Week Ending
I haven’t updated this blog in ages now largely because there hasn’t been a helluva lot going on lately. Just run of the mill busy keeping. Here are a few snapshots.
A week ago, I was witness to a performance of Charles Mingus's epic musical piece Epitaph. It was only the third time in history the 500 page score has been played since it was written in the 1960's and only the first time in its entirety.
I did lots of celebrity spotting this past week at the Sports Emmys and National Magazine Awards, two events that took place where I work. You’d have thought the television people would put on a glitzy show, but the magazine publishers and editors were far more glamorous. As it was explained to me, nobody really pays them any attention, so they better put on a big show or no one else will.
Had an interview with these folks. We’ll see what happens.
Three people whose work I admired when I was young, passed away this week.
Tom Poston was a very funny actor and comedian who often played guys who were a few cards short of a full deck. Some of his earliest television work was on the Steve Allen Show in the 1950’s and 60’s. More recently he played dizzy George the handyman on Newhart.
Tommy Newsom was an accomplished saxophone player and composer and a member of the orchestra on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He often filled in when bandleader Doc Severinsen was away. Because of his low-key demeanor, Carson pegged him “Mr. Excitement.” In 2006, at Carson’s passing, Newsom, Severinsen and former Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy performed a musical tribute on LateNight with David Letterman.
Walter Schirra was a space pioneer and genuine hero to young boys like me who dreamed of being astronauts. He was one of the original 7 astronauts in America’s first space program. He would fly into space not only in the one-man Mercury program, but the two-man Gemini project and the three-man Apollo program that led to putting the first man on the moon. Back when space travel was just a grand experiment, he and his colleagues were gutsy enough to get strapped to the top of a big rocket and fired off into the stratosphere.
A couple of old friends have new blogs and are still getting their feet wet. Please make them feel welcomed.
Posted by bernie at May 4, 2007 9:53 PMGood luck with the job search! And how was the Mingus?
Posted by: ReggieH at May 5, 2007 7:33 PMThe Mingus concert was one of those events where you had to be there. I wouldn't really know where to begin. It was complex, dense, at times traditional, at other times quite obtuse, it was whimsical and playful while also quite serious. They made full use of all 31 gifted musicians who in addition to playing their chose instruments, contributed handclaps, chants and in the case of one trombonist, spoken word passages.
Sadly, the event wasn't even sold out. One would think jazz lovers would have made the effort to be there.
Posted by: Bernie at May 5, 2007 7:44 PMI was sad to hear of Tom Poston's passing. I had the chance to work with him on a few eps of FM. He was a joy to work with it and very engaging off set.
Posted by: Shawn at May 5, 2007 9:30 PM