OEsheepdog's Open Salon Blog

Dick Cavett, Groucho Marx and me.

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:05:53 -0400

Dick Cavett and Robert Bader, Woodbridge Connecticut.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I learned that Dick Cavett and Writer/Producer and Groucho archivist Robert Bader were going to appear at a local Jewish Community Center to give a talk on “Groucho Marx, the Inside Story.”

What were my wife and I going to get for our $24 dollars, anyway?

Contrary to what a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, (Joan H.) said that she thought Dick Cavett was dead. Mr. Cavett was indeed alive and quite frisky for a septuagenarian.

The diminutive Mr. Cavett crouched against a piano facing away from the audience as a montage of his interviews were played on a large screen before a crowd of about 300. I guess even “stars” have difficulty watching themselves in front of audience. Once introduced by Mr. Bader, he bounded on stage with energy and aplomb.

While the main focus of the evening was the late and great Julius H. Marx, the real treat and value was watching Dick Cavett play the role of interviewee for an hour and forty-five minutes.

While Mr. Bader played some great clips of the Groucho, Harpo, and Chico recreating their vaudeville act when they made TV appearances in the 1950s, he reminisced about how his interest in the Marx Brothers began as a youngster sneaking downstairs after his parents went to bed to watch Groucho on the Dick Cavett show.

Cavett shared a story that took place in the Midwest where Groucho was invited to a séance. Groucho was counseled that this was serious and he was expected to maintain a sense of respect and decorum. Groucho assures his host that his stage persona is one thing and he can be serious and is a seeker of spirituality.

As the lights dim and the Margaret Dumont like medium goes into a trance and asks, “Does anyone have a question for the beyond? Does anyone have a question for the beyond? Does anyone have a question for the beyond?”

A voice pipes up. “What’s the capitol of North Dakota?”

Groucho was lucky to escape unscathed.

The two gentlemen spoke extensively about Marx Brothers, with Cavett sharing his personal relationship and friendship with Groucho. Cavett spoke about the letters Groucho would write him after watching a Cavett stand up performance on the Merv Griffin Show.

Cavett, in his stand up routine, spoke about being a rube from the Midwest and how he was inappropriately dressed when he came to New Haven as a freshman at Yale. “I actually wore Brown and White shoes,” Cavett remembered, “and the white one kept getting dirty.”

Cavett said that Groucho provided some useful insight in his letters, “that the Rube at Yale was hitting the mother lode. And you should continue to mine it.”

Mr. Bader did an outstanding job of engaging Cavett, whose storytelling was riveting. What I found compelling was a respect and reverence of his friendship with Groucho. When Cavett related a letter he received in the last few years from one of Groucho’s daughters, she had made the statement “you had done so much for my father,” his voice cracked and he was truly humbled by her words.

Cavett spoke about how Groucho, as any comedian would want to, end a letter with a laugh quoted a post script where Groucho said, “Did you ever notice that Peter O’Toole is the only actor that has double phallic name?”

The video clips were unique, and some recently discovered, including a rare color video tape of Groucho and Dinah Shore performing the Peezy Weezy song in 1959 on her TV show.

Cavett spoke about writing for Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and even for Groucho, when he guest hosted the Tonight Show after Jack Paar left the show. Cavett remarked that one of Bob Hope’s writers thought that Cavett was successful as writer for different talent, because Cavett could hear these comedian’s voices in his head and write it as they would say it.

We came away being thoroughly entertained, by the stories, the clips, and the intimate venue. Mr. Cavett attempted to moonwalk across the stage at the end of the evening.

While he comes across looking old and frail when presents on his DVD series, Mr. Cavett was in both good health and good wit.

Mr. Bader and Mr. Cavett share one final Groucho story, that both said was never shared, before it made into Mr. Bader’s book.

Groucho and Tony Randall were appearing as presenters at a Tony Award ceremony, and were waiting backstage as a number of women dancers came offstage and quickly had to perform a “bareass costume change,” slipping off their costumes into their birthday suits, and dressing quickly to make a return onstage.

Groucho watching the women undress and dress turns to Tony Randall and says, “This is something you’d never get to see if you were in the pants business.”

Mother's day -- 2012

Sat, 12 May 2012 21:05:03 -0400

I wrote this about two years ago. I seem to repost it each Mother's Day because, I can't improve upon it. I think that some women are naturally great mom, others not so great. Other women either choose not to have children, or can't. A lot is made of this holiday which, in fact, was created by a woman who neither married nor had children.

A toast to all of you moms at OS. You know who you are. We read about your trials and tribulations, your accomplishments, your successes, your moments of pride, and sometimes your failures. May you enjoy the day.

There are many women at OS who have chosen not to be mothers. This can often be a heartwrenching decision not to have children. I think it takes a wise woman to make that decision for herself and I salute you for being so wise, and having to take heat for making such a decision.

