Mark Evanier's Blog, page 43

Convention Center Concerns

Comic-Con International 2025 convenes in 58 days and I'll be doing my usual sixteen-or-so panels…but that's not what I want to talk about at the moment. Let's talk about the San Diego Convention Center. It opened in In November of 1989 has since undergone a vast amount of renovation and expansion…but not enough. As this article explains, the place is going to need an awful lot of renovation in the coming years.

Photo by Bruce Guthrie

I think it's a wonderful place to hold a convention. It's well-designed, well-situated and surrounded by great hotels and great restaurants…but it's getting on in years and as the article states, it's going to need hundreds of millions of dollars in repair and upgrades. I do not think it's going to close down. There's too much commerce built around it. I don't think Comic-Con is going to move elsewhere. The alternatives are not great. I just think an awful lot of money is going to be spent on it…and some of that, directly or indirectly, is going to come from attendees. Donald Trump may even slap one of his big, beautiful tariffs on the place.

We'll keep an eye on this matter. I wouldn't expect a major impact right away but something's going to have to be done and it's gonna cost someone a lot of money.

Thanks to my pal Douglass Abramson for keeping me up-to-date on the topic.

Today's Video Link

Folks are sending me links to other videos with Stan Ross in them. Brent Seguine pointed to this sketch that The Three Stooges did on The Ed Sullivan Show for 2/10/1963. Ross turns up at the very end as the punch line…

And several people made reference to this music video by David Lee Roth. Stan Ross is in there in a pirate costume but only for two quick shots of about 1.5 seconds each. If you watch of it, just think of it as a six-and-a-half minute videogame of "Where's Waldo?"…

A Dick Van Dyke Fact Check

Dick Van Dyke was born on December 13, 1925. Despite what many click-baiting sites are claiming, he is not 100 years old today. He is 99 years, 5 months and 13 days old. His hundredth birthday is 201 days from today.

This has been a Dick Van Dyke Fact Check. Thank you.

FACT CHECK: Big Beautiful Bills and Other Bull

Donald Trump and those doing his bidding insist that his "Big, Beautiful Bill" will not cut "anything meaningful," just "waste, fraud and abuse" in Medicaid and nothing about Medicare or Social Security. Politifact and CBS News both say this is not true.

Meanwhile, Trump's doing a lot of things that if they'd been done by Biden, Obama or any Democratic Prez would have Republicans screaming about naked bribes and selling presidential favors. Steve Benen discusses how feeble the excuses are for what Donald's doing.

Hope you're all having a memorable Memorial Day. It might be the last before Trump renames it Trump Bitcom Super-Sale Day.

In The Playhouse

I watched both parts of the Paul Reubens documentary last night. My first reaction was that I really didn't need to hear that much about his sexuality. But then I don't think I need to hear much about the sexuality of any consenting adult. Based on some of the exchanges that were included between Paul and his interviewer, I got the feeling that Paul felt the same way. It reminded me of once when a gent I knew — somewhat of a celebrity — remarked to me about what the tabloids were publishing about who he was sleeping with and what they were doing. He said (approximately), "I don't even understand all that…how come all these strangers who've never met me think they do?"

One thing the documentary got quite right, I think, was the impact of the first live Pee-wee Herman show which was staged Saturday nights at Midnights at the Groundings Theater. It was an incredible production as I wrote here some time ago when a revival of it was playing at the Nokia Theater…

Around '81, it got to the point where there was a Midnight show done every Saturday night…a surreal evening that went on a little long, though its length somehow added to the quixotic nature of it all. Pee-Wee showed cartoons and public service films. He lobbed Tootsie Rolls into the audience, including one, inadvertently, directly into my eye. He welcomed an endless array of odd friends onto his playhouse stage. And at the end of the show, he learned how to fly, which I gather is the plot of the new show, as well. Two people who later became friends of mine separate from one another — Dawna Kaufmann and Bill Steinkellner — were highly responsible for assembling the proceedings, and it was full of fine performers including Phil Hartman, Edie McClurg and John Paragon.

Pee-Wee had a sweetness then. The character changed back and forth in the years after. Sometimes, he was a real innocent ten-year-old boy who just happened to be played on stage or screen by a much older man. And sometimes, he was a much older (and meaner) man who in some sort of sick dementia thought he was a ten year old boy. On the Saturday morning program, you generally got the sweeter Pee-Wee, and that's why I thought it all worked. That was the Pee-Wee of the Midnight show.

