An Appreciation of John Callahan

John Callahan died the other day.


Who was John Callahan?



He was a cartoonist who was published in various alternative weeklies starting in the 80s. He had a dark sense of humor with his work. He poked fun at anything he could with the most acidic sense of humor. His cartoons could be tasteless, insensitive, blasphemous, sexist and borderline racist but almost always funny.


















He had a rough style of rendering brought about by the fact he was a near quadriplegic due to a drunk driving car accident he was in when he was 21. He wasn't driving but he drank so much He didn't know the severity of his injuries. After a few lost years, He went back to his cartoonist interests and developed his style using his hands clasped together and took the alternative comic scene of the early 90s by storm.


He wrote an autobiography complete with pictures called "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot: The Autobiography of a Dangerous Man" is a fantastically funny read. He was able to laugh at himself about his handicapped situation, His upbringing and his outlook on life.














Of course when he made fun of the handicapped, He outraged many people. But he was an equal opportunity offender. He outraged anybody and everybody which for me as a free speech liberal was refreshing. No cows were sacred.

Even snowmen.




















I wish I hadn't lost touch with his recent work and I have seen that he had not lost his edge when I checked it out when he died.

















These are only a few of his cartoons. RIP John Callahan.

RIP Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych

Boy what a bummer. I had heard that Harry Kalas died. He was the long time broadcaster of the Philadelphia Phillies and NFL films. He had a distinct baritone that made watching the Phillies enjoyable when we got cable and was able to see the Phillies back in the day. I'd watch them on the days the Mets weren't on. His distinct baritone was about as manly as it got. He narrated the NFL films giving it a power that transended what went on the filed. He was the go to guy for Campbell's Chunky soup commercials. He died getting ready for today's Phillies game.





Then I got a bigger shock when I heard that former Detroit Tigers pitcher, Mark (The Bird) Fidrych died. Now, Fidrych had a short baseball career. A classic phenom case that burned out as fast as he was on fire. His one great season was in 1976. He won 19 games, completed 24 and won the Rookie of the Year award and came in second for the Cy Young award. He was an eccentric even in the "anything goes" decade the 70's. He got injured the next year and never pitched like that again. Still, no one who saw him pitch ever forgot him. He was only 54.

Hard To Believe It's Been 15 Years

An event happened that was devastating, but hardly surprising 15 years ago today. It was on April 8, 1994 that Kurt Cobain's body was found, dead from a self inflicted gun shot wound. It marked the end of the groundbreaking Seattle group Nirvana.


















I got the news from my girlfriend who called me from her job. I had crashed at her place the night before licking my wounds from getting fired from a shitty job the day before. It wasn't welcome news to say the least. I was a big fan of Nirvana. Nirvana represented a welcome trend in the popular music scene. The era of lame bands like Poison, Ratt, and Motley Crue was over. Even a great band like Guns and Roses faltered when Nirvana burst on the national scene in 1991.















I had just moved to Seattle in 1991 and befriended a guy named Mike who told me about a local band that was ready to release their second album that month. We went to a record release party at a record store called the Beehive. At the same time a new radio station started airing in Seattle called "The End". "The End" focused on an alternative music scene that was growing since the late 80's. Bands like Stone Roses, The Farm, and Blur were played along with Seattle bands like Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone, and a band that was releasing a new album, Nirvana.

It was a good thing this radio station existed, because I did not bring either my CD player or my CDs and a radio station that played better more varied music than any on New York at the time was welcome and educational. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the top requested song every night on "The End" on their countdown show. The opening guitar riff still sends chills down my spine from the very first time I heard it.

The album was released and I listened to it at Mike's many times before I finally got my CD player. The album was so popular and so indentifiably Seattle. This helped a band called Pearl Jam and helped increase sales for Soundgarden. The Seattle "grunge" scene was on and I was in the middle of it all, adopting the look, carousing the clubs, attending the shows and basically enjoying the last gasps of my adolescence a few years after the fact. The next few years were an orgy of fun slackerdom. The best part of it was the fact I lived for the present, I rarely was nostalgic, I wish I can say that now.

Things would soon change. In 1994, I was in a serious relationship with a woman who represented a change in my life. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and I had to face the fact I was getting older and I needed to become responsible. Still, the scene in Seattle was going strong. Pearl Jam, Soungarden, and Nirvana continued to release great albums that would keep the scene strong, but every good thing must come to an end. I just didn't think it would be so quick on that dreary day in 1994.

I guess it was inevitable. He tried to kill himself in Europe a month before, He wrote a song called "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" and he took enough heroin to put Sid Vicious to shame. I guess I wanted to ride the Nirvana express until I chose to get off.

