#linda mcdowell

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Linda McDowell

[spockeyes-thirst]

Linda McDowell

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[beautiesofbygoneeras]

Linda McDowell was born on June 18, 1951 in Iowa, USA. She was an actress, pornographic actress and classic men’s magazine model active from 1971 - 1984. She died of cancer on June 15, 2008 in Delhi, Iowa.

[innerduckgladiator]

Linda McDowell

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Linda McDowell

[king-of-the-birds]

PAUL'S BALL

a launch party for wings

He produced a handwritten invitation, leaving space to write in the invitee's name, as well as a number, which would be used for a raffle drawing toward the end of the evening. (The prize was a magnum of champagne; the disc jockey Jeff Dexter was the winner.) (..) The recommended dress was "glam."(..)

Some 800 musicians, reporters, friends of the band and music business honchos were invited.(..)

As always at such events, there was ample carping, which a reporter for Rolling Stone duly cataloged. After describing the Empire Ballroom as decidedly unhip, a leftover from the days when the Joe Loss Orchestra would play foxtrots, and young ladies shopped for husbands among the dancers, the writer noted that while the wine and cheese were free, everything at the bar was for sale.

(…)

Eyebrows were raised when, instead of a Wings performance, partygoers were treated to fox-trots, waltzes, quicksteps, and congas, played by McVay's band-along with what McVay remembered as arrangements of sixties and seventies hits, including a Beatles medley and some Beach Boys tunes. They were raised higher still when the heavily sequined and coiffed Frank and Peggy Spence Latin and Ballroom Formation Dancing Teams filed onto the floor to demonstrate their artistry.

"I'm beginning to think that Paul actually digs all this" one guest quipped to the Rolling Stone reporter, "that he actually likes dance bands, ballrooms, and buffet food. That's incredibly camp, you know, incredibly camp. Have you seen his suit? It's like a clown's costume, the jacket is about five sizes too big, and it's not even been finished."

(from the McCartney Legacy Vol. 1)

Paul: A press launch is always a good excuse to have a night out, so we invited friends and journalists, played the album, danced and had a few funny people come on to entertain. I wore an outrageous big check suit that I thought would be good. When I went to collect it from the tailor that morning he told me that it wasn’t finished. I said, ‘Maybe not, but it’s a look!’ So I went to the party with the cotton and the stitching showing, and everyone said, ‘Your suit’s not finished.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know. Great, huh?’

(from Wingspan, 2002)

Some of the guests that attended were Jimmy Page, Elton John, Sandy Denny, Mary Hopkin, members of the Who, the Faces, Deep Purple, Ginger Baker, Henry McCullough, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Graham Bond, Sandie Shaw, the Greek synthesizer wizard Vangelis, the actors Malcolm McDowell, and Terence Stamp, some of the Monty Python troupe, Sir Joseph Lockwood, the head of EMI, Allan Clarke, of the Hollies, and (Benny) Gallagher and (Graham) Lyle.

After the party a fan encountered Paul:

He went skipping (yes it is true) down the road with Linda and just as he turned the corner to a side street, I took courage and called him back. He stopped and said “yeah” so I ran to catch him up and breathlessly asked him for his autograph. The funny part is my pen was at the bottom of this large bag of mine! He stood patiently watching me with arms folded as I rummaged elbow deep. I asked him if he had a pen as I just couldn’t find mine; he said no (which isn’t surprising as he had this crazy suit on that had no pockets).

(Kathy Turner – From Meet the Beatles for Real: Wings Party)

[cinemagooey]

Monkey Business

There's a new Planet of the Apes sequel in theaters now, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. It's the perfect time to go a little bananas over the OG film that made the industry go ape-sh%$ crazy, and peek at the franchise that made billions for Fox.

Charlton Heston all tangled up in Planet of the Apes (1968)

Twentieth Century Fox had a monkey on its back.

It was 1968 and the studio had taken a huge gamble by greenlighting a movie based on an obscure french novel called La Planèt Des Singes, when no other studio wanted to touch it.

The science fiction plot was way out there for one thing - monkeys evolving into super-intelligent rulers of the world? Humans devolving into mute beasts? Fuggetaboutit. Audiences wouldn't buy it. And the cost of making the futuristic film seemed rife with financial risk.

