Thursday, May 24, 2007

Quick Quote

I read this over on Andrew Sullivan's weblog. A reader sent it in and it's so perfect that I decided to quote it here...

Bush said today that we should expect an escalation of violence in Iraq because the enemy know that September is a key date for political opinion. So, let me get this straight: if there is less violence, it obviously means the surge is working, and if there is more violence it means the enemy is desperate to get us out and the surge is working. And the two people who get to decide if the surge is working are the architect of the surge (Petraeus) and the man who gave the surge the go-ahead (Bush). What are the odds we'll hear in September that the surge is not working?

And while you're in that neighborhood, read what Sullivan has to say about a recent campaign appearance by Barack Obama.

• Posted at 9:23 PM · LINK

To Benefit Comedy

Next Wednesday night at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Jay Leno will headline a show to raise cash for...well, here's the announcement from the website...

Help Jay raise money for some of your favorite older comics who through their humor and laughter have helped many of us through tough times — and now this time they need our help.

That's obviously commendable and I'm sure it'll be a great show and a great cause...but I can't resist adding this: I think I know who a couple of those "older comics" are. And while some money will sure aid them, what would really aid at least one or two of those guys is to be booked to perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Not all older comedians are still up to that...but some are. Jay could do a lot to counter the mindset on TV and in clubs that you only want to hire the young, up-and-coming comics. But he'd need to lead by example.

• Posted at 3:36 PM · LINK

More on the Dino Clip

From Tom Cohen...

Longtime reader, first time e-mailer (as they say). I'm a big Dean Martin fan who is unfortunately too young to have seen him perform in his prime. I've seen this particular video before (and yes, it is very sad) and it is indeed from Dean's last appearance on the Together Again tour at the Oakland Coliseum. Somewhere I have a tape with the full performance plus the press conference the Pack did at Chasen's to announce the tour.

You know, I never got to see Dean in his prime, either...at least not on a stage. I did see him taping his TV show a few times in what was arguably his prime. I wonder if the Greg Garrison estate or his company has much or any footage of outtakes and Dean screwing around on the set between (and sometimes during) a song or sketch. That was, as you might imagine, at least as entertaining as the actual show.

And this is from Brad Ferguson...

Despite Phil De Croocq's observation that the clip isn't from the "Together Again" tour, you see Sammy come out to perform at the end of Dean's set, and there's no big ooooh and aaaah of surprise from the audience when he does, as you might expect if this were a Dean show in Vegas, and Sammy just suddenly showed up.

I noticed that some of the camera shots were from the audience, and that the shot would be blocked by people getting up and down and walking past.

You said that the tour was supposed to culminate in an HBO special. I think HBO shot this earlier in the tour, on the cheap, just to see how the guys would look. I know HBO would do that sort of thing in preparation for the one-man shows they used to carry (Soupy Sales is one example I know about).

That sounds logical. It's hard to imagine anyone getting away with shooting a bootleg video at a Dean/Sammy concert, especially if Frank was also on the bill...although it has been done. Does Tom or anyone know for sure?

• Posted at 3:21 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

If you're within ten years of my age, you probably remember this old commercial for Kellogg's Corn Flakes featuring the country-western comedy duo, Homer and Jethro. Time was, you couldn't watch a kids' show without seeing it and it quickly became embedded forever in my cranium. It didn't prompt me to buy Kellogg's Corn Flakes and it sure didn't get me to start collecting Homer and Jethro albums. But I think I did get a remote control with a mute button.

• Posted at 9:40 AM · LINK

From the E-Mailbag...

Got a lot of messages about that Dean Martin clip. Here's one from Phil De Croocq...

I was fortunate enough to see what was the second-to-last show on that Frank, Dean and Sammy tour. It was at The Chicago Theatre on State St. here in Chicago, as was the final show for the three of them. It was almost 20 years ago, of course. But I do remember how good they all sounded and performed, especially Sammy. He opened the show and did a set. Then Dean came out and did a set. There was an intermission, then Frank came out and did a set. Then they all performed together. It was a fantastic show.

After watching that clip a few times, this wasn't the Dean Martin I saw that night. And that isn't The Chicago Theatre. In fact, there was no type of video production or cameras set up at that show.

I believe they used the story that Dean came down with some sort of kidney trouble and couldn't continue with the tour. And he must have made a miraculous recovery, as he performed at Bally's in Vegas a couple months later. Dean continued to perform at Bally's in Vegas and Atlantic City for awhile after leaving the Rat Pack Reunion tour. I'm guessing this clip was from one of those Vegas or AC shows.

Here's an interesting sidenote: That same week, Tom Dreesen did a series of pilots for a late-night talk show here at WLS, the ABC network o/o station here in Chicago. I don't know if they were for ABC or syndication, and I don't know if they were seen outside of the Chicago market. His guests for the first show were to be Frank, Dean and Sammy.

The tour busted-out Sunday night. Dreesen's first show was taping on Monday. Dean was already back in California, and Frank and Sammy canceled "out of concern" for their ill friend Dean. So the guests that first night were Altovise (Mrs. Sammy) Davis and Barbara (Mrs. Frank) Sinatra. Not exactly the kind of show that turns a pilot into a series. But the Dreesen show was still better than the Jerry Lewis/Charlie Callas talkshow failure. I have a pretty wacky Charlie Callas story if I ever see his name pop-up on your weblog.

Yeah, the clip couldn't have been from the Frank/Dino/Sammy tour and been Dean's last public performance since he did play at least one later stay at Bally's in Vegas. It doesn't look like it's from Bally's. So does anyone have any firmer idea of where it is from?

I hadn't heard about that Dreesen pilot but I'm sorry to hear that. Tom's a good guy and he actually would have hosted (and still could host) a pretty good talk show. Many moons ago, I wrote a sitcom pilot that was to star Tom. It was a deal he got as a kind of consolation prize when he was fired from the pilot of Hello, Larry. (Ron Liebman was fired before him. Tom replaced Ron and then McLean Stevenson replaced Tom.) Of all the projects I've done that never went the distance, I think the Tom Dreesen pilot is the one that disappointed me the most. It was a great idea for a show — mostly Tom's idea, by the way — and he would have been terrific in it.

(To give you an idea of what a great, smart guy Tom is: We had a recurring role in it that called for a crotchety old man. Tom suggested a fellow some of you may remember named Leonard Barr — a stand-up comic who, getting back on topic, was Dean Martin's uncle. Leonard is, like Irv Benson, kind of forgotten, even on the Internet. But he was very funny and when a network guy said to Tom, "You know, he'll steal the show from you," Tom replied, "Fine. I don't care who gets the laughs so long as it's a good show." I've worked with comedians who would slit a major artery before they'd say something like that.)

Anyway, that show never made it to tape day due to a contract snag that had nothing to do with Tom or me. Since Hello, Larry was also a dud, it's sad to hear Tom had three pilot fiascos. He deserves better luck than that.

And hey, what has happened to Charlie Callas? Last time I saw him perform anywhere, I think, he was on a short-lived sitcom that no one saw. I only saw it because I was dating a lady who was on it...and that was twenty years ago. He seems to have had a few small parts in a few things since then but a guy who's that funny oughta be around more. His website doesn't seem to have been updated for a long time and I think he's even missed the last few Jerry Lewis Telethons. Hope he's okay. Any Charlie Callas info or anecdotes will be most welcome on this site.

• Posted at 9:39 AM · LINK

May 23, 2007 • Current • May 25, 2007