My TV Top Ten. What is Yours?

Barb and I were almost home the other night when a familiar tune came on the car radio. “In my opinion, that’s the BEST TV SHOW EVER,” I said. And that got me thinking. What were my favorite TV shows of all time? So here, from #10 to #1 is my list. The only rule for selection is that there are no rules. It is my list, I get to say what goes on it. Feel free to disagree. I am sure you will!

#10-#7 My Early Years

10. The Dick Van Dyke Show: The classic work life-home life sitcom. Barb can still crack me up with an “Oh, Rob” or put me in my place with a “You’re no Albert Schweitzer.” I was young, Mary Tyler Moore was adorable, and Ritchie was getting attacked by birds. What was there not to like?

9. What’s My Line?: You thought Jeopardy! would be my favorite game show? Wrong again, reader. Another classic from my youth, no moderator was ever as smooth and urbane as John Charles Daley. And when the host has 3 names, I knew the celebrity panel had to be classy too, even if I had never heard of Bennett Cerf or Arlene Francis. And Dorothy Kilgallen was sort of hot to my 7-year-old eyes.

8. Saturday Night Blackhawks Hockey: Only a few Blackhawks games were televised in the ’60s. But every Saturday night during the season, I would knock on my next-door neighbor Jeff’s door at 6:30. We would play a game of table hockey (he had a great set with 3D plastic players and a ball-bearing puck) and then settle in to watch the Hawks play another “Original Six” opponent. The TV set was black and white, but there was no problem picking out the Golden Jet, as Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Glenn Hall did their best to bring Chicago a winner.

7. Ray Raynor and Friends and The Dick Tracy Show: Ray Raynor, playing the jumpsuited host during the morning in the former and Officer Pettibone during the afternoon in the latter, had my full attention. White Sox (and Cubs) scores, Chelveston the Duck and some decent cartoons kept me entertained.

#6-#1 Adulthood

6. Breaking Bad: After starting to watch the family drama Parenthood in its 4th season, Barb and I decided to go back and watch the earlier seasons–our first binge-watch. Our next binge-watch: Breaking Bad, a very different family drama. Mr. White and Jessie had special chemistry together, and not just the crystal-meth kind. We did not watch El Camino, the recent sequel. Heard it wasn’t all that good!

5. Hill Street Blues: The greatest show of the ’80s, it was the cop show that stood above all other cop shows, before and after. FOMAE (fear of missing an episode) led us to buy our first VCR. VHS of course–we didn’t want no stinkin’ BetaMax.

4. Veep: Laugh out loud funny and bitingly mean and all-around magnificent. Julia Louis Dreyfuss and the whole ensemble cast made Washington D.C. seem as miserable as it truly must be. I loved it even before there was a real dramedy in the White House.

3. Game of Thrones: Maybe I would have ranked it higher before the final season, but come on, #3 isn’t all that bad. Love and hate. Red Weddings and Walks of Shame. And battles. Lots of battles. So why isn’t Arya Stark starring in a sequel?

2. Seinfeld: Yada, Yada, Yada. And Julia Louis Dreyfuss too.

1. The music I heard in the car that day was Alabama 3 talking and singing their way through “Woke Up This Morning.” I cannot hear that song without seeing James Gandolfini, cigar smoke swirling around his head, driving past the Meadowlands and Satriale’s Pork Store. Tony Soprano on the move, inviting us to New Jersey and The Sopranos, the greatest TV series ever made.

You agree with me on all of these, right? If not, let me hear about it.

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

//s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.mailchimp.com/js/mc-validate.js(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[1]=’FNAME’;ftypes[1]=’text’;fnames[2]=’LNAME’;ftypes[2]=’text’;}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);

———————————–

Neil Diamond on Broadway. Will We See You There?

Yes, there will be Neil in New York City. But he won’t be there himself. He won’t follow Bruce’s footsteps and perform a long run of concerts in a Broadway theater. And he won’t be doing a regular gig at Madison Square Garden ala Billy Joel. But just as Jersey Boys celebrates the Four Seasons and Beautiful illuminates the wonderous Carole King, Rolling Stone reports that the time has come for a Broadway-bound jukebox bioplay of the life and times of Neil Diamond.

