I hadn't expected to get this deep into The Mystery of Who Played Superman at the 1940 World's Fair…but we're into it so let's take this a little farther. I'm becoming convinced that the man in the suit wasn't actor Ray Middleton and I have a new theory to throw out there. First, let's look at some faces. The middle one is the guy who played Superman. The left and right ones are, I'm told, Ray Middleton…

Does the guy in the center pic look like the guy in the other two pics? Not to me. I wouldn't send someone to the gas chamber based on a photo I.D. like that but I might say it's not the same guy. The photo at right was sent to me by several folks. The photo at left was sent to me by my buddy Jim Brochu, who knew or knows every actor who ever set foot on a Broadway stage. Jim writes, " I got to know Ray in his later years and I would swear (even though Wikipedia and IMDB says it is) that he was not the guy in the Superman suit. I've attached a 1942 pic of Ray and you can see the chin and hairline are very very different. Ray was tall (6'3 or 6'4) and very barrel chested and this guy in the pic doesn't have the same body type." I'm inclined to agree.

So now here's what I'm thinking. Where did the identification of Ray Middleton as the man who played Superman originate? Did it possibly come from this first day issue envelope?

Because if it did, I have a thought. Let's look a little closer at what it says there in the lower left-hand corner…

"Ray Middleton appeared as Superman at the fair for a live radio broadcast." It doesn't say he put on the costume. Is it possible that to play Superman in the live radio broadcast, they hired Mr. Middleton, who was a trained actor…and then to ride the float dressed as Superman, they just found some muscular guy who looked kinda like the character Joe Shuster was drawing? Wouldn't that make sense? That would sure explain the New York Times reporter seeing Middleton functioning as a judge but not identifying him as the person who played Superman.

So my question is: Is there any other source that says Ray Middleton dressed up as Superman and posed for photos that day? Because if there isn't and the identification of him came wholly from that envelope…well, that envelope doesn't say he did. It just says he played Superman in a radio broadcast.

I have quite a few messages arguing the Jerry Siegel/Bill Gaines identification, including some from folks who are pretty sure of opposing views. But I'll get to that tomorrow or the next day. I also have more than fifty messages from people who made the same joke; that the reason the Times reporter couldn't identify Middleton as Superman is that Middleton disguised himself by wearing glasses.

Can you figure out the secret of…The Floating Cork?

Since my previous posting, I have been to a surgical center where I had arthroscopic surgery performed on my knee to repair the two tears in my meniscus. I am now home and well enough to sit at my computer and blog. The knee hurts but, hell, it's hurt for about the last seven weeks. This is an easier hurt to live with because I have a reasonable expectation it will diminish, whereas the previous pains always felt like they were on the verge of going postal on me.

An awful lot of friends called or wrote to wish me well and I (of course) appreciate that. I got the feeling some thought this was a much bigger deal than it was. Waiting for the date and hobbling about to get the necessary pre-surgery physical check-ups was probably harder than what I went through today.

I was dropped off at the surgical center at Noon whereupon I filled out about eight thousand forms including one wherein I acknowledged that they may put a lien on my home if I don't pay the $900 co-pay that I'd already paid. I prepped for surgery at 12:30, which mostly involved tying an inadequate gown in such a way that I didn't moon all of Beverly Hills — admittedly, a long-held desire. Then they put me out and I went under the knife arthroscopic instruments around 1:00.

I don't know when they moved me to Recovery but I woke up from the anesthetic around 3:00 and spent another hour waking up the rest of the way and getting dressed. I was home by 4:30 and like I said, the pain is quite endurable. They tried to give me a prescription for Norco but I have a long history of never taking the pain medications I am given after dental work or other surgery. I never need 'em and the one time I let a doctor convince me to try a Vicodin, the cure was worse than the disease. My mother popped them down like Skittles but my body doesn't like them…or just about any drug. In any case, I'm certainly not in enough pain to warrant taking anything…

…right now, at least. If the Supreme Court rules against Gay Marriage later this week, I may toss back a handful.

