This blog entry is brought to you by the letter C and the number 4.

Did you know that Margaret Hamilton did a guest appearance on Sesame Street? She did in February 10, 1976. She appeared as the Wicked witch of the West her most iconic role she ever played from the movie “The Wizard of Oz. ”

Margaret Hamilton appeared on Sesame Street in season 7 (episode 847) titled “The Wicked Witch of the West Loses her broomstick.”

The episode centers around the wicked witch of the west flying around Sesame Street when she loses her broomstick in mid air and when she tries to get it back. and finds that David (who is played by Northern Calloway) refuses to get her back her broomstick. Only because he is terrified that if he gives the broom back to the Wicked witch she might do some evil or cast a spell. She gets angry and causes havoc among Sesame Street by threatening to turn Big Bird into a feather duster and making a rainstorm in Mr. Hooper’s store.

Everyone on Sesame Street is really scared of the Wicked Witch except one muppet! Can anyone guess who?

Oscar the Grouch actually develops a crush on the Wicked Witch and is not shy about talking to her and is able to get everyone else from Sesame Street on board with him in not being fearful of others. So they ended up giving the Wicked Witch back her broom and flies back out with her broom out of Sesame Street.

The episode aired only once on February 6, 1976 and it only took a couple of days for the Public Broadcasting Service (better known as PBS) to received such a HUGE number of complaints from viewers about it.  Most of the complaints came from parents saying that the episode was too scary or caused a lot of distress to their children from watching it.

It confused the creators and PBS as to why they got these numerous complaints about this particular episode so during the month of March 1976 they had many test screenings of the same episode to see how the kids in those groups reacted to it. They were surprised to see from the multiple test screenings that the kids were not scare at all. Actually they were more curious anything else because of the Wicked Witch’s green color and they seem to be more interested in the segments that Margaret Hamilton was playing her iconic role then the other segments in the show.

However the creators of the show were deeply divided about the complaints they received from viewers and the results they got from the test screenings that they still went ahead and shelved that particular episode and has never been shown ever again.

I personally would love to see this episode because the Wizard of Oz and Sesame Street is two of my favorite things.

What is your opinion? Would you like to see this episode? Or is it better left alone on the shelved forever section?

Until next time!!!

When I used to visit my family in Central American the cable channels had limited movies they would used to show. So  I would see the same movies every night for weeks and one of those movies was “The Elephant Man” (1980) directed by David Lynch.

I remember watching this movie maybe 20-30 times and every time I would cry because didn’t understand why he was so mistreated because he looked different. He just wanted to be loved and be accepted as the person he was on the inside but because of his physically self he never got it.

When I finally came home from Central America I took my first trip to the library in my town and was reading about this movie. I was kind of surprised to find out that this movie was based on a real person.

Joseph Carey Merrick was born on August 5, 1862. His father was a warehouse man and his mother was  a domestic servant and was cited as having a physical disability which probably was carried onto Joseph Merrick.

Joseph had two other siblings but died of scarlet fever and myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord). When Joseph was born there were no physical or emotional disorders or deformities but apparently as early as the age of 1 1/2 up to the age of 5  he started  showing physical deformities. Such a “lumpy skin that was grey similar to an elephant.” (source Wikipedia), swelled lips, a huge deformation growing out of his forehead, extremely large feet and his arms were growing and looking differently than each other. His left arm was extremely enlarged and his hand was deformed in contrast to his right arm. On top of that he suffered a fatal fall when he was a child that damaged his hip.

He struggle in school and left his education by the age of 13 and tried to find work in  countless factories or selling things on the streets but was unsuccessful because his physical appearance and the wear and tear on him emotionally.

Joseph Merrick ended up leaving his home and his family due to the beatings of his father and the countless feelings of being a burden on his family financially and perhaps emotionally in 1877.

Joseph Merrick spent countless years trying to work in warehouses and getting surgery for a huge lump on his tongue. The lump was preventing him from eating and at that point Merrick was getting pretty frustrated not really being able to work and decided to become a “curiosity” instead.

