July 6, 2016


News and Views


https://www.yahoo.com/movies/memories-of-abbott-and-costello-chris-costello-132728490.html?post_id=1605282889713411_1762519620656403#_=_

Interviews
Memories of Abbott and Costello: Chris Costello Talks ‘Who’s on First,’ Frankenstein, and Growing Up in Old Hollywood
Ethan Alter
July 04, 2016

Photograph -- Bud Abbott and Lou Costello performing “Who’s on First” in 1945′s The Naughty Nineties. (Photo: Getty Images)
Photograph -- Chris Costello (Photo: Bobby Bank/WireImage)
Photograph -- Costello clowns around with Dracula and Frankenstein in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. (Photo: Everett Collection)
Photograph -- The Costello family in 1950. (Photo: Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
Photograph -- Abbott and Costello meet Joe DiMaggio and his wife Dorothy Arnold on the set of Hold That Ghost in 1941 (Photo: Everett Collection)
Photograph -- Lou Costello clowning around with his idol, Charlie Chaplin, in 1942. (Photo: AP)
Photograph -- Abbott and Costello perform “Who’s on First” for eager radio listeners. (Photo: Gene Lester/Getty Images)
Photograph -- Abbott and Costello in Africa Screams. (Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Video -- Watch a trailer for ‘Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein’


Quick, what’s the funniest comedy routine of all time? No … what’s on second. Who’s on first! And, indeed, “Who’s on First” doubles as the only possible answer to our initial query: Line-for-line and laugh-for-laugh, the routine performed by comedy legends Bud Abbott and Lou Costello is an easy all-timer not only in comedy’s Hall of Fame, but also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The duo donated their gold record for the sketch they had been performing since the late 1930s to the Cooperstown, N.Y., museum in 1956, where it remains 60 years later.

And that’s not the only significant Abbott and Costello anniversary date to celebrate this calendar year. It was 80 years ago, in 1936, when the burlesque-trained funnymen decided to insert an “and” between their two names, forming a team that would last through two decades, almost 40 films, several TV shows, and countless sketches. With the Paterson, N.J.-born Costello bringing the bluster, and Asbury Park, N.J., native Abbott serving as the straight man, Abbott and Costello were an odd couple that couldn’t have been more perfectly matched.

Watch a version of the routine: Abbott and Costello Who’s On First

Offscreen, Costello’s life had its fair share of drama, including a run-in with the Internal Revenue Service and, most tragically, the death of his infant son, Lou Jr., in a drowning accident. Those stories, along with many happier ones, are recounted in the book Lou’s on First, written by Chris Costello, the youngest child of Lou and Anne Costello. The biography, co-written with Raymond Strait, first appeared in 1981 and has recently been republished as an ebook, available from Amazon and other booksellers.

“What I tried to do with the book is bring out Dad as best I could through the words of the people who knew him,” Costello, 68, tells Yahoo Movies. “He had his faults, as we all do, but he was a real humanitarian. Writing the book definitely had its challenges emotionally, but it also was a way for me to repay him for giving me and certainly my sisters an amazing childhood.” Costello filled us in on that amazing childhood — which included cameos from screen icons like Clark Gable and Veronica Lake — as well as the origins of “Who’s on First” and her father’s least favorite Abbott and Costello movie — which, surprisingly, happens to be a lot of other people’s favorite! — in the wide-ranging conversation below.

Yahoo Movies: As I understand it, you wrote Lou’s on First in order to set the record straight after the 1977 biography, Bud & Lou: The Abbott & Costello Story, which you felt was an inaccurate portrayal of your father.

Chris Costello: Yes. Bud & Lou was a book penned by Bob Thomas, an Associated Press writer, [with the help of] their manager, Eddie Sherman. The book then became a TV movie [1978’s Bud & Lou] starring Harvey Korman and Buddy Hackett. It was not accurate — it was actually very scathing. When the book, and certainly the movie of the week, came out, both the Abbott and the Costello families were adamantly opposed to them. People who see the movie are not seeing that Bud Abbott had a wife and children, and that Dad had three daughters aside from the baby who passed away. That’s what launched me into four years of research and interviewing everybody I could get my hands on to write Lou’s on First. It was also good therapy for me because I was getting to know my parents for the first time as an adult. I was only 11 when my dad died [in 1959 at the age of 52] and then turned 12 when my mother passed away. The Bud & Lou book [is out of print,] and my book, God bless it, has lasted 22 years on the stand.

The section of the book dealing with his rise through the ranks of the old studio system — working on a construction crew and then as a stuntman — is fascinating. It’s a peek into a version of Hollywood that doesn’t exist anymore.

The studio system is what molded the careers of so many of the great comics. Also, vaudeville and burlesque, which was the training ground for comedians like Jackie Gleason and everyone down the line. But Dad didn’t set out to become a comic — he set out to become an actor. That’s what he wanted to do and why he first went to Hollywood. One of his idols was Charlie Chaplin, but he looked at Chaplin more as an actor than as a comic.

During his first stint in Hollywood, he was doing everything he could to get noticed. He had a bit part as an extra in Laurel and Hardy’s 1927 short The Battle of the Century. During the boxing sequence, you can see a very young, very thin Lou Costello sitting ringside! He was also in the silent epic The Trail of ’98. I think it was Dolores del Rio, who starred in that film, that said to him: “Go home and hone your craft. Let Hollywood ask for you.” And that’s what he did! He headed back to Paterson, but got as far as St. Joseph, Mo., where he ran out of money. He saw a marquee advertising for a “Dutch Comic.” That was a comic who wore a putty nose, baggy pants, oversized shoes, and spoke with a Dutch accent. He told them, “I’ll do everything, but I’m not going to put on a putty nose, and I won’t have a Dutch accent!”

