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[John G.]

Why do we listen to flop musicals? Or read novels that are considered an author's second-tier work? Because we're often fascinated by what the intent was and how that failed somehow in the execution. I think we sometimes draw more from an imperfect work than a perfect one. I would rather watch "At Long Last Love" than "Last Picture Show" because it boggles the mind how Peter Bogdanovich's idea went from being fairly interesting to being such a misbegotten mess on the screen. I would rather re-read Eliot's "Daniel Deronda" than go anywhere near "Silas Marner." And I would rather watch "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" than read some of Roger Ebert's more serious reviews. And sometimes we just want popcorn instead of foie gras.

[John G.]

page three dance!

[Ginny]

Wednesday morning greetings!  I've spent most of the morning adding my info to our tax packet so we can get it to our accountant today.

[elmore3003]

We had a good recording session with Dustin. I have to say he was one of the nicest, most down-to-earth and friendly famous people I've ever met. Drove himself to the session, picked up his own coffee, worked very hard and no attitude, just wanting to make sure we were getting the best that he could do. A real mensch. We're finishing up with him today, and this time he will probably forgo the creamy cold, phlegm-producing coffee drink.

It's always nice when you meet one of your faves and they turn out to be so great.

I love him. I've worked for him a couple of times and I think he's one of the best.

[elmore3003]

DR elmore - If you're heading down to Toyland via the 1 Train later, you may want to take the bus. Apparently, the downtown service on the 1, 2 and 3 trains has been majorly delayed this morning due to a "switch problem" at 72nd Street.

Thanks for the tip. I have all I need here at home and I'm happily working away here. I just had to answer edit inquiries on THE LADY OF THE SLIPPER. Where I would love to be is the orchestra reading of ANYONE CAN WHISTLE today, but I deliberately excluded myself since I'm having lunch with Rob Berman tomorrow and I had other things on today's plate.

[Jrand73]

Nice to hear nice things about Dustin Hoffman.

[elmore3003]

One of my favorite Irish ditties:

Oh, me father's a drunk
And me mother's a drunk
And me sister's a drunk
And me brother's a drunk
And me uncle's a drunk
And me cousin's a drunk
And the rest of them are dead!

I love Brendan Behan's songs from his wonderful play THE HOSTAGE:
    There's no place on earth like the world
     There's no place wherever ye be
     There's no place on earth like the world
     That's straight up and take it from me

     Never throw stones at yer mother
     You'll be sorry for it when she's dead
     Never throw stones at yer mother
     Throw bricks at yer father instead!

     The East and the West are divided
     Perhaps it is all for the best
     Till the A-bomb shall bring us together
     And there we will let matters rest

[Jrand73]

DR ELMORE - not sure if these are from a production of BABES IN TOYLAND or not.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-2-Vintage-HUMPTY-DUMPTY-Theater-Costume-Prop-PHOTOS_W0QQitemZ180481715214QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a058c6c0e

[MBarnum]

Good morning, all!

I'm listening to Irish songs sung by my late friend, tenor Frank Patterson, and mourning my other Irish-American heroes, Victor Herbert and the wonderful actor Barnard Hughes. I miss running into Barney on his daily jaunts up and down Broadway. I don't know if Barney and Frank ever met, although I suspect they must have at some point. I knew Frank from the early 1980s when he was doing one of his first Radio City St Patrick's Day shows with, I would swear, every Celtic performer in the eastern USA. I still get ASCAP royalties from his recording of one of my arrangements, "America the Beautiful," I believe.

I met Barney when I was working at Drama Book Shop, just before he went to Dublin to play the grandfather in "You Can't Take It With You" with the Abbey Theatre. I had known his wife Helen Stenborg for several years, and I adore her. When I did BABES IN TOYLAND for the Houston Grand Opera in 1991, I wanted Barney to play the Toymaker, and he was interested but tied up with the tv series BLOSSOM. I still miss him.

So, today I am having breakfast with Peter and Susanna Tarjan, Jerome Moross' daughter and son-in-law. After that, I have BABES IN TOYLAND work in my search for all the "Evaline McCook" corrections.  Not much else after that except work on WIZARD OF OZ.

I remember Hughes from a TV series with Christine Ebersole called "The Cavanaughs." It didn't last long, but I remember enjoying the show thoroughly for its wicked sense of humor and the timing f the entire cast.

Oh, yes, THE CAVANAUGHS was one of my all time favorites!!

[MBarnum]

I watch crappy movies because they can still be ever so entertaining...and entertainment is usually the reason I watch a movie.

Of course, for me, there are different types of crappy...fun crappy, nostalgic crappy, and boring crappy...I skip the boring crappy.

[elmore3003]

DR ELMORE - not sure if these are from a production of BABES IN TOYLAND or not.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-2-Vintage-HUMPTY-DUMPTY-Theater-Costume-Prop-PHOTOS_W0QQitemZ180481715214QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a058c6c0e

I don't think they so, DR JRand59, but I was happy to see the photos. Since Humpty Dumpty was a nursery rhyme character before Lewis Carroll gave him words, he could be in BABES, but he's not in the original. If this HD were created for a BABES production, it's one of the many altered/simplified versions that appeared wen the piece went into Public domain.

