6/15/22
Newsletter12
The blue gels are just appearing in the sky.
My good buddy Joe contributed another example of lyrics leading us one way, then going another. Jack Black sings in “Nacho Libre:” “I ate some bugs/ I ate some grass/ I used my hand.../ To wipe my tears.”
On July 2, 1881, President James Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau seven months into his first term. He spent the next three months dying in the White House. It was so hot that summer that someone devised a way to keep the White House cool. And that’s how air conditioning was invented.
Merian C. Cooper co-directed two of the most important, early, silent documentaries: “Grass” and “Chang.” He then became head of production at RKO in 1931. The first thing he did was green light his own production of “King Kong,” which he co-directed. Cooper was co-founder of Pan Am Airlines. During WWII he was second-in-command of the famous “Flying Tigers.” After the war he formed a production company with John Ford, then produced many of Ford’s best films, like, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.” Then Merian Cooper co-invented Cinerama.
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt commanded the “Rough Riders” in the Spanish-American War. At the foot of San Juan Hill Teddy hollered, “Forward,” and made his way up the hill through blistering gunfire. When he got to the top he looked back and saw that none of his men had followed him. He went back down the hill through a hail of gunfire, convinced his men he wasn’t kidding, then attacked again and took the hill.
In the middle of the overture of Richard Wagner’s “Tannhauser” it suddenly becomes “The Sound of Music.” The tune is: So, a needle pulling thread/ La, a note to follow so/ Tea, a drink with jam and bread . . .” and then goes off into another thing. Eric Satie’s classic “Gymnopedie No. 1” is the same melody as the hit title song from the 1957 movie, “Tammy and the Bachelor.”
When the great Billy Wilder was making his film, “Love in the Afternoon,” the studio executives decided they hated the title. Billy Wilder said, “I like the title, but give me an example of a better title.” An executive thought and thought, then said, “Tulsa.”
I commuted to New Zealand for eight years while working on “Hercules” then “Xena.” My best friend in New Zealand was Edith Thompson (who has since died). Near the end of “Xena” she lost her coordinator job, was asked to leave the house where she rented a room, then her old, V-8 Holden completely broke down. She and I had lunch, and given the recent events she was in a terrific mood. I asked if I could help in any way and she said no. She called me a few hours later and said, “I won the lottery. A half million dollars.”
Here’s an unwoke joke where the unwoke part happens in your head. What’s the difference between smart pygmies and a girl’s track team? One is a bunch of cunning runts . . .
Warren Beatty began his career as a contract player for Warner Brothers. In his youth, Beatty was a troublemaker and was finally called before the venerable Jack Warner. Warner yelled at Beatty, “This this is my studio, just look out the window at the water tower. Whose initials are on it?” Beatty looked, saw “WB” on the water tower, turned to Jack Warner and said, “Those are my initials.”
The sun hasn’t made an appearance yet, but it looks like another beautiful day.