Dad, using the name Riley Cooper, produced a live radio show called "Hootenanny Jamboree" from the Flame Cafe in Minneapolis.

Once, when they were in a group of people, Riley said, "Remember when we met Kris Kristofferson?" Everyone turned to look at Jan.

Around the time my father met my mother in 1962, his "creative identity factory" was in full force.

When I saw this drawing in my late father's box of personal mementos, I was stunned. How on earth did Riley get his wife to pose for this?

Morris Levy was described by AllMusic as "a notorious crook who swindled artists out of their owed royalties."

In the late 1950s, something went terribly wrong for Riley. So wrong that he dragged his wife (kicking and screaming) out of NY.

*The role of Jo's cat in this blog will be played by Sarah Harlett's cat, Alfie... Alfie is a member of SAG/AFTRA and Equity.

Why did my father work so hard to get respect, fair treatment, and equal pay for hillbilly performers, only to squander his own money?

Richard told me that the night of his birth at the Doctor’s Hospital in Manhattan, Riley had made a bet that Truman would win the Presidency

Victor Shepard had stories to tell. He loved to gossip. "Your father was the horniest man I've ever met," Victor said.