BEATLES MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR FILM RESTORED

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A restored version of The Beatles' 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 9. The long-out-of-print movie, which was conceived and directed by The Beatles themselves, follows the band and an eclectic cast of actors and performers on a surreal bus ride from London to the English seaside. Among the then-new Fab Four songs featured in the flick were "I Am the Walrus," "Your Mother Should Know," "The Fool on the Hill" and "Hello Goodbye."

The Magical Mystery Tour DVD and Blu-ray will feature a variety of bonuses, including new interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, commentary by McCartney, three deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, and a short feature about the cast members. It also boasts newly edited versions of three scenes in which The Beatles performed songs, as well as the original promotional film put together for "Hello Goodbye."

Besides the separate DVD and Blu-ray editions, a deluxe Magical Mystery Tour box set will be sold featuring both discs, a 60-page book, and a vinyl double-EP of songs from the film that recreates the one released in the U.K. in 1967 to accompany the movie.

Prior to the release of the updated Magical Mystery Tour discs, the film will be screened at a variety of theaters around the world.

RETRO: KIMMER FAVORITE RETRO CARTOONS 2

Pixie and Dixie

The show featured two mice, Pixie (voiced by Don Messick) and Dixie (voiced by Daws Butler in a southern accent), and a cat, Mr. Jinks (a.k.a. Jinksy to the mice and voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Marlon Brando).

In many ways the shorts resemble Hanna-Barbera's earlier better-known creation, Tom and Jerry, which also featured a warring cat and mouse (sometimes two) in a domestic setting. However without Tom and Jerry's more lavish budget for full animation, the Jinks team had to rely on funny dialogue and voices to carry the cartoon's humor.

The cartoon was also less violent, and unlike the slightly sinister Tom, the headstrong Jinks was, in reality, too dense to pose much of a real threat to the mice. Unlike Tom and Jerry, there were many more times when Jinks would either share a good ending with the mice or actually outwit them himself, whereas the times Tom got the best of Jerry were much more rare.

Pixie and Dixie with Mr. Jinks

Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks is also remembered for Mr. Jinks' rhyming but ungrammatical lament, "I hate those meeces to pieces!". For the first nine episodes, the show featured a theme song with lyrics but from then on switched to theme tunes.

Snagglepuss

Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character created in 1959, a pink anthropomorphic mountain lion voiced by Daws Butler. He is best known for his famous catchphrase, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", along with phrases such as "Exit, stage left!" Snagglepuss was originally known as "Snaggletooth" (a pink lion precursor).

Snagglepuss first appeared in several episodes of The Quick Draw McGraw Show and became a regular segment on The Yogi Bear Show, starring in a total of 32 episodes. He also appeared in other Hanna-Barbera series such as Yogi's Gang in 1973, as a co-host for Laff-A-Lympics in 1977 and 1978, Yogi's Treasure Hunt in 1985 and as a teenager on Yo Yogi! in 1991.

Snagglepuss lives in a cavern, which he constantly tries to make more habitable for himself. No matter what he does, however, he always winds up back where he started or worse off than he was before. In some episodes, Snagglepuss is chased by Major Minor (voiced by Don Messick), a tiny-sized hunter, whose chases seem similar to the ones which involve Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny (which was hardly a coincidence, since most of the scripts were created by Michael Maltese, one of Warner Bros. Cartoons' key writers in the '40s and '50s).

Top Cat

Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.

Originally broadcast on Wednesdays [8:30-9pm Eastern], Top Cat was co-sponsored by Kellogg's and Bristol-Myers (Bufferin). The central character, Top Cat—called T.C. by close friends, "pro-vid-ing it's with dignity" as the lyrics of the theme song say—is the leader of a gang of Manhattan alley cats: Fancy, Spook, Benny the Ball, Brain, and Choo Choo living in Hoagie's Alley.

Top Cat and his gang were inspired by characters from the popular situation comedy You'll Never Get Rich (later called The Phil Silvers Show). Maurice Gosfield, who played Private Duane Doberman on The Phil Silvers Show, also provided the voice for Benny the Ball in Top Cat (Benny's rotund appearance was based on Gosfield too). Even Arnold Stang's voicing of Top Cat strongly resembled Phil Silvers' voice.

A frequent plot-line revolved around the local beat policeman, Charles "Charlie" Dibble, NYPD and his ineffective attempts to evict the gang from the alley. The only reason that he wanted to be rid of them was that Top Cat and his gang were constantly attempting to earn a quick dollar—usually through an illegal scam. Dibble's appearance was modeled on Allen Jenkins, who did his voice. Dibble, previously only an implement for making holes for planting seeds, has acquired a second meaning in the vernacular as slang for police officers.

