Yes, yes, I know I said I'd wrap things up yesterday with that medley by Vivian Blaine from Guys & Dolls.  But after posting it, I wanted to check some information and found this video which I think you'll agree I couldn't pass up.  Sue me.

Guys & Dolls opened on Broadway in 1950.  When they took the Frank Loesser musical, with a book by Jo Swirling and Abe Burrows, to the London West End in 1953, some of the original cast went along.  Including Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide and Sam Levene, who played Nathan Detroit, her fiance for something like 12 years, the reason she sings "Adelaide's Lament."  And when the show was running there, Blaine and Leven recreated the number "Sue Me" for British television.

By the way, Sam Levene had a long career in the theater, and that included starring in Neil Simon's comedy, The Sunshine Boys opposite Jack Albertson in 1972.  (Happily, I got to see both on stage when they toured in the show to Los Angeles, and I happened to be in town on a short trip.)

This is a real treat.  And interesting to see, since it's a much more tender interpretation of the song than the more big comic rendition it often gets.  And interesting to see from the opening shot of the London poster that since Blaine was from the original Broadway production, she got top billing here.  

 A couple of weeks ago, my dryer went kablooey, which is the technical term.  This is the tale, but there is an addendum at the end about a related matter which is more general for people dealing with such issues.  Actually, there are a couple of addendums.

I found an appliance repair shop on Yelp that had an impressive record, 5-stars and almost all the comments were glowing.  TJ Appliance Repair is based in West Hollywood, though they service throughout Los Angeles.  The owner there, Tony, said that from my description, it sounded like the motor.  Also, because I have one of those washer-dryer mini-combos -- and it's set up in a small closet -- they may have to send out two repairmen.  And if that's the case and if it's the motor, it might cost about $450.  More than ideal, but worth the repair rather than getting a new dryer -- let alone, a new combo, if I decided that.  (The units are probably 13 years old or so, they were here when I bought the place.)  But he'd send out a single repairman on Monday to checks things out and see what the situation was.

One thing that has been bewildering me ever since I did my dryer went out is that I was missing two socks from two different pairs.  I looked and looked, but couldn’t find them.  I looked in the dryer bin repeatedly, but it wasn’t there.  I’ve kept looking all over, but they’re nowhere to be found.  Gone.  Perhaps to Cancun.

On Sunday, the day before the repair tech's visit, I still was thinking about those missing socks, and wondered if possibly they could have somehow been sucked into the dryer and caused the problem, as bizarrely unlikely as that seemed, so I checked once again to see if there was any nook or slot or any way they could have been sucked into – but of course there wasn’t.
 
But on a total whim, since it was the only removable part, I pulled out the lint filter and looked into the compartment.  And one of the socks was there!!  I have absolutely no idea how it could possibly have gotten into the lint filter, but it did.  And I was able to get it out.  Still that left one sock that’s missing.
 
I ran the dryer to see if maybe removing this sock fixed things, but no, it didn’t.  But the scraping, rumbling sound it made didn’t sound completely unlike what a sound might be if a sock was caught somewhere.
 
To be clear, I can’t imagine that a sock was inside the machine.  For starters, I don’t see how it would be even remotely possible.  Any holes are tiny, and any slots are paper thin.  But then, I don’t see how it’s remotely possible that a sock did get into the lint filter compartment.
 
Anyway, the repairman came on Monday.  And it was…the socks!!!!
 
There had been, as I noted, that one sock that got sucked into the lint filter compartment.  But still one other sock that was missing.  But without having to call in a second repairman (which would have been expensive), he was able to pull the washer-dryer out by himself, which was impressive ("Oh, this isn't bad, I do this all the time, I've seen worse"), unscrewed things…and found the missing sock.  And the dryer ran perfectly after that.
 
He said it was one of the cleanest dryers he’s seen, and appeared to be in good shape.  He also said it was one of his favorite models, an LG Tromme, which would run for 25 years.  And said that even if the motor does go out, it’s worth replacing because the model is that good.  The whole cost was not $450 to repair the motor.  (Or $2,000 to get a new combo).  But $180.  Much better.
 
