The books used in this podcast included:
The Real Wizard of Oz: The Life and Times of L. Frank Baum, by Rebecca Loncraine.
Victor Fleming, An American Master, by Michael Sragow
The Making of the Wizard of Oz, by Aljean Harmetz and
The Road to Oz, by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman
The music used in this podcast included:
Island Dream, by Chris Haugen (both intros)
AngloZulu, by Kevin McLeod (outro, part one)
American Frontiers, by Aaron Kenny
Soviet spies who betrayed the secret of the A-Bomb or innocent victims framed by Cold War hysteria, legal corruption and anti-Semitism? Over seventy years later the debate rages on.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg began their lives as two of the most unlikely individuals to ever acquire their eventual high profile notoriety. Julius’ immigrant father, Harry, worked in the Garment District, providing his family with a better than average income that allowed the Rosenbergs to live a lifestyle marginally better than many of their Lower East Side counterparts. His mother, also an immigrant from Eastern Europe was an illiterate homemaker who took care of Julius and his four siblings. Quite serious, even as a teenager, Julius was a good enough student to consider rabbinical studies. A high school graduate at 16, he eventually settled on engineering, enrolling at the City College of New York. Politically aware, he also became active in several associations associated with the Communist Party, especially the Young Communist League.
Ethel Greenglass came from a similar Lower East Side background as her eventual husband, her father working in the sewing machine repair shop on the ground floor beneath the family apartment. Three years older than Julius, they met as a result of their political interests and involvement in the Young Communist League. Ethel was an aspiring actress and singer from a young age and was preparing to perform on New Year’s Eve, 1936, at a union benefit that Julius also attended. After an introduction from a friend, Ethel agreed to Julius’ request to walk her home and from then on, the couple was inseparable.
David Greenglass’ testimony against his own sister and brother-in-law, which even he admitted later was disingenuous and coached by the federal government, was lethal to the Rosenbergs.
Only a minor player in the Rosenberg spy ring, the FBI and US Government threatened the Greenglass’ if they did not cooperate and help with the prosecution of their own relatives.
David Greenglass’ random assignment to the highly sensitive Manhattan Project to construct a nuclear weapon placed him in proximity to information that was of interest to his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg
Fuchs’ arrest and testimony led the FBI to both Harry Gold and eventually the Rosenbergs. He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison, served nine and was released. He then emigrated to East Germany, and worked on weapons research until his eventual retirement as a highly decorated Communist hero.
Harry Gold was a Soviet espionage agent and courier who interacted between David Greenglass and Klaus Fuchs. He testified against the Rosenbergs, received a thirty year jail sentence and was released after serving approximately fifteen years. He worked as a hospital pathologist and died in 1972.
Although a recreation, this piece of evidence was crucial to demonstrating the tradecraft and espionage capabilities of Julius Rosenberg. Harry Gold presented one half of the box to David Greenglass to introduce himself and demonstrate that he was sent by Julius Rosenberg. The Jell-O box used at the trial is now in the National Archives.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Soviet spies who betrayed the secret of the A-Bomb or innocent victims framed by Cold War hysteria, legal corruption and anti-Semitism? Over seventy years later the debate rages on.
Sobell was a co-defendant of the Rosenbergs and claimed to be an innocent victim of a government frame-up. He eventually admitted that he had passed secrets to the Russians and that Julius Rosenberg was an espionage agent. But, he also claimed that Ethel Rosenberg was not part of the conspiracy. Sobell spent almost eighteen years in prison before his release and death in 2018, age 101.
Other federal defendants who were transported to court with the Rosenbergs mention their deep devotion and affection for each other despite harrowing circumstances.
Feklisov was the case officer who coordinated the espionage ring involving Klaus Fuchs, Harry Gold and Julius Rosenberg. Feklisov was named the Washington, DC station chief in 1960 and played a prominent role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis.
After Justice Douglas permitted a last minute stay of execution for the Rosenbergs, the entire court was reconvened in a highly unusual session which vacated Douglas’ ruling. The Rosenbergs were executed only hours later.
Considered one of several villains in the Rosenberg case, Saypol, a federal prosecutor, eventually served on the New York State Supreme Court, a promotion that was perceived as a reward for his role in the prosecution and execution of the Rosenbergs.
Over ten thousand people crowded outside of the funeral home in Brooklyn where the Rosenbergs memorial was held. The couple were buried on Long Island as many cemeteries in their native New York City refused to allow their burial.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The books used to compose this podcast included:
“The Rosenberg File: A Search For The Truth,” by Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton.
“Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy,” by Anne Sebba.
“The Brother,” by Sam Roberts.
The music used in this podcast included in order: “69 Bronco,” “The Sound of a Dollar,” “The Loner,” (all by DJ Williams) and “Before I Go,” by RKVC
A uniquely American institution.
Columbia quickly designated “Women Haters” as the Stooges first project. They play travelling salesmen who vow never to get married or even romantically involved. This predictably does not last very long with each Stooge eventually charmed by actress Marjorie White and Larry married to Marjorie. The studio was encouraged enough by this production to green light additional films.
Of the six individuals who eventually comprised the Three Stooges, three members came from the same family. The fourth oldest brother from this family, Moses Harry Horwitz was born on June 19, 1897. Adopting the stage name of Moe Howard, he was the ringleader of the Stooges both during their act and in the various business affairs and negotiations that were an integral part of any autonomous show business enterprise.
Born Louis Feinberg, in Philadelphia on October 5, 1902. Aka, Larry Fine, this individual started his career as a talented violinist who Ted Healy signed up for his revue. Eventually, Larry stopped performing as a musician and teamed up comedically with the two Howard brothers.
Although legend has it that because of a lack of experience, Moe was not initially enthusiastic about Jerome, nicknamed “Babe,” by his family as the youngest of the five Horwitz brothers, joining the Stooges, in fact he suggested his brother to Healy. Although Babe had no real acting or comedic experience, he did spend most of his free time watching his brothers rehearsing and performing and he was quite familiar with their act. When Ted Healy was approached about this potential addition, he suggested that Jerome shave off his wavy hair and full mustache and assume the name Curly. Somewhat quiet and reserved, Jerome Howard quickly became a mainstay of the Stooges, improvising strange mannerisms and vocal sounds that established his unique identity and popularity.
Although Moe did not rule out Curly’s eventual return, he immediately floated the idea of replacing him with Shemp Howard. Shemp was in the midst of a reasonably successful career as a contract player appearing in numerous studio produced comedies, most notably in The Bank Dick with WC Fields but he quickly agreed to replace his brother in what was initially supposed to be a temporary fix. As stipulated in their original agreement, Moe submitted a letter to Curly, formalizing Shemp’s temporary replacement which was signed in September of 1946.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
A uniquely American institution.
Conversely, Columbia was rather cold hearted, quickly billing Moe, Larry and Shemp as the Original Three Stooges, a designation that was actually historically accurate. From a production perspective, although unable to duplicate the unique persona of Curly, Shemp was an experienced and disciplined actor who was always prepared and professional. And he would do anything for a laugh.
One of the most iconic Stooges efforts ever, Brideless Groom, filmed shortly after Shemp replaced Curly, featured non stop violence directed mostly in his direction. The plot concerns his efforts as a vocal instructor, Larry serving as pianist for an especially untalented and unattractive Miss Dinklemayer. After Shemp’s tutorial ends and the unfortunate Dinklemayer exits, he is suddenly confronted by Moe who tells him that his Uncle Caleb has died and left him $500,000, providing that Shemp is married within 48 hours of reading Caleb’s will.
A telegram underlines that Shemp actually has only seven hours to make the deadline. Sequentially, after Shemp admits to having a black book filled with female telephone possibilities, both Moe and Larry grab him by the scalp and drag him towards a phone booth on their hotel floor. When these calls lead to failure, Moe intercedes, only to hopelessly entangle the both of them to near strangulation. Escape occurs by destroying the phone booth completely. With time running out, the Stooges return to their hotel room, discovering that a remarkably attractive woman is checking in across the hall. To make a realistic proposal, it is decided that Shemp needs an immediate makeover. Moe and Larry prepare shemp’s wardrobe, a process that includes furniture broken cranially, sewing needles thrust into Shemp’s calves, and boiling water equally distributed facially.
Appearing before a justice of the peace, Moe receives a telephone call warning him that all of the women who Shemp phoned earlier have read about Shemp’s potential inheritance. They are due to arrive at the Justice’s locale at any minute. When asked to produce the ring Shemp manages to inadvertently toss it into the interior of a nearby piano. Predictably, before the jewelry is retrieved, the lid is repeatedly dropped on Shemp’s head by an impatient Moe. Eventually, Shemp is propped up and ready to procede. With an enthusiastic, “Join hands you lovebirds,” the JP prepares to begin the ceremony, only to be abruptly interrupted by five women who are now also intent on marrying Shemp. In the ensuing fracas, one especially aggressive female prevents the Justice from continuing by slamming an occupied bird cage over his head, knocking him insensate. She then places Shemp’s head in a vise, demanding that he marry her. With each refusal she gleefully tightens the device, Shemp eventually reluctantly succumbing to her demands.
