Was ZaSu Pitts The Keeper of Hollywood's DEEPEST SECRETS?

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-"Backbay Lounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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[@AgeOfVintage]

Thank you all for watching the videos and a HUGE THANK YOU for those who support the channel on Patreon. Just as little as $5 a month helps the channel tremendously!!! click here: www.patreon.com/ageofvintage Thank you! 🙂

[@esmeephillips5888]

66666

[@llamasugar5478]

Where does one find her movies? I’d love to see them, as I only know of her from her book, _Candy Hits_ .

[@CissyBrazil]

I always believed ZaSu Pitts was a very underestimated actress. Loved her!

[@jamesmcinnis208]

Underestimated by whom?

[@stephenperretti8847]

Zazu was extraordinary in "Greed". Truly a great actress. She co-starred with Gale Storm in TV show, " Oh, Susannah ".

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Pitts did "ditzy" well; could have copyrighted it.

[@melindak.21]

And before that- My Little Margie!

[@katmolina2627]

For a long time I had thought that it was Lillian Gish who as the female lead in Greed not Zach.

[@stephenperretti8847]

@kst Molina... Yes, I understand the confusion. There was no better film actress in Hollywood than Lillian Gish. Zasu, much under rated and too forgotten, was of lesser excellence, but only a little less. The only person who was better at "ditzy" than Zasu was the wonderful Marion Lorne. Lorne was in England, but came to America much later in her career.

[@JaneFrieman]

@@stephenperretti8847 Yes Marion Lorne, I remember, played Aunt Clara in Bewitched the television series.

[@professorsprout3382]

Hello again from Santa Cruz CA. ZaSu Pitts has a victorian house here downtown next to the Nickelodeon movie theatre which is still independant. There was a party band running around the Bay Area in the 1980-1990s called the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra. The house is blue with white trim.

[@jahlaune]

They use to have class trips there when I was a kid , that was in the late 80s , Santa Ana high school , it was either school or our scout group but I remember this name

[@cydkriletich6538]

Hey! I used to live in Felton. But I was unaware of that house. I wanted to name our puppy ZaSu, but hubby wasn’t keen on it. I’ve never heard it pronounced like the narrator is saying it, with a long,”a”, but with the short “a” as in ahhhh!

[@nanaopalopalka6340]

@@cydkriletich6538 I think it’s the fact that he is British and pronounces it with the long a sound!

[@jamesmcinnis208]

@@nanaopalopalka6340 So the British mispronounce names? Do they do it deliberately like Endora on "Bewitched"?

[@coldlakealta4043]

@@jamesmcinnis208 how arrogant. the British pronounce names according to their accent, as do you Americans. You would be perceived as mispronouncing the names of many British actors over there. America is not the gold standard of the world of communication - after all, you speak your own version of "English".- much like the Brits. I actually find the both of you quaint in insisting that your differing spellings and multitudinous accents are the only correct ways. But, _mispronouncing_ Ms. Pitts' name? Do you know first-hand how she pronounced it? And, BTW, Endora's identity in the show was British, thence the accent, poor as it was.

[@davidanthony4845]

Her earliest big billings were as a very serious dramatic actress for Erich von Stroheim ( !! ). Her performance in ' Greed ' is remarkable.

[@CherylSimser]

I thought she was lovely. They intentionally made her look dowdy, hair and makeup wise, and dressed her down. ZaSu was one very talented lady.

[@MothGirl007]

Totally agree - she was actually very pretty.

[@deborahlawrencehale2311]

I think it's easier for an attractive girl to play a plain girl than for a plain or ugly woman to play a homely woman. I have always enjoyed Zasu's talent as a comedienne & actor.

[@frankieaddams3937]

I always thought she was very cute/attractive. Maybe not "Hollywood" beautiful, but I never thought of her as a Plain Jane.

[@robinengland5799]

Wonderful actress! Miss her performances! Loved her in Oh Susannah with Gale Storm!

[@JamesVaughan]

For me her most memorable film will always be Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934), in which she co-starred with W.C. Fields. The scenes where she hopes to win her "beau" - W.C. Fields - with her "cooking", are priceless and unforgettable!

