#john leach

[rhetthammersmithhorror]

Witch's Night Out | 1978

[wolfgang1097]

Halloween Chaos

What's up folks? It's me, Ari. In honor of tonight's spooky holiday, I want to share a little bit of a crossover with y'all:

(Sorry I didn't use any color; I'm running out of paint. Don't worry, when I get more paint, I'll get this colored and post a colored version and monochrome version in future (possibly for next year along with something else).)

Anybody remember Witch's Night Out? As you can see here, the witch herself is in the background chillin' in somebody's lawnchair as she watches White Spy (as a werewolf), Black Spy (as a vampire), and Phil (as a Frankenstein monster) make absolute fools of themselves because Halloween is a holiday where everybody gets to cut loose for once during the year and be whatever or whoever they want, just as she (the witch) intended. This time, the witch has a wand bag on her to make sure some rat doesn't steal her magic wand again just like that one time.

You may be wondering why I drew Black Spy, White Spy, and Phil the way they are. Well, wolves are part of the canine family (including werewolves, technically) and we all know White is a dog person. Black is apparently insanely comfortable with the supernatural (*cough*For Whom the Belle's Toad*cough*), not to mention that he even incorporated vampirism into at least a couple of his schemes. Yes, I did draw Black in his outfit he wore in the paperback strip "Pearl-1 Hit-2," but this time he has his actual pearl pin, has his hair slicked back, and is donning a black cape. As for Phil, he is stronger than both Black Spy and White Spy despite his tall, skinny, and lanky appearance. Apparently, he wanted to be a Frankenstein monster anyway, and he probably said it right just like Bazooey did.

Anyway, hope y'all like this. Happy Halloween. Peace.

I do not claim ownership of any content. Anytown's Witch's Night Out belongs to Leach/Rankin Productions and Jonathan Rogers. Spy vs. Spy belongs to the defunct MAD magazine and Antonio Prohias. Phillip "Phil" Dengler belongs to me.

[northernexposureonly]

CHRIS IN THE MORNING: Listen, Cicely. Can you hear it? Spring's sweet cantata. The stains of grass pushing through the snow. The song of buds swelling on the vine. The tender timpani of a baby robin's heart.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE 3.19 Wake Up Call

[20y2]

[fancyhats-and-fennelsbuds]

Do you think that the Mouse™️ post-movies Villains, if ever gathered into an Underground/Alt/Indie pub made and left to be just theirs recreational spot-lair and, some sort of-- rehabilitating, self-managed place that pushes the 'guests' toward a sane sOcIalizINg experience (but most secretly the only 'Grooving Area' left for them to be, well, slighlty more villanous than the Toontown's rules would permit or any shenanigains-place you call the cartoons meeting zone),

what I wish to say is

If ever that would happen

I mean

I mean would they--

Would they willfully and yet nonchalantly propose a 'Full Monty' strippin' teasin' night. and between all why the hunters, a space pirate and a cowboy

I CHOOSE THE MUSIC

Joe Cocker (you know which one)

Bubble Dance, from Valerian and the City of thousands planets

Kiss - Prince

Do you wanna touch me (Oh Yeah) - Joan Jett

Man! I feel like a woman! - Shania Twain

Hot Stuff - Donna Summer

Man Areas - Jonny McGovern

[eppysboys]

Sam Leach and Joan McEvoy's Engagement Party, 17th March 1962 🕺💃

Earlier in the evening, The Beatles performed at the Village Hall in Knotty Ash, Liverpool. The evening was billed as a "St. Patrick's Night Rock Gala". Sam Leach, (Liverpool concert booker) booked The Beatles and Rory Storm and The Hurricanes to draw a big crowd so that he could make enough profits to pay for his engagement party, scheduled to follow the night's show. Both bands attended Leach's party, which didn't end until the following afternoon. Also present at the party was Mike McCartney, Paul's girlfriend Dorothy 'Dot' Rhone, Brian Epstein, Bob Wooler and Ted 'Kingsize' Taylor.

