The Terrible Catsafterme

Brad's Musings and Meanderings

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"Okay, we'll play football." - Chris Tangeman

Archive for July, 2007

Pineapple Jackson at Hollywood ’80

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

pine.jpgAs an adult, he was featured as an extra in a number of my favorite TV series: Sanford and Son, Newhart, and Picket Fences, for example. As a child, he starred as Isaiah in the Academy Award winning 1931 feature Cimarron. But, most importantly, Eugene Jackson starred in six of the silent Our Gang films in 1924-25. As the third major black actor in the series, he was brought in to play the big brother to “Farina” after “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison had graduated from the series. He was christened as “Pineapple” because of his afro which seemed to stand on end, resembling the tropical fruit.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Hugh Chapman: A New Rascal

Sunday, July 29th, 2007

hugh5.jpgIt’s always a distinct pleasure to meet a newly-discovered indentifiable performer from the Our Gang series. Although admittedly only playing a minor role in the Little Rascals, Hugh Chapman is my latest example this. He appeared in three of the Hal Roach one-reelers in 1937: The Pigskin Palooka, Glove Taps, and Mail and Female. He subsequently made a return to the Our Gang in 1939 after the series had been sold to M-G-M, appearing in Time Out for Lessons and Clown Princes. Read the rest of this entry »

vertigo7a.jpgWhile the day’s earlier events are now relatively lost from memory, I can distinctly and vividly recall most of the evening’s activities on Thursday June 29, 1995. The afternoon doubtlessly consisted of Laurel and Hardy location scouting and cemetery haunting. But this was the night that the Los Angeles Conservancy presented a screening of the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece Vertigo in the majestic State Theatre. I arrived grossly under-dressed and Bob and I prepared to pounce on one of the evening’s special guests while we waited in line to gain entrance to the theater. Read the rest of this entry »

hw054.jpgThis is a continuation of the memoir I wrote shortly after my October 2005 Hollywood trip, which began here. Because my writings about Saturday, the second day of my adventures, describe several distinct and different events, I have broken the day up into two postings – the next one to follow. How I wish I had completed this journal at the time instead of now having to rely on memory to detail the remainder of the trip!

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