Some Genteel Pre-July 4 Comedy

For all you Noel Coward fans out there, Moe, Larry and Shemp in Goof On The Roof, directed by the infamous Jules White.

And, for the handful of comedy fetishists who fancy only the most obscure trivia, the little guy who shows up with his big, beautiful, blushing bride (Maxine Gates) in the last minute of this opus is Frank Mitchell, formerly of the knockabout comedy team Mitchell and Durant. . . you know, the two boxers-turned-comedians who beat the crap out of each other on stage and screen in the 20's and 30's.

Just about finished with January 2021 - HALLELUJAH - and, as the robot on our kitchen table keeps incessantly mentioning "The Birthday Roundup," we shall spotlight luminaries born on January 31 today, starting by listening to the swingin' Isham Jones Orchestra.



After raising a nod to birthday boy Franz Schubert, since the last blog post was devoted to Ziegfeld Follies star W.C. Fields, we will start with another Ziegfeld Follies headliner, Eddie Cantor, born on this day in 1892.

Cantor's life and career, fortunately, have been covered at length in David Weinstein's excellent book, The Eddie Cantor Story: A Jewish Life in Performance and Politics.

First and foremost in today's tribute, here's the ultimate classic comedy aficionado Joe Franklin (1926-2015), much-missed expert on all things old school showbiz - and Eddie's #1 fan - remembering his favorite comedian.



Cantor a.k.a. "Banjo Eyes," a first half of the 20th century entertainment powerhouse, starred in burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway, radio, motion pictures and television. Cantor even received the ultimate Hollywood tribute: he was caricatured in animated cartoons.

After years on stage, first appearing with Gus Edwards, then as star of the the Ziegfeld Follies, but before entering talking pictures via short subjects, Eddie Cantor starred in silent features.

One, Special Delivery, was directed by none other than Roscoe Arbuckle and another, Kid Boots co-starred the one, the only Clara Bow, the "It" girl who the cameras adored.



Eddie Cantor first made sound films as early as 1923.



Cantor would re-enter talkies in Paramount 1-reel short subjects.





This pre-Code movie aficionado finds Mr. Cantor's movies, especially the Samuel Goldwyn musical comedies of the 1930's: Palmy Days, The Kid From Spain, Roman Scandals, Kid Millions and Strike Me Pink (the last two co-starring Ethel Merman) very enjoyable. Love the 1932 opus The Kid From Spain, directed by Leo McCarey, as much due to Eddie's hilarious co-star, Lyda Roberti, one of the great comediennes of 1930's stage and screen, as from the Busby Berkeley musical numbers and the wacky comedy of Cantor.




Kid Millions (1934) is a particularly spectacular Eddie Cantor flick.



Also in Kid Millions (1934): the extremely goofy comedienne Eva Sully from Block & Sully, in one of her few silver screen appearances. She is funny, unhinged and way over-the-top, making Cass Daley, Betty Hutton, Judy Canova, Martha Raye, Mabel Todd and fellow Eddie Cantor co-star Joan Davis look shy, retiring and demure by comparison.





A frequent Cantor co-star was Ethel Merman.



When it comes to Eddie Cantor's movies, the elephant in the room remains the preponderance of blackface. Even with historical perspective regarding the first three decades of the 20th century, this stage makeup and staple of entertainment looks indefensible on all levels. Everybody in show business blacked up. Even Bert Williams, the Trinidad-born comedy star of the Ziegfeld Follies, used the burnt cork for his silent film appearances.

His show business career stretched from the Gus Edwards kiddie review shows in 1910 to The Colgate Comedy Hour in the 1950's: Eddie Cantor.




Shifting from classic movies to sports, the greatness of the recently passed Baseball Hall Of Famer Hank Aaron is still heavily on our minds - and it just happens that today, January 31 is also the birthday of several baseball greats.



A particularly stalwart member of the Baseball Hall Of Fame was Ernie Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), a.k.a. Mr. Chicago Cub. Let's play two!





Still with us on January 31, 2021 is Nolan Ryan, born January 31, 1947 and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.



Nolan Ryan, who this blogger saw, in a Giants-Astros game, have one of his extremely rare off days and give up 8 runs at San Francisco's windy Candlestick Park, was termed the Von Ryan Express for throwing unhittable 100 MPH fastballs and knee-buckling curveballs, baffling hitters in both the National and American Leagues.

From The Atomic Archives. . .

Here's the first of what will be several utterly shameless plugs for our next celluloid extravaganza, a Saturday matinee at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theatre in El Cerrito on August 4.

