Apparently there is some confusion about how to comment on the various "No More Stinky Monkeys" Blogs.
At the bottom of every story, there is a line that reads something like:
"Posted by The Freditor at 6:15PM 0 Comments" (and then a Letter symbol)
If you would like to send me a comment, you click on the Letter symbol and a page will come up.
Next to Friend's email address, put your email address and then in the comments field write whatever you want. If you WANT me to Post it into my Blog, just mention that at the top. Otherwise it will be just for my eyes. Thanks for reading my stuff and your continued support.
My birthday is one month from today, I've had 1300 hits so far, I'd love to get to 2,000 by my Bday.
The Freditor
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Haha, Oscars have worst ratings ever
Two reasons always make or break Oscars ratings. One, popular movies are nominated giving the audience a rooting interest. Titanic is the highest rated Oscar for this reason. Young girls all wanted Jack and Rose to win it all, which they did. When a movie is nominated that didn't even make as much as a baseball player's salary, then no one is going to care if it wins or loses.
Two, the Host is so important. If the host comes out of the gate with a great monologue people might stick with it, but if he tanks then the casual viewer will move on to something else. Before I left the house I caught three minutes of Jon Stewart's monologue and what I saw was bad, except for the Gaydolf Tittler joke. That was funny. But that's a big problem there. Jon Stewart. Who thinks Jon Stewart is funny? I don't, if I did I would watch The Daily Show. He replaced the Funny Guy on that show, Craig Kilborn.
You want a funny host who used to actually host a funny show. Greg Kinnear from Talk Soup. He's a really good actor who happens to be very funny, and quick on his feet.
Instead they keep bringing back horrible hosts like Whoopi Goldberg. Let's look at the hosts since Johnny Carson stopped doing the show.
2006/7--Jon Stewart--Not Funny
2005 Chris Rock---Funny
2004 Billy Crystal---Funny during the Reagan years
2003 Steve Martin---See Billy Crystal
2002 Whoopi Goldberg---Interesting, not funny.
2001 Steve Martin
2000 Billy Crystal
1999 Whoopi Goldberg
1998 Billy Crystal
1997 Billy Crystal
1996 Whoopi Goldberg
1995 David Letterman---Great. One of my favorite Oscar hosts. Got slammed because he wasn't a Hollywood insider. Oprah Uma thing was dumb, but the rest of the show was fun. He'll never do it, but I'd bring him back.
1994 Whoopi Goldberg
1993 Billy Crystal
1992 Billy Crystal
1991 Billy Crystal
1990 Billy Crystal
1989 No official host
1988 Chevy Chase---Rather stick a grapefruit spoon in my eye than watch him.
1987 Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, Paul Hogan---The Ménage à trois from hell.
1986 Alan Alda, Jane Fonda, Robin Williams---The hairiest Ménage à trois.
1985 Jack Lemmon---Only Neil Simon thought this guy was funny.
1984 Johnny Carson--The King.
The Freditor
Two, the Host is so important. If the host comes out of the gate with a great monologue people might stick with it, but if he tanks then the casual viewer will move on to something else. Before I left the house I caught three minutes of Jon Stewart's monologue and what I saw was bad, except for the Gaydolf Tittler joke. That was funny. But that's a big problem there. Jon Stewart. Who thinks Jon Stewart is funny? I don't, if I did I would watch The Daily Show. He replaced the Funny Guy on that show, Craig Kilborn.
You want a funny host who used to actually host a funny show. Greg Kinnear from Talk Soup. He's a really good actor who happens to be very funny, and quick on his feet.
Instead they keep bringing back horrible hosts like Whoopi Goldberg. Let's look at the hosts since Johnny Carson stopped doing the show.
2006/7--Jon Stewart--Not Funny
2005 Chris Rock---Funny
2004 Billy Crystal---Funny during the Reagan years
2003 Steve Martin---See Billy Crystal
2002 Whoopi Goldberg---Interesting, not funny.
2001 Steve Martin
2000 Billy Crystal
1999 Whoopi Goldberg
1998 Billy Crystal
1997 Billy Crystal
1996 Whoopi Goldberg
1995 David Letterman---Great. One of my favorite Oscar hosts. Got slammed because he wasn't a Hollywood insider. Oprah Uma thing was dumb, but the rest of the show was fun. He'll never do it, but I'd bring him back.
1994 Whoopi Goldberg
1993 Billy Crystal
1992 Billy Crystal
1991 Billy Crystal
1990 Billy Crystal
1989 No official host
1988 Chevy Chase---Rather stick a grapefruit spoon in my eye than watch him.
1987 Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, Paul Hogan---The Ménage à trois from hell.
