I dood it!

  Now for some doughnuts
Congrats! Red Skelton is now a featured article! You made it!  — Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:51, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

  The Special Barnstar
Congratulations on getting Red Skelton to featured article status!! ♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:31, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

And many thanks also for the award!!♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:31, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

I didn't know, nope!♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:33, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

You're quite welcome! Do you think it's worth creating an on stage and screen page?♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:48, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

Watching Flight Command now! ♦ Dr. Blofeld 14:03, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

  • Question though: do we need 10 films named in the lead? Yes, it's a small bit of his film career, but then his film career was a small bit of his entire career. I was thinking debut (obviously) and maybe one or two of the better received ones — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:23, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
    • Not familiar enough with the subject to do it myself, sadly. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 14:37, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

@Crisco 1492: tweaked, OK?♦ Dr. Blofeld 15:15, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

  The Editor's Barnstar
Many congratulations on your first featured article. It was a pleasure to read and review. Here's to many more! Cassiantotalk 19:17, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

File:William_Crooks_at_station.jpg

It's done! Now it just needs used somewhere. =) Adam Cuerden (talk) 21:52, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

By the way, could I ask you to document why it's the William Crooks on the file description page? It'll help a lot when it goes to FP, and, if it passes FP, William Crooks (locomotive) will appear on the main page with it. =) I mean, given it was set to be scrapped and rescued years before this photo's earliest date, it's really, really unlikely it could be anything else, but it needs documented. Think we can also possibly prove the photo is earlier than the latest date, given it was out of service from 1908 to 1924. Adam Cuerden (talk) 23:38, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

And here we are! The name's a Thespis reference, it's from the railroad song. Adam Cuerden (talk) 04:28, 27 July 2014 (UTC)

Newspapers.com

That looks like it could be useful, thanks. I'll add my name to the list. I see there's also one for UK newspapers so I might sign up to that as well. Btw, congratulations on getting Red Skelton through FAC. This is Paul (talk) 18:17, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

File:Red Skelton 1960.jpg

Adam Cuerden (talk) 21:41, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

  • Adam, good find (and restoration). — Crisco 1492 (talk) 01:09, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
    • One of the advantages of writing the Featured content pages for the Signpost: Get to scan recent FAs for images. Adam Cuerden (talk) 01:12, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 7

  The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 7, June-July 2014
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs)

  • Seven new donations, two expanded partnerships
  • TWL's Final Report up, read the summary
  • Adventures in Las Vegas, WikiConference USA, and updates from TWL coordinators
  • Spotlight: Blog post on BNA's impact on one editor's research

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:21, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Re:FindMyPast

I signed up this evening, looks like it could be useful. This is Paul (talk) 22:25, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Joan Robinson Hill

I haven't worked on one for a while, but this looks like an interesting case. I'll see what I can find when I get my Newspaper.com access, although I'm really surprised nobody's done an article about it already. Also, I just found a second hand copy of the Thompson book on Amazon.co.uk for £0.01 that the seller says is in good condition, so I'll get hold of it. This is Paul (talk) 17:04, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

I'd be glad of the help actually as it looks like there are several strands to this case. I don't know if you've seen the Murderpedia articled on Hill, but that seems to link him to other possible murders. I know we can't use Murderpedia as a source, but it could be a useful starting point for the case's main events. I'll start reading the book once I get it and put something together. I still can't believe it hasn't appeared here before, especially as we have the film. This is Paul (talk) 20:47, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
Just found a better article here that talks about Thompson's book, and outlines the main points of the case. Have also found an apnews article reporting Ash Robinson's death from 1985, and a couple of other bits and pieces, one about the film and a possible alternative explanation for the death. I reckon there's probably enough stuff available already to make a start, then more can always be added later. This is Paul (talk) 21:32, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
That looks like it's got some useful information, thanks. I'll have a good read through it tomorrow. Not sure if we can use this one, but Crime Magazine discussed the case on its 2013 anniversary. This is Paul (talk) 21:48, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

San Francisco Chronicle

Should be ok to use it. If anyone complains it's from Find a Grave it can always become an offline source. Have discovered that Kurth tried to sue Thompson for defamation over his description of her in his book, but that the jury threw the case out. Also started reading the serialisation. Great work finding those. They're filling in some of the gaps for me. This is Paul (talk) 13:13, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

