WA2K Radio is now on the air

Subject: NONPARTISAN JOKE



While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by
a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at
the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems
there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts,
you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is
have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose
where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the
senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down,
down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of
a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front
of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress They run to greet him, shake
his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting Rich
at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then
dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really
is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes.
They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to
go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reo pens on heaven where St.
Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls
moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a
good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St.
Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now
choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never
have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I
would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to
hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren
land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in
rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash
falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his
shoulder.
"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and
there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar,
drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland
full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.
Today you voted."

Well, BioBob, you left us with a smile that truly represents the life style of politicians. Thanks once again for the great celeb background, hawkman.

You know, folks. There is a song called The Triumvirate by Manilla Road. What a nice surprise to return to the glory that was Rome.

Until the pup pads in with all her delightful photo's, let's listen to one by Sonny and Cher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw9phpym614&feature=related

I think that I will let Eva Cassidy say goodnight for me. She died when she was only 33. This is a beautiful song of remembering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDMqFvh5Lcs&feature=related

Until tomorrow then...

From Letty with love

Beautiful Letty. Thank you.

after my latest hiatus, i'd like to play 2 related 60's number

[Roll up! Roll up for the magical mystery tour!
Step right this way!]

Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up (And that's an invitation), roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up (To make a reservation), roll up for the mystery tour
The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away
Waiting to take you away

Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up (We've got everything you need), roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up (Satisfaction guaranteed), roll up for the mystery tour
The magical mystery tour is hoping to take you away
Hoping to take you away

Mystery trip

Aaaah... the magical mystery tour
Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up (And that's an invitation), roll up for the mystery tour
Roll up (To make a reservation), roll up for the mystery tour
The magical mystery tour is coming to take you away
Coming to take you away
The magical mystery tour is dying to take you away
Dying to take you away, take you today

Every day I get in the queue (Too much, Magic Bus)
To get on the bus that takes me to you (Too much, Magic Bus)
I'm so nervous, I just sit and smile (Too much, Magic Bus)
You house is only another mile (Too much, Magic Bus)

Thank you, driver, for getting me here (Too much, Magic Bus)
You'll be an inspector, have no fear (Too much, Magic Bus)
I don't want to cause no fuss (Too much, Magic Bus)
But can I buy your Magic Bus? (Too much, Magic Bus)

Nooooooooo!

I don't care how much I pay (Too much, Magic Bus)
I wanna drive my bus to my baby each day (Too much, Magic Bus)

I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it... (You can't have it!)
Thruppence and sixpence every day
Just to drive to my baby
Thruppence and sixpence each day
'Cause I drive my baby every way

Magic Bus, Magic Bus, Magic Bus...

I said, now I've got my Magic Bus (Too much, Magic Bus)
I said, now I've got my Magic Bus (Too much, Magic Bus)
I drive my baby every way (Too much, Magic Bus)
Each time I go a different way (Too much, Magic Bus)

I want it, i want it, I want it, I want it...

Every day you'll see the dust (Too much, Magic Bus)
As I drive my baby in my Magic Bus (Too much, Magic Bus)

Ooops! Going over entries I see I failed to acknowledge some kind words from Tai Chi. Mea culpa. Might be time for me to get some new spectacles before I make a spectacle of myself. Kind words are always appreciated. Thank you.

Good morning, WA2K radio audience.

Tai, isn't Eva Cassidy a great vocalist? That tour via music was wonderful, and thank you for observing that.

M.D. Welcome back. My word, honu, a magical bus on a mystical tour. Don't know the songs, buddy, but I will most certainly check them out.

Hey, Bob. It's always nice to acknowledge someone who appreciates what we have done here.

Well, folks, it seems that today is this young man's birthday and I think he is quite good, so let's listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP-X1D8yzHM&feature=related

Good Morning Letty.

Re: Eva Cassidy, I do love her voice, it's so pure. I prefer her interpretation of Fields of Gold to that of Sting (am I right in thinking he wrote it?)

(And "Hi" Bob. I'd be lost without my magnifier glasses from the dollar store!)

You are spot on, Tai. That was a reinterpretation of Sting's version.

Here's the music to go with M.D.'s song. I did a bit of research and found it was by the Fab Four.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFJMv62jlqs

Arthur Hunnicutt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born February 17, 1910(1910-02-17)
Gravelly, Arkansas, U.S.
Died September 26, 1979 (aged 69)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.