1986 Alan Alda, Jane Fonda, Robin Williams---The hairiest Ménage à trois.
1985 Jack Lemmon---Only Neil Simon thought this guy was funny.
1984 Johnny Carson--The King.
The Freditor
Monday, January 21, 2008
PBS shows A Lot of R-E-S-P-E-C-T to Soul Music Pioneers Stax Records
* * * * (out of 5)
The term soul gets thrown around a lot, but what are its origins? Well soul music was the blending of the "devil's" rhythm and blues with "Jesus' " gospel music. In the early 1950s, Ray Charles might have been the first, biggest name in soul music history. But no company put out better, grittier soul music than the small Memphis record company called Stax. Named after its two white founders brother Jim Stewart (ST) and sister Estelle Axton (AX), Stax was a breeding ground for white hot, R&B talent from the late '50s through the early 1970s.
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story is a PBS documentary that tells how this converted movie theatre and record store became such a huge part of music history.
In its early days, sometimes the names weren't big, but the songs always were, including classics like: Try A Little Tenderness, the Theme Song to Shaft, Soul Man, and Knock on Wood. Soul Man was written in response to the various race-based riots that were taking place around the country during the civil rights struggles. According to composer Isaac Hayes (Chef from South Park), any shopkeeper that wrote "soul" on his storefront was not burned down at the time. It was similar to when the Jews painted lamb's blood over the doors so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
That's quite a strong genesis for a song, one that we associate more with two silly white guys from Saturday Night Live. Whether it's appropriate for white people to be singing soul music, at least The Blues Brothers had the good taste to sing songs by writers who were struggling for money. Isaac Hayes, for one, suffered through that kind of thing because he did stupid things like blowing his money on custom-made Cadillacs.
I'd say most of The Blues Brothers catalog consists of Stax Records, as was the soundtrack for the great Irish musical, The Commitments. In fact, two of the members of the Blues Brothers band were Stax Records' bandmates, Steve Cropper and Donald 'Duck' Dunn.
But bigger than Soul Man's Sam and Dave and bigger than even the best "house Band" in history the half black/half white Booker T. and the MGs (which stands for simply Memphis Group), the biggest star has to be Otis Redding. A driver and roadie for a smaller band that tried out for Stax, Redding the driver begged the owners to give him a tryout. To shut him up they did and the rest is history. His hits included: I've Been Loving You Too Long, Dock of the Bay and the rougher, tougher, original version of Respect.
This documentary is now available on DVD Amazon.com: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story: DVD: Various Artists and is told through oral history with many of the main protagonists still alive. Like how they competed against Detroit's Motown, which was known as Hitsville USA. One foolish, former Motown exec actually laughs at the notion that Otis Redding could have ever worked for Motown. When you see and hear Motown, the phrase, "are they black enough?" comes to mind. Down in Memphis, they called themselves Soulsville USA and they were plenty black. Black enough that different groups worked to put them out of business. Among them, their longtime distributor Atlantic Records. And eventually, the government and the banks. Who's to blame, is never made clear, but no one went to jail, so you have to believe that Stax was partly innocent.
The first hour flies by with all the filmed recordings of these classic groups playing live, but as the music becomes less interesting in the second hour, so does the program. If the show does nothing else, it shows rare footage of the live Otis Redding which is such a treat. Merely 26 when he died crashing his own plane, I'd only seen him in the movie Monterey Pop before this, but his live version of Respect just kills.
The Freditor
The term soul gets thrown around a lot, but what are its origins? Well soul music was the blending of the "devil's" rhythm and blues with "Jesus' " gospel music. In the early 1950s, Ray Charles might have been the first, biggest name in soul music history. But no company put out better, grittier soul music than the small Memphis record company called Stax. Named after its two white founders brother Jim Stewart (ST) and sister Estelle Axton (AX), Stax was a breeding ground for white hot, R&B talent from the late '50s through the early 1970s.
Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story is a PBS documentary that tells how this converted movie theatre and record store became such a huge part of music history.
In its early days, sometimes the names weren't big, but the songs always were, including classics like: Try A Little Tenderness, the Theme Song to Shaft, Soul Man, and Knock on Wood. Soul Man was written in response to the various race-based riots that were taking place around the country during the civil rights struggles. According to composer Isaac Hayes (Chef from South Park), any shopkeeper that wrote "soul" on his storefront was not burned down at the time. It was similar to when the Jews painted lamb's blood over the doors so the angel of death would pass over their homes.
That's quite a strong genesis for a song, one that we associate more with two silly white guys from Saturday Night Live. Whether it's appropriate for white people to be singing soul music, at least The Blues Brothers had the good taste to sing songs by writers who were struggling for money. Isaac Hayes, for one, suffered through that kind of thing because he did stupid things like blowing his money on custom-made Cadillacs.
I'd say most of The Blues Brothers catalog consists of Stax Records, as was the soundtrack for the great Irish musical, The Commitments. In fact, two of the members of the Blues Brothers band were Stax Records' bandmates, Steve Cropper and Donald 'Duck' Dunn.
But bigger than Soul Man's Sam and Dave and bigger than even the best "house Band" in history the half black/half white Booker T. and the MGs (which stands for simply Memphis Group), the biggest star has to be Otis Redding. A driver and roadie for a smaller band that tried out for Stax, Redding the driver begged the owners to give him a tryout. To shut him up they did and the rest is history. His hits included: I've Been Loving You Too Long, Dock of the Bay and the rougher, tougher, original version of Respect.
