OK let’s talk about the soaps….Y&R first

Sick about Steve Burton leaving GH…..yeah, I know probably time.   But it was so good to see him seemingly happy for the first time in years.   At last he was smiling!!! Alas he goes to Y&R and what do the brains there do…they have him coming back from the dead (how original!) and he gets in a car accident!...Bravo writers!!...just remember Steve, what they did to Genie Francis on Y&R….made her character so stupid that she mucked up her nuptials to Jack, etc, etc.   She did some wonderful work when she went undercover but it was too late…they bring  Tristan Rogers over and write him so badly that he’s gone…they  don’t seem to know what to do with stars.   Doug Davidson has been doing the best work of his career and I sincerely hope he gets that damn Emmy soon….Melody Thomas whom I personally and professionally adore is  saddled with that ass Victor once again.   Does she ever learn…his evil persona  is becoming so BORING….wasting Jess Walton is ridiculous…and does anyone in Genoa City see that there is a major blizzard going on ...does anyone have any cold weather coats, hats & scarves?…Katherine (poor dear can’t afford a chauffeur), Phyllis, Lauren, Avery, all driving in a major blizzard (the affects showing the raging blizzard outside of everyone’s windows were spectacular)  having Kate Linder wear that maid’s uniform would be funny if it wasn’t so idiotic..  they have made Fenn the most terrible villain…I almost expect  him to grow a mustache so he can twist it, Lauren is finally getting to do some emoting and of course, she does it well….the troubled youth, Jamie is excellent and it is well written…so having watched it since day  1, I will always stick by them but sometimes it’s difficult.  I think that most daytime actors do an incredible job and work very hard….but don’t get me wrong, I love soap operas!

Finally found a solution for those so important news interruptions on our soaps…screw ABC, CBS & NBC who actually think that soap audiences do indeed care about those things….car chases, funerals, etc.   They belong in the news slots where they have an audience.   Big moment on B&B the other day and it was interrupted...they used to rerun it early In the AM but now they do nothing.  So I now tape all the soaps except B&B on SoapNet later in the day and watch them at night.   Because B&B is a half hour show, they won’t show B&B which is plain stupid. And SoapNet is really going all out to celebrate GH’s upcoming 50^th Anniversary.  Check it out!!

February 19 was the birthday of my favorite aunt, Helen Elizabeth McInnes Moore.   It is also the birthdate of my cousin Bill McInnes.  (something I didn’t know until last year)    Helen was one of those very special ladies that  made an indelible impression on all that knew her.  A favorite story….Helen lived in a three bedroom apartment  above a store on 6^th Avenue overlooking the train station with  her Dad and his new wife, also named Helen (they became known as Big Helen and Little Helen).  You could look out the windows and watch the trains stop and pick up passengers.   One morning, Little Helen left for work, boarded the train and sat by a window.  She lit up a cigarette (no one knew that she smoked) and began to read the newspaper.  As she puffed on it, the train backed up and Grandpap and Big Helen could see her!  When she came home they told what they saw and all had a good laugh! 

Every year on my birthday, she would take me to a movie and then over to New Kensington to Milano’s for Italian food.  Now on my birthday I either go out or stay at home and make spaghetti and watch an old movie in her honor….she became very  ill a couple of years ago and had to be placed in a rest home.  When I was home, I visited her with her devoted husband, Joe Moore who was truly one of the good guys.  He went to see her every day.   When I went into her room she seemed very remote and  I hugged her and said…Next to my mother, you are the most important woman in my life…she looked up and gave me the biggest smile!!

 I am so blessed to have had the family and to have these warm memories!!