Arthur Hunnicutt (February 17, 1910 - September 26, 1979) was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise grizzled, old rural characters.

A native of Gravelly, Arkansas, Hunnicutt attended Arkansas State Teachers College but dropped out during his junior year when he ran out of money. He moved to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts where he joined up with a theatre company before moving to New York where he quickly found himself landing roles in Broadway productions. While touring as the lead actor in Tobacco Road, he developed the country character he would later be typecast as throughout his career. Hunnicutt often found himself cast as a character much older than himself.

Hunnicutt appeared in a number of films in the early 1940s before returning to the stage. In 1949 he moved back to Hollywood and resumed his film career. He played a long string of supporting role characters - sympathetic, wise rural types, as in The Red Badge of Courage (1951), The Lusty Men (1952), The Tall T (1957) and El Dorado (1966).

In 1952 he earned an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor in the Howard Hawks western The Big Sky.

Throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Hunnicutt made nearly 40 guest appearances on American television programs such as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman and The Twilight Zone.

In his later years, Hunnicutt served as Honorary Mayor of Northridge, California. He developed tongue cancer. He died in 1979 and is buried in the Coop Prairie Cemetery in Mansfield, Arkansas.

Arthur Kennedy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name John Arthur Kennedy
Born February 17, 1914(1914-02-17)
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died January 5, 1990 (aged 75)
Branford, Connecticut, U.S.
Spouse(s) Mary Cheffrey (1938-1975)
[show]Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1956 Trial

Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914 - January 5, 1990) was an American actor.





Life and work

Born John Arthur Kennedy in Worcester, Massachusetts, he graduated from Worcester Academy in 1930, and acted both on the stage and screen, receiving a Tony Award for the role of Biff Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949). Kennedy also inaugurated three other major characters in Miller plays: Chris Keller in All My Sons (1947), John Proctor in The Crucible (1953), and Walter Franz in The Price (1968). He also received five Academy Award nominations, never winning. He and Claude Rains share the record of four losing nominations for Best Supporting Actor Oscar.[1]

Kennedy got his break when he was discovered by James Cagney. His first film role was of Cagney's younger brother in City for Conquest in 1940. He portrayed good guys and bad guys equally, appearing in Western films and police dramas. He also turned in a worthy performance as a surgeon in 1966's Fantastic Voyage.

He starred in several well-received films in the late 1940s and the 1950s, including High Sierra, They Died with Their Boots On, Boomerang, Champion, The Window, The Glass Menagerie, Bright Victory, Bend of the River, The Lusty Men, Rancho Notorious, The Desperate Hours, Lawrence of Arabia, The Man From Laramie, The Naked Dawn, Trial, Peyton Place, Some Came Running, A Summer Place and Elmer Gantry.[2]



Kennedy was married to Mary Cheffrey from 1938 until her death in 1975. They had two children, Terrence and Laurie Kennedy. Laurie followed in the footsteps of her parents and became an actress. Both Mary and Arthur are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Wayne Morris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Wayne Morris (February 17, 1914 - September 14, 1959), born Bert DeWayne Morris in Los Angeles, was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many notable films, including Paths of Glory (1957) and the title role of Kid Galahad in 1937.

While filming Flight Angels (1940), Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the Naval Reserve and became a Navy flier in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of the war. Assigned to the carrier USS Essex in the Pacific, Morris shot down seven Japanese planes and contributed to the sinking of five ships. He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals. He married Patricia O'Rourke, an Olympic swimmer, and sister to B-movie actress Peggy Stewart.

Following the war, Morris returned to films, but his nearly four-year absence had cost him his burgeoning stardom. He continued to act in movies, but the pictures, for the most part, sank in quality. Losing his boyish looks but not demeanor, Morris spent most of the fifties in low-budget westerns. He made an unusual career move in 1957, making his Broadway debut as a washed-up boxing champ in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers. In a similar vein, a wonderful performance as a weakling in Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957) might have given impetus to a new career as a character actor had Morris lived. However, he suffered a massive heart attack while visiting aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard in San Francisco Bay and was pronounced dead after being transported to Oakland Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He was 45. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Raf Vallone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Raffaele Vallone
Born February 17, 1916(1916-02-17)
Tropea , Calabria , Italy
Died October 31, 2002(2002-10-31)
Rome , Italy
Years active 1949-2000

Raffaele Vallone, known as Raf, (February 17, 1916 - October 31, 2002), was an Italian actor and an international film star.

