name	Ted Cassidy
birth date	July 31, 1932
birth place	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death date	January 16, 1979
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
yearsactive	1952–79
occupation	Actor
birth name	Theodore Crawford Cassidy
height
website	}}

Theodore Crawford Cassidy (July 31, 1932 - January 16, 1979), known as Ted Cassidy, was an American actor who performed in television and films. At 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) in height, he tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction series such as ''Star Trek'' and ''I Dream of Jeannie''. He is best known for playing the part of Lurch, the butler on the 1960s television series ''The Addams Family'' and performing the opening narration of the 1970s TV series ''The Incredible Hulk''.

Early life and career [link]

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cassidy was raised in Philippi, West Virginia, 120 miles south of Pittsburgh. He played basketball (center) and American football (tackle) for Philippi High School. At that time, he was an imposing figure in both venues, being the tallest player in the conference.

Early in his academic career, Cassidy attended West Virginia Wesleyan College, in nearby Buckhannon, West Virginia, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He later attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, as a Speech major. Active in student government, he also played basketball for the Hatters, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds in his only season as a player.

After graduating with a degree in speech and drama, he married Margaret Helen in 1956, and they moved to Dallas, Texas. His acting career took off when he worked as a mid-day disc jockey on WFAA-AM in Dallas. He also occasionally appeared on WFAA-TV Channel 8, playing "Creech", an outer space creature on the "Dialing for Dollars" segments on Ed Hogan's afternoon movies. An accomplished musician, Cassidy moonlighted at Luby's Cafeteria in the Lochwood shopping center in Dallas, playing the organ to entertain patrons. In 1957, Margaret gave birth to their son, Sean; in 1960, daughter Cameron was born.

Television [link]

Cassidy's unusual height gave him an advantage in auditioning for unusual character roles. He is probably best known for playing the butler, Lurch (in which, despite being an accomplished organist, he feigned playing the harpsichord), and the "helpful hand in a box" character named Thing, on the 1960s American television series ''The Addams Family''. (A crew member would take over the "Thing" role in scenes with both characters.) Cassidy originally ad-libbed the line, "You rang?". The subtle humor of it, uttered in response to the literally ground-shaking tolling of a bell rung to summon him, was immediately a hit. Thereafter, it was regularly written into the script, and it became his signature line.

In addition to ''The Addams Family'', Cassidy found steady work in a variety of other television shows. He had a regular role on NBC's ''The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' as Injun Joe, the blood-foe of Tom Sawyer and Huck. In the 1967 ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' episode, "The Napolean's Tomb Affair", Cassidy played a henchman, Edgar, who kidnaps, tortures, and repeatedly tries to kill Napolean and Illya.

Cassidy also provided the voice of the more aggressive version of Balok in the ''Star Trek'' episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", and he played the role of the android Ruk in the episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". He also voiced the Gorn in the ''Star Trek'' episode "Arena". Cassidy did more work with ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry in the early 1970s, playing Isiah in the pilots of the post-apocalyptic dramas ''Genesis II'' and ''Planet Earth''. In the ''Lost in Space'' episode, "The Thief from Outer Space", he played the "Slave" to the alien "Thief" (Malachi Throne) who threatens the Robinsons.

Cassidy appeared on ''Daniel Boone'' in the 1968 episode "The Scrimshaw Ivory Chart" as a pirate named Gentle Sam. He also appeared in several episodes of ''I Dream of Jeannie'' in 1968. Once appearing as the master to Jeannie's devious sister in part 3 of the 4-part episode "Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?", and again in the episode "Please Don't Feed the Astronauts" in which he plays Jeannie's cousin. In ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' episode "The Dahlia Feud" from 1967, he played Mr. Ted, a large, muscular gardener who was planting Dahlias for Mrs. Drysdale.

In the two-part ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' episode titled "The Return of Bigfoot", Cassidy appeared as "Bigfoot" (played by André the Giant in a previous two-parter). He even provided the vocal effects for Bigfoot. He reprised the role in the episode "Bigfoot V".

Voice acting and film work [link]

Concurrent with his appearances on ''The Addams Family'', Cassidy began doing character voices on a recurring basis for the Hanna-Barbera Studios, culminating in the role of Frankenstein Jr. in ''Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles'' series. He was the voice of the hero in the Chuck Menville pixillated short film ''Blaze Glory'', in which his already-deep voice was enhanced with reverb echo to give the character an exaggerated super-hero sound. Cassidy also voiced Ben Grimm (aka "The Thing") in the 1978 animated ''Fantastic Four''. Cassidy went on to perform the roars and growls for Godzilla in the 1979 cartoon series that Hanna Barbera co-produced with Toho. His was the basis for the sinister voice of Black Manta, as well as Brainiac and several others on ''Super Friends''.

After ''The Addams Family'', Cassidy began to add more voice work work to his résumé; in that acting field, most notably, he narrated the opening of the TV series ''The Incredible Hulk''. Cassidy also provided the Hulk's growls and roars.

In deleted scenes from the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' TV pilot movie, "Saga of a Star World" (on the DVD collection ''Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series'' [1978]), Cassidy can be heard providing temporary voice tracks of the Cylon Imperious Leader, before actor Patrick Macnee was contracted to voice the character.