For others they didn't get to make a choice; they were unable to bear children. I'm thinking about you today, too.

There isn't a Women's Day that all Women celebrate. So please indulge me this modest tribute to all OS Moms and non-Moms on this day

Why Mitt Romney is so Misunderstood.

Fri, 11 May 2012 04:05:10 -0400

Let's face it people, the recent media reports of Mitt Romney being a bully when he was seventeen years old are overblown.

He was a minor. He shouldn't be held accountable for his actions because he wasn't old enough to legally be an adult. Don't let the fact that in 1994, eleven thousand seven hundred juveniles were tried in criminal courts as adults. Besided assaulting a classmate with a sharp object such as scissors is nothing to get upset about. Scissors can't hurt anyone. Just don't try bringing them to the airport the next time you are planning to fly commercial.

Let's talk about Mitt Romney's ability to know right from wrong. He was just a kid. What would he know about values? Right from wrong?

It's not like the widely held view espoused by noted sociologist Morris Massey, that people's values systems are in place by age seven has any merit.

Mitt Romney is different. His upbringing was much better than almost all of you. He deserves to be treated differently. Being financially well off and the son of wealthy well connected parents means that the rules don't apply. Don't you understand this basic premise of 21st century America?

When Mitt Romney went into business he was not ethically challenged. His motivation was to make sure that he maximized profits for his company, and of course for himself. Profits are good. Profits make you rich. Being rich means you get to do things that others who aren't rich shouldn't be allowed to do. You're entitled.

So as much as many of you want to try and use this minor incident in Mitt Romney' life as a defining moment of his character, let's remember that there Mitt wasn't even an adult by legal standards. He cannot be held accountable for his actions. In fact, there's probably not a moment in Mitt Romney's life where there is any need for personal accountability.

Mitt Romney is different from the rest of you. He's better, smarter, richer. And the sooner you accept that, the better it will be for Mitt, and for you.

Death of the civilized society.

Tue, 8 May 2012 19:05:28 -0400

I spent the last weekend in some of the most affluent sections of the Garden State, also known as New Jersey. I was a guest. What I saw and what I experienced was quite different than what I expected.

I watched the interactions between several affluent parents and their children. I now know that as a civilized society we are doomed.

Common courtesy is non existent. Words such as "please," "thank you," "excuse me" or "I beg your pardon" are no longer used by parents or their children.

These parents are too self absorbed to notice when their children slam the door in an adult's face. They could care less when they are blocking access to the entrance of a restaurant. It's okay to elbow you out of the way so they can move to the front of the line so they can place their order ahead of you.

These are the parents who live in the best communities, want their children to go to the best schools, and get the best jobs. They could care less about us. We're just in the way.

I was happy that I don't live in these communities in Burlington county. It is repulsive.

It's nice to know that I will probably be too old or dead by the time the progeny of these repulsive thirtysomethings are old enough to become voting citizens of this republic.

I wish I could give these parents a dope slap every time I saw them fail to correct their children's abhorrent behavior. But then, they wouldn't understand why I was doing it to begin with.

Open Salon Pay Wall to begin at 12:01 a.m. Sunday

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:03:29 -0400

I was going to write a lede about Open Salon's pay wall is beginning on April 1st. However this was a very cheap way to wish you all an early April Fool's Day.

I think the ritual April Fool's Day pranks that used to occur at work are now relegated to twentieth century memories, along with rotary telephones, typewriters, korrect tape, and smoking at your desk.

It's no longer "appropriate" to pull April Fool's Day pranks at work. Employers and their Human Resources Departments (an oxymoron if I ever heard one) have zero tolerance for this type of workplace behavior.

Activities like changing the Men and Women signs on company Rest Rooms, issuing pink slips to entire departments, yelling after employees who innocently leave your office "AND STAY OUT!!!" just isn't as fun as it used to be.

I remember the days of leaving "while you were out" messages marked URGENT from people like Ella Funt or Leo DeLyons and the return phone number of the Bronx Zoo, or Benson's Wild Animal Park, only to have the hapless employee get "punked" when told you've just had an April Fool's joke played on you.

Other jokes included calling Funeral Homes and explaining that you were moving and wondered if they had any empty boxes they could let you have.

One enterprising high school student called the radio station where I worked early one April Fool's Day morning to say he was Principal Richards and that school was cancelled. When he failed to give the appropriate password, I put him on the air and got him to talk. The real Principal Richards was listening that morning, recognized the young man's voice and when the alleged perpetrator got to school and was summoned to the principal's office, the joke, apparently, was on him.

I always thought that the April Fool's Day pranks at work were relatively harmless and was a way to blow off steam. Today it just isn't acceptable behavior. I'm not sure if that's better or worse.

What were your favorite April Fool's Day pranks?