Frankie & Johnny and Al’s
I knew I knew it: The Late Show opening bit last night borrowed the storefront of Frankie & Johnny, the now-defunct New Orleans furniture store whose television commercials became an Internets sensation.
Bob Newhart (1929–2024)
What I’m actually hoping is there’s the Pearly Gates and God’s there and he says to me, “What did you do in life?” And I say, “I was a stand-up comedian.” And he says: “Get in that real short line over there.”
Martin Mull (1943–2024)
The Fernwood 2 Night episode with Tom Waits is not to be missed.
Joe Flaherty (1941–2024)
He was Guy Caballero, Count Floyd, Sammy Maudlin, and Slim Whitman, among others.
Kafkish
Gary Gulman: “One of the most pretentious things you can say is ‘Kafkaesque.’
Postal abbreviations
Gary Gulman explains how the states got their two-letter abbreviations.
Richard Lewis (1947–2024)
The comedian and actor Richard Lewis has died at the age of seventy-six.
Uh-oh, a Marxist
A judge rules against Donald Trump and cites Chico Marx.
Vegan options
“Julian, you need to add some vegan options to your business plan.”
Eugene Levy, honored
In these terrible times, I liked seeing this video with fellow actors paying tribute to Eugene Levy, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newport Beach Film Festival. And I went down an SCTV rabbithole.
Sarah Cooper tonight
The great Sarah Cooper is streaming a Q&A tonight.
Commence to dancin’
Laurel and Hardy dance.
Imaginary Derby
I watched the Kentucky Derby and began to think about assembling a field of twenty horses. Those horses are now approaching the starting gate.
FOR SALE
Artisanal eclipse viewers.
Jerry Lewis (1926–2017)
It feels like the end of a show-business era.
Jay Tarses on the small screen
Dave Simonds’s Free Advice from an Old Guy , five very short films starring Jay Tarses.
Recently updated
An old SNL skit is online.
Steve Bushakis and Donald Trump
“I’ve had gonorrhea five times.”
Fun with Wikipedia
Someone is having fun with Wikipedia. I think.
“No Figures of Speech”
A student pointed out the words left behind on the blackboard.
Sid Caesar (1922–2014)
With a link to delirium.
Marxism for the young
“Readers under, oh, say, thirty: Do you know who the Marx Brothers are? Have you ever seen a Marx Brothers movie?”
Fragments from a musical
“A Buddhist nun is torn between her dedication to the liberation of all sentient beings and her love for a wealthy landowner whose family [illegible ] as a governess.”
Harry Potter?
Who? Dialogue from Ricky Gervais' Extras.
"But it's so deconstructive!"
Nina Conti's postmodern ventriloquism