I was given a pile of papers that say I'll have to use crutches for a while and with luck, could be back to normal in six weeks. I'm not using the crutches and my surgeon said I'd probably be 98% back to normal by Thursday. That's my knee he's talking about. The rest of me will never be normal and I kinda prefer it that way. Thanks to all for the good thoughts.

I've been getting a lot of messages about two mysteries (?) in that clip yesterday of Superman at the World's Fair. Was it actor Ray Middleton who donned the costume, thereby making him probably the first person to "play" the character?

My pal Steven Thompson has some pretty good evidence that it was, most notably a copy of a first day issue New York World's Fair envelope that identifies Ray Middleton as the guy who played Superman. The evidence against this seems to be a New York Times account that ran at the time. Here are the relevant paragraphs…

So Mr. Middleton was there as a judge in an athletic contest but the reporter was unable to find out who had played Superman. Hmm. This reporter does not seem to be the sharpest journalist in the business. He says Superman was wearing a helmet and the video shows that's not so. But could even Mr. Magoo not notice the resemblance between the guy who played Superman in one event and the actor serving as a judge in another? Naw.

Tossing that aside, we're left with two possible scenarios. One is that it wasn't Middleton playing the Man of Steel; that he was just there as a judge and Superman was portrayed by someone else — a man whose identity is lost to the ages. But that wouldn't explain the World's Fair envelope that Steven located…so I'm tossing this explanation aside, too.

What we have left is the one I'm going with: Middleton wore the Superman costume. In another event, he served as a judge. And the N.Y. Times reporter decided to go along with the joke that Superman was a man of mystery, his true identity unknown. That's my verdict.

Meanwhile, as I said, there are two mysteries in the video. The other is this: One of the men we identified in the video was Max Charles Gaines. He's the fellow at 2:14 in the video, the one who was often mistaken for Bert Lahr. Mr. Gaines not only helped birth the comic book industry but he fathered one of its most notable publishers, William M. Gaines. When Max Gaines died, he was running a company called Educational Comics. Bill took it over, changed it to Entertaining Comics and was soon publishing comics like Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science and Crime SuspenStories. Oh, yes…and MAD. When the horror/crime comics went away, MAD remained as a magazine…and you all know this story.

So…is that a young Bill Gaines at 2:25 in the video? We're talking about the guy on the left in the above framegrab. Others have identified it as Jerry Siegel and it does kinda look like Jerry so I passed that info on without pausing to consider it. Many of you have written in to say it looks more like Bill…and I think it does. My pal Anthony Tollin says he has a copy of Bill Gaines' high school yearbook and he's compared the photos and is sure. Is Jerry Siegel anywhere in this video?

Want to learn how to get rich? Don't listen to Donald Trump. Pay attention to someone far more realistic and human…like Uncle Scrooge McDuck. Thanks to Bill Cotter for the pointer.

Here's a bit of comic book history. In 1938, Superman made a big enough debut in comics that it was possible to promote the character at the 1940 New York World's Fair. This is silent home movie footage shot (probably 16mm) at that event on July 3, 1940. There are brief glimpses (very brief) of some of the folks responsible for the Man of Steel's popularity, starting with Jerry Siegel, who's the dark-haired gent with glasses you see at 2:26. Also in there is Harry Donenfeld, publisher and owner of what we now know as DC Comics. He's the one riding the elephant about one minute in…and at 2:14, we see Max C. Gaines and Jack Liebowitz. Gaines is the one who looks like Bert Lahr. He was the guy who recommended to Donenfeld that he purchase and publish the Superman strip that Siegel and artist Joe Shuster had created. Liebowitz was Donenfeld's accountant and he wound up running the company…as accountants usually do.

You will see a gent in a Superman suit riding precariously on a float and popular history would suggest that's Ray Middleton. He was a Broadway actor of the time who, it's been said, was hired to wear the Superman costume at this event, thereby making him the first human being to portray the character. But folks who've studied photos and the film are telling me that ain't Ray Middleton. There seems to be documentation that Middleton did participate in Superman Day at the World's Fair but as a judge in a physical fitness competition. There seems to be no proof he actually donned the famous costume. Since the identity of the guy on the float is unknown, so apparently is the name of the first person to "play" Superman. Maybe he was a reporter or something…

UPDATE: I have corrected the date of the event thanks to Ken Quattro.  So thanks to Ken Quattro.  Also, I am agnostic on the subject of whether or not that's Ray Middleton in the suit.  I'm merely reporting that some people don't think it is.

