Varioso #16

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Table of Contents

1. Roll Call: The Dead End Kids

2. Rare sighting of the performance art genius Anne Iobst

3. Literary recommendations

4. Misanthrope's 'Seattle and a little play called Jerk'

5. Charles Baudelaire's 'The Poem of Hashish'

6. 'Who are they?' (for Erik)

7. Banjo Kazooie 3

8. Ron Koertge's 'First Grade'

9. Suddenly

10. The Mike Diana Story

11. Nikolai Sutyagin's Tower

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Billy Halop

b: 11 February 1920, New York, NY 

d: 9 November 1976, Brentwood, CA, USA (heart attack) 

Billy Halop's show business career started on radio in the 1920s and carried over to stage work on Broadway. There, in 1937, he and other teenage cast members of the stage hit "Dead End" were brought to Hollywood by Samuel Goldwyn for the film version of the play, which was a tremendous hit. Halop and the other teenage cast members went on to do a series of films at Universal and then at Monogram as the Dead End/East Side Kids. Halop left the group in the early 1940s to seek a career on his own, but could only land parts in B pictures. His career was also hampered by a long string of marital and financial problems and a lifelong struggle against alcoholism. He worked as an electric dryer salesman for the Leonard Appliance Company of Los Angeles in the mid-1950s. He was named "Most Creative Salesman in the U.S." by the National Association of Manufacturers. Toward the end of his career, he had a recurring role as Munson, the owner of the cab company where Archie Bunker worked part time, in "All in the Family" (1971). His last years were spent making a living as a male nurse.

Huntz Hall 

b: 15 August 1919, New York, NY

d: 30 January 1999, North Hollywood, CA, USA (heart failure) 

The 14th of 16 children born to an air conditioning repairman, Henry Richard Hall (he got the name "Huntz" from a brother who said his large nose made him look German) was anything but the tough street kid he played in the East Side Kids/Bowery Boys films. He made his stage debut at the age of 1 in a play called "Thunder on the Left"; after graduating from a Catholic grammar school, he attended New York's famous Professional Children's School, was a boy soprano with the Madison Square Quintette, and appeared in an experimental 1932 television broadcast. Actor/director Martin Gabel got him an audition for the play "Dead End", and Hall got the part because he could imitate a machine gun to playwright Sidney Kingsley's satisfaction. Hall appeared in a total of 81 East Side Kids/Bowery Boys features and serials, more than any other actor. In 1940 he married 18-year-old dancer Elsie May Anderson (they divorced in 1944). During WW2 Hall enlisted in the Army, and after his discharge returned to Hollywood, where his first jobs were in war films playing soldiers (for his impressive work in A Walk in the Sun (1945) he received the New York Theatre Critics Circle Blue Ribbon Award).In 1948 Hall found himself in the same kind of jam as did Robert Mitchum -- getting arrested for possession of marijuana, but he was acquitted by a jury. After the trial Hall married showgirl Leslie Wright. In the early 1950s, Hall and former Bowery Boys actor Gabriel Dell teamed up and for a "Hall and Dell" nightclub act that was so successful it cost both men their marriages; in 1953 Hall's and Dell's wives both sued for divorce, claiming the men thought more of the act than they did of them. In 1954 Hall was arrested for fighting with the manager of a building where he was attending a party; apparently the party was too noisy and the manager told the occupants to quiet down. Hall took offense at this, a fight ensued and Hall was arrested for assault, for which he paid a $50 fine and was put on probation. In 1959 he was arrested on a drunk driving charge. Having stayed out of trouble for quite some time now, Hall was content in retirement late in life, with occasional film and television work (not that he needed the money; in addition to owning 10% of the Bowery Boys pictures, Hall made wise oil and gas investments that paid off handsomely.)

