Here's a topic about which I know very little and I'm hoping someone who reads this can fill me in. For many years, the leading producer of records for children was a company called Golden Records that put out musical fairy tales, preachy little tunes about eating all your vegetables, and songs about almost every cartoon character of the day. Most of these records featured a singing chorus called The Sandpipers, sometimes known as The Golden Sandpipers. This raises a number of questions for me…

• Was there really a group called The Sandpipers? I mean, was it always the same guys recording under that name? And was this the same group called The Sandpipers that recorded dozens of records (including the hit, "Guantanamera") for the older audience? They even did a song on the soundtrack of the movie, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
• A number of the Golden Records credit Mitchell Miller as orchestra leader and someone named Mike Stewart for unspecified performance. I assume this is not the same Mike Stewart who wrote the book for Hello, Dolly…but was that the Mitch Miller who was a biggie with Columbia Records and later starred in Sing Along With Mitch?
• Lastly: One of the most famous Little Golden Records was the Sandpipers' rendition of the Mighty Mouse theme. Andy Kaufman used the record when he first appeared on Saturday Night Live and that scene was re-created in the movie about Kaufman, Man on the Moon. I just listened to the soundtrack CD for that film and though the Sandpipers are listed as the performers, it sure doesn't sound to me like their original record. I don't remember what it sounded like in the movie but the CD sounds like that song was re-recorded by some singers trying to sound like the Sandpipers. Or maybe they got the old group together and redid it. So what's the deal here?

Okay, so these aren't earth-rending mysteries. But I'll bet someone who reads this website can fill me in.

This'll be a quick report since I made a quick visit: Twice around the main room and I was out, but only 'cause I was pressed for time, not because there weren't scores of people to meet and greet. Among the stars, current and past, who were in attendance today were Kate Jackson (who seemed to have the longest line), Margot Kidder, Mamie Van Doren, Adam West and Frank Gorshin, Dwayne Hickman, Jane Kean, Charlotte Rae, Kim Darby, Carol Lynley, Beverly D'Angelo and Michael J. Pollard. I bought the new book by Lou Ferrigno on his Hulking days and chatted with Bob Hastings and Kathy Garver. Kathy is doing okay, it seems, following a fire shortly before Christmas that destroyed her home and darn near everything in it. Everyone wishes her well because she's a great talent and a lovely lady.

The show continues tomorrow with most of those same folks and others. I don't think Adam and Frank will be there, but loads of celebs will be around with pictures and autobiographies to sell. Here's where you can find details on it. If the parking tomorrow is anything like the parking today, leave your car at home and walk.

Birthday greetings to Popeye the Sailor Man, who showed up in Elzie Segar's newspaper strip, Thimble Theater, 75 years ago today. The spinach-munching, Bluto-punching gob would later take over the whole feature…and Segar's version (who never punched Bluto and only occasionally munched spinach) would be almost forgotten in favor of the Popeye of the Max Fleischer cartoons. What Segar put on paper was one of the five-or-so greatest comic strips ever done but unlike many who feel that way, I also have affection for the cartoons and for the strips and comic books done by Segar's successor, Bud Sagendorf. That's a Sagendorf Popeye I put up there.

When the Fleischer crew got hold of Popeye in 1933, he was a pretty well-rounded character with a personality as well-defined as his forearms and a certain amount of stardom. The cartoons though gave Popeye two things that Segar, working in pen and ink, had been unable to give him: A great theme song and the perfect voice. Whenever a print character is animated, there's always at least a little controversy over what he or she should sound like. I recall the disappointment of some of my friends when the first Peanuts cartoons (the Ford commercials) were voiced by genuine little kids with bland little kid voices, rather than the smarter, better-defined voices my friends were hearing in their heads. And when I worked on the Garfield cartoons, I sometimes encountered someone who insisted that in selecting Lorenzo Music, Jim Davis had woefully miscast his own creation.

But can you imagine Popeye with anything but that perfect sound? It was originated by a performer named William Costello who billed himself as "Red Pepper Sam." After a fistful of cartoons, he made the mistake of mentioning the "r" word ("r" as in "raise") and was quickly booted. After a few failures, the job went to an artist in the studio named Jack Mercer who matched what Costello had done and went him one better, adding nuance, a wider range of emotions and those wonderful muttered asides. Mercer owned the role until his death in 1984.

Credit for creating this American icon goes to Segar, but one should note an "assist" by men like Mercer, Sagendorf and others who made the cartoons. Sadly, they have all departed this planet, and Popeye's current creative health is a bit uncertain. Three or four times in my life, I've been called in for chats about new Popeye projects and all three times, everyone seemed so worried about him punching anyone, and to a lesser extent about him having a pipe in his mouth, that the projects seemed doomed. I am all for not presenting bad role models for the kiddies but you can carry Political Correctness to the point of draining all humor, and all that is special from a character. Popeye used to always say, "I yam what I yam," and I wish the folks who currently control the property would listen to the guy. He knows what he's talking about.

