R.I.P. Edd "Kookie" Byrnes

69 300 vert

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2016
Messages
550
Reaction score
802
Location
Taxus
Dang, just heard of this: Edward Byrne Breitenberger; July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020

 
Before my time, don't remember ever seeing him perform, sing or act, never a Connie Stevens fan.
RIP Mr. Byrnes
 
I knew of him more for his 77 Sunset Strip role.
All I remember of the show is him as the ”Cool Cat” and a T-Bird convertible.
0F34930A-4141-42E3-A3C3-F6A99C54C4B1.jpeg

1A763FDE-0146-4F90-8694-C5C92ADB4042.jpeg
Show had a great Music Theme tune.
 
Last edited:
My older sister was a fan. I only know him from 60’s re-runs of the show, and my sister having a 45 record of
‘Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb’
Apparently this guy wasn’t as cool as the Fonz, as he actually combed his hair several times during each show.
R. I.P. Ed, you were a good guy.
 
He lived in a better time. R.I.P..
He was born 5 days after my dad.
 
Edd Byrnes was one of the fist TV heartthrobs, he had his own "hepcat language" he talked in while on 77 Sunset Strip. It may seem sedate by new standards, but it was an excellent show. Like what happens to all too many character actors though, he never quite got past that role. The Washington Post ran a nice obituary for him yesterday. RIP Edd, and thanks for inspiring us.
 
The same era of the Route 66 and Surf Side 6 tv shows. Neat shows with cool cars but lacking the action we’re used to today.
 
The same era of the Route 66 and Surf Side 6 tv shows. Neat shows with cool cars but lacking the action we’re used to today.

Since I last owned a TV set in 1993, (last watched one regularly years before that) , and am not "used to" action (if you want to call it that), I can still enjoy shows like Route 66, Surfside 6, Peter Gunn, Bourbon Street Beat, and 77 Sunset Strip (and a few others I missed), and watch them on line when I can...…..
 
IMO that's the problem with all video media today, with few exceptions, no effort is made on characters, plot, script, or how to build suspense/drama without "action sequences". It's all about how "real" they can make ridiculous nonsense look. If I'm watching TV, it's usually MeTV, Cozi TV, Antenna TV, Comet, TCM, and sometimes History Channel, AMC, or TV Land. The rest is all crap. I hope one of them run some 77 Sunset Strip episodes as a tribute.
 
Steve McQueen was the best. In the movie Lemans he doesn’t say a word for the first 30 minutes. Just him thinking.
 
77 Sunset Strip was actually filmed on Santa Monica blvd. in West Hollywood just down the street a half block from a Fun Hangout called the Sea Witch. I met Dave and Ricky Nelson there in the summer of '58, and no we were not buddyz. Dave and I had been cruising on our bikes and bumped into each other at a stop lite and we both just stopped in front of the Sea Witch to admire each others Bikes. Ricky cruised up and parked beside us maybe 10 minutes later because he recognized his brother standing there talking with me. We shook handz, chatted for a bit and the two of them went into the Sea Witch and I cranked up my Triumph and headed back to East LA where I called home back then and never crossed paths with either one of them again, Jer
 
Back
Top