The night I went to it was one of the more memorable and oddest nights I've spent in a theater. It was sold out for the duration of its run and I was only able to get seats because I'd met Bill Steinkellner, who'd directed it. I took a lady friend of mine named Bridget Holloman (sad obit here) and we were there on time but the show was not. An understudy was going on and needed extra rehearsal so we all stood in the lobby for a half-hour or so…and then there were tech delays. The festivities started around 1 AM and went on and on and on, apparently a lot longer than they usually did. To make timekeeping matters even stranger, it was a night when we set the clocks ahead so when we got out two-and-a-half hours later, it was not 3:30 AM but 4:30 AM. And the show wasn't over.

No one at the theater had uttered the words "Canter's Delicatessen" aloud but somehow everyone there knew that was the place to go. Without consultation, we all piled into our respective vehicles and caravaned over to that wonderful open-24-hours deli on Fairfax. This included many of the cast members, some still in costume or at least character. It was like the third act of the play with corned beef added. People were performing at their tables or in the aisles and the Canter's waitstaff was sidestepping them and acting like this was the most natural thing in the world. In the booth next to ours was Phil Hartman, still wearing about half his makeup as the gruff Captain Carl and barking out his order for Matzo Brei the way an old sea cap'n would order Matzo Brei.

It was well after 5 AM, maybe closer to six when Bridget and I finally got back to my home. I asked her if she'd enjoyed the experience and she said, "I don't know…but I wouldn't have missed it for the world." The folks enjoying the current offering down at the Nokia may well feel the same way but I can't believe it's as memorable as the all-encompassing dinner theater production we attended. It was so very special to visit the playhouse and stay up with Pee-Wee 'til that close to dawn.

For what it's worth, I think the documentary understated the contributions by others to the success of that show and Pee-wee in general. John Paragon, Phil Hartman and a few others predeceased Mr. Reubens but there are still others around who could have talked more about what they did and how they might have felt shorted in terms of money or credit. But then interviewers assigned to put the spotlight on one subject often inflate the importance of their subject — and therefore, their interviews. In so doing, they often minimize the contributions of others.

Another thing I wish they'd made a bit clearer was that after Paul got busted in that porn theater in Florida and CBS dropped Pee-wee's Playhouse from their Saturday morning schedule, the series was already out of production, probably forever. Paul had no intention of doing any more — maybe ever but certainly not for a long time. That was why the mug shots from his arrest showed him with long hair and a beard.

After his arrest, sponsors fled and some CBS affiliates decided not to air the fourth runs of the last dozen or so episodes so the network put something else on the schedule instead. That is not the same thing as canceling the series. It was already self-canceled. Still, when I went over for meetings at the network, I had to wade through some folks with signs demanding CBS renew the series. I still sometimes read that the show ended because of the arrest.

But I think the documentary did make clear that Paul was not the easiest guy to get along with and that he was pretty insistent on things being done his way. As I said the other day, I got along fine with him but there was never any reason for us not to get along fine.

I thought he was a very talented, creative guy and that if he wanted to keep large parts of his life secret, fine. That was his right. At one point in the doc, he said he was doing it because he wanted to set some stories straight. I hope that if he could have seen the finished two-parter that aired on HBO, he would feel that he had even if some of us might feel it was a matter of Too Much Information.

Peter David, R.I.P.

With sadness but no great shock, we're hearing that Peter David died last night. The sadness is because he was a helluva nice, funny guy. The lack of shock is because Peter has been in and out of hospitals with one serious ailment after another for years now. I actually first-drafted an obit a long time back like real news sources do but I don't feel like using it here today. Hearts all over the comic book/fantasy community are going out to his wonderful wife Kathleen and to his family and loved ones.

Peter got into the comic book industry first in the marketing/sales end of things, then segued to writing…mostly for Marvel first, then for everyone. He also wrote novels and TV scripts and just about everything. I'd say "I don't know anyone who didn't like the guy" but in truth, his success and popularity were so immediate and total than a couple of folks were nakedly jealous of him. If you wander around Facebook over the next week or so, you may be stunned at how many friends and fans he had…and he deserved every accolade.

