Book Review: Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

 

Desilu The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz by Coyne Stevens Sanders and Tom Gilbert  reveals Lucy and Desi, in an entirely different light  from the personna they exhibited on I Love Lucy and also tells a different story about William Frawley and Vivian Vance, who played their landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy.

The book also has a heavy emphasis on the forming of Desilu Productions and how it was so tightly woven into their lives, as they made many deals with other entities that would benefit Desilu.

Lucy Very Difficult To Work With

Lucille Ball was very difficult to work with as the book tells of many situations where she went overboard with her criticism of the other actors she was working with. For instance she once had a table removed from a scene that Jack Benny had requested because he was standing on one foot in the scene and needed the support at his advanced age. Lucille saw the table had become part of the set and wanted it removed saying that they should try the scene again to see if Jack could do it without the table so they did the scene again and Jack fell flat on his face.

Fred and Ethel Mertz portrayed by William Frawley and Vivian Vance were not too happy being cast as husband and wife. Vivian Vance was quoted as saying about Frawley ” He is old enough to be my grandfather”. When Vance won an Emmy award Frawley had a sarcastic remark about her winning the award.

Arnaz Was Astute Businessman

One of the biggest surprises from the book was how astute a businessman Desi Arnaz was. I always thought of him as a bongo playing musician who was the foil of Lucy’s escapades. However he was running the Desilu empire at the same time and would do a scene on the show and then return to his office to make business deals. He knew the television business extremely well and was equally adept at many facets of television production. He was also blessed with great ability at producing, directing, writing, editing scripts but his acting was mostly limited to I Love Lucy. The Untouchables which came under the Desilu umbrella caused Desi a lot of grief, because the show’s portrayal of Italians angered the Italian community.

One story that stands out in the book is when Lucy would call Vivian Vance, before filming was to start for another season and remind Vance to gain 20 pounds so that Lucy would be the thin one on the show.

Lucy Mean To Vivian Vance

The saddest story of all was when they had a reunion show years later, when Vance had cancer and asked Lucy for her opinion on which of two dresses to wear for the show and Lucy said “It doesn’t matter because you look like a cow in either one.”  Vance left the room crying. However after Vance died Lucy missed her very much.

Lucy and Desi stayed together many years before Desi asked for a divorce but it was a long time before Lucy consented and agreed to divorce. She then married comedian Gary Morton.

Lucy Ran Desilu After Departure of Desi

Eventually Desi left Desilu and Lucy was left to guide the company’s fortunes but was extremely rattled at one stockholders meeting, when a stockholder questioned her about her huge salary as an actress in one of her later series while the stockholders received no dividend that year.

Lucy eventually agreed to a merger with Gulf and Western and stepped out of the everyday management of the company.

The book is full of the run-ins Lucy had with the other actors, directors and writers, which are too numerous to mention them all in this review.

Her Contracts Included Desilu Stipulations

When she was doing the Lucy Show later for CBS she made sure that the contract included stipulations that CBS would help financially with current Desilu pilots they were trying to sell to the networks. The Untouchables, Mannix, Mission Impossible and Star Trek were the best known shows to have been produced by Desilu Productions.

There is no doubt that Lucy and Desi loved each other very much and did till they died. Desi had looked so bad at the end that he didn’t want Lucy to see him that way but she saw him anyway and he died in the arms of his daughter Lucie Arnaz.

When Lucy went to the hospital shortly before her death an outpouring of love, by her fans was shown as cards and flowers poured in from her many fans.

Only Touches The Surface

This review only touches the surface of the content of the book. After reading the book I have a different memory of Lucy and Desi than I had before reading the book.

I had never known the extent of Lucy’s temper when dealing with others on her shows. I didn’t know how much of an alcoholic Desi would become, which ultimately led to the breakup of his marriage with Lucy and also his womanizing which Lucy hated with a passion and rightly so.

If you don’t want your perception of Lucy and Desi to change then don’t read this book, but if you want to learn what was going on behind the scenes, from the early years of their marriage till their deaths many years later this is a book worth reading.

In my opinion this was a very objective book, which told both the good and the bad about Lucy and Desi and I didn’t perceive the book to be a vendetta against them, but more a telling of a wonderful love story, that was going on between Lucy and Desi which lasted to their dying days.

This book shows how little we really know of celebrities like Lucy and Desi who have the same human foibles the rest of us have and how little we know of what went on behind the scenes of one of the greatest television comedies ever in I Love Lucy.

 

 

Special Thanksgiving

 This was similar to the Thanksgiving TV dinners we had in the freezer for Thanksgiving because we were in bankruptcy at the time and little money was left for food from the checks from the Alexandria Town Talk newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana.

 

 

This turkey is similar to the turkey we ate that day.

My son Kenny had just finished his tour of duty with the Air Force and when he saw we were having frozen turkey dinners he went to the grocery store and bought  a real turkey for Thanksgiving.

His generosity turned a very forgettable Thanksgiving into a memorable one that is still recalled over ten years later. It is indicative of how an act of kindness can linger on in our memories years later.

This Thanksgiving will be another special one since my dad will be 95 on Thanksgiving Day. We have a lot to be thankful for knowing my dad still operates a tiller to plant his garden and mows with a pushmower at an age when most people have died or are in nursing homes.