Big names have signed on to the proposed production. Anthony McCarten, who crafted the screenplay for Bohemian Rhapsody will write the show, while Michael Mayer (no, that’s not Mike Meyers) will direct. His credits include American Idiot and Spring Awakening, so he knows his way around a musical. And of course, the music will be Neil’s own tunes. No one has been cast for the lead role just yet and the opus has no title.

But guys and gals, I have to tell you, Barb and I are way out in front of the professionals on this one. We have been planning on writing and producing Neil’s story for years! It’s all mapped out and ready to go.

Act One–The Man in Black:

Scene 1: Growing up in New York City (Brooklyn Roads)

Scene 2: The Early Bang Years (Shilo, Solitary Man, I’m a Believer)

Scene 3: Hitsville (Holly Holy, Sweet Caroline, Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show)

Act Two–Hollywood Calling

Scene 1: Jonathan Soaring (Skybird, Lonely Looking Sky, Be)

Scene 2: Lenny Crashing (I Am…I Said)

Scene 3: A Fish Out of Water (Dry Your Eyes)

Scene 3: Jesse Robin Rising (Kol Nidre, Love on the Rocks, America)

Act Three–Glitz and Glitter

Scene 1: Song-writer or Super Star? (Yesterday’s Songs, Heartlight, Headed for the Future)

Scene 2: New Directions ( White Christmas, Home Before Dark, Pretty Amazing Grace)

Scene 3: One Last Hot August Night (Cherry Cherry, Kentucky Woman, Cracklin Rosie, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, America (reprise)

Curtain Call–Sweet Caroline

OK, Mr. McCarten will have to fill in some characters and write some dialogue. But that should be easy for a pro like him.

Now let’s talk about the casting. Most of the roles, such as Neil’s family, his various wives and lovers, the multitude of agents, musicians and producers, can be filled by the usual Broadway featured artists, the ones who win all the Tonys, but whom no one in Middle America has heard of.

But what about the lead, you ask? To star as Neil, we need someone who can play of span of ages, has acting chops and can belt out a tune. With a little help from the Wardrobe and Make-Up Departments, I can see Nick Jonas doing the deed. He might even pull in some fans who have never heard of our beloved Neil but know the Jonas Brothers and Priyanka Chopra. Hey Nick, can you transition from Disney to Les Misérables to Diamond all before the age of 30?

So do we have a name for this proud piece of pop? Of course we do. With apologies to Ian Fleming, James Bond and DeBeers, just get us front row tickets to This Diamond is Forever whenever the show opens on Broadway. We’ll be there.
____
Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Hey, James Holzhauer. I Lost On Jeopardy Too!

James Holzhauer, a Chicago area native has lost on Jeopardy! Emma Boettcher, a University of Chicago librarian has defeated him. And when I was on the show (1988) I name-checked Eugene Finerman, a previous Tournament of Champions player, who had lived down the street from me in Rogers Park in our school years. No surprise, Eugene’s mother was our Chicago public high school (Go Sullivan Tigers!), librarian. Chicago-Jeopardy!-Library symmetry. Catch it!

All of this came to mind over the last few days, ever since our son got a text from a friend asking if it was true that I had been a Jeopardy! contestant. It seems that he had found my name on the Jeopardy! archives website. I admit I have checked that site every blue moon but have never found a record of my one lonely, non-record breaking, performance. But somehow the data has been recovered and now is there for all to see as ” Show #893 – Wednesday, June 22, 1988.”

Sadly, there is no video, but every answer, every incorrect question, just about every grunt and groan is documented. There is Linda, the previous champion, over-wagering (she was goaded by Alex) on the last Daily Double. Her misspelling of Navratilova as a response to “As hard to spell as she is to beat, it’s the last name of Czech tennis star Martina” cost her a place in Final Jeopardy. There is my other opponent (and the eventual winner) Neil being handed extra dollars because of a rare Alex error. And my mistaking “Blue Suede Shoes” for “Rockin’ Robin,” a faux pas that has haunted me until today.

The web site confirms that Neil and I both succeeded in giving the correct question on Final Jeopardy. Alas, it was too late for me by then, and I humbly accepted my perfectly documented second place prize of a “trip on Eastern to Orlando, Florida & stay at Hilton at Walt Disney World Village + Jeopardy! box game or computerized version.” The family did love that trip.

