Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Retro: Kimmer

Retro: Kimmer

Link to Retro: Kimmer

THE LEGENDARY GROUPIE BEBE BUELL

Posted: 23 Nov 2010 09:07 PM PST


The legendary BEBE Buell

As I love to read retro fabulous books about the rock generation I began reading this book for inspiration for future blog posts. I love biographies, especially from women who were brilliant artists historically.



But BEBE'S book- I absolutely loathed. I hated it so much I would have taken it back to the bookstore for a refund except it was a gift from a garage sale shopping pal. Hopefully she paid 25 cents for it.


Elvis Costello

This book from Bebe Buell... OMG, this self absorbed "woman"! Even looking at her pic on the front cover annoyed me. Of course BEBE would counter that by saying I was jealous of her vast beauty and "talent" as she said that about every other woman she ever encountered.

Her ghost writer must have really disliked her to not edit this book into something more self protective. BEBE obviously hasn't a clue about how shallow and immature she comes off in this long book. It came out in 2001 I think so I am sure she has read the reviews. The readers are all jealous of her too.

Totally enjoyed reading "I'm With the Band" by Pamela Des Barres, a woman who knew how to handle these things and never once came off as so intensely narcissistic just a fun gal who loved the music and was happy to show her "appreciation". She didn't try and dress herself up as something she wasn't. So if you want to read about classic rock groupies try that book. Or read Ron Wood's great autobiography it was very well written and hysterical.


Todd Rundgren and Bebe Buell

Bebe Buell would want us to believe that she is some sort of MUSE and try as she might, she has not convinced me, nor many other folks that bought this lame book if the reviews on Amazon are any indication. I am happy to say the readers got it right this time.

As a single working mom I gave up my show biz job and settled down with a 8-5pm day job to give my daughter stability and a nice home life. Oh but not poor BEBE, and she crows on and on about all the work she did raising her daughter!! I am amazed she has a friend left let alone family members. If I was her cousin Annie I would have filed for guardianship to protect that little girl.



Bebe Buell is just another egotistic, self indulgent, celebrity wannabe who managed to have a baby and that gave her the proverbial 15 minutes of fame. Then she dumped her baby for years with family members to pursue her "career". It just made me crazy to read how self deluded this woman is. Her therapist should have had her license yanked.

Poor Mary Costello, Elvis Costello's first wife! Even more infuriating is that BEBE never cared a whit for all the innocent bystanders whose lives she affected so negatively. She found stalking Elvis a "game". He should have pressed charges! But oh no it was poor BEBE at every turn.


Elvis Costello happy family man now

Especially grating was how mysteriously a love letter to Elvis was suddenly misrouted to his home for Mary to read. How unintelligent does she really think the public is? BEBE only fools herself.

Another idiotic delusion is her insistence that practically every song after 1978 is about BEBE. Constantly talking about how beautiful she was, how HOT she was, and how often people told her this. Oops jealousy again on my part. The idea that Prince would write about her is laughable except in a snarky fashion.

Don't bother with this book. Seriously folks I hated it. I really grew to really dislike her after reading this. Trust me most women know that sleeping around when your are in a relationship is just plain wrong. If that is the life you choose then stay single.



Sadly I grew to dislike Todd Rundgren too after reading this "pulp" non fiction. At least he paid support and expenses for a child that was technically not his own. So kudos for that Todd.

I cheered when in the book a young Liv stood up to BEBE and fired her... took so much courage on her part... it was the best part of the entire book. Women everywhere have worked too hard for respect and independence in this world without this tart bragging about being a "rock n roll rebel" when all she was is tiresome. Oh yeah I forgot... I must be jealous

If you like a good read of this genre try these below.

LETTERS FROM HARRY BENNETT'S GRANDSON!

Posted: 22 Nov 2010 11:25 PM PST


Harry Bennett

The most exciting thing about being a blogger is the tons of emails and comments I receive from my readers. Imagine my great delight when I received an email from Harry Bennett's grandson Skip. He wrote to me and we exchanged messages. I just had to share them with the many other readers who like me are totally into learning more about this larger than life man. I did talk with Skip on the phone as he resides very far away. I just listened mesmerized to Skip telling the history of Harry Bennett and his family. Thank you SKIP! Kim

One quick thing Skip told me: Harry never had Tigers in cages inside the Castle. He did have two retired Circus Lions! Not quite as scary as the hushed conversations on the wild beasts roaming the grounds of the Castle...

Hi Kim,
Its nice to meet you. My grandfather Harry Bennett was all that you have probably heard but some of the stories have been a little exaggerated over the years but by no means was he someone who anybody wanted to cross.