[elmore3003]

Nice to hear nice things about Dustin Hoffman.

He's very shy but very sly. I worked for him and his company Punch Productions on THE MERCHANT OF VENICE when I was at Drama Book Shop. I got a great Christmas gift from him and the staff. I first helped him as a clerk at DBS in summer 1979. I cannot remember now what he was looking for. When I was managing the Minskoff Rehearsal Studios in 1983, while he was rehearsing DEATH Of A SALESMAN, he was really wonderful to me. Did you know he paid for his acting classes by playing piano for dance classes? I always thought he'd be a wonderful Koko in THE MIKADO.

[MBarnum]

My BK question for the day:

How many siblings do you have.

Name them and provide a personality profile and how close are you to each one.

[JMK]

Nice to hear nice things about Dustin Hoffman.

He's very shy but very sly. I worked for him and his company Punch Productions on THE MERCHANT OF VENICE when I was at Drama Book Shop. I got a great Christmas gift from him and the staff. I first helped him as a clerk at DBS in summer 1979. I cannot remember now what he was looking for. When I was managing the Minskoff Rehearsal Studios in 1983, while he was rehearsing DEATH Of A SALESMAN, he was really wonderful to me. Did you know he paid for his acting classes by playing piano for dance classes? I always thought he'd be a wonderful Koko in THE MIKADO.

If I am remembering what Charlie told me, he also drove a cab for a while.  Did he do PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK, or was that Pacino?  I get so confused sometime. 

[JMK]

I ask because I somehow remember Charlie telling me he gave Dustin free rent until he hit in PANIC, but I could just be making that all up. 

[elmore3003]

Nice to hear nice things about Dustin Hoffman.

He's very shy but very sly. I worked for him and his company Punch Productions on THE MERCHANT OF VENICE when I was at Drama Book Shop. I got a great Christmas gift from him and the staff. I first helped him as a clerk at DBS in summer 1979. I cannot remember now what he was looking for. When I was managing the Minskoff Rehearsal Studios in 1983, while he was rehearsing DEATH Of A SALESMAN, he was really wonderful to me. Did you know he paid for his acting classes by playing piano for dance classes? I always thought he'd be a wonderful Koko in THE MIKADO.

If I am remembering what Charlie told me, he also drove a cab for a while.  Did he do PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK, or was that Pacino?  I get so confused sometime. 

PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK is either Pacino or DeNiro, not Hoffman.

[Jrand73]

More Hoffman info.  Thanks DR ELMORE.

Perhaps we should have a Dustin Hoffman performance day today.

I can't say I like him, I usually avoid him because he seems so mannered in his performances and gives a lot of "look at me" acting signals....IMO.

But - he has done some nice things.

Off the wall - I like him in STRAW DOGS.

[Jrand73]

Today I am getting my hair cut - all of them - but that won't take long.

[John G.]

Nice to hear nice things about Dustin Hoffman.

He's very shy but very sly. I worked for him and his company Punch Productions on THE MERCHANT OF VENICE when I was at Drama Book Shop. I got a great Christmas gift from him and the staff. I first helped him as a clerk at DBS in summer 1979. I cannot remember now what he was looking for. When I was managing the Minskoff Rehearsal Studios in 1983, while he was rehearsing DEATH Of A SALESMAN, he was really wonderful to me. Did you know he paid for his acting classes by playing piano for dance classes? I always thought he'd be a wonderful Koko in THE MIKADO.

I didn't know Hoffman could play piano until a Bette Midler TV special in which she stripped him while he was playing. it was hysterically funny. Wonder if that's on YouTube somewhere.

[bk]

Question for BK...and/or anybody else who wants to answer:

[No disrespect is intended by this question.  I am just curious.]

There are a lot of good movies out there, and there are even more crappy movies out there.

I know, because I've written a few of the crappy ones.  Yes, I was paid to write them and, my only defense is that, in the vast majority of cases, what I wrote is not what finally wound up on the screen. 

So, my question is: Why do we watch these crappy movies when we know, in front (from reviews or having seen it before), that they are crappy movies?

BK watched DADDY'S GONE A HUNTING last night.  He had seen it before.  He knew it was crap.  So, why waste two hours of your life that you will never get back again?

Is it nostalgia?

Maybe it is.  The other night, I watched THE DEADLY MANTIS and THE LAND UNKNOWN, both terrible...but I'd seen them in the theaters when I was a kid.

Like I said, no disrespect intended.  It's just a question for discussion.

a) I watch some of the new movies that have been called crappy because sometimes I do not agree with reviewers or the public.

b) Sometimes older movies age well and have redeeming qualities years later - that has happened quite a bit.  And sometimes I just don't remember enough and I want to see why I thought it was so bad.  With Daddy's Gone A Hunting it was simple - I wanted to hear the John Williams score again

[bk]

My first question for ASK BK day....how are the Indiana plans coming?

I haven't been able to figure it out yet - what I'm trying to do is figure out a way I can go to Seattle then directly to Indiana and from there to New York - all over the course of a week.

