tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post511708512227199151..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: One of the true idiots I've ever worked withBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61673355288413832372014-08-18T07:07:38.529-07:002014-08-18T07:07:38.529-07:00It's been brought to my attention that there i...It's been brought to my attention that there is a post above which names the writer in question and calls him a rather unsavory name. This was posted under MY name, which I fine even more unsavory. I didn't write that comment. I would ask Ken to delete it please.<br /><br />Denis Markell (the real one)D Markellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14105311726118754132014-08-17T10:43:49.724-07:002014-08-17T10:43:49.724-07:00@David: Great response!
...I only asked because i...@David: Great response!<br /><br />...I only asked because in reading the archives, Ken is proud of the fact that he's posted everyday for all these years (impressive!) because he hasn't run out of things to say. I hadn't come across a repost (since I haven't yet gotten through all the archives), so cynical me wondered whether there was an attempt to pull the wool over our eyes. Orleanasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27903113461913326362014-08-17T10:13:32.950-07:002014-08-17T10:13:32.950-07:00Why on earth would someone who's only been rea...Why on earth would someone who's only been reading this blog for a month be disappointed by a repeat of an entry from four years ago? If you've read that far back already in the last month, you weren't exaggerating when you said you were obsessed! But I never understand this complaint anyway; Ken is juggling at least two careers -- we expect him to generate 365 original blog posts a year on top of that? Ask for your money back. Oh, wait...jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47950306514675288262014-08-17T09:25:25.220-07:002014-08-17T09:25:25.220-07:00Orleanas:
Ken writes for TV, and you're askin...Orleanas:<br /><br />Ken writes for TV, and you're asking why there are reruns?<br />Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45857394062374608772014-08-17T05:25:02.635-07:002014-08-17T05:25:02.635-07:00I've been obsessed with your site since I foun...I've been obsessed with your site since I found it last month, Ken, so it's with a bit of disappointment that I ask, What's up with the re-post of this blog entry?Orleanasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9761117881851138852014-08-17T03:38:00.543-07:002014-08-17T03:38:00.543-07:00Anonymous: You're obviously pretty ignorant of...Anonymous: You're obviously pretty ignorant of how these things work. Each day Ken's posts get thousands of views, probably high 10s of thousands, or even high hundreds of thousands on a really huge day.<br /><br />LOTS of people will have read a comment before Ken can delete it. And one of those people would undoubtedly post again, if he did delete it: "Well we know who Ken was referring to now..." And thousands more would see that before he could delete it, too. And so on. <br /><br />Before you try and tell me I'm exaggerating, let me just let you know that I've been reading this blog on a nearly daily basis for several years, and I've seen what I've just described happen before. No matter how quick Ken is, someone will see the comment. <br /><br />Additionally, if it was a really big post that got picked up by news sites (like the Roseanne series), the fact he'd deleted a name would become part of the story, preserved for all time elsewhere on the internet. <br /><br />People can speculate all they want, but as soon as Ken gets involved in that speculation, in any capacity, there is confirmation.<br /><br />The only other option would be for Ken to manually vet each and every comment manually before they're posted, which isn't realistic for such a busy guy, and would stifle conversation here even if it was. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76330156607942369862014-08-16T23:25:41.732-07:002014-08-16T23:25:41.732-07:00Mark Twain said that sorrow is the secret source o...Mark Twain said that sorrow is the secret source of humor. So I'm guessing everyone who's ever been married to this Scheky guy is a succesful standup comedian by now. *rimshot*Scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67490506431853336752014-08-16T22:23:48.180-07:002014-08-16T22:23:48.180-07:00Based on his picture(s), he was probably Andrew Di...Based on his picture(s), he was probably Andrew Dice Clay's understudy before he got into producing, "OHHHHH!" That would explain the raunchy sense of humor, "OHHHHH!"CamiOcamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50073952429457792892014-08-16T19:02:07.005-07:002014-08-16T19:02:07.005-07:00Let's go 90 degrees off topic: Ken: Can you ...Let's go 90 degrees off topic: Ken: Can you recall a scene that wrote/rehearsed "funny" but just didn't connect with that one-chance live audience? Conversely, can you recall a rush-written scene that was viewed as an afterthought, just simply killed live?Douglas Trapassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18348522207945522495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29761692803250429032014-08-16T18:43:22.895-07:002014-08-16T18:43:22.895-07:00I don't know if it's still done, but in th...I don't know if it's still done, but in the early days of theatrical short subjects, some studios, Hal Roach in particular, would preview the short at a suburban theater and "clock" the laughs, to see how many times the audience laughed during the two-reeler. That's roughly 18-20 minutes -- the length of today's half-hour sitcom. If they got a low laugh count, they'd do some editing or sometimes shoot additional material.Mitchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7983811476328099322014-08-16T16:08:40.400-07:002014-08-16T16:08:40.400-07:00PS - No offence to any actors who read this!PS - No offence to any actors who read this!Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29637026454504385932014-08-16T16:04:00.232-07:002014-08-16T16:04:00.232-07:00Curly Sue: I don't think there's a contrad...Curly Sue: I don't think there's a contradiction. The writers should have laughed AND felt it would work for their audience. If they did neither, or one, then that would surely be an indication of a problem?<br /><br />Re: Ken's post: I'm no expert, but I think the "write what you think is funny" may be good advice for finding your own voice, but there's obviously a lot more to being a successful writer than just writing down what you think is funny...!