Actually, I don't know if I'll EVER be done with the OTN.
The Obscure Television Network, for you newbies.
A fantasy network of my own making to provide opportunities to see TV shows that I think are worth your time, and for whatever reason have never been rerun.
New entries constantly cross my path and my mind.
Recently, my friend Bob, who is rapidly becoming my better and better friend Bob, sent me a couple of episodes of "The Practice"
No, not the ABC series about lawyers that evolved into "Boston Legal"
This one is from the mid-1970's, and was a sitcom starring Danny Thomas as a doctor who had his own office and still made housecalls.
Kind of like what Paul Muni was in "The Last Angry Man"
I remember watching it when it was first on, and really enjoying it.
What I didn't recall was how absolutely brilliant it was.
And it was.
The first episode of the ones he sent me was incredibly good.
It did something I had never seen before or since.
Danien shows up at the home of an old neighborhood friend just as Last Rites are being administered by the priest.
And then Danien spends the entire half-hour doing a monologue about death to the corpse.
He was brilliant.
The writing was brilliant.
They completely stretched the sitcom form.
The writer was the great Steve Gordon, who was best known for writing the movie "Arthur"
And Steve Gordon died only five years after this episode of "The Practice", at the age of 43.
This only adds to the irony of that monologue.
"The Practice" was also quite substantive.
The other episode dealt with the dilemma a Doctor faces when he is faced with attempting to save a life that really isn't worth saving.
In this case, a thug who sells drugs to kids.
The actor playing the thug was an actor named Carmine Caridi, whom I'm sure you'd recognize.
I know I did.
Perhaps that's because I had once cast him myself, and he was really good.
I thought that his work in this episode was a little sub-standard for him.
Then, watching the credits, I realized why.
It wasn't Carmine Caridi.
It was Vic Tayback.
You know.
The guy who played Mel from Mel's diner on "Alice"
A guy whose work I never liked.
An actor far worse than Carmine Caridi.
I had never been that badly fooled.
And I never realized how much Tayback and Caridi looked and sounded like each other.
Maybe they were the same guy.
No. They couldn't be.
Maybe they could have been twins.
Maybe they were.
Except one of them got all the talent.
"The Practice" belongs on the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Friday, August 2, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
When You're Smilin'.......
This is yet another example of My Curse: My ability to remember everything I have ever seen on TV or in the movies to the most minute detail.
And usually have it come back and bite me in the ass.
I have been TIVOing "Mr. Lucky" on MEtv for quite a while now.
Not because it is particularly good.
But I watched it as a kid and enjoyed it.
And it certainly has a sense of humor.
Like having Ross Martin in it, who was very funny.
Like, as I've mentioned, having the lead actor look just like Cary Grant but not be able to act his way out of a paper bag.
That's pretty funny.
"Mr. Lucky" is a show that I'm able to multi-task my way through.
Because the plots are so predictable that you really don't have to make much eye contact with it.
So I was keeping one eye on an episode of "Mr. Lucky" last week, and something caught my eye.
A gangster came aboard Mr. Lucky's yacht to commandeer it into foreign waters.
He had his little eight year old daughter with him.
The kid looked a lot like Shirley Temple did at that age.
This is what struck me immediately: The little kid was Tammy Marihugh, the winner of the "Howdy Doody Smile Contest" on the Howdy Doody show in 1958.
And there it was.
Her name in the closing credits.
It's the first time I had laid eyes on Tammy Marihugh since 1958, and even I was astounded that I remembered her name and the contest.
I mentioned this to a friend of mine, and she was far more astounded than I was that anyone would remember a Daily Double like this one..
She told me that I must write about this, hence, this is appearing here.
My insatiable curiosity and the ease of the Internet led me to try to discover whatever became of Tammy Marihugh.
Did she ever have any kind of show business career?
Is she still alive?
I knew who she was,, and what she had done.
Then.
And now, to quote Paul Harvey, the rest of the story......
According to the IMDB, she appeared in several movies and TV shows as a child, and one appearance as a 17 year old on an episode of "My Three Sons"
And that was it.
Apparently, she made the same transition to late adolescence as Shirley Temple.
The kicker was what I then spotted on her IMDB page:
"After leaving acting, Tammy became an exotic dancer and by the late 1970's she was a dancer in Las Vegas. She eventually married bodybuilder Rodney Larson, ten years younger than her, who turned out to be a violent and abusive husband. In March 1996, after a night of heavy drinking, Tamra, as she was known by then, arrived at home and shot her husband in the back. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and in September 1997, was found guilty but given probation."
Talk about biting me in the ass.
There are some things I really would have preferred not knowing.
44 years old and still working the pole.
And now, she's 61.
And she went from Howdy Doody to Jury Duty.
I'll bet that when she was given probation, she smiled.
Maybe even her Howdy Doody smile.
I think Buffalo Bob would be turning over in his grave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
And usually have it come back and bite me in the ass.
I have been TIVOing "Mr. Lucky" on MEtv for quite a while now.
Not because it is particularly good.
But I watched it as a kid and enjoyed it.
And it certainly has a sense of humor.
Like having Ross Martin in it, who was very funny.
Like, as I've mentioned, having the lead actor look just like Cary Grant but not be able to act his way out of a paper bag.
That's pretty funny.
"Mr. Lucky" is a show that I'm able to multi-task my way through.
Because the plots are so predictable that you really don't have to make much eye contact with it.
So I was keeping one eye on an episode of "Mr. Lucky" last week, and something caught my eye.
A gangster came aboard Mr. Lucky's yacht to commandeer it into foreign waters.
He had his little eight year old daughter with him.
The kid looked a lot like Shirley Temple did at that age.
This is what struck me immediately: The little kid was Tammy Marihugh, the winner of the "Howdy Doody Smile Contest" on the Howdy Doody show in 1958.
And there it was.
Her name in the closing credits.
It's the first time I had laid eyes on Tammy Marihugh since 1958, and even I was astounded that I remembered her name and the contest.
I mentioned this to a friend of mine, and she was far more astounded than I was that anyone would remember a Daily Double like this one..
She told me that I must write about this, hence, this is appearing here.
My insatiable curiosity and the ease of the Internet led me to try to discover whatever became of Tammy Marihugh.
Did she ever have any kind of show business career?
Is she still alive?
I knew who she was,, and what she had done.
Then.
And now, to quote Paul Harvey, the rest of the story......
According to the IMDB, she appeared in several movies and TV shows as a child, and one appearance as a 17 year old on an episode of "My Three Sons"
And that was it.
Apparently, she made the same transition to late adolescence as Shirley Temple.
The kicker was what I then spotted on her IMDB page:
"After leaving acting, Tammy became an exotic dancer and by the late 1970's she was a dancer in Las Vegas. She eventually married bodybuilder Rodney Larson, ten years younger than her, who turned out to be a violent and abusive husband. In March 1996, after a night of heavy drinking, Tamra, as she was known by then, arrived at home and shot her husband in the back. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and in September 1997, was found guilty but given probation."
Talk about biting me in the ass.
There are some things I really would have preferred not knowing.
44 years old and still working the pole.
And now, she's 61.
And she went from Howdy Doody to Jury Duty.
I'll bet that when she was given probation, she smiled.
Maybe even her Howdy Doody smile.
I think Buffalo Bob would be turning over in his grave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Life And Fun.
My wife and I were at or favorite Italian restaurant last week for lunch.
We were being served by a waitress who had only been there for two weeks, so she was new to us.
She was a spectacular waitress.
When you go out to eat, having a spectacular waitress is a real perk.
Having an only mildly interested waitress is a bit of a letdown.
Having a less than interested waitress, one who makes little or no eye contact with you when she passes your table, who manages to get lost periodically, even when the restaurant is relatively empty, is a real bummer.
It negates the entire "going out to eat" experience.
And we usually tip accordingly.
We have even, on rare occasions, stiffed the waitress and complained to the management.
At that point, you're better off just ordering your food to go.
By the way, all of this applies to waiters as well.
Nothing sexist here.
But on this afternoon, we had this spectacular waitress.
In her early forties, enthusiastic, helpful, and putting on a very entertaining show.
A good server is also a good showman, or show-woman.
We were in awe, and complemented her effusively.
We spoke to the manager about her in the most glowing terms, and told her that we had done so.
She seemed quite grateful.
We acknowledged that this was not an easy thing to do.
And she made this quite profound statement:
"Hey, life is too short to not have too much fun."
This statement stuck with me all the way home.
It still sticks with me.
We got home, I went to my computer, turned it on, and immediately learned that the actor Dennis Farina had died at the age of 69.
From what I knew about him, from a couple of sources, I thought "Hey. Who better embodies that profound statement, 'Life is too short not to have too much fun' than Dennis Farina'?
My friend, actor-comedian Larry Miller worked on a movie with him once, and described him as one of the coolest guys he had ever met.
That he really charmed the ladies.
That he asked the craft service girl for cups of coffee all day long, always referring to her as "sweetheart" in a way that you couldn't help but love him for if you were her.
Larry asked him how he could drink that much coffee in one afternoon.
Dennis replied "Try some"
Larry resisted.
"Go ahead. Try some"
Larry tried some.
Oh, there was some coffee in the cup, but it primarily consisted of bourbon.
All day long.
Jackie Gleason was boorish and flamboyant about this sort of thing.
My friend the late, great Harry Crane, who wrote for him, described a typical party that Gleason used to throw at his suite at the Park Sheraton after his show ended on a typical Saturday night.
The liquor never stopped, and the women never stopped.
Harry was always greeted at the door by Gleason with "Come on in, pal. Grab a booze and a broad!"
Harry never quite got over the inelegant way it was put.
Gleason also had his fun, and died at 71.
Dennis Farina only made it to 69.
But his fun was handled in a far more quiet and dignified way.
He was a great actor, a great cop, and he was what I suppose I aspired to be: a man's man.
I'm just sure he loved his life.
I don't consider myself a man's man.
The best image I can hope to have for myself is "a man's Jew"
That can't help but be anything but a diminished image.
Dennis Farina was one of those people I would have gladly traded places with.
Even if I did only make it to 69.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
We were being served by a waitress who had only been there for two weeks, so she was new to us.
She was a spectacular waitress.
When you go out to eat, having a spectacular waitress is a real perk.
Having an only mildly interested waitress is a bit of a letdown.
Having a less than interested waitress, one who makes little or no eye contact with you when she passes your table, who manages to get lost periodically, even when the restaurant is relatively empty, is a real bummer.
It negates the entire "going out to eat" experience.
And we usually tip accordingly.
We have even, on rare occasions, stiffed the waitress and complained to the management.
At that point, you're better off just ordering your food to go.
By the way, all of this applies to waiters as well.
Nothing sexist here.
But on this afternoon, we had this spectacular waitress.
In her early forties, enthusiastic, helpful, and putting on a very entertaining show.
A good server is also a good showman, or show-woman.
We were in awe, and complemented her effusively.
We spoke to the manager about her in the most glowing terms, and told her that we had done so.
She seemed quite grateful.
We acknowledged that this was not an easy thing to do.
And she made this quite profound statement:
"Hey, life is too short to not have too much fun."
This statement stuck with me all the way home.
It still sticks with me.
We got home, I went to my computer, turned it on, and immediately learned that the actor Dennis Farina had died at the age of 69.
From what I knew about him, from a couple of sources, I thought "Hey. Who better embodies that profound statement, 'Life is too short not to have too much fun' than Dennis Farina'?
My friend, actor-comedian Larry Miller worked on a movie with him once, and described him as one of the coolest guys he had ever met.
That he really charmed the ladies.
That he asked the craft service girl for cups of coffee all day long, always referring to her as "sweetheart" in a way that you couldn't help but love him for if you were her.
Larry asked him how he could drink that much coffee in one afternoon.
Dennis replied "Try some"
Larry resisted.
"Go ahead. Try some"
Larry tried some.
Oh, there was some coffee in the cup, but it primarily consisted of bourbon.
All day long.
Jackie Gleason was boorish and flamboyant about this sort of thing.
My friend the late, great Harry Crane, who wrote for him, described a typical party that Gleason used to throw at his suite at the Park Sheraton after his show ended on a typical Saturday night.
The liquor never stopped, and the women never stopped.
Harry was always greeted at the door by Gleason with "Come on in, pal. Grab a booze and a broad!"
Harry never quite got over the inelegant way it was put.
Gleason also had his fun, and died at 71.
Dennis Farina only made it to 69.
But his fun was handled in a far more quiet and dignified way.
He was a great actor, a great cop, and he was what I suppose I aspired to be: a man's man.
I'm just sure he loved his life.
I don't consider myself a man's man.
The best image I can hope to have for myself is "a man's Jew"
That can't help but be anything but a diminished image.
Dennis Farina was one of those people I would have gladly traded places with.
Even if I did only make it to 69.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Friday, July 26, 2013
The Hundred Funniest Words. Part Four
I am going to replace eleven words.
I am dropping broccoli, macaroni, provolone, breadbox, spatula, salami, slush, cubbyhole, hippopotamus, hangnail, and dumbbell.
They will be replaced by titmouse, Sheboygan, tchotchke, spleen, gherkin, scrotum, putz, Lipschitz, schmendrick, phallus, and last but not least, cooties.
(Late addition---I'm dropping "muskrat" in favor of "pinochle")
Thus, the final list.
