Switch to Bowie sipping tea with Dinah, Nancy and Fonzie.
David Bowie Dinah Shore Karate Lesson 1975
"David,
you're a puzzle to many people,"says Dinah. "There are a lot of David
Bowies - but is there really only one David Bowie?"
"Well, I
started as a painter," Bowie replies, "but I was a natural ham. Rock and
roll is superb way of releasing that. I still act the songs rather than
sing them. If the French can get away with it, I figure so can I."
"It's
the policy of the self-invented man," he continues. "You strip down all
the things you don't like about yourself. One thing I didn't like was
being very shy. If I gave myself an alarming reputation, then I'd be
faced with defending it."
Dinah:
"You know, David, we all often
do interviews and put people on, but I read where you said — and now
I've met your lovely wife Angela - you said 'I've never been in love,
thank God'..."
David:
"I have a vast capacity to love, but the
one time I found myself falling in love it was obsessive in a way. The
thing about putting a person on a pedestal, it's like what people search
for in God."
"You've said,"Dinah continues, "that if you were an original thinker, you would not be in rock and roll."
"Oh yes,"smiles David.
"But rock and roll has been very good to you," she says.
Exclusive first-look: Angry FBI Director Wray's Government Shutdown video message to employees, Donald Trump
It takes a lot to get me angry, but I’m about as angry as I’ve been in a long, long time
"But this is not the end."
Video Transcript
Hi Everyone.
We’re now five weeks and two missed paychecks into this mess, and I wanted to touch base with all of you again.
I know tons of you are feeling the anxiety and the emotional strain of this shutdown.
And 100-percent of you are feeling the financial strain.
Making some people stay home when they don’t want to, and making
others show up without pay–it’s mind-boggling, it’s short-sighted, and
it’s unfair.
It takes a lot to get me angry, but I’m about as angry as I’ve been in a long, long time.
Sure, I get it. You’re public servants, and I know I can count on you
to keep doing everything you can to help others, however you can.
But you’re also people with bills to pay. You’re also moms and dads. You’ve also got rent
payments and mortgages, and utilities and car payments and gas and
groceries to buy. And you can’t put those worries aside just because you
serve the public.
Now, I know there’s some question about why you haven’t seen the FBI
leadership out there in the press, fighting the good fight over the past
five weeks. But there are real costs to doing that, for us as an
institution, and for our 110-year-old brand.
You know better than most that we’ve been thrust into the political
spotlight more than we would have liked over the past few years. And the
last thing this organization needs now is its leadership to wade into
the middle of a full-on political dispute.
But let me also be very clear: We’re actively advocating for you left
and right, at every level. We’re having conversations day and night
with people who can have the most impact, to show them how much this is
affecting all of you and your families, and how it could affect the work
we need to do for the American people.
We’re just not doing it in the press.
In this polarized environment, even seemingly straightforward statements can be hijacked by one side or the other.
But our work on your behalf behind the scenes is not just about
advocacy. Because while the men and women of the FBI need defending,
what you need even more is to be paid. It may not seem like it, but I
can tell you firsthand there’s an enormous amount of work going on on
that front.
We’ve been trying to think outside of the box to find some kind of
short-term relief. And until last night, we thought we were going to be
able to pull a rabbit out of the hat.
We thought we’d found a way to make a one-time payment to all GS and
wage grade employees– that is, all non-SES employees – as a way to
bridge the gap until the government reopens.
A whole bunch of folks worked like crazy to make this happen, with
lots of coordination between Finance Division, HRD, and OGC to try
something the Bureau had never done before. They did everything they
could, but at the end of the day, we ran into some unforeseen obstacles,
and we couldn’t make it happen, at least for this week.
But this is not the end.
We’re not going to give up – we’ll keep fighting to find a meaningful
way to help you, to see if we can make something happen, and happen
soon. We’re already making progress on new options. And you can rest
assured: We have no higher priority. This job is hard enough already,
even when you are getting paid.
And that’s why it’s even more inspiring when I hear about the work you’re continuing
to do, day after day after day. That kind of dedication – that kind
of skill, that kind of professionalism, that kind of grit – shouldn’t
come as a surprise to anyone – least of all me –because that’s who you
are.
That’s what the FBI is – that's what we stand for.