Rod "Shooter" Beck, Closer Extraordinaire (1968-2007) by Paul F. Etcheverry

"I always thought Rod would be the perfect guy to ride in on a Harley every time he came in, because that's how he looked and that's how he pitched." Duane Kuiper, current Giants broadcaster and former Giants player

"In an era when players distance themselves from fans, Beck embraced them. He often held court in the Giants' hotel bar, buying round after round for ordinary people who would chat with him about baseball." Henry Schulman, San Francisco Chronicle

"I got down to 9.2 percent body fat and blew out my elbow, so I said fuck this, give me some grease and donuts." Rod Beck

IN THE GIANTS LOCKER ROOM, AFTER A TOUGH LOSS:

"Are you available?" sportswriter Bruce Jenkins

"Actually, I'm married." Rod Beck

It has been a tough year for that masochistic but undaunted species known as the San Francisco Giants fan. The worst news, infinitely beyond even the most unthinkable humiliation on the field, came yesterday: Rod "Shooter" Beck, Giants closer extraordinaire from 1991 to 1997, was found dead in his Arizona home. He is survived by his wife, Stacey, and daughters, Kayla and Kelsey.

"Shooter" was by all accounts a great guy. He would stay after games just to hang out with fans, shoot the bull and sign autographs. Regarding Rod's gregarious personality, sportswriter Scott Ostler quipped, "Some guys will buy a round for their buddies, or maybe for the house. Beck would buy rounds for Des Moines." The Becks were active fundraisers for AIDS research and the Pediatric Aids Foundation, as well as driving forces in the Giants' "Until There's A Cure Day".

On the field, he was only surpassed as 9th inning guru by his successor, "Rapid Robb" Nen. Both of these guys could, in true "closer" style, scare the living daylights out an unsuspecting hitter - it was their job. He led the spectacular bullpen crew of the 1993 squad (arguably the best Giants team of the past 35 years) with 48 saves and personally nailed the last out in the game that clinched the 1997 West Division title. While never possessing a blistering 100 MPH fastball or even the vicious slider that Robb Nen utilized to blow big-leaguers away, he did serve up a split-finger fastball that dropped precipitiously at just the right moment.

That, plus a Goose Gossage style Fu Manchu mustache and unshakeable determination (no reliever could successfully work in and out of trouble, with or without his "stuff", quite like Beck) was his mojo - and boy, did he work it. As Giants center fielder Daryl Hamilton noted, "The intensity he had coming off the mound was something I'll never forget". Such intimidating and entertaining mound presence carried on the great baseball tradition of such wild man closers as Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabowsky and Dick "The Monster" Radatz.

Since one of the things I like about baseball is that one doesn't necessarily have to be a ultra-buffed matinee idol to succeed, it was a pleasure to see Rod Beck, complete with excess avoirdupois and scraggly signature mullet (long in the back), take the mound and strike guys out. Beck's style, more akin to a Ron "Tater Salad" White concert than a GQ shoot or Hollywood soiree, endeared him to Giants fans.

Considering the recent passings of slick-fielding shortstop José Uribe and third baseman Chris Brown (alas, whose primary claim to fame was his inclusion in a blockbuster trade that brought the Giants slugger Kevin Mitchell, another legendary baseball character), it gives us all pause. If all of us, baseball nuts and non-sports enthusiasts alike, could just remember, always, that since there are absolutely no guarantees that we will be here tomorrow, it is vital to treat others (and ourselves) kindly now, this world would be a better place.

I Lived To See The 100th Post

For my 100th post, I must tip my hat to YouTube, Daily Motion, and Archive.org. They, in conjunction with many of the blogs in my "Link" section have supplanted broadcast media as my source of home entertainment (other than playing music, of course). Boy, am I glad all three are still around - and I live in an area such terrific and comprehensive DVD purveyors as LeVideo and Amoeba Music.

I'm glad because it's possible to see clips like the following: the opening ten minutes from Hellzapoppin', the 1941 Universal feature adapted from the fabulously insane Broadway revue of the same name. This classic comedy is not available on DVD - and, be still my heart, features Olsen and Johnson, Hugh Herbert, Mischa Auer AND Shemp Howard.



I'm doubly glad because if I can't find that VHS tape I have somewhere with the Ernie Kovacs commercials for Dutch Masters, here they are:



And, if scouring every DVD store and online outlet for hard-hitting, no-holds-barred le jazz hot - the kind that isn't allowed on television anymore (actually, it never was allowed on television in the United States) - STILL turns up nothing. . . here's a wonderfully incendiary 1974 performance by the larger-than-life Charles Mingus Quintet.

A Date With Dizzy

Animation producer/director John Hubley created this very funny and still relevant short about the fun-filled realities of making television commercials back in 1956. Dizzy, as usual, sounds fantastic and there are also several stellar Hubley/Storyboard Productions commercials in the mix.

