Mr. Universe, Mr. Reeves and “Drops”

Today marks the 99th birthday of Steve Reeves. He was best known as a body builder before becoming an actor. Many say that he was responsible for making bodybuilding popular worldwide. He held the title of Mr. America in 1947, Mr. World in 1948, and Mr. Universe in 1950. He wrote many books on bodybuilding and the importance of physical training.

He would work out a minimum of three days a week, and those workouts were always full body workouts. His workouts would last 2-4 hours and he never stopped until they were finished. He was so popular, an agent told him that he should consider acting.

At one point, he was teamed up with a comedian and they did some shows in vaudeville. It was there that he was noticed by one of director Cecil B. DeMille’s talent scouts. They liked him a lot and he was almost cast in the film Samson and Delilah. Cecil asked him to lose some weight for the role and Steve certainly tried. He also spent months preparing for the role, only to find out the the role went to Victor Mature.

He did some TV work, including a pilot for a Tarzan-ish show. He made appearances on Stars Over Hollywood and Topper, as well. Then in 1954, he had a small role as a policeman in Ed Wood’s Jail Bait followed by a roll in the musical Athena for MGM. However, it was what came next that catapulted him into stardom.

Italian director Pietro Francisci was hoping to make a movie about Hercules. The trouble was that he couldn’t find anyone who was built enough to play him. Pietro’s daughter had seen Reeves in the movie Athena and told her father about him. Pietro reached out to Reeves and offered him the role and tickets to Italy to make the film. Reeves thought the whole thing was a joke, but he was eventually convinced to fly to Italy.

The film did extremely well in Europe. American film distributor, Joe Levine bought the US distribution rights and promoted it in the states. It ended up being a huge box office success making $5 million.

Steve would return for a sequel in 1959 called Hercules Unchained. Despite only playing him in two films, he was forever linked to Hercules. At the height of his career, he was the highest paid actor in Europe and by 1960 he was ranked as the number-one box-office draw in 25 countries.

I am not sure how true this is, but it is said that he was offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No (which he turned down) and the role that went to Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars. His last film was A Long Ride From Hell in 1968, afterwards he retired from acting. He claims his retirement was brought about by stress, his shoulder injury, and the decline in the market for his sort of movies.

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I present all of that to you to share a radio story that is probably only funny to me. We’ll see.

I was introduced to Hercules by my morning show partner on Honey Radio. Rob was into old movies like me, and we often discussed the ones we were watching or renting from the video store. I don’t recall the conversation, but somehow I ended up getting the movie and watching it.

Radio people don’t watch movies or TV like everyone else. When we hear something we think we can use on our show, we nab it. Usually it is one line that is taken out of context, and used on air in a fun way. Those one line clips are called “Drops” in radio. For example, if the morning show characters got out of hand, I had a clip of Dean Martin saying, “Can we please get this lunacy over with?” I could play that and use it to get out of a bit.

The most common way I used drops was in what we called a sweeper. It was something that played between two songs. I had a personalized sweeper of the voice guy saying, “You’re listening to Keith Allen on Honey Radio, WHND.” I would insert a drop after my name that would poke fun at me or make absolutely no sense at all.

So why do I tell you that? Because Hercules was loaded with hilarious lines that I could take out of context and use during the show or in a sweeper. The movie was done in Italian, so it was overdubbed in English. This only made the lines even funnier. Most of the lines I used in my personalized sweeper. Here are just some of the lines from Hercules that I used:

Sweeper: “You’re listening to Keith Allen (insert drop here) on Honey Radio, WHND”

Drops:

“You’ve been drinking too much tonight!”
“Marvelous. That’s a way to make a fine impression.”
“He may be an imposter, how do I know?!”
“Listen! No one in all of this country has ever beaten me at discus throwing!”
“My, you’ve certainly got a vast array of spectators.”

I cannot watch this movie (or many other movies) without laughing at these lines. I’m sure that there are 10-15 others from the movie that I used, but I cannot remember them. Of course, I’ll now have to find time to watch it again. I only wish Rob was still around to watch it with.

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Steve Reeves passed away in May of 2000 at the age of 74. He had lymphoma and had exploratory surgery on April 28, 2000. A blood clot that formed after the surgery, which led to his death.

