Before yesterday's witness for the prosecution was sworn in, there were four women who provided previous testimony in the Phil Spector murder trial. Each one described in detail how Spector, spurned by the women to his sexual advances, would then threaten each one with a gun. Yesterday's witness (#5) provided one of the lighter moments of the trial by describing Spector as looking like Elmer Fudd. The witness, Kathy Sullivan then added, "the gun was bigger than he was. It was silly"...
Doesn't anyone see a pattern here? I mean I know one male that was held overnight at the infamous 'castle' at gunpoint and it had nothing to do with sex. It had to do with power. It is part and parcel of the personality that resides within the warped DNA of Phil Spector. It's been years since I've either spoken to or seen Phil Spector. The man was nice enough to engrave a pool cue box (cue stick included) when he heard I had a pool table at my house. I remember talking to him on several occasions when he phoned to thank me for playing his songs at my radio stations. I attended a movie premiere in Boston (the 'Bangla Desh' movie) with him and he was very polite, not the Spector being portrayed during his murder trial. Then there was the other side...
I've heard too many stories that I will not repeat from people like Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love and radio people who have seen the 'other side' of Spector. The side I never saw. On Court TV during a break in the murder trial yesterday, Ron Kuby said he was surprised that the defense didn't use 'guilty by reason of insanity' in this case. A very good point. There have been rumors that Phil Spector is upset with Bruce Cutler's defense of him and that he might fire him. I think Kuby may be on to something...
10 Timeline Memories...
- 1602] "If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air": Bartholomew Gosnold, an English explorer a.k.a. "The Columbus of New England", discovers Cape Cod (my favorite spot in all of New England)...
- 1912] This is a Georgia Peach? The Tigers' Ty Cobb is suspended indefinitely for beating up a fan who was missing a hand and only had 2 fingers on the other. Tiger players refuse to play until Cobb is reinstated. They must have been related to Tony Soprano...
- 1918] Winging it: Airmail service begins between Washington, Philadelphia and New York. Have you bought the new "Forever" stamps yet???
- 1930] "Coffee, tea or me?" is used for the first time: Ellen Church becomes the 1st airline stewardess. She serves on United Airlines flights between San Francisco and Cheyenne (WY)...
- 1940] Lots of runs in these hose: Nylon stockings go on general sale for the 1st time in the U.S...
- 1941] The Streaker: Joe DiMaggio goes 1 for 4 starting his 56-game consecutive hitting streak. A record that will probably never be broken...
- 1948] Cited for greatness: Citation wins the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown by a comfortable 6 lengths in the Preakness Stakes. Ridden by Eddie Arcaro, Citation will win the Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes in June...
- 1972] A candidate is shot down: Democratic Presidential would-be-nominee George C. Wallace is shot and paralyzed by gunman Arthur Bremer while campaigning in Laurel (MD)...
- 2003] Happy Trails: June Carter Cash dies of complications following heart surgery in Nashville. The wife of Johnny Cash was 73...
- 2006] Stormy weather: Up to 15 inches of rain create states of emergency in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine with more rain forecast...
Music Memories:
- Grammy Gold: 1963] Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" wins a Grammy ("Record of the Year") and Vaughn Meader's "The First Family" (Album of the Year") also wins: here's Tony's tribute to the 'City by the Bay': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYshcHtGAa0 ...
- Debuted on this date: 1964] The Smothers Brothers give their 1st concert at Carnegie Hall...
- Released on this date: 1985] "Raspberry Beret" - Prince...
- On American Bandstand: 1965] Jackie DeShannon ("What The World Needs Now Is Love" and The Ronettes ("Be My Baby"). There was no girl group in the 60's hotter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7sGsJtJYsI ...
- How Do You Do: 1967] Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman meet...
Commentary:
Len Zola in response to yesterday's feature, "Aye matey! Pay up or you'll be walking the plank": "Walking the streets for many years with both an AFTRA and a SAG card in my wallet, I would mourn the loss of the small amount of residuals I have been getting for freelance work plus my little role in Jumanji if EVEN the collegians were not chased to be made aware that these--and the music--are copyrighted and that people who make a living therefrom have every right to go after them. They're a population with a lot of PC's and a very logical target. What the music industry is doing is essentially making a loud noise so the kids will HEAR it and MAYBE respect it. I respect the folks who are making that effort to get the word out that an artist's work is NOT given freely unless he or she has agreed to that beforehand with union permission. It is in fact his or her source of livelihood and deservedly protected"...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Soprano daughter Meadow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler (26), ESPN's Dan Patrick (51), George Brett (54), Chazz Palminteri (56), Lainie Kazan (67), Trini Lopez (70), Madeleine Albright (70), Anna Maria Alberghetti (71) and Eddy Arnold (89)...
Timeline Countdown: 4 days until the Preakness Stakes and 13 days until Memorial Day...
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