He was born so long ago in 1914 that he wasn’t even born in a hospital.

At the same time Thanksgiving is a time of sadness having lost my mother 11 years ago. Will never forget her cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  We may not have eaten till 3:00 in the afternoon but it was worth the wait for a nice Thanksgiving dinner back in the 50′s and 60′s.

 

 

Perry Como: Barber to Crooner

Perry Como sang in the same era as such greats as Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby but was the last one of the three to die dying in 2001.

Perry Como was born May 18, 1912 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and was a barber before he became a well known singer.

He like Sinatra was a big band singer early in his career and was known for being one of the most relaxed singers in the business when on stage.

Despite the advent of rock and roll in the 50′s he still would record an occasional hit song.

When our Pineville Elementary in Pineville, Louisiana took a trip to a Fishville, Louisiana skating rink I can remember skating to Perry Como singing Round and Round the perfect skating song.

Perry Como singing It’s Impossible in this audio version of this song accompanied by stunning visual graphics.

Perry singing If I Loved You and No Other Love. Viewers who watched the Perry Como Show will remember the “we get letters” introduction before the songs.

Found this Perry Como Christmas album in a local bookstore for 25 cents and am looking forward to playing it this Christmas season.

 

Perry Como died six days before his 89th birthday on May 12, 2001 with May 12 being a significant date since my mom died on May 12 of 1998.

Petula Clark: 70 Years In Show Business

Petula Clark recorded her signature hit Downtown in 1964.

It was 45 years ago when 32 year old Petula Clark recorded Downtown which would be her first song to reach No.1 on the U.S. record charts. This year she is celebrating her 70th year in show business.

Earlier this week she celebrated her 77th birthday. She will be entering her ninth different decade in show business in January as she is still presently active and has been in show business since 1939 and appeared in her first movie in 1944.

Petula Clark singing Downtown which was No.1 hit in 1964.

Petula singing This Is My Song in 2001.

Rutt’s Hut: Home of the Ripper

 

Rutt's Hut in Clifton New Jersey is the home of the deep fried hot dog.

Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, New Jersey has been in business since 1928 and has been serving their deep-fried hot dogs called the Rippers for 81 years.

They are called Rippers because they aren’t removed from the oil until the skin breaks loose from the rest of the hot dog. Rippers that turn black are called Cremators.

 

The Cremator which is burned or close to burned hot dog at Rutt's Hut for those who like their hot dogs burned to a crisp.

This Travel channel video about the Rippers at Rutt’s Hut tells about the deep fried hot dogs served there with a lot of words of praise for the specialty hot dogs.

Rippers and Cremators cost $2.00 each but if you want relish it will cost an extra dollar.

Some fast food aficionados are not so quick to praise Rutt’s Hut after eating there as evidenced by these reviews left at Roadfood.com.

http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/1362/rutts-hut

The best option is to try the Rippers yourself to see if you agree with those praising the Rippers at the Travel Channel or agree with those who posted at Roadfood.com that it was the most disgusting place they had ever eaten at.

 

 

Secret Ingredient: Grease From 1912

Dyer's Burgers on Beale Street in Memphis uses a special recipe in cooking their burgers using the same grease they used in 1912 with the grease being 100 years old in only three years.

Dyer’s Burgers in Memphis has found the secret to a good greasy burger by using 97 year old grease from 1912. The grease is locked up at night to prevent anyone from tampering with it.

Patrons are sometimes asked if they had their Vitamin G today with the G standing for grease.

The burgers and buns are soaked in grease to get the ultimate 1912 grease flavor into the 2009 burgers. The grease has been protected by armed police escorts when it was transported from one Dyer’s location to a new one.

A burger from Dyer's Burgers ready to eat after being soaked in 1912 grease.

One website says this place will have the nutritional police sirens wailing. I doubt that any nutritional information is posted in the restaurant unless required by law.

The following link will take you to the home page for Dyer’s Burgers and includes a video which I saw on the Travel Channel yesterday which gives more information about the 1912 grease.

There are also links to reviews of the burgers by Playboy and Esquire.

Anyone eating here more than once a month might be wise to visit their attorney and make their last will and testament.

http://www.dyersonbeale.com/

Conway Twitty: Recorded 40 No.1 Hits

Conway Twitty recorded forty No.1 hits during his career that spanned from when he joined his first group at the age of ten till his unexpected death in 1993.

Conway Twitty recorded an amazing 40 No.1 hits during his career. Only George Strait has recorded more with 44 No.1 hits. Alan Jackson is closest among other active country singers with 25 hits that reached No.1.

Twitty started his career singing pop music and he reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with It’s Only Make Believe in 1958.

It would be ten years later in 1968 before he recorded another No. 1 song when the aptly named Next In Line was No.1 on country singles chart.

After three more songs including one of my favorites Fifteen Years Ago reached No.1 in 1970 he also saw his signature song Hello Darlin’ also reach No.1 in 1970.

He and Loretta Lynn recorded Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man which also went to No.1 in 1973.

There are too many No.1 songs to list them all but some of my favorites were This Time I Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me, Linda on My Mind and She Needs Someone To Hold Her When She Cries.