Through many hands of managers of Merrick’s curiosity career Tom Norman was the one who mostly display Merrick.

Tom Norman would often display Merrick  in the back of one empty shops in a room with an iron bed and a curtain. Merrick would also double his work space as a bedroom so Merrick would hardly leave that space let alone the shop. His life was confined to four walls, and no friends and family. It was a chance meeting of Sir Fredrick Treves a surgeon who specializes in anatomy and Merrick’s only friend.

Eventually through many hardships Joseph Merrick  including being robbed by his manager all of his money he had left, becoming homeless and getting bronchitis . He was admitted by Treves to the London Hospital. Merrick spent the last of his years there and died on April 11, 1890 at the age of 27. His cause of death was asphyxia. Due to the weight of his head Merrick usually fell asleep in his bed sitting up however he want to feel a bit of normalcy and tried sleeping on his back which cause his neck to break.

Joseph Merrick’s body is part of Queen Mary’s University of London. It is a sad ending for a man who just wanted to be a regular person all of his life. It goes to show you that even with all of Joseph Merrick’s physically deformities there still was a heart of a person who just wanted to be consider a person. We can learn so much from his life and I am glad that I was so entranced by  “The Elephant Man” movie because it taught me to show empathy for others and to myself.

Until Next time!!!

Today’s music video of the day is Genesis’s Land of Confusion (1986):

( Author’s note: ok so this is not one of my favorite songs however this is one of my favorite music videos because it’s quite out there and it involves puppets! And I really like weird puppets!)

This is one of the first music videos I remember seeing on MTV.  During breaks off of school I never went to a camp or a babysitter so the tv was mainly my distraction from the outside world. To this day it is also one of the most weirdest music videos I have seen as well.

The puppets that were in the video were created by the creators of a British show called “Spitting Image.” The only way I can best describe this show is like a British version of Saturday Night Live but with puppets. (the intro of the show is below)

The idea to used these puppets was actually from Phil Collins when he saw a caricature version of himself on the show.

He decided to call them up and asked them to make not only caricature versions of the rest of the band but also all the rest of the characters in the music video.

The music video opens up with the puppet version of Nancy and Ronald Reagan holding a stuffed bear in bed. There is also a monkey between the two and Ronald Reagan falls asleep and then starts to dream and a huge steel door opens.

At the point the song has process and we see the band in puppet form and the viewer quickly realizes that Reagan’s dream is actually a nightmare. Because the next scene in a swamp where it is foggy and murky and we start seeing various puppet heads of political figures especially those involved with the Cold War.

Through this part of the nightmare we see Reagan in bed literally sweating puddles of sweats.

For some reason Nancy and the monkey are out of the bed looking out of a window and dancing while various scenery goes on outside. We randomly see a bird flying by and it is so hot outside it cooks itself trying to fly and turns into a roasted chicken.

The next scene is  Reagan dressing in a superman costume and running in the streets while it cuts to different dictators and world leaders giving speeches in front of crowds. I know this sounds weird but it follows the lyrics of the song perfectly in terms of matching the scene.

While Reagan is running through the street a dinosaur with some massive jewelry stomps on this cape and make him watch videos of “Spitting Image” which makes Reagan forgets about charging out to save the world and instead goes back to sleep. He then dreams about being in prehistoric times where he meets Nancy and a bunch of prehistoric animals.

As the song goes kind of slow and romantic like so does the video we see all of the prehistoric animals laughing, dancing and enjoying breakfast.  And the only thing that snapped Reagan out of that dream was a bone thrown in the air.

Throughout the next sequence it jumps to Genesis to a bunch of other musicians like Tina Turner, and David Bowie. We also see Reagan in a cowboy outfit riding the same dinosaur that stopped him preciously. (The only thing I think for the reference of the cowboy outfit is Reagan many acting roles as a cowboy)

We then see more celebrity puppets singing (probably a spoof of the video “We are the World”) and then we see cowboy Reagan go to the steel door was opened so easily in the beginning of the video is now nearly impossible to open. Reagan starts banging furiously on it and the real Ronald Reagan puppet finally wakes up in a pool of sweat. He sweated so much during the dream that we see Nancy wearing a pair of scuba googles.

