WA2K Radio is now on the air

Douglas Fairbanks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Douglas FairbanksDouglas Fairbanks (May 23, 1883 - December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, who became noted for his swashbuckling roles in silent movies such as The Mark of Zorro (1920), The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Black Pirate (1926).

He was born Julius Ullman in Denver, Colorado, the son of Hezekiah Charles Ullman (born September 1833) and Ella Adelaide Marsh (born 1850). His half-brother was John Fairbanks (born 1873); and his full brother was Robert Payne Ullman (March 13, 1882-February 22, 1948).

Doug's father, who was born in Pennsylvania to a Jewish family, was a prominent New York attorney. His mother (a Roman Catholic) was born in New York, and was previously married to a man named John Fairbanks, who left her a widow. She then married a man named Wilcox, who turned out to be abusive. Her divorce was handled by Ullman, who she later married.

In about 1881, Charles Ullman purchased several mining interests in the Rocky Mountains and relocated the family to Denver, where he re-established his law practice. Ullman abandoned the family when Doug was five years old, and he and Robert were raised by their mother.

Doug began acting on the Denver stage at an early age, doing amateur theatre. He was in summer stock at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, becoming a sensation in his teens. He attended East Denver High School, and was once expelled for dressing up the campus statues on St. Patrick's Day. He left during his senior year. He said he attended Colorado School of Mines, then Harvard University for a term. No record of attendance has been located, but an article about whether or not he attended Mines recounts a professor once saying Fairbanks was asked to leave because of a prank not long after he began.

Fairbanks moved to New York in the early 1900s to pursue an acting career. He worked in a hardware store and as a clerk in a Wall Street office before his Broadway debut in 1902.

On July 11, 1907 in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, he married Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist, Daniel J. Sully. They had one son, Douglas Elton Fairbanks (actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who was born on December 9, 1909 and who died on May 7, 2000). The family moved to Hollywood in 1915.

Fairbanks signed a contract with Triangle Pictures and began working under the supervision of D.W. Griffith. His athletic abilities were not appreciated by Griffith, however, and he was brought to the attention of Anita Loos and John Emerson, who wrote and directed many of his early romantic comedies.

He met actress and businesswoman Mary Pickford at a party in 1916 and they began having an affair. In 1917, they, along with Charlie Chaplin, traveled across the U.S. by train selling war bonds. Pickford and Chaplin were then the two highest paid movie stars in Hollywood. Fairbanks set up his own production company, the Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation. Within eighteen months of his arrival, Fairbank's popularity and business acumen raised him up to be the third highest paid. To curtail these stars' astronomical salaries, the large studios attempted to monopolize the distributors and exhibitors.

On December 1, 1918 in New Rochelle, New York, Beth won an interlocutory decree of divorce from Fairbanks, as well as custody of their son. The record of testimony referred to the co-respondent as "an unknown woman." The decree was made final March 5, 1919.

To avoid being controlled by the studios and to protect the art of movie making, Fairbanks, Pickford, Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1919, which created their own distributorships and gave them complete artistic control over their movies and the profits generated.

Fairbanks was determined to have Pickford become his wife, but she was still married to actor Owen Moore. They were both concerned about bad publicity and the effect it could have on the moviegoing public, who might boycott their efforts at the theater should they marry each other. He finally gave her an ultimatum. She then obtained a fast divorce in the small Nevada town of Minden on March 2, 1920. Fairbanks leased the Beverly Hills mansion Grayhall and was rumoured to have used it during his courtship of Pickford. (Grayhall was subsequently owned by, among others, the financier Bernard Cornfeld.)

The couple were married March 28, 1920, by the pastor of Temple Baptist Church, at his residence on West Fourth Street in Los Angeles. Pickford's divorce from Moore was contested by Nevada legislators, however, and the dispute was not settled until 1922. Even though the lawmakers objected to the marriage, the public went wild over the idea of "Everybody's Hero" marrying "America's Sweetheart." The couple was greeted by crowds of up to 300,000 people in London and Paris during their European honeymoon, becoming Hollywood's first celebrity marriage.

During the years they were married, Fairbanks and Pickford were regarded as "Hollywood Royalty," and they were famous for entertaining at their Beverly Hills estate, Pickfair.


The Mark of ZorroBy 1920, Fairbanks had completed twenty-nine comedies, mostly with the same theme. The public wanted something new. He then had the inspiration of doing a costume picture, which were not popular with the public up to that point. He went ahead and took the chance, making The Mark of Zorro. It was a smash success and parlayed the actor into the rank of superstar. He made swashbuckling costume movies throughout the 1920s.

In 1921, he, Pickford, friend Chaplin, and others, helped organize the Motion Picture Fund to assist those in the industry who could not work, or were unable to meet their bills.

During the first ceremony of its type, he and Pickford placed their hand and foot prints in wet cement at the newly opened Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood on April 30, 1927. Fairbanks was elected first President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year, and he hosted the first Academy Awards ceremony.


Douglas Fairbanks taken in a screenshot from The Thief of Bagdad (1924)His last silent movie was The Iron Mask (1929). He and Pickford then made their first talkie, playing Petruchio and Kate in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1929). The last movie he acted in was The Private Life of Don Juan (1934).

There is a witty reference to him in the David Lean film 'A Passage to India' (set in Edwardian India) in which one of the characters performs acrobatic feats on the side of a train calling, "I am Douglas Fairbanks!"

After he began an affair with Sylvia Ashley, Fairbanks and Pickford separated in 1933. Fairbanks, Sr. and Pickford divorced in 1936, with her keeping Pickfair. On March 7, 1936, in Paris, France, he and Ashley were married. He lived in retirement with her at 705 Ocean Front (now Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica, California.

