haines his way

08/13/2003:
"OFF-THE-CUFF"

Well, dear readers, you won’t believe it – I can barely believe it myself and yet I must because it is true. What must I believe, you might ask, and I might tell you because why should I withhold such things from you? In order to not have to get up so early, I wrote the first part of these here notes “on location” from the editing room. I then e-mailed them to myself so I could simply load them and write the second half from home. Well, the e-mail never arrived. Isn’t that disgusting? Isn’t that just too too? So, here I am, writing these here notes from scratch. Not writing them from itch, mind you, no, I am writing them from scratch. I am writing them off-the-cuff or, at the very least, off-the-inseam. Oh, well, I’ll use what I wrote yesterday tomorrow. Of course, by then it will be horribly dated. I was horribly dated once, by a really annoying girl who liked to hit me in the arm until I was black-and-blue and also blue-and-black. What the hell am I talking about?
Last night, I watched a motion picture entertainment on DVD. The film was entitled Die! Die! My Darling, and it starred Miss Tallulah Bankhead and Miss Stephanie Powers. It’s not very good, no Baby Jane, but Miss Bankhead is so demented that it’s quite watchable. Had it had another score it might have been better, but Mr. Wilfred Josephs score makes DeVol’s score for Baby Jane seem like Mahler. The opening half-hour is scored like a Frank Tashlin cartoon. It’s so wrong, and the film’s tone is never established correctly – you think it’s going to be like The Addam’s Family or something. Still, Miss Bankhead is worth the price of the DVD. After that, I began watching what is surely one of the worst motion pictures in history – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. What were these people on when they filmed this movie? What were they thinking? I’m only twenty minutes in, however, so maybe it gets better, although I would doubt it. I’ll have more to say tomorrow.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because I am writing these here notes off-the-cuff and I have run out of cuff. I did not have enough cuff and I cannot bluff that I have more cuff and if I don’t go to the next section I shall be gruff and I shall be in a huff and that will be rough. What am I, a rhyming dictionary all of a sudden?

Have I mentioned that my original notes never arrived via e-mail? Tomorrow I shall thrash my work computer to within an inch of its sorry life for such a transgression. I shall thrash it, do you hear me? I think what I wrote was that I spent most of the day rewriting an entire act of the show we’re editing, because the writer’s original script was so confusing you never knew what the point was. One must always know the point for if one doesn’t one is sans point. The point is there was no point and now there is a point – I don’t know if it’s the right point but it’s a point and that is better than no point.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must get to work early and rewrite another act of the show so that there is a point. I shall work all the livelong day, I shall lunch, I shall continue working on the order of the new CD and then I shall come home, weary but alive, but alive, but alive. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask your excellent questions. I will endeavor to answer them within the posts as the day goes along. But, it’s also Ask Dear Reader Day, the day in which you get to ask any dear reader anything your collective hearts desire. So, ask away, my pretties, and let’s have loads of lovely posts, shall we?

Replies: 161 Unseemly Comments

Dear esteemed and early-birdish BK --
I wrote these following comments about 5 minutes ago, and they wouldn't post?? They would have been at the tail end of yesterday, and so there content would have made sense. But now I'm left with my chad hanging in a conundrum! Well, I'm gonn copy 'em here anyway! Ah haz spoken!
(from earlier) ...Good morning fellow (and fellowette) cookies ! Well, I figured since Hapgood called this the cookie jar....
oh, ssshhhhhh.., I remembered, we have to be very quiet and speak softly here in the "living room", 'cause Bruce isn't up yet and we don't want to be unseemly. Someone put the coffee on, and I'll go sweep the front walk....won't that be a nice surprise for dear BK to awaken to ?
I'm off to a "consulting" salt-mine. I'll check in later.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/13/2003 07:44 AM PST

Second Post? Oh joy!
I haven't really much to say, but I'll
say it anyway.
Blah, blah.
More later, cookies.
Posted by Hapgood @ 08/13/2003 07:50 AM PST

To our West Coast Hainsies and our International Kimmlets
Hope you are all living through the heat waves. Ugh, heat makes me wilt. I'm spoiled. I can make it through the day, but I need that room to be blissfully cool at night when I meet the Gods Morpheus and Hypnos. I'll check in later and maybe ask a question or two.
Posted by Ben @ 08/13/2003 07:51 AM PST

I'm back already with a question for the Cookie Man (AKA Hapgood)
When do you start at Northwestern and are you running around madly getting ready to go? Do you already have your roommate assignment or will you be lucky enough to have a single dorm room or are you even living on campus or do you have an apartment? Questions, questions, questions. My favorite cookie, BTW (by the way in Internet lingo) is a fresh, firm Ginger Snap, in fact I like them to snap when I bite into them, that's how fresh and firm I like them.
Posted by Ben @ 08/13/2003 07:54 AM PST

Not a question, but a note for anyone sending food items to DR Jason in the Poconos:
Jason is allergic to nuts.
Posted by Laura @ 08/13/2003 08:05 AM PST

Asking DRs:
What is the difference between a Hainesie and a Kimlet? I may be leaning toward being a Kimlet, but only because my favorite drink is a Gimlet. With lots of lime. My favorite cookie, however, is the blessed M&M Chocolate Chip. Sadly, however, Subway no longer seems to carry them! What happened? Did Subway and M&M have a fight?
Asking BK:
I was once told that becoming a "studio singer" is nearly impossible because a) they don't use them much anymore because artists record backup tracks for themselves (damn you, Britney!); and b) everybody wants to do it and you can't get in unless somebody dies and you happen to be standing right next to them singing like an angel. So what if your dream job is to make your living singing in a recording studio? Making cheesy vocal tracks for karaoke cd's, backing up rockers, poppers and opera stars, "ooing" and "aaahing" for cabaret and musical compilations? Is there no hope?
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 08:19 AM PST

I just got the Turner Classic Movie schedule for September. They are having a Gabor Sisters festival. However they are not showing PICTURE MOMMY DEAD in which Zsa Zsa plays the (dead) mother of our very own Susan Gordon. How could they possibly exclude that seminal work?
I love Tallulah but have somehow missed DIE! DIE! MY DARLING. I'll have to pick that one up. I'm not familiar with her earlier work which was mostly on stage, but did see her in LIFEBOAT. From the camp icon she became it's hard to believe she was once considered a serious actress. Her guest appearance on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (the one hour I Love Lucy episodes that ended the series) is my all time favorite Lucy episode.
And that's a good question for Ask BK and Ask Dear readers Day. What is your favorite I Love Lucy episode (either one of the 179 half hours or 13 one hours)?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/13/2003 08:24 AM PST

I should ask a question as requested, but first I cannot live another minute without sharing this with all the DR's... Early this morning, while tearing off yesterday's page from my LIFE Fact-a-Day desk calendar, I ran across the following:
"Gubridur Thorbjarnardottir has been called the greatest female explorer of all time."
Now that's a fact worth knowing, DR's. It's made my day, that's for sure. The fact sheet goes on to say that Gubridur Thorbjarnardottir (I HAD to say it again) gave birth to the first recorded child on the American continent! And as if that weren't enough, she then returned to Europe and became a nun. (That seems unseemly and uncalled for. Don't they have rules about that kind of thing?) But that's not the end of the story, not by a long shot or even a short one, Ms. Thorbjarnardottir (I couldn't resist) subsequently crossed Europe on foot (you heard me) to go see the Pope in Rome ('cause that's where the Pope hangs). Why, you ask? To tell him about life in Iceland and Greenland, that's why.
Now my question for dear bk: Do you know who Gubridur Thorbjarnardottir is?
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 08:27 AM PST

And just as I was finishing the above posting, FedEx rang my doorbell. What an exciting day this is starting out to be!
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 08:31 AM PST

Good morning, everyone!
Ben, the Ginger Snap has always been my favorite cookie. I love the crunch!
Posted by Susan @ 08/13/2003 08:40 AM PST

The first network showing of DIE DIE MY DARLING happened on the same day that three astronauts were killed in a fire in their space capsule on the launching pad at Cape Canaveral (or maybe it was Cape Kennedy then), there was an interruption and a news bulletin - one of the astronauts was Gus Grissom from Mitchell, Indiana, and it was a sad sad day. So I have always had a bad feeling about that movie. It's not that I don't enjoy it - but it brings up some bad memories.
Favorite cookie Pecan Sandies - Keebler, or sugar wafers!
DR Panni - what great information. Never heard of Gubridur, but now I could win on a television quiz show! If her name came up, that is.
Bill - I also love that Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. It is my favorite of those 13 hour long shows. The one with Danny Thomas is close - but the rest of them didn't make me laugh like I LOVE LUCY does. As for the original show.......I like ALL of them, but two moments stand out...the descriptions Lucy gives to Ethel when:
1. the Pontiac and the Cadillac collided.
2. when the riding lawn mower plows through Betty Ramsey's tulips.
Lucille Ball's physical recreation AND Vivian Vance's reactions are so perfect and true, you can imagine it happening!
"Our only hope is to pretend complete innocence....otherwise Ricky and Fred will be planting their footprints someplace and it won't be Graumann's Chinese..."
"When I looked back, all I saw was a sea of stems!"
ASK BK - Mr BK, since you enjoyed the GYPSY cast album (as did Benjamin Kritzer), did you also buy the GYPSY soundtrack album...and did you see the show first onstage or at the movies?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/13/2003 09:01 AM PST

I thought gubridor
thermobopilobtibus was what
worked my air-conditioning
unit.
Favorite Lucy: Harpo Marx and
William Holden episodes.
I saw the film of Gypsy first (all
will be revealed in Kritzer
three) - I didn't see Gypsy
onstage until Angela Lansbury
did it here in LA at the Shubert
(sitting in back of me at that
performance were Jule Styne
and Marvin Hamlisch - they
both talked throughout the
show).
Studio singers - real studio
singers, the ones who do
jingles and commercials and
pro demos - a very closed
shop, very hard to break into it
(Paul Simon's wife Edie is one
of the most famous studio
singers, or was before she
married Mr. Simon). But that
doesn't mean you can't sing
on albums, the kind I do - I
usually cast ensemble
singers from the B'way and
cabaret worlds - we've had lots
of them go onto bigger and
better, too. Many
Hainsies/Kimlets appeared in
the ensemble of the latest CD,
and you could have, too, if
you'd found us earlier.
Finally, should one strive to be
a Hainsie or a Kimlet if one
had to choose. One simply
can't be one without the other
or vice versa and even versa
vice.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 09:33 AM PST

