M Is FOR MASHUP - August 15th, 2012
Beatles In The Year 2012
By DJ Useo
History repeats itself. It really does. Or maybe I could more accurately state that The Beatles Remixers Group repeats itself. Well, In the sense that they release new volumes of the Beatles mashups collection, "YOU CAN'T MASH THAT", They repeat themselves. Hmmm, maybe I should go back & state that with more clarity, but I don't want to repeat myself. Lol. Here's the scoop- I got invited to assemble the latest volume of "YOU CAN'T MASH THAT", the series that's already successfully navigated 28 volumes. Here's my article on last months vol. 28 ( www.suprmchaos.com/bcEnt-Wed-071812.index.html )
With generous assistance from talented home producer & photoshop artist, AtoZ, I had a total blast picking tracks from over a 7 - year span of great posted mashups. What we ended up with is "YOU CAN'T MASH THAT vol. 29", & and it's one super listen. Check out the full playlist here - but, now I've got an extra treat for you. A special set of liner notes written in a style that apes John Lennon's classic nonsense poetry. Each of the YCMT tracks is given a short burst of collective unconscious wordplay to savor while you hear the mix. Let's begin, shall we?
01 - Tik Tok Together - DoctorDude felt rude, but he still broke the mood, when he told us to take the lock & Ke$ha & go somewhere safe. Pop went the Beatles. Shop went the Ke$ha. Rather than simply tik, they all went tok. Rather than flick, they all chose flock. Birds of a measure tik tok together. Byrds don't. Why do they come near when you shake your rear? To tik tok together, of coarse.
02 - fa Fa fa Good - DJ Moule felt good about James Brown which none of can concur. Conquered by the man of taxes, he rocked data in response & record. Accordingly, we all felt the Moule the merrier. A good mash was heard by Al, who said no one was hurt.
03 - Single Lady Octopus - It was a dark driveling night to be driving, riding, or nodding about. "Help! It's the octopus lady!" roared out through the underwater sky, like a sea lion who stubbed his toe, or a Flashard in the dark. If only we had a submarine of a bright hue, that would do. For me & hugh. So sayeth you.
04 - Dear Oddity - Did useo finish your homework? Did Prudence behave with restraint, or did she throw the crows' caution to the wind? If there was space enough for an oddity like that in this short tale, I'd be surprised. Take a Bowie, or a Kurt-sy, if you go Cobain style. Only us Beatles mixers in the coop today.
05 - United States Of Rain - Mp3J emptied the relays to find whatever. No matter the clatter, the relays would shatter. United in states of bootleg, the cause was sought, no matter wot. Hurky & jerky went the team through the murkey. From Afghanistan to Turkey. They gobbled up the clues in a vain attempt to maintain the chews. But what was the real news? The relays failed due to rain. How they did complain. All in vain.
06 - The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes - Okay, he said, Oki, she said. They both sat sigh-lently in thought & Mrs Loaf's deli, & pondered the very noticeable eyes on the girl with them. I's never scene eyes like those, they're big as pies, he said. My's eyes are nowhere near that size, & that's no lies, she said. Tomorrow, they would never know the details behind her eyes. It would take many MRI's. An unwarranted expense, as you can surmise.
07 - Everything Was Right - The coolest dj in Liverpool might just be DJ Livercool. The coolest liver is chopped. Imagine a medley with glittering skies, measuring all down the weigh. Way further on it evolves into say, because we all feel the urge to sashay. Name the tunes & win a prize. A stuffed toy or maybe Chinese fingercuffs. Of this track, we'll not have enuff. Don't dare call my bluff.
08 - If I Had A Life - ToTom toted a feverish ray till the end of the day, to get it out of the way. The bully of culture presented him 2009 ways out, yet he did it his way. Woah, said the horse. Wah, said the baby, & we all said way again. At the top of our lungs we begged ToTom for more. He said way. At the base of our skulls, we felt the feel of the more. ToTom said shore. So we swam & we swarmed into the bass of the line. Way.
09 - Black Beatles - Loo & Placido had a large need-o, to see BEP, Luda & Kelis in one feed-o. But something was missing, their track was still fizzing, until they threw in the fabs-o. Ab went the dabs, with fierce pokes & jabs. The track that resulted left us on slabs. Nothing could top the mop of a top, that lurked under the wordings. Sitting, not swaying is all they were saying, then black Beatles from L & P gave a shock. When will it stop? Not till we get too much rock. Is your door getting my knock?