Born in Tropea, Calabria, Italy, the son of a lawyer, Vallone studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Turin and entered his father's law firm. He also played semi-professional soccer but never realized his dream of becoming a professional athlete. Subsequently, he became a sports reporter for L'Unità, a communist newspaper, and also a drama critic for La Stampa. During World War II, Vallone served with the anti-Fascist resistance.

His first film appearance was in We the Living (1942, but Vallone was not interested in an acting career. Nevertheless, he was cast as a soldier competing with Vittorio Gassman for the love of Silvana Mangano in Riso amaro (Bitter Rice) (1949). The film became a neo-realist classic and Vallone was launched on an international career.

Vallone was married to the actress Elena Varzi from 1952 until his death. He had two children who are actors, Eleonora Vallone and Saverio Vallone.

He died in Rome in 2002.

Kathleen Freeman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born February 17, 1919
Chicago, Illinois
Died August 23, 2001
New York, New York

Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1919 - August 23, 2001) was an American film, television, and stage character actress. In a career that spanned more than fifty years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.




Biography

Early life

Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career as a child, dancing in her parents' vaudeville act. After a stint studying music at UCLA, she went into acting full time, working on the stage, and finally entering films in 1948.


Career

Freeman's most notable early role was an uncredited part in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain, as Jean Hagen's articulate diction coach Phoebe Dinsmore. In 1954, Freeman played receptionist Miss Seely for lawyer Adam Calhorn Shaw (Edmund Purdom) in Athena. Beginning with the 1955 film Artists and Models, Freeman became a favorite foil of Jerry Lewis, playing opposite him in ten movies. These included most of Lewis's better known comedies, including The Disorderly Orderly as Nurse Higgins, The Errand Boy as the studio boss's wife, and especially The Nutty Professor as Millie Lemon. Over thirty years later, she had a small cameo in The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, a sequel to the remake of the Lewis film.

Still other film roles included appearances in the horror film The Fly (1958), the Western spoofs Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), and appearances in a spate of comedies in the 1980s and 1990s. Freeman played Sister Mary Stigmata in John Landis' The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000, had cameos in Joe Dante's Innerspace and Gremlins 2 (as tipsy cooking host Microwave Marge in 2), and a Ma Barker type gangster mother in Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.

Freeman was also a familiar presence on television, from the 1950s until her death, with regular or recurring roles on many sitcoms, including Topper (as Katie the maid), Hogan's Heroes (as Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer, General Burkhalter's sister, who longed to wed Colonel Klink), The Beverly Hillbillies (in a story arc as Flo Shafer, wife of conman Phil Silvers)and as Aggie (the maid of the new rich neighbor), the short-lived prehistoric sitcom It's About Time (as Mrs. Boss), and as the voice of Peg Bundy's mom, an unseen character on Married... with Children. She played guest roles on countless other shows, from The Lucy Show to Home Improvement. Freeman was considered for the part of Alice the housekeeper on The Brady Bunch. The role ultimately went to Ann B. Davis.

In later years, Freeman also worked extensively as a voice actress, playing Ma Crackshell on DuckTales, a Theban woman in Disney's Hercules, and fortune teller Madame Xima in the video game Curse of Monkey Island.

Freeman remained active in her last two years, with a regular voice role on As Told By Ginger, a voice bit in Shrek, a guest appearance on Becker and, most notably, scoring a Tony Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for her role of accompanist Jeannette Burmeister in the Broadway musical version of The Full Monty.

In her final episode of As Told By Ginger, season 2's "No Hope For Courtney.", her character, Mrs. Gordon, retires from her teaching job and two of her students try to get her back. The script was originally written to have Mrs. Gordon come back to work, but Freeman died before the episode was finished. The script was then re-written to make her character die as well. The episode was dedicated in her memory.


Personal life

A lesbian, the British reports of her death included her surviving long-time companion, Helen Ramsey,[1] but the U.S. obituaries did not.

