Yesterday, Hugh Hefner posted the following Tweet on Twitter…
I'm playing gin rummy with the guys tonight, but first I'm going to have some soup, cheese and crackers. Tasty.
Hef…please. You were supposed to be the guy who lived the life my Uncle Nathan couldn't.
Sorry to hear of the passing of Van Snowden, one of Hollywood's leading puppeteers. The last 30 or 40 years, if you saw a puppet on your TV and it wasn't from the Henson bloodline, there was a very good chance some part of Van Snowden was inside that puppet or manipulating it. He did a lot of the puppetry on Pee Wee's Playhouse and he worked The Crypt-Keeper on Tales from the Crypt and he handled an awful lot of puppets — many of which you couldn't tell were puppets — in horror movies — rats, lizards, odd creatures, etc. But his main gig, and it was a long one, was with my frequent employers, Sid and Marty Krofft. When they needed puppeteers, which was often, Van was the first guy they called. Here he is playing H.R. Pufnstuf in one of their shows…
I want to emphasize that that is definitely Van in the Pufnstuf outfit. He wasn't the only person who played H.R., though he did it more than anyone else and it was probably him at least 90% of the time after around 1975. But others occasionally filled the suit and it sometimes made Van uncomfy when he was asked, as he often was, to autograph a Pufnstuf photo that wasn't him. Because of that, I dug out my DVD of one of the shows we worked on and I pulled a frame grab. I know that was Van because I saw him get into the costume.
He did not do the voice of Pufnstuf (Lennie Weinrib did) and I'm not sure Van ever did the voice of any of the hundreds of characters he brought to life, either by wearing costumes or working controls. He was a very shy, quiet man. One time over lunch on a show we were doing, he mused aloud that it might be fun to play a small part without a face-hiding get-up. He had family members who knew he worked extensively in TV and movies in front of the camera but they'd never actually seen him…so we gave him a role. He did his best with it but he just felt he was doing something he shouldn't be doing so he asked us to recast…and of course, we did. The odd part of it was that he was so introverted as himself and, once you put a full-body costume on him, utterly extroverted. He could dance and emote and do cartwheels as Pufnstuf but not as Van. It was like on a stage, he could bring anything to life except himself. He was just brilliant at it, which is why he was so respected by other puppeteers and why producers who needed puppeteers always tried to hire him.
Van was born in 1939 in San Francisco and he grew up on a farm in Branson, MO. He died September 22 from cancer at the age of 71. He was one of the best.
As you might guess, I get a lot of press releases here from folks seeking publicity on this blog and often offering me interviews. I received this one this morning and I have not changed a word of it, nor corrected the spelling…
Rabbi Remembers Tony Curtis
Hollywood icon, Tony Curtis, who died at the age of 85, successfully weathered a series of career downturns and artistic reinventions, and will be remembered as one of the movie industry's most recognizable leading men, but for his rabbi, Chabad Rabbi Mendy Harlig of Las Vagas, Tony is remembered as "a wonderful person and a great friend, who was always eager to do a mitzvah when asked."
Rabbi Harlig is available for interviews about Tony Curtis and their relationship.
And then they included the rabbi's phone number. I think this is wonderful.
Kliph Nesteroff has a good interview up with comedian Norm Crosby. I've seen Crosby perform live a few times and he's very, very good at making audiences laugh…and he's one of the few guys from his era who's still working.
Mr. Crosby mentions Jack Carter and says Jack's not well and is having trouble walking. I don't know if Crosby knows it but a year or two ago, Carter was struck by a car in a parking lot. He's still doing occasional acting jobs but they have to limit his movement in those situations.
He also mentions an old pal of mine…the late, great comedy writer David Panich. David was one of the most colorful folks I've met in the TV business. Some day here, I'll get started telling David Panich stories and though they'll all be true, you'll all accuse me of making stuff up.
Anyway, go read Kliph's chat with Norm Crosby. And notice the part about how a completely bogus "fact" about him was up on Wikipedia. As of this moment, it's still there.
All the cable news channels are making a big fuss about this commercial Christine O'Donnell made in which she says, "I'm not a witch!"
I don't think Ms. O'Donnell understands. Someone needs to tell her, "Christine…people don't think you're a witch. They think you're so scatterbrained you thought you were a witch!" Big difference there.
Al Lohman and Roger Barkley were the dominant comedy team on Los Angeles radio for many years. I was a fan of the guys (and wrote briefly for them) and I discussed them here.
As I mentioned there, they tried all sorts of ventures into television. None of them clicked…not even a brilliant (I use that term purposefully) late night comedy show they did for certain NBC stations around 1974. It was more or less replaced by Saturday Night Live. It seems to have disappeared from this planet and isn't even listed in most databases of TV programming. The only remnant I've found is one YouTube excerpt that isn't a particuarly good demonstration of the series. I recall it trying all sorts of bizarre stunts and storylines, some of which worked and some of which didn't…but even the failures were interesting. If anyone knows where whole episodes can be found, I'll be your B.F.F.
One of their many short-lived TV efforts was the game show, Lohman and Barkley's Namedroppers, which ran on NBC daytime from September of '69 until early '70. Here's how it worked. Each week, they'd have three celebrities and 20 contestants. Two games were played per show. In each, a person would be introduced who had some relationship (usually not familial) to one of the celebrities. This person was the "Namedropper." Each celebrity would tell a story of how the Namedropper was related to them. The 20 contestants would vote on which tale they believed and two of those contestants would also play for lovely prizes. Whichever contestants were right would get money and the two playing for prizes could also win the prizes. Whatever the contestants didn't win went to the Namedropper.
This rare video excerpt shows you how it worked. Lohman is the fellow with the light hair who's talking to the contestants. Barkley is the one with the dark hair talking to the celebrities. The format didn't give them much chance to be funny…as you'll see…
As you may have deduced from the lack of postings here, Mark is busy. Not Mushroom Soup busy but close. Normal posting will resume shortly.
If I had more time today, I'd write an even longer rant than the one on which I am about to embark. It's about "contests" that try to con aspiring (or just hungry) artists and writers into working on spec. You know the type: They act like the prize is some wonderful opportunity to have your work published or produced. It's your golden opportunity to submit your writing and/or drawing on the most onerous terms possible.
Sometimes, they want you to use their characters…and of course, that means they'll claim ownership of your submission and prevent you from selling it anywhere else. Sometimes, they want you to invent your own characters…and of course, if they even pay you a nickel, they'll claim all rights in perpetuity to those characters. Basically, it's a one-way deal: If they accept it, they'll pay you whatever they feel like paying you. That's not always obvious if you read the terms because, for example, one current "contest" promises to pay you 40%. Well, 40% of what? A percentage deal is meaningless unless there's a fairly explicit contract that specifies whether it's a percentage of the gross or of the net and how they'll calculate those numbers.
Amazingly, people enter these "contests." And even more amazing is that in some cases, they cough up a fee to enter them. That's like paying someone to rob you.
I cannot overstate how slimy I think these rackets are…and how bad they are for the careers of anyone stupid enough to participate. You may think you have so much talent that it will surely be recognized and you'll reap whatever rewards are there for the reaping. You may even think that it won't matter to you if the rewards are small because any success is better than what you have at the moment. The problem with that way of thinking is that, first of all, you're probably climbing into bed with sleazy entrepreneurs who don't like to actually pay for what you do. That never ends well for creative talent. Secondly, you're entering at the lowest-possible level. If you want people to treat you like a professional whose work is worthy of professional rates, you have to act like one.
There's a thriving industry out there that preys on the dreams of folks who want to be writers, artists or even actors. You wouldn't believe some of the come-ons I see around Hollywood that say, more or less, "Give us money and we'll get you the lead in Scorsese's next picture." That's not how it ever works. Writers who can't get anyone to publish their work are often tempted by vanity presses that promise the following: You pay them to print your book and they'll do promotion and marketing of it (translation: you'll do promotion and marketing of it) and its natural wonderment will propel you onto the best-seller lists and a house next door to Stephen King's. Never works that way, either.
Lately, in comics and animation, it seems to go like this: Someone says, "Hey, we need to hire artists for all these projects we hope to sell." Someone else at the company (or maybe the same someone) says, "Why pay? Do you know how many kids there are out there desperate to get into this line of work? Let's just do a contest and get them all to do work and submit to us. We may even be able to get those saps to pay for the privilege."
Generally speaking, they're not asking you to audition for a project that's definitely going forward. Often, you're auditioning for something they may do if they find the financing that they obviously don't have yet or they'd just go out and hire artists the usual way. You're not only gambling they'll like your work but that their business plans will succeed. Then if they do succeed and if your free work has helped make that happen, how likely do you think it is that they're going to pay you well? If you demand what you deserve, they'll probably just start another "contest" and look for someone else who's hungry enough to work for free.
Please…I know the economy's bad. I know doors are getting slammed in your face and there's a temptation to try anything that might change the arc of your career. Not everything changes things for the better and if you treat your work like it is without value, that's how others will treat it. And perhaps they should.
George Gene Gustines profiles the legendary Jerry Robinson. I'm really enjoying the new book about Jerry, Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics by Christopher Couch. Give yourself a great present and order a copy of it here.
A great comedian, Sir Norman Wisdom, has died at the age of 95. I first became aware of him, as did a lot of folks I'm sure, when he starred in (and stole) the 1968 American movie, The Night They Raided Minsky's. That led to seeing him in many of his British films and TV appearances and he was always funny…always the guy you dared not take your eyes off. I wish more of his work was available here…
A couple of folks wrote to say they thought I should have been nicer or more respectful to Tony Curtis on this blog. I thought I was plenty respectful. I was just never as impressed with him as an actor as I was with him playing the role of movie star…and yes, I saw Sweet Smell of Success and Some Like It Hot. I also saw Houdini and The Great Race and The Defiant Ones and all or most of the rest. I think The Boston Strangler was his best performance…and not coincidentally, it was the film in which he was least like Tony Curtis.
Leonard Maltin shares a nice story about him on his blog and Esquire offers two must-reads. Cal Fussman has some great Tony Curtis quotes and Tom Junod recalls what it was like to profile Curtis.
Did you pay taxes last year? If so, you might like an itemized receipt of exactly where your tax dollars went.
Gilbert Gottfried just posted on Facebook…
Good news! Greg Giraldo's loved ones are clearing out his apartment. They'll be sending me a set of towels with the initials "GG"!!!!
But no, it's not too soon. And if Gottfried had been the one to suffer the untimely death, Greg Giraldo would have had that joke up by now.
Number eight in a series…
Jon Stewart doesn't go back onto The Daily Show until tomorrow but he's already doing jokes about Rick Sanchez. My guess is that we'll see Sanchez as a guest on that show as soon as it can be scheduled. At least if I were him, I'd go on and do a big and sincere apology. That career could be saved.
And Stewart is preparing for his big Rally to Restore Sanity on the National Mall on October 30. I have the feeling this thing's going to get a much bigger turnout than anyone expects.
If you know someone who's convinced Obama is a Socialist…and if that person really means it and isn't just hurling any insult they can think of…send them this article by Kenneth Silber. For a Socialist, Obama sure seems uninterested in the government controlling the means of production.