Tag Archives: celebrities

The Fun of Genealogy

lucille-ball-19I love genealogy. I love the research aspect and more than anything I love the discovery aspect. My husband clings diligently to the “Adam & Eve” theory that we are all related and the rest is just a waste of time. That’s fine for him,  but I guess I am more about the how of the connections. If I am potentially connected to someone, I want to know how, by who, or is it whom. Either way, I want to know.

So, I am a huge fan of Ancestry’s “We are Related,” and Family Search’s “Relative Finder.” I spent yesterday tracking my connections to some of the famous movie stars I am potentially related to. I am always tickled when I can line everyone up to fit.

Below is my most current list of potential famous movie star relatives.

  1. Francis Phillip Wupperman (Frank Morgan)
  2. Eldred Gregory Peck
  3. William Edgar Buchanan
  4. Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery
  5. Humphrey DeForest Bogart
  6. Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (Burl Ives)
  7. Jackson DeForest Kelley
  8. Harry Lillis Crosby II (Bing Crosby)
  9. Jane Waddington Wyatt
  10. Jesse Donald Knotts (Don Knotts)
  11. Lloyd Vernet Bridges II
  12. Margarita Carmen Cansino (Rita Hayworth)
  13. Joseph Frank Keaton (Buster Keaton)
  14. Fess Elisha Parker II
  15. Lucille Desiree Ball
  16. Mary Frances Reynolds (Debbie Reynolds)
  17. Frances Ethel Gumm (Judy Garland)
  18. James Harrison Coburn

judy-garland-m6

I look at this list and two things stand out for me. I am potentially related to the two main characters of the Wizard of Oz, and I am related to a number of strong, beautiful and very funny ladies. Must be in my genes.

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Ozzy: Fried, or Fed Up?

ozzy-family

(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Okay, I am going to speak out about something that I am certain is weighing on the minds of most of the human race. What the hell is going on with Ozzy Osbourne?

Rumors are flying! Have he and Sharon split? Why would he leave? Why would HE leave? Was there an affair? Who had it? Would anyone be that surprised? I would!

I believe in Ozzy. I believe in his sobriety. I believe in his love for his wife and children. I believe in his loyalty to the fans that have stuck by him through all of his “living.”

Is Ozzy missing? Oh my gosh, where could he be? Fans are chomping at the bit, salivating for a new thread of gossip during this obviously slow news week. Speculation has toppled greater men…and women.

Here is what I think. I think Ozzy is sober. I think there is a perfectly good reason he left his home. Perhaps a trip, a business trip, a spa week. Could be any of these dreadful thing or so many more. And maybe the media has not been informed because it is none of their damn business where he is.

robyn_williams-depressionOr the poor confused man might be hiding from the frothing at the mouth “journalists” and photographers who track his every movement! He could have gone underground…with his wife’s blessing…to find some much needed and deserved peace and freaking quiet, away from prying eyes and whining, fainting, screaming, lunatic fans. Now this is not really a slam against his fans, but imagine if you had to live your life like that? I know he made a choice. But what choice did he make? I am CERTAIN he did not choose to be the butt of industry jokes, hounded by the media about things that are none of their damn business, or even to be the subject of criticism about the most mundane aspects of his life.

I think he perhaps he chose to be a family man (he has always stood by his family) a musician, and an entertainer. We put entertainers on these high ivory towers and then we hound them to death, sometimes I think literally. Yet we are shocked when they come tumbling down in a psychotic haze of self-destruction and extremely bad choices. No one can survive under the pressure we place on entertainers. This is how we show our respect and admiration?

Let it go people. Need someone to judge and gossip about? Take it into your family, your home. Everyone in your life above reproach? Nobody in your family to talk about? Don’t make speculating and gossip your super power…that would make you a villain, and not everybody likes a villain.