Although I worked a few times for Aaron Spelling — and almost worked for him a few more times — I didn't know him well enough to write anything of real substance about the man. In our brief encounters, he seemed to me like a down-to-earth guy who just happened to have more money than everyone else in his zip code, combined. Like many other TV producers with mega-hits, he was well aware that this was a temporary state; that the day would come sooner or later when no one at the networks would take his calls, so he had to enjoy (and milk) the success while he had it.

It has always struck me that most men in his position — note the word "most" in there — are a little baffled as to why these three of their projects made them zillions whereas these eight over here crashed and burned in spectacular failure. But of course to keep the transitory success alive as long as possible, they don't often admit their puzzlements out loud, at least to potential customers. The one time I had any sort of extended conversation with Mr. Spelling, he had just had a TV-Movie air to disastrous ratings and near-libelous reviews. I don't recall which one it was but I do remember him looking at some Nielsens, shaking his head and muttering, "Gee, I thought that one would work." Fortunately for Spelling, enough of them did work that he made out just fine.

Before we get to today's fun, two of the commercials I linked to in the last few days have been "corrected" by their uploader. He has thoughtfully fixed the sync problems in them and I've replaced my links with the new versions. Click here to go back and see the fixed version of the Speedy Alka-Seltzer spot with Dick Beals and click here to see a more in-sync version of the Post Raisin Bran commercial. (I don't mean 'N Sync is performing it…but isn't that kind of where those guys are headed?)

For today, we have another McDonald's commercial. It's some time in the early eighties and the chain needs an energetic guy who can sing and dance to appear in commercials for their newest concoction, the McDLT — a major scientific breakthrough in hamburger creation. It's a burger with lettuce and tomato on it but they've invented a brilliant way to keep the burger warm and the lettuce and tomato cool: It's a package that keeps them separate until you buy the thing and put the lettuce and tomato onto the hamburger. Must have taken them years to think of that.

Anyway, they need a guy for their commercials so they scout about and come up with a kid named Jason Alexander…

So who are the actors in the McDonald's commercial I posted last night? I asked if the manager was Vern Rowe and several of you (like Eric Tublin and John Nelson) say it's John Wheeler. Marty McKee and Doug Puthoff (and others) seem pretty sure Johnny Haymer — who appeared a few times on M*A*S*H, among other shows — is the guy who sings, "Put a shine on the floor." I've received mixed opinions as to whether the black guy is John Amos. (Tublin thinks it is, Jon Delfin thinks it isn't. I don't think so…but then it still doesn't look like Barney Martin in that raisin bran commercial to me.)

And is that my old pal Bob Ridgely in there, as many people are suggesting? I think so, now that I look at it. He's the guy singing about how clean his burger machine is, and that threw me off. The Ridgely I knew would never sing about cleanliness. Were he alive today, he would have been in The Aristocrats and he would have grossed out everyone in the picture, Bob Saget included.

A couple of folks have asked if that's Anson Williams in there, too. I debated mentioning that because Anson played an employee in at least a couple of McDonald's commercials from this era but I'm not sure he's in this one. I've just sent him an e-mail to ask. Here at news from me, we get to the bottom of the important questions. Never mind the War in Iraq or Global Warming. We want to identify the performers in old commercials.

In honor of my probably never eating at one again, here's a 1971 commercial for McDonald's that almost everyone who was around at the time will remember. Apparently, the chain did some sort of marketing survey to determine why people who weren't going to McDonald's restaurants weren't going to McDonald's restaurants. They discovered that a lot of people who'd never been in one had the idea that they were just "roadside hamburger stands" and as such were rather grungy and unhealthy.

This reportedly outraged the company head, Ray Kroc, who was obsessive about cleanliness at "his" establishments. Kroc had been a travelling salesguy for restaurant supplies and in that capacity, had visited hundreds of little eateries and been appalled at the condition of their restrooms and kitchens. When he began franchising McDonald's, he went all Felix Unger on everyone and demanded a new level of hygiene. He was known to walk into a McDonald's unannounced, go directly to the restrooms to inspect and if he found anything amiss, he made the manager go in and tidy it up himself.

So the ad boys went to work and came up with this commercial to tell the world that McDonald's were cleaned and recleaned constantly. I believe my old pal Howie Morris directed this. At least, he directed a couple of the commercials in this series, then went on to become the director (sometimes) and a voice (often) in the early McDonaldland commercials. (And hey, is that Vern Rowe as the manager?) Here we go…

For the those of you scoring at home (or even wagering), here's the latest: It's been four weeks since I underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery and so far, I've lost…twenty-eight days!

