haines his way

05/01/2003:
"THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY"

Well, dear readers, tra la, tra la, it’s the lusty month of May. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, tra la, tra la, it’s the lusty month of May. I feel so damnably lusty, do you? I feel so damnably lusty that I might just tell the story of The Randy Vicar and the Crack of Dawn. Oh, that is a lusty tale. May – a time of nymphs and satyrs and sprites, or at the very least mountain dews. May – a month in which you may, whatever you so choose. May – a time for merriment and mirth and laughter and legs. What the hell am I talking about?
Last night I watched the American version of the Japanese film Ringu, which was rather creatively entitled The Ring. The first half of the film followed the Japanese quite closely, even shot for shot at times. Then they do the American thing and try to add plot elements and explain things to the nth degree and the whole thing just dissolves in a puddle. The director also blows the Japanese film’s biggest scare by shooting it so that the effect is telegraphed before it happens (I won’t spoil it here). But I do like Miss Naomi Watts very much and the DVD was free, so there you are. Also, Hans Zimmer, a composer I simply don’t care for, wrote a nice score for it. I also watched Ken Russell’s marvelous BBC biography called Elgar.
Today I shall be having another work session with Mr. Grant Geissman, for our upcoming album project. We shall work, and then I shall go off and do other things which need doing and I shall do them lustily because, after all, it is tra la, tra la, the lusty month of May.
Now, here is my question: How come people name their children after months of the year – such as May, April, June, August, and yet they never name their children February or September or November. Damn them, damn them all to hell. Let’s click on the Unseemly Button below because don’t I have excellent questions to answer? I do, and I shall.

Has anyone noticed that it’s tra la, tra la, the lusty month of May? I feel giddy with lustiness, my cheeks are ruddy with lust, my lust is ruddy with cheeks and so forth and so on and also so on and so forth. To the questions, say I.
JMK asks which specific songs did Bob Merrill and Strouse and Adams write for Hello, Dolly! Well, I know that Merrill wrote some of Motherhood, all of Elegance. As far as I know, Strouse and Adams didn’t write anything – but they did, if I remember correctly, come up with the title Before the Parade Passes By. I can’t remember the name of the song Sondheim wrote for the Judy Holliday flop, but it’s well documented. Also don’t know which he wrote for Ilya Darling.
Lulu asks if I remember any specific instances of my darling daughter being excessively cute and/or precocious and/or silly as a youngster. Of course I do, but I’m not sure that darling daughter would like me to speak of them. My favorite darling daughter story, which I’ve told many times, is this: At the time Nudie Musical came out, I was going to the Van Nuys Newsstand every day to get out of town papers where the film was playing. They have a big awning which runs the length of the newsstand, and on the awning it even says “Out of Town Papers”. So, one day, I go to the newsstand with darling daughter in tow. I park in front of the stand, tell her to wait for a second and that I’ll be right back. I get whatever papers I needed and come back to the car. She says, “Daddy, I hope you didn’t want any town papers.” I said, “Why?” She said, “Because they’re out of them.” It took me a minute, then I realized what she meant and I think I laughed for three days straight. Next story: When I was separated from my now ex-wife back in 1974, my darling daughter stayed with me every weekend. One day we decided we wanted pancakes for breakfast and she said she wanted to cook them. I didn’t know from pancakes and neither did she – but we went to the store and bought the ingredients. She whipped up the batter, then got out the Crisco. She didn’t really know what the Crisco was for so she just dumped a bunch into the batter. Needless to say, the pancakes were somewhat lumpen with foul tasting Crisco and we laughed about that for days, too. She also had a habit of coming into the den (when I’d gotten back together with my ex) totally naked and she’d shake her booty and run out of the room laughing. We also used to hide under her covers from her mother, although I can’t remember why. As she’s already said, we used to dance up a storm and I’d teach her the choreography (as best I knew how) to various musical numbers and we’d do them over and over again. Well, those are a few anyway.
Jrand52 asks if I collect autographs. I’ve never been one to collect autographs per se, although I have many signed books. I do have about 200 pieces of correspondence with my close personal friend, Mr. Stephen Sondheim, and lots of notes and letters from Mr. Harvey Schmidt. I have notes from most of the composers/lyricists I’ve worked with.
Arnold M. Brockman asks why the word “trailer” for coming attractions. I’m not really sure since coming attractions usually precede the film, not follow it. In City of Angels Stine, the author, sings a duet with his fictional creation Stone. In Woman of the Year Sam sings a duet with his cartoon alter-ego Katz. Can I think of any other instances where the author sings a duet with his own creation? No.
Kurt asks what new musicals do I think would attract audiences at his local theater. Many dear readers have posted excellent answers. I’d offer the musical that David Wechter and I are in the midst of – it’s quite amusing and quite tuneful and unfortunately quite unfinished. I also like No Way to Treat a Lady and The Gig by Doug Cohen.
Ron Pulliam asks how I feel about being specific. I feel very specific about being specific is the fact of the matter. What is my opinion of the film 1776 on LD and DVD and what is my take on contradictions between Peter Hunt’s comments on the LD and his comments on the DVD? I had problems with 1776 on the LD, but was grateful to see the cut material. I was not grateful for LD producer Joe Capporiccio’s meddling – adding overtures that were never there, shots that were never in the film, etc. I think Mr. Hunt was guided in his commentary by Joe, and I think that he was happy to have the cut material available. I also think that afterwards he regretted some of it, and he fixed those things for the DVD. As a film, I find 1776 ponderous, but enjoyable. It’s quite badly directed, I think, but it does preserve the marvelous cast and script and score.
William E. Lurie says that according to the Leonard Maltin annual film guide I wrote most of the songs for The First Nudie Musical. Mr. Lurie thought I wrote all of them (save for Diana Canova’s La Cucaracha). Is Maltin correct? Is Maltin ever correct? It’s not too hard to research that information. I did, in fact, write every note of music and every lyric in the film, including So Touch Me, I’m You, and the nude buck and wing song. Now, go bitch-slap Mr. Leonard Maltin from here to eternity.
Sandra has another paper to write for her literature and film class. She has to read a book and see the movie based on it and write a paper about symbolism and all that. I once wrote a paper on Symbolism and All That, it was quite amusing. Her choices are: Any Shakespeare play except Hamlet. The Maltese Falcon. Any Hemingway novel/short story and its film counterpart. Schindler’s List. The English Patient. Any Ian Fleming novel. The African Queen. I choose Hamlet, naturally. I’d recommend Hemingway’s The Killers/Robert Siodmak’s film of same. Or, I suppose, The Maltese Falcon.
Jose asks if there’s any show currently in NYC that I would really like to see but probably won’t get the chance to. No, I intend getting the chance to see whatever I want to see. I definitely want to see Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Hairspray and Gypsy, and by gum and by golly I shall, on my next trip in.
JB aka JK asks if I will do her the honor of being her date at the showing of Nudie Musical. Of course, I couldn’t think of anyone better to be my date. JB aka JK was also my date at the Grammys, the year I was nominated.
Matthew asks if I’ve heard any of the works of Bernard J. Taylor and if so, what do I think of them. I have several of them (I think he sent them to me back in the Varese days) and I know I listened to one or two, but I have absolutely no memory of how they sounded or what they were like, hence I have no answer to this question. What do I think of Xanadu as a possible stage musical? Not much. It’s a small cult film, which has its charms, but it would absolutely die on stage.
MattH asks if I saw Barbara Cook’s Mostly Sondheim solo show. No, I’m sorry to say I didn’t. Have I ever seen Ms. Cook in any of her stage roles? Nope.
Tom from Oz asks for comments on Peter Sellers as an actor – favorite performances, etc. I though Sellers was superb, and he’s always been a favorite, from his early Goon Show days, and his early Brit films, right through to Being There. My faves are his Quilty in Lolita, his bravura turn in Dr. Strangelove, his similar bravura turn in The Mouse that Roared, What’s New, Pussycat, and the original Pink Panther film. He’s also hilarious in the less-than-hilarious The Party.
Td asks the following: Where was I when Kennedy was shot? In high school at recess. We were all sent home. Have I ever been to Nashville? Nope. Do I have any favorite Robert Altman films? I’m not a huge Altman fan, but I sort of tolerate MASH, Gosford Park and Nashville. Popeye or HEALTH – which do I like more? Well, I hate them both, but Popeye is more tolerable. HEALTH I walked out of after forty minutes. What are my personal feelings about Nashville? Oh, I like it fine, but I don’t find it the masterpiece everyone else does. Who, in my personal opinion (as opposed to someone else’s personal opinion) was responsible for JFK’s assassination? Well, I’m of the opinion that more than one person is responsible – who they were would be speculation and I don’t like to speculate, especially on a street corner on a hot day. Oliver Stone, according to Td, is an “iffy” director. What are my feelings about his film JFK? I hate just about all of Mr. Stone’s output with the exception of JFK, which I find riveting. Finally, if only the actresses from Nashville had been nominated for Oscars, which one should have won? Lily Tomlin, Barbara Baxley, Ronnee Blakely, Barbara Harris or Geraldine Chaplin? Either one of the Barbaras would have been fine by me.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must drive to Mr. Grant Geissman’s house and work, work, work (that is three works), and then I must eat foodstuffs and write and whatnot. Today’s topic of discussion: We may have done this one before, but let’s do it again – who were your movie star or theater crushes when you were growing up? I’ll start – those who have read Benjamin Kritzer know who my first was – after that, I had a crush on Miss Susan Gordon, Hayley Mills, and Miss Tuesday Weld. Your turn, and post with gusto and lusto because, after all, it is tra la, tra la, the lusty month of May.