In spite of it all, you’re still doing what the American people need
you to do. And we’re going to keep doing what the American people need
us to do, come hell or high water. Because at the end of the day, that
is who we do the work for.
And we can’t – we won’t – let the American people down.
In the FBI family, we’re no strangers to hard times and tough
challenges – in 110 years, we’ve certainly had our share. But anybody
who’s part of this family knows that we’re at our best in times of
crisis, when we’re up against the worst odds.
We’re at our best when we stand together.
I’m seeing that here at Headquarters, and I’m seeing it in the field.
You're not only focused on the work. You’re focused on helping each
other, in countless ways.
You’re running food pantries and donation efforts. You’re working flex schedules to take
care of your families. You’re sharing job responsibilities with your
colleagues. You’re gritting your teeth, getting the job done, and
setting the standard for what putting the public first actually means in
this environment.
Bottom line: let’s take care of the work, let's take care of the people we do the work for, and let's take care of each other.
And in this unprecedented and difficult time, there’s one thing I’m
absolutely sure of: We will get through this, together, just as we’ve
always done.
Stolen Ruby Slippers from Wizard of Oz Recovered by FBI
Smithsonian Assists FBI in Minnesota Ruby Slippers Case
The recovered slippers, known as the “traveling pair,” were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the overnight hours of August 27-28, 2005.
Conservators at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History assisted the Minneapolis Division of the FBI in the case of ruby slippers from the "Wizard of Oz" that were stolen in Minnesota in 2005. The museum analyzed and compared the recovered slippers with a pair that has been part of the Smithsonian collection since 1979.
Dawn Wallace, a conservator for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, analyzes one of the recovered slippers at the Smithsonian's Conservation Lab in Washington, D.C. (Smithsonian photo)
A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and stolen from the actress’ namesake museum in Minnesota more than a decade ago has been recovered, the FBI announced today. The iconic sequined shoes, known as the “traveling pair”—one of at least four pairs used in the film that are still in existence—were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005 and recovered earlier this summer during a sting operation. But the case is far from over. “From the outset,” said Special Agent Christopher Dudley, who led the investigation from the FBI’s Minneapolis Division, “our top priority was the safe recovery of the slippers.” Although multiple suspects have been identified, Dudley said, “we are still working to ensure that we have identified all parties involved in both the initial theft and the more recent extortion attempt for their return. This is very much an active investigation.” At a press conference in Minneapolis to announce the recovery, the FBI, along with the Grand Rapids Police Department, asked for the public’s assistance. “There are certainly people out there who have additional knowledge regarding both the theft and the individuals responsible for concealing the slippers all these years.” Dudley said. “We are asking that you come forward.”
“We are still working to ensure that we have identified all parties involved in both the initial theft and the more recent extortion attempt for their return.”
Christopher Dudley, special agent, FBI Minneapolis
Judy Garland, who played Dorothy Gale in the classic fairy tale film enjoyed by generations of moviegoers around the world, wore several pairs of the red slippers during the movie’s production, dancing her way down the yellow brick road and, at the story’s end, clicking her heels three times and repeating, “There’s no place like home.” The slippers are widely considered to be one of the most recognizable pieces of memorabilia in American film history, and are estimated to be worth several million dollars. The star’s childhood house in Grand Rapids was turned into a museum in 1975 and remains a repository of The Wizard of Oz artifacts and memorabilia. The slippers disappeared from there in the early morning hours of August 28, 2005, and the crime has weighed heavily on the community, whose identity is proudly associated with Garland’s birthplace. Despite a vigorous investigation by local authorities at the time, the slippers were not located, and no arrests were made. When the theft occurred, said Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Scott Johnson during today’s announcement, “the thieves not only took the slippers, they took a piece of history that will be forever connected to Grand Rapids and one of our city’s most famous children.” In the summer of 2017, 12 years after the theft, an individual approached the company that insured the slippers, saying he had information about the shoes and how they could be returned. “When it became apparent that those involved were in reality attempting to extort the owners of the slippers,” Dudley explained, Grand Rapids police requested the FBI’s assistance. After nearly a yearlong investigation—with invaluable assistance from the FBI’s Art Crime Team, the FBI Laboratory, and field offices in Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami—the slippers were recovered during an undercover operation in Minneapolis.