Happy Birthday, Eric Dolphy And Brian Wilson - Oh, And It's Burt Bacharach Day

Eric Dolphy, that most brilliant and idiosyncratic of jazz improvisors, would have been 79 today. For Eric's utter mastery of clarinets, saxophones and flute, as well as his savvy as a composer and ability to tackle any genre of music, he remains among the great artists, a true 20th century giant.





To Brian Wilson, the master of symphonic pop, a very happy 65th to you - so glad you are still here!



Enjoy "Heroes And Villains", the opening song from Brian's greatest work, SMiLE.



For Burt Bacharach Day, the randomly chosen 20th of any given month, here is vocalist Trijntje Oosterhuis, performing Falling Out Of Love with the Metropole Orchestra.

Whatever It Is, I'm Against It

Groucho aptly sums up my feelings about political parties, group-think (even groups I like), organized religion and just about any "ism" any of us can think of, in this great opening song from Horse Feathers, a 1932 Paramount feature starring The Four Marx Brothers.

Max Linder: The First Movie Comedian

Parisian boulevardier Max Linder was cinema's first star comedian, an accomplished headliner in France before D.W. Griffith and Allan Dwan started their film careers; Chaplin described him as "the great master".

Linder (1883-1925) starred in his own series of comedy short subjects as early as 1905, before Mack Sennett, before Fred Mace, before John Bunny, before "Keystone Mabel" Normand, even before Marcel Perez.

The dapper, top-hatted performer's innovative role in developing screen comedy is comparable to Emile Cohl's pioneering contributions to animation. The perpetually-cool "silk hat slicker" character of the inspired 1920's comic actor Raymond Griffith could be regarded as a creative homage to Max Linder.

Lobotronic Film Fest on June 7

On June 7th Lobotronic promises a monstrously good time to benefit the inaugural year of the Sacramento Horror Film Festival, (October 19th-21st).

The “Lobotronic Film Show” showcases a parade of bizarre short films, monster movie trailers, vintage commercials and twisted cartoons that might otherwise go unseen by mainstream audiences. Last year’s midnight Lobotronic at the Studio Theater in Sacramento quickly sold out! Because the crowd was so enthusiastic, the 2-hour show was spontaneously extended to 4 hours. Even at 4 AM the audience was still crying for more!

This year’s event promises to be even better with an earlier start time and 3 rooms of entertainment! In addition, this year’s event will be held at Willemina’s fabulous Restaurant and Bar in Old Sacramento, which offers, in addition to a full bar, an extensive menu of creative deep fried food, like the deep fried pizza, the deep fried pickle, and the amazing “Scotch Egg!” which is a hard boiled egg covered in sausage, breaded and deep fried! The “Lobotronic Film Show” will be hosted by, nationally syndicated Horror Host, Mr. Lobo and, cult sensation and comic book heroine, The Queen of Trash! This formidable couple has also signed on to host the upcoming Sacramento Horror Film Festival at the Colonial Theater this Fall. The Sacramento Horror Film Festival will also feature a Lobotronic Film Show as part of its programming.

One night only! The “Lobotronic Film Show” starts at 9pm on Thursday, June 7th, at Willemina’s Restaurant and Bar (1023 Front Street, Old Sacramento). 21 and over only. The admission is $8. All proceeds will go to support the inaugural year of The Sacramento Horror Film Festival in October. Come out and support Sacramento’s esoteric cinema scene! Photos and more details (including advance ticket information) can be found at

www.Sachorrorfilmfest.com

Jammin' The Blues

Here, in its entirety, is the classic Warner Bros. musical short Jammin' The Blues (1944), directed by Life Magazine photographer Gjon Mili. The incomparable Lester "Prez" Young works his magic alongside Harry "Sweets" Edison (trumpet), Marlowe Morris (piano), Red Callendar (bass), Barney Kessel (guitar), John Simmons (bass), Marie Bryant (vocals), two legendary drummers (Basie big band heartbeat Jo Jones and Louis Armstrong All-Star percussionist Big Sid Catlett) and a very young Illinois Jacquet, who takes us out with a hot screaming blast recalling his wonderfully orgiastic solo on Lionel Hampton's "Flying Home". And Marie Bryant and Archie Savage cut a mean jitterbug rug.

Mili's most stylish "midnight symphony" affected me personally. Upon my first viewing of Jammin' The Blues - in a 16mm print way way back when - I immediately sought out all recordings and info about Lester Young and Illinois Jacquet I could find. I was not disappointed. Still haven't been. It eventually led to an amazing night in a club listening to Illinois soulfully play "Round Midnight". . . ON BASSOON.