McINNES         GOODBYE DOLLY

My beloved cousin, Lydia “Dolly” Brown, 89 passed recently and she will be sorely missed.  One of the funniest ladies that I’ve ever known, she was my Mom’s best friend as well as her cousin and she was my pal.  Thelma and Dolly came out here together many times and Judy and I were able to take them everywhere & show them a great time, they loved CA and all the glamour.  I was able to introduce them to Jack Oakie, Christine Jorgenson, Fifi D’Orsay , Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, and as Louella used to say a host of others.  We traveled to Las Vegas where Phyllis Diller made fun of them in the audience, to  San Francisco which was a hysterical scene.  We drove up with Judy, Mom, Dolly and Lauren, did the usual tourist bits. On the  last night we took a cable car back to our motel.  It was chilly so I sat inside.  My ladies didn’t want to miss a moment of the cable car experience so they sat outside and kept asking very loudly Dickie (well that was what they used to call me) is this our stop..Dickie are we almost there, etc. 

 I kept trying to pretend that I wasn’t Dickie  but when we got off, I turned to the laughing passengers  and said, Say goodnight Dick.

 As the cable call continued down the hill,  all aboard took turns saying  Good night Dick!! We were laughing so hard listening to this that one of us peed ourpants…(Dolly).  It was a memory that we never forgot and always laughed about.  She was an independent soul and took good care of herself and made lots of friends in the retirement apartments where she lived.  6 months ago, she began to fade and it was decided that she should move to Wisconsin to live with her daughter Debi and her husband Max.  God bless them! That’s what they  do back home. they take care of  each other   

I called her several times in the last months and we laughed about the good old days and honey, those were the good old days.  I sometimes look up at the sky at night and hear Thelma and Dolly laughing!!!

Goodbye Dear Dolly…..thanks the memories!

Found this post from last January and wanted to share it again!

 

Hugh John McInnes    AKA  “Stuffy”

Hugh John “Stuffy” McInnes was born to Hugh & Alma McInnes on January 30, 1912 so we want to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birthday of our fabulous Pop. He married our equally fabulous Mom, Thelma and they raised four fabulous children, Dick, Kay, Judy & Terry. Pop worked at the West Penn Power Company in Springdale for most of his adult life alongside with his dad and his baby brother, Bill.

“Stuffy” was the nickname of a famous baseball player, John McInnis He gained his nickname as a youngster in the Boston suburbs when his spectacular playing brought shouts of “that’s the stuff, kid!” He even played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1925-26) as well as five other teams and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pop worked different shifts…we had to be very quiet when he worked the midnight shift and when he worked daytime, dinner was served promptly at 5 PM. We didn’t have much money but we were always taken care of by our loving parents. I fondly remember the day he bought us our first TV set.  I was on the front porch of 621 Roup Street anxiously awaiting its delivery, jumping up and down as the delivery truck pulled up. It began my love affair with TV.

Stuffy was a funny man and he loved doing the NY Times crossword puzzle….I still can’t do it.  Pop was a sensitive man. The first time I saw him cry was when they announced the death of President Roosevelt. I was so touched by his tears that I went out on Fentzel Alley and wept for our president. They shared the same birthdate (Roosevelt was born in 1882). Every year on their birthday, relatives in Pittsburgh, the Naves would send Pop several cards with dimes in it for The March of Dimes just as people sent to FDR.

Whenever I’d come home, we had good times but when the day that I was leaving arrived,  he’d stay up in his bedroom because we’d both get very sentimental. You see, I didn’t leave Tarentum because I didn’t love my family, I just hated cold weather. I remember when I was 5 years old, they’d put us out on the alley to ride our sleds…five minutes l was back in the house….too cold!  If I could have talked him into moving out here I would have been the happiest guy in the world. My mother, on the other hand, loved to come out.  Judy, my sister the nurse, went home when Pop was really sick and took care of him for a couple of months at the end. That’s how we were raised. You take care of your family.

Stuffy enjoyed his beer and when he’d come home from his favorite hangout, The Eagles…you could hear him coming up Fentzel Alley and every else could too, singing his heart out, St James Infirmary and laughing. One year Judy, Lauren and I came home and I brought my movie camera and when were at Kay’s on Christmas, I talked my dad into rendering his version of the Louis Armstrong classic. Even though there was no sound, Pop was once again smiling and singing his heart out. I didn’t need sound, the look on his face and watching him break into a hearty laugh was perfect!