10 - Oh La La And Shout - DJ Y alias JY sighed a fi-ius sci. Being a wiseguy & mashing them go together like Brad & Butter. With Lobos Of Los & Armadas of Groove, It's a tune that makes us groove. We all feel full of loov. You can't buy mine, but gold will buy you Frappe. Don't be a sap, follow my rap, bridge the gap with an afternoon nap.
11 - Please Please Me - As I sat at the knee of wounded bay, I heard a mix from Bdj. A direct tune rang out like a rockin' bell. Which I found swell. Whether at the club, or on the grass, we all wanted mower. Was it an incentive to be inventive. Was it a mow-tivator? It mite have Ben. How now brown cow-inator. After I quit stomping & homping, me felt pleased pleased.
12 - Drive My Lonely Car - Accelerate, decelerate, then celebrate. Yes, was heard from a dervishing bird, as he splashed a lonely car. I've got a driver, while you've got a vee-hickle. Put them together & what do you see? Not a boof-alo nickel. Baby, you can. Maybe, you can. Wait, yes, no, yes, no. Oh yes, you can. Useo can do it.
13 - Drive My Car & Feel Good - James was feeling brown, so he took a drive downtown. A shining star in a car looking for a driver. Feeling alive-er than before he invited Schmolli in through the door. Slam. Wham. Bam. Drive and…DAMN! They supposedly knew the king of Funk. Now you know, the sound they knew. News to me, but new to you. Yo, baby, I love 'U'. Otherwise you always get yo.
14 - LSD ( Lucy In The Sky remix) - Team of 9 held a revolution & it was fine. Re'ed & mixed, till they felt it fixed, Lucy in the sky did fly. The melody of diamonds flew like a hippy poem. Maybe more like a snippy foam. But it got them home. New music seamed with old music & gave us a feeling of glome. Apparently, someone took the brown acid. Was it the yellow kid? If it was, he did. Imagine the pain of being pelted & skelted by falling Lucy diamonds. Shiny, but sharpy.
15 - Tic Tic Bang Bang - DRA'man the shamen ate noodles of ramen. They gave him the hives, which itched like submarine knives. Explosions cascaded, & paraded, as if they were serated. What did you expect? Edgar Allen Poetry? Joan was mystical, pondered punching fistical, sighing in her home. Plate knights staying home with five guys in matching black & white suits. Which mades all the previous points moots.
16 - For No Bop - Mighty Mike the mixing tyke, showed us what we like. New York Punks & Beatle-y monks all in a row. So what d'ya know? Ay & oh! Lettuce goat. We're fumbling in the car seat, beezling on some shred wheat. Upping the amount of mash considerably. If you must hear two songs together, let it be this one. Otherwise , It's for no one. Total-wise, it's our big won. Win? I don't think so.
17 - Feeling Prudence's "Babas" - CCC is most likely the number one Spanish masher. If you agree, say "si". Counting the various songs that stroll through, is not so nice as just listening. But , if you must, start with one. I really think so. Who is Boston? Is Boston Who? Were ever together? They never were. They never will be. Except they are now. Thanks much much much to CCC. We'll play this mix eternally. Si.
18 - The National Health Cow - Bdj brought company for us to see, not to "si". That was CCC. See above. What if Lennon sawed some songs up & down till they were more than one. He didn't, but Bdj did. He showed us a way to trip through the day. What did I say? He did it without pay. Money is what I want, however, I'm quite satisfied with cow that have the health of national. Who ever heard of a National Health Cow? Not me. But a mixed National Health Cow I could go for. Pour me another.
19 - InBEATweenies (( Birthday Life Goes On Right Now ))-AtoZ fought lazily to restrain his hazily-crafted mix. He defied a jury & added some Dury to make the perfect fix. Combined, inclined & maligned, the blend did rend our ears. Going back for more was a bet for shoor, so we all hit the dance floor. If you bend your ear, you'll clearly hear the Beatles/Ian sheer. As it fades out, the albums' clout will more easily appear. Is it the end? Of course, but allow us to hit replay. At least once a day. Now go away.
Thanks for indulging me with the bizarre phrasings. In any case, I hope you check out this new assortment of Beatles mashups. I got to pick from the very best Fab Four mashups, & in addition, my 2 tracks are UNRELEASED EXCLUSIVES I mixed up just for this collection.
