Do you remember this movie from the early nineties?  The comedian Sinbad starred as a genie named Shazaam in the movie, Shazaam!  It was about two kids who summon that genie and ask that he grant them their wish, which was for their father to fall in love again.

Remember that film?  Well, a lot of people do despite the fact that Sinbad never made a movie called Shazaam!  Nobody did.

This article tells about folks who swear they saw this movie and when told it never existed would rather believe in a grand conspiracy theory than accept that their memories are faulty.  They're probably remembering a movie called Kazaam which starred Shaquille O'Neal as a genie.  (The article doesn't mention this possibility but some of them may also be recalling a 1967 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series called Shazzan.)

The amazing thing about this is not just the mass delusion but the stubborn insistence.  Many years ago when I foolishly delved into the world of those who believed a conspiracy killed President Kennedy, I saw this.  I met grown human beings who believed or at least would not rule out that maybe Martians had killed J.F.K. but thought you were a dupe (or more likely, part of the conspiracy) if you thought maybe — just maybe — that Oswald guy had done it.

Now, we have people who believe that some plot has erased all evidence of Sinbad's genie film and even pressured Sinbad into lying and saying he never made it. Somehow rounding up all those VHS copies that were sold or rentable at Blockbuster and purging all print media of mentions of Shazaam!…that's so much more logical than "Uh, maybe I was wrong." I leave it to you to draw the analogies to the election of Donald Trump.

Folks on the 'net are still talking about that Jerry Lewis interview and taking sides. A lot are cheering Jerry, saying that the interviewer was unprepared, disrespectful, whatever…and that it was great that Jerry put that rude punk in his place. Typical of some comments is the lady on Facebook who wrote, "Imagine that you have a session with one of the world's great filmmakers and you don't come armed with well-researched questions to tap into his history and knowledge."

I would like to defend the interviewer, who I think but am not certain was a writer named Andy Lewis — no relation, one presumes. I do not know this person but I think he's getting a bad rap here.

First off, let me say as a longtime Jerry watcher who even worked with the man once, Jerry has a long history of occasional trainwreck interviews. Some days, he's great. In others, the interviewer can do no right.

The last time I saw him in person, he was being interviewed by Leonard Maltin at the Paley Center…and no one is more prepared and respectful than Leonard Maltin. I wrote about that event and here's a little of that report…

A few years ago at a Paley Center event, I watched him being interviewed by Leonard Maltin and it was a strange, surreal evening. Leonard asked very good questions without a trace of hostility or challenge. Jerry gave long, rambling answers that didn't remotely match up with the questions and he bounced back and forth between being philosophical in a professorial way and being on the defensive as if under some kind of implied attack.

The audience was full of celebrities who rose to tell Jerry and the world how much they loved him and worshiped him and thought he was the greatest comedian ever…and you'd think a man would be humbled and happy. But then one little imagined slight set him off and he began screaming at the folks who'd arranged the event, furious over essentially nothing. Lewis's emotional excesses were always kind of fascinating and funny on the telethons, especially at 3 AM when he'd shift into self-pity mode and start rambling on about how hurtful people could be towards his efforts. I think his tirade at the Paley event caused me to stop viewing his outbursts as amusing.

But getting back to the Hollywood Reporter fiasco: I don't think those now faulting the interrogator understand that the interview was part of a series of real short interviews with folks in show biz who were over ninety about why they hadn't retired, why they were still working, what special challenges they face, etc. The questioner was not there to ask Jerry in depth about his career and films. He was just there to get 2-3 minutes on why and how Jerry was still working at his age.

Jerry was asked essentially the same questions that were asked of the others — Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Carl Reiner, Cloris Leachman, et al — and none of them had any problem answering them. I believe the same interviewer did the one with Norman Lear, which went fine. Everyone else who agreed to sit for an interview about working at age 90+ had a good answer for the question, "Have you ever thought of retiring?" At that age, you kind of have to.