The original Planet of the Apes novel cover

But a VP at Twentieth Century Fox, Richard F. Zanuck (scion of the studio founder), was intrigued by the screenplay, co-written by The Twighlight Zone's own Rod Serling.

And the man who had taken the biggest gamble by gobbling up the rights to the novel, Arthur P. Jacobs, a former publicist to Marilyn Monroe and Gregory Peck, just wouldn't shut up about it, convincing Zanuck that this was going to be a gorilla of a hit. It helped that Charlton Heston, an A-lister star, had signed on to play the lead.

Charlton Heston a/k/a Moses

Despite initial fears that audiences would laugh at the ape costumes and shake their heads at the plot, Zanuck moved forward (after signing his mistress to play the crucial role of Nova, the female companion to Heston's Captain Taylor). In 1967 filming began in the high heat of the Arizona and Utah deserts.

Charlton Heston as Taylor and Linda Harrison as Nova, the primitive female who managed to keep her brows perfectly shaped and teeth pearly white - even during apocalyptic times!

Filming Planet of the Apes, 1967

The summer heat, which got upwards of 120 degrees, made life pretty unbearable for the cast members. Kim Hunter, the actress who played Zaria and had to endure several hours in heavy prosthetics, resorted to taking valium. Jeff Burton, who played the doomed astronaut Dodge, fainted from the heat. The unforgiving landscape was treacherous and some equipment had to be brought in by mule packs. But it paid off handsomely when audiences flocked to see this groundbreaking sci-fi movie.

The premise is ingenious: four astronauts blast off from Cape Canaveral to explore the universe for six months. When their spaceship crashes on a mysterious planet, the three surviving astronauts strike out to explore the surroundings, realizing that they've not only landed on a strange planet, but have arrived 2,000 years into the future. Captain Taylor, upon his first encounter with primitive, mute humans, states wryly: "If that's the best they've got around here, in six months we'll be running the planet."

Not so fast, Taylor. Turns out talking apes run this planet and have created a society not unlike mankind did back on earth - complete with a socieo-economic and racial class system, a religion that explains why apes are the superior being, and heated debates on faith vs. science that rile up the status quo.

Who runs the world? Apes

Government officials are left scratching their furry heads at Taylor, the only astronaut to survive an ape attack - they've never met a human who can talk and reason. What to do with this strange creature, who is scheduled to be gelded and lobotomized?

Two compassionate apes, Zaria (Kim Hunter) and Cornelius (Roddy McDowell) who believe that apes evolved from humans, come to Taylor's rescue and set into motion an epic ending that has gone down in the annals of film history as one of the best movie twists ever made.

Turns out Taylor was home all along

Planet of the Apes became a blockbuster hit and spawned an impressive franchise that includes 10 movies: Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) {boy they were really riding the gravy train for a few years, eh?} Planet of the Apes reboot (2001) , Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) and of course Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). It also birthed a television series with a 14 episode run in 1974, and a Saturday morning animated series in 1975. And let's not forget the endless paraphernalia that can be found on ebay (70's metal lunchbox, anyone?).

Of course, there were action figures, too

Twentieth Century Fox made a killing and that monkey on it's back in 1968 turned out to be nothing to sweat about at all. On the contrary, Planet of the Apes became a cultural juggernaut, despite film critic Roger Ebert's cheeky 1968 review of the film, encouraging viewers to see it, even if they have to "condescend" to the movie:

"You have nothing to lower," he wrote, "but your brow."

[jules-has-notes]

collaboration spotlight — White Christmas puppet video by Mark McDowell

Professional singers tend to have many friends who are also professional singers, and occasionally involve them in the side projects they do for their own amusement. So when Mark McDowell decided to indulge one of his other passions in a video Christmas card, he rounded up some of his old pals and turned them into puppets.