On December 12, 1939 at about 12:45 a.m, fifty-six year old Douglas Fairbanks died in his sleep of a heart attack, at his home in Santa Monica. His funeral service was held at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather Church at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, where he was placed in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum. His widow, Sylvia, then commissioned an elaborate monument for him in another cemetery, with long rectangular reflecting pool, raised tomb, and classic Greek architecture, and he was removed from Forest Lawn. He is entombed at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.

Douglas Fairbanks' hand and foot prints are immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.

Scatman Crothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scatman Crothers (born Benjamin Sherman Crothers, May 23, 1910 - November 22, 1986) was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician. Crothers was born in Terre Haute, Indiana and was best known for his work as a musician/singer and on the TV show Chico and the Man as Louie the Garbage Man (singing: "Stick out your can, 'cause here comes the garbage man!") He was also a guest on Sanford and Son, and, as "Bowlegs", memorably joined Redd Foxx for a duet. Crothers got the name Scatman when he auditioned for a radio show in 1932 in Dayton, Ohio. The director didn't think his given name was catchy enough, so Crothers told the director to call him "Scat Man" because of his talent at scat singing. He continued to enjoy this talent throughout his career, even teaching scat singing to college students. Later, the nickname was condensed to "Scatman" by Arthur Godfrey. (Crothers should not be confused with Scatman John, who had the hit "Scatman" in 1995.)

Crothers started his musical career as a 15 year old drummer in a speakeasy band in his home town of Terre Haute. He played a variety of instruments including drums and guitar on jazz club band circuits in his early days as an entertainer. He formed his own band in the 1930s and finally traveled to California with the band in 1948.

He did an uncredited turn as a dancer in the Jealousy segment of the Duke Ellington short, Symphony in Black (1935), dancing with a woman in his apartment before taking her out. He encounters his jilted lover, played by the also uncredited 20-year-old Billie Holliday. They briefly have words, he pushes her down and exits with his new girlfriend before her song.

He decided to try acting and made his debut in the movie Meet Me At The Fair (1953). He worked in both the movies and television, often taking bit parts. He also made musical shorts.

Artie Shaw
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Artie ShawArthur Arshawsky (May 23, 1910 - December 30, 2004), better known as Artie Shaw, was an accomplished jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and writer.

He was born in New York City, United States, and began learning the saxophone when he was 15 and, by age 16, had begun to tour with a band. He returned to New York and became a session musician. During the Swing Era, his big band was very popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine", "Stardust", and "Frenesi".

Shaw was know for being an innovator in the big band idiom, at the time using unusual instrumentation. His piece "Interlude in B-flat" was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed third stream. He hired Billie Holiday as his band's vocalist, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. His band became enormously successful and his playing, dismissed at first, eventually rivaled that of Benny Goodman: Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard--himself a talented musician--cited Shaw as his favorite clarinet player.

At the height of his popularity, Shaw reportedly earned US$30,000 per week, a very large amount during the depression.

During World War II he enlisted in the U.S. Navy (along with his entire band) and served with them in the Pacific theater (similar to Glenn Miller's wartime band in Europe). He spent approximately 18 months playing for navy personnel, sometimes as many as four shows a day. He received a medical discharge.

Throughout his musical career, Shaw would take sabbaticals where he would quit the business. He credited his time in the navy as a period of renewed introspection. He began psychoanalysis and began to pursue a writing career. In 1954, Shaw stopped playing the clarinet, citing his own perfectionism, which, he later said, would have killed him. He spent the rest of the 1950s living in Europe. He focused on writing, concentrating on semi-biographical fiction. He wrote The Trouble With Cinderella and was working on The Education of Albie Snow when he died.

For the Marx Brothers' movie, The Big Store Shaw co-wrote the song, "If It's You." He also had a significant role in the Fred Astaire film Second Chorus which featured Shaw and his orchestra playing "Concerto For Clarinet" as Fred Astaire danced.

A self-proclaimed "very difficult man", Shaw was married eight times; it became a national joke to have been "married as many times as Artie Shaw." Among his wives were Jane Cairns, Margaret Allen, Betty Kern (daughter of songwriter Jerome Kern), author Kathleen Winsor, and actresses Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Doris Dowling and Evelyn Keyes. He had two children.

In 1953, Shaw was brought up before the House Un-American Activities Committee for his liberal activities. The committee was investigating a peace activist organization, the World Peace Congress, which it considered a Communist front.

He was also a precision marksman, at one point ranking 4th in the United States.

In his later years, Shaw lived and wrote in the Newbury Park section of Thousand Oaks, California. In 1981, he organised a new Artie Shaw Band, with clarinetist Dick Johnson as band leader and soloist. Shaw himself would guest conduct from time to time, ending his self-imposed retirement.

In 1994, Artie Shaw's band library and manuscript collection was donated to The University of Arizona. In 2004, he was presented with a lifetime achievement Grammy Award.

Shaw had long suffered from adult onset diabetes and finally died of complications of the disease at age 94.

John Payne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Payne in Kansas City ConfidentialJohn Payne was an American movie actor who is mainly remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox film musicals. Payne was born May 23, 1912 in Roanoke, Virginia. Payne's mother had been a successful opera singer and she encouraged her son to sing. Payne enrolled at Columbia University in the fall of 1930. He studied drama at Columbia and voice at Juilliard. To support himself, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including wrestling and singing in vaudeville. In 1934, he was spotted by a talent scout for the Schubert Theater and was given a job as a stock player.

He toured with several Shubert Brothers shows, and frequently sang on New York-based radio programs. In 1936, Payne was offered a contract by Samuel Goldwyn, and he left New York for Hollywood. In 1940 he signed with 20th-Century Fox, where he achieved stardom in a number of early 1940s musicals, including Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Weekend in Havana (1941).

