Is Basement Life the best Punk band in America? Yes!

Not bragging, it was pure happenstance that I found myself covering the emerging downtown LA punk scene just as Social Distortion, Los Lobos, Perry Farrell, Red Hot Chili Peppers and a whole host of bands no one had heard of then, but are legendary today, were thrashing their way through clubs no bigger than New York Pizza. Flea and Anthony still owe me 5 bucks.

What made those performers so remarkable, transcendent, was an unmistakable authenticity. 

Basement Life ignites a joy of rediscovery in those who believe Punk should remain preserved in amethyst, surrendered to another time and temperament. How is anyone going to improve upon, build on, what came before given the inherent limitations? A conundrum for sure, until a rare combo like Basement Life sonically Boom Tubes into our atmosphere. 

On the bill with Bit Brigade at The Blind Tiger this month, Basement Life drew a large and attentive crowd for an opening act, practically everyone in the place facing the stage from the opening cords on.

Lead singer Gavan Holden’s volcanic vocals and atramentous lyrics fuse mercilessly, resulting in a mesmerizing stage presence, an inexplicably attractive ferociousness rooted in vulnerability and conflicted emotions. A musical force unreckoned-with for a decade, Gavan is one of those committed young rock warriors brave enough to tour the East Coast with bare pockets in tattered chariots when he was fronting the band Funny Like a Funeral some years back.

It was a raw, evicerating performance. Basement Life guitarist Eric Mann weaves and wails with an uplifting swagger while drummer Caleb Gross’ rat-a-tat-tat beats, sticks like Tommy guns, hammering it all home. Caleb’s banging on a custom-made, solid maple drum kit with 1960’s hi-hats that he claims, “Sound better because of the weights and the shakes of the cones.” 

I caught up with Gavan Holden at Legitimate Business studio in Glenwood where Basement Life has been recording their second album, DEVOUR, over the course of 8 consecutive 8-hour days. “It’s going really great,” he confided. “Kris [Hilbert] is an amazing producer, I don’t think we could have made a better decision.”

As for the tone of this new album Gavan reveals, “It’s a little darker. Lyrically it’s more introspective than the first one. Musically, we wrote it more like jam sessions rather than anybody just bringing stuff in.” 

For someone so nakedly agro onstage, this singer / bassist is disarmingly low-key off. “It just kinda came together with us in a room playing. I think that adds a much different vibe to the songs and the structure.” 

These guys have been playing around for a while. “My first band was a Christian punk band and we were awful,” drummer Caleb Gross admits. “I was like 16, sleeping on the carpet my drums were on. I had a backpack I used for a pillow and all of my clothes were my blanket. [Bandmate] Nick worked at Taco Bell, he’d bring home all the leftovers and that was our dinner every night. It was so stupid.”

Today, Caleb bangs away on a Dave Conaway custom, “This was my first real drum kit. Played a lot of shows on it, spilled a lot of beer on it, sweat.” He eventually stripped all the hardwood off, hand stained it, then recut the bearing edge with a router, “The hardware I coated with a gun coating, Ceracote, it’s like a ceramic essentially. It’s very fine but indestructible.”

Everyone involved was pleased with the results as recording for DEVOUR wrapped up, “I enjoy the creative process,” Gavan says. “I feel like everybody contributes a lot. One thing I like about writing with Eric, our taste in music is very similar but our influences are way different. It took a little time for us to mesh but I think it sounds cool the way he plays guitar, it’s different from what I'm used to.”

DEVOUR has been released digitally, on CD and vinyl, check out the sample track Mendenhall. 

TVparty!

The Flip Wilson Show

Thursday nights at 8:00 was ruled (briefly) by The Flip Wilson Show on NBC from September 17, 1970 until June 27, 1974. It was the rare variety show that had no returning supporting players; considering the high calibre talent he attracted none were needed.

Flip Wilson was one of the greatest storytellers of all time, his monologues were nothing short of hilarious week after week. Most of the action took place on a circular stage surrounded by audience members with only the barest scenery, giving the program an intimate feeling, placing the focus entirely on the talent.

Guest starts included John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Johnny Carson and almost every other major entertainer.

