Washington, DC

A Rooftop Celebration for DC’s Own Marvin Gaye on What Would Have Been His 75th Birthday

/ Dave Price / 1 Comment

This article 1st appeared in The Price’s Do DC – 4.2.2014

For the 7th year in a row on his birth date, DC fans of Washington native soul singer Marvin Gaye packed the rooftop bar of the restaurant off U Street that bears his name to celebrate his legacy by listening to his music and hearing words from some of those who knew him well.

Gaye was born in DC on April 2, 1939 and attended Cardozo High School before finding fame as one of the giant stars of Motown. He was tragically shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984. Had he lived, today would have been his 75th birthday.

In a fitting tribute, all the proceeds from the benefit bash at Marvin’s went to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a charity chosen by the Gaye family.

Throughout the late afternoon and evening, musicians and singers from all over the DC-area performed hits made famous by Gaye. Those performers included Gaye’s musical director Gordon “Guitar” Banks and members of his old band the Marquees.

After a particularly stirring version of Gaye’s “Makes Me Want to Holler” by Maimouna Youssef and John Bibb, Cecil Jenkins, who described himself “as the last protege of Marvin Gaye” took the microphone.

“I think it is a wonderful thing you are doing by embracing Marvin Gaye and what he stood for,” Jenkins, who was Gaye’s lead dancer said. “Thank you DC for remembering Marvin.”

As did a handful of the others in the crowd who knew or worked with Marvin, Jenkins shared a few memories of the man he called his surrogate father.

“You remember the dance the rock?” he asked “Michael Jackson made it famous, but you should have seen Marvin do the rock.”

Unfortunately, a gun fired by Gaye’s own father 30 years ago made certain that no one would ever see that  again.

TV Detective Tackles JFK Conspiracy

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This article 1st appeared in The Prices Do DC – 05.07.2013

For 20 years, actor Richard Beltzer, as his character Detective John Munch, has been employing his fictional investigative skills, 1st on Homicide Life on the Streets for 7 years and then on Law and Order: Special  Victims Unit for the past 13 years. In fact, Beltzer holds a TV record for portraying the same Munch character on 11 different shows ranging fromSesame Street to The Wire.

But Beltzer has been using his real-life investigative skills for twice that long, spending the past 40 years trying to unravel the truth behind the assassination of President John Kennedy and the cover-up that Beltzer believes began long before the shots that killed JFK were fired on that sad November, 1963 day in Dallas, Texas.


Last night, Beltzer appeared at the National Press Club to discuss the latest book he co-authored with David Wayne entitled Hit List: An In-Depth Look at the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination.

Beltzer contends that the JFK hit list contains more than 50 witnesses who died under mysterious circumstances ranging from accused murderer Lee Harvey Oswald (whom Beltzer believes was just a pasty set up by the American government. “He was there, but he didn’t fire a shot.”) to a Dallas stripper with the stage name Delilah, to national correspondent Dorothy Kilgallen, to U.S. Congressman Hale Boggs. “Anyone who had any knowledge was eventually murdered,” Beltzer said. “The sheer number forces us to ask whether their deaths were coincidence?” 

“This is the greatest murder mystery of all time,” Beltzer added. “It’s Sherlock Holmes on speed.”

So how did the cover-up that Beltzer alleges begin? “It was the height of the Cold War. People said ‘Holy shit! Somebody in government killed our president. We have to cover up.” he contends. “I don’t think there is one great big conspiracy, but there are a lot of sharks in the water.”

So who did plot and carry out the Kennedy assassination? “The real question is who didn’t kill him. I know that is glib but there were elements in our government and elements in the mob. President Kennedy was planning many changes,” Beltzer maintains. “But it was 50 years ago. It just goes on and on. There is no reason not to tell the full story now. It’s only the ongoing contempt for the American people and that to me is very, very disturbing.”

Beltzer said that leaders in authority have been able to link the words conspiracy and theory and delusional together. “It’s easy to marginalize people who question authority,” Beltzer said.

Beltzer’s Press Club talk came on the same day Hit List made the New York Times best seller list. This came despite the fact the The Times regularly refuses to review Beltzer’s books on the JFK murder. “The New York Times doesn’t review my books, so, if I may, I say fuck the New York Times,” Beltzer said. “Certain people don’t want people to know what I am saying because it is the truth.”