Comedy, Cartoons, and Classical Music

The Barber is 209 years old!

It was on this day in 1816 that Gioachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville premiered in Rome, Italy. It is considered to be one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music, and has been described as the opera buffa of all “opere buffe.” (For those wondering what an opera buffa is, it is “a comic opera (usually in Italian), especially one with characters drawn from everyday life.“)

Rossini wrote The Barber of Seville in just 12 days! On top of that, he wasn’t even 24-years-old and had already written 16 operas at the time! Wow! If you think you are unfamiliar with the opera, I assure you, you are wrong. You have heard it in one way or another in pop culture over the years.

The music of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville has been ingrained in popular culture longer than any of us have been alive! From Citizen Kane to Mrs. Doubtfire to Pixar’s Luca, Rossini’s famous comedy has been indelibly woven into film and television history. One of the most recent occurrences can be found in Seinfeld‘s “The Barber” in which the opera’s music replaces the incidental bass lines for the episode. Another was in The Simpsons‘ “The Homer of Seville,” in which the title character discovers his hidden talent for opera singing.

One of the oldest appearances was in the Little Rascals feature, The Our Gang Follies of 1938. In the story, Alfalfa quits singing pop music to become an opera singer. Needless to say, the audience didn’t care too much for his version.

The most memorable to me (and many others) came about in the cartoons. Woody Woodpecker gave it a try …

Tom and Jerry’s hijinks went on throughout their version …

The one that is the best, of course, belongs to Bugs Bunny. The Rabbit of Seville is a classic. Sadly, I could only find it on Youtube in 3 parts….

Who would have thought that a piece of music 2 centuries old would still be making us laugh??

Book Recommendation – One Italian Summer – Rebecca Serle

Let me say right up front that this book is not one that I would have normally picked up to read. I tend to stick with mysteries, true crime, biographies, and historical fiction and non-fiction. There were two reasons that I decided to add this to my “to read” list. First, it was set in Italy – more on that in just a minute. Second, it was about a woman who had lost her mother.

I’m a member of Goodreads and I often check out their suggestions and look at what my friends are reading as well. This book came up more than once and I read a bit about it before adding it to my list.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

This was the selling point for me. My mother passed away in 2006.

So many things have transpired since then. I could always count on her to listen to me when I needed to talk. When someone you love passes away, you begin to live life always asking the “What if” questions.

For one brief moment, I put myself in the place of the main character of the story (Katy). What would it be like to run into my mother – and see her at such a young age? I had to read this story to see just how it all played out.

At one point in the story, Katy says this about her mother, “She made me in her image, but she forgot the most important part. She forgot that one day she’d leave, that she already had, and then I’d be left with nothing. When you’re just a reflection, what happens when the image vanishes?” Powerful thought.

I was completely unfamiliar with the town of Positano, where the book takes place. A brief Google search led me to some very beautiful and amazing photos.

I cannot even imagine just how beautiful this place is in person.

I was worried that this book might be one of those “romance” novels. Thankfully, it was not. It was a decent story and I felt that it had a decent conclusion. It was not a difficult read, and the author does an amazing job describing some of the sights of Italy.

As I read the book, there were little nuggets that one could sock away in a book of “life quotes.”

For example:

“There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won’t get you there.”

“Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.”

“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.”

“Nature has so much power if we just pay attention.”

“One of life’s most important challenges is determining what to hold on to and what to let go of. Do not be fooled into believing that you do not know which is which. Follow the feeling, follow it all the way home.”

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I’m not sure I would have read it, had I not read the synopsis and felt a bit of a connection to it. However, it was a good read and you might find it worth reading, too.

Things I Want To Do

I guess you could look at this blog as a “creative writing prompt”. I was listening to something on the radio today and the voice guy said “What do YOU want to do, but just haven’t done it?” Well, I jotted a few things down instantly and now I am listing them here.

1. Play my trumpet again

One of the things I truly wish I had time to do is play my horn. I have often thought about going back and taking some lessons to get the chops back, but my worry would be finding the time to do it. I miss playing it, even if it was just once or twice a year in Alumni Band.

I have friends who are still playing their horns in various groups and play concerts. There is something that was so satisfying playing in a group and making music together. Third shift doesn’t really allow me to have time to practice, though, so I guess I’ll just pick it up every once in a while and play till my lips are numb – ha ha.