These iconic sequined shoes, known as the “traveling pair”—one of at least four pairs used in The Wizard of Oz that are still in existence—were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005 and recovered earlier this summer during a sting operation.
Agents from the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office transported the recovered slippers to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.—where another pair of the ruby slippers has been on display since 1979—for analysis and comparison. Dawn Wallace, a Smithsonian conservator who has been working for the past two years to conserve the museum’s ruby slippers, which are nearly 80 years old, said a careful analysis led to the conclusion that the recovered shoes were similar in construction, materials, and condition to the museum’s pair. And it turns out the recovered shoes and the pair in the museum’s collection are mismatched twins. Smithsonian curator Ryan Lintelman, who specializes in American film history, explained that there were probably six or more pairs of the slippers made for The Wizard of Oz. “It was common that you would create multiple copies of costumes and props,” he said. Somehow over the years, the pairs of shoes were mixed up. Lintelman added that the Smithsonian’s ruby slippers “are among the most requested objects by visitors to the museum. There is an emotional response that visitors have,” he said. “People’s eyes light up.” “Recovering a cultural item of this importance is significant,” the FBI’s Dudley noted. “So many people of all ages around the world have seen The Wizard of Oz and in that way have some connection to the slippers. That’s one of the things that makes this case resonate with so many.”
Anyone with additional information regarding the theft of the ruby slippers or the extortion plot is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.
(763) 569-8095
September 4, 2018
FBI Recovers Stolen Ruby Slippers Used in The Wizard of Oz
FBI Seeking Information Regarding Theft of Stolen Memorabilia
Jill Sanborn, Special Agent in Charge of the Minneapolis Division of the FBI, and Christopher Myers, United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota, announced today that a pair of ruby slippers featured in the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005, was seized in a sting operation conducted in Minneapolis earlier this summer. While the FBI has identified suspects and has executed multiple search warrants in Minnesota and Florida in connection with the investigation, investigators are seeking the public’s help to identify all parties associated with the initial theft and the more recent scheme to defraud and extort the Markel Corporation, the owner of the slippers. The ruby slippers are one of several pairs used in the production of the movie classic. Only four pairs of the shoes used in the film are known to remain and are widely viewed as among the most recognizable memorabilia in American film history. Current estimates value the slippers in the millions of dollars should they be sold at auction.
The recovered slippers, known as the “traveling pair,” were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the overnight hours of August 27-28, 2005.
Despite an investigation by local authorities, which included countless interviews, numerous theories, and even searches of abandoned iron ore pits, the slippers were never located and no arrests were made. The investigation remained a priority for the Grand Rapids Police Department, who requested FBI assistance in 2017 when the extortion plot against the Markel Corporation surfaced. Agents from the Minneapolis Division worked closely with the FBI’s Art Crime Team throughout the investigation, which is ongoing. After the recovery in July, the FBI transported the slippers to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., where conservators were able to conduct an in-depth examination and analysis, including evidence of wear and details unique to their use in the 1939 film. Examination of the recovered shoes showed that their construction, materials, and wear are consistent with the pair in the museum’s collection, which were donated to the museum by an anonymous donor in 1979. “At the heart of nearly every art crime, we see greed woven into the fabric of the scheme—greed to take it, and greed to profit from its return,” said Sanborn. “Dorothy’s slippers are a treasured piece of Americana, and we are hoping members of the public can help us better fill in the details that will finish the script of this mystery so we can hold accountable all those who were behind the scheme.” “When the slippers were snatched in the early morning burglary, the thieves not only took the slippers, they took a piece of history that will be forever connected to Grand Rapids and one of our city’s most famous children,” said Grand Rapids Police Chief Scott Johnson. “We were confident this day would eventually come, and we are grateful to the FBI and all those who worked to bring this piece of cinematic treasure out of the shadows and into the light. After all,” he said, quoting a famous line from The Wizard of Oz, ‘There’s no place like home.’” U.S. Attorney Chris Myers added, “Thanks to the great work of the FBI and their local law enforcement partners, they have successfully preserved an iconic symbol of one of America’s greatest and best-loved movies. We will follow the evidence along the investigative road to ensure justice is done in this case.” This matter has been assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office for North Dakota pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 515(a). Anyone with information surrounding the theft or the extortion plot is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or submit information via the FBI’s website at tips.fbi.gov.
Tips can be anonymous.