Leo Gorcey 

b: 3 June 1917, New York, NY

d: 2 June 1969, Oakland, CA (liver failure) 

Leo Gorcey's parents were actor Bernard Gorcey (born 1888) who stood 4' 10", and Josephine Condon (born 1901), who stood 4' 11" and weighed 95 pounds; they worked in vaudeville in New York. In 1915, 14-year-old Josephine gave birth to Fred. In 1917, Leo was born, a large baby at 12 lb. 3 oz.; as an adult he would be 5' 6". In 1921 his brother David Gorcey was born. In 1935, Leo and David starred in the stage play "Dead End." In 1937, this was made into a movie, and Leo became one of the busiest actors for the next 20 years -- from 1937-1939 he starred in seven Dead End Kids movies, from 1940-1945 in 21 East Side Kids films, from 1946-1956 in 41 Bowery Boys movies.In 1939, Leo married 17-year-old dancer Kay Marvis, who appeared in four of his movies. They divorced in 1944 after five years of marriage; she went on to marry Groucho Marx. In 1945, Leo married Evalene Bankston; they divorced in 1948. Leo was to have paid her $50,000 in a divorce settlement; however, when two detectives she hired broke into his home, he retaliated by firing his gun at them. They sued, and Leo countersued for illegal entry and won $35,000 back. When Gorcey was making one of his few non-Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/Bowery Boys films, 1941's Out of the Fog (1941), he repeatedly blew a simple line of dialog. Fed up, director Anatole Litvak stormed over to him and shouted, "Gorcey, as an actor, you stink!" Stung by this rebuke, Gorcey let fly with a burst of retaliatory fireworks of his own - "Don't you ever, ever scream at me like that again!," Gorcey shouted back, and stormed off the set. A few hours later, he was back, did the scene again ... and blew the line again. This time, Litvak walked over to him quietly, calmly and whispered in his ear, "Gorcey, as an actor, you still stink. And notice that, this time, I'm not shouting." Gorcey's image was removed from the final cover of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album because he requested a fee. Gorcey claimed he and the Dead End Kids used to be friends with Humphrey Bogart, until one day, while Bogart was taking a nap after a hard day of acting and the boys threw a pack of lit firecrackers in through his window.

Bobby Jordan

b: 1 April 1923, Harrison, NY

d: 10 September 1965, Los Angeles, CA (cirrhosis of the liver) 

Bobby was raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. By the time he was four and a half, he could act, tap dance and play the Saxophone. He made his stage debut in 1930 and film debut at Universal Studios in 1933 where he appeared in short subjects and a bit part in the 1934 Eddie Cantor film, "Kid Millions". He then appeared on Broadway in "Dead End", which opened on October 28, 1935. He left the show in mid-November 1936 to appear in the The Samuel Goldwyn Company film version of "Dead End". Warner Brothers studios signed the all of the Dead End Kids to contracts. At the peak of his career, Bobby made $1,500 a week, owned a $150,000 home in Beverly Hills and was the sole support of his mother, two brothers a sister and a niece. In 1940, Bobby returned to Universal to appear with several other Dead End Kids in The Little Tough Guys series. Later the same year, Monogram featured him in his first East Side Kids film, "Boys of the City". In 1943, Bobby was drafted. He served as a foot soldier in the 97th Infantry until 1945 with his only film appearance being the East Side Kid's "Bowery Champs" (1944), playing himself in a running gag. In 1946, Bobby appeared in the first Bowery Boys picture, "Live Wires". But, after eight films he left because he was forced to take a backseat to Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall. In March of that year, he married Lee, and in 1949, they had a son, Robert Jr. Bobby worked sporadically in film and television afterwards. He tried a nightclub act, then he found additional work as a bartender, door-to-door photograph salesperson and he later worked as an oil driller in Coalinga. In 1957, he and Lee divorced, and in 1958, he declared bankruptcy when he failed to pay alimony and child support. On August 25, 1965, Bobby collapsed at the home of a friend he had been living with. Already a heavy drinker, he was admitted to a Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles for treatment for Cirrhosis of the liver

Bernard Punsly

b: 11 July 1923, New York, NY

d: 20 January 2004, Torrance, CA (cancer) 

