guaranteed box-office draw.  However, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye  became a hit and Barbara’s performance as Cagney’s hardened girlfriend received glowing praise. She followed up by co-starring with Gary Cooper in Dallas  later the same year. Barbara was involved in many off-screen romances, including Howard Hughes, married actors John Ireland, Guy Madison and the aforementioned Cooper and mobster Mickey Cohen. Her next several pictures were not well-received and, despite her partying and excessive lifestyle, her star was beginning to fade. Barbara’s next film, the low-budget horror embarrassment Bride of Gorilla, was the beginning of the end of her short-lived stardom.

She met actor Franchot Tone, who was twenty years her senior, at a nightclub and he was immediately infatuated. The couple were engaged, but that didn’t keep Barbara from an affair with B-move actor Tom Neal. Neal, a one-time boxer, attacked Tone outside of Barbara’s apartment, breaking the elder actor’s nose and cheekbone and giving him a concussion. Tone was in a coma for eighteen hours. The incident was all over the press and Barbara eventually married Tone. The marriage lasted 53 days and she returned to Tom Neal. Capitalizing on their steamy relationship, Neal and Barbara toured the country in a stage production of The Postman Always Rings Twice.  During her rekindled relationship with Neal, she carried on affairs with night club owner Siegi Sessler and notorious playboy Serge Rubinstein (who was later murdered).

Excessive drinking and drugs took a hard toll on Barbara’s good looks and eventually acting offers became almost non-existent. She was arrested on suspicion of writing bad checks at a Hollywood supermarket in 1955. In 1962, after the breakup of her fourth marriage and the loss of custody of her son, Barbara was arrested for prostitution in a bar on Sunset Boulevard in 1962. Several months later, she was sleeping on a bus stop bench in a bathing suit and a coat and arrested for public drunkenness. She was known to spend endless hours in Sunset Boulevard bars. Turning again to prostitution, Barbara received 38 stitches after being knifed by a customer.

Battling depression and addictions to alcohol and drugs, an ill and weakened Barbara moved into her parents’ home in San Diego. On May 7, 1967, Barbara was found by her mother, dead on the bathroom floor – a victim of liver and heart failure. She looked much older than her 39 years.

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Everyone knows professional wrestling is fake. The fans know. The wrestlers know. The officials know. Everyone. But, professional wresting has remained popular ever since it was the only thing to watch in the early days of television. In fact, it has exponentially increased in popularity and made a fortune for its promoters, most notably Vince McMahon Jr. who turned the staged matches and contrived intrigue into a multimillion dollar brand.

Canadian George Stipich began wrestling in the role of “the bad guy” in the 1960s. He used the name “Stan Stasiak” and played the villainous brute character to the hilt. He bounced around different pro wrestling organizations for several years, always playing the same brooding ogre in the ring. In his third stint with Vince McMahon Sr.’s fledgling World Wide Wrestling Federation, Stan got a brief and unexpected shot at glory.

In December 1973, Stan was in a venue dressing room in Philadelphia prior to a World Championship bout in which he was to battle popular reigning champion Pedro Morales. A representative from the World Wide Wrestling Federation entered the dressing room to go over the particulars of how the match was to play out. This was a common formality and Stan hardly paid attention. He had this same conversation in the dressing rooms of a dozen venues in a dozen cities on the Eastern seaboard. The WWF agent discussed various moves and holds, describing the scene as it had been described many times before.

“Pedro makes a big comeback,” the agent said, “and the referee starts to count — right? — one, two…”

Stan, giving his full attention to lacing and tying his boots, nodded and grunted a half-hearted “Uh-huh.”

“On ‘two’, you roll your shoulder up, and Pedro’s shoulders will be down on the mat.”, the WWF official explained.

Stan looked up, knowing he was about to hear the familiar fate that ended each match.

The official continued, “The ref hits the mat at ‘three’ and Pedro is down. Okay?”

Stan froze and looked at the offical. “You mean I win?, ” he said, after a long silence.

“Yeah, Stan.”

“I win?  And this is a title match? “,  a confused Stan questioned, “I  win the title? I’m  the champion?”

The WWF agent answered very matter-of-factly, “Yes, Stan.”

Stan was the World Wide Wresting Champion for nine days, until Bruno Sammartino defeated him at Madison Square Garden and took the belt.

Stan retired from the ring in 1984 and became a security guard for a shopping center. He passed away from heart failure at the age of 60. For nine days he lived what most wrestlers only dream about.

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You need a bear? Call Janos.

You need a gorilla? Call Janos.

You need a monster? Call Janos.

For fifteen years, Janos Prohaska was Hollywood’s “go-to” guy when a script called for a ursine, simian or otherworldly character to interact with a leading actor. Janos would don one of his many homemade costumes and happily perform his patented animal pantomime. He played countless gorillas in laboratories, performing circus bears and outer space monsters in television and movies. He was the popular “Cookie Bear”, a character played for comic relief, on fourteen episodes of The Andy Williams Show,  a variety showcase hosted by the easygoing singer. Janos appeared in episodes of The Munsters, Bewitched, The Lucy Show, Love American Style, I Dream of Jeannie  and even Perry Mason,  all hidden under heavy fur and latex costuming. His roles were, for the most part, uncredited. In 1969, he made an appearance on the TV game show What’s My Line?,  in a full ape get-up.

Janos was also an accomplished stuntman, doubling for Peter Falk in the physical comedy classic It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad Mad World  in 1963. In 1971, he played Heloise the gorilla in Escape from Planet of the Apes,  in which he strangled Dr. Milo, the character played by Sal Mineo.

In 1974, Janos, his son, fellow stuntman Robert Prohaska, and 34 passengers were returning by chartered plane from a mountainous location set for the ABC Television series Primal Man.  In total darkness, the plane flew into a mountain ridge, killing everyone aboard.

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