He died when he was 27. 27 is a scary year for many. It's when we start to age and when we need to get our act together in our career. It also can be when we realize life isn't going to work out the way we hoped it would. That may explain the amount of rock stars who died at the age of 27. Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and now Kurt Cobain. I was 27 in 1994, and was hoping it would be a transformative year for me in a profound positive way. Instead it marked the end of the Seattle scene I enjoyed, I moved to a town Federal Way, WA, that allowed me to gain 30 pounds quite quickly. I had taken on two jobs that were pathetic, just so I could survive. Plus it was the year of OJ, the baseball strike, and the Republican Revolution in November. A lousy year, transformative? Yes, for the worse.

15 years is a long time. We went through 9-11, the Bush years, Britney Spears, People not knowing the Foo Fighters lead singer was the drummer of Nirvana and other atrocities.

And one of the worst was seeing Kurt Cobain endorse sneakers from the grave.

Soft Rock Loses One Of Its Own...

Dan Seal died, He was the younger brother of Jim Croft of Seals and Croft. More importantly He was England Dan of the group England Dan and John Ford Coley. They had one major hit "I Really Like To See You Tonight" in 1976. It was one of those songs that was constantly on the radio. you waited it out hoping that "Disco Duck" would be next.

It's an okay song. Very mellow suited for an older demographic. I just posted the video to stir up people's memories.


HERE

RIP Wendy Richard

I'm a fan of the long running British sitcom "Are You Being Served?" so I'm sad to hear that Wendy Richard passed away. She played Miss Brahms during the whole run of the show from 1973-1985. She also played in the sequel called "Are you Being Served Again? (US Title) for two more years.

She was in the British soap opera "East Enders" for many years.

But I knew her as the Cockneyed Miss Brahms. She was the frequent victim of sexual harassment by Mr. Lucas and Captain Peacock when she was younger. Being that it was the 70's, it was considered okay. Her accent was the punchline and set up to many jokes.

She was only 65, which makes her younger than some of the cast of "Being Served" was when the show aired.

RIP Blossum Dearie

Blossom Dearie passed away. Who is she? She was a jazz singer during the 50' and 60's. Still, she is probably best known for people of my generation for singing some Schoolhouse Rock songs. My favorite being "Unpack The Adjectives" Here's the clip.

Sad to hear another part of my childhood is gone. She was 82.

A Funeral For A Matriarch

I spent the day Monday going to a funeral for my father's cousin. She's the mother of one of my favorite families. She had just passed right before the past weekend. My father and my aunt were close. My father had lived with her family for some time after his mother's death when he was a child.

I didn't get to see my second cousind as much as I would like, as a matter of fact, I have only attended half of their weddings. Although I regret my possible rudeness in attending, I more regret it more because the weddings I did go to were a blast.

Mary Ellen had moved to Baltimore with her husband to raise their family. It is a hike to go to Bowie(pronounced Boo-eee), Maryland. I thought it would take 3 hours to get there and gave myself 4 hours to get there. I avoided the NJ Turnpike to in order to not pay tolls but really all I avoided was a few bucks because of the Delaware toll scam of charging $4 merely to travel 20 miles, a $3 Maryland toll and a $2 toll for the Harbor Tunnel.

I don't have EZ-Pass. Ca-Ching!

Anyway, true to form, toll roads tend to be slower with traffic and I started to realize I was running late. The funeral started at 10am. I finally got there at a few minutes after. 4+ hours and I still was a little late.

It was a moving ceremony. You don't get me in a church too often but I still enjoy the ceremony of a Catholic mass. Her children did an admirable job recounting their mother's life. I regret that for obvious reasons I would not see her at her own ceremony.

After the cemetery site ceremony and the reception back in the church hall. I was invited back to her grieving husband's place where the whole of the family was present.
I reconnected with the family. I was introduced to children Io have never met. I don't see the family often enough. The kids were great and the older ones are making their way through life in extraordinary ways. I hadn't seen them since they were small children. Living in Seattle made me miss out on much of their lives.

I stayed until after 8:30 pm. I couldn't gracefully leave until the last of my second cousins left. Somehow it still took me more than 4 hours to get home even without the traffic. I got gas twice, once to put enough to get me back to NJ and its cheap gas. The tolls were even higher to get back.

Mary Ellen lived an very full life in her 72 years. She raised four wonderful children and they in turn had blessed her with 11 grandchildren. she had gotten her symptoms on Christmas Day. She returned to her home to spend her last days in her own home. The Christmas tree and its splendid decorations she put up was still set up for her to enjoy in her last days.

