It appears Nick got his Presidents mixed up, it wasnt JFK but rather Harry Truman that had been a member of the KKK and asked for his membership money back.
Sorry!
Friday 23 November 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RQJOI-n5zY
this is really bizzare - its sammy doing his normal thing of impressions to celebraty endorse polio vaccines... then at the end he goes very 'un-sammyish' and gets serious...its a bit unnerving!!
this is really bizzare - its sammy doing his normal thing of impressions to celebraty endorse polio vaccines... then at the end he goes very 'un-sammyish' and gets serious...its a bit unnerving!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENHP89mLWOY&feature=related
this is quite interesting in terms of information on malcolm x's view of black identity. it also expalins why he called himself X.... because he doesnt want to be known by his slave name.
this is quite interesting in terms of information on malcolm x's view of black identity. it also expalins why he called himself X.... because he doesnt want to be known by his slave name.
Journalists
It is Lee Mortimer, and he wrote for the New York Daily Mirror. Mortimer was generally anti-Sinatra and wrote about links to the mob. Got this from Sinatra: The Life by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, so it might be worth checking their Bibliography out to see what their sources were. They also write:
After years of gushing about Frank, Dorothy Kilgallen offended him in 1956 with a series of caustic articles that led off by calling him a "Jekyll and Hyde dressed in sharpie clothes." Frank raged about her at first in private, among friends. One of them, Armand Deutsch, recalled him hurling darts at a board that featured "ghastly likenesses" of three female columnists, Kilgallen, Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. (p.271)
Unfortunately, they don't say who these columnists wrote for but again, their Bibliography might have some clues.
Summers, A. & Swan, R. (2006), Sinatra: The Life, London: Corgi
After years of gushing about Frank, Dorothy Kilgallen offended him in 1956 with a series of caustic articles that led off by calling him a "Jekyll and Hyde dressed in sharpie clothes." Frank raged about her at first in private, among friends. One of them, Armand Deutsch, recalled him hurling darts at a board that featured "ghastly likenesses" of three female columnists, Kilgallen, Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. (p.271)
Unfortunately, they don't say who these columnists wrote for but again, their Bibliography might have some clues.
Summers, A. & Swan, R. (2006), Sinatra: The Life, London: Corgi
Thursday 22 November 2007
online rat pack-related journals
I've found three online journals relating to individual members of the Rat Pack. You can access them all through the JSTOR links provided. when a page loads click "log in options" at the top, then click "organisational/institutional log in", find the University Of Huddersfield, you'll be prompted for your metalib username and password. You can then read them.
Passing for Italian (John Gennari) - focuses on Dean and Frank mainly but gives mention of the Rat Pack:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-1191%281996%290%3A72%3C36%3APFI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2
Blacks and Jews in American Folklore (Nathan Hurvitz) - talks briefly about Sammy and his ethnicity/religious beliefs:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-373X%28197410%2933%3A4%3C301%3ABAJIAF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H
"My Way" in "Our America": Art Ethnicity and Profession (Thomas J. Ferrero) - focuses on Frank as a singer
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0896-7148%28200023%2912%3A3%3C499%3A%22WI%22AA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L
Information regarding which journals they originate from and when they were published is featured on the page.
Happy reading.
Passing for Italian (John Gennari) - focuses on Dean and Frank mainly but gives mention of the Rat Pack:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0041-1191%281996%290%3A72%3C36%3APFI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2
Blacks and Jews in American Folklore (Nathan Hurvitz) - talks briefly about Sammy and his ethnicity/religious beliefs:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-373X%28197410%2933%3A4%3C301%3ABAJIAF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H
"My Way" in "Our America": Art Ethnicity and Profession (Thomas J. Ferrero) - focuses on Frank as a singer
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0896-7148%28200023%2912%3A3%3C499%3A%22WI%22AA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-L
Information regarding which journals they originate from and when they were published is featured on the page.
Happy reading.
Monday 19 November 2007
I know it's only a starting point but...
... please make sure you only use it as a starting point. You all know how unreliable wikipedia can be, so if there is anything on there that is useful or stimulating you must get it verified from other, more authoritative sources before you use it.
