Quips and Quotations (Footlights Forever Edition)

 

1933-2024

Many of the shows I danced in don't exist on film, but they do exist in the memories of those who were in the theater for that single moment in time. And nothing can replace that.

--Chita Rivera

Only in people's memories? Chita, darling, I know you're a Broadway legend and all that, but every Spider Woman must have her...

...Web!

Did you catch what Katie Couric said at the end of that? I'd like to think even Little Miss Tuffet would stick around for these posterity-positive performances:

 

  

Graphic Grandeur (America Faust Edition)

 

I'm just hoping the rest of the country doesn't complete the sale in November.

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich.

Quips and Quotations (When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie Edition)

 

1926-2024

I try to find stories that I would think that everyone would find interesting, and just a good entertaining story, and then if I can find a story that has a raison d'etre behind it that I feel is important then that's the best for me.

--Norman Jewison, filmmaker

(I like all of the following movies, but see if you can guess which one is my personal favorite--Kirk):

The Cincinatti Kid (1965)

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Jesus Christ, Superstar (1973)

Moonstruck (1987)

 

 

Graphic Grandeur (Man of Lithium Edition)

 

DC house style art by Al Plastino

Fears that AI will eventually replace humanity run rampant these days, but such concerns are nothing new. Back in 1957, long before Sam Altman was born, one of the chief worries apparently was that this technology could replace a superhero! 

Of course, that fear has turned out to be unfounded.

Not a robot, just a younger actor.

 

 

 

 

Last Exit to Brooklyn

 

I'm sure all you Honeymooners fans out there recognize these three folks, even if they're attired a bit differently than usual. That's because it's just a rehearsal, and not even a dress rehearsal at that. Sitting is Art Carney, who played Ed Norton. Standing behind him is Audrey Meadows, who portrayed Alice Kramden. And as Trixie Norton we have Joyce Randolph (who died just this past Saturday at age 99-- RIP) But where's the big guy, Ralph Kramden, who Jackie Gleason so memorably brought to life? Turns out Gleason didn't like to rehearse, as he wanted his on-air performance to be spontaneous. That apparently was less of a concern to Carney, Meadows, and Randolph (whose own on-air performances were pretty good anyway) so they just rehearsed without him. I assume somebody read Gleason's lines to the other three. Maybe a producer, or a stagehand, or whoever took that picture. It all worked out in the end.

Still, a post about The Honeymooners minus Gleason just doesn't seem right! So here's what I'm going to do, folks. Through the magic of computerized special effects, I'll insert Jackie Gleason, aka, Ralph Kramden, into that long-ago rehearsal.

Viola! 

Take a look:

Well, that's as close as I could get.

Quips and Quotations (Simmering Simians Simile Edition)

 

"More fun than a barrel of monkeys." Has anyone ever stopped to think how cranky, if not downright vicious, a barrelful of monkeys would be, especially once released from the barrel?

--Tom Shales, longtime and widely syndicated TV critic for the Washington Post

1944-2024

Corrections and Retractions (Supermajority Supermeddling Edition)

 

The Ohio House of Representatives has overridden Mike DeWine's veto of Bill 68, banning gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers prescribed by a doctor, for those under the age of 18. In addition, the bill bans medical professionals from even diagnosing gender dysphoria in minors, and, going outside the realm of medicine, prohibits transgender females in K-12 and college from participating in girls' and women's sports. The Ohio Senate (currently on vacation) still has to sign off on it, but expectations are that it will.

It's a setback for the LGBTQ community and its allies, but we've been set back before. And before. And before. 

The good fight continues.