Replies: 231 Unseemly Comments

First post.. HUZZAH!
Drama desk noms are out.. woohoo
Congrats to Hairspray for 14 total nominations, with our dear friend Kerry Butler garnering one for her very dear self!
http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm?int_news_id=3449
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 08:03 AM PST

Just a quickie...I posted a late question about how to pronounce "Kritzerland" which I hope BK will answer.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 08:11 AM PST

When you read Kritzerland you will know immediately - however, it's like Switzerland.
Posted by bk @ 05/01/2003 08:13 AM PST

Re: trailers. We actually had this question a long time ago, and I answered it then, too. Call me a repeatist. Trailers are called trailers because they did, in fact, used to trail the main feature. Back in the old days you got the newsreel and a cartoon before the main feature, then the trailer, then, if there was one, the second feature. My brother-in-law is a well-known trailer editor in LA and I have this invaluable information from him.
Posted by JMK @ 05/01/2003 08:24 AM PST

Yippee! I am jiggy with the Dear Daughter anecdotes. They are lovely and sweet and bring a smile to my face and a song to my heart. :)
I usually get crushes on odd people -- never the typical matinee idol types. For instance, when I was 6 I thought Jim Dale was the living end. Jim Dale! Don't ask me what that was about. And every other girl my age had a crush on Shaun Cassidy, but I thought he had buggedy-out eyes. I preferred his Hardy Boys co-star Parker Stevenson.
My more mainstream crushes were (in more-or-less linear order):
Ike Eisenmann (the Disney Witch Mountain films)
Randolph Mantooth (Johnny Gage on Emergency!)
John Schneider (Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard)
Harrison Ford (when I saw Raiders for the first time)
Mel Gibson (when I saw The Bounty on cable)
And kind of a weird, full-circle one: my mom mentioned to me when I was around 10 that she had a li'l bitty crush on Richard Dreyfuss. My reaction at the time: HUH?!? Then when I was around 18, I saw The Goodbye Girl and for a few months afterward I had quite a soft spot for him, too... :)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 08:33 AM PST

Oh what a wonderful subject. And thank you for answering my question, Mr BK. Two hundred letters from Mr Sondheim! It's an OPERAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
Well - since we are talking about movie stars on the BIG SCREEN, I have to say Miss Debbie Reynolds, Mr John Saxon, and Mr Elvis Presley!
I knew Debbie would be funny and probably sing. I knew John Saxon would have on great clothes and be very sincere, and Elvis was just ELVIS. There would be lots of music, fighting, race cars, and girls. If I saw any of those names in the paper, I was THERE!
My first theatre crush was Miss Giselle MacKenzie. I did 10 performances of GYPSY with her at Starlight Musicals in 1960 when I was 10 (one of the newsboys, you know). And her performance of Rose has never been equalled for me. I just had time to get from the back of the bleachers to the bows after watching her do Rose's Turn. She had the audience in the palm of her hand. Her Everything's Coming Up Roses was great as well, but I only got to hear that. She would always come offstage and comment about the audience - nothing mean, but either they got it or they didn't.
Anyway, Giselle MacKenzie. Too bad she didn't record that score. I wonder if Stephen Sondheim ever saw her do the show?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 08:47 AM PST

LuLu - it must have been the naked guitar playin' ;)
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 08:48 AM PST

LOL Craig.
Hey Dave you never told us which guy you were in that picture.
Richard Dreyfuss was so charming in THE GOODBYE GIRL...and his face when they came to visit him after his horrendous RICHARD III spoke volumes - it was perfect. His only other "backstage" moment in a movie that could equal it would be his knocking on Neely O'Hara's door in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 08:53 AM PST

David Zippel did such an amazing job with the lyrics to The Goodbye Girl - he managed to capture the dialogue and moments that were so funny in the screenplay and put them in the musical...
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 09:02 AM PST

My stars, Craig! Naked guitar playin'? Was this in one of the Carry On pictures (of which I have not seen a single one)?
No, the Jim Dale Incident (as it has come to be known) came about as a result of the movie Pete's Dragon, a childhood favorite.
So it's not the naked guitar playin'...it must be the goatee. Or maybe the cape. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 09:14 AM PST

Lulu, I figured it was a dead giveaway.
If you look at the other photos on the site, you will find that the fellows on the right and left were the leads of the show. On the right is Karl Miller (Percy) and on the left is Glenn DeLong (Chauvelin).
Which leaves me (their director) in the middle.
So now ya know...
Posted by Dave @ 05/01/2003 09:15 AM PST

Dave, I didn't know if you were cast or crew or what-have-you on Pimpernel. So, although I noticed that two of the guys in the picture were in costume in the other pics, that didn't really tell me much of anything.
And I picked you out anyway [refer to yesterday's notes for corroborative evidence].
:)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 09:19 AM PST

Of course, the guy with the tie. We directors always have the satorial edge on the performers offstage. 8-D
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 09:21 AM PST

Donny Osmond. And I still think he's groovy.
Posted by Laura @ 05/01/2003 09:34 AM PST

Cute, Laura.
Posted by Donny Osmond @ 05/01/2003 09:35 AM PST

LuLu - nooo re: your crush on Richard Dreyfuss. In The Goodbye Girl there is a scene where he is naked with a guitar...
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 09:35 AM PST

Jrand, I'm curious - would you not classify your FF/AH interest as a crush? Or did you only discover them after you were already a grown-up?
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 09:39 AM PST

LOL! Craig, I can't believe I forgot that.
No -- don't tell Mr. Dreyfuss this, but it wasn't a physical attraction persay. Just a sheer force of personality-type crush. I just found him really appealing in that role for some reason. And while I still enjoy the film, I can't recapture whatever feeling it was that I got from him in that role the first time I saw it...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 09:41 AM PST

At the time - I had only seen Allison in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, and certainly didn't seek out her films....and I have never seen Frances on the big screen 8-(
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 09:41 AM PST

Lulu - he and Amy Irving were BRILLIANT in "The Competition"
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 09:43 AM PST

This is a comment from yesterday in regards to DR Jose's comment on "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". After the musical closed on Bway, I aquired a 4 song CD sampler of the show. I fell in love with the opening number and can't remember what the other 3 sounded like. But I do remember liking what I heard. I recently listened to MTI's peruasal CD of the show, and was impressed by the work they did on it by combining the story line with some tidbits of the songs and some different voices reading the script. It gave a great overview of the show. I hope it works. One of our local children's theatre is producing it now, but of course, it runs concurrently with "The Boy Friend" (which incidently works very well without a second trumpet part!!)
Crushes? Hmmm... I haven't a clue.
Posted by Matthew @ 05/01/2003 09:45 AM PST

Movie star crushes:
Elizabeth Taylor
Marilyn Monroe
A little later, on TV: Mary Tyler More
Theater: Judy Holliday
Posted by steveg @ 05/01/2003 09:49 AM PST

Jrand, don't get me wrong...didn't mean to imply you had seen Miss Farmer's movies back when they first came out! :) I guess I read BK's topic and figured it included movie stars we'd seen on TV or TV stars, as well. If that's not the case, we'll have to wipe out most of my list...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 09:49 AM PST

Craig, I never have seen The Competition all the way through. What I saw looked interesting.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 09:51 AM PST

Add to my crushes: Judy Tyler (TV and theater)
Posted by steveg @ 05/01/2003 09:52 AM PST

LOL, lulu. Isn't it wonderful when BK's topics of the day are open to interpretation? We get all sorts of answers.
steveg - Princess SummerFallWinterSpring - what a beautiful and tragic performer. And so luminous in JAILHOUSE ROCK.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 10:00 AM PST

My first crush was Gigi Perreau, a Universial International child actress and contract player. She was also the first celebrity I ever met since my mother's cousin worked for UI. I also had a crush on one of the "Quiz Kids". Next came Brandon deWilde.
I wanted to check yesterday's late posts in the archives but April ends with 4/29. Will the 4/30 notes be archived?
Re your answer to my question, I'll write Mr. Maltin. It's probably too late to get it fixed for the 2004 edition which will be out in September but hopefully he will correct it for the 2005 edition.
Regarding trailers - I'd like to know what other dear readers think of the current trend of showing trailers for movies which won't open for a year or so? Trailers used to mean what was coming next to that theatre, but now not only are they often for films that won't open for months, but also they are for films that won't even play the theatre that shows the trailer.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 10:00 AM PST

hmm...movie star
crushes...Well, two come to
mind right away... First, had a
thing for Christopher
Plummer, yes one of my
favorite movies growing up
was Sound Of Music. Next
real crush was probably
Christian Bale in Newsies.
Aside from that, mainly older
(no offense to anyone!)
guys...Harrison Ford, Richard
Gere, etc...oh, and although
he's not technically a movie
start, Patrick Stewart in Star
Trek TNG... What can I say,
I've always liked sexy in a
mature sort of way :-)
Posted by Ann @ 05/01/2003 10:03 AM PST

I am embarrased to admit this, but I had a crush on Rick Springfield. Don't laugh - OK, you can laugh!! Also, when I was very young, I had a big crush on an actor that was in one of BK's plays. I can't really remember which one, maybe it was Feast. BK - maybe you can help me out with this one. I remember sitting backstage with him frequently.
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 10:04 AM PST

Oh, Ann, you must run immediately to STAGESTRUCK, Chrisopher Plummer's film debut from 1958. Impossibly handsome as a playwright-director - who is thrown over by Susan Strasberg for Henry Fonda!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 10:06 AM PST

WEL, Gigi was also on Betty Hutton's tv show, wasn't she?
And when did your mother's cousin work at UI - because you know who else started her career and was under contract there in 53-54! Someone you LOVE to hear about...and a favorite of Dave's as well...he already skipped this post.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 10:08 AM PST

I did think Harrison Ford was and still is an extrememly attractive man. I had the pleasure of meeting him when I worked for a jewelry manufacturer. He was very nice!!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 10:09 AM PST

WEL: Hit the "refresh" button on your browser, and see if you get the 4/30 notes to come up on the archive. They're there. :)
I hate the excessive hype associated with certain films. I find it such a turn-off that I have wound up not going to see films that I was interested in at one time, just because of ubiquitous hype.
Not to mention the fact that if a film is pushed on the public ad nauseum, it's usually because the product itself is wanting in some way. It seems to me that just about all of the "BIG" films of the past several years (Godzilla, Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, "The Coast is Toast"...what the hell was the title of that one? Volcano? I can remember the tagline, but not the title of the actual movie!) wind up being panned not just by the critics, but by the public at large.
Of course, the publicity ensures that these less-than-mediocre flicks still make tons of money. I guess lots of people nowadays just have money to burn and would rather go see a bad movie than not see a movie at all? Or they just hop onto the bandwagon and don't have the critical faculties to figure out that the movies themselves are not exactly stellar?
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 10:10 AM PST

Gable's Back and Garson's Got Him!
Posted by MGM @ 05/01/2003 10:14 AM PST

Jennifer, you would get along with my wife. She not only had a crush on Rick Springfield, but she still does! She even has tickets to see him in Chicago on his current tour. It's something of an obsession, actually... ;-)
Posted by Dave @ 05/01/2003 10:15 AM PST

I agree Lulu!! I wonder how some of these movies even get made! There is a lot of talent out there, but so much crap gets made. I don't get it.
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 10:15 AM PST

JB/JK: What really makes it almost obscene to me is that even from my own meager experience with filmmaking, I have some idea of the *tremendous* amount of work that goes into making a film. Which is fine when the film turns out to be something everyone involved can take pride in, but when all that's produced is a big steaming pile of - well, you get the idea.
I dunno, there's just something slightly nauseous-making about it.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 10:19 AM PST

JN aka JK.. so, we all need details.. What was Mr. Ford purchasing or browsing at/for when you met him?
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 10:19 AM PST