Other film work included his appearances in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'', ''Mackenna's Gold'', ''Goin' Coconuts'', ''The Last Remake of Beau Geste'', ''Poor Pretty Eddie'', ''Harry and Walter Go to New York'', ''The Slams'', ''The Limit'' and ''Charcoal Black''. He also co-wrote the screenplay of 1973's ''The Harrad Experiment'', in which he made a brief appearance.

In 1965, he released a seven inch vinyl record on Capitol Records with two songs on it; "The Lurch", written by Gary S. Paxton, and "Wesley", written by Cliffie Stone and Scott Turner. He introduced the dance and performed the song "The Lurch" On September 11, 1965 on Shivaree! and performed it again on Halloween of the same year on Shindig!, along with Boris Karloff performing "Monster Mash".

Death[link]

Cassidy suffered from health issues as he grew older, largely due to his size. He died on January 16, 1979, at age 46 from complications following open-heart surgery. Fellow actor Sandra Martinez took care of him during his final years. Cassidy's remains were cremated, and later buried in the backyard of his Woodland Hills home. However, the exact location of his remains are unknown.

References[link]

External links[link]

Category:1932 births Category:1979 deaths Category:American basketball players Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Actors from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:Actors from West Virginia Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania Category:Basketball players from West Virginia Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Deaths from surgical complications Category:People from Philippi, West Virginia Category:People from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:Stetson Hatters men's basketball players Category:West Virginia Wesleyan College alumni

de:Ted Cassidy es:Ted Cassidy fr:Ted Cassidy gl:Ted Cassidy it:Ted Cassidy la:Theodorus Cassidy pt:Ted Cassidy simple:Ted Cassidy sv:Ted Cassidy

300px150px

Charity Barbecue Party[link]

;Date & time: 3-9 pm, 15 Jan 2011 ;Description: A Charity Barbecue Party, featuring review of milestones of the local and global community and video chat with other communities in the nearby region. ;Location: Yuen Long West Rail Barbeque Field ;Organizers: Wikimedia Hong Kong ;Social Media: Facebook Page ;Registration Form: Here

Chinese New Year Fair [link]

;Date: 28 Jan - 3 Feb 2011 ;Description: A fair stall where you can purchase our latest souvenirs, and get our promotional materials for free. ;Location: Stall No. 101, Chinese New Year’s Fair in Kwai Tsing District, Kwai Chung Sports Ground, Kwai Chung, NT ;Organizers: Wikimedia Hong Kong ;Social Media: Facebook Page

Further details will be released later, please stay tuned the update here. And we strongly recommend you follow the chapter's official twitter, and those twitter accounts of the Chapter's executives, as some update may release there.

Category:China Category:2011-01-15 Category:2011-01-28 Category:2011-01-29 Category:2011-01-30 Category:2011-02-01 Category:2011-02-02 Category:2011-02-03 Category:2011-01-31

name	Jimmy Clanton
alt	Jimmy Clanton in 1975
landscape
background	solo_singer
birth date	September 02, 1940
birth place	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
death date
genre	Rhythm and blues, swamp pop
occupation	Singer
instrument	Vocals
years active	1950s–present
label	Ace
website
notable instruments	}}

Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1940, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States) is an American singer who became known as the "swamp pop R&B; teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just A Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number four on the ''Billboard'' chart and sold a million copies. Clanton performed on Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand'' and toured with popular artists like Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Platters.

History[link]

Clanton formed his first band called the Rockets in 1956 while attending Baton Rouge High School.

One of the few white singers to come out of the New Orleans R&B;/rock & roll sound, he rode the crest of the popular teen music wave in the 1950s and 1960s. His records charted in the U.S. Top 40 seven times (all released on Ace); his Top 10 records were: the doo-wop song "Just a Dream," (Pop #4, R&B; #1 in August 1958, credited to 'Jimmy Clanton and His Rockets'), "Go Jimmy Go" (peaked at number five in late 1959) and "Venus in Blue Jeans" (written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller). In early 1961, Clanton was drafted and spent the next two years in the U.S. Army, continuing to have chart successes with "Don't Look at Me" and "Because I Do." His next major hit, "Venus in Blue Jeans," peaked at number seven in mid-1962. His only hit in the UK Singles Chart was "Another Sleepless Night", which spent one week at number 50 in July 1960.

Clanton starred in a rock and roll movie produced by Alan Freed called ''Go Johnny Go'', and later starred in ''Teenage Millionaire,'' with music arranged and produced by Dr. John and arranger/trumpeter Charlie Miller. During the late 1950s and early 1960s Clanton was managed by Cosimo Matassa, the New Orleans recording studio owner and engineer. In May 1960, Ace Records announced in ''Billboard'' that Philadelphia had proclaimed the week of May 16 to be "Jimmy Clanton Week."

Clanton became a disc jockey at WHEX in Columbia, Pennsylvania between 1972 and 1976 and performed in an oldies revue also in the 1970s, ''The Masters of Rock 'n' Roll,'' with Troy Shondell, Ray Peterson, and Ronnie Dove. He had a religious conversion in the 1980s. In the 1995 Jazz Fest in New Orleans, Clanton performed with Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, and Frankie Ford.

