CHARACTER REFERENCE - ICHABOD MUDD

I belong to a Facebook group which celebrates the classic sitcom 'Make Room For Daddy' and I was reminded recently of one reason I loved that show so much - Sid Melton's work as Charlie Halper.  (I've always had a soft spot for the comic sidekick.)  He's even eligible for the Television Crossover Hall Of Fame since he played Charlie in 'Make Room For Daddy', 'Make Room For Grand-Daddy', 'The Joey Bishop Show' and even in a Post Cereal commercial!

I would say that Charlie was Melton's most famous role in Toobworld, but I could also see the argument for Alf Munroe on 'Green Acres'.  And he had a slew of one-shot and recurring roles in a variety of sitcoms - 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'Petticoat Junction', 'The Munsters', 'That Girl', and 'I Dream Of Jeannie'.  (He did dramas as well like 'Mod Squad' and several characters for 'Dragnet'.)  For the recurring roles he was Friendly Freddie in 'Gomer Pyle USMC', Harry in 'Bachelor Father', Hal Miller in 'Oh, Susanna!', and Salvadore Petrillo in flashbacks of 'The Golden Girls'.  He also played Harry Cooper on 'It's Always Jan' and it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble that this Harry was the same Harry for 'Bachelor Father', but more research is needed.

But there is one regular character he played, for 27 episodes in fact, who seems to have been mostly forgotten save for the die-hard fans of classic television:

Ichabod "Ikky" Mudd*

'Captain Midnight'
["Bow ties are cool."]

Captain Midnight was a character who was a multiversal, living out his adventures in the Radioverse, the Cineverse, and in the world of comic books, as well as in Toobworld.  And in Toobworld, he was a multi-dimensional due to copyright entanglements outside of the Box.

Here's the Television segment from the Wikipedia entry for 'Captain Midnight':

The 'Captain Midnight' TV series, produced by Screen Gems and starring Richard Webb, began September 9, 1954, on CBS, continuing for 39 episodes until January 21, 1956. In the television program, 'Captain Midnight' (now a veteran of the Korean War) heads the Secret Squadron as a private organization, in contrast to the radio show. As with the Fawcett comic, the only other character of the radio show held over was Ichabod Mudd (played by Sid Melton), who was used for comic relief. Another regular character was Dr. Aristotle "Tut" Jones, Midnight's resident scientist, played by character actor Olan Soule. (Soule was the only actor to perform in both the radio program and the television program. In the radio program, he played Agent Kelly, SS-11.)

The aircraft featured in the series is the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, named the Silver Dart, and was based on using both models and occasionally stock footage. The series filmed at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley, California. When the TV series went into syndication in 1958, Ovaltine was no longer the sponsor. However, The Wander Company owned the rights to the character's name "Captain Midnight," forcing a title change by Screen Gems from 'Captain Midnight' to 'Jet Jackson, Flying Commando', and all references in the episodes to 'Captain Midnight' were re-dubbed (rather poorly) "Jet Jackson."

For Toobworld, the splainin is simple.  'Jet Jackson, Flying Commando' was the same story playing out in an alternate TV dimension.  But in that alternate dimension - and I see no reason why it couldn't be the Evil Toobworld dimension - Captain Midnight must have lost his parents at an early age and was instead raised by a family named Jackson.  Over the years, perhaps due to his skills as a pilot during the Korean Conflict, he gained the nickname "Jet".  Otherwise, everything else about his life as the head of the Secret Squadron remained the same.  

Seeing as how that all took place in the Evil Toobworld, eventually Jet Jackson and his pal Ikky would have been killed off by some agent of darkness or another....

Meanwhile, back in the main Toobworld.....