1- blintz
2- knish
3- bumbershoot
4- cucumber
5- titmouse
6- crumbcake
7- gorgonzola
8- glockenspiel
9- spittoon
10- rutabaga
11- bagel
12- dropkick
13- pretzel
14- prunes
15- shellaleigh
16- gavotte
17- snotnose
18- bellybutton
19- asscrack
20- cahoots
21- snootful
22- pants
23- zipper
24- matzoh
25- halvah
26- bocci
27- belch
28- phlegm
29- phlange
30- Sheboygan
31- scungilli
32- upchuck
33- fish
34- pistachio
35- clodhopper
36- Kalamazoo
37- tscotchke
38- kugel
39- latkes
40- brouhaha
41- cuckoo
42- spleen
43- lox
44- pus
45- ukulele
46- sauerkraut
47- boogers
48- gherkin
49- petunia
50- blubber
51- mudpack
52- peepers
53- bedbugs
54- scrotum
55- tsitzis
56- dildo
57- cumquat
58- macaroon
59- festoon
60- Cucamonga
61- guacamole
62- poppycock
63- tommyrot
64- kerfuffle
65- pumpernickel
66- Riboflavin
67- pickle
68- knockers
69- pinochle
70- wienershnitzel
71- putz
72- fleugelhorn
73- gallstones
74- Lipschitz
75- giraffe
76- cockroach
77- klutz
78- schlemiel
79- cooties
80- armpit
81- tonsillectomy
82- schmendrick
83- blunderbuss
84- farts
85- bloomers (underwear, not flowers)
86- bric-a-brac
87- boner
88- coccyx
89- chickenfat
90- Poughkeepsie
91- blimp
92- pimples
93- aardvark
94- phallus
95- yucch
96- seltzer
97- igloo
98- Edsel
99- noodles
100- cottonpickin'
Remember, this is, and has always been, a work in progress.
If anyone out there has any suggestions for improving the list, all ideas will be entertained.
Mark Rothman, Custodian of the Hundred Funniest Words.
*************
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
I am dropping broccoli, macaroni, provolone, breadbox, spatula, salami, slush, cubbyhole, hippopotamus, hangnail, and dumbbell.
They will be replaced by titmouse, Sheboygan, tchotchke, spleen, gherkin, scrotum, putz, Lipschitz, schmendrick, phallus, and last but not least, cooties.
(Late addition---I'm dropping "muskrat" in favor of "pinochle")
Thus, the final list.
1- blintz
2- knish
3- bumbershoot
4- cucumber
5- titmouse
6- crumbcake
7- gorgonzola
8- glockenspiel
9- spittoon
10- rutabaga
11- bagel
12- dropkick
13- pretzel
14- prunes
15- shellaleigh
16- gavotte
17- snotnose
18- bellybutton
19- asscrack
20- cahoots
21- snootful
22- pants
23- zipper
24- matzoh
25- halvah
26- bocci
27- belch
28- phlegm
29- phlange
30- Sheboygan
31- scungilli
32- upchuck
33- fish
34- pistachio
35- clodhopper
36- Kalamazoo
37- tscotchke
38- kugel
39- latkes
40- brouhaha
41- cuckoo
42- spleen
43- lox
44- pus
45- ukulele
46- sauerkraut
47- boogers
48- gherkin
49- petunia
50- blubber
51- mudpack
52- peepers
53- bedbugs
54- scrotum
55- tsitzis
56- dildo
57- cumquat
58- macaroon
59- festoon
60- Cucamonga
61- guacamole
62- poppycock
63- tommyrot
64- kerfuffle
65- pumpernickel
66- Riboflavin
67- pickle
68- knockers
69- pinochle
70- wienershnitzel
71- putz
72- fleugelhorn
73- gallstones
74- Lipschitz
75- giraffe
76- cockroach
77- klutz
78- schlemiel
79- cooties
80- armpit
81- tonsillectomy
82- schmendrick
83- blunderbuss
84- farts
85- bloomers (underwear, not flowers)
86- bric-a-brac
87- boner
88- coccyx
89- chickenfat
90- Poughkeepsie
91- blimp
92- pimples
93- aardvark
94- phallus
95- yucch
96- seltzer
97- igloo
98- Edsel
99- noodles
100- cottonpickin'
Remember, this is, and has always been, a work in progress.
If anyone out there has any suggestions for improving the list, all ideas will be entertained.
Mark Rothman, Custodian of the Hundred Funniest Words.
*************
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The 100 Funniest Words. Part Three.
The following suggestions were made in the Comments section:
"To update the list, we could scratch off broccoli, dropkick, breadbox, salami and chickenfat."
I have no problem scratching broccoli, breadbox, or salami.
But I draw the line at chickenfat and dropkick.
The great comedy writer Pat McCormick, when asked "What do you want to do tonight?", replied "Let's dropkick shit"
I insist that his memory be honored.
As for the other suggestions, I will deal with them individually and subjectively:
shiitake--Too oblique. Why not just say "shit"?
cockatoo(or cockatiel)---We already have "cuckoo, which is funnier than either.
lalapalooza---not as funny as "labonza", which I will add.
palooka,---never thought it was funny.
titmouse--I think it deserves honorable mention.,
slinky (the toy)---I can't think of a context where it would be usable.
boo-boo--perhaps if it was pronounced "buuh-boo"
tipsy--no thanks.
frankfurter---the only sausage I would consider is "bratwurst", and I'm still not sure about even that.
smegma--more disgusting than anything else.
stroganoff--not for me.
Sheboygan,---an obvious choice that I overlooked.
taint---no
Bangkok---no
chowder---no
pluot---I plead ignorance.,
cock-eyed,----the image is funnier than the word.
knockwurst----asked and answered,
tchotchke---There's definitely a place for "tchotchke"
pumpernickel,---Already on the list
sarcophagus---'Tis only an ugly word.
cadaver---same as sarcophagus.
Lake Titicaca---The rules say it must be only one word.
whirlygig---not for me.
tubesteak,---I don't see it.
spleen---There is a good case to be made for it.
crotchety-----I don't think so.
vacillate---I'm not even vacillating. No.
masticate---I considered that one, but it didn't make the cut.
tinsel---don't see the point.
fracus---you'd think so, but no.
organ grinder---Two words
scruples----doesn't try hard enough
yogurt---a poor substitute for sour cream, which we can't use.
edamame---don't see it.
flatulence---definitely. I'll add it. .
Arugula---too close to "kugel" We can't have both.
sphincter----too unfamiliar, too many meanings.
zygote----In the anti-abortion era, it's lost any potential humor.
gherkin---I like it.
canker sore----The two-word rule, among other things.
Altoid---not today.
scrotum---you'd think it is, but it isn't.
putz---of course.
dipstick----I prefer Lipschitz.
douche--too easy.
schmendrick I was toying with it. I'll add it.
I will also add phallus, and one more that I'm embarrassed to have neglected:
cooties.
Next time, the completely updated list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
"To update the list, we could scratch off broccoli, dropkick, breadbox, salami and chickenfat."
I have no problem scratching broccoli, breadbox, or salami.
But I draw the line at chickenfat and dropkick.
The great comedy writer Pat McCormick, when asked "What do you want to do tonight?", replied "Let's dropkick shit"
I insist that his memory be honored.
As for the other suggestions, I will deal with them individually and subjectively:
shiitake--Too oblique. Why not just say "shit"?
cockatoo(or cockatiel)---We already have "cuckoo, which is funnier than either.
lalapalooza---not as funny as "labonza", which I will add.
palooka,---never thought it was funny.
titmouse--I think it deserves honorable mention.,
slinky (the toy)---I can't think of a context where it would be usable.
boo-boo--perhaps if it was pronounced "buuh-boo"
tipsy--no thanks.
frankfurter---the only sausage I would consider is "bratwurst", and I'm still not sure about even that.
smegma--more disgusting than anything else.
stroganoff--not for me.
Sheboygan,---an obvious choice that I overlooked.
taint---no
Bangkok---no
chowder---no
pluot---I plead ignorance.,
cock-eyed,----the image is funnier than the word.
knockwurst----asked and answered,
tchotchke---There's definitely a place for "tchotchke"
pumpernickel,---Already on the list
sarcophagus---'Tis only an ugly word.
cadaver---same as sarcophagus.
Lake Titicaca---The rules say it must be only one word.
whirlygig---not for me.
tubesteak,---I don't see it.
spleen---There is a good case to be made for it.
crotchety-----I don't think so.
vacillate---I'm not even vacillating. No.
masticate---I considered that one, but it didn't make the cut.
tinsel---don't see the point.
fracus---you'd think so, but no.
organ grinder---Two words
scruples----doesn't try hard enough
yogurt---a poor substitute for sour cream, which we can't use.
edamame---don't see it.
flatulence---definitely. I'll add it. .
Arugula---too close to "kugel" We can't have both.
sphincter----too unfamiliar, too many meanings.
zygote----In the anti-abortion era, it's lost any potential humor.
gherkin---I like it.
canker sore----The two-word rule, among other things.
Altoid---not today.
scrotum---you'd think it is, but it isn't.
putz---of course.
dipstick----I prefer Lipschitz.
douche--too easy.
schmendrick I was toying with it. I'll add it.
I will also add phallus, and one more that I'm embarrassed to have neglected:
cooties.
Next time, the completely updated list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Saturday, July 20, 2013
The Hundred Funniest Words. Part Two.
The following was in the Comments section of the first part of this post, offering alternatives for the 100 Funniest Words list.
5 comments:
Bob: July 18, 2013 at 1:36 PM
perhaps one of these? cockatoo (or cockatiel), lalapalooza, palooka, titmouse, slinky (the toy), plop, boo-boo, tipsy, or frankfurter?
bobo45rpm@verizon.net: July 18, 2013 at 8:43 PM
To update the list, we could scratch off broccoli, dropkick, breadbox, salami and chickenfat, and add on the following - shiitake, smegma, stroganoff, Sheboygan, taint, Bangkok, chowder, pluot, cock-eyed, knockwurst, tchochke, pumpernickel, sarcophagus, cadaver, Lake Titicaca, whirlygig, tubesteak, spleen, crotchety, vacillate, masticate, tinsel, fracus, organ grinder, scruples, yogurt, edamame and flatulence. MORE TO COME.
bob: July 19, 2013 at 7:59 AM
Arugula, sphincter, zygote, canker sore, Altoid, scrotum, gherkin.
Tom: July 19, 2013 at 10:22 AM
putz, dipstick, douche, schmendrick
R.: July 19, 2013 at 1:41 PM
I have two things to say:
1-as far as i am concerned broccoli was a one season wonder and should be removed from the list. after the hoo-haw about the remark by president bush (the first) it lost a lot of ground in the funny department
2-a lot of these words are funny because of the way they sound, but a many of them are funny because (how can i put this DELLLL-i-cat-ly), they evoke funny images, or at least images that inspire one to smile. I put pickle and cucumber in this category, among others.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a result, I can see that there will already be a part three.
I had intended today to analyze each suggestion and pass judgment on them, revamping my list in the process.
Then "R."s comment turned up.
A theory and a theme was presented here that could hardly be ignored: the connection between funny words and phallic symbols.
This already brings to mind that the word "phallus" was left off the list.
And it leads me to want to regale you with the two funniest uses of the word that I have found, in my travels.
I once mentioned my passion for Variety Cryptic Puzzles.
These are very creative crosswords that have a theme that you have to figure out for several of the answers.
I first discovered these puzzles when Stephen Sondheim began constructing them for New York Magazine.
In one of his first puzzles, the answer to the clue was undoubtedly "phallus"
But the place for it to be entered had too many letters, and the clue indicated in parentheses "two words".
I had yet to figure out the theme that would lead me to make the right entry.
Then, by solving other clues, the theme hit me right between the eyes.
The theme words were to be entered in Pig-Latin.
So phallus was to be entered as "Alice Faye"
Sondheim thought of this.
Bravo.
The other use of "phallus" that tickles me no end is in the form of a limerick:
Here goes------
"There once was a lady from Dallas,
Who used TNT for a phallus.
They found her vagina in South Carolina,
And her rectum in Buckingham Palace"
Until next time,
Mark Rothman, custodian of the 100 funniest words.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
5 comments:
Bob: July 18, 2013 at 1:36 PM
perhaps one of these? cockatoo (or cockatiel), lalapalooza, palooka, titmouse, slinky (the toy), plop, boo-boo, tipsy, or frankfurter?
bobo45rpm@verizon.net: July 18, 2013 at 8:43 PM
To update the list, we could scratch off broccoli, dropkick, breadbox, salami and chickenfat, and add on the following - shiitake, smegma, stroganoff, Sheboygan, taint, Bangkok, chowder, pluot, cock-eyed, knockwurst, tchochke, pumpernickel, sarcophagus, cadaver, Lake Titicaca, whirlygig, tubesteak, spleen, crotchety, vacillate, masticate, tinsel, fracus, organ grinder, scruples, yogurt, edamame and flatulence. MORE TO COME.
bob: July 19, 2013 at 7:59 AM
Arugula, sphincter, zygote, canker sore, Altoid, scrotum, gherkin.
Tom: July 19, 2013 at 10:22 AM
putz, dipstick, douche, schmendrick
R.: July 19, 2013 at 1:41 PM
I have two things to say:
1-as far as i am concerned broccoli was a one season wonder and should be removed from the list. after the hoo-haw about the remark by president bush (the first) it lost a lot of ground in the funny department
2-a lot of these words are funny because of the way they sound, but a many of them are funny because (how can i put this DELLLL-i-cat-ly), they evoke funny images, or at least images that inspire one to smile. I put pickle and cucumber in this category, among others.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a result, I can see that there will already be a part three.
I had intended today to analyze each suggestion and pass judgment on them, revamping my list in the process.
Then "R."s comment turned up.
A theory and a theme was presented here that could hardly be ignored: the connection between funny words and phallic symbols.
This already brings to mind that the word "phallus" was left off the list.
And it leads me to want to regale you with the two funniest uses of the word that I have found, in my travels.
I once mentioned my passion for Variety Cryptic Puzzles.
These are very creative crosswords that have a theme that you have to figure out for several of the answers.
I first discovered these puzzles when Stephen Sondheim began constructing them for New York Magazine.
In one of his first puzzles, the answer to the clue was undoubtedly "phallus"
But the place for it to be entered had too many letters, and the clue indicated in parentheses "two words".
I had yet to figure out the theme that would lead me to make the right entry.
Then, by solving other clues, the theme hit me right between the eyes.
The theme words were to be entered in Pig-Latin.
So phallus was to be entered as "Alice Faye"
Sondheim thought of this.
Bravo.
The other use of "phallus" that tickles me no end is in the form of a limerick:
Here goes------
"There once was a lady from Dallas,
Who used TNT for a phallus.
