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The Polyester Ball, Sterlington, LA (2025)

07/21/2025

Actress EILEEN FULTON, daytime television’s first bad girl Lisa Hughes on the CBS soap opera “As the World Turns,” has díed. She was 91. Fulton passed away in Asheville, North Carolina, “after a period of declining health,” according to an online obituary.

Fulton joined the cast of the popular daytime drama in 1960, four years after the ”story” premiered on CBS. Originally, her character Lisa Grimaldi was supposed to be in a key role in an arc storyline for just that summer, but she ended up starring for 50 years in one of the longest-running soap opera roles in TV history.

Five years later Fulton left ”As the World Turns” to star in a primetime spinoff, but the new show only lasted for one summer. She briefly left the daytime drama again in the late 1970s, then returned, but quit again in 1983 with Betsy von Furstenberg portraying Lisa for a year and a half.

The North Carolina native was also a singer and author. Eileen Fulton was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame in 1998, and earned a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. She also worked in theater during her long career, starring in the Broadway plays “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Fantasticks.” - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Eileen Fulton in the CBS daytime drama "As The World Turns" (credit: CBS Photo Archive); (left inset) Fulton at The Paley Center for Media Television Festival in 2010 (credit: CBS); (right inset) Eileen Fulton at the Soho Rep. Gala ca. 2015 (credit: BANG Showbiz) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

07/18/2025

Fifties and sixties pop star CONNIE FRANCIS has díed only two weeks after she was hospitalized for “extreme pain.” She was 87. Her top 20 hits “Who’s Sorry Now?“ and “Pretty Little Baby” appealed to both teenagers and adults. Her death was announced today (July 17) by friend and publicist Ron Roberts who didn’t provide any other information.

From 1957 to 1964 Francis charted over a dozen top 20 songs including the No. 1 singles ”My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own,” “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” and “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,”
making her the first female singer to top Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

She also starred in several films, including “Where the Boys Are,” a box office smash about four girls who spend their spring break from college in Fort Lauderdale. The brunette singer performed the 1960 movie’s title track, which topped the record charts in fifteen different countries and became her signature song and fan fave.

Connie Francis was only 17-years-old when she signed a recording contract after making several appearances on some of the era’s most popular TV variety programs. Her early releases attracted little attention, but then in 1958 the New Jersey native’s version of “Who’s Sorry Now?” was played on ABC television’s “American Bandstand” dance show, and a string of worldwide radio hits followed for her, including “Stupid Cupid,” “My Happiness,” “Lipstick on Your Collar” and “Among My Souvenirs,” with many of her original songs re-recorded in up to five different languages such as Italian and Spanish.

More than 60 years later a track from the singer’s 1962 album “Connie Francis Sings ‘Second Hand Love’ & Other Hits” went viral in the spring of 2025 on social media platforms TikTok and YouTube. Her song “Pretty Little Baby” was featured in several content creators’ videos and amassed an unbelievable 10 BILLION cumulative streams on TikTok and over 83 million digital
downloads on the streaming service Spotify, introducing the pop singer to new audiences around the world.

Only a few weeks before her déath, Connie Francis told a ”People” magazine reporter she had a problem at first placing the song’s title: “To tell you the truth, I didn’t even remember the song! I had to listen to it to remember. To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly awesome. It is an amazing feeling.” - Chuck
Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film
Blogger

Pictured: Publicity photo of Francis from 1960 (credit: MGM Archive); (left inset) singer and actor Bobby Darin with Connie Francis ca. early 1960s (credit: The Guardian); (right inset) Miss Francis in 2025 (credit: TNS) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

06/24/2025

Former teen idol BOBBY SHERMAN has díed at age 81. The singer and actor of the 1960s and early ’70s rose to fame on the rock ‘n’ roll variety TV show “Shindig!” and the Western comedy “Here Come the Brides.”

Sherman became a teen idol after recording a string of “bubblegum” pop hit songs in the late ‘60s and early ’70s, including 1969’s million-selling smash "Little Woman." Sherman retired from the music business soon after to work as a paramedic and police officer.

