Being there . . . . when Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Autry, Ronald Reagan, and a host of other popular movie stars, went to war . . . .

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SCREEN STARS WENT TO WAR, FOUGHT VALIANTLY, AND WERE HEROES, TOO! Reviewed and Highly Recommended by Don DeNevi Today, Part One “World War II Veterans in Hollywood”, by Art Evans, Foreword by Perry King. McFarland & Company: 238 pages, sc; $39.95. Tomorrow, Part Two

“Glamour in A Golden Age”, edited by Adrienne L. McLean. Rutgers University Press for Turner Classic Movies: 297 pages, sc; $35.

“This Was Hollywood - - Forgotten Stars, 6 stories”, by Carla Valderrama. Running Press Publishers for Turner Classic Movies: 233 pages, hc; $29. “WORLD WAR II VETERANS IN HOLLYWOOD” is a superlative compendium of several Hollywood’s famous personalities who were decorated war heroes, including Eddie Albert, James Arness, Jackie Coogan, Charles Durning, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Henry Fonda, Sterling Hayden, and Rod Serling. All the other 24 actors included also placed themselves in harm’s way. What makes the narrations so palpable are facts not generally known about these stars, including surprising details about their wartime experiences in and out of combat which in some cases were life changing. What may be a surprise to the reader is how honorable, kind, gentle, humorous, helpful, and generous everyone was. According to author Art Evans, and substantiated by friend Perry King, every man presented here took great joy and pleasure in his work and thus life. “When my friend Art first sent me some of the stories for his new book about celebrities during World War II, I thought it was a wonderful premise for a fascinating read. If you love old movies, Art’s short biographies are gripping, humanizing the actors in those movies that make you love them even more today Much of what Art found to write about is surprising and moving to learn. In my case I discovered that I knew some of his subjects and learned things about them that I never suspected, all good things by the way.” At this very moment, this reviewer recalls Bill Mauldin’s Willie and Joe’s banter at the front in Italy: “Our general says this war is gonna be won with words and bullets”, comments Willie, which, in turn, causes to Joe to quip, “Sure, but better add some handsome faces like ours.” This reviewer is in total agreement when Perry concludes his warm, heartfelt Foreword with, “After you read Art’s wonderful book, you’ll never look at these famous faces the same way again. What you will see, after reading this fabulous collection of bios is the real person behind the star persona. They were movie stars, true – but their lives were filled with sadness and joy, struggle, success, and occasional failure. I think every single one of these famous people, virtually all gone now, would be deeply grateful to Art for telling us the true story of his life.” In Part Two of this column, “ . . . . AND THAT INCLUDES BOB HOPE!”, in tomorrow’s issue of ARGunner’s, read this reviewer’s commentaries of two additional absorbing compendia,

“GLAMOUR IN A GOLDEN AGE – – Movie Stars of the 1930s”, edited by Adrienne L. McLean

“THIS WAS HOLLYWOOD — Forgotten Stars 6 Stories”, by Carla Valderrama

Mad Dog’s Old TV Show Recommendation: All in the Family

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Lately, my wife and I have been watching the old show All in the Family. This show will go down as one of the most polarizing sitcoms in television history.

At the time, it was regarded as one of the top sitcoms. Everyone watched it. The main character was Archie Bunker, played by the late great actor Carroll O’Connor. His character was a very intense bigot that was just unbelievable. His wife, played by the late great Jean Stapleton, was Edith. A very lovable lady who was also just unbelievable and a sweetheart.

This cast was a very tight and wonderful cast. There was Rob Reiner “Meathead” and his wife Sally Struthers who was the daughter Gloria. The final episode was in 1979. There were five other sitcom spinoffs too.

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There were so many different shows growing up that just could not be on television today. It is amazing how life, views and people change over the years. These shows like All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Jefferson’s, Chico and the Man and many others would be outcast today. But, I will say this, these actors like Carroll O’Connor and the rest are all great actors.

People need to see these shows in 2022 and draw their own conclusions. People have to understand also what the times were like then.

LOOK: Things from the year you were born that don’t exist anymore The iconic (and at times silly) toys, technologies, and electronics have been usurped since their grand entrance, either by advances in technology or breakthroughs in common sense. See how many things on this list trigger childhood memories—and which ones were here and gone so fast you missed them entirely.

Dangerous Driving Conditions Ahead For Western New York

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The story on Saturday will be the chilling temperatures. The high will only be around 12 degrees this afternoon, before going back down into the single digits for the Bills home playoff game tonight.

While the cold weather will be the story for today, it’s the snow that will be the story heading into the beginning of next week.

The temperature will rise into the mid-20s for Sunday afternoon, but then all of Western New York will be hit with a huge winter storm that will dump plenty of snow in all regions.

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The Winter Storm Watch issued early Friday morning has been upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning for all of Western New York, including the City of Buffalo. It starts at 6 pm on Sunday.

12-18 inches of snow is expected with this winter storm system, which will work its way up to the northeast on Sunday evening. It’s not just the heavy snow, either, but gusts of 45 mph will make driving conditions dangerous to impossible for motorists,.

If you have the ability to work from home on Monday, it’s probably a good idea to do that. If you have to travel on Monday, especially Monday morning, be extremely careful, as conditions will be brutal for maneuvering and visibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see travel advisories from this storm.

