California Weekend and Knotts Scary Farm
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
In an effort to grab one more impressive batch of celebrity autographs and encounters, I made one last travel plan and booked one last flight of the year to leave on Friday, October 7, 2011, for Los Angeles, California, and visit the Fall Hollywood Show. It was going to be a short trip, so I tried to pack in as much as I possibly could. My friend Jimmy was on board to pick me up and tote me around for the weekend. (His wife Ellen was vacationing in New England that week). Unfortunately, David was heading to Disney World the morning that I was flying in and Bob had made plans to be in Lone Pine. So Jimmy and I came up with a few things to do to fill the odd hours where I wouldn’t be at the Hollywood Show. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a certain fascination that comes along with meeting a horror film star, particularly if said person is a mad killer or a personification of evil on screen. Even if you, as I, have never seen a single entry in the Hellraiser series – which now boasts nine entries in the series, some of the latter of which were direct-to-video releases – surely the image of this white-headed man with pins sticking out of his skull is familiar, and horrifying, to you. 
When I heard that my Grandpa Murphy had passed away just over a month shy of his 88th birthday, a flurry of forty years of memories went through my head. Memories of a strong and kind man who led an amazing life and reared a loving family. I always held a bit of a special position within that family as the oldest grandson. He was always there for any milestones that occurred in my life, up to and including dinner for my 40th birthday – which was the last time that I ever got to see him. It is strange to think that he will no longer be there to share birthdays, holidays, and that standard family gatherings that we hold throughout the year. The void left behind will never be filled. 
I’d have to say that one of the distinct highlights of attending the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011, was getting the chance to meet Frankie Avalon. When it come to making the popular beach movies of the 1960’s – films such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo – the names don’t get much more iconic than Frankie and Annette. As a student of Billboard #1 songs too, I have a real appreciate for two of Frankie’s songs that hit the number one spot: Venus and Why – the latter of which became the last number one hit of the 1950’s. Frankie also co-starred in The Alamo, which was directed by and starred John Wayne. And he played himself in the 1952 Christmas sketch of The Honeymooners on The Jackie Gleason Show.