Weakened by illness, Freeman was forced to leave the Full Monty cast. Five days later, she died of lung cancer at age 82. Her ashes are inurned in a niche at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

Hal Holbrook
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr.[1]
Born February 17, 1925 (1925-02-17) (age 82)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Other name(s) Harold Holbrook
Spouse(s) Dixie Carter
(1984-present)
Carol Eve Rossen
(1966-1979) (divorced)
Ruby Holbrook
(1945-1965) (divorced)
[show]Awards
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Mini-Series
1976 Lincoln
1974 Pueblo
Actor Of The Year
1974 Pueblo
Outstanding Continued Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role In A Dramatic Series
1971 The Bold Ones: The Senator
Tony Awards
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
1966 Mark Twain Tonight
Other Awards
Golden Apple
1971 Male Star Of The Year

Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr.[1] (born February 17, 1925) is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy Award-[2] and Tony Award-winning[3] American actor. Best known for his appereances in several TV series such as Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 tv series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo, He is also well known for his role in the recent film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award[2] as well as an Academy Award.





Biography

Early life

Holbrook was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Aileen (née Davenport), a vaudeville dancer, and Harold Rowe Holbrook, Sr.[4] He was raised in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. Holbrook graduated from the Culver Academies and Denison University, where an honors project about Mark Twain led him to develop the one-man show he is best known for, a series of performances called Mark Twain Tonight for which he won both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award.[3] Holbrook served in the US Army in World War II and was stationed in Newfoundland, where he performed in little theatre, including the play Madam Precious.


Career

According to Playbill, Holbrook's first solo performance as Twain was at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954. Ed Sullivan saw him and gave Holbrook his first national exposure on his February 12, 1956 show. The State Department even sent him on a European tour, which included pioneering appearances behind the Iron Curtain. In 1959, Holbrook first played the role Off-Broadway. Columbia Records recorded an LP of excerpts from the show.

In 1967, Mark Twain Tonight was presented on television by CBS and Xerox, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance. Holbrook's Twain first played on Broadway in 1966, and again in 1977 and 2005; Holbrook was at least 80 years old during his most recent Broadway run, older (for the first time) than the character he was portraying. Holbrook won a Tony Award for the performance in 1966. Mark Twain Tonight has repeatedly toured across the country in what as of 2005 has amounted to over 2000 performances. In 1964, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy. In 1968, he was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway production of Man of La Mancha, although he had limited singing ability.


Holbrook co-starred with Martin Sheen in the controversial and acclaimed 1972 television movie That Certain Summer said to be the first television movie to portray homosexuality in a sympathetic, non-judgmental light. In 1976, Holbrook won further acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg's acclaimed biography. He has also starred in many films and TV programs. He won an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series in the 1970 TV series, "The Bold Ones: The Senator". In 1979 he starred, with Katharine Ross, Barry Bostwick, and Richard Anderson in the made-for-TV movie, "Murder by Natural Causes".

Early in his career he worked on stage and in a television soap opera, The Brighter Day. Holbrook is also famous for his role as the enigmatic Deep Throat (whose identity was unknown at the time) in the film All the President's Men. More recently, Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star in a 2006 episode of the HBO series, The Sopranos.

Holbrook has appeared in at least six movies in which he is part of a conspiracy: Fletch Lives, Magnum Force, The Star Chamber, Capricorn One, All the President's Men, and The Firm.

Holbrook appeared on Fisher Investments' infomercials.

Perhaps referencing the Twain story 'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County', the Eastern Spadefoot Toad is named Scaphiopus holbrookii.

He recently appeared in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild and was nominated for an Academy Award, making him, at 82, the oldest male nominee in Academy history. On December 20, 2007, Holbrook was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in the film.[2] In late August 2007 thru mid-September he starred as the narrator in the Hartford Stage production of Thorton Wilder's "Our Town."

Alan Bates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Alan Arthur Bates
Born February 17, 1934(1934-02-17)
Allestree, Derbyshire, England UK
Died December 27, 2003 (aged 69) (pancreatic cancer)
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Victoria Ward (1970-1992)(her death) 2 Children

Sir Alan Arthur Bates, CBE (February 17, 1934 - December 27, 2003) was an English actor.