He worked in St. Joseph for maybe a year, and then made his way back to New Jersey, where he started working in some of the burlesque houses as a “dancing juvenile,” [which was] the warm-up act for the top banana. Later on, of course, he teamed up with Bud, which was purely a fluke. Dad’s straight man had gotten sick that night, and Bud happened to be on the same bill and offered to fill in for him. History was made that night!

You write about how they inadvertently hijacked the first film they appeared in as a team, 1940′s One Night in the Tropics.

One Night in the Tropics was actually an Allan Jones film. But after the studio saw it, they kept adding more and more Abbott and Costello routines. Even after the film was completed, they would bring them back in and insert more routines until finally it was almost an Abbott and Costello film. It was the test film for them, and the audiences just went nuts for them, so that’s when they made their first starring film, Buck Privates [1941]. When I interviewed Allan, he told me that, years later, he was in South America and saw a theater marquee advertising: “Abbott and Costello in One Night in the Tropics” and said, “Where the hell am I?” [Laughs]

Like a lot of kids, my first Abbott and Costello movie was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Is that the movie you’re asked about the most?

There’s two. No. 1 is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein [1948], and then the other film that people really seem to gravitate toward is The Time of Their Lives [1946], which is interesting because that’s a film where Bud and Dad are not acting as a team. I kind of like it because Bud just shines in that film. I think he’s exceptional. But, of course, Frankenstein has become the cult classic of Abbott and Costello films, although Dad hated it! He thought that Universal no longer had any faith in Abbott and Costello and therefore just wanted to bring in all these monsters. He was not very partial to that film, but I think if he could come back and see new generations of fans locking onto Abbott and Costello because of the film, he would just glow.

Do you have any memories of being on the sets of your father’s films?

They’re so fleeting. I remember being on the set of Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy [1955] with my cousins and being so terrified about the mummy coming out. And I remember their last film, Dance With Me, Henry [1956], because I was a little bit older and was able to take some school friends to the location where they were doing the carnival scenes. My sister Paddy has a lot of memories. Although I was on the set, I don’t really recall many details. I wish I did.

How about the experience of watching his movies? Was it strange to see your dad on the big screen?

Most people think I grew up watching nothing but Abbott and Costello, like that’s all that was ever shown in our home. Wrong! [Laughs] I grew up on the Little Rascals. If I saw one of Dad’s films — and I did — I was just watching a film. That guy up there was my dad performing a character. I never equated him with the person sitting there. It was his job; he went to work, came home, and was just Dad. But the first time I met Spanky McFarland [of the Little Rascals] in person, I was so excited that I couldn’t talk. I thought I’d pass out!

Besides the Little Rascals, what other celebrities did you meet as a child? I’m picturing comedy legends like Groucho Marx coming in and out of your house.

If they did, it would not have meant anything to me, and I’ll tell you why: I was a kid, so when adults came to the house, it was like, “Say hello. Now go out and play.” So I wouldn’t think, “Oh my God, that’s Groucho Marx!” He would just be an adult coming to visit. My sister Paddy remembers that we had a film library with a lot of movies, which we would loan out. She can recall hearing the doorbell ringing, opening up the door, and there would be Clark Gable saying, “Your dad told me he has a film that I could borrow.” And she would give him the film and then go back inside. You know what I’m saying? When you’re growing up in that community, you’re not starstruck. Movie stars walked into the house, but they were everyday people.

My other sister, Carole, remembers a party my parents gave when she was very young, maybe 3 or 4. Veronica Lake was there with Clark Gable, and Carole went into the kitchen. There was a turkey cooling off on the counter, and she took a piece of the skin, peeled it off, and started to eat it. The next thing she knew Veronica Lake came up and slapped her hand and said, “Don’t you do that!” Carole looked up at her and then kicked her in the shins, and then went hightailing it up the stairs. Clark Gable came up a few minutes later, peeked his head around the corner, winked at her, and said, “Good going, kid.” [Ed. note: Carole Costello passed away in 1987.]

Your father and Joe DiMaggio were close buddies. Do you have any good Marilyn Monroe stories?

I don’t. I spoke to Dorothy Arnold, Joe’s first wife [Arnold and DiMaggio were married from November 1939 until May 1944], when I was working on Lou’s on First, and she gave me all these wonderful stories. She and Joe and Dad and Mom were young newlyweds together, so she remembered palling around. Joe had come out to Hollywood with her, and they would always visit the sets, and they were guests in our home. I remember Susan Hayward, who lived up the street from us because I used to play with her kids when I was very young. And I remember Bill Bendix [The Babe Ruth Story] because he and his wife Tess were very good friends of the family. One time, at our ranch, Bill had come over to show Dad his brand-new car that he had just picked up from the dealership. I had one of these little two-seater Thunderbirds that ran on electricity — it had a big battery in it. I would tool around the ranch in this thing, and I remember coming along the dirt path and seeing Uncle Bill, and as I got closer to his car, I raised one hand to wave at him and my other hand turned the wheel, and I went crashing into the side of his car! I put a nice sized dent in it too. [Laughs]

You mentioned that your dad was an admirer of Charlie Chaplin. Did they ever meet?

Yes. There are some photos of Chaplin at our home. Universal did a photo shoot, and the expression on my father is just priceless because he was meeting his idol. It’s one of the most genuine, from the heart, deep in the soul type of smiles, and it’s just beautiful. As to what they discussed, I have no idea. I know Chaplin seemed to appreciate the comedy of Abbott and Costello very much, and Dad certainly was such an admirer of Chaplin. I’m sure he had his moment to shine as a fan when Chaplin was at our home.

