The studio was laughing at Dean Martin’s drunkenness until he said that one sentence and Johnny Carson’s face completely changed. It was a Tuesday night in 1974. The Tonight Show was in full swing. Johnny Carson behind his desk in that effortless way he had the audience warm and ready. Doc Severinsson and the…
She was known by many names, each one a testament to her infamy, the witch of Buenvald, the beast, the common dues. But the nickname that echoed with the most venom long after the war was the [ __ ] of Bukinvald. Her name was Ilsa [ __…
February 3rd, 1947, Hamburg, Germany. The atmosphere in the Ravensbrook trial courtroom grows thick as testimonies of atrocities committed at the camp infirmary are laid bare. 16 defendants stand in the dock facing the final judgment of history. Death sentences by hanging are handed down to 11 of them. But amidst these cold-blooded…
February 3rd, 1947, Hamburg, Germany. The atmosphere in the Ravensbrook trial courtroom grows thick as testimonies of atrocities committed at the camp infirmary are laid bare. 16 defendants stand in the dock facing the final judgment of history. Death sentences by hanging are handed down to 11 of them. But amidst these cold-blooded SS…
But our boy gives me trouble lately. Yeah, really. He’s at the age now. He copies everything. He sees something, he copies. You know, this kid imitates everything. Yeah. That’s why we got rid of the dog. You all right? Rodney Dangerfield’s ability to make Johnny Carson fall out of his chair…
Jonathan Winters stopped mid-sentence on the Tonight Show stage on March 8th, 1973 and did something that made Johnny Carson’s coffee mug freeze halfway to his lips. He pulled a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his red cardigan sweater, set it on the desk between them, and said four words…
The year was 1975. Universal Pictures had just rejected Clint Eastwood’s proposal to direct the outlaw Joseé Wales for the third time. When Clint stood up from the conference table and walked toward the door, studio executive Richard Dayton made a comment that everyone in the room found hilarious. Let him go. He’ll be…
Family restaurant blocked during Grand Torino shoot. Owner losing business, begging crew to move. They refused. Clint Eastwood found out. Rewrote script overnight. When owner watched Grand Torino premiere 6 months later and saw what Clint put in the movie, she broke down crying in the theater. It was October 2008, and the production of…
July 12th, 1979, 2:45 p.m. Joe and Mary’s Italian American restaurant, 205 Nicaboka Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn. Carmine Galante sat in the outdoor garden patio, finishing lunch with his cousin, Joseeppe Torano, and associate Leonard Coppa. The 69-year-old boss of the Banano crime family lit his signature cigar, the one that had earned him the nickname,…
It was the 1930s. Banks were failing. Jobs were disappearing. And across the Midwest, men with Thompson submachine guns were becoming national headlines. You remember Dillinger. You remember Bonnie and Clyde. But there were others. Men like Harvey Bailey, who stole over a million dollars before federal prison closed in. Eddie Green, the planner behind…
End of content
End of content