tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8452183467475362096..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Friday QuestionsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50756275505069093112017-11-05T15:42:34.531-08:002017-11-05T15:42:34.531-08:00Henry Winkler was one of the few stars of "Ha...Henry Winkler was one of the few stars of "Happy Days" who knew he couldn't sing and refused to cash in by making an album. <br />-----------------------------------<br /><br />There was no need for Winkler to record an album as he secured a huge salary and profit participation (from what I have read) on the show when the "Fonzie" character broke out.Edwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03428768957017762182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31861791638894468892017-11-05T06:46:24.031-08:002017-11-05T06:46:24.031-08:00As for TV writers who've done comedy and drama...As for TV writers who've done comedy and drama, I think Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson wrote for I SPY in the 1960s...AndrewJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08981987134958115265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53121281569519676212017-11-04T16:48:04.891-07:002017-11-04T16:48:04.891-07:00Friday Question (sort of):
Actually, this isn'...Friday Question (sort of):<br /><br />Actually, this isn't a question so much as a request.<br /><br />What I'd like you to do, Ken, is take a half-hour and go to YouTube.<br /><br />Once there, I'd like you to watch the October 21, 1983 episode of <i>The Edge Of Night</i>.<br /><br />Having watched it, I would then like you to write your reaction to what you've just seen.<br /><br />Just one little half-hour - actually, without commercials it's just over twenty-two minutes.<br /><br />Even if your reaction is to make fun of me for bringing it up, I can take it; I'm a big boy.<br /> <br />Similarly, anyone who reads this as a comment and decides to follow up yourself, by all means do so.<br /><br />Watch it with family and friends; make popcorn and other treats; make an evening of it.<br /><br />All I'm trying to do is satisfy a long-standing curiosity of mine.<br /><br />Again:<br /><i>The Edge Of Night</i>, October 21, 1983, on YouTube.<br /><br />Thanx in advance.<br /><br />mike.doran9740@att.netAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05527404061764217504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70752439815887046522017-11-04T15:43:58.532-07:002017-11-04T15:43:58.532-07:00Only a handful of the stars were forced to record,...<i>Only a handful of the stars were forced to record, such as Patty Duke or Shelley Fabares, while others were eager to show off their musical talents, even when imaginary.</i><br /><br />Shelley Fabares may have been forced to record, and her singing talents may be limited, but she still managed to record one of the iconic songs of the era, “Johnny Angel”.<br /><br />Add Dwayne Hickman to the list of stars who were more or less coerced into recording. He said in his autobiography that with numerous takes and cutting in the studio, he managed to release an acceptable album, but that he was totally exposed as not being able to sing on his one and only appearance on Dick Clark (he may have been exaggerating, since I was under the impression that almost everyone lip-synched to their records on Bandstand).Hank Gillettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17328364486555780403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34071261569886658702017-11-04T15:37:51.764-07:002017-11-04T15:37:51.764-07:00Henry Winkler was one of the few stars of "Ha...<i>Henry Winkler was one of the few stars of "Happy Days" who knew he couldn't sing and refused to cash in by making an album. </i><br /><br />It didn’t help poor Henry in the Neil Diamond special that he had to follow the wonderful Helen Reddy. If fact, it sounds like after he sang a line or so, and Neil tried to get him to sing some more, he says “Bring back Helen.” It was at this point the Neil throws him the lifeline of performing in the Fonzie persona.<br /><br />You would think that before calling up celebrities from audience, someone would have asked “Can this person sing?”Hank Gillettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17328364486555780403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77483113177031861082017-11-04T13:02:21.972-07:002017-11-04T13:02:21.972-07:00This reminds me of the time "Married....with ...This reminds me of the time "Married....with Children" wrote in Katey Sagal's real pregnancy for Peg, and the other Bundys created an "anti-baby" movement. Then Sagal tragically miscarried, and when she returned from bereavement leave, the show wrote off Peg's pregnancy as a bad dream of Al's. I personally would've dropped the pregnancy storyline and carried