Granted, it’s not a big involvement. On FRASIER, whenever Dr. Crane
spoke to a listener on his radio show they got a celebrity to play the
caller. Kevin Bacon did one for a show my partner David and I wrote.
And recently my daughter and her husband wrote on CALL YOUR MOTHER starring Kyra Sedgwick who is married to Kevin Bacon. So I'm two degrees from that end.
And you can now link Kevin to any of the other unlikely celebrities I wrote for or directed.
Dr. Timothy Leary did a FRASIER phone call for one of our shows. That’s right. We wrote for Dr. Timothy Leary. You'd think that would be good for some complimentary LSD at the Free Clinic, wouldn't you?
Also, we wrote jokes for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William J. Crowe. He did a CHEERS we scripted. See, aren’t I a name dropper?
Craig Ferguson guested on an episode of ALMOST PERFECT. So it’s just a few steps from Kevin Bacon to Craig Ferguson’s robot. Amaze your friends!
Then
there are the athletes. We wrote for Wade Boggs (later to learn in
his mistress’ tell-all in Playboy that he only took the job for a free
trip to LA to bang her), Kevin McHale (who was sensational!), and Luis
Tiant. (who also would have been great if only you could understand one
single solitary thing he was saying – even after sixty takes).
So in only two steps you can get from Kevin Bacon to Luis Tiant. There’s a huge bar bet waiting to be won.
As a director, I had the pleasure of coaxing comic brilliance out of Karl Malone (in this case “the Mail Man” did not deliver – oy!), funnyman Mike Ditka (“a little more energy, Mike”), and Terry Bradshaw (“a little less energy, Terry. In fact, a LOT less energy. In fact, just stand there.”)
Oh sure, I’ve worked with a lot of top flight actors but you know all of them and could probably get to Kevin Bacon through other paths. The real challenge comes when someone throws Art Garfunkel at you (FRASIER caller), or you’re at the national finals and for the world’s championship you’re given the name Bombo the orangutan (did a JUST SHOOT ME I directed).
So use me. Be my guest. It’s my little way of Paying It Forward. The only thing disconcerting about providing this useful public service is that all these celebrities that I worked with so intimately over the years – I bet not one remembers me and knows who I am. But that's okay. I'm sure Bombo doesn't know who Kevin Bacon is either.
And you can now link Kevin to any of the other unlikely celebrities I wrote for or directed.
Dr. Timothy Leary did a FRASIER phone call for one of our shows. That’s right. We wrote for Dr. Timothy Leary. You'd think that would be good for some complimentary LSD at the Free Clinic, wouldn't you?
Also, we wrote jokes for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William J. Crowe. He did a CHEERS we scripted. See, aren’t I a name dropper?
Craig Ferguson guested on an episode of ALMOST PERFECT. So it’s just a few steps from Kevin Bacon to Craig Ferguson’s robot. Amaze your friends!
So in only two steps you can get from Kevin Bacon to Luis Tiant. There’s a huge bar bet waiting to be won.
As a director, I had the pleasure of coaxing comic brilliance out of Karl Malone (in this case “the Mail Man” did not deliver – oy!), funnyman Mike Ditka (“a little more energy, Mike”), and Terry Bradshaw (“a little less energy, Terry. In fact, a LOT less energy. In fact, just stand there.”)
Oh sure, I’ve worked with a lot of top flight actors but you know all of them and could probably get to Kevin Bacon through other paths. The real challenge comes when someone throws Art Garfunkel at you (FRASIER caller), or you’re at the national finals and for the world’s championship you’re given the name Bombo the orangutan (did a JUST SHOOT ME I directed).
So use me. Be my guest. It’s my little way of Paying It Forward. The only thing disconcerting about providing this useful public service is that all these celebrities that I worked with so intimately over the years – I bet not one remembers me and knows who I am. But that's okay. I'm sure Bombo doesn't know who Kevin Bacon is either.
I found that a *lot* of the shortest links to Kevin Bacon ran through JFK; which makes sense since it had a huge A-list cast.
ReplyDeleteLots of 2 link chains from Garfunkel to Bacon. Easiest is Garfunkel to Nicholson in Carnal Knowledge, Nicholson to Bacon in A Few Good Men.
ReplyDeleteWasn’t Bombo also a chimp that Frasier the psychiatrist worked with on Cheers, prompting the grim line “Bombo is dead”?
ReplyDeleteI've met the crew of Apollo 13, so that's a pretty short link. I've also met Conrad Bachmann, who starred with Bacon in TREMORS. Bacon has worked with so many people, I'm sure such connections are more common than many of us would assume.
ReplyDeleteAfter I was a contestant on "Jeopardy!", I discovered someone goes through IMDB and adds all of the contestants as "cast members". Thanks to that kind soul, my Bacon Number dropped from approximately 13,807,342 to 2. Better yet, my "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Number", "Eric Idle Number", "Jon Stewart Number", "Leslie Nielsen Number" and "President Joe Biden Number" all dropped to 1.