Something I hadn’t known before reading your book is that Lou Costello was a fervent anti-communist and even supported Joe McCarthy during the blacklist. Chaplin famously had to leave the country after being denounced for alleged communist sympathies. Did that change your father’s opinion of him?

I really don’t know the answer to that question. I interviewed Lucille Ball, and she told me that when she was questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee, “Everyone in Hollywood, the ones that I thought were my friends, turned their backs on me. Not one person came to my door except your father. I opened up the door and he looked at me and said, ‘What can I do?’ I just broke out crying.” So he supported people, especially the people that he knew. I just don’t know about Charlie Chaplin.

Had Dad really investigated a little bit further and really knew what was going on with the McCarthy era, I know he would never have supported it, but he got so caught up in this idea of communists infiltrating Hollywood. He was so patriotic and so much for his country that I think he just kind of went a little bit overboard on it.

He really got caught up in the moment. I write in the book about how he asked John Grant, Abbott and Costello’s comedy writer from their burlesque days, to sign a loyalty oath, and John said no. My dad fired him. Later on, everything was patched up and John worked on some of the films with them, but it was very hurtful. Dad just really didn’t go that extra mile to investigate a little bit further as to how totally damaging McCarthy was and the careers that were lost because of that.

Abbott and Costello made some great films, but do you feel their stage performances, and routines like “Who’s on First,” represent their lasting legacy to comedy?

Oh, yeah. Whenever they went onstage, they were returning to their roots, which was burlesque. And they got that instant applause and laughter, which you don’t get when you’re doing a film. Whenever they had the chance to go back on a live stage, they loved it. I don’t know if I have a favorite routine, but “Who’s on First” is certainly the classic of classics. I love listening to it. And, again, they started performing it in burlesque. At that time, hundreds of routines would come from British musicals and crossed over to America, where they’d be performed by burlesque comics who would try to personalize them and make them something new. I think “Who’s on First” started as “Who’s the Boss” or something like that. But my dad loved baseball, and was friends with Joe DiMaggio, and wanted to pay tribute to him. So they changed the format and inserted baseball names. Not another comic would touch “Who’s on First” because of Dad and Bud!

I always get a chuckle when I would look at obituaries of writers and comedians and see them trying to squeeze in the claim: “He was one of the writers of ‘Who’s on First.’” Wrong! The writers were Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, with John Grant contributing dialogue. To set the record straight, my dad’s first cousin, Lou, remembers watching Dad and Bud rehearse “Who’s on First.” Dad and Mom were living at my grandparents’ home at the time, and he and Bud would rehearse in the basement. Dad told his cousin, his cousin came over, and they went through the routine, and at the end, Dad looked at Lou and there’s just no reaction coming from him. Lou sat there and he just shook his head and said, “You know what? It’s never going to fly. Scratch it.” Later on, he said, “Thank God they didn’t listen to me.” [Laughs]

The Abbott and Costello team lasted 20 years. What was the secret to their longevity?

First of all, you have to like each other! Any [long-term] relationship is going to have its arguments, especially when you’ve got two different personalities in the room. But there was a deep love between these two guys. They could storm off in a huff and not speak to each other for a week, but at the end of the day, they loved each other. If anybody said anything derogatory about Bud Abbott, my dad was the first one in there to defend him, and the same thing with Bud toward my dad. And even when they dissolved the partnership, there was still a deep love there. The families, to this day, are very, very close. We’ve got a Facebook page where I answer a lot of questions and put up a lot of posts.

Toward the end of their careers, these guys were older and Dad was not in the best of health due to rheumatic fever and the taxing of his heart. I think it was just time. It was really time. There was a new form of comedy coming up in the ranks: Lenny Bruce and other people were shying away from the slapstick of Abbott and Costello. But everything old becomes new again, which is what I’ve seen.



Excerpts – “Quick, what’s the funniest comedy routine of all time? No … what’s on second. Who’s on first! And, indeed, “Who’s on First” doubles as the only possible answer to our initial query: Line-for-line and laugh-for-laugh, the routine performed by comedy legends Bud Abbott and Lou Costello is an easy all-timer not only in comedy’s Hall of Fame, but also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The duo donated their gold record for the sketch they had been performing since the late 1930s to the Cooperstown, N.Y., museum in 1956, where it remains 60 years later. …. People who see the movie are not seeing that Bud Abbott had a wife and children, and that Dad had three daughters aside from the baby who passed away. That’s what launched me into four years of research and interviewing everybody I could get my hands on to write Lou’s on First. It was also good therapy for me because I was getting to know my parents for the first time as an adult. I was only 11 when my dad died [in 1959 at the age of 52] and then turned 12 when my mother passed away. The Bud & Lou book [is out of print,] and my book, God bless it, has lasted 22 years on the stand. The section of the book dealing with his rise through the ranks of the old studio system — working on a construction crew and then as a stuntman — is fascinating. It’s a peek into a version of Hollywood that doesn’t exist anymore. …. He really got caught up in the moment. I write in the book about how he asked John Grant, Abbott and Costello’s comedy writer from their burlesque days, to sign a loyalty oath, and John said no. My dad fired him. Later on, everything was patched up and John worked on some of the films with them, but it was very hurtful. Dad just really didn’t go that extra mile to investigate a little bit further as to how totally damaging McCarthy was and the careers that were lost because of that. …. Something I hadn’t known before reading your book is that Lou Costello was a fervent anti-communist and even supported Joe McCarthy during the blacklist. Chaplin famously had to leave the country after being denounced for alleged communist sympathies. Did that change your father’s opinion of him? I really don’t know the answer to that question. I interviewed Lucille Ball, and she told me that when she was questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee, “Everyone in Hollywood, the ones that I thought were my friends, turned their backs on me. Not one person came to my door except your father. I opened up the door and he looked at me and said, ‘What can I do?’ I just broke out crying.” So he supported people, especially the people that he knew. I just don’t know about Charlie Chaplin. …. Oh, yeah. Whenever they went onstage, they were returning to their roots, which was burlesque. And they got that instant applause and laughter, which you don’t get when you’re doing a film. Whenever they had the chance to go back on a live stage, they loved it. I don’t know if I have a favorite routine, but “Who’s on First” is certainly the classic of classics. I love listening to it. And, again, they started performing it in burlesque. …. But there was a deep love between these two guys. They could storm off in a huff and not speak to each other for a week, but at the end of the day, they loved each other. If anybody said anything derogatory about Bud Abbott, my dad was the first one in there to defend him, and the same thing with Bud toward my dad. And even when they dissolved the partnership, there was still a deep love there. The families, to this day, are very, very close. We’ve got a Facebook page where I answer a lot of questions and put up a lot of posts.”


