Ginger or Mary Anne?

Just wanted to add my two cents that I've never sided with the populist opinion that Mary Anne is better than Ginger. The Golem is a Ginger man and always will be.

Who cares if she's a bitch? - Why settle for hamburger when you can have steak?

This clip pretty much makes a convincing argument in my favor - and it features Jim Backus doing an Ed Sullivan impression. Other than that, I have no idea what the hell is happening.

Fred Travalena

They say "death comes in threes". This week, it came in two sets of three: McMahon, Farrah, Jacko, Gale "My Little Margie" Storm, Billy Mays, and now - Fred Travalena.* It's almost like the Grim Reaper is in a hurry to fill his second quarter projections.

Travalena - for the uninitiated - was an ubiquitous presence on '70s television, when impressionists were still welcome on variety and talk shows.

Not entirely untalented, he was always the poor man's Rich Little in my book. Although his material was lacking somewhat, he never lacked for chutzpah - which certainly helps when you're trying to put over a lackluster Sylvester Stallone impression.


* Philly-area readers are also still mourning the loss of Gary Papa and Irv Homer.

The Castaways

A conservative friend of mine - a real Glenn Beck "9-12 project" type - sent me a link to this video "in honor of the Obama presidency".

The song title is the punchline (and it's a pretty good song, so enjoy!)

Michael Saxton

Old-School WWF fans may remember a wrestler named Michael Saxton - a "jobber" with a Michael Jackson gimmick. Newsday's "Steel Cage" column remembers Saxton, and even has a rare video of the man himself here. (Note: Saxton doesn't appear until about 10:00 into the video).

Jobbers like Saxton no longer exist in the WWE. In 1985 (when this clip was recorded), televised bouts were predominantly one-sided squash matches intended to put over established stars. There was a stable of wrestlers like Saxton, Steve Lombardi and Rusty Brooks whose sole purpose was to lose miserably each and every week.

Ringo Starr: "You're Sixteen"

Here's an interesting clip - Ringo Starr and Carrie Fisher in a video for Ringo's 1973 version of "You're Sixteen".

Carrie actually was 16 in 1973 - but this clip is from Ringo's 1978 TV special; she's about 21 here, and Star Wars was still playing in theaters.

Although I don't link to many Ringo performances (unless you count this one), there was a time - around '73 or '74 - when he was considered as prolific a hit-maker as the other Beatles. (Check out the albums Ringo and Goodnight Vienna for examples). However, by the time this TV special aired in '78 - he had just been dropped by Atlantic Records, and was about to be dumped by Polydor - his days as a mega-selling recording artist were already behind him.

The animation in the video looks kind of ridiculous now, but was considered quite "cutting edge" for it's time.

Mike Strutter's Guide to London

I only wish I had seen this video before my visit to London - I couldn't find a cab either.

By the way, it was the policeman who did it.

Charlie's Angels vs. The Three Stooges

Kate Jackson/Moe : "The Boss"

Jaclyn Smith/Larry : "The One in the Middle"

Farrah Fawcett/Curly : "The Popular One"

Cheryl Ladd/Shemp : "The Successful Replacement"

Shelly Hack/Joe : "The Unsuccessful Replacement"

Tanya Roberts/Curly-Joe : "Too Little, Too Late"

Farrah Fawcett, RIP