I agree, that's definitely worth mentioning. With luck I should have my copy of Blood and Money by next weekend, so can expand it a bit more. Just added part one of Jerry Buck's piece on the NBC film, which mentions some of what you said about Hill's troubles with the IRS and possible disappearance to Mexico. There were also apparently a couple of alleged sightings of him. This is Paul (talk) 16:39, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Newspapers.com 2

I registered with them a few minutes ago and added my name to the Google thingy, so just have to wait for it to be activated now. Thanks for the heads up about Outlook. I started registering with that, but gave up in the end because it was causing too much hassle, so signed up with my gmail address instead. Also had email from Amazon today confirming Thompson book is on its way. Should be with me in a couple of days. This is Paul (talk) 20:51, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

We could add it to the background and change the heading to something like Background and marriage, or create a new section specifically for Hill's background. From what you've said it looks like we'll quite a bit of stuff about him from the book. This is Paul (talk) 22:05, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Blood and Money

Finally got my book today, so can make a start on some of the earlier stuff that we couldn't get from the Palm Beach Post. It's a bit hefty though so might take me a few days to get through it. Will also look at the final two articles and see what I can get from those. Hope to have a bit more time as well next week. This is Paul (talk) 20:12, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Mine is the original hardback version, published in the UK by New English Library in 1977, so could be slightly different again. Hopefully though it'll be possible to match anything from that with the later version so we can cite that one. Just been reading the first few pages, but will have a more in depth look tomorrow. I've read somewhere online that Joan was adopted by the Robinsons, so the book should hopefully confirm whether or not that is the case. This is Paul (talk) 21:42, 8 August 2014 (UTC)
That's brilliant, we need to fit those in somewhere. This is Paul (talk) 23:13, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

Re: This and that

No worries, I haven't done much on it myself for a few days, mostly because it took me a bit longer than I thought it would to read through the book, but I finally finished it last night. There's quite a lot of stuff about John Hill, so we should be able to expand on that, and also some background on Ash, who I can't help thinking would be notable enough for an article of his own. According to Thompson he trained as a dentist before deciding there was a better career to be had in oil, then made and lost several fortunes. Have discovered that Joan was a childhood friend of Joan Jaworski (daughter of Leon), and also found reference to the Hollywood offer you mentioned. She was also briefly married twice during her teenage years, but the unions lasted only a few months, largely I guess because Ash didn't approve of her choices. Another autopsy is also mentioned, carried out by Joseph Jachimscyk, who was the Texas Medical Examiner at the time of her death.

I'll add some more information to the article over the next few days, but I'll label any sources I use from my copy as "Thompson 1976" so we can keep track of which version was used for what. I guess ultimately we'll have to source everything from the same edition though. Great work finding the stuff from Newspapers.com. I've clipped a couple of things myself (a report of John Hill's death being one), but need to have a more in depth look.

Thanks for the link to Lantern. That looks like it'll be really useful. This is Paul (talk) 21:47, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, I couldn't quite recall how "Doctor Joe" fitted into the picture, and I'd forgotten about the Heartbeats. Sadly there's no pictures in my copy, but the description was such that I could imagine the room with its elaborate decor and Bosendorfer piano. I'll have to look for one online to see if it matches up to my imagination. :) Forgot to say as well I found a passage about her adoption that recounts a story in which she hired a private investigator to look into her background. He presented her with evidence that she was Ash's biological daughter, but Thompson believed this was dubious, and Joan herself didn't believe it. This is Paul (talk) 23:40, 21 August 2014 (UTC)
That is quite impressive. If you do come across a version we can use here it would definitely add to the article, but it sounds like you've got quite a lot of useful stuff already. I guess if we got this up to GA or FAC level they'd want more images. I'll make a start on expanding it over the rest of the day, but may have to go offline for a couple of hours later on. This is Paul (talk) 12:12, 22 August 2014 (UTC)
Sounds like a good plan. Just been reading through what we have so far and its taking shape nicely. Just about to make a start on a John Hill section. This is Paul (talk) 14:52, 22 August 2014 (UTC)
Thanks, I couldn't think how else to do than just include the original description. I hope there's not too much of it. Wouldn't want to be moaned at for copyvio. :) This is Paul (talk) 21:43, 22 August 2014 (UTC)
Looking at those it shouldn't be a problem. BTW, I didn't realise we had an article about the Bosendorfrer Imperial Grand. Thanks for finding it. :) This is Paul (talk) 21:58, 22 August 2014 (UTC)
The argument happened on the Friday evening before her death and after they returned home from a wild game dinner at which John played once again with the Heartbeats. She asked him if he would be staying out again, and told him that if he did not to bother coming back. When she got out the car he began to reverse, so she told him that he'd lost everything. In mine its on page 96–97. I think the haircut episode was a few days before that, but I'll have to check. This is Paul (talk) 22:24, 22 August 2014 (UTC)
You're right, it did happen afterwards, it was the following day. After Robert told Joan about the flat, she invited a neighbour, Vann Maxwell over, then announced that along with Eunice and Diane they would be playing bridge in the music room. John was in there listening to music at one end while the women played cards at the other. Joan began saying things about her husband to catch his attention then stopping whenever he approached. She told the women she planned to go to a lawyer on the Monday. Vann became uneasy with this and asked Joan to be quiet or she would leave. Bizarrely, John then put on a romantic song and he and Joan began to dance.
Must confess, I'd forgotten about this episode, but I think it'll definitely clinch it for the photo. Think there's just enough time for me add this then I'll log off for the night. This is Paul (talk) 23:03, 22 August 2014 (UTC)
Thanks, just added her to the earlier paragraph. Good luck with the image. This is Paul (talk) 23:41, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

