Keener 13

Mae West never won and Oscar, but her brand is more enduring than many who did. Today in 1979, she sold the bulk of her possessions at an auction held in Pontiac, Michigan. West, who was 84, had moved into an apartment and shipped 2,000 items, weighing 4,400 pounds from her Santa Monica home. Considering the mores of the times, she was the Lady Gaga / Madonna of her day, bucking the system, pressing the edge of the envelope and winning the admiration of Depression-era audiences in the process. She got her first movie contract at age 40, unheard of for a woman in the day. Wikipedia notes that, “When her cinematic career ended, she wrote books and plays and continued to perform in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television and to record rock and roll albums. She was once asked about the various efforts to impede her career, to which she replied: ‘I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it.'”

The secret of her success? She dialed into her audience and found a way to give them something unique that they wanted. Women of her day admired her liberation. Her ability to radiate allure was recognized by World War II pilots who named their life vests after her. She deployed brand across every medium of the day. One of the first true social media stars.

When she died, a little more than a year after the auction, she was still a worldwide brand. Careful investment advice made her independently wealthy but she never stopped working. Roger Ebert wrote, “Although her public image was often copied, it was an original when she created it. It basically took its form in her 1928 play ‘Diamond Lil.’ ‘I’m her, and she’s me,’ Miss West said, and made it a point to wear diamonds during public appearances. That’s how her autobiography got its title. Entering a nightclub dripping with diamonds, she heard a hat check girl exclaim, ‘Goodness! What diamonds.’ Her immortal reply: ‘Goodness had nothing to do with it’.”

Quick Takes:

Beverley Owen, the Original Marilyn on ‘The Munsters,’ Dies at 81. She played the role for the first 13 episodes. Pat Priest took over the role in for the rest of the series run . Marilyn was the one “normal” person in the family.. Or was she the only abnormal one? Guess it’s all how you look at it.

“What I Gave My Kid Instead of a Smart Phone ” via @Medium

Virgin’s Richard Branson on what Dr. Seuss can teach our kids / grandkids.

Meet Randy Thomas: The Oscar Host you didn’t see. Fred Jacobs writes about a “Hostless” Academy Awards. But was that really true? My wife said, “I really liked the woman announcer. She brought continuity without having to be funny. I didn’t miss the on-stage host.” Your thoughts?

Miss the Oscars? Here’s a complete list of who won.

Today In History:

1940, The first hockey telecast takes place on W2XBS, New York (Rangers vs Canadians).

1950 “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca premieres on NBC Writers include Mel Brooks, Neil Simon & Woody Allen.

1956, Elvis Presley had his first national hit when ‘I Forgot To Remember To Forget‘ went to No.1 on the Billboard Country & Western chart.

1957, Buddy Holly recorded a new version of ‘That’ll Be The Day‘, at Norman Petty Recording Studio in Clovis, New Mexico. The title being taken from a phrase used by John Wayne in the film ‘The Searchers.’

1964, The Beatles finished recording their next single ‘Can’t Buy Me Love‘, at Abbey Road studios, London, (they had first recorded the song on 29 January 1964 at Path Marconi Studios in Paris). They also recorded the B-side, ‘You Can’t Do That‘ and another new song ‘I Should Have Known Better‘.

1964, Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay] TKOs Sonny Liston in 7 for his first world heavyweight championship title.

1995, At a private party for 1,200 select guests on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament, Frank Sinatra sang before a live audience for the very last time. His closing song was ‘The Best is Yet to Come’.

Happy Birthday To:
(1913) Jim Backus, Actor (voice of Mr. Magoo) (d. 1989)
(1917) Anthony Burgess, essayist & short story writer (A Clockwork Orange) (d. 1993)
(1938) Diane Baker, Actress, in Hollywood Calif
(1943) George Harrison (d. 2001)

Much More Music:

1966, “Shake Me Wake Me” – Four Tops released this one in February and “Shake Me Wake Me” was nearing the top of it’s chart run this week in 1966. The On Top LP took advantage of the writing and production of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland and became one of the Tops most successful albums.  (Video)

1968, “The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde” – Georgie Fame. Released as a single in after Fame saw the controversial Hollywood Film, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the tune reached number one in the UK on in January, going Top 10 in the US in March. Extra credit if you remembered Georgie’s other hit, “Yeh, Yeh” from 1964.  (Video)

1969, “Time of the Season” – Zombies  – The Zombie cannon consists of three significant hits:  1964’s “She’s Not There“, Tell Her No” in 1965 and “Time of the Season” in 1968. Written by keyboard player Rod Argent (The “Hold Your Head Up” guy) and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 0f ’67. Columbia A&R man and former BS&T member,  Al Kooper, convinced Argent to prioritize “Time of the Season” over the anti-war “Butcher’s Tale” which the band favored. (Video)