“There was a new form of comedy coming up in the ranks: Lenny Bruce and other people were shying away from the slapstick of Abbott and Costello. But everything old becomes new again, which is what I’ve seen.” This sentence really catches my attention. To use a simple example clothing seems to recycle after 30 or 40 years. We are called “the throwaway society,” but in fact I have kept things just because they brought back old and therefore significant memories, if they weren’t always “fond.” I didn’t really enjoy starching crinolines over and over. I was glad when we forgot all about them and went to natural clothing lines instead, but when I get one of those Emails reminiscing about the fifties and sixties I do feel a tug at my heart. This excellent article on the Chris Costello interview carried my mind back to the days when almost no one had a TV, but everybody had a large floor model radio. I would sit on the floor in front of it and listen to the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show. There were other shows too, from the news and the Inner Sanctum to comedies of a number of kinds.

This article has some material about the Joe McCarthy period and the Communist scare. Daddy was an FDR Democrat, so he didn’t approve of all that. The excerpts above on Lucille Ball, who was apparently targeted by the hearings, and the fact that her friends turned against her except for Costello, that really brings the life of Hollywood people much closer as a human experience rather than merely as a gallery of idols to daydream about. Costello “didn’t go that extra mile to investigate a little bit further as to how totally damaging McCarthy was,” – this is exactly what worries me most about this period of new group fears. As a society we tend to think in a very shallow way, and not very far into the future. I hope we will survive the next ten years or so intact as a democratic society, and one that does not foster hatred as an acceptable thing. The idea that we could, any of us, be unjustly and harshly punished for something which is supposed to be our right as a US citizen – our freedom to believe whatever seems to us to be true – has cycled around again and is front and center in the daily news. I know I perhaps quote the Bible too often, but the thing that springs to mind is “There is nothing new under the sun.” I have always been interested in celebrities for lives and their personhood rather than merely their power or fame. I really enjoyed this article. Hope you did, too. It’s long, but worth it in my opinion.


PUBLIC DISCLOSURE LAWS – EMAILS AGAIN


http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-court-rules-against-white-house-science-office-in-email-case-2016-7

Court rules against White House science office in email case
Associated Press
Sam Hananel, Associated Press
July 5, 2016


WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that work-related emails from a private account used by the White House's top science adviser are subject to disclosure under federal open records laws.

The ruling from the three-judge panel is a win for government watchdog groups and media organizations concerned that public officials may be skirting public disclosure requirements by relying on private email.

The court sided with a conservative think tank that had filed a lawsuit seeking emails from John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The decision overturns a lower court judge that said Holdren's office did not have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act request from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the Obama administration's argument that emails on a private server were outside the government's control. The court said the agency does not necessarily have to disclose the emails, but must search through them and determine whether any are subject to public disclosure requirements. It sent the case back to the lower court to make that determination.

Media organizations including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and the American Society of News Editors have backed the lawsuit.

The ruling came on the same day that the FBI announced it would not seek criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while she served as secretary of state. While it does not mention Clinton's case, the decision could help conservative groups that have filed a separate civil lawsuit against the State Department over the agency's failure to turn over files from Clinton's private server under the Freedom of Information Act.

The dispute over Holdren involved emails he sent and received on an account run by the Woods Hole Research Center, a nonprofit climate change think tank based in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Writing for the court, Judge David Sentelle said there was no evidence that the private center had any control of the content of Holdren's emails just because he used the center's email system.

Sentelle said the ruling serves the purpose of federal open records laws, which help the public keep track of what the government is doing.

"If a department head can deprive the citizens of their right to know what his department is up to by the simple expedient of maintaining his departmental emails on an account in another domain, that purpose is hardly served," he said.



This case so similar to Clinton’s that it makes me wonder if the word is out around the various government offices to simply open a separate unofficial source for ones’ email services. Maybe we need modifications to some laws to put stern and clear-cut rules into play.



THE STORY, THE BACK STORY AND THE INVESTIGATION


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-derek-lovelace-coroner-navy-seal-trainee-death-homicide/

Navy SEAL trainee's drowning death ruled a "homicide"
CBS/AP
July 6, 2016, 11:40 AM

Play CBS News Video
Photograph -- U.S. Navy Seaman James "Derek" Lovelace, a 21-year-old Navy SEAL trainee, is seen in this undated photo released by the Naval Special Warfare Center. NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE CENTER VIA AP


SAN DIEGO - The local coroner has ruled the death of Seaman James Derek Lovelace during training to be a Navy SEAL in California was a "homicide," officials said Wednesday.