What a great topic!
Lulu - I also liked Ike Eisenmann from the Disney films. Of course, at that age, he was just a "cool kid", and I wished he lived next door to me so that we could hang out and go on adventures together. And I liked Kurt Russell from his Disney days too.
As I started becoming "of age"...
The Hardy Boys - Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson
John Stamos - and I never really watched "General Hospital" - my school didn't get out early enough.
Joseph Kolinski - I fell in love with his voice when they broadcast the production of Bernstein's Mass from the Kennedy Center on PBS for the center's anniversary. And it's always nice to look down a cast list and see his name.
Doug McKeon - from On Golden Pond, which was also the first time I heard the phrase, "Suck face." Still love it!
Matthew Broderick - If War Games is on, I usually end up watching it. I also got to see him in Biloxi Blues.
Emilio Estevez - The only Sheen boy I have ever found attractive. The Breakfast Club was/is truly
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 10:23 AM PST

Rick Springfield. 8-D
Was it on the Grammy Awards show that he and his band come out and did JESSIE'S GIRL live and rocked the house? It was a great r/r performance. And his later song HUMAN TOUCH was a great song for aerobics! Remember those routines?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 10:24 AM PST

What a great topic!
Lulu - I also liked Ike Eisenmann from the Disney films. Of course, at that age, he was just a "cool kid", and I wished he lived next door to me so that we could hang out and go on adventures together. And I liked Kurt Russell from his Disney days too.
As I started becoming "of age"...
The Hardy Boys - Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson
John Stamos - and I never really watched "General Hospital" - my school didn't get out early enough.
Joseph Kolinski - I fell in love with his voice when they broadcast the production of Bernstein's Mass from the Kennedy Center on PBS for the center's anniversary. And it's always nice to look down a cast list and see his name.
Doug McKeon - from On Golden Pond, which was also the first time I heard the phrase, "Suck face." Still love it!
Matthew Broderick - If War Games is on, I usually end up watching it. I also got to see him in Biloxi Blues.
Emilio Estevez - The only Sheen boy I have ever found attractive. The Breakfast Club was/is truly the movie of my high school years.
Tom Cruise - Didn't we all? ;-) That volleyball scene...
Well, I'm off to head up to The City, The Big Apple, The City So Nice, They Named It Twice. Of course, it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, but since I'll be playing auditions all day... If you happen to be near the Equity building, say HI!
*And if any H's/K's wanna get together for dinner on Friday... Hmmm.. Just e-mail me... I have no real definite plans for while I'm up there - and actually just may head back Friday night, but we'll see...
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 10:24 AM PST

The other thing (and I promise this is my last word on the subject) is that, as JB/JK said, there is a lot of talent out there. And I think far too many people have their efforts and their gifts wasted or subverted because the public at large either "just doesn't get it" or it is *perceived* that they just won't get it. So the same old YUCK keeps being churned out. Meanwhile, people with tremendous talent grow old and die and they were never really able to share that talent with us. Dammit.
Imagine, just for a moment, that Alfred Hitchcock had spent the bulk of his creative years directing episodes of "Friends."
See what I mean?
See what I mean?
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 10:25 AM PST

Lulu, I wholeheartedly agree.
And I'm not sure who's to
blame...the movie people for
producing the said piles of
you-know-what, or the
American people for creating a
market for it.
Speaking of such things, did
anyone see the recent
Nicholas Cage movie,
Adaption? One of the main
purposes, it seemed, of the
movie was to create a satire of
screenwriters and their
lives...which is a good
premise, I believe. But they
botched it...basically giving us
the main point a third of the
way through the movie, then
trapping us in our seats while
we waited for the characters to
figure it out so the movie could
end. I haven't fidgeted so
much in a movie since Bourne
Identity...
sorry for the rant...
Posted by Ann @ 05/01/2003 10:25 AM PST

Really must proofread my
posts...the movie of course is
Adaptation, not Adaption
Posted by Ann @ 05/01/2003 10:26 AM PST

that would be JB, not JN - I wouldn't want JB's partner in crime to think she ran off and married some random "N" when he wasn't lookin!
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 10:26 AM PST

Oops. Didn't mean to be redundant just now. Not sure how that happened. *sheepish grin*
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 10:27 AM PST

Ha Ha Ha Hee Hee Hee - you guys crack me up!!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 10:32 AM PST

Hmmm.. That was weird... I guess we all hit "Post" at the same time... Interesting how it kind of split up my post...
Just wanted to add that I love The Competition - well, I seem to love any piano-related movie - Madame Sousatzka hitting very close to home for me, and Un Coeur en Hiver simply amazing for it's range of emotions.
*I also get a kick out of spotting who fakes the piano playing really well, and not so well. The playing in Madame Sousatka is very well done - they had coaches. Meanwhile, in The Competition, Amy Irving does a nice job, but Richard Dreyfuss.. hmmm... Although, I do love Ginastera's First Piano Sonata. I played that myself for my graduation recital - great "motor" finale.
-Oh, and it was also in The Competition that I first heard Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto. Watching Amy Irving do all those glissandos back and forth... Of course, I was in for quite a shock when I actually looked at the score a few years later. That whole section is actually written out - Prokovifiev had big hands and big fingers. It's written so that each finger plays two notes at a time - you play "in the crack". At that speed... the glissandos are standard practice, but I had seen and heard pianists who can play it as written. WOW!
Now, I have to run...
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 10:35 AM PST

OMG - I almost forgot about John Stamos!! Blackie really ripped on the drums! Back then, I did watch General Hospital, probably because of Rick Springfield.
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 10:36 AM PST

JB aka JK - don't be errand and truant now and not answer the question at hand ;)
What was Harrison shopping for when you met him?
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 10:46 AM PST

CRUSH....CRUSH
JEANNE CRAIN and ELIZABETH TAYLOR
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 05/01/2003 10:47 AM PST

Yes Gigi was on Betty Hutton's sit-com but by then I had outgrown her.
My mom's cousin was head of the Chicago office of the UI publicity department from at least the mid-40s to the late 50s so he could have taken you-know-who around Chicago during that period. Other than Gigi, he never had me meet any stars but I would occasionally get to go to a screening (Ma and Pa Kettle or Francis the Talking Mule) and once in while he would give me a screenplay.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 10:51 AM PST

I tried the "Refresh" Button (both on the main page with the links to the months) and the April Page itself, but April still starts with 4/29, not 4/30.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 10:54 AM PST

I guess lots of people
nowadays just have money to
burn and would rather go see
a bad movie than not see a
movie at all, muses Lulu.
It always astonishes me how
many millions of people flock
to see movies that are so
obviously (well, obvious to
most of us, at least) going to
be wretched to sit through. I
certainly don't have money
burning in my pocket, so I
guess that's why CHICAGO
and THE PIANIST are the only
movies I've gone to see in the
theater in the last 18 months
or so!
Posted by Jed @ 05/01/2003 10:55 AM PST

55 posts in under 3 hours!!!
May has this joint a jumpin'!
Posted by Jed @ 05/01/2003 10:57 AM PST

Ah! I see the problem now. :)
WEL: Just scroll down past the monthly entries, to the individually archived entries. 4/30 is there. (That's how I always read the archives, so I didn't realize we were looking in two different places.)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:00 AM PST

Sorry about that, Craig. Harrison Ford was buying his wife a beautiful necklace. It was over $50,000. Also, while working at this jewelry manufacturer, a $1,000,000 necklace was made for Lee Iacoca's wife. Don't know about the spelling of his name, but the diamond was huge!!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 11:05 AM PST

JB/JK: Was this before or after Lee, with the help of the US government, made all us taxpayers bail out GM?
Of course, I know the answer. You're around my age so it was several years after this. I just think it's kind of an interesting thing to think about.
"My corporation's bankrupt...and I'm buying my wife a necklace worth a cool mill."
Yep. Interesting.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:10 AM PST

I've mentioned one or two of these before, and I'm aging myself, but, boy I had a crush on Spin and Marty (Tim Considine and David Stollery)! Both of them.
I also though Tony Dow from Leave it to Beaver was so cute I could barely stand it (I knew what I was early on). Poor Jerry Mathers. With a brother like Tony Dow, how could you compete?
Carl Betz from The Donna Reed Show. Don Grady from My Three Sons. I was a promiscuous kid, what can I say?
That's enough for now.
Posted by Ben @ 05/01/2003 11:20 AM PST

Crushes on Spin AND Marty???
Huh-uh. No, Ben, I'm afraid that's unacceptable...if not downright unAmerican. You've got to pick one or the other - it's a law.
OMG! Guess what song just came on the internet streaming radio station I'm listening to??? Three guesses...
That's right! "Jesse's Girl!"
Eat your heart out, JB/JK (and Dave's wife)! ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:22 AM PST

I just received a phone call from a woman named September. So, I guess people with the names of the months now include September.
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 11:23 AM PST

Ben---
Carl Betz? Don't you mean Paul Peterson? Betz was the father and your other choices were all teens.
Lulu---
I found yesterday's notes the way you said. I had never scrolled down past the first of the month since the prior day's notes were always the top ones under the month.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 11:26 AM PST

BN: LOL. Poor Beaver, indeed. I guess he couldn't compete with a brother like Wally, but (to paraphrase Chandler Bing in an episode of "Friends"), "He could get an Eddie Haskell.!
I thought Annette and Hayley were dreamy. I wanted to BE Kevin Corcoran (I wanted to play Toby Tyler, for one thing).
Anybody remember Lori Marting? She portrayed Velvet Brown on the TV show "National Velvet." Anybody remember who played her sister????????
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 11:28 AM PST

So many years, so many crushes. But just the crushes when I was young were on Fess Parker as Davy Crocket and Guy Williams as Zorro. I think the only one close to my age would have been Ricky Nelson. I adored Danny Kaye. I will mention one adult crush. My son had posters from Star Wars to put up around his room. On my insistence Harrison Ford's poster was positioned for my enjoyment-on the closet door, the place I so often went. I guess I could mention this cute guy in high school who was the star of all the plays.
Posted by Jane @ 05/01/2003 11:32 AM PST

Lulu: Re: "Friends"
What I see is a show that is consistently funny on several levels and has a comedic acting ensemble of incredible versatility. The timing is phenomenol and the chemistry unbelievably strong and viable.
Six actors who might still be struggling are at the top of their game -- and they put to shame virtually every other network show on TV on a weekly basis. Matt LeBlanc's Joey is one of TV's finest characters, and, along with Matthew Perry's Chandler, they've created one of the finest two-man routines ever seen anywhere.
That's my take on it.
As fine as Hitchcock's "best" work is, he could have/should have stretched himself a bit more and spared us such piffle as "Torn Curtain."
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 11:33 AM PST

