Don Rickles is dead at 90. The king of comedy, with a long legacy that dated back to Ed Sullivan and the Catskills and more, was beloved. He insulted everyone and everyone loved it. I met him many times, and I’m laughing just thinking about him. Condolences to his family and friends–among them Bob Newhart, who was his BFF. Don we are going to miss you!
Times Have Changed: Barbra Streisand Introduced by Ice Cube–Once Accused of Anti Semitism– at Museum of Tolerance Dinner
Times have changed and everyone’s learned a lot. That was certainly the message last night in Hollywood at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s dinner for the Museum of Tolerance. Of all people, Ice Cube aka O’Shea Jackson, introduced Barbra Streisand before she toasted Ron Meyer. When the rapper was first starting out, he was accused of anti-Semitism for lyrics that didn’t go over very well. (We won’t repeat them here.) Some people in Hollywood, whose initials are MG, might learn something from this.
Streisand had a lot of great things to say last night about our pal, Ron Meyer, when she honored by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The now overall chief of Universal Pictures is everyone in Hollywood’s favorite person– no kidding– and as Barbra says in her toast, everyone in town calls him “Ronnie.” He’s the town mensch, you know. “He’s the king mensch,” Streisand confirmed.
Streisand cited a book she and Meyer like called “The Four Agreements.” She said, riffing: “I think we all know what Ron thinks about assumptions.” She paused and said to someone in the audience: “Do you? It’s [they’re] the Mother of all F*** Ups.”
Barbra also mentioned in her speech that she and husband Jim Brolin spend a lot of time with Meyer and his wife, “playing gin and watching three movies in one night.”
Streisand also blasted Donald Trump: “Current events are a reminder of how far we have to go. Hate crimes are high, we are living under an administration that deliberately omitted Jews from the Holocaust Day, he wants to ban people from a specific religion he wants to deport, deportation, what a horrible word, and he praises dictators and criticizes the press. He uses the bully pulpit to simply bully. Words coded and calibrated to incite the beast in people and not the best. Now more than ever we must heed the warning signs of the past to echo in the discourse of the present. History has shown us the horror of quiet whispers, we must be shouting from the rooftops, “never again.”
Also at the event: Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Rabbi Marvin Heir, Michael Douglas, Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg, Norman Lear, producer Irwin Winkler, and producer/director Brett Ratner.
Meyer told the crowd that his parents escaped Nazi Germany and settled in a modest house in West LA. “I was raised with tolerance and respect for others. “ He then told a story about how he was betrayed by a longtime childhood friend who turned to be a member of the American Nazi party. “When it comes to tolerance, where do we draw the line? Tolerance can be taken too far. How do we recognize the good from the bad and what do we do about it? We should embrace tolerance but can’t turn the other cheek. We cannot surrender to bullies. “
Number 1 on Amazon: Beatles $150 “Sgt. Pepper” Anniversary Box, Not Due Until May 26th
The number 1 album on Amazon this morning? Why, it’s a box set that will sell for $149.98 and won’t be released until May 26th.
It’s the Beatles’ 50th anniversary edition of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” A 6 CD, two LP package with lots of trimmings, the box was sort of backwardly announced yesterday after this site and a couple of music sites published its leaked promo video from You Tube.
With very little promotion, the package zoomed to the top of Amazon’s album chart.
The vinyl only 2 LP version, which sells for $38.98, is number 12 on Amazon.
Luckily some of us have the original 1967 album, and subsequent vinyl reprints through 1987 when the first CD was issued. There was also a second CD version, which came out sometime in the 90s. (Maybe someone can help on this– email me showbiz411@gmail.com.)
There’s also the boxed set version from 2009 and the mono box version.
The new package will feature the first remixed, remastered version from Giles Martin, which will match the incredible sound of the Beatles “1” reissue from two years ago.
What’s unclear if all this stuff will be good to go for streaming and downloading on May 26th. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the box, I’d think. But who knows, now that streaming is taking over the world.
Still, if you want to hear this music properly, an iPhone or iTouch won’t do the trick. Get an Astell and Kern player. Get really good heaphones from Grado, Master and Dynamic, AKG, Sennheiser, etc. Get a really great CD player, like from Creek Audio, and top notch speakers. Apple earbuds aren’t going to cut it! See if Dick Sequerra still sells his Met 7.7’s. That’s how you want to hear Billy Shears!
Theater: Kevin Kline Angles for His First Tony Award Since 1981, Campus Violence Highlighted in “Church and State”
Is it possible Kevin Kline hasn’t been on Broadway in a decade? And that his Tony Awards were in 1978 and 1981?
Since then he’s appeared on stage a lot, but you know, he won an Oscar for “A Fish Called Wanda” and he’s made lots and lots of movies.
But he’s on track to win the Tony for tonight’s revival of “Present Laughter,” a terrific production that is just as enjoyable as it can be.