As a stockholder with a big two shares of the company, I am naturally interested in the management of the exalted Disney organization. But I have more of an investment in the firm, as do most of us. The operation Walt founded was and is unique among motion picture studios and entertainment conglomerates due to its tradition and, most of all, its avuncular figure. No one could ever recognize a Warner Brother or tell you what Louis B. Mayer looked like…but most adults know Walt. In a century of filmmaking, he remains the only "star" mogul, not just to the public but to those who still see his surname on their paychecks. On the lot, in the offices, all around the theme parks, he remains a benevolent, haunting presence. Almost everyone who works there has had to make peace with their Inner Walt, deciding to embrace or reject what they know of him. Almost every one of them has had to defend some decision by arguing that it's what Walt would have done. And like a child who needs to break free of a smothering parental figure, they intermittently need to remember that Walt is dead and that we don't know for sure how, for example, he would have organized a DVD marketing campaign.

That's why the current takeover/reform movement by Roy E. Disney is so different from the usual battles for corporate control. Nothing of the sort could happen at Paramount or Sony. It might not even happen at Disney if Roy didn't look so much like his uncle. But the fact that he represents that lineage forces the question: Is the goal here to make a lot of money and uphold the Disney tradition? Or is it to just make as much money as possible? I would sure love to see the shareholders polled on this one. I'm guessing the "money + tradition" votes would win but either way, those on the losing side would probably start selling off their stock and the company's ownership would soon be united under one goal. After spending some time perusing Roy's website, savedisney.com, I know how I'd vote. Then again, I only have the two shares.

I can't find a photo of him but I have to post about Sidney Miller, who passed away January 10 at the age of 87. Sidney was a director, Sidney was a producer, Sidney was an actor, Sidney was a composer, Sidney was a nice man who did everything. He was best known for a time as Donald O'Connor's sidekick, and he wrote many of the tunes that the late Mr. O'Connor performed. His acting career included movies as diverse as Boys Town (with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney) and Memories of Me (with Billy Crystal and Alan King). He directed the original Mickey Mouse Club, dozens of sixties' situation comedies and a couple of odd movies, including Lou Costello's 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock. In the seventies and eighties, he was often employed as a kind of Comedy Troubleshooter, called in on a TV show to stage and/or covertly direct scenes on programs officially directed by someone else.

It was in this last capacity that I worked with him a few times on variety shows. The director was great at music but couldn't handle the sketches, so they'd hire Sidney, give him some non-directoral title and have him stage the skits. I liked his efficiency and (of course) the fact that you couldn't mention any movie or TV star of the previous forty years without Sidney summoning up an anecdote about working with them.

Sidney also did cartoon voices. One of many was the key role of The Dungeon Master on the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons animated series. When he saw my name on the pilot script, he erroneously assumed I'd been responsible for casting him and like a novice getting his first break, called to thank me. I thought that was charming. As I told him, it wasn't my idea but as it turned out, it was a good one. Sidney was very good in the role. Sidney was very good in everything he did. Maybe that's why he worked for so long and at so many things. There's a little less "show" in Show Business without him around. Here's a link to a newspaper obit.

I watched the season debut of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO this evening. If you'd like to see actor Ron Silver and the Reverend Al Sharpton mud-wrestling, you might want to catch one of the many replays during the week. It's probably more enjoyable if you think of it as theater rather than as an actual exchange of political ideas.

Silver served up one argument (against a point by Maher) that's making the rounds and which strikes me as a real Red Herring cheapshot. Maher was complaining that the Iraq War was predicated on a lie and Silver asked, "Would you be happier if Saddam Hussein were still in power?" To me, that's the new variation on "Have you stopped beating your wife?" Obviously, it's possible to believe that the regime change was good for humanitarian reasons but that there were many things wrong with how it was done. I'm not even going to argue here what some of them might have been. I just think it's disingenuous to try and misrepresent your opponent's position into something like that. Liberals have been known to do much the same thing with the race card, branding an opposing position as racist. It's a crummy trick, no matter who does it.

Several times a year, a group to which I belong called the Pacific Pioneers Broadcasters honors a famous show business figure with a luncheon that is part roast, part tribute. (I had the sirloin of beef, which was part roast, part Reebok.) Today, the famous show business figure was impressionist and actor Frank Gorshin, and he was saluted by a dais that included Hal Kanter, Adam West, Edie Adams, Julie Newmar, Paul Picerni, Jimmy Van Patten and Chuck McCann. There were some wonderful anecdotes about Gorshin and an awful lot of affection. Several speakers goaded Gorshin to give up smoking, and he seemed genuinely touched when the audience applauded the idea.

West praised the man who played the Riddler for challenging him to do better work on Batman. Ms. Adams spoke about working with Frank on The Kopycats. McCann described being in the room when Gorshin got his first TV audition. And I'm still not sure what Ms. Newmar said but who cares? She's Julie Newmar.

As usual for a P.P.B. luncheon, the place was filled with fascinating show biz veterans. Saw the lovely June Foray, who is still doing so much voice work that she hasn't finished her autobiography. Chatted with Eddie Carroll, whose Jack Benny Tribute Show is an uncanny and very entertaining impression. Eddie is also the current voice of Jiminy Cricket for the Disney people.