Later in his career he changed his image and began playing tough-guy roles in Hollywood films noir and westerns including 99 River Street (1953), Silver Lode (1954), ,Tennessee's Partner(1955), Slightly Scarlet(1956) and Kansas City Confidential (1952). Payne's most popular role may be that of Fred Gailey in Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

Payne also starred in a television western series The Restless Gun (1957-59).

In 1955, he was paid a $1,000-a-month option for 9 months on the Ian Fleming James Bond novel Moonraker (he eventually gave up the option when he learned he couldn't retain the rights for the entire book series).

In late 1959 he suffered extensive, life-threatening injuries when struck by a car in New York City and was hospitalized for two and a half years. Because of that, Payne didn't appear in any films from 1962-1968. In his later roles, facial scars from the accident can be detected in close-ups.1, 2 One of Payne's first public appearances during this period was as a guest panelist on What's My Line, the popular CBS-TV game show. In fact, Dorothy Kilgallen and the other panelists on the episode each congratulate Payne on his recovery and wish him well. (Source: Game Show Network re-broadcast, 2/8/06).

He directed one of his last films, They Ran for Their Lives (1968).

Later in life, Payne became wealthy through real estate investments in southern California.

Payne was once married to actress Anne Shirley. He was a direct descendant of John Howard Payne, composer of the classic song "Home, Sweet Home" ("Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."). He was the father-in-law of writer-director Robert Towne.

He died December 6, 1989 in Malibu, California due to congestive heart failure.

Payne has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Must take a break, folks.

(of course, Francis meant the life of Jacques offenbach. )

Tin sword: I couldn't get Scatman's picture to take. Thanks for posting it.

And thanks to Bob for posting the bio of the "cute guy in the middle" who Letty probably recognizes now. I believe you know that guy, Letty. I think we discussed him on the station on his birthday last year.

Betty Garrett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Betty GarrettBetty Garrett (born May 23, 1919 in St. Joseph, Missouri) is an American actress and dancer who belonged to the golden era of the movie musical. However, she is probably best known for a pair of roles in two prominent 1970s sitcoms. In late 1973, she joined the cast of All in the Family, playing Archie Bunker's socially liberal next-door neighbor, "Irene Lorenzo", a role she would remain in until her character was phased out in late 1975. The following year she joined the cast of Happy Days spin-off, Laverne and Shirley as "Edna Babish", Laverne and Shirley's landlady, who eventually married Laverne's father. She remained with that series until 1982.

She was married to Larry Parks, star of The Jolson Story and one of the "Blacklisted Hollywood 19" to be brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Although she herself was never accused, her career Hollywood suffered because of her husband's predicament. She found out to her happy surprise that the blacklist did not extend to Las Vegas or New York City.

Performing Career

Acting veteran, Gerrett has acted with the greats such as Frank Sinatra and Gene KellyBetty Garrett trained at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and, undecided between drama and dance, tried both, acting with Orson Welles' famed Mercury Theatre and performing with Martha Graham's dance company. For Garrett musical comedy seemed a happy compromise. When she was performing with the American Youth Theatre, Mike Todd saw her and signed her to understudy Ethel Merman in "Something For The Boys." Other Broadway musicals followed: "Jackpot", "Laffing Room Only" and "Call Me Mister", where her rendition of "South America, Take It Away" won her the Donaldson Award, the forerunner of the Tony Award.

With her husband, the late Larry Parks, Miss Garrett moved to California where she starred in "On The Town", "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", "Words and Music", "Neptune's Daughter" and "My Sister Eileen." She also began appearing on television in drama and variety shows, and made recordings.

Mr. and Mrs. Parks formed a musical team and toured nightclubs and theatres in the United States and England. Part of the reasons the couple started acting in England was because of her husband Larry Parks being black listed, which also affected her career, making it hard for them to work in the states. The two also appeared together on Broadway in "The Bells Are Ringing" and "Beg, Borrow or Steal."

A diversified performer, when not appearing in musicals for films and stage, she has played non-musical roles, starring in such plays as "A Girl Could Get Lucky", "Plaza Suite" and "Miss Reardon Drinks A Little." She also appeared in "Spoon River", which originated at Theatre West, went to Broadway for a four-week concert engagement and stayed a season. When it was revived in Los Angeles several years ago, Miss Garrett won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for this performance. Her second Los Angeles Drama Critics Award came when she first presented "Betty Garrett and Other Songs" at Theatre West. She has also appeared in this production at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Betty also ventured into directing with Arthur Miller's "The Price", at Theatre West. Her effort gained critical acclaim. More recently Garrett received her Star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Garrett has also received an Emmy for her role on All In The Family

Helen O'Connell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Helen O'Connell (May 23, 1920 - September 9, 1993) was a singer, actress, and dancer. Helen was born in Lima, Ohio.

Helen O'Connell joined the Jimmy Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early forties with "Green Eyes", "Amapola," and "Tangerine." In each of these Latin-influenced numbers Bob Eberly crooned the song which Helen then reprised in an up-tempo arrangement. Helen won the 1940 Metronome magazine poll for best female vocalist. She was one of the first "Today Show" girls. At one point Helen even had her own television show.

Helen retired from show business upon her first marriage in 1943. Helen had four daughters, and eight grandchildren. When the marriage failed she embarked on a solo career in 1951, achieving some chart success and becoming a regular television performer. Helen was married a total of four times. In her last marriage, she was married to arranger/conductor/composer Frank De Vol when she died in San Diego, California from a battle with cancer.

Helen also co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants with Bob Barker from 1972-1980.

Rosemary Clooney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 - June 29, 2002) was an American popular singer and actress.