The Associated Press reported his death, citing an announcement by Bobby’s wife, Brigitte Poublon, which their friend, actor John Stamos, had posted on Instagram. Last March, Poublon shared on social media that Bobby Sherman had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

“It is with the heaviest heart that I share the passing of my beloved husband, Bobby Sherman," Poublon said. "Bobby left this world holding my hand—just as he held up our life with love, courage, and unwavering grace through all 29 beautiful years of marriage.“

Poublon continued: "I was his Cinderella, and he was my prince charming. Even in his final days, he stayed strong for me. That’s who Bobby was—brave, gentle, and full of light. But to those who truly knew him, Bobby was… a man of service. He traded sold-out concerts and magazine covers for the back of an ambulance, becoming an EMT and a trainer with the LAPD. He saved lives. He showed us what real heroism looks like—quiet, selfless, and deeply human," she wrote. "Thank you to every fan who ever sang along, who ever wrote a letter, who ever sent love his way. He felt it. Rest gently, my love."

In the early ‘60s, Bobby Sherman was cast as a regular on the ABC television music series "Shindig!," which ran from 1964 to 1966. He was later selected for the role of the bashful, stuttering logger Jeremy Bolt in ABC’s 1968 TV series "Here Come the Brides," appearing in over 50 episodes.

During his recording career, Sherman earned seven Gold singles, five Gold albums and one Platinum disc that featured the hit songs "La La La (If I Had You)" (No. 9, 1969), "Julie, Do Ya Love Me" (No. 5, 1970) and "Easy Come, Easy Go" (No. 9, 1970).

During his successful acting career, Sherman was a frequent guest on TV's "American Bandstand" and "Where the Action Is." He also made many guest appearances on television shows like "The Monkees," "The Partridge Family," “The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Mod Squad," "Ellery Queen," ”The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," "Murder, She Wrote” and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." His final on screen appearance was a cameo as himself in a 1997 episode of “Frasier.“

When Bobby Sherman guest-starred in the mid-‘70s on the TV series "Emergency!" he found a new desire and calling in life, leaving his career in entertainment to become an Emergency Medical Technician. He volunteered with the Los Angeles Police Department as an EMT trainer, and worked with paramedics, giving CPR and first aid classes.

The Santa Monica, California, native became a reserve police officer with the LAPD in the 1990s, and was eventually promoted to captain. Bobby also served as a medical training officer at the L.A. police academy, instructing thousands of police officers in first aid and CPR classes. He was named LAPD's Reserve Officer of the Year in 1999.

In an interview with “Entertainment Weekly,” Sherman explained why he left show business: "I've been bestowed a mountain of blessings. I felt a need to start giving back." He also told the reporter how he and his second wife co-founded the Brigitte and Bobby Sherman Children's Foundation to provide students in the West African nation of Ghana a quality education, and offer the country’s young people music programs.

In addition to Brigitte, Sherman is survived by his two sons, Tyler and Christopher, and six grandchildren. — Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Bobby Sherman, left, with Michael Norell in a 1974 episode of “Emergency!” (credit: Mark
VII Limited); (left inset) Sherman in 1968 in “Here Comes the Brides” (credit: Disney General Entertainment Content); (right inset) Bobby and Brigette Sherman in 2024 (credit: Westside Current) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

06/19/2025

Singer LOU CHRISTIE has díed. He was 82. In the mid-1960s, the Pennsylvania native enjoyed a string of million-selling Gold records including "Two Faces Have I," "Rhapsody in the Rain," "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" and his Platinum-certified No. 1 single, “Lightnin' Strikes."

Family members of the falsetto-voiced pop star shared about his passing in a statement: “He was cherished not only by his family and close friends, but also by countless fans whose lives he touched with his kindness and generosity, artistic and musical talent, humor and spirit… He will be greatly missed, always remembered and forever loved.”

Lou Christie was born Lugee Sacco on February 19, 1943, on a 100-acre farm outside of Pittsburg. During his long career he appeared on the television shows "American Bandstand" and "Where the Action Is!, and traveled on several of AB’s Caravan of Stars tours. Because of the singer’s three-octave vocal range, many of his fans and music critics alike compared him to Frankie Valli, the falsetto-voiced lead singer of The Four Seasons. In the middle of his career in the early ‘60s, Christie took a two-year hiatus to serve in the U.S. Army.

In 1981, he scored his final chart hit, "Summer '81 Medley", a mashup of Beach Boys classics that was credited as “The Cantina Band (featuring Lou Christie).” In the mid-‘80s, he began performing on the oldies circuit, appearing on rock and roll sea cruises and playing “one-offs” at fairs and theaters around the country up until just about a year ago.