In his book Sam Leach has a distinct memory of 'a gang of us' (presumably including Beatles and Hurricanes) travelling to the party from Knotty Ash in a van. Their driver (not Neil Aspinall) pulled out from the Village Hall into the path of a speeding articulated lorry which seemed to have appeared from nowhere. Everyone braced themselves for the inevitable impact but miraculously the lorry, its brakes screeching hysterically, managed to stop less than a foot from the side of the van. Shocked, stunned, shaken and stirred, everyone in the van travelled the 1.5 miles to the party in complete silence. 

Hurricane Johnny 'Guitar' Byrne diary entry for 1962 mentions the party:

"Bought Zodiac. Knotty Ash, Orrell, then Sam Leach's engagement party. Had row with Eileen. Got home 6."

The party was at the family house in Huyton, thrown by Dolly, mother of Vera and Joan McEvoy.

"I can vouch for the fact that Brian fell in love with Vera and pursued her all night. In fact after the party he wrote more than one letter to Dolly asking her could she help him fix a date with Vera. Unfortunately for Brian she wasn't interested." Sam Leach (She seemed a little interested, as displayed below)

"Brown, who was married (but separated) at the time of her liaison with Epstein in 1962, describes him as "...very emotional. He always gave the impression of being cold and icy, but he was very softhearted, very tender, very gentle, and he had a lot of feelings. And he was all man, I don't care what they say." (Ray Coleman, The Man Who Made The Beatles)

"We’d been to the Knotty Ash Club for my sister’s engagement. The Beatles had played there, as did Rory [Storm] and a few other groups. Afterwards, as usual, we all went back to the house and Brian came along.

If you saw the Beatles in my mother’s they were just a scruffy bunch of boys. And who’d look at them? I wouldn’t bother with them but then Brian stood out and Brian looked like the real thing. He was handsome. He was tall. He was immaculate. That’s why I let Brian get behind the bar with me and help me serve the drinks. He was the best of the bunch.

So we were just behind the bar when Elvis came on, 'Heartbreak Hotel’. He loved it, I loved it, and we started dancing. There wasn’t much room. You know, you could go two steps forward, three steps back and that was it. So we sort of got a bit close and everyone was laughing at us, saying, like, 'What’s going on?’ But if you moved sideways you fell over the crates. There were crates of beer in there and everybody’s coats. We ended up on top of the coats or on top of the crates if we just moved the wrong way. And we got pretty close but I wasn’t surprised by the way he was acting towards me.

We were dancing and kissing at the same time. He was probably one of the sexiest fellas I had ever met. People say, 'Oh well, Brian was gay.’ but he wasn’t very gay with me. He was just like any other man and more. He was very easy-going and casual and funny. He’d make you laugh and he could dance. You know he could move. He said to me, 'I’ve seen you in different places and I thought you were stuck up.’ And I said, 'Well, I thought you were stuck up because I remember being in your shop and you were like the big boss.’

I think he was pretty fresh. In a house where people are looking at you it’s not like a club with all the lights out and people tend to be aware of others but Brian wasn’t that bothered. He was interested and he showed it. Maybe he’d had a bit too much to drink. I don’t know. But I can’t say that because I met Brian afterwards and he was still interested.

The next day he called round to the house. I wasn’t there so he talked to my mother about poetry. I don’t know how they got talking about poems but Brian came the following day with a book of poems for my mother with a little letter. He also gave her a letter thanking her for having the party because everyone had made such a terrible mess of the house. It was full of eggs and rubbish and bottles everywhere and he apologized for the actions of everybody else at the party.

Well, my mother just thought he was the most wonderful person in the world. At last a gentleman has come through this door and not Teddy boys and hooligans and all the rest of it. In the first letter he said he’d enjoyed meeting her, loved coming to the house, felt so welcome and would she mind if he came around again to see me. I said to my mum, 'Well, that’s impossible. How can I see him? You know I can’t go out with Brian.’ She said, 'You will have to’.