No, actually, I've lost forty pounds and I still can't get over how good it feels to be rid of them and how little discomfort I've had in the process. There are occasional pains — I think my posture is changing and some muscles are now being taxed in different ways — but there were greater pains and problems involved in carrying around that weight. So far, it looks like a great trade-off.

I also can't quite get over how little I eat or crave. I have not been hungry since the surgery despite a diet that would starve a supermodel. In fact, near the end of the day, I'll sometimes think, "Gee, there was something I meant to do and forgot…what was it? Oh, yes! Eat!" And then I have to force myself to down a protein drink or one of the semi-solid foods I've begun eating. This afternoon, I had a piece of baked halibut about the size of a tin of Altoids, accompanied by a third of a potato knish. And I couldn't have been more stuffed if I'd gone to Hometown Buffet and done a swan dive into the steam tables.

Yes, I seem to have found a protein drink I can live with. Some were too sweet, some too bitter, some too chemical, etc. Many were part of the insidious plot to make me imbibe artificial sweeteners. It finally dawned on me that I could mix protein drinks and get the best of two varieties. I'm now using Healthy 'n' Fit Bodybuilder 100% Whey Pro-Amino, which comes in vanilla or chocolate and which I purchase at my neighborhood Vitamin Shoppe. It's flavored with Stevia and taken by itself, it's tolerable…but I've learned how to improve it. I take a full portion of this, which is alleged to contain 45 grams of protein, and add in just a dash of 40-30-30 Total Balance Drink Mix, a protein drink which also comes in vanilla or chocolate and which they sell at Trader Joe's. The latter contains fructose — too much for me to tolerate a whole drink made out of it — so I use it for flavor. I figure it also adds another 5 grams of protein and fifty grams is around two-thirds of the protein I need for a day.

Still wrestling with doctor and hospital bills…though the burden was lightened by some generous readers of this site who kicked in a lot more than I dared to imagine. I thank each and every one of you, and will be writing personal notes shortly. I've been busy with another means of paying off the docs: Selling my old trousers to Cirque du Soleil. Next time you attend one of their shows, look around as you enter the Grand Chapiteau tent. If you see something that looks like a pocket and it says "Rochester Big and Tall" on it, welcome to my pants. Between that and what I stand to save on groceries and restaurant bills, I could wind up showing a profit on this surgery thing.

But I still have to say: I don't recommend it to everyone. I recommend looking into it if you're in that category that someone charmingly named "morbidly obese" but I'm certain roux en y is not right for some people. I'm just becoming convinced I'm one of the people it is/was right for. My doctor — who I've trusted with my life and would do so again — thinks I oughta do a book about the whole experience, explaining all I've learned, and I just might.

In the meantime, thanks again to all who've sent nice messages and/or PayPal offerings. I'll keep you posted.

Stan Freberg to receive a much-deserved award.

Tonight, Turner Classic Movies has two airings of Billy Wilder Speaks, a 90-minute interview with the great director, edited out of a series of interviews he did for German television. How can that not be worth watching? The interview airs at 5 PM and again at 8:30 on my satellite.

The other day here, I mentioned voice actor Dick Beals and his most famous role…that of Speedy Alka-Seltzer. Our featured video today is a cute commercial starring Mr. Beals as Mr. Alka-Seltzer.

One of the things that impressed me about Dick the few times we worked together was how he manages to be highly versatile even though biology has trapped him in the higher vocal ranges. If you have six minutes, you can listen to or download his voice demo tape from the link below. It represents a pretty tiny fraction of the work he's done…

And here's Speedy Alka-Seltzer…

Boy, it's weird how topics evolve on this weblog. The other day, I linked to this Post Raisin Bran commercial and a lot of you wrote in to say you thought the lead actor was Barney Martin. I thought it wasn't. I still kinda think it isn't even though I now have eyewitness testimony from a trusted friend who says it was.

Turns out, an old and dear pal of mine, Jim Brochu, was also in that commercial. In the above photo, Jim's the raisin on the far left. In the commercial itself, Jim's the raisin on the far left also, seen in profile. He says they shot this in a studio at 106th and 2nd Avenue in New York around 1973. He also says the guy in the front is definitely Barney Martin. I say it still doesn't look to me like Barney Martin but I'll take Jim's word for it. He and Barney were good friends.

