Happy Birthday Michael Jackson

A lot of friends have asked why I haven't drawn Michael Jackson yet. It was because I knew he had a birthday coming soon enough. So here it is.

Happy Birthday Tim Burton (8-25-09)

Happy Birthday Billy Mays

A couple months ago I drew the Shamwow Guy for a theme park sample (pictured below). A few people at work said, "Now you have to do Billy Mays!" I would say, "Nah, the Shamwow Guy is funnier."

But then God (or whomever) granted Mays' wish to meet McMahon, Fawcett and MJ, so the time was right to get him on our wall. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would draw not one, but two pitchmen/infomercial dudes. However, I really wanted to do Ron Popeil years ago, but decided against it when I figured not enough people would recognize him.

Happy Birthday Kevin Bacon

Happy Birthday Prince

Happy Birthday Drew Carey

Happy Birthday Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig

I found this website listing all of the deceased pro-wrestlers (the majority of them coming from the heyday of WWF, before it was renamed the WWE). I was aware of some of these deaths (Andre The Giant, British Bulldog, Owen Hart, Miss Elizabeth, Big Bossman; to name a few), but couldn't believe the number of other familiar names that came up on the list, and how young most of them were. The cause of death for almost all of them was either a heart attack or drug overdose. In Mr. Perfect's case, he died from "acute cocaine intoxication".

When flipping channels last night and seeing a commercial for Wrestlemania 25, I was also very surprised to see that The Undertaker and Sean Michaels are still around.

Happy Birthday Gary Oldman

This marks the 6th consecutive day that I have drawn someone in their 50s. Gary Oldman has more than his share of odd and terrifying characters on his resume, which makes it all the more bizarre that he pulled off such a moral, proper and respectable character as James Gordon (pictured here) in the last 2 Batman films.

Happy Birthday Ice-T

He is 51.

Happy B-B-Birthday, Matt Frewer

Happy Birthday to Matt Frewer who turns 51. A name that might be unfamiliar to most, he is better known to me as Max Headroom. He's been in dozens of feature films, with the bulk of them falling into the sci-fi/horror genre (my favorite being the 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead). He can be seen in the upcoming Watchmen (same director as Dawn of the Dead).

Max Headroom started as a science fiction television show (set "20 minutes in the future") in the mid to late 80's, and shortly after moved on to sell Coca-Cola and do his own talk show on Cinemax. If there is one non-human celebrity emblematic of the 1980's, he is the first one who comes to (my) mind.

Between all of the retro, pretend "vintage" shirts with that manufactured weathered look and the garish 80's colors (neon pink, yellow and teal) that seems to have become so fashionable with kids and teenagers, I am very surprised I have not yet seen Max Headroom sported anywhere. Maybe in the next 20 minutes?

I think we're close enough to the post-Christmas season that this video is appropriate to share. It's almost as amusing as it is unsettling.