But Rick Springfield (as Dr. Noah Drake) had nothing to do with nurse Jessie Brewer who after Dr. Phil Brewer, Dr. John Prentice, Dr. Peter Taylor and hospital administrator Dan Rooney had sworn off men (despite her secret crush on Dr. Steve Hardy who --- after he broke up with Priscilla Longworth [yes Allison Hayes JRand] --- only had eyes for Audrey March). By the time that Dr. Noah came to town Jessie (always in her blue sweater) was reduced to saying "7th Floor Nurses Station" and showing up at holiday gatherings until the actress (Emily McLaughlin) died which the show never acknowledged until years later.
Dr. Noah's girls were Bobbie Spencer and Tiffany Hill (also known as Elsie Mae Krumpholz). And anyway wouldn't he have sung that he wanted to be Jessie's Man if it were indeed Jessie he was interested in?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 11:36 AM PST

Various corrections:
Ben vice BN
Lori Martin vice Marting
...and add "Family Plot" to the piffle Hitchcock should have avoided.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 11:37 AM PST

Bill - you just know I would love for you to ask him about...she whose name cannot be spoken.
Or tell him to email me, I'll ask him.... She did a movie on location in Chicago in 1955!
Elizabeth Taylor 8-D...in 1950 on loan to Paramount to do A PLACE IN THE SUN for George Stevens created quite a commotion in the commissary. Elizabeth was at the height of who whosis and whatsis. People stood and jaws dropped when this beauty walked by, and George Seaton broke the stunned silence by intoning: "How did SHE ever get in the movies?"
Also on the Paramount lot - when Mr Cecil B DeMille was directing The Ten Commandments, he was taking quite a bit of time explaining to the extras exactly how they were to emote during the "exodus" scene. He noticed one woman whispering to another. He called her up and demanded that she tell the assembled crowd what had so moved her in his direction. The woman took the microphone and declared: "I was just asking my friend what time she thought that bald-headed SOB was going to let us eat...." CB did the only thing he could, he called: "Lunch!"
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 11:39 AM PST

Lori Martin played my younger daughter....my lovely blonde daughter was played by Carole Wells.
Posted by Ann Doran @ 05/01/2003 11:40 AM PST

Thank you, Bill. Priscilla Longworth, daughter of a member of General Hospital's board of directors.
And remember the artificial insemination subplot with Steve and Audrey?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 11:44 AM PST

Holey moley on rye, that's what I'M talkin' about - this is the way to start off a month! I am jiggy with all these posts I tell you.
Glad you found yesterday's notes, WEL - now if I can just find yesterday's mashed potatos.
JB aka JK - I have no idea who you would have had a crush on in Feast. Sure it wasn't Stages? Or even The Maneachmus Twins? Hmmmm. Not Alan Abelew certainly. I do remember my darling daughter running into her bedroom and slamming the door when Mr. David Cassidy came over for a visit.
Posted by bk @ 05/01/2003 11:44 AM PST

WEL, you've obviously never heard the song "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield. (Some of us have heard it thousands of times...)
The chorus states,
"I wish that I had Jessie's girl,
Why can't I find a woman like that?"
Those in the know can tell you that although the song is based a true story, the real woman's name was changed to protect the innocent. So there really is no "Jessie".
Posted by Dave @ 05/01/2003 11:50 AM PST

Ron, I do wish you weren't such a fence-sitter! Why don't you let us know how you REALLY feel? ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:52 AM PST

Dave, I thought WEL was being a sly puss when he wrote that Dr. Noah had naught to do with Nurse Jessie. Mayhaps I am mistaken.
I have seen two episodes of "classic" GH from the Jessie/Phil days, and all I can say is that Jessie had some *serious* self-esteem issues to put up with Roy Thinnes's crap!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:54 AM PST

Jane, do do tell us about this very cute boy in high school who starred in all the school plays. ;) He sounds very likeable, somehow...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:55 AM PST

Ah, Nurse Jesse Brewer -- I won one of her blue sweaters at a soapy convention many moons ago. General Hospital was only a 30 minute show at one time -- oh no, I'm showing my age again.
Theatre crush - a toss up between Kevin Kline & Barry Bostwick. Something about those Pirate Kings!
As for TV crushes - only one, Bobby Sherman. Ah, now I need some cold water.....
Posted by Angela @ 05/01/2003 11:55 AM PST

I assumed that Ron was joking when he was talking about "Friends". I don't know anyone who has found that show remotely funny for at least three seasons now. While the actors may have chemistry and good comedic timing, the writing has consistently slipped over the past several years.
Posted by Dave @ 05/01/2003 11:56 AM PST

The episode I saw with MST3K comments had something to do with a birthday cake....poor Jessie.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 11:56 AM PST

Jrand: those are the eps I saw. They both ran with Rocky Jones: Space Ranger episodes, IIRC. Yeah, birthday cake and hiatus hernias and "Nurse Feratu" and Joel finally exploding (as Nurse Jessie) "Phil this and Phil that. Everything's Phil, Phil, Phil!"
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 11:59 AM PST

Angela! You reminded me that I, too, had a mad crush on Kevin Kline when I saw him in the Pirates of Penzance!
Yes, there's definitely something about a cunning set of 'burns, big billowy sleeves and thigh-high black leather boots...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 12:00 PM PST

The blue-est sky you've ever seen, in Seattle.
The and the hills the green-est green, in Seattle.
Like a beautiful child,
Growing up free and wild
Full of hopes, full of fears,
Full of laughter, full of tears,
Full of dreams to last a year,
In Seattle.
Posted by Joshua Bolt @ 05/01/2003 12:03 PM PST

I think that we can have a May 1(00) day today!!!
3:15 e.s.t and already over 80 posts. Bruce - break out the ham chunks and cheese slices!!
As for crushes, here are a few from my youth: Valerie Bertinelli, Olivia Newton-John, Andrea McArdle..
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 12:04 PM PST

When you find your own true love, you will know it.
By the smile by the look in his eyes.
Some set pine trees in the air.
Or some stand around and stare.
Look out, everyone, here come the BRIDES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Jeremy Bolt @ 05/01/2003 12:04 PM PST

Lulu, yes this boy was very likable. I was 15 1/2 and very innocent. He was older and rather unique. He was fun and could be very charming, especially when he played the piano and sang. Seemed to me the girls were always flocking around him.
Posted by Jane @ 05/01/2003 12:08 PM PST

My but posts are coming fast and furious today. Soon we will be the most popular site on the internet (oh - a BK reference).
Jrand - I'd ask my mother's cousin except that he has been dead for over thirty years. Maybe we can find a medium who can help us find him.
Not only do I remember Audrey's articicial insemination, I remember when she married Tom Baldwin, had a baby and hid it away. That baby grew up to be Tommy Baldwin, part of the first white man/black woman plot on soaps when that was still a controversial issue. I remember when Jessie had a baby named Nancy and it died on the operating table --- with Phil doing the surgery. And who can ever forget Angie Costello and Eddie Weeks, the first popular young couple on GH years before Luke raped Laura to the music of Herb Albert's "Rise" at the campus disco.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 12:08 PM PST

In this Lusty month of May how could I forget that breathtaking moment in SCARAMOUCHE...Oh my gosh...CRUSH CRUSH
JANET LEIGH
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 05/01/2003 12:20 PM PST

OMG - Audrey hid that baby so well, I had forgotten all about him.
Well - if he's only been dead for 30 years - he might be like Jack Benny's uncle - his liver just won a Charleston contest.
lulu, I keep forgetting to ask, do you want me to make you a tape of UNGUARDED MOMENT? I wouldn't mind watching it again.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 12:23 PM PST

first remebered crushes:
Tommy Kirk & Eddie Hodges
then later:
Rod Taylor & Stephen Boyd
now:
I'm all crushed out. . .
Posted by Kurt @ 05/01/2003 12:40 PM PST

Tommy Kirk in Old Yeller OR Pajama Party?
Eddie Hodges in Summer Magic or The Happiest Millionaire?
Rod Taylor in The Time Machine or The V.I.P.'s?
Stephen Boyd in Ben-Hur or The Oscar?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 12:48 PM PST

Growing up, my celebrity (not specifially movie) crushes were with Donna Summer (it didn't work out) and Jm J. Bullock (from "Too Close For Comfort" -- the writing was on the wall).
And about month names, I have a friend who's first and middle names are Raney December. She really was born on a rainy December day here in Washington State.
Posted by George @ 05/01/2003 12:58 PM PST

Ben - do you remember the episode of The Donna Reed Show that included Paul Peterson singing his song "My Dad"?
I never really noticed until that episode how much Peterson and Carl Betz look like father and son. It's a nice episode. Lots of Alex and Jeff not too much Donna and only a glimpse of Mary.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 12:58 PM PST

BK - You are a right - I think it WAS the Maneachmus Twins! He was the little lanky guy. He may have been in Stages as well, but I'm not sure.
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 01:00 PM PST

BTW - I am totally jealous of all you out there in Washington State!! I MISS SEATTLE!!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 01:02 PM PST

JB aka JK - why did you slam your door when Keith Partridge came to visit?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 01:02 PM PST

I think he frightened me!! Just kidding - I was very shy as a child. My how things change!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 01:04 PM PST

LOL
Maybe it was the mullet.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 01:06 PM PST

Thank you for asking JB/JK that question, Jrand! :) I was wondering exactly the same thing...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:10 PM PST

BTW, it wasn't a "mullet" back the (as you well know!). It was a shag, and it was an important component of Keith's "dreaminess."
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:11 PM PST

the=then
Oooohhh...so close...who will be the Lucky 100th...?
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:12 PM PST

Again about month names (sort of), I work for a library and we buy our CD-ROMs from a company that has a customer service rep (a woman) whose name is Winter. It's weird when I call and I'm told, "Let me transfer you to Winter."
Posted by George @ 05/01/2003 01:13 PM PST

Plus, when I met Mr. Cassidy, I was about the same age as I was when I ran in front of my parents naked, shakin' my booty. I REALLY didn't think he'd want to see that!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 01:14 PM PST

I was #100!
Posted by George @ 05/01/2003 01:14 PM PST

I wasn't going to admit my teenage crush, but we're SOOOO close to 100 posts.
I was a young teen when the film of West Side Story came out, and George Chakiris made my little heart go pitter-patter....
btw, I may be E&T this weekend. My daughter is graduating from college--cum laude!
Posted by Pam @ 05/01/2003 01:15 PM PST

*tossing confetti onto George*
Congratulations, Lucky 100th poster!
My officemate (who handles incoming e-mail inquiries) just ruminated aloud about the sanity of the sort of parents who would name their child "Tequila."
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:15 PM PST

Lulu---
Is Tequila's last name Mockingbird?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 01:28 PM PST

You! ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:31 PM PST

JBakaJK - Well, if you miss
Seattle, you simply must find a
way to get back over here to
the Northwest! There's a good
chunk of us HHW folk up here.
George, Ann, and myself all in
Washington, and JMK, Dennis
Clancy, Jane, and MBarnum in
Oregon. Oh, the HHW
get-togethers we could have in
the great Northwest!!!
Posted by Jed @ 05/01/2003 01:33 PM PST

Congrats, Pam! I bet you're proud as punch. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:34 PM PST

Oh, WEL! Good thing that
groaning is not allowed here
at HHW.
Posted by Jed @ 05/01/2003 01:35 PM PST

Lulu: I fence-sit 'cause I don't want anyone to know how I feel.
Dave: You're joking about what you thought I meant...right???
: )
"Friends" may have slipped a bit, but it's way funnier than the insipid depths to which "Frasier" has sunk...every time I try to watch the show, I only want to bitch-slap Frasier until he's quiet! They've ruined his character for me.
Niles and Daphne should never have married...they need to go off and have babies.
If Kevin Bacon couldn't make "Will" seem funny on "Will and Grace," why on earth did they think "Karen" could make Madonna funny or interesting?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 01:35 PM PST

A request of everyone at this here site (and all your friends).
Go to WWW.Disney.Com . At the bottom of the home page, click Movie Selector (it's on the far right). Follow the instructions to request a film to be released on DVD or Video [by video they mean VHS] and request SONG OF THE SOUTH. Maybe if they get enough requests they will realize that this film deserves to be seen again.
Thank you.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/01/2003 01:38 PM PST

Soon we will be the most popular site on all the Internet, I can feel it. Actually, darling daughter, the shaking your booty episodes came two houses after you met Mr. Cassidy, which was in that awful apartment on Langdon where you almost drowned in the swimming pool (I saved my darling daughter - whew! - she'd slipped through her lifevest - I should have sued that company). I think you were all of four when Mr. Cassidy came a'calling.
You were shaking your booty around the time that Patrick Macnee came to sup, or Stephen Bishop, over there in what they now call Valley Village. My darling daughter also came to visit when I was shooting one of the Donny and Marie shows and she got to meet Mr. Donny Osmond himself. Does my darling daughter remember THAT? Does my darling daughter remember the first movie she was ever taken to? Hint: It was a drive-in and the film was animated.
Posted by bk @ 05/01/2003 01:38 PM PST

I simply *must* know if JB/JK shook her booty in front of Mr. Steed. I am a-quiver with anticipation. I am on tenterhooks. I am all agog. Pray, release me from my torment!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 01:45 PM PST

I was only half-kidding, Ron. I do think that "Friends" is a pale shadow of its former self. Perhaps the reason is that the characters have grown older, but not grown up. What used to seem cute, now seems more than a little pathetic.
"Will and Grace" is funnier on its weakest night than "Friends" has ever been.
And some people watch "Survivor" and think it's great.
What is it that BK says about horse racing?
Posted by Dave @ 05/01/2003 01:46 PM PST

Well, I've posted a number of
times, but have yet to address
the topic de jour...
I am truly drawing a blank on
crushes from my youth on
movie/TV types. Maybe
something will come to me
later in the day. All I can think
of at the moment is a girl
named Tricia Thiel who was in
the drama department at the
local university when I was
younger. Still can't hear "Turn
Back, O Man" from GODSPELL
without thinking of her.
Heck, knowing the way things
seem to work around here,
either she or someone else
will now probably Google her
name some day and join our
merry troupe!
Posted by Jed @ 05/01/2003 01:48 PM PST

Well, my darling father, I remember Donny Osmond's purple socks! And the movie was Lady and the Tramp? Maybe I have been drinking too many Diet Cokes out of the can, because my memory seems to be failing me. And regarding the incredibly beautiful Northwest - BELIEVE ME - if there is any way to get back there, I WILL!! Or actually, anywhere on the West Coast! The middle of the country just doesn't do it for me - at least here in Iowa. We do have our corn though :)
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 02:01 PM PST

I think "Friends" has been handling its aging "friends" and their increasingly "adult" lives very responsibly.
"Will and Grace", I'm sorry to say, seems more often mean-spirited and base than funny. The two stars are lacklustre and the Emmy-winning co-stars seem to think stereotypical behavior and crudity are substitutes for wit and talent.
So...I'm on the fence again. Push me over.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 02:04 PM PST

JB aka JK... My good friend, who is now a DJ in California is from Iowa. His favorite thing to tell people was this "Ya know what IOWA stands for dontcha? Idiots Out Wandering Around"
Now.. we know that YOU aren't perpetuating that stereotype.. but I just wanted the share that funny.
PS I hear there is a nice place to shop called Younkers (sp?) I only know of this store because I grew up near YONKERS and when my dj friend's girlfriend and I were out one night, and she went to pay for her meal, I saw a charge card for said store...
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 02:05 PM PST

Have to agree with Ron. FRIENDS is the one network YV comedy which can consistently make me laugh. It also on semi-frequent occasions can touch me deeply. The actors on this show don't get nearly enough credit for pulling off their little plays each week. And last season, its eighth, was the first season it won the Emmy for Best COmedy Series, an honor it truly deserved. This season has been less consistent, but I blame that partly on the writers not knowing whether they were needing to tie things up or prolong them for another season. In prolonging things, plots have seemed more shapeless and sometimes tedious, but I still marvel at the chemistry the cast has and the freshness they bring to their playing each week. In short, I love the show.
First crushes. Hmmm, this ages me, but my first crush on a movie star was Dean Martin at about age 8. Even though Martin and Lewis were breaking up, Paramount still kept re-releasing their films as double features, and I remember getting my dad to help me write a fan letter to Dean Martin.
First TV star crush: Guy Madison on WILD BILL HICKOK.
I'd say Tim Considine was probably the first person close to my own age that I got a frush on, but even he was an "older man."
Yep, I'm old.
Posted by Matt H. @ 05/01/2003 02:07 PM PST

Yes - we have Yonkers - its OK, but it's no Macy's. And yes - Iowa does stand for Idiots Out Wandering Around! Corn and Idiots!!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 02:08 PM PST

I guess I shouldn't say that EVERYONE is an idiot. I have met some nice people here, but I could not imagine growing up in such a place! People are very closed-minded!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 05/01/2003 02:13 PM PST

WOW! No post for 20 minutes? Can it be a lull?!??!?!?!
AAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 02:23 PM PST

Oh, OK - Only ten minutes...
I'm better now.... Nevermind. (-In my best Emily Litella voice - boy do I miss Gilda Radner...)
So, is this what "jiggy" feels like?
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 02:24 PM PST

Congratulations, Pam!!!
A father who knows David Cassidy, and Donny and Marie is the kewlest father in the world!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/01/2003 02:25 PM PST

My darling daughter is correct - Lady and the Tramp! And my darling daughter didn't normally do her nude booty shaking for guests - there was one additional little trick she used to do whilst shaking her booty which was most amusing but I shan't speak of it here.
Posted by bk @ 05/01/2003 02:36 PM PST

Crushes: DRs will know all about Spin & Marty. Also add Tony Curtis in his "Purple Mask" & Black Shield of Falworth days, John Kerr and ALWAYS Alan Ladd. On the other side of the pond- Dirk Bogarde.
On the other side totally - Kim Novak.
These days I really like Matthew Broderick and Ruben Blades and of course Mr Spacey.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 02:41 PM PST

Let me add my voice to the chorus about the liveliness of HHW today! WOW!
Another site I frequent has been dead all day -- normally there are at least a hundred posts by this time of day...but hardly anyone has posted all day...maybe 15 posts total. Very odd!
Of course, the different in content between here and there is significantly different, too. It's as though all the Hainsies/Kimlets sucked the overloaded the airwaves with intellegent energy to make HHW lively and other sites have suffered as a result.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 02:42 PM PST

So I can get through a list without mentioning Michael Ball!
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 02:42 PM PST

Delete "sucked the" -- changed thought pattern and didn't sufficiently edit.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 02:43 PM PST

I second Jrand's sentiments about BK and the kewlness thereof.
Now we just need to find out that BK once briefly dated Holly Hobbie, and he will truly hold the title of '70s Dad Nonpareil.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/01/2003 03:20 PM PST

Only 1 post in an hour?!?
Come on now, people... we're
in danger of no longer being
on a pace to pass 400 posts
today! :-)
Posted by Jed @ 05/01/2003 03:41 PM PST

JB aka JK, just had to add a
plug for the Northwest...I'm
currently living in Tacoma, just
south of Seattle for those who
don't know, and it's a
GORGEOUS day over
here...one of my classes was
just held outside on the grass
so we could enjoy the
sunshine on the mountains....I
love this area of the country...
Posted by Ann @ 05/01/2003 03:51 PM PST

Ooooh! How could I forget
about Kevin Kline in Pirates of
Penzance? So cute...
Posted by Ann @ 05/01/2003 04:10 PM PST

My Tommy Kirk crush came from SAVAGE SAM. . .
WILL & GRACE is mean-spirited and downright ugly; I'm sorry there's no way in God's green earth that I would want to spend time with ANY of those characters, let alone invite them into my home for a half an hour once a week, even if it is vicariously. I didn't like the show from the beginning, and with the amount of "Special Guest Stars" appearing, I would say that W&G has quite obviously jumped the shark. (Oh, a HAPPY DAYS reference!)
On the other hand, I find FRIENDS to be entertaining, endearing, well-sccripted and acted, and one of the tightest half-hour programs on television.
Oh, I'm also one the big fans of TORN CURTAIN, that Alfred Hitchcock movie that everyone thinks is about one thing, when it really is a film about something else. Talk about your mega-MacGuffins!
Posted by td @ 05/01/2003 04:48 PM PST

Speaking of the Northwest, I am going to Portland for the weekend. It might not be Washington but my older son lives there. JB aka JK I know what you mean about missing the west coast. Too bad you couldn't have gone all the way east, especially to New England.
Posted by Jane @ 05/01/2003 04:52 PM PST

All these posts! Is it Oscar day again?
As for "Friends" and "Will & Grace"... I like both shows, although, I do agree that "Friends" has stood the test of time better even though the consistency has not been... well, consistent. I really enjoyed "Will & Grace" during it's first two seasons, but the focus of the show has seemed to shift to Jack and Karen, and the whole original dynamic is gone. I enjoy Jack and Karen, but, the writers have really "gone there" with their character types - sometimes too far. And although it may seem a "plus" in a sense, the problems of Will (and Grace) are very domestic, very normal - not even necessarily gay. It's not as "cutting edge" as it was when it premiered - and to some of us, "cuttting edge" was not that edgy. Relationships. Jobs. Life. -They really need to introduce another love interest for Will. "Keep it gay..."
So where do I stand on all of this? I'll continue to watch both shows - when I can - like tonight, but I do love ending my Sunday nights with the broadcast of "Friends" after thge 11:00 news.
-Did I use enough "quotes" in this post?
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 05:13 PM PST