[@jamesmoore9511]

Don't forget her role as the cruise ship seamstress opposite Gale Storm in the Gail storm TV show.

[@tricivenola8164]

Thanks for this! A splendid actress, and a name I haven't heard in a long time. I grew up in LA, where my grandmother had worked as a dress designer for several actresses since the 1920s. Both she and my mother greatly admired Zazu Pitts whom my grandmother had met-- but I never, ever in my life heard her name pronounced as you do. We always heard her referred to as Zasu, rhymes with Jazz you. The remains of Thelma Todd's roadhouse were there on Pacific Coast Highway clear up through the 1970s. I've always believed she was murdered. Her best friend Thelma Ritter was devastated and swore she'd find out who did it, according to a few books, but if she ever did I never read about it.

[@AgeOfVintage]

Thank you Trici! 🙂

[@vixtex]

I’ll bet your grandma had some real interesting stories.

[@pamos1949]

Trici Venola You believed Pitts was murdered and that Todd knew who did the deed? Todd died about 28 years before Pitts.

[@Galen-864]

@@pamos1949 You need to reread the comment. It was referring to Thelma Todd's suspicious death.

[@pamos1949]

@@Galen-864 Hmmm. "I've always believed she was murdered. Her best friend Thelma Todd was devastated and swore she'd find out who did it...". You wrote these words. How do you so construct them as meaning that TODD was devastated by Pitt's death?? These are only trivial comments, but if you want to be understood you must read and revise as necessary to make your meaning clear. Here you have written the opposite of what you intend the reader to apprehend. Otherwise, there is no point and you are wasting your time.

[@esmeephillips5888]

ZaSu was one of those big Silent names who navigated the transition to talkies but with diminished star power. Like Richard Barthelemess, Ramon Novarro, John Gilbert, Francis X Bushman, Lillian Gish... PS: Just been watching 'Monte Carlo', an early talkie in which ZaSu plays Jeanette Macdonald's maid. A nothing part where she is wasted. One would have thought Lubitsch of all directors would have given her more scope.

[@poorthing]

I wouldn't put Lillian Gish in that category. She had a 75 yr film career and worked into her 90s...she was the oldest working actress in 'The Whales of August', 1987 at 93, costarred Bette Davis who was 79. Ms Gish worked consistently after leaving MGM in 1929. She began a stage career @ age 5 with her mother & sister. Her lifelong friend Mary Pickford introduced her to movie acting in 1912. None of the other silent stars you mentioned had acting careers past the mid 30s. Francis X Bushman did some movie bit roles into the 30s- 40s switching to sm tv parts until his death in 1966 @ 83. His greatest fame was from 1911 to mid 20s. He was the biggest male star of that time & owned a fleet of lavender limousines! Ms Gish died @ 99 short of her 100th birthday in 1993.

[@esmeephillips5888]

@@poorthing After Sound came in, Gish spent most of her time in legit. She was no longer an A List movie name, tending to be relegated to supporting parts in prestige product, e.g. 'Duel in the Sun'. She had a meaty part in 'Night of the Hunter', but in a modestly mounted movie. 'The Whales of August' was a glorified TV movie. I disparage neither Miss G nor these films, but Hollywood after 'The Wind' saw her as an illustrious relic. She herself said she could not adjust to its industrialized methods after being Griffith's muse, preferring the stage.

[@poorthing]

I am well aware of Ms Gish lengthy career and what films she made & when, also what her ambitions were. She left MGM in 1929 but not because she was no longer an 'A -lister', a term that wasn't used then, or because of a lack of a 'voice'. She was 38 and she had been in films since the 1910s, as she started on the stage as a child so she returned to the stage taking film roles as she wanted & of course -suitable to her age. Placing ZaSu in the same category as John Gilbert or Ramon Navvaro is ridiculous. Zasu was wonderful but never reached a 'Star' status! I have Ms Gish autobiography, biographies and her wonderful coffee table photo book of both Lillian & Dorothy. Silent films are a special interest of mine & I have an extensive library, visual and written. Lillian Gish never had her 'star' power diminished, she just chose when to let it shine, perhaps sustaining one of the longest acting careers - on her own terms.

[@realitycheck4842]

I loved her in, "A Bashful Bachelor" movie with Lum and Abner. I must have watched it 20 times and still laugh. She was a great actress.