JRand---
You are right that with the exception of the Tallulah (which was originally written for Bette Davis) and the Danny Thomas the hour shows were not as good as the half-hour ones. But considering that by the time the hour ones were shown Lucy and Desi were barely speaking to one another it's amazing they came out as good as they did. On the whole, though, they are a perfect example of why there have been very few one-hour sitcoms over the years.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/13/2003 09:34 AM PST

So - what did Jule and Marvin have to say?
Posted by Angela Lansbury @ 08/13/2003 09:35 AM PST

Ah yes - originally written for Bette Davis. And if I am not mistaken, the night they filmed the Bankhead episode was the night that Desi finalized the deal to buy the old RKO lot, he and Lucy were wearing their costumes when they signed the papers.
Richard Deacon is so funny: "Miss Bankhead now has the only polka dot station wagon in Connecticut."
And of course, if Lucille Ball hadn't sat in her office at Desilu and okayed Gene Roddenberry's STAR TREK pilot all those years ago, Paramount would not have had the property to run with it in the 1980's - same goes for the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and UNTOUCHABLES franchises.
And when Lucy first drove onto the lot, it is said that the studio policeman was not sure how to greet her...whether she should be Mrs. Arnaz or Miss Ball, he got flustered and said:
"Good morning, Miss Ar-balls."
Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/13/2003 09:40 AM PST

Marvin kept nudging Jule - as
soon as the overture started
he said, "Best overture ever"
and when the trumpet did its
thing he said, "Unbelievable"
and then all during the show
he kept saying things about
the score - everything was the
"best" and the "greatest" and
Jule was getting a real kick out
of it - as was I.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 09:41 AM PST

ACK - bk, you mentioned the Schubert, the demolished Schubert. Even though I didn't grow up in LA, I will always have a soft spot for the Schubert which is were I saw "Sunset Blvd" the first time. I think it's very sad that it's gone. Question for bk. Has Terry Trotter ever considred transcribing any of his "in jazz" arrangements for solo piano?
Favortie cookie - a SOFT chocolate chip cookie with toffee pieces.
Posted by Matthew @ 08/13/2003 09:46 AM PST

Speaking of "black and blue arms" - At recess time in grammar school, a bunch of us kids would race out to the baseball diamond to determine who would be up first - the girls or the boys. The first to reach home base would win. I always used to beat this boy named Kenny and he'd be so mad, he'd punch me in the arm. Gradually, my left arm turned black and blue and purple and yellow and red. When my mother got wind of it, she told me to tell the teacher at once what was happening. When I did, the teacher took Kenny outside of the classroom and gave him what for. I believe she even gave him a slight whack on the behind.
What's really funny is sometime later, while we were in the playground, Kenny kissed me on the cheek - whereupon I did what I learned from the movies. I slapped him across the face!
Ah, Youth!
Posted by Donna @ 08/13/2003 09:47 AM PST

Hmmmmmmmmmm....so they didn't say anything about me - huh?
Interesting.
Posted by Angela Lansbury @ 08/13/2003 09:53 AM PST

I've got a question I've been meaning to ask for some time....
When you record a medley on a CD, do you have to pay differently for the rights and/or get permission before hand - or is it simply the same as recording the multiple songs independently? I'm thinking of albums (not necessarily BK albums) where an artist has recorded a medley of 2 songs which sounds just like 1 song after another - and I can't figure out why it was done as a medley! Any thoughts?
Posted by Wee Stevie @ 08/13/2003 09:54 AM PST

Ask BK: Do you recall your first fan mail when you began your show business career? If so what show(s) had they seen you in and what did they say to you about it. Also, do you still get fan mail referring to your past performances or does most of your current fan mail concern more recent projects?
Favorite I Love Lucy has to be, for me, the Vita-meata-Vegamin episode. That one cracks me up everytime. I don't much care for the later episodes where Lucy and Ricky moved out to the country nor the hour long episodes.
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/13/2003 09:57 AM PST

I have a second ask BK question, if I may:
Did you ever work on the TV series Adam-12 (my favorite TV show!!) or have you ever worked with Kent McCord and/or Martin Milner?
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/13/2003 09:59 AM PST

Well, let's see if there were 179 half hour Lucy's and 13 hour long Lucy's, my favorite would be episode #193.
Welcome to all the new Hainsies/Kimlets that I may have forgotten to welcome. Make yourselves comfortable, but don't forget to take your shoes off at the door.
Regarding DR Jason: So I guess Almond Clusters and Peanut Brittle were not the best choices to send to our little friend?
Here is a question, not only for BK, but for all the dear readers: What celebrity have you met that most impressed you as a person? And, while we are at it, which one impressed you least?
Since this post is already longer than the run of many new musicals, I will provide my answers in a later post.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 09:59 AM PST

Most impressive celebrity I ever met (excluding BK and Susan Gordon): Julie Wilson
Least impressive: John Gavin
I haven't been in LA in about 15 years. When (and why) did they tear down the Schubert? Did they tear down the whole comples with the Century City movie theatres as well? The Schubert was where I saw DREAMGIRLS with 9 understudies.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/13/2003 10:20 AM PST

Yes, I should have clarified other than people on this site, becuase otherwise I know you would all have picked me.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:32 AM PST

WEL - Why did you and nine understudies go to see Dreamgirls?
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:34 AM PST

The Shubert (no "C") has been
closed for at least three years
now - I haven't been in Century
City since, and I have no idea if
they've actually torn it down. I
can't even remember what
closed the theater - it was
some touring show. I saw
Follies there (it opened the
theater), the first nationals of A
Chorus Line, Annie and
Dreamgirls, and many many
others, most recently Mamma
Mia.
Celeb who most impressed -
I've met many who I've ended
up working with, but for a celeb
that I just met and never
worked with, the two most
gracious and wonderful were
Robert Weede and Jason
Robards, Jr.
I don't think it's crossed Terry's
mind to do transcriptions, but
I'm sure he'd do it if there was
a sheet music company that
thought it would be worthwhile.
Never worked on Adam 12,
they just never thought of me
for those kinds of shows.
I got nice fan mail while doing
The Partridge Family, and tons
of fan mail doing The Dinah
Shore Show on CBS. Over the
years I've gotten fan mail for
Nudie, quite a bit of it - and
more recently fan mail seems
to come via e-mail. When I
started producing albums I
would actually get a lot of fan
mail, which was very
surprising.
Re medleys - you have to pay
a mechanical for each song
used, although if it's under a
certain number of bars I don't
think you have to. I hate
medleys that are just two
songs thrown together - never
done them, never will.
Medleys have to make sense
and make a point, and the
arrangements, if they're good,
will weave them together in
interesing ways. On many of
the albums I've done, the
singer and musical director
will put together a medley but it
won't work, and then we just
figure out a way to make it
thematically viable and
musically viable.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 10:36 AM PST

Celebrity that most impressed me as a person, well there are a couple of them. Gordon Mitchell who starred in a number of Italian sword and sandal and spaghetti western film is one of the most generous and helpful people I have ever met. I interviewed him for a magazine article and eventually visited him at his home in Marina del Rey. He truely is one of the nicest people around. Mickey Hargitay, former husband of Jayne Mansfield, and father of Mariska Hargitay, is another very down to earth and fine person. He invited me to visit him at his humongouse house in the Hollywood hills last time I was in L.A. Just a fantastic man and very interesting to talk to. Having had the opportunity to interview several old time celebrities I have met some that have turned into very good friends. Although we have only spoken via phone and internet (not met in person, yet) Susan Gordon is one that I must say is one heck of a fine person as well! And our fine BK also seems like a fun guy! But haven't met him yet either.
Don Durant (of Johnny Ringo fame)is another one that I very much enjoyed meeting. I met him at one of the memorabilia shows in North Hollywood. He has a wonderful singing voice by the way.
OH, and I met, quite by accident, porn actor Steve Cassidy last time I was in North Hollywood. He was also very nice and down to earth. I talked with him for quite awhile before I even knew who he was, or that he was a (porn) actor.
Of those I was not too impressed with...hmmm...Gene Barry wasn't terribly friendly. And he didn't even remember Allison Hayes...an actress that he had worked with many, many times!! So of course he lost points right there.
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/13/2003 10:59 AM PST

My question for Dear Reader Day, and it is for Dear Reader KERRY:
Weren't we going to do some paperwork?
Posted by Laura @ 08/13/2003 11:07 AM PST

I was in the audience... the nine understudies were on stage. Jennifer Holliday spent most of the run in her hotel room but had promised to appear that night because Lilias White (who covered for her) was asked to sing in a Christmas concert. When Jennifer decided to stay in her hotel room again, the 2nd understudy had to go on. Since the 2nd understudy was usually one of the other Dreams this meant that she needed an understudy and her understudy needed one too. At the same time a couple of the men were out and again the people who covered them needed to have an understudy cover the parts they usually played. I think 9 was the final number, but it may have been more. And none of them ever bumped into the moving towers!
Broadway.Com reported today that Jane Krakowski will be leaving NINE on October 5, the same day that Antonio leaves. Miss Krakowski will be replaced by Jenna Elfman.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/13/2003 11:17 AM PST

Each time I interrupt my work to look at this site just to see what's happening, I swear not to take the time to write. Stop me!
I know the question about fan mail was asked of bk, but whether you're interested or not, I shall also answer. Back in the days when I was still acting, I did a season with the Stratford Children's Theater. We toured schools in the area and performed for kids in the primary grades. Acting from 8 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, with nothing work-related to do at night in a town which in those days was as dead as a herring is as close to hell as an actor should ever come. But that's not my point. My point is that I got a piece of "fan mail" from a child at one of the schools we played which to this day is framed on my office wall. I portrayed Mrs. Doo, a maid who metamorphosed into a ghost and a frog during the proceedings. (The reason for this escapes me at the moment.) So the letter - illustrated, BTW - reads exactly as follows: "I liked when Mrs. Do was the ghost becouse she was a good acter and a good frog." ...A career in a nutshell.
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 11:25 AM PST