His last No.1 song was Desperado Love recorded in 1986 and he would die seven years later unexpectedly in 1993.

I think it is safe to say that no country singer touched the hearts of women the way Conway Twitty could. Anyone who doesn’t agree is welcome  to share their views on the subject.

Twitty took his obligation to entertain his fans seriously and never missed a show in 36 years of touring. This and other facts about Conway can be read at this website:

http://conwaytwitty.com/index.htm?id=9266

Conway Twitty singing his first No.1 song It’s Only Make Believe in 1958.

Conway singing his signature song Hello Darlin’.

Conway and his daughter Joni singing Don’t Cry Joni which peaked at No.4 on the country charts in 1975.

This is country music at its best with the pure country audio rendition by Conway of This Time I Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me.

Conway singing Fifteen Years Ago in an audio version since this song is legally prevented from being shown in video form.

Conway singing Darling You Know I Wouldn’t Lie a song that reached No.2 on the country charts in 1969.

The following list of his his charting songs includes short sound clips of some of them:

http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=CONWAY|TWITTY&sql=11:diftxql5ldfe~T51

Conway Twitty died in Branson, Missouri at the age of 59 on June 5, 1993. He would be 76 if he was still alive but he leaves a musical legacy that will live on for many years through his many recordings from 1957 till 1993.

Alabama: Old Flame

 

 

Alabama appeared at Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, Louisiana early in their career.

Alabama singing Old Flame which is my favorite song of all the songs they recorded.

 

Roy Clark: Yesterday When I Was Young

Some country music fans may think of Roy Clark from being on Heehaw but what I remember is his poignant song Yesterday, When I Was Young which touches the heart of anyone that ever listens to it and Roy was recently chosen to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Roy Clark sings Yesterday, When I Was Young.

Yesterday, When I Was Young climbed to No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary charts, No.9 on country singles chart and No.19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

However to me it should have been No.1. I had this song on a Roy Clark record album back in the 1960′s and it was and still is one of my favorite songs.

The words to this song posted at tuffydog.com convey what life is all about as we enter the golden years of our lives:

“It seems the love I’ve known,
has always been the most destructive kind.
I guess that’s why now,
I feel so old before my time.”

Yesterday, when I was young,
The taste of life was sweet, as rain upon my tongue,
I teased at life, as if it were a foolish game,
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame

The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned,
I always built, alas, on weak and shifting sand,
I lived by night, and shunned the naked light of day,
And only now, I see, how the years ran away

Yesterday, when I was young,
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
So many wild pleasures lay in store for me,
And so much pain, my dazzled eyes refused to see

I ran so fast that time, and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think, what life, was all about,
And every conversation, I can now recall,
Concerned itself with me, and nothing else at all

Yesterday, the moon was blue,
And every crazy day, brought something new to do,
I used my magic age, as if it were a wand,
And never saw the worst, and the emptiness beyond

The game of love I played, with arrogance and pride,
And every flame I lit, too quickly, quickly died,
The friends I made, all seemed somehow to drift away,
And only I am left, on stage to end the play

There are so many songs in me, that won’t be sung,
I feel the bitter taste, of tears upon my tongue,
The time has come for me to pay,
For yesterday, when I was young

This may be one of best written songs ever because you can relive in your mind once again what you were thinking years ago when life seemed to have so much to offer.

Then as the years go by life experiences tell you that there are many thorns along the path to encounter before your dreams can be realized if ever.

We have like the song says teased at life like it was a foolish game but we found out life was not a game but a series of ups and downs as we live out our lives.

We see our loved ones die like my cousin being killed in Vietnam when he is barely in his twenties….my mom laying in a hospital bed for the last 80 days of her life waiting for the inevitable last breath.

My uncle that died in his 30′s from cancer with a wife and young kids left behind to struggle on their own.

Like the last verse says….There are so many songs in me that won’t be sung…. as much as I would like to sing them because…the time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young.

It is fitting that Roy Clark recently became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He may not be the best known name in country music but I will always remember him singing…Yesterday, when I was young.

Jimmy Elledge Visited Sunday School Class

Jimmy Elledge: RCA Victor recording star

There was a man in our church named Jim Stretch in the 1960′s. He was an RCA records distributor. He had discovered a singer named Jimmy Elledge and brought him to our church one Sunday morning and Elledge visited our Sunday School class at College Drive Baptist Church in Pineville, Louisiana.

I didn’t know till later that he would have a million selling record of Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away that went to #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart.

Chet Atkins who had heard a demo tape by Elledge apparently notified Stretch and Elledge was signed to an RCA Victor recording contract.

He would never have another hit but he can say he had a million selling hit which is more than most of us  wannabe singers can say.

Jimmy Elledge singing the original of Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away

Watching TV Through Store Window in 50′s

I remember at about the age of eight or nine looking through the storefront window of Jimmy Walker’s Appliance Store on Main Street in Pineville to watch television at night.

A thermometer with the Jimmy Walker name on it at Alexandria Retrospective website reminded me of this plus this page has a plethora of photos that will bring memories flooding back to those who remember these days.

One commenter has a long list of some of their memories of living in Alexandria which is very interesting plus the whole page will revive the memories of those who lived or drove across the bridge to Alexandria during this time period.

