One of the great burlesque comedians (a straight man, actually) was a gent named Dexter Maitland. He appeared in the original Minsky's revues and subsequent nostalgia-type revivals for more than 70 years — that is not a typo — but is probably best known for his role in the movie, The Night They Raided Minsky's. (He's the handsome gent who sings, "Take Ten Terrific Girls, But Only Nine Costumes…") I had the pleasure years ago of meeting and talking with Mr. Maitland and would love to do an article about him but I cannot find a photo of him, either from that movie or his on-stage career, anywhere. If you know where I can procure one, short of shooting it off the TV, please drop me a note. Thenk yew.
Frank Ferrante, who did such a good job playing Groucho on the PBS Special that aired recently, has teamed up with Groucho's son, Arthur, to open www.grouchoworld.com. They're selling a CD of Ferrante singing Groucho's songs and a book that Arthur has compiled of photographs of his father. I just ordered mine and will report when they arrive.
Here's your chance: Sergio Aragonés and I are appearing, together and apart, at the Wondercon, which takes place April 20-22 at the Oakland Convention Center in Oakland, California. We're both on a "Humor in Comics" panel on Saturday afternoon at 3:00, and I'm on one that was inspired by a recent column I wrote about how sick I am of classic super-heroes being made ugly or psychotic. That one's on Sunday afternoon at 1:00. And if neither of those interest you, there are other panels and guests aplenty, including Murphy Anderson, Russ Heath, Jim Warren, Dave Stevens and the awesome and ageless Julie Newmar. Here's a link to the convention website for more info…and if you're a frequenter of this site, please seek me out and say howdy.
By the way: I am currently pencilled-in to moderate ten (count 'em — 10!) panels at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego. If you're interested in Marvel Comics of the sixties, you'll want to attend around half of them. (A tip: If you don't book a hotel room soon, you'll be staying in Nevada. You can get reservations through the convention's website at www.comic-con.org.)