Longtime TV producer/executive Herb Solow recently passed away at the age of 89. Herb was a "behind the scenes" guy involved with so many shows but the one most-often mentioned is the original Star Trek.
As his obit in Variety noted, "Solow was brought in by Lucille Ball after her divorce from Desi Arnaz to help revive Desilu Studios, where he helped develop and sell Star Trek to NBC — after CBS originally turned it down because it already had Lost in Space — as well as Mission: Impossible and Mannix to CBS. If you recall his name, it may be from this end-credit on Star Trek…
I could go on and on about other things he did. Among the other shows that might never have seen the light of a TV tube if not for Herb were Medical Center, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Then Came Bronson and Man From Atlantis.
At various times in his career, he was an agent at the William Morris Agency, the head of Worldwide Motion Pictures and Television Production at MGM, Vice-President at Paramount Pictures Television, and at Desilu Studios, Vice-President for Live-Action Production at Hanna-Barbara and Director of Daytime Programs for NBC and CBS.
He was well-respected and well-liked in the industry and he did so much, I feel uneasy about mentioning one of his really minor achievements but I must: In 1976, a team of two young TV writers made their first-ever sale to this man, Herb Solow. Those two writers were Mark Evanier and Dennis Palumbo. Thank you, Herb.
I wasn't going to post any more Trump-related material but here's a link to an editorial in the National Review entitled "Trump's Disgraceful Endgame." It's the staff of one of the most staunchly-conservative publications in America telling a Republican president that he's harming the country. One excerpt…
Almost nothing that the Trump team has alleged has withstood the slightest scrutiny. In particular, it's hard to find much that is remotely true in the president's Twitter feed these days. It is full of already-debunked claims and crackpot conspiracy theories about Dominion voting systems. Over the weekend, he repeated the charge that 1.8 million mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania were mailed out, yet 2.6 million were ultimately tallied. In a rather elementary error, this compares the number of mail-ballots requested in the primary to the number of ballots counted in the general. A straight apples-to-apples comparison finds that 1.8 million mail-in ballots were requested in the primary and 1.5 million returned, while 3.1 million ballots were requested in the general and 2.6 million returned.
Okay…so Arizona just certified that Biden won its electoral votes. What is Giuliani now on these lawsuits? One for forty or something like that? A saner strategist might decide they're just making Trump's loss feel more legitimate, not less. One gets the feeling that Trump told Rudy, "Just get me a win anywhere!" Because even reversing the loss in Arizona — which was real unlikely to happen — would still have left Biden well north of 270.
There seems to be encouraging news about COVID vaccines but I won't take them seriously until my doctor takes them seriously. I've gotten a couple of inquiries from folks who are thinking they can stage a comic book convention next March or April who I think are kidding themselves. But maybe they should start thinking about how to configure conventions whenever we're in that transitional stage where the chance of catching the virus is plunging but not yet close to zero.
Will there be cons where you'll need to show proof of vaccination to get a badge? Where masks will be mandatory? (A lot of folks will wear them even if they aren't.) For that matter, will stores like Walmart and Costco and that big supermarket near you require proof of vaccination before they'll let you in to buy a can of salmon?
Some alarming percentage of Americans tell pollsters they won't take any vaccine. I don't know how they can say that when they don't yet know which vaccine it is, how safe it may be, what their personal physicians will say about it and such. But if you're dead-set against letting any vaccine ever into your body, how will you feel if/when CVS Pharmacy says, "No shirt, no shoes, no vaccination, no entrance"? What if the airlines all say it?
Even when this thing is over, it's not going to be over.
In this post, I said — and I quote me: "And what do you want to bet the turnout for Biden's inauguration is way bigger than the turnout for Trump's…and Donald refuses to concede that, either?"