The comments are from 2006 but that doesn’t matter since what matters are the memories they evoke.

There are many mentions of Fuzzy’s, Lazarone’s and Lou and Laura’s. This is just one page of many at the Alexandria Retrospective website.

A visitor to the site could literally spends hours reliving the good old days before life got so complicated.

http://www.alexandria-louisiana.com/register-volume-25.htm

Memories From 1947 Radio Mirror

The Radio Mirror was the precursor of the TV-Radio Mirror. I have a copy of the  May 1947 Radio Mirror which has a photo of Dinah Shore on the cover when she was 31 years old.

I couldn’t find a photo of that cover so am including a photo of Dinah from a 1946 movie Till The Clouds Roll By before she became a blonde.

A photo of Dinah Shore as she appeared in the 1946 movie Till The Clouds Roll By before becoming a blonde in the 1950's.

It is amazing to be able to look at the May 1947 Radio Mirror magazine 62 years later and look back at the articles and ads from that magazine.

Page 1….The Ipana toothpaste ad copy includes this advice:

Listen, goon, a bright smile depends largely on firm, healthy gums. If your dentist suggests massage with Ipana, take his advice…and you’ll be started on a smile that’ll have men picking petals off daisies!

Page 18….Barbara Stanwyck is pictured at the age of 40 promoting Max Factor Pan-Cake makeup.

Page 22….Dick Haymes is shown spending time with his family at his Encino, California home.

Page 36….has this four line poem:

Can You Blame Her?

At keeping a secret Milady

May often seem inept,

But either it wasn’t worth keeping

Or it was too good to be kept!

-Thomas Usk

Page 58….Radio listings

The listings for 8:30 on Thurday evenings showed the competition at that hour among the four major radio networks:

NBC – Burns and Allen

MBS – Count of Monte Cristo

ABC – America’s Town Meeting

CBS – FBI Peace and War

Page 67….Movie star Esther Williams is pictured touting Woodbury Fiesta makeup named for her current movie Fiesta.

Page 69….A lady is shown showing her husband her new drapes and is saying:

Look at these beautiful Clopay drapes I got for just 98 cents.

New Clopay window shades 39 cents.

Page 86….Flame-Glo lipstick is sold for 25 cents.

Page 93….Shows a cartoon with baby bear saying ” I don’t mind the porridge…but somebody drank my Pepsi”.

Page 96….Royledge  nine foot roll of shelving paper selling for seven cents. (Try to find that deal today).

Page 103….North American Mutual Insurance is offering this protection with their policy:

Hospital room and board….$6.00 a day

Doctor visits….$3.00 a visit

Surgical Operations….$150.00

Ambulance Service….$10.00

Page 106….Columbia Mail Order Co. has this deal on dresses:

6 Selected dresses for $3.99

Used but clean- some may need to be repaired.

5 Cotton dresses for $2.95

(Maybe Goodwill will start making this deal to mail customers)

Page 112….Clark Ring Co. offers this amazing deal:

Diamond engagement and wedding rings $1.95 each or $2.95 for both.

 

Heartwarming Stories

There are many true heartwarming stories told throughout the magazine with several related to coping with death of loved ones during World War II.

 

Mother Writes Lonely Soldier During World War II

One mother was told about a soldier who cried when he didn’t get mail during the war so she started writing to him and he got to visit his “new mom” a few months later. He told her “Mom you will never know how happy I was to get your letters”.

 

Found Bank Robbery Money

Another story tells of a family living in the Louisiana cotton fields in 1936 and how the people were moving out of town as stores and businesses closed.

Then the local bank is robbed of $400,000 which included money of those who had their life savings in the bank. The robbers were arrested but didn’t have the money with them.

The son of the family was chopping wood when the ax head flew off and landed in the well. His dad was lowered into the well and found the ax head along with the missing $400,000.

 

Disabled Veteran Finds Happiness

This story tells of a totally disabled veteran paralyzed from the hips down after being hit while in a tank by a German shell. He spent a year in the hospital be was discharged and sent home.

A girl he used to go with heard he was home and came to visit him. He felt like she would never come back to see him after seeing his condition but she returned and asked him to marry her.

He told her he would be a burden on her but she insisted that would make no difference as long as they loved each other.

He said he found out that life can be beautiful as long as someone loves you and believes in you.

 

Girl Loses Boyfriend In War

This is an extremely sad story of a girl who lost her boyfriend in the war. She tells of seeing him board the train for the last time as he headed to war.

The news of his death came shortly before Christmas. She lost all interest in friends and relatives after being notified of the death of her boyfriend and couldn’t see any hope in her future.

One day she was waiting for a bus when she encountered a tall young man and they talked on the bus after she spilled the contents of her purse on the floor and the man helped her pick up what had fallen on the floor of the bus.

He picked up the photo of the girl’s boyfriend who had died in the war. He asked her if he had been home lately and she replied that he was dead.

Then he told of his own time in the service when he had lost both legs but had taught himself to use wooden legs.  The girl began to feel ashamed of her self-pity after realizing what he had been through.

She goes on to say that she is still seeing the former soldier and that the soldier had renewed her interest in living. She ends by saying that there is always the future if one’s heart goes to meet it.

