I promised a couple of folks I'd let them know when the Five Guys hamburger place opened out in Thousand Oaks. Well, it's opened. It's at 487 N. Moorpark Dr., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 and I'm trying to think of a good excuse to make a trip to Thousand Oaks. Maybe just to get a burger...
My first thought this morning upon hearing of the death of author Harvey Pekar was that it's too bad he won't be around to write the comic book about the death of author Harvey Pekar. Harvey was a fascinating guy who wrote fascinating comic books about himself. Here's an obit straight from his home town of Cleveland. In a sense, Cleveland was the supporting character in most of his stories. Harvey, of course, was the star.
I had but one encounter with Harvey Pekar in my life. It was not pleasant but in a way, it was also refreshing because it proved that the crankiness we all saw in his comics, and in appearances like those he made for a time with David Letterman, was not an act. It was just the way the guy was.
It was around 12:45 one afternoon at a comic book convention in Chicago. There was one room in which panels and talks took place and one was in progress. I was waiting in the back of the hall to moderate or maybe just be on the one that would begin at 1:00 and then Harvey was to take stage at 2. At least, that was the schedule. Quarter to one, Harvey showed up and announced — loudly, distracting all who were trying to hear the speakers — that he was ready and he didn't see why he had to wait around 'til 2:00. He wanted just to give his talk and split; never mind that the folks who wanted to hear him wouldn't converge on the room until later. He was also upset because though there was a fine, snack-laden table of refreshments for the guests, there were no donuts on it. It seemed utterly illogical to him that you could put out cookies, crackers, finger sandwiches, veggies, pretzels, chips and nuts...and not have any donuts.
Somehow, we got into an argument which all went in one direction: Harvey Pekar versus The World. Coming from anyone else, it would have been the rantings of a rude, self-obsessed guy who couldn't grasp that everything in life doesn't work the way you want it to work, just because you want it to work that way. Coming from Harvey, it was oddly reassuring and utterly forgiveable. That was just the way he was and he wasn't going to change...so you could be repulsed by it or you could relax and enjoy it. Most readers, I think, confronted his writing with those choices and opted to enjoy.
I'll bet his work remains in print for a long time. And its standout weakness will be that, like I said, he never got to write that last installment.
I'm amazed this still exists, let alone that it's up on YouTube. In January 20, 1961 (the same day John F. Kennedy was inaugurated), CBS debuted a new prime-time game show hosted by Jackie Gleason. It was called You're in the Picture. One episode had been taped beforehand to "warm up" but the one shown that night was done live despite a huge blizzard which blanketed New York. One of the scheduled panelists, Keenan Wynn, didn't show that evening and was replaced just before airtime by Pat Harrington, Jr. There seems to be some debate as to whether the blizzard kept Mr. Wynn away or if he smelled what was about to happen. Here is the full first (and only) episode that was broadcast of You're in the Picture...
The morning after it aired, critics hated the show...but not nearly as much as Gleason hated it. Though originally hired just to be the host, he seized control of the program, assembling meetings and calling in experts and show doctors to figure out what to do. One of those called in was producer Allan Sherman, a year before he recorded My Son, the Folk Singer, which would quickly become one of the fastest-selling records in history. Sherman's main contribution was apparently to convince Gleason that the basic premise of the show was unfixable. However he decided it, Mr. Gleason told CBS he would not be doing that format again, no matter what. So the following Friday evening, the time slot was taken up by a half-hour of Jackie Gleason apologizing for the first episode. He just sat in a chair and trashed what they'd done the week before. Here's about nine minutes of that broadcast...
This time, the critics were delighted, praising Mr. Gleason for his uncommon honesty and humility. Thereafter, he filled the time slot with a half hour of conversation called The Jackie Gleason Show — basically just him interviewing one of his show biz buddies. Eventually, CBS found some other program to air on Friday nights at 9:30 and the last of the talk shows aired on March 24. The episode of You're in the Picture that had been taped earlier next aired. One of the panelists on that one was apparently Johnny Carson.
The apology was a nice piece of damage control for Jackie Gleason. His popularity soared after it and in September of '62, he returned to CBS Television with a new version of his old variety show. It was a hit and a nice rebound from one of television's most celebrated favorites.
July 11, 2010