Only Jerry tried to turn the session into a dialogue with the interviewer — which was a problem since the format of these videos was to have the interviewer unheard in the final edit. I'm sure if you've ever been interviewed on camera more than a few times, you've done these. They always tell you up front that they need answers in complete sentences since the questions will be edited out.

The interviewer's detractors say that he was ill-prepared to interview Jerry and that he didn't know what he was doing. I think he was prepared with all the same questions that everyone else was asked and that what he wasn't prepared for was the subject trying to turn the interview into a dialogue and not answering in sentences that would make sense once the questions were cut out.

What I hear from the off-camera voice is a flustered, unsuccessful attempt to get something usable out of Mr. Lewis. He never got it so when they got back to assembling their video feature, the folks at the Hollywood Reporter didn't have the footage they needed to make Jerry's interview a piece with all the others. They had a lot of one word answers so they decided to put up seven minutes of raw footage and I'm guessing someone said, "Hey, if this is how he wants to come off, fine."

I would question whether that was the best decision but the alternative was probably to cut Jerry, who'd given them an hour or three of his time, down to one of folks in the piece who got a brief paragraph and no video. That probably would have made him angrier.

In Jerry's defense, a lot of his time was apparently wasted by a crew that took way too long to set up in his office. That might explain his cranky mood but I don't think it excuses it. He's done hundreds of interviews and he knew this one was going to ask him, as practically every interviewer has for the last decade or so, why he was still working, if he'd ever considered retiring, if there was anything he hadn't done in show business that he still hoped to do, etc. (That last question might have gotten him to talking about having his musical of The Nutty Professor perhaps someday open on Broadway.)

In February of 2013, Jerry appeared on a panel at the TV Academy called "Retire From Show Biz? No Chance!" He spoke charmingly and in polysyllabic sentences on the same topic that the Hollywood Reporter asked him about. He was proud that he was still working. He could have said the same things for this new interview but he didn't.

There are rude, unprepared interviewers out there who ask stupid questions and maybe some of them deserve to not get what they came to get. This doesn't seem to me to be an example of one.

I got a lot of interesting responses to the tweet in the previous posting. One was a tweeted reply from a Trump-supporter who posted something like, "That's quite a statement given how much Hillary and Bill have made from public speaking engagements."

I decided to send him a Direct Message reminding him that what the Clintons did was after they were out of office…not when they were in office or enjoying the tremendous power and attention they had on their way into office. As I did this, my mouse slipped and I accidentally blocked the guy, which is not something I do to people just because they disagree with me. I apparently can't unblock him without knowing his Twitter handle and I don't.

If you're that person I inadvertently blocked, drop me a note and let me know what it is. That is, if you still want to be able to read my postings. Or if you're not that person but you see the tweet I'm talking about, drop me a line with his name. Thanks.

[UPDATE: I have it. Thanks, everyone who wrote in.]

• I get the feeling Trump's going to be the first president to charge a speaker's fee for delivering the State of the Union address.

Lots of folks are writing to ask when I'm going to post this. Now is as good a time as any. It was my lovely friend Carolyn Kelly who first told me about this, lo these many years ago…

My pal Lee Goldberg is one of the best-selling writers of crime and mystery fiction around. Not long ago, he received a phone call that there was a warrant out for his arrest. You might want to read about how he handled it.

So it turns out that people who were outraged at Hillary "selling access" by collecting high speaking fees have absolutely no problem with the Trump family doing everything possible to monetize the presidency, including selling access to the Trump family via "fundraisers" and hotel bookings. Josh Marshall discusses the fundraiser and the apparent fact that the Trumps intend to just ignore any concerns or laws about Conflict of Interest when there's dough to be made.

We always knew that a lot of the posturing about morality in politics was for show but…well, I don't know about you. You may be way smarter than me but I always thought there was at least a smidgen of sincerity and principle involved in some politicians' stances. The moral lectures we heard from the Mike Huckabees of the world when there was evidence, true or not, of Bill Clinton's horndoggery is curiously absent when it's Trump telling how he loves to grab women by the pussy. Donald could start performing abortions in the Oval Office if he still gave them tax cuts for the rich and the abolition of any regulation that inhibits corporate profiteering.

