Gigi Perreau
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
I’ve lately become a sucker for anyone from the golden age of Hollywood. So if I see that there is going to be a celebrity attending an autographs show and they have a scad of black and white photos on display on the show’s website, then I’m inclined to research their history. Gigi Perreau, for example, did not have a name that I recognized – but I’m very grateful that I checked her out before attending the show. If I hadn’t, I might not have realized that she played the key role of the orphan Shelly in Abbott and Costello’s last film Dance With Me, Henry. Read the rest of this entry »
Fred Dryer had an illustrious career as a football player with the NFL, starting in 166 games and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams. He also had a distinguished career as an actor, starring in the popular police drama series Hunter, portraying the title character Sgt. Rick Hunter. But I think I am always going to think of him as the biggest almost-casting-mistake in history. He was in fact a strong candidate to portray Sam Malone in one of my all-time favorite TV sitcoms Cheers. Thankfully, the role went to Ted Danson, who helped make the show what it was. 
It’s a lesser celebrity encounter, I’ll admit, but somehow I think it’s a rather cool one. For those who remember the cartoon series The Archie Show and got a kick out of their song Sugar, Sugar– which actually climbed all the way to Billboard’s #1 spot for four consecutive weeks – you might think it’s cool too. I know President George W. Bush would, because he professes that Sugar, Sugar is one of his very favorite songs. So who exactly is Ron Dante? His name is surely not commonly known in conjunction with The Archies – because as far as anyone knew, they were merely a fictional, cartoon band. But there was a definite and distinct voice behind them and it belonged to Ron Dante. 
While it’s probably true that Christopher Serrone only got the job playing the role of young Henry Hill, because of his physical resemblance to the actor playing the older Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), he did an admirable job in the part. I find Goodfellas to be one of the all-time great films, always worthy of a repeat viewing. So I was quite excited to get a chance to meet Christopher when he was scheduled to make an appearance at the Chiller Theatre show in Parsippany, New Jersey, on Saturday, October 30, 2010. 
Knowing Virginia Karns Patterson was truly one of the most unique and fulfilling experiences in my life. I had met many celebrities – mostly in the Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang realm – up to that point, but never had I carried on a true friendship with any of them. Virginia was mostly known for her role as Mother Goose in the 1934 Laurel & Hardy film Babes in Toyland. She also had supporting roles in several other Hal Roach short subjects which included Four Parts (Charley Chase series), Soup and Fish (Todd-Kelly series), and Music in Your Hair (starring Billy Gilbert and Billy Bletcher).