[John G.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t4LOjkTsJY

Here's the clip of Hoffmand and Midler from 1977

[Ginny]

Can someone post the particulars about the Indiana performances of BRAIN?  Don't think we'll make it to WA to see George, but IN is just one state over!

[elmore3003]

On May 28, 2008, I posted this about Mr Hoffman:

In 1983 or 1984, I was filling in for the manager of the Minskoff rehearsal studios over Christmas vacation; Dustin and co. were rehearsing DEATH OF A SALESMAN there. Everyone was friendly except for John Malkovich. I was working on the Book-of-the-Month "Songs of New York" recording so every morning when Dustin came in, he saw me working on a full score of something or other. After two days, when he came in, he would say "Good morning, Mr Mozart (or Mr Schubert or Mr Strauss)," and I started yelling back to him "call me Wolfgang (or Franz or Johann)." The last day I worked at the studio was the birthday of one of the cast members and Dustin had them bring me a piece of birthday cake and plastic cup of wine.

One less for the memoirs . . .

It was actually the Christmas holiday of 1983-84.

[MBarnum]

My siblings from oldest to youngest.

Jack (real name John) b.1948. Died 1987.

Jack was the oldest in the family, and the brother I knew the least. He was 15 when I was born, and lived with his father during most of my childhood (he and all my older siblings were from my mom's first marriage)

He was always fascinated by planes and flew jets and helicopters during the Vietnam war. Part of his duty was to spray agent orange, something that would later be the cause of his early death at age 38.

After his discharge from the war he joined the State Police, and was still an officer, stationed in Bend, Oregon, when he passed away.

Sue: second oldest, and my only sister. She was 13 when I was born and thus was responsible for baby sitting me on many occasions. I idolized my sister when I was a kid, and today she is the sibling I am closest to both physically (she lives just outside of Salem) and emotionally. I am also very close to her two kids, but her husband drives me crazy some times (he is a very conservative, conservative)

Allen:

All of my big brothers were pretty darn nice to me as a kid, and Allen was especially so. He and his girlfriend of the moment would often take me and my little brother to the movies...THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, TOWERING INFERNO, STAR WARS, CANNONBALL RUN, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT....all movies I have vivid memoreis of him taking us to see. Most teenagers would not be so nice as to let the little rugrats join him on dates!

I don't see nearly as much of Allen as I would like as we live in different parts of the state. Our interests are also quite different...he is very much into hunting...but I love and respect him very much.

Jeff:
8 years my senior, Jeff is the smart one of the bunch. He was always good in school, while the rest of of struggled and  barely graduated. He is the only one to graduate college, and with an Engineering degree no less. He spent some time in the Coast Guard and now works in Portland for the Feds. Jeff is a good guy, but I wouldn't say were were ever very close. He did babysit on occasion, but basically holed up in his room talking to girls on the phone while my little brother and I had the run of the house...jumping on the furniture and watching things like LOVE AMERICAN STYLE. Jeff is a great guy and I enjoy talking to him when we get together, which is not nearly as often as it should be, seeing as how he lives in Tigard, which is only abour 45 minutes away.

Dan:
3 years younger then I, Dan was a thorn in my side from the very  beginning. I was a peace loving child and he was a bratty ruffian and ran roughshod over me for most of my early life. By 3rd grade he was running around with a bad crowd and by his early teens he was into drug use, although I didn't realize it. I just thought he had a really, really bad temper. He and I had no use for each other and it has only been in the last 10 years, since he sobered up, that we have had any kind of a brotherly relationship. I now enjoy his company, and he has more or less made ammends for his past with all of us.

[bk]

My BK question for the day:

How many siblings do you have.

Name them and provide a personality profile and how close are you to each one.

What, you didn't read the Kritzer books?  I have one brother.  An odd duck - we are not that close, but have a fun whenever we see each other.  If you read the Kritzer books, especially the first, you will know that as children we did not get along.

[Ben]

Besides Jacques Brel BBC 2 has a bio of

Al Bowlly

One of Great Britain's first "pop" stars.

[Jrand73]

BRAINEX Indiana style

http://www.buckcreekplayers.com/

Former DR EVIL KURT and I are tentatively planning on Sunday, April 11....at 2:30 - hopefully MR BK would be able to make it that day.

[MBarnum]

Of course I have a ton of other half siblings and step siblings from my father's three marriages. My dad's son from his first marriage lives in Portland, but have not seen him since 1977. His two daughters I saw often as a kid, but have not seen now for almost 30 years. His step kids from his 3rd marriage..well, if I never see them again, it will be too soon. A bunch of white trash hillbillies who I never cared for. I saw them last at my dad's funural in 2001. Before that I hadn't seen them since 1983 when I moved out of my dad and stepmom's house.

[MBarnum]

My BK question for the day:

How many siblings do you have.

Name them and provide a personality profile and how close are you to each one.

What, you didn't read the Kritzer books?  I have one brother.  An odd duck - we are not that close, but have a fun whenever we see each other.  If you read the Kritzer books, especially the first, you will know that as children we did not get along.

Yes, I remember him from the books. Wasn't sure how much of it was true or made up for the story. The quesiton is also for all HHWers to answer, as well.