To this day, I still seek certain amazing recordings of these ying/yang saxophonists on CD:

• Prez, in early 1946, riffing inspired chorus after inspired chorus on "Tea For Two", from a Jazz At The Philharmonic quartet appearance (and very ably supported by Kenny Kersey, Ray Brown and J.C. Heard).
• And, possibly from the same concert, "I Can't Get Started" with Lester, Jacquet and Coleman Hawkins together.
• Jacquet's red-hot 1965 live recordings, as part of a trio with Hampton Orchestra B-3 wizard Milt Buckner and "Mr. Boston", Alan Dawson, on drums.
  

Prez, Ella, Hawk, Bird and Buddy

The always oh-so-sweet tenor saxophone of the great Lester Young leads this very "Jazz At The Philharmonic" style swing band - also featuring Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Bill Harris, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Flip Phillips, Hank Jones and Ray Brown. Here's a clip from this 1950 film, featuring Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins with the rhythm section.

Fun On The Frets with Joe Pass and Niels Henning Orsted Pederson

Dear reader, I was in a seriously crappy mood today until finding this remarkable video of Joe Pass and Niels Henning Orsted Pederson burning up the frets live in 1981. I feel better already!

Yes, Joe Pass, jazz chord melody guru, Ella Fitzgerald accompanist, teacher and guitar-slinger, improvising at fever pitch with a guy who played ridiculously fast Charlie Parker melody lines on an upright bass. A FREAKIN' STANDUP BASS, FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

And, like the promethean "Yardbird", they are no longer with us on this earth, but continue to spead joy, here playing the living daylights out of the ol' bebop warhorse "Donna Lee" at a concert in Antibes.

Think you can play the guitar? Ha ha ha - think again!

Burt Bacharach Day

While I regret that there is not a "Mr. Bungle Plays Burt Bacharach" one-hour extravaganza or clip of Rahsaan Roland Kirk transforming "This Guy's In Love With You" into a fire-breathing incantation to post here, enjoy this remarkable medley of "A House Is Not A Home" and "One Less Bell To Answer" from Barbra Streisand's guest shot on a 1971 Burt Bacharach television special.

In the immortal words of Linda "Coffee Talk" Richman, Barbra's performance is "like butta." She sings harmony with herself!

Let's Be Common

"Let's Be Common" is one spirited knockabout number from Ernst Lubitsch's classic musical The Love Parade (1929). I love it! For the first and last time, here's the team of British acrobatic comic Lupino Lane and the genuinely charming dancer, singer and comedianne Lillian Roth. Yes, the Lillian Roth, the one portrayed (by Susan Hayward) in the 1955 weepy I'll Cry Tomorrow, based on her autobiography. I prefer to remember her as she is here, very funny, very energetic and very cute.




Among the greatest acrobats to appear in movies, Lupino Lane starred in wonderful silent two-reel comedies, in which he performs seemingly impossible stunts, over and over and over. After retiring from movies, he starred for decades on the London stage. Lupino's niece: the formidable director and actress Ida Lupino.

My Favorite Psychotronic Iconoclastic Comedy Team from the pre-Code Era

"Ultimately, the team's output for RKO is a mixed bag that seems to be something of a Rorschach test for classic comedy fans." Aaron Neathery, film historian

Tied with The Brothers Marx, Bert Wheeler & Robert Woolsey and such fast-talking dames as Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell as my pre-Code movie favorites, the comedy team of Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough make me laugh out loud, for reasons - to paraphrase Pete Townshend and The Who - I can't explain.




Their comic style  is, to say the least, aggressively un-cuddly and as anarchic as Olsen & Johnson, The Marx Bros. and The Three Stooges.

And I repeat, Clark & McCullough are not cute in any way, shape or form.



Even now, in 21st century, the most diehard classic film buffs and comedy geeks will either be in utter hysterics or register blank, uncomprehending stares at the team's stark raving mad antics.



Bobby Clark (1888-1960) and Paul McCullough (1883-1936) started their showbiz career as teenagers. Their hard knocks-filled path culminated in starring on Broadway in The Ramblers and George Gershwin's Strike Up The Band.





As production of early talkies proved quite the opportunity for vaudeville and Broadway acts, the team was signed by Fox to appear in two-reel comedies and featurettes, starting in 1928.







Only two entries from Clark and McCullough's Fox series, The Belle Of Samoa and Waltzing Around, still exist.



The former, in this 21st century world now available via YouTube, is a fascinating 1920's vaudeville time capsule.



The latter exists in 16mm home movie prints and, from the accounts and reviews of those who have seen it, gives Paul McCullough is much more of a focal role than he would in the team's later films.





Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough subsequently starred in 21 comedy shorts for RKO Radio Pictures in 1931-1935. I personally find the RKO Radio Pictures comedies of Clark & McCullough hilarious, much in the take-no-prisoners spirit of the pre-MGM Marx Brothers.