[@ohmeowzer1]

Pronounced Zah Zoo.. She was such a doll..loved her

[@lessmith6848]

Yvonne DeCarlo said that, as Lily Munster, when she was on screen she would use her hands to help convey what Lily was expressing as a tribute to ZaSu Pitts. It worked.

[@lornahuddleston1453]

I loved ZaSu in Ruffles of Red Gap. She and Charles Laughton are adorable. That was 1935. Good movie.

[@lornahuddleston1453]

That is Ruggles, not ruffles! Charlie Ruggles is in it too. Very funny.

[@vintagemarie2391]

@@lornahuddleston1453 Glad someone mentioned one of my all time favorites. Glad it's not totally forgotten!

[@ginnylorenz5265]

@@vintagemarie2391 One of my favorite movies. The book (which, of course is able to go deeper and richer) is hilarious.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

To say that Zasu Pitts was "one of the" stars of the 1924 film Greed (as it spotlit her character's greed) is like saying that King Kong was "one of the" stars of King Kong.

[@kathleenferguson3296]

W.C. Fields once said: "You don't want to grow up to be like Zasu Pitts, do you?" I never knew what he meant by that.

[@nelliethursday1812]

She was funny in the shorts she did with Thelma Todd I really enjoyed them

[@gingergirl1122]

Great video. The only thing I'd say is that you talk about Thelma Todd a lot yet show no pictures of her. A pic to illustrate her beauty would add context. Keep up the good work!

[@janel.8921]

Groucho Marx called her the Ice Cream Blonde.

[@gingergirl1122]

@@janel.8921 Yes that's right!

[@trotter7679]

And avoid total confusion

[@JudgeJulieLit]

@@trotter7679 Not to viewers who know what Thelma Todd looked like.

[@llamasugar5478]

I learned about her from her book _Candy Hits_ . She says her name is pronounced “SAY-zoo.” “How right Mary [Pickford] was, for I have heard myself called ‘Jazz-Su Pitts,’ “Shay-Zoo Pitts,’ and in France it even stretches to ‘Sha-Sha Pootsie’! It is really pronounced ‘Say Zoo.’” (page 15)

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Then she should have spelled it "Sazu."

[@llamasugar5478]

It would have saved a lot of confusion, for sure!

[@RadicalCaveman]

Pronouncing the z like an s and the s like a z? Pretty strange...

[@llamasugar5478]

She was named for two aunts: eliZA and SUsan (again, from her book) I’ve no idea why they chose that pronunciation.

[@bighuge1060]

My first exposure to Zasu Pitt's name was my mother -- born in 1933. I've since immersed myself in 1930s cinema and have come to appreciate her and others during that time.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

She was best friend of Edith Luckett Davis, and godmother to Edith's daughter Nancy, future US First Lady to Ronald Reagan.

[@fultondyke]

Alla Nazimova was Nancy's godmother

[@JudgeJulieLit]

​@@fultondyke You're right. Nazimova had been Edith Luckett's acting mentor at start of Edith's Broadway career, and while both she and Zasu were Edith's close friends, Alla was Nancy's godmother.

[@vahneb7260]

ZaSu also write a candy cookbook. She was marvelous.

[@rogerbranton1752]

On the last comment in this superb history of Zasu, I think America needs her again! I spent all of yesterday finding & watching the Pitts & Todd shorts. I can't remember laughing so hard at anything!

[@randallstewart175]

I really was ignorant of Pitts' primary career from the 1920s and 30s. I recall her from a never ending succession of TV shows and a few movie roles in the 1950s and later, where she seemed typecast as the elderly,, distracted, secondary character.

[@clairedisapia]

I loved Zulu Pitts and watched all of her movies. Thank you for highlighting her on you channel

[@joycejohnson7164]

It's ZAHzo Pitts. Remember her from Gail Storm show.

[@lizbrown7232]

She had a delicate beauty, like Lilian Gish.

[@melanieahrens6739]

I agree! Several of the pictures shown here of her as a young woman even make her look like a third Gish sister, and they were top film stars at that time.

[@sharksport01]

Yes, like Ruth Buzzi.