Love the story, Panni.
Posted by Laura @ 08/13/2003 11:36 AM PST

Favorite Celebrity I've Met:
Faith Prince, at the opening night party for Kiss Me, Kate at Tavern on the Green. (Parenthetical comment: I thought T on the G was a kitschy, overrated maze of a place with way too many lights and I would not want to go there again.) She was so friendly and fun, easy to talk to, and very warm. We had the same voice teacher until he retired, so I had an excuse to talk to her. I'm surprised I was able to speak, given my level of Faith-Worship at the time.
Also at that party I had to slide past Stokes against the wall, with my chest brushing his back...talk about a brush with greatness! *drool*
Worst Celebrity: Star Jones, who sent her chicken wings back to the kitchen FIVE TIMES because they weren't well done enough (this was when I used to wait tables on the Upper West Side). They were just short of burnt by the fourth time, but it wasn't good enough for her. She did buy several bottles of Cristal for her friends, though, so she's not all bad. Maybe her Payless shoes were too tight that night, who knows.
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 11:49 AM PST

Panni--that is such an adorable story! I don't know if I would be more flattered as an actor or as a representative of the frog community :)
BK--loved the anecdotes about Styne and Hamlisch talking through Gypsy!
Hmmm...what question shall I ask? What is your biggest pet peeve? What was your most embarrassing moment? I can't think of anything good for now, so let's go with the pet peeve one. (And Luckie doesn't count!)
My favorite cookie is M&M-covered chocolate chip (I believe they are called pokies?) and as for celebs, I've met a few at stage doors and such. The nicest was Stokes and the not-so-nicest was probably John Lithgow, who just brushed past everyone after Sweet Smell of Success without signing nary an autograph.
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 11:51 AM PST

Biggest pet peeve...people who don't use their turn signals.
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/13/2003 11:53 AM PST

Joy--you rock!
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 11:56 AM PST

What I wouldn't give for a Pogen's ginger snap cookie! Does anyone remember Pogen's cookies?
Panni, you have given me two laughs for the day. Love your posts.
Bruce, did your email arrive yet? Several years ago, just before Christmas, I sent Craig (my youngest son for those of you who don't know) an email regarding a friend of his. A year later he received it.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will be leaving again for Portland to see our older son. With luck I will be able to return home and catch up with all of you before I return to L.A. to see my father again.
Posted by Jane @ 08/13/2003 11:57 AM PST

MBarnum, it's good to hear that all that world-wide fame hasn't gone to Mickey Hargitay's head. You know how those international celebrities can be sometimes... ;-)
Posted by Dave @ 08/13/2003 11:59 AM PST

Thanks Maya, you rock too! Excellent cookie choice, I must say. We ought to have a cookie party.
My pet peeve is chewing with mouth open and/or talking with mouth full. My theatre-related pet peeve is people who disrespect their costumes by, for example, lying on the ground or wadding them up. They make us look like who we're supposed to be, they deserve our respect!
And my professional name is Gregory Gardner.
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 12:01 PM PST

MBarnum Exactly right! People who don't use turn signals are the worst.
Favorite cookie When I was a kid, the bakery down the street used to make the most incredible chocolate drop cookies. Out of this world!
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 12:07 PM PST

Thank you, Joy...we two rockin' chicks should totally have a cookie party, where no one is allowed to chew with their mouth open.
Here's another question for DR's--who was your favorite Sesame Street character? Mine was Cookie Monster--I loved his Monsterpiece Theatre. Perhaps the greatest production presented was The King and I. Get it? I? I remember the King dancing around with the letter I, in all seriousness. I also remember a Sound of Music one...I guess the most obvious title for that one would have been the Sound of Cookies.
Okay...I'll stop now.
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 12:11 PM PST

BK: It's not a medley, but didn't you have a song on one of your albums with two Sondheim songs linked together?
Was it "Not A Day Goes By" and something from "Follies"? A powerful female vocalist sang it.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 12:14 PM PST

Thanks for liking my posts, Jane. But don't encourage me!
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 12:22 PM PST

Lots of questions to answer!
Pet peeves: Oh, I have more than a few, but cell phones going off during performances is the one at the top of my list.
Favorite Sesame Street character: Miss Piggy, of course!
Favorite cookie: Anything fresh out of the oven
Favorite I Love Lucy Episode: The William Holden episode. All the episodes that take place in Hollywood are real swell.
Least favorite celebrity encounter: Rodney Dangerfield. I didn't meet him, exactly, but he was immediately behind me in a long line of cars waiting to pay to exit the parking garage at the Century City Shopping Center. Apparently the line was not moving fast enough for him and he leaned on his horn the entire time it took for him to make his way to the booth.
Favorite celebrity encounter: Martin Sheen. Will relay my story shortly in another post.
Posted by Jay @ 08/13/2003 12:24 PM PST

Since I played him for a year on the road in Sesame Street Live, I would have to say that my favorite character is Mr. Oscar the Grouch. We had satin show jackets with the show name and Character on them and as I wandered around a mall or downtown area (depending on the size of the town we were in, I was sometimes stopped and asked for my autograph. I always signed it "Have a Rotten Day, All the Worst, Oscar the Grouch, now leave me alone!"
I must admit though that I do like Grover a lot cause he's so crazy and funny.
Posted by Ben @ 08/13/2003 12:38 PM PST

My Martin Sheen story:
I was at the opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion last year to see Mozart's The Magic Flute, which, being a two act opera, has one intermission. During intermissions at the Pavilion, I like to stroll around the second level terrace that circumscribes the building while I (confession time) smoke a cigarette.
As I round one of the corners, who should I see leaning against the railing, also smoking a cigarette, but Mr. Sheen. As I get closer, we have eye contact, I smile and nod, and he smiles and nods back.
"Can I ask you, what is that you're smoking?" he says to me. Somewhat surprised to be spoken to by this celebrity, and much more surprised by the nature of his question, I respond, "Camel Lights."
"Say, would you mind if I bummed one from you?" he replies. We are now standing in close proximity. "I bummed this from some lady, and it's awful." With that he shows me one of those skinny brown cigarettes that, in fact, look awful.
"Sure," I say, offering him my open cigarette case. As he takes a cigarette, he looks at me and says, "Would you mind if I take two? I have a buddy coming out here in a minute." I smile and say, "Go ahead."
Two cigarettes now successfully bummed, he extends his hand and says, "Thanks! What's your name, by the way?" "Jay," I respond, shaking his hand. "I'm Martin," he says.
I look directly at him, smile, and with only the slightest bit of ironic tone in my voice, reply, "I know."
He laughed, we chatted a while longer, and I continued with my stroll.
Posted by Jay @ 08/13/2003 12:40 PM PST

Great stories - ALL! But that was one of the first where the celebrity spoke first....hehehe.
I am impressed with ANY celebrity, BUT Sally Struthers was Miss Lynch and Donny Most was Vince Fontaine when GREASE came through town...and after the show they were both the nicest friendliest people to chat to EVERYONE waiting, signing programs and posing for photos. Sally was so funny in the show. Donny asked me if I knew where a good golf course was in town...Sally introduced her daughter and was just pleasant. The Danny Zuko in the production was Adrian Zmed who stood by the car and didn't talk to anyone! Too bad, because I wanted to ask him about the EATING RAOUL cast album which ROCKS!!!!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/13/2003 12:58 PM PST

Oh...also Cookie Monster who had the best song on the Sesame Street Disco Album:
ME LOST ME COOKIE AT THE DISCO!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/13/2003 12:59 PM PST

If I had just performed in SOUR STENCH OF FAILURE like Mr. Lithgow I probably wouldn't feel much like signing autographs either.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/13/2003 01:12 PM PST

I liked it! It was good and loud!
Posted by Lina Lamont @ 08/13/2003 01:14 PM PST

Yes, Bill, but how did you really feel about the show?
Posted by John Lithgow @ 08/13/2003 01:24 PM PST

Sesame Street character: No
contest, it's gotta be Grover!
Pet peeve: People who just
can't seem to figure out how to
handle a 4-way stop sign! DR
Ann can attest to this being a
great peeve of mine. :-)
Cookies: Well, right now
you've all got me so cookie-
hungry that they all sound just
fantastic, but my fave is a nice
oatmeal butterscotch chip.
Yum yum yum.
I Love Lucy: I must confess,
I'm not a big Lucy fan. Sure,
there's an episode here and
there that I enjoy, but it's just
never really caught me.
Celebrities: I've hardly ever
encountered them, so I don't
have much at all in the way of
stories. However, the simply
faboo jazz singer (and
Manhattan Transfer member)
Janis Seigel was a
wonderfully friendly and
charming lady when I met her
a couple years ago.
Posted by Jed @ 08/13/2003 01:27 PM PST

Ron: There are a couple of
what I call put-togethers on the
Sondheim album. Norm
Lewis does Who Could Be
Blue/with so little to be sure of,
and Cristianne Noll does
You're Gonna Love
Tomorrow/Not a Day Goes By.
The latter is a perfect example
of what I like to do - the first
song is like a young girl
excitedly talking about her
impending romance, but done
slow instead of fast, and then
with a musical transition that
tells you that things didn't work
out we go into Not a Day Goes
By, but if you listen closely at
the end, we tie them both
together musically. It's what
I've done on every album that
I've had a put-together on.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 01:36 PM PST

Favorite celebrity encounter: Brian Stokes Mitchell. Met him first at RAGTIME in Toronto, then again at KISS ME, KATE in New York. In both cases, he was genuinely friendly and accomodating. I even have a photo of him with my wife and myself (The photo was taken by his own wife!)
Favourite Sesame Street character: I grew up on this show, and consider so many of them to be my friends, but Ernie and Bert were probably my favourites, with Grover and Kermit tied for a close second.
Loves me some cookies! A few of my favourites:
Chocolate Chunk
White Chocolate & Macadamia
Fudge Grahams
Oatmeal Scotchies (fresh out of the oven)
Posted by Dave @ 08/13/2003 01:40 PM PST