This documentary is now available on DVD Amazon.com: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story: DVD: Various Artists and is told through oral history with many of the main protagonists still alive. Like how they competed against Detroit's Motown, which was known as Hitsville USA. One foolish, former Motown exec actually laughs at the notion that Otis Redding could have ever worked for Motown. When you see and hear Motown, the phrase, "are they black enough?" comes to mind. Down in Memphis, they called themselves Soulsville USA and they were plenty black. Black enough that different groups worked to put them out of business. Among them, their longtime distributor Atlantic Records. And eventually, the government and the banks. Who's to blame, is never made clear, but no one went to jail, so you have to believe that Stax was partly innocent.
The first hour flies by with all the filmed recordings of these classic groups playing live, but as the music becomes less interesting in the second hour, so does the program. If the show does nothing else, it shows rare footage of the live Otis Redding which is such a treat. Merely 26 when he died crashing his own plane, I'd only seen him in the movie Monterey Pop before this, but his live version of Respect just kills.
The Freditor
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? More heart, tougher questions than in Regis' day
****1/2 (out of 5)
In 1999, my wife Barbara played darts for a local bar team. I'd go to hang out and cheer her on, but when she wasn't playing I'd watch one of the TVs. Tired of sports I'd turn to one of the other TVs. Not much for game shows, I was surprised when I came to love the new primetime sensation, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? It was especially fun to watch in a bar, because you didn't need the sound up. You had the questions and multiple choice answers written in front of you and not only was it fun knowing the answers, but also beating the contestants to the answer.
Being a huge trivia buff, I could not believe how easy the questions were, especially when compared with Jeopardy. And the fact that the money was so much bigger than on Jeopardy and that you only competed against yourself, with no time limits was a slam dunk. But ABC/Disney knowing they had a ratings bonanza did the unthinkable and started to run the show every night of the week. Capitalizing on its early success, but also burning it out for the people at home. The early round questions remained easy, but the later round questions were so incredibly hard that few did well on the show thus killing its purpose, to make ordinary people millionaires. By the time the first guy became a millionaire I had already stopped watching the show.
When I heard last summer that there was going to be a week devoted to movie trivia I attempted to become a contestant on the show, but failed to pass their exam. But Barbara, our friend Paul and I did get to be audience members for two shows and they will be broadcast on January 24th and 25th. Since that time I have watched the show every day via my Digital Video Recorder. I think it is a better show now without host Regis Philbin.
For those who didn't realize it was still on, ABC airs Millionaire at 12:30 PM on weekdays here in New York City and syndicates it throughout the country. The host for the last 6 years has been The Today Show's Meredith Vieira. She used to be one of the original hosts of The View. Never having seen The View, I knew very little about her, but after nearly six months of watching her on Millionaire, she has become one of my favorite television personalities. She's genuine which is something you can never accuse Regis of being.
Vieira's the Rhode Island daughter of Portuguese immigrants and despite having wealth now, she wears her humble, New England upbringing like a badge of honor. And she doesn't have a great poker face. When she likes the contestant it shows and when she doesn't it shows. A Boston fireman was on the show and Meredith was a little flirty in that safe, middle-aged married way. When a struggling Queens barmaid/actress was overacting between answers, Meredith looked relieved when she finally lost and left the set.
When people come on the show, sometimes they are there to make money for a cruise or something less serious like that. Sometimes they are desperate and down to their last few bucks. When those people are on, Meredith doesn't give them clues, but subtly hints in which direction they should go. Meaning, if they are not sure of an answer and seem willing to bet the ranch on a guess, she might coax them to take their winnings and go before they leave with nothing. It's a great gesture and fortunately most are smart enough to pick up on her cautiousness. Sometimes they don't and when they lose, you can see the pain in her face for them. Her show might be funded by Capital One, but she never let's her job get in the way of her humanity.
On the other hand, when the Boston fireman was trying to win enough for a Corvette he hesitated on a question and said, "Well, I guess this is where they separate the boys from the men." To which she replied, "Well, which one are you?" Which drew unusually loud boos from the crowd. Usually the crowd loves her, so she laughed at how quickly they turned on her, but she explained herself with a Cheshire smile: "It depends on what you think a man would do. A man might see he's reached his limit and be able to walk away with what he's already made. And a boy might be too aggressive." But we knew she didn't mean that. LOL
My favorite moment on the show was with a young, Oklahoma mother. She had graduated college recently, but already had a one-year-old at home and was looking to marry her live-in fiancee. They had a two-room apartment with two mismatched twin beds sitting side by side. They were scraping by without a couch, with his old dinosaur curtains on the windows and other signs of a poor, young couple starting out. Despite TV-quality good looks, she had a sweetness and innocence that could only come from the Midwest. She wasn't on the show for fun, like others, but to change her family's life. Every answer she got right she would cheer with a whoop and raised fists. Despite the notorious "hot seat", as the show's producers call it, the girl showed her smarts by knocking down the answers with ease, never using a lifeline.
