Month: October 2007

Robert Ghoulet

No offense to the recently deceased intended, but it’s Halloween, and I couldn’t resist that bit of wordplay. And further, I admit that I didn’t come up with it; my buddy Dennis did, so blame him!

To read a story Mark Evanier has about the time he met Robert Goulet, click here. It seems there’s almost nobody, in showbiz anyway, who Evanier hasn’t met at least once. In this instance, there’s a punchline coming to the story that he won’t tell until somebody else passes away.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/OCT07/TheImpossibleDream.mp3]

Alfred Hitchcock’s First Anthology Show

Happy Halloween! I first became aware of master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock from a parody of him on The Flintstones. I knew they were making fun of somebody, but I didn’t know who.

Alvin BrickrockAlfred Hitchcock

In this droll dual takeoff of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Hitchcock feature film Rear Window, Fred is unnerved by his new neighbor Alvin Brickrock, a short, squat Britisher who can be heard arguing with his harridan of a wife. Then, one night, the arguing stops suddenly–and not long afterward, Mrs. Brickrock disappears. These and several other ominous incidents lead Fred and Barney to conclude that Alvin Brickrock is actually the notorious wife slayer Albert Bonehart. The satire is played to the hilt, concluding with Mr. Brickrock bidding the audience a fond “Good ev-e-ning.” ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hitchcock was a unique personality, being equal parts artist, craftsman, impresario, and businessman. In 1940, long before his anthology TV show of suspenseful stories began in 1955, Hitchcock directed a radio adaptation of his British film ‘The Lodger,’ which is available for your listening pleasure on the audio player.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/OCT07/TheLodger.mp3]

Showcased on a program called ‘Forecast,’ Hitchcock was helping audition what would later become the premier radio anthology series of suspenseful stories. It was called, aptly, ‘Suspense’, and it ran for 20 years, ending in 1962 as one of the very last radio drama programs.

Charles M. Schulz, An American Master

You watched American Masters: Good Ol’ Charles Schulz, didn’t you? Good! I think it strikes an excellent balance, portraying the artistic man, the family man, and the inner man in equal portions. I don’t completely buy into Citizen Kane being a significant theme, let alone an obsession, for Schulz — I love the movie myself — but overall I found the documentary to be positive, informative, and poignant. I was particularly taken with Donna Wold’s description of a conversation she had with Sparky when he called her in 1970.

I was pleased to see how throughout the program there was always a return to an emphasis on Schulz at his drawing board. The simple act of putting pencil and ink to paper was, after all, what the man loved to do, and it’s the reason he’s worth the attention he is receiving. Congratulations to writer-director David Van Taylor for his excellent production.

Charles M. Schulz

Two of the Schulz offspring, Monte and Amy, have had very little good to say about the David Michaelis biography of their father, and Jill has gone on record as agreeing with them. Michaelis appears in Good Ol’ Charles Schulz, and reading his book I can see that he does tend to fancy himself a psychoanalyst, and he’s consistently negative where he could have been more balanced. I feel that David Van Taylor found that balance in Good Ol’ Charles Schulz, so I’m a bit surprised that Monte and Amy aren’t mostly positive about the program.

Over at the Cartoon Brew blog you can read Amy and Monte’s comments about the book. My buddy Dennis has pulled their entries out of the comment thread. If you see a “more” link, click it to read them, otherwise keep scrolling.
Continue reading Charles M. Schulz, An American Master

Plastic Soul Lives

On October 17, Amazon.com created a section devoted to vinyl records.

One of D.F. Rogers’ possessions that I envy him having is the complete British catalog (or, should I say, “catalogue”) of Beatles albums put out by Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs in the early 1980’s. The box set now goes for big bucks on eBay. I have a couple of the individual discs. The general consensus is the records sound better than the CDs; which is understandable, considering the digital mastering was done with first-generation equipment over 20 years ago.

Way To Go BoSox

Well, Boston did it again. Colorado could have tied it up, but it was not to be.
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I admit I’m not a rabid sports fan, but I live in the Boston area, so I’m glad the Curse of the Bambino really is gone, with two World Series wins in four seasons. Before the Red Sox beat Cleveland I heard a sports commentator on NPR say it didn’t matter who won the American League title, because nobody should bet against Colorado.