<br /><br />I think a big part of being a good writer is learning to want to entertain people, not just share your ideas with them. Obviously not to the point where you lose your own voice, but rather so you can share the things you care about, and which drive you to write, through something enjoyable and entertaining. <br /><br />(Conversely, if you just want to be liked by people, and are prepared to say and do anything in order to get their approval, with no real interest in retaining a voice of your own, you may want to consider a career in acting :)Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35668604579876443592014-08-16T15:49:58.454-07:002014-08-16T15:49:58.454-07:00Johnny Walker writes: "To anonymous: If Ken d...Johnny Walker writes: "To anonymous: If Ken deleted the post that named the person in this story, it would be a confirmation that the poster had guessed correctly." But to whom, Johnny, to whom? <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59859616277960245732014-08-16T15:13:59.597-07:002014-08-16T15:13:59.597-07:00One of the real problems with so-called popular fa...One of the real problems with so-called popular fare like the example of Married with Children is that these are machines churning out "dirty" juvenile one-liners to get a laugh, and that hardly ages well, so dated in sensibility and "daring" tastes etc.. and so they don't offer long-term re-run syndication, while many, many other well-written sitcoms do.Arthur Guestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71999224759395432322014-08-16T14:58:59.972-07:002014-08-16T14:58:59.972-07:00To anonymous: If Ken deleted the post that named t...To anonymous: If Ken deleted the post that named the person in this story, it would be a confirmation that the poster had guessed correctly. <br /><br />Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37225200500719110572014-08-16T13:19:40.825-07:002014-08-16T13:19:40.825-07:00So much for changing names to protect the innocent...So much for changing names to protect the innocent!<br /><br />FWIW, I wouldn't have guessed who Shoe Polish Shecky was based on the clues. Now that the cat's outta the bag, I still have no clue who he is and it really doesn't matter to me. But the point of the post is still valid and valuable.Dan Ballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06865180000909831517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-37826939150894419562014-08-16T13:13:38.649-07:002014-08-16T13:13:38.649-07:00Cringe-worthy read of your experiences. That produ...Cringe-worthy read of your experiences. That producer sounds like a real prince of a guy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19320884212161393502014-08-16T11:59:05.477-07:002014-08-16T11:59:05.477-07:00"The only true determination is if the audien..."The only true determination is if the audience laughs." - that reminds me of something John Cleese said. In that, no matter what you may think of the material, bottom line, if the audience doesn't laugh then it wasn't funny.<br /><br />"Shecky" reminds me of those whose sense of humor peaked around 12 and thinks going to the gutter is somehow "edgy". There's "pushing boundaries" and then there's "shock" and he seemed to be going for the latter. <br /><br />I'll enjoy a good dirty joke but when a show or stand-up is just scraping the bottom of the barrel and it's clear how that's as "high" as they can go, I just tune out and stop watching.Jeremiah Averynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13120938817657353822014-08-16T11:50:18.175-07:002014-08-16T11:50:18.175-07:00Contradiction Alert!
Ken recounts:
Me: Huh? It...Contradiction Alert!<br /><br />Ken recounts:<br /><br />Me: Huh? It did? No one laughed.<br /><br />Shecky: I laughed.<br /><br />Me: Yes, but not one of your other writers.<br /><br />Shecky: Well, of course they didn’t laugh. They’re comedy writers.<br /><br />Me: Excuse me??<br /><br />Shecky: They’re comedy writers. But real people will laugh at that. Writers are jaundiced. <br /><br />Me: Wait a minute. Isn’t the fact that they’re professional comedy writers mean they’re watching the material to determine whether an audience of real people will find it funny? Their job is not to be entertained themselves...<br />––––––––––––––––––––<br /><br />So, first Ken says the material must be bad because none of the writers laughed. Then he says it's not their job to be entertained... themselves.<br /><br />mm'kay...<br /><br /><br /><br />Curly SueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67042198936192546072014-08-16T10:43:44.532-07:002014-08-16T10:43:44.532-07:00Definitely Billy Riback. Skeezer creeper.Definitely Billy Riback. Skeezer creeper.D. Markellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70583991472316127782014-08-16T10:13:38.002-07:002014-08-16T10:13:38.002-07:00So, this is Billy Riback we're talking about? ...So, this is Billy Riback we're talking about? Process of elimination + google image to find that shoe polished head and brow really, really narrows down the possibilities. Besides, that guy really looks like someone that would pay for sex.Dewar S McClerkeynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10936716285680470722014-08-16T09:53:41.378-07:002014-08-16T09:53:41.378-07:00And yet, you didn't delete the one that NAMED ...And yet, you didn't delete the one that NAMED Billy Riback. What a stand-up dude you are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52633365815045824202014-08-16T09:40:42.208-07:002014-08-16T09:40:42.208-07:00Okay, I admit it. I'm cranky. I'm tired ...Okay, I admit it. I'm cranky. I'm tired of anonymous pot shots. Generally I just leave them but why? I'll be deleting a lot more. It just takes a couple of clicks. By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65567233377672520332014-08-16T09:31:39.424-07:002014-08-16T09:31:39.424-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77010135922736557592014-08-16T09:28:48.111-07:002014-08-16T09:28:48.111-07:00Canda,
I appreciate your note but stand by my pos...Canda,<br /><br />I appreciate your note but stand by my post. A) I never specifically said who the person was. Any name is just speculation. B) Everything I said was accurate and witnessed by many people, and C) the point of the post was not character assassination but a lesson in comedy writing.<br /><br />I needed to specify the show because I needed to specify the joke and its context.<br /><br />Yes, it was on Fox, but the Fox executive overseeing the show came up and thanked me for taking my stand. That executive eventually moved over to ABC and I got tons of work directing ABC shows based on his recommendation.<br /><br />And I remain friends with many of the cast members.<br /><br />So again, I stand by my post and hope the take-away is to judge material by professional standards. But thanks again for the note and not hiding behind "Anonymous." Your comments are always welcome whether you agree with me or not.<br />By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.com