Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle eating turnip soup. Does anyone still eat turnip soup? Forget that – does anyone still eat a turnip? This much I can tell you – I can find not one restaurant in Los Angeles that serves turnip soup. Damn them, damn them all to hell. I’ve got a hankering for some damn turnip soup and unless I make it myself I can’t have it. Campbell’s doesn’t make turnip soup. I wonder if I send a letter to the North Pole if Santa will bring me some turnip soup? Doubtful. I’ve always had an iffy relationship with Santa. Here’s proof of that – a photo of my brother and myself with Santa. I’m on Santa’s lap and if you check out my expression you’ll see what I mean.
See what I mean? I still have that expression, if you must know. I used it today when I tried to order turnip soup at Jerry’s Deli and the waiter laughed at me. Well, I promised some photographs and I always try to deliver on my promises, otherwise I know that lot of you dear readers will immediately start singing Promises, Promises. I found some really good photos. As most of you know, when I saw Stop the World – I Want to Get Off it was a life changer for me. And finally getting to do the show, a mere three years later was an amazing experience. I loved doing it and could have done it for a year if they’d let me. Here’s a photo of me as Littlechap in our wonderful set.
Since I was in my early twenties, I always worried about losing my hair. I always thought I WAS losing my hair. Here is a photo of me in my late 20s – I don’t think I was losing my hair. My mind, yes, but not my hair. But over the years, it went away, but I still have some, and I really never thought I would. Get a load of this big hair, baby.
Those who’ve read the Kritzer books know how I loved the kiddie show hosts of the 1950s here in LA. I watched them every day. They were good people, they had good values, and each of them seemed like they were your real friend. That was the power of live TV and, of course, today no kid would sit still for anything that gentle and nice. Today everything has to be loud and fast to keep their attention, everything has to have some kind of an edge, and everything is designed to get kids to grow up too damn fast. In 1985 I got to produce and direct a thirty-minute documentary for KABC TV called Weekday Heroes, which was and is a great title. We found and brought in Sheriff John, Engineer Bill (who made a game of drinking milk by playing Red Light, Green Light – stop on the red, drink on the green), and Chucko the Clown. You cannot imagine what a thrill it was to interview them, get them to tell stories, and just become friends with them. Here are some wonderful photos from that shoot. These were all taken at Wattles Mansion, where we shot the show. First, from left to right, there’s li’l ol’ me, Sheriff John, Engineer Bill, Chucko (in the suit) and our host, Tony Dow.
And here’s Engineer Bill when we were shooting his segment. I got him to play red light, green light.
Here’s Sheriff John and me. I loved his show best of all.
Finally here’s me and Chucko and Chucko’s son, who had taken over being Chucko for birthday parties and such.
I’m sure some of you remember that I did a few Partridge Family episodes back in the day. The last of them was shot on a Sitmar cruise ship – I got to cruise to Mexico not only for free, first class, but was paid as well, and then we shot the show on the way home. All of us guest actors cruised to Mexico, but the regulars joined us there. As they came on board I was there to greet them, camera in hand. This first show is, of course, beautiful Shirley waving at me, and in the background you can see David and the even-then famous rock photographer Henry Diltz.
This next one is Henry Diltz and me. I have one of Susan coming on board and lighting up a cigarette, but I couldn’t find it.
Weren’t those fun photographs? And I haven’t even talked about yesterday, but since it was just a normal day, there’s not even that much to say. I’ll say that once again I didn’t fall asleep until three, so I didn’t get up until eleven, getting just eight hours of sleep. Once up, I had a couple of telephonic calls, answered a bunch of e-mails and printed out a LOT of orders for Eubie. Then I went to Jerry’s Deli. You really cannot predict this place and it’s just crazymaking. Normally at noon there is almost no on there, ever. But occasionally, like yesterday, you go in at noon and it is jammed, every booth taken. I had to sit in my least favorite section – and no one working there understands it at all. The previous day it had been completely empty. I had a patty melt and some onion rings – none of it stellar because I’m convinced when they’re that busy, the chef is just getting it all done as quickly as he can, and that doesn’t result in good cooking.
After that, I picked up a little package and some mail, did some banking, then came home. I finished one of the new songs I was working on, and the helper came by and got some stuff and for anyone who ordered CDs a couple of weeks ago, those are now all getting sent. It’s taken longer than we thought to get the helper back up to speed, but it’s great having her back. All that took up most of the day and evening – I spent a couple of hours at the piano working in the evening, too.
Today will be more of the same, plus working on the LA show, bugging people to get me their material, I’ll eat, hopefully pick up packages, work at the piano, and at some point, relax.
The rest of the week will be more of all that, and I may drive out to Mystery and Imagination Books to let them know about the new book. Plus I have to really start the push to fully fund the Indiegogo campaign. While there has been a little action, it’s not going up enough, so I’ll be posting many updates and such. No one here seems interested in the original David Byrd art so I may either make however many paintings I have a perk or I’ll offer them elsewhere and use the proceeds towards the campaign. I’ve also suggested that the pricey dinner with me and Richard Sherman could be shared with four or five people to make it not such a big financial hit.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, work on the LA show, eat, hopefully pick up packages, work at the piano, and relax. 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 hit the road to dreamland, as I continue my quest to find some damn turnip soup.