Monthly Archives: June 2015

I don't have anything to say about the shooting in Charleston that will surprise anyone. The kid who killed those people said he wanted to kill black people and try to start some sort of race war. Everything that is known about him is consistent with that motive. And you have politicians and pundits turning backflips to try and spin it in some way that's more comfortable for them or useful for their personal causes. Has Donald Trump started explaining how this proves that he should be president? If he hasn't, he will. Let me know when someone is out there saying this proves Global Warming is a hoax.

Jon Stewart was terrific last night and Larry Wilmore was even better. Stewart's opening speech is all over the 'net today but if you missed Wilmore's, you can view it here. Both men were very powerful and very wise but that wisdom will not reach the ears of those who today have pillows jammed up against their ears in a desperate attempt to not hear that maybe racism was in any way to blame.

I'm not going to write any more about this because I'll just be repeating what so many others have said…and because the people who need to hear it won't. It's just so sad that so many people think racial hatred is only something that happens to people of their own color.

So we did this four-issue comic book series, Groo Vs. Conan, and it was collected into a trade paperback and it's also been nominated for an Eisner Award which I bet we won't win. "We," by the way, is Sergio Aragonés, Tom Yeates and Yours Truly with colors by Tom Luth and Lovern Kindzierski. If you yearn for a copy of the paperback collection, you can order one here.

And if for some reason, you want the thing in a hardcover edition…well, I recently learned that our publisher, Dark Horse Comics, is making up a limited number that will be sold at the Comic-Con International in San Diego. "Recently" may in this case mean yesterday. If they told me about this before, I somehow managed to miss it.

Anyway, they're only making 300 copies and I know of no plans to make any more or to sell them anywhere else. Then again, remember that I didn't know about this until yesterday so that may not mean anything. They're $30.00 apiece and there's a limit of five to a customer per day. They will be selling them at the Dark Horse booth but better still, Sergio will be selling them at his table in the main hall, which is at space I-7. If you buy it from him — same price! — he'll gladly sign it for you immediately and if I'm around, I will too. (And if you feel like trucking across the hall, Tom Yeates should be there somewhere, too.)

Please don't write me and ask me where you can get one. You now know as much about this as I do, maybe more. If you're desperate to have a copy and you won't be in San Diego, see if you can find someone who will be there to buy you one and get it autographed. And if you are there and you want one, I'd head for Sergio's table first thing when you get there because I have a feeling this puppy will sell out rapidly. I intend to get one and…well, I don't like to brag but I think Sergio's is giving it to me at half-price.

• I know why the Charleston shooter did it. Never mind what he said. It was because of whatever political viewpoint I want to spin today.

Speaking of other people playing Groucho Marx, as I was: Regular readers of this blog are sick of me plugging my pal Frank Ferrante and his touring show, An Evening With Groucho, but every time I plug it, people go see it and they write to thank me. Frank miraculously transforms himself into the master comedian and tells stories from his life. He also wanders the audience, chatting and insulting, chatting and insulting. Our clip today is about five minutes from when he was at the Pasadena Playhouse earlier this year…and he'll be doing a limited engagement (limited to three performances) there next January.

In the meantime, watch this space to see when he comes near you. He'll be in Rancho Mirage, California in August, Wisconsin and North Carolina in September, and he's having lunch with me a week from tomorrow at the Magic Castle. Here's some of what he does when he's in Pasadena…

You all know Rand Paul, the "Libertarian" who's in favor of government spending a ton more money on defense, stopping Gay Marriage and Abortion, keeping marijuana illegal and sending people to prison for listening to radical political speeches. He used to not have some of those views but in his quest for the G.O.P. presidential nomination, he's trying hard to blend in with the herd.

When you claim to be a Libertarian and real Libertarian groups start disowning you, how do you get a little of that label back? Easy: You introduce a new flat-tax proposal. But since you are, after all, seeking the Republican nomination, it has to be one that slashes taxes for the rich, shifts the burden to the poor and middle class and promises this will be great for all. Yeah, like it's working so well in Kansas. Here's Jonathan Chait to explain why this is a bad plan.

*Another Candidate Who'll Get The Same Number Of Electoral Votes As Me.

There are not many superstar agent-managers around but Jack Rollins, who just died at the age of 100, was one of 'em. His list of clients included, first and foremost, Woody Allen and also had on it at various times David Letterman, Dick Cavett, Harry Belafonte, Robin Williams, Lenny Bruce, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Billy Crystal and lots of other folks you've heard of. He and his partner Charles H. Joffe shaped most of those careers and served as executive producers of many of their clients' TV shows and movies. Read all about him here.

Jeb Bush is saying that if we elect him president, he'll make 4% economic growth happen every year. How? Well, I guess that's the part he'll figure out after we swear him into office. Never mind that neither his brother or father ever managed that and that the only president lately who came close was the husband of his probable Democratic opponent. Anyway, Matt Ygelsias tells us how ridiculous this campaign pledge is.

We have in the past here plugged Raised Eyebrows, a fine book by my pal Steve Stoliar. Steve worked for Groucho Marx for the last few years of the great comedian's life and was therefore in the midst of the stormy presence of Erin Fleming in Groucho's life. I probably don't have to remind anyone who would come to this site what that was all about but just in case, I wrote about it here.

