tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post1632779504350764560..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: How my partner and I metBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75275693192063781752010-02-22T22:18:18.551-08:002010-02-22T22:18:18.551-08:00Thurber was the first of my heroes I discovered, w...Thurber was the first of my heroes I discovered, when I was in about the third grade. Then I found Benchley, then Kaufman. I still have all their stuff and am constantly on the lookout for any Benchley collections I might have missed. It should be a felony that most of his stuff is out of print while Peter Benchley is not. <br /><br />One of my favorite Thurber observations about humor writing is that it's every humorist's nightmare that he'll discover the piece he's been working on for a month was done much better and funnier by Robert Benchley in 1923.Pat Reedernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-11152734114413303012010-02-22T11:28:11.552-08:002010-02-22T11:28:11.552-08:00This post in two parts?!
You've been watching...This post in two parts?!<br /><br />You've been watching too much American Idol.Kevin Arbouethttp://www.tufux.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33541176824590694972010-02-22T10:07:07.084-08:002010-02-22T10:07:07.084-08:00Let me add to the chorus of those who also read th...Let me add to the chorus of those who also read that Kaufman biography and who cherish Moss Hart's 'Act One'(the casting of George Hamilton as Hart in the film adaptation may be one of greatest examples of miscasting ever). There's that famous story when the Marx Brothers were doing a play co-written by Kaufman; Groucho was ad libing and Kaufman was speaking to someone backstage and all of a sudden Kaufman interrupts his friend and says 'Wait, I think I just heard one of my lines.'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61161208391797094242010-02-22T09:49:50.871-08:002010-02-22T09:49:50.871-08:00That's funny about all the folks without diplo...That's funny about all the folks without diplomas joining. My father joined without a diploma so he could learn a trade. He wound up as a stock broker, not a teletype repairman.<br /><br />My uncle got to be an E-8 and had a master's degree. Life goal: football coach. <br /><br />Should you catch this comment, Ken, I am posting a Friday question in the Friday comments.Bob Summersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33510580067652286802010-02-22T09:48:30.997-08:002010-02-22T09:48:30.997-08:00Ken...This is truly the perfect "Valentines D...Ken...This is truly the perfect "Valentines Day" story. Sounds like you two are a match made in heaven.Jeffrey Leonardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41293556823884786362010-02-22T07:48:23.986-08:002010-02-22T07:48:23.986-08:00Don't underestimate the revelation of someone ...Don't underestimate the revelation of someone reading in the barracks.<br /><br />I remember going thru the process at basic training and being asked in a room full of new recruits who had a high school dipoloma.<br /><br />As I raised my hand I looked around and saw maybe one or two other hands raised. It was at that moment I realized what I had gotten myself into.<br /><br />Funny, because I joined for the college fund program.Michael Tassonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23007554672305329012010-02-22T07:30:19.248-08:002010-02-22T07:30:19.248-08:00Thurber gets a mention! Class!
WV: ement - the gl...Thurber gets a mention! Class!<br /><br />WV: ement - the glue that holds the internet together.blogwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07362291687463326731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14177758282870946442010-02-22T06:13:54.303-08:002010-02-22T06:13:54.303-08:00You may have identified your blog's core audie...You may have identified your blog's core audience: George S. Kaufman fans. And yes, I read Teichmann's book in the seventies too. Once I'd read all the Thurber I could get my hands on as a kid, it was on to Benchley, D. Parker, Kaufman, and other Algonquin wits (a group of which Thurber, interestingly, was never a member -- go figure).estivhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12736355730705116526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1618875853563504212010-02-22T05:50:52.799-08:002010-02-22T05:50:52.799-08:00Isn't this the base where you coined the phras...Isn't this the base where you coined the phrase "Where Humor is Our Fort(e)"?Tom Parkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24146753918933327102010-02-22T05:24:42.335-08:002010-02-22T05:24:42.335-08:00It would be really interesting if once your done w...It would be really interesting if once your done with your version of events, we could get a guest post of David's version.