Category: Celebrities
Tuesday Trivia Tidbit: Dangerfield Tats
This morning, I watched a clip of Rodney Dangerfield on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I miss how late night shows showcased comedians almost on a nightly basis. Nowadays, most shows end with a musical act of which I’ve usually never heard–and which often leave me confused and with little faith for the future of the music industry. But back in the day, comedians were in demand (you couldn’t throw a stick at a screen without catching a stand-up routine and a brick background), and Rodney’s style was a machine gun delivery. You barely had time to process one joke before he hit with another.
All this led me to the Tuesday trivia tidbit that (as reported in 2007) Dangerfield tattoos are among the most popular celebrity tattoos in the United States. That struck me as odd, since he passed in 2004, and he peaked in the 80s. But check him out on what appears to be a young calf.
Maybe Dangerfield was a leg man, as he appears on many of them.
Here’s another variation of the same image, with the handkerchief applied to the face (like he’s sweating mid-panic attack).
He also made an appearance on a shoulder blade in the montage with fellow funnymen Sam Kinison, Benny Hill, and W.C. Fields.
It just seems an odd choice in a world full of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean tats, to ink your body with the face of a middle-aged Jewish man, aka Jacob Cohen. Then again, no one would recognize a tattoo of this young man.
Middle Child
Do you recognize the middle boy, flanked by siblings Catherine and Dick in the 1930s? Former magician, DeLorean investor, proficient drummer, and lover of Wint O Green Life Savers–are you getting warmer? How about Nebraska-raised?
We used to watch him every weeknight.
Yep, it’s the King of Late Night Television, Johnny Carson. Hi-yo!
No, No, Toto
While visiting fellow teen actor and friend Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney seems to be warning Terry (who played Toto) to back off. Note the blonde hairstyle worn in the early filming of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.
Fun fact: Terry, who lived to be 11 years old, earned $125 per week on the film, more than that of many human actors in the film, and most Americans at the time.
Jam Session On The Big Rock Candy Mountain
On the set of East of Eden, Burl Ives and James Dean demonstrate their skills on the bagpipe and recorder, a daring combination. Actually, Ives isn’t playing the bagpipes because he’s too busy smoking a pipe and looking at Dean like maybe he ought to teach him to button his shirt all the way up but what’s the point because Dean is going to go and get himself killed in a car crash the same year the movie is released (1955)so who cares about his shirt anyway?
By the way, Dean’s nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role was the first official posthumous acting nomination in Academy Awards history. Ives actually lived another 40 years after the movie was released, eventually dying from oral cancer caused from…smoking pipes, you guessed it.
When Your Date Notices Your Excessive Ear Wax
Marlon Brando goofing around with his then-girlfriend Ellen Adler.
75 Years Of USO: Part IV
Today we look at the face of the USO, Bob Hope. Back in 1991, on the 50th anniversary of the USO, he penned this letter.
Well, American soldiers are still in the Middle East, but Bob Hope is no longer with us. However, we shall never forget the years of dedication and contribution that he gave to our men and women of the armed services.
Though his first USO trip was in 1942, his first combat-zone tour was the following year when he visited troops in North Africa. From there, he toured Italy. While in Palermo, the Germans staged an air raid on a target next to his hotel. He realized it was better to bomb on stage than to be bombed from above. General Patton suggested Hope and his group, including Frances Langford and Jerry Colonna, go to Algiers for their own safety.
One of his signature jokes ran, “You remember World War II–it was in all the papers.”
But Hope didn’t quit when WWII was won. In the following decade, he entertained troops in the Korean War.
Just check out this soldier’s response to Hope’s performance in Seoul, Korea in October 1950.
But it wasn’t only able-bodied troops he entertained; Hope and his celebrity pals toured hospitals to encourage those who had been injured. He and Marilyn Maxwell spent time with Marine PFC Howard Wells in the Tokyo General Hospital.
As decades passed, Bob Hope specials were a veritable who’s who of stars. But no matter the rise and fall of his cohorts, Hope was the one constant.
With Jerry Colonna as Santa, Hope made fun of his “road to” movies in Vietnam. By then, Hope was such a well-known actor that his familiar presence was a comfort to those who’d grown up watching him.
I recall watching Bob Hope specials as a child, much like the one below from 1983.
Aging didn’t slow Hope down. During the Christmas of 1990, Hope toured the Persian Gulf with his signature stamina. If you recall, this is a man who lived to see his 100th birthday.
Throughout his 50 years of service, Hope lived up to his name, giving hope to those brave soldiers who fought to keep us free. God bless you, Bob Hope.
75 Years Of USO: Part III
Soldiers on leave could check their children with this woman (at a somewhat precarious-looking early day care) to enjoy a night out with the wife.
Below is the YWCA Honolulu building Service Women’s Lounge for women serving in the war.
Among these nattily-dressed women is Mary McLeod Bethune, president of the National Council of Negro Women. She is supervising a USO game of Chinese checkers.
Soon, celebrities would begin to entertain the troops. The first was Joe E. Brown, whom you may recall from last month’s post, Ripped At Sixty. He was the first Hollywood star to tour front-line bases, including Alaska and the Aleutians in 1942. Sadly, that same year, his own son was lost when his A-20 Havoc crashed during pilot training.
Here Joe signs a bomb.
Brown was one of only two civilians to be awarded the Bronze Star in WWII. But by far, the name most connected with the USO was Bob Hope, whom we’ll spotlight tomorrow.
Andy Hardy Goes To War
50 Shades Of Creepy
How It Feels To Be Rich, Famous, Young, And Thin
Here they are, goofing around on I Love Melvin…
…and laughing with Gene Kelly (whose birthday was yesterday) on the classic Singin’ In The Rain…
…and 50 years later at the anniversary of the movie, with Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse.
Good Day To Be A Grip
According to gorillafilmonline.com, the grip is the person in charge of setting up equipment to support the camera, and on some sets, support lighting equipment (but not the actual lights. Never touch the actual lights). It’s a physically demanding job where experience is invaluable.
The grips set up all the rigging which allow the camera to move about within a set in a way that captures the shot as the director wants it, so this can involve working on camera dollies, cranes, tracks and other camera setups. When a grip does his job well, the camera movement through the scenes will be seamless, so much so that you don’t even think about it, meaning you don’t think about the grips.
The grips below are moving a camera dolly onto a track. I hope they have a chiropractor on set. Or at least a masseuse and a couple ice packs.
Reelrundown.com states that the term “grip ” dates from the days of silent movies when cameras were hand-cranked. The cranking action would make the camera wobble, and so the camera operator would call for anyone with a “good grip” to grab the camera tripod legs and physically steady the camera.
I Don't Get It 