The last segment we see in the video is that Reagan is thirsty and gets a cup of water that is next to his nightstand and  misses his mouth completely and it lands on Nancy. Noticing that he miss he wants more water and we see two red buttons on the top on the nightstand. One is marked “Nurse” and the other is marked “Nuke” Reagan hits the wrong button and hits “Nuke” which causes a massive explosive and of course has no idea what has happen he thinks it was the nurses button.

Until Next time!!!

Hello and welcome to this week’s installment of welcome to the Insta-hood! This week’s interview is with  IG account @fayexfatale

1.  Tell me a little bit about yourself.

“My name is Faye Fatale, and I’m a horror movie hostess, gothic model, and tribal bellydancer from San Francisco, California. I’ve appeared in Seasons 9 and 10 of Creepy KOFY Movie Time here on San Francisco’s local channel KOFY-TV 20, as well as on Circus of Chaos, KOFY’s late-night variety show. I’ve co-hosted Creature Features here in Bay Area, and appeared on the episode where we screened “Lady Frankenstein,” which is one of my favorite cheeseball horror flicks. I’m also a regular on the local comic-con circuit, and I’ve been in several productions with Shadow Circus Creature Theater, which is without a doubt, some of the funniest, weirdest, and most creative puppetry happening on the west coast today.

My first modeling gig was at the age of five months, when my aunt’s advertising firm needed a “typical American family” for a print ad they were producing. I portrayed “the baby” in the ad, and honestly, I nailed it.

As a teenager, I would model in local bridal shows wearing bridesmaid and Sweet 16 dresses, and also took part in musical productions in high school. When I took a career aptitude exam in my junior year, the exam determined that I was best suited for a career in entertainment, which I had guessed already! I took some time off from performing when I went to university and established my career, but returned to showbiz when I started taking bellydance classes nearly ten years ago. Since then, I’ve been part of a pin-up modeling club, and my horror hosting gig started in 2013. I’ve struck out on my own with modeling these days, and I’ve created some beautiful work with a good friend who is an absolute master with the camera. I never thought my life would end up quite this way, and things have never been more creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

2.  Can you talk a little about your horror hostess gig?

“After I began doing pin-up, I invited the hosts of San Francisco’s “Creepy KOFY Movie Time” to follow the Facebook page I had established to showcase my photos. I couldn’t believe it when they actually began following my work! I had been such a nerdy fangirl of their show for so long, that it was really exciting to get on their radar. As it happened, the same hosts appeared at a local comic-con a few months later. I had no idea they would be there, but when I spotted them in the hall, I didn’t know what to do. My best friend Rachel was with me, and told me to stop being so nervous and just walk over and introduce myself. With Rachel backing me up, I went over, said hello, and mentioned that the hosts had been following my pin-up work online. They recognized me! We ended up having a great conversation, and they invited me to come on the show. I thought it was going to be a one-off gig, but when filming began, I was introduced as the next cast member. To go from fangirl to cast member was incredible, and I’ll never forget that moment.

As I mentioned earlier, I appeared in seasons 9 and 10 of Creepy KOFY Movie Time, and got to help host some truly forgettable and unintentionally hilarious movies like Roger Corman’s “Swamp Women,” “Driller Killer,” “Laser Mission” (with Brandon Lee!!), and even “Cannibal Holocaust,” which never made it to air, due to a cease-and-desist order by the company that bought it from the public domain. The cast would also do live shows around the Bay Area, where we would show a terrible movie and provide the commentary live. Our “Halloween Hangover” show is still talked about as one of the best events we ever had. In addition, we started appearing at local comic cons. I especially love doing that, considering where I was “discovered” by the hosts.

Creepy KOFY Movie Time was discontinued when KOFY was sold to another broadcast company, but many of the cast and crew continued on to “Circus of Chaos,” which is a variety show that took over Creepy KOFY’s time slot. We feature artists and musicians, produce skits, showcase local dancers, and interview various people involved in San Francisco showbiz and nightlife. It’s a fun show that everyone puts a lot of hard work into, and I’m proud of everyone’s creativity, determination, and improvisational skills, especially since so little of it is actually scripted.”