Wikipedia has a better rundown of his career than I could possibly assemble and I really don't know what else to say. I'd say "I'll miss him terribly" and that would be true…but even truer is that I've missed him for years now. We used to spend a lot of Comic-Con time together and every shared minute and every shared meal was a joy. So was reading something he'd written and I'm sure people will continue to do that for a long, long time.

It's Stan Ross! Stan Ross!

Do you recognize that man? That's Stan Ross, a comic actor who appeared in an awful lot of TV shows and movies but you wouldn't know it from the Internet Movie Database which only lists a tiny bit of what he did. The frame grab above is from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls where he had about four lines…but four pretty memorable lines. They have him down for that appearance but look at this one…

That's Stan Ross pointing a gun at Jack Lemmon in How to Murder Your Wife and IMDB doesn't list him for that. They don't have him down for an awful lot of his on-screen appearances and in a few cases, I think they have him confused with several other people in the industry with the same name including Stanley Ralph Ross, a writer-actor who was a pretty good friend of mine. And yes, I also met the Stan Ross from the above pics.

It was in the early eighties at Farmers Market here in Los Angeles. He was with Chuck McCann who introduced us. I would not have recognized Mr. Ross on my own because he had a thick, black bushy beard.

But he was amazed and a little pleased that I knew who he was, particularly because I mentioned his longtime association with Jackie Gleason. Gleason was always hiring him for bit parts even after the whole Gleason operation moved from New York down to Miami Beach. There must have been a thousand guys in Florida that Jackie could have hired to announce his show and do the warm-up for the live audience but he insisted they fly Johnny Olson in each week to do those duties. And even for a tiny part, he'd insist they fly in Stan Ross.

Someone has uploaded to YouTube — alas, in a way that I can't embed it here — a truncated version of The Jackie Gleason Show that was produced in Miami. It aired on CBS on November 25, 1967 and the billable guest stars were Bing Crosby, Alan King and Liberace. You may enjoy what they do…

…but I'm calling your attention to this because beginning around two minutes and five seconds into this video, there's a three-minute bit with Stan Ross playing the kind of creepy character he often played. The entire video (minus a few numbers) can be viewed at this link or if you just want to watch Stan Ross, click this one. You'll hear the audience start laughing at him before he's even on-camera.

That day at Farmers Market, we talked a little but Ross didn't do much of the talking. I guess he lived in the area because thereafter when I went to Farmers Market or the shopping center across the street, I'd see him without Chuck. I'd always wave and say, "Hi, Stan" or sometimes, his catch phrase, "I'm with you!" He'd acknowledge the recognition but hurry on his way like he didn't want to talk. So we didn't talk.

One day though, I spotted him in Andre's, a wonderful little Italian cafeteria that used to be in that shopping mall across from Farmers Market. I wrote about Andre's many times here, most recently in this post. It has now relocated to another address a mile or two away and the food is still good and pretty darn cheap.

Anyway, I used to take another great character actor/second banana, Howard Morris, to Andre's. He was with me when I spotted and pointed out Stan Ross sitting alone at a table out on the patio. Howie said, "That's Stan Ross? I used to see him all the time back in New York at auditions. We were up for a lot of the same parts. I wound up on everything Sid Caesar did and Stan was always working with Jackie Gleason." Howie directed Gleason in the 1969 movie, Don't Drink the Water, and he said Gleason had asked him to cast Stan Ross in one of the roles. Stan was somehow unavailable to they got Richard Libertini, who played a lot of characters not unlike the ones Stan Ross played.

Howie walked over to Stan, introduced himself and sat down for a brief chat. I didn't join them nor could I hear what was said but I could see Stan was pleased to see an old acquaintance but was having trouble communicating. When they parted, Howie came back to our table and said, "He started crying a little. I don't think he gets recognized much." Howie was a little unnerved but still glad he'd table-hopped to say hello.

This would have been, I'm guessing, 1985. Shortly after, I stopped seeing Stan Ross in the neighborhood. I can't find anything online about his later days and since he was reportedly born in 1926, he's either ninety-nine now or gone. A few people over the years have written to ask me if I know what became of him. I'm afraid that's about all I've got.

Today's Video Link

If you forced me to name some good things that came about as a result of COVID…well, all of them put together don't begin to make up for the damage and death but there were a few things that lightened the dark a bit. There were, to name one, a lot of wonderful specials produced for the Internet with people in isolation banding together for good causes.