That was one of the dumber things I've said on this blog as my buddy Steve Stoliar pointed out in a message this morning…
I'd bet a lot against that statement. Because COVID will probably be at its most widespread and virulent on January 20th, due to the dramatic spike in recent weeks and the undoubted "booster shot" the virus gets from all the idiots who refuse to stay isolated at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, I think Biden's inauguration will have, like, a dozen necessary people, strategically placed. Biden would want nothing to do with helping increase the number of COVID victims. Trump, on the other hand, plans to have a 2024 launch rally the same day (but of course!) and I'm certain thousands will show up, both in blind, brain-dead support of Trump and to "stick it to" Biden on his big day. Trump cares nothing about whether we live or die — only big numbers that feed his insatiable ego.
Afterwards, Trump will — in a rare display of accuracy — claim that thousands more attended his rally than Biden's sparsely attended inauguration. And he'll probably throw in how many more attended his first inauguration than attended Biden's as well. Welcome to the New Order.
And he'll probably add, "And wait'll you see how many turn out for my next inauguration in four years!" Yeah, you're right. I momentarily forgot about that disease we'd all like to not have to think about. And it sure will make a nice contrast if it's Biden on one channel being sworn in with a minimum of "Your Majesty" and Trump on another doing one of his "the world loves me" rallies.
Biden ought to announce he's dispensing with galas and balls and parties and all the royal trappings that, frankly, I always thought My Ideal President would dispense with just because they're wasteful and not what America's all about. We elect a public servant. We don't crown a King. He could set a good example by saying, as I have long wished every president would, "I thank you for your confidence in me and the best way I can thank you is to get to work instead of partying all night." And he'd also announce he would not play golf while in office.
I've been reading your blog for a couple of years now and really enjoy it. Thanks for all the information and entertainment.
You've done so much work involving voice actors for television programs. Have you ever done any similar work for advertising interests making radio or television commercials? If not, was it a personal choice or an understanding that people in your position don't work both sides of that street? How does working for advertisers differ from working on programs for voice actors? I'm not referring to a famous actor or entertainer who lends his/her well-known voice to a company (for example, Gene Hackman for Lowe's).
I directed Lorenzo Music a few times for Garfield-related advertising. It was exactly the same as directing him for the cartoons. He read the copy, I said either "Let's try it one more time" or — more often — "That's fine. Let's do one more for protection, then move on to the next line." Lorenzo needed about as little direction as any actor who's ever worked in animation.
And I directed Gary Owens once for some network promos — oh, and I also once directed promos with Mark Elliott, a veteran announcer that most folks think of as The Disney Movie Trailer Guy. This is Mark Elliott but that's not the thing I directed him for. It was the same amount of effort on my part as it was with Lorenzo. They read it once, it was fine, we did it again just in case…and we moved on. If you've hired the right voice folks, it's real easy. The casting and booking are often the hard parts.
But that's about the extent of it. I haven't done any more advertising stuff not because of any personal choice but because no one's asked me. The above minor instances were easy because no one who outranked me was present. I've heard (and even witnessed as a spectator) times when the sponsor or the ad agency was present, kibbitzing about every syllable of every word uttered as if the wrong read of a "the" would cause the entire commercial to fail and the company making the product would go bankrupt and the ad agency would follow them into receivership and everyone's children would starve to death.
I've had a little of that in directing cartoon voices…producers or network people sitting behind me, telling me they didn't like the way a line was read. But not much. I'd have no overall objection to working on commercials. It would depend on the product and the circumstances — who I'd be working with, whether I'd have a boss sitting behind me, etc.
The Washington Post has an "Oh, My God" piece about how Trump has been coping with his loss to Joe Biden (poorly) and with the repeated failure of his legal team to do anything to reverse the outcome.
And what do you want to bet the turnout for Biden's inauguration is way bigger than the turnout for Trump's…and Donald refuses to concede that, either?
The e-mails from Trump's minions continue to arrive. They've probably sent something like two hundred of them to an e-mail address that has never given them a dime and many of those messages tell me that President Trump considers me a True Patriot and is grateful for my support. Alternately, a few of them scold me for not sending anything and some of them address me as "Gary," plus I've gotten two for "Rick." All at the same address.