Not that I'm unimpressed by Hannah's legwork - nearly as good as Sammy's.
Not that I'm unimpressed by Hannah's legwork - nearly as good as Sammy's.
Friday 16 November 2007
i know its only wikipedia but...
hiya just thought i'd send you all some links on the black civil rights movement for some of your background knowledge on 1960's america
it's said the civil rights movement REALLY kick started with brown Vs board of eduaction case. (though there had been growing tensions amd demonstrations fcor sometime) basically Oliver Brown claimed that segragated schooling did not give black children the same educational rights as white children. the case was rejected several times so was eventually taken ot the supream court. segragation was declaied illegal within schools 1954. THis then lead to several cases of violence towards black children moving to white schools (see the little rock school case)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education#Supreme_Court_review
the montgomery bus boycott. this began from Rosa Parks refusing to move when a white person told her to give up her seat for them. she was arrested and as a result all black people in montgommery alabama refused to use busses untill the law was changed. in 1956 bus segragation in alabama was made illegal. this was also the point where martin luther king became a key player in the civil rights movement as he was one of the leaders in the bus boycott.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott
Malcolm X. He was the man that sammy was compared to on stage when he put on glasses. Malcolm was a muslim with firm beliefs that islam could irradicate all racial problems.
he was a much more aggressive civil rights leader than martin luther king. Malcolm X's view was that the black person had the right to defend themselves against attacks of racisim. in 1964 he was quoted as saying "The time for you and me to allow ourselves to be brutalized nonviolently has passed. Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segragationist, then I'll get nonviolent. But don't teach me to be nonviolent until you teach some of those crackers to be nonviolent."
in feb 1965 he was shot 16 times while making a speech in manhatten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X
Whitney Young. The head of the National Urban League (NUL) he helped to break segragation barriers in poorer urban environments."Black Power simply means: Look at me, I'm here. I have dignity. I have pride. I have roots. I insist, I demand that I participate in those decisions that affect my life and the lives of my children. It means that I am somebody."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Young
this is the link to the NAACP (i am not writing all of their very long history out!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281955-1968%29
this documents the civil rights movement 1955-1968 it has a small section on the Kennedy's speeches about the civil rights movement (they compare themselves ot the african americans as they were irish and the Irish weren't particulaly welcome at one point either!)
i talks about sit ins and passive resistance then progressing to the more hostile black power movement. it also has links ot osme of the major activists of the era!
phew... who knew all that on wikipedia. HAPPY READING!!
it's said the civil rights movement REALLY kick started with brown Vs board of eduaction case. (though there had been growing tensions amd demonstrations fcor sometime) basically Oliver Brown claimed that segragated schooling did not give black children the same educational rights as white children. the case was rejected several times so was eventually taken ot the supream court. segragation was declaied illegal within schools 1954. THis then lead to several cases of violence towards black children moving to white schools (see the little rock school case)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education#Supreme_Court_review
the montgomery bus boycott. this began from Rosa Parks refusing to move when a white person told her to give up her seat for them. she was arrested and as a result all black people in montgommery alabama refused to use busses untill the law was changed. in 1956 bus segragation in alabama was made illegal. this was also the point where martin luther king became a key player in the civil rights movement as he was one of the leaders in the bus boycott.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott
Malcolm X. He was the man that sammy was compared to on stage when he put on glasses. Malcolm was a muslim with firm beliefs that islam could irradicate all racial problems.
he was a much more aggressive civil rights leader than martin luther king. Malcolm X's view was that the black person had the right to defend themselves against attacks of racisim. in 1964 he was quoted as saying "The time for you and me to allow ourselves to be brutalized nonviolently has passed. Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segragationist, then I'll get nonviolent. But don't teach me to be nonviolent until you teach some of those crackers to be nonviolent."
