October 14, 2021 – davidbruceblog #2

Alcohol

• Dodgers president Branch Rickey used to talk to all the Dodgers once in a while, even the minor leaguers. One thing he stressed in his talks with the players was the importance of leading a good, morally pure life. One day, he talked to Chuck Connors, a minor-league Dodger first baseman. He asked Chuck, “Son, do you smoke?” Chuck answered, “No, sir, Mr. Rickey.” He then asked, “Chuck, do you run around with fast women?” Chuck answered, “No, sir.” Next, Mr. Rickey asked, “Do you drink hard liquor?” This time Chuck answered, “Mr. Rickey, if I have to drink to play for you, I want to be traded.” (And yes, this is the Chuck Connors who later starred in the TV series The Rifleman.)

• When brothers Glen and Les Charles and friend James Burrows set about creating Cheers, they did research in bars. They discovered that often people go to bars for the companionship, not for the alcohol, and that is the kind of bar they chose for Cheers to be set in. At one bar, they heard the regulars discussing soup. Les Charles remembers, “We were sitting there, listening to them have this extended conversation about soup. They were all really into it. … They were having the time of their lives.” For an episode of Cheers, they had the regulars discuss the world’s sweatiest movie — another topic of conversation they had heard discussed in a friendly neighborhood bar.

• At a BBC Light Entertainment Christmas party, Monty Python member Graham Chapman started crawling around the floor biting people’s ankles. This joke started to get out of hand, so Monty Python TV director Ian MacNaughton went over to him and said, “Graham, can you just select whose ankles you bite?” Mr. Chapman stood up, brushed himself off, said, “I get the picture, old boy,” and behaved like a gentleman during the rest of the party.

• Cavalcade of America once devoted an entire broadcast to Alcoholics Anonymous, but ran into a problem with the name of the announcer: Tom Collins. He was able to help disguise the problem by using a middle initial when he stated his name at the sign-off.

• The then-President of CBS, Bill Paley, once came into the dressing room of George Burns and Gracie Allen with a bottle of champagne. He poured glassfuls all around, then said, “Bottoms up.” Gracie asked, “Isn’t that an awkward position for drinking?”

• Ernie Kovacs used to own a watch on which every hour — instead of being 1 through 12 — was 5. In other words, no matter what time it was, it was the cocktail hour.

Animals

• Early in her career, actress Betty White lived in an apartment where pets weren’t allowed. However, she fell in love with a dog and brought him home. To get her dog past the security guards so he could take his morning walk, she used to hold him on her arm and throw a coat over him. For a long time, she thought she was fooling everyone, until one day a security guard said to her, “Miss White, your tail is wagging.” She looked down, and sure enough, her dog’s tail was sticking out from under the coat and wagging. The security guard grinned and allowed her to keep her pet. (Betty White came from a family who loved pets. In her family, it was the parents who brought a dog home, then begged, “Betty, he followed us home. Please, can we keep him?”)

• Vincent Price once appeared in a comic skit on TV in which his co-star was a trained chimpanzee that was supposed to mix a martini and then light a cigarette. The chimp mixed the martini without any problem but ignored the cigarettes in take after take. Finally, the chimpanzee’s trainer figured out what the problem was — the cigarettes used in the filming weren’t the chimp’s brand! Once the chimp’s preferred brand of mentholated cigarettes were used in the scene, the chimp lit the cigarette.

• Many people enjoyed listening to Milton Cross as he announced the radio broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera — so did some animals. A letter to the Met reported, “I’m not particularly fond of Milton Cross’ voice, but my dog loves it. As soon as I turn on the radio and Cross comes over the airwaves, the pooch remains glued to the set. When the music starts, he leaves. As soon as Cross is on again, the dog is back — all ears.”

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BRUCE’S RECOMMENDATION OF BANDCAMP MUSIC

Music: “The Dredger”

Single: This is a one-sided single.

Artist: Satan’s Pilgrims

Artist Location: Portland, Oregon

Info:

Bob Pilgrim – Guitar
Dave Pilgrim – Guitar
John Pilgrim – Bass
Scott Pilgrim – Guitar
Ted Pilgrim – Drums

“Satan’s Pilgrims formed in 1992 during a series of house parties hosted by the members of the band, and were playing shows in their hometown of Portland, Oregon by 1993. Twisting their name from the 60’s AIP film SATAN’S SADISTS and donning their now familiar matching outfits complete with vampire capes, they became a band. The Pilgrims are one of the most influential surf instrumental bands around and while much of their sound has a definite Southern California influence, what sets them apart is the legacy of their Pacific Northwest rock ‘n’ roll ancestors and other influences, creating their own sub-genre of surf instrumental that many fans call ‘Pilgrim Rock.’ This, along with three distinct guitarists and a relentless rhythm section, gives their live set a dazzling variety of dance party sounds to choose from, while maintaining their patented haunted sound.” –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcORx8RQh4Q

Bryan Irby, a fan, wrote, “Outstanding! I’ve been playing this tune over & over for the past week, a little louder each time 🙂 Very much looking forward to the new album.”