1972, “Living in the Past” – Jethro Tull. Another story about a tune that was released on the 1969 album Stand Up, but failed get traction until tour audiences fell in love with it. “Living in the Past” became a thing 3 years later, in 1972 when it became the title track of that year’s top 10 LP. (Video)

Today’s Quote Worth Re-Quoting: “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” ~Mae West

One for the Road: “Weeds“, Brewer & Shipley’s second LP, was released in 1969. It was recorded at Golden State Studios in San Francisco and produced by Nick Gravenites under his the pseudonym “Nicky Gravy”. Weeds was a moderate success, the final track, Jim Pepper‘s “Witchi-Tai-To”, got a lot of FM radio play. Today’s trivia question: What was the name of the band that first released “Witchi-Tai-To”? Here’s the Answer.  (Video)

George Mendonsa was on leave from his destroyer and in Times Square when victory over Japan was announced. He grabbed what he thought was a nurse, kissing her as Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped the shutter on his camera. It became on of the images associated with the elation a nation felt as the Second World War came to a close. Mendonsa died after a fall at his assisted living facility at the age of 95. Married for 70 years, Mendonsa wasn’t kissing his wife in the famous photograph.

A story in the New York Post noted that it was “Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse’s uniform who’d never met Mendonsa when he suddenly locked lips with her at the Crossroads of the World.” The couple were reunited several years ago at the exact spot where the impromptu kiss took place. Friedman died of natural causes in 2016 at age 92. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/19 – The Kiss in Times Square” →

Classic Cars In Cool Movies:

Vehicles have played a role in movies and television since the days of the Keystone Cops. A close viewing of television credits thank the manufacturers for providing the cars. The brands ultimately benefited from the “product placement”. How many automobiles can you reflexively recall in connection with a favorite film? Here are three faves.

Goldfinger (1964) – The gadgetry that Q installed in James Bond’s 1963 Aston Martin DB5 made this ride popular for a generation. Featured in seven Bond films, it enjoyed more appearances than any actor in the starring role. A trivia factoid: The DB series was named honouring Sir David Brown (the owner of Aston Martin from 1947 to 1972). Corgi released a toy version in 1965.

Bullitt (1968) – A 1968 390 V8 Ford Mustang GT Fastback with a four-speed manual transmissions was the real star of this thriller. The chase scene down the mountainous San Francisco streets, culminating in the firey crash of the bad guys’ 1968 375 hp 440 Magnum V8-powered Dodge Charger remains an all time favorite. Mustang sales soared with the popularity of the film. Here are a pair of video links to the famous pursuit: (Part 1) (Part 2)

Clueless (1995) – Alicia Silverstone and Justin Walker leave on their date in his 1954 Nash Metropolitan Convertible (Video). Built between ’54 and 1962, these babies were considered one of the first compact cars. They came standard with map light, electric windshield wipers, cigar lighter, and a rear-mounted spare tire with cover, which were options on most other vehicles of the day.  An AM radio, “Weather Eye” heater, and whitewall tires were offered as optional extras. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland: 2/18 – Classic Cars in Cool Movies” →

Remembering the original VW Beetle.

Today in 1936 the VW Beetle was commissioned in Germany. Known as the “People’s Car” in the 1930s, the unique body style was designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The car had a rear engine, unusual for the time. Only small numbers were made before WWII halted production. After the war, sales soared aided by an iconic advertising campaign “Think small”. Nicknamed “the Beetle” it overtook the Model T Ford as the best-selling car in the world in 1972, selling over 15 million. It was only after 80 years that Volkswagen announced in 2018 that it would finally cease production in 2019. Here’s one of the more memorable TV ads from the 1960s. How does the guy who plows the snow on our roads get to work? In a VW, of course. (Video) Continue reading “Today in Keenerland: 2/15 – Remembering the VW Beetle” →

Today in 1969:
American Motors Corporation offered it’s “Rambler” at an entry level price of $1998.00 in a full page newspaper ad on this date in 1969. The company was was formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history. It went on to compete with the US Big Three with the Rambler American, Hornet, Gremlin and Pacer; muscle cars including the Marlin, AMX and Javelin; and early four-wheel-drive variants of the Eagle, the first true crossover. The company was known as “a small company deft enough to exploit special market segments left untended by the giants”, and was widely known for the design work of chief stylist, Dick Teague, who “had to make do with a much tighter budget than his counterparts at Detroit’s Big Three” but “had a knack for making the most of his employer’s investment”. Renault acquired a major interest in AMC in 1979—and the company was ultimately acquired by Chrysler. At its 1987 demise, The New York Times said AMC was “never a company with the power or the cost structure to compete confidently at home or abroad. (Wikipedia) Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/14 – American Motors & DJs’ Love Affair With Radio” →

Fifty years ago today:
Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh appeared on “Truth or Consequences“. The program was taped at Ford Auditorium and was seen tonight in 1969 on WJBK. That’s Bob Barker applying the makeup. “Remember kid,” he said, “This could make your career. Now go out there and Wow ’em!”

