The Film Where Dan Aykroyd Fell In Love

If you are wracking your brain trying to figure out which movie this happens in you can stop. I'm talking about the real Dan Aykroyd falling in love while working on a film. As most of us know, Aykroyd is married to Donna Dixon. Judging from the picture on the left, she's still quite attractive but during the early 80s she was SMOKING HOT!!!!!! In a tale told a thousand times in the world of Hollywood films, the two unlikely lovers met on the set of a film that they were both working on. She was playing a hooker and he was playing the cliched "Nutty Professor" type who eventually becomes her pimp. If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm talking about "Doctor Detroit". I haven't seen this film in at least a decade but as a pre-pubescent I loved it! I watched it nearly every time it was on HBO and back then, HBO used to play the same movies at least 3 times in one day. Dan Aykroyd was a comedy king at that time and I truly believe that film companies just gave him carte blanche to do what he wanted. Until this movie hit theaters and bombed miserably. That may explain why, at the end of the film, there is a promise of "Doctor Detroit II: The Wrath of Mom". Aykroyd had been working on the script and had a go ahead to do the film. Then the box office returns came in and Universal pulled the plug. One thing that stuck out in the film, at least to me, was the music. It was quite the combination of genres that included new wave, soul and 80s pop. The new wave came courtesy of DEVO and the soul came courtesy of the mighty, James Brown, who also had a cameo in the film. Some of the 80s pop featured the star and writer of the film himself. Though not even close to what he musically pulled off with the Blues Brothers, Aykroyd's tracks aren't that bad (with the exception being a rap attempt where he is in character - that's just plain awful). Anyway, here is the soundtrack from that early 80s bit of cinema. Here is "Doctor Detroit". Enjoy!

Doctor Detroit OST

One last note: An interesting fact that connects this film to the classic Blues Brothers is an Illinois license plate on Dan Aykroyd's car. It reads BDR-529. This is the same plate that was on the Bluesmobile in The Blues Brothers

More "Bidi-Bidi-Bidi" Cards

Here's the next pack of Buck Rogers trading cards. As with the last pack, 10 cards (the next ten in order) plus three stickers make up the set! One little note: in pack one, the stickers were mis-labeled. Instead of stickers 1, 2 & 3, the actual stickers included in the pack were 1, 4 & 8. The reason for packing the stickers out of order is the order of the puzzle pieces on the back. Enjoy!

Buck Rogers Trading Cards Pack 2

Ann Margaret Grows Up

On April 9, 1962, at the annual Academy Awards ceremony, a 20-year-old Ann-Margaret earned a standing ovation for her performance of the title song to the Bob Hope film, "Bachelor in Paradise". However, it would take RCA Records a whole year to release that song. The Ann-Margret of Bachelors' Paradise was very different from the one who had hit the Top 20 with the bluesy "I Just Don't Understand" less than two years earlier. This was a nightclub chanteuse working with an orchestra and performing a bunch of pop standards written by the likes of Rodgers & Hart and Stephen Sondheim. A more mature, debonair sounding Ann Margaret. It suited her well but this image was not too last. Her next project: "Bye Bye Birdie". Oh well. Here is that great album from 1963. Here is Ann Margaret with "Bachelor's Paradise".

Ann Margaret - Bachelor's Paradise

Trading Cards in The 25th Century

Here is a pack of 10 cards from the Buck Rogers set from the popular television show! In accordance with the original packaging I am including 10 cards from the series of 88. To help you keep them tidy, I am including them in order. As an added bonus, instead of the usual 1 sticker per pack, I am including 3 stickers!!!! All cards and stickers have fronts and backs! Stay tuned for the rest of the set as well as more spiffy trading cards from the golden age of card collecting! Enjoy!

Buck Rogers Trading Cards Pack 1

Classic Television Episode of The Month: The Lone Ranger

Hi-Yo Silver!!!!

Country and Rock & Roll: A Winning Combination

I happened to pop a Donny and Marie album onto my turntable today and was surprised to find it wasn't all that bad. Cheesy yes, bad - no. It was a later album that the brother and sister duo put out in the late seventies (1978 to be exact) when their TV show was in full swing. It was called, simply, "A Winning Combination". Both alluding to the fact that the combination of their talents paid off and the fact that they were winning the ratings wars for a variety show in prime time. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the combination of jeans and thigh high boots being worn by Donny on the cover. Decide for yourself if this is a "Winning Combination". Enjoy!

Donny & Marie - A Winning Combination

Would You Believe A Comic Book?!

For the new year I have made a resolution that I will watch a complete season of a random show every month. For the first month, I chose season one of "Get Smart". I first came to love this show when it was in reruns during the day. I remember having to go to kindergarten as soon as it was over every day. I watched it all the time and loved it! I also am the proud owner of a few original copies of the "Get Smart" comic book. Today I share one of those with you now. Here is the very first issue of that comic book released by Dell publications in 1966. Enjoy!

Get Smart Issue #1

PS - If you enjoy "Get Smart", stay tuned to the blog for a brand new feature that will start with a "Get Smart" episode. More to come on that later . . .

Spiderman Swings!

Here's a video clip of "The Shiny Lapel Trio", a great swing quartet (yes, I said a quartet name The Shiny Lapel TRIO) that I've been playing with for some time. Here's our version of Spiderman. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday To The King

Today would have been the 76th birthday of Elvis. I was just reminded of that by a super duper Elvis fan who moved to Memphis just to get a job at Graceland. She knows more about Elvis than anyone I know and I know a lot of Elvis fans (including the President of The Rock and Roll Hall of Lame, I mean, Fame). Anyway, to celebrate, here is the King recorded live at the University Of Dayton. It's from October 6, 1974 and the title says it all. Here is "Elvis: Breathing Out Fire". Enjoy!

Elvis: Breathing Out Fire

The First Post of 2011!

For the first post of our (can you believe it) 6th year on the web, we here at Dartman's World of Wonder bring you a piece of musical history. Many people consider Louis Armstrong to be one of the greatest musicians of all time. What he added to music is immeasurable and listening to him today is just as exciting as it was when he first hit the scene. In May of 1954, Louis played to a packed house at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. It was the annual Spring Germans dance and it was broadcast on the radio for those who could not attend. Fortunately, that broadcast still exists to this day! Of course, the only decent thing to do is to share that with you now. Here is Louis Armstrong along with Kenny Johns, Billy Kyle, Arvel Shaw, Trummy Young, Barnie Begard and Thelma Middleton from that historic night in North Carolina. Enjoy!

Louis Armstong - UNC May 1954