on with the stories as usual, but admittedly that was a tough situation for the showrunnera and ataff.Liggienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12001720114411185092017-11-04T13:00:31.142-07:002017-11-04T13:00:31.142-07:00In regards to writers working on both sitcoms and ...In regards to writers working on both sitcoms and dramas, Gene L. Coon wrote the premier episode for McHale's Navy. Note I didn't say pilot. The actual pilot was an episode of the DRAMATIC anthology series Alcoa Premiere, in which Ernest Borgnine first played Quenton McHale. Coon's job was then to turn the drama into a comedy, which, in my view, he did reasonably well. Coon later in the 1960s became the line producer, or, as you've call it Ken, showrunner, for Star Trek (creator Gene Roddenberry having promoted himself to Executive Producer) about a third of the way during that show's first season. Not coincidentally, Coon added humor to what had been a rather humorless series, including the wonderful and often hilarious Spock-McCoy quarrels. Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37089474029740587132017-11-04T10:26:55.210-07:002017-11-04T10:26:55.210-07:00Ken--
I want to second the question that @Gary as...Ken--<br /><br />I want to second the question that @Gary asked about the creation of a show that involves lots of (seemingly) spontaneous singing and comedic acting. It's specifically in reference to the MASH episode from season 5 called "Movie Tonight", one of my all-time favorites. Basically, do the actors come up with the material themselves, or do the writers, or some combination?<br /><br />As an aside: Was this MASH episode the last time Gene Reynolds ever wrote for the show?<br /><br />Frank Beansnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65157698095042006042017-11-04T09:45:15.478-07:002017-11-04T09:45:15.478-07:00On the subject of comedy writers who can also writ...On the subject of comedy writers who can also write dramas, I'm always amazed when I think about William Peter Blatty, the comedy writer that authored The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, and some of the best comedy ever, is the man who wrote The Exorcist. BruceBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07961629840266459126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12429424305960794062017-11-04T03:17:08.689-07:002017-11-04T03:17:08.689-07:00Hi Ken- Friday Question
Your interview with Winni...Hi Ken- Friday Question<br /><br />Your interview with Winnie Holzman of WICKED was amazing stuff, and really fascinating. But I was curious at all of the endless praise for Kristin Chenoweth, and why there was almost none for Idina Menzel's part in the production. I know she wasn't the "original" witch in the planning phases, and you're not a big fan (a few too many "belting" performances, though you complimented her Oscars performance), but the lack of mention of Menzel seemed a bit odd, given that she played the main character, and casting was so important for these kinds of things. I mean, she even won the Tony.<br /><br />Did it just not come up for some reason? Or were you too distracted by how obviously awesome Chenoweth was?<br /><br />-Grant WoolseyJabronivillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07318218102203693195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20771957791843128362017-11-04T01:17:09.836-07:002017-11-04T01:17:09.836-07:00J Lee: Chuck Lorre has actually published an accou...J Lee: Chuck Lorre has actually published an account of how it all happened (up to the beginning of TWO AND A HALF MEN) on his website. I highly recommend it, because it is pretty funny but also gives you some idea of how hard it can be for people to break in: http://chucklorre.com/index.php?p=writtenby<br /><br />The short version: he worked for Roseanne because he needed a job; Brett Butler was chosen by his producers and he had no say; and he did CYBILL because he was "stupid". DHARMA AND GREG, however, was a happy set. <br /><br />Charlie Sheen was, I think, bad luck: Sheen was in a sober phase for the first four or five years of the show and was no problem, and then melted down...