A few days ago...

Iconic Borscht Belt comic Jackie Mason dead at 93

Quote:Mason wrote most of his own material. A sampling of his humor is his commentary on doctors: "That's a great profession, a doctor. Where else can you ask a woman to get undressed and then send the bill to her husband?"
And his commentary on what is important in life: "Money is not important. Love is important. Fortunately, I love money."
As well as his ruminations on pleasing people: "You can't please everyone. I have a girlfriend. I think she's the most wonderful person in the world. That's to me. But to my wife ..."
And on trust: "My grandfather always said that I shouldn't watch my money. That I should watch my health. So while I was watching my health, someone stole my money. It was my grandfather."
And on fidelity: "Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe."

Gee Whiz:

Quote:Actor Rick Aiello -- son of the late legendary actor, Danny Aiello -- has died of pancreatic cancer ... his family tells TMZ.

According to Rick's mother, Sandy ... he passed away Monday night surrounded by loved ones at a hospital in Warwick, New York. We're told he'd battled the illness for about a year and a half.

Sadly, Rick's brother, Danny Aiello III, also died of pancreatic cancer in 2010. Their father died in December 2019 from an infection related to a sudden illness he was being treated for.

RIP

Liz Cheney's political career officially died when they dropped the gavel yesterday to begin the Jan 6 hearings.....

Time of listed as 12:01 AM on 1/23/22

(07-28-2021 02:01 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

RIP

Can't see this but maybe it's the ZZ Top guy? I saw where Dusty Hill passed away. Spent lots of time listening to ZZ Top growing up.

Edit: I was correct. For some reason I can't see the embedded Twitter link; however, when go to reply I can see the web address and was able to copy that to see the link.

Man oh man, I hate that one! No more ZZ Top! WTF.

(07-28-2021 03:54 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(07-28-2021 02:01 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

RIP

Can't see this but maybe it's the ZZ Top guy? I saw where Dusty Hill passed away. Spent lots of time listening to ZZ Top growing up.

Edit: I was correct. For some reason I can't see the embedded Twitter link; however, when go to reply I can see the web address and was able to copy that to see the link.

Same here. One of my favorites.
Saw them sometime in the 70s at Southern Miss’ Reid Green coliseum. The most disappointing concert I ever attended. They were downright awful. Still loved their music though.

(07-28-2021 03:58 PM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  Man oh man, I hate that one! No more ZZ Top! WTF.

This pic always amuses me. ZZ Top before the beards.



And of course, the pic we all know....

Joey Jordinson, drummer and songwriter for Slipknot, dead at 46. I grew out of the style of music, but no doubt they had some very talented guys in that band

Bassist wanted: Apply Top, ZZ:
Dusty Hill, bassist for ZZ Top, dead at 72

that does stink. Was playin' some the other day: RIP, bro.

Artist: ZZ Top
Album: Tres Hombres
Song: "LaGrange"
July 26, 1973 London Records







guess who these dudes are...playing a High School Dance, no less...

Not dead, but sounds like he's not in good shape:

Bryan Cranston asks for ‘prayers’ for Bob Odenkirk, 58 after on-set collapse
Bob Odenkirk collapsed on the set of his show, “Better Call Saul,” Tuesday night


update:

Quote:In a pair of Twitter posts on Friday, Odenkirk was a bit more specific, saying, "I had a small heart attack. But I'm going to be OK thanks to Rosa Estrada and the doctors who knew how to fix the blockage without surgery." The reference to Rosa Estrada was not explained.

(07-28-2021 04:01 PM)Was SoMs Eagle Wrote:  

(07-28-2021 03:54 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(07-28-2021 02:01 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

RIP

Can't see this but maybe it's the ZZ Top guy? I saw where Dusty Hill passed away. Spent lots of time listening to ZZ Top growing up.

Edit: I was correct. For some reason I can't see the embedded Twitter link; however, when go to reply I can see the web address and was able to copy that to see the link.

Same here. One of my favorites.
Saw them sometime in the 70s at Southern Miss’ Reid Green coliseum. The most disappointing concert I ever attended. They were downright awful. Still loved their music though.

Master of Sparks

Aw, man! Ron died.
But Wait! There's More!



Ronald Martin Popeil (May 3, 1935 – July 28, 2021), was an American inventor and marketing personality, and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco. He made appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie and coined the phrase "Set it, and forget it!" as well as popularizing the phrase, "But wait, there's more!" on television as early as the mid-1950s.

Popeil is noted for marketing and in some cases inventing a wide variety of products. Among the better known and more successful are the Chop-O-Matic hand food processor ("Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to show you the greatest kitchen appliance ever made ... All your onions chopped to perfection without shedding a single tear."), the Dial-O-Matic successor to the Veg-O-Matic ("Slice a tomato so thin it only has one side."), and the Ronco Pocket Fisherman. Popeil is also well known for his housewares inventions like his Giant Dehydrator and Beef Jerky Machine, his Electric Pasta Maker and his Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ. His Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ sold over eight million units in the US alone, helping Ronco's housewares sales exceed $1 billion in profits. After retiring, Popeil continued to invent products including the 5in1 Turkey Fryer & Food Cooking System which he had been developing for over ten years.

