Sadie Corré

by Glen Barnham

Despite her height of only 4 foot 1 inch this performer achieved much and overcome prejudice to become one of this countries greatest ever pantomime cats, and had cult status with her performance in Rocky Horror Show movie.

Sadie Corré was born in 1918 in Bognor, Sussex.Her first appearance was at the age of 7 on the Palace Pier, Brighton and her first professional appearance, age 12,was ‘Trouble’ in Madam Butterfly at Streatham Hill Theatre, and she use to say with a smile that her friends said she has been trouble ever since. Audiences remarked on her acting ability when crying but did not know it was Joan Cross trying to make her laugh. In return Sadie got her own back on Joan whilst she was singing ‘One Fine Day’, when she did her best to make the great soprano laugh. Despite that she was in demand for the same part by the leading opera companies of the day. That sense of fun was to be her hallmark for the next eight decades. The next appearance was ‘Where the Rainbow Ends’, at the Holborn Empire. Films at the time included child roles with Marlene Deitrich and Richard Tauber.By this time she was 14, and had been at Italia Conti stage school for two years, where a classmate was Dinah Sheridan. After Holborn she worked in Cavalcade in 1931 for 11 months at Drury Lane. Sadie spoke very fondly of Noel Coward, who was a good friend to the entire cast during the run, and was the perfect boss and remembered with affection for his personal kindness. Other parts during the Conti period included cabaret work where her tap-dancing and comedy was recognised even at that age. The next stage work was for Cochrane during 1935/36 at the Adelphi Theatre in ‘Follow the Sun’ with Vic Oliver and Winston Churchill’s daughter Sarah was in the chorus.

Then came her big break in 1937 when a young big star by the name of Hughie Green asked her to join ‘His Gang’, where again her comedy and tap came to the fore. That act of three started at Stratford Empire on 7th August 1937 and disbanded at the outbreak of war. That act with Sadie and Hughie was top of the bill at all the No 1 theatres. It gave her the opportunity to work the same bill, as all the legendary acts of the time and her stories should have been written up, as there was more fun backstage and some stories from this great raconteur could never have been published. Such acts included Max Miller, Robb Wilton,Georgie Wood(who after seeing her impersonation of him said ‘am I that good’),and Jimmy James.

Then in 1939-40 she toured as Michael in ‘Peter Pan’. After that she spent the wartime touring the length of the country with ENSA entertaining the troops. In 1947,whilst at the Gateshead Empire there was a call from Hughie Green to find out if she was interested in touring with him in a new show called ‘Opportunity Knocks’, which opened in Leicester and continued as top of the bill at major theatres. When Sadie asked Hughie about rehearsal he said just do what you did 10 years ago and that is what happened as if the years had not separated these two professionals. After a year with Green and a huge bust up which never healed, she was always very direct, it was time to part company and move on with more tours and summer seasons, ‘Melody Inn’, with Jackson Earle when such seasons ran for a year. Sadie was asked by both Harry Tate and Hilda Baker to join there acts but declined. Other shows included Frank Randles Scandals (he locked her in a dressing room in the nude and chased her with a loaded gun but she sorted him out), Gulliver’s Travels, Folly to be Wise and Godiver Rides Again, which toured the last of the number 5’s variety theatre in 1956/58 in the last throws of old fashion variety tours with nudes but says she managed to keep her clothes on. The venues were being demolished or going over to bingo as they finished the weekly dates.

In 1948 a chance meeting with Clarkson Rose saw her take the first of many animal roles in Pantomime when engaged for ‘Goody Two Shoes’ at Kings Theatre, Hammersmith.From that day on she started a new career which was to make her one of the greatest ever panto animals who ever worked in that field.Panto experts rated her the greatest ever cat and she enjoyed that praise. Her legendary cat was child friendly never to frighten and had its own personality. Such work culminated in a four month season in 1960/61 at the London Palladium. That was with Norman Wisdom in ‘Turn Again Whitington’.Much in demand for Panto she worked with all the leading performers over four decades and helped many of those first timers from the world of pop get through such shows. Many would have been grateful for the advice coming from under the skin helping them if a problem in the show. But for those who were trouble they got suitable treatment. Some of her favourite co-stars in panto included Arthur Askey, Eddie Gray, Dana, Spike Milligan, Joe Brown, Jimmy Wheeler, Tommy Cooper, Norman Vaughan and Jess Conrad. All the biggest and best Xmas productions plus endless tours for Emile Littler of ‘Snow White’ kept her busy. Her last skin work was with Keith Harris when she played Cuddles at the 1984 Command Performance. There was other TV work as Cuddles. Only arthritis forced her to give up this work and the famous cat costume was proudly given to the Theatre Museum along with recorded memories that had the staff in stitches with laughter.

