Veteran actor Harry Morgan, most famous to modern audiences as Colonel Potter from the MASH  and After MASH TV series, has passed away.  Here at The Silver State Chronicles, we fondly remember him as Bill Gannon, partner of Sgt Joe Friday in the 1960′s incarnation of Dragnet.

He shall be missed.

A nice article at The Muskegon Chronicle…

Actor Harry Morgan went from Muskegon High School performer to Emmy winner
By Megan Hart

Harry Morgan came a long way from the young man who acted in Muskegon High School productions.

Morgan, who was best known for the role of Col. Sherman T. Potter on the TV series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday at age 96.

He was born Harry Bratsburg and graduated from Muskegon High School in 1933. He later attended Muskegon Junior College (now Muskegon Community College), where he was also active in drama.

Morgan left Michigan for good to perform in New York and on the East Coast in the late 1930s. He broke into film and moved to California shortly before Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, which was the subject of a feature in Monday’s Chronicle.

Morgan performed in more than 100 films and TV shows, spanning more than six decades. His last appearance was in the “M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion” in 2002. Some of his notable roles were in the 1960 film “Inherit the Wind,” and in the TV series and film “Dragnet.” He won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Variety or Music Series for his role as Col. Potter in 1980.

He returned to Muskegon only once, to film a Lifesavers commercial in 1978 with two Muskegon High School students.

“I don’t think I ever enjoyed myself more than going to high school, here,” Morgan told The Chronicle in 1978. “I was very enthusiastic about coming back, and it’s regretful that it’s too short a time to visit. There really was no reason to come back before. Most of my close friends and relatives have gone elsewhere. I’ve been invited to the class reunions, but the arrangements were too complicated.”

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• 

From the venerable New York Post…

Adam West gives ‘crime-fighter’ Coffey AG nod
By Brendan Scott

Holy endorsement, Batman!

The star of the campy 1960s “Batman” TV series swooped into Gotham yesterday to boost a Democratic contender for state attorney general ahead of tonight’s cliffhanger ending to the primary race.

Adam West, now 81 and living in Idaho, lent his sonorous voice to automated phone calls boosting prosecutor-turned-trial-attorney Sean Coffey for the Democratic Party’s nod to succeed Andrew Cuomo as the state’s top lawyer.

The actor famous for his cheesy, melodramatic delivery and lumpy physique channeled his classic role as the Dark Knight to assure Democrats that Coffey is the “best crime fighter” in the crowded five-way race.

“I know a thing or two about keeping Gotham City safe,” West told voters on a 45-second recorded message. “Sean is an independent voice who wants to fight those villains in Albany.”

Coffey first teamed up with West a few years back while fly fishing in Idaho’s Silver Creek, and the duo has since forged a dynamic friendship.

“I came to the conclusion Sean Coffey’s not only a good guy, but a clear thinker,” West told The Post. “I’ve been a pretend crime-fighter for years. Now, we’ve got a potential real one with him.”

The heroic assist came as voters prepared to narrow the field in key statewide races and numerous congressional and state Legislature posts.

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Excelsior!

Stan Lee Tribute Weekend honors the comics creator’s seven decades of bringing entertainment to the world

One lucky winner will win exclusive VIP Passes for Stan Lee Tribute Weekend May 6-8, 2010

On Thursday, May 6, the N9NE Group with Brenden Theatres and the Palms Casino Resort will present Iron Man 2 Launch Party at the MOON Nightclub. MOON opens to the public at 10:30 p.m. and will feature an “Iron Man” themed night with appearances by Stan Lee and other celebrity guests. General admission applies.

Stan Lee’s Brenden Celebrity Star presentation will take place on Friday, May 7, 2010, the opening day of the new Paramount Pictures “Iron Man 2” film starring Robert Downey, Jr. which Lee served as an executive producer. The ceremony to be hosted by Celebrity Journalist Robin Leach will take place in the Brenden Theaters at the Palms lobby at 7:30 p.m. The Brenden Celebrity Star presentation is co-sponsored by Derrick Taylor’s Comic Oasis.

The weekend wraps with an invited guest tribute reception and dinner May 8, 2010 hosted by the Walt Disney Company and featuring Stan Lee’s Time Jumper. Red carpet arrivals begin at 6:00 p.m. with celebrity appearances. Guests will also preview clips from Stan Lee’s documentary “With Great Power – The Stan Lee Story.” Celebrities from all of Lee’s films and creations have been invited to attend this special event.

To have a chance at winning the VIP passes, visit http://starsamongtheangelsonlineauction.afrogs.org/.

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• 

Captain Lou Albano

RIP 1933-2009

LordsofPain.com just reported that WWE Hall of Famer Captain Lou Albano (Louis Vincent Albano) has passed away. He was 76 years old.

Captain Lou enjoyed a 40+ year career in the pro wrestling business as a wrestler and manager. He was a one-on-a-kind personality and a longtime favorite of wrestling fans.

The “manager of champions” guided 15 different tag teams and 4 singles competitors to championship gold. Fans may remember that his association with Cyndi Lauper helped usher in The Rock & Wrestling Connection, which helped mainstream pro wrestling and helped lead to the first Wrestlemania.

I’d like to extend my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Captain Lou Albano. He shall be missed.

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Today would have been the 107th birthday to one of the alltime great movie funnymen, Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg) of The Three Stooges.

Thanks for all the laughter, Larry! You shall live forever in the hearts of your fans!Similar Posts:

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The August 10, 2009 issue of Dave Metlzer’s The Wrestling Observer reports that none other than Rev Al Sharpton is scheduled to host a future episode of WWE RAW.  That’s crackerjack booking from the House of McMahon for you.

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• 

RIP Karl Malden

1912-2009

USA Today reports…

Actor Karl Malden dies at 97

The family of Karl Malden says the actor who won an Oscar for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire has died at age 97.

Malden’s family informed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences of his death on Wednesday. Malden served as the academy’s president from 1989-92.

He made his screen debut in the 1940 movie They Knew What They Wanted, and was praised for his role as Mitch in the 1951 classic A Streetcar Named Desire.

His greatest fame came as Detective Mike Stone in the 1970s TV series The Streets of San Francisco, in which he co-starred with Michael Douglas.

Malden also was a pitchman for American Express in a series of commercials airing over 21 years.

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Word is that KISS rocker Gene Simmons has been pressed for comments on the passing of Michael Jackson, but had remained silent since the King of Pop’s death this past Thursday.