They found her vagina in South Carolina,
And her rectum in Buckingham Palace"
Until next time,
Mark Rothman, custodian of the 100 funniest words.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The 100 Funniest Words.
On a recent trip to my attic, I stumbled upon a relic from the 1970's.
Early on in my TV writing career, we all determined that it would be invaluable to have a particular writing tool at our disposal:
A list of the hundred funniest words.
A kind of go-to list when writing comedy, particularly for finding the right word to end a sentence of dialogue, to form a punchline.
The list we compiled was often revised, to accommodate better and funnier words, thus allowing us to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.
I can't recall where this particular list fell in the sequence of revisions.
It's simply the one I stumbled upon in my attic.
The rules then were that they had to be one word.
Not two words strung together.
Proper names were deemed acceptable.
You'll find a preponderance of Yiddish words, and words loaded with "K" sounds.
Neil Simon taught us well.
I see no reason not to continue the tradition of updating the list, so if you have suggestions for possible replacements, the Comments section is the place to offer them.
They must be timeless, so "Kardashian" is unacceptable.
So, here goes, from 1977:
1- blintz
2- knish
3- bumbershoot
4- cucumber
5- broccoli
6- crumbcake
7- gorgonzola
8- glockenspiel
9- spittoon
10- rutabaga
11- bagel
12- dropkick
13- pretzel
14- prunes
15- shellaleigh
16- gavotte
17- snotnose
18- bellybutton
19- asscrack
20- cahoots
21- snootful
22- pants
23- zipper
24- matzoh
25- halvah
26- bocci
27- belch
28- phlegm
29- phlange
30- macaroni
31- scungilli
32- upchuck
33- fish
34- pistachio
35- clodhopper
36- Kalamazoo
37- provolone
38- kugel
39- latkes
40- brouhaha
41- cuckoo
42- breadbox
43- lox
44- pus
45- ukulele
46- sauerkraut
47- boogers
48- spatula
49- petunia
50- blubber
51- mudpack
52- peepers
53- bedbugs
54- dumbbell
55- tsitzis
56- dildo
57- cumquat
58- macaroon
59- festoon
60-Cucamonga
61- guacamole
62- poppycock
63- tommyrot
64- kerfuffle
65- pumpernickel
66- Riboflavin
67- pickle
68- knockers
69- muskrat
70- wienershnitzel
71- salami
72- fleugelhorn
73- gallstones
74- hippopotamus
75- giraffe
76- cockroach
77- klutz
78- schlemiel
79- hangnail
80- armpit
81- tonsillectomy
82- slush
83- blunderbuss
84- farts
85- bloomers (underwear, not flowers)
86- bric-a-brac
87- boner
88- coccyx
89- chickenfat
90- Poughkeepsie
91- blimp
92- pimples
93- aardvark
94- cubbyhole
95- yucch
96- seltzer
97- igloo
98- Edsel
99- noodles
100- cottonpickin'
*************
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Early on in my TV writing career, we all determined that it would be invaluable to have a particular writing tool at our disposal:
A list of the hundred funniest words.
A kind of go-to list when writing comedy, particularly for finding the right word to end a sentence of dialogue, to form a punchline.
The list we compiled was often revised, to accommodate better and funnier words, thus allowing us to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were.
I can't recall where this particular list fell in the sequence of revisions.
It's simply the one I stumbled upon in my attic.
The rules then were that they had to be one word.
Not two words strung together.
Proper names were deemed acceptable.
You'll find a preponderance of Yiddish words, and words loaded with "K" sounds.
Neil Simon taught us well.
I see no reason not to continue the tradition of updating the list, so if you have suggestions for possible replacements, the Comments section is the place to offer them.
They must be timeless, so "Kardashian" is unacceptable.
So, here goes, from 1977:
1- blintz
2- knish
3- bumbershoot
4- cucumber
5- broccoli
6- crumbcake
7- gorgonzola
8- glockenspiel
9- spittoon
10- rutabaga
11- bagel
12- dropkick
13- pretzel
14- prunes
15- shellaleigh
16- gavotte
17- snotnose
18- bellybutton
19- asscrack
20- cahoots
21- snootful
22- pants
23- zipper
24- matzoh
25- halvah
26- bocci
27- belch
28- phlegm
29- phlange
30- macaroni
31- scungilli
32- upchuck
33- fish
34- pistachio
35- clodhopper
36- Kalamazoo
37- provolone
38- kugel
39- latkes
40- brouhaha
41- cuckoo
42- breadbox
43- lox
44- pus
45- ukulele
46- sauerkraut
47- boogers
48- spatula
49- petunia
50- blubber
51- mudpack
52- peepers
53- bedbugs
54- dumbbell
55- tsitzis
56- dildo
57- cumquat
58- macaroon
59- festoon
60-Cucamonga
61- guacamole
62- poppycock
63- tommyrot
64- kerfuffle
65- pumpernickel
66- Riboflavin
67- pickle
68- knockers
69- muskrat
70- wienershnitzel
71- salami
72- fleugelhorn
73- gallstones
74- hippopotamus
75- giraffe
76- cockroach
77- klutz
78- schlemiel
79- hangnail
80- armpit
81- tonsillectomy
82- slush
83- blunderbuss
84- farts
85- bloomers (underwear, not flowers)
86- bric-a-brac
87- boner
88- coccyx
89- chickenfat
90- Poughkeepsie
91- blimp
92- pimples
93- aardvark
94- cubbyhole
95- yucch
96- seltzer
97- igloo
98- Edsel
99- noodles
100- cottonpickin'
*************
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Richard Erdman On The OTN. Part Two.
What Richard Erdman added to whatever he appeared in was a light, sophisticated, interesting, humor-filled, grounded, believable presence.
He did this on good shows, like "Lou Grant" and "The Burns and Allen Show", both of which he appeared only intermittently, and on mediocre shows, where he appeared regularly.
Those mediocre shows needed him more than the good shows.
Because they were mediocre, and he was still good.
His presence was needed much more on those mediocre shows.
It definitely raised the level of those shows.
The two shows that I'm offering up for the OTN today were definitely mediocre.
I remember enjoying both of them when they were first on in the late 50s-early 60's.
And the only reason I am considering them is because of Richard Erdman.
The first is "The Tab Hunter Show", a sitcom that Tab Hunter was supposed to carry the load on.
He couldn't.
But Richard Erdman, playing a grownup, more realistic version of Chatsworth Osborne Jr., single-handedly carried the load ably.
I saw an episode of "The Tab Hunter Show" recently, and from what I had remembered previously, it was disconcertingly bad.
Tab Hunter added nothing to it, and the storytelling was abysmal.
But the dialogue was pretty good.
Mainly because most of it was handled by Richard Erdman with aplomb.
"Aplomb" is THE word that defines Richard Erdman.
Defines, because Richard Erdman is alive, in his nineties.
I'm sure he's handling that with aplomb as well.
The other show I'm submitting is a one-season wonder called "The Saints and Sinners"
It was a drama about a crusading newspaper reporter played by Nick Adams.
And boy, did he crusade.
I don't think he got any bonuses in his reporter salary for crusading, but that didn't stop him.
He overactingly crusaded all over the place.
The tone of "Saints and Sinners" was relentlessly high pressure, tense and melodramatic.
I think one of the producers thought that what it needed was a light, sophisticated, interesting, humor-filled, grounded, believable, non-crusading presence.
So they quite intelligently cast Richard Erdman as the wryly funny photographer for the newspaper.
He more than once played the equivalent of what Oscar Levant played in the movies.
The wryly commenting best friend to Robert Alda in the Gershwin biopic, or John Garfield in "Humoresque" or Gene Kelly in "An American In Paris", or Fred Astaire in "The Barkeleys of Broadway"
After Oscar Levant stopped playing those parts, someone had to step into the breach.
And Richard Erdman did some great breach-stepping.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
He did this on good shows, like "Lou Grant" and "The Burns and Allen Show", both of which he appeared only intermittently, and on mediocre shows, where he appeared regularly.
Those mediocre shows needed him more than the good shows.
Because they were mediocre, and he was still good.
His presence was needed much more on those mediocre shows.
It definitely raised the level of those shows.
The two shows that I'm offering up for the OTN today were definitely mediocre.
I remember enjoying both of them when they were first on in the late 50s-early 60's.
And the only reason I am considering them is because of Richard Erdman.
The first is "The Tab Hunter Show", a sitcom that Tab Hunter was supposed to carry the load on.
He couldn't.
But Richard Erdman, playing a grownup, more realistic version of Chatsworth Osborne Jr., single-handedly carried the load ably.
I saw an episode of "The Tab Hunter Show" recently, and from what I had remembered previously, it was disconcertingly bad.
Tab Hunter added nothing to it, and the storytelling was abysmal.
But the dialogue was pretty good.
Mainly because most of it was handled by Richard Erdman with aplomb.
"Aplomb" is THE word that defines Richard Erdman.
Defines, because Richard Erdman is alive, in his nineties.
I'm sure he's handling that with aplomb as well.
The other show I'm submitting is a one-season wonder called "The Saints and Sinners"
It was a drama about a crusading newspaper reporter played by Nick Adams.
And boy, did he crusade.
I don't think he got any bonuses in his reporter salary for crusading, but that didn't stop him.
He overactingly crusaded all over the place.
The tone of "Saints and Sinners" was relentlessly high pressure, tense and melodramatic.
I think one of the producers thought that what it needed was a light, sophisticated, interesting, humor-filled, grounded, believable, non-crusading presence.
So they quite intelligently cast Richard Erdman as the wryly funny photographer for the newspaper.
He more than once played the equivalent of what Oscar Levant played in the movies.
The wryly commenting best friend to Robert Alda in the Gershwin biopic, or John Garfield in "Humoresque" or Gene Kelly in "An American In Paris", or Fred Astaire in "The Barkeleys of Broadway"
After Oscar Levant stopped playing those parts, someone had to step into the breach.
And Richard Erdman did some great breach-stepping.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Richard Erdman On The OTN.
I don't think I've told this story before, but I know that I've discussed the concept of the advantages of having a last name that is towards the beginning of the alphabet if you're trying to be a working actor.
There's this book called "The Academy Players Directory"
It is broken down to several categories: Leading Men, Leading Women, Juveniles and Ingenues, and Characters and Comedians (both male and female).
These books consists of pictures of all of these actors, and how to find their representation.
All the names are listed alphabetically.
Anybody doing any casting immediately starts with "A", and proceeds through the alphabet until he or she finds someone acceptable.
I had mentioned that I had to go all the way to "G" until I found Dick Gautier when I was left to fend for myself to cast a guest star part on "She's The Sheriff"
I was often left to fend for myself when it came to casting on "She's The Sheriff"
That's because I was given someone as my casting person who had just graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Secretarial Pool.
As a result, she had virtually no knowledge of the Los Angeles Talent Pool.
This all came to a head one day when we were trying to cast a romantic interest for Pat Carroll, who played Suzanne Somers' mother.
The other producers, studio execs, and the Head of Casting, the late Barbara Miller, who was the one who foisted this neophyte upon me, were all assembled in Barbara's office, when our young neophyte waltzed into the room with an 8x10 photo in her hand.
Her precise words were "I've got him! I've got the actor! Perfect for Pat Carroll's love interest!"
We all waited with baited breath to see this photo.
She revealed it to us.
It was a photo of a fairly well-known character actor named Edward Andrews.
Well, she certainly followed the standard procedure of approaching the Academy Players Directory alphabetically.
But it must have been a somewhat less than new edition of the directory.
Because, as I had to point out to her, Edward Andrews had died two years previously.
I once again had to take matters into my own hands and wade through the Academy Players Directory myself.
Alphabetically, of course.
Fortunately, I only had to get up to the "E"s before I found the wonderful Richard Erdman.
Unlike the young neophyte, I was quite familiar with the L.A. talent pool, and Richard Erdman's work.
Work which has never been less than wonderful.
I hired him on the spot, and he was indeed nothing less than wonderful.
He had also appeared in the great "Stalag 17", where he added to the greatness.
Catch him on the episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", where he played the flaming costume designer, Buck Brown, for the play that Alan Brady got Rob Petrie to "doctor", getting Rob to pretend he was a tailor.
Later, Rob complains to Laura about the way he was treated by Buck Brown.
Laura asks "The cowboy star?" Rob replies contemptuously, "Hardly."
Erdman was also a regular on two series which were less than wonderful, but were made more than tolerable by his presence.
For that reason,, they both deserve a place on the OTN.
I'll talk about those shows, and Richard Erdman's contributions to them next time.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
There's this book called "The Academy Players Directory"
It is broken down to several categories: Leading Men, Leading Women, Juveniles and Ingenues, and Characters and Comedians (both male and female).
These books consists of pictures of all of these actors, and how to find their representation.
All the names are listed alphabetically.
Anybody doing any casting immediately starts with "A", and proceeds through the alphabet until he or she finds someone acceptable.
I had mentioned that I had to go all the way to "G" until I found Dick Gautier when I was left to fend for myself to cast a guest star part on "She's The Sheriff"
I was often left to fend for myself when it came to casting on "She's The Sheriff"
That's because I was given someone as my casting person who had just graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Secretarial Pool.
As a result, she had virtually no knowledge of the Los Angeles Talent Pool.
This all came to a head one day when we were trying to cast a romantic interest for Pat Carroll, who played Suzanne Somers' mother.
The other producers, studio execs, and the Head of Casting, the late Barbara Miller, who was the one who foisted this neophyte upon me, were all assembled in Barbara's office, when our young neophyte waltzed into the room with an 8x10 photo in her hand.
Her precise words were "I've got him! I've got the actor! Perfect for Pat Carroll's love interest!"
We all waited with baited breath to see this photo.
She revealed it to us.
It was a photo of a fairly well-known character actor named Edward Andrews.
Well, she certainly followed the standard procedure of approaching the Academy Players Directory alphabetically.
But it must have been a somewhat less than new edition of the directory.
Because, as I had to point out to her, Edward Andrews had died two years previously.
I once again had to take matters into my own hands and wade through the Academy Players Directory myself.
Alphabetically, of course.
