Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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the entertainers MARCEL MARCEAU Besides several heralding thumps before the curtains opened, the performer remained silent. That wasn ' t unusual the performer was Marcel Marceau, world-renowned French pantomimist, who entertained an overflow McCain Auditorium audience March 19. The mime of Marceau described in a gesture what volumes of words have failed to express. Marceau exemplified this when he acted out the biblical story of Genesis in his moving ballet, Creation of the world . Equally expressive and beautiful was his interpretation of the life cycle of mankind from birth to death in Youth, Old Age, and Death . In a lighter vein, Marceau donned the scruffy, flower-trimmed hat and striped shirt of Bip, his alter-ego creation to whom every kind of misfortune, big and small, seemed to happen. Some such adventures were a tipsy jaunt at a society party, failure to tame a stubborn lion, and a shaky experience on the high-wire as a trapeze artist with second thoughts. There were split-second character changes as he played both parts in a re- enactment of the biblical story of David and Goliath. Topping off the evening, Marceau per- formed his classic, The Maskmaker . While trying on his collection of masks, the maskmaker gets a mask stuck on his face a smiling one. With his face trap- ped in an obnoxious grin, he tries desper- ately to pull the stubborn mask off his face. SEALS AND CROFTS A crowd waited impatiently April 4 as the last ech- oes of the jazz back-up band died in the corners of Ahearn Field House. People twisted in their seats, straining for the first glimpse of the pair which was to perform. A few people sitting on the floor stood up to stretch their legs after the first 20-min- ute set. And then they appeared Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts. I ' ll Play For You broke the applause which greeted them and introduced their 90 minutes of music. Approximately 4,000 fans were treated to a varied musical format, including jazz, pop, and bluegrass. Well-known hits such as Summer Breeze , Diamond Girl , and We May Never Pass This Way Again mingled throughout the concert. A jazz number, Wisdom , allowed the pair to improvise with saxophone and drums. Hog callin ' music in the second half of the concert brought the crowd to its feet, with enthusiasm staying high until the performance ' s end. After the concert, Seals and Crofts reappeared on the stage to explain their religious faith, Baha ' i, a belief that all reli- gions come from God and all people are of one family. JEFFERSON STARSHIP April 17, 1975 will never hold a prominent place in K-State ' s history. It was the day of a dou- ble-bill concert at Ahearn Field House Jefferson Starship was the main attrac- tion, with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen starting the show. Only 2,000 people attended, many of whom were not K-State students. The anxious crowd, sporting long hair and beads, smoked pot while they waited to be entertained. Commander Cody played an hour-long set. All were on their feet clapping and snapping fingers to Hot Rod Lincoln , Lost in the Ozone Again , Riot in Cell Block Number 9 , and Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues . Commander Cody, with his excellent country-swing style on the keyboards, helped the crowd along. When the spotlights illuminated Grace Slick, Paul Kanter, and Papa John Creech, spines began to tingle. There they were, the veterans. Ten years together as a sign of the times: from their beginnings in 1965, their music has not only expounded upon, but helped shape and mold the youth culture during one of the most controversial and importan t decades of this century. Marti Balin, who had taken a back seat to Paul Kantner during the Jefferson Air- plane days, has all but stepped into the lead male vocal part with Starship. He harmonized beautifully with Grace Slick on songs like Caroline and Dragonfly . Miracles , a soothing love song, was introduced to the crowd by Balin ' s rich tenor voice. Septuagenarian Papa John Creech, though slow in body, showed just how young in spirit he was by rocking with the best of them. His unique violin sound added depth and perspective to Starship ' s music. Times have changed, though, and so have the crowds and the music. It was only eight years ago that the Airplane played to half-a-million people on a farm in upstate New York. That was Wood- stock. Now only a small percentage of that Woodstock crowd remains. LILY TOMLIN With superb mimicry and daft characterizations, comedienne Lily Tomlin entertained two full-capacity audiences in her April 31 Forum Hall per- formance. Tomlin told the audience she had so many thoughts running through her mind she didn ' t know what to do with them. As a result, one-liners spiced her perform- ance. Lily brought along her best-known characters, such as Susy Sorority and the maiden from Ma Bell, Ernestine. And Edith Ann, the five-and-a-half-year-old pixie, who knows about and comments upon everything, was there. Lily also portrayed a 77-year-old female evangelist who preached boo- geying . The former member of the now defunct Laugh-In television series ram- bled on to satirize funerals, commercials, politics, sex, and even tasteful people. the entertainers 23

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K-State has never been a trend-setter. And if one would care to expound on the subject K-State has never really been a trend-follower. The fact that streaking caught on in 1974 brought a blush of surprise to everyone ' s cheeks. But the following year ' s appearance of flying pies on campus took the cake. K-State had managed to catch on two years run- ning. As for future fool-hardy collegiate, fads well, America, K-State ' s eyes ' are finally open and upon you. , Cream pies soar, plastering ' paid for ' targets by Doug Fink Except for an unusually high attendance, the class appeared normal in all respects. The professor arranged his notes and the students waited for the lec- ture to begin. One student rose and approached the professor. Dr. Williams, my name is Jeff Pierce and this is for you. Moments later Pierce, senior in philosophy, was flee- ing as Dudley Williams, regents professor in physics, stood blinded his face plastered with pie. Creative Promotions had struck again, in reaction to a challenge by Ed Klimek, KMKF-FM coordinator, to bring the nationwide pie-throwing fad to K-State. We didn ' t think it would go at K-State, Pierce said, but it went over real big. The phone rang all hours of the night. Ironically, the first victim of the enterprise was Kli- mek, himself. Upon concluding an interview with Mike Rice, co-originator of Creative Promotions, concerning the pie-tossing craze, Pierce zapped Klimek. The KMKF broadcast of the interview brought many phone calls and a variety of requests. One wanted us to get a judge, Rice said. He said the judge had arrested him but he wouldn ' t give us his (own) name. Another caller asked them to hit a police officer who had arrested the caller. For a while we shied away from grudges, Pierce said. Later we decided to take them, as that was the purpose of the fad elsewhere. There was really no adverse reaction except for one. The adverse reaction was elicited from Michael Hoff- man, assistant professor of chemistry. Hoffman retali- ated by tossing a cup of coffee on Pierce. Dr. Williams took it real well. He waved to me as I ran off and later he was full of compliments about the company. We did have to worry about the legal aspects, Pierce said. First there was the pie fad, then there was a fad to sue the pie-throwers. Creative Promotions helped avoid animosity by pro- viding each victim with a towel and certificate. In addi- tion, about 85 per cent of the profits were contributed : : 24 pie throwing