Mr. Simmons evidently finally released a statement late on Sunday afternoon, via his Facebook page.

“[I've] gotten a lot of questions from media and from quite a lot of you [regarding] Michael Jackson.

“I have refused all media requests for interviews. There are enough people in the industry being quoted. Some altruistically, some for media coverage.

“Either way… When I was going out with Diana Ross in the early ’80s, I met Michael a few times through her. We spent social time together. Found him to be gentle, charming… obviously very talented. And that was that.

“The Michael of later years is someone I didn’t recognize… nor like very much.

“When there are children involved… when there are allegations (many) of child molestation… when there are admissions of inviting countless young boys to spend weekends and sometimes Michael’s bed with them (Michael’s quote), clothed or unclothed… makes no difference… when there are payoffs to the children making the accusations in the $20,000,000 range ($20 million dollars!!! — as reported by media) ….There’s more than doubt in my mind.

“This doesn’t take into consideration Michael’s children… none of whom are biologically his. All three of whom have had a ‘strange’ upbringing. But then we don’t know much, except a ‘father’ who thought nothing of dangling his young child over the balcony (head covered in a towel), so his fans could get a thrill.

“So what’s my comment regarding Michael’s passing? I hope he finds peace. I wish his family and friends all the best in these very sad times.

“But as regards media coverage: celebs can always get media coverage.

“But what about the children who spent nights with Michael in his bed? (He has admitted on camera he has done it many times, and would continue to do it.) They need a voice. And they should have a chance to have their say. With lie detectors attached. Maybe then, away from rich celebrities, tricky lawyers and L.A. court systems that can’t seem to convict anyone…. maybe then, we’ll find out the truth about child molestation charges leveled at Michael Jackson from children (that’s plural, not singular).

“My comment? I recognize and respect his talent, but the rest is very tainted. And I want to hear the truth, once and for all.”

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Charles Foster Kane reaches dizzying heights in life quickly, while still in youth, but then starts on a downward trajectory in life where he grows stranger, more alone, and sequesters himself in a large mansion (Xanadu) until his death, when among his final thoughts is a longing for the simpler pleasures of a time when he was a child.

Michael Jackson reaches dizzying heights in life quickly, while still in youth, but then starts on a downward trajectory in life where he grows stranger, more alone, and sequesters himself in a large mansion (Neverland) until his death, but all along he conveys a longing for the simpler pleasures of a childhood he never had.

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• 

RIP Michael Jackson

1958-2009

Rolling Stone reports…

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
by David Browne

Michael Jackson, one of the most talented and eccentric performers in pop history, died of apparent cardiac arrest at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles at 2:26 p.m. PT today, June 25th. According to reports, he collapsed in his Los Angeles-area home and paramedics arriving on the scene found the superstar with no pulse; he was immediately rushed to the hospital. Although confusion about his status lingered (a spokesman for Sony Music, Jackson’s one-time home, said he was just hearing “rumors” at 3:20 p.m. PT), Jackson was reportedly in a coma, and his death was confirmed just before 3:30 p.m. PT.

Jackson’s health, which has been the source of speculation for nearly two decades, had recently returned to the headlines. Next month, Jackson was set to start a series of 50 sold-out concerts at London’s O2 arena, but the singer postponed the first four shows of the “This Is It!” run in May and had reportedly not shown up for some rehearsals.

Over the course of a career that started 40 years ago, with the Jackson 5′s first hit, 1969′s “I Want You Back,” Jackson was a towering and constantly enigmatic presence in pop music — a giant on the level of Presley, Sinatra and Dylan. He set an almost impossibly high standard in pop music on numerous levels: as a record maker (the silky funk and R&B on albums like Thriller and Off the Wall), dancer (his Moonwalk remains one of the most imitated steps), fashion icon (sequined gloves), video auteur (lavish clips for “Beat It” and “Thriller”) and record seller (1982′s Thriller was the Number One selling album of all time until it was recently deposed by the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975). His singing and music took in gospel, hard rock, funk, and middle-of-the-road balladry, and his vision of himself as an all-around entertainer propelled him to heights rarely seen in pop history.

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• 

RIP Farrah Fawcett

1947-2009

Yahoo News reports…

‘Charlie’s Angel’ Farrah Fawcett dies at 62

A winsome smile, tousled hair and unfettered sensuality were Farrah Fawcett‘s trademarks as a sex symbol and 1970s TV star in “Charlie’s Angels.”

But as her life drew to a close, she captivated the public in a far different way: as a cancer patient who fought for, then surrendered, her treasured privacy to document her struggle with the disease and inspire others.

Fawcett, 62, died Thursday morning at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, nearly three years after being diagnosed with anal cancer. Ryan O’Neal, the longtime companion who returned to her side when she became ill, was with her.

“After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away,” O’Neal said. “Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”

In the end, Fawcett sought to offer more than that, re-emerging in the spotlight with a new gravitas.

In “Farrah’s Story,” which aired last month, she made public her painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks — from shaving her golden locks before chemotherapy could claim them to undergoing experimental treatments in Germany.

“Her big message to people is don’t give up. No matter what they say to you, keep fighting,” Alana Stewart, who filmed Fawcett as she underwent treatment, said last month. NBC estimated the May 15, 2009, broadcast drew nearly 9 million viewers.

In the documentary, she also recounted her efforts to unmask the source of leaks from her UCLA Medical Center records, which led a hospital employee to plead guilty to violating a federal privacy law for selling celebrities’ information to the National Enquirer.

“There are no words to express the deep sense of loss that I feel,” Stewart said Thursday. “For 30 years, Farrah was much more than a friend. She was my sister, and although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her.”

Other “Charlie’s Angels” stars also paid tribute.

“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.

Said Cheryl Ladd: “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”

Kate Jackson said she would remember Fawcett’s “kindness, her cutting, dry wit and, of course, her beautiful smile. Today when you think of Farrah remember her smiling because that is exactly how she wanted to be remembered, smiling.”

Fawcett became a sensation in 1976 as one-third of the crime-fighting trio in “Charlie’s Angels.” A poster of her in a clingy, red swimsuit sold in the millions and her full, layered hairstyle became all the rage, with girls and women across America mimicking the look.

She left the show after one season but had a flop on the big screen with “Somebody Killed Her Husband.” She turned to more serious roles in the 1980s and 1990s, winning praise playing an abused wife in “The Burning Bed.”

