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Pat Paulsen was a comedian specializing in satire who thrived on television in the late 1960s. The highlight of his career came in the watershed year 1968 when - emulating Gracie Allen''s quixotic 1940 Presidential bid as the Surprise Party candidate - he launched his own campaign for the U.S. presidency on the STAG (Straight Talking American Government) ticket. His campaign started out as a filmed gag run weekly on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," lampooning the pretensions of American politicians. One sequence had Pat making a campaign stop, unfolding the small ladder-stool he used to stand on while speaking to the voters, and addressing an empty rail-yard. Since there was a camera there, it didn't really matter, as Newt Gingrich found out in his own rise in politics in the 1980s, when he made a name for himself addressing speeches to members of the House in an empty chamber. Since it was filmed by Congressional video cameras, it appeared Gingrich was taking on powerful people who were, in reality, not even there. As a politician, Pat Paulsen was ahead of his time.

Patrick Layton Paulsen was born on July 6, 1927 in South Bend, Washington, a small fishing town, to.Beulah Inez (Fadden) and Norman Inge Paulsen, who worked for the Coast Guard. His father was a Norwegian immigrant and his maternal grandmother was English. The family moved to California when he was 10, and after graduating from high school, Pat joined the U.S. Marine Corps during the waning days of World War II. Demobilized after the war, Paulsen worked a variety of jobs, including postal clerk, truck driver, hod carrier, and miner. Two jobs that prepared him for the campaign trail that lay in his future were Fuller brush salesman, toiling door to door selling his product with a smile on his face, and photostat operator, making numerous copies of documents. He attended San Francisco City College on the G.I. bill. After his college studies, Paulsen joined an acting company before forming a comedy trio that included his brother Lorin (who continues to entertain with a one man show as Abraham Lincoln). Paulsen went solo after the trio broke up, and established himself during the late 1950s and early 1960s, performing in clubs featuring folk music and satiric comedy inspired by the likes of 'Jean Shepherd (I)' and 'Mort Sahl'. A guitarist, he delivered comedic monologues at some of the hottest clubs on the circuit, including Los Angeles' Troubadour and San Francisco's Purple Onion.

His shtick was similar to that of Tom Smothers and his brother Dick Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers," whom he met while performing at The Purple Onion. Paulsen sold them two songs for $40, and the two acts would become forever linked in the public consciousness. Eventually, when "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premiered on CBS-TV in 1967, Paulsen was one of the cast members. Long before there was a news desk at Saturday Night Live, the Smothers Brothers' show featured Paulsen as an editorialist, providing double-talk commentary on the issues of the day.

At the urging of the Smothers Brothers, Paulsen launched his 1968 Presidential campaign. The emphasis of the campaign was comedy, but lurking below the surface was serious commentary. Satire was what closed on Saturday night, but Paulsen brilliantly managed to slip satire into his comedy, without the abrasiveness of Sahl or Lenny Bruce. He was sending up the professional politicians, peppering his campaign talks with obvious lies, double-talk, and tongue-in-cheek attacks on the "real" candidates. His work as the "reel" candidate of the tumultuous, frequently absurd political year that was 1968 was the highlight of his career and gave him a place in the national consciousness and history. For his work on "The Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour," he was awarded a special Emmy Award in 1968.

After The Smothers Brothers were canceled due to their outspokenly liberal politics in 1969, Paulsen rebounded with his own show, "Pat Paulsen's Half-a-Comedy Hour." The show was innovative and very funny, but times had changed and the mass audience was no longer receptive to Pat's brand of satire, which laid bare the foibles of the American people and their culture. It was canceled after half a season.

Pat ran another bid for the presidency by entering the New Hampshire primary in 1972, but his time had passed. He did continue to work regularly, appearing in nightclubs, theaters, and conventions throughout the country. He also appeared each summer at the Cherry County Playhouse Muskegon, Michigan, which he co-owned. At the theater, he produced and starred in 25 plays, including "The Fantastics", "The Odd Couple", "Harvey" and "The Sunshine Boys."

Pat Paulsen was too good to ever be forgotten, and he received the International Platform Association's prestigious "Mark Twain Award" for his outstanding work in the field of comedy. Prior winners included Art Buchwald, Mark Russell and Steve Allen. On April 24, 1997, Pat died in 1997 from pneumonia after an 18-month battle with colon cancer. He was 69 years old.