This year I just might have a couple of beers and burst into St James Infirmary and hope that Stuffy, our dad is smiling down on us and maybe he’ll even sing a chorus with me. Won’t you join us??

“It was down in Old Joe’s bar room, on the corner of the square, Drinks were being served as usual,  And a goodly crowd was there,  When old Joe McGuinny, his eyes  bloodshot red, as he poured himself more whiskey, this is what he said. I went down to the St James Infirmary, I saw my baby there… " 

We loved you Pop & Mom..

                                    We will always love you!

 

 

     \

 

 

SINATRA AT THE SANDS

Once upon a time in the 60's, a friend of mine went away for a week and asked me to take care of his car and to use it.   Well New Year's Eve was coming up so what would U do??

I drove to Las Vegas with three lady friends, Dorothy, Rosemarie & Janay and since we thought we were driving through the desert at night, we figured it must be very hot so we dressed accordingly, shorts, tank tops, etc.

And of course it was freezing.  I ended up wearing Janay's turban on my head and her long black evening gloves to keep me warm.  Please no drag comments, it was really cold.   When we arrived in Vegas, we discovered that I had accidentally opened the vents in the car, letting tons of ice cold wind in.

However we were young and we were in Las Vegas for the first time.  And it was almost New Year's Eve.   That night we were walking around all the casinos and it was heaven.   I found a crown...that's right...a crown on the floor of one and immediately crowned myself...King Richard.   Where else would a king go...The Sands where Sinatra was holding court.  Frank (always called him Frank) was not only singing there, he was walking around the poker tables.   When he spotted me with the crown, he yelled across the room to the dealer.  "Hey Joe, see that guy in the crown, deal him in, he's a personal friend of mine."  I looked around to see the guy in the crown and it was mois.   Joe (always called him Joe) would show me a card and and asked if I like it.  No... how about that one?"  In other words, I was winning and so was everyone else.   The place was jumping!   Now in typical McInnes naivete, I was bidding a buck at a time while others were betting 10..20 bucks.   My pal Rosemarie, a feisty little Italian from Brooklyn made a bet just as they stopped the fun games and her dealer wouldn't give her the money she won.  Said, "Hey, he was giving it away.  Be happy with what you got".   She replied "I don't care what he was doing, I bet it, I won it and I want it!"  He wouldn't budge so Ro spots Frank with a gaggle of ladies at a table and she walks over to him.   You read right....saying "Frankie Machine (his name in Man with the Golden Arm) I wuz robbed ".   And told him her tale of woe.  He asked for her chips and gave her cash plus the $20.  Ro told him she didn't want his money, she wanted their money to which Frank replied, "Don't worry baby.  I'll take care of it".  We left Vegas with money in our pockets.

True story and one of my most memorable moments.   A tip of the hat to thee, Mr Sinatra.  By the way we made back to L A and had the heat on this time!

LIZA AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL

Liza at the Hollywood Bowl

Almost didn’t make it to see Liza…again at the last moment decided go to the Bowl and see if I could get a ticket.   Ended up with a nice seat in the center.   They made an announcement that there was something wrong with the sound and that they were working on it.   A huge moan with many thinking she’s late.   Soon her voice comes over the stage sound….Hi…I am here…and there is really something wrong with the sound…but I am here and I will be out soon….big sighs of relief.   When she made her entrance and that girl knows how to make an entrance, she was greeted by thunderous applause.   She looked absolutely great and started to sing….her voice seemed a little weak but still it was Liza.  The most amazing thing happened…as she went on singing…her voice returned to normal and each song was better than the last one…she dedicated the evening to Marvin Hamlisch who had just passed away.  He had written many things for her and she mentioned him several times during the show.  By the time she sang Cabaret, New York, New York and Liza With a Z, the audience was all hers.  Nobody does it better!  After several curtain calls, the band left the stage and she followed them….turned back and slowly walked to center stage and sang I’ll Be Seeing You acapella The audience who always try to get a head start toward the parking lot stopped in their tracks, not a sound from anyone, turned to the stage, mesmerized until she finished the song and then really went crazy…as I said…nobody does it better!