Tomorrow could be a very good day or a very bad day for members of racial minorities who want to marry someone of the same sex.

Glen Cadigan writes…

In Tales of My Father #3, you say that Mort Weisinger was fired from DC. Everything that I've ever read on the topic (including that written by Weisinger himself) says that he retired. So I guess my question is, is this one of those, "He quit before he could get fired," stories or are you just misremembering?

No, I was just oversimplifying a rather complicated matter because it wasn't relevant to the story I was telling. There are several different accounts of why Mort Weisinger left DC, and all of them had to do with the fact that he'd sold a novel called The Contest that he had allegedly written. (Bob Haney claimed to have ghost-written at least half of it and Bob said that other writers at and around DC, including David Vern, did what he didn't.)

At the time, there were a lot of authors around New York cobbling up books intended to replicate the success of Jacqueline Susann's best-sellers like Valley of the Dolls. Weisinger had been a judge at the Miss America pageant — this was back when anyone cared about the Miss America pageant — and on the strength of that and his connections in the publishing world, he got this deal to "write" his book about a mythical pageant and all the sex 'n' drugs that went on behind the scenes. He made a ton o' money off it and I believe it even got optioned for a movie before publication and he made another ton o' money off that.

In the meantime, things were changing at DC as the company was sold to the firm that would eventually come to be known as Time-Warner. Weisinger had for a long time been jockeying to be named Publisher or Editor-in-Chief or something more than just the editor of the Superman titles. There were folks in the firm who didn't even want him doing that, let alone running the whole outfit. Irwin Donenfeld, who'd been Editorial Director, was to be ousted in the corporate takeover and at some point, Weisinger seemed to believe he was the logical, perhaps only choice to take over that job. He was therefore quite unhappy when Carmine Infantino got it. The higher Infantino rose in the company, the more he began to tamper with the Superman titles…and he even took one of them, Superboy, away from Weisinger.

As you may remember, Weisinger had asked me to write a Krypto story for the rear of that comic. I submitted one which, in hindsight, I'm kinda glad wasn't published. I found a copy of it a few years ago, gave it a read and made that face that Edvard Munch depicted in "The Scream." Really awful. The best thing I can say about it was that it was (a) neatly typed and (b) better than a Jimmy Olsen script of mine Weisinger had rejected. Why he liked the Krypto story, I have no idea…but he wrote one day to say he was buying it and that was the last I heard from Mort Weisinger. And before long, I saw that Murray Boltinoff was editing Superboy.

A few years later, I asked Nelson Bridwell, who'd been Weisinger's assistant, wha' happened. He said Superboy had been wrested from Weisinger as one of many "eviction notices" that had been served on him, the biggie being Infantino being installed in the top job. Oddly enough, Jack Kirby had used the same term — "Weisinger's eviction notice" — to describe his own hiring at DC over, reportedly, Weisinger's objections. Weisinger didn't like the Marvel style (i.e., Jack's) and didn't like Jack personally due to encounters during Jack's previous tours of duty at DC. He also didn't like Jack's old partner, Joe Simon, and it was reportedly because of Weisinger's insistence that DC canceled Simon's 1968 Brother Power the Geek comic before receiving any sales figures on it.

This doesn't make Mr. Weisinger sound all that wonderful so I should point out that he was a very successful editor of comic books who had a lot to do with Superman being successful from the mid-forties 'til around 1970. As editor of those books, he was a target for anyone who wanted to move up in that company. The person who controlled Superman was, almost by definition, the most important person at the firm…and he was in many ways more qualified for the CEO job at DC than the guy who got it.