The Flip Wilson Show was the only primetime series showcasing musical guests like Issac Hayes, James Brown and The Temptations.



TVparty! has an extensive section on 1970s variety shows!

I Watched Netflix's Lost in Space So You Don't Have To... But You Should!

I was, and still am, a huge fan of the 1966 series Lost in Space, perhaps because I was 9 years old when it debuted. I'd never seen anything so exciting as those first 5 episodes; they hold up well today, with a healthy suspension of disbelief at times.

Truthfully, there aren't more than maybe half a dozen episodes from seasons 2 and 3 that are worthwhile but there's something about the way the cast clicked so well and Irwin Allen's disaster prone sensibility that worked for me then, and now when I'm feeling nostalgic.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached Netflix's LIS reboot and I'm happy to say this is one terrific ride. The first 2 episodes are especially exciting before the series settles into a more leisurely pace, sometimes too much so.

I won't give anything away but similarities to the first series include: the planet has an unstable orbit, the robot runs amuck, there are allusions to 'My Friend Mr. Nobody' and 'Attack of the Monster Plants,' the robot and Will have a special bond, weather is volatile, fuel is gone, a monster afoot, one of the Robinsons goes up in a balloon, they have a chariot, and there's a Debby but it's no Bloop. In the very last shot of the first episode, note the color explosion looks just like the special effect of the Jupiter 2 going back in time (and other examples) during season 3.

Because of particular plot points, two episodes are credited as being adapted from 'No Place to Hide,' the 1966 pilot that was recut to add Dr. Smith then spread out over 4 episodes. If you haven't seen it you should.

Even the turbo-charged third season theme by John Williams is incorporated into the new series. They'd be crazy not to.

But in almost every other way the show is the exact opposite of the original series and that's what makes this reboot so clever.

Judy is biracial, she and Penny are smart and brave, Maureen is the head of the Robinson expedition, she and John Robinson are estranged, Major West and Dr. Smith (who's now a woman) were not on the Jupiter 2 when it crashes (that's no spoiler, it wouldn't BE Lost in Space without the ship crash landing), West is out for a buck in the way Dr. Smith was, the robot doesn't speak much more than "Danger Will Robinson,"

Like Guardians of the Galaxy there's a '70s soundtrack - I sorta feel sorry for folks in the future, apparently there will never be any memorable tunes created henceforth. Which is pretty much coming true already, if you think about it.

Some characters share original cast member's actual names - Maureen, Angela, June Harris for instance.

It's a bit like Lost in that there are other colonists who crash land on the planet, back stories are told in flashbacks, and there are numerous "Oh shit!" moments in these 10 episodes.

What a brilliant move making Dr. Smith a woman, as portrayed by Parker Posey she's insanely devious, murderous, in that way only a woman could get away with. Perhaps why Jonathan Harris played the character so fey, basing his portrayal, he said, on actress Tallulah Bankhead. He had to be silly or the audience would never accept that the Robinsons didn't just shove him out of the air lock and be done with his weekly attempts to sell them out or get everyone killed in order to enrich himself.

Maureen Robinson is played by one of my fave actors from Deadwood, Molly Parker. On that HBO western series she played a drug addicted society woman, her emotional range is amazing. I didn't recognize any other cast members, you may, but they mesh beautifully.

At the end of the first episode we meet Dr. Smith for the first time, check out who Billy Mumy, the original Will Robinson, portrays in that scene. Oh the pain! I hope we'll get to see other original cast members going forward.

Lost in Space is stellar. Well done Netflix!

TVparty! is Classic TV!

The official trailer for Netflix’s reboot of Lost in Space has just dropped!

The official trailer for Netflix’s reboot of Lost in Space has just dropped and it looks incredible! Debuts on April 13th.

 

Psychic Punk Rocker Taylor Bays

Psychic Punk Rocker Taylor Bays

He's known around the Carolinas, and beyond, as a renowned punk rocker with a wall to wall performance style, the lead singer of Taylor Bays & The Laser Rays. If you've seen him live you'll agree, he's one of the most dynamic singer/songwriters in the country.