Now the structure of the show goes that you answer five questions to get to the $1000 milestone, from there you cannot win less than a $1000. You answer five more to reach the $25,000 milestone, again you can't leave with less than 25 grand. Now you have five more to a Million. In six months, I've only seen one person get to see the Million dollar question, most others win at or below $25,000. Very few win more than that.
When this contestant won her $25,000 she started crying tears of relieved joy. That's when she explained what the money meant to her, which was pretty cool. Because when you fill out the audition form, your reasons for wanting to be on the show are supposed to be on there, so Meredith can have something to talk to you about. The fact that this girl kept this part of her life to herself meant she didn't use a sob story to get on TV. Meredith was as surprised as the audience at what this girl's life was like and she broke down with her. The girl finally left with that 25 Grand and Meredith gave her one of the biggest hugs and wished her well on her new life.
Maybe this same scenario would have played out with Regis there, but somehow I think it would have come off less sincere.
The Freditor
In 1999, my wife Barbara played darts for a local bar team. I'd go to hang out and cheer her on, but when she wasn't playing I'd watch one of the TVs. Tired of sports I'd turn to one of the other TVs. Not much for game shows, I was surprised when I came to love the new primetime sensation, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? It was especially fun to watch in a bar, because you didn't need the sound up. You had the questions and multiple choice answers written in front of you and not only was it fun knowing the answers, but also beating the contestants to the answer.
Being a huge trivia buff, I could not believe how easy the questions were, especially when compared with Jeopardy. And the fact that the money was so much bigger than on Jeopardy and that you only competed against yourself, with no time limits was a slam dunk. But ABC/Disney knowing they had a ratings bonanza did the unthinkable and started to run the show every night of the week. Capitalizing on its early success, but also burning it out for the people at home. The early round questions remained easy, but the later round questions were so incredibly hard that few did well on the show thus killing its purpose, to make ordinary people millionaires. By the time the first guy became a millionaire I had already stopped watching the show.
When I heard last summer that there was going to be a week devoted to movie trivia I attempted to become a contestant on the show, but failed to pass their exam. But Barbara, our friend Paul and I did get to be audience members for two shows and they will be broadcast on January 24th and 25th. Since that time I have watched the show every day via my Digital Video Recorder. I think it is a better show now without host Regis Philbin.
For those who didn't realize it was still on, ABC airs Millionaire at 12:30 PM on weekdays here in New York City and syndicates it throughout the country. The host for the last 6 years has been The Today Show's Meredith Vieira. She used to be one of the original hosts of The View. Never having seen The View, I knew very little about her, but after nearly six months of watching her on Millionaire, she has become one of my favorite television personalities. She's genuine which is something you can never accuse Regis of being.
Vieira's the Rhode Island daughter of Portuguese immigrants and despite having wealth now, she wears her humble, New England upbringing like a badge of honor. And she doesn't have a great poker face. When she likes the contestant it shows and when she doesn't it shows. A Boston fireman was on the show and Meredith was a little flirty in that safe, middle-aged married way. When a struggling Queens barmaid/actress was overacting between answers, Meredith looked relieved when she finally lost and left the set.
When people come on the show, sometimes they are there to make money for a cruise or something less serious like that. Sometimes they are desperate and down to their last few bucks. When those people are on, Meredith doesn't give them clues, but subtly hints in which direction they should go. Meaning, if they are not sure of an answer and seem willing to bet the ranch on a guess, she might coax them to take their winnings and go before they leave with nothing. It's a great gesture and fortunately most are smart enough to pick up on her cautiousness. Sometimes they don't and when they lose, you can see the pain in her face for them. Her show might be funded by Capital One, but she never let's her job get in the way of her humanity.
On the other hand, when the Boston fireman was trying to win enough for a Corvette he hesitated on a question and said, "Well, I guess this is where they separate the boys from the men." To which she replied, "Well, which one are you?" Which drew unusually loud boos from the crowd. Usually the crowd loves her, so she laughed at how quickly they turned on her, but she explained herself with a Cheshire smile: "It depends on what you think a man would do. A man might see he's reached his limit and be able to walk away with what he's already made. And a boy might be too aggressive." But we knew she didn't mean that. LOL
My favorite moment on the show was with a young, Oklahoma mother. She had graduated college recently, but already had a one-year-old at home and was looking to marry her live-in fiancee. They had a two-room apartment with two mismatched twin beds sitting side by side. They were scraping by without a couch, with his old dinosaur curtains on the windows and other signs of a poor, young couple starting out. Despite TV-quality good looks, she had a sweetness and innocence that could only come from the Midwest. She wasn't on the show for fun, like others, but to change her family's life. Every answer she got right she would cheer with a whoop and raised fists. Despite the notorious "hot seat", as the show's producers call it, the girl showed her smarts by knocking down the answers with ease, never using a lifeline.