Complete folder in one zip file or Single-track version found here
( beatlesremixers.freeforums.org/you-can-t-mash-that-vol-29-t1332.html )
Big thanks to MP3J, TjT, & AtoZ, for gifting me this opportunity. Wait'll you hear the next few volumes that are planned. There's a special Halloween Beatles mashup collection coming, & also a Solo Beatles vs Solo Beatles assortment. Btw-No copyrights claimed. We do it out of sheer love of their original music.
Mix Of The Week
Ixebache has a swell all Led Zeppelin remixes long mix, done up for the 2012 BlackSheep Family Reunion Saturday night fireshow by the BlackSheep Circus. Check with Ixebache for more info on what that is. His mix, however, is approximately 30 minutes of well-mixed modern takes on the classic rock act. I wouldn't be surprised if this set motivates you to go searching for more Led Zep. They truly are an essential musical group. I personally have the complete studio recordings box set. Yum!
Find Ixebache's long mix here
( soundcloud.com/ixebache/blacksheep-2012-saturday )
Mashup Tip : Compression can be used to more closely integrate the final elements of a mashup into the same soundscape, resulting in a better mix. Remember, though, a little goes a long way.
Latest Useo Thing
'Monolith In The Margins' (T.Rex vs Echo and The Bunnymen) is my latest mashup for demonstration purposes only. It has Marc Bolan warbling over the ringing electric guitars of the classic eighties new wave performers. This track is available only at my groovy time blog, not anywhere else, as I like to have exclusives for people who come to my site.
Stream,or download from links found here
( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2012/08/trex-vs-echo-bunnymen.html )
Podgornio, The Mashup Psychic Predicts
DJ Useo is going to make a track for his 'It Is To Laff 3 : Funny Mashups' collection that's the theme from the 60's sitcom 'Mr. Ed' singing over the theme from 'Hogan's Heroes'. At least, he is if he doesn't want me to get a prediction wrong for the first time.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Joel Runyon: An Unexpected [Mental] Ass Kicking
"That's the problem with a lot of people", he continued, "they don't try to do stuff that's never been done before, so they never do anything, but if they try to do it, they find out there's lots of things they can do that have never been done before."
Joel Runyon: 7 Things I Learned From My Encounter With Russell Kirsch
After melting some servers, Russell's words still reverberated. "Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do. Do things that have never been done." All this started from talking to some old man I didn't know in a coffee shop. It was an incredible conversation and even more incredible experience. Here's 7 things I've learned from my encounter with Russell Kirsch: …
David Lazarus: When food is sold twice (LA Times)
Bags of groceries are often left at the store by shoppers in a rush. Shouldn't they be donated to food banks rather than reshelved and resold?
Roger Ebert: A Few Words About Judy
I only met Judith Crist once, but her career had an enormous role in shaping the world of the movie critics who followed her. She was the first full-time female movie critic for a big American daily newspaper, but set aside her gender: By her success and fame, she created jobs for movie critics where there were none before.
Edward Carney: "The SAT That Isn't (The Death of Aptitude)" (Irascible Professor)
When I took the SAT in the early 2000s, I thought I was taking something called the "Scholastic Aptitude Test." Apparently I was mistaken and the A in SAT hadn't stood for "aptitude" for ten years. Starting in 1993, the SATs were collectively known as Scholastic Assessment Tests, and in 1997 the College Board said that SAT didn't stand for anything, making it an empty acronym. Perhaps that is most fitting now, since it may be that such testing has in and of itself become an empty practice.
Chuck Norris: "What Olympic Judo Taught Me (Part 1 of 2)" (Creators Syndicate)
Mr. Norris, possessing a black belt in judo - among your many martial art masteries as six-time world champion - have you had a chance to see the victory and hear the tragedy-to-triumph story of Olympic judo champion Kayla Harrison? Care to reflect on her victory and health lessons? - Ted R. in Calgary, Alberta
Henry Rollins: Some Music Really Does Suck (LA Weekly)
Old Man Revelation Dept.: Some music really does suck! The perpetrators of the crap I am now enduring knew what they were doing when they devised this aural awfulness. There is no possible way these sonic sadists sat and listened to the final mix, looked at each and smiled, knowing they had just created something to the world's benefit. No, they proclaimed that drunken idiots all over the world will love this, and they were right.