My mother was in love with Brian: 'He’s beautiful. He’s wonderful.’ So she sort of arranged it. I didn’t want him to come and pick me up at the house because I didn’t want people to see us going out. I arranged to meet him in a little cafe in Bold Street. We had a coffee and a chat and then I can’t really remember where we went. We went somewhere for a drink around Bold Street where there were all these little dives at the time. But I had to be back for nine o'clock. Another time I met him in the Tower and we had a little chat. We met in the back office and had a talk.

I liked Brian as a man and I think Brian liked me. But then he suggested if we were to go out we’d have to go to Southport or Manchester - anywhere out of Liverpool because he didn’t want to walk into my husband in Liverpool. We were separated at the time but it was a little bit awkward, you know.

It’s hard for me to believe Brian was gay. I think if I had been free and if I’d seen more of Brian I think we could have got serious. I think he was all man. I just can’t accept that he was gay.

In the shop Brian seemed like a man, like your dad shouting at you and superior. He had an attitude of superiority. But later on I discovered he was just like any other man. I thought he was a very passionate, loving person. He was like two different people. So if there’s a third person involved - this gay person - I just say he’s one hell of a man to be able to please everybody. You know, he was just unique. That’s all I can say." Vera Brown, In His Life, The Brian Epstein Story.

"George always fancied Joan and when I began dating her, he asked her to let him know when she finished seeing me. 'But don't tell Sam', he added. 'He’d batter me!' Today she probably feels like battering me for spoiling her chances." Sam Leach, The Rocking City

"Later in the evening, Joan had a headache and said she was going upstairs for a lie down. I went to fetch a couple of aspirins from the kitchen and said I'd follow her. Bob Wooler then made a typically cheap remark about pre-marital sex. Before I had a chance to sort him out, Paul and George grabbed him and made him personally apologise to Joan." Sam Leach, The Rocking City

"Rory Storm was lying on the floor hopelessly drunk. He shouted up to Paul, 'I wanna be in the picture'. So, as you can see, Paul bent down and lifted his foot into the shot." Sam Leach

"The night rolled on and I found Lennon, completely sloshed, sitting in the kitchen rolling raw eggs down Ann Barton's birds-nest hairstyle. Each time one broke, he gave a gasp of astonishment at the gooey yellow mess spreading across the tiled floor. Dolly found out and gave him a severe rollicking, which sobered him up enough to utter a sincere, 'Sorry, Mrs Mac'. Everyone liked and respected Dolly McEvoy and that was the only time I ever saw Lennon genuinely humbled. He disappeared for a while after that and was found later fast asleep in the bath.

When he finally came downstairs, he once again started to apologise. Dolly had forgotten all about it, but he was still apologising as he left at nine the next morning. As we stood outside, he shook my hand gravely. 'That was the very best party I've ever been to . . . honest,' he croaked. I was pleased everyone had enjoyed themselves, but when John started thanking me for a third time, I put him in a taxi and packed him off home. As he left, I slipped an egg into his pocket. He never did tell me how that hatched out." Sam Leach, The Rocking City

[mikyapixie]

6 years ago today Ralph Breaks The Internet released in theaters!!!

Did you know that they were going to give Ralph a girlfriend & big sister to Vanellope in the movie until they decided to cut her out of the movie entirely???

[wonka-vision-1971]

These are who I would cast for Phantom of the Paradise, Ik Linda Ronstadt and David Bowie were ideas to be put in the movie but in my opinion it still works.

Warren Zevon as Winslow Leach

Linda Ronstadt as Phoenix

Elton John as Swan

David Bowie as Beef

Meat Loaf as Philbin

Bonus pic of Linda and Paul Williams together, OH and Warren Zevon actually wanted Linda to sing the music he played and wrote so that's kinda funny.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

The Virtues of Amsterdam

On the topic of John and Brian's relationship and the buildup to the Barcelona trip, a passage from the book The Rocking City: The Explosive Birth of the Beatles was brought to my attention, which I found interesting so I wanna post it here and talk a bit about it.

Background: Sam Leach was a promoter in the early 60s, and put on many shows for the Beatles, whom he met after they returned from their first Hamburg residence. In 1999 he published a book chronicling his connection with the band.

