Nutty Business

We are, as you may recall, intrigued by reports that Jerry Lewis will be directing a Broadway musical based on his 1963 movie, The Nutty Professor. Mr. Lewis has been announcing this as imminent for several years now.

We first noticed this back in June of 2006 when Jerry was talking about a 2007 tryout at the Old Globe in San Diego, which is a good place to try out a musical you hope to take to New York. The trouble with the report at that time was that he didn't seem to have an author or a composer. And also, the Old Globe had never heard of the project.

Then a few months later during the 2006 telethon, he brought on a fellow named Michael Andrew who, he said, would be starring in the show when it opened on Broadway in March of '08. Unmentioned there (but revealed elsewhere) is that Mr. Andrew is also apparently providing some or all of the funding for the project. Still, no writer or composer was mentioned.

In June of '09, it was announced that Marvin Hamlisch was composing the music and that Rupert Holmes was handling the book and lyrics. Okay, those are good, experienced folks...so it sounded like the show was starting to get somewhere.

A few months later, a reading was actually held with Michael Andrew in the lead. A very good sign.

And then in February of this year, Jerry was saying he was already casting with an eye towards opening the show in New York this October or November. No mention of out-of-town tryouts.

So what's the latest? As Jerry does interviews to promote the telethon this weekend, he's talking about the show. In this piece today, he says that right after the telethon, he'll be in New York to begin casting 70 parts for the musical, that it will open there in November of 2011 and that there will be six weeks of rehearsals before the show debuts at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre.

The timetable sounds credible...but the Old Globe still says the show is nowhere in their future.

• Posted Friday, September 3, 2010 at 8:49 PM · LINK

Plan Ahead

One and four-day passes for next year's Comic-Con International will be available for online purchase at 9 AM Pacific Time on Monday, November 1. If you're thinking of attending, that would be a good time to order yours. I'm not predicting they'll sell out that day but they'll sell out before you expect.

• Posted Friday, September 3, 2010 at 8:04 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Labor Day is almost upon us and you know what that means: Jerry.

As usual, I am baffled as to how long the telethon is. The press releases say it runs 21 and a half hours but I don't think that means they're doing a show of that length. Many of the hours are reruns of other hours and there are probably very few stations across the country that broadcast all 21.5 hours. WGN in Chicago is running it from 8 PM Sunday until 11 AM Monday morning then they play hooky from the Love Network to air a baseball game (Astros vs. Cubs) for approximately three and a half hours, then they come back and go 'til five...so that's 17 and a half hours. Some air a lot less...but some run more than there are. In Los Angeles, KCAL Channel 9 is airing the show from 6 PM Sunday evening through 5 PM Monday evening...so they're running 23 hours of a 21 and a half hour telethon.

Does anyone have any idea how many hours they're actually doing from the South Point hotel-casino in Las Vegas? You have all those musical numbers that are pre-taped elsewhere. You have all the segments on the work MDA is doing. You have your local cutaways. It probably isn't a lot.

(By the way: If you want to set your TiVo, try searching under "45th Annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.")

In case you missed last year, here's nine minutes of mostly non-Jerry content. I never heard of some of these acts either but a lot of them are very good...

• Posted Friday, September 3, 2010 at 12:26 AM · LINK

Go Read It!

Our pal Jim Brochu, who's still starring as Zero Mostel in a smash off-Broadway show, is in good company this morning as the New York Times asks performers about memorable encounters. Jim could probably fill an entire issue of the Times with his.

• Posted Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 8:22 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Huffington Post columnist Robert J. Elisberg (or as I call him, Bob) makes a darn good point. All these folks claiming that Barack Obama isn't a Christian...how could they prove that they're what they say they are?

• Posted Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 8:18 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

From 1931, a look at cartoonists working for the Chicago Tribune and its syndicate. This was back when such folks actually did draw wearing jackets and ties...

• Posted Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 8:10 AM · LINK

Thursday Morning

The political crannies of the 'net seem to be abuzz with debates as to whether or not Sarah Palin is going to run for president. I don't know what's in her heart or plans but I'd like to suggest that the folks debating her intentions are missing a key point.

