“You’ve got me? Whose got you?”
We’ve got you, Margot.
IF: hairy
“Top billing” was always a constant argument between The Wild Man of Borneo and Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy.
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DCS: myrna fahey
Myrna Fahey was a former cheerleader and beauty pageant winner. However, she refused to coast along on her good looks alone. She was an avid skier and stock investor, insisting that her dressing rooms be equipped with a stock ticker.
Myrna appeared in numerous episodes of TV Westerns, including Gunsmoke, Maverick and Wagon Train. After an episode of Bonanza, the cast presented the feisty Myrna with a tongue-in-cheek “Best Slapper in a Filmed Series” award. Myrna branched out with roles in Perry Mason and Hawaiian Eye, even trying her hand at comedy in Bachelor Father and camp in the popular Batman series. She was not content with the “good girl” roles she was offered. She landed the role of “Madeline Usher” alongside Vincent Price in Roger Corman’s take on the Edgar Allan Poe classic The Fall of the House of Usher.
In 1961, Myrna took a starring role in the TV series Father of the Bride, based on the acclaimed film of the same name. She was cast based solely on her striking resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor, a comparison that Myrna found distasteful, revealing to one interviewer “the fact that I’m supposed to look like Elizabeth Whats-Her-Name had nothing to do with my getting [the part], because we don’t really look alike I don’t think.” Myrna fought to be released from her contract with the show, citing that too much emphasis was put on the “father” character and not enough on her “bride” character. the series lasted one season.
In 1964, Myrna began dating Yankees star Joe DiMaggio. She also began receiving death threats. An FBI investigation determined the threats came from a patient at a mental hospital in San Jose, California. Apparently the patient could not bear to see DiMaggio with anyone other than Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962.
In the early 1970s, Myrna slowed down her workload, as she was diagnosed with cancer. She appeared in one episode of the medical drama Marcus Welby MD and played a beauty pageant chaperone in the TV movie The Great American Beauty Contest. It would prove to be her final role. Myrna lost her battle with cancer on May 6, 1973 at the age of 40.
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IF: utopia
The origins of the word “utopia” are a bit unclear, as well as little ambiguous. The word was coined by lawyer, philosopher, author and eventual saint, Sir Thomas More in his 1516 book Utopia about an imaginary society of perfect well-being. The word comes from the Greek — but which actual root words — that’s up for discussion. it could be the combination of οὐ (pronounced “you”) meaning “not” and τόπος meaning”place”, making “utopia” translate to “no-place,” which would fit, as it represents a concept that does not exist. However, it could have been formed from the monophonic εὖ (also pronounced “you”) which means “good” and τόπος which still means “place,” making the word mean “good place.” That would be a plausible description, as well. Maybe Thomas More was being deliberately cagey, subtly hinting that the idea of “utopia” is just that — an idea — and can never exist.
Or perhaps he was warning us that the idea of ” The Good Place” is deceptive.
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DCS: doreen tracey
Doreen Tracey grew up singing and dancing, thanks to her father’s dance studio. At 12, young Doreen auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club along with hundreds of other talented children (including singer Paul Williams and actress Candace Bergen, who didn’t make the cut). She was picked and stayed with the show for all three seasons. Doreen appeared in the Disney-produced family film Westward Ho, the Wagons!, with Fess Parker and several of her fellow Mouseketeers. In the third season of The Mickey Mouse Club, she was featured in the serial Annette (a show within a show) with co-star Annette Funicello.
When The Mickey Mouse Club ceased filming, Doreen performed in teen nightclubs and gave live concerts. She starred on a 1959 episode of The Donna Reed Show as Mary Stone’s (Shelley Fabares) friend along with guest star, singer James Darren. Later, she toured South Vietnam, entertaining US Troops with her rock group Doreen and The Invaders. Later, she moved on to work as a publicist for Frank Zappa.
In the 70s, Doreen posed nude for Gallery, a mens’ magazine. This caused a rift in her relationship with the Walt Disney Company. Years afterwards, she reconciled with the Disney Company, and began appearing at company promotional events. In her 2001 autobiography, Confessions of a Mouseketeer, Doreen related the incident and regretted posing for the photos.
Doreen died in January 2018 after a two-year battle with cancer. She was 74.
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IF: transformation
In 1931, Frederic March was cast in Paramount Studios’ film version — the sixth one since 1908 — of the Robert Louis Stevenson study in psychology Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The production was made five years before the Hayes Code that monitored morality in motion pictures. The film contained some pretty strong sexual content for 1931, particularly the role of “Ivy Pierson,” the bar singer portrayed by actress Miriam Hopkins. When the film was re-released in 1936, Miriam Hopkins’s provocative performance was reduced to less than five minutes of screen time.