René Cardona III was born on 1 April 1962 in Mexico City, Mexico. He was a director and actor, known for Shriek of Terror (1991), Fray Justicia (2009) and Un brillante propósito (2009). He died on 16 May 2021 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Kevin Barnett was born on 7 August 1986 in Florida, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Top Five (2014), Unhitched (2008) and Rel (2018). He died on 22 January 2019 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Cody Palance was born in December 1955. He was an actor, known for Young Guns (1988), Treasure Island (1999) and Angels' Brigade (1979). He died on 15 July 1998 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Eleazar Garcia Jr. was born on 13 December 1957 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was an actor and director, known for Le firmé un contrato al diablo (2010), Jugandose la vida (1984) and Dos michoacanos vs. dos colombianos (2000). He died on 12 December 2011 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Miguel Inclan was a popular villain of Mexican cinema from the 1930s into the 1950s, although he also had some sympathetic roles, notably as the kindly policeman in Salón México (1949) and several appearances as Benito Juárez. Inclán came from a theatrical family and started out working in the carpa theatres (he later bought a theatre with his film earnings and put his extended family to work in it). His son Miguel Inclán García also had a long career as an actor, although mostly on the stage. Other relatives of Inclán who made their mark in the entertainment industry are his grand-nephew Rafael Inclán, Raúl 'Chato' Padilla and Alfonso Zayas.

Elaine Hammerstein was born on 16 June 1894 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Midnight Express (1924), Rupert of Hentzau (1923) and The Foolish Virgin (1924). She was married to James Walter Kays. She died on 13 August 1948 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Artist and actor Edward Gilbert White was born on March 17, 1947 in Bel Air, Maryland. At age ten he was sent by his parents to a special art school; he was told by his teacher after six months that he knew more about art and was a better artist than she was. White received a degree in engineering and technical drawing. Ed worked for a few years in New York where he helped design factory machines. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in the 70s. White opened up a nightclub called the Red Dog Saloon. He also owned the Kozmic Ball Room, the Last Chance Saloon, and a club called the Mississippi Whiskers. In 1972 Ed made the local Nashville newspapers after he lost the Kozmic Ball Room to a songwriter in a pool game. Moreover, White owned art galleries and jewelry shops in Nashville, Jackson, Mississippi, Oklahoma City, and Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 80s. Ed eventually gave up the saloon business in the 80s and became an apprentice jeweler in Nashville, Tennessee. White then moved to Costa Rica and spent the rest of his life making and selling hand-crafted jewelry. Ed acted in a few movies and TV commercials; he was especially memorable as the lone cowboy survivor of the opening diner massacre in Oliver Stone's controversial "Natural Born Killers." A much beloved and colorful local figure in Costa Rica, White played Santa Claus for poor children every Christmas. Ed died of cancer on April 5, 2004 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Kathy Acker was born on 18 April 1944 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for IDn4 (1991), The Golden Boat (1990) and Variety (1983). She was married to Peter Gordon and Robert Acker. She died on 30 November 1997 in Tijuana, Mexico.

In the mid 1950s Monna Bell was barely in her teens when she took part in a singing contest held at Radio Minerias, then Chile's most popular radio station. Her voice and style won over the listeners and she became a regular at the station's live music shows. She was praised by her ability to sing both romantic ballads and swinging jazz tunes and blues, rare qualities in a Latin artist. Sometime in 1956 she was asked by prestigious band leader Roberto Inglez to join his group as a vocalist for a 3-week stint at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Miss Bell and the band had such a success that they stayed for a whole year in the Big Apple. From there they toured Europe but in Madrid the young vocalist decided to go solo after receiving an attractive offer from that city's best night club the Pasapoga. Monna Bell at the Pasapoga was a huge success and she became a favorite of Spanish audiences.

By 1959 she was recording for Hispavox a repertoire of romantic songs which included a cover of The Platter's "My Prayer" (Rogar), the theme song from the Hollywood film "Anastasia" and a Spanish version of "Woman in Love" (Una Mujer Enamorada) from "Guys and Dolls." That same year she was invited to appear at the First Spanish Song Festival held at Benidorm, a beach resort in Alicante, Spain, and her rendition of a jazzy novelty tune titled "Un Telegrama" made quite sensation winning the top award. Her recording of "Un Telegrama" became an international hit both in Europe and Latin American making Monna Bell a top recording star. From then on, it was hit after hit for the vocalist including "La Montaña," "Silencio Corazón," "Aun Te Sigo Amando," "Envidia," "Tómbola" and many others which spread her fame all over the world. She recorded with orchestras led by top musicians such as Augusto Algueró Jr., Gregorio García Segura and Bebo Valdés.