She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, about 60 miles up the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio to Andrew Joseph Clooney and Frances Marie Guilfoyle, both of whom were of Irish descent (Rosemary's paternal great-grandparents, Nicholas Clooney and Bridget Byron, were born in Ireland), although Clooney's paternal grandmother, Crescentia Koch, was German. Her father was an alcoholic and she and her brother and sister were constantly moving back and forth between her parents. Eventually, when Rosemary was 13, she and her sister Betty went to live with their mother and her brother Nick went with their father.

Rosemary, Betty, and brother, Nick, as well as her nephew, George Clooney (Nick's son), all became entertainers. In 1945 the Clooney sisters won a spot on Cincinnati's radio station WLW as singers. Her sister Betty sang in a duo with Rosemary for much of her early career.

Clooney's first recordings, in May of 1946 were for Columbia Records as a singer with the big band of Tony Pastor. She continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia. In 1951 her record of "Come On-a My House" became a hit, her first of many singles to hit the charts.

In 1954 she, along with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen, starred in the movie White Christmas. In later years, Clooney would often appear with Crosby on television, such as in the 1957 special The Edsel Show, and the two friends made a concert tour of Ireland together. Crosby opined that Clooney was "the best in the business."

In 1958, Clooney left Columbia, doing a number of recordings for MGM Records and then some for Coral Records. Finally, toward the end of 1958, she signed with RCA Victor Records, where she stayed until 1963 except for doing some recordings in 1960 for Reprise Records. In 1964 she went to Reprise again, shifting the next year to Dot Records. In 1966 she went to United Artists Records. In 1986 she sang a duet with Wild Man Fischer on "It's a Hard Business".

In 1968, Clooney was present at the assassination of her close friend Robert F. Kennedy. The event traumatized her for years afterward. She had a nervous breakdown and serious drug problems. Many attribute some of Clooney's extraordinary abilities to her being affected by bipolar disorder, commonly known as manic depression.

Rosemary Clooney was married three times, twice to José Ferrer (from 1953 until 1961 and then again from 1964 to 1967) by whom she had five children, including actor Miguel Ferrer, born in 1955, and Gabriel Ferrer, born 1956, who married Debby Boone, and once to Dante DePaolo (whom she married in 1997).

A lifelong smoker, Rosemary Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001 and despite surgery died six months later. Her nephew George served as a pallbearer at her funeral, which was attended by numerous stars including Al Pacino.

Hey There
(Adler-Ross)



Hey there
You with the stars in your eyes
Love's never made a fool of you
You used to be too wise.

Hey there
You on that high-flying cloud
Though she won't throw a crumb to you
You think someday she'll come to you.

Better forget her
Her with her nose in the air
She's got you dancing on a string
Break it and she won't care

Won't you take this advice
I hand you like a brother
Or are you not seeing things too clear?
Are you too much in love to hear?
Is it all going in one ear
And out the other?


(repeat last verse)


Hey There! Hey There!
Hey There!.......

Joan Collins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joan Collins on the cover of Life Magazine 1955Joan Henrietta Collins OBE (born May 23, 1933) is a British actress and bestselling author.

Family and early life

Collins was born in London, England to Joseph William "Will" Collins (a South African-born Jewish talent agent) and Elsa Bessant (an English mother). She has one sister, the author Jackie Collins, and a brother Bill Collins. She was educated at the Francis Holland School and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) with actors such as Sir Roger Moore and Sir Michael Caine.


Early film career

At the age of 17 Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company, a highly profitable English studio and charm school.

In 1951, She made her feature debut as a beauty contest entrant in Lady Godiva Rides. In the early 1950s, she did double duty by posing for pin-up photos and acting in B-movies in Britain. After mild success, she was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1954 as their answer to Elizabeth Taylor.

However, after her youthful and highly splashy career as a sultry starlet, Collins became known more for her personal affairs with leading men such as Warren Beatty than her on-screen achievements. After losing such high-profile roles as Cleopatra (Collins was cast when Elizabeth Taylor fell ill, then dumped upon Taylor's recovery), Collins continued to work in films and occasionally in television.

Her notable guest appearances on American TV during the 1960s included Star Trek , Batman , Mission: Impossible and Police Woman.

In the 1970s, Collins starred in the film versions of her sister Jackie Collins' romantic novels The Bitch and The Stud. The films, like the books which inspired them, were trashy, full of nudity and raunchy sex scenes. Both were smash hits in England, becoming the most profitable films since the James Bond series.


Dynasty

On the cover of Playboy, December 1983 at the age of 50Collins's career changed dramatically when she was offered a role in the then-struggling prime time TV soap opera Dynasty (1981 - 1989) by producer Aaron Spelling. Created by Esther Shapiro, Spelling wanted Collins to play the role of tycoon Blake Carrington's vengeful ex-wife.

The role of Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan successfully relaunched Collins as a powerful sex symbol and icon of independence in her late 40s. Her performance helped the show beat main rival Dallas to become the No. 1 U.S. TV show in the early 1980s, and she became the highest-paid actress on television at the time.

She also appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine at the age of 50 to further establish herself as a sex symbol despite the then-popular cultural opinion that older women couldn't be sexy.


After Dynasty

After the end of Dynasty in 1989, Collins worked considerably less, making guest starring appearances on series such as Roseanne and The Nanny while dabbling in films like Decadence and A Midwinter's Tale in the mid 1990s.

In 1992 she made her successful Broadway debut in an adaptation of Noel Coward's Private Lives. She also guest starred in six episodes of Aaron Spelling's prime time soap opera Pacific Palisades in 1997.

In the late 1990s she appeared in several theatrical tours with the likes of George Hamilton and Stacey Keach. Additionally, she appeared in a West End production of Over the Moon with eccentric actor Frank Langella in 2000.