3.  Who are your top four fashion icons and why?

1. Tarja Turunen—singer, ex-Nightwish: Two things happened when I got into university—one: I discovered symphonic metal, and two: I started getting really interested in makeup. One of my favorite symphonic metal groups was (and still is!) Nightwish, which featured Tarja Turunen, an operatic soprano on lead vocals. I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, and as I started creating different looks with makeup, I often used Tarja’s pictures as reference material. Tarja is now a solo artist, but her style continues to inspire me.

2.     Bettie Page: Long before I got into pin-up modeling, I watched a show on the E!      Network called “True Hollywood Story” that covered the life of model Bettie Page. I had been aware of Bettie for some time prior, but I was fascinated by this program. Bettie was such a pioneer in her work, from her risqué bondage shoots to the genuine joy she radiated in front of the camera. I admired her determined attitude and personal confidence, and started collecting her photos and merchandise. Bettie has had such an influence on retro styles, comic art, and commercial modeling, and I always try to reflect her poise and demeanor when I’m in front of the camera.

3. Elvira: This one is probably obvious, but I just adore Elvira’s slinky style and wicked sense of humor. She’s got curves that should be named as National Treasures, and she’s funny, bold, sexy, and sassy. My over-the-top eye makeup was inspired by her look, and I only wish that I could get my hair as high as she does.

4. Data von Teese: Dita is the ultimate arbiter of retro style in today’s world, and she’s so elegant. Her book, “Your Beauty Mark,” is an absolute gem, and I admire her style, which reflects the grace and sophistication of previous eras. Her burlesque is amazing—she’s a true showwoman. I’ve had several haircuts based on photos of her, and I even purchased a ring she used to wear from one of her online shops. It’s one of my lucky charms.

4. How did you become interesting in doing Tribal bellydancing?

“After taking several years off from entertainment during university and the beginning of my career, I found that I was really missing performing. All throughout my life, I had always done something active—I took ballet as a child, I studied martial arts in high school, and during university, I took up ballroom dance. Suddenly, I found myself in place where I wasn’t doing any kind of artistic physical activity, and I wanted to get back to it so badly. As I was looking through a class guide that had been sent to me by my local recreation center, I noticed that they were offering bellydance classes. It was the end the of the year, so I made a new year’s resolution to take a class. That’s pretty much the only new year’s resolution I’ve ever kept, because almost ten years later, I’m still in classes at least twice a week and performing in an amazing troupe. I especially love sword dancing and balancing, because the reaction from the audience when they see the huge scimitars we use and then balance them on our heads is incredible. I love to put on a good show.

I perform solos every once in a while, and have performed on Circus of Chaos and as part of Shadow Circus Creature Theater, because what’s a good circus without a sword dancer?!”

5. Do you have any exciting events coming up that you would like to share?

“This weekend, I’ll be appearing at Santa Rosa Toy and Comic Con in Santa Rosa, California, along with several of my fellow cast members. This con has a special place in my heart because it was at Santa Rosa Toy and Comic Con I first met the hosts of Creepy KOFY Movie Time! It’s like returning to my roots. I also have some fun bellydance performances dancing with my troupe sisters coming up, and there’s some amazing plans in the works. I invite everyone to come along on my adventures by following me at fayexfatale on Instagram. In addition to photos of my appearances and events, I also enjoy posting horror trivia, weird pulp art, and pictures of models, actresses, and burlesques dancers from days gone by. Hope to see all you freaks, geeks, and weirdos around the Instahood!”

If you like more information or have any questions  please follow her account

@fayexfatale

Until next time!

Hello everyone! As you all know I love to read so I decided to share some of the books I have in my book pile for the spring season. Some are old and some literally just came out but they are all unique and off the beaten reading path.I am not the average reader so my selections kind of stay true to form. I will provide links if you guys are interesting in buy them or want to know more information on them.

