Payne Johnson 2006
Thursday, January 11th, 2007
Babes In Toyland is one of the most treasured of Laurel and Hardy films. The timeless comedy of the boys combines with the sights and sounds of a magical land capable of wow-ing any kid seeing L&H for the first time. Ashleigh used to watch this film over and over again – and I mean like four times in one day. The characters in the film are based on nursery rhymes and children’s stories, and among them are the Three Little Pigs. Most of us had always assumed that these guys were actually all midgets – but the truth of the matter is that two were midgets and one was child actor Payne Johnson. Read the rest of this entry »
During the Summer of 1985, I became entranced by a number of shows that were being shown on CBN – the Christian Broadcasting Network. One of them was The George Burns-Gracie Allen Show, a very unique situation comedy in which Burns would often step out of character and address the audience. I enjoyed them so much that I began to record them nightly. He co-starred in this program with his real-life wife Gracie Allen, who protrayed one of the dizziest women ever to grace the screen. Even before this TV series from the 1950’s, Burns and Allen had had an illustrious career in radio and early film. 
As time rolled on and we got through the Christmas holiday and the New Year celebration of 1972, I chose to make my New Year resolution to get some teeth. Immediately I began concentrating on forcing them out of my head and through my gums. By January 22, the first one was poking through. About a week later the second one bagan to make its way into the world. Soon it would be time for steak. 
In 1936 both of my Grandparents on my Dad’s side were working for Standard Register in Dayton, Ohio. This is where they met one another and began dating. My Grandfather Francis was living alone in an apartment on Detzen Rd. and my Grandmother Mary Ellen Cline was living with her older sister Marie. They dated for nearly a year before my Grandfather proposed, and after that there was only a short waiting period before they were married.