Films and TV included Funnybones, Star Wars, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Wombling Free, Dark Crystal, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Willow, Return to Oz, Brazil, Dummy Revenge of the Jedi, Carravaggio, Video Stars (BBC drama), Spike Milligan series (BBC) Mr Majieka (TVS). Two award winning documentaries(1960’s) about her were Lord Snowdon’s ‘Born to be Small’ and ‘Aquarius’(LWT) brought out the serious side of being small but also vehicles for her dynamic personality. Her role as a dancer in the film of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ (1974) gave her cult status in many countries, and she was the favourite ‘Tranni’, and was in demand for at conventions for this cult film. In her 80’s she continued to be a star of the Internet on the Rocky Horror website. It gave this totally professional artist satisfaction and encouraged her to be available for work ‘as long as not too much running about and not in the sticks( outside of London)’. Sadie appeared at all major Variety Theatre with the exception of Finsbury Park. International tours included USA, Germany, France and Australia where her tap, panto work were in demand. She recalled that the only time she went off to the sound of her own feet was at Chorley, and even survived a number of appearances, and was a noted success, at the legendary early evening audiences on Friday nights at the Glasgow Empire.

Sadie Corré worked in all aspects of show business except circus and worked on behalf of fellow artists with her work as an active supporter of the Grand Order of Lady Ratlings, where she was a past officer of that order. She had also sat on the Board of the Variety Artists Federation.

In 2007 this very independent and active lady suffered cruel illness, a serious stroke, and went into a care home in St John’s Wood but still managed to bring a smile to staff and visitors. Sadie died 26th August aged 91.

By: Brian Scott Lipton · Aug 26, 2009 · New York

Ellie Greenwich, one of the foremost songwriters of the rock 'n' roll
era, has died at age 69, according to reports.

Greenwich's songs were the basis of the 1985 Broadway revue Leader of
the Pack, which earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical. She
also appeared in the production, alongside Patrick Cassidy, Dinah
Manoff, Annie Golden, Jasmine Guy, Darlene Love, and other stars.

In addition to the song "Leader of the Pack," Greenwich wrote such
iconic hits as "Be My Baby," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Tell Laura I Love Her"
and "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." In 1991, she and Jeff Barry,
her former husband and songwriting and producing partner, were
inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

Greenwich's songs were also featured in three other Broadway revues:
Uptown, It's Hot!, Andre De Shields' Harlem Nocturne, and Rock 'n'
Roll! The First 5,000 Years.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Dominick Dunne, the former Hollywood producer and best-selling author known for his Vanity Fair essays on the courtroom travails of the rich and famous, died Wednesday in New York city after a long battle with cancer.


Dominick Dunne wrote five best selling books and covered high society crimes for Vanity Fair.

Dunne, who described himself as "a high-class Zelig," was 83.

Called "Nick" by his friends, Dunne was putting the finishing touches on his final novel, which he said he planned to call "Too Much Money," when his health took a turn for the worse.

He flew to Germany earlier this month for another round of stem cell treatments at the same Bavarian clinic where the late Farrah Fawcett was treated. He was hospitalized upon his return to New York, then sent home.

As a correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, Dunne was a fixture at some of the most famous trials of our times -- Claus von Bulow, William Kennedy Smith, the Menendez brothers, O.J. Simpson, Michael Skakel and Phil Spector.

He discovered his magazine writing career in his 50s, through personal tragedy -- his daughter's murder.

He vented his anger at the legal system in "Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer," following the murder trial of John Sweeney, the estranged boyfriend who strangled 22-year-old Dominique Dunne, in 1982. Sweeney spent fewer than three years in prison.

Dunne's article was published by Vanity Fair and he accepted then-editor Tina Brown's offer to write full-time for the magazine. Calling himself a "diarist," Dunne dropped bold-faced names as he spilled behind-the-scenes nuggets gleaned from courtrooms and dinner parties alike.

He bristled at one writer's oft-repeated description of him as "Judith Krantz in pants." He preferred to be known as a crime victim's advocate and frequently spoke at events sponsored by victims' groups.

The fact he personally knew many of the people he wrote about set Dunne apart from other crime writers.

Dunne wrote that he met music producer Phil Spector for dinner three times during the Simpson murder trial. "He knew every detail of the trial and story," Dunne wrote. "He carried a gun when we saw each other, but he never pulled it on me." Spector later became a defendant in a trial Dunne covered.