Here's an example from one of his CDs:

 
Taylor Bays is also well-known, in Greensboro, NC anyway, as the Psychic Punk Rocker who's found missing items, helped police nab a criminal, and even correctly predict where the body of a missing child would be found.

This "gift", as Bays calls it, can manifest itself in myriad ways. "Sometimes I get vibrations, like someone whispering not in my ear but in my brain. One time on the UNCG campus I got a message that a felon was lurking nearby. When I indicated this to an officers she checked it out just to humor me. Turns out it was someone she's been looking for."

"As soon as I heard about the disappearance of Mariah Woods," Bays told me as I was working on this story, before the youngster was even known to be dead or how she came to be that way. "I concentrated on her image and could 'see' her lifeless body beside a creek - but she was not murdered there. The perpetrator is romantically involved with the mother." Tragically, the body was discovered alongside a creek and had been moved there by the killer, the mother's boyfriend, just as he described.

Bays isn't grandstanding, far from it, "It's not something I talk about, hardly at all, so it's weird people actually know me as a Psychic Punk Rocker." To contact those who have passed on, Bays doesn't use a crystal ball but a crystal bowl as he explains, "This bowl is over 100 years old. It has the perfect harmonics needed to contact the spirit world." 

Naturally skeptical, I attended one of his seances recently and, indeed, Bays appears to be the genuine item. At one point in the seance, Bays indicated that my grandmother was coming through. 

Gazing intently into the crystal he told me, "She says 'peanuts' would mean something to you." Indeed it did. When I was 10 years old, my Mema gave me a hardcover collection of Peanuts comic strips that she signed the front page of. I bring it out every Christmas to remember her.

In another psychic reading during that session, a young lady was told by her deceased father where her mom's wedding ring could be located. When I followed up with her, she told me that treasured ring, one she'd thought lost forever, turned up exactly where Bays said it would be.

Is the so-called Psychic Punk Rocker always correct, "No, sometimes I can misinterpret messages and also, keep in mind, the future is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances."

Mutual friend Jeff Losh is equally impressed with Bay's amazing cognitive powers, "My baby was terribly ill, the doctor's didn't know what was wrong. Taylor was able to diagnose the problem as a blockage that could be easily cleared up and he was right!" That child is healthy and happy.

"Even when we were little kids, Taylor was always finding lost things," Bays' brother Brian remembers. "Nothing stayed lost in our household. We'd just ask, 'Where is it Taylor' and he'd run right to that thing. Once he pointed to a house on our block and told me the man that owned it was dead. They found his body 2 weeks later when the smell got so bad. He'd been dead 2 weeks."

As for the future, "Donald Trump will leave office next year," Bays predicts. "This will trigger a great deal of civil unrest, unfortunately."

What Bays won't do is accept money for his gift, "I don't know, maybe the day will come, but right now I only do this for friends, family, and friends of friends."

Writer of Dark Shadows TV Series has Died

Sam Hall, 93, the former writer of the iconic TV series "Dark Shadows" has passed away. He was husband to Grayson Hall, who played Dr. Julia Hoffman on the show. 

Jay Blotcher interviewed the raucously candid Mr. Hall some years back…

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Sean DeLear - Sheila from Funky Cold Medina has died!

Sean DeLear has passed away? Damn, that's rough. He was Tony when I met him in 1980, was it at the Brave Dog? A shy, unassuming kid with a wide smile. Not long after he broke his neck and spent a year with one of those Frankenstein contraptions around his head. He became much more outgoing, becoming a mainstay at the underground punk clubs. Then he started wearing sheath dresses and calling himself Sean deLear. He was at every Red Wedding gig, even traveled down to San Diego with the band. An incredibly loyal fan to the bands he loved, his mere presence in the audience was an event unto itself.

Before long he had his own amazing band, Glue. I was at his first gig. Was it at Club Fuck? It was his time, he took the stage, he owned it. Every bit as great as the best on the scene. 

In 1989 Sean DeLear was cast as Sheila in Tone Loc and Matt Dike’s video for Funky Cold Medina, one of the biggest selling singles in history. I suppose that will be his most lasting legacy. But not with me, I didn't even know that until years later. It was his electrifying stage performances I'll remember.