Fortunately, I only had to get up to the "E"s before I found the wonderful Richard Erdman.
Unlike the young neophyte, I was quite familiar with the L.A. talent pool, and Richard Erdman's work.
Work which has never been less than wonderful.
I hired him on the spot, and he was indeed nothing less than wonderful.
He had also appeared in the great "Stalag 17", where he added to the greatness.
Catch him on the episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", where he played the flaming costume designer, Buck Brown, for the play that Alan Brady got Rob Petrie to "doctor", getting Rob to pretend he was a tailor.
Later, Rob complains to Laura about the way he was treated by Buck Brown.
Laura asks "The cowboy star?" Rob replies contemptuously, "Hardly."
Erdman was also a regular on two series which were less than wonderful, but were made more than tolerable by his presence.
For that reason,, they both deserve a place on the OTN.
I'll talk about those shows, and Richard Erdman's contributions to them next time.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Things Not To Do In Mississippi.
I have often gone on gambling junkets.
I suppose you could consider that a vice, but I've always played within my means, and never hurt myself.
Living in Michigan, before there were casinos there, I would often go to Tunica, Mississippi, where there are about a dozen casinos, all eager for my business.
So they would fly me in, put me up, feed me, take me to and from the Memphis Airport, about a half an hour away, and then, after about four days, deposit me back there.
Most of these trips took place in the spring or summer or early fall.
The trip from Memphis to Tunica was quite scenic.
Lush, green cotton fields all along the way.
Then one time, in the dead of winter, I made the same trip.
Only now, there were no lush, green cotton fields.
What there was, was mud.
It was not at all scenic.
But it provided me the opportunity to test out a theory, which I did for the first and only time.
About half way to Tunica, I ordered the limo driver to pull over and stop the car.
After some minor protest, he humored me and did what I asked.
I got out of the car.
I walked over to the mud.
I was determined to find out, first hand, whether or not it was, in fact, a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi Mud.
For those of you with only slight musical orientation, "It's a Treat to Beat Your Feet on the Mississippi Mud" is a song.
Here are the lyrics:
"When the sun goes down, the tide goes out
The people gather round and they all begin to shout
Hey, hey uncle Dud
It's a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud
It's a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud
What a dance do they do
Lordy, how I'm tellin' you
They don't need no band
They keep time by clapping their hands
Just as happy as a cow chewin' on a cud
It's a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud"
I stepped over, on to the mud.
I began beating my feet.
I kept my shoes on.
In this case, white sneakers.
The mud gave a little.
Pretty soon, they were brown sneakers.
It was no treat.
I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong.
Maybe I wasn't getting the full effect.
Maybe I was supposed to take my shoes off.
The sun hadn't gone down.
It was early afternoon.
I wasn't dancing.
Maybe that was the problem.
I didn't want to dance in front of the limo driver.
I really didn't want to do any of this in front of the limo driver, but I had committed myself.
I didn't have no band, but I didn't need one.
I kept time by clappin' my hands.
To no avail.
Maybe I needed an Uncle Dud.
I did not have one.
I got back into the limo, having experienced no treat, and proceeded on to Tunica.
Having brought no other shoes, I walked the casino the first day in those now brown, muddy sneakers.
They were still moist.
By the second day, the mud had hardened, and I was able to scrape much of it off of my sneakers in my hotel room.
After four days, having experienced no treat at the blackjack tables either, they whisked me back to the Memphis Airport, as I passed the Mississippi Mud all along the way, rather disheartened, but with my curiosity at least somewhat satisfied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
I suppose you could consider that a vice, but I've always played within my means, and never hurt myself.
Living in Michigan, before there were casinos there, I would often go to Tunica, Mississippi, where there are about a dozen casinos, all eager for my business.
So they would fly me in, put me up, feed me, take me to and from the Memphis Airport, about a half an hour away, and then, after about four days, deposit me back there.
Most of these trips took place in the spring or summer or early fall.
The trip from Memphis to Tunica was quite scenic.
Lush, green cotton fields all along the way.
Then one time, in the dead of winter, I made the same trip.
Only now, there were no lush, green cotton fields.
What there was, was mud.
It was not at all scenic.
But it provided me the opportunity to test out a theory, which I did for the first and only time.
About half way to Tunica, I ordered the limo driver to pull over and stop the car.
After some minor protest, he humored me and did what I asked.
I got out of the car.
I walked over to the mud.
I was determined to find out, first hand, whether or not it was, in fact, a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi Mud.
For those of you with only slight musical orientation, "It's a Treat to Beat Your Feet on the Mississippi Mud" is a song.
Here are the lyrics:
"When the sun goes down, the tide goes out
The people gather round and they all begin to shout
Hey, hey uncle Dud
It's a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud
It's a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud
What a dance do they do
Lordy, how I'm tellin' you
They don't need no band
They keep time by clapping their hands
Just as happy as a cow chewin' on a cud
It's a treat to beat your feet on the Mississippi mud"
I stepped over, on to the mud.
I began beating my feet.
I kept my shoes on.
In this case, white sneakers.
The mud gave a little.
Pretty soon, they were brown sneakers.
It was no treat.
I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong.
Maybe I wasn't getting the full effect.
Maybe I was supposed to take my shoes off.
The sun hadn't gone down.
It was early afternoon.
I wasn't dancing.
Maybe that was the problem.
I didn't want to dance in front of the limo driver.
I really didn't want to do any of this in front of the limo driver, but I had committed myself.
I didn't have no band, but I didn't need one.
I kept time by clappin' my hands.
To no avail.
Maybe I needed an Uncle Dud.
I did not have one.
I got back into the limo, having experienced no treat, and proceeded on to Tunica.
Having brought no other shoes, I walked the casino the first day in those now brown, muddy sneakers.
They were still moist.
By the second day, the mud had hardened, and I was able to scrape much of it off of my sneakers in my hotel room.
After four days, having experienced no treat at the blackjack tables either, they whisked me back to the Memphis Airport, as I passed the Mississippi Mud all along the way, rather disheartened, but with my curiosity at least somewhat satisfied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Lord Of The Idiots.
On one of the great episodes of "Seinfeld", Jerry and George got into a heated discussion, and both rattled off examples of who was, in fact, the bigger idiot.
After a particularly whopping example of idiocy, George proclaimed "You are looking at Costanza, Lord of the Idiots"
Well, I am now here to lay claim to that title.
I did something the other day that I consider to be unmatched in its idiocy.
I am in L.A., after flying in on July 4th.
I live in Malibu, and arrived early enough to realize that if I attempted to drive my black Mitsubishi rented car just after I picked it up, I would be facing some pretty heavy beach traffic.
So I stopped at one of my favorite restaurants along the way.
By the time I got out, the beach traffic would have subsided, and I could breeze home.
Only one problem:
I went into the restaurant's parking lot, and there was no black Mitsubishi where I had parked it.
The car was stolen. There was no other explanation.
And it contained very valuable things.
Like two computers, priceless DVDs, and , oh, by the way, MY ONLY SET OF KEYS TO MY HOME IN MALIBU.
I had the restaurant call the police.
I attempted to have them show me the closed-circuit videotape of the parking lot to see if their could be any leads.
Of course, with it being July 4th, the man in charge of displaying the videotapes was off that day, and unreachable.
I was fuming, and let everybody know it.
The restaurant personnel, other patrons, everybody.
Finally, after about forty-five minutes, the police still not having arrived, the manager suggested to me that the car that was in the space I told him I had parked in had been there since before I had arrived.
"Impossible!" I exclaimed. "This is a light grey car. Mine was black!"
But just for the heck of it, I decided to humor him.
I went outside to the light grey car and examined it.
It was a Mitsubishi.
With my travel bag in the back seat.
Where I had left it.
I had not rented a black car.
I had rented a light grey car.
I went back into the restaurant, apologized to all profusely, all was forgiven, and I felt more relief than stupidity.
It was only later that the pure idiocy of what I had done sank in.
The only words I can offer in my defense is that I only had the car for about fifteen minutes, had been shown several black ones before I made my choice, and all cars these days look alike.
If this was 1955, and I had rented a two-tone Buick Roadmaster, I couldn't have possibly mistaken it for anything else.
But that's really giving me all the best of it, which I don't deserve.
If you ever had any respect for me, now's the time to reconsider.
Move over, Jerry and George.
Make way for Rothman, Lord of the Idiots.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
After a particularly whopping example of idiocy, George proclaimed "You are looking at Costanza, Lord of the Idiots"
Well, I am now here to lay claim to that title.
I did something the other day that I consider to be unmatched in its idiocy.
I am in L.A., after flying in on July 4th.
I live in Malibu, and arrived early enough to realize that if I attempted to drive my black Mitsubishi rented car just after I picked it up, I would be facing some pretty heavy beach traffic.
So I stopped at one of my favorite restaurants along the way.
By the time I got out, the beach traffic would have subsided, and I could breeze home.
Only one problem:
I went into the restaurant's parking lot, and there was no black Mitsubishi where I had parked it.
The car was stolen. There was no other explanation.
And it contained very valuable things.
Like two computers, priceless DVDs, and , oh, by the way, MY ONLY SET OF KEYS TO MY HOME IN MALIBU.
I had the restaurant call the police.
I attempted to have them show me the closed-circuit videotape of the parking lot to see if their could be any leads.
Of course, with it being July 4th, the man in charge of displaying the videotapes was off that day, and unreachable.
I was fuming, and let everybody know it.
The restaurant personnel, other patrons, everybody.
Finally, after about forty-five minutes, the police still not having arrived, the manager suggested to me that the car that was in the space I told him I had parked in had been there since before I had arrived.
"Impossible!" I exclaimed. "This is a light grey car. Mine was black!"
But just for the heck of it, I decided to humor him.
I went outside to the light grey car and examined it.
It was a Mitsubishi.
With my travel bag in the back seat.
Where I had left it.
I had not rented a black car.
I had rented a light grey car.
I went back into the restaurant, apologized to all profusely, all was forgiven, and I felt more relief than stupidity.
It was only later that the pure idiocy of what I had done sank in.
The only words I can offer in my defense is that I only had the car for about fifteen minutes, had been shown several black ones before I made my choice, and all cars these days look alike.
If this was 1955, and I had rented a two-tone Buick Roadmaster, I couldn't have possibly mistaken it for anything else.
But that's really giving me all the best of it, which I don't deserve.
If you ever had any respect for me, now's the time to reconsider.
Move over, Jerry and George.
Make way for Rothman, Lord of the Idiots.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Shrinks On The OTN.
Two more entries for the OTN today:
They are contemporaries of each other, from the early 1960's.
One ran one season, the other ran two.
One, I watched a season's worth,, and the other, I watched an episode's worth.
They were both about psychiatry.
One was "The Eleventh Hour"
It starred Wendell Corey as the main psychiatrist.
I only watched one of it's two seasons because it was on opposite "The Danny Kaye Show" for the other.
One had to choose, and this one chose Danny.
But it was again Sophie's Choice, as "The Eleventh Hour was very well done.
It was very well written and well played.
I remember an episode where Tony Dow (yes, Wally Cleaver, in one of his few non-Wally Cleaver roles) impregnated his young girlfriend.
Ruth Roman played his mother.
When confronted by the girl's mother, Ruth uttered the immortal line, "It takes two to tango, toots!"
You gotta love it.
I'd love to have the opportunity to love it again.
On the OTN.
The other show was "Breaking Point"
It aired for one season in 1963, on ABC.
Monday nights at 10pm.
It starred an actor named Paul Richards as the main psychiatrist.
At least, he was the first-billed psychiatrist.
It was a spinoff of "Ben Casey" and shared many of its production values and personnel.
At least what I could tell from only seeing one episode.
The one episode was only seen because the other two networks had better choices in my home.
"East Side, West Side", which starred George C. Scott as a social worker, and was superior stuff to just about anything, and "Sing Along With Mitch".
If you'll recall, the latter was a must-see show for my mother, and it was one which my mother made me sing along with.
But a lot of times, I caught a break on Monday nights, because Mitch had already been moved from Friday nights at 8pm.
By 10pm, my mother was usually hitting the road to dreamland, because she had to get up early to go to work.
So I was able to watch "East Side/West Side".
Then, one week, "East Side/West Side" was pre-empted, my mother was already asleep, and that's when I got to sample "Breaking Point"
It made me want to see more of it.
But not as much as I wanted to see George C. Scott control his temper on "East Side/West Side"
So obviously, one episode of "Breaking Point" was not enough for me.
And that's why we should have the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
They are contemporaries of each other, from the early 1960's.
One ran one season, the other ran two.
One, I watched a season's worth,, and the other, I watched an episode's worth.
They were both about psychiatry.
One was "The Eleventh Hour"
It starred Wendell Corey as the main psychiatrist.
I only watched one of it's two seasons because it was on opposite "The Danny Kaye Show" for the other.
One had to choose, and this one chose Danny.
But it was again Sophie's Choice, as "The Eleventh Hour was very well done.
It was very well written and well played.
I remember an episode where Tony Dow (yes, Wally Cleaver, in one of his few non-Wally Cleaver roles) impregnated his young girlfriend.
Ruth Roman played his mother.
When confronted by the girl's mother, Ruth uttered the immortal line, "It takes two to tango, toots!"
You gotta love it.
I'd love to have the opportunity to love it again.
On the OTN.
The other show was "Breaking Point"
It aired for one season in 1963, on ABC.
Monday nights at 10pm.
It starred an actor named Paul Richards as the main psychiatrist.
At least, he was the first-billed psychiatrist.
It was a spinoff of "Ben Casey" and shared many of its production values and personnel.
At least what I could tell from only seeing one episode.
The one episode was only seen because the other two networks had better choices in my home.
"East Side, West Side", which starred George C. Scott as a social worker, and was superior stuff to just about anything, and "Sing Along With Mitch".
If you'll recall, the latter was a must-see show for my mother, and it was one which my mother made me sing along with.
But a lot of times, I caught a break on Monday nights, because Mitch had already been moved from Friday nights at 8pm.
By 10pm, my mother was usually hitting the road to dreamland, because she had to get up early to go to work.