There's "running for president" the way people named Bush or Clinton run for president, which is because they think they have a good chance of winning and that's the goal. There's also "running for president" the way it's been done by Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader and (I guess) Ron Paul and others, which is as a way to get attention and to perhaps attain other, lesser goals. None of those gents ever thought they'd win but they thought there was a value to being a candidate. Maybe it promoted their causes, maybe it promoted them, maybe there was even some money in it. So they "ran."

I think Sarah Palin is at least running for president in the Buchanan/Nader sense. She may well have it in her head that it's not impossible that could bleed into the other kind of candidacy...but she attracts crowds and press just by running in any sense. At the very least, she has much to lose by closing the door to a 2012 bid for the White House. So she's always going to leave that door as wide open as she can.

• Posted Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 6:47 AM · LINK

From the E-Mailbag...

This is from Brian Earl Brown...

I've enjoyed your series on advice to the person who was starting out writing. There's one point I don't think has been mentioned. In the original letter that inspired this series it seemed like the guy was saying "I've written a number of comic book scripts now, so why aren't work assignments falling into my lap?" As if he were entitled to the work.

I know, and I'm sure you do too, very talented writers who aren't getting any work and it's not because they were late with scripts or had writer's block. They happened to work for editors who had other ideas, wanted to give a friend a break or what have you and suddenly they're on the outside looking in. Something every writer needs to remember is that they have to work for each assignment. Nothing they've done in the past means they're owed work today.

I don't completely agree with this. I can think of any number of cases where I believe some writer was owed if not work then at least a special consideration. Sometimes — often, in fact — you go above and beyond what you're being paid to do on a job...and there's that understanding, explicit or implicit, that they'll make it up to you on future assignments. Or there's sometimes an agreement — and again, it may be pretty clearly voiced — that if you'll take on difficult jobs for low rates, they'll at least keep 'em coming. And when someone creates a new comic or character, I sure don't think they should later have to audition for work on it like an absolute beginner.

Even in the absence of something of this sort, past service to a company should not be totally forgotten. It isn't in any other line of work. Yes, you're right: A writer has to continue to deliver the goods. But I do think that what they've done in the past ought to matter.

It especially should not be held against them. We've had instances in comics where, as you say, a new editor wanted to give a friend a break — nothing wrong with that — but we've also had editors who assumed (often, wrongly) that newer, younger talent would have newer, fresher ideas, or who just plain didn't want anyone around who'd been there longer than them. Some bosses feel threatened by anyone with more seniority or a lack of indebtedness. I even once heard an editor admit, in a scary burst of candor, "I don't want anyone working for me who doesn't owe their career to me." That guy replaced a lot of good, experienced people with mediocre, inexperienced folks and, by the way, didn't last long in the position.

I don't think the fellow I scolded about lateness thought he was entitled to the work, so much as that he thought that once he was established, getting assignments should get easier. And he's right. It should...and it usually does. Once you're an established, known quantity in any field, it's easier...unless, of course, you develop a bad reputation. That was this writer's mistake. By being late, he'd developed a bad rep. He could also have achieved that by handing in bad work on time. My friend Mike Royer, who's as dependable and professional as anyone who's ever worked in comics, likes to quote a veteran cartoonist named Sparky Moore. Sparky used to say, "You get your first job based on your ability and the rest based on your reli-ability." There's something to that, especially if you define "reli-ability" to include being able to maintain your standard of work.

All of this discussion though of how to get work is skirting the most important factor. Even if you constantly produce quality material on time, there's another very good reason why you might not get hired or be able to sell what you write or draw. It's the same reason good, reliable actors are often unemployed.

And I'm sorry for the cliffhanger but I have to go deal with a dead car today. My old one has breathed its last and I'm dickering for its successor. So I don't have time now to do justice to the topic of what I call The Big Reason freelancers and creative people often go without jobs. I'll try to write about it before the weekend is out. Thank you for the message, Brian. I agree with you...some of the time, which isn't bad. I don't even agree with myself all of the time.

• Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 3:04 PM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Just watch this. Race track announcer Larry Collmus calls a horse race at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Two of the horses' names make things interesting...

• Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 8:51 AM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Michael Joseph Gross has a pretty unflattering portrait of Sarah Palin over at Vanity Fair. To those of us who don't like her, all of this is unsurprising and obvious. To those who like her, it's all irrelevant. Everything is except for the fact that she pisses off the "right" (that is to say, "left") people.

• Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 8:50 AM · LINK

Hanks for the Memory

We sincerely recommend you tune in Stu's Show today. Stu Shostak will be interviewing Hank Garrett — a funny, delightful man who has done enough in show business to fill several Stu's Shows. He was, for example, a star in the professional wrestling game, back when pro wrestling was more than just The Jerry Springer Show with less violence. Hank could easily fill the two hours just with tales of his exploits in the ring, wrassling with the greats.

But then Hank changed careers. That photo of him above left does not mean he became a policeman. He became an actor, joining the cast of one of the all-time great sitcoms, Car 54, Where Are You? The show starred Fred Gwynne and Joe E. Ross, and I think Hank may be the last surviving member of the regular cast. He has wonderful stories about that show (and about Joe E. Ross, in particular) and could spend the whole two hours with them.

However, it would be a shame to just do that and not have him talk about his other acting jobs...like his roles in Death Wish, Harry & Tonto, Serpico, Johnny Dangerously and dozens of others...his critically-acclaimed role in Three Days of the Condor...heck, this guy was even in The Producers. He's been in a hundred-plus TV programs and supplied voices for cartoon shows like G.I. Joe and Garfield. He was a stand-up comedian. He's worked with everyone from Sophia Loren to O.J. Simpson. He's...

Okay, okay. You get the idea. The guy's done everything and he'll be talking about it on Stu's Show today. On the West Coast, it's from 4 PM 'til 6 PM. On the East Coast, it's 7 PM until 9 PM. In other climes, you should be figure out when to tune in...and you tune in by browsing your way over to Shokus Internet Radio. Click where they tell you to click and you'll be listening in as Stu interviews one of my favorite people. Don't miss this one.

• Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 1:36 AM · LINK

A P.S. to the Previous Posting

The big Iraq War cheerleader John Cole admitted how much he got wrong. That's one.

• Posted Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 11:11 PM · LINK

Tonight's Political Comment

Barack Obama's speech this evening doesn't seem to have pleased anyone. Pro-Obama folks thought it was wishy-washy and unfocused. Anti-Obama folks don't like anything he does. Fred Kaplan sums up some of the things wrong with it.

But at least the Iraq War is over...sort of. Was anyone happy with that whole thing? Can anyone explain what we accomplished that was worth all those lives and resources? I mean, apart from stopping Saddam Hussein from using those Weapons of Mass Destruction? Some reporter with Nexis access oughta dig up all those jokes and comments that once dotted the press and Internet about how weapons inspectors like Hans Blix had to be deaf, dumb, blind and bribed not to have found solid evidence of them because even the stupidest person in the world knew that Saddam had 'em. Did you see anyone ever apologize to Mr. Blix and his fellow inspectors? I didn't.

Earlier today on CNN, I saw two people (no one famous) saying that it was too soon to withdraw troops. One was some guy at a truck stop, whose rhetoric was not unlike John McCain's. Someone once summarized McCain's Iraq strategy as: "We stay until there's absolutely no reason for us to stay...and then we continue to stay." I thought that was an unfair exaggeration until I heard a McCain speech that said pretty much that.

The other person was a very sad lady whose son died in Iraq. Her argument was that if we leave now, her son and all the other fallen soldiers will have died in vain. So we owe it to them to stay (i.e., get more soldiers killed) until we accomplish something — anything! — that justifies her loss. That's a sad argument for any war. If some demented leader sent our troops to fight a war that everyone thought was pointless and unwinnable, you could still use that argument as a reason to keep it going. And someone would.

• Posted Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 10:13 PM · LINK

Go Read It!

Lenny Bruce wrote in his autobiography that he got a discharge from the Navy back in World War II by faking homosexuality. Someone has located proof of this.

• Posted Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 9:51 PM · LINK