Yair Solan assures me that Charley Chase (seen in the above pic with Our Gang's Spanky McFarland) was born Charles Joseph Parrott and that Charley Chase was a stage name. Several books say otherwise but I'm going to believe Yair because he's the proprietor of the Charley Chase website — a fine place to remember […]
I am here to rectify the appalling lack of Snub Pollard in your life. Mr. Pollard was a pretty important player in comedy films from about 1913 to 1924, commencing with sidekick roles in Harold Lloyd's earliest films. Snub — and how come no one these days names their kids "Snub?" — was fortunate to […]
You can't see most of them but over the last day or two, I've made a batch o' changes on this website, reconfiguring this and that. What you might notice is that for tech-type reasons, I have removed the Category and Tag assignments on each post. They may or may not be back at a […]
Fred Kaplan on yet another dumb move by the House Armed Services Committee. Just read about it and wince. […]
Number two hundred and thirty-seven in a series… […]
Read More… from Great Photos of Stan Laurel and/or Oliver Hardy
John McCain, doing a feeble impression of the old and reasonable John McCain, says that Barack Obama's name will definitely appear on the ballot in Arizona. He's stating the obvious but it's nice to hear him say it. David Weigel explains about all the "Birther" lawsuits and beliefs. By the way, the McCain campaign lawyer […]
I just noticed this interview with David Glanzer, who's one of the main people who makes Comic-Con and WonderCon happen each year. David doesn't even know yet if WonderCon is going back to San Francisco next year but I know he'd like that to happen. And I hear there are still some hotel rooms for […]
The late Robert Goulet had a long, successful career in show business. In the last decade or so, he became the subject of a number of jokes that I suspect flowed from the fact that he did some movies and shows he probably should not have done. Nevertheless, I thought he was a tremendous talent. […]
Hard to believe but it's 54 days until the 2012 Comic-Con International commences. Actually, it's 53 days until Preview Night when the hall is filled with attendees. I don't know why we talk of the con opening on Thursday when it's about as open as it gets on Wednesday evening. I am in no way […]
Today's potatoes are from Clawson Farms in Shelley, ID. Or so five men would like me to believe. 21:52:53 […]
Number two hundred and thirty-six in a series… […]
Read More… from Great Photos of Stan Laurel and/or Oliver Hardy
This is another one of those "I don't get this" matters. The Secretary of State in Arizona, a man named Ken Bennett, is now saying he might not allow the name of Barack Obama on the ballot in the upcoming presidential election; not unless he has some solid proof that Obama was indeed born where […]
I am back, alas, with an obit. Ernie Chan, one of the most prolific comic artists in American comics of the seventies, has died at the age of 71. His death (from cancer) comes right after the passing of his Filipino colleague Tony DeZuniga just last week. As mentioned then here: In the early seventies, […]
It's been a while since I had to do this so I'd better explain: There's a widespread Internet Custom that no one but me practices. When you're swamped with Things To Do…when you're busier than John Travolta's legal staff and you won't be blogging at our usual pace, you put up a picture of can […]
PBS debuted that documentary about Johnny Carson this week. In case you didn't see it (or can't in your area), I've embedded a window below which, at least for a while, should show you the entire two-hour presentation. I thought it was generally very good…a bit too fawning in some areas. I think there actually […]