Bernard Punsley auditioned for the 1937 play "Dead End" on a lark - he had absolutely no show-business experience whatsoever, had never studied acting and had no desire to be an actor. He said that show business seemed like it might be fun, so he figured he'd give it a shot. To his surprise he was picked for he play, and when it turned out to be a huge hit, was called to Hollywood with the rest of the juvenile cast for the film version. Punley played the sad-eyed "Dead End Kid" who was deep-down a good guy but fell into the gang by hard luck. While Punsley appeared in most of the "Dead End Kids" films made after the play, he didn't participate in any of his colleagues' "extra-curricular activities" - while they were out partying, vandalizing studio property and getting into trouble with the law, Punsley would go home after a day's filming and read, mainly medical books, as he always wanted to be a doctor. His lack of film-industry ambition is reflected in the fact that he appeared in only two films outside of the Dead End Kids series. Punsley left the series in the mid-40s to join the army, where he received his medical training. Upon his discharge he enrolled in the University of Georgia, eventually attaining his life's dream of becoming an MD. He returned to California, but not to a film career - he opened up a medical practice in Torrance. Punsley claimed that he never watched his old films - not because he had any regrets about making them, but because, as he said, he'd grown out of them. In February 1994, Bernard appeared with fellow ex-Dead End Kid Huntz Hall at a ceremony in which the gang received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Dale Hoyt's 'The Male Glaze' (6:54)
starring Rebecca Parks-Ramage, Jordan Biren, & Anne Iobst (pictured)

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HTML GIANT

HTML GIANT, which bills itself as 'the internet literature magazine blog of the future' is my new favorite website and daily addiction. Highly recommended. Other online literary magazines, blogs, and sites I urge you to visit are ...

Bear Parade

Eyeshot's Hindenburg Complex of Infidels & Crusaders

Harp & Altar

Keyhole Magazine

Opium

Wigleaf

Zac German's Everytime a Police Officer Gets Shot I Throw a Party

Pantaloons

Joe Brainard's Pajamas

Silliman's Blog

Tao Lin's Reader of Depressing Books

Noah Cicero's The Outsider

Todd Colby's Glee Farm

Belladodie

Jacket Magazine

Fanzine
3 AM
Exit, pursued by a bear

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Seattle and a little play called Jerk (11/08)

concept & photos by Misanthrope

On the Boards

Ad for Jerk on the corner of On the Boards

The Jerk poster inside On the Boards

Gisele Vienne and lighting designer Patrick Riou

The Jerk page in the official On the Boards program

Jerk program (cover)

Letter to patrons (from the Jerk program)

Jerk cast and notes (from the Jerk program)

An interview with Gisele Vienne and On the 

Boards director Lane Czaplinski

Front cover of the supplemental booklet for Jerk

Shai Hulud (Eric Duran) and Misanthrope (George Wines)

Space Needle

The Famous Dick's Burgers

Twice Sold Tales

Dennis Cooper books at Twice Sold Tales

The books bought at Twice Sold Tales

Easy Street Records

Pesos Mexican Restaurant (Eat your heart out, Dennis!)

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The Poem of Hashish

by Charles Baudelaire

translated by Aleister Crowley

Chapter I

The Longing for Infinity

Those who know how to observe themselves, and who preserve the memory of their impressions, those who, like Hoffmann, have known how to construct their spiritual barometer, have sometimes had to note in the observatory of their mind find seasons, happy days, delicious minutes. There are days when man awakes with a young and vigorous genius. Though his eyelids be scarcely released from the slumber which sealed them, the exterior world shows itself to him with a powerful relief, a clearness of contour, and a richness of colour which are admirable. The moral world opens out its vast perspective, full of new clarities.