That's not a finding of murder but it is a conclusion that James "Derek" Lovelace died not by accident, but "at the hands of others," reports CBS News correspondent David Martin.

In a statement, Navy investigators said: "The nomenclature of the autopsy report does not signal that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation into Seaman Lovelace's death has culminated, nor that conclusions have been reached regarding criminal culpability."

Navy officials expect charges to be brought against at least one of the Navy SEALs supervising Lovelace's training, Martin reports.

The 21-year-old Lovelace lost consciousness during a swimming drill on May 6 in Coronado, Calif.

Naval Special Warfare Center spokesman Lt. Trevor Davids said at the time Lovelace was pulled out of a pool after showing signs he was having difficulty while treading water in a camouflage uniform and a dive mask. He was taken to a civilian hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Davids said.

Lovelace was in his first week of training as a SEAL trainee after joining the Navy about six months ago, Davids said. The exercise is designed to assess students' competency, confidence and safety in the water, according to the Navy.

Lovelace was born in Germany, and he dreamed of becoming a SEAL, according to a death announcement from Whitehurst Powell Funeral Home and Southern Heritage Crematory in his home town of Crestview, Florida. His death was first reported by NBC News and The Virginian-Pilot.

He enjoyed any activity on the water and played baseball at Crestview High School and Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama, according to the death announcement.

Lovelace joined the Navy and graduated basic training on Jan. 28, 2016, in Great Lakes, Illinois. His awards and decorations include the National Defense Ribbon and Sharpshooter Pistol Qualification.

"I don't know what to say. He was wonderful," his sobbing grandmother, Jan Pugh, told The Virginian-Pilot. "It was a dream he was chasing out there. He was determined to become a SEAL. We are all just in shock."

His mother, Katie Lovelace, died in June 2015 at the age of 44, according to the two media outlets. He is survived by his father and two sisters.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of SN Lovelace," said Capt. Jay Hennessey, commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center. "Though Derek was very new to our community, he selflessly answered his nation's call to defend freedom and protect this country. He will be sorely missed. We share in his family's grief from this great loss."

Lovelace's death came only days after another Coronado-based SEAL -- Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Keating IV -- was shot and killed during a gunbattle involving fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, in Iraq.



http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/us/california-navy-seal-trainee-dies/

Navy SEAL student dies during pool exercise on first week of training
By Faith Karimi, CNN
Updated 10:49 PM ET, Wed May 11, 2016

Photograph -- Navy SEAL trainee James Derek Lovelace, 21, died while taking part in basic underwater demolition training in Coronado, California.


(CNN)A 21-year-old Navy SEAL student died during his first week of basic training in California, authorities said.

Seaman James Derek Lovelace of Crestview, Florida, died Friday after taking part in underwater demolition training in Coronado, California.

Safety observers noticed he was having problems during the water familiarization exercise and pulled him out of the pool, the Navy said in a statement Tuesday.

"He was aided to the edge of the pool by instructors where he then lost consciousness. Resuscitation efforts and first aid at the scene were unsuccessful," the Navy said.

The pool exercise involves treading water and swimming in dive masks and camouflage uniform. Trainees take part in the exercise on their first week to determine their competency and confidence in the water, the Navy said.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of SN Lovelace," said Capt. Jay Hennessey, commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center.

"Though Derek was very new to our community, he selflessly answered his nation's call to defend freedom and protect this country."

An investigation is underway.

Lovelace's death during training comes days after a SEAL died in an unrelated incident.

Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles Keating IV was killed during an attack by ISIS fighters in Iraq on May 3.

CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3589837/Was-Navy-SEAL-trainee-held-underwater-instructor-death-Sources-make-shock-claim-family-fear-recruit-s-death-covered-up.html

Navy SEAL trainee was held underwater by instructor during swimming exercise before he drowned, sources claim, as family fear recruit's death is being 'covered up'
By OLLIE GILLMAN and JAMES WILKINSON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 17:43 EST, 13 May 2016 | UPDATED: 18:30 EST, 13 May 2016

Seaman James Lovelace, 21, died during Navy SEAL training on May 6
Sources claim he was held underwater by an instructor during pool drill
Trainees were treading water as officials grabbed their legs, it was claimed
Officials claimed Lovelace may have had an underlying health condition
His sister Lynsi Price said the family felt the truth was being 'covered up'
Lovelace became the third recruit to die in the last six months


A Navy SEAL trainee who died during a pool drill last week was held underwater by an instructor until he drowned, sources have claimed.

Seaman James 'Derek' Lovelace, 21, drowned during training on May 6 at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California, while undergoing 'drown-proofing' tests.

The drill involves recruits treading water while they are handcuffed, but several people involved with SEAL training told NBC News that an instructor was also grabbing at Lovelace from below.

The sources said Lovelace was held underwater until he passed out by an instructor who then blamed the drowning on the trainee's 'inability to perform'.

James 'Derek' Lovelace (pictured), 21, died during training on May 6 at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California, while undergoing 'drown-proofing' tests

Drowned: Seaman James 'Derek' Lovelace, 21, died during Navy SEAL training

The swimming drill came during Lovelace's first week of training and was brought to an abrupt end when an official spotted him 'having a hard time', a Navy spokesman said.