in feb 1965 he was shot 16 times while making a speech in manhatten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X
Whitney Young. The head of the National Urban League (NUL) he helped to break segragation barriers in poorer urban environments."Black Power simply means: Look at me, I'm here. I have dignity. I have pride. I have roots. I insist, I demand that I participate in those decisions that affect my life and the lives of my children. It means that I am somebody."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Young
this is the link to the NAACP (i am not writing all of their very long history out!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAACP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_%281955-1968%29
this documents the civil rights movement 1955-1968 it has a small section on the Kennedy's speeches about the civil rights movement (they compare themselves ot the african americans as they were irish and the Irish weren't particulaly welcome at one point either!)
i talks about sit ins and passive resistance then progressing to the more hostile black power movement. it also has links ot osme of the major activists of the era!
phew... who knew all that on wikipedia. HAPPY READING!!
just thought this was funny....
typed in "black civil rights movement america 1960's" into metalib and got a load of stuff about gay and lesbian developmenti n america.. right country wrong subject. well done uni!
Monday 5 November 2007
Thursday 1 November 2007
Brother-in-Lawford
Have fun tomorrow - use it to throw ideas around, find questions and possible answers and share what you have uncovered of interest or value.
Just to try and redress the balance a little. I might have a go at Joey too when I have a chance.
Peter Lawford
If you’ve ever seen Woody Allen’s film Zelig you may get a flavour of Peter Lawford’s place in history. Zelig, the fictional title character, is a social chameleon who appears alongside a wealth of powerful and celebrated figures through sophisticated (for the time) superimposition.
Lawford was the real thing. Ostensibly an actor, his real talent was for being where it was all happening. Levy’s description (1998, p.72) seems succinctly accurate, outlining Lawford as:
a good all-round B-movie lead, or nice support for an A-production. He’s never make them forget Olivier, but he was a reliable asset for a studio…
…Despite his lack of professional distinction, Peter was a highly sought after invitee, an especially glittering extra in the diadem of Hollywood nightlife.
His pre-Hollywood history is a depressing tale. His conception and birth was scandalous enough: his mother’s husband was not his father, and that honour went to her elderly, married lover General Sydney Lawford. (They later married). His mother made no pretence of affection for her son, and the strained maternal relationship in Ocean’s Eleven may reflect his personally difficult relationship with May Lawford. His childhood was further marred by a sustained period of sexual abuse.
Yet he was also brought up to be the perfect socialite, and this stood him in good stead when the family moved to Los Angeles following an accident which resulted in serious, permanent damage to his arm.
For despite such a troubled upbringing, he was ‘in’ with the most elite ‘in’ crowd the world has ever seen. As one-fifth of the Rat Pack, he was part of a phenomenon that redefined entertainment. Upon marrying Patricia Kennedy, he became part of the most powerful family in the world (earning him the nickname ‘Brother-in-Lawford’, courtesy of Sinatra). He introduced ‘the late’ Marilyn Monroe as she sang Happy Birthday Mr President to JFK, and was rumoured to be one of the last people to see her alive. Just like Zelig, he was always in the picture.
And, just like Zelig, it was always a little odd that he was in the picture. He never quite seemed to fit his surroundings, something marked him out as different.
If we consider his contribution, and relationship, to the Rat Pack, we may be able to draw out some of the differences that marked him out.
The first, of course, was talent. The hub of the Rat Pack were three of the greatest singers and entertainers of all time. Member number 4, Joey Bishop, was a skilful nightclub comic in his own right, but even he had a difficult time establishing his validity to join the others on stage. Where Bishop took the effective route of using his outsider status to comment and puncture proceedings, Lawford tried vainly to occupy the same territory as the others. He would sing a little, dance a little, clown a little, entertain a little, but never as majestically as the big three.
And perhaps it’s unfair to judge him by their standards. After all, he was primarily a screen actor, which doesn’t best equip him to dominate a Las Vegas stage. As an actor, he followed in the mould of very charming, very English performers that Hollywood had such a fondness for, such as Cary Grant and David Niven. Their good looks and suave manners were the key, and despite not having a tenth of their screen presence, Lawford was able to plug the same gap.