<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68676774584724042312017-11-03T23:51:26.673-07:002017-11-03T23:51:26.673-07:00To Hank Gillette: Henry Winkler was one of the fe...To Hank Gillette: Henry Winkler was one of the few stars of "Happy Days" who knew he couldn't sing and refused to cash in by making an album. Almost all the others released records, but the only album Winkler appeared on was a collection of 1950s oldies with Fonzi's picture on the cover. BTW, I spoke a couple of years ago to Don Most (Ralph Malph) about the teen pop album he released back then. I was surprised when he said he was never happy with it because he really wanted to sing the music he grew up loving: Sinatra-style lounge/swing. Since then, he's started performing that type of music live. He now has an album of it that just appeared alongside my wife's latest album on the first-round Traditional Pop Vocal Grammy ballot. Pat Reederhttp://www.facebook.com/hollywoodhifibooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66256940360556161542017-11-03T23:40:01.899-07:002017-11-03T23:40:01.899-07:00To Buttermilk Sky: No, that Jimmy Stewart song isn...To Buttermilk Sky: No, that Jimmy Stewart song isn't in it, although some others are. The book is about actual recordings (albums and singles) released by actors, comedians, etc. A couple of singles were released of songs Jimmy sang in the movies "Cheyenne Social Club" and "The Magic of Lassie." We only bring up the on-screen singing as a side note, when it's a big star who didn't record at all or not much and when it's really famous, like Clark Gable's "Puttin' On The Ritz" in "Idiot's Delight" or Jimmy singing "Easy To Love" in "Born To Dance." But an even better song for him from that movie was "I'm Nuts About You," where he not only carries the tune pretty well but does a good job of keeping up with Eleanor Powell and Buddy Ebsen on the dance steps. The book originally came out in the '90s, but we've recently finished an updated and greatly expanded version that should be out soon, and it will include more than St. Martins gave us room for the first time. <br /><br />I worked with Tony Randall as the writer for an instructional video series when I was just starting out, and he was incredibly nice to everyone on the crew. He was delighted to find out that I had his 1920s albums, "Vo-Vo-Dee-Oh-Doh" and "Warm and Wavery." After he flew back to New York, he mailed me a cassette of dubs from the masters that included some unreleased tracks and rare recordings from another project. I thought it was funny that he'd dubbed it over a tape of opera arias. <br /><br />To Joe Blow: This isn't about sneering at people being humiliated. I hate those kind of snarky "worst list" books. We genuinely love these records, a point noted by Billboard in the book's first review. Only a handful of the stars were forced to record, such as Patty Duke or Shelley Fabares, while others were eager to show off their musical talents, even when imaginary. Some actually had real musical chops, and we celebrate that as a little-known side of them. Still others knew they were hilariously awful, like Joan Rivers, and had a great sense of humor about it. Try doing what so few Internet commenters do and actually read the book before reviewing it. Pat Reederhttp://www.facebook.com/hollywoodhifibooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80023657238594354612017-11-03T21:23:50.952-07:002017-11-03T21:23:50.952-07:00Another name in the comedy-drama writer series...M...Another name in the comedy-drama writer series...Marc Cherry. Cherry wrote (among other roles) for the “Golden Girls” and would go on to create “Desperate Housewives.” Is that a dramedy? Maybe it’s borderline...Rob Wnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62920757026109396182017-11-03T17:38:07.485-07:002017-11-03T17:38:07.485-07:00Two more names....Peter Noah and Mike RoyceTwo more names....Peter Noah and Mike Roycepsquarednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78523965770653431142017-11-03T17:37:06.566-07:002017-11-03T17:37:06.566-07:00Two more writers who have moved successfully from ...Two more writers who have moved successfully from sitcom to psquarednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91812295996498612982017-11-03T16:48:59.681-07:002017-11-03T16:48:59.681-07:00'Fraid the odds of Steven Moffat asking Ken to...'Fraid the odds of Steven Moffat asking Ken to write a Doctor Who script are pretty much non-existent. He's stepped down as Who showrunner, and his last episode as such is the upcoming Christmas Special. The new showrunner is Chris Chibnall.Tom Galowaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45447056782356078132017-11-03T16:46:26.402-07:002017-11-03T16:46:26.402-07:00There are plenty of examples of stopping a show in...<i>There are plenty of examples of stopping a show in order to let a character perform.</i><br /><br />Back in the '60s, a common trick was to have the principals perform a "talent show" -- always for charity, of course. And how many variety shows brought <i>Chico and the Man</i>'s Jack Albertson on to sing and dance?Todd Everettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50752258064757402422017-11-03T15:23:18.902-07:002017-11-03T15:23:18.902-07:00The clip of Neil Diamond singing “Song Sung Blue” ...The clip of Neil Diamond singing “Song Sung Blue” is on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKDCpTNtmNQ" rel="nofollow">YouTube</a>.