Lefty Frizzell: The Long Black Veil

The late Lefty Frizzell died 34 years ago but country music fans who lived in the 50'a and 60's still remember him and his legacy of music today.

William Orville “Lefty” Frizzell

Born: March 31, 1928 in Corsicana, Texas

Died: July 19, 1975 in Nashville, Tennessee

Lefty Frizzell made a lasting impact on country music by the way he changed honky tonk country music.

George Strait singing Lefty’s Gone a tribute to the late Lefty Frizzell who changed the way honky tonk country music was sung and George Jones, Merle Haggard and many other country music owe their success to Frizzell.

He left the foundation for how country music should be sung but he was forgotten until traditionalists like Randy Travis and George Strait revived interest in the music of Frizzell in the 80′s.

Frizzell spent time in prison in the 40′s for a crime that apparently never happened and he wrote two of his most famous songs while in prison If You Got the Money Honey I’ve Got the Time and I Love You in a Thousand Ways. Both songs went to No.1 for his first two chart-topping songs.

In 1951 Always Late (With Your Kisses) and I Want to be With You Always reached No. 1 along with Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses) giving him five No.1 songs in two years.

He wouldn’t have another No.1 song till 1964 when he recorded Saginaw, Michigan. He recorded 11 more years but would never have another No.1 song.

Lefty singing the Long Black Veil a song which I sang for my Uncle John back in the 50′s and he recorded me singing the song onto a reel to reel tape recorder since I was visting in Kansas from Louisiana.

Uncle John was in pain and dying from cancer and I was happy to bring a small measure of happiness into his life. It was sad to see him become a skeleton of the man he had been. So that song has always been special to me because it reminds me of my Uncle John my mother’s brother.

He was getting ready to start a tour of some honky tonks in Delaware in July of 1975 when he told his wife he wasn’t feeling well and was later found in a pool of vomit and couldn’t move his side and later had a stroke on the way to the hospital.

He fell into a coma he never came out of and died on July 19, 1975. Country music had lost one of its legendary performers and country singers of today owe a debt of gratitude to Lefty Frizzell who sang country music the way it was meant to be sung.

Lefty singing She’s Gone, Gone, Gone.

Lefty singing one of his first No.1 songs If You Got the Money Honey I’ve Got The Time.

Memories of Cenla From 1950′s and 1960′s

We bought our prescriptions at the Berwick's drugstore on Main Street in Pineville and the store was so dilapidated that it probably couldn't pass building codes of today.

Am running this for the first time since last March for people who haven’t seen  it before with a few additional memories:

I can remember back in the 1950′s when my brothers and me would ride our bicycles out Highway 28 in Pineville when there was not much traffic and very few stores. We would see very few cars and the road was one lane.

I can remember the time my brother won a contest at KALB radio. The contest involved voting for favorite disc jockey for the contest and he and the rest of us five kids helped write hundreds of entries and flooded the entry box and he won a console stereo.

I can remember the time Larry McHale a KALB TV personality for some reason was advertising a certain brand of cigarettes and while he was talking started coughing but recovered quickly and said “Just thinking about those other brands makes me cough”.

I can remember Governor Earl K. Long handing out chickens in the old Trailways bus station on Bolton Avenue when campaigning for governor.

I can remember Louisiana College and Northwestern football teams battling to a 0-0 tie at the Bolton High football stadium.

I can remember the Town Talk staffers celebrating when John K. Snyder lost one of his bids to become mayor.

I can remember watching No Time For Sergeants with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts three times in a row at the Paramount Theater.

I can remember the ornate architecture of the Paramount Theater.

I can remember buying The Sporting News for a quarter at Jack’s on Military Highway when it was still a baseball paper.

I can remember when you could buy a 6 ounce coke out of a machine for a nickel.

I can remember when the Alexandria Aces played in the C Evangeline League back in the 1950′s and fans couldn’t keep foul balls.

I can remember when the Murray Street Bridge was still open and pedestrians would see slats missing on the walk across the river and see the river below where the slats were missing.

I can remember when Main Street in Pineville was lined by gas station after gas station…probably close to 12 stations…and now there are no gas stations on Main Street.

I can remember going to see movies for a dime at the Star Theater on Main Street and Pineville and still remember when it burned  that Chief Crazy Horse and Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde were still on the marquee.

I can remember drive-in  movies in both Alexandria and Pineville. Now I don’t think one still exists in the state of Louisiana. I remember the Joy Twin Drive-In and the Kings Drive-In in the Kingsville area.

I can remember the time someone threw tomatoes at the screen at the Joy Theater on Jackson Street.

I can remember when the milk truck that delivered our milk had a four number phone number on the side of the truck.

I can remember the Big Bopper appearing at the KALB record hop.

I can remember when Sears and Penneys had downtown stores.

I can remember when the Don Theater had Pack of Fun club for kids on Saturday mornings.

I can remember Bishop Greco broadcasting his radio program on KALB TV.

I can remember Ethma Odum having her noonday show on KALB TV and her reading the Littlest Angel at Christmas.

I can remember our neighbor Jack McCall being Cactus Jack on KALB TV and later would be on KNOE TV in Monroe for many years as host of their morning show.

I can remember Commodore Clem on KALB TV trying to open a letter my brother sent that said to “Open Other End” on all four sides.