So I was able to watch "East Side/West Side".
Then, one week, "East Side/West Side" was pre-empted, my mother was already asleep, and that's when I got to sample "Breaking Point"
It made me want to see more of it.
But not as much as I wanted to see George C. Scott control his temper on "East Side/West Side"
So obviously, one episode of "Breaking Point" was not enough for me.
And that's why we should have the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
....And No More Ribbons, Either.
We'll get back to the OTN soon, but I experienced something so dismaying yesterday that I think it is more worthy of your attention today.
I was reading the great Mark Evanier's blog yesterday, and he posted about eight minutes of comedian Lenny Schultz's act.
I was vaguely aware of Lenny Schultz, who has been around since the seventies, but this concentrated eight minutes of Lenny Schultz made me appreciate him like I never did before.
And he made me laugh uproariously.
One of the things he did was record pantomimes.
Lenny is obviously a disciple of Jerry Lewis, who turned record pantomimes into an art form.
It's the way he started his career.
And he turned it into a high art form.
He was magnificent at it.
Four examples of it immediately come to mind:
1-His miming of a Carmen Miranda record, fruit on his head and all, in one of his early movies with Dean,
2-His miming of Mario Lanza singing "Be My Love", which I saw him do on "The Colgate Comedy Hour", among other places.
3-His "Chairman of the Board" pantomime to a Count Basie recording in, I think, "The Errand Boy", and, for me, the coup de grace,
4-His pantomiming of Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter Song", which he performed or showed film or tapes of on virtually all of his telethons.
This one was unsurpassed.
It was in a league with the best of Chaplin and Keaton.
After I saw the clips of Lenny Schultz, I got into my car for a long drive to appear at a library here in Michigan to sell my books.
I put a CD in the player. It was a CD of Leroy Anderson's music. He was also known for composing "Sleigh Ride", "The Syncopated Clock", and "The Blue Tango", among others.
They were usually compositions that used novelty elements, such as an actual typewriter in "The Typewriter Song"
So I'm listening, and enjoying, and the orchestra goes into "The Typewriter Song"
And all of a sudden, I get depressed.
Because it is occurring to me that as time passes, fewer and fewer people will have any awareness of what a typewriter is, much less what it sounds like.
Now, it won't matter for posterity's sake that nobody remembers Carmen Miranda. Jerry Lewis's miming of her is still hysterical without that knowledge.
There will always be Chairmen of the Boards.
You don't have to know Mario Lanza to find "Be My Love" hilarious.
But once Jerry Lewis goes, and not that much more time goes by, his ultimate pantomime, "The Typewriter Song", will be as extinct as the dodo bird.
Because NOBODY WILL KNOW WHAT A TYPEWRITER IS!
Except maybe for some younger people who watch "Madmen"
And even there, you don't even hear the sound of the keyboard that often.
So young people probably think that these are simply early computers.
Most comedy is timeless, and it's a drastic shame that Jerry Lewis doing "The Typewriter Song" won't be.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
I was reading the great Mark Evanier's blog yesterday, and he posted about eight minutes of comedian Lenny Schultz's act.
I was vaguely aware of Lenny Schultz, who has been around since the seventies, but this concentrated eight minutes of Lenny Schultz made me appreciate him like I never did before.
And he made me laugh uproariously.
One of the things he did was record pantomimes.
Lenny is obviously a disciple of Jerry Lewis, who turned record pantomimes into an art form.
It's the way he started his career.
And he turned it into a high art form.
He was magnificent at it.
Four examples of it immediately come to mind:
1-His miming of a Carmen Miranda record, fruit on his head and all, in one of his early movies with Dean,
2-His miming of Mario Lanza singing "Be My Love", which I saw him do on "The Colgate Comedy Hour", among other places.
3-His "Chairman of the Board" pantomime to a Count Basie recording in, I think, "The Errand Boy", and, for me, the coup de grace,
4-His pantomiming of Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter Song", which he performed or showed film or tapes of on virtually all of his telethons.
This one was unsurpassed.
It was in a league with the best of Chaplin and Keaton.
After I saw the clips of Lenny Schultz, I got into my car for a long drive to appear at a library here in Michigan to sell my books.
I put a CD in the player. It was a CD of Leroy Anderson's music. He was also known for composing "Sleigh Ride", "The Syncopated Clock", and "The Blue Tango", among others.
They were usually compositions that used novelty elements, such as an actual typewriter in "The Typewriter Song"
So I'm listening, and enjoying, and the orchestra goes into "The Typewriter Song"
And all of a sudden, I get depressed.
Because it is occurring to me that as time passes, fewer and fewer people will have any awareness of what a typewriter is, much less what it sounds like.
Now, it won't matter for posterity's sake that nobody remembers Carmen Miranda. Jerry Lewis's miming of her is still hysterical without that knowledge.
There will always be Chairmen of the Boards.
You don't have to know Mario Lanza to find "Be My Love" hilarious.
But once Jerry Lewis goes, and not that much more time goes by, his ultimate pantomime, "The Typewriter Song", will be as extinct as the dodo bird.
Because NOBODY WILL KNOW WHAT A TYPEWRITER IS!
Except maybe for some younger people who watch "Madmen"
And even there, you don't even hear the sound of the keyboard that often.
So young people probably think that these are simply early computers.
Most comedy is timeless, and it's a drastic shame that Jerry Lewis doing "The Typewriter Song" won't be.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Jews On The OTN.
With the recent passing of Gary David Goldberg, it has brought to mind the paucity of shows about Jews in recent years.
Gary David Goldberg had a wonderful show some years back called "Brooklyn Bridge"
It was about a young Jewish boy, growing up in the late 1950's, in Brooklyn.
It was a soft comedy.
Very touching.
Marion Ross was in it as the Jewish grandmother.
She was wonderful, and she displayed her enormous versatility.
"Brooklyn Bridge" was a wonderful show, and deserves to be seen again, if only to honor Gary David Goldberg's memory.
The granddaddy, or grandmommy, of all TV shows about Jews was "The Goldbergs"
It starred Gertrude Berg as Molly Goldberg.
Gertrude Berg was a true auteur of early television.
She was in complete control of the show.
She wrote the shows.
She produced the shows.
She cast the shows.
She got into fights with the networks when necessary.
"The Goldbergs' was about as Jewish as a show can get.
I have seen many episodes, and it is almost the equivalent of what 'Amos 'n Andy was for blacks.
I thought it depicted Jewish men in a very bad light.
They were pretty much all depicted as weaklings.
Particularly compared to Molly.
I don't think it holds up very well.
But Gertrude Berg was a great actress and performer.
A lot of the humor was derived from her use of malaprops.
"The Goldbergs" would have trouble finding a mass audience today.
Ever since people started getting TV sets in Wyoming, the landscape changed.
When "The Goldbergs" was a hit, only people in New York had TV sets.
The same fate befell Sid Caesar.
When TV found it's way to the boondocks, Sid Caesar was slaughtered in the ratings by Lawrence Welk.
I'll also make one of the rare excursions into including one of my own shows.
"Busting Loose" was on CBS in 1977.
We shot 26 episodes.
22 were aired.
I don't even know if the unaired episodes were even edited and spliced together.
It was a show that was ORIGINALLY about Jews.
It was an attempt by CBS to rip off the movie "Next Stop Greenwich Village", which was certainly about Jews.
And the first 4 or 5 episodes of "Busting Loose" was about a young Jewish guy in his early twenties attempting to break away from his parents.
Then, the network folk, all Jews, got rather gunshy about selling Jews to the general public, and the kid's parents gradually faded from view.
And it became the equivalent of a gang comedy, a la "Happy Days"
The word "Jew" was never mentioned again, except indirectly, in that the lead character's last name was Markowitz.
We couldn't change his name in mid stream.
But it was a really funny hardball three-camera live audience show that REALLY deserved a longer life than it had.
Like Prime Time on the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Gary David Goldberg had a wonderful show some years back called "Brooklyn Bridge"
It was about a young Jewish boy, growing up in the late 1950's, in Brooklyn.
It was a soft comedy.
Very touching.
Marion Ross was in it as the Jewish grandmother.
She was wonderful, and she displayed her enormous versatility.
"Brooklyn Bridge" was a wonderful show, and deserves to be seen again, if only to honor Gary David Goldberg's memory.
The granddaddy, or grandmommy, of all TV shows about Jews was "The Goldbergs"
It starred Gertrude Berg as Molly Goldberg.
Gertrude Berg was a true auteur of early television.
She was in complete control of the show.
She wrote the shows.
She produced the shows.
She cast the shows.
She got into fights with the networks when necessary.
"The Goldbergs' was about as Jewish as a show can get.
I have seen many episodes, and it is almost the equivalent of what 'Amos 'n Andy was for blacks.
I thought it depicted Jewish men in a very bad light.
They were pretty much all depicted as weaklings.
Particularly compared to Molly.
I don't think it holds up very well.
But Gertrude Berg was a great actress and performer.
A lot of the humor was derived from her use of malaprops.
"The Goldbergs" would have trouble finding a mass audience today.
Ever since people started getting TV sets in Wyoming, the landscape changed.
When "The Goldbergs" was a hit, only people in New York had TV sets.
The same fate befell Sid Caesar.
When TV found it's way to the boondocks, Sid Caesar was slaughtered in the ratings by Lawrence Welk.
I'll also make one of the rare excursions into including one of my own shows.
"Busting Loose" was on CBS in 1977.
We shot 26 episodes.
22 were aired.
I don't even know if the unaired episodes were even edited and spliced together.
It was a show that was ORIGINALLY about Jews.
It was an attempt by CBS to rip off the movie "Next Stop Greenwich Village", which was certainly about Jews.
And the first 4 or 5 episodes of "Busting Loose" was about a young Jewish guy in his early twenties attempting to break away from his parents.
Then, the network folk, all Jews, got rather gunshy about selling Jews to the general public, and the kid's parents gradually faded from view.
And it became the equivalent of a gang comedy, a la "Happy Days"
The word "Jew" was never mentioned again, except indirectly, in that the lead character's last name was Markowitz.
We couldn't change his name in mid stream.
But it was a really funny hardball three-camera live audience show that REALLY deserved a longer life than it had.
Like Prime Time on the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Leonard Stern Week. Part 4.
Two more entries for today from Leonard Stern.
First, "The Governor And J.J."
"The Governor and J.J." was a series that was aired in the late 60's.
It was a pretty funny series.
But not that funny.
It starred Dan Dailey as the Governor of a Midwestern state, and Julie Sommars as his assistant.
I had a minor crush on Julie Sommars.
She went from that series to "Matlock", where of course, I never saw her.
Because that would have meant having to watch "Matlock"
That would have been unbearable.
So I missed out on Julie Sommars' later career.
A small price to pay.
Dan Dailey played it very reserved.
Unlike the affable showoff he played as a song and dance man in all those old Twentieth Century Fox Musicals.
I worked with Dan Dailey a couple of times.
He directed two episodes of "The Odd Couple"
They both involved dancing.
That's the way Garry Marshall thinks.
You do episodes about dancing, you get a director who was a dancer.
Not necessarily the best director available.
But it didn't really matter.
Because all the available sitcom directors were really no better than any other.
And Dan Dailey was rather reserved around the set.
"The Governor and J.J." was more than anything else, pleasant.
I'd like to see it again.
Mainly to see Julie Sommars in her prime, and in something good.
Next, "Run Buddy,Run"
This also could have been titled "Let's do a comedy ripoff of "The Fugitive"
Because that's what it was.
But I also remember it being funny.
It starred the great Jack Sheldon.
And he was certainly funny.
But that's not what made him great.
He was a great trumpet player and singer.
He was in Merv Griffin's band, and traded very funny banter with Merv for many years.
It's not easy trading funny banter with Merv Griffin.
But Jack Sheldon managed it with aplomb.
But I only have a vague memory of Jack Sheldon as an actor.
That's why I want to see "Run Buddy, Run", and put it on the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
First, "The Governor And J.J."
"The Governor and J.J." was a series that was aired in the late 60's.
It was a pretty funny series.
But not that funny.
It starred Dan Dailey as the Governor of a Midwestern state, and Julie Sommars as his assistant.
I had a minor crush on Julie Sommars.
She went from that series to "Matlock", where of course, I never saw her.
Because that would have meant having to watch "Matlock"
That would have been unbearable.
So I missed out on Julie Sommars' later career.
A small price to pay.
Dan Dailey played it very reserved.
Unlike the affable showoff he played as a song and dance man in all those old Twentieth Century Fox Musicals.
I worked with Dan Dailey a couple of times.
He directed two episodes of "The Odd Couple"
They both involved dancing.
That's the way Garry Marshall thinks.
You do episodes about dancing, you get a director who was a dancer.
Not necessarily the best director available.
But it didn't really matter.
Because all the available sitcom directors were really no better than any other.
And Dan Dailey was rather reserved around the set.
"The Governor and J.J." was more than anything else, pleasant.
I'd like to see it again.
Mainly to see Julie Sommars in her prime, and in something good.
Next, "Run Buddy,Run"
This also could have been titled "Let's do a comedy ripoff of "The Fugitive"
Because that's what it was.
But I also remember it being funny.
It starred the great Jack Sheldon.
And he was certainly funny.
But that's not what made him great.
He was a great trumpet player and singer.
He was in Merv Griffin's band, and traded very funny banter with Merv for many years.
It's not easy trading funny banter with Merv Griffin.
But Jack Sheldon managed it with aplomb.
But I only have a vague memory of Jack Sheldon as an actor.
That's why I want to see "Run Buddy, Run", and put it on the OTN.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Some Days, You Just Can't Win.
I'm postponing the rest of Leonard Stern week until next time.
Today is going to be some of that classic "Rothman does his major bellyaching"
If you like that sort of thing, keep reading.
If not, come back Thursday.
I don't usually watch ice hockey.
I don't usually like ice hockey.
I certainly usually don't bet on ice hockey.
But this was the Stanley Cup Finals, and I guess that meant something to me.
Enough that I did all of the above.
HD on a 60 inch screen makes it a lot easier to like ice hockey.
