The Controversial Jazz Cowboy : Herb Jeffries Part 1

The Desperado of Deceit : David Avadon

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/fan_mail/new] NOTE: After this episode, we will have a brief pause due to vacation scheduling and making space for all that DREADED summer fun. I hope you all are doing the same, sweet taphophiles!  Check out another great show, Candy is Dandy [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/candy-is-dandy-the-candy-review-podcast/id1632162083] while we're away! A tombstone at Hollywood Forever Cemetery calls him the “Desperado Of Deceit” and that’s not a metaphor. We’re telling the story of David Avadon, a working magician and exhibition pickpocket who made a career out of taking watches, wallets, and ties from volunteers on stage and then handing everything back for laughs and applause. And would you believe that he got his start by teaming up with a Rabbi?  We get nerdy about the craft. What actually makes pickpocketing work as entertainment? We talk misdirection, sleight of hand, psychology, touch, timing, and why the best performers pair technical skill with comedy and improv. We also break down the Magic Castle, the Academy of Magical Arts, and the exclusive invitation-only culture that shaped Avsdon’s long run as a respected Los Angeles magician, plus his travel, celebrity pockets, writing, and film and TV consulting. If you love Hollywood history, stage magic, odd jobs, and niche true stories with jokes and real research, hit subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review so more people can find Dead and Kind of Famous. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/support] Follow us on... Substack- https://substack.com/@deadandkindafamous Here, you can find our episodes, transcripts, relevant images and newsletters. Instagram- @deadandkindoffamous See us visit the graves of our subjects and pay our respects with lovingly selected offerings. Apple Podcasts and Spotify- Please be a Bon Vivant and leave us a rating and review. It would mean the world!

Harmless Weirdo, Hair Brighter than the Sun : James Michael Tyler

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/fan_mail/new] Today, we discuss the life of the actor, James Michael Tyler, the man who turned barista experience and a last-minute bleach job into 148 episodes of Friends. I mean is that luck, magic or a strange version of highly-paid-hell where you are stuck being a barista forever no matter what you do? We dig into the “arc” of his famed Friends character, Gunther in our first ever crossover episode! That’s right, we’re teaming up with Jessica and Zach from Because it Was On - the ultimate podcast for sitcom lovers.   We follow James Michael (JMT) through the tragic childhood loss of his parents, to a geology degree turned acting MFA that leads him to good ‘ol LA. Los Angeles becomes a parade of survival jobs, including years at a coffee shop, until one “extra” gig on a new show called Friends needs someone who can actually work an espresso machine for the Central Perk scenes. And the rest is freshly brewed history.  Then Jessica and Zach dig into the character himself: the “harmless weirdo” trope, the way side characters act as audience stand-ins, and the moments where sitcom comedy brushes up against real discomfort.  But the actor himself was 100% lovable and oddly normal for once? On this show, that in and of itself is bizarre. Share this with your favorite Friends fan and leave a review with a side character you think deserved their own episode. Subscribe to Because it Was On! -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/because-it-was-on/id1662116080 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/because-it-was-on/id1662116080]  “If You Knew” read by James Michael Tyler - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf-Gt_ZOAuc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf-Gt_ZOAuc] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/support] Follow us on... Substack- https://substack.com/@deadandkindafamous Here, you can find our episodes, transcripts, relevant images and newsletters. Instagram- @deadandkindoffamous See us visit the graves of our subjects and pay our respects with lovingly selected offerings. Apple Podcasts and Spotify- Please be a Bon Vivant and leave us a rating and review. It would mean the world!

Beige Don't Age, But Grey Face Does : Herb Jeffries Part 2

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/fan_mail/new] A plane crash, a scar across the face, and a spine injury so bad doctors push reconstruction surgery.  We trace how Jeffries finds Autobiography of a Yogi, seeks out Paramahansa Yogananda at the Mount Washington ashram, and commits to months of yoga that he credits with a shocking recovery. From there, the timeline opens up into Paris nightclubs, celebrity circles, hit records, and the media machine that keeps trying to label him. We talk through the Life magazine profile that praises him for “choosing his race,” and why that framing is both historically revealing and deeply uncomfortable to read now. Then we get into the controversy that won’t sit still: Jeffries’ racial ambiguity, the claims that he had no verifiable African ancestry, and the Jet magazine confrontation over him listing “white” on marriage certificates. We’re not delivering a neat verdict. We’re asking what representation meant in mid-century entertainment, what passing and identity policing look like when you’re famous, and whether impact can coexist with a story that keeps shifting under pressure. Listen, then come argue with us: subscribe, leave a review, and drop a comment with your take on Herb Jeffries’ legacy. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/support] Follow us on... Substack- https://substack.com/@deadandkindafamous Here, you can find our episodes, transcripts, relevant images and newsletters. Instagram- @deadandkindoffamous See us visit the graves of our subjects and pay our respects with lovingly selected offerings. Apple Podcasts and Spotify- Please be a Bon Vivant and leave us a rating and review. It would mean the world!

The Controversial Jazz Cowboy : Herb Jeffries Part 1

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/fan_mail/new] Hey Taphophiles! Are you ready for another wild ride? Well good. Hop in, losers! Herb Jeffries is the kind of Hollywood Forever Cemetery resident who forces us to slow down and ask harder questions than we planned to ask. There’s the Louis Armstrong napkin of recommendation, the jazz career that was delivered by Duke Ellington’s “Flamingo” and the black singing cowboy persona… that was attributed to a man who was not truly black. Herb made his choices based on the type of music he wanted to make and the kind of artists he wanted to work with. And so we look at his story knowing that the lens of today’s criticism needs to be recalibrated to match the circumstances of the past.    What do you make of Herb Jeffries after hearing the first half of his story? There’s a lot to discuss, so please tell us your thoughts in the comments! Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/support] Follow us on... Substack- https://substack.com/@deadandkindafamous Here, you can find our episodes, transcripts, relevant images and newsletters. Instagram- @deadandkindoffamous See us visit the graves of our subjects and pay our respects with lovingly selected offerings. Apple Podcasts and Spotify- Please be a Bon Vivant and leave us a rating and review. It would mean the world!

A Low Life in High Heels to the End: Holly Woodlawn Part 5

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/fan_mail/new] If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! This is the final installment of our Holly Woodlawn series and it’s not a quiet last act. The deaths of Andy Warhol, Candy Darling and Jackie Curtis left Holly looking for  a fresh start and with that, her Hollywood chapter began. Fate led her to meet Jeffrey Copeland, the unexpected co-writer of her life story, A Low Life in High Heels, which has been the main source for this series. Jeffrey wrote another book just last year called Love You Madly, Holly Woodlawn that reveals the way he cared for Holly, dedicated himself to her book, and came out the other side with nothing, despite the fact that Madonna herself wanted to produce a film based on the book. With cameos from Maila Nurmi, Hibiscus, Gorilla Rose, Lily Tomlin, and Divine, this is a finale you won’t want to miss. Links: Famous photo “Flower Power” featuring Hibiscus : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Power_%28photograph%29 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Power_%28photograph%29] Divine Knew - https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/13dp99w/divine_knew/ Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2404627/support] Follow us on... Substack- https://substack.com/@deadandkindafamous Here, you can find our episodes, transcripts, relevant images and newsletters. Instagram- @deadandkindoffamous See us visit the graves of our subjects and pay our respects with lovingly selected offerings. Apple Podcasts and Spotify- Please be a Bon Vivant and leave us a rating and review. It would mean the world!