Paul Constant: "'The Campaign': Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis Endorsed This Message" (Stranger)
And if 'The Campaign' eventually suffers from the traditional Ferrell-movie curse of a tacked-on, unearned emotional ending that saps all the comedic energy out of the third act, well, that can't be helped. America likes to believe the good guys win the political game in the end, even if we've done nothing to earn a happy ending. That's politics for you.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Team Coco
"Growing Up Romney"
"Growing Up Romney" - The Never Before Seen Romney Brothers Campaign Ad
In this web-only campaign ad, Mitt Romney's sons share their experiences growing up with the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee...and each other.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Nasty hot.
Outspending All Super PACs Combined
Two Conservative Nonprofits
Two conservative nonprofits, Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity, have poured almost $60 million into TV ads to influence the presidential race so far, outgunning all super PACs put together, new spending estimates show.
These nonprofits, also known as 501(c)(4)s or c4s for their section of the tax code, don't have to disclose their donors to the public.
The two nonprofits had outspent all other types of outside spending groups in this election cycle, including political parties, unions, trade associations and political action committees, a ProPublica analysis of data provided by Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group, or CMAG, found.
Super PACs, which do have to report their donors, spent an estimated $55.7 million on TV ads mentioning a presidential candidate, CMAG data shows. Parties spent $22.5 million.
Crossroads GPS, or Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, is the brainchild of GOP strategist Karl Rove, and spent an estimated $41.7 million. Americans for Prosperity, credited with helping launch the Tea Party movement, is backed in part by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, and spent an estimated $18.2 million.
Two Conservative Nonprofits
Plan New Protests
Pussy Riot
The Russian punk band Pussy Riot said on Tuesday it planned new protest performances against President Vladimir Putin and urged other women to don balaclavas and stage protests, despite a trial at which three band mates could be jailed.
The trial of Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, has merely strengthened the band's resolve, members of the group who are not on trial told Reuters.
They spoke during an interview at which the all-women group donned balaclavas and brightly colored tights like those worn by their three band mates during the protest on the altar of a Russian Orthodox cathedral that led to their arrest.
For the women, who say they were inspired by the 1990s movement of underground U.S. feminist punk movement Riot Grrrl, the masks are vital to keeping their anonymity during protests they have staged on the subway, near a prison and on a trolley bus.
While many of the band members say the judiciary is not independent and fear the worst from Friday's verdict, the threat of jail has not deterred them.
Pussy Riot
Notes On Marriage Discovered
Charles Darwin
Despite devoting his life to science, Charles Darwin had a long and reportedly happy marriage, fathering 10 children after proposing to his cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1838.
But the naturalist and father of modern evolutionary theory wasn't always sold on matrimony, writing out a list of pros and cons on marriage in a journal entry that was first made public on Tuesday.
The musings are part of the Darwin Correspondence Project, an online database of Darwin's writings, and were discovered by the site Brain Pickings.
Using the back of a letter from a friend, Darwin sketched out some of his thoughts in a journal entry dated April 7, 1838.
Amongst the pros: "constant companion," "charms of music & female chit-chat"
Charles Darwin
TV Academy's Performers Peer Group
Lily Tomlin
Six-time Emmy winner Lily Tomlin has been elected as a Governor of the Television Academy's Performers Peer Group, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.
Tomlin will serve out the term of Performer Peer Group Governor Kathryn Joosten, who passed away in June. The term will end in December of 2012.
Reality programming veterans Jonathan Murray and David McKillop have been elected as the inaugural Governors for the new Reality Programming Peer Group. Murray will serve a term ending in December of 2013 while McKillop's term will conclude in December of 2012.
Earlier this year the Television Academy's Board of Governors voted to approve the creation of the Reality Programming Peer Group and rename the Nonfiction Programming Peer Group (comprised of the remaining nonfiction documentarians) as the Documentary Programming Peer Group, in recognition of the different genres of programming and production process for each group.
Lily Tomlin
Denied UK Visa
Duane "Dog" Chapman
Duane "Dog" Chapman (R-Tancredo-Loving Racist) has his bags packed for London, but a murder conviction from the late 1970s is keeping him out of the United Kingdom.
The reality television star from the show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" was to appear on another reality show, "Celebrity Big Brother," but he has been denied a visa.
While he's been denied a visa to visit the UK in the past, his temporary worker visa application notes he has traveled outside the United States, including to Mexico, where he went to capture serial rapist and fugitive Andrew Luster in 2003.
According to the UK Border Agency's refusal notice provided by the Chapmans, the visa was denied because of the conviction and because his application didn't include enough information about his visit.
Production company Endemol UK Limited submitted a letter saying it is sponsoring Chapman's trip and that he was selected for the show "due to his public interest in his lifestyle and celebrity personality."
