Monthly Archives: July 2001

The pictures above come from eBay, where someone occasionally sells a Fizz Nik — a wonderful device I had as a kid.  Basically, you put a scoop of ice cream inside the Fizz Nik, stuck it in the mouth of a bottle of soda pop and drank the soda through the Fizz Nik.  This was all described in the article I have on here about L.A. Kid Show Hosts (click here) but I didn't have photos until now.  I also didn't have a photo of Perry Como to put up here today.  By the way, I went ahead and purchased the Fizz-Nik at right off eBay and of course, since it's still in its original package, I'm not about to open it and spoil its "virgin" condition.  So I'd have to find and purchase another one if I actually wanted to use one again and I have decided not to do this.  They were fun but they weren't that much fun.

This last section is for those of you who'll be attending the Comic-Con International in San Diego week after next. Here are some tips that may make your convention a merrier experience…

• Dress sensibly and wear comfy shoes, as there's a lot of walking to be done. The AccuWeather people are predicting a high of 80-83 and a low of 69 for the four days of the convention. As the day draws nearer, they'll update the forecast at this link.
• Consult the program schedule in advance and note the events you wish to attend. You can read the whole listing by clicking here and the list of panels I'm moderating (i.e., the good ones) by clicking here. Planning ahead is a very good idea. You'd be amazed at the number of people who arrive, get swept up in the excitement of the main hall and don't consult the schedule until they've missed a program they really wanted to see.
• Parking is always rough. If you get there early enough, you can find a place under the convention center for $4.00 a day. In a message she posted on www.comicon.com, Jackie Estrada (without whom the con would be about as exciting as watching your Chia Pet sprout) suggests that you approach the convention center on Harbor Drive from the direction of Seaport Village and The Hyatt. That should make it easier to get into the parking entrance. If it's full, there are lots around the city where one can park and then grab a shuttle bus. She also mentions a new parking structure at 6th and Market, about five blocks from the festivities.
• Bring money. More than you think you'll need.
• The snack bar in the convention center is traditionally a dreadful place to eat, so here's a dining tip that doesn't occur to some people. You know those shuttle buses outside that bring people to and from their hotels? Well, they're free and they also go all over downtown San Diego, past a lot of good restaurants.
• A lot of fans wonder about obtaining sketches from artists who'll be there. There are two kinds: Free and fee. The free ones are becoming rarer and rarer as more and more artists find them turning up on eBay. If you find an artist who does them, be polite, supply the paper and don't ask for something elaborate. Sketches for money are more obtainable and most are, I think, priced so reasonably that you'll look back years from now and kick your keester for not getting more of them. If your fave artist is sketching for loot, get your "order" in early and if you're asking for something he or she might not be able to generate from memory, supply some reference. (Most artists, doing drawings for money, prefer to supply their own drawing paper, but will draw in your sketchbook, if that's where you want it.) If you feel awkward negotiating with your favorite artist, see if there isn't a friend or spouse helping man the table and talk to them…or inquire of other customers as to what they got and what they paid for it.

Additional info is plentiful at the convention's website, which is at www.comic-con.org. See you at the con!

25,000 hits since we put this sucker on-line just before Christmas last year!  Would that the things I do for profit could attract an audience like that…

I recently stumbled across a terrific website devoted to products and advertising items of the fifties and sixties, particularly those featuring cartoon characters.  Wanna see a sample of the Crusader Rabbit newspaper strip?  How about a bag of Bell Brand Potato Chips with Bob Clampett's  Beany and Cecil on it?  There's oodles of stuff like that, like the box of Gro-Pup T-Bone dog biscuits with Hanna-Barbera's beloved Augie Doggie on it, even though Augie wasn't the kind of cartoon dog who ate dog food.  The site is called Tick Tock Toys and here's the link that'll take you there — but don't click on it until you have some time, 'cause there's a lot of neat stuff there to take in, especially if you hunt around.  (There are menus and sub-menus and sub-menus of the sub-menus and so on…)

I'm one of those folks who is utterly conflicted on the subject of The Death Penalty, being neither wholly for it nor adamantly against it.  In a world where few seem to take anything but the extreme positions on any issue, it's nice to see I'm not alone on this one.  For some time now, Bob Herbert of The New York Times has been running pieces about people who were proven innocent and freed from Death Row after many years, often only days before they would have been executed.  This has happened so often that I think it's blind denial to think that our government has not occasionally put the wrong person to death.  And this realization, in turn, seems to be causing a lot of prominent supporters of the Death Penalty to at least rethink the whole matter.  Mr. Herbert has a good column on this today, and you can read it by clicking here.  (That's if you hurry.  Like all N.Y. Times links, it's only free for a limited time.  Thereafter, they charge you and don't share the fee with the author.)