And better, too, because when he first turned on the dryer, it made an awful sound, to which he said, “Not good.”  But then I told him the tale of the missing sock.  And he thought that that could indeed be the cause.
 
What’s weird is that he says he has absolutely no idea how socks get sucked into a dryer.  “It happens.  It’s a design flaw.”  But there’s no space for a sock to get sucked through, so how???  “I have no idea.  It happens.”  I asked what one could do so that this doesn't happen again, and the options are to ball up thin socks when drying them, letting them air-dry, or getting a bag to put your socks in for drying.  But totally weird.  But hey, if a repairman has no idea at all how it happens, I'm not going to figure it out.
 
Anyway, it’s resolved.  For a whole lot less.  And for what it’s worth, the repairman Alex great.  As I said, the company TJ Appliance Repair has a 5-star rating on Yelp, and I can see why.  I called the owner Tony to let him know how good Alex was – and he was also praising the owner behind his back.  (Including that if a customer is clearly struggling financially and in obvious bad shape, the owner won’t charge them but pay for it out of his pocket.)  Good customer service may lose you money in the short run, but in the long run it builds loyalty and word-of-mouth and success

Now, for the two addendums.

The first is that when talking with the repairman Alex, it turned out that he was from Uzbekistan, worked in Moscow for a while, knew Odessa pretty well where one of my grandfathers was from, and came to the United States in 2016.  (Fun fact:  his brother was playing basketball at UCLA -- my grad school,)  Alex was able to get fast-tracked for citizenship because he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and served in Afghanistan, though not in combat.  (Among other things, they taught him various skills, including how to repair appliances!)  The point of this all is that he applied for citizenship in 2016, and the program that he was able to get in under was shut down by Trump a few months later.  If there had been just a few months delay, he wouldn't have been able to get into the United States.  And serve in the army.  And because a terrific addition to the country.

The other addendum concerns those home warranty contract many people have.  I had one that comes with the deal when I bought I bought my place a couple years ago.  I renewed it the next year, and had some benefit from it, though it may not have covered the cost.  But it did cover replacing a disposal unit (which would have been a few hundred dollars) and some small plumbing fixes, and was good piece of mind.

It also covered one other notable expense when my refrigerator went out.  However -- that experience was a mess.  The short version is that it took three months, and I was out a refrigerator for that long, and had to get one of those small refrigerator-freezer devices so that I could at least keep some food.  (The home warranty company did pay $75 towards that, which was about $220 overall.)  

The main reason for the three-month delay is that the repair shops they kept sending weren't working out.  Either they didn't do the kind of work that was needed, or they didn't deal with those kinds of part, or they had to wait for red-tape approvals to order parts or -- in the most significant case, one of the vendors tried to scam.  They explained what part was needed, and that it would cost $250, which would have to come out of my own pocket since it wouldn't be covered by the home warranty company.  And I know it was a scam -- not only because I asked some friends who know these things better -- because when the work was done, it did not entail the part the scammers insisted on, but just the basic $40 part my friends said was needed and was covered.  

The final vendor did do the work well -- though the had a small screw-up which delayed things another week -- but the reality is that I was without my refrigerator for three months.

Which brings me to the point.  When my home warranty contract was up in December, I didn't renew it.  I knew there was a risk, though extrapolated over 10 years, it would probably work out well in my favor, even if there were big expenses along the way.  But after that three-month debacle with repair shops I didn't know, I just decided that I'd rather pay more money (possibly) for a good repair shop whose goal is the please the customer, not to please the home warranty company and save them money, so they could continue to get referrals.

I have no idea how this will turn out over time.  But it worked very well here.  When my dryer went out, my first reaction was, "Agghhh, I wish I'd waited before cancelling m home warranty contract."  A big repair only two months after cancelling it!!!  Of course.  But even then, my next thought was -- that's fine, that was my decision.  I get to choose the repair shop I want, and they'll fix it fast.  And that's what happened.  It was a 5-star shop, they did excellent work, and it was repaired in two weeks.