Biography

Early life

Bates, the eldest of three brothers, was born in Allestree, Derby, the son of Florence Mary (née Wheatcroft), a homemaker, and Harold Arthur Bates, an insurance broker.[1] Both of his parents were amateur musicians, and encouraged him to pursue music,[2] but by age 11, young Bates already had determined his life's course as an actor, and so they sent him for dramatic coaching instead. He earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he studied before leaving to join the Royal Air Force.


Career

In 1956, he debuted on stage in the West End, starring in Look Back in Anger, a role which made him a star. Four years later, he appeared in The Entertainer, his first film role. Bates worked for the Padded Wagon Moving Company in the early 1960s while acting at the Circle in the Square Theater in New York City. He soon starred in Whistle Down the Wind, Phillipe de Brocca's King of Hearts, and in the Bernard Malamud film The Fixer, which gave him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Bates was handpicked by director John Schlesinger to star in the film Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) in the role of Dr. Daniel Hirsh. Even though he wanted the part very much, Bates was held up filming The Go-Between (1970) for director Joseph Losey and also became a father around that time, so he had to pass on the project, with regrets. The part then went first to Ian Bannen who balked at kissing and simulating sex with another man, and then to Peter Finch, who earned an Academy Award nomination.

Bates starred in such international films as Georgy Girl, Far From the Madding Crowd, Zorba the Greek, The Go-Between, Nijinsky, An Unmarried Woman and Women in Love (in which, along with Oliver Reed, he became the first actor to do frontal nudity in a major studio motion picture) but he consciously decided to concentrate on a few well-defined roles, rather than to take everything that came his way. On television, his parts ranged from classic roles such as The Mayor of Casterbridge (1978) to Guy Burgess in An Englishman Abroad (1983) to a Russian spy in Pack of Lies (1987) to the storyteller in the 2000 version of the Arabian Nights.

Bates played Antonius Agrippa in the 2004 TV film Spartacus, but died before it debuted. It was dedicated to his memory and that of writer Howard Fast, who wrote the original novel that inspired the film Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick. On stage, Bates had a particular association with the plays of Simon Gray, appearing in Butley, Otherwise Engaged, Stage Struck, Melon, Life Support and Simply Disconnected, as well as the film of Butley and Gray's TV series Unnatural Pursuits.

Bates was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1996, and was knighted in 2003. He was an Associate Member of RADA and was a patron of The Actors Centre, Covent Garden, London from 1994 until his death in 2003. (previous Patrons: Lord Olivier, Sir Alec Guinness)


Personal life

Bates was married to the actress Victoria Ward from 1970 until 1992, when she died of a suspected heart attack after a debilitating illness.[citations needed] They had twin sons born in 1971, the actors Benedick Bates and Tristan Bates; the latter died of an asthma attack in 1990 at the age of 19 in Tokyo, where he had a modeling job. The Bates are also survived by granddaughter, Chatto Bates, Benedick's daughter.

In the later years of his life, Alan Bates's companion and lover was his lifelong friend, actress Joanna Pettet, his co-star in 1964's Broadway play Poor Richard. They split their time between New York and London.

In May 2007 several articles were published with people from Bates' past asserting that he had engaged in numerous homosexual affairs. These included fellow actor Peter Wyngarde and Olympic skater John Curry.[3]

A lifelong smoker, Bates died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 69.[2]


Posthumous biography: Otherwise Engaged

Otherwise Engaged: The Life of Alan Bates, by Donald Spoto, "the only authorized biography," was published posthumously on June 7, 2007[4]: "According to Mr Spoto's assistant, Laurence Elliott, 'This is and will remain the only authorized biography, which ...was written with the full and complete cooperation of Benedick Bates, Martin Bates, Michael Linnit and Rosalind Chatto and more than one hundred people who were interviewed in depth.'" According to an excerpt published in The Daily Mail, in additional to heterosexual relationships, Bates had homosexual relationships throughout his life, including with Peter Wyngarde and John Curry, to whom he was devoted for over a decade, through the figure skater's death from AIDS.[3] According to Spoto, "Even after the [British anti-sodomy] law was changed,[5] the need to preserve his public image left him terrified of exposure. Alan rigorously avoided interviews and questions about his personal life, and invariably denied - even, bizarrely, with his lovers - that there was a homosexual component in his nature."[3] Another of his male lovers, the actor Nickolas Grace, with whom (according to Grace) he had " 'an intense affair,' " said: " 'I told him labels didn't matter, but that we must be who we are. ... But he just could not accept that ... Alan was at ease as long as he pretended - and he insisted on pretending - that our relationship was not what it was, and was not disclosed to or evident to others.' " Throughout his life, a consummate actor, Bates protected his public screen and stage image as more of a ladies' man, or at least as a man who, in plays and films, would still appear attractive to and attracted by women.[3]


