Clothes Out

The world of fashion lost two eponymous figures in the last week as designer Geoffrey Beene died of pneumonia in his Manhattan home at 77 and E.R. Haggar, who turned a family clothing store into a national brand of slacks and shirts, died at 88. Beene failed at medical school, but those who can’t sew, stitch, and he combined style and comfort to find a place in American fashion, and was the first American designer to show his clothes in Milan. In 1967 he pulled off the difficult one-two punch of melding a sequined evening dress with a football jersey and designing a wedding dress that made first daughter Lynda Bird Johnson look good. Haggar was credited with coining the word “slacks” and for developing wrinkle-free clothes for lazy men who don’t like to iron things.

Thanks for the Mammaries

Or
The Buxom Stops HereOr
Rack Him
(Kudos to Craig Barker)

Or
Faster Pussycat, Killed, Killed
(Again, props to Craig)
Legendary soft core film-maker Russ Meyer went tits up this week at the age of 82, as the Roger Ebert curse claims another collaborator. Meyer brought the skin flick out of peep show backrooms, adding bigger budgets, extreme violence and outlandish plots to scores of cartoonishly big breasted women with names like Pandora Peaks and Melissa Mounds. His 1959 flick The Immoral Mr. Teas was the first nudie to make a significant profit, raking in more than $1 million on a $24,000 investment. Other subtle forays into titillation included such films as Vixen, Supervixens, Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens, Confessions of a Sexy Supervixen, Wild Girls of the Naked West, and Mondo Topless. While knockered by many as being exploitative, like any great director, he always brought out the breast in his actresses. Vixen’s success earned him the attention of the studios, and he got a shot at the big-time with the studio release Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, written by bosom buddy Ebert, but he soon returned to his smut peddling roots. The decline of drive-ins and the advent of hard core sex films drew a close to his career, but he made a fortune bringing his films to the boob tube via video sales.

Permanent Sedation

Or

Punk’d

Johnny Ramone, guitarist for the seminal punk band The Ramones, joined his bandmates in taking the early exit, dying at the age of 55. Johnny is the third member of the band to die in the last 4 years, making their 1984 album “Too Tough to Die” one of the most ironically labeled records ever. He holds the distinction of being the longest lived member of the Ramones, although the last surviving member, Tommy, is 52. A band ahead of its time, The Ramones created a raw energetic style in New York’s underground music scene. Although never a commercial success, The Ramones enjoy a legacy as one of America’s most influential rock bands, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. The Ramones’ underappreciation and iconoclastic nature made for a classic exchange on The Simpsons. While performing for Mr. Burns’ birthday, The Ramones told Monty to “Go to hell, you old bastard.” Monty responded with, “Have the Rolling Stones killed.” It's taken a few years, but as we all know, Montys always get their man. (Props to Scott for The Simpsons reference, but he's blameless for the pun.)

Inanimator

Frank Thomas, one of the last survivors of Walt Disney’s famed Nine Old Man stable of animators, has died at 92. Thomas was renowned for imbuing his creations with emotion, in such scenes as the Seven Dwarfs weeping at Snow White’s bedside, Lady and the Tramp over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, Pinocchio singing “I’ve Got No Strings” and Bambi attempting to walk on ice. With Thomas’ passing, Ollie Johnston, a lifelong friend, is the only remaining “Old Man,” and both enjoyed their legendary status in the industry. Brad Bird, one of the new breed of pen and ink men they trained, included caricatures of them - for which they supplied their own voices - in The Iron Giant and the upcoming The Incredibles.

I’d Like to Buy this Wuss a Clue

Billy Davis, the man behind “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke,” one of the most insipid hits of the 1970s, has died at 76. Ignoring that fact that his product is swill, Davis somehow tried to blend the ideas of world peace with one of the most divisive issues in the world: beverage choice. From a logistical standpoint, the whole world is going to share a Coke? And Davis was certainly an intolerant bastard: he shuts out the Mormons by opting to make a caffeinated beverage the choice of the new world order. And how is Coke going to help anyone learn harmony?