In particular, I like their 1934 opus, Odor In The Court.







Several of the funniest entries in the team's RKO series were directed by Mark Sandrich, who later was at the helm for a wildly successful series of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals.



Clark & McCullough have been in the "lesser known movie comedy teams" category for one principal reason, besides the fact that they never starred in a feature film: Paul McCullough's suicide in 1936.



Even jaded, diehard 1930's movie comedy buffs watch their films and ask "why doesn't Paul have more to do?" and "isn't Bobby running roughshod over Paul?"



Unfortunately, the answer is often yes - and the chemistry between the boys onscreen appears uneasy at best. It is said that he is more of an equal partner in their early films for Fox than in the later RKO series, where Paul frequently has little to do other than be Bobby's straight man.



After his partner's death, Bobby Clark retired briefly before returning to the stage and pursuing a successful career as a solo comedian.


Bobby only once appeared in a movie again, in The Goldwyn Follies.



While these aren’t the easiest films in the world to see, there are DVDs of Clark & McCullough comedies available from A-1 Video, as well as Encore Entertainment and Looser Than Loose.



Am I thankful for DIY classic film preservationists and historians who have kept Clark & McCullough's onscreen legacy alive. YES!

More Psychotronic Cartoons By New York's Van Beuren Studio

Here's Gypped In Egypt, a 1929 B&W classic from those prolific purveyors of low-budget surrealism, the ex-Paul Terry staffers of New York's Van Beuren Studio. Utterly jam-packed with that distinctive early sound era blend of laughs and utter bizarreness, it's just one of at least eight Van Beuren cartoons that consist entirely of all principals getting chased around by skeletons, mummies, apparitions and ghouls for no apparent reason. The ersatz stars: a Mutt & Jeff-like duo known as "Don & Waffles", who do a most excellent job of falling into a cartoon universe abyss - and then really getting into trouble.



"Don & Waffles" would soon be redesigned as goofy-looking humans and christened "Tom & Jerry". . . eight years before the debut of Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera's cat and mouse duo.

We Believe

Golden State Warriors head coach Don Nelson

and team president Chris Mullin

The Golden State Warriors will square off in game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Utah shortly. This is a great and improbable story, and unless the Warriors somehow beat Utah and subsequently play the run-and-gun Phoenix Suns, the best playoff series in the NBA.

As anyone who has been watching the playoffs knows, The Warriors' 42-40 record and #8 finish in the West is deceptive. The playoff team as we know it was not together until the last few weeks of the regular season. There is little resemblance between this exciting team and the injury-decimated squad that had a 26-35 record as of February '07 and finished 34-48 in the past two seasons under former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. As soon as Baron Davis, Jason Richardson and Stephen Jackson were on the floor together, the Warriors tranformed into a contender - and beat the living daylights out of the Detroit Pistons.

Perhaps most amazing: the remarkably savvy moves by Chris Mullin and Rod Higgins. Clearly, these guys have a sixth sense of when another team is desperate to unload top-notch talent. For a nice backup point guard (Speedy Claxton), a grizzled veteran at the end of the trail (Dale Davis), two role players (Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and Troy Murphy) and a young player struggling to learn coach Nelson's system (Ike Diogu), the Warriors received an exceptional point guard (The Baron), the best sixth man in the NBA (Stephen Jackson) and a solid front-line player (Al Harrington). Nice going, Chris and Rod. Very nice going. And Chris convinced Don Nelson to abandon that bucolic Hawaii retirement for one more go at coaching. It's a fitting payback after decades of dreadful Warriors trades and questionable draft choices under multiple regimes.

Whatever happens in this series, it is a new day for this long-cursed franchise. If the principals return and stay healthy, this team will contend for the Western Division title in 2007-2008.

I extend big time kudos to the players, coach Don Nelson and the loyal, vocal, long-suffering Warriors fans.

More Psychotronic Cartoons: The Charles Mintz/Columbia Studio

The animated antics from this studio, in this correspondent's opinion, are among the very best of the early 1930's. Ace animator Dick Huemer's work on the first two seasons of Scrappy, as well as Manny Gould's animation on Krazy Kat, made for quite a few brilliant and original cartoons.

Happy Birthday, Bob Clampett

I'm raising my soon to be significantly less than half-full glass to Bob Clampett. He's definitely among The Beatles of cartoon directors (with Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and Frank Tashlin - perhaps with Friz Freleng as either "5th Beatle" Billy Preston or Pete Best). I am proud to have worked, in collaboration with animator, filmmaker and historian Mark Kausler, on one of the first published filmographies of his work way back when (uh, I was a zygote at the time, really).



For a bit of background on Bob's career, check out this superb post on David Germain's blog.