Born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas, she was named Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett by her mother, who said she added the Farrah because it sounded good with Fawcett. As a student at the University of Texas at Austin, she was voted one of the 10 most beautiful people on the campus and her photos were eventually spotted by movie publicist David Mirisch, who suggested she pursue a film career.

She appeared in a string of commercials, including one where she shaved quarterback Joe Namath, and in such TV shows as “That Girl,” “The Flying Nun,” “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Partridge Family.”

She was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. According to the American Cancer Society Web site, an estimated 5,290 Americans, most of them adults over 35, will be diagnosed with that type of cancer this year, and there will be 710 deaths.

As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of O’Neal, who was the father of her now 24-year-old son, Redmond.

This month, O’Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed. They would wed “as soon as she can say yes,” he said, but it never happened.

Fawcett, Jackson and Smith made up the original “Angels,” the sexy, police-trained trio of martial arts experts who took their assignments from a rich, mysterious boss named Charlie (John Forsythe, who was never seen on camera but whose distinctive voice was heard on speaker phone.)

The program debuted in September 1976, the height of what some critics derisively referred to as television’s “jiggle show” era, and it gave each of the actresses ample opportunity to show off their figures as they disguised themselves as hookers and strippers to solve crimes.

Backed by a clever publicity campaign, Fawcett — then billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors because of her marriage to “The Six Million Dollar Man” star Lee Majors — quickly became the most popular Angel of all.

Her face helped sell T-shirts, lunch boxes, shampoo, wigs and even a novelty plumbing device called Farrah’s faucet. Her flowing blond hair, pearly white smile and trim, shapely body made her a favorite with male viewers in particular.

The public and the show’s producer, Spelling-Goldberg, were shocked when she announced after the series’ first season that she was leaving television’s No. 5-rated series to star in feature films. (Ladd became the new “Angel” on the series.)

But film turned out to be a platform where Fawcett was never able to duplicate her TV success. Her first star vehicle, the comedy-mystery “Somebody Killed Her Husband,” flopped and Hollywood cynics cracked that it should have been titled “Somebody Killed Her Career.”

The actress had also been in line to star in “Foul Play” for Columbia Pictures. But the studio opted for Goldie Hawn instead. Fawcett told The Associated Press in 1979 that Spelling-Goldberg sabotaged her, warning “all the studios that that they would be sued for damages if they employed me.”

She finally reached an agreement to appear in three episodes of “Charlie’s Angels” a season, an experience she called “painful.”

After a short string of unsuccessful movies, Fawcett found critical success in the 1984 television movie “The Burning Bed,” which earned her an Emmy nomination.

As further proof of her acting credentials, Fawcett appeared off-Broadway in “Extremities,” playing a woman who seeks revenge against her attacker after being raped in her own home. She repeated the role in the 1986 film version.

Not content to continue playing victims, she switched type to take on roles as a murderous mother in the 1989 true-crime story “Small Sacrifices” and a tough lawyer on the trail of a thief in 1992′s “Criminal Behavior.”

She also starred in biographies of Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld and photographer Margaret Bourke-White.

In 1995, at age 50, Fawcett stirred controversy posing partly nude for Playboy magazine. The following year, she starred in a Playboy video, “All of Me,” in which she was equally unclothed while she sculpted and painted.

Fawcett’s most unfortunate career moment may have been a 1997 appearance on David Letterman’s show, when her disjointed, rambling answers led many to speculate that she was on drugs. She denied that, blaming her strange behavior on questionable advice from her mother to be playful and have a good time.

In September 2006, Fawcett, who at 59 still maintained a strict regimen of tennis and paddleball, began to feel strangely exhausted. She underwent two weeks of tests that revealed the cancer.

“I do not want to die of this disease. So I say to God, `It is seriously time for a miracle,’” she said in “Farrah’s Story.”

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• 

RIP Ed McMahon

1923-2009

The Los Angeles Democrat-Herald reports…

‘Tonight’ sidekick Ed McMahon dies in LA at 86
By LYNN ELBER
Ed McMahon, the loyal “Tonight Show’’ sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!’’ for 30 years, died early Tuesday. He was 86.

McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman.

Bragman didn’t give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a “multitude of health problems the last few months.’’

McMahon broke his neck in a fall in March 2007, and battled a series of financial problems as his injuries prevented him from working.

Doc Severinson, “Tonight’’ bandleader during the Carson era, said McMahon was a man “full of life and joy and celebration.’’

“He will be sorely missed. He was one of the greats in show business, but most of all he was a gentleman. I miss my friend,’’ Severinson said in a statement.
David Letterman paid tribute to McMahon as a “true broadcaster’’ and key part of Carson’s show.

“Ed McMahon’s voice at 11:30 was a signal that something great was about to happen. Ed’s introduction of Johnny was a classic broadcasting ritual — reassuring and exciting,’’ Letterman said, adding, “We will miss him.’’

Letterman’s bandleader, Paul Shaffer, said McMahon “defined professionalism in broadcasting.’’

Jerry Digney, who was McMahon’s longtime publicist, said McMahon was the most “courtly, good-natured person you could ever meet’’ and that he brought “elegance, humor and a new sense of importance’’ to the role of second banana.

McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show “Who Do You Trust?’’ when Carson took over NBC’s late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on “Tonight’’ until Carson retired in 1992.

“You can’t imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson,’’ McMahon said in an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. “There’s the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star.’’

McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson’s quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.

“It’s like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher,’’ he said. “The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher’s got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help.’’

“And now h-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!’’ was McMahon’s trademark opener for each “Tonight’’ show, followed by a small, respectful bow toward the star. McMahon’s style was honed during his youthful days as a carnival hawker.

The highlight for McMahon came just after the monologue, when he and Carson would chat before the guests took the stage.

“We would just have a free-for-all,’’ he said in the AP interview. “Now to sit there, with one of the brightest, most well-read men I’ve ever met, the funniest, and just to hold your own in that conversation. … I loved that.’’

When Carson died in 2005, McMahon said he was “like a brother to me,’’ and recalled bantering with him on the phone a few months earlier.

“We could have gone on (television) that night and done a ‘Carnac’ skit. We were that crisp and hot.’’

McMahon’s medical and financial problems kept him in the headlines in his last years. It was reported in June 2008 that he was facing possible foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home. By year’s end, a deal was worked out allowing him to stay in his home, but legal action involving other alleged debts continued.