Because you can actually see the puck.
So I was genuinely looking forward to watching last night's sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Rooting for the Boston Bruins, the team I bet on for the series against the Chicago Blackhawks, to avoid being eliminated.
So at eight o'clock, I turn on my NBC HD station, where most people in America went to watch the contest.
But not in Detroit.
Detroit is one of those TV markets where you know you're out of town.
Local events often take precedence, even on network stations.
Even though Detroit is a hockey town.
Let me amend that.
Detroit is a hockey town when the Detroit Red Wings are involved.
When the Detroit Red Wings are not involved, Detroit is not a hockey town.
In this instance, the Detroit Red Wings were not involved.
So last night, the NBC affiliate decided to pre-empt the Stanley Cup Finals with the annual Henry Ford fireworks display.
For three and a half hours.
Who the hell can watch fireworks for three and a half hours?
Why the Henry Ford fireworks display is not held on July 4th is anybody's guess.
But it isn't.
It's held on June 24th.
Just early enough to louse up my viewing of the Stanley Cup Finals.
And oohh, did it louse it up.
At first, I had absolutely no idea where to find the hockey.
Then a streamer passed on the bottom of the screen, under the fireworks, telling me that the hockey was on one of the local channels.
Channel 38.
Detroit has a handful of local channels.
Channel 38 is the only one that does not have an HD version.
Some channels that aren't in in HD at least present their programming in letterbox format, making the screen wider than longer, and generally providing a clearer image.
Not channel 38.
They presented the boxy, higher than wide, blurry non HD image.
You had to squint hard to see the puck.
Then, in the middle of the second period, I got the brilliant idea to go to NBC Sports online to see if I could watch the game there.
Lo and behold, there it was.
In glorious HD.
The screen was much smaller, but I could still see the puck.
I was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner.
Problem solved.
But only momentarily.
NBC Sports Online did this asinine thing called "Having a scoreboard just above the screen".
And the game was on ten second delay.
But that feshtunkenah scoreboard wasn't.
So I got to see goals register on the scoreboard before I got to see them get scored.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
Except to go back to Channel 38.
Sophie's Choice.
I stuck it out with the feshtunkeneh scoreboard, trying to avert my eyes, and failing.
Which was particularly painful when, with a minute and a half left in the game, and Boston clinging to a one goal lead, within the next thirty seconds, I saw the scoreboard registering a tying goal for Chicago, then seeing the goal scored, and then the scoreboard registering the go-ahead goal for Chicago, then watching them score the game and series winner.
Like I said.
Some days, you just can't win.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Today is going to be some of that classic "Rothman does his major bellyaching"
If you like that sort of thing, keep reading.
If not, come back Thursday.
I don't usually watch ice hockey.
I don't usually like ice hockey.
I certainly usually don't bet on ice hockey.
But this was the Stanley Cup Finals, and I guess that meant something to me.
Enough that I did all of the above.
HD on a 60 inch screen makes it a lot easier to like ice hockey.
Because you can actually see the puck.
So I was genuinely looking forward to watching last night's sixth game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Rooting for the Boston Bruins, the team I bet on for the series against the Chicago Blackhawks, to avoid being eliminated.
So at eight o'clock, I turn on my NBC HD station, where most people in America went to watch the contest.
But not in Detroit.
Detroit is one of those TV markets where you know you're out of town.
Local events often take precedence, even on network stations.
Even though Detroit is a hockey town.
Let me amend that.
Detroit is a hockey town when the Detroit Red Wings are involved.
When the Detroit Red Wings are not involved, Detroit is not a hockey town.
In this instance, the Detroit Red Wings were not involved.
So last night, the NBC affiliate decided to pre-empt the Stanley Cup Finals with the annual Henry Ford fireworks display.
For three and a half hours.
Who the hell can watch fireworks for three and a half hours?
Why the Henry Ford fireworks display is not held on July 4th is anybody's guess.
But it isn't.
It's held on June 24th.
Just early enough to louse up my viewing of the Stanley Cup Finals.
And oohh, did it louse it up.
At first, I had absolutely no idea where to find the hockey.
Then a streamer passed on the bottom of the screen, under the fireworks, telling me that the hockey was on one of the local channels.
Channel 38.
Detroit has a handful of local channels.
Channel 38 is the only one that does not have an HD version.
Some channels that aren't in in HD at least present their programming in letterbox format, making the screen wider than longer, and generally providing a clearer image.
Not channel 38.
They presented the boxy, higher than wide, blurry non HD image.
You had to squint hard to see the puck.
Then, in the middle of the second period, I got the brilliant idea to go to NBC Sports online to see if I could watch the game there.
Lo and behold, there it was.
In glorious HD.
The screen was much smaller, but I could still see the puck.
I was kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner.
Problem solved.
But only momentarily.
NBC Sports Online did this asinine thing called "Having a scoreboard just above the screen".
And the game was on ten second delay.
But that feshtunkenah scoreboard wasn't.
So I got to see goals register on the scoreboard before I got to see them get scored.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
Except to go back to Channel 38.
Sophie's Choice.
I stuck it out with the feshtunkeneh scoreboard, trying to avert my eyes, and failing.
Which was particularly painful when, with a minute and a half left in the game, and Boston clinging to a one goal lead, within the next thirty seconds, I saw the scoreboard registering a tying goal for Chicago, then seeing the goal scored, and then the scoreboard registering the go-ahead goal for Chicago, then watching them score the game and series winner.
Like I said.
Some days, you just can't win.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Leonard Stern Week On The OTN. Part 2.
Two more entries from Leonard Stern for the OTN.
I watched an episode of each today.
"Diana"---A short-lived sitcom, 15 episodes, starring the to-die-for gorgeous Diana Rigg.
This was in 1973, when she was still to-die-for gorgeous.
I didn't watch or like "The Avengers"
And she wasn't decked out in leather here as she was there.
It seemed to be an active attempt to emulate the success of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
It was shot on the same lot, at the same time, as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
Diana essentially played straight to a bunch of funny characters in an office situation.
But except for Richard B. Shull, who was hilarious, the rest of the "funny characters" just weren't all that funny.
And the writing didn't help make them any funnier.
It wasn't at all bad, it just wasn't wonderful.
But if you didn't like "The Avengers", this would be an excellent opportunity to catch Diana Rigg when she was still to-die-for gorgeous.
"The Good Guys"---This show was done in the late sixties.
42 episodes were made.
It starred Bob Denver and Herb Edelman as co-owners of a diner.
Certainly not a complicated premise
I remember watching it when it was on, and enjoying it.
But not nearly as much as I enjoyed the episode I watched today.
It had everything that great sitcoms had.
GREAT writing. The kind of writing that Garry Marshall used to describe as "verbal spins", i.e., turning the language inside out and upside down.
Garry often praised me for my use of verbal spins.
It also had GREAT physical comedy.
Physical comedy good enough to rival Lucy and Ethel and Laverne and Shirley on their best days.
I'd have to say that "The Good Guys" is far and away the most underrated show that would appear on the OTN.
And reason in itself that the OTN be formed.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
I watched an episode of each today.
"Diana"---A short-lived sitcom, 15 episodes, starring the to-die-for gorgeous Diana Rigg.
This was in 1973, when she was still to-die-for gorgeous.
I didn't watch or like "The Avengers"
And she wasn't decked out in leather here as she was there.
It seemed to be an active attempt to emulate the success of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
It was shot on the same lot, at the same time, as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
Diana essentially played straight to a bunch of funny characters in an office situation.
But except for Richard B. Shull, who was hilarious, the rest of the "funny characters" just weren't all that funny.
And the writing didn't help make them any funnier.
It wasn't at all bad, it just wasn't wonderful.
But if you didn't like "The Avengers", this would be an excellent opportunity to catch Diana Rigg when she was still to-die-for gorgeous.
"The Good Guys"---This show was done in the late sixties.
42 episodes were made.
It starred Bob Denver and Herb Edelman as co-owners of a diner.
Certainly not a complicated premise
I remember watching it when it was on, and enjoying it.
But not nearly as much as I enjoyed the episode I watched today.
It had everything that great sitcoms had.
GREAT writing. The kind of writing that Garry Marshall used to describe as "verbal spins", i.e., turning the language inside out and upside down.
Garry often praised me for my use of verbal spins.
It also had GREAT physical comedy.
Physical comedy good enough to rival Lucy and Ethel and Laverne and Shirley on their best days.
I'd have to say that "The Good Guys" is far and away the most underrated show that would appear on the OTN.
And reason in itself that the OTN be formed.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Leonard Stern Week On The OTN.
Leonard Stern was a great, and quite prolific comedy writer.
He was involved in such hits as "The Honeymooners" and "Get Smart"
I met him a few times.
Once, in his office, and several times on the studio lot.
He was always decked out in a distinguished three-piece suit.
I never recall any other comedy writer ever wearing a suit, much less a three-piece suit.
I'm told that he did that to intimidate people.
It certainly worked in my case.
But he turned out a tremendous output of quality work.
He also had about four, maybe five shows that have earned a place on the OTN.
That's why this is Leonard Stern Week on the OTN.
One post won't cover it.
I'll offer up a couple today.
First, "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster"
It debuted and departed in the early 1960s.
It was hilarious.
It brought to our attention John Astin and Marty Ingels in the title roles.
John Astin was much funnier here than on "The Addams Family", and on this show, he was basically playing straight for Marty Ingels.
Marty Ingels never had another series since then, but it had nothing to do with his talent, which was enormous.
It had much more to do with his emotional instability, which was enormous.
The series is out on DVD, and I highly recommend it.
The next series to be mentioned here is "He and She", which starred Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.
It was smart, sophisticated, and wacky.
The wackiness provided primarily by Jack Cassidy, as an egocentric actor named Oscar North, who starred in the series "Jetman", based on the comic strip that Benjamin's character drew.
It was a pleasure to watch a married couple who respected each other, which is what we got here.
It's also nice to see that Benjamin's and Prentiss's marriage has survived so successfully after all these years.
Far more successfully that "He and She" did.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
He was involved in such hits as "The Honeymooners" and "Get Smart"
I met him a few times.
Once, in his office, and several times on the studio lot.
He was always decked out in a distinguished three-piece suit.
I never recall any other comedy writer ever wearing a suit, much less a three-piece suit.
I'm told that he did that to intimidate people.
It certainly worked in my case.
But he turned out a tremendous output of quality work.
He also had about four, maybe five shows that have earned a place on the OTN.
That's why this is Leonard Stern Week on the OTN.
One post won't cover it.
I'll offer up a couple today.
First, "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster"
It debuted and departed in the early 1960s.
It was hilarious.
It brought to our attention John Astin and Marty Ingels in the title roles.
John Astin was much funnier here than on "The Addams Family", and on this show, he was basically playing straight for Marty Ingels.
Marty Ingels never had another series since then, but it had nothing to do with his talent, which was enormous.
It had much more to do with his emotional instability, which was enormous.
The series is out on DVD, and I highly recommend it.
The next series to be mentioned here is "He and She", which starred Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.
It was smart, sophisticated, and wacky.
The wackiness provided primarily by Jack Cassidy, as an egocentric actor named Oscar North, who starred in the series "Jetman", based on the comic strip that Benjamin's character drew.
It was a pleasure to watch a married couple who respected each other, which is what we got here.
It's also nice to see that Benjamin's and Prentiss's marriage has survived so successfully after all these years.
Far more successfully that "He and She" did.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Hacked.
My computer was hacked this morning, causing me to lose all my e-mails, all my sent e-mails, and all my contacts.
I have already fixed the problem for the future, so my e-mail address, macchus999@aol.com, is still intact.
And I have already received some e-mails from friends, telling me that not only have I been hacked, but that in "my" email to them, I am claiming that I am stranded in Africa, and need them to send me money.
I am not stranded in Africa, and do not need anyone to send me money.
I have lost my OTN list and my blog subject list.
I am attempting to reconstruct them.
If anyone out there would like to send me your contact information, I would be grateful to receive it.
This is particular shout out to Maureen Paraventi, whose e-mail exchanges with me were going to be the subject of today's post.
I hope you have saved them and can send them, Maureen.
So I'm busy trying to fix problems today.
I hope things will be back to normal by Thursday.
Welcome to the dark side of the modern age.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
I have already fixed the problem for the future, so my e-mail address, macchus999@aol.com, is still intact.
And I have already received some e-mails from friends, telling me that not only have I been hacked, but that in "my" email to them, I am claiming that I am stranded in Africa, and need them to send me money.
I am not stranded in Africa, and do not need anyone to send me money.
I have lost my OTN list and my blog subject list.
I am attempting to reconstruct them.
If anyone out there would like to send me your contact information, I would be grateful to receive it.
This is particular shout out to Maureen Paraventi, whose e-mail exchanges with me were going to be the subject of today's post.
I hope you have saved them and can send them, Maureen.
So I'm busy trying to fix problems today.
I hope things will be back to normal by Thursday.
Welcome to the dark side of the modern age.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Buddy Hackett On The OTN.
Only one entry today.
Last time, I indicated that "Life With Father" was the only sitcom that aired live in the fifties.
I was mistaken.
"Mr. Peepers" aired live.
As did another sitcom that I remember seeing when I was nine years old.
It was called "Stanley", and starred Buddy Hackett in 1956 on NBC.
I recalled it being hilarious then.
I have recently made a new friend, who is a collector of old TV shows, and we have been trading DVDs of very rare episodes of shows.
He just sent me three episodes of "Stanley"
They were at least as funny as I remember them being.
They made 26 of them.
Carol Burnett was Buddy's co-star, playing his girlfriend, Celia.
This was before she made any kind of a splash in show business.
I believe it was her first job.
And she had absolutely all of her shit together then.
Buddy Hackett was a wonderful comic actor.
Just as he was a wonderful standup comic.
Just as he was, as I'm given to understand, a completely miserable human being.
I have never heard anyone say anything nice about him personally.
But that doesn't disturb me, as it did about Danny Kaye.
Buddy Hackett never went out of his way to falsely convince anyone that he was a nice guy.
So it never mattered to me.
