My friend Mark Evanier e-mailed me to inform me that Albert Brooks' Famous Comedians School didn't air on SNL, but rather on a show on PBS.
Since I have always had PBS, I guess that's where I saw it.
I will then happily replace that film with Brooks' hilarious short film about having heart surgery.
And now I'll move on to the rest of the list (in no particular order).
1- Steve Martin and Dan Ayckroyd as the foreigners. Two Wild and Crazy Guys, in constant pursuit of "Foxes".
Funny the first time. Never as funny again.
2-Steve Martin and Gilda dancing to "Dancing in the Dark".
Really funny originally. A work of art.
When they reran it upon Gilda's death, and Steve Martin cried while introducing it, it was one of television's great moments.
3- Bill Murray doing his Lounge singer providing lyrics for the theme to "Star Wars".
When I first saw it, I was so dumb that I actually thought "Star Wars" had lyrics that I didn't know about.
The lounge singer was always great.
How Lorne picked Chevy Chase over Bill Murray to begin with is one of the great mysteries.
4- Bill Hader's Vincent Price impression, and his character Vinnie Verderci.
Bill Hader is one of the great underappreciated talents.
5-The Widette Family.
Done early in the series, it was a family of people, all of whom had huge asses.
They did it a few times, and always made me laugh.
Perhaps because I actually knew a family like that.
6- Jon Lovitz's Master Thespian, done with John Lithgow.
Lovitz always killed me. Just as he always did as Tommy Flanaygan, the compulsive liar, who listed among his conquests Morgan Fairchild.
7- Eddie Murphy as Buh'wheat.
You'll probably be surprised to learn that this was the ONLY time Eddie Murphy ever made me laugh.
8- Dana Carvey as Bush 41 debating Jon Lovitz as Michael Dukakis, highlighted by Lovitz saying "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy."
9- Christopher Walken as "The Continental".
Seductively and sleazily, with a foreign accent, talking to the camera, which represented a woman, in his lavish apartment, continually saying inappropriate things, and getting nailed for it.
They did "The Continental" just about every time Walken was on.
And I couldn't get enough of it, or him.
10- Alec Baldwin as the French Teacher.
Insisting that each student speak French in exactly the same inflections that he used.
Truly inspired.
11- The Young Caucasians.
Early in the series.
Ray Charles was the host.
The sketch was a flashback to when a young white group did a cover recording of "Tell Me What'd I Say".
And Ray Charles had to witness it.
Or at least listen to it.
He was not pleased.
It came out, upbeat, with no blue notes, totally vanilla, as "What DID I Say?" by the "Young Caucasians".
Brilliant.
Next time, recalling some of the people Lorne Michaels foisted upon us for at least several years, some of whom America has fallen in love with, none of whom I have.
'Til then.....
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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
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 paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are 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'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
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Thursday, October 24, 2013
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About Me
- mark rothman
- Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."
I have argued that Bill Hader would have fit into any era of SNL. Master Thespian always made me laugh. I share your feeling about Lovitz. Dancing In The Dark was sublime.
ReplyDeleteWhen TV news shows reported the loss of Gilda Radner, they also used the Dancing in the Dark clip.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was wonderful, too. One of the things that made it stand out was that the setting was a typical disco club of the day, and when Steve Martin and Gilda Radner spotted each other, the trendiness of the era vanished for them and it all became about real stylishness, real music and true artistry (even though they clowned around a little, which was also fun). When they finished dancing, the disco music came back up, and there we all were, trapped in what is accepted as the style of the day, whether we all like it or not.
Interesting factoid about the soundtrack performance of "Dancing in the Dark." The legendary Uan Rasey actually hits a flawed note at one point, but the overall performance and impact of the whole is so great that it was left the way it is. It's a masterwork of musician and composer, and yet it is not perfect. In this era of over-editing, over-shooting and CG to cover flaws, it's important to remember that you sometimes have to look at the work as a whole, otherwise the unchecked pursuit for perfection becomes like sawing legs off a coffee table to keep it from wobbling.