Of course, we had made a home VCR recording of the show. I even made a parody version, using the soundtrack of Weird Al Yankovic’s “I Lost on Jeopardy!” Sadly, both of those crumbled into dust before the digital revolution. My only remaining documentation has been a newspaper article from the Daily Herald, published before the actual show taping and turning yellower with age as every new Jeopardy! champion breaks some record or another. Now at last the website is my proof that I was really a contestant.

And Mrs. Finerman, if you’re still out there, this one’s for you!

Yesterday’s post: What if it happened?

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

The Rolling Stones are Coming. Am I Going? Would You?

Sure you have seen the video by now. We all have. Mick is dancing around, doing his moves like Jagger, just weeks after heart surgery to replace a cardiac valve. According to the New York Times, it wasn’t open-heart surgery, but it was still plenty serious for a 75-year-old codger, especially one who has been reputed to take a non-medically prescribed drug or two in his past.

So the “No-Filter” tour is back on track. And the opening dates are right here in Chicago, at that bastion of acoustic glory, Soldier Field. Shows are June 21 and June 25 and I need to make a decision. To paraphrase the Clash, another bunch of British punkers, “Do I stay (at home) or do I go (to the concert?) I may own my own copy of “Sticky Fingers,” and have my favorite songs (“Bitch” and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,”) but I have never seen the boys live.

I would definitely plan on going to the Stones concert if it wasn’t a Stones concert. That is to say, I would be sure to go if the whole situation was in my control. The concert would start on time, the guys and gals behind me wouldn’t be slopping beer on my head, there would be a perfectly timed bathroom break with short lines at the johns, and I could helicopter away from the stadium just like Mick and Keith and the rest of the boys. But since none of those are going to happen, I need to make a decision based on the facts such as they are.

First, who is there to go with? Barb is not a likely candidate; she won’t even go back to see McCartney or Billy Joel at Wrigley. As for the kids, I have dragged each of them with their spouses to different U2 concerts at the spaceship on the lake. None of them are begging to go to another concert of any sort with me. My friends have mostly seen the Stones long ago and aren’t willing to spend the bucks to do it again.

And there is that cost factor, though a quick look at StubHub shows that the ticket prices aren’t currently much above what you would pay for good seats at “Hamilton.” And with the Stones, you are still getting the originals (at least 60% of them) rather than a Lin-Manuel Miranda substitute. (I know, I know, Miguel Cervantes does a great job as AH. Saw him when the show first opened here.) So I could come up with the cash for a decent ticket.

It’s the venue that is the biggest detractor. Whether it is for a Bear’s game or a concert, Soldier Field is just so miserable to get to, and even more miserable to get out of. It ranks a close second in our nightmare scenarios to Sam Boyd Stadium outside Las Vegas, where we waited more than 2 hours before we were able to finally find a shuttle after attending a U2/Black-Eyed Peas show 10 years ago. The crush leaving the Soldier Field gates is frightening, even for someone without claustrophobia. Couldn’t the Illinois Sports Field Facilities Authorities have added at least one or two more exits from the stadium campus during the 2002-2003 renovations?

So no “Start Me Up” for me. No “All Down the Line.” And certainly no “Satisfaction.” Unless the Stones want to put on a show in my backyard (how about it?) I’m going to sit this one out, and just admire that old Mick can still get up and do his thing.

____
Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

Were you brought here by a search engine? Please Comment or email me les.raff@post.com with the search engine, the search term and what you thought of blog post “Stones.” Thanks!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Photo Credit Chicago Tribune

It’s Up To You! Be Scared by “Us,” or at the Edge of Your Seat for “Free Solo”.

Barb and I saw two movies this weekend, one in the recliners at the local Cineplex, and the other in the comfort of home, pooch at our feet. One scared me to death. It is not the one you would expect.

The critics love “Us.” Director Jordan Peele’s 2nd horror film is a sensation. The New York Times says “more unsettling” than “Get Out.” “Compulsory seeing,” according to the Wall Street Journal. And crowds have been responding, with the film taking in over $70 million this weekend, a true box-office bonanza. Not even “Captain Marvel” can match it.

The reviews will tell you about the symbolism, and the social commentary, and the references to classic horror films in “Us.” But do most viewers care much about all that? They will see the movie to get a fright, to see how a very much “off” doppelgänger family terrorizes the Wilsons, a middle-class family enjoying a vacay at the shore. Yes, there are some jumps and thrills, but nothing that I can’t see every Sunday night on “The Walking Dead.” I didn’t come close to leaping out of my seat. A closing shot, one that makes you rethink the entire movie adds a final jolt, but it just not enough.