"No, Jose. . . there is always room for
more 'quotes'"
And here are some extras in case
you need a few:
" " " " " " "
Posted by "Kurt" @ 05/01/2003 05:43 PM PST

"Thank you", Kurt.
Posted by Jose "Quote Man" Simbulan @ 05/01/2003 05:46 PM PST

Jose: you are very "welcome"
jrand: Tommy Kirk in, well, EVery
Disney film. . . Eddie Hodges in
Summer Magic by all means. . . Rod
Taylor in Hotel and Stephen Boyd in
Jumbo (although Ben-Hur was the
first movie I can remember being
taken to by my folks. . . at the drive-
in)
Oh, yes, David Stollery too. . and
ben -- you are correct on all counts
Posted by Kurt @ 05/01/2003 05:51 PM PST

Jose: "Another" love interest for Will? When was there even one of any depth?
I know the Dan Futterman character figured prominently in a few episodes but is was all Will and Jack transforming him, trying to hook him up, falling for him and fighting over him....and the character, himself, was negligible. More "stereotypes," IMO.
They don't do better with hetero relations, either -- Karen keeps going bi on us, and I'd swear Grace and Leo haven't consummated their marriage.
And what were the writers "thinking" when they did that, anyway???
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 06:33 PM PST

Like many others, my crushes were
Vera Miles, Evelyn Ankers, Jane
Randolph, Lyla Lerroll (if you
count comic book lookers), Madege
Evans, and Jill Haworth.
Posted by Ludlow29@aol @ 05/01/2003 06:34 PM PST

Ron, obviously, they weren't "thinking".
Posted by George @ 05/01/2003 06:35 PM PST

I say - we are almost at 150 posts for this lovely May Day. How jiggy are we all with that?
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 06:57 PM PST

Ron, I can't purport to know what the writers were thinking when they had Grace get married, but I can offer a theory.
Maybe they wanted to allow Grace to grow as a woman, become involved in a romantic relationship, and explore new horizons beyond the confines of the same relationship that has grounded her for the first few seasons. This also allows her the chance to investigate the nature of her relationship with Will, and how strong it may or may not be. It also forces Will to examine the dependent nature of his relationship with Grace. It may even force him to venture beyond his apartment and find a relationship with a significant other.
The Leo character also introduces an actor who is surprisingly funny in his role: Harry Connick, Jr.
With "Friends", on the other hand, I can't imagine what the writers were thinking by having Chandler and Monica get married. As for the other characters, maybe I don't watch the show as often as I used to, but when I have tuned in, I found them to be the same shallow stereotypes that they started out to be, only magnified. Phoebe was a dumb "bohemian", now she is a dumber "bohemian". Joey was a dumb actor, now he is a dumber actor. Ross was a dumb nerd, now he is dumber and nerdier. Rachel was a dumb spoiled rich girl...well, you see the pattern by now.
But of course these characters are stereotypes. This is situational comedy. ALL characters on sitcoms are stereotypes. There is not time in 22 minutes to flesh out characters, while supplying enough plot and punch lines to maintain the restless audience. It's the nature of the beast.
Jack may be a stereotype of a gay man, but he is balanced by another depiction of a gay man in Will.
Whereas there is not a single mature adult in the cast of "Friends" to balance the shallow immaturity of rest of the characters.
And frankly, I'm not sure what to make of the line "very normal - not even necessarily gay". I will give Jose the benefit of the doubt, as I am sure we are all aware that many gay men live comfortable domestic lives, and encounter very "normal" problems. Putting them in a humourous context is what television sitcoms are supposed to do.
Okay, I think I'm done, now. ;-)
Posted by Dave @ 05/01/2003 07:00 PM PST

I had an "adoring fan" crush on
Bernadette Peters. Bebe Neuwirth,
Audra McDonald, Chita Rivera were
the same.
Broadway doesn't have that many
interesting people who are also
attractive: Len Cariou isn't exactly
pinup material. I am in love with
Marc Kudisch's voice. Specifically
with his "Jackie" in "The Wild Party".
Oh, and the fantabulous Danny
Gurwin. But I have drooled over him
with Jose and Jason several times.
And Jose has seen him in
underwear! Lucky man.
A few special cases: In the Shaw
Festival production of "Picnic," Mike
Wasko had no shirt on. Meow. Also
from the Shaw Festival, Mike Shara
is quite attractve, too.
And that stud from Moby Dick, Jason
Bratton. Wowee!
In terms of movie people: Susan
Sarandon is one of the few women
with whom I would consider making
the beast with two backs. I didn't
realize that people were allowed to
get sexier as they got older! Of
course, here at HHW, everyone is
buffed and toned with abs and buns
of steel, regardless of their age.
Especially Laura. ;)
Male movie stars: Jude Law, Jason
Lee, Toby Maguire. A few others.
Generally not tthe total beefcake
types.
I know, I'm so bloody young. My
crushes date me. (Oh, I wish that
they WOULD date me!)
Posted by Hapgood @ 05/01/2003 07:11 PM PST

Wow....almost an hour lull?????
Hop lively, my pretties, or BK (esteemed & suave as always) will yank the platters of cheese slices and ham chunks right out from under our greedy little mouths.
I loved all the wonderful memories of General Hospital, from the era when it was a terrific 30 minute show. It was full of energy mainly because of Jim Young, the main Director back then. Jim put the show on tape, but only as a safety (it provided a one week delay)and he taped it straight through, no stopping, no screw-ups, just as if it were live to air. Whenever Emily MacLaughlin wanted to look intense or dramatic, she would just get this really strange blank look with her eyes open a little too wide.... invariably, someone in the booth would say "oh God, she's doing cow eyes again!" Because a friend of mine was the music director for that show, I went over a lot and sat in the booth for the tapings......and on 3 different occasions I got to play the music (yes it was all live improvisation back then) for the show.
Interestingly enough, by playing GH for 3 weeks in 1967, I was able to buy my first 1956 Thunderbird and pay cash for it. God bless Dr. Hardy, Audrey, Peter Baldwin, the candy-stripers, and my dear Lucille Wall. Not so nice were Emily McL., and the guy who played Phil. Whoever played Phil asked me/told me a joke (I guess) that was so raw, that I couldn't even post on a wonderful liberated site like this!!
Crushes.... (will modesty permit??) Well, mmmmmmmm...I guess Guy Madison, Rick Nelson (we actually had a mutual friend but I ner wrangled an invitation....and RN had a MUCH more interesting and colorful teen time than is known...), David Stollery, George Chakiris (who we just talked to again over in L.A., and what a charmer he still is!) and wonderful Don Granidetti - the best of the the "sons" of Fred MacMurray.
I better stop, or DR Kerry will accuse me of blabbering.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 05/01/2003 07:11 PM PST

DR Hapgood -- I loved your post, and your observations....yes, you are young, so enjoy it. If you are ever visiting through Phoenix, have dinner with DR Kerry and I. There are some good vittels to be found here in the old west....and cowboys too!
Posted by MusicGuy @ 05/01/2003 07:19 PM PST

for those curious... Ben Brantley gives GYPSY the thumbs up... for links to reviews, check out www.broadwaystars.com
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 07:28 PM PST

JB aka JK-
YONKERS as in THE MERCHANT OF is the name of a town in New York not a Department Store in IOWA.I believe you shop at YOUNKERS,Now that's a Department Store where Idiots are Out Wandering around.
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 05/01/2003 07:32 PM PST

HUZZAH 1st and 150th post!
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 07:51 PM PST

Do I hear 200?
Going.Going.Gone.
To the Gentleman in the Grey Fedora in the back row.
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 05/01/2003 07:56 PM PST

Gosh Dave, from the beginning I thought Chandler and Monica were a perfect match.
Posted by Jane @ 05/01/2003 07:56 PM PST

Did trailers once, earlier in film history, come AFTER the feature? Remember, there weren't always these interminable credits at the end of a movie. The credits used to come at the beginning. So maybe the coming attractions would "trail" the feature, after "The End" and the cast roster. Possible?
I know also that "in the old days," you didn't just go to see one movie. You also got a cartoon, a serial, a short subject, a newsreel, and sometimes a second feature. Moviegoers didn't necessarily show up at the beginning of the feature. They came in whenever they wanted, were shown to their seats by an usher with a flashlight (so THAT'S why they're called "ushers"), and left whenever they got to the part they'd already seen.
Another guess: perhaps "trailers" is a projectionist's term. Although they are the first to run through the projector, they "trail" at the outside of the reel as it sits waiting on the platter.
Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 05/01/2003 08:01 PM PST

I'm afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a...fraid.
Posted by HAL 9000 @ 05/01/2003 08:04 PM PST

DR Sigerson: Your question was
answered earlier. I don't remember
by whom. They did indeed once
come after the feature. I looked, and
it was JMK, about the third post.
DR MusicGuy: If I am ever in
Phoenix, I will certainly contact you
and Kerry. I have no idea when I
would be, but I do appreciate the
invitation. I guess I should enjoy
being young, but it can be
frustrating. Of course, I graduate in a
matter of weeks, so I think I can get
through it. I have just over two weeks
until Senior Project! And the theater
at which I'm working generally
doesn't start working until 10AM, so I
can sleep late! Only a government
paper (my English paper is done
already) and 4 AP test are in the
way. Hmm....
Anyway, sleep is what I'm about to
do. 'Night all.
Posted by Hapgood @ 05/01/2003 08:12 PM PST

200 is such a loverly number...just a little bit further up this steep hill and then wheeeeeeeee it's downhill all the way. And waiting at the bottom of the hill sitting like so much fish and waiting on the Bruce curb is you know who???
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 05/01/2003 08:37 PM PST

I agree with the dumbing down of "Friends" comments. I always that Chandler and Joey were made for each other. Monica and Ross are just annoying these days. Will and Grace: I don't bother at all.
And if TV is a discussion point today. When will "Six Feet Under" return to Oz TV? I know you can't answer that but I am so looking forward to the new series.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 08:42 PM PST

Our French friend is not at work for another week. Someone else will have to keep the Disney flag flying. (I think I translated his email correctly!)
I'll ust mention Dame Julie and Judy Kaye to let you all know that François is here in spirit and would help the race to 200 if he had access to a computer.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 08:46 PM PST

Doing my part to help us reach the 200 mark...
Today's beautiful day was topped off with an amazing sunset, which I got to watch whilst taking my boys to the beach, which was stunningly beautiful...the water looked like liquid silver. A lovely end to a lovely day
My $.02 on Friends/Will and Grace. Never got into Friends when it first ran, but recently got hooked on reruns. I'll throw my vote in on the positive side, I like the show. Good plots, good acting, etc. Granted I haven't watched any of the recent episodes, so it could be close to shark jumping time and I wouldn't know. Will and Grace I watched but never could really get in to. My vote for best show currently? CSI, which I am currently watching. Just a damn good show IMHO.
Posted by Ann @ 05/01/2003 08:55 PM PST