At some point, Weisinger totalled up all those eviction notices, looked at the money he'd made off The Contest and an advance on his next book (which I'm not sure was ever written) and decided to get out before he was forcibly removed. True, he officially retired but everyone I talked to back then who knew him, including Bridwell and Weisinger's old partner Julius Schwartz, said he felt squeezed out. I met him briefly at the DC offices on what I think was his last day. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say he was fired.

Jon Stewart appears on Egypt's version of The Daily Show. Don't worry. They speak in English after a while…

I don't particularly care about Paula Deen, a woman I'd barely heard about before it got out that she uses the "n" word. I do kinda care about racism and I hope someone somewhere will remind people that there's a lot more to not being a racist than to not say the "n" word.

I worked once (briefly) for a guy I thought was a racist. He did not use the "n" word. He even hired black people occasionally but it worked like this: If a black person walked in and applied for employment, it was more or less presumed that he was stupid and criminal until he proved otherwise. When a white person walked in, it was the opposite.

There were a few black employees…folks who'd made the cut. The boss talked about them like they were cocker spaniels who'd learned somehow to talk. Once he said of one, "You see? He proves that if a negro applies himself and cuts out that 'black power' crap, he can compete with the white man." I would say that's the language of a racist but the boss didn't think he talked like one because he didn't use the "n" word. And of course, he pointed to the black employees as proof he wasn't bigoted.

Actually, these days, I'm more inclined to think that using the "n" word is as much a sign of stupidity as racism. You'd think even a person who had a deep, abiding repulsion or contempt for other races would at least have enough smarts to not let it out in such a gratuitous manner. Then again, you'd think that male Republican members of Congress would have figured out that they can't talk about rape without looking like insensitive, sexist idiots. And still they do.

I had three of these calls yesterday…

CALLER: Hello, may I speak to Mr. Evanier? [mispronounces "Evanier"]

ME: You're speaking to Mr. Evanier. [corrects pronunciation]

CALLER: Good afternoon, Mr. Evanier. [same mispronunciation] How are you today?

ME: I'm waiting for surgery.

CALLER: Great. This is [alleged name of caller] from [name of construction company]. You were very nice when we talked last August and you said to give you a call around this time to discuss the work you wanted to do on your home.

ME: You're lying to me. We never talked about that.

[CLICK!]

I wonder how many of the calls they make end like that. And I wonder how many people "remember" their previous conversation which never happened.

Late in the day, I got a call from an extremely stupid person who introduced themselves with some sort of impressive-sounding title with DirecTV. Ever since I cancelled my multi-decade contract with that satellite TV firm and switched to Time-Warner Cable, I've been half-hoping that someone from DirecTV would call with a great offer to go back with them. I've received a few mailed offers for rates and services they never offered me when I was a loyal, trusted customer but they're not to the point where I'm ready to leap back.

The gent who called me was assigned to try and get me back…and what struck me is that he didn't know anything about the system he was trying to talk me out of. I told him I now have the top-of-the-line TiVo and it doesn't work with DirecTV. He went into a sales pitch extolling their DVR, which is called the Genie, and told me that TiVo was dying out, everyone's getting rid of them and getting DVRs instead. I told him a TiVo is a DVR. He told me that unlike a TiVo, a Genie has a 1 terabyte drive. I told him my TiVo has a 2 terabyte drive.

Finally after a few more of these, I asked him if any DirecTV channels were copy-protected. I know they weren't when I got rid of the service a few weeks ago but I don't like that, for example, HBO and Comedy Central are copy-protected on Time-Warner Cable. This means I can't copy their shows over to my PC to store and even edit out clips like I can with my TiVo. He asked, "What do you mean?" I explained what I meant and he said, "Oh, no. You can't copy any of our shows to your computer. That's against the law."

No, it isn't. In fact, DirecTV sells an add-on to the Genie called the GenieGO that copies shows to your computer. But when I started to tell him this, I guess he realized he wasn't going to make a sale here. He suddenly blurted out, "Have a nice day" and hung up on me.

The thing that struck me about the call was how it wasn't like these endless unwanted solicitations I get from contractors. They're not going to get my business no matter what they say…but to DirecTV, I am gettable. Give me the right deal and you get me back. He didn't do that. In fact, he didn't offer any numbers at all…just the promise that I'd "save thousands."