The infamous “transformation” scene was filmed using a combination of color-coded make-up appliances and corresponding filters for the camera. The result was an effectively frightening sequence, thanks to March’s acting and Wally Westmore’s character design for the fearsome “Mr. Hyde,” including simian-like brow and hair along with prosthetic teeth. March was awarded an Oscar for his performance.
Hollywood remade Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde again in 1941 starring Spencer Tracy. Prior to production, MGM purchased the negatives to the two previous versions, as well as every available copy of the Paramount version starring Frederic March… with the intention of destroying them to avoid comparisons. Despite Spencer Tracy’s acting ability, the MGM version received negative reviews. Frederic March sent a telegram to his colleague to thank him for “the greatest boost to his reputation of his entire career.”
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DCS: reid blackburn, david a. johnston and robert landsburg
After a two-month series of earthquakes, Mount St. Helens, in Washington state, erupted at 8:32 on the morning of May 18, 1980. The entire north face of the volcano slid away, creating the largest landslide ever recorded. Volcanic ash was shot 80,000 feet into the atmosphere, raining down over 11 states. Glaciers melted, forming mudslides that eventually reached the Columbia River nearly 50 miles away.
David A. Johnston, a scientist working under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, had been gathering information in the weeks prior to the volcano’s eruption. His five-word transmission — “Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!” — from his outpost, six miles from “ground zero” was the first report of the eruption. David’s body was never found, though thirteen years after the eruption, parts of his trailer were discovered by highway workers.
Reid Blackburn was a photographer who was commissioned by a local newspaper, as well as National Geographic magazine, to cover the eruption. On May 22, 1980, Reid’s body was discovered buried in the ash. Several days later, his camera was found near his campsite at South Fork Coldwater Creek. As a result of the eruption, the creek became dammed, creating Coldwater Lake.
Robert Landsburg, also a photographer, had been photographing the changing landscape in the weeks leading up the the eruption. On the morning of May 18, Robert rapidly shot the approaching ash cloud. He rewound the film and put it back into its case. He put the film and his camera into his backpack. He placed the backpack on the ground and lay down on top of it, protecting the contents. Robert’s body was discovered two and a half weeks later, buried beneath the ash. His film, however, remained unharmed. It was developed as has since provided geologists with valuable information regarding the volcanic eruption.
And then, there was stubborn old Harry R. Truman…
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IF: pink
DCS: bruno sammartino
My brother was a big fan of professional wrestling in the late 60s and early 70s. Every Saturday afternoon, he’d monopolize the television and watch match after match after brutal match featuring such celebrated names as Larry Zbyszko, Chief Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon, Handsome Jimmy Valiant and the champ, Bruno Sammartino.
There was another wrestling fan in my house. My mom.
Casino gambling came to Atlantic City in 1978 and when I turned 18 the following year (the legal drinking and gambling age at the time), my mom and I would go to Atlantic City frequently. For ten bucks, a chartered bus would take us from Philadelphia and deposit us on the famous Boardwalk a mere 90 minutes later. A voucher from the bus company could be exchanged for a roll of quarters and a five dollar discount towards a buffet lunch. So, the trip essentially cost us nothing and offered the chance to break the bank, if luck would have it.
One summer afternoon, my mom and I were wandering through Bally’s Casino after several hours of yanking the handles of slot machines and trying to outsmart blackjack dealers. We decided to use our buffet coupons and made our way toward a bank of elevators. My mom pressed the call button and within a minute an elevator arrived. We piled in, getting a spot by the doors as they whispered closed. We stood silent as the car rose a few floors to our destination. The car stopped. The doors opened and my mom’s face lit up. Less than a foot over the elevator threshold stood Bruno Sammartino. The Bruno Sammartino. My mom blurted out a gleeful “BRUNO!!!” Bruno smiled broadly. No one else recognized him. No one. Just my mom. Bruno quickly shook my mom’s hand and nodded respectfully to her as he entered the now empty elevator car. Still, no one else said a word, though a few folks craned their necks and quietly pondered the identity of the hulking gentleman with the thick features and a cauliflower ear.
But my mom knew who he was.
He was the champ.
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IF: crown
“There a painless death awaits him who can no longer bear the sorrows of this life.”
— Robert W. Chambers, The King in Yellow