tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post587573345922370596..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Writers as actors/actors as writersBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54791526794165487732009-11-18T21:53:34.144-08:002009-11-18T21:53:34.144-08:00I've always had a passion for sitcoms, a coupl...I've always had a passion for sitcoms, a couple of which you have written for, and I would love to make them a bigger part in my life than just an extensive dvd collection. My childhood dream was always to star on a sitcom, but now I wonder if most of the comedic talent stays in the writers room. Are actors on sitcoms generally comedically gifted, or are they more classically trained actors with good timing? <br />I've always loved to make people laugh, but a lot of the rush, for me, comes from coming up with what to say. Do you ever wish that you could be the one on stage delivering the punch lines?Catherinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1894711448005939172009-11-18T21:47:00.398-08:002009-11-18T21:47:00.398-08:00I've always had a passion for sitcoms, many of...I've always had a passion for sitcoms, many of which you have written for, and I'd love to somehow make them a bigger part of my life just an extensive dvd collection. It seems like it would be so much fun to act on a sitcom, but I sometimes wonder if all the actual comedic talent stays in the writers' room. Of course, there are comedians who make it on stage, such as Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, etc. but are actors on sitcoms generally very funny, or are they, for the most part, trained actors with good timing? Do you ever wish that you could be the one on stage delivering the lines?Catherinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43450516666275885172009-01-18T14:48:00.000-08:002009-01-18T14:48:00.000-08:00You recently talked about actors flubbing lines an...You recently talked about actors flubbing lines and ruining several takes. We fans have lines that, no matter how many times we see an episode, make us laugh. Do you have any experience with a line striking an actor so funny that he/she either had a very difficult time delivering it or couldn't deliver it and have to have the line rewritten?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38772457144156082722009-01-17T20:31:00.000-08:002009-01-17T20:31:00.000-08:00I tried to post this the other day, but it didn't ...I tried to post this the other day, but it didn't take for some reason.<BR/><BR/>How 'bout Bill Idelson, who played Herman Glimpshire on the Van Dyke Show and a hilarious judge on The Odd Couple, 2 shows he wrote for along with who knows how many others?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54363900533370591032009-01-17T12:03:00.000-08:002009-01-17T12:03:00.000-08:00Wayne said...Older writers who acted or performed ...Wayne said...<BR/>Older writers who acted or performed live... Robert Benchley. Goodman Ace. Mark Twain. Charles Dickens.<BR/><BR/>And Shakespeare... though not in a TV series.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51038252954531600302009-01-17T11:37:00.000-08:002009-01-17T11:37:00.000-08:00I happen to like reading credits, which I'm sure p...I happen to like reading credits, which I'm sure puts me in a minority. It's bad enough that the new shows have shrunk them down, but now so has Nick at Nite and TVLand! If that looks like Paul Sands playing the TV reporter in Bewitched (the one where Ben Franklin is brought back to life) I want to know for sure!Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30249901974243660022009-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:002009-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:00Ok, I proof read my item too late. In #1, I meant...Ok, I proof read my item too late. In #1, I meant to say "have to get union approval" instead of "have to be union approval".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72868507887324168982009-01-17T02:09:00.000-08:002009-01-17T02:09:00.000-08:00I have some questions about the ending credits sho...I have some questions about the ending credits shown on a television program or movie.<BR/><BR/>1. In recent years a lot of television stations have shrunk the end credits in order to show promos for their upcoming shows. Did the stations have to be union approval for this?<BR/><BR/>2. Some credits go by so fast I don't know how anybody can read them. Conversely, sometimes on talk shows the end credits will stop for a few seconds, apparently to highlight the name of a staff member or company that has provided a product. Are there any rules / restrictions that regulate how fast or slow credits can crawl?<BR/><BR/>3. Stations like Turner Classic Movies show all the credits in real time, sometimes showing a production company's logo for as much as fifteen seconds in a freeze frame. Are stations that show movies or stripped television shows required by contract to show the credits in their entirety?<BR/><BR/>Thanks in advance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77565485986951272142009-01-16T23:12:00.000-08:002009-01-16T23:12:00.000-08:00As far as Cheers goes, while I prefer the Diane se...As far as Cheers goes, while I prefer the Diane seasons to the Rebecca ones, I think the writers had taken the Sam and Diane relationship as far as it could go. The two had gotten together, split up, Diane get engaged to someone else only to leave him at the altar, Sam get involved with someone else only to realize he can't deny his love for Diane, the two of them got engaged. Really, the only thing left to do was for them to marry, and I'm skeptical about how the show would've pulled it off. If any show could've made it work it would have been Cheers (and I'm not just saying that because of the blog I'm at; the writing on Cheers, particularly during the Diane seasons, was just fantastic), but marrying off the characters has hurt so many shows over the years...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78225861112454785432009-01-16T21:38:00.000-08:002009-01-16T21:38:00.000-08:00Older writers who acted or performed live... Rober...Older writers who acted or performed live... Robert Benchley. Goodman Ace. Mark Twain. Charles Dickens.