Among those who had stepped up with offers of help was Donald Trump.

“When I was at the Wharton School of Business I’d watch him every night,’’ Trump told the Los Angeles Times in August. “How could this happen?’’

McMahon even spoofed his own problems with a spot that aired during the 2009 Super Bowl promoting a cash-for-gold business. Pairing up with rap artist MC Hammer, he explained how easy it is to turn gold items into cash, jokingly saying “Goodbye, old friend’’ to a gold toilet and rolling out a convincing “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s money!’’

Born Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. on March 6, 1923, in Detroit, McMahon grew up in Lowell, Mass. He got his start on television playing a circus clown on the 1950-51 variety series “Big Top.’’ But the World War II Marine veteran interrupted his career to serve as a fighter pilot in Korea.

He joined “Who Do You Trust?’’ in 1958, its second year, the start of his long association with Carson. It was a partnership that outlasted their multiple marriages, which provided regular on-air fodder for jokes.

While Carson built his career around “Tonight’’ and withdrew from the limelight after his retirement, McMahon took a different path. He was host of several shows over the years, including “The Kraft Music Hall’’ (1968) and the amateur talent contest “Star Search,’’ whose competitors included over the years Justin Timberlake, Usher, LeAnn Rimes, Adam Sandler and Rosie O’Donnell.

He was a longtime co-host of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, a Labor Day weekend institution, and was co-host with Dick Clark of “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.’’

McMahon and Clark also teamed up as pitchmen for American Family Publishers’ sweepstakes, with their faces a familiar sight on contest entry forms and in TV commercials. McMahon was known for his ongoing commercials for Budweiser as well.

He had supporting roles in several movies, including “Fun With Dick and Jane’’ (1977) and “Just Write’’ (1997). He took on his first regular TV series job in the 1997 WB sitcom “The Tom Show’’ with Tom Arnold.

McMahon released his autobiography, “For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times,’’ in 1998. In it, he recounts the birth of “Tonight.’

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• 

Today would have been the legendary Moe Howard’s 112th birthday.

Moe Howard is best known as the leader of the Three Stooges, the slapstick comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades.

Moe was born Moses Harry Horwitz in the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood of Brownsville, to Solomon Horwitz and Jennie Gorovitz. He was the fourth of the five Horwitz brothers.  Although his parents were not involved in show business, Moe, his older brother Samuel (Shemp) and younger brother Jerome (Curly), all eventually became world-famous as members of the Three Stooges.

In 1921, Moe joined vaudevillian Lee Nash, who was now firmly established in show business as Ted Healy, in a comedy  routine. In 1923, Moe spotted Shemp watching the show and yelled at him from the stage. Shemp and Moe heckled each other to a large positive response from the audience and Healy hired Shemp as a permanent part of the act. Next, Healy recruited a vaudeville violinist, Larry Fine, in 1925, to join the comedy troupe, which was billed as Ted Healy and His Racketeers (later changed to Ted Healy and His Stooges).

By 1930, Ted Healy and his Stooges were on the verge of “the big time,” and made their first movie, Soup to Nuts — featuring Ted Healy, and his four Stooges (Moe, Shemp, Larry, and one-shot Stooge Fred Sanborn) — for Fox Films (later 20th Century Fox). Shemp had never seen eye-to-eye with the hard-drinking and sometimes belligerent Healy, and left the group shortly after filming in order to pursue a successful solo film career. After a short search for a replacement, Moe suggested his youngest brother, Jerome (“Jerry” to his friends, “Babe” to Moe and Shemp). Healy originally passed on Jerry (whom he disliked), but Jerry was so eager to join the act that he shaved off his luxuriant auburn mustache and hair and ran on stage during Healy’s routine. Healy hired Jerry, who took the stage name of “Curly.”

Healy and the Stooges were hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as “nut” comics, to liven up feature films and short subjects with their antics. After a number of appearances in MGM films, Healy was being groomed as a solo character comedian. With Healy pursuing his own career, his Stooges (now renamed The Three Stooges) signed with Columbia Pictures where they stayed until December 1959, making 190 short films.Similar Posts:

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• 

Most people know of the great Rodney Dangerfield’s comedy career, but few know that he had a classically trained voice and was quite the crooner. Please enjoy the classic, Strangers in the Night, by Rodney Dangerfield.

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• 

• Greatest Comic Covers # 11
• Greatest Comic Covers # 4
• Greatest Comic Covers # 16
• Greatest Comic Covers # 23
• First Look at The Silver Surfer
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• 

I know the in thing for white liberals is to gush over Michelle Obama’s great ‘beauty.’  And braindead housewives of liberal men  insist she is like ‘Jackie O,’ which to me is a put-down but they certainly don’t mean it that way.

So here’s a pic of a real first lady – Mrs. Sarkozy herself, the beautiful Carla Bruni.  Try not to be distracted by Geraldine’s frightful image.

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• 

Just got the news that acor David Carradine died in Bangkok.  Evidently, he chose to end his own life.  He shall be missed.

RIP David Carradine

1936-2009

From Yahoo News…

Actor David Carradine found dead in Bangkok

Actor David Carradine, star of the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu” who also had a wide-ranging career in the movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital, Bangkok. A news report said he was found hanged in his hotel room and was believed to have committed suicide.

A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Michael Turner, confirmed the death of the 72-year-old actor. He said the embassy was informed by Thai authorities that Carradine died either late Wednesday or early Thursday, but he could not provide further details out of consideration for his family.

The Web site of the Thai newspaper The Nation cited unidentified police sources as saying Carradine was found Thursday hanged in his luxury hotel room.

It said Carradine was in Bangkok to shoot a movie and had been staying at the hotel since Tuesday.

The newspaper said Carradine could not be contacted after he failed to appear for a meal with the rest of the film crew on Wednesday, and that his body was found by a hotel maid at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The name of the movie was not immediately available.

It said a preliminary police investigation found that he had hanged himself with a cord used with the room’s curtains. It cited police as saying he had been dead at least 12 hours and there was no sign that he had been assaulted.

A police officer at Bangkok’s Lumpini precinct station would not confirm the identity of the dead man, but said the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel had reported that a male guest killed himself there.

Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith.

In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. One of his prominent early film roles was as singer Woody Guthrie in Ashby’s 1976 biopic “Bound for Glory.”

