"PLEASE, Don't Squeeze The Charmin!" : "Mr. Whipple" Passes Away at the Age of 91

Haven't we all said that once or twice?! haha

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Dick Wilson, the character actor and pitchman who for 21 years played an uptight grocer begging customers "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin," died Monday. He was 91.

Dick Wilson played Mr. Whipple in more than 500 commercials for Charmin toilet paper.

The man famous as TV's "Mr. Whipple" died of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills, said his daughter Melanie Wilson, who is known for her role as a flight attendant on the ABC sitcom "Perfect Strangers."

Wilson made more than 500 commercials as Mr. George Whipple, a man consumed with keeping bubbly housewives from fondling toilet paper. The punch line of most spots was that Whipple himself was a closeted Charmin-squeezer.

The first commercial aired in 1964 and by the time the campaign ended in 1985 the tag line and Wilson, a former Canadian airman and vaudeville veteran, were pop culture touchstones.

He also played a drunk on several episodes of "Bewitched," and appeared as various characters on "Hogan's Heroes," "The Bob Newhart Show," and Walt Disney productions.

R.I.P MR. WHIPPLE!

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Every Village has One...

BLACK MAN ARRESTED IN TUPAC NOOSE INCIDENT: Suspect, 43, charged last week with criminal damage to property.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that a black man was arrested last week in connection with the hanging of a noose on a statue of late rapper Tupac Shakur in Georgia.

As previously reported, the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain announced it had been vandalized last month. In addition to the noose offense, which police later said was actually a cross hung on a string, the Center also said that defamatory stickers and papers were left on the statue and that a pair of underwear had been wrapped around its head. The building was also defaced in the incident, the Center announced.

Kenneth Anthony Wilson, 43, was arrested and charged with a felony second-degree charge of criminal damage to property and is being held at jail in DeKalb County jail on a $1,500 bond, reports the paper.
A police spokesperson told the newspaper that authorities doubt Wilson had a racial motive in the incident. (This last sentence is hilarious!! what idiot posed such a question, that a spokesperson had to reply it wasn't racially motivated?!)

I don't know if Kenneth Wilson is a blithering idiot, or a shrewd manipulator.

I say this because...i'm wondering if he intentionally defaced out of anger, or rebellion or could he be hungry, homeless etc and he needed to do somethin that'll guarantee him going to jail, thus resulting in 3-meals-a day, and a roof over his head. I mean he's held on a $1500 bond...not much but he could get out.

This story was suspect from the giddy-up which is why i didn't post the story.

It just didn't feel right.

now I know why.

give me a break.

More Words From Genarlow...

Wilson released after two years behind bars for teen sex
- Genarlow Wilson was released from prison Friday, after spending more than two years behind bars for a teen sex conviction.
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"I've got a new life," Genarlow Wilson tells reporters after being released Friday.

1 of 2 "At times I dealt with adversity ... my family and myself, we finally get to deal with happiness now," Wilson said, with his mother and sister at his side.

The Georgia Supreme Court earlier Friday ordered that he be released, ruling 4-3 that his sentence was cruel and unusual punishment.

Wilson, 21, was convicted in 2005 of having oral sex with a consenting 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

Wilson said he first heard about the possibility he'd be freed Friday when someone told him word was out on the radio.

"I'd seen it coming, but I didn't exactly know when," he said. "I'd just stopped trying to figure the courts out and stopped trying to put a date on it."

Wilson said he was looking forward to spending time with his family and plans to enroll in college to study sociology.

"You will not be disappointed," he told his supporters. "I plan on succeeding in life."

Wilson also said he doesn't regret rejecting a plea offer that could have freed him from prison months ago -- but would have required him to register as a sex offender.

"I'm glad I stayed down for my cause," he said. "I accepted the situation that I got myself into, but I never accepted that label."

Wilson's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, said earlier Friday she was working to gain his quick release.

She said Wilson's mother, Juannessa Bennett, was "overjoyed" at the court's decision.

A spokesman for Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker said there will be no further appeals.

Friday's decision came after a protracted legal battle that has galvanized international attention and drawn the involvement of civil rights leaders. Partly as a result of Wilson's conviction, state legislators changed the law to make such consensual conduct between minors a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.

"The release of Genarlow Wilson by the Georgia Supreme Court is a significant victory in redressing the reckless and biased behavior of the criminal justice system that now operates in many states across the union," the Rev. Al Sharpton said.

"The bad news is that his young life was so unfairly interrupted with time that no state court can recover for him," Sharpton added. "This is why the Justice Department and federal government must review state courts that willfully and almost without pause violate the civil rights of people, particularly young black men around this country."