[@TomYaz]

She was the inspiration for Yvonne DeCarlo’s creation of Lilly Munster

[@shosmyth1454]

Zazu Pitts was a wonderful actress!

[@nadyarossi5102]

I remember her in "Greed," Von Stroheim's masterpiece.

[@alancrisp1582]

🤔 Another interesting video. I have to say I have not heard of this woman before. But now you have bought her to my attention, I will try and find out more about her. Thanks 😀.

[@janealexander1378]

Seen 'Miss Polly'? Seen "So's your aunt Emma' ? be sure to!

[@AgeOfVintage]

Thank you Alan! 🙂

[@Ourladyrules]

Zasu was awesome in everything, an absolute legend 🎥🤩😍🥂 ❤❤❤

[@shannonk.6528]

ZaSu was brilliant in the silent classic Greed. One of my favorite films.

[@christinecremen4151]

Mine as well.

[@esmeephillips5888]

10:25 Donald Gallery, ZaSu's adopted son, believed for most of his life that Paul Bern and the party animal Barbara La Marr were his natural parents. He eventually found by DNA testing that Bern was not his dad. ZaSu never said who it might be, and may not have known. Bern, an MGM producer, figured in a bigger scandal. He was Jean Harlow's husband. He died in 1932 by what was alleged later to be a shooting- by a jealous ex. It was ruled at the time to be suicide bc he was impotent. Strange that Thelma Todd once took a Margaret Dumontish role stooging for the Marx Brothers.

[@ZaSu2u]

Hello, Esmee, you are correct that Bern was not Don Gallery's father. You will find my deductions on Who REALLY Was his bio-father in my book: HANDS With a HEART: The Personal Biography of Actress ZaSu Pitts (c.2011); You can purchase a signed copy on my eBay pages: I'm word_4_word, Seller on eBay.

[@john-brady]

These are always top notch - thanks!

[@drzarkov39]

Actress Mae Questel, who performed character voices in Max Fleischer's Popeye and Betty Boop cartoons, reportedly based the fluttering utterances of Olive Oyl on Pitts.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

And likely cartoonist Max Fleischer based much of Olive Oyl's look (her tall beanpole~hood, her Old Maidy hair bun) on Miss Pitts'.

[@sharksport01]

Did Mae ever live in Florida?

[@drzarkov39]

@@sharksport01 Not that I know of.

[@sharksport01]

@@drzarkov39 Thank you. My buddy befriended a lady in Florida who was one of the voices of Betty Boop. He passed away, and I was just wondering who she was.

[@gmaureen]

Makes sense to me. I've never seen anyone else flutter like ZaSu...she was wonderful.

[@donconners6937]

What a flash back, my heart can't take it

[@susanfabian1521]

I liked her in Ruggles of Red Gap.

[@joycejohnson7164]

Oh, Suzannah!!

[@Blakeneyd]

She is a beauty a la Lillian Gish. What a facinating movie her life story might be! I have friends who refuse to watch anything in b & w, let alone silents 🙄 they have no clue what they’re missing!

[@SS-qo4xe]

I cant get past "Zaaayy Zooo

[@jaytrace1006]

She was one of those ladies that, even at a younger age, you could tell exactly what she would look like as an elderly woman.

[@Pittstopclippings]

Still just throwing pictures in at random times. Thelma gets short screen time regardless of you mentioning her.

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Didn't she adopt Barbara LeMar's son after Ms LeMar died? For sure she knew who the father was and if it might have been Paul Bern.

[@atlanticantiquesltd7372]

As a child I grew up watching ‘Oh Susanna’ and remember her fondly from that TV show…

[@blorac9869]

She sure did. Enjoyed, TYVM!

[@William-Marshall]

She was a marvelous person.always a beauty.

[@TheKoolbraider]

One of the funniest movie shorts was "Miss Polly" and I laugh every time I watch it. It's here on YT. She's perfect.

[@garycarpenter6433]

She was a very funny lady and I don't care what she looked like it's her talent and I think she had a great sense of humor she's a legend aa for The death of Thelma Todd...... I believe it may be murder you said she's had bruises

[@robertlipscomb3040]

I have always thought ZaSu was quite attractive when made up properly.