But he was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series “Kung Fu,” which aired in 1972-75.

He reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine’s grandson in the 1990s syndicated series “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.”

He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part saga “Kill Bill.”

The character, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003′s “Kill Bill — Vol. 1.” In that film, one of Bill’s former assassins (Uma Thurman) begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates.

In “Kill Bill — Vol. 2,” released in 2004, Thurman’s character comes face to face again with Bill himself. The role brought Carradine a Golden Globe nomination as best supporting actor.

Bill was a complete contrast to his TV character Kwai Chang Caine, the soft-spoken refugee from a Shaolin monastery, serenely spreading wisdom and battling bad guys in the Old West. He left after three seasons, saying the show had started to repeat itself.

After “Kung Fu,” Carradine starred in the 1975 cult flick “Death Race 2000.” He starred with Liv Ullmann in Bergman’s “The Serpent’s Egg” in 1977 and with his brothers in the 1980 Western “The Long Riders.”

But after the early 1980s, he spent two decades doing mostly low-budget films. Tarantino’s films changed that.

“All I’ve ever needed since I more or less retired from studio films a couple of decades ago … is just to be in one,” Carradine told The Associated Press in 2004.

“There isn’t anything that Anthony Hopkins or Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery or any of those old guys are doing that I couldn’t do,” he said. “All that was ever required was somebody with Quentin’s courage to take and put me in the spotlight.”

One thing remained a constant after “Kung Fu”: Carradine’s interest in Oriental herbs, exercise and philosophy. He wrote a personal memoir called “Spirit of Shaolin” and continued to make instructional videos on tai chi and other martial arts.

In the 2004 interview, Carradine talked candidly about his past boozing and narcotics use, but said he had put all that behind him and stuck to coffee and cigarettes.

“I didn’t like the way I looked, for one thing. You’re kind of out of control emotionally when you drink that much. I was quicker to anger.”

“You’re probably witnessing the last time I will ever answer those questions,” Carradine said. “Because this is a regeneration. It is a renaissance. It is the start of a new career for me.

“It’s time to do nothing but look forward.”

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• 

Special thanks to beaversmom for sending this video my way!Similar Posts:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn4IH3yng4k

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• 

What happens when a contestant in the 2009 Miss Panama competition is asked about a wise quote from Confusious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgALNkRmwh4

I contend that if you really stop to think about it, she has a great point!

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• 

1933-2009

Thanks for all the laughter!  You will be missed!

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• 

Celebrating Benny Hill’s 84th Birthday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP3xPa5sujQ

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• 

Bettie Page

RIP 1923-2008

CNN reports…

1950s pinup model Bettie Page dead at 85

“She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality,” said agent Mark Roesler in a written statement. “She is the embodiment of beauty.”

Page, said to be one of the most photographed people of the past century, became a recluse in recent decades. Yet, her images continued to be used around the world to market Bettie Page action figures, clothing lines and other merchandise.

“Her popularity as an underground, guilty pleasures phenomenon has continued to soar despite the fact that the reclusive Page disappeared almost a half century ago, leading many to believe that one of the most photographed individuals of the 20th century was already dead.” Roesler said.

The Web site, BettiePage.com, logs about 20 million hits a month, Roesler said. A TVGuide.com poll recently placed Bettie Page as the “ultimate sex goddess,” outscoring others such as Marilyn Monroe.

Page was born to a poor family in Tennessee on April 22, 1923. While her birth certificate spelled her name “Betty,” she changed the spelling later in life to “Bettie.”

At a time when few women pursued a college education, Page earned a bachelor of arts degree in education from Peabody College in Tennessee in 1944, according to her official biography.

Her teaching career, however, was hampered by her looks, she said.

“I couldn’t control my students, especially the boys,” she is quoted as saying.

After her modeling career ended, Page returned to Peabody College to work on a master’s degree, the bio said. Her Southern drawl and a refusal to sleep with a Hollywood producer hampered her acting career, according to her bio.

“I didn’t like his looks,” Page said. “I wouldn’t have gone to bed with him anyway. He was a creep. He drove off in his big car and scolded me, ‘You’ll be sorry.’ I wasn’t.”

Page said she regretted not accepting studio boss Jack Warner’s offer of another screen-test, but it came while she was trying to save her marriage to her first husband, Billy Neal.

Her modeling breakthrough began after she divorced Neal in 1947 when she met a police officer whose hobby was photography. He suggested the black bangs, which became her trademark, her bio said. Not long after, her images were everywhere, gracing magazine covers and locker pin-ups.

Page wore nothing but a Santa hat in Playboy’s January 1955 centerfold. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said her appearance in his magazine’s first year was a milestone

“She became, in time, an American icon, her winning smile and effervescent personality apparent in every pose,” Hefner said.

“A kinky connection was added by Irving Klaw’s spanking, fetish and bondage photos, which became part of the Bettie Page mystique,” Hefner said. “They were playful parodies that are now perceived as the early inspiration for Madonna’s excursions into the realm of sexual perversion.”

Perhaps the most memorable photos of Page were her bondage poses, which she said were all pretend.

“I never understood how anyone believed those poses were sexy,” she later said. “To be tied up? I don’t get it.”

“She was a remarkable woman, truly someone that changed the social norms, not only here in this country, but also around the world,” Roesler said. “While Jackie Robinson was changing the racial attitudes, Bettie Page was changing our attitudes on sex. She became a James Dean type of ‘rebel’ figure as she allowed people to be less inhibited and look at sex in a different way.”

Saucy photos of Paige in skimpy clothing or none at all helped to lead the way for the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Page suddenly disappeared from the scene in 1958. It was only decades later revealed that she re-emerged to explain that she underwent a religious conversion and moved to Florida.

Her life took a dark turn starting in 1978 after her third marriage failed, Roesler said.

Page went through “some mental instability, violent mood swings, and serious trouble with the law” and was eventually diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, according to her bio.

Page reappeared in public in December 2003 for Playboy’s 50th anniversary party, where she made a grand entrance with Anna Nicole Smith.

It was the only time in the past 50 years that Page allowed her photograph to be taken, Roesler said.

A private funeral service is planned for Tuesday. Page will buried at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles, just a few feet away from Monroe

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• 

S.D Jones
RIP 1945-2008

SLAM Wrestling reports…

S.D. Jones dies in Antigua
By GREG OLIVER

Special Delivery Jones, one of the regular faces in the World Wrestling Federation heyday of the 1980s, died Sunday in Antigua, following a stroke two days ago. He was 63.