Clanton was inducted into The Museum of the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame, which also has inducted such performers as Tex Ritter, Janis Joplin, ZZ Top and B. J. Thomas.

On April 14, 2007, at a "Legends of Louisiana Celebration & Inductions" concert in Mandeville, Louisiana, Jimmy Clanton was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

In December 2007, Clanton was voted by fans worldwide as a member of the first class of inductees to the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, joining an elite group that also included (alphabetically) Paul Anka, The Beatles, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, the Beach Boys, Teresa Brewer, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Chubby Checker, Nat "King" Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Fats Domino, The Four Seasons, Aretha Franklin, Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Patti Page, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Neil Sedaka, and Frank Sinatra.

Awards[link]

Clanton's songs "Just a Dream," "A Letter to an Angel," "Ship on a Stormy Sea," and "Venus in Blue Jeans," each sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official website

Prairiehillpress.com

Category:People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Category:1940 births Category:Songwriters from Louisiana Category:American rhythm and blues musicians Category:American male singers Category:Living people Category:Swamp pop music Category:Ace Records artists Category:Baton Rouge Magnet High School alumni

th:จิมมี �คลนตัน

Marion Montgomery (November 17, 1934 – July 22, 2002) was a United States born jazz singer who lived in the United Kingdom.

Biography[link]

Born Maud Runnells in Natchez, Mississippi, she began her career in Atlanta working clubs, and then in Chicago where singer Peggy Lee heard her on an audition tape and suggested she should be signed up by Capitol Records, releasing three albums for them in the early and mid 1960s. During this early part of her career, she became ''Marian Montgomery'' and then later changed the spelling of her first name to ''Marion'', having previously gone by the nickname of Pepe.

In 1965 she came to England to play a season with John Dankworth and met and married English pianist and musical director Laurie Holloway, thus beginning a long and productive association in which they both became very well known to British jazz, cabaret and television audiences. She numbered amongst her admirers Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and British chat show host Michael Parkinson, on whose show she became resident singer in the 1970s. She also famously collaborated with composer and conductor Richard Rodney Bennett for a series of concerts and albums in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Her recording of the song "Maybe The Morning" (contained on her 1972 album ''Marion in the Morning''), was used by Radio Luxembourg each evening to close the station in the late 1960s and early 1970s and again as the final song to be heard on the station when it closed in 1992. She is judged to have been amongst the very best of modern jazz singers and to have possessed a unique musical style along with an equally unique way of expressing the sentiments of her material. Montgomery never categorized herself purely as a jazz singer, rather simply as “a singer�. This is reflected in the huge variety of styles she sang, although she acknowledged her influences as being jazz based. Her final studio recording was ''That Lady from Natchez'', released in 1999. She continued to perform until just before her death, including a sell-out three week season at London’s Pizza in the Park in April 2002.

She died in Bray, Berkshire, England in July 2002 (the same year as Peggy Lee) after a 10-year battle with lung cancer, which she always blamed on passive smoking from working in nightclubs, though she herself had never smoked.

Discography[link]

LP Records[link]

''Marion Swings for Winners and Losers'', Capitol (1962)

''Let there be Marion Montgomery'', Capitol (1963)

''Lovin’ is Livin’'', Capitol (1965)

''What’s New?'', Decca 74773

''Marion in the Morning'', Polydor 2383159 (1972)

''Surprise Surprise'' (with Richard Rodney Bennett), Cube HIFLY 24 (1977)

''Town and Country'' (with Richard Rodney Bennett), Cube HIFLY 28 (1978)

''On Stage'', Cube HIFLY 29 (1982)

''Puttin’ on the Ritz'' (with Richard Rodney Bennett), Cube HIFLY 40, (1984)

''I Gotta Right to Sing'' (live at Ronnie Scott’s), Jazz House Records, 003 1988 (1988)

CD[link]

''Sometimes in the Night'', See for Miles (1989)

''Mellow'', See for Miles (1994)

''A Night at Ronnie’s'' (recorded live), Ronnie Scott’s Jazz House

''Nice and Easy'' (live), Ronnie Scott’s Jazz, (1989)

''I Gotta Right to Sing'' (live), Ronnie Scott’s Jazz, (1996) (reissue)

''For the Love of Mercer'' Vol 1, Elgin (1997)

''For the Love of Mercer'' Vol 2, Elgin (1997)

''Makin’ Whoopie'' (with Mart Rodger Manchester Jazz), Bowstone records (1993)

''Ballads and Blues'', Elgin (1999)

''That Lady from Natchez'', Audiophile (1999)

''What’s New?'' Universal (2002) (CD reissue)

''Skylark'', UCJ (2004)

''Marion Montgomery'', EMI (2005) (two disc CD reissue of Let There be MM and Lovin’ is Livin’)

External links[link]

BBC obituary

Jazz Review Pictorial - Marion in performance

Category:American jazz singers Category:1934 births Category:2002 deaths Category:People from Natchez, Mississippi Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:Cancer deaths in England

de:Marian Montgomery