Monday, August 09, 2010

Burt in Brooklyn?

BREAKING NEWS: Word out of New York indicates the possible emergence of a new Burt Reynolds Society in The Big Apple.
Our un-named source claims that The Illustrious Potentate of the original society has signed off on the fledgling organization.
Our attempts to reach Burt Reynolds at this time were unsuccessful.


This isn't The Big Apple's first alliance with Dr. Reynolds. H.G. Pennypacker's early designs for the Brooklyn Bridge were partly inspired by the power and freedom inherently found in Burton Reynolds' iconic mustache.


"My glorious design for The Bridge will uses two mustache towers to support the enormous weight of the structure. Those two mustaches will literally, give foundation for all manner of animal, cart and human foot traffic to pass overhead," Pennypacker remarked.

More Brooklyn-Reynolds Trivia:
Pennypacker's design also gave birth to the phrase "mustache ride." Many immigrant workers who passed over the bridge everyday sang a traveling song called "Takin' The Mustache Ride to the ShipYarde" due to the shape of the bridge.
Many years later, the estate of one Lawrence Westbrook claimed that their great-grandfather was the original author of the tune, resulting in a $3.1 million payout by the state of New York.
The state's travel commission had previously (and illegally) used the melody for the song during a tourism commercial starring singer Eddie Money.