Sanborn and Myers acknowledged the support of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division’s Art Crime Team; the Grand Rapids Police Department; FBI offices in Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami; the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; and the Markel Corporation.
Mac Davis,
B.T.O., Merle Haggard, Edgar Winter, Paul Williams, Johnny Cash, Anne
Murray, Charlie Rich, Johnny Mathis, Glen Campbell, Neil Sedaka, Bo
Donaldson and the Haywoods, Average White Band, Billy Preton, J.Geils
Band, Freddy Fender, David Essex and The De Franco Family
All cups are
in very nice condition except forMac Davis is cracked, The De Franco
Family has a piece missing on the bottom rim, andCharlie Rich was small
piece missingon bottom rim.
Here we have an unmistakably #1970s collectible shared by @mrjyn#songfact Winter's infamous "Frankenstein" got its name because of the intense editing that went into the song; it became a monster when it was pieced together in the studio.https://t.co/u96uGr8kkr
Using stethoscopes to eavesdrop through the wall(yes, stethoscopes), police heard something unexpected
Four decades after David Bowie’s 1976 arrest with Iggy Pop, following a concert in Rochester, NY a never-before-heard account has emerged from the ORIGINALCHINA GIRL.
Chi Wah Soo, 20-years-old, was arrested with Bowie, and blamed for being the NARC
who tipped the cops off about the drugs.
Now 61-years-old, Mrs. Soo spoke for the first time about that night.
Soo used lyrics from her favorite music to help learn English. After attending Monroe Community College, she was a Kodak employee when Bowie came to town.
“I was not going to miss it,” Soo said.
She and
her friends made sure to get near the stage. Toward the end of the
concert, her long black hair tangled among other fans.
Perhaps this drew Bowie’s attention, because he leaned over and handed Soo a bracelet that landed on stage.
“I felt bad,” Soo said about the woman who lost it. “But I wasn’t going to give it back.”
Before she left the show a man gave her a note saying,
“Meet me at my party - David”
When Bowie entered the party, Soo said he seemed to have a “halo around his head.”
Filmmaker Matt Ehlersgot to know Soo before she
trusted him to tell her story for his forthcoming documentary Bowie Goes To Jail, about the infamous 1976 arrest of David Bowie in Rochester, in the corner suite at the Americana Rochester.
Chi Wah Soo,the 61-year-old Brighton salon owner, was 20 when arrested and jailed for possession of marijuana with the musician after his concert.
At first, people accused her of being the “narc” that blew Bowie.
“Everyone has the wrong idea of what happened,” Soo told a Rochester reporter days after the arrest. “They can think what they wish, but I know I’m innocent.”
The Times in London also contacted Soo, but she declined comment per her lawyer’s advice.
Silence FOR 40 years.
She regularly shrugged-off shock-jocks, pestering her for lurid details on the anniversaries of the arrest.
Soo’s effervescent personality sparkles in the rough cut Ehlers screened at the Little Theatre last year. Her vivid memories make it feel as though Bowie’s first—and last — Rochester concert happened last night.
Born in China, Soo moved from Hong Kong to Rochester with her parents and sister when she was 11.
She worked at her father’s restaurant every day after school until 11 p.m.
“Hello, love,” were his first words to her.
Later, they retreated to his corner suite at the Americana on State Street(now the Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown) with rocker Iggy Pop and Bowie’s bodyguard.
Two other women joined them — undercover police.
Police acted on a tip that Bowie had cocaine, and secured the adjacent hotel room.
Using stethoscopes to eavesdrop through the wall (yes, stethoscopes), police heard something unexpected.
Bowie received a phone call saying his young son was very sick and his wife, Angela, could not be found.
“I slowly watched a gentle meltdown of David Bowie,” Soo said.
Bowie’s entourage had marijuana but they didn’t have cocaine. Undercover police officer Deborah Kilborn said they only asked her where they could score some.
Nevertheless, police had enough evidence to raid. Soo saw three faces peer into the room when Bowie cracked open the door. It slammed him in the face and knocked him backward.
“That was the start of the nightmare,” said Soo.
Charges against Soo, Bowie, Pop and Bowie’s bodyguard were eventually dropped, but their reputations had been tarnished. Ehlers considers the arrest a “wake-up call” in a drug-addled chapter of Bowie’s life.