Remembered fondly by fans as a solid competitor who could believably get in the ring with the superstar giants, even if he didn’t win very often, Jones was last seen on a national broadcast at the WrestleMania 22 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in Chicago, where he inducted “Mr. U.S.A.” Tony Atlas.

Born Conrad Efraim on March 30, 1945, in Antigua, in the West Indies, he befriended Johnny Rodz in New York City while he was still working for the phone company. His wrestling career began in the mid-’70s, working for the WWWF, and heading on the road to the Mid-Atlantic territory, and Los Angeles, where he would win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship with Porkchop Cash; Jones would later team with Tom Jones (no relation) to win the titles again. For some of the time, he was known as Roosevelt Jones, before the more familiar S.D., or Special Delivery, Jones came into prominence.

Irregardless of his success elsewhere, the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Jones will always be remembered as a quality carpenter for the WWWF and WWF, capable of winning matches or losing believably. Often, Jones would team with bigger name stars, like Andre the Giant or Rocky Johnson to battle some despicable tag teams.

At the first WrestleMania, in 1985 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Jones lost to King Kong Bundy is nine seconds. In March 2004, Jones told SLAM! Wrestling’s Steven Johnson that he was concerned that such a beating in front of a national audience would damage his career.

“I didn’t want to do it,” Jones said. But McMahon persuaded him that a humiliating loss to Bundy would achieve the company’s goal of developing a monstrous rival to the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. After some contemplation, Jones took his medicine. “Bundy was the man then,” he said. On the plus side, Jones was not in the ring long enough to risk injury and, for good measure, “made a big, big, big, big payday.”

In a 2005 interview with SLAM! Wrestling’s Dave Hillhouse, Jones matter-of-factly addressed his career, and his role as enhancement talent. “Everybody knows it’s a show — promoters call the shots. Everybody knows that. Sometimes you don’t care, sometimes you care. Honestly, I knew there was no way I was going to get to that main championship, that’s for sure. I never even thought about it. A lot of us guys, we knew there was no way we were going to get up there,” he explained. “I was comfortable because I knew what they wanted. They want you to be there for Hulk Hogan and Pedro Morales; they want you to be an S.D. Jones, to be a Johnny Rodz. After a while you just get comfortable where you are, and that’s it. You’re doing a job, you’re making a living, and you just keep on going.”

At the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony for Atlas, Jones told stories about being on the road with his “best friend,” including impromptu weightlifting challenges in Egypt, Norway and Spain. No shrinking violet himself, Jones talked about lifting over 500 pounds himself; of course, Atlas could lift over 600 pounds.

Jones and Atlas met in 1980 in Allentown, Penn., and soon were a tag team, aiming for the WWWF tag titles. “We tried and we tried and we tried. I could not do it. I was the one that killed the tag, so I had to step aside,” Jones told the WWE Hall of Fame audience. Rocky Johnson replaced him in the tag and he and Atlas were soon champs — but they couldn’t get along, losing after three weeks.

After 22 years in the ring, Jones called it quits, lost a significant amount of weight, and began working for the New York Daily News, driving newspapers.

About eight months ago, he retired and moved back to his native Antigua. His remains are at Straffie’s Funeral Home in St John’s, Antigua.

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• 

They’re calling her ‘Mommy Weirdest!’  A rare glimpse into Sharon Stone’s mothering skills, courtesy of the custody hearing for her young son, Roan.   E! online reports…

Sharon Stone’s Custody Derailed by Botox
According to a judge, Sharon Stone’s maternal instincts are quite basic.

In a tentative ruling released Monday and obtained today by E! News, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo has shot down Stone’s attempt to modify custody of her son Roan.

Stone had sought permission to move Roan from Marin County in Northern California, where he lives with his father, Phil Bronstein, to L.A.

But saying that “should Roan move to Los Angeles, the sense of loss would be overwhelming for him,” Massullo nixed the request. Instead, the judge said the boy could visit Stone one to two weekends a month during the school year.

Specifically, Massullo took issue with Stone’s mothering prowess and apparent overreaction to the boy’s complaints. “Mother alleged Roan had a spinal condition,” the judge noted. “There was no evidence to support this allegation.”

And this doozy: “Mother suggested that Roan should have Botox injections in his feet to resolve a problem he had with foot odor.”

Massullo stated that “unless [Stone’s] demands are met, she has simply refused to participate in the counseling process designed entirely to help her son.” The judge added, “It does not help that [Stone] and [Bronstein] clearly are unable to put aside their personal feelings toward each other.”

Ultimately the judge found that “the record establishes that [Bronstein’s] home is a more supportive environment for Roan during the school year.”

There was no immediate comment from attorneys for either Stone or Bronstein. Stone’s publicist also did not respond to calls.

When Stone and Bronstein were divorcing in 2004, they fought over custody of Roan. Stone told the judge she was Roan’s primary caretaker, but Bronstein disputed that fact, saying that from infancy until the couple separated much of Roan’s care was “delegated to a series of full-time (24-hour) nannies” and that Stone’s involvement with their son was limited.

For a period following their divorce, Stone and Bronstein agreed to alternate custody of Roan, with the boy splitting time between Los Angeles and San Francisco in three-week chunks.

When that routine was deemed too disruptive, Stone and Bronstein agreed that they would alternate custody of Roan every two years.

Bronstein reversed course, however, petitioning the court that “a transition to live with mother in Los Angeles for two years would be detrimental” as Roan was “finally succeeding academically and socially” at his school because of the continuity. Stone opposed Bronstein’s request, which led to the current evaluation hearing.

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• 

It must be quite a world view to actually believe that you are the only one to best navigate New York City through tough economic times!

Then again, Bloomie probably doesn’t actually believe it, and he is just making the best case he can to keep himself in power and feed his ego.

This guy must have a whopper of a Little Man Complex. The loathsome New York Times reports…

Bloomberg Ready to Announce Third-Term Bid
By MICHAEL BARBARO and DAVID W. CHEN

After months of speculation about his political future, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg plans to announce on Thursday morning that he will seek a third term as mayor, according to three people who have been told of his plans.

The extraordinary move promises to upend New York City’s political world.

Right now, Mr. Bloomberg is barred by law from seeking re-election. But he will propose trying to revise the city’s 15-year-old term limits law, which would otherwise force him and dozens of other elected leaders out of office in 2009, the three people said.

