Tying Up Loose Ends.

Speaking of all things Stooge-related, Kevin Pollak, on his Chat Show podcast recently, told a story which was totally fabricated.
Not that he did not bear witness to the story as it was told, but that the story he heard told was too funny to have any chance of being true.
When Pollak was younger, he was given the privilege of being invited to sit at the comedians table at the cafe portion of the Hollywood Improv, where Albert Brooks was holding court.
Albert Brooks' father was named Harry Einstein.
Harry Einstein's professional name was Parkyakarkus.
As Parkyakarkus, he was a very successful radio and film comedian, often working with Eddie Cantor.
Adding two and two together, this made Albert Brooks' given name Albert Einstein.
I'm sure the more well-known Albert Einstein would have conceded that Brooks was smarter than he was.
At least when it came to comedy.
So Pollak is listening to Brooks tell this story that night at the Hollywood Improv.
Pollak, who does a great Albert Brooks impression, tells it in the first person on his podcast:

"So I go to Forest Lawn Cemetery to visit my father's grave.
And I talk to him.
I tell him how much I miss him, and what a big influence he's been on my life.
I truly loved my father.
Now, directly to the left of my father's grave is the grave of Larry Fine, of the Three Stooges.
The headstone wasn't there last year.
He'd just been dead about a year.
But the headstone was there now.
So I then say a prayer in Hebrew to honor my father.
All of a sudden, seemingly from out of nowhere, Moe Howard appears, and walks up to
Larry Fine's grave.
Moe Howard just stands there, quietly, perhaps reverentially.
He just stands there.
For quite a while.
Then, suddenly, he almost literally explodes.
He pounces onto the turf in front of the headstone, and begins poking two fingers into the turf.
And, into the earth, he shouts 'Putz! How am I going to get work as a single?' "

I also caught up with Keith Olbermann when he made his appearance with Letterman.
He was extremely obtuse, and not at all forthcoming about his problems with Current TV and
why he got fired.
He kept referring to himself as a ten million dollar chandelier that did not fit it's surroundings.
Yet he seemingly took responsibility for what went wrong.
Not enough that he's not suing their collective brains out.
It seemed quite disingenuous.
He explained that he'd had a lot of throat problems, which accounted for his many absences,
but during the run of his show there, nobody, no substitute host, nor he, ever offered any excuse for his absences relating to health problems.
We were not getting anything close to the full story here.

I don't know what's going to happen with Keith, but I think it's a fairly good bet that he can go
just about anywhere, and begin poking two fingers just about anywhere, and say to himself-------
"Putz! How am I going to get work as a single?"

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My book,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
You might want to check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperback, "Mark Rothman's Essays" is still available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.


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