In the meantime, Newt Gingrich says Trump no longer cares about that "draining the swamp" stuff and that's fine with him. And Kevin Drum has a long post that explains that Hillary did nothing wrong, except maybe for a few clumsy optics, in either the Grand E-Mail Scandal or the whole Benghazi flap. I don't think there are many folks out there these days who are even interested in arguing the opposite. It worked so all is well.

Lastly for now, let's check in with what Garry Trudeau of Doonesbury fame thinks about current events. Trudeau was in the Ridiculing Trump business long before any of the newcomers and he has a busy four years ahead of him.

The guest today on Stu Shostak's 'net radio show is Animation Expert Jerry Beck. He and Stu will be talking about new animated films like Moana, forthcoming video releases and TV specials…all sorts of cartoony topics. Jerry's visits always make for a delightful program and this one should be no exception.

Stu's Show can be heard live (almost) every Wednesday at the Stu's Show website and you can listen for free there and then. Webcasts start at 4 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM Eastern and other times in other climes. They run a minimum of two hours and sometimes go to three or beyond. Then shortly after a show concludes, it's available for downloading from the Archives on that site. Downloads are a paltry 99 cents each and you can get four for the price of three. You might want to leave a few out for Santa along with his milk and cookies.

Skooby's was a small hot dog stand located under a movie theater marquee on Hollywood Boulevard, directly across from Musso-Frank's Grill, a restaurant that will never go outta businees — I hope. Skooby's served great dogs with a great snap and was kind of a godsend to those of us who like neither the chow nor the lines at Pink's. Skooby's was what Pink's should have been, given its reputation.

The hot dogs were great, especially if you left off enough toppings to be able to taste the meat…though asked once if I preferred Skooby's over my other fave (Carney's, still open), I answered that I preferred the dogs at Carney's and the french fries and lemonade at Skooby's. I also liked the parking better at either Carney's, which may have been the reason Skooby's is no more. I rarely go to anything in that area that doesn't have a parking lot, even for one of the best hot dogs in town.

This is a short Christmas medley that Neil Diamond sang last week on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Why am I featuring this today? Two reasons, one being that I've always kinda liked Neil Diamond. He's a good, solid entertainer and you never hear anything bad about him. He just wanders around the world selling out stadiums, making people happy.

The other reason is that in this video, you actually see my friend Tom Hensley. He's the guy with the cap and the beard playing piano and he's been doing it for Neil Diamond for a long, long time. I saw him the day before they did Mr. Corden's show and I said, "I'll watch for you" and Tom said, "Oh, I never get on camera." He wasn't bothered by it but I just thought it was great that he did, even just a little. Tom reads this blog so: HEY, TOM! YOU GOT ON CAMERA! YOU GOT ON CAMERA! A LITTLE!

You know…every few months, Jerry Lewis seems to give some sort of interview or statement that seems rude and nasty and often unconnected with reality. And every time, a lot of people rush to defend him…

He's Jerry Lewis. He made a lot of great movies. He raised a ton of money to fight Muscular Dystrophy. He's always been like this. Comedic geniuses have a right to be cranky. The interviewer was at fault. Jerry's a living legend.

I've done some of this defending and it's getting harder and harder, especially the part about "He made a lot of great movies." Usually, the folks who say that can name The Nutty Professor and nothing else. That's like one out of fifty-three movies, not counting cameos.

And I don't even think The Nutty Professor is that good a movie. It's almost like you got the idea he's a great comedian in spite of his actual body of work and then you were challenged to name his best film and you picked that one because a lot of people said it was.

