Calendar Girls

How Sarasota Artist Gil Elvgren Helped Define the Pin-Up Aesthetic

Elvgren lived and worked on Siesta Key from the 1950s until his death in 1980.

04/14/2025 By Clayton Trutor

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Black Stallion Author Walter Farley Built a Vibrant Life in Venice

The author of the beloved books about protagonist Alec Ramsey and his horse moved to south Sarasota County in 1950 and spent the rest of his life there.

08/14/2024 By Clayton Trutor

Song and Dance Man

Sarasota’s Peppi Borza Was a One-of-a-Kind Transatlantic Star

A circus performer who made his name performing with his sister Nita, Borza became a star of stage and screen and was a longtime friend of singer Dusty Springfield.

01/11/2024 By Clayton Trutor

Something Evil in the Woods

The Blair Witch Project Turns 25 This Year. We Talked to Writer and Director Dan Myrick About Its Legacy.

Myrick, a Sarasota native who graduated from Riverview High School, is still in the horror game.

10/26/2023 By Clayton Trutor

Mic Drop

'Mean' Gene Okerlund, Wrestling’s Greatest Interviewer, Had a Decades-Long Love Affair With Sarasota

Okerlund began visiting Sarasota in the 1970s and later lived in Osprey's Oaks Club year-round.

09/17/2023 By Clayton Trutor

Let the Sunshine In

How Sarasota’s Bones Howe Helped Shape America's Pop Music Landscape

Howe worked with Elvis, the 5th Dimension, Tom Waits and dozens of other pop music luminaries.

07/26/2023 By Clayton Trutor

Growing Up Macho

How Sarasota Shaped the Life and Career of 'Macho Man' Randy Savage

For a time in the late 20th century, there was no more famous Sarasotan than Savage.

05/02/2023 By Clayton Trutor

Play Ball!

Longtime Sarasota Resident Hoyt Wilhelm Threw the Most Mystifying Pitch in Baseball

The unassuming pitcher was known for his knuckleball.

12/06/2022 By Clayton Trutor