Then take a gander at this remarkable scene, by ace animator Robert McKimson, from one of Clampett and crew's masterpiece Book Revue. This is followed by the complete cartoon.

Bob Clampett is very important to me personally. On the same day when I met Bob in the 70's, I bought my first 16mm films. He was uncommonly nice and generous with his time to me, then a goofy 17 year old long-haired guitarist obsessed with music and old movies (now I'm the same thing, only 51). He was also very supportive of my efforts to get recognition for animation as an art form - at that time, cartoons and comedy in particular got the full Rodney Dangerfield treatment.

At least to me, Bob was absolutely effusive in his praise of other artists, more interested in talking about stuff that inspired him - whether it was the exciting swing music of Duke Ellington or the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Willis O' Brien's innovative stop-motion animation in THE LOST WORLD or Tex Avery's cartoons - than about his own work. He loved his collaborators and mentors; his eyes lit up whenever I said the words Rod Scribner, Manny Gould (for non-animation buffs, these were just two of the brilliant animators who contributed virtuoso work to Bob's cartoons) or Tex Avery. He was also the only "Golden Age Of Cartoons" icon I heard praise lesser known but important animation directors as Hugh Harman, Rudy Ising and Sid Marcus. All of this was in stark contradiction to a lot of things that were said and written about Bob during his lifetime.

Raise your glass and enjoy any one of the amazing WB cartoons directed by Bob Clampett, one of the greatest animation visionaries and comic minds who ever lived.

Thanks For One Amazing Show

Thanks to all of you who made the 15th Anniversary KFJC Psychotronix "Cinco de Psycho" Film Festival a memorable night. Psychotronic Bob, Austin Space, Robert Emmett, Psychotronic Scott, horror host Mr. Lobo, Erik "Mighty Megafant" Yee and his "time machine", the always-fetching Queen Of Trash, a helpful group of KFJC volunteers and our old friend and invaluable crew member from countless shows through the 1990's, Mr. Irwin Swan.

Oh - and yes, thank you, the audience, for rockin' the house!

15th Anniversary KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival

The 15th anniversary KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival arrives seven months early - just in case we find that "Joan Crawford Family At Christmastime" reel in time to concoct a truly festive holiday program in December - and offers a veritable gurgling cauldron of pop culture cheese destined to cast aspersions on many a Cinco De Mayo memory.

We promise to show only the most unintentionally hilarious 1950's commercials and "educational" films, bizarrest obscure classic cartoons, trailers from the worst movies, the most double-entendre packed Pre-Code shorts, the cheapest international monster movies, the campiest musical shorts, the most surreal silent movie clips and TV programs that should never have aired.

The KFJC Psychotronix Film Festival
When: May 5, 2007, 7:00 to 11:30 PM
Where: Room 5015 on the Foothill College campus, Los Altos Hills, El Monte exit off of Highway 280
Who: Hosted by Robert Emmett of KFJC-FM's "Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show"
Why: We like cheesy movies.
How Much: $5 Donation to Benefit KFJC and $2 for Parking
Park: Lot #5 right before the Brown Trailers - follow the signs

The shows often sell out. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Here We Go Again - Another Eulogy by Paul F. Etcheverry

A few months ago, I wrote about this becoming the "R.I.P. Blog", as so many greats from the 20th century are dying, you could post tributes every day. So I have resisted that temptation. . . until now. A veritable gaggle of important folks have shuffled off this mortal coil in the past few days.

For all his political importance, Boris Yeltsin, the first elected leader in Russian history, impressed me most with his public attempt at dancing.
Howard Dean, John McCain - eat your hearts out!

Boris, no doubt, was, to quote a certain early 70's blaxploitation film, one "bad mutha. . . shut yo mouth", who singlehandedly stopped a coup by a gang of ex-Politboro boys. And then presided as the Russian economy essentially collapsed and slowly made a wobbly recovery.

I loved it when Boris and former President Bill Clinton had "summits".
Boris and Bill were always smiling and red-faced. Stoli, baby! Kind of amazes me that Boris' hand-picked successor turned out to be "Bad Vlad" Putin. I'd rather knock back Stolis with Boris, any day.

We have also seen the sudden passings of choreographer Michael Smuin, economist Paul Erdman, author David Halberstam and composer Andrew Hill. A Tony and Emmy award winner, Smuin's numerous credits followed a lengthy stint as principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Erdman was the rare economist who could write entertaining and compelling copy, both non-fiction and fiction. I've only read a few of Halberstam's 21 books, but found them quite wonderful. "The Powers That Be" and "The Best And The Brightest" alone are veritable treasure troves of juicy political stories. The anecdotes about Richard M. Nixon in the former are in themselves worth the price of admission.

