Monthly Archives: November 2011

There was an event in Georgia this past weekend I wish I could have attended: A seminar with a whole buncha guys who've worked for MAD for years and years and years…one guy even dating back to the first issue in 1952. They were Nick Meglin, Paul Coker, Sergio Aragonés, Al Jaffee, Jack Davis, Sam Viviano and Tom Richmond. It is Tom Richmond (aka "The New Kid") who favors us with a great report.

Someone just directed me to a website where you are given a fixed amount of time to type in all the entries in a list. I aced the one where you name all the Marx Brothers movies and the one where you name all of Stephen Sondheim's shows. I also got 92 out of 105, which is damn good, naming all the Laurel & Hardy movies and missed only three naming the Abbott & Costello movies.

I didn't do as well on stuff I worked on like naming the major characters in Groo the Wanderer and if you gave me a week and a big cash prize, I couldn't have filled in the name of every episode of Garfield and Friends. And I really humiliated myself on the one that challenges you to name 137 characters created or co-created by Jack Kirby.

The last time Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globes, I wrote here…

I suspect Gervais will not host the Golden Globes again, not because they won't want him back but because he won't do it. If he does, the presenters and nominees will all come armed with scripted Ricky Gervais insults and it won't be a bad awards show. It'll be a bad Friars Roast.

Okay, so I was wrong. He'll do it again. But I still might be right about it turning into a bad Friars Roast.

Stu Shostak has a great guest today for his popular pop-culture Internet chat show. It's Joe Alaskey, one of the brightest voice talents of his generation. I first became aware of Joe when he was mainly an impressionist…and one of the best. He did the best Shatner I'd ever heard…the best Matthau…and his Gleason was so good, they had Joe come in and dub Ralph Kramden's voice in on some of those Lost Honeymooners episodes where the audio needed fixing.

The last decade or two, he's been one of the best cartoon voice actors…and one of the select few called in to fill the shoes of Mr. Mel Blanc. Joe won an Emmy for voicing Daffy on the Duck Dodgers show and probably deserved a couple for other roles. Sometimes, he does Bugs. Sometimes, Sylvester. Actually, he can do and has done about all of them. He even did Yosemite Sam in Who Framed Roger Rabbit when Mel was still alive. Rumor has it that it was Mel's suggestion that they get Joe since Joe then sounded more like Mel than Mel did.

Anyway, Joe does a lot of non-Mel characters too, including Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures and Grandpa Lou on Rugrats and you'll hear all about the other ones when you tune in Stu's Show today. I've told you before how to do this but I'm going to tell you again…

1. Listen live for free! Stu does his show Wednesdays starting at 4 PM Pacific Time. That's 7 PM Eastern Time and if you live in other zones, you can probably figure out what time it starts on your computer. It runs two hours. Sometimes, it runs more than two hours. Go to the Stu's Show website at the proper time and click where they tell you to click. Then you can minimize that window on your computer and listen as you do other things.
2. Listen later for 99 cents! Shortly after the live webcast, each show becomes a podcast and you can download it as an MP3 file from the Stu's Show website and hear it at your convenience. This is a great bargain and while you're over there, browse around. You'll probably find plenty of other shows in the archives that you'd enjoy hearing.

That's all there is to it! Tune in and hear Stu talk with one of the most talented guys working a microphone these days. And Stu, make sure you get him to do Jack Lemmon.

Jerry Sandusky did an interview-by-phone last night with Bob Costas on NBC in which he denied all 40 charges of child abuse. I doubt there were ten people in this country listening who believed him and I wonder why his attorney allowed the interview to take place. If I were a fan of Mr. Sandusky and I was rooting for him to come up with a credible response that would cast doubts on the allegations, I would have thrown in the terrycloth and said, "That's guy's going to prison forever and several years after that."

I'm baffled as to what the lawyer thought would be accomplished by not only letting his client go on like that but, according to Costas, suggesting it at the last minute. Costas originally thought he was just going to do a live interview of the attorney but just before they went on the air, the barrister suggested getting Sandusky on the line. My initial thought was that the lawyer and Sandusky planned that — "I'll suggest just before the show starts that we have you answer questions by phone. That way it'll seem more spontaneous and honest." If that was the idea, it sure backfired.

(General rule of thumb: If you're ever accused of raping a child and you're asked on national TV about it, say the words "Absolutely not" within one second of the completion of the question. Do not let two seconds go by. It's like Jeopardy! You have to buzz in the instant Alex finishes asking and not a moment after. Also, do not act like you're wandering your way to a denial on some technicality. Whether the charge is true or not, just say "Absolutely not" without hesitation or detours.)

It's all so sad. For everyone.

I am of the opinion, by the way, that Bob Costas may just be the best interviewer in broadcasting today. Having only microscopic interest in sports, I'm annoyed that he now works almost exclusively in that area. He's smart. He's fast. He's always thoroughly prepared for any conversation. And he's willing to ask tough questions and to do so with a minimum of theatrics. I've always enjoyed his non-sports interviews and I really wish he'd gone into Larry King's old time slot instead of that British guy no one is watching. Maybe some day…