Tragedy struck Lou Christie’s family about 10 years ago when his only son, 46-year-old Christopher Sacco, was thrown from a motorcycle and killed after colliding with a car in Houston, Texas. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Autographed record jacket of “Lou Christie Strikes Back” (1966) (credit: Co & Ce Records); (left inset) Christie accepts a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 East Coast Music Hall of Fame ceremony (credit: Sonny Maxon); (right inset) Mickey Dolenz (left) of The Monkees and Lou Christie at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Summer Doo W*p Concert in 2016 (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

06/18/2025

Fifty-eight years ago the official beginning of the "Summer of Love” kicked off with the MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP MUSIC FESTIVAL held June 16th, 17th and 18th in 1967.

Crowds for the three-day event at the County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California, have been estimated to be upwards of 90,000 festival-goers who congregated in and around the grounds. The enclosed arena where the performances took place had an approved festival capacity of 7,000, but it’s estimated that 8,500 jammed into the fenced-in venue for Saturday night’s show alone.

Music fans who came to see the performances were required to have either an "all-festival" pass or separate tickets for each day. Admission prices were $2.50, $4 and $6.50 each for all three days.

The Monterey Pop Festival is especially remembered as the first major public performance of Janis Joplin backed by her band Big Brother and the Holding Company. The event was also the first major appearances in America by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Who, and introduced R&B singer Otis Redding to a large, predominantly white audience.

Other performers during the three days of concerts included the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Johnny Rivers, Eric Burdon and the New Animals, the Association, Simon & Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, Canned Heat, Lou Rawls, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Steve Miller Blues Band, Moby Grape, Laura Nyro, the Mamas and the Papas, the Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield, Hugh Masekela, Booker T. & the M.G.'s (with the Mar-Keys), Ravi Shankar and Scott McKenzie.

The festival was the subject of an acclaimed movie, “Monterey Pop,” which was produced by noted documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker, whose production team used recently developed portable 16mm motion picture cameras with Crystal Sync motors that stayed synchronized with the sound-recording systems.

The Monterey festival was put together mainly by three music industry giants in just seven weeks — John Phillips of pop group the Mamas and the Papas, record producer Lou Adler and publicist Derek Taylor. The Monterey location was already known as the site for both the long-running Jazz Festival and Folk Festival, so the promoters envisioned the Monterey Pop Festival as a way to validate rock music as an art form in the way in which jazz and folk were regarded.

Most of the artists performed for free with revenue donated to charity (one exception was Ravi Shankar, who was paid $3,000 for his Saturday afternoon-long sitar performance.) Also Country Joe and the Fish made a deal to be paid $5,000 from the revenue generated from the documentary film that followed.

Monterey's bill boasted a lineup that put established stars like the Mamas and the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Byrds alongside groundbreaking new acts from the U.S. and United Kingdom. The Beach Boys, who were involved with the event from its conception, were scheduled to headline and close the show at one point but failed to show up. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Monterey Pop Music Festival poster and tickets; (left inset) Jimi Hendrix shown with a guitar pick in his mouth at Monterey (credit: Paul Ryan/Michael Ochs); (right inset) Janis Joplin holding a güiro percussion instrument onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival (credit: Jill Gibson) (credit: (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

06/12/2025

Did you attend the “OUTLAW MUSIC FESTIVAL” in Downsville, Louisiana, 49 years ago? On Saturday, June 12, 1976, northeast Louisiana’s largest ever outdoor concert took place in the tiny village of Downsville, which only boasted a population of about 100 residents.

An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 concertgoers attended the event, which was held on 200 acres of rolling hay fields off Louisiana Highway 151 near the Lincoln/Union Parish line. Performances started late that Saturday morning and ran all day and evening until about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The festival featured some of the biggest artists in the “new” Outlaw Country movement of the mid-1970s. Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, Hank Williams Jr., Jerry Jeff Walker, David Allen Coe, Tompall Glaser, Doug Kershaw, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Steve Young, the Copas Brothers and others all performed live on that sizzling summer day where temperatures reached into the upper 90s in the afternoon.

When my boss instructed me that I would help broadcast live from the Outlaw Festival all day, I was a 20-year-old, still wet behind the ears, disc jockey at my first radio job at a 1,000 watt AM station in Monroe, Louisiana. Starting out on the 30 mile journey to Downsville early on that Saturday morning, we towed the remote broadcast studio of “Bayou Country KLIC” behind an old panel van, and set up the converted 12 ft. concessions trailer, stuffed with equipment, behind the festival stage.