The artist who had the most impact on me personally was the one who you will not hear about, jazz composer and pianist Andrew Hill. Hill was one of the greatest jazz artists who ever lived.

I caught one of Hill's last concerts at the 2006 San Francisco Jazz Festival. A skinny little unassuming dude with a high voice, he would sit down at the piano and then blow everyone away with his imagination, creative energy and stark originality. His music was very complex, polyrhythmic and changed tones, colors, rhythms and timbres seemingly every moment. And the living, breathing interplay between Andrew and his rhythm section, in some ways reminiscent of the classic Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett trios, was a thing of beauty.

Andrew Hill's jazz demanded a lot of the listener. However, the effort and concentration always paid exponential dividends. You not only learn a lot musically listening to Andrew Hill, but it is splendid training in the art of being totally, absolutely, in the moment, Zen-like.

Louis Armstrong, Copenhagen, 1933

Burt Bacharach Day

Here is a beautiful version of "The Look Of Love" from Burt Bacharach and Ron Isley's 2003 CD, Isley Meets Bacharach – Here I Am. I love it! Where can I buy a DVD of their Soundstage special?

Silent-Era Psychotronic Cartoons By The Fleischer Studio

KO-KO's HYPNOTISM Max Fleischer Cartoon
Uploaded by NilbogLAND

Still More Psychotronic Cartoons By New York's Fleischer Studio

1932-Betty Boop - Sink or Swim (S.O.S.)
Uploaded by iToons

More Psychotronic Cartoons

Betty Boop - The Dancing Fool (1932)

Still On Hiatus

I'm doing OK, but my current state is best exemplified by the song Sitting In Limbo by the great Jimmy Cliff.

Burt Bacharach Day

Having completely missed last month's Burt Bacharach Day, here are two Bacharach clips for the 20th of March, 2007.



First, enjoy Trijntje Oosterhuis as she belts out "Walk On By" and "Anyone Who Had A Heart", backed by the Metropole Orchestra. Both will be performing an entire concert of Bacharach songs at Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall on April 6.

Next up is a recent Bacharach composition (from the At This Time album), Go Ask Shakespeare, sensitively performed by Rufus Wainwight. It's a bittersweet and beautiful song with a great lyric by Burt.




And with that, I go back on hiatus. . .

On Hiatus

For personal reasons, I will be taking a break from blogging for awhile.

Is there any place I would recommend going to during my hiatus? Yes, absolutely - go to voice artist April Winchell's website, it's great.

Sir Terrance Allan 'Spike' Milligan

Attention! Minimalist absurdist at work!

Otherwise known as Spike Milligan (1918-2002), who, with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe, created (Python predecessor) The Goon Show for BBC radio from 1950 to 1959. This and the following sketch are from his last television series, There's A Lot Of It About, circa early 1980's.

To paraphrase Catharton.com:

At the 1994 British Comedy Awards, host Jonathan Ross was going along on autopilot spouting cliches as he presented Milligan with a lifetime achievement award and read a gushing letter from Prince Charles. Here is Spike's response, on live TV:




Spike later sent Charles an apology - and cheerfully asked if he'd blown his chances of a knighthood.

Trailer - Blazing Saddles

Blazing Saddles 1974
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The Two Greatest Television Comedies You Never Heard Of

My first exposure to no-holds-barred British comedy was not Monty Python, but a show that ran on American TV in 1971, I believe as a summer replacement. An international production featuring wildly outrageous sketches and Terry Gilliam cut-out animation, it was titled The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine.

Terry Gilliam's opening with Marty Feldman as a "reject" on an assembly line - and closing with a host of bizarre 1890's figures "losing their heads" while saying "Goodbye" - resonated with me. I also recall a delightfully campy musical segment with Barbara "Agent 99" Feldon singing "The Codfish Ball". More generally, I remember that I just loved this program, and wouldn't see its like again for a couple more years, when the Python shows hit PBS.

About ten years later, I got the opportunity to see a complete Marty Feldman Comedy Machine show. The cast included chief Goon and patron saint of Britcom Spike Milligan, as well as three actors from The Benny Hill Show. The guest star: Orson Welles. The writers: Milligan, Feldman, Barry Levinson and a post-Sid Caesar, pre-M*A*S*H Larry Gelbart. While not necessarily brilliant from fade-in to fade-out (what sketch comedy program is?), much of it was unbelievably funny. Among many highlights: Marty as Dr. Jekyll - AND Mr. Hyde - accepting an award at a banquet, Orson Welles hawking "DICTIONARY - THE MOVIE" and Milligan as an insane lounge-lizard performer singing "The Girl From Ipanema."

Let's also hope that whoever is sitting on those Marty Feldman Comedy Machine shows will decide there's a buck to be made by reissuing the series on a DVD box.

