The Terrible Catsafterme

I got the bee in my bonnet to track down Janet Burston way back in 1992 when my friend Dick Bann told me that he had nearly uncovered her whereabouts – his information indicated that she was working in a Denny’s restaurant in Fresno. He had no desire to contact her, but offered to pass on her phone number for me. By the time I followed up with him and tried to call her, the line he gave me had been disconnected. Flash forward to 1994 when I met Bill Cappello. He had already provided the whereabouts for both Harry Spear and Beverly Crane, when I asked him to see what he could find out about Janet Burston. Read the rest of this entry »

My association with George “Spanky” McFarland began on July 31, 1980 when I snuck up behind him to eavesdrop on his interview in Culver City. Later that night, he appeared at the Our Gang reunion, but for some reason I didn’t get his autograph in my book at that time. Having flown in from Texas for the convention, Spanky was at the convention for its entire duration so I was able to get his signature later on – as I recall I got my book signed in the hospitality suite later that night.  Read the rest of this entry »

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The following is the conclusion to the journal of events from my October 2005 Hollywood vacation – the second half of my second day. Mostly this deals with the Hollywood Collectors Show that I attended on October 1. You will note a similar soapbox speech about the perceived greed of some of the celebrities at the Hollywood Collectors Show during my Hollywood ’07 trip. Obviously at the bottom of this posting, you will be able to follow a trail of celebrites and see separate entries about the stars whom I met during this show.  Read the rest of this entry »

As 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 »