In particular order:

The Prom Queen by RL Stine. I used to read these books back in middle like candy! I would read one and quickly go on to the next one because they were so entertaining! Flash back to today and I cannot remember any of the plots to most of them so I started a fear street book club and this was my selection for April!

Link is below:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Prom-Queen-by-R-L-Stine/142080667496?epid=567293&hash=item2114aaef68:g:O2gAAOSw6ctap7nj&frcectupt=true

And I don’t want to live this Life by Deborah Spungen- a lot of us know about Nancy Spungen sad and unfortunate demise but a lot of us do not know a lot about her. Her mother wrote this book to have the world better understand her daughter. Her upbringing, the personal struggles she had when she was alive and just a better picture of who Nancy was then how she was portrayed by the media.

Link is below:

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Want-Live-This-Life/dp/0449911411/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick- this book is about Milicent Patrick (she is credited to be the first female animator at Disney Studios) who created the costume of one of my favorite Universal Monsters: The Creature from the Black Lagoon and little is know about this creative genius because she was never given the rightly deserved credit for her work just because she was a woman. Author Mallory O’Meara writes about the struggles Patrick had in the entertainment industry and how it relates to her own and how it is still a prevalent issue today.

Link is below:

https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Black-Lagoon-Hollywood-Monsters/dp/1335937803/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3VCXRXJI8GCXW&keywords=the+creature+from+the+black+lagoon&qid=1552872381&s=books&sprefix=the+creature+%2Cstripbooks%2C183&sr=1-2

Los Vinos  de Gala I am not much of a cook or a wine connoisseur but I am a HUGE fan of everything Salvador Dali. So this gorgeous book was a natural thing to add this book to the list!

Link is here:

https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/art/all/04682/facts.dali_the_wines_of_gala.htm

What is everyone planning to read this spring?

Until Next time!!!

Last week I just watched a miniseries called “Sharp Objects”. The miniseries is based on a book by Gilliam Flynn of the same name.

This miniseries is directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (who also directed Dallas Buyers Club and Big Little Lies)

and stars Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina and Eliza Scanlen in the main roles.

This miniseries centers around Camille Preaker (played by Amy Adams) who is a reporter who has to go back to her home town of Windgap, Missouri to cover some murders of young girls. Camille who is an alcoholic and was release not to long ago from a psychiatric hospital due to inflicting self harm by cutting herself. She  does not want to go back to her hometown due to her super critical mother but due to her insistent editor persuades her to go.

When she arrives in Windgap not only does Camille start to face her own personal deep issues but also has to deal with her family. Especially her overbearing and high society mother Adora (who is played by Patricia Clarkson).

Through out this miniseries the viewer follows Camille as she tries to figure out who is killing the young girls of Windgap. Also the viewer get an insight as how Camille lead her young life in town and why she became the person she is today.

I found the pace of each show a little slow (I am personally not a fan of slow pace movies or shows) however I felt the slow pace of this plot needed to be at that pace. There is so much to absorb not only in the plot but also how the main characters needed to be fully fleshed out in order to explain the plot better. This was the first time I binge watch a series in a very long time. I kind of didn’t want it to end I feel like there was so much trouble in Windgap that it could of turned into a tv show.

I know not a lot of people are a fan of slow pace things but I feel like if you like thrillers then you will probably like this series.

Here is a trailer for it below:

Fun Fact about this miniseries: If you are a Led Zeppelin fan then you are in for a treat because this series has a lot of there songs in this!

Until Next time!

Hello Welcome to another installment of “welcome to the Insta-Hood.”! This week’s interview was with IG acccount: @deathclues  which is run by Rebekah Turner.

1. Tell me a little about the IG.

“The deathclues instagram is a gallery of clues designed to crowd source information or trigger a memory which may help find answers to missing person cases which have long been dormant.

Each post contains a picture of an item found with someone who has died without being identified, along with information regarding the circumstances of their death. Many of these cases have no DNA, fingerprints or dentals available, and often the only available clues to their identity are things like the jewelry they wore or the objects they carried in their pockets. The concept for the instagram account was developed as I was building the database for my website and I became aware of how many significant artifacts have been found with the unknown deceased.”

