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- Actor
- Soundtrack
Pat Paulsen was a comedian specializing in satire who thrived on television in the late 1960s. The highlight of his career came in the watershed year 1968 when - emulating Gracie Allen''s quixotic 1940 Presidential bid as the Surprise Party candidate - he launched his own campaign for the U.S. presidency on the STAG (Straight Talking American Government) ticket. His campaign started out as a filmed gag run weekly on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," lampooning the pretensions of American politicians. One sequence had Pat making a campaign stop, unfolding the small ladder-stool he used to stand on while speaking to the voters, and addressing an empty rail-yard. Since there was a camera there, it didn't really matter, as Newt Gingrich found out in his own rise in politics in the 1980s, when he made a name for himself addressing speeches to members of the House in an empty chamber. Since it was filmed by Congressional video cameras, it appeared Gingrich was taking on powerful people who were, in reality, not even there. As a politician, Pat Paulsen was ahead of his time.
Patrick Layton Paulsen was born on July 6, 1927 in South Bend, Washington, a small fishing town, to.Beulah Inez (Fadden) and Norman Inge Paulsen, who worked for the Coast Guard. His father was a Norwegian immigrant and his maternal grandmother was English. The family moved to California when he was 10, and after graduating from high school, Pat joined the U.S. Marine Corps during the waning days of World War II. Demobilized after the war, Paulsen worked a variety of jobs, including postal clerk, truck driver, hod carrier, and miner. Two jobs that prepared him for the campaign trail that lay in his future were Fuller brush salesman, toiling door to door selling his product with a smile on his face, and photostat operator, making numerous copies of documents. He attended San Francisco City College on the G.I. bill. After his college studies, Paulsen joined an acting company before forming a comedy trio that included his brother Lorin (who continues to entertain with a one man show as Abraham Lincoln). Paulsen went solo after the trio broke up, and established himself during the late 1950s and early 1960s, performing in clubs featuring folk music and satiric comedy inspired by the likes of 'Jean Shepherd (I)' and 'Mort Sahl'. A guitarist, he delivered comedic monologues at some of the hottest clubs on the circuit, including Los Angeles' Troubadour and San Francisco's Purple Onion.
His shtick was similar to that of Tom Smothers and his brother Dick Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers," whom he met while performing at The Purple Onion. Paulsen sold them two songs for $40, and the two acts would become forever linked in the public consciousness. Eventually, when "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premiered on CBS-TV in 1967, Paulsen was one of the cast members. Long before there was a news desk at Saturday Night Live, the Smothers Brothers' show featured Paulsen as an editorialist, providing double-talk commentary on the issues of the day.
At the urging of the Smothers Brothers, Paulsen launched his 1968 Presidential campaign. The emphasis of the campaign was comedy, but lurking below the surface was serious commentary. Satire was what closed on Saturday night, but Paulsen brilliantly managed to slip satire into his comedy, without the abrasiveness of Sahl or Lenny Bruce. He was sending up the professional politicians, peppering his campaign talks with obvious lies, double-talk, and tongue-in-cheek attacks on the "real" candidates. His work as the "reel" candidate of the tumultuous, frequently absurd political year that was 1968 was the highlight of his career and gave him a place in the national consciousness and history. For his work on "The Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour," he was awarded a special Emmy Award in 1968.
After The Smothers Brothers were canceled due to their outspokenly liberal politics in 1969, Paulsen rebounded with his own show, "Pat Paulsen's Half-a-Comedy Hour." The show was innovative and very funny, but times had changed and the mass audience was no longer receptive to Pat's brand of satire, which laid bare the foibles of the American people and their culture. It was canceled after half a season.
Pat ran another bid for the presidency by entering the New Hampshire primary in 1972, but his time had passed. He did continue to work regularly, appearing in nightclubs, theaters, and conventions throughout the country. He also appeared each summer at the Cherry County Playhouse Muskegon, Michigan, which he co-owned. At the theater, he produced and starred in 25 plays, including "The Fantastics", "The Odd Couple", "Harvey" and "The Sunshine Boys."
Pat Paulsen was too good to ever be forgotten, and he received the International Platform Association's prestigious "Mark Twain Award" for his outstanding work in the field of comedy. Prior winners included Art Buchwald, Mark Russell and Steve Allen. On April 24, 1997, Pat died in 1997 from pneumonia after an 18-month battle with colon cancer. He was 69 years old.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Raven was born Austin Churton Fairman to classical stage actors. Before appearing in films he counted ballet dancing, Lieutenant of infantry and television producer as occupations. Fairman came to the public's attention as a pirate radio station disc jockey christened "Mike Raven". When the plugs were pulled on pirate radio Raven pursued a radio career, becoming a Radio 1 DJ. Raven's forte was Rhythm and Blues, and his Saturday night programe "The Mike Raven Show" became a leading authority on the subject. But as his stage name suggests Raven had an interest in the occult that lead him to a career in horror films. Raven cast a sinister figure with Merlin beard, tall stature and intense vocals- he was immediately cast in I Monster and Hammer's Lust for a Vampire. However it didn't quite work out and in both films Raven was singled out by the critic's pans, particularly in the Hammer film where adding insult to injury his voice was dubbed. Raven invested money in two independent films, Crucible of Terror and Disciple of Death. The pre- publicity for both these films centred on Raven's private life. Trying to build a reputation as a horror star, Raven's publicity delved into detail about his occult interests. If Raven's hype is to be believed Raven, his wife and their six children were often seen dressed in home made black clothes, and their house was reportedly decorated totally in black. Of the two films Crucible was the most poular, appearing on television with regular occurence. The unique Disciple of Death is so incoherent that it comes across as a Dada nightmare and was produced and written by Raven under clipped versions of his real name. However it remains obscure and was murdered by the critics, after which Raven never made another film and retired from the spotlight.- Writer
- Director
- Animation Department
Viktor Kubal was born on 20 March 1923 in Svátý Jur, Czechoslovakia [now Slovakia]. He was a writer and director, known for Brigand Jurko (1976), The Bloody Lady (1980) and Janko Hrasko u kúzelníka (1973). He died on 24 April 1997 in Bratislava, Slovakia.- Todd Muchita was born on 12 July 1975 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Mobb Deep: Peer Pressure (1992) and Mobb Deep: Hell on Earth (Front Lines) (1996). He died on 24 April 1997 in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Charles Frank was born on 23 January 1910 in Belgium. He was a director and writer, known for Disobedient (1953), The Inheritance (1947) and Rheingold Theatre (1953). He died on 24 April 1997.- Director
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Karel Prior was born on 19 February 1924 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was a director and producer, known for Johnny en Rijk (1964), Redt een kind (1959) and Nieuwe Oogst (1958). He died on 24 April 1997 in Bilthoven, Utrecht, Netherlands.- Soundtrack
Robert Erickson was born on 7 March 1917 in Marquette, Michigan, USA. He died on 24 April 1997 in San Diego, California, USA.- M. Mazun was born on 20 July 1924 in Zakharovo, Tver Province, Russia. He was an actor, known for The Great Force (1951). He died on 24 April 1997.
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Location Management
Lee Sokol was a director, known for Aquí se lo halla (1983), Hot and Deadly (1982) and Ruby in Paradise (1993). She died on 24 April 1997 in Tampa, Florida, USA.- Santos Liszko was born on 9 October 1954 in Legnica, Dolnoslaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Land der Väter, Land der Söhne (1988) and Zerwane cumy (1979). He died on 24 April 1997 in Munich, Germany.