And he was hilarious.
As was Carol Burnett.
As was the show.
It was helmed by Max Liebman, who helmed "Your Show of Shows"
Sid Caesar's writers were very much in evidence.
Woody Allen was credited with writing two out of the three episodes I saw.
First rate writing, and first rate performing.
A rare combination.
My newfound friend has told me that he has the entire 26 episodes, and that I will have them soon.
You should all be so lucky.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Last time, I indicated that "Life With Father" was the only sitcom that aired live in the fifties.
I was mistaken.
"Mr. Peepers" aired live.
As did another sitcom that I remember seeing when I was nine years old.
It was called "Stanley", and starred Buddy Hackett in 1956 on NBC.
I recalled it being hilarious then.
I have recently made a new friend, who is a collector of old TV shows, and we have been trading DVDs of very rare episodes of shows.
He just sent me three episodes of "Stanley"
They were at least as funny as I remember them being.
They made 26 of them.
Carol Burnett was Buddy's co-star, playing his girlfriend, Celia.
This was before she made any kind of a splash in show business.
I believe it was her first job.
And she had absolutely all of her shit together then.
Buddy Hackett was a wonderful comic actor.
Just as he was a wonderful standup comic.
Just as he was, as I'm given to understand, a completely miserable human being.
I have never heard anyone say anything nice about him personally.
But that doesn't disturb me, as it did about Danny Kaye.
Buddy Hackett never went out of his way to falsely convince anyone that he was a nice guy.
So it never mattered to me.
And he was hilarious.
As was Carol Burnett.
As was the show.
It was helmed by Max Liebman, who helmed "Your Show of Shows"
Sid Caesar's writers were very much in evidence.
Woody Allen was credited with writing two out of the three episodes I saw.
First rate writing, and first rate performing.
A rare combination.
My newfound friend has told me that he has the entire 26 episodes, and that I will have them soon.
You should all be so lucky.
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
The Early Twentieth Century On The OTN.
Yes, the OTN is back, and will not go away for a little while, anyway.
Today, I will be offering up two shows that took place in the first half of the twentieth century.
I don't necessarily think that either of them are exemplary.
They were, rather, examples of "least objectionable programming".
But I will admit to having enjoyed them when they were on.
Enough to find a place for them on the OTN.
The first is "Life With Father".
It was a sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1955.
It was based on what was one of the longest running Broadway plays of all time.
It took place round the turn of the century.
What was somewhat rare about it was that it was aired live.
Throughout its entire run.
Oh, Jack Benny and Burns and Allen dabbled in live shows, but mostly they were on film.
"Life With Father" had a great deal of charm and energy.
And it was genuinely funny.
It starred Leon Ames and the priceless Lurene Tuttle.
The cast also included a very young Marion Ross as Nora, the maid.
Once, on the set of "Happy Days", I challenged Marion to come up with the theme music for "Life With Father"
She couldn't, and was floored when I did.
It would just be nice to see it again.
Today's other entry is "The Roaring Twenties"
Warner Brothers made a great movie in the late thirties called "The Roaring Twenties" with Cagney and Bogart.
This wasn't it.
This TV version they made starred such luminaries as Rex Reason and Donald May.
Draw that one on a graph.
But it also had Dorothy Provine as the Texas Guinan-style nightclub owner and performer, and she was terrific.
She seemed headed for stardom.
She didn't get there.
"The Roaring Twenties" was cut from the same piece of Warner Brothers cloth as "77 Sunset Strip", and half a dozen other copies of that.
Only with different locales.
This is the only one that went for a different time period.
It was quite entertaining, in a way that the others really weren't.
Mainly due to Ms. Provine.
Now that she is gone, I think she should be unearthed in some way.
See you next time,
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Today, I will be offering up two shows that took place in the first half of the twentieth century.
I don't necessarily think that either of them are exemplary.
They were, rather, examples of "least objectionable programming".
But I will admit to having enjoyed them when they were on.
Enough to find a place for them on the OTN.
The first is "Life With Father".
It was a sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1955.
It was based on what was one of the longest running Broadway plays of all time.
It took place round the turn of the century.
What was somewhat rare about it was that it was aired live.
Throughout its entire run.
Oh, Jack Benny and Burns and Allen dabbled in live shows, but mostly they were on film.
"Life With Father" had a great deal of charm and energy.
And it was genuinely funny.
It starred Leon Ames and the priceless Lurene Tuttle.
The cast also included a very young Marion Ross as Nora, the maid.
Once, on the set of "Happy Days", I challenged Marion to come up with the theme music for "Life With Father"
She couldn't, and was floored when I did.
It would just be nice to see it again.
Today's other entry is "The Roaring Twenties"
Warner Brothers made a great movie in the late thirties called "The Roaring Twenties" with Cagney and Bogart.
This wasn't it.
This TV version they made starred such luminaries as Rex Reason and Donald May.
Draw that one on a graph.
But it also had Dorothy Provine as the Texas Guinan-style nightclub owner and performer, and she was terrific.
She seemed headed for stardom.
She didn't get there.
"The Roaring Twenties" was cut from the same piece of Warner Brothers cloth as "77 Sunset Strip", and half a dozen other copies of that.
Only with different locales.
This is the only one that went for a different time period.
It was quite entertaining, in a way that the others really weren't.
Mainly due to Ms. Provine.
Now that she is gone, I think she should be unearthed in some way.
See you next time,
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Report Card----The 2013 Tony Awards.
I usually don't do Report Cards on TV shows that have come and gone.
Jackie Gleason once said that functioning as a TV critic is like reporting an accident to an eyewitness.
But with the age of Tivo, there may still be many of you who have recorded it, but not watched it.
So my mission here is to save those people three hours of viewing time.
In terms of entertainment, this was the weakest Tony Awards show I have ever seen.
The opening number was promising.
It even included Mike Tyson.
Don't ask me why.
But that only served to hand Neil Patrick Harris a slew of lame Mike Tyson jokes during the course of the evening.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
Only intermittently.
C-.
Compelling even?
In the way that seeing a train wreck is compelling.
D.
Is it controversial?
Tom Hanks losing, and the director of "Pippin" winning, and thanking everyone under the sun except Bob Fosse, who is responsible for the show still existing, was controversial. It took the producer, when they won for Best Revival at the very end of the evening, to invoke Fosse's name.
B.
Were the shows depicted seem worth your time?
Almost not at all. The key musicals, "Matilda" and "Kinky Boots", seemed like warmed over rock versions of hybrids of "Annie", "Newsies" and "Oliver" When they showed segments from the "old-fashioned" musicals, like "Annie" itself, "A Christmas Story", and "Cinderella", they made me actually want to see them. And I already saw "A Christmas Story" and didn't much care for it.
C-.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?
For the most part, although I am totally sick of Neil Patrick Harris. Seeing Jane Lynch as Miss Hannigan in "Annie" was a definite plus.
B+.
Is it too long? Too short?
With Tivo, nothing need be too long. But it was anyway.
C.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
I am still shocked and offended when they start playing "Give My Regards To Broadway" during someone's acceptance speech. Cyndi Lauper and Cicely Tyson (How did Neil Patrick Harris miss the joke about how Cicely was Mike's mother?) gave the speeches of their lives, only to be intruded upon like that. So they wouldn't go overtime. Which the show did anyway.
F.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Yes. About how atrocious it was.
F.
Is it funny?
It tries. Oh how it tries. And it fails. Oh how it fails.
F.
Was it worth the no money it cost to see it?
We should have charged them.
Is it impressive ?
It was depressive.
F.
Overall grade: D-.
The only saving grace is that it spared me from seeing some of these shows next time I'm in New York
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Jackie Gleason once said that functioning as a TV critic is like reporting an accident to an eyewitness.
But with the age of Tivo, there may still be many of you who have recorded it, but not watched it.
So my mission here is to save those people three hours of viewing time.
In terms of entertainment, this was the weakest Tony Awards show I have ever seen.
The opening number was promising.
It even included Mike Tyson.
Don't ask me why.
But that only served to hand Neil Patrick Harris a slew of lame Mike Tyson jokes during the course of the evening.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
Only intermittently.
C-.
Compelling even?
In the way that seeing a train wreck is compelling.
D.
Is it controversial?
Tom Hanks losing, and the director of "Pippin" winning, and thanking everyone under the sun except Bob Fosse, who is responsible for the show still existing, was controversial. It took the producer, when they won for Best Revival at the very end of the evening, to invoke Fosse's name.
B.
Were the shows depicted seem worth your time?
Almost not at all. The key musicals, "Matilda" and "Kinky Boots", seemed like warmed over rock versions of hybrids of "Annie", "Newsies" and "Oliver" When they showed segments from the "old-fashioned" musicals, like "Annie" itself, "A Christmas Story", and "Cinderella", they made me actually want to see them. And I already saw "A Christmas Story" and didn't much care for it.
C-.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?
For the most part, although I am totally sick of Neil Patrick Harris. Seeing Jane Lynch as Miss Hannigan in "Annie" was a definite plus.
B+.
Is it too long? Too short?
With Tivo, nothing need be too long. But it was anyway.
C.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
I am still shocked and offended when they start playing "Give My Regards To Broadway" during someone's acceptance speech. Cyndi Lauper and Cicely Tyson (How did Neil Patrick Harris miss the joke about how Cicely was Mike's mother?) gave the speeches of their lives, only to be intruded upon like that. So they wouldn't go overtime. Which the show did anyway.
F.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Yes. About how atrocious it was.
F.
Is it funny?
It tries. Oh how it tries. And it fails. Oh how it fails.
F.
Was it worth the no money it cost to see it?
We should have charged them.
Is it impressive ?
It was depressive.
F.
Overall grade: D-.
The only saving grace is that it spared me from seeing some of these shows next time I'm in New York
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Report Card----"On Your Toes"
This was my first experience attending a performance at City Center "Encores!"
They do this about four times a year.
They all run less than a week, so this review is fairly useless.
But it's really more about the "Encores!" experience than the show.
The show, and the experience were both wonderful.
The show is performed with about a forty-five piece orchestra behind them.
Otherwise, there is a semblance of a set. I didn't know going in whether the performers worked with scripts in hand, as they did in that concert version of "South Pacific"
It wouldn't seem likely, as "On Your Toes" is much more of a pure dance show.
And they didn't use scripts.
It is a first-rate Rodgers and Hart show.
Not as meaty as "Pal Joey"
Not as funny as "The Boys From Syracuse"
They are both better shows.
But this one is a dandy in its own way.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It dazzles you.
A+.
Compelling even?
The story is not that riveting.
B-.
Is it controversial?
No, and it doesn't need to be.
No Grade.
Is it a story worth telling?
The clash between serious and popular dance is pretty interesting.
A.
Is it good storytelling?
Considering how flimsy the story is, it's handled very well.
A.
Is it well written?
Book-wise, pretty good. Music and lyrics, spectacular.
A.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?
For the most part, it is done perfectly. But the part of the lead male dancer cries out for a star.
And there was a huge hole on the stage where there wasn't one.
C.
Is it too long? Too short?
The time flew by.
A+.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
It's as believable and engrossing as a cardboard old-fashioned musical can be.
B+.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
No, but it doesn't matter.
No Grade.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Yes. It has made me think about going to New York more often to see more "Encores!"
A+
Is it funny?
Often.
A.
Was it worth the fifty bucks it cost?
Absolutely.
A+.
Is it impressive ?
Stunning
A+.
Overall grade: A.
"Encores" is a labor of love. And since I can't be in labor, I can only be in love.
Enjoy the Tonys!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
They do this about four times a year.
They all run less than a week, so this review is fairly useless.
But it's really more about the "Encores!" experience than the show.
The show, and the experience were both wonderful.
The show is performed with about a forty-five piece orchestra behind them.
Otherwise, there is a semblance of a set. I didn't know going in whether the performers worked with scripts in hand, as they did in that concert version of "South Pacific"
It wouldn't seem likely, as "On Your Toes" is much more of a pure dance show.
And they didn't use scripts.
It is a first-rate Rodgers and Hart show.
Not as meaty as "Pal Joey"
Not as funny as "The Boys From Syracuse"
They are both better shows.
But this one is a dandy in its own way.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
It dazzles you.
A+.
Compelling even?
The story is not that riveting.
B-.
Is it controversial?
No, and it doesn't need to be.
No Grade.
Is it a story worth telling?
The clash between serious and popular dance is pretty interesting.
A.
Is it good storytelling?
Considering how flimsy the story is, it's handled very well.
A.
Is it well written?
Book-wise, pretty good. Music and lyrics, spectacular.
A.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?
For the most part, it is done perfectly. But the part of the lead male dancer cries out for a star.
And there was a huge hole on the stage where there wasn't one.
C.
Is it too long? Too short?
The time flew by.
A+.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
It's as believable and engrossing as a cardboard old-fashioned musical can be.
B+.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
No, but it doesn't matter.
No Grade.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Yes. It has made me think about going to New York more often to see more "Encores!"
A+
Is it funny?
Often.
A.
Was it worth the fifty bucks it cost?
Absolutely.
A+.
Is it impressive ?
Stunning
A+.
Overall grade: A.
"Encores" is a labor of love. And since I can't be in labor, I can only be in love.
Enjoy the Tonys!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Report Card----"The Nance"
I only had the opportunity to see two shows this past Broadway season, so naturally I made one of them the one Nathan Lane was starring in.
It was better than "The Addams Family"
But that's not saying a lot.
Nor does much more positive deserve to be said than that.
It was all about homosexuality and burlesque in the late 1930's.
I am a fan of burlesque, and it was performed very well.
I am not a fan of, nor an expert about, homosexuality.
So, as far as my limited knowledge will take me, it was not performed very well.
It was more graphic than I thought it needed it to be.
But Nathan Lane was superb, as always.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
In its own rather perverse way.
B+.
Compelling even?
No. It was rather diffusely told.
C-.
Is it controversial?
It would have been, about twenty-five years ago.
The times have diminished its impact.
C.
Is it a story worth telling?
It's a fascinating theme. A homosexual pretending to be a "Pansy" on stage, as burlesque was dying because of such acts.