Monna Bell combined her recording activities with live performances and television work. Between 1962 and 1964 Mexican film producers featured her in three films just to take advantage of her popularity as a singer. Around this time, she settled in Mexico and married cinematographer Alex Phillips Jr. The marriage did not last long but it produced a daughter and a son. Monna's reputation as a hit maker followed her for many years and in 1968 she left the Hispavox label and signed with Mexico's Musart. However, the Musart sessions relayed heavily on Spanish covers of American and British hits and although these assured her air play on Spanish language radio stations everywhere, the excitement of the first years was gone. In the 1970s she left Musart and signed with Orfeon where mediocre material, bad arrangements and worst production values sabotaged her career. Not even the dismal 1977 disco-version of her "Un Telegrama" mega-hit could revive the popularity of one of the most gifted vocalists in Latin music history. There were also rumors of blacklisting by Televisa, a monopoly which, at that time, extended its influence on Mexican television, radio, recording, night clubs, printed press, etc. In the 1980s it seemed her career had run out of steam and Miss Bell was reported as "living happily in retirement". She was quickly forgotten by both the public and the music industry, ignoring the facts that she had one of the greatest voices of the century and had served as inspiration to a whole new generation of singers and songwriters.

Among these was the top Mexican composer-singer Juan Gabriel who tried to remedy the situation by luring Miss Bell out of retirement to appear as a guest star in some of his shows, both in Latin America and in the United States. He even built a guest villa for Monna in his enormous living compound in New Mexico so that she could vacation there whenever she felt like it. The relationship became an enduring friendship and offered the promise of a grand return for Monna Bell but it never happened. In 1993 Miss Bell recorded for Sony "Monna Bell Ahora," an album composed and produced by Juan Gabriel which went into oblivion as soon as released. Juan Gabriel blamed Sony for failing to promote the album properly, but critics pointed out that the selection of songs was the main culprit in the debacle. One critic wrote: "Miss Bell's voice is as great as ever and her interpretation retains the genius that made her a legendary vocalist, but there's not much she, or anyone else, can do with this boring material."

The hopes for a true artistic return vanished on April 21, 2008. While recovering from a successful colon cancer surgery, Monna Bell died of cerebral hemorrhage at a hospital in Tijuana, Baja California, where she was residing to be close to her daughter and grandchildren.

David H. Hackworth was born on 11 November 1930 in Venice, California, USA. He was married to Eilhys England, Patricia Leonard and Peta Margaret Cox. He died on 4 May 2005 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Miles Dabord was born on 6 April 1967 in Fresno County, California, USA. He died on 27 September 2002 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Luis Donaldo Colosio was born on 10 January 1950 in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, Mexico. He was married to Diana Laura Riojas. He died on 23 March 1994 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Perro Aguayo Jr. was born on 23 July 1979 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Qué pobres tan ricos (2013), AAA Fusion (2012) and Lucha Mexico (2016). He died on 21 March 2015 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Agustin Villegas was born on 11 April 1941 in Mexico City, Mexico. He was an actor, known for El contrabando del paso (1980), La carpa del amor (1979) and Las musiqueras (1983). He died on 6 May 2020 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

George Paris was born on 16 January 1904 in Harbin, China. He was an actor. He died on 1 August 1976 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Rosita Vásquez was born on 2 December 1933 in Isla de Margarita, Venezuela. She was an actress, known for Hacia la luz (1961), Sacrificio (1967) and Sol de tentacion (1996). She died on 4 November 2021 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

John O'Dea was born in 1908. He was a writer, known for Mission: Impossible (1966), Rescue 8 (1958) and Jungle Jim (1955). He died on 5 May 1972 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Pedro Pietri was born on 21 March 1944 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was an actor, known for It Could Happen to You (1994), Fresh Kill (1994) and Piñero (2001). He died on 3 March 2004 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

Leopoldo Beristáin was born on 9 September 1878 in Mexico D.F., Mexico. He was an actor, known for México lindo (1938), Lo que el viento trajo (1941) and Hasta que llovió en Sayula (1941). He was married to Elisa Berumen, Josefina Ciris and Carolina Aguilar. He died on 5 January 1948 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Garry Winogrand was born on 14 January 1928 in New York, USA. He was married to Eileen Adele Hale, Judy Teller and Adrienne Lubeau. He died on 19 March 1984 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Sergio Haro was born in 1951 in Mexico. Sergio died on 30 May 2017 in Tijuana, Mexico.

D. Alvelo was born on 12 December 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA. D. was a writer, known for Naked Lies (1998), Primary Suspect (2000) and Spider's Web (2002). D. died on 12 December 2004 in Tijuana, Mexico.

James Garde was born on 28 November 1923 in New York, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for This Man Dawson (1959), Lock Up (1959) and The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962). He died on 18 January 1968 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Armando López died in 1989 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.