Sat next to Jim MacGeorge, a very funny comic actor who has usually been the guy playing Laurel when Chuck McCann plays Hardy. Jim was the voice of Beany, Cap'n Huffenpuff and many other characters on the old Beany and Cecil cartoons, and has been heard on many, many other shows since. It's so odd to see a guy telling stories about Stan Laurel and, without quite realizing he's doing it, lapse into the impression, delivering Stan quotes as Stan. If I'd been wearing a tie, I'd have started twiddling it and doing slow burns to an unseen camera.

And there were a lot of other neat folks present: Walker Edmiston, Tom Kennedy, Jack Narz, a great comedy writer pal of mine named Paul Pumpian, dialect specialist Robert Easton, Ed Rothhaar (who hosts I Remember Television for PBS), Fred "Mr. Game Show" Wostbrock, and a whole bunch of others whose names escape me at the moment. My friend Earl Kress tagged along and we had a great time. Actually, Earl had a better time than I did. He didn't order the sirloin of beef.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a site on the Internet where you could see old photos taken in supermarkets? Oh, wait. There is!

I don't think the Iowa caucuses matter anywhere near as much as the reporters covering them want us to think they matter. But this article in Slate is fascinating, nonetheless. It explains how the process works…and why it really doesn't.

If you're interested in the (sad) fate of the Disney animation studio in Florida, hustle over to Jim Hill Media. There are several good articles that have been posted in the last few days about what's going on down there.

Naturally, I am dismayed almost any time any studio decides to pare down its animation department…and I note that it often turns out to be one of those short-term, "we shouldn't have done that" decisions. Someone thinks it'll make the balance sheets look better for a few quarters but eventually, they realize they've gutted a major long-term profit center, so they wipe out whatever they saved (and then some) starting the division up again. Assuming it's even possible.

Animation — even old-fashioned, drawn-by-hand animation — is still enormously profitable when done with the slightest business acumen. Someone else said, and I think I agree, that the only way to lose money on an animated feature is to be really, really disorganized in the production budget. And it's true that there are studios that have been amazingly adept at spending $60 million to make a $20 million animated feature. Still, you'd think someone in those executive offices would have the confidence that they can minimize those kinds of errors. You can of course argue that Disney should adhere to Disney traditions and keep on making films roughly the way Walt did…but I think an even stronger argument can be made that it's just good business. In the long-run, anyway.

If you're thinking of attending the Comic-Con International in San Diego this year, now would be a good time to reserve a room. They will sell out, and they'll probably sell out soon.

Also, since it's been posted at the Comic-Con website, I guess I can reveal the identity of the guest I mentioned here last December. I said it was someone who was a veritable gusher of information on DC comic book history, and Jack Adler is definitely that. He was a fixture of their coloring and production departments beginning around 1951 and some people say that Jack practically reinvented both the art and science of comic book coloring. We'll be looking at examples of Jack's handiwork and also at many rare photos that he took around the office. Should be quite a panel…maybe two panels.

By the way: Some comic book experts will be shocked to hear that Jack will be at the convention since some comic book experts have been laboring under the impression he had passed away years ago. Obviously, this is not so. I suspect it has to do with the fact that a dealer on eBay has been selling off pieces from Jack's collection for years now and the ad copy always makes reference to "the Jack Adler estate." Bad phrasing.

Gregg Easterbrook says that Bush's plan for renewed space exploration will cost a lot more than he claims and take a lot longer. In fact, Easterbrook thinks both current estimates are absurd to the point of dishonesty.

Also: Sean Penn is writing articles about what he observed on his recent trip to Iraq. Here's Part One and here's Part Two. I would never assume that anyone should put any special stock in an actor's views just because he's famous, but his report is interesting just as the view of someone who's been there.

I linked to Joshua Micah Marshall an item or two ago. Here's an item he just posted on his site…a cute little tale of meeting Arthur Schlesinger at a luncheon. It made me smile.

A friend of mine is attempting to locate Phyllis Coates, the actress who (among many other roles) first played Lois Lane on the Superman TV show. This is to invite her to be part of something that she'll probably want to be a part of. I'm betting someone who reads this site knows how to reach her and can send me the contact information to pass on.

Matt Drudge is claiming to have uncovered a transcript of General Wesley Clark making the case for the Iraq War before Congress. Over on his weblog, Joshua Micah Marshall points out that Drudge's quote is an outta-context excerpt from a much longer speech that went in other directions.

I'm not sure why it's such a big deal to accuse politicians of changing positions. Everyone does…or should. You have to have a high degree of stubborn stupidity not to occasionally modify your view of some things, especially in light of new developments and new evidence. Is there anyone on any side of the Iraq matter who is not going to have to claim to have been misled at some point by faulty intelligence reports?

I don't get that Clark really changed his view but even if he did, I wouldn't assume that made it insincere or opportunistic or whatever. The guy changed his view, just as Bush seems to now be completely on the side of the Nation Building he once abhorred. I guess I'm more suspicious of the opposite, which is when a politician decides he's right and that's that, and no change in the events or facts is going to budge him from his position.