(I think Jerry's best movie was something with Dean in it. It's hard to pick one because they're all about the same. If I had to pick the best solo Jerry film, it would probably be The Bellboy. There are others I like from a nostalgia viewpoint. They amused me when I saw them not because they were good but because I was ten.)

Look, I'll give him the "raised a ton of money" thing. The telethons were a Guilty Pleasure for so many of us. Other televised fund-raisers attract donations by offering genuine entertainment amidst the appeals for dough. Jerry offered ego excesses, self-pity, tirades against his critics, excessive praise of his friends — no wonder this guy loves Trump — and his oft-voiced worldview that people in Show Business are just plain better human beings than people who aren't in Show Business. Still, he did raise a lot of cash from those lesser human beings who aren't in Show Business and it did a lot of good.

But the other stuff….I'm sorry. "Oh, that's just Jerry being Jerry" doesn't work for me on any level. If Harry next door beats his wife and kicks his dog, you don't just say "Oh, that's just Harry being Harry." Jerry, like Trump, is proof that if you get famous enough, some people will let you get away with anything.

I always wanted to like Jerry Lewis but he's made it too difficult. Too difficult. I'm going to stop trying to convince myself or anyone that he was a great comedian and that his tirades are anything other than the ramblings of a bitter, angry man. If you want to continue to see him as someone to be admired, don't let me stop you…because he needs all the love he can get.

But you know what? No matter how much there has been — and he's been loved more than most people on this planet get to be loved — it has never been enough.

William Saletan on the way Trump and his minions are denying every single aspect of the charge that Russia in any way aided them in the election.

You get the feeling we're facing four years where the response to every single criticism of the Trump presidency will be that it's a lie, the evidence is phony and even it were true, we don't care what anyone says? Newt Gingrich is basically out there saying that Trump and his people should just break any laws they want to break because Trump can just pardon them. Donald probably could just go out on the street and start shooting people and he'd get away with it.

This is the most popular thing I've ever posted on this weblog. In fact, it's so popular that proprietors of other sites have thought nothing of just copying the whole thing and posting it on their pages, often with no mention of me and with the implication that they are the "I" in this tale. Please don't do that — to me or anyone. By all means, post a link to it but don't just appropriate it and especially don't let people think it's your work. This is the season for giving, not taking.

Yes, it's true…and I was very happy to learn from two of Mel Tormé's kids that their father had happily told them of the incident. Hearing that was my present…

I want to tell you a story…

The scene is Farmers Market — the famed tourist mecca of Los Angeles. It's located but yards from the facility they call, "CBS Television City in Hollywood"…which, of course, is not in Hollywood but at least is very close.

Farmers Market is a quaint collection of bungalow stores, produce stalls and little stands where one can buy darn near anything edible one wishes to devour. You buy your pizza slice or sandwich or Chinese food or whatever at one of umpteen counters, then carry it on a tray to an open-air table for consumption.

During the Summer or on weekends, the place is full of families and tourists and Japanese tour groups. But this was a winter weekday, not long before Christmas, and the crowd was mostly older folks, dawdling over coffee and danish. For most of them, it's a good place to get a donut or a taco, to sit and read the paper.

For me, it's a good place to get out of the house and grab something to eat. I arrived, headed for my favorite barbecue stand and, en route, noticed that Mel Tormé was seated at one of the tables.

Mel Tormé. My favorite singer. Just sitting there, sipping a cup of coffee, munching on an English Muffin, reading The New York Times. Mel Tormé.

I had never met Mel Tormé. Alas, I still haven't and now I never will. He looked like he was engrossed in the paper that day so I didn't stop and say, "Excuse me, I just wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed all your records." I wish I had.

Instead, I continued over to the BBQ place, got myself a chicken sandwich and settled down at a table to consume it. I was about halfway through when four Christmas carolers strolled by, singing "Let It Snow," a cappella.

They were young adults with strong, fine voices and they were all clad in splendid Victorian garb. The Market had hired them (I assume) to stroll about and sing for the diners — a little touch of the holidays.