That sums up everything quite well, and even includes a few things that Thompson left out. I notice there's also an anomaly re: the name of the gun-owning doctor. Thompson calls him Orrin Staves, but he's mentioned in the testimony as William Mitchell. I wonder if Thompson changed his name deliberately, perhaps following a request. This is Paul (talk) 16:02, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

I suspect William Mitchell is probably the right one, it would be too much of a coincidence for him to have a musically-themed surname (but not impossible I suppose). I'm wondering now though which one we use. Although it was forty years ago, there's a chance the guy could still be with us. This is Paul (talk) 17:38, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

No worries, I kind of had an idea it might be too long, but thought I'd go for it anyway. You never know... The alternative is good though and gives a flavour of what the room looked like. Shame about the picture, but maybe the Realtor will say yes, and hopefully we can use the newspaper stuff. This is Paul (talk) 20:34, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Interesting twist, I guess we'll have to create a section for the Robinson hearing. This is Paul (talk) 21:42, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Santa Ana Standard

Hi, I was wondering if you could find a cover of the paper, should be PD now. there's one here, but in a magazine.♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:14, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Can you find any free images of The Owl Drug Company? Established in 1882. The logo might be uploadable? I'd love to get hold of some images of billboards/stores and the cobalt bottles.♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:09, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

They're vintage and cool looking pics! Hopefully you can find some PD!♦ Dr. Blofeld 19:11, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

Nice find! How did you access it though? I authorised my Newspapers.com source a few days ago and it still says I need a subscription whenever I try to find anything.♦ Dr. Blofeld 21:29, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

I see you had trouble with Light show too. I'm having trouble with him over the Kubrick article, see the talk page..♦ Dr. Blofeld 11:40, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

I really dislike that image anyway!! ♦ Dr. Blofeld 11:53, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

Can you remove the watermark from File:Josefina de la Torre.jpg? I presumed no free images are available.♦ Dr. Blofeld 10:53, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Can you find a free image of Arthur Lubin?♦ Dr. Blofeld 16:30, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. BTW check out this!♦ Dr. Blofeld 16:38, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

I don't think so, he only did some acting work in the 1920s. Arthur V. Johnson died in 1916. Lubin would have only been 14 in 1912.♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:10, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Can you upload the Arthur V. Johnson images though anyway? The current one is a bit dull. I remember him in The Adventures of Dollie. Lubin refers to the Lubin Manufacturing Company for him.♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:20, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

OK thanks. That Ethel Jewett image would be good too, just stubbed her! Doesn't seem too many photos of Lubin about on the web but he was a major director so find it hard to believe there's not more photos of him in archives somewhere. He was the guy who started Clint Eastwood as an actor despite thinking him poor!♦ Dr. Blofeld 18:29, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Wow that's amazing!! Thankyou!!♦ Dr. Blofeld 09:32, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Can you find one of Jack Harvey (actor and director), also known as John Joseph Harvey, worked for Thanhouser then Universal.♦ Dr. Blofeld 06:56, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