Also in the commercial is the very fine character actor, Ken Olfson. In the above photo, Ken's on the far right and I don't know where he is in the commercial. Jim says David Doyle was in another commercial in this series (there were four made in all) but wasn't in this one. And while we're identifying people, Frank Buxton says the voiceover at the end is by William Redfield, a fine actor who was probably best known for his work in the movie of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Anyway, I think it's amazing: I link to this silly little commercial and later find out a friend of mine is in it. Eventually, everything in my life will be connected to everything else in my life.

Hey, lemme tell you what Brochu is up to. Jim is a maddeningly versatile gentleman whose knowledge of The Theater puts mine to shame. He's an actor, a director, a playwright, an author, a producer, etc. He's been putting a couple of those job descriptions together as the writer and star of a forthcoming one-man show, Zero Hour, based on the life and times of his old pal, Zero Mostel. The play debuts July 7 (I will be there) at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in Hollywood and will play through August 13 before heading for New York. More info and a link to purchase tickets can be found here. Based on what Jim's done in the past, I expect to have a very good time. In fact, this may turn out to be the best play ever done by a former raisin.

Before 1980, if you drove your vehicle into a Jack-in the-Box drive-thru, you had to give your order to a big, plastic jack-in-the-box. I guess a lot of people felt silly doing this…though if you were eating there, it's not like you had a lot of dignity to lose. Nevertheless, '80 was the year they took out those jack-in-the-boxes and did a not-ineffective advertising campaign announcing they were "blowing up the clowns." This is a commercial from that campaign. The elderly lady you see in Nedra Volz, who turned up at one time or another in every single situation comedy of the late seventies and throughout the eighties. At one point, she had recurring roles on three different TV series — Diff'rent Strokes, The Dukes of Hazzard and Filthy Rich. Not bad for someone in their seventies. The gent who plays the manager of the Jack-in-the Box is our old pal, Chuck McCann, who's been in even more TV shows. Here they are…

There's a new book out by Ron Suskind called The One Percent Doctrine. It makes some pretty amazing claims about how the Bush administration has pressed the case for the Iraq War. They're summarized in this review by Barton Gellman.

Quite a few of you are suggesting that the lead raisin in the previous video is Barney Martin, who was probably best known as Jerry's pa on Seinfeld. And I see that a number of websites say that he played a raisin in a Post Raisin Bran commercial along with a couple of other actors who later somewhat well-known — David Doyle and Ken Olfson. I've looked at the spot a few times and it doesn't look like Barney Martin to me. He may be one of the other guys in the bowl or he may have been in another commercial in the same campaign. If you want to believe it's Barney Martin though, don't let me stop you.

Been kinda busy lately. Today, I visited my Public Storage lockers for the first time in about a year and discovered a roof leak had damaged about twenty boxes of goodies, including a crate of the first few issues of Groo. Hope that doesn't mean God is not a Sergio fan.

Last night, I went back to my friendly neighborhood Sav-on Drug Store which, to the confusion of elderly patrons everywhere, is becoming a CVS Pharmacy. A sign out front promises that the new establishment will have "More convenient hours." Since the place is now open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, I can't wait to see how they manage that.

I was there to pick up a renewal on a prescription and the man behind the counter fetched it and announced, "That'll be $91.88." I said…well, here. I'll let you listen in on what I said…

ME: What? I've been getting that prescription for two years and it's always been ten bucks.

PHARMACIST: (after consulting his computer) You're renewing it ahead of schedule. Your insurance doesn't pay unless you're within seven days of running out.

ME: And when will I be within seven days of running out?

PHARMACIST: (after consulting his computer again) June 20.

ME: It's 11:54 PM. In six minutes, it'll be June 20.

PHARMACIST: And in six minutes, it'll be ten dollars.

ME: I suppose there's no point in mentioning that I'm not going to be taking that pill tonight. I am just as "out of it" as I will be in six minutes.

PHARMACIST: Right. There's no point in mentioning that. At this moment, it's $91.88.

I went to the end of the line and saved eighty bucks. Makes you wonder what the mark-up is on these pills. And the funny/sad part of it is that this particular drug is also sold over-the-counter without a prescription for $23. I'd hate to think there are uninsured people out there who don't know that and are paying the $91.88, but I'll bet there are.