And while I hope I never have to use TJ Appliance Repair again, I'm sure I will -- and I'm glad to have the piece of mind knowing that they're there.  Hopefully Alex will be, too.

In writing my earlier pieces about Guys & Dolls, "Adelaide's Lament" and Vivian Blaine, I came across this video, and thought it would be a really nice way to wrap this up.  It's Vivian Blaine in 1984, still in good voice 34 years after starring in the show, performing Stephen Sondheim's "Broadway Baby" from Follies, and then a fun medley of her songs from Guys &  Dolls, pretty much singing them in character. And ending with...oh, you know.

I've had two instances where there have been Republican figures who, years back, got a lot of praise from Democrats and liberals for being at the very least sane and reasonable compared to the core of what's out there -- and I argued that I didn't agree.  That they were both sane and reasonable on the surface, but that's only because they were talking about things that were sane and reasonable, and you don't get bonus points for being sane and reasonable, and that I sensed much too often they were actually saying some really thoughtless, nasty and obnoxious things.  And as time has passed, I believe I have been shown to be correct.

In the first case, I absolutely know for certain I've been shown to be correct.  That's because the person being discussed maybe 20-25 years ago was Lindsey Graham.  There was a point back then when he was saying a few things that were not reprehensible (which admittedly is a low standard), and so he came across to many as "sane and reasonable."  I just always argued that I didn't think he was a "Good Guy" at all.  Because much too often he'd take positions that no "Good Guy" would say, let alone think.

The other was Meghan McCain.  When her father ran for President in 2008 -- the only reason she has gotten attention and built a career, but that's how life works, so be it -- she got attention for seeming to be an actual moderate among Republicans.  My sense, however, was that while she might be "moderate among Republicans," that's like saying "Not as far-right as Attila the Hun" and doesn't carry much meaning.  I would argue that I didn't think she was a moderate at all, just that she might be moderate on a small handful of positions and was somewhat sane.  Again, a very low standard.  But overall, I thought she was fairly right-wing and not remotely as insightful as some people where hoping and grasping for.  And this was 12 years ago, long before I had any idea she would marry one of the founders of the very far-right Federalist Society.  To be clear:  I don't color a person's opinions by who they marry.  But when one's opinions so often do overlap those of your spouse, it's not unreasonable to address to think they there is a connecting bond.

And in the intervening 12 years, especially since becoming a co-host of The View, Meghan McCain has shown herself to be whiney, privileged, far-right, self-absorbed and not very insightful at all.  And when she did criticize Trump, it never came across to me that it was because she was moderate, sane and reasonable, but just because he hated her father and was mean towards him.  By the way, that's a perfectly great reason for anyone to dislike someone else, but it doesn't make you moderate, sane and reasonable.  So, again, I think I've been shown to be correct.

I bring this all up because a video clip of Ms. McCain was posted, which her whining on The View about the COVID-19 coronavirus and the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci and how it all affected her and others, though mostly I think her.  This isn't close to the worst of Meghan McCain.  In some ways, it's a bit benign.  But "a bit benign" is in comparison to the worst -- it's not benign at all.  And it's very typical of her normal disinformation, selfishness and inaccuracy.  It's only about a minute-and-a-half, so check it out first.

“The fact that I, Meghan McCain, co-host of ‘The View,’ I don’t know when or how I will be able to get a vaccine because the rollout for my age range and my health is so nebulous," she said. And then, “I’m over Dr. Fauci."

Man, talk about "nebulous."  Pure, unfiltered Meghan McCain.  At her most normal.

This from Ms. McCain is just filled with "disinformation" (which is the polite term). The CDC & Dr. Fauci have been quite clear on things that can be done safely after getting vaccinations.  And further, her complaints of how disorganized the rollout of vaccinations is -- is specifically because it was all ignored by the Trump administration. Next to nothing was done during his time in office -- from having enough vaccine manufactured to setting up the roll-out of distribution to creating vaccination centers to helping fund states to organize it all. The Biden Team is playing catch-up, and doing extremely well trying to extricate from a truly massive Trump screwup.

