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Post by stoneage on Oct 5, 2010 3:16:49 GMT
Wow, awesome shots, Stoneage!  I can almost picture a silhouette of a sauropod walking along the shore against the setting sun in the first pic! ;D Also like that music room of your brother's. Love the framed album covers! Very nicely done! So, what have your dad and brother done in show biz? I see you sing a bit!  There are also some very cool aquarium shots you successfully managed to get! Very nice!   My dad started out at about 8 or 9 doing impressions on the radio. He had a lot of them and started singing. He was on the road with a traveling kids show with child entertainers who did a variety of different things. Vaudeville was in vogue. When he was 14 he had two piano lessons and from there on he played piano mostly by ear. You'd tell him the song and if he knew it he could play it. He and his brother and a friend entertained under the name The Whitaker Brothers at county fairs where my Dad also often MC'd. He met my mom a dancer in the Dodd Sisters at a USO show after World War 2 was over.. He went to New York where they bought an act called the Mimics. Which included the suits , and the jokes etc. All of them could sing and play piano. My dad was doing impressions of Cagney, Arthur Godfrey, FDR, Ed Sullivan, Jack Benny, Bob Hope etc. Eventually my dad's brother and friend also learned how to do impressions including musical impressions. He also tried to sell songs at the Brill building but it didn't work out. My dad got married and couldn't afford to stay on the road all the time. He went to art school and got a job as an artist at WCAU TV in Philadelphia. At this time he performed with his brother as the Whitaker Brothers in Philadelphia. Sometimes appearing with the Treniers a Rock and Roll, R & B group which appeared in several early movies but only produced one very minor hit. He also helped create a Kids TV show called Diver Dan. They made the figures of wooden puppets with character s like Baron Barracuda, a human Murmaid (love interest) and of course a human Diver Dan, in the old big metal diving suit and shot it through some tropical fish tanks with Mollies in it etc. He wrote songs for 3 records that were released. My favorite is him doing a demo for "This is the End," which was extremely bluesy. A women who use to sing with the early big band The Paul Whitemen Orchestra sang it in a nice but much slower and tamer version. My dad knew Ed McMahon(Johnnie Carson show) and managed to get his song "Too Much Slack In The Sack" sung by the Flat Tops on Dick Clarks American Bandstand. The group wasn't very talented by the song with it's driving Sax and enthuisiam was a lot of fun. But unfortunately it didn't sell enough. He also helped build the first Western Cowboy set used on TV. He made commercials and a few small local TV movies as well and on and on. He still plays and sings at 87. My brother started out playing drums. He picked it up and learned to play on his own. Later he decided that the drums were limited as a entertainment instrument and decided to play keyboards. My brother listens to a song and in about 2 hours he has the chords, runs, bass, drums etc. ready to perform. He had 6 months of piano lessons and use to play in recitals. But the music teacher got mad because he wouldn't play the classical style the way she wanted and she quit. He also can plays some guitar etc. I play a little piano, about 8 inches high ;D, but I prefer to just sing. I sing in a Barbershop Chorus and I'm in a Comedy Quartet. I also sing with a group called the Summer Singers which is a choir and I also sing songs by myself. I hope that answers your question.  |
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Post by stoneage on Oct 5, 2010 3:50:19 GMT
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Post by Himmapaan on Oct 5, 2010 11:46:28 GMT
Some really fascinating family profiles, Stoneage. Thank you for sharing. |
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Post by Libraraptor on Oct 5, 2010 13:40:12 GMT
Wow, cool pics! I even spy a King Crimson cover! And your Sgt. Pepper - Shirt tells me you're a little bit of a prog - rocker?!
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Post by stoneage on Oct 7, 2010 1:33:16 GMT
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Post by Meso-Cenozoic on Oct 7, 2010 7:20:27 GMT
Wow, thanks, Stoneage! What a fascinating and talented family you have!
And, playing by ear, I think, is a real talent. I've had piano lessons since I was in third grade and now hold a master's degree in piano performance. But, I am always in awe of those who could just sit down and play a tune off the top of their head. Those who do it well have a talent that just can't be taught!
