Good to hear that Stacy Keach is well enough to return to his Nixonian starring role in the national touring company of Frost/Nixon. The actor has a series of minor strokes recently and missed a number of performances, but will soon be back on stage, lying and undermining democracy.
I've been telling you here for some time that Zogby Polls were spectacularly inaccurate and not to be believed. Nate Silver reviews Zogby's recent track record and proves the point.
I was recently voted into a rather elite group — a club of comedians and comedy writers, mostly veterans in their field, called Yarmy's Army. Founded by the late Don Adams in honor of his brother, Dick Yarmy (Don's real name was Don Yarmy), Yarmy's Army is a place where folks in the business of funny sit around and tell stories and provide general support for one another and select charities. One of its distinguished members is the guest this Wednesday on Stu's Show, the show biz interview program hosted by Stu Shostak on his very own web-based station, Shokus Internet Radio.
He's Jack Riley, a very talented gent. You have to be talented to steal The Bob Newhart Show from Bob Newhart.
My old comrade Lorenzo Music was one of the creators of the show and I asked him once if they conjured up the role of Elliott Carlin and then cast Riley to fill it...or if they looked at Riley, realized how funny he could be playing self-obsessed, paranoid and belligerent, and concocted Carlin to make use of all that. "A little of each," was Lorenzo's reply. I thought Riley was the funniest thing on what would even have been a funny show without him. But then Jack's funny everywhere...on cartoon shows like Rugrats, in movies (including most Mel Brooks films) and on many, many other TV programs, including Mr. Leno's.
Stu's interviewing him tomorrow. I think this is going to be such a good show that I've decided to tag along and be in the studio for the live telecast. Listen to it. Call in if you get a chance. I guarantee you a fine time.
Now, very important: This is not a podcast. You can't download it and listen to it whenever you want. You have to "tune in" when it's on...which in this case is from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM to 9 PM Eastern. Stu's Show is done live on Wednesday and that's the best time to listen because, among other reasons, you can call in and ask questions. You can hear the show on your own computer by going to the website of Shokus Internet Radio at the appointed hour and clicking where you're told to click. The show reruns on other days, usually in the same time slot. Check out the site for a full schedule...and while you're there, take note of some of the other fine, free programming.
So here's where we are with the mystery of Lionel Ziprin, who claimed to have written war comics for Dell Comics in the late forties and fifties that sold in the millions and paid him $10 a page.
A few of you wrote in to suggest Mr. Ziprin was talking about Dell Comics of the World War II years like USA is Ready (1941), War Comics (1940), War Heroes (1942), War Ships (1942) and War Stories (1942). I don't think these are what he was talking about. They didn't come out in the late forties and the fifties, they didn't cover all different wars, they didn't sell in the millions and they certainly didn't pay $10 a page for scripts. Also, Ziprin said he wrote movie adaptations, and Dell published very few movie adaptations until the mid-fifties.
A lot of you wrote in to suggest he wrote Dell Comics of the mid-sixties like Air War Stories (1964), Combat (1961), Guerilla War (1965), Jungle War Stories (1962) and World War Stories (1965). Again, these books don't fit the timeline, they didn't sell anywhere near "millions" and they didn't pay $10 a page for script. They were also, according to most sources including Paul S. Newman, largely written by Paul S. Newman. There weren't all that many published, either. On the other hand, Dell in that same period did do a lot of movie adaptations...and did employ some writers who have never been identified.
So if Ziprin said he wrote for Dell "through the late forties and into the fifties," might he have meant 1961-1965? Possible. One of the challenges one faces when one tries to dope all this stuff out is that people err, people exaggerate...and sometimes, they just plain lie. It would not be at all unprecedented if Mr. Ziprin inflated the amount of money he was paid, though it would be a little odd, given that he was simultaneously complaining about having to sign away his rights to the work and not receive credit. Usually if you're bitching about how poorly you were treated in a job, you understate the pay. (Dell in the sixties probably paid everyone around $5 a page for script...or less. For a time, Don Segall was their star writer and he got $5 a page.)
It would also not shock me if he or anyone overestimated sales...in this case, by at least 400%. The date error seems less likely to me...but then again, we don't have a direct quote from Ziprin that the work in question was done in the "late forties and into the fifties." Someone else wrote that and maybe that person got it wrong. I'm correcting stuff like that all the time in obits about comic book people.
So that's as far as I can take it, I think. The only other "lead" would be for someone to call Sam Glanzman, who drew many of those war comics for Dell in the 1961-1965 period and see if the name "Lionel Ziprin" triggers any recollection. Anyone in touch with Sam these days?
As you may recall, I feed a bevy of feral cats at my back door plus the occasional possum. I did have raccoons for a while but I decided it was better that they not be around so I've been bringing in the cat food when there's no feline around to dine on it, and when I see a raccoon, I chase it off.
About twenty minutes ago, I spotted two raccoons out there and went to shoo them away. They refused to be shooed very far. They'd flee into the next yard and the minute I went back into the house, they'd be back to sniff around mine, looking for stray chow. At one point, I grabbed up a flashlight and a camera and went out to scare them off. They refused to be scared...not by me, not by the camera flash. The picture above was taken from about three feet away from one, a moment before I stomped my feet and he (she?) scurried off.
As soon as I was back in the house, he (she?) and his (her?) twin brother (sister?) were back in the yard. I scared them off again. They came back again. And again and again. Finally, I think they got the hint...but now I'm back in my office and for all I know, they're out there now waiting for a pizza they ordered from Papa John's.
The other day, I posted a nice video link here of Terry Jones, he of Monty Python fame. Kim "Howard" Johnson, the world's foremost Python authority, informs me that Mr. Jones is making a rare (so rare he's never done it before) appearance in Chicago on May 9, hosting a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It's at the Lakeshore Theater and if you click over there right now, you may be able to score some tix before they sell out. Mr. Johnson will be interviewing Mr. Jones after the film...and if I could be there, I would be. Hope someone records their chat.
March 25, 2009