<br /><br />I was mistaken about Diamond going out into the audience, but everything else was pretty close. Pretty good for a 40-year-old memory.Hank Gillettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17328364486555780403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-79039816114817967282017-11-03T15:13:34.112-07:002017-11-03T15:13:34.112-07:00I still remember a Neil Diamond special from the 1...I still remember a Neil Diamond special from the 1970s. Neil was singing “Song Sung Blue” and was moving around in the audience, letting audience members sing a line or two. Then, in the audience, he finds Henry Winkler (The Fonz) from <i>Happy Days</i>! <br /><br />Very quickly, it is apparent that not only could Winkler not sing, he had trouble even carrying a tune. Diamond quickly said, “Hey, Henry! Show us how the Fonz would do it.” Winkler immediately goes into Fonzie mode and recovers his dignity.<br /><br />I always thought it was extraordinarily kind of Diamond to rescue Winkler like that.Hank Gillettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17328364486555780403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18386155067980972102017-11-03T13:59:08.082-07:002017-11-03T13:59:08.082-07:00Mike Royce and Peter Noah move seamlessly from com...Mike Royce and Peter Noah move seamlessly from comedy to drama.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64739647800854597342017-11-03T11:41:19.970-07:002017-11-03T11:41:19.970-07:00@Dan Reese, you left out the granddaddy off them a...@Dan Reese, you left out the granddaddy off them all: The Simpsons.<br /><br />I'll bet the writers never expected they'd have to come up with over 600 things for Bart to write on the blackboard. Or 600+ ways for the family to hit the couch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47887942766128603742017-11-03T11:37:00.863-07:002017-11-03T11:37:00.863-07:00The singing comment reminds me of a Friday Questio...The singing comment reminds me of a Friday Question: There was an episode of Gimme a Break! where (thanks to some major plot contrivance) Nell Carter sings a duet with Sammy Davis, Jr. This scene was shot on location, and evidently in multiple takes because at some angles Sammy is wearing glasses, and at other angles he is not. Obviously most shows have minor continuity errors if you're looking hard enough for them, but have you ever had a show like that where the mistake was glaringly obvious, but you just had to grin and bear it because it couldn't be reshot?<br /><br />@Bart: Toby Huss' Sinatra impression is pretty well known, so I have a feeling the producers asked him to do it. And I thought it made some sense... his character was supposed to be in his late 40s or early 50s in the 1980s, so there was nothing unlikely about Boz choosing a Sinatra song for karaoke.<br /><br />There are plenty of examples of stopping a show in order to let a character perform. Jackie Gleason's Crazy Guggenheim bit was built around this (and was repeated later on by Jim Nabors and Jack Prince on The Andy Griffith Show). Maybe the most glaring was an episode of The Odd Couple featuring Roy Clark as an old friend of Oscar. The final act consists almost entirely of Roy in the living room set playing 3:00 minutes of Malagueña.<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xssnp7R51A" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xssnp7R51A</a><br /><br />Dixie Carter (a talented singer and a real-life political conservative) reportedly made a deal with the Thomasons while she was on Designing Women: Every time the producers made her character deliver a liberal stemwinder, they would have to pay Dixie back by letting her sing a song in later episode.Andy Rosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74195159642699378562017-11-03T11:09:02.227-07:002017-11-03T11:09:02.227-07:00Pat Reeder said: "I'm going to have to a...Pat Reeder said: "I'm going to have to ask you to stop cutting songs for actors who can't sing. That's the greatest form of entertainment ever invented."<br /><br />Charming. Your opinion of the greatest form of entertainment ever invented is to see an actor humiliated. I think I like Ken's preference for giving an actor a chance to showcase a real gift, and save actors from embarrassment by cutting songs if they can't sing. <br /><br />It was wonderful to hear Shelley Long sing on CHEERS occasionally. She had a beautiful voice, and I would have loved to hear her sing more often. Joe Blownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13485159168850867542017-11-03T10:43:01.339-07:002017-11-03T10:43:01.339-07:00Why is it whenever people are eating dinner on mul...Why is it whenever people are eating dinner on multi camera comedies its always pasta and salad? Is it because its easy to fake eat, doesnt involve more than a fork and doesnt matter if its hot or cold?Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05265753244583100064noreply@blogger.com