I’ll never forget how excited I was to conduct live interviews with country music stars like Waylon, Jerry Jeff, Coe, Kershaw and Gatemouth. But one memory has stuck in my head for almost 50 years now that happened during my interview with Hank Jr. after he had completed his set. When I asked the son of legendary country singer Hank Williams why he didn’t perform “Living Proof,” his latest song that was currently climbing the charts, I had to keep from laughing at the future superstar’s response: “Awwww, brother, I forgot it!”

Hank Jr. went on to explain to KLIC’s listeners how only a year earlier he was skiing on Ajax Peak in Montana and encountered a snow field that gave way. The singer tumbled down the mountain for 500 feet, striking a boulder and fracturing his skull in several places. I’m sure the fans of “Bocephus” (his famous daddy’s nickname for his baby boy) forgave him for forgetting to sing his new hit song if they heard this interview?

I have some more backstage stories that I’ve never told anyone, but I think I’ll save those to share in my book one day! - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: The official “Outlaw Music Festival” concert poster; (inset) Hank Williams Jr. ca. 1980 (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

06/11/2025

THE BEACH BOYS co-founder BRIAN WILSON has dìed. He was only nine days shy of his 83rd birthday. Brian was the Beach Boys chief songwriter and producer who created some of music history’s most memorable 1960s surf rock and pop classics.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday (June 11th), Wilson’s family wrote: “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.”

Brian was born on June 20, 1942, in Hawthorne, California. After signing with Capitol Records in the early 1960s, Brian wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen top 40 hits for the band originally composed of him and his two brothers, their first cousin, and his childhood best friend.

In the mid-'60s, Brian composed and produced the album Pet Sounds, considered by many critics and musicians as one of the greatest records of all time. But Brian's deteriorating mèntàl hèalth caused his contributions to The Beach Boys to diminish and for tensions to rise with other band members due to his erratic behavior.

Following his father's death in 1973, Brian spent almost two years in seclusion — living in the chauffeur's quarters of his home — sleeping, drìnkìng, overeating, and exhibiting other self-destructive behavior. During this period in his life, his voice deteriorated significantly as a result of chain smokìng.

After many years of treatment and recuperation, Wilson again started performing and recording as a solo artist. In recent years, his mèntàl condition improved and allowed him to resume his career in music.

In 1988, Brian Wilson — along with Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, and Dennis Wilson, posthumously — were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Brian and his bandmates at No. 12 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Beach Boys' worldwide sales of albums, singles, tapes, and downloads are now estimated at over 400 million units.

During the band’s 50th anniversary year in 2013, Brian briefly returned to recording and performing with The Beach Boys’ original living band members. In 2015, the biopic "Love & Mercy" looked at the oldest Wilson brother’s “rise, fall, and revival,” focusing on two periods of his life with different actors portraying him in each period. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Brian Wilson (center) with Carl Wilson (left) and Dennis Wilson celebrating Brian’s 32nd birthday in 1974 (credit: Wikimedia Commons); (inset) Brian ca. 2010 (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

06/10/2025

Soul music legend SLY STONE has díed at the age of 82. His funk group SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE recorded 10 dance albums and released nearly 20 singles in the late 1960s and early ‘70s.

A statement from his family read: “After a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully, surrounded by his three children, his closest friend and his extended family.”

The statement went on to say: “While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come.”

Sly and the Family Stone recorded three No. 1 songs — “Everyday People,” “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and “Family Affair.” The band also hit the Billboard top 20 with the singles “Dance to the Music,” ”I Want to Take You Higher,” “If You Want Me to Stay,” “Stand,” and the fave of many fans, “Hot Fun in the Summertime.”

Born Sylvester Stewart on March 15, 1943, the front man for the 1960s and '70s group was raised in a deeply religious, middle-class household with all family members attending the Church of God in Christ in Denton, Texas. Along with his brother Freddie and their sisters Rose and Vaetta, the children formed "The Stewart Four," performing gospel music in COGIC churches around the area, and recording a 78 rpm release that was a regional hit record in 1952 — "On the Battlefield" b/w "Walking in Jesus' Name."

Sylvester emerged as the family's prodigy, learning to play keyboards when he was only seven-years-old, and mastering the guitar, bass and drums by the age of 11. The Stewart children would later adopt the surname "Stone," and soon founded a mainstream soul band they named Sly and the Family Stone.