He spoke to CNN in June, while promoting the DVD release of a documentary of his life called "After the Party." At the time, he said he was feeling well, happy, and hopeful the treatments were working. "I'm pro stem cell," he said.

But even then, he seemed to know he was in a race against time. "I want to have one more best seller, before I cool," Dunne said. "It's wonderful to have a best seller."

He said his personal story puts the lie to the claim by another high society writer, the late F. Scott Fitzgerald, that there are no second acts in life.

"This is the third act," Dunne said. "I have a novel coming out. I finally got it finished in the clinic ... I'm calling it 'Too Much Money.' That's a hooking title."

Dunne looked back on his life during the hour-long lunchtime phone chat.

He said he had just one regret -- his failed marriage to his wife, Lenny, who died in 1997. The couple never formally divorced.

"I loved that marriage," he said. "Lenny was the love of my life. And yet I ruined it. I wasn't formed yet. The regret is that I hurt her."

Besides hosting his own show on truTV, Dunne appeared frequently on CNN's "Larry King Live."

"Dominick Dunne was one of the finest people I've known," King said. "He was a terrific writer, a raconteur, and a familiar face on 'Larry King Live' for many years. He was a wonderful human being."

In court, Dunne always dressed impeccably, wearing dark jackets and gray flannels, sharply starched shirts complete with cufflinks and club-style ties. He used a fountain pen to jot notes in small bound notebooks.

He was unabashedly pro-prosecution, although he said he "lost no sleep" over Robert Blake's acquittal on a charge of killing his wife, and was troubled by Martha Stewart's conviction on lying to investigators about a stock deal.

When Simpson's acquittal was announced in 1995, Dunne's jaw dropped and the courtroom cameras caught his expression. It became an iconic image. Simpson later was found liable in a wrongful death suit and ordered to pay more than $33 million to the victims' families.

Dunne had been battling cancer for several years -- a fight that became widely known when he collapsed in court last year while covering Simpson's Las Vegas armed robbery trial. He wasn't in court to see Simpson sentenced to prison.

Dunne's life story reads like one of his novels. He was born to a well-to-do family in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1925; his father was a cardiac specialist. Dunne attended preppy Williams College, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge, winning the Bronze star.

He later found work in New York as a stage manager for "The Howdy Doody Show," a popular kids' show when television was in its infancy.

He moved to Hollywood, rubbing elbows with the biggest names in show business during the 1960s, and became a movie producer. But he soon became addicted to alcohol and drugs, hit bottom and became his own worst nightmare -- a nobody.

He sobered up and retired to a one-room cabin in Oregon to write his first novel, then headed back to New York with just a suitcase and his typewriter.

In 1985, Dunne wrote his first best-seller, "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles," loosely based on a society killing. That success was followed by "People Like Us," "An Inconvenient Woman," "A Season in Purgatory," and, following the Simpson trial, "Another City, Not my Own."

His brother, the late John Gregory Dunne, was an accomplished author and was married to Joan Didion, a wit and famous writer. In fact, Dunne has said, he was so daunted by their talent that it probably delayed the start of his own writing career by decades.

Asked if he believed in past lives, Dunne, ever the firm believer in second acts, said: "I believe in future ones."

Friday, August 28 2009

Southern Californian wrestler Peter Zwissler, known professionally as Peter Goodman, has passed away. He was 29.

Zwissler was trained by Rick Bassman's Ultimate University. He was a regular with Impact Zone Wrestling in Arizona, the Alternative Wrestling Show in Southern California, and NWA Pro.

Indy Wrestling News sends its condolences to the friends, family, and fans of Peter Zwissler.

Written by Adam Lash

Tuesday, August 25 2009

Carolina wrestler "Primetime" Brian Linder, 35, died in a traffic accident early Sunday morning. Linder was trained by The American G.I. and began wrestling in 2000 for Stallion's Professional Wrestling Federation group in North Carolina. Outside of wrestling he worked as an educator and football coach in his home town of Gaffney, SC, and was an assistant principal at Whitlock Junior High School at the time of his passing. He will be laid to rest Thursday in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens after a service at Floyd's Greenlawn Chapel in Spartanburg, SC. Flowers will be accepted or memorial may be made to the Brian R. Linder Remembrance Fund, c/o Spartanburg School District 7, P.O. Box 970, Spartanburg, SC 29304. Everyone at Indy Wrestling News wishes to send its condolences to the friends, family, and fans of Brian Linder

Written by Adam Lash

Friday, August 28 2009