Details:

title: I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

performers: Mark McDowell, Geoff Castellucci, Kathy Castellucci, & Michelle Mailhot

original performers: Bing Crosby as Jim Hardy and Marjorie Reynolds as Linda Mason in Holiday Inn (1942)

written by: Irving Berlin

arranged by: Mark McDowell

release date: 20 December 2016

My favorite bits:

puppet Kathy bopping to the beat

the contrast between Geoff and Mark's timbres as they hand the melody back and forth

Kathy's lovely, sweet tone

Michelle crooning away as her puppet's costume changes from cozy sweater to concert glam

that final deep ♫ "whiiite" ♫ briefly waking Mark from his dream

Trivia:

Geoff had previously recorded a version of this song with VoicePlay for their 2012 holiday album "Peppermint Winter", and it had become a staple in their seasonal setlists.

Michelle and the Castelluccis had known each other for many years. Michelle's a cappella group, Toxic Audio (aka Vox Audio), came up around the same time as 4:2:Five in the Orlando music scene, and Geoff had subbed as TA's bass on the road quite a bit in the mid-2000s.

Kathy and Mark had been in a few gig bands together over the years, including Soul Funktion, All Night Groove / Acoustik Groove, and Six Strings Attached.

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Linda McDowell

[wutbju]

Mary Cauleen (Bawks, Howell) Galer, age 93, of Pickford, Michigan, died peacefully at MyMichigan Medical Center in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on March 2, 2023. She was born at home in Pickford, Michigan, on April 5, 1929, to Robert Orville and Della Jane (McDowell) Bawks.

Mary was passionate about education throughout her life. After graduating from Pickford High School in 1947, she began her higher education studies at Bob Jones University, where she met and fell in love with fellow educator Sandy Howell. They were married in Pickford on June 9, 1951. She continued her education at Western Michigan University, earning a bachelor's degree in science. She continued studies at Ferris State University, Northern Michigan University, and Michigan State University. Mary began teaching at Parkerville School, a one room schoolhouse in Bruce Township, Michigan, and retired as Principal of Pickford Elementary School after an illustrious 41 year career.

After they both lost their first spouses, Mary and Willis Galer fell in love and eloped to Maui, Hawaii on September 20, 1995. They enjoyed 20 years of traveling and adventure together, often with her best friend Dorthea and her husband Ragan Callaway and Bill and Norma Raynard.

Mary's faith was an integral part of her life. She was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church in Pickford. She volunteered as a Sunday School teacher and was the Choir and Cantatas Director for 27 years. Mary enjoyed the musical arts outside of church as well. She sang with music groups Vocal Majority and the Mary Wood Chorus, and she was an accomplished clarinetist and organist.

Mary joined Delta Kappa Gamma International for Women Educators in 1960 and served as a chapter and state officer. She was awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma Woman of Distinction award in 1976. She was a member of the Pickford Grange and served in several positions including officer, flora, and chaplain. Mary was awarded the Woman of the Year award in 1983 by the Business and Professional Women organization. She was also a member of the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principal's Association.

Mary was an animal lover and had seven beloved Boston Terrier companions throughout her life.

Mary is survived by her nephew, Charles (Jenni) Bawks of White Oak, Texas; niece, Aleta (Dan) Phelps of Euless, Texas; great nephews, Russell (Kristen) Bawks, Stephen (Jennifer) Phelps, Michael (Manuela) Phelps, and Timothy Phelps; and 6 great-great nieces and nephews; stepdaughter, Linda (David) Thompson of Pickford; stepson, Rod (Patsy) Galer of Pickford; grandchildren, Candace (Larry) Warner, Cheri (Scott) Skinner, Trisha (Zac) Jennings, Micah (Lisa) Galer, Nathan (Tiffany) Galer, and Emily Galer; 16 great grandchildren; and 4 great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Edith Howell Pfoutz and Lorraine Galer, and brother-in-law, Paul VanLuven.

Mary was preceded in death by her husbands, Robert Howell and Willis Galer; her parents, Robert Orville and Della; her brother, Alvin Bawks; and her great nephew, Matthew Bawks.

Services will be held Monday, April 10, 2023, at the Pickford Methodist Church. Visitation will be from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM with the funeral service beginning at 1:00 PM. Burial will be in Oaklawn Chapel Gardens in Bruce Township, Michigan.

Galer Funeral Home & Cremation of Pickford, Michigan, is serving the family. Condolences may be left to the family at www.galerfuneralhomes.com.