Watched Yankee Doodle Dandy last evening for maybe the eightieth time. I have it on Laserdisc so I could have watched it whenever I thought of it…but Turner Classic Movies was running it so I had TiVo grab a copy — and don't you sometimes feel dumb watching a free telecast of a movie for which you paid good money? Anyway, I did enjoy it. I think I had trouble appreciating this movie back in the seventies because I'd read a couple of biographies of George M. Cohan, and a series of letters that George S. Kaufman had written to a friend about his many troubles with Cohan. They all made Cohan sound like a pretty nasty man who waved the flag to mask selfish goals. That's a personal peeve of mine — shallow, self-interests disguised as patriotism — so I was disinclined to view Mr. Cohan in a favorable light.

I was also acutely aware of how little the movie resembled his actual life. One does not expect a Hollywood bio-film to reflect reality 100% or even 80% but this one was so far down the accuracy scale that it seemed like its makers had said, "Well, we can't tell the truth about this bastard so let's make up something." He wasn't even born on the Fourth of July, you know.

So why have I seen it so many times? I think it's because I like it a wee bit more with each viewing, which doesn't happen with many pictures. Jimmy Cagney is so darn good in it — acting, as well as singing and dancing — that he forces you to love the guy he's playing, and I care less and less each time that it isn't the real Cohan. Cagney just eclipses the real guy to the point where if you today mention George M. Cohan to people and they happen to recognize the name, they think of Cagney. In Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand may have supplanted the genuine Fannie Brice, but that would be the only other time I can think of that happening; of the real star being obliterated by the person playing them. Obviously, some of that has to do with the general unavailability of real Cohan or Brice performances but not completely. Those have been the only two times (unless you can think of another) where the person playing a supposedly-great star was a lot more talented — and a bigger star — than the person they were portraying.

Cohan himself did make a few movie appearances, by the way. Given his success on the stage, you have to figure that something just plain didn't translate. Either film didn't capture any trace of his talent or it had atrophied by the time he reached Hollywood. But like a few other (allegedly) great stage performers in early film, he sure doesn't come off as a star of any magical ability. If I were him, I'd much rather people think I was Jimmy Cagney.

The best-known Bushman in the world — actually, the only known Bushman in the world — has died. N!xau was the star of a very wonderful movie called The Gods Must be Crazy. Here's a link to an obit.

Are classic movies being altered (and even ruined) when transferred to digital format and "restored?" Some people in this article think so.

I enjoy watching Whose Line Is It Anyway? I don't think the improv is as unplanned as they make it out to be…especially whatever Drew Carey does at the end. But I find most of the performers to be very good at what they do. And no one's funnier than Colin Mochrie, subject of this website.

The Thing or the Hulk? I don't know and I don't care. But Frank Rich thinks he knows who's stronger than the Hulk: Harry Potter.

I'm watching a PBS Special at the moment with Craig Bierko, who starred in the revival of The Music Man on Broadway, performing "76 Trombones." I saw this show in New York and enjoyed it tremendously. But seeing him just now reminded me of one of the funniest things I've ever seen posted on the Internet. Odds are, most of you won't find this funny but I do and it's my weblog so I'm going to quote it here. This occurred on a theater newsgroup (rec.arts.theatre.musicals) in March of 2000. The Music Man revival was then pending and someone with an "in" to the production posted the following message…

I met a charming young lady this weekend — Cynthia Leigh Heim — who is in the ensemble of Music Man. She says Craig Bierko is terrific in the role and great to work with, and that Stroman's choreography is clever and tricky to execute. I asked for a "scoop" that I could post on RATM! She said that there will be a surprise at the curtain call which will be unlike any curtain call we've ever seen. She wouldn't tell me more, as they've been sworn to secrecy!

A few hours later, someone named Dave Barton posted the following in reply…

They will announce from the stage that everyone in the audience should look under their seats. 76 people will actually find trombones waiting for them. Each person with a trombone will then rise. Harold Hill will give them a 19 second lesson in the "Think Method," and then they will break into the score from Chicago.

I don't know why but that struck me as incredibly funny. I not only laughed for five minutes when I read it but later that year, sitting in the Neil Simon Theater watching the finale (which was, alas, not as Mr. Barton described) I remembered it and started laughing uncontrollably. I'm laughing now as I read it again. I'm not a well person.

