The Terrible Catsafterme

Our 18th United States President was a prime example of a military hero being elected into office without the proper credentials to exercise the office of Commander-in-Chief. Ulysses S. Grant held office from 1869-1877 and was the first President to serve two full consecutive terms since Andrew Jackson forty years earlier, but his most notable achievement came before office, when he led the North to victory as General of the Union army during the Civil War. It was based on this popular public reception that soon catapulted him into the job. At the time, he was the youngest man to assume the Presidency and had never held public office before in his life. Read the rest of this entry »

I love the TV series That 70’s Show, and really enjoy the performance of Kurtwood Smith as the eternally-angry and insulting father Red Foreman – but it was one year prior to the show’s debut that I sent an autograph request to Kurtwood Smith on October 14, 1997. My primary reason for writing him was because of his appearance of the quirky psycho killer Barry Jenkins in my all-time favorite episode of my all-time favorite drama Picket Fences – perhaps the most appropriately cast role in the history of television. That guy really scared me.   Read the rest of this entry »

If you don’t instantly recognize the name M. Emmet Walsh, perhaps there’s one thing that should know about him: he hates these cans! Yes, among his nearly 200 roles in film and television, he was the mad gunman who tries to mow down Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) in The Jerk. In fact, movies and TV have been riddled with memorable appearances of Mr. Walsh since the early 1970’s. Read the rest of this entry »

Our nation’s 29th President Warren G. Harding is generally ranked as one of the worst of the American Presidents. Although he was immensely popular while serving in the White House for just under two and a half years (at which time he died in office while traveling through San Francisco) from 1921-23, many scandals reverberated from his administration and cabinet, most notably the Teapot Dome scandal. His notorious philandering ways even led to the speculation of some that the first lady Florence Kling Harding may have poisoned him. Other notable aspects of Harding’s administration included the fact that he was the first sitting U.S. Senator to be elected President, and the signing of the peace treaties that formally ended World War I while he was President. Read the rest of this entry »