[@taiikomochiyuurichin1459]

Love her work.

[@TomYaz]

Yvonne DeCarlo has said she modeled Lilly Munster after her body language

[@laurietijerina3816]

TODAY IS January 3rd and its her Birthday 🎂 , Happy birthday Zasu 🎂 🥳!

[@elizabethbrauer1118]

I highly recommend the film Greed, directed by Erich von Stroheim. Great silent psychological drama. The ending is worth it.

[@wyzrd777]

Ironic that there's a chart on how to pronounce her name as the announcer insists on mispronouncing it.

[@christinecremen4151]

Yes !

[@katmolina2627]

Yes! Please!😊

[@annacatherinesendgikoski1965]

That motorcycle is a 1931 Henderson 4.

[@ANTIGOSDISCOSMGK]

I KNEW A MR GALLAGHER IN WAUKEGAN, IL WHO OWNED A WELDING AND FABRICATION SHOP ON 22nd ST IN NORTH CHICAGO ,IL HE OWNED 2 1931 HENDERSON CYCLES!!! I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? P.S. NEVER KNEW THE MODEL DESIGNATION. MICHAEL GERARD KIRSLING CHICAGO

[@michaelmcgee8543]

She was a good character actess.

[@trex3003]

It's not ZAY-SU ; it's Zasu.

[@News2morrow]

Poor selection of photos to sync with the narration. For instance, you spent a great deal of time talking about Thelma Todd and you didn't even have one photo of Todd with Zasu. Next time try to find pictures that complement the narration. Thanks.

[@esmeephillips5888]

He always scatters the pics at random, but not offfering any of Thelma Todd is bizarre.

[@janel.8921]

Surely there’s a movie still of Pitts and Todd together.

[@paulcarmichael596]

I am a classic movie fan. I have seen all of ms Pitt's movies. She was certainly talented

[@RayPointerChannel]

ZaSu Pitts' voice was not "squeeky," it was whiney with a self-depricating delivery. It was her voice that inspired the voice of Olive Oyl as made famous by Mae Questel.

[@roderickfernandez5382]

Another two cents from me. What about the secrets that she was supposed to be keeping during the introduction to this piece. Seems like a come on to me how about you? There are a couple of photographs of her where she's absolutely gorgeous one wrapped in fur. Take a second look and don't you agree that she really was quite pretty

[@markfortin421]

Very well done...a very complete story of an interesting lady, very talented but largely overlooked for a lot of the roles she played, but teaming her with Thelma Todd helped her a great deal. Thelma may have had the looks, but Zasu out-performed her most of the time, whether scripted that way or naturely I don't know. Thank You, well done!

[@cydkriletich6538]

Those big eyes! Love them!

[@DavidLeeAndrews]

Why don’t you include appropriate pictures to go along with the commentary? There are plenty of Thelma Todd pictures around and the same can be said for Meredith and the rest

[@kittymervine6115]

though people that are older say ZA-ZU.... don't know if that is how it is pronounced, but my elderly friends at the senior center say it that way.

[@thegreenbird795]

THE NAME ZASU PITS ALWAYS MAKES ME CHUCKLE....

[@jonathanzuckerman520]

For me she'll always be the human "Olive Oyl," because Olive's voice was based on her, in part.

[@michaelsimonds9948]

Easy made homemade context in arise & Candy, and a Candy Cookbook.

[@rudolphvalentinoconnection8298]

In 1918 she appeared in "A Society Sensation" with Carmel Myers...and a very young Rudolph Valentino!

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Did Zasu, or Valentino play the "sensation"?

[@rudolphvalentinoconnection8298]

@@JudgeJulieLit The whole story involved a girl (Myers) who is a "society sensation"...until she isn't! (until the twist at the end!)The film was severely cut and re-released to focus on Valentino, although Myers was a bigger star when the film was made and hired him for her next film. They were friends.

[@susanfabian1521]

Pronounced Zah-zoo, not Zay-zoo.

[@erikh9991]

I think the voice is computer generated. It's too flat.

[@candy9986]

Speaking of Secrets: Was ZaSu really Nancy Davis Reagan's true biological Mom ?

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Provocative question. Nancy has Zasu's face shape, big eyes and gaze exactly. And lifelong, Nancy never treated Kenneth Robbins as if he were her biological dad.

