Monthly Archives: March 2013

Giant Turnip

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There Are Turnips and Then There Are TURNIPS

Photo © George Trabant

Photo © George Trabant

The news caption reads:

April 26, 1975, – If this turnip hadn’t had Hope, it wouldn’t have reached its colossal proportions. Hope Miller, 12, has a green thumb – especially when it comes to turnips.  This one in her garden grew to 27 inches in circumference and 17 inches in length. It’s weight was 7 pounds. Hope who attends Grace Lutheran School, says it took 2½ months for the vigorous vegetable to grow.

What I find interesting about this old news photo is that someone (probably Hope’s father or mother) called the newspaper to report the giant turnip. That is not so unusual. What is unusual is that the newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times, on what must have been a slow news day, sent a photographer, George Trabant to cover this “news story.” The turnip photo and story did run in the paper.

SCTV – The Funniest TV Show Of The Late 70’s / Early 80’s

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John Candy and Cast Lampooning Leave It To Beaver

SCTV cast 1982 clockwise from top left; John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas

SCTV cast 1982 clockwise from top left; John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Joe Flaherty

Canada’s SCTV (Second City Television) was one of the most brilliant comedy sketch shows ever created. The ensemble cast featured John Candy, Robin Duke, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy,  Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, Tony Rosato, Martin Short and Dave Thomas.

Early in the series, actor, writer and director Harold Ramis was also a major contributor to the show. Harold Ramis wrote and sometimes appeared in many of SCTV’s bizarre scenarios. Ramis appears in the sketch below as Whitey.

Ramis would go on to do Animal House, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack helping to shape modern comedy.

Airing weekly on late night television from 1976 -1984, the show never achieved critical mass appeal but had a strong cult following.

Having been off the air for nearly 30 years most people under the age of 35 have never seen or heard of SCTV. That’s a shame. Because even though there are some obscure references to celebrities, shows and movies of the past, the comedy holds up pretty well today.

Deadpan and Over The Top Comedy

Here is a sample of one of the funnier sketches from 1977. It’s a take-off of the stereotypical 1950’s All-American family TV show Leave It To Beaver. John Candy plays “The Beaver” in Leave It To Beaver 25th Anniversary Party.

For those who want to experience SCTV, seasons 4 & 5 which aired on NBC are available on DVD. Continue reading →

The Stowaway

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Illegal Immigration 1931

Stowaway 4 16 1931

Stows Away in Box To Enter America

He tried to come to America in a box of hats, but now he has to go back to France. Louis Chianese nailed himself carefully in a wooden box, with biscuits, chocolate and water. On the outside was printed the legend that the box contained hats for a New York department store. Young Louis stood it for two days in the hold of the liner Lafayette – that was enough. He fired two revolver shots and was quickly released. Here he is on deck of the ship in New York, box and all. He says he will never try it again. – Associated Press Photo 4-16-31

20-year-old Louis Chianese said to his parents before leaving home without their knowledge, “I will go to America even if I have to go in a box!” His parents probably did not take him literally, but the box Chianese ended up in measured 7 by 2 by 3 feet. When the box was initially delivered to the pier in Havre, France, it was placed upside down.  Chianese said, “I thought my head was going to burst.” He almost accidentally burned himself to death when he struck a match inside the box to consult his watch to check the time. The box caught fire. Luckily he was able to extinguish the fire.

According to follow-up news reports, Chianese was actually in the box five days, not two, and it was his parents who alerted the shipping company to search for their son after he had been missing for days. The tip off was they received a packing and shipping bill for the box.

After he was returned to France, Chianese ended up in  a slightly larger confined space – he was sentenced to 15 days in prison.

Old New York In Photos #28 – New York City Early Color Photos

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New York City In Old Color Photographs At The Turn Of The Century

Mulberry Street Detroit Publishing Company

Mulberry Street in color New York City 1900

Life was colorful in turn of the century New York City. But because almost all the photographs we see from that era are in black and white, it is hard to imagine what the city looked like in its full color glory.

The Library of Congress holds the incredible collection of The Detroit Publishing Company who manufactured postcards and chronicled the world with their photographs from 1880-1920.

One of the processes used to achieve color was called the photochrom. Photochrom’s are color photo lithographs created from a black and white photographic negative. Color impressions are achieved through the application of multiple lithograph stones, one per color. In 1897, the Detroit Publishing Company brought the process over from Switzerland where it was first developed.

The images presented here were eventually used for postcards. Here is a look at New York circa 1900 in high resolution color photographs. Click on any image to vastly enlarge.

South Street Brooklyn Bridge 1900 Detroit Publishing

South Street and Brooklyn Bridge 1900

Looking north along South Street with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. This was still the age when shipping and boats crowded the harbor.