A man gratified by this happiness, unfortunately rare and transient, feels himself at once more an artist and more a just man; to say all in a word, a nobler being. But the most singular thing in this exceptional condition of the spirit and of the senses -- which I may without exaggeration call heavenly, if I compare it with the heavy shadows of common and daily existence -- is that it has not been created by any visible or easily definable cause. Is it the result of good hygiene and of a wise regimen? Such is the first explanation which suggests itself; but we are obliged to recognise that often this marvel, this prodigy, so to say, produces itself as if it were the effect of a superior and invisible power, of a power exterior to man, after a period of the abuse of his physical faculties. Shall we say that it is the reward of assiduous prayer and spiritual ardour? It is certain that a constant elevation of the desire, a tension of the spiritual forces in a heavenly direction, would be the most proper regimen for creating this moral health, so brilliant and so glorious. But what absurd law causes it to manifest itself (as it sometimes does) after shameful orgies of the imagination; after a sophistical abuse of reason, which is, to its straightforward and rational use, that which the tricks of dislocation which some acrobats have taught themselves to perform are to sane gymnastics? For this reason I prefer to consider this abnormal condition of the spirit as a true grace; as a magic mirror wherein man is invited to see himself at his best; that is to say, as that which he should be, and might be; a kind of angelic excitement; a rehabilitation of the most flattering type. A certain Spiritualist School, largely represented in England and America, even considers supernatural phenomena, such as the apparition of phantoms, ghosts, &c, as manifestations of the Divine Will, ever anxious to awaken in the spirit of man the memory of invisible truths. (cont.)

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'Famed game developer Rare Ltd. is reviving one of its most beloved and successful franchises exclusively on Xbox 360® with the third installment of the Banjo-Kazooie series. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts embraces new and old fans alike, as the famous bear and bird duo return in stunning high definition for a unique adventure of epic proportions. The Lord of the Games (aka LOG) is tired of the petty squabbling between Banjo and the evil witch Gruntilda (aka Grunty) over the years, and has arranged a showdown to decide the rightful owner of Spiral Mountain. Claiming to have created every video game ever made, LOG has built the game worlds in which the contest’s challenges take place. Banjo must complete LOG’s challenges to win, while Grunty tries to stop him using every method her devious mind can muster.

'Throughout your adventure, create your own abilities by building vehicles for Banjo to pilot over land, water, and air. Vehicle parts, which range from simple devices such as engines and wheels to more unusual equipment such as springs and egg guns, are earned and collected throughout the game. Use your imagination to combine parts in any order to create whatever vehicle you choose. LOG's challenges have one goal, but your choice of vehicle and tactics will determine how you get there. By exploring worlds and solving puzzles, you will be rewarded with more advanced and diverse vehicle parts in your quest to defeat Grunty once and for all.' -- Rare/Xbox 360


Banjo Kazooie 3 Trailer 1 (1:16)


Banjo Kazooie 3 Trailer 2 (2:08)


Banjo Kazooie 3 Gameplay (1:06)


Banjo Kazooie (1998) Trailer (10:14)

Banjo-Kazooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 1998 for the Nintendo 64. The game is the inaugural release in the Banjo-Kazooie series. The game's story focuses on a bear named Banjo and a bird named Kazooie as they set out on a quest to rescue Banjo's sister, Tooty, who has been kidnapped by the evil witch Gruntilda. Banjo-Kazooie went on to become one of the most popular games for the console.


Banjo Tooie (2000) Trailer (0:29)

Banjo-Tooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 as a part of the Banjo-Kazooie series. The game is the successor to Banjo-Kazooie and was one of the most anticipated sequels for the Nintendo 64. The game's story takes place two years after Banjo-Kazooie. The antagonist, Gruntilda Winkybunion and her sisters, Mingella and Blobbelda, are planning to restore Gruntilda's body to its original form. Banjo and Kazooie must stop them before it is too late.

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First Grade
Ron Koertge

Until then, every forest
had wolves in it, we thought
it would be fun to wear snowshoes
all the time, and we could talk to water.

So who is this woman with the gray
breath calling out names and pointing
to the little desks we will occupy
for the rest of our lives?

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Suddenly is a book, a set of exhibitions, and a series of public events concerning the new shape of cities. suddenly begins in Portland, Oregon, this Fall, and will transpire in many places around the world.