The last time I saw Sean was in 2002, outside of Akbar in Silver Lake. I called out,”Tony!” because I was kind of an asshole that way. I don’t think anyone knew his real name that didn’t know him back in 1980. He WAS Sean deLear, one of the most beloved Los Angeles celebrities. The previous time I’d seen him was in 1990, when I kicked him out of my house in the middle of the night for fucking the tall, impossibly good looking guy I was fucking. But then, that guy aways was a star fucker and Sean was a star.

Truly one of a kind, Sean DeLear was bright, talented, and one of the greatest guys you could possibly hang out with. Unforgettable. Irreplaceable. Fabulous!

Marshall O'Boy said it best: "I first met Sean DeLear doing sound at the Music Machine in West LA in the 80s. The Music Machine played host to some of the biggest bands around, X, The Red Hot Chill Peppers, Guns n Roses, Lords Of The New Church, Nymphs, Bo Diddle, Social Distortion...you get the picture. And to be sure, the scene was still a bit "closeted" at best and Rock in general was homophobic. So, amongst these legends, out pops Sean DeLear, This skinny little waif of a boy, in a wig and a miniskirt. He wasn't doing it like some punk bands did it, for attention. This is who Sean was. Sean and his band Glue just knocked out a set like anybody else. Pay no attention to that drag queen on the stage. At a time when most queens were lip-synching in gay bars, Sean was kicking out the jams with some of the most awesome bands around. His just being himself sent a message louder than a bullhorn at a gay rally. To all the famous drag queens I know, let it go out far and wide, Sean DeLear was there first.... Sean paved the way!"

The Lost Art of Movie Posters!

TVparty!'s Billy Ingram, who had a long career designing movie posters in the '80s & '90s, and Maurice Hicks from 40s N Flicks talk with Kevin Burke, the director of 24 x 36: A Movie About Movie Posters. It's everything you wanted to know about the lost art of movie posters! 

Description of the movie: "24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters" is a documentary that explores the world of illustrated movie poster art; the artists who create it, companies and studios that commission it, galleries that display it and collectors and fans who hang it.

Through interviews with a number of key art personalities from the '70s and '80s, as well as many modern, alternative poster artists – "24x36" aims to answer the questions – What happened to the illustrated movie poster? Where did it disappear to and why?

In the mid 2000s, filling the void left behind by Hollywood’s abandonment of illustrated movie posters, independent artists and galleries began selling limited edition screenprinted posters. This movement has quickly exploded into a multi-million dollar industry, with prints selling out online in seconds, inspiring Hollywood studios to take notice of illustration in movie posters once more.

"24x36" explores this birth, death and resurrection of the illustrated movie poster.

TVparty! is Classic TV!

30th Anniversary of the Chicago TV Terrorist Attack!

It's almost too frightening to consider. What would happen if our trusted media outlets were suddenly hijacked by a cabal of dissident ideologues, subjecting an unsuspecting public to relentless disinformation campaigns littered with vile, slanted viewpoints and twisted facts designed to brainwash the masses?

Come to think of it, how would we know the difference?!?

Recent articles about the possibility of foreign terrorists taking out the internet with worms and viruses reminded me of a time on November 22nd 1987 when a couple of guys, one wearing a Max Headroom Mask, took over the television airwaves in Chicago, disabling two different stations in order to broadcast their own twisted idea of entertainment.

A little history: Max Headroom (played by Matt Frewer) was an investigative journalist in a fictional TV series set in an apocalyptic future. With a crude, choppy signal Max would break into the official TV news reports with his own reportage that was embarrassing to the powers that be. (He also was seen in dozens of Coke commercials in the 1980s.)

The first 'Denial of TV Service Attack' on that November night in 1987 took place during WGN's live nightly news program. Stunned viewers saw was someone approximating the Max Headroom persona standing in front of a moving corrogated metal background with only an odd buzzing sound heard. In less than 30 seconds WGN engineers moved their signal to another transmitter, regaining control.

(WGN was already on alert for such anomolies - four years earlier cold weather caused a signal jump resulting in the Bozo show being replaced by Fast Times at Ridgemont High, nudity and profanity intact.)

It got a lot weirder when 'Max' returned on the local PBS station WTTW at around 11:15pm, during an episode of Dr. Who.