Unfortunately, because these shows - and Feldman's BBC programs - are obscure, there seems to be a lot less interest in him out on the Web than in his contemporaries and successors.

Here's an inspired and Python-esque program (that actually preceded Monty Python's Flying Circus) in which Marty Feldman was a cast member, At Last The 1948 Show, featuring John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor and the late great Graham Chapman:

Cartoons And Clarinets At Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum - Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

Yours truly will be the ringmaster/producer/film programmer/emcee for, as the inimitable Ed Sullivan used to say, a "really big shoe" just down the block from the Niles Canyon locales where Charlie Chaplin and "Broncho Billy" Anderson made movies, drank beer and chased women (not necessarily in that order) way back in 1915.

"Cartoons And Clarinets" will feature live music and sound effects by Beth Custer (Clubfoot Orchestra, Trance Mission, Beth Custer Ensemble) and Ralph Carney (Tom Waits, B52s, CarneyBallJohnson) - who will bring their stalwart improvisational derring-do, vivid imaginations and joie de vivre to the party.

Cartoons will include surreal classics by Winsor McCay, Fleischer, Otto "Felix The Cat" Messmer, Ladislaw Starewicz (the Russian entymologist-turned-stop motion animation innovator) and many more. We'll also have an amazing Georges Melies "trick-film" from 1906 and a live-action comedy short, His Wooden Wedding, directed by Leo McCarey and starring Charley Chase, 1920's master of silly walks.

When: Friday, February 23, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.

Where: Edison Theatre, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, 37417 Niles Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94536-2949

Why: cartoon fun and kick-ass music

How much: $10

Online order form: http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/cartoons_clarinets_order_form.pdf

Webpage: http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/index.htm

Phone: 510 494-1411

And Now, A John K-Animated Word From Our Sponsor

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And Now, An Animated Word For Our Sponsor

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The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 12

Kovacs was one of the great comedy creators - an actor/writer/director who utilized the small screen as a creative tool. His surviving shows (most of what's left remains the 1961 half-hour specials produced for ABC) reflect a restlessly inventive comic genius. Fortunately, Edie Adams worked tirelessly to preserve Ernie's legacy. One of the splendid products of this is the 2-DVD "Best Of Ernie Kovacs" set available from White Star Video.

Since I don't have a clip from Ernie's classic late-50's NBC specials, "Kovacs On Music" and "Eugene" (and alas, for the most part, kinescopes of Ernie's 1950's shows from Philadelphia and New York do not exist), not to mention the brilliant Dutch Masters commercials starring Ernie and Edie Adams - too bad - we'll finish this up with. . .

Kovacs facts (mostly from the best book on Ernie I've seen, Kovacsland by Diana Rico)

Born: January 23, 1919 in Trenton, NJ
Died: January 19, 1962 in Beverly Hills, CA

After very nearly dying of pneumonia at 19, Ernie lived the rest of his life at an absolute fever pitch, sleeping as little as possible.

Pallbearers at Ernie's funeral included Frank SInatra, Dean Martin and best friend Jack Lemmon.

Ernie's screen comedy hero: Jacques Tati.

Ernie's unrealized goal: produce, direct and write live-action films. It is said that he approached Sir Alec Guinness, whom he met on the Our Man In Havana shoot, with the idea of doing a "Eugene" feature.

Ernie's mother, Mary, was by all accounts one powerful woman, not to be messed with.

Ernie's daughters, Elizabeth and Kippie, were kidnapped by his estranged first wife, found many months later living in backwoods squalor in Cassia, Florida.

Ernie's signoff line: IT'S BEEN REAL.

Retrospectives: The Museum Of Broadcasting's "The Vision Of Ernie Kovacs" .

How did the innovative and groundbreaking 1961 Ernie Kovacs Show get its timeslot on ABC? Primarily because his programs did wonders for the sales of Dutch Masters cigars. . . and because Consolidated Cigar's Jack Mogulescu was a friend of Ernie's and Edie's.

Little known Kovacs gem: his superb and nuanced performance in Five Golden Hours, co-starring Cyd Charisse (the phenomenal and drop-dead gorgeous dancer from such MGM musicals as Singin In The Rain and The Band Wagon).

It's been real. Thanks, Ernie and Edie.

The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 11

The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 10

Leslie the Mean Animal Trainer
by Percy Llewelyn Dovetonsils

Leslie worked in a circus
he worked in a great big cage.
He smacked the lions
and beat the bears
and put them all in a rage.
He kicked the lions with iron sneakers
and rolled up army cots.
He put cleaning fluid on all the leopards
and sneered when they lost their spots.
But a chimpanzee got even with him...
Leslie got killed by some smells,
when he stuck his head the lion's mouth
He had liver smeared on his lapels.