Thomas Sieverts • Saskia Sassen • Fritz Haeg • Karl Marx • Shawn Records • Lisa Robertson • Zoe Crosher • Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College • Center for Urban Pedagogy, NY • Sherman Alexie • Pacific Northwest College of Art • Rob Slifkin • Ace Hotel • Sam Lohmann • Hadley+Maxwell • Sergio Pastor • Molly Dilworth • UO Architecture • Castillo/Corrales, Paris • Glumac • Michael McManus • The Corridor Project, Michael Hebb • Yi-Fu Tuan • Alexandra Harmon • Aaron Betsky • Oscar Tuazon • Storm Tharp • Coll Thrush • Nicolaus Wright • Fernand Braudel • Rem Koolhaas • Pomona College Museum of Art • James Glisson • Mostlandian Citizens Junior Ambassador and Katy Asher • Michael Damm • Alison Shotz • Diana George • Mike Merrill • Weiden + Kennedy • Athens West • Paige Saez • Milepost 5 • Eric Fredericksen • Anselm Hook • The Zwischenspiel Puppet Opera Company • Rebecca McGrew • Beaverton Creek Village Mall • Gary Wiseman • Colin Beattie • Kenneth Mroczek • Danielle Dutton • Storefront for Art and Architecture, NY • Gallery Homeland • Marc Joseph Berg • the back room • Matthew Stadler • Stephanie Snyder • and others…

Suddenly is an exploration by writer Matthew Stadler into landscape, identity and imagination. Seeking new descriptions that give the landscape where we live an independent identity in the imagination of its occupants, Suddenly proposes new language to displace “the city” and “the countryside” as the subject of our hopes and our struggles—the subject of our politics. Suddenly is borne of urban planner Thomas Sieverts’ astonishing observation that ”the shaping of the landscape where we live can no longer be achieved by the traditional resources of town planning, urban design, and architecture. New ways must be explored, which are as yet unclear.”

more information, podcasts of the events thus far, etc.

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In 1994, underground cartoonist Mike Diana was thrown in jail for 4 days without bail on obscenity charges, for publishing, advertising, and selling his zine BOILED ANGEL. Mike was on probation for 3 years, terms included fines of $3000, no contact with minors, 1280 hours of community service, maintain full time employment, and at his expense, see a psychiatrist and take journalism courses at his own expense; AND no drawing for his own personal use... his home was subject to unannounced searches by local police to make sure he was complying.


On June 4, 1996, a ruling issued by Largo, Florida, Circuit Judge Douglas Baird declared Mike Diana's zines, Boiled Angel #7 and #ATE as obscene. The judge emphasized that he personally found Diana's comics "patently offensive." and stated, "The evident goal of the appellant's publication is to portray shocking and graphic pictures of sexual conduct so it will be noticed. If the message is about victimization and that horrible things are happening in our society, as the appellant alleges, the appellant SHOULD HAVE created a vehicle to send his message that was not obscene." Mike Diana was served with another 2 years of probation, including $2000 in fines, and the same probationary terms. (much more)

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'This imposing building is believed to be the world's tallest wooden house rising 13 floors to reach 144ft. The house is also crumbling, incomplete and under threat of demolition from city authorities who are eager to end Nikolai Sutyagin's 15 year project. Driven to inspiration by his formative years spent in a Soviet communal flat, Sutyagin felt lonely living by himself. Building began in 1992 and was only going to reach two stories high, however, convinced by a trip to see wooden houses in Japan and Norway, he decided he had not used enough roof space efficiently enough and decided to keep building. He firstly added three floors, but was not keen on the outcome, so he added more floors and just kept goind, he calls the finished project a "happy accident". For the one-time gangster, who has spent four years in jail on racketeering charges, Nikolai Sutyagin's home is certainly different. Not only would his house be a perfect love nest, but it could even accommodate the 18 executives of his construction company. Now penniless Sutyagin lives in four poorly heated rooms at the bottom of his wooden log cabin with his wife. Many neighbours consider the building a monstrosity, others feel it is a glorified barn, fire hazard and eyesore but Sutyagin is determined to save his building and has erected a roof around the second floor that he says allows him to claim that everything above is decoration.' -- World Architecture News

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