The official account is that the young man was taken to the edge of the pool where instructors tried to revive him, but were unable to.



http://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article77376592.html
Lexington Herald Leader

Three deaths linked to recent Navy SEAL training classes
MAY 13, 2016 12:04 AM

BY THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF, ADAM GOLDMAN AND DAN LAMOTHE
The Washington Post

RELATED STORIES -- Two of three died after learning they had been cut from elite program
One committed suicide, other died in DUI crash
Navy defends grueling program, but says more can be done

Photographs -- From left, Seaman Daniel DelBianco, Seaman James “Derek” Lovelace and Petty Officer 2nd Class Caplen Weare. HANDOUT Courtesy of DelBianco family, U.S. Navy and the Weare family
Video -- Death of Navy Seal Investigated


A sailor has died in three out of the past four Navy SEAL training classes, with one drowning days ago during a pool exercise and another committing suicide in April after failing to complete one of the U.S. military’s most demanding training programs.

A third sailor, who had been drinking heavily, died in November after his pickup rolled off the side of the road, less than three days after learning he had just barely missed the cut to continue training.

All three men were trying to complete a grueling six-month course that serves as a gateway into the storied community of Navy SEALs. The training includes a seven-day stretch of little sleep, self-induced hypothermia and brutal physical conditioning known as “Hell Week.” It is here that the majority of SEAL hopefuls quit, also known as “ringing the bell.”

The rash of deaths raises questions about the safety of trainees and whether the Navy is providing adequate supervision for the approximately 80 percent who drop out, leaving many of them despondent after years of hope and preparation and months of intense training.

The Navy defended the safety of its program but said there was room to improve in handling those who wash out, particularly sleep-deprived sailors during Hell Week.

“Despite a successful track record, any loss of life drives us to ensure we are doing everything possible to make training safe and effective,” said Capt. Jay Hennessey, commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center, in a statement. “Our safety precautions for those who dropped from training have been effective for 50 years.”

On May 6, James Derek Lovelace, 21, died at the Naval Special Warfare school in Coronado, California, after Navy officials said he was “having difficulty” during a pool exercise. The San Diego coroner’s office said a preliminary autopsy indicates he drowned. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is examining the death.

Four weeks earlier, Seaman Daniel DelBianco, 23, also a SEAL trainee, took the elevator to the top of a San Diego hotel and threw himself to the street 22 floors below. DelBianco had been in the middle of Hell Week, after 50 hours of no sleep, according to his father.

In November, late one night, Petty Officer 2nd Class Caplen “Cap” Weare’s blue pickup was found upside down next to Interstate 5 in San Diego. According to the county coroner’s report, his blood alcohol content was just under twice the legal limit for driving and Weare, who was 24, wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

“I should have been there,” said his mother, Julie Weare, who said her son had wanted to be a Navy SEAL his entire life. “He never would have wanted anyone to take the blame but himself, but I should have been there, and he shouldn’t have been out by himself that night.”

The course the men were trying to complete is the initial portion of a nearly year-long SEAL training program, called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S. The program is designed to weed out those who might not be able to endure the stress of being in combat. It is also supposed to train sailors in the basic skills required to be a SEAL. Candidates need to be in the best shape of their lives and be extraordinarily strong swimmers.

The training exercises are particularly tough because the SEALs are one of the most elite groups in the military, expected to execute some of the military’s most difficult special operations missions – including, for instance, the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden.

But that means that overall training for these sailors – including those who have already become SEALs – is inherently dangerous. In April 2015, two of the elite special warfare sailors died during underwater physical training near Virginia Beach. In March that same year, SEAL Jason Kortz died in a parachuting accident in California.

It’s unknown how many deaths have occurred among sailors trying to become SEALs, making it difficult to determine whether the recent fatalities in San Diego constitute a spike.

BUD/S is a component of Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School, which reports to Naval Special Warfare Command, led by Rear Adm. Brian Losey. A decorated flag officer, Losey was recently passed up for promotion and will soon retire after multiple investigations found that he had retaliated against whistleblowers.

In the past, when trainees dropped from BUD/S, they were sent to a holding platoon, known as X Division. There, they performed menial tasks around the base, off-loading supplies and working around the barracks.

“It was a terrible environment with next to no supervision” said Donald Carter, a former BUD/S trainee who dropped during Hell Week in 2008. “You have all these guys who spent their entire lives preparing for this one event, and once they couldn’t have it … it was a cesspool of depressed and angry people.”

According to Carter, X Division was disbanded shortly after he left in 2009, forcing those who failed the rigorous training regime to go directly to their new units. It’s unclear whether the Navy currently has a protocol for monitoring sailors who fail to complete training.

Lovelace, DelBianco and Weare had similar backgrounds: They were intelligent, star athletes who desired to become SEALs since childhood.

“He said it was God’s calling for him,” Weare’s mother said.

Weare called home almost every night. “I knew when he was doing boats, and I knew when he was doing logs,” she said, referring to the different types of physical training undertaken by the sailors.

Weare was on his second attempt through BUD/S after having failed a part of the swim qualification in a prior class, according to his mother. During the second attempt, on the Thursday before Hell Week began, he had trouble with a certain part of a pool exercise but ended up completing it successfully.

“They were gathering their things up from around the pool, and the chief that was in charge called him over and said that … he had technically passed, but he couldn’t pass him in good faith,” his mother recalled. “He told the man that held the clipboard to change Cap from a pass to a fail.”

“He told me he didn’t blame the chief, he said he actually liked him,” his mother recalled. “He always took responsibility for himself.”

That day, Weare requested to drop from the course.

Weare had wanted to be a SEAL since he was 8 and joined the Navy in 2010 with that goal in mind. His vision, though, wasn’t up to the SEALs’ standards. Instead, he enlisted as a Navy master-at-arms and underwent corrective laser surgery on his own dime – and without the Navy’s knowledge – so he could pass the medical screening required for BUD/S.