City Hall 1900 Detroit Publishing

City Hall New York City 1900

City Hall looking northwest with a sliver of City Hall Park on the bottom extreme left. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #21 – Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson and June Travis

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Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson and June Travis Take A Stroll On The Beach Circa 1938

Carol Hughes Marie Wilson June Travis

Warner Bros. young stars in training, Carol Hughes (1910-1995), Marie Wilson (1916-1972) and June Travis (1914-2008) take a walk on the shore in this studio publicity photograph. Continue reading →

Clive Burr, Iron Maiden Drummer Dies At 56

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Clive Burr – Iron Maiden’s Masterful And Highly Underrated Drummer Passes Away

Clive Burr Drumming 1982Clive Burr, who was Iron Maiden’s drummer from 1979-1982, died in his sleep at his home in London, England on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. He had been in ill-health for a number of years.

Burr played on the first three Iron Maiden albums, Iron Maiden, Killers and The Number of the Beast. With Iron Maiden on the verge of worldwide stardom, Burr was replaced under circumstances which remain murky to this day by Nicko McBrain for 1983’s Piece of Mind album. The official reason given was personal problems and difficulties in dealing with the heavy touring schedule.

Clive Burr Interview 1982Burr played with a string of other bands for the next dozen years, but never achieved the success he had with Iron Maiden. In the early 1990’s Burr’s musical career came to an abrupt end when he noticed tingling in his hands. He received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1994.

His former band mates held several charity events during the last decade which they called “Clive-Aid” to raise money to help Burr with his medical expenses which had left him in debt.

Iron Maiden Cliveaid 2007

Steve Harris, Dave Murray and Clive Burr at 2007’s CliveAid Concert

Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood said in 2002 at the first benefit, “Maiden has always been a family and even after all these years, we still consider Clive to be part of the family and as such we feel we should help him in any way possible.”

There has been a long simmering debate among hardcore Maiden fans about who was the better drummer, Burr or McBrain?

They were so different in style that a comparison is very difficult, but I always preferred Burr’s lucid, free jazz-style drumming. Burr though, was not a jazz drummer. McBrain is the one who had learned through funk and groove. Continue reading →

Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion Gets Angry – 1967

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How To Get A Three Game Suspension

Bernie Geoffrion cross-checking linesman Walter Atanas February 8 , 1967

Bernie Geoffrion cross-checking linesman Walter Atanas February 8 , 1967

Bernie Geoffrion was one of the all-time hockey greats. In 1960-61 he became the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, following his teammate Maurice “Rocket” Richard who had accomplished the feat in 1944-45. Geoffrion, who was one tough player, broke his nose six times and received over 400 stitches playing hockey. The “Boom Boom” nickname however came from his hard slap shot not from pounding other players. After playing his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens from 1950-1964, Geoffrion retired. But two years later Geoffrion came out of retirement to play with the New York Rangers during the 1966-67 season.

On February 8, 1967 Geoffrion lost his cool during a game at the Boston Garden. In the closing seconds of a game that the Bruins would end up winning 2-1, angry Ranger fans littered the ice with debris over a perceived missed penalty call.

After a ten minute delay to clear the ice play resumed with two seconds remaining on the clock. There were three false starts that linesman Walter Atanas claimed were caused by Geoffrion going offside. Atanas and Geoffrion started yelling at one another and Geoffrion then allegedly slapped an empty beer can in Atanas’ direction.

Atanas skated over to referee John Ashley to have Geoffrion assessed a ten minute misconduct penalty. Geoffrion followed Atanas across the ice, cross-checking him twice. Geoffrion later claimed he never cross-checked Atanas, but had merely tripped on an empty beer can. The photographic evidence proved otherwise.

One week later, NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended Geoffrion for three games. Campbell said, “I consider his actions in cross-checking official Walter Atanas to be completely inexcusable and a product of his own temperament, which has gotten him into similar trouble on at least two other occasions.”  Geoffrion was also fined $25 and $50 for the misconduct and game misconduct penalties.

The previous two times that Geoffrion was suspended was when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. Both incidents also involved altercations with officials.

Geoffrion finished the season with 17 goals and 25 assists in 58 games. After the 1967-68 season Geoffrion retired for good. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

Old New York In Photos #27 – Fifth Avenue Looking North From 51st Street – 1913

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Fifth Avenue Looking North From 51st Street – 1913

Fifth Avenue 51st Street 1913

In this one hundred year old view of Fifth Avenue, we see some of the many methods of transportation that New Yorker’s took to get around the city.

A double-decker Fifth Avenue bus ambles to its terminus at 22nd Street and is packed with riders on the top deck taking in the sights. There are horse drawn carriages and many types of automobiles traveling both north and south as Fifth Avenue was a two way street until 1966.

And of course pedestrians crowd the sidewalks on this brisk sunny day.

A couple of things to take note of: Continue reading →