Well, dear readers, I was fascinated to see on YouTube the Donny and Marie clip that was posted about here. It brought back some lovely memories of those lovely people and that whole outré experience. Sometime after I finished doing Dinah And Her New Best Friends, Cindy Williams and my manager called – Cindy had been asked to do an episode of the Donny and Marie Show and she’d told them she wouldn’t do it without me, as we’d just done the Dinah show and had a great time doing our sketch and musical number. The Donny and Marie folks snapped us up and off we went to do the show. I can’t remember exactly, because we ended up doing four shows together, but I think I wrote our sketches for all of them. The one in that first show was pretty funny, as I recall. And, of course, we got to do musical numbers and we got to work with David Winters, my old dance teacher and A-Rab from the West Side Story film (also the original B’way Baby John). Given the hedonistic lifestyle of Mr. Winters, he was an odd choice for Donny and Marie, but no odder than writer Bruce Vilanch and several others who worked on the show. Our first three episodes were shot in Hollywood – our fourth and final one was shot in Provo/Orem, Utah at their new studio. I will tell you that both Donny and Marie and their brothers and their father and mother, were the sweetest, most down-to-earth people ever. They called me Brother Bruce, and I really liked them a lot and the shows were really fun to do. Several highlights for me: Working with Paul Lynde. Working with musical director Tommy Wolf, who was so taken aback that I actually knew who he was and was in such awe of working with him that he was really touched by my praise. The fact is, one of the first songs I learned how to play on the piano was Mr. Wolf’s Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most – and I remember sitting down and playing a little of it. I don’t think anyone else on the show really knew what a great composer he was. Working with Lorne Greene on that final show in Utah, and driving him home from the airport in our cheap Mazda – his car hadn’t shown up and he snagged a ride with my then wife and I. He was a terrific guy. One funny thing that happened was on that first show we did – one day, I wore my First Nudie Musical t-shirt to rehearsal. That got some looks from Marie, but they all that it was funny that I’d actually had the chutzpah to wear it. Back to Utah, the guest stars were put up in their own condos, and we had our own chef who prepared us whatever we felt like eating. Amazing how they treated people back then. And we got paid, too. Some years later, I was doing one of our many LA recording sessions at Westlake Audio on Santa Monica Blvd. This would have been back in 1999, probably, and it was probably our one hundred and something album. I was sitting with Vinnie in the booth and listening to a mix, when our assistant engineer, Mike Parnum came running in saying, “You’ll never believe who’s out there in the waiting room!” I asked who, and he said Donny Osmond. I said, “My old pal Donny is here?” He looked at me askance and said, “Get out – you don’t know Donny Osmond (remember, he only knew me as a record producer). I said, “Follow me.” We went out to the waiting room. Donny was sitting on the sofa and he looked up and saw me and without blinking an eye, he said “Bruce Kimmel! I haven’t seen you in ages, how are you.” Mike just stood there not believing what he was hearing. It was really funny. Many years later, of course, we offered the NYMF production of The Brain From Planet X to him, but he was off doing concerts and couldn’t do it. But, from what I heard, he was very interested once he heard it was me. I do think I have all four episodes on tape somewhere.
Yesterday was quite an okay day. I got up and had intended to do the long jog but got waylaid on an hour-long telephonic call with Paypal because some paypal invoices hadn’t come through to my e-mail address. I spent many frustrating minutes dealing with a gal from India – I finally got her to transfer me to a tech support person in the US but she disconnected the call and I had to go through the same thing again – an idiot gal in India and then her idiot supervisor in India – and they would not transfer me to tech support and kept blaming it on me, saying I had to unblock my e-mail or some such stupid thing. She understood nothing I was saying and I finally got off the phone. Then I called back, said I was having website troubles and that I’d been through this before and they always just switched me to tech support, and that got me to tech support. Once there, I easily and quickly found out the e-mail problem was on their end and being worked on.
After that, I had a craving for Langer’s, so since I had to pick up some tapes, I moseyed on down to Langer’s and had a great sandwich. I then picked up the tapes, and then came back to the Valley, did a few errands and whatnot, picked up a package, and then came home, where I did some work on the computer and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched the third Harry Potter movie on Blu-Ray. It certainly wasn’t as much fun as the first two, this one being a lot more serious and dark. It was well directed by Alfonso Cuaron, and the actors were, as always, excellent. Of course, Richard Harris had died and Dumbledore is now Michael Gambon, which took some getting used to. I was surprised to see Julie Christie in the film in a small role. I must say after watching three films I don’t find this one of John Williams’ finest hours. The music is certainly competent and it certainly does the trick, but none of it is as memorable as his best work. The Blu-Ray looked fine, if not stellar. I’m looking forward to the next two films in the set.
After that, I got everything ready to announce the new Kritzerland release first thing in the morning. And I did a rather late and rather brief mile-and-a-half jog, just to do it.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because frankly I’m feeling like I’m a little bit country and also a little bit rock-and-roll.
Today, I’ll be officially announcing the new Kritzerland release, and then I have some other things to attend to, after which I’ll grab a bite to eat and then be on my way to the Dale of Glen to tape a radio show with our very own Mr. Donald Feltham. I think we’ll have a very good time indeed.
Thursday, I may try to see the new Pixar movie, Up, and I have some other stuff to deal with, too. On Friday, I have a lunch meeting.
I hope I haven’t told the Donny and Marie story before. I can’t remember. If I have, then just say I haven’t, so I don’t begin to feel senile.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog (absolutely positively), I must do a lot of stuff, I must eat, and I must tape a radio show. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I’m a little bit country and I’m a little bit rock-and-roll.