Now the structure of the show goes that you answer five questions to get to the $1000 milestone, from there you cannot win less than a $1000. You answer five more to reach the $25,000 milestone, again you can't leave with less than 25 grand. Now you have five more to a Million. In six months, I've only seen one person get to see the Million dollar question, most others win at or below $25,000. Very few win more than that.
When this contestant won her $25,000 she started crying tears of relieved joy. That's when she explained what the money meant to her, which was pretty cool. Because when you fill out the audition form, your reasons for wanting to be on the show are supposed to be on there, so Meredith can have something to talk to you about. The fact that this girl kept this part of her life to herself meant she didn't use a sob story to get on TV. Meredith was as surprised as the audience at what this girl's life was like and she broke down with her. The girl finally left with that 25 Grand and Meredith gave her one of the biggest hugs and wished her well on her new life.
Maybe this same scenario would have played out with Regis there, but somehow I think it would have come off less sincere.
The Freditor
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Don Rickles ridicules his way into our hearts, 82 and still going strong
**** (out of 5)
HBO recently ran a documentary on the Life of Don Rickles, called Mr. Warmth. I never realized that was his nickname despite being a big fan for 30+ years. I guess I became a fan of Rickles through two outlets: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and the Dean Martin Roasts. As you know, a lot of old comedy and old comics don't appeal to me. Whether it's generational or not I contend that almost all great movie comedies were made After 1973. The times changed and so did the temper of the comedy, which fit my tastes better. But like Rodney Dangerfield, Rickles' comedy was way ahead of its time. When that time finally came around in the early '70s, people were ready to jump on board.
Being born and bred in rough Jackson Heights-Queens, NY, meant he had to use his wits to get the upper hand on people since he was so small in stature. The ability to nail people with putdowns and still make them laugh at themselves became the source of his very lucrative career.
After being in the Navy fighting World War II, Rickles entered New York's famous American Academy of Dramatic Arts. There he shared the stage with Don Murray, Anne Bancroft, Tom Poston, Jason Robards and I think Grace Kelly. His first movie role was in the submarine classic, Run Silent Run Deep. He was the torpedo gunner while his two commanders were played by Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. Not bad company starting out. But he started to develop an act in Manhattan, as a comic doing impressions between dancers at the strip clubs. It wasn't as horrible a gig as it would seem now. Many future stars got their start that way, including his old buddy, Steve Lawrence.
This documentary was produced by the oddest of sorts, Animal House's director John Landis. It turns out Landis is a lifelong Rickles fan and was a gopher on one Rickles' biggest hits, the 1969 Clint Eastwood movie Kelly's Heroes. Landis even plays a nun in a long distance shot in the movie. After being in show business 50+ years, you develop some friendships with some pretty big names. Of those interviewed for the documentary are Debbie Reynolds, Eastwood, Ernest Borgnine, Chris Rock, Robert Deniro, Martin Scorsese, Bob Newhart, Robin Williams and Sydney Poitier.
Why do so many big-name people love this man? Because for them, you have not really made it in show business unless Don Rickles has made fun of you on stage. We see Rickles breaking up Ronald Reagan at his 1985 second inaugural gala ("Am I going too fast for you, Ronnie?"). Rickles to Clint Eastwood, on a night honoring Eastwood, "Clint, I say it, nobody else has said it, and I say it from my heart: You're a lousy actor." When he played Los Angeles and especially Vegas in the '60s and early '70s the room would be filled with celebrities hoping to become his target.
Even now as an 82 year old man, he still does regular shows at a Las Vegas casino. His fame started to die down in the '90s, but was reenergized by his role as Billy Sherbert in Casino and then as Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I would love to go see him at the Westbury Music Fair just for one night and sit in the front row with a floral shirt. Something that would grab his attention. That would be some experience.
The Freditor
HBO recently ran a documentary on the Life of Don Rickles, called Mr. Warmth. I never realized that was his nickname despite being a big fan for 30+ years. I guess I became a fan of Rickles through two outlets: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and the Dean Martin Roasts. As you know, a lot of old comedy and old comics don't appeal to me. Whether it's generational or not I contend that almost all great movie comedies were made After 1973. The times changed and so did the temper of the comedy, which fit my tastes better. But like Rodney Dangerfield, Rickles' comedy was way ahead of its time. When that time finally came around in the early '70s, people were ready to jump on board.
Being born and bred in rough Jackson Heights-Queens, NY, meant he had to use his wits to get the upper hand on people since he was so small in stature. The ability to nail people with putdowns and still make them laugh at themselves became the source of his very lucrative career.
After being in the Navy fighting World War II, Rickles entered New York's famous American Academy of Dramatic Arts. There he shared the stage with Don Murray, Anne Bancroft, Tom Poston, Jason Robards and I think Grace Kelly. His first movie role was in the submarine classic, Run Silent Run Deep. He was the torpedo gunner while his two commanders were played by Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. Not bad company starting out. But he started to develop an act in Manhattan, as a comic doing impressions between dancers at the strip clubs. It wasn't as horrible a gig as it would seem now. Many future stars got their start that way, including his old buddy, Steve Lawrence.