On the other hand, I was sitting at the edge of my comfy chair while watching “Free Solo,” the recent Best Documentary Oscar winner. Have you ever been to Yosemite National Park? Do you remember El Capitan, the rock formation with the sheer wall that rises 3000 feet from Yosemite Valley? It’s a popular site for rock climbers. “Free Solo” documents climber Alex Honnold and his desire, bordering on obsession, for a free solo ascent to the summit. You know what free solo means, right? It’s rock climbing without a rope, without any tools, without any assistance. It means one false step can take you off the wall into a freefall with certain death. Watching it on the screen is what terror is all about.

We learn of Alex’s top-notch climbing record. He tells us his earnings from climbing are comparable to that of a “moderately successful dentist.” He says his late father had “what we would now call Asperger syndrome,” and following Alex through his years of single-minded determination, his relationship with his one and only girlfriend, and his casual reaction to the death of some of his climbing colleagues suggests Alex is also on the autistic spectrum. Perhaps this is what enables him to strive for his dream.

The photography in “Free Solo” is incredible, handled by a team of professional climber/photographers. The amazing visuals allow the audience to experience each step Alex takes, through his planning runs using ropes, to the free solo attempt he halted in the fall of 2016, to the final SPOILER ALERT successful climb in 2017.

The suspense of the 6-hour ascent, when any misstep could be fatal, is heart pounding. During certain moments in the climb, the base photographer is so frightened for Alex’s safety he turns away from his camera in terror. Still, the camera work is unforgettable, and the triumph at the summit exhilarating.

So make your choice. You can get your thrills watching what everyone else is watching on the big screen, or get it at home streaming on National Geographic. And remember, just one of these stories is real.

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline Added to National Recording Registry. Are You as Happy as Barb?

Barb fell in love in an instant. Before she crushed on Kevin Costner, before she swooned for Bradley Cooper, hell–before she married me, there was Neil. Neil Leslie Diamond: Grammy Award winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2011, Kennedy Center Honoree, movie ~~star~~ actor, and writer and performer of the song Sweet Caroline, which yesterday was added to the U.S. Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

Barb has been a fan (Diamondite? Neil Head?) since the early days, the Neil-dressed-in-black days. Neil was hip then, a long-haired singer-songwriter in the age of long-haired singer-songwriters. He escaped Tin Pan Alley to record his own work, and to make a life and living on the road. Did Barb first hear him on a car’s dismal AM radio? Or with slightly better sound on a friend’s stereo? However she first came across it, she connected. She was there for his high school tours in the 1960s. She was there for the first of the big arena tours in the early ’70s. And then she brought me in…

My first Neil Diamond experience was in 1977 at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. This was the Jonathan Livingston Seagull Tour, with Diamond’s Grammy-winning score accompanied by video’s of a soaring seagull in flight. I could have used that bird to give me a ride home since the next morning I had six A.M. surgical rounds at Illinois Masonic Hospital on the south side of Chicago. I’m sure I hummed Brother Love through most of my procedures that day.

How many ND concerts have Barb and I enjoyed together since that first one? We have seen him indoors and outdoors. We cheered on the Headed for the Future tour. There was the Jazz Singer tour which brought in droves of blue-haired 70-year-old women who had fallen in love with Almost Cantor Jess Robin. We swooned at the poignancy of Brooklyn Roads and the schmaltz of Heartlight. We were always sure of glittering jackets on Neil, King Errisson on percussion, and Linda Press channeling Barbra Streisand on You Don’t Send Me Flowers. And we remembered to stand for Forever in Blue Jeans. Neil seemed amazed every time the crowd did that–even though he had asked us to!

The coup de grâce? The road trip to Montreal a month before Michael and Becca’s wedding, with third-row center seats and special NEIL DIAMOND tee shirts. I still wear mine, Barb seems embarrassed to wear her’s.

We never missed a tour, because we never knew when it would be Neil’s last. The touring career ended last year with the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. But Sweet Caroline still rings out at every ball game, every Bar Mitzvah, everywhere that people come to congregate and have a good time. Congratulations to Neil, and thanks to the Library of Congress for recognizing the masterwork of a masterworker.

So Good! So Good! So Good!

Did you miss yesterday’s post? Here it is! May it bring you joy!