Tristan Bates Theatre

Sir Alan and his family set up the Tristan Bates Theatre at the Actors' Centre in Covent Garden, in memory of his son, Tristan, who died of an asthma attack at the age of 19.[6] Tristan's twin brother, Benedick, is a vice-director.[7]

Mary Ann Mobley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Mary Ann Mobley
Born February 17, 1939 (1939-02-17) (age 68)
Biloxi, Mississippi
Spouse(s) Gary Collins (1967-present)
[show]Awards
Golden Globe Awards
1965 - Won - Most Promising Newcomer - Female
Together With Mia Farrow And Celia Kaye.

Mary Ann Mobley (born February 17, 1939 in Biloxi, Mississippi). She is a former Miss America, actress, and television personality.

She married actor Gary Collins in 1967. Their daughter, Mary Clancy Collins, is a Senior Vice President with MGM Television.





Career

After serving her reign as Miss America 1959, she embarked on a career in film and television.

She appeared in movies, including two with Elvis Presley; and on such television shows as Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. She also had a recurring role on the show Falcon Crest. She also played Maggie McKinney/Drummond in Diff'rent Strokes during the series' final season.

Coincidentally, Mobley and Dixie Carter, who originated the role of Maggie on Diff'rent Strokes, worked together in an episode of Ms. Carter's later series, Designing Women, in which she played Karen, a snide representative of the historical society, who not only aggravated Dixie's character, Julia Sugarbaker, but also threw a veiled insult to Julia's friend, Anthony Bouvier (Meshach Taylor) about his contribution to the tour. When he discovered that it was exactly as he feared it would be (him dressing as a slave a la Roots) he politely declined it saying that he would do something like that "after we all go ice skating in hell!!"

Mobley was an occasional panelist on Match Game in the 1970s and appeared on Super Password with Collins during the 1980s.





Miss America

She was Miss America in 1959 -- the first Mississippian to win this honor. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority at the University of Mississippi.[1] Remarkably, another sorority sister from Chi Omega at the University of Mississippi, Lynda Mead Shea would follow her as the 1960 Miss America.

Gene Pitney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Gene Francis Alan Pitney
Born February 17, 1940(1940-02-17)
Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Died April 5, 2006
Cardiff, Wales, UK
Other name(s) Gene Pitney
Years active 1960s - 2006

Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 - April 5, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter.

Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed considerable success on both sides of the Atlantic, and charted more than 20 Top 40 hit singles. He was also an accomplished songwriter,guitarist, pianist, drummer, and skilled sound engineer. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Biography

Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut. In his youth, he grew up in Rockville, now a part of the town of Vernon. His early musical influences were Clyde McPhatter and Doo Wop groups like The Crows. He attended Rockville High School from which he earned the name "The Rockville Rocket," and where he formed his first band called "Gene & the Genials." He also made a couple of records as part of a duo called "Jamie and Jane" with a lady called Ginny Arnell (who later had a solo hit of her own, "Dumbhead") and then released a single in 1959 under the name of Billy Bryan.

In 1961, Gene Pitney released his first chart single, "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away," on which he played several instruments and multi-tracked the vocals. This was followed by his first big hit, "Town Without Pity", that same year. This song, from the film of the same name, won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Song in a Motion Picture" and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Pitney was the first pop singer to perform at the Oscars, singing "Town Without Pity" at the 34th Annual Academy Awards on April 9, 1962.

Pitney helped his musical career by writing hit songs for others. Notable songs include "He's a Rebel" for The Crystals, Vikki Carr and Elkie Brooks, "Today's Teardrops" for Roy Orbison, "Rubber Ball" for Bobby Vee and "Hello Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson (Nelson is often inaccurately credited as the songwriter). The Crystals' "He's A Rebel" kept Pitney's highest peaking Hot 100 record "Only Love Can Break A Heart" from being atop that chart on November 3, 1962.

