jeffreymark

SOUPY SALES RIP

Soupy Sales made his living as a children's entertainer. Yet, he appealed to more adults than children. Sales knew how to ad-lib like no other. A very popular segment involved Soupy opening a stage door to a surprise guest and adlibbing the moment.In this particular now famous blooper that never aired Sales opens the door to a very different surprise. The joke was on Sales who indeed thought the piece went out over live television. 

SID CAESAR TELEVISION PIONEER

One of the most creative geniuses of early television celebrates his 86th birthday today. Sid Caesar, born into a family of Jewish immigrants in 1922, starred in the television comedy series Your Show of Shows (1950-54) and later Caesar's Hour (54-57). He learned the art, or rebellious behavior of mimicking people at an early age, which led him to become one of the great television pioneers.  Caesar often embodied a humorous caricature of otherwise serious ordinary people and entertainers engaged in serious tasks. Caesar mastered several talents including music composition and playing the saxophone with notable orchestras of the day.

He once performed a sendup of This Is your Life where, instead of letting his past acquaintances shower him with accolades, he desperately tried to get away, as seen in these two classic clips below. (That's Howard Morris or Earnest T. Bass of Andy Griffith fame, hanging on to Caesar. Morris later used this same leg clutching routine in the Andy Griffith Show.)

Caesar employed a number of notable writers such as Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, and Howard Morris. Reiner and Morris appeared in many of Caesar's comedy sketches.  Some critics today pass off Caesar's humor as shallow and one dimensional. Those who do so fail to understand the cultural context of Caesar's early work. Vaudevillian humor ruled the hour and many of those early television comedy sketches evolved from Vaudeville. This particular genre was designed solely for the purpose of entertaining those who sought refuge from life's difficulties. Your Show of Shows descended from Vaudeville and added several nuances to its variety show themes, chief among them, the ability to make sport of human nature challenging the audience to look in the mirror, lighten up, and not take themselves too seriously- a lost virtue in today's affluent American society.

(originally published april 07)

SONY GETS OUT OF REAR PROJECTION TV BUSINESS

I'm in the market for a new television and have long debated the issue rear projection vs. LCD. Rear projection gives more bang for the buck. Now, however, in light of recent news I'm glad I waited:

Sony is dropping its money-losing rear-projection TV business worldwide to focus on two flat panel technologies — liquid crystal display and organic light-emitting diode, the company said Thursday. Sales of rear-projection TVs had been declining recently as LCD TVs gain in popularity and get bigger, Sony Corp. spokesman Shinji Obana said. In October, Sony lowered its global sales forecast for rear-projection TVs — which uses a projector to create images on large screens — to 400,000 from 700,000, which is down from 1.1 million the previous fiscal year. By contrast, Sony expects to sell 10 million LCD TVs this fiscal year through March, up from 6.3 million the previous year.

FAMILY GUY WAITING ON A MOVIE CONTRACT

Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane said he's floating ideas out there for a shot at the big screen. Eonline suggests:

Fox has yet to greenlight to a Family Guy project, most likely waiting and seeing how much dough (d'oh?) The Simpsons Movie rakes in. Even if the network and movie studio sign off, MacFarlane said it would probably take a few years before a Family Guy flick could be finished.

COUCH POTATO'S HEAVEN

The folks at Splutch reveal thought activated television:

Forget the clicker: A new technology in Japan could let you control electronic devices without lifting a finger simply by reading brain activity. The "brain-machine interface" developed by Hitachi analyzes slight changes in the brain's blood flow and translates brain motion into electric signals. A cap connects by optical fibers to a mapping device, which links, in turn, to a toy train set via a control computer and motor during one recent demonstration at Hitachi's Advanced Research Laboratory in Hatoyama, just outside Tokyo. A reporter did simple calculations in her head, and the train sprang forward — apparently indicating activity in the brain's frontal cortex, which handles problem solving. Activating that region of the brain — by doing sums or singing a song — is what makes the train run, according to Utsugi. When one stops the calculations, the train stops, too. Hitachi's scientists are set to develop a brain TV remote controller letting users turn a TV on and off or switch channels by only thinking. The technology could one day replace remote controls and keyboards and perhaps help disabled people operate electric wheelchairs, beds or artificial limbs.

Just don't wear this thing while watching the Miss America Pageant.

KING OF THE HILL RETURNS TO FOX

Nice to see the return of new episodes of King of the Hill. The producer-creator Mike Judge also created Beavis and Butt-head. Hank Hill, star of King of the Hill portrays the stereotypical conservative Texas good old boy. He holds sessions with ex Dallas Cowboy's coach Tom Landry. Hank proudly works for Strickland Propane, loves to drink beer, and cherishes his riding mower like Roy Rogers cherished Trigger. His down to earth common sense makes him a weekly hero in which he constantly bales his incompetent family and friends out of adversity. Access the web site here.

FUNERAL FOR A THESAURUS EDITOR

All us amateur pundits get the help of a thesaurus from time to time. When the editor of a thesaurus dies, finding just the right words to say in a eulogy can get a little complicated; complex; intricate; involved; elaborate; tangled. Watch this video from Johnny Carson and see what we mean.

MEL GIBSON'S HOLOCAUST MINI SERIES PULLED

The Wall Street Journal reports today that ABC pulled the plug on Mel Gibson's developing miniseries about the holocaust. I don't blame them. Mel Gibson doesn't need the money so why does he continue to work on religious projects? If indeed, Mel Gibson made some defamatory remarks toward Jews he made a big mistake. His remarks, however, can't negate Gibson's virtues. His "Passion Of The Christ" changed a lot of lives. I can understand the Jewish community's apprehension about the movie. I know of a few kook Christians who blame Jews for Jesus' suffering. Those same kooks deny the holocaust. Yet, as a Christian I believe we all are guilty of putting Jesus on the cross. Gibson believes that too. In his movie the camera focuses in on one particular hand driving a nail into Jesus' hand. We discovered later that lone hand belonged to Mel Gibson. I walked away from that movie believing what I've always believed about the crucifixion. I saw nothing that implicated the Jews in particular as opposed to the Romans and others. Gibson's like most of us. He's his own worst enemy. We all mess up. When we do, someone out there is ready to pounce on us like we just committed an offense of nuclear proportions. I support the Jewish community and Israel. That's evident from my weblog. Yet, I believe America's worst enemy lies not in the Middle East or Korea,but its own neighborhoods. We've become our own worst enemy. When a foreign nation comes to conquer us, what they see may shock them- a paranoid nation that has eaten itself alive.

SAY IT AINT SO KEN

Ken Jennings, 2.5 million dollar winner on Jeopardy, blasted the show and dearly beloved Alex Trebek. Jennings holds the record of 74 wins. The longest streak in the history of the show. He called Trebek a robot. Oh my God! You mean he's dead? I'm sure Jennings will give his 2.5 million to Trebek's favorite charity.