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3352947744773840142009-01-16T15:37:00.000-08:002009-01-16T15:37:00.000-08:00D. McEwan,Ah I see. So in the case of a story lin...D. McEwan,<BR/>Ah I see. So in the case of a story line taking place over 3(or more) episodes of a TV series it is still an 'arc'.<BR/>ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78247606280448189852009-01-16T15:28:00.000-08:002009-01-16T15:28:00.000-08:00Richard, "Arc" is not an acronym. It means an arc,...Richard, <BR/><BR/>"Arc" is not an acronym. It means an arc, a curved line, rising in act 1, topping in act 2, and sinking again in act 3. It's a common writer's term for a storyline.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56160854706112414792009-01-16T12:33:00.000-08:002009-01-16T12:33:00.000-08:00Wasn't Jay Tarses a performer who went into writin...Wasn't Jay Tarses a performer who went into writing (and then back into performing)? Al Franken too?Jon88https://www.blogger.com/profile/16908049871851563389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-50838983107986185962009-01-16T11:12:00.000-08:002009-01-16T11:12:00.000-08:00How about Al Franken? From writer to performer to ...How about Al Franken? From writer to performer to (possibly) Senator.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5697332798472749632009-01-16T10:22:00.000-08:002009-01-16T10:22:00.000-08:00Wait - THAT's what happened with Rachel Sweet?! Ne...Wait - THAT's what happened with Rachel Sweet?! Never would have imagined.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9730128036278799732009-01-16T09:02:00.000-08:002009-01-16T09:02:00.000-08:00A 3 Episode ARC. Is 'arc' an abbreviation or an a...A 3 Episode ARC. <BR/>Is 'arc' an abbreviation or an acronym? If either, what does it spell out to be? <BR/>ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56639878517332664172009-01-16T08:26:00.000-08:002009-01-16T08:26:00.000-08:00Lorenzo Music deserves an asterisk for bouncing ba...Lorenzo Music deserves an asterisk for bouncing back and forth between the creative side and providing the voices of "Carlton the Doorman" and Garfield.<BR/><BR/>When you mention performers in the writers' room, don't forget the creator of one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Carl Reiner, and that his show paid a lot of attention to the writers' room, where he spent so much time in his years with Sid Caesar. Dick Van Dyke has marveled over the years at how many comedy writers have told him that watching his show inspired them to go into the business.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74180222481493730652009-01-16T08:20:00.000-08:002009-01-16T08:20:00.000-08:00A lot of SNL writers end up playing the fake audie...A lot of SNL writers end up playing the fake audience members that end up asking the questions during some of the monologues, and earlier on they were used as most of the extras in sketches.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45440518185499607942009-01-16T07:58:00.000-08:002009-01-16T07:58:00.000-08:00Emma Thompson won her acting Oscar for HOWARD'S EN...Emma Thompson won her acting Oscar for HOWARD'S END.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3636093612424648372009-01-16T07:12:00.000-08:002009-01-16T07:12:00.000-08:00A number of the writers of Scrubs have recurring r...A number of the writers of Scrubs have recurring roles on the show, but that's also a show that loves to turn one-joke extra parts into recurring characters.Greg Morrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15087725766052329852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67517395057181677492009-01-16T05:57:00.000-08:002009-01-16T05:57:00.000-08:00Shout out for the Akron, Ohio gurlllll...Rachel!Shout out for the Akron, Ohio gurlllll...Rachel!YEKIMIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01921751875397071034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-91850400657662932012009-01-16T05:52:00.000-08:002009-01-16T05:52:00.000-08:00Ah, I always wondered if the Rachel Sweet, whose n...Ah, I always wondered if the Rachel Sweet, whose name I have seen in some credits, was the same Rachel Sweet whose albums I have. Now I know. Thanks!<BR/><BR/>I agree with jbryant that her music wasn't really punk... it was more punk-inspired pop.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4381384038289845692009-01-16T05:34:00.000-08:002009-01-16T05:34:00.000-08:00Jay Tarses also played a garbage man on "The Days ...Jay Tarses also played a garbage man on "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" and in the UK, he starred and co-wrote a radio series with Andy Hamilton called "Revolting People", a show that takes place during the Revolutionary War.<BR/><BR/>Every so often, a writer's name shows up in a show, too. In "Taxi", Louie di Palma's nemesis in high school was Stanley Tarses.<BR/><BR/>Mr. Levine, were Prudence Fraser and Robert Sternin a titular reference for Cheers? I believe that Kelsey Grammer said in his autobiography that he came up with part of Frasier Crane name; he said that one of his names didn't suit him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52105451072779695352009-01-16T05:18:00.000-08:002009-01-16T05:18:00.000-08:00Don't forget Emma Thompson, the only person to win...Don't forget Emma Thompson, the only person to win an Oscar for acting (her role in REMAINS OF THE DAY) and writing (her adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY)<BR/><BR/>I don't know much about Rachel Sweet's punk side...I really know her best musically for her retro-60;s rendition of the title song from the original movie version of HAIRSPRAY.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32993373220354995472009-01-16T03:25:00.000-08:002009-01-16T03:25:00.000-08:00I loooove Rachel Sweet. I got all her albums when...I loooove Rachel Sweet. I got all her albums when they first came out (I wouldn't call her music punk though). I'm still kicking myself for screwing up my one opportunity to meet her. Producer Randy Cordray spoke for a group of interns and alums from my alma mater and invited us all to a Dharma and Greg taping a few days later. After it wrapped, I noticed Sweet on the floor. I started making my way down, but by the time I got there she was gone, and she didn't hang around for the little after-party. Maybe it's just as well -- I probably would've embarrassed myself.<BR/><BR/>A few of her videos are on YouTube, by the way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com