In his announcement, Mr. Bloomberg, a former Wall Street trader and founder of a billion-dollar financial data firm, is expected to argue that the financial crisis unfolding in New York City demands his steady hand and proven business acumen.

The move represents an about-face for Mr. Bloomberg, who has repeatedly said he supports term limits and once called an effort to revise the law “disgusting.” He will apparently try to do so through legislation in the City Council, rather than the ballot box.

Mr. Bloomberg’s gambit carries significant political risk. The city’s term limits law was passed twice by voters, in 1993 and 1996, and several polls show widespread popular support for keeping it in place. Under the plan Mr. Bloomberg has outlined to associates, those voters will have no say in the matter, raising the possibility of a backlash.

Mr. Bloomberg, 66, who in public statements in recent weeks has become equivocal about term limits, has discussed in detail with his friends and advisers the pros and cons of changing the law and running again. “This has been thoroughly thought out by the mayor,” said a person who has advised the mayor in the past.

The mayor’s press office, which had limited staffing because of Rosh Hashana, did not immediately return a phone call on Tuesday.

Over the last few weeks, Mr. Bloomberg has taken pains to showcase his financial experience, trading phone calls with the heads of struggling banks, like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch and the nation’s top financial regulators at the Federal Reserve and the Securities Exchange Commission.

With his decision, Mr. Bloomberg is overruling the advice of this top three aides at City Hall — Edward Skyler, Patricia E. Harris and Kevin Sheekey — who have all told associates that they oppose a third term.

Those aides have told the mayor — at times forcefully — that any campaign to challenge the term limits law would look like an end run around voters, and could sully his strong legacy over the last eight years, according to people familiar with the conversations.

In the business community, however, the prospect of a Bloomberg third term is overwhelmingly positive. In dozens of private meetings and telephone calls over the last few months, executives ranging from the financier Steven Rattner to the chief executive of the News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, have encouraged him to seek a third term.

As the city’s economy has become imperiled over the last two weeks, support for such a move has intensified.

“He has the confidence of the business community and the executive ability to run the city,” said Stephen M. Ross, the chief executive of Related Companies, a major developer. “This is a good time for him to do this. People are scared.”

The chances of passing legislation in the City Council are strong, according to interviews. In August, a New York Times survey of council members — two-thirds of whom are scheduled to be forced out of office in 2009 — found that a majority were willing to amend the term limits law.

If successful, Mr. Bloomberg would be only the fourth New York mayor in modern history to win a third term.

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• 

Well, funny person Sandra Bernhard let it rip on the latest object of her rage, GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin.  Evidently, Palin just gets Sandra’s goat, probably for daring to disagree with her!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGhoYT84Jeg

Now, how cool would it be if liberal whackjobs would be 1/2 as outraged at holy warriors who pilot jetliners into skyscrapers, murdering 1000s of people.  That’s probably just too much to ask for!

Of course, when you mouth off to Sarah Palin or other conservatives, you know they will take the high road and not do anything, except perhaps pray for you.  Jidhadist on the other hand will kidnap you, set up the video camera and give you a ‘close shave’ with a handy sword!

Stay classy, Sandra!  Your movie career was so promising when King of Comedy was released, but then 1984 rolled in and you lost your momentum! It’s been a long couple of decades!

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• 

I can’t say that she is worth $ 1,435,599 US.  I can’t say she’s worth $ 1400, actually…

The Telegraph reports…

Italian model plans to sell virginity for 1m euros
An Italian model who swears she has never had sex plans to sell her virginity for one million euros, or £792,000.

Showgirl and men’s magazine model Raffella Fico, 20, told an Italian magazine: “I can’t wait to see who’s going to pull out the money to have me.”

Miss Fico, who appeared in the Italian version of Big Brother earlier this year, said she would use the cash to buy a house in Rome and pay for acting classes.

“I don’t know what it’s like to have sex,” she told the magazine, Chi, adding that if the man who bought her virginity was ugly then she would quickly get over it.

“If I don’t like him I’ll just have a glass of wine and forget about it,” said the aspiring actress from Naples – hometown of screen siren Sophia Loren.

Her family insisted that despite her good looks and sexy image, she remained a virgin.

“She’s never had a boyfriend. I swear on my mother’s grave. She’s a devout Catholic and prays to Padre Pio every night,” her brother told the magazine.

She is the not the first woman to auction her virginity for a large sum. An 18-year-old US student in San Diego, Natalie Dylan, recently told the Howard Stern show she would have sex for the first time for $1 million to pay her college fees.

In 2005 a Peruvian model, also 18, put herself up for sale to help pay her family’s medical bills but ended up having second thoughts and turning down $1.5 million.

Well, OK – maybe $1,400!!!

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• 

Now, I’d pay $12 to see that!

The Telegraph reports…

World’s smallest man meets woman with world’s longest legs
By Chris Irvine

Standing at just 2ft 5in high, He Pingping, from China, has been officially named the smallest man in the world.

Svetlana Pankratova, meanwhile, owns the longest legs in the world, which stretch to 132cm.

Mr Pingping barely came up to Ms Pankratova’s knees at a bizarre photoshoot held to mark the launch of the new Guinness Book of World Records.

But the pair seemed rather happy in each other’s company as they posed for photos on Trafalgar Square’s steps in central London.

In January 2007, Mr Pingping was invited to take part on a television programme in Tokyo, and has since become somewhat of an icon.

It is rumoured he is now so protective of his image, he refuses to have his photo taken unless he is paid a substantial fee.

While Ms Pankratova might have the longest legs in the world, she is not the tallest.

Last month, Sandy Allen, at 7ft 7in, recognized as the world’s tallest woman, died aged 53.

In July 2007, Pingping, an internet phenomenon, met with the world’s tallest man Bao Xishun.

Earlier this month, it was revealed the midget who shot to fame as the world’s smallest bodybuilder had been snapped up by a leading US talent agent and was bound for Hollywood.

Chuck Harris, who represents over 10,000 of the world’s most unusual acts, is convinced Aditya “Romeo” Dev is capable of becoming one Tinseltown’s biggest stars.

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• 

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• 

That voiceover legend Don LaFontaine has passed away.  He shall be missed.