Standing in their shadow also required certain stylistic touches. The performances he essayed were predominantly light and comic. Even when drawn into more dramatic productions, he could not (and would rarely be asked) to provide a sense of weight. Perhaps the best approach to estimating his talents would be to imagine him as James Bond. He could certainly provide the sense of stereotypical Englishness, and, like Roger Moore, he would adopt a wry glance at the part, intimating its fantasy elements and overstating the sense of glamour.
Pierce Brosnan also did this, but artfully combined it with the machismo and heroic (but hidden) depth of Sean Connery. Daniel Craig moves into new dimensions of psychological intensity. Timothy Dalton would probably shade Lawford, as, although he didn’t pull it off particularly well he clearly approached it with intelligence and technical skill. Lawford at least had experience as an actor, so despite his shortcomings, he is safe in the knowledge that George Lazenby is worse!
The point is that this was Lawford’s territory as an actor. He could imitate passably well. But he couldn’t innovate, or create. This spills into his role in the Rat Pack. He takes Dean’s laconic comedy or physical buffoonery, or Sammy’s versatility, and re-embodies it in a pale fashion.
This, of course, may augment his value to The Rat Pack: the Rat Pack have their own, in-house, vanity mirror to augment their greatness. His limited talent throws their own into relief. He makes them look good.
The very Englishness that proved his meal ticket as an actor also distances his from full belonging. Frank and Dean might be Italian-American, Sammy might be African-American – but they are American. And that was crucial to their construction. Peter’s only claim to being American was by marriage, and this counted for little. Rather than becoming American by association, his Englishness kept him distant from his wife’s family.
In the age of Hollywood glamour, perhaps his claw hand also didn’t help. True, Sammy was disabled too: but he had bucketloads of talent to back him up. Lawford may have been as eager to please, but he didn’t have the same amount of currency that Sammy had.
The only currency he really had was influence and access to the Kennedys. That’s why Frank invited him, and when that ran out the taxi for Mr Lawford arrived.
But while he was still there, he performed another valuable function. Lawford is the man on the street. He’s not beyond us in talent, in fact in many ways we can feel superior. If part of The Rat Pack’s allure is to make us feel we have been invited to the party, Lawford’s presence demonstrates that it is possible. If he can be there, we all can!
But is this true? Frank never called me up and asked me to join. Neither did the Kennedys. And Marilyn Monroe (had she lived) would have turned me down too. (Well, probably). We may not consider it much use, but Lawford had some talent that set him apart from the rest of us.
Just to try and redress the balance a little. I might have a go at Joey too when I have a chance.
Peter Lawford
If you’ve ever seen Woody Allen’s film Zelig you may get a flavour of Peter Lawford’s place in history. Zelig, the fictional title character, is a social chameleon who appears alongside a wealth of powerful and celebrated figures through sophisticated (for the time) superimposition.
Lawford was the real thing. Ostensibly an actor, his real talent was for being where it was all happening. Levy’s description (1998, p.72) seems succinctly accurate, outlining Lawford as:
a good all-round B-movie lead, or nice support for an A-production. He’s never make them forget Olivier, but he was a reliable asset for a studio…
…Despite his lack of professional distinction, Peter was a highly sought after invitee, an especially glittering extra in the diadem of Hollywood nightlife.
His pre-Hollywood history is a depressing tale. His conception and birth was scandalous enough: his mother’s husband was not his father, and that honour went to her elderly, married lover General Sydney Lawford. (They later married). His mother made no pretence of affection for her son, and the strained maternal relationship in Ocean’s Eleven may reflect his personally difficult relationship with May Lawford. His childhood was further marred by a sustained period of sexual abuse.
Yet he was also brought up to be the perfect socialite, and this stood him in good stead when the family moved to Los Angeles following an accident which resulted in serious, permanent damage to his arm.
For despite such a troubled upbringing, he was ‘in’ with the most elite ‘in’ crowd the world has ever seen. As one-fifth of the Rat Pack, he was part of a phenomenon that redefined entertainment. Upon marrying Patricia Kennedy, he became part of the most powerful family in the world (earning him the nickname ‘Brother-in-Lawford’, courtesy of Sinatra). He introduced ‘the late’ Marilyn Monroe as she sang Happy Birthday Mr President to JFK, and was rumoured to be one of the last people to see her alive. Just like Zelig, he was always in the picture.