I can remember the Town Talk before it bought Wellans, The Fair Store, Hub City Hardware, Alexandria Feed Store, Penneys, Wellans, Bialy’s and a pool hall to become the huge complex it is today. Let me know if I left any stores out.

Walked over the Murray Street bridge many times on way to Town Talk before it was destroyed so they could build the Jackson Street bridge.

Ina Ray Hutton: Female Big Band Leader

Ina Ray Hutton one of the few female big band leaders leads and sings this song.

Frances Langford:Chattanooga Choo Choo

Frances Langford singing Chattanooga Choo Choo in the Glenn Miller Story released in the United States in February of 1954.

Harry James Orchestra: Green Onions

Music fans usually think of Booker T and the MG’s when they think about Green Onions but this time it is the Harry James Orchestra playing the song with Harry playing the trumpet and Buddy Rich on drums.

Harry James was in Alexandria, Louisiana several years ago during the midst of a big band revival.

 

The Monkees: Last Train To Clarksville

 

 

Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork performing in a Monkees concert.

The Monkees debuted on television on September 12, 1966. Their 58th and last episode aired on March 25, 1968.

 

Mickey Dolenz was using the name Mickey Braddock when he starred on Circus Boy from 1956-1958 and was 11 years old when the show debuted and later was Mickey Dolenz when he was on The Monkees.

Mickey Dolenz as the drummer for the Monkees.

 

 

 

The Monkees singing their theme song from their pilot episode.

The Monkees singing the Last Train to  Clarksville the first song I think of when thinking of the Monkees.

 

 

Little People, Big World: Christmas Episode

 

The Roloff family with Zach, Amy, Matt and Jacob on the front row and Molly and Jeremy on the back row.

 

 

I saw the Season Four finale of Little People, Big World yesterday afternoon and it was a heartwarming episode as 25 relatives gathered at the Roloff Farms home of Matt and Amy Roloff.

It was a traditional Christmas celebration with a turkey dinner being served and Santa Claus (really Matt’s father) distributed presents which were Christmas ornaments Molly had designed for each guest.

They even had a photographer to take photos of all 25 members of the extended Roloff family. Matt’s sister and brother were there along with their families.

Amy spreads fake snow around the yard to make it seem even more like Christmas.

This program shows that little people can overcome almost insurmountable odds and have a happy and productive life.

 

 

Extreme Makeover Home Edition: Show With a Purpose

Extreme Makeover Home Edition has made the difference in the lives of many families by building homes for people who desperately need them.

Most television shows only entertain but Extreme Makeover Home Edition actually helps people who are living in dilapidated homes while most of those people have dedicated their lives to others and are providing a service of  some kind to their community.

One story that comes to mind is of the soldier who lost a leg in war on terrorism and when he returns his wife leaves him to make it on his own leaving him to raise the kids.

Pennington Tells Of Family Being Helped

Ty Pennington tells his makeover crew the story on the bus about the family they are going to help and they agree to help the soldier by building him and his kids a new home.

The most moving part of the show is when his fellow soldiers that were there when he lost his leg help build a flagpole in his front yard. Anyone with any emotion at all that saw that part of the show couldn’t help but be touched and perhaps shed a few tears as he saw what they had done for him.

 

Police Officer Receives New Home

There have been many more episodes than I can remember but another one that stands out is when a lady police officer is shot and has been confined to a wheelchair and has a new home built for her.

A few times the builders even pay the mortgage for a house. Not only do they have a new home they don’t have the worry of making monthly payments for it.

 

Build a New House in Seven Days

It is amazing that Pennington and the design crew along with help from hundreds of local people can build a new house in seven days.

Each old house has to be emptied of its contents which has to take a long time by itself so the the old home can be demolished.

 

Designing Rooms For Kids

I like the way the design team talks to the kids that will live in the house and find out what hobbies they are interested in and then design their rooms with that information in mind.

Once the house has been built the design crew, the builders and the people of the community converge on the house to celebrate the revealing of the house to the recipients.

 

Move That Bus Chants

Then the chant of  ”move that bus” starts and the bus pulls away from the front of the house so the new occupants can see their new house.

Watching the faces of the people that are going to live in the house after the bus pulls away revealing their new house is priceless.

Then as they enter the house the first time and see the open space of the house where there may have been very little space before. One show had two people using wheelchairs having to navigate narrow halls in their old house.

Then they walk in the new house and see so much open space with a home built to the needs of the handicapped.

I always enjoy watching the kids walking into their new room for the first time and the excitement they are experiencing.

 

ABC Gives New Vehicles

Then sometimes ABC will even give the family a new vehicle adding even more happiness to their special day.

Not many viewers can watch the last part of the show when the recipients of a new house see their rooms one by one without being teary eyed.

It is wonderful that television viewers can share the happiness the owners of the new homes as they see their new home for the first time.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is the most heartwarming show on television and touches the hearts of both the new homeowners and those viewing the show on television.

Rocking Finale At Giants of Rock and Roll Concert

Little Richard, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley at the Giants of Rock and Roll concert.

This is the rockingest finale of any rock and roll show that I know of. When this many rock and roll greats take the stage at the same time there is sure to be a rousing finish like there was at the Giants of Rock and Roll concert.

