That's Entertainment

It's amazing to me that over the years, we as a people have had some rather dramatic changes in what we found and find entertaining. For me, it's runs from the simple to the elaborate and sometimes the downright stupid. Hey, at least I am easy to entertain. As an entertainer, I have to be cautious of what is truly "entertaining".

Buddy Hackett once said that if a joke doesn't offend at least one person, then it's not a joke. How true. Since I tend to wallow in the offensive end of humor. Not by design, it just sort of happens that way. To me, there are some inherent humor to be found in the stupid. But humor is NOT the end of all entertainment. Take a look at previous decades and how we as people have "evolved". Our tastes certainly have changed over the years.

The 80's were full of bad fashion and worse music. (some exceptions apply) The 70's brought the amusement of a pet rock. The 60's... drugs were the amusing thing. At least, that is what I have been told... The 50's in all their puritanical ways gave us Wally and the Beaver.

And then there were the 40's. Witness below the Ross Sisters from 1944. The music was standard of the day, peppy and upbeat, fashion simple and fun. But the major difference for audiences of the day were seeing a singer or band and the usual song and dance routine versus the downright bizarre.

This clip culled from the internet displays a virtual circus act of the likes you don't see to this day. Imagine this on Dancing With the Stars ... you won't. Simply because the TV people these days don't find this sort of thing entertaining.

Here's a test... watch this. Then answer the following question...



Were you entertained?

Stay Tuned...

Hello, Again.

Sorry, it has been awhile. Sometimes the pursuit of the general things in life can get in the way of something as soulfully important as updating this blog. I was hanging with the Dalai Lama, for crying out loud. No, seriously. The circus surrounding His Holiness' visit to our fair city had taken, at least in my mind, a certain place in the order of things. Think about it, update the blog or spend some time thinking about more important things with one of the most influential people on the planet?

We went to see him at the convention center and it was a great experience even though our esteemed Mayor introduced himself with a fist bump and, "Hello, Dalai." (No joke.) He had claimed he got permission from the Tibetan officials to do that, however, I have it on my own authority (and forever unnamed sources) that he was NEVER given permission to address him in the manner of which he did. I consider this whole scenario nothing more than yet another example of why we can never have anything nice when any politician shows up.

Well, speaking of deep subjects, and in a strange way, bridging a strange gap between the Dalai Lama and other really cool things, I found this little gem on the web featuring another super guy. (Two of them, actually) In a fantastically creative use of the auto-tuner and some old video, let me introduce to you Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking in something so hypnotic it may make you ponder your own existence in this vast universe.



Now, think for a moment... and Stay Tuned...

Where's Bob?

What a fascinating tale of a marketing campaign gone horribly wrong. Or right... depending on what you hear or read. Those late night TV ads for the "male enhancement" product Enzyte have been around for awhile. Now, here is the long and short of the story behind greed and Smiling Bob.

Steve Warshak and his mom Harriett were behind our friend Smiling Bob and were ultimately sent to prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering. Harriett got two years while her son was sent up the river for twenty five years. This after thousands of complaints from customers who claimed the penis pill didn't work. (among many other complaints) That is the short of it... no big deal (if you will) as this kind of thing happens all the time, it seems.

But my interest into this was behind finding out just who Smiling Bob is, or as the case may be, was.

The picture above is the famous if not ubiquitous Smiling Bob. Bob, as the well endowed mascot for Enzyte, was apparently played by actor John Larson. So where the hell is he? Was he typecast into oblivion as "Mr. Big", too large for any other work? As it happens in the world of advertising, Bob was merely an actor hired to play his part, cashing his checks as the advertising campaign wore on. But, the founder of Enzyte ran into his legal troubles and John Larson was left... er... hanging, if you will.

Now for the meat of the mystery. It seems that just before Warshak got caught with his hands in the cookie jar, there was talk of a new mascot being sought to replace Bob with the old proverbial "...we're going in a different direction" line. But, before all of that could happen, Bob apparently vanished.

How can you make an iconic figure as Smiling Bob merely go away? Where does one hide such an enormous figure in the world of advertising? Did Bob possess more than what was being let on?

