Joy Wurgaft – Hollywood ’95
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
I have no doubt that Joy Wurgaft – now Joy Lane – was a legitimate Our Gang member, unlike many who claim to have been in the series that never stepped foot on the set of any movie. But unfortunately, Joy has built herself up to be one of the ‘stars’ of the Little Rascals, despite hardly even brushing with them on film. She did share one key scene with Alfalfa in Our Gang Follies of 1936 – even singing a duet with him, but beyond that her scenes were relegated to one of the kiddies in the background. Read the rest of this entry »
Of course. Of course. My Dad and I always enjoyed the wry sense of humor of Mr. Ed the talking horse. So I was relativley excited to see that Wilbur Post himself, otherwise known as actor Alan Young was in attendence at the 1995 Summer Hollywood Collectors Show. Once again, here is another celebrity whom I met but did not have the intelligence to get my picture taken with. I bought two photos from him – one for me and one for my Dad’s birthday which was coming up on August 22. 
Lassie was one of those shows broadcast on early cable television that our family caught now and again. The plot was always the same and the poor acting job of Hugh Reilly was always the high point. I remember greeting Jon Provost who played the pivotal role of Timmy in the Lassie series at the Summer 1995 Hollywood Collectors Show with little fanfare. I simply shelled out the ten bucks and grabbed the nice (yet flimsy paper) photo that he signed to me. The bright colors and pre-printed paw print appealed to me. Obviously he didn’t mean enough to me to have my picture taken with him – which I now obviously regret. 
Tongues were abuzz immediately as word circulated around the grand room at the Beverly Garland Hotel where the Summer 1995 Hollywood Collectors Show was being held on June 24. Long before the days of The Girls Next Door and he had sealed his reputation as a creepy, perverted old man, Hugh Hefner entered the building. He was with a minor acquaintance of mine, Dick Bann. Dick was co-author of two of my favorite books, Laurel & Hardy (the giant picture book) and Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals – which happened to be the book that I was toting around collecting signatures for my friend Henry Sorenson. Although Dick and I are not exceptionally close, we have certainly grown to be friends over the years.