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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
July 17, 2009
/ 25 Tamuz 5769
Odds and Ends
By
Greg Crosby
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Wow, what a crazy summer so far! Where do I begin? Well, let's start with a thief. Madoff, the investment crook, got 150 years in the slammer. His defense team was hoping for about 10. Considering that the guy should literally be hung, I think 150 years in prison for him is probably getting off rather light. The feds are grabbing all the houses they own along with the wife's fir coats, bed linen, silverware and other valuables. Very good, but don't forget the sons, brother, and any other family members that were in on the scams all these years - they need to be locked up too, along with all the other crooks who worked for him. The Madoff business is officially dead.
And speaking of dead. Lots of dying going on around here over the last month or so. Famous people dying I mean. Wallowing over the famous people that have died is one of those favorite pastimes for the media along with blasting Sarah Palin, worshiping Barok Obama, and finding poison in almost everything we eat or breathe.
By last count, the celebrities that clocked out recently include Karl Malden, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Michael Jackson, Fred Travalina, Gale Storm, Ed McMahon, Sam Butera, and David Carradine. The Jackson and Carradine weirdness got all the media attention, but I'd like to mention a couple of the others who deserve remembering.
Gale Storm is one of those people in my earliest memory bank. I was a child of early 50's television and My Little Margie was one of my favorites. I loved those funny ladies, Lucille Ball, Joan Davis and Gale Storm. They made funny faces and silly noises, mugged a lot and basically did everything that a three or four year old finds high humor in.
She was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle on April 5, 1922 in Bloomington Texas. When she was 17 she won a talent contest and a one-year contract with movie studio, RKO. She made several pictures for the studio, working steadily throughout the early forties and then moving to Monogram Pictures for the rest of the decade. The variety of roles she played there gave her a solid grounding in comedy, which she would put to good use in TV.
Miss Storm's first television hit was her starring role in My Little Margie from 1952 to 1955. The series, which co-starred former leading man, Charles Farrell as her father, was originally a summer replacement for I Love Lucy on CBS. The show ran for 126 episodes on NBC and CBS. The series was also broadcast on CBS Radio from December 1952 to August 1955 with the same lead actors. Only 23 episodes of the radio show are known to survive.
In the Fall of 1956 Gale Storm again starred in another situation comedy, The Gale Storm Show, (aka Oh! Susanna), featuring character actress, ZaSu Pitts. This show ran for 143 episodes between 1956 and 1960. Miss Storm appeared regularly on other television programs in the 1950s and 1960s as well, such as panelist and a "mystery guest" on What's My Line?
She was married and widowed twice and had four children with her first husband. In later years she made the rounds as guest star on shows like Love Boat, Burke's Law and Murder She Wrote. She published her autobiography in 1981. She was 87 when she died this June 27th but for me I'll always remember her as that cute, funny little girl on My Little Margie. RIP.
Sam Butera was best known, of course, as Louie Prima's sidekick, the saxophone player who played straight man for Prima's craziness. It was Louie Prima, Keely Smith, and Sam Butera (and The Witnesses) who made up what was undoubtedly the greatest lounge act in Las Vegas history.
Butera was born and raised in New Orleans, where his father, Joe, ran a butcher shop and played guitar in his spare time. He heard the saxophone for the first time at a wedding when he was seven years old, and, with his father's encouragement, he began to play. When he finisnished high school he got a job with a big band and soon after was named by Look Magazine as one of America's top upcoming jazzmen.
He played with Tommy Dorsey, Joe Reichman, and Paul Gayten during that big band era. As the big band era wound down and heavy touring became less common among jazz musicians, Butera re-settled in New Orleans, where he played regularly at the 500 Club for four years. The 500 Club was owned by Louis Prima's brother, Leon, and it was this connection that lead him to his much-heralded Vegas-based collaborations with Prima and Smith.
He started his famous collaboration with Prima in 1956 at the Sahara Hotel. Butera remained the bandleader of The Witnesses for the better part of the next twenty years. Until very recently he was still performing, sometimes even with Keely Smith. I'm sorry I didn't see them, it must have been a blast. Sam Butera died, appropriately, in Las Vegas at 81 years old. He was a true swingin' cat and a hell of a sax player. RIP.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.
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© 2008, Greg Crosby
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