The 1986 Sons of the Desert Convention – Valley Forge: An Intro to This Magical Land
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
For a kid who considered himself the world’s biggest Laurel and Hardy fan – although you could probably count the number of those in the world on one finger – the 1986 Fifth International Sons of the Desert convention held in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania from Friday, July 25 – Wednesday, July 30, was a virtual Garden of Eden. It had been four years since I had been to a Sons convention since our family opted to skip the one in 1984 held in Ulverston and London, England. Too expensive for my parents’ taste. Four years when you are growing from a ten-year old to a fourteen-year old seems like forever. And during that time, my interest in L&H had blossomed and flourished to a near-obsession. Read the rest of this entry »
Since it had been eight years since I had been in California, obviously it had been eight years since I had been to Disneyland. Thursday, October 6, 2005 would mark my fourth visit to the park. This would also be my first time to Disney’s California Adventure which had opened in 2001 – built in the former Disneyland parking lot. Jimmy and I woke up that morning, had a bite to eat, and then made a brief pit stop elsewhere in San Pedro.
After I sent an eventually-successful autograph request to Robert Blake, I continued my program of making one attempt per day to obtain a variety of celebrity autographs. Some of my unsuccessful attempts between July 20, were to Kurt Vonnegut, Ronald Reagan, Tony Dow, Bill Clinton, and George Bush (who alternately refused, never answered, or sent along an autopen. Shame on you, President Bush!) 
It is ironic that one of the worst child actors in the history of motion pictures – one Mickey Gubitosi – would grow up to be one of the most successful actors of all of the Our Gang kids. And notorious as well. My attempts at getting Robert Blake’s autograph through the mail began long before he went to trial for the murder of his wife Bonnie Bakley. I was actually rather surprised to receive my first attempt, which I sent on February 23, 1987, back with a legitimate autograph (seen at right). This came back along with two signed notecards on March 9. Blake had been known to use secretaries in the past – and ones who didn’t even attempt to get his signature right. My friend Bob had one of these added to a photo on which he had already acquired other signatures. 
Monty O’Grady certainly isn’t the most recognized among the names of the Our Gang child actors, but he certainly held one of the most unique roles in the history of the series. He was in five of the very earliest of the comedies, beginning in 1922 with the first entry in the series, simply entitled Our Gang. It was pure dumb luck – or possibly fate – that I was able to acquire a good address for Mr. O’Grady just a few years before he passed away.