Remembering The Passed

Remembering Leonard Cohen, Kay Starr, Janet Reno

Leonard Cohen was the Canadian rock musician whose lyrics escaped the traditional boundaries of rock and roll and entered the realm of poetry. Along with his lyrics, he was best known for his gravelly voice and dark persona. Kay Starr was the 1950’s chanteuse, who was an adept jazz interpreter, blues singer and forerunner of rock. However she is remembered primarily for her novelty songs, “Wheel of Fortune” in 1952 and “the Rock and Roll Waltz” (1955). Janet Reno was the first female Attorney General and she served nearly eight years during the 1990’s under President Bill Clinton.

The Prototype Horror Show Host

Remembering John Zacherle, Tammy Grimes, Curly Putman, Met Life Snoopy

In the 1950’s when the movie studios sold many of their B-horror movies to television, program directors realized they were hard to watch. So they developed the gimmick of the horror movie host to liven up the movies. John Zacherle was the master of the art, and hosted memorable late-night horror movies in Philadelphia and New York. He was the model for the horror show movie hosts all over the country who came after him. Tammy Grimes was the Broadway star who burst on the scene as Molly Brown in Meredith Willson’s hit musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960). Curly Putman was the songwriter who wrote country classics including “The Green, Green Grass of Home”. Charles Schulz’s character, Snoopy, was the logo for the insurance company Metropolitan Life for over 30 years

Remembering Herb Kent, Bobby Vee, Tom Hayden

Herb Kent was one of the great American disc jockeys, and one of the most distinctive personalities in radio. He worked for over 50 years in Chicago radio and could tell stories about virtually every important African-American performer during that time. He also played a major role in the civil rights movement in urban Chicago. Bobby Vee became a rock and roller at 15 when he was recruited to help finish the Winter Dance Party Tour in 1959 after Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash. He represented a bridge between Buddy Holly and The Beatles. Tom Hayden was one of the leaders of the New Left in the 1960’s, and one of the organizers of the Students for Democratic Society. He was an author of the seminal document, the Port Huron Statement and went on trial as a member of the Chicago Seven.

Remembering Sgt. Richard Pittman USMC

As a Lance Corporal in Vietnam in 1966, Richard Pittman braved point-blank enemy fire and disrupted an enemy position to save his comrades in July of 1966 near the DMZ in South Vietnam. Even with a disabled weapon, he managed to use an enemy machinegun and the pistol of a fallen soldier to force an enemy withdrawal. The heroic Marine was awarded the Medal of Honor in May of 1968, by President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of the inauguration of the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon.

Remembering Phil Chess and Chess Records, Eddie Applegate

Phil Chess and his brother Leonard were Polish/Jewish immigrants who founded a record company on the South Side of Chicago in the early 1950’s. Their company featured many blues musicians from the Delta South including Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, and the music they created went on to have a tremendous influence on rock and roll. It also exposed white audiences to black musicians they might not have otherwise heard, a significant step in changing race relations in the mid-20th Century. Eddie Applegate played the memorably goofy boyfriend on the “Patty Duke Show” (1963-1966).

Remembering Dario Fo, Joan Marie Johnson and the Dixie Cups, LSU’s Mike the Tiger

Dario Fo, the left-wing Italian actor-playwright, won the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature. He poked fun at society’s conventions and was best known for his 1970 play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Joan Marie Johnson was the founder of the Dixie Cups, one of the 1960’s best-known girl groups. Their 1964 hit, “Chapel of Love”, went to #1 and they became the first American group to displace the Beatles during the initial British Invasion. Mike the Tiger was the sixth tiger mascot for Louisiana State University. He lived outside the stadium in a $3 million habitat, and he was one of the most visited tourist attractions in Baton Rouge.

Remembering Reinhard Selten, Frozen Orange Juice

Reinhard Selten was the German economist who shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics along with John Nash Jr. and John Harsanyi. Dr. Selten’s work in game theory extended to how individuals make decisions based on limited information. His findings have implications for international relations, biology, and business negotiations. Frozen concentrated orange juice, which was developed in the 1940’s, is disappearing from store shelves and breakfast tables.

Remembering John D. Loudermilk, Curtis Hanson

John D. Loudermilk wrote some of the most familiar rock/country crossover hits of the 1950’s thru the 1970’s. He wrote for Eddie Cochran, George Hamilton IV, the Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt and Anne Murray. His best-known compositions are “Tobacco Road” and “Indian Reservation”. Curtis Hanson was the film director who won an Academy Award for his adaptation of the James Ellroy novel that led to the film, L.A. Confidential (1997).

Remembering Shimon Peres, The Carnegie Deli, Agnes Nixon, Richard Trentlage

Shimon Peres was the Israel’s statesman whose career spanned the entirety of the country’s history. Early in life he was mentored by David Ben-Gurion and at various times, he served as Prime Minister, President and Cabinet member. He was also a co-winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. The Carnegie Deli, at 55th Street and 7th Avenue was perhaps the best-known delicatessen in New York. It opened in 1937 and was known for its giant sandwiches, generous portions, and rude waiters. Agnes Nixon was one of the most prolific television writers of daytime soap operas. She also created All My Children (1970-2011), and One Life To Live (1968-20130. Richard Trentlage was the ad man who wrote one of the most famous jingles in advertising history, the Oscar Meyer theme.

Remembering Arnold Palmer

No one has ever had a greater influence on the spread of golf in America, and around the world, than Arnold Palmer. His charismatic approach to the game, and to life, was perfect for the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, when people were acquiring leisure time and television popularized sports. His good looks and hard-charging golf game made for the ideal advertisement for golf. But he was also an admirable figure, always accessible and deeply involved in charity work. His fans loved him (“Arnie’s Army”) and as befits his moniker, he was truly “The King of Golf.”