Author Archives: B.P.

Miss Universe Contestant 1970

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Miss Czechoslovakia – Kristina Hanzalova

News photographs used to get sent over the newswires to subscribing newspapers with captions. Some papers would use the “slug” – the suggested title that was written by the service providing the photo, other papers didn’t. In 1970, I cannot imagine that many newspapers used the title suggested by UPI (United Press International.) The slug and full caption are below.

Chesty Czech

Miami Beach, Florida:- Kristina Hanzalova, 21-year-old Miss Czechoslovakia, literally threw newsmen for a loop when she replied “94-58-90” when asked about her vital statistics. She was referring to centimeters, of course, not inches to which the boys are accustomed. Kristina is one of the competitors in the Miss Universe contest being held in Miami Beach.

Credit (UPI Photo)   7/7/70

It was obvious that Kristina could fill out a bathing suit, so I don’t think any editor would have used the “Chesty Czech” headline, but maybe some harried or unimaginative editors couldn’t come up with anything better.  Kristina was featured in other bathing suit photos before the contest took place, like this one which ran in the Miami Herald.

The 1970 Miss Universe contest was held on July 11, and Kristina ended up being a semi-finalist, but lost the title to Puerto Rico’s Marisol Malaret.

Kristina then made exactly one motion picture in Czechoslovakia entitled Nudity (1970).

And yes, she has a nude scene in it.

After that, she seems to have vanished from the public eye.

The Best Baseball Card Error – EVER

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Something Even Babe Ruth Couldn’t Do

I stopped collecting baseball cards in 1981 after it became speculative and was more about card values rather than flipping, trading and completing sets.

This was one of my favorite baseball cards simply because of the obviousness of the mistake and the fact that it was never corrected.

The Dave Bennett – Rick Wise rookie card from the 1964 Topps set is nothing extraordinary on the front. But on the back of Dave Bennett’s very short biography is this astounding piece of information:

“Dave is the younger brother of the Phils’ ace, Dennis Bennett. The 19-year-old righthanded curveballer is just 18 years old!”

Now that is some feat!

12 Great Heavy Metal Albums From The 80’s That Are Under The Radar (Part 2)

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Great Metal Albums from the 1980’s That Have Been Forgotten

Continuing our article from Part 1 of twelve metal albums from the 1980’s you should check out:

1986 – Metal Church – The Dark (Elektra)

Metal Church put out great albums during the 1980’s and 1990’s and even opened for Metallica during their 1991 tour and this should have lead to more exposure for the band. But Metal Church never caught on with the music video generation and that may have had an big impact on sales. Continue reading →

12 Great Heavy Metal Albums From The 80’s That Are Under The Radar (Part 1)

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Great Metal Albums from the 1980’s That Have Been Forgotten

Still one of the most exciting things for me is to be introduced to great music that I have never heard before. It doesn’t matter if it was made this year or thirty years ago. If you haven’t heard it before, it’s new to you, isn’t it?

I started thinking about bands casual heavy metal fans may be familiar with by name, but not their work with the exception of possibly a song or two.  That lead to the creation of this list. Rather than focus on great albums from well known bands such as Judas Priest, Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Dio, Van Halen, Testament, Overkill, Exodus or any of the well known bands, these are bands and albums that may have had a brief moment in the spotlight or are known for the wrong reasons, like an MTV video.

So in chronological order, here is part one of twelve albums that you should check out.

1980 – Angel Witch – Angel Witch (Bronze Records)

What a debut album should be: songs with one amazing hook after another. Angel Witch emerged from The New Wave of British Heavy Metal looking like they would rise to the top. This trio lead by Kevin Heybourne lead singer and guitarist should have conquered the world. For whatever reason it never happened.  Almost every song on here is a classic in songwriting 101. Continue reading →

Old New York in Photos #21 – Upper East Side Farm 1880

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A Farm On The East Side Of Manhattan Circa 1880

No information beyond the basics could be found on this gem.

We are looking east towards the East River at the Krappe family farm located at East 87th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B (now renamed York and East End Avenues).

I believe Gracie Mansion is on the left side of the photograph seen partially behind the trees. If anyone has further information, please share.

A Look Back: The 10th Anniversary Of Marilyn Monroe’s Death

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1972 Press Photo- At Marilyn Monroe’s Crypt

As today is the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death, it is interesting to compare the elaborate ceremonies of today, with the understated manner in which a handful of fans sent flowers on August 5, 1972 on the tenth anniversary of her death.

The press photo reads:

8/5/72 Beverly Hills, CA. Motorcycle escort officer Si Mason of Westwood, Calif. looks over the many flowers sent to actress Marilyn Monroe at the Westwood Memorial Cemetery. 8/5 ten years ago, marks the anniversary of her death. The 36-year old actress was found dead in her Brentwood home of an apparent overdose of sleeping pills. (UPI)

50 Years After Marilyn Monroe’s Death – Examining The Books That Were Written About Her While She Was Living

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The Fascination With Marilyn Monroe: A Look At The First Six Books About Her

Sometime during the evening or early morning hours of August 4 or 5, 1962 Marilyn Monroe died under mysterious circumstances at the age of 36. Even after fifty years to the day that she died, Marilyn Monroe may be more popular now than when she was living. Her movies are what propelled her to fame and are the way people today primarily become familiar with Marilyn. Her image is part of our popular culture. But books about Marilyn have helped her achieve a level of immortality that is not shared by any other star.

By a wide margin no other entertainment personality has been covered in books more than Marilyn Monroe. Elvis would run a distant second. Since 1953 there have been slightly more than 200 books in English that are directly about Marilyn Monroe. There are dozens more that have been printed in other languages and hundreds of others that contain chapters about her.

Her movie career spanned from 1947-1962, yet only six books were written about Marilyn while she was living, with various levels of cooperation from the star herself.

The first book written about Marilyn was published with little fanfare on October 29, 1953. The Marilyn Monroe Story by Joe Franklin and Laurie Palmer, (1953 Rudolph Field Co.) distributed by Greenberg.  The book retailed in paperback for $1.00 and hardcover for $2.00. It is considered the rarest and most collectible book about Marilyn and very good condition paperback copies sell for upwards of $150 and hardcovers without the dustjacket fetch over $250 and with a nice dustjacket can sell for $500 or more.

So besides being the first book about Marilyn what makes it rare? In the early 1990’s I mentioned I owned a copy of his Marilyn book to author Joe Franklin and the longtime radio and television host told me quite a story about the book.

“I now don’t even have a copy of my own book,” Franklin said. Continue reading →