And, just like Zelig, it was always a little odd that he was in the picture. He never quite seemed to fit his surroundings, something marked him out as different.
If we consider his contribution, and relationship, to the Rat Pack, we may be able to draw out some of the differences that marked him out.
The first, of course, was talent. The hub of the Rat Pack were three of the greatest singers and entertainers of all time. Member number 4, Joey Bishop, was a skilful nightclub comic in his own right, but even he had a difficult time establishing his validity to join the others on stage. Where Bishop took the effective route of using his outsider status to comment and puncture proceedings, Lawford tried vainly to occupy the same territory as the others. He would sing a little, dance a little, clown a little, entertain a little, but never as majestically as the big three.
And perhaps it’s unfair to judge him by their standards. After all, he was primarily a screen actor, which doesn’t best equip him to dominate a Las Vegas stage. As an actor, he followed in the mould of very charming, very English performers that Hollywood had such a fondness for, such as Cary Grant and David Niven. Their good looks and suave manners were the key, and despite not having a tenth of their screen presence, Lawford was able to plug the same gap.
Standing in their shadow also required certain stylistic touches. The performances he essayed were predominantly light and comic. Even when drawn into more dramatic productions, he could not (and would rarely be asked) to provide a sense of weight. Perhaps the best approach to estimating his talents would be to imagine him as James Bond. He could certainly provide the sense of stereotypical Englishness, and, like Roger Moore, he would adopt a wry glance at the part, intimating its fantasy elements and overstating the sense of glamour.
Pierce Brosnan also did this, but artfully combined it with the machismo and heroic (but hidden) depth of Sean Connery. Daniel Craig moves into new dimensions of psychological intensity. Timothy Dalton would probably shade Lawford, as, although he didn’t pull it off particularly well he clearly approached it with intelligence and technical skill. Lawford at least had experience as an actor, so despite his shortcomings, he is safe in the knowledge that George Lazenby is worse!
The point is that this was Lawford’s territory as an actor. He could imitate passably well. But he couldn’t innovate, or create. This spills into his role in the Rat Pack. He takes Dean’s laconic comedy or physical buffoonery, or Sammy’s versatility, and re-embodies it in a pale fashion.
This, of course, may augment his value to The Rat Pack: the Rat Pack have their own, in-house, vanity mirror to augment their greatness. His limited talent throws their own into relief. He makes them look good.
The very Englishness that proved his meal ticket as an actor also distances his from full belonging. Frank and Dean might be Italian-American, Sammy might be African-American – but they are American. And that was crucial to their construction. Peter’s only claim to being American was by marriage, and this counted for little. Rather than becoming American by association, his Englishness kept him distant from his wife’s family.
In the age of Hollywood glamour, perhaps his claw hand also didn’t help. True, Sammy was disabled too: but he had bucketloads of talent to back him up. Lawford may have been as eager to please, but he didn’t have the same amount of currency that Sammy had.
The only currency he really had was influence and access to the Kennedys. That’s why Frank invited him, and when that ran out the taxi for Mr Lawford arrived.
But while he was still there, he performed another valuable function. Lawford is the man on the street. He’s not beyond us in talent, in fact in many ways we can feel superior. If part of The Rat Pack’s allure is to make us feel we have been invited to the party, Lawford’s presence demonstrates that it is possible. If he can be there, we all can!
But is this true? Frank never called me up and asked me to join. Neither did the Kennedys. And Marilyn Monroe (had she lived) would have turned me down too. (Well, probably). We may not consider it much use, but Lawford had some talent that set him apart from the rest of us.
if you go to this link you can view dean martins death certificate! what a really creepy wierd website!
http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/m/Dean%20Martin/Dino%20DC.JPG
as you can see im struggling with research!
http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/m/Dean%20Martin/Dino%20DC.JPG
as you can see im struggling with research!
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