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GOING TO A GO-GO

If you’re like me and love Ponytail girl Suzanne Charny doing the “Rich Man’s Frug” in Sweet Charity or the Turkey Lurkey Time girls in Promises, Promises or watching the Twistin’, Jerkin’, Frugin’ dancers from Shindig and Hullaballoo or the hippie planet episode on Lost in Space where Angela Cartwright turns into a go-go girl than rush out and buy your tickets to the new off-Broadway musical Shout! The Mod Musical which will re-create swinging 60s London and features songs made famous by Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Lulu, etc. You know I already bought my tickets. See ya at the go-go!

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CARPOCALYPSE

Though he is not a 60s starlet, had to report on my former childhood friend George nicknamed “Moe” for some reason who is on Spike TV’s rev ’em up, smash ’em up reality series Carpocalypse. This show is a southern fried hoot as it tries to be a modern day Civil War pitting two teams of 5 drivers representing the North and the South against each other. Each week the creators come up with new ways for them to build vehicles (i.e. cars, trucks, buses, campers, etc.) only to wreck them on the race track in a wild demolition derby. After 20 races, the winning team splits $50,000.

To me the funniest part of the show is that George who is from Lawn Giland and has the thick accent to prove it is on the South’s team since he moved to Florida about 20 years ago with his nice-as-could-be wife Terry and four sons. He soooo stands out amongst his hillbilly team mates. George was a rebel growing up. He was the first to get a fake ID, buy beer, smoke pot, etc. So it is really nice to see him as the most responsible and sensible of his team mates. I was quite impressed. He also almost looks the same as he did in his twenties right down to the same haircut and mustache. You go Moe!

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FASHION HOUSE

With the demise of UPN and the WB, Fox Television is launching a new network called MyNetworkTV. It launches this summer and will only be showing novellas–thirteen week soap operas with an ending. One of the fall tele-novellas is called Fashion House and it looks like good cheesy trashy fun. The cast alone is worth tuning in for–Bo Derek (bottom), Morgan Fairchild, 60s starlet Tippi Hedren, and hot Greek boy toy Jordi Vilasuso, former Tony on Guiding Light, (top). Derek plays the owner of a fashion house fighting a corporate takeover. Take a look at the over-the-top clip and see if you disagree that this is not going to be a hoot.

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BEACH PARTY GIRLS 2006

Check out the August issue of Vanity Fair. There is an interesting article by Sheila Weller called “Wet ‘n’Wild! How Surfing Took Off in 1950s America.” The story focuses mostly on former Malibu surfers Mike Nader, Larry Shaw, Duane King, and their guru the late Miki Dora. But the last section has comments from and updates on beach girls Patti Chandler, Salli Sachse, Mary Hughes, and Linda Opie. The best part of the piece is a reunion photo of all the them at Malibu.

Pictured above are the beach girls ca. 1965 with (left to right) Patti Chandler, Aron Kincaid, Salli Sachse, Jo Collins, Mary Hughes, and Mikki Jamison.

The one disappointing aspect of the article is that I helped Ms. Weller by providing some contacts and answering her questions regarding the beach movies. All I asked for in return was a plug for my book, Hollywod Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969, in her article. As I expected there is no mention of it. Even so, I still recommend picking up a copy. It is always nice to see the beach girls get their do.