The nicest celebrity that I have ever met was the late Colleen Dewhurst (although Shirley Jones is a close second). Back in the fall of ‘78, Colleen came out to speak at one of the local universities, where her son was going to school. Knowing that I considered her one of America’s greatest actresses, my friend who had arranged her visit, worked it so that I could serve as her dinner escort following her presentation. So that evening, four staff members from the university, Colleen’s son and his girlfriend, and Colleen and myself dined together. As far as I was concerned, the other six people spent the evening eavesdropping on Colleen and me as she told me, and only me, wonderful stories about her career.
At the end of the evening, she asked if I would go along the next day when they took her to the airport. The next morning surrounded by airline officials, I escorted her to the First Class gate where she took my hands, told me what a pleasure it had been to meet me, and then kissed me good-bye. When I turned around, everyone in the airport was staring at me, no doubt trying to figure out who the Hell I was.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 01:50 PM PST

Great Martin Sheen story! Love the one about Colleen, too.
Favorite Sesame Street character:
1. Grover
2. Oscar the Grouch
Speaking of oatmeal cookies, has anyone tried the Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie ice cream? As Homer Simpson would say, "Aarrhglglglarrrhhghggghhh...".
So who's your favorite Muppet, that is, from the Muppet show, not including the Sesame cousins? Mine is Beaker.
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 02:01 PM PST

My favorite is Princeton, now at the Golden on Broadway in Avenue Q.
That new DR is sweeter than a cookie.
My show opened in Edinburgh last night and I still haven't gotten a report. Where in tarnation IS everyone?
Posted by Noel @ 08/13/2003 02:09 PM PST

TCB went to school with Campbell Scott?
Does anyone else love the movie INVASION! as much as I do?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/13/2003 02:10 PM PST

Shall I elaborate on my Robert
Weede story (even though I've
told it before)? I saw him in
The Most Happy Fella in 1965
at a theater in the round here
in LA. I went to a matinee and
I was so blown away by him
and the show I could barely
speak. I was quite bold in
those day, so I went backstage
and asked to meet him
"backstage was a little tented
off area). He was unbelievably
gracious and warm, and I was
so effusive that he asked me if
I wanted to see that evening's
final performance. He
arranged the ticket then invited
me back afterwards to attend
the cast party.
I'm thinkin' we might just get to
sixty posts, although everyone
seems to be having a small
siesta right now.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 02:12 PM PST

zzzzzzzzzzzz..........
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 02:24 PM PST

Worst celebrity: Without a doubt -- Imogene Coca. A total B#$%H.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 02:26 PM PST

TCB: GREAT Dewhurst story! I think she was a terrific actresss, a classy lady and "probably" a gas to know!
Since it's so fresh on my mind since last week's best made-for-TV movies, she broke my heart in "An Early Frost".
And she was phenomenally funny as "Murphy Brown's" mother.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 02:29 PM PST

"I'm ready for my siesta, Mr. DeMille. Rally I am!"
Posted by Gloria Swansong @ 08/13/2003 02:30 PM PST

Just got back from babysitting, and I was delighted that it was Ask bk/DR day! Unfortunately, I haven't thought of questions yet. Answers, however, I have.
Pet Peeve: I'm not sure if I can explain this correctly, but, for example, when a little kid hurts themselves, instead of coming up and saying "I stubbed my toe", they'll repeatedly say "Ow! Geez this hurts! Wow, that hurt! Ow.." until you finally yell "WHAT?!?!" and they explain. Erg, :)
Cookie: White chocolate chips and macadamia nuts in a chocolate cookie, warm. Yummmmmmmmm...
Fave Celeb: I met Britney Spears once after a free concert at an amusement park, and although I hate her music, she was really sweet and nice to the group of kids. But I found out she smokes, which bothers me to no end. So now I don't like her too much.
Least Fav. Celeb: Wilson Pickett, for previously stated reasons.
Fave Sesame St.: I love Grover!!! My favorite book when I was little was "The Monster At The End Of This Book", and it was all about Grover not wanting you to see the monster, it was really cute. I still have it, :)
Embarrasing moment: I was in sixth grade, and there was a very cute boy I liked, and during some class, he asked what the difference between a squid and an octopus was (he was cute, not smart). I said, very loudly, "An octopus has eight testicles." And a split second later I realized the wrong word had come out. It was horrifying for an 11 year old.
And not that I've met him, but I LOVE Brian Stokes Mitchell. When he sang at the Tony's, my eyes were all teary, I thought it was amazing.
Questions: bk, would you ever produce a childrens album?
DR's: Whats the most trouble you've ever been in? And have you ever gotten out of some HUGE trouble?
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 02:38 PM PST

Sarah: Yes, I produced three
count them three "official"
children's albums, Toonful,
Toonful II, and Reel
Imagination all with Michelle
Nicastro. And I suppose that
one might consider my Peter
Pan and Cinderella albums
good for kids as well. All of the
above are not only liked by kid
but by adults, too.
Pet peeve? Uncouth
interlopers who come here
trying to cause trouble. So
silly, really.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 02:45 PM PST

Sarah: And what happened with the cute boy?
Did he laugh at you? Did he ever speak to you? Did he blush?
What, what, what happened?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 02:45 PM PST

I'm taking a break from having packed up eleven boxes of old scripts. Where I'm putting them all in the place to which I'm moving that I haven't yet found - I don't know. On to a more interesting topic: Favorite celebrity meeting. I meet lots of well-known people in my work and most of them are pleasant enough. (The old Polish joke: the young actress who was so stupid she slept with the writer...) No one's ever tried to sleep with me to get more lines. Maybe I should look for work in Warsaw. Anyway, my favorite celebrity meeting was not a face-to-face meeting. I was a young teenager, had saved up my money and went by myself to the O'Keefe Center in Toronto to see Laurence Olivier and the National Theater of Great Britain in THE DANCE OF DEATH (That tells you all you need to know about what a strange kid I was.) I was so emotionally overcome by the performance that I went home, found out what hotel Olivier was staying in, and wrote him a long letter about what the performance meant to me, how it had explained so many things about my life, etc.. Somewhere in the letter I mentioned that I hoped one day to become an actress - but that was just a line in a four page letter. So three days later, a letter arrived at my house. It was from Olivier, personally written! He thanked me for writing and then warned me that the life of an actress is frustrating and filled with disappointments, and unless I was sure that this is what I wanted, to choose some other career. That he would take the time and trouble to write this moved me so immensely at a time in my life when I needed to feel cared about, that even now, decades later, as I write about it, tears well up. That's the story. The most important celebrity non-meeting of my life. (I became an actress anyway. But at least I went it with eyes wide open.) ...Sorry this was so long!
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 02:52 PM PST

Beaker and the Swedish Chef were my favorite Sesame Street characters, although I guess they are actually from the Muppets, aren't they. Well, then, make that Bert and Ernie as my faves. But really I much preferred Mr. Moose and Bunny Rabbit on Captain Kangaroo.
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/13/2003 02:53 PM PST

One quick follow up story about my meeting with Colleen Dewhurst. At the time that I met her, she was very close to producer Ken Marsolais. In fact, when she came for her visit to the university, she stayed with his parents, not far from Seattle. So I went to the Marsolais' home to pick up Colleen the morning that I took her to the airport. While she was finishing her packing in the guest room, I tried to act nonchalant as I looked around this couple’s living room. Something caught my eye in one of their bookcases, so I walked over to take a look. Well, it turned out to be the Tony Award that Mr. Marsolais won for The Shadow Box, but having never actually seen one before, all I could think of was, "What is this very nice older couple doing with a 'Gong Show' trophy?"
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 02:55 PM PST

I'm thinkin' we might just get to
seventy count them seventy
posts.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 02:56 PM PST

Thank you, DR MBarnum.
blush!
Posted by Susan @ 08/13/2003 02:57 PM PST

Wow...so much to catch up on!
Great celeb stories. This wasn't a celeb (in fact, I don't even recall his name), but he was attractive. Does that count? Circa '90, when I was single and Hair came to Indianapolis (Jrand, you'll appreciate this - Hair played at the Murat, of all places!!) my friend and I went backstage afterwards so that my friend (the gregarious type) could get some autographs on his program book. As the guy who played Berger signed, he kept glancing at me. When he finished, he said something to me like, "Am I going to get a hug?" "Um, sure," I replied and he gave me a big hug like we were best friends who were facing a long separation. He chatted with us for awhile and asked if there were any jazz clubs downtown. He dropped a couple of hints that he wanted me to show him around downtown, but I didn't take the bait. I was flattered, though.
Pet peeves: I must concur that cell phones going off during performances and people who don't understand how 4-way stop signs work are a major source of irritation.
Fave Sesame Street Muppet: Oscar the Grouch.
Fave Muppet Show Muppet: Beaker. He excelled at everything he put his hand to.
Posted by Lulu @ 08/13/2003 02:57 PM PST

Sesame Street favorites: I like Grover, simply because he's so cool. I like the Cookie Monster because I also love cookies, specifically crunchy ones. (Cake, I can pass up. But a good crunchy cookie? Let me at it!)
As for TCB's question: Aside from all the wonderful celebrities I've had the pleasure and honor of working with, there is one particular celebrity I was introduced to as a fan. On the studio lot where my dad was filming a movie, they were also shooting "Dr. Kildare," with Richard Chamberlain. It happened that I was quite star-struck over Chamberlain and my dad offered to introduce me to him when I came to visit him at the studio. Well I'm embarassed to admit it now, but, like a star-struck teenager, I ogled him and swooned and pretty much made a complete fool of myself, because all I could think to say to him was, "I watch your show all the time." (You'd think with all the experience I'd had being around celebrities, I'd be able to act a bit more mature!) Richard was very sweet. He smiled at me. He offered to autograph a photograph for me. And while he signed the picture, he sang a little ditty of a song about 'Susan,' and I swooned again. He was just so sweet and nice to me.
(Immediately after meeting Richard, I met Elvis, but I'll save that story for another time.)
Posted by Susan @ 08/13/2003 03:00 PM PST