In 2002 she appeared in a limited run on the legendary daytime soap opera Guiding Light to favorable reviews. In 2004 she toured the United Kingdom with a revival of the play Full Circle to great success and much critical praise. In 2005 she proved to be a formidable guest host of the popular British quiz show Have I Got News For You, often making quick jokes with the audience.

In early 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in A Night With Joan Collins, a one-woman show in which she detailed the highs and lows of her roller coaster career and life, directed by her husband Percy Gibson.

Collins joined the cast of the hit British television series Footballer's Wives for a limited run as a glamorous magazine mogul, aptly named Eva de Woolfe. She also guest starred in the BBC series Hotel Babylon in 2006 as a lonely aristocrat desperate for romance.

In late 2006 she is set to tour North America in the play Legends! with former Dynasty co-star Linda Evans.


Marriage and family

While starring in a handful of Rank productions in 1952, Collins married British screen icon Maxwell Reed, whom she divorced in 1956 on her twenty-third birthday after he attempted to sell her to an Arab sheik. During this time she carried on much-talked-about romances with Conrad Hilton Jr., Dennis Hopper, Ryan O'Neal, Terence Stamp, Sydney Chaplin, and Warren Beatty.

The gossip mills set ablaze when Collins walked away from Hollywood and a successful career in the early 1960s to marry Anthony Newley, an award winning singer, actor and film composer. With Newley she had two children, a daughter, Tara (now a British television broadcaster) and a son, Sacha (who, in present day is a highly regarded artist). However, all was not well in the Newley marriage with infidelity on both sides leading to the couples divorce in 1970.

In 1972 Collins married her third husband, Ron Kass, who had been the president of Apple Records during the reign of The Beatles. During their marriage Collins had her third and final child, a daughter, Katyana (a photographer). In 1980, Collins's world was turned upside down when Katy was struck by a speeding car, leaving the young child in a coma. Collins and her husband bought a trailer and parked it in the hospital parking lot in order to be as close to their daughter as possible. Their persistence paid off when Katyana emerged from her coma a few months later, although it would take years for her to fully recover.

Unfortunately, like her other two marriages, Collins's third attempt at matrimony failed as she and Kass divorced in 1983 as he battled substance abuse, although they remained very close until his death, from cancer, in 1986 as Collins was riding the crest of her super stardom on Dynasty.

In 1985, Collins became a bride for the fourth time when she married Swedish singer Peter Holm in a quickie ceremony in Las Vegas. The marriage lasted a year and the divorce proceedings lasted just as long with an embarrassing media circus ensuing. As orchestrated by Collins's divorce lawyer, the flashy Marvin Mitchelson, the coutroom theatrics hit their peak when Holm's mistress burst out of her blouse on the stand, to thunderous laughter from Collins. Mitchelson successfully defended the prenuptial agreement Collins had drafted prior to her wedding and Holm faded into oblivion.

Blistered from her last foray into wedded bliss and with Dynasty winding down after a decade Collins left Los Angeles and returned to London where she lived with much younger art dealer Robin Hurlstone for over a decade.

In 2001 Collins and Hurlstone ended their relationship and Collins struck up a romance with theatrical company manager Percy Gibson, a man 32 years her junior. ("If he dies, he dies" quipped Collins.) They married on February 17th, 2002 at Claridge's Hotel in London.

Personal politics

After decades of flirting with British politics on May 24, 2004, Collins joined the UK Independence Party. [1] In October 2004, Collins stated she was not a supporter, but rather a patron of the party.

In early 2005, Collins commented that she had rejoined the Conservative Party, stating, "The Labour Party doesn't care about the British people." [2] In addition, after writing several articles for the UK newspaper The Daily Mail in 2005, it was rumoured that Collins was approached by several members of the Conservative Party in hopes of luring her to run for Parliament.

She also continues to contribute as The Spectator Magazine Guest Diarist, something she has done since the late 1990s.

Homes

Collins has lived, at different times, in London and Los Angeles. In 2001 Collins sold her Los Angeles penthouse, moving to a luxurious Manhattan condo in the Upper East Side. She now divides her time between her New York City home, an apartment in the fashionable neighbourhood of Belgravia (London), and a stylish villa in the south of France.

Books

Her sister, Jackie Collins, is a well-known novelist, and Joan Collins has also established herself as an author. In addition to her memoirs, Past Imperfect (1978) and Second Act (1996), she has written bestselling novels (Prime Time, Love & Desire & Hate, Infamous, Star Quality, Misfortune's Daughters) and lifestyle books (The Joan Collins Beauty Book, My Secrets, My Friends Secrets, Joan's Way).

In September, 1991, Joan Collins delivered a 690-page manuscript to Random House. However, the publishing firm later demanded the return of its $1.3 million advance from Collins, claiming she failed to deliver completed books as per her contract. In court, Collins stated that Random House had received her novel, The Ruling Passion, in 1991 plus another novel, Hell Hath No Fury, in September, 1992. She also contended that Random House had not provided the editorial assistance she had expected.

Her Random House contract, negotiated by agent Irving Lazar, required that she was to be paid even if her completed manuscripts were not published. On February 29, 1996, a jury determined that she could keep the advance for the first novel, but the publisher did not have to pay for the second manuscript since it was a reworking of the first. Judge Ira Gammerman then ruled that Random House owed Collins $925,000 plus interest for a grand total of $1.3 million.

