Esther Rolle (b. Nov 8, 1920 - d. Nov. 17, 1998), was an American actress best known for her role as Florida Evans on the 1970s sitcom, Good Times. A spin-off of Maude (itself a spin-off of All in the Family), Good Times is viewed as a ground breaking work in television as it featured an almost exclusively black cast and told the surprisingly upbeat story of an African-American family living in the ghetto (a Chicago apartment project, inspired by the famous/infamous Cabrini Green.) Although the show became a vehicle for the mugging of it's breakout star Jimmie "J.J." Walker, in the decades since, the program has become primarily remembered for three things: the gospel choir tinged theme song, launching the career of Janet Jackson, and the off-screen death of a major character which lead to one of the most iconic and histrionic moments ever seen on sitcom television, which came courtesy of Ms. Rolle.
See the inspiration for the title of today's post, Aid and Abet a Punster, and read more about today after the jump:
Also Today -
Abet and Aid Punsters Day
A well-played pun is tough. Few have mastered the art, but when they do, the results can be hilarious. Most plays on words, however, are groan-inducing... so, why not celebrate today's holiday by reading some groan-induced puns!
Aid and abet one of comic-dom's most notorious and offensive offenders of language by reading a copy of Tales from the Crypt. The classic run, which was recently made available in archive editions, is always a good read, but there were also some real gems sprinkled throughout the criminally under-appreciated re-boot that Papercutz attempted a few years ago.
I personally recommend Volumes One ("Ghouls Gone Wild" - for the Rob Vollmar/Tim Smith 3 tale "For Serious Collectors Only" and Don MacGregor/Sho Murase's "Runway Roadkill") and Three ("Zombielicious" for the Jared Michael Gniewek penned "Kid Tested, Mom Approved.")
Today in History: 1889 - Montana became the 41st State; 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt forms the Civil Works Administration to help create jobs for millions of workers unemployed during the Great Depression.
Holidays: Cook Something Bold Day; Dunce Day; National Parents as Teachers Day; X-Ray Day.
Birthdays: Bonnie Raitt, b. 1949; Bram Stoker, b. 1847; Christian Barnard (performed the first heart transplant), b. 1922; Courtney Thorne-Smith, b. 1968; Edmund Halley, b. 1656; Morley Safer, b. 1931.
No comments:
Post a Comment