This time the TV Pirates were more successful, they used their minute and a half of airtime to berate liberals and "newspaper nerds." The guy in the Max mask shot the finger to the camera and hummed the Clutch Cargo theme song. He waved around a Pepsi can while repeating Coke's slogan "Catch the Wave" - then retrieved the Pepsi can saying, "Your love is fading."

Then the unthinkable happened. 'Max Headroom' dropped trou in order to allow his accomplish (his brother?) who was wearing a dress to take a flyswatter to his bare behind. During Dr. Who no less, was nothing sacred?!?

WTTW engineers tried frantically to kill the signal but were unable to before the electronic ------ ended abruptly.

This was surely the tackiest terror attack of all time but the assailants were never discovered. No doubt if they had come forward they would probably be big time TV producers now, after all their minute and a half show was still better than last week's Two and a Half Men.

We all know if the ratings had been good for the 'Show Me Your Ass And I'll Paddle It' program it would still be on today. At the very least, WTTW should air this during pledge breaks...

More at TVparty!

Missing FEUD? Read About Joan Crawford in Greensboro!

“The best time I ever had with Joan Crawford was when I pushed her down the stairs in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.” — Bette Davis

It began innocently enough. Eleven-year old Chester Arnold Jr. had acquired 5 shares of Pepsi common stock in 1957 but, after seeing the financial world spoof The Solid Gold Cadillac, he suddenly grew concerned about his investment. He fired off a letter to Pepsi’s chairman Alfred Steele to ask if his board of directors was, “crooked like those people in the movie.” No, really, he did.

Perhaps at the insistence of his wife, who understood more than anyone the power of publicity, the boy and his parents were flown to New York and put up at the Waldorf Astoria where Alfred Steele and his new bride, one of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars, Joan Crawford were staying while their two-story Fifth Avenue penthouse was undergoing a major renovation. The Steele’s planned trip to Greensboro later in the week would provide the perfect Hollywood ending to a real life fairy tale come true — plucky small town boy meets glamorous movie queen with the lights of Manhattan as their backdrop.

READ MORE!

Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show on DVD!

It was almost a year ago when I told Nathan I was going to produce a local music TV series and he was going to be the host.  I could see the disappointment on his face, like, “What’s the angle here?  Because that’s not going to happen and now he’s taking my picture and shit’s getting weird!”  But I don’t just talk about doing something, I do it!  And I’m really pleased with The Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show…

Authentic Southern singer songwriters from the Greensboro musical underground - that’s what this show is all about!  Four half hours of amazing music starring Grand Ole Uproar, Bob Fleming, Taylor Bays, DC Carter, Rachel Amick, Josh Crocker, Grady Riddle, and Gavan Holden. Along with videos from Bare the Traveler, Ameriglow, Jack Carter & the Armory, and Savage Music Clique.  

Hosted by that legendary partymonster, super-sexy Nathan Stringer!  Gorgeous gals & guys and crazy classic TV commercials!  OJ Simpson vs Chevy Nova!  Bette Davis vs Aunt Bee! 

Available NOW on DVD!

TVparty!

Joan Crawford's Feud with Lucy!

Now that the mini-series Feud, the Bette Davis / Joan Crawford slugfest, let's look back at another clash Crawford had with a big star, none other than Lucille Ball, the Queen of Television.

Lucy's Backstage Battles also includes clashes with Tallulah Bankhead and Liz Taylor & Richard Burton!

Trump Hates Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show!

This is sooooo rude!  Our President can’t help himself, attacking a fine American like Nathan Stringer because his TV show only has 5 followers!  Show your resistance to Donald Trump by ‘Following’ The Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show!

TVparty!

Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show #1

Authentic Southern acoustic singer songwriters from the Greensboro musical underground - that’s what this show is all about!  Here’s the first episode starring Grand Ole Uproar and Taylor Bays with videos from Ameriglow and Jack Carter & The Armory. Interspersed are wild, crazy classic commercials from the TVparty! vault - you can’t beat that! Produced by Billy Ingram, directed by Les Butchart with sound by Mark Robertson. 

Make America Skate Again! Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show - episode 3

Make America Skate Again!  