The author situates the following passage, found on p. 159 here, in early 1962, after an evening of pub crawling with Sam, John, Paul (who by this point has gone home), and Brian.

Brian was doing the driving that night, so didn't have too much to drink. About four in the morning, he dropped me at my house and I invited him and John in for a coffee. The Beatles had no bookings that weekend and as we sat around the kitchen table, Brian was trying to persuade John to go with him on a short break to Amstendam. In those days, few of us knew much about homosexuality and I thought it was a good idea for John to go. 'The break will do you good, John, I said, casually, to which he gave me a short, sharp kick to the shins under the table. Looking at his bleary eyes, I figured he was well tanked up and ignored him. Brian continued to extol the virtues of Amsterdan and again I said John should go and enjoy himself. This time his kick drew blood and I glared at him angrily. At that moment, Brian excused himself and went to use the toilet. Once he was out of the room, I reached across the table and grabbed John by the collar, hissing, 'What are you playing at?' He doubled up with laughter and gasped. 'You bloody fool! Can't you see he's after me?' If anyone ever had a blank expression on their face, I did then. My befuddled brain struggled to grasp his meaning. Well, it was 1962! Nevertheless, I nodded sagely. 'Oh… I see.' When Brian returned, I got John out of the situation by reminding him of a forthcoming party. 'I was forgetting Rory's getting engaged on Saturday. We're all invited, so I'm afraid Amsterdam is out.' Lennon's reply didn't help. 'Is Rory getting engaged again?' Clearly disappointed, Brian dropped the subject. At Rory's 'engagement' party, I collared John and asked him what he'd meant by Brian being 'after him'. Hooting with laughter, Lennon told the gathering what had happened and everyone had a good laugh at my expense. The next time I took my Tower publicity material to NEMS, it was an embarrassed Brian who asked if John had said anything about him. His relief was obvious when I lied. No. Why should he?'

My anon was implying that the above passage demonstrates Brian putting pressure on John early on in their relationship, when the power was more tipped in Brian's favour.

While I agree that before securing a recording contract John's position was more precarious and Brian was arguably the more powerful one out of the two (though John was already enjoying a decent amount of local fame by this point), I feel this passage actually shows that*, even when John was in an objectively less powerful position than the one he was in by April 1963, he seemingly had no qualms ignoring Brian's invitation, since he never did accompany him to Amsterdam. This would indicate that when he accepted a similar invitation a year later, it was not because he felt it would be career-ending to turn Brian down.

Now, does that mean John definitely went to Barcelona because he was nothing but enthusiastic about the prospect of alone time with Brian? Not necessarily! The account he provided Pete Shotton about his sexual encounter with Brian might suggest that John was more relenting to Brian's apparently endless advances, rather than eagerly consenting ("Eppy just kept on and on at me."). Of course, both Pete in his book and John within this anecdote have an incentive to play down any genuine interest John may have had, but there's certainly a plausible version of events here where maybe Brian does not take no for an answer and spends possibly over a year propositioning John until he finally acquiesces. While this scenario certainly doesn't put Brian in the most flattering light, it's very different from the idea that Brian directly harnessed his position as John's manager to coerce him into sex.

Personally, I'd say the above passage from Leach's book makes it seem like John found all of this mostly amusing, at least by this point in time. It could definitely have eventually stopped being fun to him, but I also think it's very possible that John was consistently giving Brian mixed signals and perhaps quite deliberately keeping him hanging.

*I'm taking the passage from Leach's book at face value here, but I think it would be fair to question whether the author was (perhaps entirely subconsciously!) informed by the Barcelona story and misremembered some details here. I do think this is based on a real memory, but it should never be forgotten that a lot of Beatle anecdotes have been heavily influenced by narratives.

