Two Bodies, One Coffin?

An Update from my earlier post: Why do I believe Kim Carlyle is still alive? Part II

I was utterly shocked this week when a post from one J.Q. Binder landed in our comments section. Mr. Binder is the grandson of Haskell Binder, partner in the now defunct Parish & Binder Funeral Home of Los Angeles, the mortuary that handled the preparations and funeral for "Honey Vicarro" star, Kim Carlyle.

In his comment, J.Q. mentioned a very troubling practice that may have been par for the course during a few select funerals overseen by Parish & Binder partner, Rudolph Parish. Because of possible Mob ties, and what has been alleged to have been a gambling addiction that left Rudolph in debt to the "wrong people," it has been asserted by J.Q. that perhaps there were certain burials that took place under Rudolph's supervision that entailed burying more than one body per coffin!

I found this revelation to be extremely troubling since, as I have stated before on this blog, my grandfather, Otis "Pop-Pop" Weaver (one of the cemetery workers at Hillside Memorial Park), told me years ago about how inexplicably heavy Kim Carlyle's casket was at burial. It is my belief that this was due to the fact that it was not actually Kim Carlyle's body in that coffin, but an almost perfect wax figure, kept cool and in good repair during the services by the discreet use of a refrigeration unit hidden within the lower, closed off, confines of the casket. But now we hear directly from an actual descendant of one of the mortuary's partners that there may have been skullduggery at work, in the form of an extra body being secreted within the coffin.

I find this possibility to be utterly appalling, and I plan to do some digging to find out if indeed such an outrage may have happened in this case. I will update as soon as I have researched the matter further. Until then, I beg your patient indulgence.

There's a Clue In The Theme Song

See if you can find it...


HONEY'S THEME
(Composer: Lalo Schifrin, Lyrics: Gavin W. Hurrell)

She's quick, she's cool,
She's nobody's fool,
She's Honey Vicarro,
Honey Vicarro,
Silky, slinky private eye.

Skin-tight suits
And naugahyde boots,
A razor in her garter,
Man, nobody's harder.
Honey V., she's cold as ice.

Her Caddy Eldorado's cherry red.
That cat behind the wheel's her chauffeur, Chad.
(Chad is bad.)

From California to Kalamazoo,
Cheap thugs shake and quake in their shoes,
When they hear her name,
Honey Vicarro!

© Copyright 1966, Gavin Hurrell Productions


Look for the answer here soon!

Frazetta's Inspiration?

In 1971, world-renowned fantasy artist, Frank Frazetta, created a piece of cover art for a mass market paperback novel called, "Black Emperor". This cover caused such a stir, because of the highly charged nature of its content, that the book was later recalled. It is not hard to see why, given the positions and racial make-up of the cover's subjects, that this book would cause controversy. But I ask my readers to set aside their collective outrage over the obvious, for a moment, and take a closer look at the man and woman gracing this cover. Do these figures look at all familiar? And upon such reflection, I ask, does anyone else think it is possible that Frank Frazetta may have been influenced by or been paying homage to, "Honey Vicarro's" own Honey & Chad... or even the real life couple, Kim Carlyle and Cliff DiMarco?

Pulp fiction author, Stuart Jason (one of the many pseudonyms of writer Michael Avallone), published "Black Emperor," the third book in his "Black Lord/Black Master" trilogy, in the early seventies. These books were part of the controversial plantation/slavery genre, and followed in the footsteps of such novels as "Mandingo" and "Drum," published over a decade before. Both "Mandingo" and "Drum" later went on to become films of the 70's famous "Blaxploitation" era, but the "Black Lord/Black Master" trilogy was not so lucky.

Gavin Hurrell pushed this same racial envelope when it came to his series, "Honey Vicarro". The interracial love aspects of the show have often been cited as contributing to the series' abrupt cancellation. Of course, the rumors that the onscreen sexual heat shared between the characters of Honey and Chad also extended to an affair, offscreen, between the principle players, Kim Carlyle and Cliff DiMarco, probably did not help the cause much, either. (For some small proof of this whispered-about relationship, fans may want to watch this lost backstage footage, called "A Private Moment," recently posted on YouTube.) It would seem that this "amour interdit," between Carlyle and DiMarco, was one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood. Unfortunately, their relationship gave even more fire to the small-minded moralists who pressured ABC to drop "Honey Vicarro" after its first episode.

But remember, Kim Carlyle had long been cherished by not only the Hollywood community, but within the art community, as well. Carlyle had spent several years working as an artist's model and remained friends with many of the fine artists whose circles she frequented. And while Frank Frazetta does not use models, instead pulling the astounding visions that characterize his work straight from his own imagination, there are enough similarities between Kim and Cliff, and the characters on the cover of "Black Emperor," to make one wonder if this painting was not a very pointed "F*ck You!" to the usual hobgoblins of censorship and prejudice. If so, all this humble blogger can add is, "Let 'em have it, Mr. Frazetta!"

For a closer look at this cover art, for comparison, please see below.