Donald Allen Wollheim was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearson, and Darrell G. Raynor. A founding member of the Futurians, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th-century United States. Ursula K. Le Guin called Wollheim "the tough, reliable editor of Ace Books, in the Late Pulpalignean Era, 1966 and '67", which is when he published her first two novels in Ace Double editions.
Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr., known as The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace," "Running Bear" and "White Lightning", the latter of which became George Jones' first number-one hit in 1959. Richardson was killed in an airplane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.
Herman Raymond Walston was an American actor and comedian. Walston started his career on Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees (1956).
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs.
The "Chicken Dance", also known and recorded as Der Ententanz,Tchip Tchip,Vogerltanz, the Bird Song, the Chicken Song, the Birdie Song, the Bird Dance,Danse des Canards, the Duck Dance,El Baile de los Pajaritos,Il Ballo del Qua Qua,Check Out the Chicken, or Dance Little Bird, is an oom-pah song; its associated fad dance has become familiar throughout the Western world. The song was composed by accordion player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland, in the 1950s.
The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the Weapon-class destroyers after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications.
A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new. The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or nonfunctional additions, such as novelty aprons, slippers, or toilet paper. The term is normally applied to small objects, and is generally not used to describe larger items such as roadside attractions. Items may have an advertising or promotional purpose, or be a souvenir.
EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief connection with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Anglo-EMI, the division under Nat Cohen, and the later company as part of the Thorn EMI conglomerate are outlined here.
Killers is the second compilation album by American hard rock group Kiss. It was released only outside the US, but quickly became available as an import. Of the album's twelve songs, four were new compositions recorded specifically for it: "I'm a Legend Tonight," "Down on Your Knees," "Nowhere to Run" and "Partners in Crime." These new songs were recorded at the behest of Phonogram, in response to the commercial failure of 1981's Music from "The Elder".
Franklyn Leon Smith was an American funk musician and R&B/soul songwriter. He was best known for his 1981 hit single "Double Dutch Bus".
Sirius Software was a California-based publisher of video games for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and VIC-20. Most games were written for the Apple II, then ported to other systems. The company was founded in 1980 by Jerry Jewell and Terry Bradley and released over 160 games before folding in 1984. Sirius also developed games for the Atari 2600 which were published in 1982 and 1983 by 20th Century Fox Video Games. Fox's failure to pay Sirius resulted in company's downfall. Nasir Gebelli wrote some of the early hits from Sirius, establishing his reputation as an Apple II game programmer.
A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both fashion and practical or utilitarian purposes.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David John Harman, Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) and Ian Frederick Stephen Amey (Tich). Their novel name, zany stage act and lurid dress sense helped propel them to chart success with a string of hit singles penned by songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley including "Hold Tight!", "Bend It!" and "Zabadak!". Over the course of the band's career, they played several different genres, including freakbeat, mod and pop. Two of their single releases sold in excess of one million copies each, and they reached number one in the UK Singles Chart with the second of them, "The Legend of Xanadu". Unlike many other British bands of the 1960s who were associated with the British invasion of the United States, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich had limited commercial US success. Since their original break-up in 1973, the band have reunited in various formations and a lineup featuring Dymond continues to perform today as "Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich".
A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period.
Lucky Stars ; was a Hong Kong action comedy film series in the 1980s and 1990s, blending Chinese martial arts with bawdy comedy. The films featured an ensemble cast, with many of the actors appearing in successive films.
Socker Boppers is a children's toy popularized in the late 1990s by Big Time Toys. Socker Boppers and their spin-off products such as Sock'em Swords, Sock'em Shields, and Sock'em Screamers have sold more than five million units in the United States and internationally in such countries as Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico. In the 1990s, the package tagline and the television ad and video jingle was "more fun than a pillow fight!".
Ace in the Hole Band is the backup band for American country music performer George Strait, who was the band's lead singer before beginning his solo career in the early 1980s. The band formed at San Marcos, Texas in the 1970s, and recorded several singles for "D Records" including the Strait-penned "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This" and "I Don't Want To Talk It Over Anymore". After Strait attained status as the "King of Country", the group released an album of its own in 1995 featuring vocals from Darrell McCall and Mel Tillis.
International Street is a themed area at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. Similar to the Main Street, U.S.A. sections of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, it acts as an entrance way to the park. The street ends at Wonder Mountain, a visual landmark for navigating through much of the park. A similar format is used at sister parks Kings Island and Kings Dominion, albeit with a replica of the Eiffel Tower at the end in both parks. In each instance, the International Street section was created while the park was owned by Kings Entertainment Company, then transferred to Paramount Parks, and finally to the current owners, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.
The 16th Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards were announced on December 8, 2017.
Panic Pete, also known as Jo-Bo, Obie, The Martian Popping Doll, The Martian Popping Thing, Popping Martian or Bug-Out Bob is a novelty rubber squeeze toy invented by John M. Auzin.