This documentary was produced by the oddest of sorts, Animal House's director John Landis. It turns out Landis is a lifelong Rickles fan and was a gopher on one Rickles' biggest hits, the 1969 Clint Eastwood movie Kelly's Heroes. Landis even plays a nun in a long distance shot in the movie. After being in show business 50+ years, you develop some friendships with some pretty big names. Of those interviewed for the documentary are Debbie Reynolds, Eastwood, Ernest Borgnine, Chris Rock, Robert Deniro, Martin Scorsese, Bob Newhart, Robin Williams and Sydney Poitier.
Why do so many big-name people love this man? Because for them, you have not really made it in show business unless Don Rickles has made fun of you on stage. We see Rickles breaking up Ronald Reagan at his 1985 second inaugural gala ("Am I going too fast for you, Ronnie?"). Rickles to Clint Eastwood, on a night honoring Eastwood, "Clint, I say it, nobody else has said it, and I say it from my heart: You're a lousy actor." When he played Los Angeles and especially Vegas in the '60s and early '70s the room would be filled with celebrities hoping to become his target.
Even now as an 82 year old man, he still does regular shows at a Las Vegas casino. His fame started to die down in the '90s, but was reenergized by his role as Billy Sherbert in Casino and then as Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I would love to go see him at the Westbury Music Fair just for one night and sit in the front row with a floral shirt. Something that would grab his attention. That would be some experience.
The Freditor
Sunday, December 9, 2007
10 Best Christmas Shows of All Time
Amazon.com: The Original Christmas Classics (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town/Frosty the Snowman/...
When you are Ranking the Best Christmas Shows of All Time you always have to include some from the masters, Rankin & Bass. These two claymation geniuses, along with writer Romeo Muller, raised the bar for Christmas specials back in the '60s and early '70s and no one's been able to touch them since. I would love it if someone would make a special that even comes close to their brilliance, but it doesn't happen. Their best always combined four essential elements: great songs, good stories, tight scripts and a fun time. The bad guys are real bad, but never overwhelm the fun and spirit of the stories, and Rankin & Bass never rely on corniness.
I do not include holiday episodes of regular TV shows, because they should have their own list. For the record, the early Happy Days episode when Fonzie lies about visiting relatives might be my favorite.
As for the specials I've picked: I love them all, own some of them, try to watch all of them at least once a year and quote them with friends from time to time.
1-Santa Claus is Coming To Town--First time I saw this I was probably 4 and I remember my parents got my brother, sister and I bathed and dressed for bed before the show, so we could relax and watch it before we went to sleep. My father put us up on the top bunk of me and my brother's bunk beds and propped the 13-inch Black and White TV against the pillow so we could all watch together. Favorite Quote--"A yo yo, I love a yo yo."
2-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Came out in 1964, two years before I was born, so obviously I don't remember a time when this wasn't on TV. The first of Rankin & Bass' oeuvre and some would say the greatest. But I've always had a problem with the depiction of Santa as a grouch and essentially a terrible user. He discards Rudolph until he can use his malady to his benefit. Like using a deaf person's lip reading skills to win a football game. The outsider that children wouldn't play with always resonated with me and made me feel a special kinship with Rudolph. This show has the best songs of any Christmas special. Favorite Quote---"Whoever heard of a skinny Santa."
3-Frosty the Snowman--This show is so short that barely after the credits roll, the little girl, the magician's rabbit and Frosty are already on the train to the North Pole. Jimmy Durante (a native of my hometown of Ridgewood, NY) is the narrator and I love his croaky voice. Favorite Quote---"and when I melt, I get all wishy washy."
4-A Charlie Brown Christmas--According to Saturday Night Live, this is Jesus' favorite Christmas special, which figures because it's one of the few that actually pays homage to Him and His birth and not the paganism that we've attached to the holiday. It's the most beautiful of all Christmas specials, but so serious. The Vince Guaraldi music is so warm and classy that listening to it feels like watching snow fall from inside a window with a blanket and cocoa. Favorite Quote---"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!"
5-Year Without a Santa Claus--Mickey Rooney does his second special as the voice of Santa Claus, but this time he's depressed and he tells his wife, "Ma, I'm canceling Christmas." But we don't see too much of Santa for this special anyway, the true stars are the immortal Heatmeiser and Freezemeiser. Their two songs are probably the most fun to sing of any of the shows on the list and always cause some adults to dance in a kickline. Favorite Quote---"Vixen, why she's just a baby."
6-How the Grinch Stole Christmas--Who better to play a despicable, scary creature like the Grinch than Boris Karloff. Just one of many inspired choices for this classic. So poetic, so letter perfect, so dark. The story demands it, but this show is too dark to be any higher on my list. I feel so bad for the little dog, of course it all comes out in the wash, but there's a lot of weight to carry before the beautiful pay off. Favorite Quote---"Little Cindy Lou Who, who's no more than two."