After returning from college, Popeil continued to work and learn from his father, who was also an inventor and salesman of numerous kitchen-related gadgets such as the Chop-O-Matic and the Veg-O-Matic to major department stores. The Chop-O-Matic retailed for $3.98 and sold over two million units. It indirectly spurred Ron Popeil's move into television, as it was so efficient at chopping vegetables it was impractical for salesmen to carry all they needed for their pitches. The solution was to tape the demonstration.

Popeil initially operated as a distributor of his father's kitchen products and later formed his own company, Ronco, in 1964. He continued as a distributor for his father and added additional products from other manufacturers. Ron Popeil and his father became competitors in the 1970s for the same retail store business.

Popeil received the Ig Nobel Prize in Consumer Engineering in 1993. The awards committee described him as the "incessant inventor and perpetual pitchman of late night television" and awarded the prize in recognition of his "redefining the industrial revolution" with his devices. He was a past member of the board of directors Mirage Resorts where he served for 22 years under Steve Wynn as well as a past member of the board of directors of MGM Hotels for seven years under Kirk Kerkorian. He became the recipient of the Electronic Retail Association's Lifetime Achievement award in 2001 and he is listed in the Direct Response Hall of Fame.

Parodies of Popeil's infomercials were done on the comedy show Saturday Night Live by Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy and the "Veg-O-Matic" may have provided comedian Gallagher inspiration for the "Sledge-O-Matic" routine since the 1980s. The animated series "VeggieTales" once featured a parody of the "Veg-O-Matic" dubbed as the "Forgive-O-Matic".

Following in the footsteps of his father, Popeil went on to create products himself including the Mr. Microphone (the first Karaoke machine), the Popeil Pocket Fisherman, the Buttoneer, the Smokeless Ashtray, Popeil’s Electric Food Dehydrator, the Inside-the-Egg Scrambler, GLH-9 (Great Looking Hair Formula #9) Hair in a Can Spray, the Rhinestone Stud Setter (later called the Bedazzler), the Cap Snaffler, the Popeil Automatic Pasta Maker and the Ronco Electric Food Dehydrator.

The entrepreneur was said to have made a fortune estimated at $200 million in his career and had droves of fans who called themselves “the Rontourage.” He also set a QVC record in 2000 selling over $1 million worth of his Showtime Rotisseries — or approximately 150 units each minute — during a one-hour live segment.

His products can be seen in the Smithsonian Museum today.

(07-28-2021 03:54 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(07-28-2021 02:01 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  

RIP

Can't see this but maybe it's the ZZ Top guy? I saw where Dusty Hill passed away. Spent lots of time listening to ZZ Top growing up.

Edit: I was correct. For some reason I can't see the embedded Twitter link; however, when go to reply I can see the web address and was able to copy that to see the link.

RIP Dusty.

Night I proposed to my wife, he was in the restaurant with us.

Saw him a couple other times at the same place in Houston.

Had a HS teacher who knew the band. Friend was in a class where he was trying to give away free concert tickets. Months before ZZtop hit it big, noone took him up on it.

(07-28-2021 04:14 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Bassist wanted: Apply Top, ZZ:
Dusty Hill, bassist for ZZ Top, dead at 72

that does stink. Was playin' some the other day: RIP, bro.

Artist: ZZ Top
Album: Tres Hombres
Song: "LaGrange"
July 26, 1973 London Records







guess who these dudes are...playing a High School Dance, no less...

Actually saw Marvin on EYEWITNESS NEWS when he originally went to La Grange. Got a lot of nice girls out there, haw, haw, haw, haw...

(07-29-2021 10:46 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(07-28-2021 04:14 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Bassist wanted: Apply Top, ZZ:
Dusty Hill, bassist for ZZ Top, dead at 72

that does stink. Was playin' some the other day: RIP, bro.

Artist: ZZ Top
Album: Tres Hombres
Song: "LaGrange"
July 26, 1973 London Records







guess who these dudes are...playing a High School Dance, no less...

Actually saw Marvin on EYEWITNESS NEWS when he originally went to La Grange. Got a lot of nice girls out there, haw, haw, haw, haw...

Was gonna post that one, but this one was tamer. You can search the other video under his name.

No love for Ronco? No one had a Mr. Microphone?
I got my mom a smokeless ahtray for Christmas. She wasn't too thrilled, but she did use it some. She's long since quit.

Made $1 million in an hour. Guy's my freakin' hero.

Always loved the Opus/Bloom County takes on it,too.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka dead at 72, sources say

(07-29-2021 11:11 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  No love for Ronco? No one had a Mr. Microphone?
I got my mom a smokeless ahtray for Christmas. She wasn't too thrilled, but she did use it some. She's long since quit.

Made $1 million in an hour. Guy's my freakin' hero.

Always loved the Opus/Bloom County takes on it,too.

I wonder if Uncle Arnold gave his eulogy? But wait, there's more! Or, now how much would pay?

But seriously, its easy to forget how much of as seen on tv style and salesmanship was created by Ron Popeil. He really created an industry.

Cathy Mitchell is probably my favorite though. I could watch that red headed hawker all night and day lol.

RIP to professional wrestler Beautiful Bobby Eaton, age 62. He was one half of the tag team the Midnight Express and one of the best in-ring performers in the business.