"Let It Snow" concluded not far from me to polite applause from all within earshot. I waved the leader of the chorale over and directed his attention to Mr. Tormé, seated about twenty yards from me.

"That's Mel Tormé down there. Do you know who he is?"

The singer was about 25 so it didn't horrify me that he said, "No."

I asked, "Do you know 'The Christmas Song?'"

Again, a "No."

I said, "That's the one that starts, 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…'"

"Oh, yes," the caroler chirped. "Is that what it's called? 'The Christmas Song?'"

"That's the name," I explained. "And that man wrote it." The singer thanked me, returned to his group for a brief huddle…and then they strolled down towards Mel Tormé. I ditched the rest of my sandwich and followed, a few steps behind. As they reached their quarry, they began singing, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…" directly to him.

A big smile formed on Mel Tormé's face — and it wasn't the only one around. Most of those sitting at nearby tables knew who he was and many seemed aware of the significance of singing that song to him. For those who didn't, there was a sudden flurry of whispers: "That's Mel Tormé…he wrote that…"

As the choir reached the last chorus or two of the song, Mel got to his feet and made a little gesture that meant, "Let me sing one chorus solo." The carolers — all still apparently unaware they were in the presence of one of the world's great singers — looked a bit uncomfortable. I'd bet at least a couple were thinking, "Oh, no…the little fat guy wants to sing."

But they stopped and the little fat guy started to sing…and, of course, out came this beautiful, melodic, perfectly-on-pitch voice. The look on the face of the singer I'd briefed was amazed at first…then properly impressed.

On Mr. Tormé's signal, they all joined in on the final lines: "Although it's been said, many times, many ways…Merry Christmas to you…" Big smiles all around.

And not just from them. I looked and at all the tables surrounding the impromptu performance, I saw huge grins of delight…which segued, as the song ended, into a huge burst of applause. The whole tune only lasted about two minutes but I doubt anyone who was there will ever forget it.

I have witnessed a number of thrilling "show business" moments — those incidents, far and few between, where all the little hairs on your epidermis snap to attention and tingle with joy. Usually, these occur on a screen or stage. I hadn't expected to experience one next to a falafel stand — but I did.

Tormé thanked the harmonizers for the serenade and one of the women said, "You really wrote that?"

He nodded. "A wonderful songwriter named Bob Wells and I wrote that…and, get this — we did it on the hottest day of the year in July. It was a way to cool down."

Then the gent I'd briefed said, "You know, you're not a bad singer." He actually said that to Mel Tormé.

Mel chuckled. He realized that these four young folks hadn't the velvet-foggiest notion who he was, above and beyond the fact that he'd worked on that classic carol. "Well," he said. "I've actually made a few records in my day…"

"Really?" the other man asked. "How many?"

Tormé smiled and said, "Ninety."

I probably own about half of them on vinyl and/or CD. For some reason, they sound better on vinyl. (My favorite was the album he made with Buddy Rich. Go ahead. Find me a better parlay of singer and drummer. I'll wait.)

Today, as I'm reading obits, I'm reminded of that moment. And I'm impressed to remember that Mel Tormé was also an accomplished author and actor. Mostly though, I'm recalling that pre-Christmas afternoon.

I love people who do something so well that you can't conceive of it being done better. Doesn't even have to be something important: Singing, dancing, plate-spinning, mooning your neighbor's cat, whatever. There is a certain beauty to doing almost anything to perfection.

No recording exists of that chorus that Mel Tormé sang for the other diners at Farmers Market but if you never believe another word I write, trust me on this. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Every actor, producer or writer who ever knew or worked with Gordon Hunt is tonight mourning the loss of a very good and gifted man. Gordon did many things but he was, first and foremost, a director. He directed hundreds of plays, mostly in and around Los Angeles, and for a long time was the Voice Director at Hanna-Barbera.

