The plot against Harry

The following passage kicks off the chapter on comic legend Harry Langdon in Smileage Guaranteed: Past Humor, Present Laughter, the invaluable reference tome written by film historian/friend of the blog Richard M. Roberts: All right...that’s it—hey, you!  Yes, you—come here!  It’s time for a heart-to-heart, mano a mano.  Now I know there’s a lot of…

Rage Against the (Windstream) Machine II: Texas Blood Money

It took close to three years for the sequel to this post from August 2017 to hit the blogosphere...and I’ll give you a spoiler warning: it isn’t all that different from the original. Saturday morning, I was having connectivity issues (as in...no connectivity) and with sinking-stomach-pit dread I phoned Windstream to report that there was…

Book Review: Rediscovering Roscoe – The Films of “Fatty” Arbuckle

In his reference book The Great Movie Comedians, film historian Leonard Maltin writes of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: “It seems tragic that Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle should be remembered today for a scandal in his private life and barely recognized for his contribution to screen comedy.  To be sure, Arbuckle was never one of the comic giants,…

“Never a help—always a hindrance!”

Facebook veterans know that there’s a group on there for every person, place or thing currently in existence (and if it hasn’t been created yet...give it a few seconds) and as a member in good standing since 2009 (my dues are paid up), I know there are some really outstanding Facebook aggregations dedicated to a…

Squeezing one in before the Old Year ends

The Thrilling Days of Yesteryear faithful are certainly entitled to an explanation as to why it’s been so quiet around these parts since mid-August...and I’m not making much progress beyond going out for a pack of cigarettes and losing track of the time.  (I’ve heard this a time or two in movies and TV.)  The…

“When I need to push myself, I think of all those nicely polished trophies waiting to be lifted up by the winner—and how that winner might be me.” —Maria Sharapova

Well, the week has come and gone and I’m pleased to announce that the winner of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s “Race Against Time” giveaway is dues-paying member of the TDOY faithful Pete Bainbridge, from Dismal Seepage, Ohio.  Pete will soon be enjoying a copy of this fine Radio Spirits release featuring sixteen classic radio broadcasts…

“Now…as gunshots echo across the windswept snow-covered reaches of the wild Northwest…”

I feel like every time I find myself apologizing for my all-too-frequent absences from the blog I’m like a husband sneaking back into the house after a wild stag party and I’m trying to explain to the wife. (“Shorry, honey...the fellash and I were having too much fun shingin’...”).  But I had to tackle a few outside projects…

“And son you say…you still wanna be…a winner…?” — Shel Silverstein

Apologies for having this up later than usual—just can’t seem to get my motor going this morning for one reason or another.  I’ve chosen a winner in the blog’s “King of the Cowboys” giveaway, and that lucky person—longtime member of the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear faithful Roger Scales of Billerica, MA—will soon be receiving a copy of…

“It’s round-up time/On the Double-R Bar…”

I’ll warn you right off the bat that this sentence contains a bit of hyperbole...but it seems to me that the secular content of the programming on most of the public domain and religious-themed stations boils down to two classic TV programs of the past: The Lone Ranger and The Roy Rogers Show.  (Though I…

“A winner never stops trying.” — Tom Landry

I had intended to have this announcement up earlier but this is the second time this week that we’ve experienced a brownout around Rancho Yesteryear, same hour of the day and for the same duration.  (I guess the electrical co-op in Pixley has had some difficulty of late, what with the abominable temperatures and all.)  Without further ado,…