Episode 3 of the Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show is live : Musical numbers by DC Carter and Rachel Amick with another super-groovy video by Ameriglow!  And… gorgeous guys & girls!  Along with crazy vintage TV commercials! The first advert is the notorious 1970’s ‘VD Is For Everybody’ spot - also a two minute musical jingle compilation starring Cal Worthington and his dog Spot for all my SoCal friends!

TVparty!

Turn on the sun! The Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show!

Starring the melodic tones of Bob Fleming. Along with live performances by Josh Crocker and Grady Riddle plus hypnotic music videos produced by Wil Davis & Tom Walker for Savage Music Clique and Taylor Bays & The Laser Rays.

This is the second episode of a local music show from the Greensboro underground. What happens when Nathan Stringer doesn’t show up to host the show? Two of Nathan's bevy of beauties - China Morgan & Laura Burbach - and former President Richard M. Nixon step into the role.

Interspersed are wild, crazy classic commercials from the TVparty! vault - you can’t beat that!  Look for The Nathan Stringer Summer Music Show on You Tube!

TVparty! is Classic TV!

Remembering Bobby Darin by his Guitarist TK Kellman

Bobby Darin made a Splish Splash on TV as Dean Martin's summer replacement in 1972, his variety series did so well NBC brought him back in January of 1973. Ratings were solid, he was attracting huge audiences in Vegas and elsewhere, Bobby Darin had engineered one of the greatest comebacks in show business history.

But it was not to be, fate stepped in, the singer died a year later.

In the late-nineties Bobby Darin's lead guitarist  T. K. Kellman  shared his memories of the TV series, Darin's electric live shows and the last days of one of the most dynamic performers of all time.

I was a regular on screen as well, but technically I was only shown when Bobby Darin played in front of the band and he occasionally introduced me.

Tommy Amato was also part of the band, but Bobby had a particular affection for Tommy (we all did) and included him as a spaced-out hippie percussionist in a recurring skit each week. Actually, we DID perform after the TV show was cancelled; at the Las Vegas Hilton. Bobby, who was unquestionably the consummate performer, would incorporate false exits and "bows" in the show so he could duck briefly backstage and suck on an oxygen mask for a few seconds before returning to the stage. This, understandably, lasted only a short time until he had to cut back his performance schedule drastically.

 I remember we were all sitting in the living room one night at Tommy Amato's house. Bobby, Tommy, myself, Bill McCubbin (bass) and interestingly enough, Telma Hopkins who was living with Tommy at the time. Bobby said "Guys, I think this is it . . It feels like I'm gonna die this year." Although we all poo-poohed him, it was painfully obvious from his weakened condition and gray color that he was seriously ill.

If today's heart bypass operation had been around then, Bobby most assuredly would be performing today. Back then, they used plastic valves which were rejected by the body eventually. That unfortunately, is exactly what happened to Bobby and resulted in his death on the operating table. 

When Bobby cut back his schedule, most of us went to work for Tony Orlando who idolized Bobby and did a tribute to him in his act. He was very excited about using members of his band and to this day we are good friends.

Regarding Bobby's reputation for being hard to work with. He was. He had good days and bad days but for the most part, he treated us (the band) like gold. We hung together like musketeers and we still talk about how great those days were. However, when it came to getting his show and the stage EXACTLY how he wanted it . . . he would be extra demanding. For the most part, it seemed to me he HAD to be that way because he had to overcome what everyone else (sound men, stage production crew, etc.) thought he SHOULD be doing as opposed to what he WANTED to do. After all, he used to say, "If people go out of here dissatisfied, they don't say 'gee the lighting was bad' or 'the sound stunk' . . they say; 'Man, Bobby Darin's show SUCKS!!'"

A quick personal anecdote: When my father had his first heart attack, Bobby arranged to have his doctors flown in immediately to consult with our own in Las Vegas. He personally called my mother and counseled her through the entire crisis telling her he knew what my dad was going through because he had gone through it himself.

 He became, in effect, part of the family, even sleeping over at my house with his son Dodd (nicknamed "moose" at the time). We would wake up early and go work on an old dilapidated boat he bought that was docked on Lake Mead. All the years he had that boat, he never could get it to run. But he loved working on it with the band members and Dodd. Dodd was ten at the time, so I don't know if he even remembers. Mostly, it was just an excuse to hang out.