I am told that the trade paperback of Fanboy is now on sale, as is the new paperback collection ofJack Kirby's Fourth World, but I've yet to see a copy of either.  I have, however, received my contributor's copies of The DC Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O'Neil.  It has a different cover than the one I posted here when I was recommending it, but the recommendation still holds.

Keeping in mind that there could still be changes, it's time to unveil the list of panels and events I'll be moderating at the forthcoming Comic-Con International in San Diego.  These are always terrific, not because of me but because I get to host the best events.  I'll be posting updates and amendments here as we get closer to the festivities…

The current issue of Washington Monthly has a killer of an article on President Bush's messy business dealings and, in particular, about how his administration has pretty much ignored the kind of ethical lapses that led to resignations in previous regimes.  Here's the link to the piece.  The thing that leads me to believe this matter is not going away is that the Republican response, so far, seems to be to change the subject or to say, "This is just Democratic desperation."  No one outside of Bush's immediate aides is out there making much of a case for innocence.

Tomorrow night (actually, Tuesday morning), ABC debuts Up Close, the placeholder interview show that's taking the place of Politically Incorrect.  Ted Koppel will be spending a half-hour chatting with David Letterman on the first installment.  For an interesting and probably accurate take on the situation, check out Adam Buckman's column in the New York Post.

Next Tuesday, The Movie Channel — which you may or may not get on your local cable provider — is running The Night They Raided Minsky's.  This film, which I find fascinating, has never been out on Laserdisc or DVD, the VHS tape is quite hard to find, and if it's ever been on TV before, it's been quite a while.

It stars Norman Wisdom, Jason Robards, Britt Ekland, Elliott Gould, Denholm Elliott, Jack Burns  and Bert Lahr in a funny (at times), chaotic (usually) and silly (always) tale of the burlesque business and what allegedly ended it.  As a historical record of that industry, it's a trainload of cheap fiction, but there are moments when some apparently genuine Burley-Q routines and ambiance sneak in around the edges, and some of the performances are quite wonderful.  And, hey, the poster was rendered by Frank Frazetta and it has scantily-clad ladies on it, so that makes it special right there.

The film was produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, and directed by William Friedkin.  Legend has it that, shortly after filming was completed, Mr. Friedkin decided it was a stinkeroo and abandoned it…whereupon the famed film editor, Ralph Rosenblum, came in and re-cut it into quite a different film than the one Friedkin had disowned.  Or, at least, that's how Rosenblum told it in his book, When the Shooting Stops, in which he also claims to have salvaged a number of other cinematic disasters, including The Producers, A Thousand Clowns and all of Woody Allen's early directorial efforts.

Minsky's is so full of odd cutting, continuity errors and editors' tricks that one can believe Rosenblum's account.  (None of the black-and-white stock footage, for instance, was in it when Friedkin left.)  Adding to the problems was that Bert Lahr died during filming.  His role was trimmed back and a few posthumous scenes were concocted with another ex-burlesque comic, Joey Faye, playing Lahr with his back to the camera, and Will Jordan dubbing the voice.  Anyway, all of this makes the film more interesting, at least to me, and there are plenty of wonderful scenes that stand on their own.  Here are a few other sidelights to note…

• The songs are by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse, and they're pretty good.  Some of them remain in a stage version which has recently been written, though with an entirely-different plotline.  It was announced for production, but suspended due to the death of director Michael Ockrent.  His widow, Susan Stroman — who, thanks to The Producers, is the hottest director on Broadway — is said to be planning to stage the show…one of these days.
• The role of Duffy, the straight man who sings "Take Ten Terrific Girls," was played by Dexter Maitland, who was an actual Minsky's straight man.  I met him when he was in his early 90's, playing in sketches in a Minsky's revue at the Hacienda Hotel in Las Vegas.  He was a lovely man and he really made straight-manning an art.
• Another genuine burlesque veteran, Herbie Faye, plays the owner of the delicatessen.  In his burlesque days, Faye was teamed for a time with Phil Silvers.  When Silvers landed the TV show, You'll Never Get Rich (aka Sgt. Bilko), the first thing he did was find a recurring role for his old partner.
• The tall, long-limbed male dancer is the late Will B. Able, who appeared for years in TV variety shows and kids' specials.  And one of the comics is played by the wonderful Eddie Lawrence.  Eddie, with whom I had the joy of working once, is a multi-talented gent.  He has written for and starred on Broadway…he has done cartoon voices and he paints (he inherited the studio of his dear pal, Zero Mostel).  Beyond all that, he's best known for the comedy records on which he played his immortal character, The Old Philosopher.  ("Is that what's botherin' you, Bunky?")
• Here's the most obscure trivia item in the history of World Cinema.  One of the plot points revolves around a naughty pamphlet detailing the exploits of one Mademoiselle Fifi.  If you look closely in the scene where the censor-guy is holding the pamphlet up to the light, you can see that the insides are made up of a page from an issue of Mad Magazine that was on sale when they were filming the movie.  (It's an article illustrated by Bob Clarke on "Protest Buttons Through History.")