TV adverts

Beginning in the early 1970s, Collins appeared in television and magazine advertisements for British Airways, in which she was referred to as their "Most Frequent Flyer of First Class" a title which she has maintained, having promoted the airline for more than three decades. In the late 1970s, she appeared alongside Leonard Rossiter in a series of Cinzano TV commercials in which the drink was spilled down her character's dress. This was named as one of the Top 100 British Adverts in a Channel 4 poll. In the mid 1980s, Collins appeared in print advertisements for Canada Dry Ginger Ale and was the face of Revlon's Scoundrel perfume. In 1992 she appeared in internationally broadcast television commercials for Marca Bravaria beer while also acting as the face of the perfume Spectacular. She also appeared in TV ads for UK retailer Marks & Spencer and the Marriot Hotel chain in 2002.

Drew Carey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Drew CareyDrew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA) is an American actor and comedian recognizable by his crew cut and black-rimmed glasses. A former United States Marine reservist, he adopted his hair style during his time in the service.

Carey was working as a stand-up comedian in 1991 when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. His performance that night brought the house down and impressed Johnny Carson personally. Carey claims he reached the limit on his credit card the next day returning calls from interested casting directors, and he credited Carson with making his career. He subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, some of them alongside Kathy Kinney, in which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor.

In 1995 ABC began showing The Drew Carey Show, a sitcom that featured Carey and Kinney in their previous characters. Carey played the assistant director of personnel at a department store in Cleveland, Ohio. Carey also hosted the United States version of the improvisational comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?

In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined. In it, he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight, and revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made attempts at suicide.

He also wrote of his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and of his professional career up to that time.

In 2000, he received an honorary Ph.D. degree from Cleveland State University.

Carey was the first TV star (as opposed to wrestler or athlete) to ever enter the World Wrestling Federation's 30-man "Royal Rumble" battle royal match in 2001; he was promoting an improv comedy pay per view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match; he eliminated himself by offering a bribe and then fleeing the ring when Kane came out.

Carey is also known for his Republican leanings and has expressed support for the Libertarian Party. The Drew Carey Show often backed a libertarian critique of political correctness, government regulations, racism, sexism, and homophobia, with storylines involving Carey's cross-dressing brother dating a bisexual woman (played by Illeana Douglas) for two episodes, ongoing criticism of the Boy Scouts of America's exclusionary policy against gay men, and support for same-sex marriage.

Since the show was cancelled, however, Carey has clarified that he is more of a conservative with libertarian leanings, and that he said he was libertarian to avoid a Hollywood bias against conservatives.

For The WB's 2004 - 2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway. It was cancelled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central.

Drew Carey had a small role in the movie Coneheads as a taxi passenger.

Philanthrophically, Carey is known for his support of libraries. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings.

He credits libraries for launching his comedy career. After he left the Reserve, he followed up on a suggestion by a friend that he go into comedy by checking out books on how to write jokes from the library.

Carey is also known for being a devoted Cleveland Browns, Indians and US Soccer fan. When he promoted The Drew Carey Show in 1995, at the same time the Indians were making a miraculous run at the World Series, he poked fun at the rest of baseball by saying, "Finally, it's your team that sucks!"

He is also a season ticket holder with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Comedy Central ranked him #84 on its list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.

Carey has also made a cameo appearance in the game The Sims, but only in the House Party expansion pack. To make him appear, your Sims must throw a successful party, which will cause a limo to show up and he will join the festivities. Drew is a fan of The Sims series, and has been said to play it often. During one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims. He also loves playing RuneScape.

Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for The Cleveland Public Library charity.

You can sometimes see Drew Carey on the sidelines of US National Team soccer games as a press photographer (see[1]). His images are sold via wire services under a pseudonym.

Councilman Sean Brennan of Carey's hometown (Parma, Ohio) has commended Carey for placing Parma (a Cleveland suburb) on the world stage.

Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore does not actually require glasses. Any glasses he wears in public are merely props to help the audience recognize him. -- While this was true for several years, recently he revealed on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show that when he turned 40 he developed a need for bifocals.

Jewel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Jewel Kilcher
Born May 23, 1974
Origin Payson, Utah, United States

Years active 1995-present

Jewel Kilcher (born May 23, 1974 in Payson, Utah) is a singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and author, better known by her first name, Jewel. Her albums are successful in countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Canada and Australia besides the United States.

Early years

Jewel was born in Payson, Utah to immigrants from Switzerland, and spent most of her young life growing up in Homer, Alaska, living with her father. The home in which she grew up did not have indoor plumbing, but a simple outhouse instead. She and her father sometimes earned a living by singing in bars and taverns. It was from these experiences she learned to yodel, a quality demonstrated in many of her songs. Her father was a Mormon, but they stopped attending the church shortly before she turned eight.

During high school, Jewel was known to spell her name "Jule" or "Juel", but she attributes this to simply playing with her name, as teenagers are prone to do.

Jewel learned to play the guitar while on scholarship at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, where she majored in operatic voice. She started writing songs at the age of seventeen.

For a time, she was poverty-stricken and lived in her van while traveling about the country busking and doing small gigs. She gained some recognition by singing at the Innerchange Coffeehouse and Java Joe's in San Diego, California. Her friend Steve Poltz's band, The Rugburns played the same venues. Jewel later collaborated with Poltz on some of her songs including "You Were Meant For Me". He appeared in Jewel's band on the Spirit World Tour 1999 playing guitar.

Career

Music

It was at these coffeehouse appearances that she was discovered by Atlantic Records. She cut her debut album, Pieces of You, when she was nineteen and it was released in 1995. Some of the songs on the album were recorded at the coffeehouse. The album stayed on the Billboard 200 for an impressive two years, reaching number four at its peak popularity. The album spawned the Top 10 hits "You Were Meant for Me", "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "Foolish Games". The album was a huge success and eventually sold over 12 million copies in the US alone.

The original version of "Who Will Save Your Soul" was removed from the final version of the album when she went back into the studio and reworked the single for the radio. Instead of just a guitar and her voice, other instruments were added and more pop sound was created, a verse was cut, and the radio version of the single was produced.

