Actors like Luana Anders were the foundation on which Hollywood was built. Unassuming, nondescript and modestly attractive, Luana, like her mentor Jeff Corey, was a versatile, reliable actor — able to handle any type of role that came her way. She became early friends with up-and-coming directors and was only happy to help out their fledgling productions while furthering her own career. Under director Roger Corman, Luana played Vincent Price‘s sister in The Pit and the Pendulum. She worked with future Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola on his directorial debut, the horror film Dementia 13. At the same time, she took small roles in episodic television, appearing in The Rifleman, Dragnet and The Andy Griffith Show.

Luana made friends with counterculture filmmaker Dennis Hopper and his pal Jack Nicholson, both of whom were protégés of Roger Corman. Luana was cast in Hopper’s Easy Rider and went on to appear in five Jack Nicholson features. Showing her versatility, she landed small parts in the films Shampoo and Personal Best… all while continuing to take guest spots on television, including a recurring role on the soap opera Santa Barbara.

In the 90s, she tried her hand at screenwriting. Under the pseudonym “Margo Blue,” Luana penned the screenplay for the film Fire on the Amazon, an early entry on Sandra Bullock’s resume. She also co-wrote the Nancy Allen comedy Limit Up and even managed a cameo in the film.

Her part of a Buddhist disciple in 1973’s The Last Detail reflected her real life convictions. Luana was a lifelong Buddhist and a longtime supporter of the American chapter of Soka Gakkai International.

Luana passed away from breast cancer at the age of 58. Her final film was released posthumously.

Comments

comments

After early interest in football, Reggie Lisowski turned his sights on professional wrestling once he joined the army. He trained in his native South Milwaukee neighborhood and made his ring debut in 1949. His early matches only netted the budding wrestler a mere five dollars a night, so he took menial jobs to supplement his income. Reggie worked as a meat packer and bricklayer by day and pursued wrestling three to four evenings per week.

Actor-turned-promoter Fred Kohler liked Reggie and put him on televised wrestling matches in the early 50s. Reggie kept a strict and dedicated workout regimen and grew into a brawny and fearsome contender. He developed a “blue collar” persona of a beer-drinking tough guy and he bleached his naturally dark hair to yellow blonde. Reggie gained scores of fans who loved his over-the-top antics in the ring. He began wrestling under the name “Crusher” Lisowski and later just the ominous “The Crusher.” He proved popular through the Midwest circuit, regularly introduced as “The Wrestler That Made Milwaukee Famous.” He delighted fans with his taunts of “turkey neck” and often talked of partying with the “dollies,” drinking beer and dancing the polka.” He bragged that his workouts included running with two beer barrels on his shoulders… that were emptied by the end of his session. Fans ate it up.

After forty-plus years in the ring, Reggie called it a career in 1989. He had been suffering from the effects of multiple surgeries including a heart by-pass. In 2005, Reggie dealt with the removal of a non-cancerous tumor from his brain stem, which left him partially paralyzed. After the death of his wife of 55 years, Reggie lived out his remaining days in a nursing facility. He passed away in October 2005 at the age of 79. He was survived by four children, nine grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Despite his long-time “in-character” claims, Reggie never liked drinking beer.

In 1964, Minneapolis garage band The Novas honored Reggie with a song called “The Crusher.” It was later covered by psychobilly rockers The Cramps and regularly featured on the Dr. Demento radio show.

Comments

comments

Mark Sandman was an interesting and mysterious guy. He worked a number of blue-collar jobs, including construction, commercial fishing and driving a cab. He was stabbed and robbed as a cab driver, a traumatic incident that had a lasting effect on him for the rest of his life. The untimely deaths of his two brothers also influenced his life and creativity.

In 1989, Mark formed the band Morphine, while still a member of the band Treat Her Right. As Morphine’s leader, main songwriter and bassist, he built a variety of custom basses, including a two-string slide version, a three-string slide version and a unitar, with just a single string. His murky playing coupled with saxophonists Dana Colley provided Morphine with its signature “low rock” sound. His style has been acknowledged as an influence on Primus’ Les Claypool and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme.

Mark was very quiet about his private life, leading fans to speculate that his song lyrics were autobiographical. He was cagey and evasive during interviews, even keeping things, like his true age, from the press.

In 1999, during a concert in Italy, Mark collapsed on stage, suffering a fatal heart attack. An investigation attributed his death to stress and the high temperature inside the concert venue. Mark was 46. Morphine disbanded upon his death.

Comments

comments