Thursday, July 18, 2013

Red Skelton 100th Birthday 18 July 2013


Red Skelton - 100th Birthday - 18 July 2013


I met him in Seattle, Summer 1977. My writing partner John Halvorson called me up on the phone. "You've got to get down here! Red Skelton is here! Olympic Hotel!" And he hung up. 


Zoomed down! Speed-walked into the Olympic Lobby. It was filled to capacity with Japanese tourists, and right in the middle, ignored by the tourists, chewing on an enormous unlighted cigar the size of a Presto-Log, was Red Skelton. 

He wasn't sad...exactly...but none of the tourists recognized him, or seemed to speak English. He brightened up, when he caught sight of us. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Looking for you!" he replied.

The next hour was delightful. He told us he painted a painting and wrote a piece of music, every day. He told jokes - often - just like regular folks gab about the weather. He autographed my glossy of him, so it could hang on my Editing Room wall. "My Thanks, Red Skelton."

I asked if he'd autograph my copy of "The Groucho Files," because in it, Groucho wrote Red was the natural comic successor to Chaplin. Groucho wrote that Red could do anything. Monologue, pantomime, jokes, stories. He had all the comic gifts. High praise indeed, from another Master.

Red seemed quite moved. He turned to a tourist, and said "Look! Groucho Marx says I'm funny!" He only got a puzzled smile from the tourist, to which Red did a huge shocked take, which was...funny. Of course.

Wherever you are, on your 100th Birthday, bless you Red.







A delightful collection! More of Red Skelton's great comedy.



The Plege
The Pladge
The Pleadge
Red Skelton
Skelton Red
Ed Sullivan
Peforming Arts
Red Skelton Show
Red Skelton Pledge
The Red Skelton Show
Red Skelton Paintings
The Pledge Of The Allegiance
Red Skelton Pledge Of Allegiance
Pledge Of Allegiance Red Skelton
Pledge Of Allegiance By Red Skelton
John Wayne John Wayne John Wayne


Monday, July 15, 2013

"Solar System Soup" Is Yummy! - Book Review

"Solar System Soup" Is Yummy! - Book Review
This review is from: Solar System Soup (Paperback)
Children's Book, Story by Lindsay Marshall,
Illustrated by Don Bearwood
http://amzn.to/solar-system-soup


A good story carries one far away, and this one certainly does that. It takes me to when I was five, skipping second grade at Sartori Elementary in Renton, Washington, in 1961.


My school had an enormous library, full of good books and a nice Librarian, who imparted to me my love of books and facts and stories. That Library was amazing! There were screenings of Bell Laboratory science movies (Directed by Frank Capra), great big Encyclopedias, and huge models of Saturn and our Moon, hanging in the Lobby. It was magnificent, and I remember it fondly.

I walked under those planetary models every day, and I went to the Library as often as I could, and my imagination was stoked! I wanted to go to Outer Space! (I almost went once, and I'll tell you about it some time).

Well, this book is like that. "Solar System Soup," written by Lindsay Marshall and Illustrated by Don Bearwood, takes the Reader on a fanciful journey around our Solar System, where Sam's Dad gathers ingredients from the Planets, to make Sam a special Birthday Soup.

It's a simple story, and a good one, and if I tell you too much, I'll just mess it up. Don Bearwood's illustrations are charming, done in colored pencil and paint, by hand! Not on a computer! And they are lovely, in that way I remember from my favorite books as a child. They stick in my mind, and I am glad I read this book. You'll like "Solar System Soup," too! So will your kids.

Sam Longoria                http://amzn.to/solar-system-soup
Producer
Hollywood CA USA  

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Gondoliers - Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society

Gondoliers - Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society

Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers,
or the King of Barataria."

Gilbert & Sullivan's last big hit, and a wonderful evening's entertainment. 

Tickets $16 Youth, $35 Seniors, $38 Adults.
CLICK TICKETS http://bit.ly/-gondoliers

Showtime 7:30 pm
July 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, and 27

Matinee 2 pm
July 13, 14, 20, 21, and 27
CLICK TICKETS http://bit.ly/-gondoliers




Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
Gilbert & Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan
Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society
The Gondoliers, or the King of Barataria

Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society - The Gondoliers