Brideless Groom went on to be one of the most famous Stooges episodes in the group’s career. The comedy not only featured one of the first appearances by character actor Emil Sitka as the Justice of the Peace, it also was one of four Stooge films that inadvertently entered into the public domain when a copyright was not properly renewed. For several decades television stations repeatedly ran the episode across America, generating unusually constant exposure and eventual status as a quintessential Stooge classic. With these types of efforts, Shemp Howard was able to help the trio to successfully continue after Curly’s sudden departure. This was fortunate as Curly proved unable to ever return, appearing only in two brief cameos, the latter appearance in 1949 so poor that it was cut from the film Malice in the Palace. A second stroke initially put him in a wheel chair and while a partial recovery allowed him to become ambulatory, any resumption of his film career was unthinkable. His health continued to deteriorate and institutionalization, first at the Motion Picture hospital and then in a succession of nursing homes selected by Moe. On January 18, 1952, bedridden and no longer able to even speak, Jerome (Curly) Howard passed away at a local that sounded like a fictional setting in one of their films, the Baldy View Sanitarium in San Gabriel, California. He was only 48 years old.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The information used to compose this podcast came from the books:
“The Three Stooges Scrapbook,” by Jeff Lenburg and Joan Howard Maurer and,
“The Three Stooges: An Illustrated History,” by Michael Fleming.
Music used during this podcast included:
“Pouring Out,” by Asher Fularo, “Smoked Kielbasa Polka,” by Doug Maxwell and Jimmy Fontanez,” “Put On Your Dancing Pants,” by Reed Mathis, and “Kazoom,” by Quincas Moreira
After searching the Valley of the Kings for decades, for a tomb that every other expert in Egyptology declared nonexistent, Howard Carter eventually discovered the most important archeological find of the 20th century.
From the age of 17, Englishman Howard Carter worked in Egypt in the field of archeology. In the late nineteenth century with color photography as yet unavailable Carter was Initially hired as an artist in October of 1891 to paint and sketch the discoveries of the archeological excavations of the period. Eventually trained as an Egyptologist, Carter quickly became prominent and by the age of 25 was named an inspector general of the Egyptian Antiquities Service.
George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon. The Earl initially spent time in Egypt to escape the damp British climate which exacerbated a lung condition. He became interested in archeology but quickly recognized that as an amateur he needed to partner with an expert in the field. Initially, this relationship was fruitful and Carter’s excavations near Luxor produced many items of value and interest.
The funeral mask of Tutankhamen, one of the most remarkable objects ever discovered on the planet Earth
After Carter determined how to separate the second coffin from the third and last coffin shell, he was confronted by an object, similar in design to the first two but constructed entirely of gold. It weighed over eight hundred pounds and contained the mummy itself. Inlaid semi precious materials colorfully delineated the facial features, ceremonial beard and vulture and cobra festooned crown of Tutankhamun.
“At last, have made wonderful discovery in Valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; recovered same for your arrival; congratulations.”
In anticipation of accessing the tomb upon Carnarvon’s arrival, Carter completely reburied the staircase and placed giant boulders on top of the location. Knowing that information about his discovery undoubtedly would reach all sorts of entities intent on exploiting such a potential treasure, armed guards were also stationed at the location. Carter went to Alexandria, awaiting Carnarvon’s arrival and by November 23rd both Carnarvon and his daughter arrived back in Egypt.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
After searching the Valley of the Kings for decades, for a tomb that every other expert in Egyptology declared nonexistent, Howard Carter eventually discovered the most important archeological find of the 20th century.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
The books used to comprise this podcast include:
“The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun,” by Howard Carter and A.C. Mace.
“The Shadow King,” by Jo Marchant
“The Complete Tutankhamun,” by Nicholas Reeves.
The part one intro is, “Islabonita,” by An Jone, the part one outro is, “Six Seasons,” by the Unicorn Heads. The part two intro is, “Bohemian Beach,” by Chris Haugen and the outro is, “Time to spare,” by An Jone.