His mother said that she spoke with her son after he had dropped from the class the Friday before he died. “I know there was sadness, but he was also looking toward the future,” she said. They texted a little Saturday and that night, after dinner, Weare met up with some friends. He crashed his car later that night.

Lovelace, who died last week, had for many years longed to join the Navy SEALs, according to his family.

“This was his dream,” said his sister Lynsi Price in an interview with NBC News, adding that her brother was a “freak athlete.”

“My brother was the best swimmer I’ve ever known,” she said. “He could outswim any fish. … So why would he have drowned during a basic pool exercise?”

DelBianco, the sailor who died last month, had built his life around becoming a SEAL. Blonde-haired and square-jawed, he was born in Arlington, Va., and shipped to boot camp after he graduated from the University of Southern California in 2015 with honors, forgoing an officer’s career path because he wanted to be an “operator,” his father, Steve DelBianco, recalled. A varsity rugby player in college, DelBianco was recognized as an Honor Graduate of his Navy recruit class.

In an obituary posted online shortly after his death, DelBianco is quoted on why he wanted to become a SEAL.

Seaman Daniel DelBianco, who killed himself after being dropped from the Navy SEALs training course

“My life won’t feel complete unless I do this,” he wrote. “Every time I read about or see pictures of SEALs, I feel motivated. The experience will shape and define the rest of my life.”

After DelBianco dropped from training on April 5, the Navy said he was directed to a recovery area for a day of observation. But DelBianco decided to leave the base and drove to the Marriott Gaslamp hotel in San Diego, according to the coroner’s report. Just after noon, he took the elevator to the rooftop bar on the top floor, where he stayed for hours, even though the lounge was closed. One person saw DelBianco “staring off into the distance,” the report said. At 3:24 p.m., DelBianco jumped over the side of the building. There was no note and his toxicology report was clean, according to the report.

His father had also seen him the week before and he “appeared to be doing fine,” the report said.

Following his son’s death, the elder DelBianco asked Losey, who attended the sailor’s memorial service, to promise that he would reform BUD/S training to ensure that there was proper oversight after a trainee dropped from the class.

“My family’s interested in the Navy making dramatic changes in their procedures and their priorities to care properly for someone who is dropped or drops on request,” DelBianco’s father said. “Especially in the middle of Hell Week … when they are at their most vulnerable, the Navy has the greatest responsibility to look after them.”

Hennessey said there was an ongoing investigation into the deaths that would outline more specific recommendations. “The Naval Special Warfare Community mourns the loss of all three of these sailors,” Hennessey said.

“I think my son would do it all again if he could,” DelBianco’s father said. “But it’s not right the way they are so careless about the well-being of a guy they’ve taken to the point of breaking and having broken him, to leave him unsupervised.”



Excerpt CBS July 6 – “Navy officials expect charges to be brought against at least one of the Navy SEALs supervising Lovelace's training, Martin reports. The 21-year-old Lovelace lost consciousness during a swimming drill on May 6 in Coronado, Calif. Naval Special Warfare Center spokesman Lt. Trevor Davids said at the time Lovelace was pulled out of a pool after showing signs he was having difficulty while treading water in a camouflage uniform and a dive mask. He was taken to a civilian hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Davids said. Lovelace was in his first week of training as a SEAL trainee after joining the Navy about six months ago, Davids said. The exercise is designed to assess students' competency, confidence and safety in the water, according to the Navy. …. "I don't know what to say. He was wonderful," his sobbing grandmother, Jan Pugh, told The Virginian-Pilot. "It was a dream he was chasing out there. He was determined to become a SEAL. We are all just in shock."


Excerpt -- cnn.com – “Seaman James Derek Lovelace of Crestview, Florida, died Friday after taking part in underwater demolition training in Coronado, California. Safety observers noticed he was having problems during the water familiarization exercise and pulled him out of the pool, the Navy said in a statement Tuesday. …. The pool exercise involves treading water and swimming in dive masks and camouflage uniform. Trainees take part in the exercise on their first week to determine their competency and confidence in the water, the Navy said.”


Excerpt -- dailymail – “Seaman James 'Derek' Lovelace, 21, drowned during training on May 6 at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California, while undergoing 'drown-proofing' tests. The drill involves recruits treading water while they are handcuffed, but several people involved with SEAL training told NBC News that an instructor was also grabbing at Lovelace from below. The sources said Lovelace was held underwater until he passed out by an instructor who then blamed the drowning on the trainee's 'inability to perform'. James 'Derek' Lovelace (pictured), 21, died during training on May 6 at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California, while undergoing 'drown-proofing' tests …. The swimming drill came during Lovelace's first week of training and was brought to an abrupt end when an official spotted him 'having a hard time', a Navy spokesman said.”


Excerpt – Kentucky -- All three men were trying to complete a grueling six-month course that serves as a gateway into the storied community of Navy SEALs. The training includes a seven-day stretch of little sleep, self-induced hypothermia and brutal physical conditioning known as “Hell Week.” It is here that the majority of SEAL hopefuls quit, also known as “ringing the bell.” The rash of deaths raises questions about the safety of trainees and whether the Navy is providing adequate supervision for the approximately 80 percent who drop out, leaving many of them despondent after years of hope and preparation and months of intense training. …. MY LIFE WON’T FEEL COMPLETE UNLESS I DO THIS. EVERY TIME I READ ABOUT OR SEE PICTURES OF SEALS, I FEEL MOTIVATED. THE EXPERIENCE WILL SHAPE AND DEFINE THE REST OF MY LIFE.”


