Sorry to hear the other day of the passing of Richard Chamberlain, a classy actor who lived a long life and had a great career. Obits like this one will tell you the details of that long career. I just want to add in my (very) brief encounter with the man. It goes back to when I was eleven or twelve but already pretty certain that I was going to at least try to be a professional writer.

Some much-treasured inspiration came from a man who, with his family, lived across the street from the Evaniers for several years. His name was Dr. William Swanson and along with all his doctor duties at U.C.L.A., he was the Technical Advisor to the popular TV series, Dr. Kildare starring Richard Chamberlain. Dr. Swanson got the job — and some of Kildare's backstory was based on the good doctor's own past — because he was friends with Mr. Chamberlain.

Here's what I wrote in this post here back in 2013…

I actually learned something one day when Richard Chamberlain was visiting them and I was invited to come over and meet him. He was very nice and very soft-spoken and very encouraging. But when he was told I'd been considering different kinds of writing and had settled on television, he said, "You don't have to pick one. I don't consider myself a television actor. I'm an actor who is currently on television. I don't neglect the other things I can do and you shouldn't, either. It'll make you a better writer of anything you do if you broaden your horizons. It also means there will be more places where you can work."

That's advice I've been giving to others for about the last thirty years but I only recently realized where I got it in the first place. I got it from Richard Chamberlain.

Outtakes (aka bloopers) from The Dick Van Dyke Show. I may have linked you to this before but I can't find where I did and even if I did, this is a much better copy…

By the way: A lot of you seem pretty certain that the dancer in yesterday's video link who might have been Mary Tyler Moore was Mary Tyler Moore. I have decided not to have an opinion on this vital issue.

I'm reading pieces online now by usually-sane leftists that say maybe we should start taking that threat seriously because, you know, there are things this man has done or achieved that we thought he could never do. If Trump were to announce he was going to flap his arms and fly to Saturn, they'd say, "I know it sounds crazy but that's what we all thought when he announced he was going to run for president." Me, I think he's saying it because he's always said he can do anything — you know, like his perfect health care plan or getting Mexico to pay for The Wall — and it gives his followers a thrill to think their kind will rule America forever.

In the same breaths, he's saying he's The Most Popular President Ever with a 70% approval rating — and we know that ain't true. Here's a review of what the various pollsters are actually saying.

He's saying "there's a way" he could do an end run around The Constitution and get a third term. The only thing I can think of is that he'd run as the Vice-Presidential candidate to some placeholder candidate who would promise to resign the day after Inauguration Day. I have no idea if that would work and I don't think we'll ever know because I don't even believe he's going to finish out this term…or that if he does, even his most fanatic supporter today will be chanting "Four more years" by then. I can think of a whole lotta things I'd worry about before I'd worry about Trump Term III…and he'd be responsible for most of them.

Trump has been saying a lot of things about the auto industry that the Detroit Free Press says are just not so.

As the dearth of postings here would suggest, I've been Insanely Busy here at WonderCon but it's been a good Insanely Busy. Five panels down, two more to go today. Last night, I made it back to my room about 9:30 PM. I decided to lie down for a few minutes, then get up and write something for this here blog. The next thing I knew, it was 5:30 in the A.M. — so that should give you some idea of the sleep deficits I was racking up here the previous nights.

This has been a great con so far for me and it would be an even greater con if the Hilton could manage to have both banks of elevators operating at the same time and if there weren't workers pounding away on something — no Hilton employees to whom I spoke seemed certain — in the lobby throughout all daylight hours. But those are teensy things in light of what a good time everyone seems to be having — and by "everyone," I mean (of course) me and maybe others. Lotsa great cosplayers. A great diversity of things for sale in the exhibit hall. Many interesting people to talk to.

I always have a great time at WonderCon. Once I'm home, I'll try and write more about what's been so great about it.

I'm not sure I like appending "gate" to some noun to denote a scandal but it does seem to be the easiest way to denote something folks are concerned about. This whole mess with the group chat is discussed here on Factcheck.org and one does get the idea that a lot of lies are being told by those who want to make it go away and that the combined forces of Congressional Republicans and the Trump Justice Department are going to make it go away. Me, I'm waiting for Dogegate. And/or maybe Measlesgate.

