Category Archives: Uncategorized

One of the great things about the Internet is that it brings people together. For years, I was aware of a fine TV writer named Mark Rothman. He worked on a number of successful shows, including The Odd Couple, Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. Once in a while, someone even got us confused because, as we all know, all comedy writers named Mark might as well be the same person. We had many mutual friends but we'd never met.

We met over the Internet…and earlier this year when he started a blog, I recommended you visit it. He's a funny guy and he tells a good story. Many of you have written to thank me for sending you his way.

This afternoon, we finally met in person…over lunch at Nate 'n Al's deli in Beverly Hills. This is more or less the natural habitat of two Jewish comedy writers. He had the chicken liver plate and he squished his carrots into the mashed potatoes. I had a half a corned beef sandwich on rye and a cup of chicken noodle soup, and then I got a "to go" order which I took to my mother. I figured you'd all want this information.

We swapped stories and discovered that we knew even more of the same people than we'd previously thought. I had a great time and it reminded me to mention the following here: If you aren't going to Mark Rothman's blog, you're missing a lot of great show biz anecdotes and observations.

Conan O'Brien (who I think cut me off the other day on Barham Boulevard) is prepping to take over The Tonight Show with Jay Leno shifting to a 10 PM show. Lynn Hirschberg takes a look at how Conan's getting ready.

Last night, I had the sad chore of putting up an obit for my pal Vince Davis, who among his many other credits was the producer for several seasons of Garfield and Friends. I couldn't find a photo of Vince but Norman Quebedeau, who was one of the many fine artists who worked on that show, sent me this one that he took in the office. That's the Vince Davis some of us remember…and will never forget. Thanks, Norm.

Those "I'm a MAC, I'm a PC" ads with Justin Long and John Hodgman are often very clever. I don't know if they ever sell any MACs but they're very clever. Right this moment, there's one on the home page of Salon that is quite entertaining.

I never know how to phrase what I'm thinking now about my pal Vince Davis, who passed away on May 6 due to kidney failure. I'm sorry to lose Vince, who was a great guy and a great cartoonist. I'm not sorry that he's out of pain. The last few years, his life had only been about fighting to stay alive, checking in and out of hospitals, wasting away physically and emotionally. I'm told his wicked sense of humor remained intact until a few months before the end, when even that part of him failed. After that, there was no real reason for him to stick around.

Vince was one of those quiet talents, working in animation and on the occasional comic book project, never calling attention to himself, sometimes not even signing his work. He did some wonderful work for Bill Spicer's Graphic Story Magazine in the late sixties. In the early seventies, he was in a few underground comics. Mostly, he worked in animation, working his way up from layout and design to directing and producing.

He produced the last few seasons of Garfield and Friends, which was the first time we worked together after several decades of friendship. He was very good at his job, though he had one failing. He was a soft touch (usually) when he was approached by someone desperate for work…someone he knew needed a job but maybe wasn't up to the demands of the assignment. So he'd hire them anyway and when they handed in something unusable, he'd just redo it himself, even though it added many long, uncompensated hours to his work week. (Vince, I should mention, was not related to Garfield creator Jim Davis. This did not stop someone on an animation website from claiming he got his job through nepotism. No…he got it because he was good.)

I could write a lot more about Vince but there's no way I can top what animator Mark Kausler wrote about his and my pal. Go there. Read a lovely tribute to a lovely guy.

I must have a dozen photos of Vince in my files but I can find none of them tonight. Instead, I decided to illustrate this with a panel from "Comic Book Fans," a three-page comic book story Vince created around 1972. It was a harsh but loving slam at those of us who wallow in funnybooks…written and drawn by an admitted wallower. That's Vince in the above scene, annoying Bill Spicer. The story struck a note with fans of the day and it was reprinted in several magazines and issued as a huge poster that was literally wider than Vince was tall. I just read it again and it made me smile, partly because it reminded me of myself but mostly because it reminded me of Vince.

Several of you inform me that the unintelligible word in the song "Caldonia" is "mop." This, of course, raises a new question, which Randy Skretvedt already addressed in an e-mail to me…

That's the word, clearly audible in both the Louis Jordan and Woody Herman recordings. Just why they say "mop," that's a question for the ages. Probably for the same reason that dissonant post-war jazz (ugh!) was called "bop" and contemporary music is called "hip-hop." Not to forget the Ames Brothers' hit "Rag Mop," and a Louis Armstrong number of the late '40s called "Mop Mop."

Enough with Mop, Bop, and Hip-Hop; I'll stop with this slop before I pop. Or before you call a cop.

Okay…Randy isn't sure. Anyone else have an idea?