And there are some others but you get the idea.  I'm not recommending this as a wonderful film, because it isn't.  It's just a lot of fun, especially if you know some of the odd aspects of its birth.

It's comforting to know that, in the United States of America, you can't go to prison just because of what you're thinking…or can you?  In Columbus, Ohio, a man who was once convicted of pandering child pornography was recently put back behind bars on another charge of pandering obscenity.  Okay, we all agree that folks involved in making or distributing kiddy porn oughta be incarcerated — or worse.  But the new obscenity charge was not that he was dispensing his sick fantasies for the world to see.  He was merely writing something in a private journal for his own, uh, pleasure.  Can you be convicted of obscenity for writing something that no one else is supposed to see?  Apparently, now you can.  Here's a link to an AP news report on it all.

If you're interested in more info on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series than I have here, a fine resource is Leslie Hickman's website, The Realm.  She knows more about the show I started than I do.

Over there on Slate, Alan Dershowitz and Richard Posner are doing a week-long debate via e-mail over the Supreme Court decision on the Florida vote recount.  It's kind of interesting if you want to see two smart men both avoiding candor and spinning the statutes according to their personal politics.  I've never had much use for Posner, whose concept of law seems to be that whatever the conservatives are arguing is the only defensible position, but it's dismaying to see Dershowitz, whom I once respected, turn into the liberal equivalent.  Yeah, he's kind of a media whore who never said no to a chance to be on camera but, pre-O.J., he was out there saying some important, gutsy things about freedom of religion and the evils of intolerance.  One of the many ancillary tragedies of the whole Simpson mess is that, whenever Dershowitz appears anywhere and says those kinds of things in the future, a certain number of people are going to moan, "Oh, he was one of O.J.'s lawyers" and turn him off.

I have my fingers crossed that the accusations against Paula Poundstone (whatever they are) turn out to be unfounded and that this is determined soon, before the jokes and tabloids irreparably convict her.  I still haven't heard enough evidence against Robert Blake to warrant the jokes Mr. Leno, for one, is doing…and neither have the police who, let's not forget, have yet to even make an arrest.

Well I felt really proud that I landed house seats to The Producers…in the eighth row, no less.  Today, I got a call from Howard Morris, who has known Mel Brooks since they worked together on the old Your Show of Shows.  He is just back from New York where Mel gave him seats in the third row.  I am now properly humbled on the subject.  (Howie loved it, by the way.  He said, "It makes a thousand promises and delivers on every one."  He is right.)

You know who that man is? Probably not…not by his face, anyway.  But you might know his voice and hands.  That's the late, great Clyde Adler, a very funny gent whose main line of work at one point was chopping up old movies for TV at the ABC affiliate in Detroit.  But Clyde had another career: He was also an actor and he was the other half of the cast of the various shows that Soupy Sales did in Motown and in Los Angeles in the late fifties/early sixties.  Soupy's was (usually) the only on-camera face.  You only saw Clyde's hands and arms as he played White Fang, Black Tooth, Pookie, Hippie and all those weird people who'd come to Soupy's door and, as often as not, hit him in the face with a pie.  Clyde was the Sandy Koufax of meringue-hurling, and he was also very funny.

When Soupy relocated to New York in 1964, Clyde elected not to make the move and, instead, returned to the editing room in Detroit.  Frank Nastasi assumed the role of Soupy's off-camera confederate but when Soupy briefly resurrected his program in '80, he persuaded Clyde to recreate his old roles.  Some of this is covered in an article available on this site which can be reached via this link.

In our previous "news item," I plugged a new Soupy CD which is available from www.rhinohandmade.com and which contains the contents of his first two record albums.  I neglected to mention that Clyde was also heard on those albums, playing the perfect Abbott to Soupy's Costello.  I'm almost glad I forgot to mention him because it gives me an excuse to run this photo, which was e-mailed to me by Ed Golick.  Pictures of Clyde are extremely rare and I'm grateful to Ed for sharing.  (It's from an unsold pilot that Soupy made called Where There's Smokey, in which he played an inept fireman and Clyde played his superior.)