April 26

Channing Matthew Tatum's Birthday
 

 
Being a stripper has launched many show business careers, including Lady Gaga, Carmen Electra, Anna Nicole Smith, and Kendra Wilkinson. Although it is a rarer choice for men, there have been a few famous male strippers with ten dollar bills in their jock straps that made it to the big time including Brad Pitt who was a stripper in his college days as part of a group called the Dancing Bares.  Channing Tatum also worked as an exotic dancer under the name Chan Crawford. The star of such movies as Step Up (2006) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) surprised and delighted his fans when in 2010 he told an Australian newspaper that he would like to make a movie about his experiences as a stripper.  He also apparently delighted Steven Soderbergh who agreed to direct the film Magic Mike based on the Channing's experiences as a stripper in which he will play an older stripper who mentors the younger Channing (played by Alex Pettyfer) in stripping techniques.

There was initially some concern if the biopic includes full front nudity with Channing's recently scalded penis which he sustained while filming a river scene in the  The Eagle (2011). As reported in The Huffington Post, Channing explained "The only way to keep warm was by pouring a mix of boiling water and river water down your suit. We were finally done shooting for the day, and one of the crew guys asks if I want to warm up before I go. I'm like, Nah, I'm good. And then I thought, Why not? Thing is, he'd forgotten to dilute the kettle water. So he poured scalding water down my suit. And I was trying to pull the suit away from my body to somehow get away from the boiling water, and the more I pulled the suit away, the lower the water went. It just went straight down and pretty much burned the skin off the head of my dick." He was rushed to the hospital, put on morphine to cushion the pain and had his blistered penis treated in the burn unit. A few weeks later Channing reported that his member was in good standing and explained "I'm good . . . now," he says with a grin. "Now my penis is fantastic! One hundred percent recovered. Put me back in the game, Coach."

Channing initially attracted national attention in his post stripping career as a model appearing in print ad campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch,  Dolce & Gabbana, and Emporio Armani, and was soon picked as one of Tear Sheet magazine's "50 Most Beautiful Faces" of October 2001. Acting offers soon followed and he made his first film role opposite Samuel  L Jackson in Coach Carter (2005). Other roles quickly followed including his portrayal of Pretty Boy Floyd in  in Public Enemies (2009) which he won because of his close resemblance to the gangster.

But to celebrate Channing's birthday, we suggest watching
G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra while downing a bowl of Cobra Chili. Be careful, this is super hot and don't eat it in the nude in case you suffer a similar accident to Channing's.

 

Cobra Chili

Ingredients
 
2oz olive oil
2 TB minced garlic
4 lbs ground beef
2 lbs Satan's Breath Hot Italian Sausage.
1 large pepper, chopped
1 cup celery
1 TB salt or to taste
 
1/4 cup Satan's BreathCobra Chili Powder
3 TB Lea & Perrins & Worcestershire  Sauce
3 TB Soy Sauce
2 TB  Louisiana Red Hot Sauce
3- (14-oz.) Trappes Jalapeno Pintos
3- (14-oz) Mexican Stewed Tomatoes
6 oz chocolate  (Hershey Bars)
 

 

Instructions
 
Put the olive oil and garlic in a preheated wok.  Let garlic sweat a couple minutes then add meat.  Brown meat.  When done, add all the other ingredients and stir-fry until the onions are clear.  When the onions are clear, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Serves 8 to 10 

 
© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes