Dick Groat A Rare Star Of Both Baseball & Basketball Dies At 92

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Dick Groat Who Set Duke Basketball Records & Was National League MVP In 1960 Is Dead

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Dick Groat hitting during the 1960 World Series. photo: Marvin Newman

In 1952, when Dick Groat was 21-years-old, Duke University’s sports publicity department published an entire pamphlet heralding his achievements.

In 1950-51 Groat put up 831 points with 261 free points shattering records at Duke, the Big 5 (North Carolina schools) and the Southern Conference.

Groat, who was five feet eleven, Continue reading →

Joe DiMaggio Promotes Camel Cigarettes

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Joltin’ Joe Enjoys Smoking Camel, The Cigarette With 28% Less Nicotine

Joe DiMaggio’s swing takes up half the space in this Camel cigarette ad which ran in Time Magazine April 6, 1942. It’s as good a way to promote smoking than just showing DiMaggio smoking.

Capturing reader’s attention is always the hard part of magazine advertising. So the series of photos of DiMaggio’s swing probably gets you to examine the page. Generally people buy news magazines to read them, not look at the ads.

Companies have always believed that to attract customers, you should have a celebrity push your product. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #152 – 6th Avenue 31st Street & Eva Tanguay 1911

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A Typical Busy Day On Sixth Avenue While Eva Tanguay Performs Uptown

There is nothing extraordinary happening as we look north up Sixth Avenue from 31st Street.

There’s lots of horse manure in the street and there’s some construction and workers beneath the Sixth Avenue El. The bar on the corner has western saloon style doors and advertises Triple X German Liquors on its sign. A high pressure fire hydrant is on the corner, a sight rarely seen today as the city removed most of them almost three decades ago . The tallest building on the left between 32nd and 33rd Streets is Gimbels Department Store.

As much as we’d like to put an exact date on the photo we cannot. It is uncredited and labeled 1911. There is one intriguing clue however. It’s blurry but if you look at the roof of the building on the left you can see a billboard ad for Eva Tanguay (1878-1947) appearing at The Colonial Theatre. Continue reading →

I Dream Of Jeannie – Where Major Nelson Lived In Cocoa Beach

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Where In Cocoa Beach, FL Did Major Nelson Live?

Plus A Bit Of Deep Trivia – What  Was Dr. Bellows Address?

The home of Major Anthony Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie

Recently visiting me was my friend’s daughter a recent college graduate, and her friend Stephanie who was born and raised in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Cocoa Beach’s renown comes from The Kennedy Space Center, home of NASA during the 1960s. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #146 – W.C. Fields & Joe DiMaggio

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Joe DiMaggio Visits W.C. Fields On The Set Of You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man – 1939

Comedian W.C. Fields does not strike me as someone who would have had any passion for baseball. In James Curtis’ comprehensive 2003 biography of Fields, not one page mentions baseball or any player of the National Pastime. So the news caption below for this photograph is pure Hollywood ballyhoo. Continue reading →

One Year From Now New York Will Be Reveling In Eclipse-Mania

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On April 8, 2024 New York City Will Experience Its First Total Solar Eclipse Since 1954

Total solar eclipse June 30, 1954 photo: M Waldmeier

Never look directly at an eclipse.

It was one of the things that was drilled into me in grade school. You’ll permanently damage your eyes. You can go blind. As a class we’ll make shoe box eclipse viewers.

Apparently those eclipses happening during my juvenile years were not the same type that will occur in 2024 – a total solar eclipse. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #145 – Edward G. Robinson & Marlene Dietrich

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Edward G. Robinson & Marlene Dietrich Take A Break During The Filming Of “Manpower” 1941

Caesar and Glamour
Edward G. Robinson sometimes known as “Little Caesar” currently is appearing as a foreman of a tough gang of trouble-shooting power linemen in Warner Bros.’ “Manpower.” Here he chats with the feminine lead in the film Marlene Dietrich. George Raft completes the cast. Credit: Warner Bros. Studio / King Features Syndicate 1941

It seems as though Robinson is intently studying his co-star. So what did Robinson think of Dietrich? Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #151 – Fifth Avenue Mansions 1910

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Fifth Avenue Looking North From 64th Street

From a private collection comes this 1910 photograph of Fifth Avenue looking north from 64th Street. The tree lined west side of the street abuts Central Park. The residential nature of this stretch of Fifth Avenue can be seen by the abundance of mansions as far as the eye can see.  Continue reading →

Surviving 29 Hours In The Shark Infested Atlantic With No Life Jacket

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No One Saw How Or When Arne Nicolaysen Went Overboard

The Astonishing Story Of A Seaman Who Was Alone In The Ocean For A Day and Two Nights With No Life Jacket, Food, Water Or Anything To Hold On To

Arne Nicolaysen holding life preserver on British ship Surveyor

Reading the story entitled “Man Overboard” about Arne Nicolaysen in Robert Littell’s 1961 book It Takes All Kinds (Reynal & Compnay) you come to the realization that some human beings are incredibly resilient.

Nicolaysen was able to survive an agonizing 29 hours in the ocean without any flotation device, food or water, while sharks kept approaching him. The fact that it was hours before anyone on his ship discovered that Nicolaysen was missing, made his rescue seem even more unlikely. Between 15 – 20 ships passed by without hearing his calls for help or spotting him bobbing up and down in the endless expanse of the ocean.

Nicolaysen’s story is frightening, dramatic and ultimately inspiring. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #144 – Lucy & Desi 4 Years After Filing For Divorce – 1948

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Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz At The Brown Derby Restaurant – 1948

Lucille Ball flashes her best smile as her husband, Desi Arnaz fumbles with a corsage as they dine at the Brown Derby. photo: Acme 3-6-48

In 1948 Lucille Ball was starring in the CBS radio program My Favorite Husband. With the success of the show CBS proposed that Lucy develop My Favorite Husband for the growing medium of television. That show would become I Love Lucy starring Lucy and real life husband Desi Arnaz.

Let’s then contemplate that Lucy’s phenomenal success may never have occurred had she gone through with the divorce she filed against Desi Arnaz on September 7, 1944. Continue reading →