What happened to...the Beverly Sisters

Lordy...I have 3 friends in Sydney who are very close mates...and I have trying to think of a nickname for them...'three stooges' & the 'three amigos' too done and straight...and 'trio'='threesome'(especially in Gayland and in Sydney - which is basically the same)...I needed something a bit new but old...camp and fun...known but still off the wall...and it hit me...Britains answer to the Andrew Sisters... THE BEVERLEY SISTERS!
AND they were actual sisters........eldest sister "Joy" and the twins, "Teddie" and "Babs". Big in the 50's & 60's...their hits included the "Sisters"(how original!), "I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus" &"Drummer Boy". Not only the first UK female group to break into the US top 10 but they were the highest paid female entertainers in the UK for more than a twenty year period.

(Hello soft focus & Vaseline lens !- this is what I want when Im older too )

These gals are amazing - entering to Guiness Book of records in 2002 as the World's longest surviving vocal group without a change in the line up! (Try that one Destiny's Child)and were awarded an MBE in the 2006 New Years Honours List

And they are still hoofing & singing today...and wowing crowds all over - so here's to the girls...and a little reminder to My Beverley Sisters in Sydney...

'God help the mister...that comes between me and my sister...And god help the sister that comes between me and my man!'

(The Song 'Sisters' from the movie 'White Christmas' 1954)

Retro Spunk - Gil Gerald

Dear Eddy - after reading your entry about the 70's spunk Gil Gerald (nee Buck Rogers) I sent searching for nudie pics and the best i could find was a bare chest and a autographed publicity pic...

Yeah he was spunk...

...for more see (http://tummyguts.blogspot.com//)

ps - have seen more recent shots...one must learn not to eat the whole turkey in one sitting...

Book Review: The shock of the new again...'Case Study Houses' Revisited.

I re-discovered a subject(bless Amazon)I have not thought about for over 10 years...in fact I completely forgotten about the Case study houses and how much they have influenced how we live today...

Back in 1945, John Entenza's Arts & Architecture magazine, commissioned major architects of the day, to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the residential housing boom caused by the end of World War II and the return of millions of soldiers.

The houses are amazing to say the least - architects (Like Richard Neutra, Charles & Ray Eames for example)experimenting with materials from wood to steel to even plastic...creating open planned abodes with floor to ceiling doors & windows opening up these dwellings to natural light and views of the surrounds... or to the new to patio or terraces..from bedrooms with built in robes and furniture...to kitchens with all mod conds and bench seating...to ensuite bathrooms with double vanities...to open fireplaces, sunken rooms and split level floors - all of which we take for granted today...the indoor and outdoor blended, and the home started to take form and life ( or should I say 'lifestyle') of it's own - not just a art deco or colonial or Spanish mission revival box - it became a living functional machine...

The program ran from 1945 until the mid 60's. Most of the houses were built in California. The case study houses in their time started basic and pure, but ended up costly and a luxury item for rich americans...Was the idea of a low cost architectural abode lost?

Well yes and no...it exploded the idea of the traditional house - and the way we interact with it...in fact if you look at homes from the Mc Mansions of the new estate suburbs to the more expensive commisions some architects are lucky enough to create - all (yes even the ones which look like a copy of Tara) have used, abused and quite frankly stolen ideas from the case studies...that is the legacy which has survived.

'Case Study Houses 1945-1962' by Esther Mc Coy First published 1962, Reprinted 1977
(NB - Originally written for an Review for Amazon)

OZ TV: The Love Roat Revisited

Hey here's an idea for a TV show - lets grab that bald guy from 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', the head of KAOS from 'Get smart', a token black guy, a geek for the comic relief, 2 cheesecake all american gals and more than enough guest stars to sink a ship - that's it - will put it on a ship...well Mr Aaron Spelling did just that in'77 - and came up with a show loved worldwide...

From '77 to '86 (and a brief but unsucessful revival as 'the next wave in '99) The Love Boat was prime time viewing - every week the welcoming crew of the Pacific Princess would take set sail a story of hilarity and romance - all within the hour! Usually the trip would be to Porta Rico but the destinations sometimes reach as far as Sydney (or as far as the budget would allow - Stock footage of Porta Rico again...)

For me it was about the GUEST STARS (just to name JUST a few)- Andy Warhol, Debbie Reynolds, Florence Henderson, Sonny Bono, Ursula Andress, Tab Hunter, Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers, Don Knots, Dorothy Lamour, Cyd Charisse, Ricky Martin, Donny & Marie Osmond, The Mills sisters, The Gabor Sisters, The Pointer sisters, The Village people and my favorite crazy celbrity - CHARO!

Ok so the storylines were lame - a couple about to divorce but get back together at the end of the show, Charo sings & is zany, Young lovers find each other after years apart, Julie falls for a Harlem Globe Trotter, Charo sings and does the splits, Two opposites who hate each other fall for each other, Charo sings and starts a conga line on the Promenade Deck, Gopher falls for the pretty girl, Doc is sexist with the pretty girl, Issac says 'Dyna-nite!' ( oops thats 'Good times') I mean 'hey maaaaan', Charo just appears again as Susan Haywood dropped out as a guest star. Charo sings charo does CHARO!

This was truly an all ages show - it was campy, funny and entertaining. And it made Mr Aaron Spelling quite rich - and quite so. But what I think is the most appealing part of the show is that everyone, if only for the cruise there & back to Porta Rico, found out that love doesn't hurt anymore...when you've got an open smile for a friendly shore....its.....CHAARO! - no love muchacho!