St John's Church, Manchester

Sorry to bother you again hehe! I was wondering if somehow we could claim the two photos of the church about a quarter the way down here. I believe they were taken in 1914 but knowing its UK not US I'm not sure.♦ Dr. Blofeld 19:03, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

Johnny Mercer's Music Shop

Great find, we should put an article together if we can find enough material, or maybe add them to the discography. Forgot to say I found some stuff about John Huddleston on Newspapers.com. He and Jo divorced in 1944. In 1947, he sued the Pied Pipers for breach of contract, claiming that they had dropped him after he joined the Army. I've found this from 1947 and this from 1948 that make reference to the case, but not anything so far that says how it turned out.

Still working on Joan Robinson Hill, but mostly been doing stuff offline today. Thought I'd go through the book again and make notes of important events. It currently runs to two and a bit pages of a word document, but I've almost finished. Just reached the Paulus trial, so not long to go now. This is Paul (talk) 21:58, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

I hadn't realised something like this was available, but I would be interested. There's a few articles I'd like to work on (like Alex Salmond and Boris Johnson), but would need to get hold of books (usually because other people have used them as a source). Sometimes I can get stuff through the library or find cheap copies on Amazon, but this would be very useful. This is Paul (talk) 22:40, 24 August 2014 (UTC)
Thanks, looks like I read the date wrong for the second article, it was 1946. :) This is Paul (talk) 22:45, 24 August 2014 (UTC)
Looks like it gets even more complex. :) BTW, what is the title of the Mercer book? I'll see if I can find it on Amazon. This is Paul (talk) 23:11, 24 August 2014 (UTC)
Gosh, that is expensive. I found a print copy, but even second hand £45,00. Gene Lees is only available on Kindle, although a print copy is listed (but unavailable). Better news re the one we want though, there's some used copies for £1.78, so I'll add it next time I get something from them. :) This is Paul (talk) 23:45, 24 August 2014 (UTC)
Didn't think of looking on ebay, but I'll see what I can find on the UK version. Good luck with the realtor, hopefully you'll hear from them before the end of the week. Just got two or three more paragraphs to add now, mostly about the shooting and Vandiver and McKittrick on the run. Also need to add something about the will hearing, but not sure yet where to include it. This is Paul (talk) 19:14, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
Looks good, it's showing up in a fairly reasonable resolution so should be ok. This is Paul (talk) 21:11, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
Great pic. :) This is Paul (talk) 22:57, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Herb Butterfield in image from Lonely Women

Thanks for adding the image of Herb Butterfield to the page about him. I appreciate that. I took the liberty of also adding it to the Lonely Women page. I'm gradually becoming more comfortable with the writing of articles for Wikipedia, but I'm still a novice when it comes to use of images on pages. Eddie Blick (talk) 18:30, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

I appreciate your compliment about my pages and your efforts at finding images for them. Also, I'm glad to find someone else who is interested in OTR on Wikipedia. I'm trying to not only write articles about programs and people related to OTR but also to add to some existing pages. Eddie Blick (talk) 18:52, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
I see what you mean about Johnny Mercer's Music Shop. Dunning's "On the Air" has just a bare-bones outline, and two other OTR reference books that I use didn't even list it. If I run across anything that looks useful, I'll let you know. Eddie Blick (talk) 20:34, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Online Resources for Old-Time Radio Research

After our exchanges yesterday about OTR articles on Wikipedia, it occurred to me to ask if you would mind looking at my user space page User:Teblick/Online Resources for Old-Time Radio Research. I wonder if you might know other online resources that I could add to the page. The ones on there now are those that I have found useful, but I suspect that other good ones exist that I haven't discovered yet. Eddie Blick (talk) 14:09, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for checking on the list. I appreciate your help. If you know anyone who would like to use it, feel free to point them to it. I'm glad to share. Eddie Blick (talk) 15:49, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

Things I forgot

I missed that, but you're right, McMaster did tell the coroner to stop the funeral if he thought it was necessary, and the self-medication was among Kurth's claims. She testified to the grand jury within twenty four hours of the divorce becoming final, and made her allegations that Hill had tried to kill her then, although I don't think she went into as much detail as she did at the trial. Not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but thought I'd include the full paragraph for the first quote you mentioned as it's not too long. .