Like what you read here? Don’t miss a post. Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Felicity Huffman Charged in Cheating Scandal and My Heart Breaks

Yeah, sure, my kids grew up with “Full House.”Jessie, Danny, the Olson twins, Aunt Becky, and all the rest. So let my kids worry about Lori Laughlin as she and her husband get charged in the college admissions scandal. But it isn’t Lori’s lost innocence that I will be mourning. I just have one question. Felicity Huffman, how could you do this to me?

I can admit it now. I had a super-crush on Felicity. And we aren’t talking about the “Desperate Housewives” Lynette Scavo version. No, the Felicity that had me glued to the TV screen was Dana Whitaker, the character she played in “Sports Night,” a two-season (1198-2000) seriocomedy from the pen of Aaron Sorkin. She was sweet; she was down to earth; she was hot.

Playing off Josh Charles and Peter Krause Felicity/Dana lit up the screen. The show, set on a TV series mirroring ESPN SportsCenter, was canceled just when everyone was realizing how good it was. After cancellation most of the cast became regulars on other series, even pairing again with Sorkin in “The West Wing.” Felicity went on to stardom in “DH”, but I never felt the same connection with her. Maybe I missed the famed Aaron Sorkin walk-and-talk dialogue. Or maybe I just outgrew her. Certainly, in the last few years, I have seen more of her husband William H. Macy than I have seen Felicity. Out of sight, out of mind.

So that takes us to now. Felicity, a cheating scandal to get your daughter into the right college? Really? Pay-offs? You couldn’t just ask Aaron to write a kick-ass Letter of Recommendation? Or have him oversee your daughter’s personal essay? Everyone fudges on those, anyway. At least you (apparently) kept hubby William out of this. I want him to keep working. He’s the one guy in Hollywood that Barb doesn’t have a thing for.

Maybe I’ll drown my sorrows with a 6-pack of “Sports Night” reruns on Hulu. That may ease the pain.

But what do I say to my kids about Lori Laughlin!??

Don’t forget to read yesterday’s blog about Jesse Smollett and patient privacy.

____
Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Is Curiosity Worth Losing a Job Over? Lessons from the Jessie Smollett Affair.

The Jessie Smollett incident leads to multiple firings.

The news stories and TV broadcasts say “Northwestern Medical Center fires dozens of employees for seeking to access Jessie Smollett’s health care record.” What’s that all about?

Medical records are meant to be confidential. Every doctor, dentist, mental health professional and more have you sign a form outlining the organization’s policy on privacy and how the organization complies with HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. You may not read the form, but I bet it tells you that employees will not look at your information without needing to for medical reasons and that no one will release that information to any outside agency that doesn’t have a need to know. And we all hope everyone follows those rules.

How do health care organizations enforce HIPAA? Lots of education is a start. In our group of 60 physicians plus a few hundred ancillary employees, everyone must take an online course on patient privacy on a yearly basis. It can be a bore and a chore, but it hits home the message–patient information is personal and private. And since almost all health care in the US is now documented electronically all those electronic health records have security features, passwords, lock-outs, and time outs. If you look where you shouldn’t, you are going to leave a thumbprint.

I take the regulations seriously. Barb and I are of an age where many of our friends and neighbors have urologic conditions that lead to biopsies. These frequently cross my microscope. Other friends will call me with a question or a need to vent. Barb knows of none of this. Unless the acquaintance says to me “It’s ok to tell Barb,” I keep my mouth shut. And in some cases, it is a secret I have kept for a dozen years or more. And the medical professionals I know all follow the same philosophy–some even like to brag about it.

So what went on at Northwestern? I can only speculate. I am sure the employees have been trained on a regular basis. At a high recognition institution like Northwestern that probably has its share of celebrities as patients/clients, I cannot imagine it can be any other way. And this incident proves that electronic safeguards are in place, identifying all the employees who tried to take a peek.

What made those dozens do it? Curiosity? The opportunity to sell the information for a big payoff? Requests from friends who wanted to be “in the know”? Or maybe, as some of the let go employees claim, Northwestern made a mistake.

Whatever the truth, this story is a reminder to health care workers, more powerful than Powerpoints and online courses, that what happens in the doctor’s office stays in the doctor’s office. At least that’s the way it supposed to be!

The above is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of UroPartners LLC.