The DirecTV telemarketing department is said to be ruthless. I've heard it's easier to quit The Mob than it is to quit DirecTV once and for all. I'm going to guess I'll get another call in just a few days…and one the following week and then the week after. Let's see how long they go before they try the ol' desperation tactic by assigning someone who knows what he's talking about.

Last September after Marvin Hamlisch passed away, the Pasadena Pops — an orchestra he'd often conducted — staged a free tribute concert on the steps of the Pasadena City Hall. I wanted to go and couldn't…so here's a moment I missed, the singing of "What I Did For Love." The first solo singer you hear is the wonderful Valerie Perri and if you want to find out how much I like her, enter her name in the search box here. The other two singers are Lisa Vroman and Jason Alexander and they're pretty darn wonderful, too. So was Marvin…

They tell me I'll be having my knee surgery on Monday so that's good. I'm not able to walk for more than about two minutes (or thirty seconds going up or down stairs) without it feeling like someone has taken a backhoe to it. I'm getting along okay but that's largely because I'm not trying to do much more than sit here and write, go in and sleep, hobble to the bathroom and occasionally get up the nerve to go downstairs to feed cats or me. I'm fretting not so much about the surgery but about whether I'll heal sufficiently in the 24 days I'll have before Comic-Con International, which convenes 27 days from today. If I don't, I'm thinking of arranging for one of those royal sedan chairs to transport me around the convention. Paula Deen has offered the services of some Nubians to carry it and me.

The con, of course, starts the evening of July 17 with Preview Night, the night when we all get to preview how mobbed the thing will be. On the four days that follow, I will be moderating thirteen panels, including Spotlights on Leonard Maltin and Tony Isabella, our traditional two Cartoon Voice Panels, the usual Sergio-Mark panel, Cover Story, The Business of Cartoon Voices (that's the one where we tell wanna-bes how to maybe get into the business), a tribute panel about Joe Kubert, the annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panel (with special guest Neil Gaiman), Quick Draw! (with special guest cartoonist Neal Adams) and several others I'll plug here well in advance.

The passing of Kim Thompson has hit the industry pretty hard. I suppose there was someone out there who didn't like the guy. You can't be in a position of power, with the ability to say, "No, we won't publish your book" without somebody not liking you. But if someone felt that way about Kim, I sure never heard it. One of the highest compliments you can pay someone in that position was utterly applicable to Kim. When he said he'd do something, he did it. I wish everyone in publishing was like that. Heck, I wish everyone in the world was like that. I expect there will be a panel at the con to remember Kim and folks will tell stories that underscore that.

Thanks to all who've written me to encourage more Tales of My Father. There will be more. You may also get stuck with a couple of Tales of Various Uncles.

And thanks to all of you who backed Carol Lay's Kickstarter.  One of the things that has made me happiest in my hour of agonizing knee pain is to see her total go over the top as it did last night.  You will all be rewarded with a great comic book and whatever rewards apply to your pledge level.  If you didn't pledge, there's still a few hours left to pile on and get your copy and bonuses.  This blog may not have the most readers but it has the best readers.

Here's another one of those great photos taken on the set of The Dick Van Dyke Show. [WARNING: Do not click if you do not want to see Mary Tyler Moore with her hair in curlers…very disillusioning to those of us who thought she just looked that good naturally…] Thanks again to Bill Lentz for letting me know about this.

Okay, so I lied. I'm going to hector you one more time about pledging for Carol Lay's Kickstarter. This will make it possible for one of the comic field's most innovative cartoonists to bring forth her newest creation, Murderville. I want to see this thing and you may not know it yet but you do, too. She's real good.

As I write this, she's a little over $2500 from her goal and it's got 38 hours to go. Boy, would it break my heart to see this one fall short…so please go over there and pledge. She has some great deals where you can get a piece of Carol Lay artwork…like an original from her syndicated strip Story Minute for a $175 pledge. That's a steal.

Please go pledge. And if you're afraid to get involved with Kickstarter, this is a great time to learn and join up.