“The drill involves recruits treading water while they are handcuffed, but several people involved with SEAL training told NBC News that an instructor was also grabbing at Lovelace from below. The sources said Lovelace was held underwater until he passed out by an instructor who then blamed the drowning on the trainee's 'inability to perform'.” Perhaps the use of the term "Hell Week," should cause military leaders to rethink their whole approach. The Navy spokesman then described the situation as his “having a hard time,” a turn of phrase that turns my stomach due to its’ sheer mealy mouthed cynicism. I do hope that Congress will get involved in this and look into how our military are allowed to carry on their functions. This no oversight thing is no better in the military than it is in our local police departments. It results in abuse and, as this story shows, much worse. And the thing I most hate to see is a blinking cover up to hide the terrible events.

When the military and other power structures totally control the thought patterns in our nation as they sometimes do now, we are becoming something that I don’t want to see. First of all, no young man should feel that being a part of the Navy SEALS team is an ESSENTIAL part of his life. One, that really isn’t a very “high” goal in my view. I grew up in the period when THOUGHT was supposed to be the major element in a well-developed human of either sex, rather than the blindly macho and xenophobic world of the military.

To me, being a soldier is something that we should do (yes, I’m in favor of a female draft) to serve the country whether in peace or war, and relying on a draft to man that army brings in more well-rounded personalities with better intellectual backgrounds – i.e. an armed force with a better chance of including a fully human conscience. I don’t like the all-volunteer army because it brings in so many aggressive, undereducated, unintellectual and Rightwing types. It pushes the psychological center of the group toward the inhumane and even psychotic fringe.

I think this drill instructor was doing something that is essentially insane. Doing vile things without feeling an innate internal recoil is a sign of insanity. That tendency in our recruitment patterns will serve to separate the military more and more from the center of a healthy society, and into a world of its’ own, so to speak, so that the members will tend to follow no rules of conscience at all. Conscience and introspection make men “soft” and turn them into “pussies.” At least that’s what my second ex-husband thought. That offensive term is one of his favorites.

In the 1960s and 70s those service functions were filled by the Peace Corps and VISTA; which in both cases were a civilian group of both young and old volunteers, whose efforts were to help the underdeveloped nations internationally and improve US city life especially for the poor, respectively. I don’t know about VISTA, but the Peace Corps does still exist. I would like to see both men and women SERVE the country for two to four years in some humanity centered way for minimal pay and maximal experience. It’s to the young person’s benefit as well as the country’s.

Most kids right out of high school, or college either for that matter, are not yet ready to do very many jobs that will be available to them; and gone are the days of signing on with a reliable and respected business to “start in the mailroom and work their way up.” Horatio Alger’s is not an up-to-date vision. We could really use a well-financed VISTA type organization again to help the poor city dwellers who are lagging behind the college educated Middle Class kids, and to a dangerous degree ending up in jail rather than in a job. We could use reading and math tutors for both kids and adults who can’t read well enough to do the average office job, even more importantly, open up the realms of their mind to insight.

I am sorry to say that neither of our “mainstream” US news sources got the whole story into the account. One US based story containing the “perhaps dangerous content” shunned by the others is found on Google, from the Lexington Herald Leader’s story above. They based theirs on the Washington Post, one of my favorite news sources. So much for Freedom of the Press. This kind of timid or coopted restraint is why sometimes I go to the Huffington Post, DailyKos and the Daily Mail. True they run some sensational stories, but if I think a story needs to be checked in some other sources, I can easily do that. Are CBS, CNN, NPR, etc. bought, muzzled, lazy or simply overly cautious?

At any rate, if this story doesn’t end up producing some serious criminal charges I will be upset. If it is as big as it appears to be (three sailors, not one) there should be a Congressional or Senatorial investigation. I see by my TV that tonight’s big story on CBS is indeed the fate of these young recruits, so something is going to happen with it.




Some more CHEERFUL news about Bernie’s Progressive movement below comes from my daily emails.

Bernie Email -- Two upcoming New Progressives

Lucy,

Zephyr Teachout won her congressional primary last week with the help of Bernie supporters who pitched in to her campaign and who made calls to turn out voters.

Now it's time to call voters for the next Bernie-backed candidates who have Congressional primaries: Pramila Jayapal in Washington State and Tim Canova in Florida.

Early voting for Pramila's election starts in less than two weeks, and Tim's race is next month. Getting on the phone with voters now will help get them closer to victory.

Will you get on the phone for an hour or two this week and make calls for these candidates who Bernie has endorsed and who we believe will fight for our political and economic revolution?


YES, I CAN CALL VOTERS FOR PRAMILA & TIM »

Pramila Jayapal is a state senator in Washington and a leading national advocate for women’s, immigrants', civil, and human rights. She's spent the last 25 years fighting to expand the middle class and lift up working people across her state. Now Bernie has endorsed her bid for the U.S. Congress so she can carry that fight to Washington.


Tim Canova is a grassroots activist, attorney, educator from Florida. As an outspoken critic of the system that puts Wall Street and multinational corporations first while leaving ordinary Americans behind, Tim is uniquely positioned to shake up Congress. Tim is opposing Debbie Wasserman Schultz, current DNC chair and insider pal to corporate interests against which we have all been fighting. Electing Tim will send a powerful message about the future of this country and the Democratic Party.

Your phone calls for these candidates will continue to fuel the political revolution, and we need your help right now.

Please help out by making calls today for Pramila Jayapal and Tim Canova.

This is the what the political revolution looks like—it’s how we stand together— and win!

In solidarity,
Team Bernie