Buck Zenith joined the Air Force in 1948 and was dropped from active duty as a fighter pilot after coming down with a case of ‘Restless Leg’ Syndrome.  In actuality, he had begun attending Cab Calloway shows in his off-hours and caught the rhythm. He shortly thereafter began managing a notorious after-hours officers club at Edwards Air Force Base called ‘Areola 51’, and started singing with the house swing band.  He later toured South Korea with the USO, and reportedly had a brief fling with Marilyn Monroe. Rumors that ‘The Seven Year Itch’ was inspired by their fling remain unsubstantiated, although ‘Some Like it Hot’ has been confirmed. When President Eisenhower decided to re-open the black ops USO project, he began looking for personnel to head it, and happened to catch Zenith’s act in Las Vegas, where Zenith had just captured an alien performer impersonating Frank Sinatra, and had been made an honorary member of the Rat Pack.  Upon being recruited into the program, Zenith spent months scouring the country, looking for musicians with the grit and raw talent to entertain US personnel at all those sites kept off the books and away from congressional oversight, but who could also defend the Earth from any pesky aliens who might come poking around. Since forming the original band in the late 1950’s, Zenith has stayed with the group, travelling through time, space, parallel dimensions, and being deliberately vague towards new recruits about the high casualty rate that comes with being a part of the crew.

Mike Buckendorf (Col. Buck Zenith) is a drama and stagecraft teacher, and former college history instructor, as well as an actor, writer, and amateur filmmaker, holding a BA in Tech Theater and MS in Teaching, Learning and Leadership from Oklahoma State University.  He has long been a living history reenactor and historical interpreter, frequently volunteering at the 45th Infantry Division Museum and the USS Batfish War Memorial and Historical Site. He is author of the book, Tulsa, The War Years, published by Arcadia Press.  As a vocalist, he has performed with a number of Tulsa bands since the mid-1980’s.  As an actor, he performed for a number of years with Mahenwadose Productions and the American Indian Theater Company in such shows as A Song of Winter, The Fearless Honka Hunters, What’s A Christopher Columbus?, Tecumseh: Panther Crossing the Sky, and Rabbit Boy Dances with Otter Girl.  He was active with Tulsa Cerebral Palsy Association’s annual Red Glove Revue for over 20 years, and recently returned to local stage productions, performing in Theatre Tulsa’s production of Cabaret, as well as American Theatre Company’s productions of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, and Eddie & The Ecclectics.  He has also had principal roles in the films, The Front, which was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Los Angeles Cine-Fest, and Animism: Orange Smoke.  In his scant free time, you can usually find him working on a new short story or screenplay, writing and drawing on his comics series, or coming up with new skits and films for the Retro Rockets show.

Sheila Starlight rose to success in the 1960s as a film producer, singer and songwriter. Though not officially credited, she gained notoriety in the industry as having co-penned alongside Alex North and Hy Zaret the theme tune for a little film called Unchained. The song later rose to fame after having been covered by the Righteous Brothers and re-titled “Unchained Melody”.

The success from that hit led Sheila down the path of more music and film work, and eventually she crossed paths and worked with Don Kirshner on a television project inspired by The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night”. The show was “The Monkees”, and it was a big success. It was during the time working on this show that Sheila met and began dating Micky Dolenz.

A few years later, Sheila found herself in need of assistance writing enough material for a new animated show that set out to enmesh Rock & roll with education. Micky, having his hands full writing new Monkees material (sans Peter & Michael), told Sheila of a friend whom he had met with the same name (but with an ‘e’) in London when they had toured together. He explained how he “really dug Mickey’s writing style”, and he promised he’d get them in touch with one another, which he did.

Writing for “Schoolhouse Rock” began in the summer of 1972, and it did not take long for Sheila Starlight and Mickey Moonlight to discover that there was a special bond between them. They continued to write 3 series’ worth of educational Rock & Roll shorts. Both contributed to the vocals, with Mickey lending vocals (uncredited) to some of his favorites which Sheila had written, such as “Conjunction Junction”, “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla” and the counting-by-fives hit “Ready or Not, Here I Come”.

Then, it happened. The getaway. The cabin. The misty night… the spaceship with the logo which read: “The Retro Rockets”…

The hatch opened slowly, as the fog around the ship gave way to the change in air pressure. Out stepped a diverse crew of men and women, with one standing particularly taller than the rest. On his chest was a nameplate which read: “Col. Buck Zenith”. As he approached the couple, he saluted, took off his clearly important sunglasses, and said: “We have heard your Rock. We have seen your show. Now we need your service, and to the stars we must go!” At this, Buck looked particularly proud of himself as he turned to the crew and said “I just made that up… like just now!”

Soon, after having been briefed on the mission at hand, Sheila and Mickey, having satisfied all they wanted to accomplish on earth, and knowing they’d be together in this new exciting chapter, climbed aboard the Zephyr, and joined the Retro Rockets. What lay ahead for them and the rest of the crew was an adventure the likes of which none could have imagined…

Gus grew up in Colorado, among the beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains. His love for music grew in the late 60s when he discovered a new band called the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band who would often play for free in the open mountain parks. The tunes they performed would continue to dance delightfully through his mind as he would lose himself journeying through the lush landscape on the way home afterwards. More often than not, being a nature lover at heart, he would find himself straying from the path home, and end up star gazing through the night, the music still filling his mind and heart.

On one night in particular, as he let the sights of the stars and the galaxies above take his mind on an adventure, he heard a beautiful heavenly sound coming from the night sky above! Suddenly, out of nowhere a spaceship appeared, surrounded by awesome vibrant colors, pulsating with the sounds emanating from the ship! The ship slowly and steadily descended, and came to rest in an open meadow not far from where he had been stargazing.

Without hesitation, Gus rose to his feet, feeling lured to the ship – directly to the hatch, which opened dramatically as he approached… and as he did, he began to hear more music coming from within. It was Rock & Roll! Gus poked his head inside, and immediately the entire crew of the Retro Rockets was in view, and they were all looking directly at him! The apparent leader of the group, wearing a nameplate reading “Col. Buck Zenith” approached him, held out his hand, and said “Come with us through time and space to 2019 – we need more tenor in our harmonies! It is of utmost importance!”

Never having been one to turn down adventure, Gus shrugged his shoulders, said “Sure!” and hopped aboard. “Fantastic! Mickey, get him a mic,” Buck adjured. As the commander handed Gus his new microphone, he declared: “From now on, you will be known throughout the universe as Gus Galaxy.” Since that time, proudly wearing the moniker, Gus Galaxy’s voice has since been blasting the airwaves as he has been diligent in helping the Retro Rockets on their ongoing mission to spread the science of Rock & Roll to the farthest reaches of time and space!