The other day (in this post), I said that whoever sent me the largest tip could name a topic and I'd write something here on that subject. I got a lot of nice small-to-medium gratuities from you folks — thank you kindly — and one huge one from a gent who seemed to have earned the right to tell me what to write about. So I contacted him and asked…and his request was that I write something here about what a great president George W. Bush was, how the Iraq War was a stroke of genius, how the nation is so much better off because of Bush 'n' Cheney. Based on past e-mails this gent has sent me, I came to the conclusion he wasn't kidding.

I took it as a challenge. I decided to write a little piece about the positive accomplishments of the Bush administration and all the great things that will surely come out of our invasion of Iraq…and you have to believe me that I tried. I don't hate those guys but I think they did a really, really bad job of doing everything except enriching the upper class at the expense of everyone and everything. I've been trying for two days now and I've spent way too much time on it and, well…

I just sent the guy his money back. That amazes me as much as it's probably amazing you at this moment. I really thought I could be bought and I'm amazed to find out otherwise.

So the "contest" is open again with the following rule change: The top donor can name a topic for me to write about but it can't be about the wonderfulness of George W. Bush or anyone like him. If you'd still like to send me a tip via PayPal, you can do so via this link. If you don't get to name a topic, you'll at least get the warm glow of knowing you helped me buy weird stuff off eBay.

Today on Stu's Show, Stu's got a good one! His guests are Keith Scott and June Foray. Keith is one of the top vocal performers in Australia, heard everywhere as an announcer, narrator and as the voice of many top cartoon characters. He's also a fine historian of animation voicing and on the Jay Ward studio. And as if all weren't enough, he's also taken over as the voice of Bullwinkle J. Moose, carrying on the role created by the late, great Bill (no relation) Scott.

And June Foray is…well, June Foray. She's Rocky the Flying Squirrel. She's Natasha Fatale. She's Granny, the owner of Tweety. She's the first lady of cartoon voicing, a true living legend of the art form.

Stu Shostak will have these two gifted folks in his studio today from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific time. If you live on the East Coast, it's 7 PM to 9 PM, and if you live somewhere else, you should be able to figure it out from that. You can listen live. You can even phone in. The show repeats for the next week in the same time slot but it's more fun if you listen live, which you can do by going to the website of Shokus Internet Radio at the appointed hour. Don't miss this one.

We're sorry to report the passing of Wayne Allwine, a charming gent who among his other achievements had been the voice of Mickey Mouse since 1977. He died yesterday at the age of 62 due to complications relating to diabetes.

The lineage of The Mouse is as follows: Walt Disney was, of course, the first voice of his studio's superstar. In the forties, when Walt got busy (and hoarse from cigarettes), he began handing off some of the voice chores to one of his sound effects editors, Jimmy MacDonald. The last known time Walt spoke for Mickey was for the lead-ins and animated wraparounds done for The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955. By then, MacDonald was doing it on most occasions, though once in a while, someone else would tackle the role. Stan Freberg, for instance, played Mickey on a 1955 children's record. And Hal Smith sometimes did some of the lower-profile appearances.

In the seventies as he neared retirement, MacDonald began training Allwine, who was a fellow sound effects editor at Disney, breaking him in on the mouse beat. By '83, Wayne was well enough established in the role that he and not MacDonald handled it for the character's big "comeback" film, Mickey's Christmas Carol…and he's done it ever since.

Wayne was married to voice actress Russi Taylor, who among many other credits has been the voice of Minnie Mouse for some time. They were both named Disney Legends (an in-house Hall of Fame award) in 2008. Russi, if you read this, please know that you have the condolences of everyone in the animation community. Because everyone liked Wayne. Everyone.

I just read about a dozen articles on various sites arguing over whether "deregulation" has been a good or bad thing, if it's been responsible for economic downturns or upturns or U-turns, etc. And in not a one of those articles did anyone pause to suggest that maybe, just maybe, the removal of certain regulations is a good thing and the retention of certain regulations is a bad thing. It's like we have to have the minimum number of laws or the maximum but we aren't allowed to pick and choose.

The rapper named Dolla was fatally shot yesterday afternoon in the valet waiting area of the Beverly Center. I have to admit I'd never heard of Mr. Dolla but I've sure heard of the valet waiting area of the Beverly Center. I park there often. In fact, if I read the reports correctly, he was standing out on La Cienega when it happened, which means he was right across the street from the Souplantation I frequent, especially during Creamy Tomato Soup Month.

I'm not sure why I'm mentioning this but there's an extra little chill when something like that happens in a locale that's familiar to you. Sure, you think, "Hey, I could have been there then," but there's also this: It makes it feel like it takes place in the actual world. It seems somehow more real.