Jewel's music is noted for what appears to be stark honesty and soulful introspection. However many of her songs are not based on real events that actually occurred in her life despite appearing to do so. This makes the degree to which they are honest or introspective questionable. Her songs resist categorization, but, because of their mostly guitar accompaniment, have sometimes been categorized as folk music or the hybrid class folk-pop. However, her music is mostly recognized as popular music and enjoys wide exposure on a variety of music radio stations.

Due to her success, she was chosen to sing the national anthem at the opening of the Super Bowl in January 1998.

In November 1998, Jewel released her second album, Spirit. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 4 million copies in the US. The songs "Hands" and "Down So Long" hit the Top 10. Other singles followed, a new version of "Jupiter (Swallow The Moon), "What's Simple Is True", the theme song to her upcoming movie, and the charity single "Life Uncommon".

A year later, In November 1999, Jewel released her holiday album, Joy: A Holiday Collection. The album sold over a million copies and peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200. She released a cover of "Joy to the World" from the album.

In November 2001, the album This Way was released. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 1 million copies in the US, standing as her most critically acclaimed album to date. Jewel hit the Top 10 with the song "Standing Still" and the Top 40 with the song "Break Me". Other singles released were "This Way" and "Serve The Ego", the latter giving Jewel her first number one club hit.

Although noted for original songs, Jewel has been known to cover a few famous tunes. Of note are the acoustic version of the classic The Water Is Wide and the Christmas songs on Joy: A Holiday Collection. However, the rise of file-sharing software has led to at least two instances where many people mistakenly believe she sings other cover versions: the version "Bizarre Love Triangle" credited to Jewel is in fact by Frente!, while the version of "Leaving On A Jet Plane" credited to Bjork and Jewel is actually by Chantal Kreviazuk.

In 2003 Jewel underwent a drastic image change with the release of her album 0304. She writes in her liner notes, "I wanted to make a record that was a modern interpretation of big band music. A record that was lyric driven, like Cole Porter stuff, that also had a lot of swing. And a lot of it is thanks to Lester, because when I told him I wanted to make a record that combined dance, urban and folk music, he didn't look at me like I was crazy." While some fans considered 0304 an innovative album that held to the tradition of her previous albums, others felt that Jewel's new direction brought with it an unwelcome change to her folky sound and folksy, unassuming persona [1].

Her video for the debut single Intuition had her cavorting in full dance numbers, often scantily clad in bras and bikinis. The song and video were an ironic social commentary on the state of music, but it left many wondering if Jewel had in fact become what she was satirizing, especially considering the fact the song was licensed by Schick to promote their new Intuition woman's razor. "Intuition" hit the Top 20, and the album 0304 debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, giving Jewel her highest chart dating ever. A follow-up single, "Stand," was released, but did not help the album in the USA, where it sold just 900,000 units, making it her lowest-selling album. "0304" gave Jewel her highest selling album in Australia, despite its lukewarm reception elsewhere.

On May 2, 2006, Jewel released her sixth album, "Goodbye Alice In Wonderland". The album received mixed reviews, but still managed to debut at #8 on the Billboard Albums Chart, despite only having a luke-warm lead single. The album sold 82,000 copies in its first week out. While the lead single "Again and Again" has had moderate success on Top 40 Radio, it is speculated that another single from the album needs to be released as soon as possible, to keep the album alive.


Personal Life

Has had a long-term relationship with rodeo star Ty Murray.

Critiques

One retrospective critique of Jewel's albums is that most of the singles released from her records are remixed, radically altered, or completely different recordings of the song found on the record. Fans and critics alike have come to label Jewel "The Revision Queen" and chastize the artist for succumbing to the pressures of transforming the folk tracks that make up her records into more mainstream and radio-friendly singles in the hopes, some say, of selling more records. This may have lead to her unforeseen pop departure 2003's 0304. Of the seventeen singles released since her debut record Pieces of You, twelve have been altered for the radio. Some interpret this as a deception: record buyers think they're purchasing an album containing the hits they have heard on the radio when in actuality the radio versions of the singles are unavailable until a greatest hits record is released, sometimes a decade or two later.

"Speaking the Truth"

The First Mate on a ship decided to celebrate
with a bit of stowed-away rum. He got so drunk
that he was still a little drunk the next morning.
Later in the day, when the First Mate had sobered
up, he looked in the ship's log. He read the
Captain's entry for the day: "The First Mate
was drunk today."

"Captain, please don't leave that in the log,"
the Mate said. "This could add months or years
to my becoming a captain myself."

"Well, is it true ?" asked the Captain, knowing
full well it was.

"Yes, it's true," admitted the mate.

"If it's true, it has to stay in the log. That's
the rule. If it's true, it goes in the log. End
of discussion !" said the Captain sternly.

Weeks later, it was the First Mate's turn to make
the log entry. The First Mate wrote: "The ship
seems to be in good shape. The Captain was sober
today."

I feel an apology is warranted for my rapid exit awhile ago. It was not my choice. A battle with the bugs took place during which I was thrown out of a2k. This battle also removed my favorites list and installed a number of unwelcome sites. An earlier battle today delayed my appearance for an hour and a half before I could make my first post. I had to execute a system restore to return to normal and the bugs have left the field of battle for now. (phew!)

Well, our Bob is through with his bio's , folks. Revenge is so sweet, right folks? Love it, Hawkman.

Ah, yes, Raggedy. John Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia as was Wayne Newton, I think.

What happens when you cross Wayne with Eve? You get a fig newton. Now, PA. that's a groaner. <smile>

Joan Collins now;



She looks marvelous, right?

Wow! Bob. I thought for a moment that you meant that you were banned in Boston.

