Old School

Decades ago I came across In The Morning Of My Life, an account of the life, times etcetera of the recently deceased singer entertainer Tom Netherton. What brought this to mind was the part of this fairly thin celebrity autobiography that dealt with Mr. Netherton's time spent in the armed forces before making a career for himself as an entertainer. His description of what it was like to rise to the level of Drill Instructor interested me. Mostly what seemed to ring true was that at the end of the day as a DI he would collapse in exhaustion from expending so much energy outdoing his pupils in every way all day long. Somehow I find this relatable. Of course there was nothing that I recall about Mr. Lou Gossett's Officer And A Gentleman DI struggling in this way.

A real life decades deceased person who similarly dedicated himself to outperforming all comers is the late actor/martial artist known by the general public by his stage name Bruce Lee. Lee wanted to be the highest paid Asian American entertainer and may have succeeded mostly through outstanding film stage combat choreography. Similar to Gossett's character from Gentleman Lee's characters could take a few blows at first only to retaliate in devastating fashion. Strangely his son Brandon died at about the same age as Bruce. The long term effects of being under extreme pressure to be in some ways the equivalent of a military DI were perhaps what killed Mr. Lee.

Entertainers who found their calling upon exiting the armed forces are numerous. Gossett is among these people. Author/motivational speaker/child abuse crusader Mr. Dave Pelzer is another. Like the aforementioned Mr. Netherton Pelzer served but other than that there are few if any similarities between the two. Pelzer barely qualified for Air Corp service whereas Netherton's imposing size, army brat status etcetera surely did nothing to hurt his cause.

Mr. Pelzer ostensibly does write his material; like so many things I value I can't say I know anyone else who cares for his literature. The only instructor I mentioned it to seemed disinterested when I brought it up in class. Admittedly, neither gentleman extensively distinguished himself in the armed forces; Pelzer lasted longer before finding his boom operator's job being phased out. Pelzer's second marriage greatly influenced what he's accomplished and ultimately his is a sympathetic character who overcame a great deal of obstacles to attain his measure of celebrity, if you can believe what you read.

I ran into a dead end here and may have figured out why. Entertainers do not go the Sam Davis route, so to speak as often as in the past due to the draft no longer existing. Athlete entertainers such as basketball's David Robinson and football's Nap McCallum have been permitted exemptions from serving in the Navy after having enrolled in the Naval Academy. World War Two having ended over seven decades ago there are no Lee Marvin's either. The equivalents of the late Flip Wilson and Richard Pryor would be ghetto survivors Lawrence ( Mr. T. ) Tero and rapper 50 Cent.

I never could conclude much about either gentleman, especially the somewhat obscure Netherton. Morning Of My Life ended before anything had been established beyond the fact that a minor non seller of a celebrity bio had been deemed worthy of publication. The main differences between the two include Pelzer's controversial status as a twice married parent versus Netherton's somewhat bland Lawrence Welk singer's obscurity.

Two deceased gentlemen entertainers who served prior to attaining status as respectively a comedian/musician were Dick Gregory and J. M. Hendrix. Gregory upon being discovered hiding under a large bowl in an Army cooking area announced he was volunteering to be cooked for supper. This led someone to volunteer him for an Army talent show because it had been or needed to be determined that either he was lazy or potentially a comedian. Gregory completed his hitch and ended up married to a woman he credited with helping launch his career by investing her savings in a nightclub they opened to display his talent.

In Hendrix' case the Army's Screaming Eagle Paratrooper Division allowed Jim to avoid serving time for allegedly breaking into a vehicle. He served long enough to hone his musical talent; a broken ankle kept him from making a career out of the military.