Happy St. Patrick's Day from "Little" Jackie Wright!

Despite the fact he retired in 1983 and passed away in 1989, Belfast's own "Little" Jackie Wright continues to bring laughter to those who view his comedic antics. Forever known as "the little bald guy from The Benny Hill Show", Jackie was a diminutive Irish comedian & entertainer. However, big laughs were always a guarantee when he appeared on Hill's show. He was regularly slapped on the top of his head by Hill which got an immediate riotous response from the audience. Wright was also a music hall performer and singer. Hill put these skills to good use in an extremely funny way especially during the 1970s. Spoofing pop stars of the day, Wright often appeared as glam-rockers, mod and punk performers, and sometimes even female singers. The end results of these skits have to be seen to be fully appreciated. Born in 1905, he entered the world of television late in his life, beginning in his sixties, but his partnership with Hill continues to this day through re-runs and home video.

Liverpool.

Unknowingly, they launched the most successful, non-violent revolution in World history.

from..

. . forever changing the course of music and culture.

Lads..

. . took their first trip to America, . . .

Four..

On February 7, 1964, four friends from post-war England. . .

Remember John

The world would be a better place if he was still with us. Let's remember all the good he brought, and continues to bring, to everyone.

Stop Laughing & Start Your Engines part 2

Stop Laughing & Start Your Engines. .

The Amityville Horror: Severed Pig's Head

When I was a kid, a friend of mine told me that a severed pig's head would appear in the fireplace and terrorize members of the Lutz family.  The Lutzes were the first people to move into the Defeo's old house and it was their experiences in the home that have been the basis for all Amityville Horror books and films.  My childhood friend informed me that the pig's head would show up (always in the fireplace), then speak and issue warnings to anyone who happened to be listening while, concurrently, the house walls would ooze "slime".  Having done research for these posts, I've found the claims of my elementary school compadre to have been mangled and in disarray.  
The Lutzes stated that their youngest daughter, Missy, had an imaginary friend in the form of an enormous pig named Jodie who spoke only to her.  They also claimed to witness a pair of glowing red animal eyes staring at them through the windows and found enormous hoof prints outside the house that were unexplained.  The fireplace bit came from another assertation by the Lutzes that husband and wife saw a demon's head appear to them in the fireplace and that the burnt image lingered on the wall after the fire had died.  

I think my old chum may have also been combining some bits from another infamous New York-based "occult" incident, the "Son of Sam" murders carried out by knucklehead David Berkowitz.  Berkowitz believed a dog spoke to him and instructed him on how and who to kill during his crime spree.  Satanism was an excuse for many shitheads in the '70s and '80s to kill groups of people willy-nilly and with care-free abandon.

The Amityville Horror: The House

I've visited the Amityville Horror house twice in my lifetime.

The Amityville Horror: William Defeo Jr.

Well, here's the asshole that started it all.  Despite the mystery and shock of the murder of his entire family by his own hand, William Defeo Jr. is no, nor has he ever been, a supernatural assassin charged by Satan (despite his claiming to be so).  With the upswing in drug use by America's youth in the '60s & '70s and the cultural focus on the occult, particularly devil worship, DeFeo meant to shine a spotlight on himself through bloody carnage.  But, William Jr. was no messenger of the Devil, regardless of anything he or others believed.  In my opinion, he killed his family because he was jealous of his siblings and resentful towards his parents: nothing more.  Looking past the allure of weird folklore, a gripping ghost story, and the glitter of Hollywood movies is the real truth.  William DeFeo Jr. was and is an insecure nebbish who did something horrifically stupid that will never be forgotten.