Pitney is also well remembered for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, which is often believed to be associated with the 1962 John Ford film starring Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, and Lee Marvin. Pitney gave a strong and distinctive vocal performance of the song, penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Although it was a certified Top 10 hit for Pitney, it was never used in the movie due to a publishing squabble between Famous Music and Paramount Pictures. A theatrical trailer included with a DVD release mentions a forthcoming title track, but not by name.

His 1963 hit, "Mecca," is considered by some to be a precursor to psychedelia in its use of Indian musical influences, two years before The Beatles began incorporating these influences. The use of exotic musical instruments became something of a Pitney trademark, judging by the Mariachi trumpets employed in "Lonely Drifters," the ukuleles in "Hawaii," and the gypsy fiddle in "Golden Earrings." The Mick Jagger-Keith Richards song, "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday," which became a hit for him, was the first Rolling Stones song to be a success in the United States, and it was partly Pitney's endorsement of the group which helped them to find favor in America. He was in the studio in England with the Stones on some of their earlier recording sessions, including those which resulted in both sides of their first Top 10 single "Not Fade Away" and their debut album, apparently playing piano, though the extent to which his contributions and those of "Uncle" Phil Spector were used is uncertain. At this time he enjoyed a brief affair with Marianne Faithfull who was subsequently disparaging in her autobiography painting him as fussy and humourless. His ongoing popularity in the UK market was ensured by the chart success of "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" at the end of 1963/beginning of 1964, when in January the Bacharach and Davids' song peaked at #4. "Tulsa" was also a big hit in the US and would become Pitney's signature tune. Along with the great Roy Orbison before him, Gene had toured the UK on a regular basis. He was actually preparing his next UK tour at the time of his passing.

Pitney released an unbroken string of hit singles in the early 1960s, with the unrequited love classic "It Hurts To Be in Love" and "I'm Gonna Be Strong" in 1964, and "Nobody Needs Your Love" in 1966 (the first two were top 10 in the US; the last two peaked at No. 2 in the UK). "It Hurts To Be in Love" was originally planned as a vehicle for Neil Sedaka. When Sedaka decided not to record it, Pitney used the existing backing tracks and just added his lead vocal. Pitney and Orbison were practically the only American soloists to withstand the British Invasion, both displaying an astounding vocal range. In 1965, he recorded two successful albums with country legend George Jones. They were voted the most promising C & W Duo of that year. Pitney also recorded songs in Italian and Spanish, and twice finished second in the Sanremo Music Festival, where his strong vibrato may have reminded older listeners of the Italian tenor Caruso. He had a regional hit with "Nessuno Mi Puo' Giudicare." Pitney maintained a successful career in Britain and the rest of Europe. One of the few star performers to have survived the 1960s unscathed, his fitness regime built the stamina he required for his singularly dithyrambic stage act. Pitney's last American top 40 hit was "She's a Heartbreaker" (1968). In the early 70s, Pitney made a personal decision to cut back on his touring deciding only to spend six months of each year on the road, and the remainder with his family. Pitney last hit the UK charts after an absence of fifteen years with 1989's duet with Marc Almond, a new version of "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," a song by British writers Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, which had originally been a No. 5 solo hit for Pitney in 1967, and which belatedly brought him his first UK Number 1 hit, staying there for four weeks. It also went #1 in many European countries as well. Sales were boosted particularly by the two vocalists' appearance on the Terry Wogan TV show as it was climbing the charts. Pitney's US record company declined to issue the record in America on the grounds that buyers would mistake it for a vocal duet by two gay men, Almond being leather-clad as usual, and Pitney dressed in a white tuxedo.

[http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/04/05/singer_gene_pitney_dies_while_on_tour/

Pitney died on April 5, 2006 at the age of 66. He was found dead by his tour manager in the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff, Wales in the middle of a UK tour. His Final Show at Cardiff's St David's Hall was deemed a huge success, with a standing ovation, ending the show with his 1962 hit "Town Without Pity". An autopsy confirmed the singer died of natural causes. [1] He was laid to rest on April 13th, 2006 at Somers Center Cemetery in Somers Connecticut.

In tribute to Gene, Marc Almond has recorded Backstage (I'm Lonely) for his forthcoming album Stardom Road.

On September 20th, 2007, Gene Pitney was honored in his hometown of Rockville Connecticut where a Plaque was unveiled at the Town Hall. Members of the Pitney family were in attendance.