For reasons I can't quite explain, I've always had a fondness for Jimmy Durante singing so here's a musical number from a 1956 episode of The Jimmy Durante Show with Jimmy, Peter Lawford, and Anna Maria Alberghetti. Some YouTube commenters think one of the chorus ladies is Mary Tyler Moore but I'm not convinced…

Groucho Marx hosted the original You Bet Your Life quiz show for fourteen seasons, starting on radio and moving into television. Since he stopped, there probably hasn't been a week when someone in the game show profession didn't say to someone else, "Hey, how about if we revive You Bet Your Life with…" and then they mention the name of some prominent comedian who is not and never will be Groucho Marx. Even in my very brief brushes with that kind of programming, I've heard talk of that at least a half-dozen times.

Usually, all it is is talk but they revived the show in 1980 with Buddy Hackett and in 1992 with Bill Cosby and reportedly in both cases, everyone knew the first week that it wouldn't last long. In 2021, it was revived yet again, this time with Jay Leno. His lasted longer than Hackett's or Cosby's and some reports say it might have lasted longer if not for the Writers Guild strike of 2023.

What I didn't know until recently is that in '88 between the Hackett version and the Cosby, there was a pilot done for You Bet Your Life starring Richard Dawson. I always liked Dawson on other shows but I don't think you'll have to watch much of this one to see why it didn't sell…

So let's see…The New York Times lists some of the bullshit things Elon Musk has claimed about cutting government spending.

Fact Check.org discusses the latest real stupid things Robert Kennedy Jr. is advocating about Bird Flu that stand to make a lot of people and animals sick or dead.

And as Snopes points out, Trump really did say that really noxious thing about January 6 rioters maybe deserving compensation for being unjustly arrested. He's really out to rewrite history and turn those people into heroic martyrs.

I had a great time at the opening day of WonderCon today…but then I always have a great time at WonderCons.  Lots of people to see.  Lots of stuff to buy.  Just being around so many people enjoying themselves is not without its value.  And I'm too tired to write much more than that right now.  I will, soon.

Steve Benen over on The Maddow Blog points out how Donald Trump's spin on the Group Chat scandal is not being believed…not even by Donald Trump. And Benen lists some of the many times Trump has dismissed legitimate investigations as "witch hunts."

When it came time to find someone to replace Bob Barker as host of The Price is Right, the folks in charge auditioned a number of different possible choices…and then the job went to Drew Carey, who I believe hadn't even auditioned. Some friends of mine are shocked that I think Drew Carey does a better job than Barker did, at least in Barker's last decade or so on the job.

Someone has made up a little mashup/melange/montage of clips from the auditioners' unaired auditions. One of them is Mike Richards, the fellow who was producing Jeopardy!, selected himself to emcee the show after Alex Trebek died and then was replaced after one week. I am reminded of the old Jackie Vernon joke about the man that people would look at and say, "What a personality that guy needs!"

My thanks to my friend Stu Shostak, who told me about this. Stu is one of those people who disagrees with me about Bob versus Drew but he's entitled to his opinion, wrong though it may be.

About a dozen people have written this week to ask me if the panels I'm doing at WonderCon will be recorded, streamed, put on You Tube, made available for sale, etc. The answer — and this goes for Comic-Con, about which folks ask the same — is generally a no. Some people who attend the panels bring along video or at least audio recording devices and if they ask and receive permission from all the panelists, I'm fine with it…sometimes.

Some don't ask but record anyway and I sometimes stop them for that reason. Some years ago, some outfit video-recorded a couple of my panels without asking and not only put them up on YouTube but added in an opening title that made it look like they'd produced the panels or something. I wrote them a note and while I never heard back from them, those videos soon were not to be found on YouTube. I also was once approached by a satellite radio company that asked permission to record and broadcast the audio from a few panels. I said yes if they'd give me a free subscription to their channel. They said yes, took down my contact info, recorded the panels, broadcast the panels…and never gave me my free subscription.

I'm of two minds on the subject. I think a lot of the panels are wonderful and they contain important history…but I also think that if they became routinely available online, an awful lot of the folks who now show up for them in person would not show up for them in person. As I've said before here, conventions do not program for empty seats. There are many cons that have zero interest in panels about the history of the comics because they've seen zero evidence that such programming has any impact on how many people buy badges. I think they're wrong but if more people attended panels that aren't basically infomercials for current product, there'd be more of them.

So basically, the answer is that most panels aren't recorded because no one is interested in expending the effort…and if someone was and they put them online, I'm not sure that would be a good thing.

