Jailhouse Rock (1957), Elvis Presley’s 3^rd feature and the first to really offer Elvis’ brand of rock ‘n’ roll undiluted, is probably his most famous and best-regarded film. The production number where the King sings and dances to the title track has been showcased in dozens of “Best of Hollywood Musicals” retrospectives, but how many have actually watched the entire film from which it comes?

Let’s take a deep dive into this milestone in the history of rock & roll movies. 

You might be surprised because Elvis’ character in the film, convict-turned-crooner Vince Everett is not a very likable fellow. When we first meet him, he beats a guy to death in a bar (that’s what sends him to the “jailhouse”). The beating he administers is excessive, even as he’s supposedly defending a woman at the bar from mistreatment by her man. Throughout the picture, Everett displays an extremely volatile temper that, today, would get him arrested and sentenced to anger management classes.

Elvis remains pretty sullen, egocentric and greedy (his only motivation for singing is his lust for wealth)) all through the picture. It is hard to find any reason to root for the guy outside of the fact that he’s being played by Elvis.

His love interest is a young record promoter played by Judy Tyler (best remembered as Princess Summerfallwinterspring on the old Howdy Doody Show). Tyler is sweet, attractive and really does help Elvis' character get his career launched. But he treats her so badly, you also have to wonder what her issues are. And you may not be rooting for them to wind up together at the final fadeout.

What redeems the picture are 4 songs written by one of rock’s great composing teams, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. In addition to the title tune, they also wrote “I Want to Be Free” and two more all-time Presley classics for this picture: “Treat Me Nice” and “(You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care.”

Nevertheless, as repellent as his on-screen persona was, Presley’s real-life star power made this a big moneymaker for MGM Studios. It finished as the 14^th highest grossing film the year it was released.

Here are a couple of facts about the film you may not know:

• The story that Elvis choreographed himself in the “Jailhouse Rock” number is only half true. Presley wasn’t on board with choreographer Alex Romero’s initial dance moves. So, Romero had Elvis demonstrate the kind of moves he would make when singing the song. Romero then took what he saw and created the choreography we see in the film, built around moves he knew Presley could make.
• Film legend, Gene Kelly attended one of the rehearsals for the “Jailhouse Rock” number and was so impressed he gave Elvis and the other dancers an enthusiastic round of applause when they finished.
• Sadly, Judy Tyler died just two weeks after filming wrapped. It was a fatal car accident that claimed her life and that of her husband. Elvis was so upset that he did not attend the film’s premier.
• Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller really stalled on writing songs for the film. So much so that MGM brass called them to New York. They showed up empty-handed and their music publisher had to actually barricade them in their hotel room, refusing to release them until they completed their obligation to the studio. The pair then knocked out all 4 of the songs they wrote for the film in just 4 hours.
• Presley liked the songwriters so much that he insisted Mike Stoller appear as the piano player in Presley’s back-up band in the film.
• The film was produced on an extremely low budget and was filmed in only 5 weeks.
• It was condemned by the Parent-Teachers Association on its initial release for portraying what they called “cheap human values.”
• In 2004, Jailhouse Rock was selected for preservation as part of the National Film Registry.

You might want to give this a watch soon to see Elvis at the absolute peak of his career. If you can’t find a partner, use a wooden chair.

1. It was the first network sitcom centered around a single working girl who was not a maid. Previously, woman who were sitcom stars tended to be a.) wacky housewives (see I Love Lucy), b.) family matriarchs (see The Donna Reed Show) or 3.) domestics (see Hazel). TV historians say her show paved the way for The Mary Tyler Moore Show just a few years later.
2. Donald Hollinger was originally supposed to be Ann Marie’s agent as well as her boyfriend. After they filmed the series’ pilot, producers must have decided that agents can sometimes be a little sleazy. So Donald changed jobs and became a magazine writer. (He was played by Ted Bessell in both that never-broadcast pilot and the subsequent series.)
3. There was a connection between That Girl and The Dick Van Dyke Show. The Van Dyke show was produced by Marlo’s father, Danny Thomas and two of the show’s main writers, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, became the creators of That Girl.
4. Marlo Thomas came up with the show’s concept. She was the one who insisted that her character be a small-town girl who comes to the big city to try and find work as an actress. (Although her real life was that of the daughter of a rich, famous comedian, which made her entrance into show business much easier.)
5. Her first next door neighbor was also a Broadway leading lady. Bonnie Scott who played her original next door neighbor, Judy Bessemer, starred on Broadway opposite Robert Morse in the hit musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Bonnie left the series because the shooting schedule took too much time away from her young kids.
6. Ruth Buzzi and George Carlin made appearances on the show. Ruth played a neighbor of Ann’s in several episodes while Carlin played her agent (replacing Ronnie Schell) in just one episode.
7. Marlo wanted to call the show Miss Independence. That was the nickname her father had given her as a young girl.
8. The network wanted the series finale to be the wedding of Ann Marie and Donald. But Marlo Thomas thought that might send the wrong message to the single girls she felt were the series’ core audience. You know, she gets married and “they live happily ever after.” So, she and Donald did get engaged during the show’s fifth season, but the series ended with Ann Marie still single.