In the summer of 1969, the band made an appearance at the legendary Woodstock Festival. The following year, their single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (b/w "Everybody Is a Star") reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over one million copies.

The multi-racial and multi-gender band became one of the most influential musical acts of its era, but while enjoying their success Sly and several other band members embraced heavy addictions, so the group eventually broke up. Almost 20 years later in 1993, Sylvester and other original members of the Family Stone were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In the 2009 documentary "Coming Back for More," film makers claimed that Sly Stone was homeless and living off welfare, staying in cheap hotel rooms and even a camper van. The New York Post reported in a September 2011 story that Sly was living in poverty in a van in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Post article said a retired couple was allowing the 68-year-old (at the time) to shower inside their home and feeding him once a day.

In interviews, Sylvester said he was not homeless and lived in the van by choice. “I like my small camper. I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot stand being in one place. I must keep moving.” In his heyday in the early 1970s, Stone lived in a four-bedroom, almost 5,500-square-foot mansion on Bel-Air Road in Beverly Hills, California.

Sly went back out on tour with the Family Stone in the early 2010s, making a less-than-memorable appearance at the Coachella festival. He released his last project in 2011 entitled ”I’m Back! Family & Friends,“ which featured re-recordings of some of his old songs plus three new tracks.

In 2015, Sly Stone was awarded $5 million in unpaid royalties after he won a lawsuit against his former manager and attorney. A jury found that money he had earned had been diverted away from him over a period of 11 years from 1989 to 2000. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Sly and the Family Stone in 1970 (left to right: Greg Errico, Rosie Stone, Sly Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Freddie Stone, Jerry Martini and Larry Graham) (credit: Epic Records); (left inset) Sly Stone ca. 1971 (credit: Wikimedia Commons); (right inset) Sly at Hippiefest 2015 in Red Bank, New Jersey (credit: Mark Weiss / People magazine) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

06/03/2025

Remembering actress SALLY KELLERMAN, the original "Hot Lips" Houlihan on "M*A*S*H.” Born on June 2, 1937, in Long Beach, California, Kellerman’s acting career spanned over six decades with a résumé boasting of more than 150 credits.

Besides co-starring as Major Margaret Houlihan in the 1970 film version of "M*A*S*H," Kellerman appeared in dozens of classic television shows like "The Twilight Zone," “My Three Sons,” "The Outer Limits," “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” "Star Trek," “The Invaders,” "Hawaii Five-O," “Mannix” and "Bonanza." Kellerman also received an Emmy nomination for Best Actress for her role of Constance Bingham in the daytime drama “The Young and the Restless” where she appeared from 2014 to 2016.

After starring in "M*A*S*H" on the big screen, she again worked with director Robert Altman on four more of his films — "Brewster McCloud" (1970), "Welcome to L.A." (1976), "The Player” (1992) and "Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear)" (1994). Kellerman also had a supporting role in Rodney Dangerfield's 1986 comedy "Back to School.”

The Oscar-nominated actress was also a singer who released two albums — 1972’s "Roll with the Feelin’" followed by "Sally” in 2009 — and toured with her own band. She recorded several songs that were featured in some of the films she appeared in including “Brewster McCloud,” "Lost Horizon" (1973), "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins" (1975), "You Can't Hurry Love” (1988) and "Boris and Natasha: The Movie" (1992).

While dating Mark Farner of the rock group Grand Funk Railroad, her boyfriend wrote and recorded a song for her. “Sally” was included on GFR’s 1976 album Born to Die, and was released as a single that charted on Billboard’s Hot 100.

In 2017, Sally Kellerman was diagnosed with dementia. She díed at the age of 84 at an assisted care facility located in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on February 24, 2022. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Sally Kellerman as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the 1970 film “M*A*S*H” (credit: 20th Century Fox); (inset) Kellerman at her book signing for "Read My Lips" in 2013 (credit: Chelsea Lauren) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

05/30/2025

Actress LORETTA SWIT, who played Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on the hit television series “M*A*S*H”, has díed. She was 87. Her publicist announced that Swit passed away on Friday at her home in New York City from natural causes.