WonderCon Anaheim starts tomorrow and the last I heard, they still have badges available. If they don't, it will probably say so here and if they do, that page will tell you how to get one or more. Here for the last time is the schedule of panels on which you'll find me. I've had to make one panelist substitution…

WRITING FOR ANIMATION
Friday, March 28 from 3:30PM to 4:30PM in Room 213AB
Did you ever want to write cartoons? Or just want to know how it's done? Well, here's a panel for you! Some folks who've written some of your favorite shows will fill you in on what they do, how they do it, and how they got to do it -— plus they'll answer your questions about the art of creating scripts for animation. Brynne Chandler (Disney's Gargoyles), Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series), and John Semper (Spider-Man: The Animated Series) are hosted by moderator Mark Evanier (The Garfield Show).

HANNA-BARBERA HISTORY
Friday, March 28 from 4:30PM to 5:30PM in Room 213AB
Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera were the kings of TV animation for decades, especially on Saturday mornings. Their studio produced countless childhood favorites, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear, Space Ghost, Top Cat, Quick Draw McGraw, Jonny Quest, The Smurfs, Superfriends, and dozens of others. Come hear all about what went on in the hallowed halls of Hanna-Barbera from writers Mark Evanier and John Semper (who worked at that studio) and animation historians Jerry Beck and Greg Ehrbar.

TALES FROM MY SPINNER RACK (LIVE!)
Saturday, March 29 from 3:00PM to 4:00PM in Room 209
With the new Fantastic Four: First Steps movie coming out in just a few short months, Gary Sassaman (former director of programming and publications, Comic-Con and WonderCon) takes a nostalgic look back at “The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!” in this graphics-filled presentation featuring the “first steps” of the Fantastic Four comic book series by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Joining Sassaman to discuss growing up with the F.F. and Kirby's boundless creativity is WonderCon special guest Mark Evanier (Kirby: King of Comics, Groo the Wanderer), friend and former assistant of the artist.

CARTOON VOICES
Saturday, March 29 from 4:00PM to 5:00PM in Room 207
It wouldn t be WonderCon without one of Mark Evanier's famous panels of folks who supply the voices for your favorite cartoon characters and TV shows. This time, Mark has assembled Kimberly Woods (Archer, X-Men '97), Wally Wingert (Invader Zim, The Garfield Show), Candi Milo (Looney Tunes, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends), Daniel Ross (Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures) and a surprise or two!

STAN AND JACK
Saturday, March 29 from 5:00PM to 6:00PM in Room 210
Daniel Fingeroth is the author of A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee. Mark Evanier is the author of Kirby, King of Comics. So the authors of the most-read books about Stan Lee and Jack Kirby will discuss both men and what they meant to the comic book industry, the Marvel Age of Comics, and the childhoods of an awful lot of people.

TWO MARKS ANSWER QUESTIONS
Sunday, March 30 from 11:00am to 12:00PM in Room 207
If there's anything (a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g) you 've ever wanted to know about comic books, the characters, the people who created them, the business…anything, this is the panel for you! If writers Mark Waid and Mark Evanier don't know it, no one does. Come armed with questions!

JACK KIRBY TRIBUTE
Sunday, March 30 from 12:00PM to 1:00PM in Room 207
At every WonderCon, we make time to remember the man they call The King of Comics, Jack Kirby. Former Kirby assistant Mark Evanier heads up a dais of folks who knew the man or at least his amazing career. This time out, Mark is joined by two members of Jack's family — Tracy Kirby and Jeremy Kirby — as well as John Morrow (publisher of The Jack Kirby Collector), Rand Hoppe (founding trustee/director of the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center), Kirby family friend Dave Schwartz, and attorney Paul S. Levine, who has handled legal matters for Jack and his family.

Everything above is subject to change. Usually, they don't but you never know…

As just about everyone knows by now — including the folks scurrying to deny it — a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat among senior Trump administration officials as they were discussing an upcoming U.S. airstrike on Yemen. Trump and some (not all) of his aides insist no war plans were being texted but as Politifact points out that's obviously not so.

Over on the CNN website, Stephen Collinson summarized the way the whole situation looks to a lot of us. You might want to read the whole piece but if you don't have time, here's an excerpt…

Naive and sloppy behavior by top Trump aides could have endangered U.S. pilots. One of the worst intelligence breaches by top officials in years, it raises grave questions about the competence of top officials meant to keep Americans safe.

But the administration's main concern is protecting the president and his team. They are demonizing those who point out their malfeasance and embroidering the wider conspiratorial narrative that Trump is again a victim of a deep state witch hunt.

The obsession with answering a national security scandal with a fiercely political argument is characteristic of a White House that never admits wrongdoing — following one of the core principles of Trump's pre-political life.

It's never the fault of the people who commit the crimes or screw-up badly. It's always a witch hunt and a hoax by those terrible losers.