Boy, lots of stuff to answer and talk about today:
For BK: Michael Shayne asked me a question last night, and I wondered what your answer to the question might be: what anamorphic widescreen movie do you think looks best on a digital TV? (My answer was a stupid movie but one I think was beautifully mastered - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2, breathtaking detail).
Favorite Lucy episode: when Ricky puts Lucy on a time schedule. Not as slapstick as the chocolates or Vitameatavegamin but I've always liked it.
On that Tallulah Bankhead episode: the fried chicken used in that show was simply frozen Swanson pre-cooked fried chicken bought at a local grocery store. Tallulah took one taste and declared it the best fried chicken she had ever eaten, and being from the South she claimed to be a connoisseur. She suppsedly ordered crates of it for her personal use.
Most gracious celebrity I've ever met was Debbie Reynolds. Charming, chatty, with a smile that went on forever.
Least gracious celebrity was Celeste Holm, but when I've told that to others, they've always mentioned how nice she was with them, so I think I must have caught her on an off day.
Posted by Matt H. @ 08/13/2003 03:02 PM PST

Oh puh-LEEZE, Susan...tell us the Elvis story! Will ya, huh, will ya will ya?
Posted by Lulu @ 08/13/2003 03:03 PM PST

Ah, I knew I'd foprget something.
Favorite Seseme Street character: The Count (ah! ah!)
Favorite Muppet from THE MUPPET SHOW: Scooter. He is me (or I).
Posted by Matt H. @ 08/13/2003 03:04 PM PST

Ron: I LOVED Colleen as Murphy's mom. I'll always remember her after she and Murphy teamed up to beat a couple of men shooting pool, shouting after them in that distinctively husky voice, "Losers! Lo-SERS!!!" :)
Posted by Lulu @ 08/13/2003 03:05 PM PST

Well, we've got seventy-six
posts, now all we need are the
fershluganah trombones.
Many widescreen movies look
swell on a widescreen TV. I'll
look when I get home and give
you some demo quality discs.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 03:05 PM PST

Loved the Martin Sheen, Colleen Dewhurst and Laurence Olivier stories. I wish I had something similarly exciting or life-changing to relate. I have had some cool letters though, in response to fan letters I wrote when I was younger. The best were from Shirley MacLaine and Michael Feinstein.
I'm so glad that nobody has chosen Elmo as their favorite Sesame Street character. I hated Elmo with a passion. Just something about him really annoyed me...Grover could have kicked his scrawny red butt.
As for muppets, one cannot get any cooler than Miss Piggy. I can relate to Ben having played a Muppet--when I was 12 or so, the dance/performing arts school I was going to put on this big tribute to Jim Henson show...I think it was the year that he died. Anyway, I got to dress up and where this big Miss Piggy mask and my (female) friend played Kermit. They played some of the soundtrack and we kind of just lip-synched to it (even though the mask didn't really have any lips to sync with). It was fun. Oh....and Animal is a great Muppet too. Beaker always kind of scared me.
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 03:09 PM PST

Reviewers in video magazines always seem to use THE FIFTH ELEMENT as a demo quality disc, but I disliked that movie so much that I never wanted a copy of it.
Posted by Matt H. @ 08/13/2003 03:10 PM PST

DR Ron Pulliam: The cute boy looked at me like I was the biggest loser on the planet and laughed. I was horrified.
But, he is now a pothead who dropped out of school because he got his girlfriend pregnant. Needless to say, I don't think hes too cute anymore.
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 03:15 PM PST

The mask must have been of someone else, because moi's lips are luscious!
Posted by Miss Piggy @ 08/13/2003 03:16 PM PST

What's the matter with kids today??
Posted by Paul Lynde @ 08/13/2003 03:20 PM PST

The Fifth Element is no longer
any kind of standard - it wasn't
even a high-def transfer back
then. Any of the newer films
look pretty spectacular, but
unfortunately I just can't
remember any titles now.
When I get home I'll give you a
mix of classic and new
transfers that will blow people
away.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 03:21 PM PST

Good Afternoon DRs.... I think my favorite Lucy is probably the one with Harpo. I don't really think I have a favorite cookie, that is manufactured and sold. I love the taste of something fresh and homemade soooo much, that any of the commercial ones are second-best.
My favorite S.S. character is probably Grover first, followed pretty closely by Bert & Ernie and The Count.
I've been lucky through the years to meet quite a lot of actors, musicians, etc., and I have to say that the majority have been nice and friendly. Sometimes, what can come off as "unfriendly" is either a scheduling rush, or a person not feeling well.
A few of the standouts, where we were invited to visit one-on-one (as opposed to just getting a quick autograph), would be Miss Peggy Lee, Miss Lillian Gish, Mr. Henry Mancini, Mr. Jerry Herman, Miss Susan Gordon, Dear BK is a fabulous dinner companion to visit with, Mr. Lee Roy Reams is a charmer, and of course the very sweet Rhonda Fleming (I've already told the "coffee cup" story with Rhonda and me).
My favorite moment of watching someone else visit with a celeb would be seeing dear Kerry standing visiting with Elaine Stritch....his face was like a Klieg Light!
I think the nastiest, most mean-spirited display that I ever saw out of a supposedly "professional" person would have to be Milton Berle at the old "Hollywood Palace" theatre on (I think) Vine Street in Hollywood. A close second would be Rudy Valle.. I had to do a theatre re-opening with him back in the 70s, and he was fairly drunk the whole time he was there. Ugh!
Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/13/2003 03:42 PM PST

I'm thinkin' we might just get to
ninety posts today.
Last episode I found out all I
ever need to know about teeth
whitening. This episode, all I
need to know about drinking
wate. Has anyone noticed that
I just wrote "wate" instead of
"water"? What in tarnation IS
drinking wate?
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 03:47 PM PST

DR Ben -- How could they have cast you as Oscar, when if they had just talked to you for a few minutes they would have realized that you are SOOOO Grover!!! Warm, sweet-natured, smile that lights up!
I remembered 2 really neat Celeb encounters, after I posted the above: first, was on a plane trip home from Australia years ago...we had to stop 2 or 3 times for fuel, and I struck up a conversation with a fellow also travelling by himself.....it was Jim Henson. He was so quiet-mannered and friendly, and we had a great conversation about the role of music in all his shows.
The other was on a trip home from Australia, but this time on a ship. I think I played 1 guest appearance on the ship early on in the trip. Robert Morley and his wife were on board, and they complimented me and visited a little....they ended up inviting me to their own cocktail parties that they gave on board. He was just as delightfully scatterbrained as in many of his films. He also called everyone "Darling" and "Sweetheart" regardless of age OR gender. It was really a treat!!
Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/13/2003 03:52 PM PST

Dear BK.....drinking wate is obviously the situation when you are 3 persons back from the fountain.
Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/13/2003 03:53 PM PST

Thank you for the clarification,
MusicGuy.
Are we having a post siesta
lull? Let us have no lull, let us
be sans lull, less lull would be
better in this time of lull. We
don't need no stinking lull.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 04:02 PM PST

I one time had a lengthy conversation with Lucie Arnaz in a restaurant (she was at the adjacent table) having absolutely no idea who she was. My dinner companion had to tell me after we left.
Posted by Jay @ 08/13/2003 04:05 PM PST

MusicGuy, I don't think I am familiar with your Rhonda Fleming coffee cup story...perhaps you can tell it again! And visiting with Lillian Gish would have been fascinating! Besides being a wonderful actress I would just have loved to be able to have a conversation with her about just anything!
And Susan, I loved your Richard Chamberlain story! And please do spill the beans about Elvis!!!
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/13/2003 04:21 PM PST

I'm thinkin' we just might get to
ninety-five posts. What a great
variety and also hollywood
reporter of postings we've had
today. And the evening is
young which is more than I
can say.
Other pet peeve: Lulls.
My pet Luckie peeved
everywhere she could.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 04:35 PM PST

Lulu: I was reading your post about your encounter with a guy in the cast of "Hair" in Indianapolis...and I thought I was reading a Jrand52 post!
Imagine my surprise! I had a good laugh at Jacks' expense I fear, but I had to share it with everyone.
And that's only part of the confusion I've experience this week what with learning that Pannis is a girl (I guess I wasn't paying attention when she first joined us) and then later learning that Joy is a girl even though her stage name is Gregory.
I think I've got it all straightened out in my mind now...but I can't be too sure.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 04:43 PM PST

Sorry, Panni, for adding an "s" to your name.
May I ask the origin of your name, and what it's full version is?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 04:45 PM PST

Better to have peeved when I could, than never to have peeved at all!
Posted by Luckie @ 08/13/2003 04:46 PM PST

I suppose I'm just not old enough to have met a plethora of nice celebrities. But, as Maya so kindly said the other night, when I reach age 25 or so, and I am an "old spinster", I'm going to have an Old Spinster HHW reunion partay, and then we can all talk about Sesame Street and famous people we've met, and how kids these days have no respect for their elders. I'm also going to say things like "When I was your age, I had to walk 50 miles, in the snow, uphill both ways, barefoot, just to go to school!! You should be grateful!" etc., etc. Won't that be fun? You're all invited. Just as long as you bring your needlepoint.
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 04:47 PM PST

I'll be heading home within the
hour. Isn't that exciting? Isn't
that just too too? I've been
thinking maybe we'll do one of
our totally impromptu chats
soon - during the day whilst
we are all posting merrily
away. We'll just do us a little
chat for an hour or so. Anyone
think that would be a
splendidly splendid thing to
do?
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 05:02 PM PST

You ask about my name, Ron Pulliam... It's a Hungarian nickname - like Betsy for Elizabeth. Panni is a diminutive of Anna. Panni is what everyone called me when I was a child in Budapest. Except my stepfather who called me "Csuri"(pron: "CHURI") - which means "Pee." Even though I never ever peed on the carpet, Sarah. Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about my name, Ron Pulliam.
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 05:05 PM PST