Finally, is there any human being who watched the show and thought Ann could really be a virgin living in New York City in the mid 1960’s, especially if she was working in show business?
Didn’t think so.

With the rapid spread of swiping, followed by the rise of tapping and digital wallets, is anybody using cash anymore?

Maybe not so surprisingly, the answer is – not much. The Federal Reserve estimates that people are using cash for only 26% of all transactions, and that number is sure to decline as Baby Boomers become less of the total population and Millennials and younger – raised in a cashless society – increase.

However, there are 2 advantages to using cash in certain situations:

1.) You’re likely to spend less – Studies show that opening our wallets and purses and forking over cold, hard cash is something we always hate to do. So, if we relying on cash, we’re far more likely to spend less.

2.) Cash helps small, local businesses – Whether you’re aware of it or not, every time you use plastic to pay for something, the businesses that gave you the plastic take a cut of the purchase price. For big corporations, that’s no big deal. But for smaller, locally-owned businesses, that extra percent of two can have a big impact on their bottom line.

So, perhaps it’s best to always have a little cash on hand.

It is a lasting shame to Baby Boomers that we have not educated the generations that have come after us about the true origin of the double-decker hamburger.

We heard some Millennial the other day complaining that a burger they were tasting was "just a rip-off of the Big Mac.". Just...wow! Any Baby Boomer worthy of the name should know the Big Mac itself is a rip-off. It's given away right there in its name! 

Enter Bob Wian

Almost forgotten today, Bob Wian ran a diner, Bob’s Pantry, in Southern California (just as the McDonald brothers would) in the late 1930s. Searching for a dish that would separate his diner from dozens of competitors, Wian created the world’s first double-decker hamburger in 1937 to please a now-unknown musician who wanted “something different.” The new burger quickly caught on forcing Wian to come up with a name for it. The Big Boy was born!

As the customers poured in, Wian’s diner was expanded into an actual sit-down restaurant. Then Wian opened more Big Boy restaurants in California.

Finally, Wian become one of the first entrepreneurs to franchise his idea across the United States. What made his pitch even more appealing – local operators could stick their name in front of “Big Boy.” So, each area of the country had their own version.

In a genius marketing move, Big Boy restaurants also gave away a free Big Boy comic book to guests – a new issue arriving every month – ensuring young kids would bug their parents into making as many return visits as possible. The first issue was actually written by comic book legend Stan Lee and drawn by Bill Everett.

When McDonald’s began their eventual takeover of the burger industry in the early 60s, Big Boy was still, well, the big boy of franchise restaurants. So, Mickey D simply copied their rival’s signature attraction right down to the name.

Eventually, America’s preference for fast food caused Big Boy to fade in most parts of the country.

Not to worry about ol’ Bob Wian, though. He sold the chain to the Marriott Corp. in 1967 for $7 million (back when $7 million was real money) and his namesake chain of restaurants are still around in SoCal!

Sad news for those of us with a sweet tooth – sugar actually accelerates the aging process. There is one glimmer of hope in this news. The natural sugar found in fresh fruit does not contribute to aging. The sugar that’s bad for you is the added sugars found in many of the things we eat. Generally, it’s anything in the ingredients list that ends in “ose” – like “sucrose” and “fructose.”

Studies have found that diets rich in these added sugars not only can lead to diabetes, but they also speed up the body’s aging process. Those with a diet low in added sugars may actually find themselves biologically younger than their actual age, while those with a high sugar intake can speed up the aging process as much as seven times its natural rate!

Where can you find some of these “added sugars?” Glad you asked:

• Condiments – Such as Ketchup or salad dressing
• Nut Butters – Peanut butter and others (sorry, Nutella fans)
• Flavored Yogurt – Especially low-fat yogurt
• Prepared Grains – Such as granola, instant oatmeal, and breakfast cereals
• Sauces – Like barbecue sauce and pasta sauces