Aired on April 28, 1966, this one-hour special featuring Tony Bennett at the peak of his (first) career was sponsored by Singer Sewing Machines and NBC and is–in my opinion–the best television musical special ever made. In addition to Tony the starry supporting cast includes Buddy Rich, Paul Horne, Milt
Joe Piscopo may not have left much of a mark on comedy but he did achieve something that cannot be superseded by any other comic; his impression of Jerry Lewis. His Jerry is the Jerry at the late stage of his career–the smarmy telethon host in his tux with shoe-polished
My son and I had a marvelous time at the massive AirVenture 2026 convention–I was too busy and exhausted looking at (and riding on) airplanes to post anything as you may have noticed. I can think of no better way to conclude the experience then by delving into the darkest
Once upon a time, before we all hated getting on the plane to go somewhere we didn’t really want to go to, there was a glamour and fascination associated with all things aeronautical. Between the wars–1918 to 1940 roughly–this was epitomized by the advent of air races. Competitions were held
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rfV3301d2khttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-JBHAq_AxU&list=RDT-JBHAq_AxU&start_radio=1 This is aviation week here in my world and as a result I am going to drag all my readers (both of you) through the AvGeek muck with me. The reason for this is that on Wednesday my son and I will be going to the AirVenture convention in
Watching the above reel of TV cigarette commercials from the early 1960s, one might get the impression that the product being peddled wasn’t really a cigarette, but more of a combination of perfume, cold tossed mediterranean salad, herb-infused lemonade and a good massage. Words like ‘flavorful’ and ‘relaxing’ and ‘rich’
Here’s a brief, fascinating British Pathe newsreel from 1930 showing us The Handley Page HP–42 (nicknamed the Hannibal), a giant British four-engine biplane airliner designed by Handley Page. Introduced by Imperial Airways in 1931, it was the largest airliner in the world at the time. Built mostly from metal and fabric, it was
Here’s some extraordinary, silent footage of World War 1 fighter planes, formation flyers and various battle-ready airplanes in action. First we see mostly the fast Bristol 2 Seaters which had a rear gunner, a sting in the tail of the ‘Brisfits’, the first successful fighter/bomber combo, a deadly aircraft when
Apropos of yesterday’s post showing the evolution of RKO studio’s logos, here’s a reel of logos from some of the most obscure in-the-gutter strictly-from -hunger low-rent low-budget low-self-esteem studios the movie business ever created. Names like ‘Invincible Pictures’, ‘Mascot Studios’, ‘Chesterfield Pictures’ sound like companies invented by a novelist for
Here’s fifteen minutes of different logos–both opening and closing–of RKO movies. I’m sure you’ll be tempted after a few minutes to either turn it off or scrub through them, but I urge you to set aside fifteen minutes and stare, glassy-eyed, at the screen. Something odd happens as they progress–they