 

Gracie Allen: The Funny One of Burns and Allen

Gracie Allen shown pretending to be running for president on the Burns and Allen radio show.

Gracie Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was born on July 26, 1895 in San Francisco, California and died on August 27 in Los Angeles at 69 in Los Angeles, California.

She died 32 years before her husband George Burns died in 1996 at the age of 100.

 

Married in 1926

Gracie met George in 1922 while they were performing a comedy act and they married in 1926.

George was originally supposed to be the funny one of the act but he was smart enough to realize that Gracie was getting most of the laughs and switched roles with Gracie.

The radio program was originally named the Adventures of Gracie.

One of their most famous gags came during the 1932-33 season of the radio show when she conducted a search for her missing brother. Her real life brother was not amused and asked them to end the gag.

 

Imaginary Bid For Presidency

The most famous gag was in 1940 when Gracie launched a sham bid for the presidency. One of her sayings during the election was when she stated: “I don’t know much about the lend-lease bill but if we owe it we should pay it.” She actually campaigned on a train during the election and their radio program was broadcast from whatever city they happened to be in.

The show was broadcast on television but the popularity of the show waned when Gracie retired in 1958. Without Gracie the show was dead in the water and didn’t last long.

 

Adopted Two Children

The Allens adopted two children in the 30′s and Sandra and Ronnie Burns would appear on the television show from time to time.

Many humourous quotes have been attributed to Gracie including this collection of her quotes:

http://www.workinghumor.com/quotes/grace_allen.shtml

One of my favorites is this nonsensical quote from Gracie:

I read in the papers that the Los Angeles police are hunting for a Chicago gangster. But why do they want one from Chicago? Can’t they be satisfied with a hometown boy?(Gracie)

There may never be another comedienne as funny as Gracie since her kind of humor died when she retired from show business.

Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy

 

Senator Joseph McCarthy charged that 205 Communists were in the State Department but couldn't substantiate those charges.

 

 

My civics teacher  at Pineville High School in Pineville, Louisiana required us to write book reports.

My choice was Senator Joe McCarthy written by Richard H. Rovere. At the time I read it I pictured McCarthy as an anti-communist hero but later learned he was making ridiculous charges that couldn’t be backed up.

Claimed 205 Communists In State Department

He claimed that 205 employees of the State department were Communists and were still employed there when he made his speech in Wheeling, West Virgina to the Republican Women’s Club in 1950.

His speech came at a time when the American public was concerned about many events that foreshadowed an increasing presence of Communism in the world.

McCarthy lowered his number of Communists to 81 and 57. His changing of the numbers made his attacks a lot less credible.

Senator Millard Tydings convened the Tydings Committee to investigate the charges of McCarthy.  The final report of the committee said that McCarthy’s charges were a fraud and a hoax.

Voted Along Party Lines

The voting to accept the report was done three times and each time the vote was according to party lines. McCarthy charged that Senator Tydings was protecting Communists and shielding traitors.

Despite the controversy caused by McCarthy’s charges he was re-elected to the Senate in 1952 by a 139,002 vote margin.

He physically assaulted columnist Drew Pearson by kneeing him in the groin but when admitting he had assaulted him said he had slapped Pearson.

Truman Said McCarthy Friend Of Kremlin

McCarthy did not get along well with President Harry Truman and said the Democrats had presided over 20 years of treason. Truman retaliated by saying that McCarthy was the best friend the Kremlin had.

Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. the patriarch of the Kennedy family was a close friend of McCarthy and was the godfather of Robert Kennedy’s first child Kathleen.

President John F. Kennedy never was critical of McCarthy because he said half the voters in Massachusetts liked McCarthy.

Eisenhower Didn’t Approve of His Methods

When President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office in 1954 he said he didn’t like the methods McCarthy was using and McCarthy now claimed there had been 21 years of treason including the first year Eisenhower was in office.

McCarthy launched an investigation in the fall of 1953  into the communist influences in the Army in that eventually led to the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.

When Brigadier General Ralph W. Zwicker testified before the committee McCarthy claimed that Zwicker had the intelligence of a five year old and was not fit to wear a uniform.

Army – McCarthy Hearings Hurt His Reputation

When the Army-McCarthy hearings convened in 1954 it was shown on live television. The committee was attempting to prove that McCarthy and his counsel Roy Cohn had tried to persuade the Army to give favorable treatment to David Schine who had been an aide to McCarthy.

Once the American people saw McCarthy on live television his popularity waned and the Gallup poll showed his 50 percent popular opinion in January of 1954 had fallen to 34 percent in June.

When McCarthy attacked Fred Fisher an employee in the office of Joseph Welch the chief in the law office of Welch it caused Welch to make this following statement:

Robert Welch defending an employee who had been attacked by Senator McCarthy.

Edward R. Murrow who detested the tactics of McCarthy addresses the situation on March 9, 1954.

When the Senate voted on a resolution to censure McCarthy on December 2, 1954 the senators voted 67-22 to condemn McCarthy.

McCarthy continued to serve in the Senate for another two and a half years but was a powerless figure who was ignored by the press for the most part and President Eisenhower said that it was no longer McCarthyism but was now McCarthywasm.

