Johnny Perez, drummer on the Sir Douglas Quintet's biggest hits and an
accomplished songwriter collaborating on hit songs with Joe “King” Carrasco, has
died.
Perez was 69. He died Tuesday at a Topanga, Calif., hospital from
complication of cirrhosis of the liver.
His greatest claim to fame was
his time in the 1960s with San Antonio's legendary Sir Douglas Quintet with Doug
Sahm, Augie Meyers, Frank Morin and Jack Barber.
Perez also owned Topanga
Skyline Studio, which opened in the early 1970s.
Before making the charts
with “She's About a Mover,” “The Rains Came” and “Mendocino” and riding the wave
of the British Invasion and the garage rock explosion, the young combo often
played at the Blue Note, a beer joint at the corner of Hildebrand Avenue and
Blanco Road.
In the early '60s, Perez was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer.
He was the Sir Douglas Quintet's wild child, too. Perez's friends knew him as
“J.P.” since his days at Fox Tech High School.
“J.P. was the spirit of
the band,” said Shawn Sahm, recounting stories his father told him. “He used to
protect the guys from people that picked on them for having long hair. He was
saving their (butts) all the time. I loved J.P. He was a big part of that whole
Sir Douglas Quintet trip.”
Likewise, bassist Jack Barber recalled the
early days on the road with Perez.
“He'd run around the room shadowboxing
with himself,” Barber said. “We were always doing crazy (stuff), playing
music.”
Texas Tornados drummer Ernie Durawa said he recommended Perez for
the Quintet when he couldn't travel.
“I took him to the airport and put
him on the plane. He went out to California and got famous with the Sir Douglas
Quintet,” Durawa said. “He had a way of playing that fit” them.
Later,
Perez moved to the West Coast along with Sahm and other members of the quintet
after a drug bust in Corpus Christi in the mid-'60s.
Perez earned a
reputation as a songwriter there.
“He always had a rhyme in his head and
a song to pitch,” recalled Joe Nick Patoski, author of “Willie Nelson: An Epic
Life.” “He was an L.A. mover and shaker.”
Songwriting partner Carrasco
said he was devastated by news of Perez's death. The two first collaborated in
1977, coming up with Tex-Mex classics such as “Buena” and “Pachuco Hop.” And
Carrasco said they were writing a new song, albeit a long-distance effort,
called “Tamale Christmas.”
“He was just a volcano of rhymes. The biggest
songs of my career are all done with Johnny,” Carrasco said of his friend, who
was proud of his days in the Sir Douglas Quintet to the end.
“It's funny.
He'd say, ‘I was the magic of that groove. ‘Mendocino,' that was me.' He's
right. He had a special style,” Carrasco said. “It's still sinking in. Johnny
never gave up looking for that magic.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Sir-Douglas-Quintet-drummer-Perez-dies-3861240.php
(BBC)-
Stanley Long 'King of Sexploitation' dies
Long's films
included On The Game, Eskimo Nell and The Wife Swappers
British
film-maker Stanley Long, known for directing a string of low-budget sex comedies
in the 1960s and '70s, has died aged 78.
Dubbed the "King of
Sexploitation", Long directed such films as On the Game and Sex and the Other
Woman.
He was also behind 1976 film Adventures Of A Taxi Driver - a rival
to the hit Confessions films starring Robin Askwith - which spawned two
sequels.
Long's family said he died of natural causes in
Buckinghamshire.
The film-maker became a millionaire in his late thirties
after producing movies that mixed bawdy comedy with female nudity.
His
X-rated sex farces starred a number of household names, such as Diana Dors, Liz
Fraser and Ian Lavender.
He also gave Shirley Valentine actress Pauline
Collins her first big break.
Long began his career as a photographer for
Picture Post. After serving in the RAF he began taking nude photos for a men's
magazine.
He later turned to making movies with his company Stag Films,
producing more than 150 shorts before moving to features.
West End
Jungle, a 1964 documentary about Soho's sex industry, caused an outcry and
remained banned by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) until 2008.
The following year it was screened on BBC Four.
Recently Long worked with
his post-production company, Salon, on such films as Batman Begins and V for
Vendetta.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19584032
WILSON, Vondell Darr was born on April 18, 1919 in Los Angeles, California and
passed away on September 10, 2012. Vondell studied at Holmby School for Girls,
Beverly Hills High School and graduated from UCLA in 1941.
From the age
of five, Vondell was an accomplished child actress, featured in both silent and
talking pictures, starring in such films as "On Trial", "The Dummy", "the Pony
Express" "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Scouts to the Rescue", working with Paramount,
MGM and Warner Brother Studios. She continued her acting career through her
teens, appearing in the "Andy Hardy" series.
Vondell's greatest passion
in life was her husband and family. She met her adored husband, Fred, in high
school at the age of 15, and they married in Catalina on July 8, 1941.
Throughout their 65-year marriage, Vondell was the supportive Naval wife
during World War II and the Korean War, and the complementary partner and
impeccable hostess for Fred, while he established and grew his career,
entertaining politicians, business leaders and entertainment icons. She
dedicated all her love, passion, energy and life to providing the perfect home
for her husband and large family. She was devoted to her three daughters, six
grandchildren, and her eight great-grandchildren.
Vondell was a gourmet
cook, and always made every family gathering inviting, warm and loving, creating
family traditions that we will treasure always. Vondell adored all beautiful
things in nature, cherished time in her gardens in Encino, Rancho Mirage and
Lake Arrowhead and walking her dogs. She enjoyed painting and playing bridge
with her many friends at the Lake. All those that knew Vonnie will always
remember her tremendous beauty, inner spirituality, peacefulness, endless grace,
courage, love and compassion.
Her husband, Fred C. Wilson, Daughter
Sharon Merz, son-in-law Ron Merz and grandson Billy Peschelt precede Vondell in
death. She is survived by daughters Marlene (Joel) Friedman and Rhonda (Skip)
Kozacik; grandchildren Stacy (Rob) Risbrough, Stephanie (David) Close and Brett
(Erin) Merz, Trey and Kurt Kozacik; and great-grandchildren Katie, Emily and
Madelyn Risbrough, Annie, Grace and Caroline Close, and Hayden and Molly Merz.
Her Memorial Service will be held at 1:00pm Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at First
United Methodist Church of North Hollywood. Cabot & Sons, Pasadena
Directors.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=Vondell-WILSON&pid=159872564#fbLoggedOut
Sunday, September 16, 2012
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