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05769168481906836978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75260841476285296052010-02-22T04:20:37.196-08:002010-02-22T04:20:37.196-08:00PS - One of my favorite parts of "Act One&quo...PS - One of my favorite parts of "Act One" (and I'm quoting from memory, so please forgive any inaccuracies) is when Hart delivers a scene of several pages to Kaufman. He picks up his blue pencil and quickly rips through vast blocks of dialogue, replacing them with a pithy line here or there, and drawing arrows back and forth to improve the flow, making it both much shorter and far better. Hart reads it in amazement and says, "Yes, yes, you're right, it really works now!" Kaufman stares incredulously at him over the top of his glasses and says, "No, it doesn't work at all. I was just showing you WHY it doesn't work." <br /><br />VW: deperse - What a purse snatcher does to people for a living.Pat Reedernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19354194625812922772010-02-22T01:56:30.307-08:002010-02-22T01:56:30.307-08:00I actually wrote "Howard Tieshman" when ...I actually wrote "Howard Tieshman" when I know perfectly well that his name was Teichmann, along with being Kaufmann's biographer, also his collaborater on <i>The Solid Gold Caddillac</i> which I saw Martha Raye play onstage. (The play, not the car.)D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53318638335714743882010-02-22T01:47:56.354-08:002010-02-22T01:47:56.354-08:00I actually remember seeing "Deep Throat"...I actually remember seeing "Deep Throat" in a movie theater in 1973... and if I remember right, there was actually a joke in it. Linda Lovelace is shaving a rather intimate area and in the background, they played the Old Spice commercial theme. Am I hallucinating or did that actually happen?Brian Scullyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986230690604754706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1931668710116350782010-02-22T00:25:00.974-08:002010-02-22T00:25:00.974-08:00I read Howard Tieshman's biography of George S...I read Howard Tieshman's biography of George S. Kaufman, but I didn't get a cool partner out of it. I guess I should have read it out in public. It left me wanting to read Mary Astor's diaries.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19326666278622727182010-02-22T00:23:06.387-08:002010-02-22T00:23:06.387-08:00Let me second Moss Hart's ACT ONE. It's on...Let me second Moss Hart's ACT ONE. It's one of the most entertaining books ever written, and the profile of Kaufman is unforgettable.<br /><br />I do get the feeling, though, that in recounting his ealy life, Moss Hart let the dramatist in him overwhelm the biographer.Larrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34647161430621757082010-02-21T23:13:19.185-08:002010-02-21T23:13:19.185-08:00And Joel Siegel, a then part-time KPFK staffer, wa...And Joel Siegel, a then part-time KPFK staffer, was at Ft Carson with you!Ron Rettignoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47696736429532716942010-02-21T22:06:18.298-08:002010-02-21T22:06:18.298-08:00Having actually SEEN an episode of Sigmund and The...Having actually SEEN an episode of <i>Sigmund and The Sea Monsters</i>, I can assure you that it was a rather dubious time to be alive.<br /><br />At least Johnny Whittaker didn't have to share the screen with Jodie Foster for this one.Matt Pattonhttp://mpatton1962.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59247831915974605052010-02-21T21:51:04.096-08:002010-02-21T21:51:04.096-08:00Now that's a "meet cute."
I don'...Now that's a "meet cute."<br /><br />I don't know, but I've been told.<br />George S. Kaufman's comedy gold!Wallis Lanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89526004394116259632010-02-21T21:38:04.659-08:002010-02-21T21:38:04.659-08:00Nice to see the reference to Kaufman. He's al...Nice to see the reference to Kaufman. He's also an idol of mine, and I remember reading that same book in high school. I also have a book of previously uncollected Kaufman material that's worth searching out. It's New Yorker pieces, revue sketches, etc. To this day I recommend Moss Hart's "Act One," which is largely about his teaming with Kaufman to write "Once in a Lifetime," as the best book about comedy- and playwriting that I've ever read. I have a friend who wants my help writing his second musical, and I sent him that just last week. I didn't want it to turn into one of those "damn noisy" plays.Pat Reedernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56406754873754870752010-02-21T20:08:23.810-08:002010-02-21T20:08:23.810-08:00This isn't about this post necessarily, but I ...This isn't about this post necessarily, but I wanted to share that, despite what you once wrote, some people do go back and read the entire archive -- I recently completed it. A few months back Aaron Barnhart's TV Barn linked to your blog, I liked what you had to say and remembered you calling Mariners games when I lived in Seattle (I'll refrain from saying how old I was so you don't feel old), and kept reading. And reading. And reading.<br /><br />Anyway, just wanted to let you know I enjoy the blog (the entire blog) and am now a faithful daily reader.<br /><br />Mike McLaughlin<br />Spokane, Wash.Mike McLaughlinnoreply@blogger.com