Don LaFontaine

RIP 1940-2008

CNN reports the bad news…

‘In a world’ voiceover master dies at 68

Don LaFontaine, the voiceover king whose “In a world …” phrase on movie trailers was much copied — and much parodied — has died, according to media reports. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, according to ETOnline, “Entertainment Tonight’s” Web site. He died from complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity, his agent, Vanessa Gilbert, told “ET.”

LaFontaine, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer, according to his Web site. His strong, slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films, including “The Godfather,” “Fatal Attraction” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” For a time in the late ’70s, LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures.

His favorite work was one he did for the 1980 film “The Elephant Man,” he said in interviews, but whether the film was Oscar-caliber or a bomb waiting to blow, he handled every assignment equally.

“My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you’re reading, even if you think the film’s a piece of junk,” he told Swindle magazine. “Even the worst picture is someone’s favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to.”

He also provided the voice for hundreds of commercials for companies such as General Motors, Ford, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and many others, according to his Web site.

The good-humored LaFontaine was willing to poke fun at himself, particularly in a recent ad for Geico insurance, in which he gave dramatic flair to a woman’s story about her car accident. He also voiced the trailer for “The Simpsons Movie,” in which his descriptions were mimicked by commentary from the film’s characters.

But LaFontaine was most famous for his phrase “In a world …,” used by seemingly dozens of movies determined to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

LaFontaine told CNN that the scripts gave him the cues for his delivery.

“They dictate how they want to be read,” he told “Showbiz Tonight” in 2005. “It’s pretty much straightforward stuff because you know the context of the film generally going in. If it’s something like ‘King Kong,’ you have a pretty good idea of how you`re going to say it. It’s going to be a big adventure thing. And I let the [script] more or less guide what I’m going to say.”

He added that there was no secret to his movie trailer work: “I really think this is one of the few industries where everything is right up there,” he told CNN. “What you see is what you get.”

Still, he noted, it’s not like he could use his movie-trailer voice everywhere.

“If I tried to use that voice in public,” he said, “they’d be calling security.”

LaFontaine is survived by his wife, actress and singer Nita Whitaker, and three children, Christine, Skye and Elyse

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• 

Well, Palinmania is running wild across the fruited plain.  And poor Barry must be upset that he was figuring that his unforgettable speech in Denver on Thursday night wouldn’t be forgotten by Friday morning!

So, since the GOP’s VP pick is so effervescent and photogenic, I am creating this special page with a gallery of pictures of the Governor of Alaska and future Vice President of the United States.

Enjoy!

1234►

• John McCain introduces Sarah Palin
• Gov Sarah Palin is McCain’s VP Pick
• Senator John Kerry partying with the chicks
• College Life Offers Never-Never Land for ‘Adults’
• Palin vs Biden – The Barracuda Performs!
• Feminists/Liberals come down on Palin

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• 

The Daily Mail reports…

Author of ’100 Things to Do Before You Die’ is killed in fall
And he only managed to achieve half his list
By Annette Witheridge

Dave Freeman, co-author of the bestselling adventure travel guide ’100 Things to Do Before You Die,’ has died in a tragic accident at the age of 47.

Mr Freeman fell over at his home in Venice, California, and hit his head. He had only managed to visit half of the places recommended in his book.

The irreverent guide to the world’s wackiest places included a voodoo pilgrimage to Haiti, running with bulls in Pamplona, Spain, nude night surfing in Australia and taking part in the loudest yelling competition in North Carolina.

Advertising agency executive Mr Freeman co-wrote the 1999 book with his friend Neil Teplica after collecting weird locations on a travel website they ran.

It was an instant bestseller and inspired a publishing industry all of its own with dozens of ’100 Things’ spin-offs.

Mr Freeman, who was single, liked to travel alone, believing he met more interesting people and went to stranger places that way.

He starts the book by explaining: ‘This life is a short journey. How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on earth before you pack those bags for the very last time?’

Mr Freeman’s relatives said he had visited half of the places listed, whilst Mr Teplica had covered the rest.

One of Mr Freeman’s favourites was the Las Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain, where firework-filled papier-mache statues of politicians and celebrities exploded at the stroke of midnight.

…

Last night the circumstances surrounding Mr Freeman’s death were still sketchy but he appeared to have tripped over in the hall of his beach-side house and banged his head.

‘It’s very odd, very sad and very freaky,’ Mr Teplica told the Daily Mail.

‘There was no heart attack. He was physically very capable – not the sort of person to just fall over. His death is unfathomable.’

Mr Teplica said his friend’s mantra was: ‘You should live every day like it would be your last. There’s not many people who do.’

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Isaac Hayes RIP
1942-2008

CNN reports…

Soul legend Isaac Hayes dies

Soul singer and arranger Isaac Hayes, who won Grammy awards and an Oscar for the theme from the 1971 action film “Shaft,” has died, sheriff’s officials in Memphis, Tennessee, reported Sunday.

Relatives found Hayes, 65, unconscious in his home next to a still-running treadmill, said Steve Schular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.

Paramedics attempted to revive him and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2 p.m., the sheriff’s department said.

No foul play is suspected, the agency said in a written statement.

Hayes was a longtime songwriter and arranger for Stax Records in Memphis, playing in the studio’s backup band and crafting tunes for artists such as Otis Redding and Sam and Dave in the 1960s.

He released his first solo album in 1967.

In 1971, the theme from “Shaft” became a pop hit and won an Academy Award for best original theme song. The song and the movie score also won Grammy awards for best original score and movie theme.

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• 

Welt Online reports that this week’s media golden boy, Christian Bale, is accused of assault by his own mother and sister.

Christian Bale accused of assault by sister, mother

Batman actor Christian Bale has been accused of assault by his mother and sister, and will face police questioning.

‘The Dark Knight’ actor allegedly lashed out while staying at London’s Dorchester hotel on Sunday, where he has a suite. His mother Jenny (61) and sister Sharon (40) lodged a formal complaint against the star at a police station in Hampshire, Southern England. Bale (34) was permitted by police to attend the European premiere of ‘The Dark Knight’ – in which he plays superhero Batman – last night but will face questioning over the claims.

Police in London are expected to speak to the Welsh actor later today.

A police source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “It was a very difficult situation but it would have been wrong to have wrecked the premiere over a complaint which we don’t yet know is founded in truth. But Mr. Bale will be contacted at the earliest opportunity and be asked to provide an account of anything that happened.”

A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police said: “We can confirm we have received an allegation from another force in relation to an alleged incident in central London.”

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