I'm not going to bother trying to come up with left-field theories of relateeveety to connect Ichabod Mudd to any of the other Sid Melton characters as family members.  However, I will offer this splainin which could serve as inspiration to any fanficcers out there who might be interested in writing about this formerly minor character:

The Secret Squadron probably had a large support team, including researchers and computer experts.  And they probably discovered that Ikky had a lot of look-alikes all across the United States.  (It may have started when they saw the obituary for Salvadore Petrillo (apparently in the early 1950s?)  Discovering more look-alikes, the Secret Squadron research team "borrowed" their personal information to create new identities for Ikky to use in undercover missions that were not seen by the Trueniverse audience.

So have at it, if you are so inclined.  Haven't YOU always wanted to write that 'Captain Midnight' - 'Green Acres' crossover?

My thanks to fellow Iddiot Eliott Wagner for inadvertently inspiring this post.

BCnU!

* "That's 'Mudd' with two D's." - Ichabod Mudd

MAILING TOOB - THE MYSTERY OF THE CHRISTMAS CARD

'THE AVENGERS'
"TOO MANY CHRISTMAS TREES"

For televisiologists such as myself, this episode is probably most famous for mention of John Steed's former partner Cathy Gale.  She sent him a Christmas card and he wondered why she was sending it from Fort Knox.  This was an in-joke, what David Bianculli calls an "Extra", that referenced the involvement of actress Honor Blackman (who played Cathy) in the James Bond movie "Goldfinger" in which she played Pussy Galore*.

But as Emma Peel brought in Steed's mail, she let one Christmas card drop to the floor and she never bothered to pick it up.  Perhaps in the real world, it was an unforeseen glitch and Diana Rigg chose to continue instead of going against the pre-arranged stage blocking to pick it up.

But within the scene's "reality"?

I think she saw who the Christmas card was from and she didn't want Steed to get it.  Although we didn't see her do so, it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, that she kicked it under the sofa so that she could retrieve it later and destroy it.

I want to know who sent the Christmas card that Emma dropped and then left on the floor. Yes, I am that O'Bsessed by TV trivia!

Fellow crossoverist Matt Hickman came up with a great splainin, speaking of James Bond.  The Christmas card was from none other than 007 his own self!

Although it's outside the purview of the Toobworld Dynamic, James Bond appeared in the fictional shared universe built by Alan Moore for "The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen".  In that world, Bond was a sexist chauvinist pig who killed Emma Peel's father and godfather and used his "charms" to have his way with Emma.

I don't want to steal from Mr. Moore, but I think it could be that Emma Knight (her maiden name) did have an affair with the televersion of James Bond.  It just didn't play out the way Moore envisioned it.

However it did go wrong at some point and she broke it off, eventually marrying Peter Peel.  

But her resentment of Bond was so strong that years later she still harbored a desire for revenge.  And she probably didn't care for the idea that Steed still had a friendship with him.  (She probably never told him about her relationship with Bond.  Had she done so, I'm sure he would have sided with her.)

I wrote this up back in January, stuck at work during that so-called blizzard.  But I'm posting it now because of the Christmas card connection.  Today is just about the deadline for mailing your Christmas cards by first class in order to ensure they reach their destinations in time for Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

* Unlike some others, I do not conflate the characters of Cathy Gale and Pussy Galore into one character.  For the Toobworld Dynamic, the James Bond movies are just that - movies.  They may have a reality rooted in the Cineverse, but for Earth Prime-Time, they are cinematic portrayals of the "real" James Bond - financed by UNREEL - to serve as plausible deniability for the secret agent's activities.

MISSING LINKS - "MADAM SECRETARY" & "COLUMBO"

"Okay, let's hear it, Columbo."

Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord

'Madam Secretary'

Tea Leoni's political thriller TV series has to take place in an alternate TV dimension since their President is different from the POTUS to be found in Earth Prime-Time and the Trueniverse.  (Because of the possibility of jokes at the President's expense, the President in Toobworld should always be the same person as in the real world.)