Magilla Gorilla

Magilla Gorilla (voiced by Allan Melvin) is a gorilla who spends his time languishing in the front display window of Melvin Peebles' pet shop, eating bananas and being a drain on the businessman's finances. Peebles (voiced by Howard Morris and later by Don Messick) marked down Magilla's price considerably, but Magilla was invariably only purchased for a short time, typically by some thieves who needed a gorilla to break into a bank or by an advertising agency looking for a mascot for their new product.

The customers always ended up returning Magilla, forcing Peebles to refund their money. Magilla often ended each episode with his catchphrase "We'll try again next week."

Like many of Hanna-Barbera's animal characters, Magilla Gorilla was dressed in human accessories, sporting a bow tie, shorts held up by suspenders, and an undersized derby hat.

The only customer truly interested in obtaining the trouble-prone Magilla was a little girl named Ogee (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl and pronounced "Oh Gee!"). During the cartoon's theme song, "We've Got a Gorilla for Sale", she asks hopefully, "How much is that gorilla in the window?" a twist on the old standard, "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?"), but she was never able to convince her parents to let her keep Magilla.

Mighty Hercules

The Mighty Hercules was a low-budget animated series based loosely on the Greek mythological character of Heracles, under his Roman Mythology name, Hercules. It was created in 1962 and then debuted on TV in 1963 and ran until 1966 coinciding with the sword and sandal genre of films popular at the time.

The cartoon features Hercules, the legendary hero, who dwells on Mount Olympus. When villains threaten the people of ancient Greece, often in the fictional kingdom of Caledon, Hercules comes to the rescue of the Kingdom or whom ever may be in trouble.

When in serious danger, Hercules puts on his magic moonstone ring from which he gets his superpowers. Once wearing the ring and raising his fist, the ring is struck by flashes of lightning (referred to as the Thunder of Zeus in several episodes). Hercules is then endowed with super-strength, and goes forth for several brief episodes to do battle with nemeses such as Daedalus, an evil wizard who is the chief villain (sometimes accompanied by his pet cat Dydo); as well as others such as Wilhemine the Sea Witch (accompanied by her pet bird Elvira); and Murtis (aka The Mask of Vulcan), who was invulnerable due to his wearing of an iron helmet, itself known as the Mask of Vulcan.

The Beatles Cartoon

The Beatles is an American animated television series featuring the fanciful and musical misadventures of the popular English rock band of the same name. It ran from 1965 to 1969 on ABC in the US (only 1965 to 1967 was first run; later transmissions were reruns).

The series debuted on September 25, 1965 and ended on September 7, 1969. A total of 39 episodes were produced. The series was shown on Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM EST until the 1967 third season when it was moved to 12:00 PM EST.

Each episode has a name of a Beatles song, so the story is based on its lyrics and it is also played at some time in the episode. The original series was rebroadcast in syndication by MTV in 1986 and 1987 and on the Disney Channel. The series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people.

Beanie and Cecil

Beany and Cecil first appeared as a hand puppet TV show in the late 40' created by Bob Clampett. It later became an animated cartoon series under the Warner Brothers aegis. The puppet show, entitled Time for Beany, originally aired in 1949, with the animated series first appearing in Matty's Funday Funnies in 1959, later renamed Matty's Funnies with Beany and Cecil and finally Beany and Cecil in the USA.

Another season was produced in 1988. A great oversight was that the show was never recorded on kinescope. In its original form of hand puppets, the show conveyed a greater sense of personal communication than did the animated series which followed. The hand puppets were extensively marketed and did well as a merchandising function.

Along with The Jetsons and The Flintstones it was one of the first three color television series on the ABC television network (the initial season, though, was originally shown in black and white, as ABC was unable to telecast color programs until September 1962).

Felix the Cat on Facebook

Felix the Cat had a very humble beginning as a curious and mischievous little cat as first conceived by New Jersey cartoonist Otto Messmer. In no time at all he was more popular than movie stars and world leaders of the same era.

Master Cylinder

His squat, black body and huge, wide eyes and grin were instantly recognizable worldwide. He is considered the first true movie cartoon star. His first appearance was in a short film in the early 1900's called "Feline Follies". Soon thereafter he made the transition to print. King Features syndicated Felix in over 250 newspapers in a multitude of languages, reaching practically every corner of the globe.

Rock Bottom

He's now published through Felix Comics, Inc., in various magazines and publications. Little did anyone know back then that this rather angular Felix would metamorphosize into the rounder, more lovable character he is today.

Felix the Cat on Youtube

Felix became so famous that he was chosen by Charles Lindbergh to be his lucky mascot on his historic transatlantic flight. Felix’s image was the very first image to be broadcast over television airwaves. That’s right! When the engineers at RCA Research Labs were creating the phenomenon of TV, they used a Felix doll as their test model in their very first transmission on NBC, a historic moment! His image adorned clocks, Christmas ornaments, and was even the first balloon featured in the Macys Thanksgiving Parade. Soon Felix was playing in every TV set in the world…he was suddenly an overnight sensation!