2. What is your website about?

” theunidentified.org is a research resource specifically for cold cases of unidentified persons with an estimated year of death prior to the year 2000.  Almost every case compiled in my database has forensic art which is intended to depict how the person would have looked in real life. Cases can be sorted and filtered by age, sex, year of death, or even unique categories such as “hitchhikers” or “victims of serial killers.” Cases from my website and instagram are sourced through NAMUS, the National Missing and Unidentified Person System. I track and monitor each case in my website database every single day and I update the website regularly to alert users when a missing person has been ruled out in a case or new evidence has been added to a file. I also share podcast recommendations which are related to cases of unidentified persons and offer side-by-side views of solved cases compared with their original forensic art.”

3. What made you want to start the website? 

“When I became aware that tens of thousands of men and women have died without a name, I wanted to share my passion with anyone who would listen. I began to realize that not everyone is prepared to look at pictures of deceased persons and I decided to create a way for these cases to be researched with absolutely no fear of stumbling upon postmortem images. My website is designed to be visually interesting and easily accessible by anyone.”

4.  What is the most memorable case or cases that stayed with you? 

“One case in particular put all of this into motion and changed my life forever. In the early morning hours of a foggy fall morning in 1977, a young man stole a car out of the driveway of a home in the Chicago suburbs. He drove north into Wisconsin without his headlights on and police made an effort to stop the vehicle. Instead of slowing down, he increased his speed and was unable to navigate a sharp turn. He was ejected from the vehicle and died almost immediately upon impact. He was clearly a handsome, well-dressed, well-groomed young man and even though he suffered traumatic injuries in the crash, he should have been perfectly recognizable by anyone who had known him. I could not believe that nearly forty years later, this man’s name was still unknown. I felt compelled to help find this man’s identity. Discovering this case led to countless hours and extensive collaboration with other passionate advocates and professionals, and his case ultimately inspired not just the creation of the website and the deathclues IG but also a whole new career: forensic science death investigation.”

5. Do you have any upcoming events or plans that involved your website or the IG that you would like to share?

“In April I will be hosting a table at Wisconsin’s annual missing person awareness event held by Wisconsin Missing Person Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of the missing and supports affected families. In June I will be heading to New Orleans for CrimeCon. I’m also very fortunate to work with a wonderful team of dedicated associates and we are working hard right now behind the scenes on a really interesting original project that will offer a revolutionary platform for nonprofit organizations and private citizens alike to share resources and raise awareness to cold cases of the missing and unidentified. ”

Instagram: @deathclues

Email: rebekah@unidenitfied.org

Until next time!

Hello everyone and welcome to the first installment of “Welcome to the Insta-hood!” 2019. Today we are featuring a super great and extremely funny podcast called “Caskets and cocktails.

1. What kind of podcast is Caskets and Cocktails?

“Caskets and Cocktails, Memoirs of a Cemetery Dude is a podcast that takes you for a hilarious dive into the world of Death Care where cemetery industry veteran Mr. Danny and his daughter Katie will answer all those crazy questions you’ve been dying to ask.”

2. How did you come up with the idea of wanting to do a podcast that covers this kind of subject?

“Mr. Danny Faulkner is a handsome 65 year old with salt and pepper hair, more salty these days than pepper, and over the years has been given the nickname “Dapper Dan, the Cemetery Man”.  His raspy deep southern voice  seems as if it were made for sipping Jack Daniels and telling tales on a front porch in a rocking chair.”

“It’s always fascinating to me how people react when they discover I’ve spent my life working in the death care industry, to me it’s a job and a job I enjoy, however people have the strangest questions.  Like for example, whenever we inter someone into a mausoleum, it never fails, someone always ends up asking if they can roll out the drawer and see the body.  I just shake my head and have to wonder about all the misconceptions that are out there about our industry”.   Mr. Danny has 35 plus years experience in the Cemetery and Funeral Home business and just when he thinks he’s seen it all something surprising happens again.  “I’ve seen a hot air balloon crash in my cemetery, I’ve seen large family’s breakout into a fist fight graveside and have even had a police sting set up to capture biker gang members, so when I say I’ve got stories, you better believe I have stories”.