Before they hired Gordon, they'd had several Voice Directors who hadn't worked out and when there was no one in that job, the producers of the various shows would direct…with mixed results. Among other problems with the latter situation was that no one was in charge of scouting or auditioning new talent for the studio. When Gordon was brought in, he instantly brought order to chaos and new actors into Hanna-Barbera. He tapped into the local pool from improv groups and theatrical productions and now there's a long, long list of voice actors who owe Gordon for "discovering" them.

I remember him as a very patient man who understood performers, how to talk to them and what it takes to get the best from them. When I got my chance to voice direct, I drew on two sources to guide me in how it should be done. I had been in recording sessions with directors other than Gordon. I did nothing that they did. I had also been in recording sessions with Gordon. I did everything that he did..or at least, I tried to. I am not, I swear to you, exaggerating.

I watched him direct old pros like Mel Blanc and Daws Butler and strike just the perfect note of correcting them without disrespecting them. I watched him direct children and coax them into fine performances without scolding or making them feel bad when it took five takes to get a line right. (One of many things I learned from him: Once an actor is uncomfortable or feeling like they're screwing up, you're going to be there all night doing it over and over. So better to never make them feel that way.)

I watched him once directing an actor who was belligerent and hostile. It was not because of anything Gordon had done but the actor, who was upset about the "deal" for his services, kept snapping at Gordon, who'd had nothing to do with the negotiations. Gordon kept his cool and, when the angry actor began turning on other performers in the session, drew his fire and kept things as comfortable as they could be. The session finished on-time and the work was fine. What Gordon had done was to remain a Grown-Up at all times.

As I said, he directed a lot of local plays. I went to a lot of them and every one I saw was first rate. He was rightly proud of all of his work but he was proudest of his daughter, the popular actress Helen Hunt. And vice-versa. I said this a few paragraphs ago but it bears repeating: He was a very good and gifted man.

Today's Hollywood Reporter has an essay on folks in show business who remain active even after attaining the age of 90.  There's a big essay on ten of them — Don Rickles, Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, Norman Lloyd, Cloris Leachman, Marcia Nasitir, Stan Lee, Norman Lear, Betty White and Jerry Lewis.  The list would make you suspect that one of the secrets to longevity is working on a series with Mary Tyler Moore.

There are also spotlights on each one of them and video interviews.  The video interview with Mr. Lewis is going viral today and Hollywood Reporter itself headlines it, "Watch the Most Painfully Awkward Interview of 2016: 7 Minutes With Jerry Lewis." Lewis is cranky, non-responsive and generally hostile in that way that those of us who follow his career have often seen. In fact, I've seen it so much — sometimes in person — that I've stopped finding it funny or interesting or "the flip side of a great clown," which is how one person once described it.

From all reports, Lewis has always been a volatile personality who is capable of great rudeness. He is also sometimes very charming and funny, and those who know him best from those glimpses defend the abrasive Jerry as an understandable aberration. And to be fair to Jerry, he may have had some reason to be pissed for this particular interview. The guy asking the questions wrote…

Throughout the photo shoot, Lewis complained about the amount of equipment in the house, the number of assistants and how the shots were set up. By the time we sat down for the interview about an hour later, Lewis had worked up a full of head of steam, and it seemed like he was punishing THR by doing the interview but being as uncooperative as possible. As awkward and funny — and it's pretty funny — as the interview is, it weirdly proves the point of the entire package: 90-year-old Jerry Lewis is vital and completely engaged. He's just engaged — almost happy — in being difficult.

And you can add to those factors that the off-camera interviewer seems unprepared to deal with Jerry's confrontational responses and is unable to do much to diffuse the anger or move things to a topic that pleases the interviewee. In any case, I didn't find it funny…but then, I haven't thought anything Jerry has done was funny since about halfway through The Disorderly Orderly. I think what's happened since Jerry hit about age 80 is that the angry, pouty interviews and scolding lectures have lost the occasional twinkle. They never looked good on him but they look worse on a man his age.

So you may not want to watch this. But then again, you might so here it is…