Duane "Dog" Chapman
Found Naked In Church
Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Mixed martial arts fighter and reality show host Jason "Mayhem" Miller was in jail on suspicion of burglary Monday night after deputies responding to reports of a break-in said they found him naked inside a Southern California church.
Miller was being held on $20,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, Orange County jail records showed.
The pastor at Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo called authorities when he found evidence of a break-in Monday morning, including books and CDs that were strewn about, white powder on the floors and missing boards from a previously broken window, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Deputies arrived and said they found Miller naked on a couch.
They also found evidence that Miller had set off fire extinguishers inside the church, Amormino said. Miller was coherent and cooperated with authorities as he was arrested.
Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Mullet Hair-Cutting Case
Amish
Some Amish people among 16 charged in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish are asking not to be required to swear an oath if they testify in federal court and want to delay their upcoming trial, according to court documents filed Monday.
They request that Amish witnesses be allowed simply to affirm the truthfulness of their testimony because many Amish don't believe in swearing oaths. The defendants include members of an eastern Ohio breakaway Amish group.
Last fall, several members of the group living in Bergholz, a village of 700 residents about 80 miles southeast of Cleveland, forcibly cut the beards and hair of men and the hair of women, acts considered deeply offensive in Amish culture, and then took photos to shame them, authorities said.
The defendants say the attacks were internal church disciplinary matters not involving anti-Amish bias. They denied the charges and rejected plea bargain offers and could face lengthy prison terms if convicted.
In a move opposed by prosecutors, attorneys for Sam Mullet Sr., accused of being the group's ringleader, and other defendants are seeking to delay the Aug. 27 trial to give them more time to prepare and resolve legal issues raised in pretrial documents. The defense says the remote location, in far eastern Ohio, and restrictions of Amish society have slowed preparations for the case.
Amish
Voluntary Buyout To U.S. Employees
FedEx
FedEx Corp is to offer some U.S.-based employees voluntary redundancy as tough times hurt shipping volumes and customers demand cheaper delivery options.
The job cuts follow a warning from the company in June that it needed to cut costs in the face of the European debt crisis and slowing growth in Asia.
FedEx said it expects the vast majority of those eligible for the voluntary layoffs to be staff employees at its FedEx Express and FedEx Services businesses.
Incentive packages will be probably offered around March next year, said spokeswoman Shea Leordeanu, but she declined to give more details on the number expected take up the offer.
FedEx
FedEx CEO Sees Pay Nearly Double
Frederick Smith
The founder and top executive at FedEx Corp. received a pay package worth $13.7 million in the most recent fiscal year, nearly double a year earlier.
That hike for CEO and Chairman Frederick W. Smith was due to the addition of long-term incentive pay, which rewards the company's top brass for meeting certain earnings thresholds over a three-year period. It was the first time in four years that FedEx executives got long-term incentive pay. The company said significant earnings per share growth since the recession resulted in executives collecting maximum payments in fiscal 2012, which ended in May. Full-year earnings per share jumped 70 percent from fiscal 2010 to 2012.
The rest of the payout to Smith rose only slightly from a year ago. The 68-year old executive, who started FedEx in 1971, took home a $1.3 million salary in the year that ended in May, a 2 percent increase from the year before. Smith didn't receive any new stock awards, but the value of his option awards rose 3 percent to $5.4 million.
A performance-based cash bonus, which incorporates Smith's annual and long-term incentive pay, soared to more almost $6.6 million from $375,000 in fiscal 2011. About $5.3 million of that was the reward for long-term performance.
While FedEx's earnings have accelerated rapidly since the recession, the world's second-largest package delivery has indicated recently that it's not immune to global economic conditions.
Frederick Smith
Longest-Running UK Comic Book
'The Dandy'
Britain's longest-running comic book is facing closure after 75 years in print.
The publisher of "The Dandy" said Tuesday it is reviewing all of its magazine titles to meet the "challenges of the rapidly changing publishing industry."
Circulation of the weekly comic book, first published in 1937 and best-known for cartoon cowboy Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat, dropped to less than 7,500 in the second half of last year. At its peak in 1950 it sold some 2 million copies.
Scotland-based DC Thomson stressed it has yet to decide on the future of "The Dandy," but will ensure all of its characters live on in other platforms - hinting that their adventures may soon be available only online.
When "The Dandy" first went on sale, it cost 2 pence, and it became so successful its publisher launched a similar comic strip, "The Beano," within months.
