I See Nothing.

Cynthia Lynn died last week.
Until last week, I had no idea who Cynthia Lynn was.
That's because her only claim to fame was as Helga on the TV series "Hogan's Heroes".
I only watched "Hogan's Heroes" the first time it was on.
That's because I found it to be almost as big an atrocity as the Holocaust itself.
It was ostensibly based on Billy Wilder's great "Stalag 17".
But even though that film had it's comic touches, it was very much a serious movie.
The premise of "Hogan's Heroes"" was to portray Nazis as comic buffoons.
As idiots.
As non-threatening idiots.
In "Stalag 17", there was always menacing danger lurking.
My reaction to that singular viewing of "Hogan's Heroes" was quite similar to the first act audience's first response to "Springtime For Hitler" in "The Producers".
Except that I never recovered from it.
It's as if it was produced by Max Bialystock.
How does a Jew, who lost many of his ancestors to what went on in Concentration Camps, react to witnessing funny, silly Nazis?
If you're me, you're outraged.
And you don't watch again.
That's why I never heard of Cynthia Lynn.
Robert Clary is now the sole surviving member of the "Hogan's Heroes" cast.
You'd think he'd be particularly sensitive to the same concerns that I've had, since he spent most of his childhood in Concentration Camps.
But I guess a gig's a gig.
In the early 90's, I lived near Scottsdale Arizona.
One night I watched the A&E documentary about the murder of Bob Crane.
I realized that it took place about two miles from my house.
It was easy to track down.
So whenever friends would come to visit me in Scottsdale, I'd take them on a guided tour of the front of the apartment where Bob Crane was murdered.
That consistently provided me with more laughs than ""Hogan's Heroes" ever did.

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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 and 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 not
e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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