I won't say it's more than I ever wanted to know, but I found it interesting. Thank you, Anna...I mean Panni!
And thanks for the cute story about your father's nickname for you!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 05:21 PM PST

Favorite Muppett Characaters: The cranky old men in the balcony.
Favorite cookie: my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Pet Peeve: Ministers who are mean.
Posted by Laura @ 08/13/2003 05:21 PM PST

YOWZA!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 05:21 PM PST

Congrats, Laura! You were the 100th POST of the day!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/13/2003 05:22 PM PST

Panni, I also found your name very interesting. How old were you when you left Budapest? Where did you move to from there?
Posted by Jane @ 08/13/2003 05:45 PM PST

Jane,
I was 8 when we left Hungary. We went first to Austria, then England, wound up in Canada.
Posted by Panni @ 08/13/2003 05:57 PM PST

Thank you, Dear Readers, for all the welcoming comments on Monday. My job and an evening meeting conspired to keep me away from my computer all day Tuesday.
I saw a production of "A Little Night Music" with Miss Cleo Laine playing Desiree. The musical director was Miss Laine's husband, John Dankworth. I attended with a friend who knew both of them, and she introduced me to them after the show. They were both charming, gracious, elegant, and they acted as though it were a privelege for them to meet me. I tried to convey that the reverse was true, but I was having trouble forming complete sentences. I shook hands with Miss Laine twice. She wore a great deal of perfune. That night I slept with my hand over my nose and mouth, breathing it in. I hated washing my hands in the morning.
Posted by Gunther @ 08/13/2003 06:22 PM PST

Smitten you were, Dear Reader Gunther, smitten.
Now share with all the Hainesies and Kimlets a little about yourself. Don't be shy: Are you a youngin' or a prime timer or somewhere in between? In what part of the world do you live in? How do you make a living, if you do? How did you fine haineshisway.com?
Posted by Jay @ 08/13/2003 06:32 PM PST

I'll share some passing celebrity tales now, too. Some of them may sound familiar. . .
Outside of the Gershwin theater, following a matinee of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, my buddies and I are having a quick smoke (yes, confession time here, too) while deciding what to do for dinner. KEVIN KLINE saunters over, grabs my shoulder, and asks if HE can bum a smoke from me! Needless to say, I gave him one. Then he asked for a light. While I proffer my Zippo for him, he leans in closer to my face and whispers, "So, what are you guys doing for dinner?" My friends (one male, one female) thought that Kevin was hitting on ME; and said that they had plans, and added that I was free. . .Nice guy, that Kevin.
THE JOE ALLEN TALES:
Coming out of the men's room, who should be standing outside the door, but, David Dukes (then known by me for his work in BEACON HILL, playing Nancy Marchand's one-armed son, but soon to be known as "The Man Who Raped Edith Bunker." Dukes givves me great big hug (!) and says, "It's so nice to see you again! How's everything going with you?" I told him that everything was fine, but, that he had obviously mistaken me for someone else. Without missing a beat, he retorted, "Well, if I don't know you, I SHOULD."
Nice guy, that too-soon-departed David. I did run into David a few more times in NYC, on the street AND in JOE ALLEN's. . .Everytime we met, he always had kind words for me.
Sitting at a table for a late-night dinner (close to the bar, with an eye on the door), JOHN LITHGOW (then appearing in REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT) is seated a few tables away from my friend Gary and I. Every so often, John would look our way, smile and wave his hand. Gary and I would look around to see who was sitting behind us that John would be waving to. We didn't recognize anyone. After John's plate has been cleared, he rises and proceeds in our general direction - which, I take it to be, to the men's room. But, NO! Mr. Lithgow comes right over to our table, pulls up a chair, and reprimands us (in jest) for NOT acknowledging his waves. His response when told that we have never met was very similar to Mr. Dukes' "Well, If we haven't, we have now."
DOWN IN THE VILLAGE
Clyde's Restaurant. During the run of PIRATES OF PENZANCE, but, not during the same time period as the Kevin Kline tale. Had a late dinner with my cousin, who decided to go back to his apartment afterwards, I stick around the bar, enjoying a few drinks. I was ever so much younger then (Oh, a CHESS reference!) and of course, I wasn't paying for ALL of my drinks. After a while, the after-theater crowd starts milling in. A tall, very Italianate, gangly man comes in and sidles up to the bar. Long story short - he begins sending drinks to "the guy with the cute mustache." (me). My potable benefactor was none other than Tony Azito. . . then wowing them as the police sergeant in PIRATES. After that night, Tony and I struck up a brief friendship, which included several postcards from him whilst he was in London shooting the film version of PIRATES.
Stokes and I met on a street corner following a performance of RAGTIME. He is such a sweet guy! We only spoke for a few moments, but, he initiated the conversation.
I met Doug Sills on a street corner as well. I wouldn't have known him, but, he was wearing the same clothing that he had worn for his appearance on REGIS & KATHY LEE. I grabbed Janet and asked her if she would mind taking a picture. She thought that I wanted a picture of McQuarry's Bar! I turned and called out, "Mr. Sills? May I have a picture taken with you?" He turned around, smiled, and said, "Only if you promise to call me "Doug." It's a great picture of HIM, if it's anywhere in this computer, I can send it out to whatever Dear Readers are interested in seeing it. . .
Maybe we'll get to two hundred again!
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 06:42 PM PST

DR td, did you dance like the wind with your new friend Kevin Kline?
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 07:05 PM PST

To the person who didn't like Celeste Holm...
She did three shows over a three year period at a theatre where I was working. There were days when she was the nicest person you could imagine and days when she was a bit distant. I ran into her once in the grocery store and although I didn't really work that much with her (outside of handing her a weekly paycheck) she greated me like an old friend.
One quick story - She decided to host a spagetti dinner for the cast and staff after the show one night and said she would cook her famous clam sauce. And she did... and only that. We had to send someone to the Italian restaurant down the street for the pasta, bread, salad etc. which we all assumed she was bringing.
P.S. The sauce was very good.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/13/2003 07:07 PM PST

Sarah, I remember "The Monster at the End of This Book"! I used to read it to my younger cousin in a Grover voice, which made my throat itch and sounded more like Yoda than Grover, if you want to know the truth. My other Grover favorite is the "Near.....*patter patter patter*....Far!" bit.
Panni, that is a beautiful story about Olivier. Thank you for telling that, it's very moving.
How, HOW could I have forgotten about the Count?? He is my other favorite Sesame Street resident.
Laura: The cranky old men are also near to my heart. Their names are Statler and Waldorf, FYI.
The worst trouble I've ever been in, that I can recall and would like to share, is also my most embarrasing moment. It was the summer after my freshman year in college and I was an intern at a Summer Stock company. We were doing Meet Me in St. Louis and I was the ASM. The SM had me up all night copying and marking up the script, writing in props and staging and entrances and exits...you know, all the stuff HE should have been doing all along during rehearsal! I had his show running book and mine, plus his keys and some other supplies. I overslept the next morning, my roommate (who was in the ensemble of the show) didn't wake me up, and I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Obviously, it was the bum of a stage manager calling to ask where the hell I was. I bolted out of bed, ran out of my dorm room into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and came back to find that the door was locked!!! EEEK!! So I had to run over to the rehearsal studio, get keys from my roommate, run back, get dressed, and bring the supplies to rehearsal. I got more dirty looks that day... eek.
I have never been late to a rehearsal or come unprepared ever again. Ever. Oh, and by the way, when I stage managed a few years later, I did all that stuff myself. heh
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 07:14 PM PST

I grew up in NYC, and my best friend Patty (in high school, and still) and I were big fans of Judy Holliday. Just before Hot Spot opened, we sent her a break-a-leg telegram. Shortly afterward, we decided to pay her a call. She lived in the Dakota, and this was in the pre-John Lennon days. We hatched a scheme to deliver ice cream to her. We took the service elevator - and when the driver arrived at Miss H's apartment (kitchen entrance), we were greeted by Judy's mom. We told her we had an ice cream delivery, but really wanted to meet Judy. We were sweet-looking high school kids, and the mother told the elevator driver it was okay to leave. Soon Judy Holliday joined us in the kitchen, chatted with us for a while, told us she had wondered who Dan and Pat (her telegram senders) were and that she was glad we had finally solved the mystery. Then she walked us through the spacious apartment and told us to take the main elevators down. She was a great actress and a wonderful, wonderful human being.
Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 08/13/2003 07:17 PM PST

Wow--these are all such great, great stories.
Dan--that's so amazing that you met Judy Holliday. She died way too young.
I just watched Broadway's Lost Treasures, and at the end of it, I was about to cry. There are some great performers today (I imagine that in 50 years I'll tell the proverbial grandchildren about seeing Nathan and Matthew in the Producers), but it makes me so depressed to think that I'll never get to see Preston. I'll never get to see Verdon. Why, oh why, couldn't I have been born a little sooner??
Okay, enough with the lament. It was a truly marvelous two hours (except for the intervals with the usual pledge drives--now those are MY pet peeves). I even forgive Angela Lansbury for having lip-synced (did she have a sore throat that night?) I wonder what bonus footage will be on the DVD?
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 07:27 PM PST

td -- Doug Sills is a pretty nice guy and a hard worker. He was doing a staged reading of a play of mine in Stratford , CT., a few years back, THE EBONY APE, playing Sherlock Holmes. He called me on the phone with all sorts of pertinent questions to help him play the role. How nice of him to seek out the author's advice. Later we met in person when he was doing Benedick in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING out at South Coast Rep. He was just as cordial and nice in person. He also played both Sherlock and Benedick with lots of panache.
My favourite celebrity has to be Jeremy Brett...what a lovely, giving man as well as performer. He was especially kind and encouraging to me during our run of CRUCIFER OF BLOOD. Once we met in our mutual local market and he invited me back to the house for mimosas at eleven o'clock in the morning.
When he was starting up his Sherlock Holmes and I was doing my Sherlock Holmes and our two companies were suing each other over a rights issue, he and I were cheerily going out to dinner in London and he would regale me with stories of working with Olivier and Richardson and other greats.
My most unpleasant experience with a celebrity was Chuck Connors when I were but a wee twig and he was at the height of his RIFLEMAN fame. He was in Cincinnati for a world's series game (with the Yankees, like in '61). My mother and I were walking through a dept. store and there he was trying on this little fedora to plop over his huge shock of blonde hair. I went up and asked for an autograph. As he signed, my mother tried to draw him out a little, by speaking to me, "His name is the same as yours, Chuck." "Oh, look, he's left-handed just like you." Not a word, he left the autograph... just his name...on the counter and, ignoring us, went back to trying on hats.
Posted by Charles Pogue @ 08/13/2003 07:38 PM PST