Born Loretta Szwed in Passaic, New Jersey, she was picked to portray the television version of the demanding head nurse of a behind-the-lines surgical unit during the Korean War. The “M*A*S*H” TV series was based on director Robert Altman’s 1970 feature film that was inspired by writer Richard Hooker’s earlier book, “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors.”

Loretta Swit was one of the last five main cast members of ”M*A*S*H” who are still alive, along with Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, Gary Burghoff and Mike Farrell. The actors on the series won eight Primetime Emmy awards including two Emmys for Swit.

In Altman’s 1970 movie version, head nurse “Hot Lips” was played by actress Sally Kellerman, but Swit was hired for the role for the small screen and eventually deepened the character to more of a real person. Hot Lips’ wild escapades were toned down and scriptwriters even stopped calling Major Houlihan by her nickname in later episodes of the show.

The 20th Century-Fox Television series revolved around the day-to-day shenanigans of a team of doctors at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in South Korea. The show aired on the CBS Television Network for 11 seasons from 1972 to 1983 with its two-and-a-half-hour finale setting a record with 100 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode of any scripted series ever.

“M*A*S*H” shot 256 episodes and remains in worldwide syndication with reruns of the comedy/drama streaming on Hulu, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Apple TV and Roku, and over-the-air broadcasts run on the MeTV network, which airs two hours of episodes every weekday from 5-7 pm Central time.

Loretta Swit’s TV guest starring roles included the original “Hawaii Five-O“ (1968 series), which was her first acting credit; “Gunsmoke;” ”Mission: Impossible;” “Mannix;” ”Bonanza;” “The Love Boat;” “The Muppet Show;” and the game shows “Win, Lose or Draw”; ”Password;” ”Match Game;” ”The $10,000 Pyramid” and “Hollywood Squares.” Swit received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers and Loretta Swit on “M*A*S*H” in 1972 (credit: CBS / The Minnesota Star Tribune); (left inset) Swit on set in 1975 (credit: CBS Photo Archive); (right inset) Loretta Swit in 2010 (credit: Chris Pizzello / AP) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

05/29/2025

Singer/songwriter/guitarist RICK DERRINGER has díed. He was 77. He topped the top 40 charts as a teenager in the mid-1960s with “Hang On Sloopy” from his garage rock and roll band, THE MCCOYS. Rick’s next career move came in the early ‘70s as a member of THE EDGAR WINTER GROUP, who were known for their No. 1 single “Frankenstein” and the top 15 song “Free Ride.”

Derringer's wife, Jenda, told the celebrity news website TMZ her husband of 38 years "died peacefully after being taken off life support following a medical episode" in Ormond Beach, Florida. Rick’s caretaker and close friend, Tony Wilson, posted on social media that Derringer had “received his wings and passed” after experiencing some heart issues and having triple bypass surgery two months ago. Wilson said Rick’s family had thought he was doing better.

Born Richard Zehringer and raised in Fort Recovery, Ohio, he pursued a successful solo career and earned a top 20 hard-rock classic “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo.” He was also a guitar sideman on dozens of recordings for artists like Cyndi Lauper, Todd Rundgren, Barbara Streisand, Meat Loaf, Steely Dan, KISS, Bette Midler, Alice Cooper, Neil Sedaka, Air Supply, Richie Havens, Bonnie Tyler and others. Rick played on and produced six albums for “Weird Al” Yankovic from the mid-to-late 1980s, which earned the producer a Grammy Award.

In 1997, Derringer married Jenda Hall and became an Evangelícal Chrístian. The couple, along with their two young daughters Lory and Marn, formed The Derringers, and the family band recorded three contemporary Christían music albums in the 2000s: “Aiming 4 Heaven,” “Derringer X 2” and “We Live,” and released a holiday album, “Winter Wonderland.”

Later Rick Derringer joined Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band for three world tours, and also recorded several jazz albums with Jenda. He continued to play one-off shows around the country, and collaborated with his wife in 2023 on a new album, “Rock the Yacht,” that featured new Yacht rock material along with some of his original classic rock hits. - Chuck Halley, Classic Music/TV/Film Blogger

Pictured: Rick Derringer (second from left) in his first band, The McCoys, in 1965 (left to right: Randy Zehringer, Rick, Bobby Peterson and Randy Hobbs) (credit: Mercury Records); (left inset) Derringer in 1973 (credit: Ed Perlstein / Redferns); (right inset) Rick and Jenda Derringer in 2023 (credit: Facebook) (Graphics creator: glory2glory graphiX)

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