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Billy (Froggy) Laughlin was added to the Our Gang cast in 1940 after an MGM executive heard him do a Popeye imitation at a movie theater. From 1940 through the end of the series in 1944 Laughlin played the cross-eyed, bespectacled Froggy, a character who spoke in a croaky voice. (Many Our Gang fans still mistakenly assume that was Laughlin's true voice!) Laughlin and a friend were tragically killed on August 31, 1948 in La Puente, CA. While delivering newspapers on a motor scooter, the pair were struck by a bus. Laughlin was just 16 years old.
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Froggy
Our
Gang
Billy
Laughlin
Added: 9th November 2009
Views: 243
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
 
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This was broadcast on the, 'Command Performance,' show, Armed Forces Radio Network February 20, 1945 featuring Bob Hope and Judy Garland. There is a skit a the beginning and Judy sings a short parody, 'Over The Barrel', of, 'Over The Rainbow' and then she and Hope finish with with a portion of, I'm Gonna Go For You'. Perhaps I should say try to finish. Also, being a live program, mistakes are made but the performers continue with an entertaining show. You can also visit her music page at:
http://www.thejudyroom.com/songs.html
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Bob
Hope
Judy
Garland
Command
Performance
1945
Over
The
Rainbow
Over
The
Barrel
and
more
Added: 7th November 2009
Views: 173
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Posted By: jedwgrn |
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One of Hollywood's greatest comedic actresses, Carole Lombard, died at age 33 in a tragic plane crash on January 16, 1942. Lombard was in the midst of a tour to sell war bonds. She had just finished a stop in her home state of Indiana. A little more than three hours later, the plane Lombard was travelling in slammed into Mount Potosi in Nevada. Everyone on board died, including Lombard's mother. Lombard was married to Clark Gable.
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Carole
Lombard
death
pane
crash
Added: 4th November 2009
Views: 262
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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Ballplayer Eddie Waitkus was the shooting victim of an obsessed female fan. Waitkus had broken into the National League with the Chicago Cubs in 1941 but was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1949. Nineteen-year-old Ruth Ann Steinhagen of Chicago had become obsessed with Waitkus as a 14-year-old. When he was traded to the Phillies, she snapped. During a Phillies' road trip to Chicago on June 14, 1949, Steinhagen checked into the Edgewater Beach Hotel where the Phillies were staying. She left a note for Waitkus to come to her hotel room to discuss urgent business. Believing the note to be from a friend of a friend, Waitkus arrived at Steinhagen's room and was invited in. Steinhagen briefly excused herself and returned with a rifle. Steinhagen blurted, 'You're not going to bother me anymore!' Then she shot Waitkus in the chest and calmly phoned the hotel's front desk to report the shooting. Waitkus nearly died on the operating table several times, but pulled through. He continued his major league career until 1955. Steinhagen was never charged with a crime. Instead she was committed to a mental institution. After three years she was deemed sane and released. Waitkus' shooting inspired Bernard Malamud's story 'The Natural.' Waitkus died in 1972, at age 53, of esophogeal cancer. Steinhagen is said to still live on Chicago's north side.
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Eddie
Waitkus
shooting
Ruth
Ann
Steinhagen
Added: 26th October 2009
Views: 136
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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The Outlaw was Jane Russell's controversial breakthrough movie role. Producer Howard Hughes made this flick about the life of Billy The Kid in 1941, but it did not see general release until 1946. The Hays Office, responsible for censorship at the time, considered The Outlaw to be overtly sexual. (The film would likely get a G rating today.) Hughes knew what sold: He had designed a cantilevered brassiere to showcase Russell's ample assets! Hughes gladly kept the film out of circulation knowing full well its infamy would pay off in box office receipts upon its release.