Hey do not read this if you live on the West Coast and are watching Big Brother tonight.
OMG,they've locked the Big Brother players in a cage! Finally a good contest. For once the winner will actually deserve HOH. Btw, at 10:45pm all players are still in it.
If you want to see who wins and don't want to wait till Saturday. Click on my name/ and choose chat/today's transcript.
Posted by Jennifer @ 08/13/2003 07:47 PM PST

Oh yes, one other celebrity encounter:
My brother has been friendly with Julie Budd for a number of years. Miss Budd appeared in concert about a year and a half ago in Orange County and I bought tickets for me and my mother (who happens to live in Orange County) to see her. When I told this to my brother, he encouraged me to go backstage to say hello, which was not difficult, as Miss Budd arranged for cake and punch for the entire audience following the performance, while she sat and signed autographs for all comers. I've never experienced anyone doing that before or since.
When my mother and I finally made our way to the table at which she was seated and identified ourselves as my brother's brother and mother, you'd have thought we were her own long lost brother and mother. She was so gracious. She reminisced with us about her experiences with my brother, wanted to know all about us, etc., etc. It's quite refreshing to run into performers who are not stuck up on themselves and show themselves to be sweet human beings.
Posted by Jay @ 08/13/2003 08:03 PM PST

Charles -
It seems you wrote a musical about Sherlock Holmes, one of my favorite all-time literary characters! Or should that be all-time favorite? When I was very young, 4th grade I think, I read all of the Sherlock stories in an anthology my mother had. I loved him then, and I love him still. Even now I sometimes pretend I have his keen observation skills (hm, scratch marks all around the doorknob...probably means many nights coming home drunk and jabbing at the keyhole...etc.). I once saw a musical about him and was aghast at the treatment -- made him out to be a simpering lovelorn member of a boy band. hmph. Oh dear, I hope it wasn't your musical...eek!
I apologize, I've been very rude and ignored -- actually, missed -- someone's request for me from yesterday to share some of my performing experiences. I've done at least 10 Summer Stock shows and will happily list them all upon request, the highlight being Jesus Christ Superstar; a couple of regional and dinner theatres, including the Carousel in Ohio under the direction of the enormously entertaining Joey Patton; and one national tour, which was so much fun it ought to be illegal (and some of it, I'm sure, was). Locally, I did a one-woman show and produced, directed and featured myself in a wildly successful (a tribute to the songwriter, I assure you) songwriter showcase for a brilliant and hilarious songwriter, our own DR Noel Katz. It was called -- wait for it --
KATZ.
So there you are, I'm sorry: I forget who asked me for this, but there it is, better late than at the end of last night's notes, where nobody would have seen it!
Posted by Joy @ 08/13/2003 08:07 PM PST

Maya: I meant to watch it, but totally forgot. I caught the last 15 minutes, which means 5 minutes or mini-interviews and the last 10 minute fund raiser break. I didn't like the woman who was doing the fund-stuff...she seemed incredibly fake.
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 08:15 PM PST

An impromptu chat sounds like fun. Hope we do try one soon.
Posted by Matt H. @ 08/13/2003 08:24 PM PST

I have to go in for an eye operation tomorrow. HAve you ever been operated on?
Posted by Michael @ 08/13/2003 08:26 PM PST

Sarah--I was getting ready to do an Elvis and shoot the TV with that woman! She was faker than Pamela Anderson's boobs.
I'm sure they'll repeat it sometime soon, Sarah, so I wouldn't worry!
Susan--btw, come on...we wanna hear the Elvis story. Please? :)
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 08:31 PM PST

Oh, I forgot...that same woman toward the beginning of the show, talked about how much she loved Patti LuPoon in Evita, lol! To her credit, she realized her mistake and said LuPone afterwards.
Posted by Maya @ 08/13/2003 08:32 PM PST

Gubridur Thorbjarnardottir:
Ah, but Panni, do you know what her mother's name was? Of course you do. It was Thorbjarnar. Because, you see, dottir (or actually doðir, with an "eth") is Icelandic for "daughter".
And this is how Icelandic names are still formed today, with no "family name". For example, if DR Craig were an Icelander, his name would be Craig Arnoldson. And DR Sandra would be Sandra Lauradoðir.
Not only that, but they would be listed alphabetically in the phone book under Craig and Sandra.
We professors love showing off our dilitantism. What can I say, I spent 24 hours in Iceland thirty years ago.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 08/13/2003 09:11 PM PST

DR Sarah: you know that I save all my dances with the wind just for YOU!
DR Charles Pogue: I truly enjoyed the feature article in Scarlet Street. . .you know, the one that has created quite a stir on the SS forums. You have a ton of *admirers.*
Whoever mentioned MANHATTAN TRANSFER earlier, I also enjoyed their company following their stop here in the 'burgh on the "Mecca for Moderns" Tour. What began as a simple request for autographs (I was ever so much younger then) became an evening of disco-ing at Heaven. So, I did, on that night, dance like the wind with The Manhattan Transfer.
ASKing BK:
Do you dance like the wind? When was the last time you danced like the wind?
Who is your favorite *wind dancer?*
Who would you most like to see dance like the wind?
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 09:12 PM PST

Hello...
-Again, I'll catch up more when I'm back home on Friday...
*Oh, on a whim, I decided to go ahead and see THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA tonight. Hugh Panaro is back in as the Masked One, and since I worked with him last summer... and I had a pretty nice discount voucher... Whether you love or hate ALW and/or POTO - all that stuff aside... In any case, the show looked good tonight. In fact, it actually looked like they've done some tweaking and tightening - and a bunch of the costumes looked either fully refurbished or re-built too. And this was the first time I had heard the "big" ending for "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again". All in all, it was a nice show tonight. And it was nice seeing Hugh again after the show - it's been a week of very nice leading men for me. :-)
Well, Con Edison seems to be having current problems tonight here in the Village - there were a bunch of sarcastic "Thank You" signs in some store and restaurant windows tonight - and I can see a couple of trucks outside the internet cafe I'm at - thankfully, this part of the block still has power.
OK - Time for a nice treat of some soft-serve...
Goodnight.
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 08/13/2003 09:17 PM PST

I thought that Jose said he was going to treat himself to som soft porn. . .my bad!
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 09:36 PM PST

*BEING CORRUPTED*
td, if you corrupt me, I can't dance with you!!!
...soft porn...tsk, tsk...
To new DR's, my fellow cookies in this cookie jar are trying very slowly to corrupt me. I have very strong will though, and I shall maintain my innocence as long as I can.
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 09:50 PM PST

So, td, how long did you and Kevin Kline date? And do you have any pictures you would like to sell?
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 09:57 PM PST

Innocent people do not pee on the carpet.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 09:59 PM PST

DR TCB: Kevin Kline and I dated as long as it took to smoke a Tall cigarette. ..those were those 120mm ones!
DR Sarah: my aim is never to corrupt. As Elvis Costello once said, "My aim is true."
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:03 PM PST

You will know all about the way I dance when you read Kritzer three, td. But, have you read Kritzer two and Kritzer one, that would be the question, dear boy.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 10:04 PM PST

Oh, Dear Hosting BK, of course I have read the novels! ! ! But, that only answered ONE of the "dance like the wind" questions.
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:07 PM PST

I will always resent that the guy I went to see Pirates with thought it was tacky to wait around the stage door. So, I never got to see Mr. Kline upclose and personal.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:07 PM PST

DR TCB - just HOW upclose and personal did you want to get with Mr. Kline? He has very lovely eyes, you know. . . .
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:10 PM PST

TCB: Which is precisely why I DID NOT pee on the carpet. I'm still innocent. You've proved my point.
Honestly TCB, you might as well be my parent. You are getting the eye-roll, deep-sigh, tapping-of-the-impatient-foot treatment right now.
:) You know I'm just joshin' with ya.
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 10:11 PM PST

Coming soon to a theater or drive in near you:
CORRUPTING SARAH. Featuring the inmates of The Cookie Jar. A film in the tradition of MARAT/SADE, KING OF HEARTS, THE SNAKE PIT and THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL.
Music and Lyrics by B. Kimmel
Story by "Sarah"
Screenplay by Charles Pogue
Title Song sung by Guy Haines
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:14 PM PST

Yes, Miss Sarah
Well, td, I would like to have recreated the scene between Mr. Kline and Mary Kay Place at the end of The Big Chill. But if that had not been possible, I would have settled for a handshake and a smile.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:16 PM PST

oh, and some g-r-e-a-t casting news:
Linda Blair has consented to return to the screen sceen, making a guest appearance in CORRUPTING SARAH, recreating her world-famous role of Regan MacNeill.
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:16 PM PST

Well, I guess that settles the question of who will pee on the carpet.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:18 PM PST

Only about sixty more posts for another 200 post day. . .
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:18 PM PST

Gosh, TCB, you're quick on the uptake, aren't you?
Posted by td @ 08/13/2003 10:20 PM PST

Sounds like a fabulous idea to me.
Posted by Sarah @ 08/13/2003 10:26 PM PST

There were some really great stories posted today about meeting some of the great ones.
Oh, I almost forgot. Eileen Brennen and Susan Sarandon. Two of the nicest women I have ever met. They were doing A Couple of White Chicks back in the '80s. My friend refused to leave until he got Susan to autograph his Rocky Horror book. Well, everyone else had left the theater AND the neighborhood, when finally Miss Brennen came out. She stayed and chatted with us for about twenty minutes, even invited us to visit her at her summer home in Washington State. After she left, Miss Sarandon came out and she was absolutely fabulous. She even signed my friend’s book "Don't dream it, be it."
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:30 PM PST