2. Teach

When I first went to college, they gave me some test. The test was supposed to tell me what I’d be good at. It said I’d be a good “special education teacher”. I guess this made me mad, because while in high school, I toyed with the idea of becoming a teacher. I thought I could teach music or elementary school. I regret not pursuing that.

Occasionally, I have had the opportunity to teach at the college for the Sleep Program I was in. I found that doing it only made me want to teach more. A radio guy I know teaches a speech class at one of the local colleges. I could totally do that. I ACED my speech class in college! I have been public speaking for almost 30 years – I know that I could do that. I doubt that there is anywhere that would let a guy who doesn’t have a teaching degree teach.

3. Visit Italy

I’m Italian after all. Of course I want to do this! I have seen Italy in pictures and have always wanted to go. There is so much to see, though. I want to see Rome and see the things that the Apostle Paul spoke of in his Biblical Epistles. I want to see Venice. I want to take the obligatory picture of me “holding up” the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I want to visit Sicily and the town where my grandparents were from. Definitely on my bucket list.

4. Learn another language

I guess this ties in with #3 – in that I’d really love to learn the Italian language. I know that there are various dialects and such, but I think it is a beautiful language. I’d love to be able to sit and listen to some of those great Italian songs – being sung in Italian – and know what they are saying. I would love to learn Spanish, too. It is very similar to Italian. They are both very romantic languages and I think it would be cool to learn it.

5. Build a home studio

I still do a lot of voice over work. I do most of it at the TV station or radio station. It would be nice to build a small little studio in our home to be able to sit and cut whatever voice stuff I need to. I think that this would give me the opportunity to do more auditions for voice work. I think that it would also give me the chance to make a little bit more money with my voice.

I haven’t a clue what equipment I’d need to do this, and certainly don’t have the money to do it either. I don’t want to invest in this and buy cheap equipment. I want to be able to produce a good product. I’d love to be “the voice” of a radio station, but I’d never be able to make that happen with sub-par equipment.

6. Learn to dance.

Oh sure, I can do the slow dance thing where you hold your beautiful woman and sway back and forth. I, however, would love to be able to do some sort of real dance. Swing dance, tango, ballroom dance, waltz, etc. I’d probably be a huge klutz and step all over my partner, but I want to try it. I’m no Arthur Murray, but give me a few lessons and I’ll try to be his non-coordinated step brother – LOL.

7. Conduct a band

One of the coolest things I got to do in high school was conduct the band. Its been awhile, but we learned how to read a score and I know I could do this. I would, however, want to pick the songs I’d like to conduct. There were songs we played when I was in band, that have stuck with me all these years later. While at my son’s band festival a couple years ago, we watched one of the other bands play not one, but two of the songs I played in band. I could still hear my part in my head. I could hear counter-melodies and percussion parts. It was amazing how it took me back. I would love to be a guest conductor somewhere.

One of the biggest thrills for me was standing on the podium and conducting my high school band classmates at my senior graduation. I’ll never forget the song: Tin Pan Alley. It was a medley of old standards and it was full of tempo changes and such. There is such a feeling of awe as you stand in front of a group of talented musicians and they are following YOUR lead. I think it would be cool to do that one more time.

8. Hear one of my “songs” recorded

I have written a few songs. Some of them out of a lot of hurt, some of them out of love, and some of them because I woke up and heard the lyrics and melody in a dream. I have written songs about my grandfather, my first love, my mom, and just life’s situations. I am not the world’s best writer of songs, believe me. There are people who can craft songs that run circles around my stuff.

What I wish is that a good songwriter would look at my stuff and say, “If we tweak this”, “What if you said this instead”, “How about we try this as a minor chord instead”, or whatever! I truly think that it would be pretty damn cool to hear someone record it – even if it is just a crappy demo!

9. Write a book

As I have said in a previous blog, I guess I tend to look at my blog as “the book” I want to write, and these blogs are the chapters. I don’t know what I’d write about. I have a Facebook friend who suggested I write about an actor who appeared in old movies. I have another friend who says I should write about classic movies or radio. I’ve often thought that I could write a children’s book. Who knows. I guess first I need to find more than a few minutes at a time to actually figure out what to say.

Tag: Italy