Paul McCartney won't buy back the Beatles' songs

According to Rolling Stone magazine Paul McCartney won't buy back the Beatles' songs from Michael Jackson even though he admits he hates paying to play the songs he wrote. Paul and Michael were once friends but in 1985 Jackson bought the songs behind McCartney's back and the rumor is that Jackson might now sell them to help clear some of his debts. McCartney does make some money from the publishing of his songs, but ironically, he has to pay to play them live including during his current American tour.

TV Obscurities site

I just found this rather interesting site named TVObscurities.com that features some... well... obscure TV stuff. There are pages devoted to TV shows like "Planet Of The Apes", "Blondie: '57 & '68", "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams" and others. Also topics like "Pilots That Didn't Make It", "From Themesong To Hit Single", "Rare TV Outtakes", "The Ten Most Outlandish TV Concepts Ever", "ABC's Failed 1970 TV Guide Ads" and other interesting TV stuff.

The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome

What is the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome? Have you ever noticed when a character from a TV show disappears without any explanation? No doubt you remember that on Happy Days there was Ritchie Cunningham and his younger sister Joanie. If you haven't seen the first season of the show there's a good chance that you didn't know that Ritchie had an older brother. Chuck seems to have disappeared without further mention during the rest of the long run of the series. Even in the final episode of Happy Days Howard Cunningham says something along the lines of "we've raised two wonderful children". Was Chuck not "wonderful", or perhaps he was disowned? Or maybe just a dream? Practically the same thing happened earlier on My Three Sons. There was an older brother Mike followed by Robbie and Chip. During the first color episode of the series (I believe it was) we see Mike get married and go on his marital way. Not only was he never seen again but he was never mentioned again either except for maybe a few episodes (if any) that followed the wedding episode. And his "nonexistence" was verified in a later season when a lady saw a picture of the family (minus Mike) in the office of the father Steve Douglas. Trying to find out if he had a wife she asked him if that was his whole family and he replied "That's it". I supposed the eldest son was disowned for getting married!

Here's a detailed article on the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome, although they fail to mention My Three Sons.

Gordon Lee, 'Porky' from Our Gang/Little Rascals, dies

Gordon Lee was the chubby child actor who played George "Spanky" McFarland's little brother, "Porky," in the "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" comedies. He has died at age 71 after after battling lung and brain cancer. Incidentally, this is less than a month after the passing of co-star, and fellow Texan, Tommy Bond.

Lee, starting at the age of 2, played one of the younger members in the "Our Gang" shorts in the mid to late 1930s, appearing in more than 40 of them. His Porky character is credited with originating the catchphrase "otay."

He was born Eugene Lee in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1933. Lee was 2 years old when his mother sent his picture to studio executives who were seeking an actor to play McFarland's brother. "We were on the next train to L.A. and I had a contract within a few days," Lee said. "Fat kid got lucky." Lee told friends his career ended when a growth spurt made him thinner. "They wanted Porky to be a chunky fellow, so they looked for someone else." Gordon eventually became a teacher.

New Paul McCartney CD: "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"

This new McCartney CD was released on Tuesday, September 12. Most of the instruments and vocals were performed by McCartney himself. The multi-talented McCartney did the same feat on his "McCartney" (1970) and "McCartney II" (1980) albums.

Paul is performing some of the new songs on his US tour.

I haven't heard this disc yet, but here's a review from someone who has.

More info here including a few song samples.

Tommy Bond of "Our Gang" dies at age 79

Thomas Ross Bond played Butch the bully from the Little Rascals and Our Gang shorts of the 1930's. Later he went on to other roles, including Jimmy Olsen in two Superman films in the 40's. He was offered the role in the TV series, but turned it down.

Born Sept. 16, 1926, in Dallas, Texas, Bond got his start at age 5 when a talent scout for Hal Roach studios approached him as he was walking with his mother. The scout said he had "a great face" and he could set up an appointment with Hal Roach in Los Angeles. His grandmother drove him to L.A. for the meeting with Roach that led to his career on the Little Rascals and Our Gang series.

Bond died September 24, 2005 of complications from heart disease.

Don Adams of "Get Smart" dies

Don Adams passed away on Sept. 25th at the age of 82. Adams is best known for playing Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, on the TV series "Get Smart". Twice "Get Smart" won the Emmy for best comedy series with Adams winning three Emmys as comedy actor. Adams was also the voice of the cartoon characters Inspector Gadget, Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo.