I spent the Thanksgiving Holiday - big surprise - with relatives. I've never been that close to either side of my family but definitely have a special bond with the Olivers. We're all a little... shall we say 'quirky.'
My cousin Tracy, who now lives in London, was once a documentary filmmaker in New York City. I'd crash with her during summers in college and help her out on various creative projects. I was telling her about this new site - vicepresidents.com - and she reminded me that she too used to focus on those in the shadow.
Most notably, she spent several years assembling a documentary about the comedian Joey Faye. Faye, born in 1910, was the son of a sideshow barber working with the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He became a burlesque comedian and was one of the greats of his time - although, never the headliner. He was always the 'second banana.'
Faye starred alongside some of the most gilded names in the biz including Marlene Dietrich, Tony Randall and John Wayne. His own star, however, never shot to... well stardom. He appeared 36 times on Broadway and his films include such greats as "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "Once Upon a Time in America," but he is probably best known to the American public as the original bunch of grapes in the infamous Fruit of the Loom commercials.
On April 26, 1997, the 87-year-old Faye died of heart failure at the Actor's Home in Englewood, NJ.
Tracy, my cousin, never finished her documentary. Maybe, one day, she'll pick up the footage and continue... I sincerely hope so. Because the second bananas may never get the spotlight but they're always the best of the bunch in the public's opinion. 