By the way, I'm told by several folks that not every Sav-on is becoming a CVS. Good for them. This conversion is already becoming way too traumatic for me.

This is a commercial for Post Raisin Bran starring a whole bunch of actors who had to go around for the next few months and answer the eternal actor question — "What have you done lately?" — by saying, "I played a raisin." I seem to recall that at least one of the thespians in this spot later became quite famous but I can't recall who it was, nor can I recognize anyone. But I do remember some rather successful actor on some talk show admitting to having been in this commercial.

I do recognize but cannot put a name to the lead singing voice which I'm pretty sure did not belong to the man on-camera mouthing to it. There was some New York-based vocalist who sang in hundreds of radio and TV commercials, and also on a lot of the kids' records done by one of several singing groups that went under the name of The Sandpipers. Isn't that same guy heard on the famous "Mighty Mouse" record that Andy Kaufman used to use in his act? I think so. As we learned back here, this batch of Sandpipers consisted of Mike Stewart, Ralph Nyland, Dick Byron and Bob Miller…so I'm going to throw caution to the wind and guess that one of them is the voice of the lead raisin in this spot. Give a listen.

My pal (and the hardest working man in the comic community, this time of year) Gary Sassaman finds an interesting example of an old pulp cover that was ripped-off for a classic cover on Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Mort Weisinger was the editor of Olsen at the time and Gary wonders if Mort had a hand in the creation of the original version, which appeared on the pulp magazine, Thrilling Wonder Stories. Answer: Yes. Thrilling Wonder Stories was published by Standard Magazines, and Weisinger was its editor from around 1936 through 1940. This is the July, 1940 issue so it was probably one of his last issues.

Betcha the Jimmy Olsen cover came about as follows. Weisinger used to use the children who lived in his neighborhood as a kind of unofficial "focus group." He'd take crates of comics home from the office and hand them out every Saturday afternoon at some specified time. But before he gave out the comics, he'd ask the kids which covers they liked, what they'd like to see Superman do, etc. One time, one of them said, "I wanna see Superman fight King Kong" and when all the others chimed in that that would be neat, Weisinger made a note to go to the office and order up a cover of Superman fighting a giant ape who was climbing a building. The script was later written around the cover.

So my guess here is that Weisinger had a copy of that pulp around and showed it to the neighborhood tots one Saturday. When he got an enthusiastic response, he took the pulp into the office, handed it to artist Curt Swan and said "Here, draw this but make the monster Jimmy Olsen!" Which would explain the similarities not only in idea but in composition. Swan was not the kind of artist who would have copied someone else's cover design in any way unless ordered to do so.

Quite a few pulp covers morphed into comic book covers, though usually not that blatantly. Quite a few comic writers were former pulp writers so a lot of ideas were recycled that way, as well. I'm sure there must be examples of some of those comic book ideas that came from the pulps going on to become a videogame or some other 21st century concoction. What goes around comes around and vice-versa.

A week or two ago, I linked to a clip from one of the Night of 100 Stars specials — a rather nice dance number filled with great dancers. Here are two more clips from what I believe is the same special. (And if so, I'm curious as to why Bob Fosse was in the one where the stars just walked out instead of the one where they danced, at least a little.) These are both more along the lines of most of the numbers on these specials as I recall them, with celebrities just coming out and receiving applause for doing darn near nothing besides showing up…although I must say that putting Burgess Meredith in a kick line is the very definition of Entertainment.

The first one I'll link to is a cavalcade of male celebrities to the tune of "One" from A Chorus Line. As I watched this, I was thinking that it was a slight misuse of that song, which was intended to spotlight the backup dancers and chorus and not a star…and of course, here it's used to spotlight nothing but stars who are being carried by the chorus. Notice how many of the celebs don't even know which way to walk until they are guided by their smiling Rockette partner. Anyway, I thought this was a perversion of the song "One" until I noticed that one of the guys who wrote the tune is among the stars…so I figure if it didn't bother him, it doesn't bother me. This is the clip in which Mr. Fosse appears, strutting out to the big song from a musical that he reportedly loathed with all his might. I won't tell you who the other people in the number are because the surprises are most of the fun. Here it is…

And now, here's another clip, this one featuring lovely female celebs of the day ('85, it says) modelling fashions and jewels. It's a nice segment even if it does look like some of the ladies are thinking to themselves, "What the hell am I doing here?" If this was taped the same day as the other number, I'm guessing that Fosse hit on at least half of them.