I'm still finding some of these online…like this one. It's from 2020 and it's called Kings of Broadway — an hour and forty-eight minutes (with a ten-minute intermission in there somewhere) of showtunes written by Jule Style, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim.

There are some wonderful performances in here. If nothing else, listen to the opening overture, which is a nice presentation of the overture to Gypsy. Some would tell you that that show had the best overture ever on Broadway and while some others might disagree, I don't think they'd disagree a lot too strenuously…

A Few Thoughts on Humankind, Sort Of…

Some flavor of HBO is now running Pee-wee as Himself, a two-part documentary on the life 'n' times of Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman. I have a flurry of e-mails from folks saying things like, "You knew the man and worked with him…is it a fair representation of the guy?"

Here's my answer as of this moment and it'll probably be the same after I get around to watching the doc: I dunno.

True, I worked with him and knew him but not that much. I can probably name at least a hundred people I know who spent way more time with Paul than I did. Some of them were "in the trenches" with him on projects where much was at stake in terms of fame, power and/or cash. Such situations can easily bring out one's best side…or worst side…or both…or neither. My encounters with him were reasonably pleasant and stress-free but as one of my agents once reminded me speaking about someone else, "Even a chronic ax-murderer isn't murdering someone with an ax every second of the day."

I'm not suggesting Paul was anywhere near the ax-murderer category but in all the years of my silly existence, I've met a few who came close. They could be very nice, friendly sorts when there was no reason for them to go all Mr. Hyde on you. And sometimes, there are very good reasons for them to suppress that tendency. A few Comic-Cons ago, someone asked me about an individual in the comic book industry who has (or maybe had) a terrible reputation as some sort of monster…

WELL-MEANING FAN: I met him once and he was so nice to me and everyone around. Can you explain why people say he's such a horrible person?

ME: Well, what were the circumstances of you meeting him?

WELL-MEANING FAN: It was at a convention. I was buying an autograph from him and telling him how much I admired his work.

I may have quoted a similar conversation with someone else before on this blog. This happens a lot and I guess it's taught me not to judge anyone by how they are in any given casual encounter. Another time, I told the same agent I quoted above that I was getting along fine with a certain producer. The agent said, "Well, just wait. He may not have seen a good reason yet to fuck you over." And a few weeks later, I guess this producer found one and he sure gave it his all.

He was an exception. So were most of the people in my life who caused me to think, "It'll be better for me to stay away from this person." My list of Individuals-To-Be-Avoided is very short and it includes some folks who others in my world get (or got) along with just fine. I got along fine with Paul Reubens. I get along fine with most people. But that doesn't mean that everyone would or even that I would in different circumstances.

Interviews with Matt Wolf, the gent who made the documentary (interviews like this one) show that he spent hundreds of hours talking to Paul about personal things and still can't sum the guy up in a few short sentences. I spent way less time with Reubens talking about trivia and non-personal matters and whether a certain joke could be made funnier. So do you see why I take the position of "I dunno?"

Which is not to say I won't watch the documentary Mr. Wolf made. It will doubtlessly show sides of Paul that I never saw…and I guess that's my main point in this essay: To say that there were sides of the man that I never saw. Maybe that's a good thing.

FACT CHECK: Four Fanciful Fibs Flushed

Here's a foursome of fact-checking from the fine fact-checkers at FactCheck.org…

Trump, Allies Spread Unfounded Claims About Biden's Cancer Diagnosis. Because if you aren't doing your job well, it's always a good idea to demonize your predecessor.

A False Claim About Illegal Immigration and Medicaid. The K.F.F. is a non-profit organization that reports on health and welfare was founded by Henry J. Kaiser but is no longer associated with Kaiser Permanente. Their research — supported by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office — has told them that "less than 1% of all Medicaid spending is used for covering emergency care for immigrants who are not U.S. citizens." Still, Trump and his mob are trying to sell the idea that slashing funds for Medicaid is merely stopping expenditures on illegal immigrants.

Trump Administration Incorrectly Claims Certainty About Origin of Coronavirus. Lots of people presenting unfounded theories and rumors as facts.

Pro-Trump TV Ad Overstates His Second-Term Economic Record. And this one's a real piece of work.