Many characters (and situations) in the dimension of 'Madam Secretary' are different from those to be found in the main Toobworld, but that doesn't mean none of the other characters from other TV shows can't be found in Liz McCord's world.  And Lt. Columbo would be a good example.  

However, he doesn't have to be the rumpled detective that we knew and loved as played by the late Peter Falk.  This could be the very world in which we would find the original TV Columbo.....

I've mentioned the "Enough Rope" episode seen on 'The Chevy Mystery Show' before.  In 1960, the genius writing team of Levinson & Link created the character who was brought to life by Bert Freed.  It was the same story as seen in the later Broadway-bound stage show which starred Thomas MItchell (who unfortunately died in the touring production.)  The title was changed to "Prescription Murder" which was adapted yet again for TV to serve as the first pilot for the eventual 'Columbo' series.

Usually the Toobworld Dynamic rule was to have the first performance of a character to be the official one for Toobworld.  But there are exceptions and this is one of them.  There were far too many episodes of 'Columbo' with Peter Falk to not consider him to be the Columbo of Earth Prime-Time.  

And that means Bert Freed must be shuffled off to another world.  Normally, they would go to Prequel Toobworld, along with certain TV pilots (because of recasting usually) or productions in other anthology shows.  (A good example of this is Horace Ford, first played by Art Carney in 'Studio One' and then by Pat Hingle in 'The Twilight Zone'.  Both versions of "The Incredible World Of Horace Ford" were one-shots, but it's the latter episode which has shown to have a longer shelf-life in syndication and on DVD.

But in this case, why not send Bert Freed's Lieutenant to the world of 'Madam Secretary'?  Since Liz McCord mentioned him by name, that doesn't have to mean she was referring to the TV show.  The Columbo of her world could have been just as famous as the one in Toobworld - he could have solved headline-grabbing murders like those committed by world-famous authors, painters, photographers, symphony conductors, football team owners, senatorial candidates, and even a Suarian ambassador.

So even in an alternate Toobworld, Lt. Columbo was real.  He just didn't look like Peter Falk.  But Falk played the detective not only in the main Toobworld, but also in Skitlandia - as seen the 'Dean Martin Roast' of Frank Sinatra and in an 'Alias' crossover sketch seen during the ABC anniversary special.

BCnU!

TUESDAY NEWS DAY - VLAD NEWS, EVERYBODY!

After TV shows featuring characters of Latin American descent - Puerto-Ricans, Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, and a few other South American countries - it looks like Toobworld may finally be getting a series about Dominican-Americans.  The Hollywood Reporter claims that NBC will be producing a pilot episode for a sitcom created by a stand-up comic named Vladimir Caamaño, working with the two guys behind the Peacock's sitcom ''Undateable'.  'Vlad' will be based on Caamaño's comedy routines which deals with his Bronx family life as a second-generation Dominican.

O'Bservation: If the pilot makes it to series, and then only lasts one episode, it won't matter.  It will have become part of the mosaic of Earth Prime-Time.  Even after cancellation, the life of 'Vlad' (No idea if the main character will also have the last name of Caamaño.) and his family will continue in Toobworld.....

BCnU!

WIKIPEDIAPHILE - THE YELLOW RIVER FLOOD

'The Flash' and 'Arrow' take place in Comic Book Toobworld.  But even there, real world events have occurred as well.

Hawkman, also known as Carter Hall and as Khufu, mentioned that Vandal Savage murdered hundreds of thousands of people in China by causing the Huan He flood in 1887.

It was a tossed-off remark, but the audience should know more about the tragedy so that it isn't fully trivialized.

From Wikipedia:

The 1887 Yellow River flood was a devastating flood on the Yellow River (Huang He) in China. This river is prone to flooding due to the elevated nature of the river, running between dykes above the broad plains surrounding it. The flood, that began in September 1887, killed some 900,000 people. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.

