Pumpkins’ Corgan smashes heads, too
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan had a night off from the latest Smashing Pumpkins tour and a night out with The Blue Meanie.
No, that’s not the next up-and-coming band with a colorful name, along the lines of the White Stripes or the Black Keys.
The Blue Meanie is a professional wrestler – yes, hair and beard dyed cobalt blue to match his worn T-shirt – and Corgan was his tag-team partner for a Friday night road trip to an independent wrestling show in New Jersey.
His next Smashing Pumpkins concert was a night away, and Corgan wasn’t going to miss it.
The musician-songwriter is more than just another celebrity immersed in wrestling as some sort of quirky promotional stunt. Corgan’s childhood fandom of the high-flying moves and outlandish story lines morphed into a serious passion for the craft and real-life drama that goes with it.
Corgan explained he’s in the wrestling business for the long haul.
“I like that it makes people uncomfortable,” Corgan said. “I like that it’s not an easy thing to explain. I like when it’s great, it’s amazing; when it’s bad, it’s really, really bad.”
Struthers enters not guilty DUI plea
Sally Struthers has entered a not guilty plea on charges she drove drunk in Maine, where she was performing in a musical.
The Portland Press Herald reported the 65-year-old Struthers did not appear in York District Court on Thursday, and entered the plea through her lawyer.
Police arrested Struthers on Sept. 12 on U.S. Route 1 in the resort town Ogunquit. She was charged with criminal operating under the influence.
Struthers is best known for her role as Gloria Stivic in the 1970s TV sitcom “All in the Family.” She had been performing at the Ogunquit Playhouse in the musical “9 to 5.”
Struthers is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 13 for a bench trial.
Actress Liv Ullman is 74. Journalist Lesley Stahl (“60 Minutes”) is 71. Writer-producer Steven Bochco is 69. Guitarist Tony Hicks (The Hollies) is 67. Singer Benny Anderson (ABBA) is 66. Actor Ben Cross is 65. Singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) is 63. Actress Alison LaPlaca (“The John Larroquette Show”) is 53. Actor Sam Robards is 51. Actor Jon Tenney (“The Closer,” “Brooklyn South”) is 51. Actor Benjamin Bratt is 49. Country singer Jeff Carson is 49. Singer Michael McCary (Boyz II Men) is 41. Actress Krysten Ritter is 31. Actress Amanda Setton is 27. Actress Anna Popplewell (“The Chronicles of Narnia” films) is 24.