The great-grandson of a spiritualist who regularly conducted séances at the family home (where Aykroyd grew up and resides today), Dan Aykroyd cut his teeth on stories and personal experiences of the paranormal. Shortly after Aykroyd was born, according to family lore he was visited by his deceased great-grandparents: My mother speaks about a time when she was nursing me […]

Imagine if you will that you’re sitting in an airport waiting to go on vacation. Suddenly and without warning you hear a voice over the tannoy system informing you that every single plane scheduled that day had been grounded. As your mind begins to think of all the horrible things that could have caused the delay, you hear the voice […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Survivor and The Real World may have seemed innovative at the time they debuted, but they owe a huge debt to a show that hasn’t aired since 1973 and has largely been forgotten, despite being named one of the greatest shows of all time by TV Guide. Here’s the story […]

Comics are littered with weird and obscure heroes and villains with powers that range from the mundane to the ridiculous, but there’s one character that ranks among the most “interesting” ever conceived- Snowflame, a villain with powers that were intrinsically linked to the character taking copious amounts of cocaine. As the character himself explained in the comic, “I am Snowflame, […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader In 1966 the best-selling rock band in the United States wasn’t the Beatles—it was the Monkees. And they weren’t even a “real” band (at least at first); they were a Hollywood creation. THE PRE-FAB FOUR In 1953 a TV producer named Bob Rafelson was traveling through Mexico with a group […]

Comedian Jerry Lewis has been entertaining audiences and movie-goers around the world since he first took to the stage at the age of five in 1931, singing “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” in New York City. For a decade during the 1940s and 1950s, he teamed up with Dean Martin forming one of the greatest comedy duos in history. […]

Jason Statham, the stunningly handsome man you occasionally see glistening on the cover of Men’s Health or kicking The Rock in the face in the latest Fast and the Furious movie, is primarily known for two kinds of roles- action movies, where he uses his formidable athleticism to beat up dozens of nameless thugs, and comedy films, where he usually […]

It was the Christmas season of 1963 when the Beatles agreed to star in “The Beatles Christmas Shows” at the Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park, London. These shows had been arranged by the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, and included several of his other acts including Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Tommy Quickly and Cilla Black. These shows were, quite […]

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Mantan Moreland. But, if you are lucky enough to have seen him in a film—any film—you’ll definitely remember him. Moreland’s comic timing manages to transcend the decades in films like King of the Zombies (1941), where he steals the show, saving what would otherwise be a completely forgettable (and by now, probably […]

The date was July 25, 1956. The place was the world-famous Copacabana nightclub in New York City. Dean Martin, the suave, smooth, baritone singer and his hilarious comedy partner, Jerry Lewis, were about to go onstage for the 2:30 a.m. show. It was to be their last of three shows that night, and also the final appearance of the most […]

The following is an article from Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Here’s an inside look at the world’s most popular comic strip and the man who created it. BACKGROUND To say that Peanuts is the most famous daily comic strip in the history of the art form is an understatement. Like Superman and Mickey Mouse, Peanuts transcended its medium and became […]