ReplyDeleteBen,
ReplyDeleteAs a huge JEOPARDY fan I remember you. You were on for three or four days, weren't you? Congratulations. Just getting on JEOPARDY is a tremendous achievement.
To the extent that I might have any degrees of separation to Kevin Bacon, this blog is probably pretty much it.
ReplyDeleteNow point me in the direction of Blossom, I wouldn't mind dating her.
Oscar Mayer is the only bacon I'm close to. And I wonder if Kevin feels cannibalistic if he eats bacon.
ReplyDeleteIf you live in So Cal it is easy to be within 6 links to just about anyone. I knew someone who worked in Hollywood and knew Arnold S. That right there was a ink to most of Hollywood and politicians, and just a few steps to Putin. Not to mention the dozens of other people I know who know politicians, athletes, and just general celebrities.
ReplyDeleteWas it Bombo who lifted Wendie Malick's skirt on JUST SHOOT ME? Or did I hallucinate that?
ReplyDeleteI figure I'm no more than 3 steps from almost any American celebrity because I know people who've been on both Carson and Letterman.
ReplyDeletewg
Thanks for that. I've always been confused as to whether it had to be six or six-or-less. But even before you I could play with six or five.
ReplyDeleteFive: One of my instructors at Second City was Ron West who was on "Third Rock From the Sun" with Jane Curtin who was on "Saturday Night Live" with John Belushi who was in "Animal House" with Kevin Bacon.
Six: I performed improv with a guy (Name withheld) who studied acting with French Stewart==> Jane Curtin==> Belushi==> Bacon.
You can see how well those connections have worked out for me.
Speaking of "Jeopardy." I saw "Blossom" AKA Mayim Bialik was a host. I only caught the tail end, so I have no idea if she was any good or not. But here's another suggestion for a guest host, CHEECH MARIN. He has been a constant, so he knows the game. If I remember correctly he is the all time biggest celebrity winner. Or at least he was at one time. He's funny. And he would add some diversity. (Pardon my use of that word) As far as I know none of the hosts so far have been Hispanic.
M.B.
And more links to Kevin Bacon thanks to Terry Bradshaw.
ReplyDeleteThough Kevin Bacon never appeared on Married with Children, Terry Bradshaw did, in the episodes "Dud Bowl 2" (Where Marcy gets the idea to name the new scoreboard after Terry over Al Bundy0 and "A Bundy Thanksgiving" where he appears in the episode's tag scene.
Terry also appeared on The Simpsons in Season 17's "Treehouse of Horror 16." There he voiced himself in the segment "Survival of the Fattest."
Finally, Kevin Bacon voiced a Flanders lookalike in "The Simpsons Movie," but that scene was cut from the final product. But Kevin Bacon is scheduled to voice Jason in an upcoming "Treehouse of Horror."
There is also this regarding Futurama and actress Katey Sagal. Her MWC character Peggy Bundy was parodied on The Simpsons. Katey, who voiced Leela on Futurama, appeared on the Simpsons as Leela along with Phil LaMarr, who voices Hermes Conrad, in a special crossover episode of The Simpsons.
In Brazil, there is an voice actor named Tata Guarnieri who did the Portuguese voice for Hermes. He also provided voices for such notable actors as Kiefer Sutherland (24), Will Ferrell (movies including "Anchorman" (with Christina Applegate) and ("Talladega Nights" among others), Jackie Chan ("Rush Hour" movies), Jet Li ("The Expendables" movies with Sylvester Stallone ("Rocky" and "Rambo" movies, Mel Gibson ("Lethal Weapon" movies), Chuck Norris (Walker, Texas Ranger), Bruce Wills ("Die Hard" movies), and Arnold Schwarzenegger), and Kevin Bacon.
This means Ken Levine is connected to all of the above through Katey Sagal which worked with you on a short lived series in the 1980's.
https://futurama.fandom.com/wiki/Tat%C3%A1_Guarnieri
I directed Terry Bradshaw in an episode of KRISTIN so there's that connection too.
ReplyDeleteYou've still got it, Ken. In spades. Btw, have you reviewed the last season of 'The Kominsky Method'? I thought it was superb. I even read Chuck Lorre's end-logo notes.
ReplyDeleteWhy not a new game called "No Degrees of Kevin Bacon" - the winner is anyone who has no connection whatsoever, no matter how many steps there are...??? :-)
ReplyDeleteI miss Craig Ferguson terribly on late-night. I think he got burned out and has just been doing game shows, but that show was epic.
ReplyDeleteI play the game on an expert level. What's that?
ReplyDeleteYou can't use Jack Lemmon.
A friend of mine who did a lot of high school theatre went to school with someone who became a mainstream, professional working actor. So my friend likes to say that if high school plays count, he has a Bacon number of 4 or 5...
ReplyDeleteI changed in the Sony gym next to him once, and was uncomfortably close to Kevin's Bacon. Claiming Bacon Level 1!
ReplyDeleteDepending on the rules, I'm 2 or 3 degrees away from William Crowe.
ReplyDelete