For centuries, the farmers living near the Yellow River had built dikes to contain the waters, which over time flowed higher because silt accumulated on the riverbed. In 1887, this rising river, swollen by days of heavy rain, overcame the dikes on around 28 September, causing a massive flood. Since there is no international unit to measure a flood's strength it is usually classified by the extent of the damage done, depth of water left and number of casualties.

The waters of the Yellow River are generally thought to have broken through the dikes in Huayuankou, near the city of Zhengzhou in Henan province. Owing to the low-lying plains near the area, the flood spread very quickly throughout Northern China, covering an estimated 50,000 square miles (130,000 km2), swamping agricultural settlements and commercial centers. After the flood, two million were left homeless. The resulting pandemic and lack of basic essentials claimed as many lives as those lost directly to the flood. It was one of the worst floods in history, though the later 1931 Yellow River flood may have killed as many as four million.

BCnU........

WOLD NEWTON DAY - A LOOK AT BULLDOG DRUMMOND

Happy Wold Newton Day!

[You should click on that link above to learn more about this special occasion in the world of crossover research.  This link also provided a few more Toobish links about the residents of the WNU.]

This year I'm turning my attentions to another member of the central Wold Newton Family, Bulldog Drummond......

From the Wold Newton Resources Wiki:
  
Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond was a wealthy British Army Officer who became a private detective following the First World War. His exploits were chronicled initially by H. C McNeil "Sapper") . Drummond's arch-nemesis was the criminal mastermind Carl Peterson.

Philip José Farmer made Drummond one of the central characters of hisWold Newton Family in Tarzan Alive (his father is given as one Roger Drummond). Notably, Drummond is listed as the biological brother ofKorak.

The Bulldog Drummond novels are often accused of racist content. It is interesting to note that the later novels, written by Gerard Fairlie after Sapper's death, feature a much more liberal Drummond congnisant of his earlier distasteful behaviour - Fairlie, although he himself always denied it, was the man whom Sapper stated was the 'real' Bulldog Drummond.

In Tarzan Alive, Farmer indicated that only the first of Fairlie's run of novels was acceptable as part of Sapper's original canon, although byDoc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life he appears to have relented and accepted the validity of further books in the series.

Wold Newton scholar Brad Mengel, in his article The Daring Drummonds, argues that Drummond and his wife Phyllis were likely the parents of the version of the rather different Bulldog Drummond who featured in the 1960s movies Deadlier than the Male and Some Girls Do, and of Roger Drummond whose son also features in the film series.

As mentioned above, Wold Newton scholar Brad Mengel has written a great paper on the Drummond Family as seen in the Wold Newton Universe.  Most of it doesn't apply to Earth Prime-Time, as some of those characters have no counterpart in the main Toobworld.  But that's okay since the Toobworld Dynamic should never be confused with the work of my good counterparts in Wold Newton academia.

But Bulldog Drummond does have a televersion in the main Toobworld:

A 30-minute episode of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents featured Drummond in "The Ludlow Affair", first broadcast on UK television on 16 December 1956. Drummond was played by Robert Beatty; he was aided by Kelly, played by Michael Ripper. 

(I've written about Beatty's portrayal of Bulldog Drummond before.)

And he may have a Skitlandian version as well:


A 1973 BBC documentary Omnibus, "The British Hero", featured Christopher Cazenove playing Drummond, as well as a number of other such heroic characters, including Richard Hannay, Beau Geste and James Bond.
Although i don't have the details for this theory of "relateeveety", TV's Bulldog Drummond was probably the uncle of Philip Drummond from 'Diff'rent Strokes'.  

The thought amuses me......

Since Wold Newton Day falls on Video Sunday, here is the televersion of Bulldog Drummond in action:

BCnU!

TVXOHOF - OLD BLUE EYES' 100th BIRTHDAY

Bette Midler isn't the only non-Brit who's getting the special invite into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame this month.  Thirty years before the Divine Ms. M was born, Ol' Blue Eyes came into the world.  And eventually Frank Sinatra was retro-fitted into the life during prime-time of Toobworld.  Enough so that he was eligible for membership in the TVXOHOF.  

