Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Kookie, Kookie 2


CONNIE: Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb. Kookie, Kookie?
EDWARD: Well now, let's take it from the top & grab some wheels
& on the way we'll talk about some cuckoo deals.
C: But Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb. Kookie, Kookie?
E: Now you're on the way, miss, & I'm readin' you just fine.
Don't cut out of here till we get on Cloud 9.
C: But Kookie?
E: I've got smog in my noggin ever since you made the scene
C: You're the utmost!
E: If you ever tool me out...dead, I'm the saddest, like a brain
C: The very utmost. Kookie, lend me your comb. Kookie, Kookie?
E: Man, I got my bruise lighters in my flapsy-colored pen
You're gonna send me to that planet called...you know it, baby, the end!
C: Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb. Kookie, Kookie?
E: If you ever cut out, you might be a stray cat
'Cause when I'm flyin' solo, nowhere's we're on that!
C: Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb. Kookie, Kookie?
E: What's with this comb caper, baby? Why do you wanna latch up with my comb?
C: I just want you to stop combing your hair...& kiss me. You're the maximum utmost.
E: Well, I beans & I dreams goin', I'm movin' right now
'Cause that's the kind of scene that I dig...baby, you're the ginchiest!

another bio from imdb
When Edd was 13 his father was found dead in a basement. Edd then dropped his last name in favor of "Byrnes", based on the name of his maternal grandfather, a New York City fireman. Edd found escape from family problems at the movies and at the gym, where he developed an athletic body. At age 17 he was approached by a man who offered to take free "physique" photos of him. According to Edd's 1996 autobiography, "Kookie No More", this led to a few years of "hustling" older, well-to-do men, despite the fact that Edd was heterosexual. One of these men acted as Edd's mentor, introducing him to fashion and culture and encouraging his hopes for an acting career.
After doing some summer-stock work and a few bit parts on TV, Edd drove to California in 1955, arriving in Los Angeles on the day James Dean died in a car crash. He managed to get a few minor parts in films and then won a role in a new TV series called "77 Sunset Strip" (1958), which premiered in September of 1958. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and Roger Smith starred as private eyes but Edd, playing a hip-talking parking-lot attendant named "Kookie", won the most attention. Viewers quoted his dialog, ("Baby, you're the ginchiest!"), and young males imitated the way he wielded his ever-present comb. His fan mail soon reached an astonishing 15,000 letters a week and his single with Connie Stevens, "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb", became a top-5 hit. Edd chafed, however, at the restrictions in his Warner Brothers contract, which forced him to turn down roles in Ocean's Eleven (1960), North to Alaska (1960) and Rio Bravo (1959). He walked off the "77 Sunset Strip" set and in the ensuing months began to drink heavily and visit a psychiatrist, who administered drugs to him. His contract dispute was eventually settled, though not much to his advantage, and when he returned to "77 Sunset Strip" his role was upgraded from "sidekick" to "partner" and he wore a suit and tie. Audience reaction was not good, ratings dropped, and the show was canceled. The hip-talking, hair-combing image clung to him, however, and Edd felt he lost the lead in PT 109 (1963) because President John F. Kennedy didn't want to be played by "Kookie." A few more movies and TV appearances followed, but his career had passed its peak before he turned 30.

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