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 18:00:48 GMT
Wow, thanks, Stoneage! What a fascinating and talented family you have! And, playing by ear, I think, is a real talent. I've had piano lessons since I was in third grade and now hold a master's degree in piano performance. But, I am always in awe of those who could just sit down and play a tune off the top of their head. Those who do it well have a talent that just can't be taught! Yes there are those who technically are great piano players. My dad was a very good piano player but more then that he was an entertainer. Great piano music can get boring after awhile if you don't have someone who knows how to sell it. My uncle got a degree from Indiana University and was a fine piano player but my dad is the one you would prefer to see play. Here my Dad is at 87. He can't remember his pin number but he can still play. I believe the best times of his life were when he was entertaining.  |
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 18:24:00 GMT
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Post by Horridus on Oct 8, 2010 19:09:40 GMT
Looking forward to photos of these.
By the way, which Jurassic Park rides have you been on? I've only been on the Florida 'River Adventure'.
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 20:56:37 GMT
Looking forward to photos of these. By the way, which Jurassic Park rides have you been on? I've only been on the Florida 'River Adventure'. I've been on the Jurassic Park Ride in Orlando at Universal quite a number of years ago. I was there on two occasions and rode on it about 3 times. I also saw the big life size Triceratops that peed. When were you in the states? Here is Styracosaurus!  |
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Post by Himmapaan on Oct 8, 2010 20:59:42 GMT
Are the animatronics not affected by weather, being outdoors? (Asked like a true technophobe ;D)
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Post by Horridus on Oct 8, 2010 21:15:44 GMT
I've only been to the States once in 2003. Did the usual Florida tourist stuff, including Universal and Disney. When I went the Triceratops that you mentioned was still there - it's gone now.
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 21:32:23 GMT
Are the animatronics not affected by weather, being outdoors? (Asked like a true technophobe ;D) The Dinosaurs were there from Mid-March until the end of October. They are too big and would take too much space to store at night. They didn't seem to have anything to move them but I suspect they'll show up at some theme park etc. |
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 21:39:27 GMT
I've only been to the States once in 2003. Did the usual Florida tourist stuff, including Universal and Disney. When I went the Triceratops that you mentioned was still there - it's gone now. ;D That's about the last time I was there. My younger daughter was still in High School. Who knows we could have walked right pass each other. Do you know the date you were there? Here's Euoplocephalus!  |
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Post by Horridus on Oct 8, 2010 22:07:53 GMT
I'll have to ask my parents when exactly we were there! I must've been in either April or May.
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 22:43:01 GMT
I'll have to ask my parents when exactly we were there! I must've been in either April or May. I'm usually there May-June. |
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Post by stoneage on Oct 8, 2010 22:49:14 GMT
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Post by Meso-Cenozoic on Oct 8, 2010 23:38:11 GMT
Ahh, those life-size dinos are great! It must have been awesome to see a herd of Brachis! Just seeing that one's head and neck soaring above those trees is amazing! Aha! I spot some feathers there on them thar meat eatin' dinos! BTW, my music degree is also from Indiana University, hehe! It's still listed in the top two US universities for music, along with Julliard. But, I know what you mean. You can have all the degrees you want and be considered a technical wiz. But, if you don't have the natural artistry and entertaining flare ones needs to keep an audience interested, it's just simply good technique. I mean, no one wants to sit and listen to someone playing perfect scales and arpeggios no matter how well they're executed! LOL! ;D |
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Post by stoneage on Oct 9, 2010 2:33:47 GMT
Stegosaurus with baby! 
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Post by Horridus on Oct 9, 2010 15:00:28 GMT
Those are all old Dinamation robots, aren't they? I knew there were still some knocking about, in various people's hands.
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My dad started out at about 8 or 9 doing impressions on the radio. He had a lot of them and started singing. He was on the road with a traveling kids show with child entertainers who did a variety of different things. Vaudeville was in vogue. When he was 14 he had two piano lessons and from there on he played piano mostly by ear. You'd tell him the song and if he knew it he could play it. He and his brother and a friend entertained under the name The Whitaker Brothers at county fairs where my Dad also often MC'd. He met my mom a dancer in the Dodd Sisters at a USO show after World War 2 was over.. He went to New York where they bought an act called the Mimics. Which included the suits , and the jokes etc. All of them could sing and play piano. My dad was doing impressions of Cagney, Arthur Godfrey, FDR, Ed Sullivan, Jack Benny, Bob Hope etc. Eventually my dad's brother and friend also learned how to do impressions including musical impressions. 