And although one can argue that as subjective (no matter how accurate it is...), her "Get a shot, have a shot" line Ms. McCain tried to use to shame the CDC is actually factually wrong.  That line she quotes is NOT about Israel opening bars now that people have been vaccinated, which is the impression she tries to give -- and which (giving her the benefit of the doubt) is what she thinks, as opposed to knowing otherwise and lying about it.  The line, "Get a shot, have a shot" was a promotion done in Tel Aviv where a mobile vaccination center was set up at a local bar -- and they gave away a free shot of liquor to adults who got a first vaccination!!

That was not the Worst of Meghan McCain.  But it was the typical.

Yes, people makes mistakes.  But some people make them oh-so much more often and some people who appear as a co-host on television show have the responsibility to check out the truth of what you say before you say it to millions of people and end up passing along disinformation.  I'd add, too, that if one does do this sort of thing regularly, you should regularly apologize and correct all the untruths.  All of them.  But The View is only on for an hour each day, and I guess they need that time to also do other things on show...

On last night's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, his Main Story about about the meatpacking industry.  Not about the conditions in processing the food, but the awful conditions for people working there, most especially under the reality of the pandemic.  Some of the piece is impressively funny, but what stands out is how it builds steam and angry he gets by the end.
​

I was ready my pal Mark Evanier's website last night, and he wrote a lovely piece here about our mutual friend Mel Sherer who had just passed away.  (It's well-worth checking out.)  Mel was an absolutely wonderful guy with a long, deeply-admirable career in comedy writing.  He also had gotten pummeled by illness 15-20 years ago, and it largely took him out of commission, but he held on for a long time.  I last saw him about 10 years when I went over to his house for a visit, and it was tough, but a real pleasure.  Because Mel was a real pleasure -- generous and kind.  Though we hadn't seen each other since then, we did trade emails on occasion.  Too rare.

Rather than go into more detail about Mel's work, instead I want to re-post an article I wrote about him back about eight years ago.  Among all the other things, it goes into what was probably the most notable writing partnership he had, and reprehensibly the one he got the least-credit for -- working for years with Andy Kaufman.  And just to clarify upfront, no, it wasn't Andy Kaufman responsible for the "reprehensible" part. 

The point was to set the record straight.  And to celebrate a great career and terrific guy.  Which is quite appropriate today, well, when you get down to it.

From May 18, 2013.

​There was a long, well-researched article yesterday in the Huffington Post that was sort of the opposite-Obama.  The point of it wasn't that there are people who won't believe a birth certificate about where someone was born, but rather that there are people who won't believe a death certificate that says someone died.  In this case, the someone is Andy Kaufman.

But this here isn't to convince the unconvincable of anything.  I leave that to themselves.  This is to address one minor thing in the article, where it talks about "Kaufman's longtime partner-in-crime," as the article puts it, Bob Zmuda.  Every time you read an article about Andy Kaufman, it tends to quote Bob Zmuda.  There are books that reference Bob Zmuda, as Andy Kaufman's partner.  And all of that is true.

What isn't true is the impression all these articles and books give that Bob Zmuda was Andy Kaufman's sole writing partner.  What they all leave out is Mel Sherer.