Kline heads a great cast that includes Kate Burton, Kristine Nielsen, Cobie Smulders, Reg Rogers, and Peter Francis James. They are all superb, especially Nielsen, who I can say without question I “stalk”– she is one of a kind. Smulders slinks, Rogers is manic as ever, Burton is wise and funny–they are a solid team directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel.
But it’s all about Kevin Kline as Garry, the British stage star whom Coward fashioned this farce around in 1939. It just shows you about Coward. Like a lot of material in that time– 1938-39– the talk of sex is very modern. It’s clear everyone’s sleeping around. Affairs are more common than not. And Garry Essendine, who’s a big star, is obviously shagging one woman fan after another.
Garry’s got a smart-cracking wife (the great Kate Burton) from whom he’s estranged, but they’re still pals, and she knows he cats around. She’s got her own life. He’s got the Girl Friday, Monica (Nielsen) who also cleans up after his messes. But then there’s the wife of the best friend (Smulders) who’s already got a lover but wants Garry, and the 24 year old ingenue who throws herself at him (Tedra Millan, in an impressive Broadway debut).
Garry’s London townhouse is the setting — and a what a set by David Zinn! Everyone is rich, and they are all just hanging around idly getting into trouble. It sort of reminds you of the movie in
“The Purple Rose of Cairo.” The patter is so deft, that unless you noticed no TV or cell phones, it could easily be a swish London home in 2017.
Where Kline could just make Garry a buffoon is where you see him work his magic. Between his physical agility and linguistic dexterity– Kline is fast, and smart– Garry is hilariously self-aware of his own foibles. Whenever he answers the door he stops to check himself in the mirror, but not a lot– just enough–so we get it. And as Garry says, which Kline delivers sublimely, “I’m always acting!”
Kline’s return to Broadway brought out a nice crowd for opening night. Tina Fey and her husband, Jeff, sat on the aisle in front of Graydon Carter and his wife, Anna. Former Police Chief Bill Bratton came with his journalist wife Rikki Kleiman. I ran into the great Michael Stuhlbarg. Kline’s actress wife Phoebe Cates was there with their grown kids. Playwright Paula Vogel was in the house as well as Brian Dennehy and Cobie Smulders’ husband, former SNL player Taran Killam.
The producers threw a big party for Kline afterwards at the Gotham on 36th St. that included a pianist playing a white baby grand on a pedestal in the center of the round room. It was so classy. The lighting was very Cole Porter, too. Garry Essendine would have loved it. But I guess Kevin didn’t, Kline made a five minute appearance, then skipped out with his family. A big round table with a placard that read “Kline” sat empty all night. What can you do?
…MEANWHILE Off Broadway “Church and State,” an exceptional new play by Jason Odell Williams, is doing brisk business and getting raves. Every Wednesday at New World Stages (50th St. and Eighth Avenue) they have a talk back with the cast and special guests about gun violence. Last night the talk back was with the people who run the Virginia Tech Victims Family Outreach Foundation including my brother, Paul Friedman, the Executive Director, who is passionate about this cause, and founder Joe Samaha, who lost his daughter Reema in the Virginia Tech shooting. The play– which is funny and sad– provoked a lot of discussion about campus safety. For more info on the organization click here. This is important stuff.
How Can Emma Stone Say No to this Prom Invite? Clever Kid Recreates “La La Land” Opener
How can Emma Stone say no to Jacob Staudenmaier? He’s inviting her to his prom in Phoenix on April 29th. And he and his pals have recreated the opening to “La La Land.” Very clever. Jake! Emma has to say yes! And if she doesn’t I’m sure you’ll still get lots of yes’s!
IM ASKING EMMA STONE TO PROM, and decided to recreate the opening scene from la la land @RyanGosling @LaLaLand @johnjayandrich #prom pic.twitter.com/l28R2rv3I7
— Jacob Staudenmaier (@upsettrout) April 4, 2017
Kendall Jenner, of the Egregious Kardashian Klan, Appears in Worst Commercial Ever
Kendall Jenner is one of those hideous Kardashians, raised in a gated compound, fed through a straw, and attended to by sanitarium workers. Education? Eh? Here she appears in the worst commercial ever, for Pepsi. She saves the world and ends all strife with a Pepsi. She pulls off a blonde wig, hands to it a black woman, and brings racial unity. The K’s are such laughable morons. This is another brick in their wall.
Pop: Drake Was the Only Artist Who Made Any Real Money Last Week from Streaming
Only one artist on the pop charts made any real money last week from streaming. His name rhymes with ‘cake’ as in having it and eating it, too. That’s Drake.
As they say on Seinfeld, we love the Drake.
The R&B star made just over $2 million last week from streaming 22 of the top 50 songs on the BuzzAngle chart. Not bad. And you don’t know any of those songs, and never will. But that’s another story.
If you add in regular sales, i.e. downloads, Drake came closer to $3 million. It’s the sheer volume of his streaming– taking up half the chart.