Meanwhile, at this moment on the PBS Special, they have Barry Bostwick singing our National Anthem — and in the shot, you can clearly see a cue card person holding up the lyrics for him and changing the cards after each line. Now, I could sing this song from memory when I was seven years old and I have a hunch Mr. Bostwick knows the words. But every few years when some star is called upon to perform it on TV (usually live TV), they go blank and flub the words. (I once heard someone refer to it as "pulling a Robert Goulet.") It brings great ridicule along with letters and editorials that question the singer's patriotism and suggest that they go live in Russia. So I think performers have all learned: Yes, you're absolutely positive you know it and could do it in your sleep. But don't take any chances…

Hope you're having a safe and sane Fourth.

On Monday, TV Land is rerunning one of my favorite episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show (as you know, is one of my favorite TV shows). The episode in question is "The Masterpiece," which is the one where Rob and Laura accidentally purchase a painting by the great artist, Artanis, at an auction. It's a funny tale but interest is enhanced by the presence of two great comic actors, both of whom also distinguised themselves in the world of cartoon voicing. The auctioneer is played by Alan Reed, better known to all as the voice of Fred Flintstone. And the art expert who comes to examine the Artanis is the wonderful Howie Morris. In 1963 when he filmed this guest appearance, he was also directing episodes of the Van Dyke program, guesting occasionally on The Andy Griffith Show — as the uneducated Ernest T. Bass) — and doing many other on-camera roles. (The same year, he appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone, and in the immortal Jerry Lewis film, The Nutty Professor.) In addition to all that, he was doing voices for Hanna-Barbera on The Flintstones and Magilla Gorilla. He claims his first job for H-B was the episode of The Jetsons where he played rock star Jet Screamer and sang, "Eep Op Ork." A lovely man.

Also: On Wednesday, TV Land is rerunning an episode of Fantasy Island with Phil Silvers as a has-been vaudevillian. I barely remember the episode from when it first aired in '78 but I recall feeling both sorry for his obviously-diminished energy, and pleased to see he was still able to deliver a performance. You may or may not want to watch. If you don't, I'll understand.

Yeah, I know I'm running way behind on these. So call a lawyer and sue me, sue me, what can you do me? Today, in honor of what day it is, I thought I'd link to a page over at the Washington Post that's full of drawings by and tributes to the late, great Herblock. I never quite "got" him on an individual basis; not until I studied the body of work and viewed it as the 50+ year chronicle of the American scene. He was a reporter first and a cartoonist second, and that's just fine. Here's the link.

How come no TV station on my DirecTV satellite dish is running the movie 1776 today? Not only does this mean I have to go downstairs and get the DVD but I can't recommend you tune in and watch one of my favorite movies. It's positively unAmerican.

Oh, well. Turner Classic Movies is running Yankee Doodle Dandy this evening, but that's really not about America. It's about watching Jimmy Cagney.

This article in the Los Angeles Times is headlined, "Slim Majority of Voters Backs Davis Recall." But aren't these polls pretty close to meaningless until such time as people see who else is going to be on the ballot? It's one thing to say you don't like the guy; another to say you'd prefer Candidate X. Once we know who we might be able to pick from to replace Davis, might he not look a lot better or worse to most voters? I don't think you can ever unseat an incumbent just by drumming up dislike of him. There has to be an alternative who could be a distinct improvement.

This is why I don't put much stock in these polls that tell us how much of the country would back Bush if the election were held tomorrow. They might be meaningful if the election were being held tomorrow but it isn't. By the time it is, the whole dynamic of the race will be different…including the possibility that some Democrat will have gained some real name recognition and made his case to the American people. I know that's looking increasingly unlikely but it just might happen. And if it does, it'll drive support for G.W.B. up or down depending on who that Democrat is and what that case is…and maybe even on where the economy and the war on terrorism stand at that moment.

But people love to read polls. So let's not let the fact that one whole side of the ballot is still a big Question Mark stop us from having a poll.

The other day, I posted a link to a column in which rabid left-winger Robert Scheer explained why Gray Davis should not be recalled. Here's a column from rabid right-winger Jonah Goldberg on why Gray Davis should not be recalled. Admittedly, their reasoning is a little different but they get to the same place, which happens to be where I'm at.

Go ahead. Find me another weblog that would link to both those guys. Can't be done.

Here's an interview with the CEO of the TiVo company.

Remember not long ago, we told you that the Journal American had removed Bill Bennett's name (and therefore, the punchline) from a Doonesbury strip? Well, over on The Doonesbury FAQ Page, Mr. Trudeau says it seems to have just been a printer's error. Who, apart from Bill Bennett, would have bet money on such a thing?

The Comic-Con International in San Diego is, as you know, July 17-20. If you're going, you might also like to know that the AccuWeather people are predicting clear and sunny skies for that period, with highs in the low eighties and lows in the high sixties.

Want to know where the Weapons of Mass Destruction are? Click here.