Mel Sherer is a friend (and a wonderful, generous guy, beyond the ordinary levels of generosity) who has a long career writing comedy, from sitcoms to variety to stand-up.  He's been a collaborator with Kevin Nealon of Saturday Night Live for years.  Look him up on the iMDB.  Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Married with Children and a lot more.  And the very first credit you'll see there is -- Andy's Funhouse.
​

​There is a lot of other writing that Mel has done than what's listed in the iMDB, but he's just not taken credit for it.  Because of his long, admired career in comedy, many people in the field have come to Mel for last-minute help or tweaks.  You know that famous scene in Roxanne, Steve Martin's updating of Cyrano de Bergerac, when Martin's character, 'C.D. Bales,' humiliates an adversary in a bar by coming up with a couple dozen great, nose insults?  Well...they needed a couple dozen great, nose insults.  And finally, at the last minute, ready to shoot but not pleased with what they had, they came to Mel for help.  Some of that scene is Mel.  Uncredited.  Mel has done a great deal of uncredited work because...that's Mel.  He regularly has given away story ideas.  "Here's a good one.  You can have it."

And through all that, Mel was partners with Andy Kaufman.  (And Bob Zmuda.)  Not just writing, but occasionally performing.  You may know there have been times when Kaufman appeared at the same time on stage as his obnoxious alter-ego Tony Clifton, and people couldn't figure out how that was possible.  Usually that was Bob Zmuda made up as Clifton -- and so the word has spread that it was always Zmuda.  But it wasn't.  Occasionally it was Mel.

Bob Zmuda had a lot to do with Andy Kaufman's career.  But so did Mel Sherer.  It's worth noting that on the Andy Kaufman website (which appears to be fan-based), there is a review of Bob Zmuda's biography on Kaufman that praises the biography in part, but criticizes it a good deal for self-aggrandizement, and at one point states --

"Why did Mr. Zmuda conveniently forget the following individuals?

Mel Sherer
Merrill Markoe
Little Wendy"

To be clear, it's not that Mel didn't get the full credit he deserves in the book.  It's that he didn't get mentioned.  It's bizarre and inexplicable.  Mel tends to shrug things like this off all the time.  He has a Buddha-like outlook on life.  Or maybe he's just so used to it that he gave up being bothered long ago.  I like the Buddha theory.

But at least he was discussed in Bill Zehme's biography of Kaufman, Lost in the Funhouse.  And there have been things like the E! True Hollywood Story on Andy Kaufman where Mel Sherer was properly included.

​By the way, just so you know, I embed these images so that it's clear this is not just a friend speaking up for another friend, but can't support it.

It can be supported.  There's so much more.  Mel Sherer and Andy Kaufman were writing partners for a very long time.  Not Kaufman's only partner, but significant, and integral to his career.  And for too long, he's put up with being much-too overlooked, and not saying a word about it.  I just like the guy so much that every once in a while I like to point all this out, even if Mel is content being Buddha. 

And this will not be the last time I point it out.  I like saying it too much.

As a brief addendum to the above article, I want to mention that when it was originally posted, it received a terrific user comment.  It's arguably one of the most meaningful I've received.  Actually, no, there's nothing "arguably" about it.  The person wrote -- "Thank you, Bob, more than I can say here. This is the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me outside of medicine and sex. And it's damn close to at least one of those two. Mel Sherer."

To which I replied -- "​I had the easy part. You did the work."

On this week’s ‘Not My Job’ segment of the socially-distanced NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, is singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, who host Peter Sagal describes as “the most NPR-friendly singer-songwriter” and “the most wonderful person ever to write and perform really sad songs.”  I can see why – she is hilariously low-key, open and self-effacing, including when she talks about the challenge of writing happy songs about her life that aren’t mundane.  And as a side note, she was the musical guest last week on ​Saturday Night Live.
  

On this week’s episode of 3rd and Fairfax, the official podcast of the Writers Guild of America, the guest is writer-director Judd Apatow, co-screenwriter of The King of Staten Island  as well as Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, This is 40 and much more.  He talks about his recent film, career, and creative process.
 

This week's contestant is Chuck Romportl from Hopkins, Minnesota.  I was able to get the hidden song pretty quickly.  The composer style, though, is in that area of which I generally have to toss a coin, and didn't get it.  And in fairness, it's pretty tough.  To my shock, the contestant actually guessed the composer style right off -- but didn't get the hidden song.  Only on a second go-round, where pianist Bruce Adolphe brought the song out more, did he guess correctly.