Unverified stories show that actor John Larson has been reported missing or dead since June 12, 2008 apparently the victim of a boating accident off the coast of Martinique in the Carribbean. What we do know is that since that date, no one has heard nor seen Larson aside from this undated photo.



To this date, no one knows anything about the "accident" or just where Larson went. Moreover, there has been no word from any friends or family as to Larson's whereabouts. If he was alive, you would think a guy of his stature would certainly have found work doing something... anything. If he were dead, then you would certainly hear about that mystery somewhere on the air or on the internet. Very little exists in either place and if you paid any attention to the advertising campaign, there has been no new production including Smiling Bob in quite sometime. Even the usual internet conspiracy nuts are strangely silent on this one. Where's Geraldo when you really need him?

Gives one pause to think Smiling Bob was, perhaps, killed off in a more literal way. After all, Warshak had planned on renaming the company and finding a new spokespenis. Now, Warshak and his mom met the hands of justice in prison leaving behind an apparent wake of thousands of under-endowed American men. Not to mention one missing big guy last seen living large in the idyllic scenery off the coast of Martinique.

After the Feds did their duty to the Warshak empire, Enzyte somehow survived and is still going strong, after a new company acquired the brand and enacted a change in operating practices. Bolstered by the immortal image of Smiling Bob still coming through the late night TV airwaves. As for John Larson, we may never know the truth.

As for the complaining customers, remarkably very few of them bothered with getting a refund, settling instead with being born with a ding instead of a dong after the snake oil inventor and his mom went to prison and what may have been TV's greatest pitch man slipped under the waves of the beautiful blue Carribbean.

Stay tuned...

UPDATE: Since this piece continues to get so much traction, I felt it necessary to do some more research. Guess what? Most of what I wrote here (so long ago) is not accurate. Here's why. I hope this clears things up a bit. (Ric)

Sell, sell, sell...

Being in the broadcast industry can be an interesting place to be. We make our living in the commercial world and we are often accused of being "sell-outs". Let's be honest here, I am somewhat of a whore when it comes to what I do for a living. Hey, it pays the bills. Whether I am singing the praises of a phone company, jewelry store, fuel additive, dog food, car dealers, pizza restaurants... the list is endless and I have gladly done them all.

That's what showbiz is all about. Making money anyway you can. Sure, I have my limits and now is not the time to go into all of that, but make no mistake, if the money is there, I'll shill for just about anybody.

One of my favorite TV shows has always been Hogan's Heroes. The Universal HD channel has the show now and on Monday's they run it all day long. It's a trip watching it again after all these years. It's amazing how much of the show I had forgotten over the years. Still though, it is fun to lose yourself in this strange world where just about everybody who was on this show is now dead. Richard Dawson and Robert Clary are still around.

Critics eventually rated the show as one of the 5 worst TV shows of all time. Despite the 3 emmy nominations and the 6 year run it enjoyed on CBS, it never jumped the shark. It remains as one of the most watchable shows on TV today. Kinda sad if you think about it...

...anyway, what does all this have to do with whoring out yourself in show business? Take a look a the video below.



I'm craving Dream Whip now.

Stay Tuned...

Has it been this long...

...since I updated this page? My God, where has the time gone? Well, a little update off the air.

Finally a little time off is in order since Bad Dog is having a hernia surgery. He'll be fine and his doctors suggest he'll be back to his ol' self within a few days. As for yours truly, there are a couple of projects in the works. The usual stuff around the house and the ongoing project with the Model A. I'll get some pics of that beast (when it's a bit more presentable) up here soon enough. Nevertheless, I should hope to use my time somewhat usefully although we all know the best laid plans...etc. Nevertheless, we'll be back on the air Monday. In the meantime, Brother Doug will be your bitch for a couple of days.

I was going to update, nay, jump for joy over the fact that my long personal nightmare with a certain government entity has finally concluded happily, however, I thought it best not to poke the bear with the stick by posting something overly snarky about this group here. Lord knows, I can lose my mind during a rant and find myself on the receiving end of more trouble and we would all be better if that never occurred.

In the meantime, I'll just a drift for a day or so and avoid most media as I try and unwind from the daily grind. I'll post something a little more substantial during the break as I will undoubtedly get into some sort of something. You know me...

Stay tuned.