I never saw Bobby impolite or even distant from any fan. He was always unfailingly gracious and accommodating even to people I would consider pesky and some on the edge of reality. Bobby never slighted any of them, sometimes even inviting them backstage to his dressing room and talking to them in his underwear while he was changing clothes.

 He was an exceptional man and the finest performer I've ever worked with bar none, and I've worked with many of the greats. Impeccable comedy timing, singer par excellence, and an unfailing musicality that always earned him a standing ovation. I wish you could have seen him.   -  T. K. Kellman

More Classic TV & Bobby Darin at TVparty!

More Las Vegas Legends!

WWII Photo of William V. Roberts of Eatonton, GA

Found this snapshot of William V. Roberts of Eatonton, GA taken, I'm guessing, at ORD in Greensboro during WWII around 1944-1945. If you shared this, and others did as well, could this photo find its way to his family?

Open Letter to Governor Pat McCrory from Your Old Pal Billy Ingram

Hi Pat;

Long time no see. You may not remember me from Catawba College but I gave you a ride home a few times Sophomore year. I didn't vote for you for Class President or for Governor but I'm real happy to see you're doing so well. No surprise there.

I always tell anyone who asks, 'Pat's a really nice guy.' And pretty smart I'm guessing, surely intelligent enough to know you're surrounded by a bunch of numbskulls and crackpots who don't have the people's best interests at heart. Is that the price you pay for power, for a seat at those rarified tables, that you lose your soul in the process? Because it's difficult to imagine you can feel comfortable in your skin being the face of draconian policies that you have to realize are not going to make life better for the common folk. Of which I'm one. No surprise there either...

NC used to be number 2 in the nation for film production, employing thousands. After the cast of Hee-Haw took over the legislature they did a stellar job of chasing those jobs away and into the grateful arms of Georgia where TV and movie productions generated an economic impact of more than $6 billion dollars last year. Conservatives have been in total control now for a year and a half, legislative control for the two years before that, where are the glowing returns? Shouldn't we be seeing a revolution of economic activity now that the job creators got their massive tax cuts that we paid for by gutting public education and universities?

We were supposed to see some positive results, right? The third largest city in your state is the hungriest in the nation. Did you forget everything we learned about critical thinking, cause and effect, what works and what doesn't? Or has that been replaced with every man for himself and an eye for an eye?

As you travel our state looking to get reelected you're proposing a pay raise for North Carolina teachers. That's a great idea. Hey, I've got another crackerjack notion! Why don't you and the Republican houses in Raleigh call an emergency session and fucking do that. What's stopping you? You're the Governor, Republicans control both houses and Democrats like the idea too. Because otherwise you are saying this Bathroom Bill is more important than our hard working educators and the future of our kids.

About that Bathroom Bill hemorrhaging millions of dollars, hundreds if not thousands of jobs, along with what little respect North Carolina still possessed. Have you never met a transgender person? They aren't drag queens, they're men and women. The men have penises and the women boobs and vaginas, at least those who've completed that journey. It's a difficult concept to grasp, it was for me, that someone could be born a woman yet, for all intents and purposes, be a man. Harder to believe is that your wife wouldn't mind sharing a shower at the gym with a 200 pound hairy guy who's attracted to women because it says 'Female' on his birth certificate.

Maybe you didn't think that thing all the way through. See, those religious kooks and undereducated inbred millionaire hillbillies you associate with just made you their bitch. In the movie business we had a saying, "It's not how you fuck up it's how you fix it that counts." Someone needs to show some leadership right about now. Maybe it should be our Governor.

All the best, your pal, Billy Ingram

Comic Book Artist Murphy Anderson

He was one of the greatest comic book artists of all time - Murphy Anderson, best known for his work on Buck Rogers, Superman, Batman, Atomic Knights, Adam Strange, Hawkman, and worlds of science fiction stories. Part of the team that saved the Batman comics from cancellation before the TV series aired. 

Read the story of this amazing gentleman, Murphy Anderson in Yes! Weekly...