Anybody Old Enough To Remember The Name Of A California Politician That Was Trying To Look Like...

[WillyT]

a Kennedy?

Can't remember how far in CA or National politics he got, but his major schtick was to look like a Kennedy.

Anybody help me out here???

:shrug:

[yellerpup]

1. Vaughn Meader was a California comedian who used to "do" JFK.

'Zat help?

[blondeatlast]

4. My parents had that album and I still do; very carefully preserved.

After the assassination, they never played it, but it was pretty good.

[LSparkle]

8. OMG -- I LOVED that record! My parents had it, too!

And you're right -- I never heard it again after
November '63.

[yellerpup]

11. I could almost feel John & Bobby backing up Ted last night.

Valiant men to a one.

[gauguin57]

12. Remember that story about Lenny Bruce, performing on the night of JFK's assassination?

Wondering whether his audience would find anything funny right after the president died, Bruce said to the audience, "Vaughn Meader is SCREWED!"

And, he pretty much was after that. Meader was typecast as a Kennedy comic, and couldn't get work.

[yellerpup]

13. I did think of that, poor guy.

Poor Kennedy family. Poor country. Dark days.

[Motown_Johnny]

2. Arnold? he married one

[flowomo]

3. John Tunney...

I believe

[WillyT]

5. BINGO !!! - And Thank You !!!

:yourock:

[flowomo]

7. you're welcome... I met him on a trip to Cal once...

he's still around and came out against the war according to Wikipedia. Lost his seat to arch-conservative S.I. Hayakawa

[LSparkle]

9. Later a partner in the law firm Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Tunney

Which has now become Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

I always liked John Tunney (even though I was only
an adolescent when he served so I may not be aware
of some of his failings).

[NEM]

15. Is that the Hayakawa

who was the well known japanese actor, Sessue (sp) Hayakawa. Played a lot of Japanese officers in WWII movies. I think he was the camp commander in The Bridge On the River Kwai.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Which Kennedy would that be?

[flowomo]

10. JFK as I recall...

eye of the beholder.

Interestingly, he was Teddy Kennedy's law school roomate.

[pilar007]

14. Yes - John Tunney

Going through my mom's things I found a letter from him to her. He had helped her with her Social Security case. I remember she had problems - like many- with the initial rejection of her claim. She became so despondent she wrote him to help her. He did.

[trackfan]

16. John Tunney's father was Gene Tunney, the heavyweight champion

who beat Jack Dempsey, I think twice; once in the famous "long count" bout. He (John) was elected in 1970, defeating incumbent Republican, actor George Murphy, who, being an actor-turned-politician, had paved the way, in a sense, for Reagan.

[mikekohr]

17. Gene Tunney Wore His Hair In the Same Manner That His Son Adopted

Tunney was one of Boxing's classiest champs, but was resented by many for beating Jack Dempsey, the Manansas Mauler, a hero and an icon to millions of Americans.

Tunney and Dempsey remained respectful of one another and stayed friends after the fights until the day they died. A message that many in the PUIMA movement should take note of.

mike kohr

[H2O Man]

18. Right.

James Joseph Tunney was born in 1898, the son of Irish immigrants. His father worked the docks. He got the nickname "Gene," because his little sister had a lisp, and couldn't pronounce his name correctly when she was little.

As a teenager, Tunney had his share of "street fights." He was among the Irish kids who began going to the Greenwich Village Athletic Club, to learn the art of self-defense. A lot of the toughest Irish-American boxers came out of that club.

Tunney was a lightheavyweight most of his career. He ended up a heavyweight, though today he would still be considered a cruiserweight. At 6 feet tall, he weighed about 190 lbs at his best.

He was known as "the Fighting Marine," because during WW1 he fought in European tournaments in France. He won a couple "regional" titles, which were recognized as important in those days; such regional titles would be an improvement today, and could be an alternative to the worthless "titles" that money-grubbing "commissions" pass out today.

He had a total of 76 fights, and only lost once, to the great Harry Greb. Known as the "human windmill," Greb was one of the dirtiest fighters in boxing history. Their fight was even after 10 rounds, but a seriously broken nose resulted in a loss of blood, and Tunney was physically unabled to keep up the pace with Greb in the final 5 rounds. The two fought four more times, and in each of these fights, Tunney used body punching to beat his talented opponent. (Fights in NYS were all ruled "no decisions" in that era, due to the corruption in judging fights. Only knock-outs were ruled as wins or loses. However, the boxing community accepted the press's judgement on who won.)

Tunney's style wasn't as exciting for fans as a slugger such as Jack Dempsey. And the light heavyweight division didn't capture the public's interest in the way the heavyweights and even the middleweights did. So when Tunney moved up, beat a few contenders and then Dempsey twice, he wasn't a popular champion. Dempsey, though an inactive champion, was a national hero. It is always hard to follow such a figure, as Larry Holmes found out.

Tunney wasn't the first heavyweight champion who had outstanding defensive skills: Corbett and Johnson both did. But Tunney was the first man to retire with the heavyweight title, and he was smart enough to stay retired. After boxing, he got married and earned a lot of money in the business world.

The O' Tonnaigh Clanna ("glimmering wave") was a branch of the Cenel Conaill in northern Ireland; Tunney's ancestors had moved to County Mayo in more recent times. Gene Tunney had "movie star" looks, and wore his hair "like a Kennedy" before the Kennedys did. He was one of the most interesting fighters in boxing history, though he remains generally under-rated to this day.