Page 37

"Normally Joan wore the black formal riding habit favored on the society show circuit. But to complement her new mount she commissioned her tailors in Houston to design a riding costume in exactly the same shade as Belinda—a lustrous pearl gray. Even the derby must be the same, she insisted."

Page 55

"Joan dressed a final time in the gray riding costume that blended."

The paragraph goes on to describe how horse and rider entered the rung to a fanfare and spotlights, and that Joan and Ash were visibly emotional. After her final turn she draped the horse in fresh red roses and led her round the ring once more as the orchestra played "Auld Lang Syne". A groom who was standing close by commented to his wife ""Abe Lincoln hisself didn't have a funeral as good as this one."

Have updated the McMaster stuff to include what I'd missed, but need to do the same for Kurth's testimony. This is Paul (talk) 19:07, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Looks like it could be interesting, will need to print it out though. This is Paul (talk) 23:36, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Great article, I managed to enlarge it through Adobe, so read it this evening. Strange how they've printed it though, with the two pieces about the interview and her life history almost running into each other. I'll add it as a source tomorrow, but might need to tweak the article a bit. Also, have started a draft paragraph at Talk:Joan Robinson Hill about Ash Robinson's alternative will, although we'll need to find out how the case turned out. This is Paul (talk) 23:17, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll take a look over the weekend. There's sure to be more interesting stuff to go in. In the alternate will Ash was made the executor, but Thompson says the document was hastily typed and the date had been amended from December 2 to November 2. I want to put in a good quote I found from Richard Smith, the anesthesiologist, who basically dismisses Ann Kurth's claims that Hill self-medicated to offset the effects of the sodium pentathol, but might have to add it as a note. This is Paul (talk) 21:41, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

Think I just found Part One of Thompson's newspaper serialisation in the San Antonio Light :) This is Paul (talk) 21:23, 29 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for finding that, I've updated the section with the new information. This is Paul (talk) 22:04, 30 August 2014 (UTC)
Was that the Johnny Mercer bio? I have it on order but it hasn't arrived yet. This is Paul (talk) 22:57, 30 August 2014 (UTC)
I remember it now. :) I don't think there was a copy on the UK Amazon at the time, but I'll take another look. Will also check at Newspapers.com to see if they have anything. This is Paul (talk) 23:51, 30 August 2014 (UTC)
I'm surprised it's not available, that sort of things's usually in the public domain. This is Paul (talk) 12:05, 31 August 2014 (UTC)

Montage

Hi, any chance of a montage image for the following, the panorama across the top and then two and two?

Dr. Blofeld 17:24, 31 August 2014 (UTC)

Blog for Wikipedia Library for WP:Newspapers.com experience

Hey We Hope, I noticed that you have been using the Newspapers.com materials to help verify both images and write a significant amount of content like William Crooks (locomotive). Would you be interested in writing a blog post about your experience with the access for the WMF blog and possibly the Newspapers.com blog at http://blog.newspapers.com/ (we will need to verify with our POC). A good example of what we are looking for is at BNA's blog and crossposted at the Foundation Blog. If so, send me an email, and we can talk about getting a blog post together, Sadads (talk) 14:49, 3 September 2014 (UTC)

Sadads, will give it a shot and will e-mail you within the next couple of days. We hope (talk) 15:33, 3 September 2014 (UTC)
Sounds good: I have your email through the sign up, if you don't mind me using that directly. Sadads (talk) 15:35, 3 September 2014 (UTC)
Sadads, please feel free but leave me a note here if you don't hear from me within a short period of time. When we started with Newspapers.com, I had issues with MS/Outlook dumping the confirming e-mails from the site until I added newspapers.com to my trusted domains. They were dumping other e-mails (not even delivering them to the junk folder) as well--just so you know. ;) We hope (talk) 15:42, 3 September 2014 (UTC)
Sent you a direct email from my gmail. We have been having that problem with some of the users not receiving Wikipedia emails, and are trying to find some work arounds, Sadads (talk) 15:50, 3 September 2014 (UTC)
In my case I know it was MS. Had changed my eBay password when word of the hack became public. Did it in a hurry and when I wanted to buy something there, I couldn't remember what the new password was. eBay's e-mails with a temporary login were being zapped by MS until I realized what was happening. :) We hope (talk) 15:55, 3 September 2014 (UTC)