They all take for granted that I believe that Trump won by a landslide and that fraud is denying him his rightful second term. Sometimes, they claim that Democrats all know that too and we're all in on the scam. I'm waiting to see some sort of explanation for why, as state after state certifies the Biden win, Trump's forces don't show some of this undeniable mountain of evidence to a judge or even to Tucker Carlson. I can't imagine why. Can you?
Our pal John Ficarra was an editor at MAD for thirty-eight years. Do you know how many funny ideas and articles he dealt with in those years? More than ten! Read how some of them came about.
This just might be my all-time favorite YouTube video and I'm thinking of watching it every morning when I first sit down at the computer, just to get my day started properly. Take this video full screen on your computer and cue The Overture of Overtures…
Once upon a time, they made movie musicals out of Broadway shows. At some point, someone got the idea to reverse the process and a lot of great movie musicals were converted for the stage …in this case, twice. There was a stage version of the great movie musical An American in Paris in 2008 and another, different adaptation in 2016 — why not? The script for the movie was by Alan Jay Lerner and it was pretty sound. The pretty sound of the music consisted of tunes from the Gershwin catalog. Can't do better than that.
This video of the 2016 version was recorded in London in May 2017 and it stars Robert Fairchild, who won a Tony Award when the show played in New York for the thankless job of making people forget Gene Kelly. Also featured are Leanne Cope, Haydn Oakley, Zoë Rainey and a lot of really good dancers.
It's quite good but if you want to see it, you'd better watch it now. They only put it online for 48 hours and as I post this, about five of them have already passed. Do not delay.
I have a question concerning your recent anecdote about visiting Larry Fine at the Motion Picture Country Home/Hospital. How exactly did you get in there? Did you know Mr. Fine previously? Was it just a matter of knowing who was in residence at the time and asking if they were willing to see you? Or did you just walk in like you had business there and see who was around? I think that was your successful strategy for infiltrating the sets of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and The Dean Martin Show.
A friend of mine had gone out to visit Larry Fine. I'm a bit fuzzy on how he arranged that but I think he heard Larry was out there and wrote a letter to him c/o the place, then got a callback either from Larry or some nurse there inviting him out. He told me he'd gone out there, told the desk, "I'm here to see Larry Fine" and they sent him back without checking…so I just drove out there and told the person at the desk, "I'm here to see Larry Fine" and they directed me to his room.
I poked my head in, saw him sitting there watching TV and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Fine. Could I meet you?" He immediately invited me in, had me turn off the TV and directed me to his guest chair. He was very happy to have a visitor.
I don't know how it works out there these days. The last time I visited the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital (that's the full name of it) was 1992. Security just about everywhere has tightened since then and of course, they're now dealing with the coronavirus out there so it's probably not a good place to visit.
The NBC Studios in Burbank are no longer the NBC Studios in Burbank but even before the building changed hands, it was a lot more difficult to get inside. In fact, I would say — and this is not a joke — in the seventies when I went there, it was easier to get in without a pass than it was the last time I went and I had a pass. All the TV studios and movie lots I've visited since 9/11 have drastically tightened security and I don't think all of that was because of 9/11. (One lesser but significant reason was people just sneaking onto sets and walking away with props or costumes.)
The first time I visited NBC Burbank was in 1969. I was a writer for Laugh-In magazine and actually, the magazine had stopped publication at the time but there was still a deal in place for the publishing company to do something further involving the show. It was arranged for me to go over and visit the set a few times and I did…and while in the building, I visited a few other stages and no one stopped me, no one said, "What are you doing in here?" So thereafter, I felt free to wander.