Glad your machine is now working properly, honey.

Well, folks. Our European contingency has been represented well today, but we miss our Walter who is busy with his black and whites.

For Walter and Try:


Three Dog Night
» Black And White

The ink is black
The page is white
Together we learn
To read and write.

A child is black
A child is white
The whole world looks
Upon the sight
A beautiful sight.

And now a child
Can understand
That this is the law
Of all the land
All the land.

The world is black
The world is white
It turns by day
and then by night.

A child is black
A child is white
Together they grow
To see the light
To see the light.

And now at last
We plainly see
They'll have a dance
Of Liberty
Liberty.

The world is black
The world is white
It turns by day
And then by night.

A child is black
A child is white
The whole world looks
Upon the sight
A beautiful sight.

The world is black
The world is white
It turns by day
And then by night.

A child is black
A child is white
Together they grow
To see the light
To see the light.

The world is black
The world is white
It turns by day
And then by night.

A child is black
A child is white
Together they grow
To see the light
To see the light
Come on
Get it
Get it
OOOhh ya
Ya
Keep it up now
Around the world
Little boys
Little girls
Yaaa.

A guy from building code enforcement called about your…



HOLE IN THE GROUND
Joe Brown Lyrics


There I was, a-digging this hole
A hole in the ground, so big and sort of round it was
There was I, digging it deep
It was flat at at the bottom and the sides were steep
When along, comes this bloke in a bowler which he lifted and scratched his head
Well we looked down the hole, poor demented soul and he said

Do you mind if I make a suggestion?

Don't dig there, dig it elsewhere
You're digging it round and it ought to be square
The shape of it's wrong, it's much much too long
And you can't put a hole where a hole don't belong

I ask, what a liberty eh
Nearly bashed him right in the bowler

Well there was I, stood in me hole
Shovelling earth for all I was worth
There was him, standing up there
So grand and official with his nose in the air
So I gave him a look sort of sideways and I leaned on my shovel and sighed

Well I lit me a fag and having took a drag I replied

I just couldn't bear, to dig it elsewhere
I'm digging it round 'cos I don't want it square
And if you disagree it don't bother me
That's the place where the hole's gonna be

Well there we were, discussing this hole
A hole in the ground so big and sort of round
Well it's not there now, the ground's all flat
And beneath it is the bloke in the bowler hat.

And that's that!

Heh! Heh! Our Try really knows where to find the holes. You play golf, buddy?

Hey, my paramour(power mower) man was responsible for that hole.

When you were a kid, folks, did you ever dig a hole to try and get to.....



Dig a slow hole to China

Like a Bangkok miner

No turn un-stoned I tremble

Hold my candle's handle

Mama always said

"You better come home"

Stuck in the mud

Dug a slow hole

My blue cow

Gotta get her back here somehow

My brown bag

Never gonna guess what I have

Mama always said

"You better come home"

Stuck in the mud

Dug a slow hole

If it's too shallow then dig it more deep

If it's too narrow then dig it more wide

If you see a point of light

Shake hands with the other side

If it's too shallow then dig it more deep

If it's too narrow then dig it more wide

If you see the point of light

Shake hands with the other side

A lighthouse in Kentucky

Oh I should be so lucky

Sell fill dirt to the groundlings

And water to the drowning

Mama always said

"You better come home"

Stuck in the mud

Dug a slow hole

Artist: Brad Paisley Lyrics
Song: Mud On The Tires

I've got some big news, the bank finally came through,
And I'm holding the keys to the brand new Chevrolet
Have you been outside? It sure is a nice night
How about a little test-drive, down by the lake?

There's a place I know about, where the dirt road runs out
We can try out the four-wheel drive
Come on now whata' ya say? Girl I can hardly wait-
To get a little mud on the tires

Cause it's a good night, to be out there soakin' up the moonlight
Steak out a little piece of shoreline, I got the perfect place in mind
It's in the middle of nowhere, only one way to get there
Gotta get a little mud on the tires

Moonlight on a duck vine, catfish on a trout line
Sun sets about nine, this time of year
We can throw a blanket down, crickets singing in the background
And more stars than you can count on a night this clear

Tell ya what we need to do, grab a sleepin' bag or two
And build us a little campfire
Then with a little luck, we might just get stuck
Lets get a little mud on the tires

Cause it's a good night, to be out there soakin' up the moonlight
Steak out a little piece of shoreline, I got the perfect place in mind
It's in the middle of nowhere, only one way to get there
Gotta get a little mud on the tires

Then with a little luck, we might just get stuck
Lets get a little mud on the tires

Here's one that I remember with a smile, Try and listeners:

Artist/Band: Kershaw Sammy
Lyrics for Song: Chevy Van
Lyrics for Album: Politics, Religion And Her

I gave a girl a ride in my wagon
Now she crawled in and took control
She was tired as her mind was draggin'
And I said get some sleep--we'll get on down the road

Like a picture she was laying there
And moonlight dancing off her hair
She woke up and took me by the hand
She's gonna love me in my Chevy van
And that's all right with me

Her young face was like that of an angel
And her long legs were tanned and brown
Better keep your eyes on the road son
Better slow this vehicle down

'Cause like a picture she was laying there
And moonlight dancing off her hair
She woke up and took me by the hand
She's gonna love me in my Chevy van
And that's all right with me

I put her out in a town that was so small
You could throw a rock from end to end
A dirt road main street, she walked off in her barefeet
And it's a shame I won't be passin' through again

Like a picture she was laying there
And moonlight dancing off her hair
She woke up and took me by the hand
We made love me in my Chevy van
And that's all right with me

Yeah like a picture she was laying there
And moonlight dancing off her hair
She woke up and took me by the hand
We made love me in my Chevy van
And that's all right with me

All right with me