Wilson was an honor student, a football star and his high school's homecoming king before his conviction.

At the time of Wilson's conviction, Georgia law made the crime punishable by 10 years in prison. Changes in the law made such conduct "punishable by no more than a year in prison and no sex offender registration," the Georgia high court noted.

But those changes were not made retroactive, so they did not apply to Wilson.

The high court upheld the decision of a Monroe County judge. In a 48-page opinion, the court said the "severe" punishment Wilson received and his mandated sex offender registration make "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment."

The case revolves around a 2003 New Year's Eve party outside Atlanta when Wilson engaged in the sex act with the girl.

Under the now-changed Georgia law, Wilson was convicted of felony aggravated child molestation. He was acquitted on a second charge of raping a 17-year-old girl -- who prosecutors maintained was too intoxicated at the party to consent.

The 10-year sentence was mandatory under the law.

In the decision, Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote that changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants."

"Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson's crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children," the court's majority found.

"For the law to punish Wilson as it would an adult, with the extraordinarily harsh punishment of 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crime," the majority opinion concluded.

The dissent noted that the Georgia Legislature had made clear that the changes in the law were not to be applied retroactively.

Writing for the dissenting justices, Justice George Carley said, "The General Assembly made the express decision that he cannot benefit from the subsequent legislative determination to reduce the sentence for commission of that crime from felony to misdemeanor status."

The majority countered that it was not applying the 2006 amendment retroactively, but instead factoring that "into its determination that Wilson's punishment is cruel and unusual," the court said in a news release.

The court said this kind of decision is unusual: "The majority opinion points out that this court rarely overturns a sentence on cruel and unusual grounds. But twice before, it did so following a legislative change."

The Monroe County Superior Court judge also ruled that Wilson's punishment was cruel and unusual and voided it on constitutional grounds.

The judge reduced the sentence to one year and said Wilson should not be put on Georgia's sex offender registry, as the old law required.

Wilson's jubilant attorneys had hoped that ruling would free him from state prison. But shortly after it was handed down, Georgia's attorney general announced he would appeal that decision, a move that kept Wilson behind bars.

The Georgia high court said unanimously that the decision to deny Wilson bail was correct.


Wilson's plight drew pleas for his release, including from former President Carter, himself an ex-Georgia governor, and even some jurors who convicted him.

Legislation that would make the change in Georgia's child molestation law retroactive to free Wilson failed to win approval earlier this year.

*UPDATE* Genarlow Has Left The Building

Genarlow's Brief Press Conference

I'm so glad Genarlow's free, and I'm praying that he's given the chance to become the man he's supposed to be. He wants to study Sociology-I hope he's afforded that chance!


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Genarlow Has Left The Building!!

Genarlow Wilson released
Georgia Supreme Court rules his sentence was cruel and unusual
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Genarlow Wilson walked out of prison a free man today, ending a case that drew national umbrage over a state law that mandated a long sentence after the youth had consensual sex with another teen.

Wilson was released about 5:30 p.m. from the Burruss Correctional Training Facility in this Monroe County city, hours after the Georgia Supreme Court tossed out his 10-year sentence for having had consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.


As Wilson, now 21, emerged from the prison escorted by two guards, he broke into a wide grin, embraced his mother Juannessa Bennett, picked up his 9-year-old sister Jiaya who was 4 when the man's ordeal began ” and walked to a podium accompanied by his family and attorney, B.J. Bernstein.

"It feels great" to be free, Genarlow said.

Wilson has served 2 years 8 months of a 10-year sentence. He was convicted in February 2005 of aggravated child molestation. The crime carried a mandatory sentence of at least 10 years with no parole.

The law was changed in 2006 to make Wilson's crime a misdemeanor with a maximum 1-year sentence when it involved teenagers within certain age ranges.

"I'd like for people to learn from my situation .... just to know a few miniutes of fun could be a lifetime of hard times," Genarlow said. "It's a whole new beginning. All I can do is start from today."

The Supreme Court on Friday morning ordered Wilson's release, voiding the controversial 10-year sentence he was serving for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. He is now 21.

The court's 4-3 decision upheld a Monroe County judge's ruling that the sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment under both the Georgia and U.S. constitutions.

The majority opinion said the sentence appeared to be "grossly disproportionate" to the crime and noted that it was out of step with current law.

Wilson was convicted in February 2005 of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with the girl at a 2003 New Year's Eve party in a hotel room.

The crime carried a mandatory sentence of at least 10 years with no parole. But the law was changed in 2006 to make Wilson's crime a misdemeanor with a maximum 1-year sentence when it involved teenagers within certain age ranges.