The reason this snowstorm is more dangerous than a week and a half ago, is because this is a general snowfall that will sweep across the entire region, versus a lake effect snow band that only impacted one area at a time and was harder to pinpoint its movement – with this, we know everyone will be getting heavy snow at roughly the same exact timeframe.

LOOK: 50 famous memes and what they mean With the infinite number of memes scattered across the internet, it’s hard to keep track. Just when you’ve grasped the meaning of one hilarious meme, it has already become old news and replaced by something equally as enigmatic. Online forums like Tumblr, Twitter, 4chan, and Reddit are responsible for a majority of meme infections, and with the constant posting and sharing, finding the source of an original meme is easier said than done. Stacker hunted through internet resources, pop culture publications, and databases like Know Your Meme to find 50 different memes and what they mean. While the almost self-replicating nature of these vague symbols can get exhausting, memes in their essence can also bring people closer together—as long as they have internet access.

LOOK: Food history from the year you were born From product innovations to major recalls, Stacker researched what happened in food history every year since 1921, according to news and government sources.

ESPN Host Says Buffalo Has Been Longest Suffering Fanbase [VIDEO]

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You get used to the same old jokes about Buffalo, when people (usually those who have never been here) talk about the region and the fact our sports teams have not won anything.

It’s true though. Neither the Buffalo Bills or the Buffalo Sabres have won a championship. Technically, the Bills won AFL titles, back in 1964 and 1965, but have never won a Super Bowl (since 1966).

The Sabres have been around since 1970 and also, have never won a Stanley Cup. They’ve only made the Stanley Cup Final twice in their 52-year history (1975, 1999).

It’s not just the fact the Bills and Sabres have never won a title in the last 50-plus years, it’s the fact that many of those defeats have been soul-crushing.

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The obvious one is “Wide Right,” when Bills kicker Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal in Super Bowl 25 against the New York Giants that would have won the game. That kicked off four straight Super Bowl losses and really the genesis of the Buffalo sports jokes.

The Bills were also victims of the “Music City Miracle”, or as many locals here call it, “home run throwback.”

The miraculous kick return “lateral” in which wide receiver Kevin Dyson returned it all the way for a touchdown in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs in January of 2000.

That was the start of the Bills missing the postseason for 17 straight years. Not to mention the bad calls against the Bills when they played against the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round of the 2019 NFL playoffs.

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Then you have the Sabres and the famous “No Goal,” when Brett Hull’s foot was in the crease as he scored the overtime, game-winning goal against the Sabres in game 6 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final.

Seven years later, the Sabres lost a heartbreaking 7-game series in the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, as four of their top six defenceman were injured by game 7 of that series; including the freak staph infection that Jay McKee suffered the morning of the final game of the series.

There are other instances in there as well, but you get the point – Buffalo absolutely deserves to be in consideration for the longest-suffering fanbase in all of sports.

ESPN radio anchor Christine Lisi, longtime Bills and Sabres fan, went on a minute-long rant for why Buffalo is without a doubt, the longest suffering fanbase in sports.

Watch the video below.

Lisi is absolutely right. The only other city who has a right to claim that distinction, in my opinion, is Cleveland, but the Cavaliers have won an NBA Championship in 2016. Buffalo has not won anything yet, with the amazing heartbreaks that go along with it.

Buffalo is the longest suffering fanbase in North American sports.

Top 40 Winter Restaurants in Buffalo The best winter restaurants in Buffalo and Western New York.

How to Get a Free COVID Test Kit Through Test Iowa

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Although Test Iowa no longer has drive-thru testing sites, they are still offering free COVID tests to Iowans.

If you’re looking to do an at-home COVID test, but haven’t had any luck finding one in a store, Test Iowa may be able to help. According to the official website, “Test Iowa is a partnership between the Iowa Department of Public Health and the State Hygienic Lab,” whose goal is to provide Iowans with free COVID tests.

Test Iowa’s website lists the five simple steps required to get an at-home COVID test kit:

Fill out the form to have a test kit either sent directly to your home, or to get the kit yourself from one of the pick-up sites Activate the test kit online by providing your information and test kit ID Package your sample for testing Drop it off at a UPS drop-off location with the prepaid UPS label, or bring it to one of the drop-off sites near you Get your results via the online Patient Portal

The Test Iowa site offers a map that includes three different types of pick-up sites. There are locations that offer test kit pick-up only, locations that offer pick-up and drop-off, and locations that offer pick-up and drop-off with same-day delivery to the lab. The four points with same-day lab delivery include:

State Hygienic Laboratory Coralville 2490 Crosspark Rd, Coralville Open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. & Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon

Johnson County Health Department 855 S Dubuque St, Iowa City Drop off your sample by 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for same-day lab delivery

Linn County Public Health 1020 6th Street SE, Cedar Rapids Drop off your sample by 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for same-day lab delivery

Peoples Community Health Clinic, Inc 905 Franklin Street, Waterloo Drop off your sample by 1 p.m. Monday through Friday for same-day lab delivery

Check out the map listing ALL locations across the state HERE.

How long will it take you to get your results? Test Iowa says that they should be available within 24 hours of receiving the email confirmation that the lab got your kit, but it could take a little longer, depending on how high the demand is. You can get more information about Test Iowa and request your kit online HERE.