OK, DRs Lulu and MBarnum, here's my Elvis story.
Our story left off at Goldwyn Studio, leaving the "Dr Kildare" sound stage, with Richard Chamberlain's autographed photograph clutched to my chest. My feet were still floating two feet off the ground when my dad said, "You know, Elvis is shooting his latest movie on the next sound stage. Would you like to go meet him?" Well, I must confess, I was never a big Elvis fan, and really had no interest in meeting him. I mean, I couldn't understand what it was about him that made girls swoon. (And yet, you will recall, I was just swooning over Richard Chamberlain!) But I figured, there were enough girls (and most likely enough guys, as well)who would be so jealous to hear I'd met The King, that it was worth it for me to take the opportunity to meet him. So into the sound stage we went, my dad and me. I was still clutching Richard Chamberlain's autographed photograph, and my feet were still barely touching the ground, when my dad introduced me. "Elvis, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Susan." Elvis might have given me a warm smile; I didn't notice. He said hello to me, and I said hello back. My eyes were dreamy, but they weren't focused on him, and I think he knew it. I then asked him if I could have his autograph, for I knew I'd need some proof that I'd actually met The King. Pointing at the picture that was still clutched to my chest, he said, "Here, I'll sign the back of that photograph." I suddenly became alert and gasped, "Oh, no!" So we found something else for Elvis to sign, an insignificant piece of paper. (He didn't even offer to give me a photograph!) I smiled, said the obligatory, "Thank you," and we left Elvis standing there. I suppose it was a put-down for Elvis, to place second after Richard Chamberlain. I'd like to think it brought him down a step from the high heights of conceit he used to perch upon. But perhaps I'm not really being fair. He was very sweet to me when I met him. And humble. And I was only thirteen. Looking back, if my dad had waited until I'd come down off cloud nine to introduce me to The King, Elvis might have made a bigger impression on me, but that could have taken years!
Posted by Susan @ 08/13/2003 10:38 PM PST

I think DR Susan still owes us an Elvis story.
I don't know if DR MusicGuy will see this late post, but I had a question before Ask Dear Reader Day is over. Did you ever play the big theater organ that is in a private home up here in Gig Harbor, Wasington?
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:40 PM PST

Whoops! Sorry Susan.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:41 PM PST

Ben: Northwestern has move-in day
September 19th, first day of classes
September 24th. I am living in the
International Studies Residential
College (like a dorm, but better) and
my roommate is Chris Wong, and
Engineering major from Hong Kong.
I actually requested not to have a
single, because I need to learn to
share a room with someone, being
an only child. If I can't live with a
roommate, what will I do with a
husband? (No comments,
MusicGuy! I know exactly
what I'll do with him!)
Favorite Seame Street: Grover! He
was just so crazy and grandiose. I
particularly remember "The 39
Steps", when he...walked up 39
steps!
I posted once about stagedoor
celbrities I met, but highlights
include: Audra McDonald (just as
lovely in person, and really talked to
everyone), Ian McKellen (who was
impressed that a young person liked
Strindberg, and was more
impressed by his Richard III than his
Gandalf) (Yes, like Panni, I was a kid
at DANCE OF DEATH), Cherry
Jones (salt of the earth, left on her
bike), Richard Kind (was impressed
that I was going to NU, his school,
and also rode his bike), and Tony
Kushner (an incredible mind, and
gracious.)
None have really been unpleasant,
though some were clearly
preoccuppied. Oh! I forgot when I
saw Noises Off: Patti and Faith left
before I could get to the stage door
(and I moved fast), but Richard
Easton and (especially) Peter
Gallagher were perfect gentlemen-
Peter Gallagher made sure that
everyone who wanted a picture had
one before he went home!
I know someone who bares an odd
resemblance to one of the old
balcony-muppet guys-the one
without the beard.
Why am I still awake!?!?!?!!!??!?
Posted by Hapgood @ 08/13/2003 10:42 PM PST

Believe me, Hapgood, you were much better off meeting Peter Gallagher, than Miss LaPone.
Posted by TCB @ 08/13/2003 10:46 PM PST

I tell you this is the finest bunch of posts anywhere on the Internet. Let them quake in their boots for soon we will be the most popular site on all the Internet.
Posted by bk @ 08/13/2003 11:08 PM PST

I'm here! I'm not a celebrity watcher - would not recognise them probably (unless it was Mr Spacey or Michael Ball).
DR MusicGuy and I have certainly met the same celebrity (of his place and time) Fred Bear!
TCB. So many post. Guess you must be feeling a lot better.Guess why I have been truant.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 08/14/2003 12:06 AM PST

I'm so happy to see such an
outpouring of love toward the
oft-overlooked Grover!!! I think
that alone shows that we
attract our society's creme de
la creme at this here jiggiest of
jiggy sites!
Elmo is simply an annoying
derivative character who
they've tried to give Grover's
charm, but they've failed
miserably in that effort. What
could possibly outshine
SuperGrover? Or the classic
Near/Far bit (which a good
friend of mine in high school
could recreate wonderfully)?
Or Grover as the waiter on the
verge of nervous breakdown
dealing with an unhappy
customer?
Posted by Jed @ 08/14/2003 12:13 AM PST

This is the only site in the world - the whole world indeed where one can learn the name of Gubridur Thorbjarnardottir's mommy! Thank you William F. Orr. And now to sleep.
Posted by Panni @ 08/14/2003 12:31 AM PST

Michael:
I hope everything goes successfully with the operation. All good wishes. Keep us posted.
Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 08/14/2003 03:55 AM PST

Great stories, DR Susan...and ALL!! TD you certainly get around.
Oh and Ron, better a laugh at my expense than a laugh at my expanse.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/14/2003 03:56 AM PST

Over 100 posts on this lovely Thursday morning.
Michael all best wishes for your eye operation, though I doubt, if you're having an operation on your eye, that you will read this any time in the very near future.
I've mentioned my celeb stories before but quick re-cap. Angela Lansbury after a performance of Sweeney, (also Len Cariou, from one dressing room to the other), Barbara Cook after Mostly Sondheim at Lincoln Center (one of the most gracious and kind performers I have ever met).
Music Guy, in all honesty, one of the reasons I was cast as Oscar was because I fit into the other costume :-) When I wasn't playing Oscar, I was a faux Keystone Kop. My friend had originated the part and did it for two years. He left the show to go to another gig and told the director about me. They were in New Haven and I was in NY. I got a call to audition. I took the train up to New Haven, met the director, did a little dance step, tried on the costume and, lo and behold, the part was mine. I got my Equity card from the show (Sesame Street Live is still running, but it is no longer an Equity show). I came back to NYC to pack up and went on the road for a year.
Posted by Ben @ 08/14/2003 04:27 AM PST

Ron, you might want to improve your reading comprehension skills...I even wrote an aside directed to Jrand near the beginning of my little tale! Did you think he was directing an aside towards himself? ;)
td, I'm as jealous of you as I can be. Kevin Kline AND David Dukes? Hubba-hubba and ooh-la-la. Did your friends kick themselves when they realized they possibly passed up the opportunity to have dinner with Kevin K. and he wasn't even coming on to you?
Michael, hope the operation goes well and you recover quickly. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 08/14/2003 05:44 AM PST

My prayers are with you today, Michael. May the operation be a huge success, and your recovery quick and complete.
Posted by Susan @ 08/14/2003 05:46 AM PST

Posting in hoping that we can get to twoo hundred.
Today's tale have been soooo fascinating that they need some rhythm behind them.
Jrand, my days of getting around revolved upon socializing (and all that THAT entailed) on Friday nights and either hopping a flight on People's Expess OR driving all night to be in NYC by 10am! It wasn't until later in life that I began the extended, week or two week vacations in the city.
Lulu, my friends were completely and totally abashed after turning down the dinner invitation; but they still continued to taunt and tease me about the divine Mr. Kline's intentions!
Posted by td @ 08/14/2003 06:09 AM PST

DR Hapgood -- Now then, why would would you think that I would have anything to tell you about what to do with a future husband??? Well, you're young, so I may recommend a few instructional books! :)
DR Tom-in-Oz -- Yes, people here don't know about Fredd Bear, but he was as big a personality as a Sesame Street character is in this country. Of course, I'm pretty sure that you knew him in a different light than I did! :)
DR TD -- I think you need to have a cool cloth applied to your head this morning.......you were one little feisty and ribald poster, and I think we all know to send you Kevin Kline posters for your B'day.!
DR TCB -- Funny you should mention the large Wurlitzer in Gig Harbor...I was one of the consultants in planning it, the man who originally built the house and created the instrument is still a good friend, and I played the opening series of programs on it for a convention group that was in that area. Have you been there in person? It is sure a beautiful setting on the side of a hill! I also played years ago at the old Seattle Paramount before it was all revamped and turned into the symphony home.
I hope hope our Broadway Baby Jason made it safely to the wilds of those Penn. mountains. I'm afraid mountain men with scraggly beards and missing teeth will try to abduct him. Oh horrors!!
Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/14/2003 06:56 AM PST

Michael-Good luck on your Operation.May your recovery be quick and your postings start again as soon as possible
Arnold Samuelson
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 08/14/2003 07:03 AM PST

So Susan has a crush on Dr. Kildare! I wonder how Ben Casey feels about that?
Posted by MBarnum @ 08/14/2003 07:10 AM PST

LOL, DR MBarnum. Actually, I was in two episodes of Ben Casey, and never once in Dr. Kildare. And in one of those episodes, I wake from a coma, look up at Ben Casey who is standing at my bedside, and I say, "Are you G-d?" I really don't think Ben Casey had any insecurity problems. (BTW, Vince Edwards was one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet.)
Posted by Susan @ 08/14/2003 08:07 AM PST

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