Via the Detroit Free Press archives.

Quick Takes:

Conspiracy theories abound in show business. We all know about the “Paul Is Dead” rumors. Keener’s Russ Gibb helped amplify them to the international stage. But I bet you didn’t know some of these, including a couple that turned out to be true. Via Ultimate Classic Rock.

Jacobs Media asks: Do you ever get tired of discovering new music? “Interestingly, the top excuse for gravitating away from the new music scene is a lack of time, demanding jobs, and a sense of music overload.” Continue reading “Today in Keenerland: 2/13 – Mayor Cavanagh: Game Show Contestant, Conspiracy Theories and Countdown Wednesday” →

Another snowy mess today. Be safe out there!

50 Years ago Today: 
Miami (AP) – In a surprise move, Cuban authorities allowed the immediate return of passengers and plane that had been hijacked Monday by a gun toting fat man. who said his father was dying in Cuba. There were 111 passengers and 8 crew members aboard Eastern air lines flight 950 when it was diverted at gunpoint while in route from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami. When the hijacking occurred a steward had to quiet one of the passengers — a 268 pound wrestler, Abdullah the Butcher, of Hamilton, Ontario. “I wanted to knock the man down,” said Abdullah afterward, “but the steward said there were to many people involved.” The hijacking brought to 1,182 the number of people making the Havana hop since the first of the year. It was the 14th commercial hijacking since January 1 and the sixth Eastern plain pirated. (No mention of the incident is made in Abdullah’s Wikipedia page.)

Factoid: There were over 130 hijackings over a four year period before the U.S. tightened airport security. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/12: Spin & Marty, Kelly Harmon and Eclectic Birthday Tunes” →

“Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?” This Detroit newspaper add from today in 1969 features the Buick Special at the low-low price of just $2562.00, $17,529 in today’s dollars. The Special nameplate was used on lower-priced intermediate-sized Buicks through the 1969 model year. In 1970, the end of the Special came about when the Special Deluxe was dropped too in favor of the slightly upscale Buick Skylark. Continue reading “Today in Keenerland 2/11: They Don’t Make Em Like They Used To” →

Earl “Madman” Muntz made the front page of the May 27th, 1967 edition of Billboard Magazine, which reported the grand opening of his Detroit tape cartridge retail store at 15268 Gratiot Avenue. The former Kaiser-Frazer used car salesman was a marketing visionary, creating innovative products and selling them with crazy costumes and outrageous sales pitches. Muntz invented the Stereo-Pak 4-track tape cartridge, the direct predecessor of the Stereo 8 cartridge, developed by Bill Lear.

His Detroit operation, which ultimately sold both 8 track tapes and the automotive stereo gear that played them launched in a former Nash Rambler dealership in the heart of the Motor City’s “Auto Row” of car dealerships.  The concept soon spawned competitors. 27 year old “Crazy Jack” Frankford’s Michigan Mobile Radio and former Detroit DJ Mickey Shorr were two of the names we often heard advertised.

Entertainment in our automobiles in the 1960s was still primarily consumed through the AM radios that were ubiquitous since the Gavin Motor Company first introduced the idea in 1930. By 1967 FM was becoming popular in our homes and many of us spent a month’s pay on expensive stereo systems to render the increasingly complex production that went into the albums we bought. Continue reading “When Car Stereo Shops Ruled” →

“It’s Farmer Jack Savings Time!” Remember when you would hear that unique sounder followed by the slogan and a price point? “Special cut rib-eye steak, just 88 cents a pound, through Sunday at Farmer Jack!”

Aside from the prices, a lot has changed across the Detroit area grocery landscape. Companies like A&P, Wrigley’s, Chatham and Great Scott have all fade into history. The big box stores like Kroger, Meijer and Walmart dominate. Cashiers hand entering the price of food items into a cash register has transformed into scanning systems that instantly calculate the price and adjust the inventory so management can know the status of daily sales volume at any moment.

When was the last time you wrote a check for groceries? Although not totally abandoned as a payment method, we are now sliding debit cards into chip readers or tapping our iPhones to pay the bill. Continue reading “Grocery Shopping 50 Years Ago” →