city of the dead

New Orleans, the largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana, is known by many names, such as “The Crescent City,” “The Big Easy” and “The City That Care Forgot” — a moniker used since 1938 to express the carefree nature of the residents. However, it took on an ironic connotation in the post-Hurricane Katrina era. My …

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from my sketchbook: donna douglas

Granny: Elly May done popped the buttons off her shirt again. Jed: Elly May carries herself proud with her shoulders throwed back. Granny: It ain’t her shoulders that have been poppin’ these buttons. — The Beverly Hillbillies Doris Smith, a pretty Southern tomboy, was voted Miss Baton Rouge in her home state of Louisiana. The …

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from my sketchbook: sebastian cabot

Stints as a mechanic, a chauffeur, valet and chef were not a good fit for Sebastian Cabot. He wanted to act — a type of lying, as he called the profession. Sebastian worked regularly in films for thirty years, beginning with his debut in Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1936 thriller Secret Agent. (Actors Michael Rennie and Michael Redgrave …

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from my sketchbook: meredith macrae

Meredith MacRae was born with show business in her blood. She was the eldest daughter of actor-singer Gordon MacRae, the star of movie musicals Oklahoma and Carousel and his wife, actress Sheila MacRae, best remembered as succeeding Audrey Meadows in the role of “Alice Kramden” in The Honeymooners, as performed in sketches on  Jackie Gleason’s …

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from my sketchbook: anissa jones revisited

WFMZ, a local affiliate just outside of Philadelphia, picked up MeTV, the syndicated retro television network that presents programming exclusively from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, around the same time that Meredith Viera stepped down as co-host of The Today Show on NBC. When the insipid and unwatchable Ann Curry took over Meredith’s duties, I …

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from my sketchbook: sheb wooley

Sheb Wooley was the real deal – born in Oklahoma on a ranch; grew up as a cowboy; became a rodeo star and formed a country & Western band. In the 1950s, Sheb moved to Hollywood and starred in dozens of Westerns, including High Noon, Giant and The Outlaw Josie Wales. On television, he appeared …

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from my sketchbook: annette

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a “guilty pleasure.” I think if you like something, you like it and you should enjoy it and not be embarrassed by the fact that you enjoy it. I am proud to say that I am the owner of the Frankie and Annette “Beach Party” DVD …

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