To get in that first time, I went in the Artists' Entrance and, as instructed, asked one of the guards there to call a certain person in the Publicity Department who cleared me to get in. The next time I went, I asked the same guard to place the same call to the same person. He didn't get an answer but he remembered me from the previous visit and I did know the name of someone on the inside…so he just waved me in. The next time, he just waved me in. The next time, another guard waved me in and that was how it was after that. I'm not sure to what extent it was because I looked familiar and to what extent it was because I looked like I belonged there and knew where I was going.
In 1983, I wrote for a TV show that taped there on Stage 3. The first time I walked in for that show, I was with Dick Clark and of course, no one asked either of us for a pass or our names or anything. For the run of that series, I walked through that door at least once a day alone and no one ever asked me for I.D. or where I was headed. There may have been a rule that once you'd been seen with Dick Clark, you could get in anywhere…and I mean anywhere: Any studio, any lot, anywhere in Show Business. If there was such a rule, I kinda doubt it's still operative.
Broadway star Brad Oscar — who was so good in The Producers and Something Rotten and everything else he's done — performs a song parody by Joe Keenan. Every single person who writes song parodies, myself included, wishes or will wish they'd thought of this first…
Those of you who are interested in the history of comic books will be thrilled by this. The rest of you, just skip to the next post…
Between 1993 and 2005, an annual fixture at the Comic-Con International in San Diego was the Golden Age Panel featuring folks who'd worked in the industry in the 1940s. Gary Carter was the moderator of the first one, Joe Desris hosted the second, Ron Goulart hosted the third and I hosted the rest of 'em…but the prime mover behind these panels was a gent named David Siegel. Dave rounded up the panelists and was often responsible for them being at the convention at all. For many of them, that was a life-changing experience…being at a comic convention, being honored for their careers and meeting their fans.
The last few of these events were actually called the Golden and Silver Age panels because, sadly, we ran out of folks who'd worked in the field in the forties. The name change allowed us to sneak in some writers and artists from the fifties. Alas, even with the name change, we soon couldn't people a dais so the panels ended and now I do one each year — when there is a con — that focuses on the seventies.
I loved all these panels while they lasted and so did a lot of attendees. At each of the last few cons after we stopped them, someone would complain to me that there was no Golden Age Panel and I'd reply, "You find me four or more people at this con who'd qualify for such a panel and I'll host it."
Stan Lee would have qualified while he was attending the con but he repeatedly declined. He'd say to me, "Mark, I'll be on any panel you want me on as long as it's about what I"m doing currently."
Our video here is a not-quite-complete record of the first Golden Age Panel in '93. Here were the panelists along with the year each first worked in comics: Sheldon Moldoff (1938), Vince Sullivan (1938), Murphy Anderson (1944), Julius Schwartz (1944), Gil Kane (1941), Russ Heath (1942), Dan Barry (1941), Paul Norris (1940), Martin Nodell (1940) and Dick Sprang (1940). If you start watching the video, that's the order they're seated on the stage, left to right, though Kane doesn't join the panel until partway into it.
There's also a cameo appearance by Harlan Ellison and in the crowd shots before and after, you'll see me, Dave Siegel, Mike Catron and many other folks I recognize, including the late Don Thompson.
The person who uploaded this to YouTube cut it into thirteen separate videos and I've taken a guess at what I think is the right order. There are some jumps in there where material is missing and you may need to crank up your volume to catch all the history…and there is history there.
Dick Sprang and Shelly Moldoff were two of the main ghosts for Bob Kane on Batman….and Shelly drew the original Hawkman and many landmark covers. Vince Sullivan was the editor of the first Superman and Batman comics and Julius Schwartz was a later editor of both. Paul Norris was co-creator of Aquaman, Marty Nodell co-created Green Lantern, Dan Barry set a lot of the house art style at DC, and Gil, Russ and Murphy were three of the most prolific and important artists of their day. I miss all these men and I miss panels like this one…
And that's just the first part. If you enjoyed that and want to see them all, go over to this page and skip the first one because you just watched it here.