After a lifetime of hearing stories, his daughter, Katie Leverett approached him with an idea.  “I absolutely love my Daddy’s stories and never really found them to be odd until I became an adult.  I get so many weird questions from people when I tell them that I grew up with my Daddy working in Death Care.  It’s as if I tell people he was a circus act or something, it’s actually pretty funny to see their reactions.  I’m a huge fan of Podcasts and I just kept thinking oh this is interesting, but really my Dad’s stories are even better.  It is really rare to hear someone his age on a Podcast, which is sort of sad considering all the life experience and knowledge folks his age can share”.  Katie approached Mr. Danny with the idea of partnering on a new venture of creating their very own Podcast, to which he responded “Podcasts, never heard of them”.

After some back and forth discussions, Katie was able to convince Mr. Danny that his personality, story telling capabilities and vast knowledge of the industry would be a hit!   They recently launched “Caskets & Cocktails, Memoirs of a Cemetery Dude” which is rapidly growing to be a true hit!  Their show is a unique combination of good old fashioned southern story telling, listener question and answers with a splash of cocktails mixed in.  “I sort of forgot how exciting it is to try something new, at my age it’s a little scary to think about trying new things and now I’m hooked”, states Mr. Danny, “and maybe, just maybe there are other Boomers out there who might be interested in reinventing themselves too.  It’s been a wild ride and has shown me there’s a second act left in me after all”.

3. What made you want to start a job in the death industry?

“I sort of fell into the industry by happenstance.  A friend of mine was a stockbroker and represented a guy who had just recently purchased a chain of cemeteries and he needed a sales guy to help run them.  I was selling industrial paint and had absolutely zero experience in death care nor had I ever even really thought about it as a career path.  What can I say, I’m a sucker for trying new things and the opportunity sounded interesting so I jumped right in.  Come to find out, I really like the industry and love my job.  Every day is really different, we work with all kinds of different people and there’s a real satisfaction when you are able to help someone especially when many times they are at a low point in their life.  Let’s just say that after 35 years of being in the industry I no longer think I fell into this by accident, it’s definitely what I am supposed to be doing!”

4. What state or place has the weirdest or memorable experience(s) for you?

“So if you have listened to the show, there’s no denying by my accent that I was born and raised in the South, but my career has really had me work all over the country from Florida to Washington State.  When I say I’ve seen it all, I really mean that, I’ve had police sting operations to bust drug dealers dealing from gravesites, I’ve seen seemingly normal looking families break out into a graveside brawl and even had to intervene when the deceased’s secret girlfriend shows up at the funeral surprising the wife.  Seriously, you’ve got to subscribe to and you will hear it all, but one of the coolest experiences of my career was when I got to help run some cemeteries in New York.  The culture is totally different than what I had been used to and I got to really experience a lot more culturally diverse burial practices.  The populations in the South primarily consists of Caucasian, African American and Hispanic each of which have their own funeral practices but in New York I saw a high population of Chinese, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Hindu and lots of other diverse groups.  It was fascinating to learn about their funeral and burial practices and be able to see them play out multiple times per day.  For example at Chinese Funerals they burn money as a way to respect their dead or some Islamic funerals the men and boys all carry the casket themselves to the grave.  I am really blessed that my career has had me work all over the country and I’ve really developed a healthy respect and reverence for all cultural burial practices.”

5. Do you have any upcoming events or news regarding your podcast or any social media that you would like to share?

“Caskets and Cocktails is growing week over week and we’d love for you to subscribe and join in on the fun.  We just recently launched a new website, https://www.casketsandcocktails.com/ and have some pretty exciting plans for 2019 including new swag and planning some live shows.  Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest happenings!”

Thank you so much Caskets and Cocktails for this interview! I totally recommend this podcast because it is so funny and different than a lot of other podcasts that is out there.

Until next time!