Created by Gene Deitch under the Terrytoons studio (which by that time was a subsidiary of CBS, the network that broadcast Captain Kangaroo), Tom Terrific ran in a series of five-minute cartoons created specifically for the Captain Kangaroo show from 1957-1959, and was rerun on Kangaroo for years thereafter. For several years after 1962, Tom Terrific would be broadcast every other week, alternating with Lariat Sam, another Terrytoons creation.

All the voices were done by Lionel Wilson.

Drawn in a simple style, it featured a gee-whiz boy hero, Tom Terrific, who lived in a treehouse and could transform himself into anything he wanted thanks to his magic, funnel-shaped "thinking cap," which also enhanced his intelligence.

Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog

He had a comic lazybones of a sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an arch-foe named Crabby Appleton, whose motto was, "I'm rotten to the core!" Other foes included Mr. Instant, the Instant Thing King, Captain Kidney Bean, Sweet Tooth Sam, the Candy Bandit and Isotope Feaney, The Meany.

Terrific was ranked number 32 by TV Guide magazine among its "50 Greatest TV Cartoon Characters." There has never been an authorized VHS or DVD release of the series.

In this Gene Deitch Terrytoon originally seen on the "Captain Kangaroo" show in the late 1950s, Tom Terrific and Mighty Manfred go out a western adventure.

COMEDIENNE PHYLLIS DILLER DIES AT 95 ...

Phyllis Diller 1917-2012

One of the only comedians that I found funny as a child...Phyl was the real deal...She used to live around the corner from us in Ypsilanti, MI back in the day.. We loved her Fang (husband) routines..they were the best...RIP Phyl....xK

Cast of Carol Burnett Show reflect on Phyllis Diller…

“Phyllis has been a dear friend for many years. She was a pioneer for women stand-up comedians. I was with her a few weeks ago, and she had me on the floor with a few choice jokes. Funny, charming and loving... I’ll miss her.” -- Carol Burnett

"Phyllis Diller came through a mine field of male comedians when she arrived on the comedy scene and she defused them all. She won her place in the Hall of Comedy as the First Lady. I will miss her." – Tim Conway

“95 years old. Pretty damned incredible! She was one of the original pioneers in a truly male dominated industry. And yet, she was one of the nicest, kindest, funniest, sincerest women I have ever known. She is, and forever will be, a genuine, pivotal piece of comedy history. She had such a gentle, hysterical way of laughing at herself without ever making us feel uncomfortable about laughing with her. Study up youngsters! She was one of a kind!” – Vicki Lawrence

TAMMI TERRELL: FOREVER IRRESISTIBLE

Tammi Terrell born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery

Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 — March 16, 1970) was an American recording artist, best known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, most notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. Terrell's career began as a teenager, first recording for Scepter/Wand Records, before spending nearly two years as a member of James Brown's Revue, recording for Brown's Try Me label.

After a period attending college, Terrell recorded briefly for Checker Records, before signing with Motown in 1965. With Gaye, Terrell scored 7 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "You're All I Need to Get By".

Terrell's career was interrupted after a late 1967 concert resulted in the singer collapsing in the arms of Gaye as the two performed, later resulting in her being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Terrell would have eight unsuccessful operations before succumbing to the illness on March 16, 1970 at the age of 24.

In her memoirs about her famous sister, Ludie Montgomery writes that Terrell was the victim of sexual molestation by three boys after leaving a neighborhood party at the age of eleven. The incident led to a change in Terrell's behavior. During her early career, Terrell dated many men both in the music business and out.

 David Ruffin and Tammi

Though they never dated, Terrell had been romantically interested in singer Sam Cooke and Terrell had a budding friendship with Gene Chandler. In 1962, at 17, she signed with James Brown and the two engaged in a sexual relationship.

However, this relationship turned out to be abusive. After a horrific incident with Brown backstage after a show, Terrell asked Chandler, who witnessed the incident first hand, to take her to the bus station so she could go home. He later called Terrell's mother to pick her up. This ended Terrell's two-year affair with Brown.

In 1965, Terrell forged on a romance with then-Temptations lead singer David Ruffin. The following year, Ruffin surprised Terrell with a marriage proposal. However, Terrell was devastated once she learned that Ruffin had a wife and three children and another girlfriend, also living in Detroit.

This led to the couple having public fights. Though it was later claimed that Ruffin had hit Terrell with a hammer and a machete, these claims were denied by Terrell's family and her Motown label mates, though Ludie Montgomery confirmed a story that Terrell was hit on the side of her face by Ruffin's motorcycle helmet, leading to the end of their relationship in 1967.

After signing with Motown, she forged friendships with some of the label's artists. One of her closest was with her duet partner, Marvin Gaye, with whom she had a close platonic affair. Though it's often alleged their relationship grew into a brief romance, those close to the singers denied this claim.

Ashford & Simpson, and Gaye in later years, stated the relationship was almost sibling-like. Gaye would later call Terrell "sweet" and "misunderstood" and stated that Terrell was his "perfect [musical] partner". At the time of her death, she was engaged to be married to Ernest Garrett, who was a doctor at Terrell's hospital but not her personal doctor.

By early 1970, Terrell had been forced to be confined to a wheelchair, suffered from blindness, hair loss and weighed a scant 93 lbs. Following her eighth and final operation on January 25, 1970, 

Terrell relapsed into a coma where she would remain for the next month and a half of her life.

On March 16, Terrell died of complications from brain cancer. She was a month and two weeks short of her 25th birthday.

Read More:

Tammi Terrell Wiki

Marvin Gaye Forum

PAUL SIMON "LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY" DVD

On Sept. 18, Paul Simon will release ‘Live in New York City,’ a document of his June 2011 performance at historic Webster Hall in Greenwich Village. The set, which aired on PBS last December, will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and a 2 CD/1-DVD package.

Coincidentally, the release date is one day before the 31st anniversary of Simon and Garfunkel’s legendary 1981 reunion concert in New York’s Central Park in front of an estimated crowd of 500,000. The album from that show, ‘The Concert in Central Park,’ reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in 1982.

Webster Hall, however, is a much more intimate venue, with a capacity of 2,500. But Simon still delivers a 20-song, 90-minute show complete with some of his best-loved songs, including ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, ‘Kodakchrome’ and ‘Still Crazy After All These Years.’ Only two Simon and Garfunkel songs, ‘The Sound of Silence’ and ‘The Only Living Boy in New York,’ are included. Paul and Art won't record again together...
Simon’s band includes longtime associates Vincent Nguini on guitar and Bakithi Kumalo on bass.

‘Live in New York City’ Track Listing

‘The Obvious Child’

‘Dazzling Blue’

’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’

‘So Beautiful Or So What’

‘Mother And Child Reunion’

‘That Was Your Mother’

‘Hearts And Bones’

‘Crazy Love, Vol. II’

‘Slip Slidin’ Away’

‘Rewrite’

‘The Boy In The Bubble’

‘The Only Living Boy In New York’

‘The Afterlife’

‘Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes’

‘Gumboots’

‘The Sound Of Silence’

‘Kodachrome’

‘Gone At Last’

‘Late In The Evening’

‘Still Crazy After All These Years'

STEVEN TYLER APPEARING AT MICK FLEETWOOD NEW RESTAURANT

rumorfix.com exclusive

With the Global Warming Tour behind him, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is heading to Hawaii to join Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood at the opening of Fleetwood’s on Front Street in Maui. It’s a rare break in the schedule of a man who’s balanced recording, touring and filming on a reality television show in recent years.

Fleetwood said that Tyler and Jonny Lang will join him for a live performance. Previously the trio worked together in covering ZZ Top‘s ‘Sharped Dressed Man.’ “Steven is ecstatic,” he says. “He desperately wanted to be here and help out. He’s having a nice break from a hectic tour schedule. It’s incredible luck that Steven will be on island, so we’re all happy.”

Aerosmith’s new album ‘Music From Another Dimension’ will be released on Nov. 16. It’s their first album of original material since 2001. Recently Stevie Nicks confirmed that Fleetwood Mac would be reuniting for a tour in 2013.

JOHN LENNON......CHAPMAN DENIED PAROLE AGAIN

***UPDATE***

John Lennon's killer denied parole for 7th time

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mark David Chapman, who shot and killed former Beatle John Lennon 32 years ago, was denied parole for a seventh time, New York State's Department of Corrections said on Thursday. Chapman, 57, is serving a prison sentence of 20 years to life for shooting Lennon four times in the back outside the musician's New York City apartment building on December 8, 1980. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Chapman has come up for parole every two years since 2000 and has been turned down each time. ...

I do not wish to promote MD Chapman in anyway but ...he is up for parole again...truly I hope he stays put.

John Lennon's killer is up for parole this week for a seventh time and could have a hearing as early as Tuesday, officials said.

Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life for gunning down the Beatle outside of his Manhattan apartment complex on Dec. 8, 1980.

A decision regarding Chapman's release could come as soon as Thursday or Friday, according to the New York Department of Corrections.

At Chapman's last parole hearing in September 2010, he told the board there had been other names on his list of potential targets, including Johnny Carson, Elizabeth Taylor and two others he could not recall.

Yoko Ono, the wife of the late musician, said in 2010 that she opposed paroling Chapman and believed he could be a danger to her and her family.

Chapman is currently being housed at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y.