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Friday, August 19, 2016

The Greatest Comedy Sketch I Ever Saw.

Now,  I know that comedy is completely subjective,  but I'm here to make the case
that there is one sketch that appeared on TV that was funnier, more clever, more imaginative, with more verbal dexterity, and more demanding on its actors than anything else I've ever seen.
And this includes "The, Honeymooners' "Chef of the Future" and Nichols and May's
"$65 Dollar Funeral".  Even Monty Pythons "Dead Parrot" Sketch.
These are mere contenders.
The unmitigated champeen, in my humble opinion is a sketch that appeared on
"The Four Star Revue" in 1950, and featured the host, Jack Carson, and guest Betty Kean.
I first saw this sketch about twenty years ago, when I found it at a store that specializes
in vintage TV VHS tapes.
Since VHS has gone the way of the dodo bird, I haven't been able to watch it, much less
share it with anybody.
Welcome to the twenty-first century.
A YouTube Channel called Classic TV Shows has added a whole slew of vintage stuff
that is priceless, and includes this edition of "The Four Star Revue".
I would have written about this sooner, but I wouldn't have had any way of proving
that I am right about this.
Again, it's just my opinion, but an educated one.
It was posted in February of 2016.
Go to YouTube and judge for yourself.
Type in Four Star Revue, November 22nd, 1950.
It involves Jack, and Betty, and three telephone booths.
It can be found just after the 34 minute mark, and runs about nine minutes.
It was written by Nat Hiken and Billy Friedberg.
Two major shtarkers.
They also did Sergeant Bilko.
Even if you don't agree with me, I defy you not to enjoy it.

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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".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
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@comcast.net
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

3 comments:

  1. not bad. of course, undoable today.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, it was all very much of its time, as was "Chef of the Future", and "The $65 Dollar Funeral".
    And aren't we all lucky there WAS such a time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I guess that the conference call just wasn't invented soon enough for Betty Kean. Funny stuff, and it's fun to see what TV comedy looked like when I was a toddler living in a radio-only home. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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About Me

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."