I'll miss her. She was the first of the "Bronx" generation of my family tree to pass. She'll be missed by many.

RIP Andrew Wyeth

Famed American painter Andrew Wyeth died at the age of 91. He was in the middle of a Wyeth family painter dynasty. He was the son of illustrator N.C. Wyeth and the father of Jamie Wyeth. Andrew was probably the most famous particularly for the painting "Christina's World" and his series of paintings of his muse Helga. He was a classic.

KHAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

Legendary actor Ricardo Montalban has just died. He was one of the last stars from the studio system era. He was well known for his "Latin lover" roles in the 40's and the 50's. His look was so exotic he sometimes played Asians and Arabs in movies. He was in such top shape through his life that the women swooned.

But that's not really what he was known for. In the 60's he was relegated to supporting roles in the movies. He started doing guest roles on some TV shows, including an episode on a low rated science fiction show.











He had appeared in two sequels of the Planet of the Apes movie franchise in the early 70's. By the mid 70's he started doing television commercials for the Chrysler Cordova. His reading of the term "Corinthian Leather" made the car a big seller. This also helped him get the lead in his most successful role, Mr. Roarke of "Fantasy Island." This was a silly show that was a huge hit. It was a Saturday night staple from the late 70's to the early 80's.



















Due to his new popularity, he revisited the role from that sci-fi from the 60's. The low rated series was Star Trek. The role was Khan from an episode called "Space Seed." Star Trek was making a series of movies to capitalize on its growing popularity. So the second movie in the series featured Ricardo Montalban as Khan in what is widely regarded as the best movie in the franchise.



















He continued to work constantly even after we was mostly confined to a wheelchair. He did a lot of voice work towards the end of his life.

I like the guy. I get a kick watching old movies on TCM and seeing his dashing presence. He projected nobility even in his villainous roles. Another legend gone.

RIP Bettie Page

I'm sad to find out that 50's pin up queen Bettie Page died. She was 85.

Bettie Page made a living posing for cheesecake photos in the days before Playboy magazine. It was the days when men and women would go to a shop, purchase photographs for their collection. Some pictures dealt with kinky fetishes while others were topless shots. In the era of platinum blonds, Bettie Page was a striking brunette who wore her hair in bangs. Most women can't carry it off, but she did.

















Bettie Page had come to New York in hopes of becoming an actress. She posed for pictures for "camera clubs" to make a living in the meantime. Her career as an actress never took off, and she continued to pose for photos until she was 36 years old. At that point she had renewed her Christian faith, moved away from New York and faded into obscurity.














Meanwhile, a cult following developed around Bettie Page during the days of Penthouse and Hustler by adults looking for a more innocent era of tease.














In the early 80's the Late comic book artist, Dave Stevens, created The Rocketeer. He used Bettie Page as inspiration for his character of Betty. His rendition was so beautifully rendered and was my first exposure to the cult of Bettie Page.















Shortly after I saw the publication "Betty Pages" in my local comic store. In 1989, I started working for the publisher Greg Theakston and helped put together the next 4 issues of the publication. This gave me a unique opportunity to see many of the pictures in the Irving Klaw and Bunny Yeager collection of photos. Entertainment Tonight interviewed Theakston to find out what happened to Bettie Page. He had contact with Bettie, but respected her privacy enough to allow her to come out in her own time.



















She had first been unaware of the cult phenomenon surrounding her and took some time to come out to the public but was eventually was able to cash in on her fame in the last decade of her life. She embraced her past even with her devout Christianity. And really, look at the innocence on her face even with the bondage shots, she knew what she was doing and never allowed herself to be exploited.





































She was savvy enough to not allow contemporary photos of her to be shown in order to preserve her as an icon much like Marilyn Monroe. She relented when she turned 80, and let me say she looked alright. I'm glad she lived in comfort for the last days. We'll miss ya, but we'll have the memories.

RIP Paul Benedict.

There are not many people left alive from the 70's TV show "The Jeffersons". Another cast member, Paul Benedict who played the English neighbor Mr. Bentely died the other day, he was 70. He was an American playing an Englishman which is different from these days when English actors play Americans.

He was a funny foil to Sherman Helmsley's George Jefferson. The calm to George's storm. Good TV. But to me, Paul Benedict will always be the mad painter guy who was on Sesame Street. Dig Mr. Benedict's crazy beard as he paints numbers on various objects with comedic results. Here's a few including one with a young Stockard Channing.

We'll miss you Guffman, I mean Loomis.