I got the chance to know him as i grew up in California, every year my mother and father would take us kids to see our grandfather who was at that time living in Palm Springs retired.

He never much talked about the past with us...but my dad (who is still living) was Harry's right hand man and took care of the horses that were kept on the island across from the castle before he married my mom, Billie Bennett one of Harry's 4 daughters.

So over the years they(mom and dad) verified the stories and I could sometimes ask my granddad about the insensitive stories, but it was always Taboo to talk about the tough stuff and I didn't start finding out about the tuff stuff until I was older so I started to get a different picture of my granddad as I started to read up and check for myself.

My dad was so close to him he knew a lot of the dirt and truths about most the stories and was always kind of afraid to tell, but did anyway.


Harry Bennett's Pagoda House on Grosse Ile Michigan

I have seen the Pagoda house from the land and water, if my memory serves me there was a tunnel years ago in that home also. It has a boat garage that accesses the lake and my dad and uncles worked on this home during the construction.

My dad's name is Harold, my uncle that is still living in Michigan is Edward, and there is a gentleman who for sometime has been writing a book about Harry Bennett his name is Thomas Dewald.

This man has a lot of the true information about the life and times of Harry Bennett. He has interviewed all of us and everybody that Harry knew that would talk to him .

One of the best stories, well I guess truths that I have discovered are that Henry Ford himself was as accountable as my grandfather for all the stories that are out there, it just was never going to come out in the media at that time,

Henry Ford was a demigod and he was getting too old to cover for my granddad somebody had to be the fall guy, only Henry Ford and my granddad were the only 2 that knew the real truth.

Why do you think my granddad never went to jail at the end? Nobody wanted the Ford name tarnished in the slightest. They did summon him back from California but never made anything stick, he went away quietly.

Don't get me wrong I'm not on a soap box about my granddad he was a bad man and had bad things done, my point is he had no back up other than Henry Ford (another bad man) himself. When Ford's health declined my grandfather only had Henry Ford to vouch for him everybody else sold him out and rightfully so. Again

I am not defending Harry Bennett and I have no proof other than I believe my dad and mom, I am just stating things I found out along the way from the people who were so close, closer than anybody. I hope this intrigued you a little and we can talk again if you like.

Yours truly,
Skip) Harry Angellotti
yes i was named after my grandfather....and his nic name was Skipper.



Second Letter

Hey Kim,

I am glad you took an interest in my grandfather, and as a matter of fact his taste in architecture and the things he furnished his homes with are what intrigued me at an early age also. I was born in 1951 I'm 59 years old.

My grandfather had a flair for the asian style as I do (I guess Igot it from him) even in his non-asian homes he had many statues and artifacts from Japan, bronze, ivory, jade. etc. One of my most favorite was a full size antique rickshaw converted into a movable bar in his dining room in Palm Springs.

The seats and foot area were converted to bottle holders and glass holders, you could actually pick up the handles and move it where ever the party was, the wheels rolled very smoothly and it was painted unbelievably ornate. I have no pictures of the pagoda house but it had to really be something in its hey day.

And I believe he only had one cabin (if you want to call them cabins) off Geddes rd. As far as being afraid of any one coming for him,I never saw that in him during the time I knew him. He was like a king in Palm Springs when ever we all went to dinner it was like we were with royalty.

I think the days if being worried about someone coming after him died with his exit from Ford Motor Co. I do believe there were other people more worried about him sending someone for them after the fact.

My favorite story of my grandfather is how Henry Ford discovered him and took a liking to him. My grandfather was a sailor and Henry Ford and William R. Hurst (as the story goes) were near the docks and from a distance were witnessing a dock strike and my grandfather happened by and was asked by the to men if he thought he could go down there with his buddy and break things up for 100 bucks and of course he took the challenge and the rest was history. He later applied for a job with Ford Motor Co. and already had an in by what had happened at the docks. Hope you like this stuff, we will talk again soon

NEW* Video Tour of the Castle!
1984 Photos of the Castle
Harry Bennett's Lodge HERE
Harry Bennett's Castle HERE
The Rise and Fall of Harry Bennett HERE

1 comment:

pat351v said...

Hi, I'm trying to find info on Harry Bennets daughte who would have been born about 1935...my dad and Uncle lived on the grounds of the Geddes castle and worked for Harry Bennet...he took them in...my uncle was a Football player for U of M. This was 1940.

Please contact me
pat351v@gmail.com (email)

Thank you.

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