There's one In-and-Out Burger in Utah and another 230 spread over California, Nevada and Arizona. There are none in other states and many folks there envy us. In-and-Out, they hear, is the supreme fast food hamburger…a "must-do" when one vacations in any state that has one.

This article wonders aloud if a pending change at the ownership level — a different family member in charge — will ruin the "perfection" of In-and-Out. As a longtime In-and-Out customer, I would like to make the following points…

1. In-and-Out has the best "fast food" burger I've had in California but that's kinda like saying someone is the most dignified of the Three Stooges. In-and-Out wouldn't seem so good if Jack-in-the Box, Carl's Jr, Burger King and so many others weren't so lousy. It isn't so much that In-and-Out does it well but that so many of the others do it so poorly.
2. A lot of that is simply a matter of freshness. An In-and-Out hamburger is made to order and if you eat it there (or as I often do, in my car minutes after purchase), it can be quite wonderful. On the other hand, if you take it home and eat it a half hour later, it isn't much better than a McDonald's quarter-pounder that's been sitting under their little sunlamps for a while. Conversely, I've occasionally gotten a McDonald's burger that came to me right off the grill and it was pretty darn good. Half the problem with so-called "fast food" is that it isn't fast. It was assembled fifteen minutes ago from components that were prepared an hour ago.
3. On the other hand, In-and-Out french fries are too fresh. They're a little better if you ask for them "well done" but they still aren't as good as most "fast food" fries.
4. Some people object to the little Bible quotes printed on some In-and-Out wrappings. They don't bother me. I often get annoyed at general preachiness but these don't bother me. Matter of fact, I think some other chains should try quoting scriptures on their packaging…like Jack-in-the-Box, for instance. If you eat there, you'd better pray.
5. Lastly: The last few times I ate at an In-and-Out Burger, I was disappointed. It was edible but that's about it…and I'm still trying to decide if it's the food or me or just bad luck to get some less-than-stellar burgers. Since I lost all that weight and especially since I cut my sugar consumption down to around 5% of the old levels, my taste buds have changed. "Fast food" ain't as yummy as some of it used to be. But what makes me think it's not me is that when I said that here a few months ago, I got a number of e-mails from folks who hadn't changed their eating habits and felt that In-and-Out was in decline. I don't know if the chain has changed anything about the product but it wouldn't surprise me.

What I think I always liked about In-and-Out was not so much the food as the attitude — the freshness, the simplicity of the menu, the feeling of cleanliness, the absence of silly promotions, etc. That the burger was so good was a happy result of all that. I dunno what'll happen with the management of the corporation but if they stick to those principles, they should do just fine.

I didn't feel tonight's earthquake in Los Angeles. When it hit, I was with friends at the Magic Castle up in Hollywood, watching (at that moment) a very funny performer named Chipper Lowell. Mr. Lowell has the kind of act that would cause you not to notice a little distraction like an earthquake. If you get a chance to see him anywhere, go. The whole group I was hosting thought he was terrific.

What's the economic stress like in your neck o' the woods? Check out this interactive map and find out.

In case anyone's curious: Jim Brochu informs me that this morn's clip of Zero Mostel singing "If I Were a Rich Man" is from Carol Plus Two, a 1966 special which was the pilot for The Carol Burnett Show. The "two" were Mr. Mostel and Ms. Lucille Ball…and Jim oughta know as he was friends with both guest stars and has recently been playing one of them (guess which one) in a one-man show.

Also, here's a follow-up from long ago: Back in September of 2006, I was watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon and I saw (and reported here) about something that confused me. Jerry sang the song, "Even Now," in tribute to a lady named Lil Mattis who had either passed away or left his employ. He wasn't clear as to which, though I assumed the former. What really baffled me was that he said, "She wrote that" — and I knew and verified that "Even Now" was written by Marty Panzer and Barry Manilow.

I recently heard from the son of Ms. Mattis. She did indeed pass away, and he also informs me that she was a successful writer of lyrics and special musical material, and she wrote material for Jerry, among many other performers. Her work for Lewis included special lyrics for "Even Now," done with the composers' permission, to turn it into a song about helping kids the way his telethon does. I'm not sure Jerry actually sang her lyrics on the telethon that year. Several correspondents, including one who worked for Barry Manilow, wrote me that Jerry sang most of the real ones, and I don't know for sure. Nevertheless, that's the answer to my confusion over her connection to the song.

We get to the bottom of things here. Sometimes, it takes a couple of years but we get to the bottom of things.