7-Rudolph's Shiny New Year--Rudolph hooks up with a caveman and a whale to find the Baby New Year and save said year. One of my father's favorite comedians, Red Skelton, narrates it and does a number of voices in the show. I love the special, but don't remember as much of it as the others, except for my favorite part, when the Baby sneaks into the Three Bears' house. The baby bear is one of my favorite characters in history as voiced by Mr. Skelton. With the cutest lisp, he says my Favorite Quote---"You can be my fwend."
8-Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol--Oh Magoo, you've done it again. Our nearsighted Broadway star portrays Scrooge on stage and the story is told in the form of a show, with curtains and acts and all. Weird way to handle it, but still a treat. Favorite Quote, as with any Christmas Carol---"Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?" LOL, How mean.
9-Frosty's Winter Wonderland--Frosty is lonely up at the North Pole and finally gets married to a snowwoman named Crystal. Every one of the best of these Rankin & Bass specials has a great narrator and this show might have the best, Andy Griffith. His voice is like warm honey and he delivers this special with remarkable ease. Can't a remember a favorite quote.
10-House Without a Christmas Tree--Takes place during the Depression I believe, or at least some poor time in the 20th century. Watched this made for TV movie every year when I was kid and then it disappeared. Definitely the most depressing show on this list, but has a wonderful ending. 1972 movie stars Lisa Lucas as Addie Mills, a 10 year old girl who lives with her very grumpy widower father, Jason Robards. Actually he'd have to smile more to be just grumpy, he comes across as downright mean to a little kid. But he's just really sad and angry over the loss of his wife and doesn't know how to deal with it. So instead of making things better, he makes them worse by hiding away any happiness the woman left behind. Like her Christmas ornaments. Addie doesn't know they exist and tries to make a nice Christmas by making handcut ornaments for a tree that she sneaks home. But mean old Jason Robards drags the tree out to the curb. The first three-quarters of this film are hard to watch, but the last 30 minutes make up for it. Not sure how I'd react to this movie if I saw it now. Don't remember any quotes.
The Freditor
When you are Ranking the Best Christmas Shows of All Time you always have to include some from the masters, Rankin & Bass. These two claymation geniuses, along with writer Romeo Muller, raised the bar for Christmas specials back in the '60s and early '70s and no one's been able to touch them since. I would love it if someone would make a special that even comes close to their brilliance, but it doesn't happen. Their best always combined four essential elements: great songs, good stories, tight scripts and a fun time. The bad guys are real bad, but never overwhelm the fun and spirit of the stories, and Rankin & Bass never rely on corniness.
I do not include holiday episodes of regular TV shows, because they should have their own list. For the record, the early Happy Days episode when Fonzie lies about visiting relatives might be my favorite.
As for the specials I've picked: I love them all, own some of them, try to watch all of them at least once a year and quote them with friends from time to time.
1-Santa Claus is Coming To Town--First time I saw this I was probably 4 and I remember my parents got my brother, sister and I bathed and dressed for bed before the show, so we could relax and watch it before we went to sleep. My father put us up on the top bunk of me and my brother's bunk beds and propped the 13-inch Black and White TV against the pillow so we could all watch together. Favorite Quote--"A yo yo, I love a yo yo."
2-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer--Came out in 1964, two years before I was born, so obviously I don't remember a time when this wasn't on TV. The first of Rankin & Bass' oeuvre and some would say the greatest. But I've always had a problem with the depiction of Santa as a grouch and essentially a terrible user. He discards Rudolph until he can use his malady to his benefit. Like using a deaf person's lip reading skills to win a football game. The outsider that children wouldn't play with always resonated with me and made me feel a special kinship with Rudolph. This show has the best songs of any Christmas special. Favorite Quote---"Whoever heard of a skinny Santa."
3-Frosty the Snowman--This show is so short that barely after the credits roll, the little girl, the magician's rabbit and Frosty are already on the train to the North Pole. Jimmy Durante (a native of my hometown of Ridgewood, NY) is the narrator and I love his croaky voice. Favorite Quote---"and when I melt, I get all wishy washy."
4-A Charlie Brown Christmas--According to Saturday Night Live, this is Jesus' favorite Christmas special, which figures because it's one of the few that actually pays homage to Him and His birth and not the paganism that we've attached to the holiday. It's the most beautiful of all Christmas specials, but so serious. The Vince Guaraldi music is so warm and classy that listening to it feels like watching snow fall from inside a window with a blanket and cocoa. Favorite Quote---"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!"
5-Year Without a Santa Claus--Mickey Rooney does his second special as the voice of Santa Claus, but this time he's depressed and he tells his wife, "Ma, I'm canceling Christmas." But we don't see too much of Santa for this special anyway, the true stars are the immortal Heatmeiser and Freezemeiser. Their two songs are probably the most fun to sing of any of the shows on the list and always cause some adults to dance in a kickline. Favorite Quote---"Vixen, why she's just a baby."