And what better day to do this than on the milestone of his 100th birthday?

I wrote about all of Sinatra's League of Themselves appearances in a previous post that dealt with the celebrity trash collection belonging to Mr. Tanaka, a janitor at a Colorado TV station.

Here's what I wrote about the Sinatra entry:


The second item was a salami wrapper encased in a lucite block which belonged to Frank Sinatra. Ol' Blue Eyes has been mentioned in plenty of other TV shows, mostly when the regular characters have tickets to his shows. (Or, in the case of the 'Here's Lucy' episode "Lucy Gives Eddie Albert The Old Song And Dance", Lucy read about Sinatra coming out of retirement in a 1973 Joyce Haber column.)

But Sinatra did make appearances as himself on quite a few shows and one TV movie:

"Young at Heart"

'Daddy Dearest'
- You Bet Your Life

'Who's the Boss'
- Party Double

'The Name of the Game'
- I Love You, Billy Baker: Part 1
- I Love You, Billy Baker: Part 2

'Make Room for Granddaddy'
- A Hamburger for Frank

[Not from the episode, unfortunately]

'The Thin Man'
Neighbor
- Scene of the Crime

Sure, that last one isn't necessarily supposed to be Frank, but he's in that league with Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Hope, George Burns, and Milton Berle where they are more convincing as themselves rather than as fictional characters. So why couldn't Frank Sinatra have been that neighbor?

Here's another mention of Sinatra that shows he exists as his own televersion, from 'The Golden Girls':

Dorothy Petrillo-Zbornak:

Ma! How in the world did you get these?

Sophia Petrillo:

Easy. I called Frank. I told you I had connections.

Rose Nylund:

You know Frank Sinatra?

Sophia Petrillo:

No, Frank Caravicci! From the fish market.

He's always been good to me, never a bad piece of cod.

He knows Frank.

Blanche Devereaux:

Sinatra?

Sophia Petrillo:

No, Frank Tortoni, the dry cleaner.

Tina's third cousin once removed.

Dorothy Petrillo-Zbornak:

Tina Tortoni?

Sophia Petrillo:

Tina Sinatra!

This may be in honor of Frank Sinatra's birthday, but I'm posting it in memory of my Mom.  Her second favorite singer was Ol' Blue Eyes.  (Nat King Cole held the top spot.)

Once a League of Themselves candidate has enough credits from fictional shows, as Frank accomplished, then it's fine to add in appearances from talk shows, game shows, variety programs, and the like.  So because we're so close to Christmas and they were my Mom's favorite singers, here are Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole with "The Christmas Song"......

And so now the Television Crossover Hall Of Fame has the Chairman of the Board.....

BCnU!

RECASTAWAYS - THE TELEVERSIONS OF DORIAN GRAY

'THE LIBRARIANS'

"AND THE IMAGE OF IMAGE"

'The Librarians' don't make it easy to keep the series in Earth Prime-Time when it is creating so many Zonks in the quest to collect magical artifacts from around the world.  For instance, I had to come up with a splainin as to how the Library could have Excalibur when it was collected by the agents of Warehouse 13.  

Real Excalibur - a win for the Warehouse.  Until it sacrificed its "life", the Excalibur of the Library was an ancient warlock who had transformed himself into a replica of the sword when his powers were on the wane in order to continue being useful.  It's my contention his name was Exeter Caliburn and that he was an old friend of the warlock Maurice. (He was played by Kendrick Huxham in the 'Bewitched' episode "My Grandson The Warlock".)

So the series presented me as the Cathode Caretaker a challenge when they faced off against the legendary Dorian Gray.

From Wikipedia:

Dorian Gray is the subject of a full-length portrait in oil by Basil Hallward, an artist who is impressed and infatuated by Dorian's beauty; he believes that Dorian’s beauty is responsible for the new mode in his art as a painter. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and he soon is enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life.

Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied and amoral experiences; all the while his portrait ages and records every soul-corrupting sin.

Based on information supplied in the plot, this has to be the real Dorian Gray of Earth Prime-Time.  Jenkins knew him as the best friend of Oscar Wilde (sometimes more than friend, nudge nudge wink wink.)  And Dorian recognized him as well.  I was hoping to make the claim that he was actually a Fictional who stepped out of BookWorld, but the fact that he and Jenkins knew each other back in 1890 throws that theory out the window.

So I have to accept this portrayal by Luke Cook is the one true Dorian Gray, a fully self-contained role since he dies at the end of the episode.  And that means all the other televersions from Oscar Wilde's only novel have to be relegated to alternate TV dimensions.

For the most part?  Piece of cake.

"MOTHER EARTH"

The world dominated by women as seen in:

• 'All That Glitters'
• 'Sliders' - "The Weaker Sex"

For this world, we have:

"The Sins of Dorian Gray" (1983)

In which Dorian is played by Belinda Bauer and the story is updated to the 1980s.

RUSSIAN TOOBWORLD

Just because a TV show is produced in Russia and the characters speak in Russian, this does not mean that they must exist in a Russian TV dimension.  Russian Toobworld could house them, of course, but its main claim to fame would be the Russian versions of famous characters from English based literature, like Sherlock Holmes.

For this world we have the TV movie "Portret Doriana Greya" from 1968, in which Valeri Babyatinsky assayed the role of Dorian.  It still took place in England, but in a world where Russia had conquered the planet.

SPANISH TOOBWORLD

As with Russian Toobworld, this is a TV dimension where Spain had conquered the world.  More than likely, the Spanish Armada beat the English fleet in July of 1588 and expanded its power from that point on.  What fills out this dimension to nearly SRO capacity is that it includes all of the English language TV shows that were dubbed into Spanish.  

In 1969, Mexican television saw Enrique Álvarez Félix as Dorian Gray in "El retrato de Dorian Gray".  Although Mexico was the country in which the TV movie was produced, it would still be absorbed into Spanish Toobworld as it is the language that matters, not the country of origin.

And then we have the one-shot adaptations that crop up every so often.....

"Armchair Theatre" 

    - The Picture of Dorian Gray (1961) 

Played by Jeremy Brett*

"Golden Showcase" 

    - The Picture of Dorian Gray (1961) 

Played by John Fraser

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1973) 

Played by Shane Briant

"BBC Play of the Month"
    - The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976) 

Played by Peter Firth

It doesn't matter that they all came before 'The Librarians' episode in production; the rule of "First Come, First Served" can't apply here.  As they are all stand-alone versions of Wilde's tale, there are so many alternate dimensions in which to scatter them.  

"Gothica" (2013) 

This is an interesting case.  It appears that "Gothica" served as a pilot for an ABC TV series that might have been intended to be the horror version of the network's hit series 'Once Upon A Time'.  The IMDb, never 100% reliable, lists a release date for this pilot movie as 2013, but I'm not sure it was actually broadcast.  It may have never been able to escape the Limbo in which such TV pilots are left to languish.

But the premise is what makes "Gothica" intriguing:

Modern day show that weaves together a mythology that incorporates the legends of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray among others.
(From the IMDb)

Those "others" included twins Roderick and Madeline Usher, John and Mina Harker, and two members of the Van Helsing family.  Christopher Egan played Dorian Gray.

This premise brings me to the Showtime series 'Penny Dreadful', which has been running since 2014.  (Its third season premieres New Year's Day.)   Reeve Carney is Dorian Gray in the show which also features versions of Dr. Frankenstein, his Creature, Professor Abraham Van Helsing, Mina Murray, and perhaps the first of several members of the Talbot family to be cursed as a Wolfman.