____
Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

SPIDER-MAN, Green Day, and Alex Trebek. It’s All Here Today.

Yesterday my iPhone decided to take control of Turn-Back-Thursday by putting my playlist into New York City, 2010. Broadway to be precise. Show tunes from that year replaced the Stones, Bruce, and The Who as the soundtrack of my late morning workout.

But those shows had a definite connection to rock’n’roll. First came the song “Rise Above.” Remember it? I doubt that you do. It was one of the songs written by my buddies Bono and The Edge for the musical SPIDER-MAN-Turn Off the Dark. That show was going to be the “swingiest” on Broadway. Barb and I had tickets for October of 2010…but it was not to be.

The show had problem after problem, financial and technical. The official opening kept getting pushed back and back and back, and the performance we were scheduled to see was one of the many cancellations. We wound up seeing “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” instead. It came highly recommended, had a great cast (Sherie Rene Scott, Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Laura Benanti,) and was thoroughly awful.

Barb and I never saw SPIDER-MAN, though Laury, who at the time was teaching in New York City, saw the show several times with her students. The only remnant I have is “Rise Above,” jostling for a place on the iPhone with some 100 real U2 songs.

When my iPhone was done with Spidey, it swung into a series of songs from a rocking Broadway show that we DID see in 2010, American Idiot. Based mostly on Green Day’s album of the same name, and featuring the title track, plus “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Holiday,” and many more, the show was bright, loud and louder. The music director funneling the Green Day material into the theater was Tom Kitt, who at the time was also busy at the time winning heaps of awards for Next to Normal.

On occasion, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong goosed the Idiot box office by performing in the role of St. Jimmy, though Barb and I were not fortunate enough to see one of those shows. Maybe that’s where The Boss got the idea for Springsteen on Broadway, another show we passed on seeing.

After Idiot my playlist went back to its regularly scheduled selection of Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, and the Moody Blues. No more show biz memories for the day.

In other news, my thoughts go out to Alex Trebek. As my family knows, pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease. I am sure Alex will have the most advanced of medical care and will fight with all he has. For the record, my application to become Jeopardy! host was made a while ago when the rumor was that Mr. Trebek would be retiring. I would hate to take over because of his illness, but SONY, I am still available. Just give me a buzz.

____
Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Do Cyndi Lauper, Ray Liotta or Jennifer Garner Get the Job Done?

celebrity-endorsement — Cyndi, Ray, and Jennifer sell it.

“Hi, I’m just a guy named Ray Liotta and I don’t smoke anymore, thanks to Chantix.”

There is nothing new about celebrity product endorsements. Back in the 50’s Ronald Reagan shilled for Chesterfield cigarettes while Rock Hudson was a Camels type of guy. Star athletes can make millions from the what they wear, from the Rolexes on Roger Federer’s wrist to the Nike swoosh on Tiger Woods’ hat.

Jennifer Aniston spent decades as America’s sweetheart, not just because of Friends and her Rom-Coms, but because she pushed every beauty product known to man. Jennifer Garner now offers competition and not only with celebrity divorces. In commercials, she loves both her father and his CapitalOne Card, and of course the makeup that makes her skin wrinkle-free.

George Clooney? Do you think the man really crave his Nespresso that much? Well, at least enough to make him the highest paid celeb in 2018.

We love our celebrities, never more than now when they tweet and instagram every thought in their heads. So we love the products they push. Isn’t that the whole philosophy behind celebrity endorsements? That is why I am a bit puzzled by a pair of ads that have run in the past few months, one featuring Cyndi Lauper, and the other Ray Liotta.

The ads, for the drugs Cosentyx and Chantix, feature our stars as everyday people. Cyndi is only one of a crowd with psoriasis. As for Ray, he’s just a man who loves his family and hates smoking.

So what’s the thought process the ad execs have here? We know that you know these people are celebrities, but maybe you will respond to seeing them as just regular folk and get prescriptions for these expensive pharmaceuticals.

It just doesn’t work for me. It makes me uncomfortable. I feel like a spy. Celebs are celebs and that’s why I will let their endorsements sway me.

If someone wants to see what’s in MY wallet it, better be Jennifer Garner in all her glamorous Hollywood glory!

Last blog’s best comment: Surely these “tips” were either written while expressing one of those mischievous sardonic smiles or this was a project for the Times Writers to put down their thoughts while completely inebriated! Marty Kander.

____
Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name