McCarthy Dies At 48

McCarthy died on May 2, 1957 at the age of 48 and the cause of death was noted as hepatitis from inflammation of the liver. Most observers who knew of his drinking problem knew that alcoholism was the main cause of his death.

His death reminded us of  lies to make a name for himself but when it came time to prove those lies were truth he couldn’t backup his allegations.

Old Time Radio: Amos and Andy

 

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll reading the script for the popular Amos and Andy radio program on NBC.

Amos and Andy was one of the most popular shows in old time radio history.

The show evolved from the Sam N’ Henry show broadcast in 1926 and Correll and Gosden decided to produce a similar show named Amos and Andy which started broadcasting in 1928.

It was the first radio program to be syndicated and was being broadcast across the United States despite the shows being locally recorded in Chicago on radio station WMAQ.

John Dunning wrote in his On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio that Amos and Andy may have been the most popular show in radio history.

Charles Correll portrayed Amos on the broadcasts while Freeman Gosden did he voices of  Andy and Kingfish.

The show was broadcast on radio from March 19, 1928 till November 25, 1960 with the last shows having the characters being disc jockeys in the last six years of the series.

Movie houses would stop the movie in 1931 and broadcast the Amos and Andy show that night to the patrons of the theater to keep them from staying home to listen to the show on the radio.

Correll and Gosden made a point not to look at each other during the broadcasts to keep from breaking into laughter.

Dunning relates that writer George Bernard Shaw says there were three things he would remember about the United States – Rocky Mountains, Niagara Fall and Amos and Andy.

Freeman and Gosden were criticized by the media for their portrayal of blacks.

The television version of the show was my favorite version but listening to the few copies of the radio version still left in circulation made me realize the radio show was just as funny without the pictures.

NAACP charged that the television program was mocking the black community and CBS was forced to take the show off the air.

It is sad that after 32 years of being broadcast on radio that only about 350 shows can be heard today with the rest of the shows meeting an unknown fate.

Otr.net has 219 shows available to listen to for free. Show No. 158 is the best show of all Amos and Andy shows I have heard and became a Christmas tradition.

http://otr.net/?p=amnd

 

Jerry Lee Lewis Through the Years

 

Jerry Lee Lewis singing 52 years ago in 1957.

Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana just eight months after the birth of Elvis Presley.

He played the piano with his cousins Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart.

He had a setback in his career when he married his third wife Myra Lewis who was a first cousin once removed in December of 1957. They would be married for 13 years. His next two wives both drowned in the swimming pool at the Lewis home.

After marrying his cousin he experienced a downturn in his career when the marriage caused him to have to accept $250 for a concert when he had been receiving $10,000 a concert previously.

Jerry Lee Lewis singing Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On in second appearance on the Steve Allen show in 1957.

Jerry Lee singing a medley of rock and roll hits on Midnight Special television show in 1973.

Jerry Lee singing Great Balls of Fire in 1997.

Jerry Lee singing in July of 2009 a country song She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye in Madrid, Spain.

Jerry Lee Lewis is now 74 and still active and in January he will enter his seventh decade of entertaining music fans in the United States and around the world.

 

Scat Singing

 

Ella Fitzgerald was the most well known of the scat singers who made up their own words for portions of their songs.

Scat singing has not always been well received as Downbeat editor Leonard Feather said once that scat singing should be banned.

Still it took a special skill to improvise with the lyrics to make a song sound different from the versions usually heard.

Caterina Valente and Ella Fitzgerald scat sing while Perry Como sings Avalon.

Ella Fitzgerald scat sings very fast in this video.

Many jazz singers refused to scat sing since they weren’t comfortable with the dizzying pace of the songs which made it easy to make a mistake.

 

 

Bobby Vinton: In Fifth Decade Of Singing

 

Bobby Vinton recorded his first album in 1961 and has been in music business for 48 years and still is active at the age of 74 after recording his first album at the age of 26.

 

Bobby Vinton was born on April 16, 1935 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He released his first compilation of his hits in 1964 with his album Bobby Vinton’s Greatest Hits.

The album included some of the  best songs of his career including Blue Velvet, Roses Are Red, There I’ve Said It Again, Mr. Lonely and Tell Me Why. I used to own that album and it was one of my favorites but met the fate of most of my albums by going up for sale at a garage sale when we no longer had a phonograph to play the records.

Early in his career Vinton aspired to lead a big band but later became a vocalist and in 1963 he had a No.3 song in Blue on Blue and then his recordings of There I Said It Again and Mr. Lonely went to the top of the record charts.

Vinton retained his popularity despite the British invasion. However he wouldn’t record another No.1 song till 1974 when he recorded Melody of Love in 1974.

Bobby Vinton singing Blue Velvet on Ed Sullivan in 1964.

Bobby singing Mr. Lonely and Roses Are Red.

Bobby singing a medley of his biggest hits in Part One of his 2002 concert.

Bobby introduces his mom who sings a song and dances and Bobby plays the trumpet, saxophone and clarinet with the big band in Part Two of the concert.

Bobby sings Mr. Lonely in Part Three of the concert which ends with Bobby singing Roll Out The Barrel while dancers are dancing to the polka music.

For the latest on what Bobby is doing today:

http://www.bobbyvinton.com/home.asp