Lou Carter

I may be one of only a handful of people who remembers Lou Carter.
He was a show business veteran when I was a kid.
He would show up on the Jack Paar "Tonight" Show, which I was fortunate enough to see when my parents thought I was asleep, and a bunch of appearances on "The Perry Como Variety Show" in the sixties.
Lou Carter was hilarious.
He was a songwriter, and his songs were of the parody variety, although they were totally original, music and lyrics.
And he was also a pianist and arranger for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
But when he appeared on TV, it was under the guise of a character he created called
"Louie The Cabbie".
He dressed like a New York cab driver of the fifties(when they were all Jews), and wrote and sang some wonderful songs.
He put out a couple of albums, one of which, "Louie's Love Songs" requires your attention if you value your sense of humor.
One of the cuts on "Louie's Love Songs" begins with the lyric 
"Whattsamatter wit' me? 
Whattsamatter wit' choo?
Whattsamatter wit' all a you guys?
Why don't you get over there?"
They certainly don't write 'em like that any more.
Maybe they never did.
But here are the complete lyrics to my favorite Lou Carter song:

I got a rose between my toes
from walkin' barefoot tru the hothouse to you
pretty baby

I got a t'orn right near my corn
from walkin' barefoot tru the hothouse to you

And when I fell into the tomatoes
I seen her heart skip a beat

I knew that love was born
when she pulled the t'orn
of the flower out of my feet

I didn't even feel no pain
because there wasn't any rain in the sky
pretty baby

I didn't need no iodine
because the sun began to shine upon me

For now my feet feel glad and gay
ever since that lucky day
I got a rose between my toes
from walkin' barefoot tru the hothouse to you

(musical interlude)

I didn't even feel no pain
because there wasn't any rain in the sky
pretty baby

I didn't need no iodine
because the sun began to shine upon me

For now my feet feel glad and gay
ever since that lucky day
I got a rose between my toes
from walkin' barefoot tru the hothouse to you

It was as funny as it sounds.
Lou Carter died in 2006.
"Louie's Love Songs" can be found on "Spotify" and YouTube.
Do yourself a favor and check them out.
In the early 80's, Billy Crystal briefly attempted to resurrect Lou Carter's career when he had him appear on Crystal's short-lived variety show.
In a major production number, he enlisted Nell Carter and Robert Conrad to form a trio to perform
"I got a rose between my toes...",  as Lou looked on from his piano bench.
It was heaven.
Even Robert Conrad.
I am fortunate enough to own a copy of this video.
It's one of my more priceless possessions.

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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.

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