6-How the Grinch Stole Christmas--Who better to play a despicable, scary creature like the Grinch than Boris Karloff. Just one of many inspired choices for this classic. So poetic, so letter perfect, so dark. The story demands it, but this show is too dark to be any higher on my list. I feel so bad for the little dog, of course it all comes out in the wash, but there's a lot of weight to carry before the beautiful pay off. Favorite Quote---"Little Cindy Lou Who, who's no more than two."
7-Rudolph's Shiny New Year--Rudolph hooks up with a caveman and a whale to find the Baby New Year and save said year. One of my father's favorite comedians, Red Skelton, narrates it and does a number of voices in the show. I love the special, but don't remember as much of it as the others, except for my favorite part, when the Baby sneaks into the Three Bears' house. The baby bear is one of my favorite characters in history as voiced by Mr. Skelton. With the cutest lisp, he says my Favorite Quote---"You can be my fwend."
8-Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol--Oh Magoo, you've done it again. Our nearsighted Broadway star portrays Scrooge on stage and the story is told in the form of a show, with curtains and acts and all. Weird way to handle it, but still a treat. Favorite Quote, as with any Christmas Carol---"Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?" LOL, How mean.
9-Frosty's Winter Wonderland--Frosty is lonely up at the North Pole and finally gets married to a snowwoman named Crystal. Every one of the best of these Rankin & Bass specials has a great narrator and this show might have the best, Andy Griffith. His voice is like warm honey and he delivers this special with remarkable ease. Can't a remember a favorite quote.
10-House Without a Christmas Tree--Takes place during the Depression I believe, or at least some poor time in the 20th century. Watched this made for TV movie every year when I was kid and then it disappeared. Definitely the most depressing show on this list, but has a wonderful ending. 1972 movie stars Lisa Lucas as Addie Mills, a 10 year old girl who lives with her very grumpy widower father, Jason Robards. Actually he'd have to smile more to be just grumpy, he comes across as downright mean to a little kid. But he's just really sad and angry over the loss of his wife and doesn't know how to deal with it. So instead of making things better, he makes them worse by hiding away any happiness the woman left behind. Like her Christmas ornaments. Addie doesn't know they exist and tries to make a nice Christmas by making handcut ornaments for a tree that she sneaks home. But mean old Jason Robards drags the tree out to the curb. The first three-quarters of this film are hard to watch, but the last 30 minutes make up for it. Not sure how I'd react to this movie if I saw it now. Don't remember any quotes.
The Freditor
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Oh my god, is this awful--The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
*** (out of 5)
Netflix: The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
My friend Harry warned me, but I had to see this 1976 car wreck on my own.
I gave it 3 stars because, a--it was good for what it was, a horrid '70s variety show;
and b--it had 3 songs by KISS.
But I would have thought with all the B-wattage star power that this would be a camp classic, but instead it was just bad.
Betty White, Pinky Tuscadero, Tim Conway, Florence Henderson---singing disco, Donny and Marie Osmond, Witchy Poo, The wicked witch of the west (Margaret Hamilton from the Wizard of Oz), apparently none of these people had any shame. And it was co-written by one of the biggest hacks in Hollywood, Bruce Vilanch, the man who writes all those awful Oscar jokes each year and is Whoopi Goldberg's main writer.
I remember loving Paul Lynde as a kid, but maybe my memories are misplaced. One lame joke after another. He plays the Easter Bunny, a rhinestone trucker, a Sheik. I looked up Wikipedia, under the phrase Gay Mistrel Show, it had a picture of Paul Lynde.
One tremendous douche chill after another, but what's worse is it made me sleepy.
The entire cast finishes the show with a Halloween disco scene where they all sing and dance to a made up song, Disco Boogie. Excuse me, I have to shower now and wash all the bad thoughts away.
The Freditor
Netflix: The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
My friend Harry warned me, but I had to see this 1976 car wreck on my own.
I gave it 3 stars because, a--it was good for what it was, a horrid '70s variety show;
and b--it had 3 songs by KISS.
But I would have thought with all the B-wattage star power that this would be a camp classic, but instead it was just bad.
Betty White, Pinky Tuscadero, Tim Conway, Florence Henderson---singing disco, Donny and Marie Osmond, Witchy Poo, The wicked witch of the west (Margaret Hamilton from the Wizard of Oz), apparently none of these people had any shame. And it was co-written by one of the biggest hacks in Hollywood, Bruce Vilanch, the man who writes all those awful Oscar jokes each year and is Whoopi Goldberg's main writer.
I remember loving Paul Lynde as a kid, but maybe my memories are misplaced. One lame joke after another. He plays the Easter Bunny, a rhinestone trucker, a Sheik. I looked up Wikipedia, under the phrase Gay Mistrel Show, it had a picture of Paul Lynde.
One tremendous douche chill after another, but what's worse is it made me sleepy.
The entire cast finishes the show with a Halloween disco scene where they all sing and dance to a made up song, Disco Boogie. Excuse me, I have to shower now and wash all the bad thoughts away.
The Freditor
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