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 80's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...Weird Science (1985) on amazing blu-ray! #Movie #movies #comedy #teenmovies #weirdscience #johnhughes #anthonymichaelhall #ilanmitchellsmith #kellylebrock #BillPaxton #ripbillpaxton #robertdowneyjr #RobertRusler #SuzanneSnyder #brittleach #JudieAronson #michaelberryman #davidleeroth #bluray #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas6thannual80sfest

[johnschneiderblog]

It couldn't have happened to a better guy

And I mean that quite literally. I've heard my friend Hugh Leach called a gentleman's gentleman. The shoe fits him perfectly.

If you paid any attention to the Lansing State Journal in its heyday, you no doubt saw Hugh Leach's byline. He already was a reporter when I joined the LSJ staff in 1977. He retired in 2008; I followed suit four years later.

As you can see, Hugh ran into some good luck recently - a $2-mill prize on a scratch-off ticket. As he told the Michigan Lottery folks, his habit was to buy one $20 scratch-off every two weeks:

"When I saw I matched '02' for a $2 million prize, I thought: 'Wait a minute. This can’t be right.' I looked the ticket over a few more times and then said to my wife: 'I think I just won $2 million!'"

Answering the obligatory questions posed to a new millionaire, Leach listed a new lawnmower among the first things he planned to buy.

That's our boy.

[zappedbyzabka]

I’m—

[creative-soul-22]

Watching Archie fake a break into his own house is all fun and games...

... until you see Wendy's perspective.

@spacecluster @jackdavenportaddict

[ozymandiasfoxmercury]

[wendy-leach-fanblog]

This scene from A Fish Called Wanda was CUT.

It takes place after Wendy overheard Otto's and Archie's conversation and before the courtroom scene. She already wears her courtroom outfit.

Archie goes through some papers when Wendy comes in and asks what case he is on today. Archie replies that it's the jewel robbery which causes Wendy to let out a sarcastic "Jewel robbery. What a coincidence." The phone rings then, Archie picks it up and Wendy leaves with a goodbye but before she is gone, Archie asks in surprise if she is off. Wendy states that she is, "as it happens" and leaves with a "see you later, ducky". Archie is pretty irritated by Wendy's behavior before he picks the phone back up again. The last thing we see is that he says "What?" in best Wendy-like manner before the screen goes black.

It's not a long scene and there isn't much happening.

"This is a scene where Maria's perfomance was so strong that we nearly kept it altough we realized that it was redundant." - John Cleese about the scene

And yes. To be fair if you view it from what is happening in the scene, you know, from a dramaturgical perspective, the dialogues, then you might consider it redundant. Or when you try to make Archie and Wanda get together.

BUT. IT. IS. NOT.REDUNDANT!

For several reasons.

1) It shows us that Wendy does seem to be interested in Archies work. She asks "What case are you on today, Archie?" which contrasts the impression we get when we first meet Wendy and she couldn't care less about it. Remember her saying "This is the first moment I've had for myself all day" when Archie wants to tell her he won the case? So how come Wendy has changed her mind? Well, maybe because she usually is interested in Archie's cases and she just simply had a bad day after that she just wanted a good cup of tea whilst sitting in her garden reading the Country Life Magazine. Or maybe because she is really mad at Archie and hopes to find something out by attending the court hearing. Because, still, her necklace is gone. Maybe the case could be about the necklace! So, wether if it's general interest in Archie's work or just due to the situation, it shows us that Wendy shows interest in Archie's work at least in this scene.

2) Archie learns about Eileen Coady's death and he's not as half as happy as George and Ken are.

3) It gives us context for the courtroom scene when Wendy slaps Archie. Because without this scene, it looks like Wendy is overreacting. "Yeah dude accidentally spills the beans in the courtroom that he has an affair and his wife slaps and divorces him immidiately". But this tiny scene here, it shows that Wendy's "I have never been so humilliated in my life" isn't just limited to what happened in court. It's not just the affair that humilliates Wendy. It's everything that happenes to her throughout the movie that humilliates her. The slap isn't an overreaction, it's a relief of emotions that she's been holding back.

AND THIS TEENSY-TINSY SCENE THAT'S BEEN CUT WOULD MAKE THIS MORE CLEAR.