Most of the presidential hopefuls are including in their campaign swings, a visit to the Google headquarters in Northern California. I've linked to videos of some of these appearances and will try to get around to linking to all of them because I find them generally more honest and candid than what you see when the same folks are on CNN, Fox News or MSNBC. Here's an article about them.
I feel a little better about the probable length of my long-range Jack Kirby bio now that I've received R.C. Harvey's new book on the life of Milton Caniff. A full-scale biography of the great comic strip writer-artist was long overdue (so is my Kirby book) and I can't imagine anyone doing a better, more thorough job than Bob Harvey did on Caniff. It runs 800 pages and even the official title is long. For the record, it's Meanwhile...: A Biography of Milton Caniff, Creator of Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon.
Is it too long? Maybe the title is but the book sure isn't. Caniff's incredible career demanded that kind of detail, and I found myself wishing Harvey had written more, not less, about some aspects of the man's life. Of particular interest is how Bob nails down the life of a working strip artist — the relentless schedule, the dealings with editors and syndicates, etc. One forgets that Caniff's achievement was not merely in producing serialized graphic novels of great excellence for so many decades. Just sitting at the board and doing that would have been impressive enough but Milton Caniff also had to be a spokesperson for his strips and profession, and deal with so many aspects of the business. The portrait of the gentleman himself — as smart and determined as any of his heroes — is fascinating and, from what I can tell, quite accurate.
Do I have quibbles? Little ones, not enough to tarnish this enthusiastic recommendation. The main one is probably that next time I see Bob, which I hope will be at the looming Comic-Con International, I want to discuss his view of Al Capp's troubles and scandals in the sixties and seventies. But that's minor and the important thing is that he seems to get Milton Caniff exactly right. Click here and order a copy.
Every year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce selects an average of twenty famous show biz people (or groups) to have their names embedded in the Walk of Fame. As you stroll up and down Hollywood Boulevard and many of the intersecting avenues in that area, you can see the various past selections. And if you go to Hollywood on the day they're unveiling a new star, you can often see the recipient in person, down on his knees with Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of the area.
The selection process makes it seem like a little less of an honor. You have to be nominated for it...and in most cases, people are nominated by their agents or publicists or producers. People have been known to nominate themselves. Two or three stars per year are awarded posthumously but for the most part, you have to agree to be there for the unveiling ceremony, and also to bring along a few other well-known folks to lend their glamour to the event. (A number of stars who oughta have their names in the concrete — like David Letterman — don't because they've never indicated a willingness to show up for any ceremony or have made it clear that they wouldn't.)
You also have to pay for it. Or if you don't, somebody has to pay for it. In most cases, the fee (currently $25,000) is paid for by someone doing business with the celebrity. For example, you're starring in a new movie that's coming out next June. The studio publicists decide that it wouldn't hurt the film if you were to receive a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame next June. So they coordinate with your fan club (or set one up if you don't have one) and they throw the clout of the studio behind your nomination and promise the presence of other celebs. The 25 Grand comes out of the film's promotional budget.
But you know what? Even if you're aware of all the machinations involved, it's still an honor. They've just announced the names that tourists will be walking on soon...the stars that will be installed and unveiled over the next twelve months...
In the category of Motion Pictures, they'll be honoring Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett, Stan Lee, The Munchkins, Tim Robbins and The Westmores of Hollywood.
Under the classification of Television, we have Bill Geist, Kate Linder, Howie Mandel, Sherwood Schwartz, Vince McMahon, Susan St. James, and a posthumous recognition of Brian Keith.
In the Recording Artist group, stars will go to Christina Aguilera, Brooks and Dunn, Ricky Martin, Red Hot Chili Peppers and, posthumously, George Harrison. (You'd think George Harrison would already have one but he doesn't, probably because he wouldn't agree to be there. Neither do Paul or Ringo, probably for the same reason. There's a star for John Lennon but I'm guessing that was awarded after he died. There's a five year waiting period for posthumous stars so this was probably the first opportunity to give one to Harrison.)
Lastly, in the category of Live Theater/Live Performance, there's one star being awarded and it goes to Stephen Schwartz. It's kind of interesting that —
Wait a minute! Scroll up a second and see if I just typed what I think I typed. Stan Lee? Stan Lee's getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? All right! Congrats, Stan! They haven't announced dates for any of these unveilings yet but I'm going to try to make it to Stan's event. The only other one of these I ever attended was the one for June Foray.
And I may try to make it to the ceremony when they honor The Munchkins. Meinhardt Raabe is scheduled to attend. He's the gent who played the Coroner of Munchkin City, and I imagine they'll have other surviving Munchkins in attendance, such as Jerry Maren. It is kind of a Yellow Brick Road up there on Hollywood Boulevard these days. That is, if you ignore the derelicts and drug dealers. Wonder if they're going to make all those Munchkins get down on their knees for the unveiling. They're already pretty close to the ground.
I have a mess of negatives and slides I want to turn into JPG files. Flying back from Pittsburgh recently, I was flipping through the SkyMall catalog and I saw this thing advertised. It's a Digital Picture Converter from Hammacher Schlemmer. I thought I'd ask if anyone reading this has ever tried one of these...or anything else they thought worked well. I don't need editing software. I just need to turn slides and negatives into digital images. Any recommendations?
Here's the world's best ventriloquist, Paul Winchell, selling new Blue Cheer detergent with the help of his mahogany friend, Jerry Mahoney.
There's always been something so comforting for me about watching Paul Winchell. He was my first favorite TV star and I suppose that's reason enough to be fond of the guy. But what he did, he did so well. The actual man, who I got to know (and even direct) late in his life always made me a little nervous, partly because he was...well, let's just say "troubled." But also, he was Paul Winchell, my childhood fave. You don't want anything to spoil that.
I wouldn't expect anyone else to get the warm fuzzies watching a detergent commercial. But like I said, there's always been something so comforting to me about watching the man work. He was just so good...
July 22, 2007