I will have puhlenty to say on the Gypsy reviews and supposed "turnaround" - puhlenty.
Did you know that I had a fan in Hollywood, Florida who had a mad crush on me. She used to write me quite ardent fan letters, so one day I just up and called her and we had a lovely conversation.
Posted by bk @ 05/01/2003 09:01 PM PST

Bruce... and?????? Don't leave us hanging on a cliff...
Ok.. and JB aka JK, will you be joining our sparkling chat this next time? I do hope you will...
Posted by Craig @ 05/01/2003 09:09 PM PST

Dear esteemed and invincible BK,
I too once had a fan who used to write the nicest requests to hear me play the score to Top Hat and would smile nicely at me, and we're still having dinner 30 years later. Huzzah.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 05/01/2003 09:25 PM PST

I'll try to do a bit toward 200, although I'm ready for beddy bye, too.
What Kevin Bacon didn't do, and what Madonna was incapable of, Macauley Culkin managed with ease: He made me laugh loud and often on tonight's "Will and Grace." Even Grace had her moments with Jack's rich boyfriend/ex-boyfriend Cam. The last shot was pure slapstick and I saw it coming and it still worked like a charm. Funny, funny stuff.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 05/01/2003 10:10 PM PST

So you did you play "Misty" for the fan from Florida?
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 10:17 PM PST

Have been trying to work in a reference to DRs Kerry & MusicGuy with Skydiving and Top Hat. No doubt DR Kerry will remember that photo of a skydiver I sent - "Cheek To Cheek".
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 10:22 PM PST

Dear esteemed, suave, & erudite BK, and collected throng,
Please allow me to beg the indulgence of the swirling mass of Hainsies/Kimlets, for I must be errant & truant for the next 4 days. I have both rehearsal and a small performance in the Philadelphia and Allentown areas of Pennsylvania, so I must survive on hotel slop and probably chain-restaurant gruel. Hopefully DR Kerry will keep up on all that is the latest, the hip, the happening, and the now....to say nothing of hopefully some good dirt from all of the wonderful DRs.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 05/01/2003 10:24 PM PST

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I sure do miss Career Exploration.
Posted by Laura @ 05/01/2003 10:28 PM PST

Shame is here. I somehow scrolled passed many posts on my checking this morning - and missed today's references to an OZ lad, Rick Springfield. Not that I was a fan - even when he left here as a pop star. The only song I really liked was his duet with Randy Crawford. Springfield was a member of teeny group "Zoot" in the late sixties - early seventies before going solo. Zoot has a #1 hit here in Melbourne with a version of "Eleanor Rigby" (1971). I know you needed that trivia but it is another post
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/01/2003 10:37 PM PST

Crushes: Everyone who Ben mentioned, Ricky Nelson, Van Williams, Robert Conrad, George Nader, Tab Hunter, Clint Walker, Tony Perkins (after seeing him in "Tall Story" in those little basketball shorts, and he was so shy and gawky), Rober Preston (after seeing "Music Man") Horst Buckholtz, Kim Novak, and Kurt Bieber (who portrayed Letch Feeley in "Little Me") and most of the sailors in "south Pacific" and "Mister Roberts" to name just a few.
And yes, Tom, I remember the skydiving picture you sent. In fact, I sent it to others.
Posted by Kerry @ 05/01/2003 10:50 PM PST

How could I forget Horst in "Tiger Bay"? Thanks Kerry.
Posted by Tom Guest (from OZ) @ 05/01/2003 11:13 PM PST

A flurry of late (or is that early) posts from you East Coasters seems to be in order before the new notes are up.
I can't do it alone. (thanks Ms Kelly).
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/02/2003 12:38 AM PST

Okay, Tom.
Let's see . . .
SAY! Didn't trailers used to come AFTER the movie? I could have sworn they used to come AFTER the movie . . .
Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 05/02/2003 01:27 AM PST

Well?
Usen't they?
Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 05/02/2003 01:33 AM PST

OK, I'm picking up the gauntlet. We can still reach 200 posts before BK posts the new notes.
I must say I had *no* idea when I wrote "Imagine, just for a moment, that Alfred Hitchcock had spent the bulk of his creative years directing episodes of 'Friends'" that it would spawn this mighty avalanche of posts debating the relative merits of Friends and Will & Grace. Oh, no I certainly did not. I will bear this in mind and in future. Yessir, I will certainly think twice before glibly picking a sitcom's name out of a hat and posting it here again.
At least this answers the question I've harbored for the past 10 years, to wit: "How can this show be #1? I don't know anybody who watches it." It seems I've found many of the people who've been keeping this show afloat for lo these many years!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 02:17 AM PST

In my past life (as a high school teacher), "Friends" was without a doubt the most watched Tv show by staff and students. Sorry world I guess! "Frazier" has always had difficulty finding an audience here. I don't think it was given a fair go by programmers and it was certainly "bought" by the wrong channel. It hardly fits into the channel's line up of soaps and such. I should never be surprised at TV habits when I see what is programmed during the day and that people actually watch Springer etc.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/02/2003 02:48 AM PST

I bought (a yet to watch) copy of Royal Wedding on DVD last week. I see the CD has now been issed by Rhino. Just ordered it for a friend who wants "Shall We Dance" as well. Not everyone has a credit card and computer access in this techo age. What would our lives be like without HHW each day?
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/02/2003 02:51 AM PST

Only 24 posts needed. Wake up and get busy. Where is Allan?
I am enjoying the Maury Yeston Cd - it needs a few plays but I like it more each time. The songs from "Nine" are of course wonderful. I love the first and last tracks - songs and performances.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/02/2003 02:55 AM PST

Aha! I'm the last post! Just wanted to say "bye"; I'm off on my first vacation for over a year, maybe 2...to see my darling daughter, for an early Mother's Day (Blonde Moment: I didn't look at the calendar when I made the reservations)...be back Sunday night.
Posted by KT @ 05/02/2003 03:19 AM PST

So many things to talk about.
My sister is in Hawaii! Hurray! I know she will have fun.
FRIENDS is okay. I like the characters although they certainly play within a framework, as has been pointed out. And they are irritating to a point. And the "pat" writing with the A and B stories is tiresome.
WILL AND GRACE - Deborah Messing is NOT the new Lucille Ball, no matter how many of her flacks want us to believe that. The Karen and Jack characters often go way over the top - written that way. Will is not a likable character. Again, it's the writing. Except of course for Messing's HORRIBLE and continued habit of pulling her mouth down when she just knows she has said something funny. That "stage mouth" drives me crazy. Besides her hair is horrible - I had to stop watching COACH because Shelley Fabares hair was just too awful. Shallow, I know.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 03:28 AM PST

Oh NO!
That DVD of "Royal Wedding" must have been one of the cheap knockoffs being made by various "independent" distributors. It's apparently one of those films that fell through the copyright-law-cracks, and now anyone who has a print of it can show it on TV or sell copies. Is your DVD at least in COLOR?
I hope that Rhino Handmade's CD release of the soundtrack is somehow an indication that we'll soon have an "official" release of "Royal Wedding."
Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 05/02/2003 03:31 AM PST

Tom, when I was in France back in '99 I was completely horrified and disgusted to see that they had their own Springer carbon copies on TV! So much for my illusions of an intelligent, enlightened, cultured world outside the boundaries of the U.S...
(and I won't *even* get into Italian programming...)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 03:39 AM PST

Just gonna put my two cents' worth in once more. Why not try a challenge? Don't watch any network programming for a period of 1 year. Then try to watch it again.
You won't be able to. You'll find it shrill, repetitive, and highly irritating, I can virtually guarantee it. I haven't watched network TV in years (that's why I picked "Friends," it was one of the few shows I've heard of, and I knew it'd been on the air a long time...but I've never watched an episode. Not one) because once you "go off it," you aren't being inundated with the shrieking laugh tracks and the commercials and the shouted one-liners and broad gestures and you realize how icky it all is.
Try it. You'll see.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 03:43 AM PST

My "Royal Wedding" DVD cost about $3 US. I will probably have to colour it myself!
We don't have any Australian versions of Springer etc - just the USA ones. It gives us all such a great impression of typical!!!!??? Americans.
A touch like thinking the Crocodile Hunter and Paul Hogan were typican Australians. We are really more like the characters in Priscilla of course.
TV wise there is NO show on that I must watch or record when I am out etc. (Until Six Feet Under returns!). At least SFU has no canned laughter and has character development.
Less than 20 to go!
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 05/02/2003 04:05 AM PST

Tom, WHAT DO YOU MEAN STEVE IRWIN IS NOT A TYPICAL AUSTRALIAN????
I'm shocked...shocked, I tell you!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 04:39 AM PST

At 7:55 on Friday morning there are 183 posts, making this 184. I hope we break two hundred!
Gypsy, as noted, opened to generally positive reviews. Brantley of the Times loved it. Kissel of the Daily News did not. Clive Barnes of the New York Post was mixed to good. I couldn't find the review for Newsday (Linda Wiener) It may be up later. As Jason said last week and as I mentioned, Ms. Peters surprised us all. She's not the perfect Mama Rose, but she came through. It's not a perfect, re-invented Gypsy but it's worth seeing (IMHO).
And to add to my list of crushes from yesterday, I forgot Tommy Kirk and one of my most intense crushes, the first I ever remember as a crush was Eliot Feld, Baby John, from West Side Story. OMG, how I lusted after him. I wanted to dance down the streets and hide out in parking garages and sit and stare at his beautiful face. And now I see him in my neighborhood (Chelsea) especially when his dance company is in rehearsal.
16 more to go! We can do it.
Posted by Ben @ 05/02/2003 04:48 AM PST

I can't resist now that we're at 185. Lulu just popped in as I was posting. So here's another one.
I won't go into W&G and Friends. It's been discussed enough.
DR Hapgood, loved your Othello reference in relation to Ms. Sarandon. The first time I saw her in person (at a performance of Proof) w/her mate, Tim Robbins, I was surprised at how small she is. I'm small, too, 5'3" and she's shorter than me AND Tim Robbins is TALL (but then when you're 5' 3", most people are tall :-)
Posted by Ben @ 05/02/2003 04:52 AM PST

It seems I may single-handedly push us to 200.
I just ordered Born to Dance and Royal Wedding from Rhino Handmade.
Eleanor Powell (sigh), I love her!
Posted by Ben @ 05/02/2003 05:08 AM PST

ROYAL WEDDING and FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND and THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS were a few of those movies that were on VHS for little $$$ and now they are on DVD in less than perfect condition, but certainly enjoyable!
I have ordered 1776, GLASS MENAGERIE (Katharine Hepburn), and GRAND PRIX (widescreen VHS) and look forward to them all!
All of these wonderful crushes. You see, BK, when your TOD (topic of the day) strikes a chord, it strikes oil! LOL
When Disney recognized a performer's ability to reach a target audience, he was nearly infallible. Even years later - we react to his choices. Annette, Tommy Kirk, Kurt Russell, David Stollery, Tim Considine...they are still generating income for WDP via DVD and VHS!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 05:10 AM PST

Oh, Ben, Eleanor Powell....sigh.
Ann Miller was certainly a proficient dancer and actress, but Powell was something special and extra.
I enjoy all of her routines, but the tap/hula in HONOLULU is just a delight! She still does steps in that dance that include a combination of tapping and clapping that boggle the mind! Sometimes, Ann's taps don't match her feet - Eleanor's ALWAYS do.
And her spins, doubles, singles, and triples were breath taking.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 05:13 AM PST

Linda Winer of NEWSDAY calls GYPSY "ordinary" and "routine." Everybody seems split on Peters' performance.
Not raves - but solid! The people who were looking for an excuse not to see the show anyway, probably won't be inspired to go, but I can hardly wait to see what number they choose for the Tony show! I would go....it's GYPSY! Peters is probably my LEAST favorite 'critic's darling' performer. In fact, I have an aversion to her (she is the Deborah Messing of the Great White Way). But it's GYPSY!! On Broadway!!!
If it
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 05:22 AM PST

Eeeps!
If it's still there when I get there, I'll be there.
Don't forget Rachel York as Lucille Ball on Sunday night!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 05:23 AM PST

How can you even count the number of posts at this hour? Well to me it's too early in the morning. I don't know what I am doing up-just one of those sleepless nights. Going back to bed now. I'll check later to see if we reached 200.
Posted by Jane @ 05/02/2003 05:27 AM PST

Jane, at the top of the posts is the current number of said posts. DR Ben wasn't counting them all. :)
I have nothing of substance to add, just want to do my bit to push us over the top.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 05:35 AM PST

DRs,
I'm just getting ready to close the suitcase and head off to the ordeal known as "travel-these-days" or more familiarly "hell with a handbag."
When the esteemed and comely BK gets a-goin' and starts to do today's notes, he will probably be giddy & atwitter with the post amounts of this batch. A Hora may even be called for!!
Happy posting.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 05/02/2003 05:55 AM PST

MG: Have a great trip!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:02 AM PST

Some people sit on their butts.
Got the dream, yeah, but not the guts.
Let's get to 200, DR's!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 06:06 AM PST

I forgot, I am also getting the LES GIRLS dvd!
Taina Elg, Mitzi Gaynor, and KAY KENDALL!!! Oh, and Gene Kelly is in it, in stretch pants and a beret. :-P
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 06:09 AM PST

This...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:14 AM PST

should...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:14 AM PST

do...
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:14 AM PST

...it!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:15 AM PST

200 posts... and we did it without one message posted one word at a time!
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/02/2003 06:15 AM PST

Oh, WEL, you're cruel...cruel!!!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:16 AM PST

Lulu - that's cheating. You did it as I was typing.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/02/2003 06:24 AM PST

Well, we're now well over 200 so it's a moot point, anyway. If you wiped out those posts, we still would have broken 200.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:25 AM PST

Oh, yeah...
Nanner-nanner-nanner.
:)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:26 AM PST

Urban Cowboy did a bit of Merrick today in the NYT - posting a review with a headline that reads Reviews are Bull as an ad. Kind of ironic using a positive review/article to refute the lukewarm reviews...
Posted by Craig @ 05/02/2003 06:28 AM PST

What is a moot?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 06:28 AM PST

A moot was what you use on a twumpet.
Actually the URBAN COWBOY ad was real but from a paper in "Hamilton" - do they mean Hamilton, Ontario?
Lulu... well before you became a DR there was a day when 200 posts were reached by posting about 100 one word posts. Now that we are the most popular site on the internet we don't have to resort to that any more.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/02/2003 06:31 AM PST

Gee, Jrand...answering that question turned out to be more complicated than I originally thought. Apparently I used the word in a way that many "critics" disagree with. However, this is the way I've always heard "moot point" used in conversation.
[the following is cut and pasted]:
The adjective moot is originally a legal term going back to the mid-16th century. It derives from the noun moot, in its sense of a hypothetical case argued as an exercise by law students. Consequently, a moot question is one that is arguable or open to debate. But in the mid-19th century people also began to look at the hypothetical side of moot as its essential meaning, and they started to use the word to mean “of no significance or relevance.” Thus, a moot point, however debatable, is one that has no practical value. A number of critics have objected to this use, but 59 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence The nominee himself chastised the White House for failing to do more to support him, but his concerns became moot when a number of Republicans announced that they, too, would oppose the nomination. When using moot one should be sure that the context makes clear which sense is meant.
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:32 AM PST

WEL: Actually, I was a DR (and Dear Poster) back in the days when 6 or 7 posts per day was standard. But I went away for several months, only to return awhile ago. I realize I don't pre-date you (after all, you were here the very first day), but I've actually been around longer than most people think. ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:34 AM PST

So is it pronounced:
moot (as a cow would say it)
OR
moot (as in mute)
I argued in favor of the first with friend, who would not be convinced...mute... And decided it was...a moot point.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 06:50 AM PST

Think COW, baby!
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 06:58 AM PST

Click my name for Ken Mandelbaum's GYPSY review
(I hope)
Posted by Jrand52 @ 05/02/2003 07:08 AM PST

The link worked.
I dunno, it sounded like it's determinedly metatheatrical. I don't usually care much for metafiction, metatheater, meta-whatever...it always seems like a cop-out to me. A way of distancing yourself from the material and the audience's reaction to it. "Hey, I'm in on the joke, too!"
But then, I haven't seen the show, so my point is moot. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 05/02/2003 07:42 AM PST

Thanks, for the link Jrand.
Moot, Mute, whatever. Having seen the show, it sounds pretty accurate to me.
It's almost new note time, usually between 12 and 1 EST. How high can we get today before we're archived?
Posted by Ben @ 05/02/2003 07:55 AM PST

WEL-
I wasn't implying that the ad (review) was bogus - my comparison to Merrick was simply in the style of ad that appeared....
Posted by Craig @ 05/02/2003 07:57 AM PST

My hugest TV crush:
Lloyd Bridges in "Sea Hunt" -- every episode in which he wore those white, clingy trunks...oy! What a sight!
Another fave rave: Peter Graves as Jim in "Fury." Ooooh! Who wouldn't want to be an orphan if they could be raised on a ranch by Jim????
Robert Fuller on "Wagon Train" and later "Laramie" -- yowzah!
And Gary Lockwood in "The Lieutenant" -- that did it for me -- I was forever smitten with Marines!
Posted by All-American Boy @ 05/02/2003 08:05 AM PST

We did it! We did it!
Strike up the music-Dance a Jig.
The maestro should be proud.
Suppose...
We All have a CRUSH on this site.
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 05/02/2003 08:21 AM PST

Craig---
The difference is that most of the Merrick ads were bogus, but URBAN COWBOY is far from the first show to use quotes or a complete review from some obscure paper. In fact in the case of movie ads, there are some critics for third-string papers who write "Quotable" good reviews for films that the mainstem press doesn't like so they can see their quotes (and names) re-printed in ads.
I'm amazed that UC didn't use Liz Smith's rave. This good old Texas girl as much as said don't pay attention to the critics for this great show. All I know is after seeing bits from the show on the television ad nothing could make me sit through it. I marvel that the wonderful Sally Mayes can't get work in a show that would be better suited to her many talents.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 05/02/2003 08:26 AM PST

What a wonderful thing to
wake up to in the morning... a
regular plethora of posts! Well
done all you early birds and
east coasters.
As usual we're paying the
price for the goregous day
yesterday...back to rain and
clouds *sigh*
off to class...
Posted by Ann @ 05/02/2003 08:30 AM PST

Curtain up! Light the lights! We hit 220, and I helped!
Sorry I've been errant and truant...just been busy with work. Still no news on the casting front, but there's still hope, I think.
I'll have more to say about the GYPSY reviews later, I guess. And now, I have to get to MTI. (SNORE)
Posted by Jason @ 05/02/2003 08:32 AM PST

Just trying to help boost our tally to 225...
Forgot yesterday to post my response to the question about parents naming their children after months. It is useful to remember that in some cases, the months were already someone's name. July and August were, of course, named after the Caesars. (Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus). March was named after the god Mars. And so on...
Posted by Dave @ 05/02/2003 08:35 AM PST

Okay, one more...
What are people's thoughts about the following shows:
CINDERELLA
FOOTLOOSE
SEUSSICAL
Anyone seen them?
Posted by Dave @ 05/02/2003 08:36 AM PST

All right, last one (I mean it.)
Kurt, any progress on choosing a show?
Posted by Dave @ 05/02/2003 08:38 AM PST

All right, last one (I mean it.)
Kurt, any progress on choosing a show?
Posted by Dave @ 05/02/2003 08:38 AM PST

WEL
1. I think your comment about Sally was rather crass. Perhaps she genuinely loves her role and performing in the show. I haven't seen the show either, so cannot comment - but since you haven't seen the show either, I can't fathom why you would make such a snarky comment.
2. I refer you back to my original post yet again. I was stating that it was a Merrick type manuever. That doesn't have to mean a 100 percent match with what Merrick would do - just that in HIS STYLE, UC reprinted a review to counter the bad press it got in NY.
I am well aware of Merrick's use of bogus ads, but thank you for the brief lesson.
Posted by Craig @ 05/02/2003 08:39 AM PST

Dave -- what role did you get in FP? You look rather like a Sparky.
Posted by Laura @ 05/02/2003 08:40 AM PST

Dave --
The wave seems to be moving
toward exploring Reefer
Madness. . . I have sincere
doubts whether anyone there
has a clue when it comes to
musicals. . .hey. . . don't tell
them I said that, okay? In a few
minutes this will all be
archived, right?
Posted by Kurt @ 05/02/2003 08:41 AM PST

For the record, Ms. Mayes was the best part of URBAN COWBOY. She made even that crappy material work for her.
Posted by Jason @ 05/02/2003 08:44 AM PST

Laura, we don't begin rehearsals until Tuesday, at which time we will be told which roles we will be playing. I've been told that I will either be Sparky or Smudge, but the director is leaning toward Smudge. I'll let you know next week.
Meanwhile, I also have to start getting ready for auditions for RAGTIME (a week from Monday)!!
Posted by Dave @ 05/02/2003 08:45 AM PST

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