As I don't have Showtime, I have only seen the one free preview of the first episode.  But now that it's on Amazon Prime Video, I can rectify that situation.  So further research needs to be done.  However, I'd like to find some way to keep the show in Earth Prime-Time and to do so, with so many recastaways of previously (or better) established characters, I may have to fall back on borrowing concepts from other TV shows... not uncommon in my branch of televisiology studies.  All of these characters could be Fictionals ('The Librarians') and the bulk of their adventures could be taking place in various "trap streets" of London.  ('Doctor Who')

We shall see what we shall view......

But in the meantime, Dorian Gray, as seen in one episode of 'The Librarians', had been the official televersion for the main Toobworld.  And unless the producers of 'The Librarians' can come up with a way to resurrect him, we shall not see his like, nor his likeness, again.....

BCnU!

* Jeremy Brett would play a supporting role in the next production that same year, for the 'Golden Showcase' anthology series.

AS NOT SEEN ON TV - SNAKEHIPS & THE MAGIC TRAMPS

I always enjoy when someone out of the left field of the real world is shown to have a televersion in Toobworld...

Jenkins:

I'll have you know 

that Snakehips Tucker and I danced together at the Cotton Club. 
And I performed naked onstage with the Magic Tramps at CBGB's.
'The Librarians'

The immortal Mr. Jenkins of the Library, formerly Sir Galahad, had quite the social life in the past.....

I didn't know who Snakehips or the Magic Tramps were, so... off to Wikipedia!

EARL "SNAKEHIPS" TUCKER

Earl "Snakehips" Tucker (1905–1937) was an American dancer and entertainer. Also known as the "Human Boa Constrictor", he acquired the nickname "snakehips" via the dance he popularized in Harlem in the 1920s called the "snakehips (dance)".

Tucker frequented Harlem music clubs and was a regular at the Savoy Ballroom. He built his reputation by exhibiting his odd style of dance, which involved a great deal of hip motion. Tucker would make it appear that he was as flexible as a snake, and eventually the dance became his calling card. He became popular enough to eventually perform at Connie's Inn and the Cotton Club. The snakehips dates back to southern plantations before emancipation.

Riding this wave of popularity, in 1930 he appeared in Benny Rubin's 16 minute short film "Crazy House", a comedic introduction to residents at the fictitious "Lame Brain Sanitarium". Tucker's 2 minute dance number, performed in a shiny white shirt and shiny, baggy gold pants, displays his amazing dance innovations, his style a precursor to modern street and stage dance. His name appears in the opening credits only as "Snake Hips". In 1935, Tucker appeared in a short film called "Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life". The film was inspired by a Duke Ellington composition, and included clips of Ellington composing, as well as Billie Holiday singing and Tucker doing the snakehips.

THE MAGIC TRAMPS

There was no entry for the Magic Tramps at Wikipedia, save for a mention in the biography of Eric Emerson:

Eric Emerson (June 23, 1945 – May 28, 1975) was an American musician, dancer, and actor. Emerson is best known for his roles in films by pop artist Andy Warhol, and as a member of the seminal glam punk group, the Magic Tramps.

But there is a site dedicated to the Magic Tramps where I picked up this nugget of info:

The Tramps were technically the first act to play CBGB (back when it opened as Hilly's on the Bowery.)

Immortals meet the most innnnnteresting people.....

BCnU!

CONVERSATION PIECES - ON THE MENU

"I think coffee is the one constant in the multiverse."

Jay Garrick

'The Flash'

"They are called Swedish meatballs. 

It's a strange thing, 

but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish meatballs! 

I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries 

which will either never be explained, 

or which would drive you mad if you ever learned the truth."

G'Kar

'Babylon 5'

It's a dream of mine that one day, Swedish meatballs will be mentioned in some way on 'Doctor Who'.  No big deal has to made of the reference, but it would be enough to show that both series has this trivial connection.....

BCnU!