Author Archives: toddpanther

“Sweet Lorraine”‘s Letters

Posted on by toddpanther

Lorraine

Thought this was fascinating! (And it reminded me of the interesting articles the “old” Village Voice used to run every week in the late ’80s and early ’90s, back when I was in my late teens and early 20s.  (I still can’t forget “Albert Murray’s Blues People,” the name of that long, thorough Joe Wood profile of Albert Murray in the VV‘s Literary supplement. Sadly, both are ancestors in 2014. Yep, I’m old. :))

Arsenio Calls ‘Em Out! (And He Should Have!) LOL! (And Why Was The First “Arsenio” Cancelled?)

Posted on by toddpanther

NOTE: It’s a common urban legend that Arsenio got thrown off the air for having Minister Farrakhan on the first incarceration of his show. I know a different version that I remember reading (but not where): In the version I remember, Arsenio’s popularity came from CBS affiliates using him instead of Pat Sajak. When David Letterman signed his now-famous deal, the affiliates let Arsenio know he was going to be kicked off soon. So Arsenio’s show was, in effect, cancelled a year in advance. That gave him the freedom to put Farrakhan on. This article says kinda what I remember reading.

And here’s something not-completely-unrelated to remember, as Arsenio fights the second time around ( 🙂 ).