That fueled Wilson's legal appeal on grounds that he'd been unfairly sentenced under a law aimed at older offenders.

"Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson's crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children ..." wrote Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears in the majority opinion.

She said that "for the law to punish Wilson as it would an adult, with the extraordinarily harsh punishment of 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crime."

Justice George Carley, in the dissent, said the 2006 change in the law was specifically written so it would not be retroactive. He said "the General Assembly made the express decision that he cannot benefit from the subsequent legislative determination to reduce the sentence for commission of that crime from felony to misdemeanor status."

Carley said the majority opinion showed "unprecedented disregard" for the legislative intent of the law change and creates the potential for releases of "any and all defendants who were ever convicted of aggravated child molestation and sentenced" under circumstances similar to Wilson's.

Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, said earlier Friday that she was elated by the ruling.

"We never turned away from the courts," she said. "The Supreme Court issued a wonderful and just decision. We had faith in this all along -- although it took a little longer than we thought it would."

She said Wilson, once released, will do all he can to encourage teenagers to do the right thing.

"Genarlow is going to be committed to talking and working with young people to spread the message that he made a mistake that night and doesn't want it to happen to anyone else," he lawyer said.

In a statement issued Friday, Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he will "respectfully acknowledge" the state Supreme Court's decision.

"I hope the court's decision will also put an end to this issue as a matter of contention in the hearts and minds of concerned Georgians and others across the country who have taken such a strong interest in the case," Baker said.

Baker's office had appealed the ruling by the Monroe County Superior Court judge who overturned Wilson's felony conviction last summer and reduced it to a misdemeanor. That judge's ruling to resentence Wilson to a misdemeanor, "however well-meaning, was unauthorized under Georgia law," Baker said. "It was for this reason that I appealed, in order to (ensure) a fair and consistent application of the law, not just to Mr. Wilson, but to others similarly situated."

In its majority opinion, the state Supreme Court acknowledged that it rarely overturns sentences on grounds that they are cruel and unusual. But the court also noted it has done so twice before following legislative changes. It also said a review of other states showed that most "either would not punish Wilson's conduct at all or would, like Georgia now, punish it as a misdemeanor."

Wilson's case has drawn national attention.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta) said Friday that the state high court "righted a great wrong, an unbelievable wrong. This young man, each day he stayed in prison, was a day too long."

Lewis said he visited Wilson in prison a few months ago. "His head was on straight. He's smart. He realized he had made mistakes. He said, 'Congressman, I'm a good person. I want to get out and make a contribution.'"

Lewis said he will do all he can to make good on a promise to help Wilson after his release from prison.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and four state legislators held a press conference at the state Capitol on Friday, at which Jackson called for an end to "over-prosecution" of young black men. "Genarlow is a symbol of a a system that's out of control," he said. "We need oversight for prosecutors who abuse their position."

"It looks like we may be near the end for Genarlow, but let me emphasize there are a thousand -- ten thousand -- Genarlows," said state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).

Said state Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell): "I'm proud to say that the stain that was on the state of Georgia has been somewhat removed."

Jackson said a service is planned at 10 a.m. Saturday at Ebenezer Baptist Church to celebrate Wilson's release. He also said that his organization, Rainbow/PUSH, will contribute $5,000 to a college scholarship fund for Wilson already started by African-American members of the Legislature. "We want schools to bid to offer him scholarships," Jackson said.

Wilson was arrested following a party also attended by five other male youths. His sex act with the 15-year-old girl was videotaped by one of his friends.

Wilson was also charged with raping a 17-year-old girl at the party but was acquitted of that charge.

Several months after he was convicted of aggravated child molestation, a felony, and given the mandatory 10-year term, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed legislation making consensual sex a misdemeanor between teenagers who were as close in age as Wilson and the 15-year-old.

The Monroe County judge's decision came last June, and the state's appeal by Baker sent the case to the Supreme Court.

Also last summer, Douglas County District Attorney David McDade offered Wilson's attorneys a deal in which he could plead guilty to another felony and get a sentence including 5 years of jail time with credit for two years served. Wilson and his lawyers rejected the deal.

Joining Sears in the majority decision were justices Carol Hunstein, Robert Benham and Hugh Thompson. Joining Carley in the dissent were justices Harris Hines and Harold Melton.

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What a wonderful way to end Friday!

I hope Genarlow sticks to his promise that he will talk to young people, so they can learn from his mistakes.

God is awesome, and so is the strength and perserverence of a mama!

God bless the family-it's not over yet!

There's still work to be done!