'The Dandy'
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Aug. 6-12. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. Summer Olympics closing ceremony (Sunday), NBC, 31.01 million.
2. Summer Olympics (Tuesday), NBC, 30.15 million.
3. Summer Olympics (Wednesday), NBC, 29.09 million.
4. Summer Olympics (Monday), NBC, 26.57 million.
5. Summer Olympics (Thursday), NBC, 22.86 million.
6. Summer Olympics (Friday), NBC, 22.49 million.
7. Summer Olympics (Saturday), NBC, 21.79 million.
8. "London Gold" (Sunday), NBC, 21.16 million.
9. "NCIS," CBS, 6.84 million.
10. "60 Minutes," CBS, 6.29 million.
11. "Que No Podia Amar" (Friday), Univision, 5.83 million.
12. "Que No Podia Amar" (Thursday), Univision, 5.52 million.
13. "Big Brother 14" (Wednesday), CBS, 5.39 million.
14. "Big Brother 14" (Sunday), CBS, 5.36 million.
15. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 5.34 million.
16. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 5.32 million.
17. "Que No Podia Amar" (Tuesday), Univision, 5.15 million.
18. "Que No Podia Amar" (Monday), Univision, 5.13 million.
19. "Big Brother 14" (Thursday), CBS, 5.04 million.
20. "Que No Podia Amar" (Wednesday), Univision, 5.04 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Irving Fein
Irving Fein, who steered the careers of George Burns and Jack Benny, died last week at his West Hollywood, Calif., home at age 101, according to his daughter, Tisha Fein.
Fein, a studio film publicist early in his career, moved into TV production with "The Jack Benny Program," which aired from 1952 to 1965.
Fein gave George Burns' lagging career a boost when he helped the comedian get cast in the 1975 film "The Sunshine Boys," which won Burns an Oscar.
Irving Fein's Aug. 10 death was due to an age-related illness, his daughter said. Services for him were held last weekend at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles.
Irving Fein
In Memory
Ron Palillo
Ron Palillo, the actor best known as the nerdy high school student Arnold Horshack on the 1970s sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," died Tuesday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 63.
Palillo suffered an apparent heart attack at his home about 4 a.m., said Karen Poindexter, a close friend of the actor. He was pronounced dead at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.
Palillo was inextricably linked with the character he played from 1975 to 1979 on "Kotter," the ABC sitcom, in which the title character returns to his Brooklyn alma mater to teach a group of loveable wiseguys known as the Sweathogs. Horshack was the nasally teen who yelped, "Oooh, ooh," and shot his hand skyward whenever Kotter posed a question.
The show was a ratings success and pop cultural phenomenon, injecting smart-Alec phrases such as "Up your nose with a rubber hose" into the mainstream and propelling co-star John Travolta to stardom. But the series only lasted as long as a high school education and its end, for Palillo, brought difficulty.
Ronald Paolillo was born April 2, 1949, in Cheshire, Conn., eventually dropping the first "o'' from his surname. His father died of lung cancer when he was 10 and he developed a stutter. His mother thought getting him involved in a local theater might help. He fell in love with the stage and overcame his speech impediment.
He attended the University of Connecticut and earned parts in Shakespearean productions before his big break.
When he auditioned for "Kotter," he thought he'd be passed over for others who had more of a tough-guy New York look. He told interviewers that his dying father's voice inspired his character's trademark wheezing laugh. And he said Horshack tapped into feelings any teen could relate to.
"I think he was the smartest kid in school," he told the Miami Herald in 2009. "He was giving up his aptitude in order to be liked. Then and now, that is a very common thing in teenagers."
Palillo went on to get a host of bit parts in shows from "The Love Boat" to "Cagney and Lacey" to "The A-Team," and played himself for a time on the series "Ellen." But "Kotter" remained his most well-known acting part, and he focused on stage directing and writing.
His last act in life mirrored his most famous one, in a real-life classroom instead of one at the fictional James Buchanan High School. Palillo taught acting at G-Star School of the Arts, a high school in West Palm Beach. He was due to return for the school year Tuesday morning, Poindexter said, and classes were to resume next week.
Palillo is survived by his partner of 41 years, Joseph Gramm; two brothers, and a sister. Poindexter said that while her friend might, at times, have resented the shadow Horshack cast over him, he remained fond of the character and knew the part was always more of a blessing than a curse. He remained close to his co-stars, she said, and knew how closely fans related to the characters.
Ron Palillo
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