[@IMBrute-ir7gz]

Didn't you have any photos of Thelma Todd?

[@maxlinder5262]

Thelma Todd was murdered ..!!by her ex hamster husband ..... this is more about everyone but Zasu Pitts .......??

[@h.calvert3165]

EX-HAMSTER!? Proofread! Please! 😱

[@donaldhelgeson6769]

Thelma Todd was killed by Roland West (deathbed confession) in 1952

[@robinmurphy9034]

@@h.calvert3165 Relax - no need to get shouty. I’ll bet even someone as perfect as you has made a typo or two. Plus, this one is funny.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

@@donaldhelgeson6769 Was his motive that he did (as on LL's orders) want to let their nightclub be a mob hangout?

[@ohmeowzer1]

@@h.calvert3165 no big deal...hamsters can get very testy if you don't feed them right away. It could been a hamster hit job. Don't get your panties in a tangle..no biggie..

[@kittymervine6115]

Yep, at the time the police departments in California were basically working for the studios.

[@danielbisson8032]

saw her with gale storm in oh susanna

[@lawsonj39]

It's confusing to discuss Thelma and Meredith while showing ZaSu, especially for people who aren't familiar with the three.

[@sandraboyer9680]

Remember her well.

[@SnarkTheMagicDragon]

I would like this so much better if it wasn't the same pictures every 6secs.

[@mikeakers3453]

ZaSu Pitts's first name rhymes with tattoo. It was pronounced that way in documentaries, news stories and even movies of the time. In Never Give A Sucker An Even Break W.C. Fields asks his niece: "You want to grow up and be dumb like ZaSu Pitts?"

[@JPSE57]

"Her name was mispronounced..." Which continues today! 😞

[@kellybrown8638]

Her name is CORRECTLY "ZAH-sue" after her aunts.

[@janealexander1378]

"Squeaky voice"? Not at all! She had her own way of speaking but it was more of a drawl and personalization. If you want 'squeaky' how 'bout the intolerable high pitched, high speed nasal whines of today's offenders.

[@sonnieaaron]

Or Jean Hagen in SINGING IN THE RAIN!

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

"I can't stand it!" ;)

[@sonnieaaron]

@@jeraldbaxter3532 LOL😁

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Zasu's voice was usually a half swallowed, half warbled gargle. It worked to make her a comedic "straight" lady, in a tizzy in the modern world.

[@JudgeJulieLit]

@@sonnieaaron Jean Hagen's caricature voice in Singin' was more a Bronx Honk kazoo, a razor blade gargle. Her natural voice in other films, and as the wife in tv's The Danny Thomas Show, was pleasantly lower and normal.

[@meggyfarnsworth626]

She was a beauty…..❤

[@traj00]

With all the talk about Thelma Todd, you didn't show any photos of her (maybe one quick one). I only lasted 6 minutes before stopping.

[@caroltenge5147]

4:39 Zasu in Buster Keatons 1922 Mercer........

[@teresahooks3746]

I watched her on I've got a secret here on KZbin. She was great!

[@dougm6915]

who is Zayy-Zoo?

[@ohmeowzer1]

I loved her thank you

[@charlesdavis7087]

You didn't mention her work in "My Little Margie."

[@virginiaschaefer9693]

She wasn't in My Little Margie, she was in Oh, Susanna. So funny.

[@charlesdavis7087]

You're absolutely right. Thanks. I'm getting old.

[@antonfarquar8799]

Gale Storm Show

[@moobrien1747]

I heard she ha her hands insured for over A million bucks...

[@AlaskaErik]

You got the name all wrong with Meredith Marge. The woman's name was Madge Meredith.

[@suradit7658]

You too can be numbered amongst those who mispronounced her name.

[@rachelsremedies2602]

Only interested if she knows where my grandfather hide the gold!! 😊😊😊

[@alancrisp1582]

🤭🤔 Well obviously she is not now going to be able to help you with this now,is she ?.....

[@moobrien1747]

Luciano.

[@PaulDruart-h8t]

Okay this isn't even close to the truth

[@markheller1382]

Wow- so much wrong info too. Age of Vintage sux.