Congrats to Steve. It was announced yesterday that his book is to be turned into a movie directed by rocker-turned-director Rob Zombie, screenwriter Oren Moverman and other folks you can read about in this news item. If you read that, don't read the comments, most of which are from people condemning the project because of some idea they have of this film looking like other Zombie projects. They know not how passionate and loyal to Groucho's memory Steve is; how he'd never be a part of anything that didn't serve this subject properly. (This is something that often annoys me about the Internet…this rush to review movies that haven't gotten anywhere near a camera yet. The screenplay isn't finished, the picture isn't cast, not one frame of film has been shot but somehow, you know exactly what it will be like.)

As I've written elsewhere here, I had two brief in-person encounters with Groucho and Ms. Fleming during those years…enough to believe that Steve, who was present for most of it, got the story exactly right in his book. I don't mean just that he knew what was going on but also that he set it down in an accurate manner as opposed, say, to making himself look like more of a hero than he was. He did though do much to help his employer and idol, and that story is well worth the wide audience that it will get from a movie of this sort. So I view this as good news, not just for Steve but for those of us interested in the sheer history going on there.

The San Diego Central Library is about to open an exhibit called The Art of Comic-Con, a gallery of artwork done over the years in connection with Comic-Con International. I would imagine it's mostly art done for the souvenir book or advertising and it's by some wonderful artists. My partner-in-crime Sergio Aragonés will be appearing at the opening reception, which is this Saturday from Noon to 2 PM. Sergio did an amazing cover for the con's 40th anniversary book, Comic-Con: 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans and Friends! and they'll be unveiling an unusual and somewhat large display of that work of art.

The exhibit runs through the end of August so if you happen to be in San Diego before then — say, for Comic-Con in three weeks — you might want to pop over and take a gander at it, especially since admission is free.

The San Diego Central Library is located at 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101 which is — I just Google Mapped it — six-tenths of a mile from the convention center so it's eminently walkable. More details are available here.

Sorry to hear of the passing of comedian Rick Ducommun, one of the funnier stand-ups I recall seeing during the eighties. He was a Canadian gent who I recall doing some of the funniest sets I ever saw on the stage of Budd Friedman's Improv up on Melrose. A lot of folks would know him best as an actor in quite a few movies including Spaceballs, Die Hard, Groundhog Day, The Hunt for Red October and a particularly standout role opposite Tom Hanks in The 'Burbs. He headlined at least one HBO standup special which I wish they'd rerun so I could get a copy.

Nice guy, too. I actually brought him in once to do the voice of a stand-up comedian mouse in an episode of Garfield and Friends. We talked a bit about our mutual weight problems and I was pleased to see that he soon got himself down to a more human size. He died "due to complications from a protracted illness," reports a friend of his, another very funny guy named Rick…Rick Overton. I hadn't seen Ducommun anywhere for quite a while and I guess that illness was the reason.

Here's a short set he did at the 1989 (I think) Comic Relief show. The topics are not for the easily offended but I think the guy was nothing but funny…

So how is it that whenever politicians pick a recent piece of popular recorded music to use as a theme song for their campaigns, they almost invariably pick a record by someone who is against their candidacy? Donald Trump used Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" as his entrance and exit music for yesterday's announcement and, of course, today we have Neil Young saying nobody got his permission and he's supporting Bernie Sanders.

Is it my imagination or does this happen all the time with every politician? Newt Gingrich used "Eye of the Tiger" in his hapless campaign without getting any sort of clearance and okay from its composer or the artists who performed the record. Michele Bachmann, back when she thought she might get more than eleven votes for president, was using "American Girl" by Tom Petty against the wishes of Mr. Petty. Petty also objected when George W. Bush used his "I Won't Back Down." I seem to recall Sarah Palin doing this several times and I'm sure there must be Democratic candidates who did the same thing.

The folks at ASCAP, the composers' society, have put together a FAQ about the use of such music. Here it is in a PDF file. It took me five seconds to find this online. Does no one running a political campaign ever bother to check to see if they need permission? Or do they just not care if they violate a musician's rights?

Matt Taibbi and his readers recall some of Donald Trump's Greatest Hits. Ah, the whole Internet is one big Daily Show today.

Matthew Dessem has a more detailed account of the finding of the lost reel of Laurel and Hardy's film, Battle of the Century. We are, of course, very happy of this and eager to see the complete film…and by "we," I mean anyone with any affection for great comedians.

Stu Shostak has landed another great guest for his Internet Radio Talk Show. It's Peter Isacksen, who may be best known to you as "the tall guy" in many movies and TV shows like C.P.O. Sharkey. I worked with Peter years ago on a short-lived series and found him to be a bright, talented gent and it didn't surprise me one bit when he segued from acting to directing and producing. He's got some great tales to tell of his work both in front of and behind the camera, and Stu's just the guy to get him to tell them.

Stu's Show can be heard live (almost) every Wednesday at the Stu's Show website and you can listen for free there. Webcasts start at 4 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM Eastern and other times in other climes. They run a minimum of two hours and sometimes go to three or beyond. Shortly after a show ends, it's available for downloading from the Archives on that site. Downloads are a measly 99 cents each and you can get four for the price of three. The more you buy, the more you save. In fact, if you buy 'em all, you'll probably save enough money to retire.