A.
Is it good storytelling?
No. This is the problem. It is unfocused and ramshackle. And unmotivated. Lane's character is a staunch conservative Republican. The Republicans then and now are the least likely to tolerate Lane's lifestyle, and what he does onstage. It's kind of like blue collar workers voting for Romney.
The difference is that Lane's character is supposed to be intelligent. And Republicans are mainly responsible for his downfall.
D.
Is it well written?
The dialogue is not uninteresting, and not the problem.
B+.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?
Pretty much.
B+.
Is it too long? Too short?
It runs about two hours and seems interminable. This is because the story rarely plows forward.
There is one extended scene where Lane works in drag on stage. It is perhaps the best scene in the play.
But it also symbolizes it. The play itself is a drag.
D+.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
You believe, and you care. If you're homosexual, you probably believe and care a lot more.
A.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
This is a tough one, because after a while, you really don't care where it's going.
C-.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Only about Nathan kissing another man openly on the lips. it's a tough image to get out of my mind.
C.
Is it funny?
The burlesque scenes are authentic and hilarious.
A+.
Was it worth the fifty bucks it cost?
Can't say that it was.
C-.
Is it impressive ?
I'll give them that one. It was a big try. With better construction, it could have been great.
A.
Overall grade: C+.
Nathan keeps acting, I'll keep coming.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
It was better than "The Addams Family"
But that's not saying a lot.
Nor does much more positive deserve to be said than that.
It was all about homosexuality and burlesque in the late 1930's.
I am a fan of burlesque, and it was performed very well.
I am not a fan of, nor an expert about, homosexuality.
So, as far as my limited knowledge will take me, it was not performed very well.
It was more graphic than I thought it needed it to be.
But Nathan Lane was superb, as always.
On to the scoring:
Is it interesting?
In its own rather perverse way.
B+.
Compelling even?
No. It was rather diffusely told.
C-.
Is it controversial?
It would have been, about twenty-five years ago.
The times have diminished its impact.
C.
Is it a story worth telling?
It's a fascinating theme. A homosexual pretending to be a "Pansy" on stage, as burlesque was dying because of such acts.
A.
Is it good storytelling?
No. This is the problem. It is unfocused and ramshackle. And unmotivated. Lane's character is a staunch conservative Republican. The Republicans then and now are the least likely to tolerate Lane's lifestyle, and what he does onstage. It's kind of like blue collar workers voting for Romney.
The difference is that Lane's character is supposed to be intelligent. And Republicans are mainly responsible for his downfall.
D.
Is it well written?
The dialogue is not uninteresting, and not the problem.
B+.
Is it well cast? Well played?, Well staged?
Pretty much.
B+.
Is it too long? Too short?
It runs about two hours and seems interminable. This is because the story rarely plows forward.
There is one extended scene where Lane works in drag on stage. It is perhaps the best scene in the play.
But it also symbolizes it. The play itself is a drag.
D+.
Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?
You believe, and you care. If you're homosexual, you probably believe and care a lot more.
A.
Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?
This is a tough one, because after a while, you really don't care where it's going.
C-.
Do you think about it after you've seen it?
Only about Nathan kissing another man openly on the lips. it's a tough image to get out of my mind.
C.
Is it funny?
The burlesque scenes are authentic and hilarious.
A+.
Was it worth the fifty bucks it cost?
Can't say that it was.
C-.
Is it impressive ?
I'll give them that one. It was a big try. With better construction, it could have been great.
A.
Overall grade: C+.
Nathan keeps acting, I'll keep coming.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
******
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Jean Stapleton: Some Thoughts.
I've mentioned several times here about how the actress Estelle Harris, who played George Costanza's mother on "Seinfeld", was the spitting image of my mother.
Perhaps more vocally than visually.
She was fairly close visually as well.
But Jean Stapleton was much closer visually.
And when "All In The Family" first came on, and she came on, with that dingbat voice of hers, all of my relatives were astounded by the resemblance to my mother.
The difference between Estelle Harris and Jean Stapleton was that what Jean Stapleton was doing on "All In The Family" was an affectation.
She didn't really talk like that.
In interviews, she sounded like a regular, intelligent person.
Intelligent enough to realize that when she was going to audition for Norman Lear, she'd have to "dingbat it up"
I've worked with Estelle Harris.
She is the genuine article.
She really talks like that.
This is not to imply that Estelle Harris is a dingbat.
Far from it.
It's simply how she really talks.
As an actress, Jean Stapleton was quite adept at shifting gears.
My first exposure to her work was when I saw the movie musical "Damn Yankees"
She was also in the Broadway version before that.
It was a small part, and she sang the reprise of "You Gotta Have Heart"
And she was in full dingbat mode.
My next exposure was the movie musical "Bells Are Ringing"
She was also in the Broadway version before that.
It was a larger part than in "Damn Yankees", but still relatively small.
Still a dingbat.
Shortly after that, I saw her on Broadway in "Funny Girl"
She played one of Fanny Brice's neighbors in her old neighborhood.
She had two songs.
Full-out dingbat.
She was not Kay Medford's understudy as Fanny's mother.
Someone else replaced her when Kay Medford left.
She made a very positive impression on me and just about everybody else in those three roles.
I've come to believe that a little of her went a long way.
And maybe that's why she was never promoted to Kay Medford's part.
Maybe they thought so too.
She wasn't used in the movie.
They brought in Mae Questel, who was the voice of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop.
Just coincidentally, this past Sunday night, Jean showed up in an episode of "Naked City" on MeTV.
They didn't show it as a tribute to her.
It had been scheduled to be aired before she died.
But there she was, in a drama, sounding like a human being.
I didn't even know she operated in that mode back then.
But she was smart enough to know that "Naked City" wasn't looking for a dingbat.
I'm sure she killed in the room when she read for Norman Lear.
But I don't think he has the slightest idea that a little of her went a long way.
I think that she was the fatal flaw in "All In The Family"
Her onscreen presence was way overextended, and she was consistently shrieking.
Maybe I'm swayed because she cut a little to close to the bone in resembling my mother.
The show has not aged well.
It was very good for its time, but was totally topical.
It was all about Nixon.
And nobody either remembers Nixon anymore, or gives a crap about Nixon any more.
So all it is now is loud, and shrieking, and dated.
This is the tone that was set for most of the shows from the Norman Lear empire.
Ms. Stapleton eventually opted out of the show, fearing that she would be typecast.
Of course she was, but it was by her own hand, and most likely what got her the gig in the first place.
Maybe she was just tired of the shrieking.
I know I was.
I was getting enough of it at home.
And she did successfully make the transition to character parts.
Much more subdued ones.
Where a lot of her went a long way.
For which we should all be grateful.
With the Tony Awards coming up, the next two posts will be Broadway Report Cards.
Then, back to the OTN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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 & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Perhaps more vocally than visually.
She was fairly close visually as well.
But Jean Stapleton was much closer visually.
And when "All In The Family" first came on, and she came on, with that dingbat voice of hers, all of my relatives were astounded by the resemblance to my mother.
The difference between Estelle Harris and Jean Stapleton was that what Jean Stapleton was doing on "All In The Family" was an affectation.
She didn't really talk like that.
In interviews, she sounded like a regular, intelligent person.
Intelligent enough to realize that when she was going to audition for Norman Lear, she'd have to "dingbat it up"
I've worked with Estelle Harris.
She is the genuine article.
She really talks like that.
This is not to imply that Estelle Harris is a dingbat.
Far from it.
It's simply how she really talks.
As an actress, Jean Stapleton was quite adept at shifting gears.
My first exposure to her work was when I saw the movie musical "Damn Yankees"
She was also in the Broadway version before that.
It was a small part, and she sang the reprise of "You Gotta Have Heart"
And she was in full dingbat mode.
My next exposure was the movie musical "Bells Are Ringing"
She was also in the Broadway version before that.
It was a larger part than in "Damn Yankees", but still relatively small.
Still a dingbat.
Shortly after that, I saw her on Broadway in "Funny Girl"
She played one of Fanny Brice's neighbors in her old neighborhood.
She had two songs.
Full-out dingbat.
She was not Kay Medford's understudy as Fanny's mother.
Someone else replaced her when Kay Medford left.
She made a very positive impression on me and just about everybody else in those three roles.
I've come to believe that a little of her went a long way.
And maybe that's why she was never promoted to Kay Medford's part.
Maybe they thought so too.
She wasn't used in the movie.
They brought in Mae Questel, who was the voice of Olive Oyl and Betty Boop.
Just coincidentally, this past Sunday night, Jean showed up in an episode of "Naked City" on MeTV.
They didn't show it as a tribute to her.
It had been scheduled to be aired before she died.
But there she was, in a drama, sounding like a human being.
I didn't even know she operated in that mode back then.
But she was smart enough to know that "Naked City" wasn't looking for a dingbat.
I'm sure she killed in the room when she read for Norman Lear.
But I don't think he has the slightest idea that a little of her went a long way.
I think that she was the fatal flaw in "All In The Family"
Her onscreen presence was way overextended, and she was consistently shrieking.
Maybe I'm swayed because she cut a little to close to the bone in resembling my mother.
The show has not aged well.
It was very good for its time, but was totally topical.
It was all about Nixon.
And nobody either remembers Nixon anymore, or gives a crap about Nixon any more.
So all it is now is loud, and shrieking, and dated.
This is the tone that was set for most of the shows from the Norman Lear empire.
Ms. Stapleton eventually opted out of the show, fearing that she would be typecast.
Of course she was, but it was by her own hand, and most likely what got her the gig in the first place.
Maybe she was just tired of the shrieking.
I know I was.
I was getting enough of it at home.
And she did successfully make the transition to character parts.
Much more subdued ones.
Where a lot of her went a long way.
For which we should all be grateful.
With the Tony Awards coming up, the next two posts will be Broadway Report Cards.
Then, back to the OTN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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 & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Game Show Day On The OTN
There are a couple of game shows that I think are OTN worthy.
One was the side-splittingly funny "Dollar A Second".
It was done in the mid-1950's.
I don't know how many kinescopes of it have survived.
There is one episode of it on YouTube.
It was essentially one part "Beat The Clock", one part "Truth or Consequences", and, the part that made it side-splittingly funny, about five parts Jan Murray as the host.
The premise: as long as the contestant stays on the show, he or she wins a dollar a second.
The contestant stays on by answering funny questions in a funny way, such as being asked a question and answering with the answer to the previous question.
Comedy writers were obviously heavily employed.
If the contestant got the answer wrong, a penalty is enforced.
If the contestant loses the penalty, he or she is gone, and leaves with however much was accumulated.
There was also an "outside event"
If that occurs while the contestant is on, all money earned is lost.
The contestant can quit and keep the money at any time.
So it is a game of constant humor, and constant pressure.
What really made it work was Jan Murray.
You really need a comedian as the host.
Chuck Barris tried a remake pilot of "Dollar a Second", hosted by the high-larious Bob Eubanks.
It just laid there.
"The Price Is Right" got along just fine without a comedian hosting.
It didn't need Drew Carey.
"Family Feud" did just fine without a comedian hosting.
It didn't need Steve Harvey.
"Dollar A Second" would thrive today with either one of them hosting.
It should be brought back, if only for the OTN.
The other game show that I place in nomination is "Stump The Stars"
It was also known in earlier incarnations as "Pantomime Quiz"
Both were eternally hosted by the never funny Mike Stokey.
He was the Alex Trebek of his time, making the players feel stupid if they gave bad clues.
All the players were celebrities, and the game was simple "charades"
The charades that were acted out were gag sayings sent in by the home viewers, which added to the humor.
Watching someone acting out charades is very character revealing.
If you are basically intelligent and quick-witted, you are usually good at charades.
If you are basically not, then you are not.
Very revealing.
There are a handful of "Stump The Stars" and Pantomime Quizzes on YouTube.
I'd like to see them again, and don't see why they can't be revived.
Unfortunately, Mike Stokey can't be revived, because he's dead.
Until next time,
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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 & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
One was the side-splittingly funny "Dollar A Second".
It was done in the mid-1950's.
I don't know how many kinescopes of it have survived.
There is one episode of it on YouTube.
It was essentially one part "Beat The Clock", one part "Truth or Consequences", and, the part that made it side-splittingly funny, about five parts Jan Murray as the host.
The premise: as long as the contestant stays on the show, he or she wins a dollar a second.
The contestant stays on by answering funny questions in a funny way, such as being asked a question and answering with the answer to the previous question.
Comedy writers were obviously heavily employed.
If the contestant got the answer wrong, a penalty is enforced.
If the contestant loses the penalty, he or she is gone, and leaves with however much was accumulated.
There was also an "outside event"
If that occurs while the contestant is on, all money earned is lost.
The contestant can quit and keep the money at any time.
So it is a game of constant humor, and constant pressure.
What really made it work was Jan Murray.
You really need a comedian as the host.
Chuck Barris tried a remake pilot of "Dollar a Second", hosted by the high-larious Bob Eubanks.
It just laid there.
"The Price Is Right" got along just fine without a comedian hosting.
It didn't need Drew Carey.
"Family Feud" did just fine without a comedian hosting.
It didn't need Steve Harvey.
"Dollar A Second" would thrive today with either one of them hosting.
It should be brought back, if only for the OTN.
The other game show that I place in nomination is "Stump The Stars"
It was also known in earlier incarnations as "Pantomime Quiz"
Both were eternally hosted by the never funny Mike Stokey.
He was the Alex Trebek of his time, making the players feel stupid if they gave bad clues.
All the players were celebrities, and the game was simple "charades"
The charades that were acted out were gag sayings sent in by the home viewers, which added to the humor.
Watching someone acting out charades is very character revealing.
If you are basically intelligent and quick-witted, you are usually good at charades.
If you are basically not, then you are not.
Very revealing.
There are a handful of "Stump The Stars" and Pantomime Quizzes on YouTube.
I'd like to see them again, and don't see why they can't be revived.
Unfortunately, Mike Stokey can't be revived, because he's dead.
Until next time,
Mark Rothman, CEO of the OTN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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 & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.
******
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