At the arraignment, Soo gave Bowie her traditional Chinese wedding blanket.
Although Soo cannot be sure the song “China Girl” was written about her, she does believe her blanket appears in the music video.
Soo and Bowie never spoke again. While his career rocketed back toward Mars, she tried to fade into the background of what has become Rochester “rocklore.”
“It has to be one of the best parties in Rochester history,” Ehlers said before laughing about Bowie and Pop doing a shot of Courvoisier right before police escorted them to jail.
Almost 41 years later, Ehlers’ quest to tell the full story has brought him to a family business. Like Soo did at her father’s restaurant, her children work at the salon she opened in 1993.
“She’s a success story. A happy ending,” said Ehlers.
Bowie-mania
Rochester’s Bowie-mania remains strong a year after his death. The song “Lazarus” from Bowie’s last album finished No. 1 in the 2016 listener countdown for WBER-FM (90.5).
Chi Wah Soo was 20-years-old at the time and was arrested with Bowie and even got blamed for being the one who tipped off the cops about the drugs that night. Now 61-years-old, Mrs. Soo has spoken for the first time about how the night that produced the above mugshot went down. Filmmaker Matt Ehlers got to know Mrs. Soo after getting his haircut at her salon for a year and a half before she trusted him enough to tell her story for his forthcoming documentary Bowie Goes To Jail. From Rochester’s Democrat & Chronicle:
Undercover police officer Deborah Kilborn said they only asked her where they could score some.
Nevertheless, police had enough evidence to raid. Soo saw three faces peer into the room when Bowie cracked open the door. It slammed him in the face and knocked him backward.
This
is a privately produced,limited edition "decoupage"-a wooden plaque
consisting of a copy of THE FLYER FOR THE DOORS AND JERRY LEE LEWIS 1968
CONCERT AT THE L.A. FORUM. The artist has taken the REPRODUCTION OF THE
COVER and affixed it to an 8 x 10 piece of thick plywood,and then
applied an amber-colored stain to it. She calls her method "burn and
brush"woodworking.She only does a particular item when the previous one
sells.I hope you like its uniqueness as much as I do.For a finishing
touch there's a leather thingy on the back,suitable for hanging.
The
Doors reveled in their role as rock's new bad boys when they burst onto
the pop music scene in 1966, and two years later, when they helped usher in the nascent era of arena rock
with the opening of the Forum in Inglewood. They carried that idea all
the way through to the acts they invited to open for them.
"I
have to brag a little about us being first to give a tip of the hat to
'50s rockers," Doors drummer John Densmore recalled recently. "When we
started getting some power, we were trying to get Johnny Cash to open
for us — before the TV show," he said, referring to Cash's breakthrough
weekly musical variety series, "The Johnny Cash Show," which premiered
in 1969.
Jerry
Lee Lewis plays the piano and sings as he appears on the CBS variety
program "The Ed Sullivan Show." (CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images)
"The
promoters wouldn't go for it. They said, 'No, he's a felon,'" a remark
typical of many people's attitudes at that time toward Cash, who
struggled with substance abuse and was at a low point in his career.
(Although he had been arrested three times in those years, Cash was
never convicted of a felony.)
So,
the Doors next turned to one of the baddest of all of rock's first
generation bad boys to join in at their inaugural performance at the
Forum in December 1968.
"At
the Forum, we finally got the power to dictate who we wanted to open,"
Densmore said. "Ray [Manzarek, the group's keyboardist] jump-started
world music by having a Chinese musician playing an obscure instrument
open the show.
"Then
Jerry Lee Lewis came on," Densmore said of the Louisiana rocker
alternately known as "The Ferriday Fireball" and "The Killer."
"Half
the kids didn't know who Jerry Lee was. He was in his country phase at
that time. … We said, 'Jerry Lee, you've gotta do some of your old rock
songs.' He had this [country] album out at the time, and the cover
showed him with his head buried in his hands. The title was 'She Still
Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me)' — is that great?
"We
said, 'You've got to play 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' and 'Great
Balls of Fire.' The audience was just shouting, 'Jim! Jim! Doors!' But
he was great. At the end of his set, he slammed the top of the piano
shut, climbed on top and said, 'OK, for those of you who love me, God
bless you. For those who don't….' and then he stuck his tongue out and
gave them the raspberry."