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Jane
Russell
The
Outlaw
Howard
Hughes
Added: 25th October 2009
Views: 160
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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A few weeks ago I posted the story of the tragic Hartford Circus Fire of 1944. There were 168 fatalities in the blaze. Only six bodies were not identified. One case was particularly poignant. A little girl, whose corpse was unmarked by burns, was unclaimed by relatives. She was known as Little Miss 1565, from the number assigned to her at the city morgue. Her morgue photo was widely distributed--and yet no one came forward to claim her body. She was interred in a Hartford cemetery. Years later reseachers claimed she was Eleanor Emily Cook. She was re-buried in the Cook family plot. However, there are many doubters--and for good reason. Cook was a brunette; Little Miss 1565 was a blonde. From photos, the shape of Cook's face does not match those of Little Miss 1565, an neither do her dental records. Who is she? We'll likely never know. The best guess is that the girl's relatives wrongly identified another corpse, thus denying Little Miss 1565 of her true identity.
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Little
Miss
1565
Hartford
Circus
Fire
Added: 25th October 2009
Views: 337
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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Probably the most common picture we have of "old blood and guts", General George Patton, is George C. Scott's portrayal. Scott's gravely baritone voice would seem perfect for the part. The real General Patton hated his voice. It tended to be high-pitched, nasal, irritating, and at times, it bordered on effeminate. He hated public speaking because of this. To my knowledge, there exist only two short clips of him speaking. Because of his use of vivid imagery, cursing, ribald innuendos, and general vulgarity, his wife had all audio tapes of him speaking destroyed after his death. It was an effort on her part to clean up his image for posterity. He died in an auto accident in Europe after the end of WWII. One of his most famous speeches, is one given in front of The Third Army to prepare them for the long road to Berlin. This is the speech we hear in the opening moments of the movie "Patton". It was considerably sanitized for the movie in an effort to prevent people from avoiding the film. The actual text of that speech can be found in a number of places on the internet. He wrote of why he used vulgar language in addressing his troops. He felt they would better remember the important points if they were punched up with ribald expletives.
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General
George
Patton
speech
voice
Added: 11th October 2009
Views: 229
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Posted By: Watersnake |
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The only active major league baseball player to commit suicide during a season was Cincinnati Reds' catcher Willard Hershberger. The 30-year-old Hershberger was in his third season as a backup catcher for the Reds. Often moody, Hershberger was a loner who was extremely critical of his own play. When regular Reds' catcher Ernie Lombardi was injured during the 1940 season, Hershberger took over, batting a very respectable .309 and playing well defensively. On July 31, though, the Reds blew a late lead against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. Hershberger blamed himself for the loss and became sullen. The Reds then travelled to Boston where they lost both games of a doubleheader to a weak Boston Bees team on August 2. Afterwards, Hershberger met with Reds' manager Bill McKechnie to discuss personal problems. The next day, when Hershberger failed to appear at the ballpark, a search of his Boston hotel room found Hershberger dead in a pool of his own blood. He had slit his wrists with a razor. (There was a history of suicide in the family: Hershberger's father had killed himself in 1926.) Manager McKechnie never elaborated on the personal issues he had discussed with his troubled catcher.
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Willard
Hershberger
baseball
suicide
Added: 1st October 2009
Views: 238
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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On Saturday, November 28, 1942 Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub was the site of one of the deadliest fires in American history. The night spot was owned by Barney Welansky who had connections to both the mayor and organized crime. It was quaintly reminiscent of Rick's Cafe Americain in the movie Casablanca--but its highly flammable tropical-style furniture and decorations made it a firetrap. There were more than 1,000 people inside although the legal capacity was 460. The fire is believed to have started when a busboy attempted to replace a light bulb in the dimly lit Melody Lounge in the lower level. He struck a match to help him see. Shortly thereafter patrons saw the palm fronds from a nearby artificial tree ignite. The fire rapidly spread along the walls and ceiling. Within five minutes the entire nightclub was ablaze. Many patrons attempted to exit through the revolving main door which quickly became jammed. Some secondary doors had been welded shut to prevent customers from leaving without paying their tabs. Other doors swung inward and made escape nearly impossible due to the crush of the crowd. All told, 492 people perished. Among the fatalities were Cowboy movie star Buck Jones and a couple who had been married earlier that same day. Welansky was convicted on multiple counts of involuntary manslaughter.
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Cocoanut
Grove
Fire
1942
Added: 29th September 2009
Views: 199
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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