Above is from a 1965 ‘Flintstones’ episode wherein the children of the Flintstones and Rubbles–Pebbles and Bam-Bam–have their moment in the singer/celebrity spotlight. The song that was chosen for them, ‘Open Up Your Heart (and Let the Sunshine In)’ has a curious history. It was written in 1954 by Stuart
Compare and contrast the animated Ann-Margaret as shown in yesterday’s Flinstone’s clip with the real deal. Above is the opening pre-credit A-M number from ‘The Swinger’ (1966), a film that delivers so much less than its title (and title sequence) promises that, if it were a vaudeville show, it would
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXCiS2FpmIc Apropos of yesterday’s ‘Flintstones’ musical moment, here is the hottest cartoon character ever drawn–save for, perhaps, Jessica Rabbit. (Or Petunia Pig, if the BBW world is more your cup of darjeeling). Ann-Margret was square in the middle of her ‘Viva Las Vegas’ fame when this tribute was drawn by
I have no idea why I had a dream last night in which Fred Flintstone was singing the immortal ‘Bedrock Twitch’. I also had a dream in which I was conversing with an English Bulldog, my favorite breed of dog. Perhaps ‘Bedrock’ and ‘Bulldog’ conjoined and turned into ‘The Bulldog
Continuing our little remembrance of the world’s first official crooner, above is a nice profile of Rudy Vallee done for the Today Show by Boyd Matson in the early 80s. Bryant Gumble was then the host and appears—pre-face lift–at the end of the segment. There’s nothing terribly fresh in this
A couple of days ago I posted an interview with Rudy Vallee from 1984 on Skip E. Lowe’s local Los Angeles public access television show. It was the 83 year old Vallee’s last televised appearance–he died two years later after a long illness. Let’s do a little comparing and contrasting
In 1980, when I was 16, my father bought an apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan and we decamped from Los Angeles to spend the summer there. This was where I discovered two things of major importance in my adolescence. 1) A place where I could buy weed
If you’ve ever wondered where Martin Short got his inspiration for his great talk-show host character Jiminy Glick, look no further than Skip E. Lowe, a public-access legend for years in Los Angeles. Lowe was a cut-rate comic, impressionist and MC who loved Hollywood lore and entertainers. His interview show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=LegUQIFi07U “World In My Corner” (1956) is a film noir of sorts, starring Audie Murphy as a boxer who falls in love with his milionaire sponsor’s daughter (played by Barbara Rush). The film is of little distinction–except for a very cool credit sequence that I’ve posted above. I’m not sure
Let’s close our reconstruction of the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon with the ever popular Jerry anthem, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. Above are two videos–one of Jerry singing it on the 1987 telethon and one of Jerry rehearsing it two years later. Jerry in rehearsal is