The rest of the artists at the top– Ed Sheeran, the Chainsmokers, Bruno Mars– earned around $200,000 or less each from streaming. Sheeran’s “Galway Girl,” number 50, made $48,864 from sales and streaming.
Record companies can’t live on that kind of money. Artists especially cannot make ends meet.
But Drake is the exception.
Trump Backs O’Reilly Despite $13 Mil Paid to Women in Sex Harassment Claims: “I don’t think Bill did anything wrong”
Our president, Donald Trump, likes Bill O’Reilly. He defended him today at a press conference. Asked the by the New York Times about O’Reilly’s problems at Fox News– $13 million in settled claims of sexual harassment, new accusations this week– Trump had this to say:
“I think he’s a person I know well — he is a good person,” said Mr. Trump, who during the interview was surrounded at his desk by a half-dozen of his highest-ranking aides, including the economic adviser Gary Cohn and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, along with Vice President Mike Pence.
“I think he shouldn’t have settled; personally I think he shouldn’t have settled,” said Mr. Trump. “Because you should have taken it all the way. I don’t think Bill did anything wrong.”
Alec Baldwin Trashes Publisher of His Memoir Over “Typos and Errors I Was Surprised to See”
On Facebook, Alec Baldwin goes after HarperCollins, publisher of his “Nevertheless” memoir. Hah hah. They’re going to love this. I bold faced the good part.
Welcome to the NEVERTHELESS Facebook page. This site presents me, and the reader as well, the opportunity to read supplemental material that did not make it into the original edition of my memoir, either due to the publisher’s deadline, the perceived flow of the book or the author’s poor memory.
Also, the published edition contains SEVERAL typos and errors which I was more than a little surprised to see. The editors at Harper Collins were, I imagine, too busy to do a proper and forensic edit of the material. Therefore, the first posting here, in the coming weeks, will be an index of corrections and amendments to the text in order to bring it more in line with my original intent.
After I post those corrections, I will offer essays on film, politics, actors/
Also, I will post several more photographs from my collection. The book does appear to be a bit lean in that department!
Now, my first correction/
When I write that I am “in love” with Megan Mulalley or Kate McKinnon or Tina Fey, I mean that I am in love with their talent. As a happily married man who wants to stay that way (ahem), I wanted to clarify that.
Many thanks,
Alec
The Beatles Will Celebrate “Sgt Pepper” 50th Anniversary with 6 CD Special Edition of Album
The Beatles will release a 6 CD suped up version of Sgt. Pepper to commemorate the 50th anniversary. There are two CDs for the album itself, two CDs of “sessions,” a DVD and a BluRay disc. The package goes on sale May 26th for the June 1st celebration. There isn’t more info yet, just this YouTube promo. But I would guess they’ll offer Sgt Pepper remastered and remixed in the same formats as the Beatles “1” album from last year. That will mark the first real upgrade for the album. The album will now include the two sided single that preceded the album’s release– Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever– but were left off the finished project. There may be upgraded versions of outtakes that appeared on the Anthology album. Whatever it is, we’ll want it, and we’ll buy it, and it will all be very, very good.
Seems like the list price on Amazon is $149. Here’s the link It’s already number 2 on amazon.
More details:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Anniversary Edition releases include:
A CD featuring the new ‘Sgt. Pepper’ stereo mix, complete with the original U.K. album’s “Edit for LP End” run-out groove.
Deluxe: Expanded 2CD and digital package features the new stereo album mix on the first CD and adds a second CD of 18 tracks, including previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album. The second CD also includes a new stereo mix and a previously unreleased instrumental take of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix and two previously unreleased complete takes of “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
Deluxe Vinyl: Expanded 180-gram 2LP vinyl package features the new stereo album mix on the first LP and adds a second LP with previously unreleased complete takes of the album’s 13 songs, newly mixed in stereo and sequenced in the same order as the album.
Super Deluxe: The comprehensive six-disc boxed set features:
CD 1: New stereo album mix
CDs 2 & 3:
– 33 additional recordings from the studio sessions, most previously unreleased and mixed for the first time from the four-track session tapes, sequenced in chronological order of their recording dates
– A new stereo mix of “Penny Lane” and the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
CD 4:
– Direct transfers of the album’s original mono mix and the “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” singles
– Capitol Records’ U.S. promotional mono single mix of “Penny Lane”
– Previously unreleased early mono mixes of “She’s Leaving Home,” “A Day In The Life,” and “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (a mix thought to have been erased from a tape in 1967, but discovered during archive research for the anniversary edition)
Discs 5 & 6 (Blu-ray and DVD):
– New 5.1 surround audio mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” by Giles Martin and Sam Okell, plus their 2015 5.1 surround mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
– High resolution audio versions of the new stereo mixes of the album and “Penny Lane” and of the 2015 stereo mix of “Strawberry Fields Forever”
– Video features: 4K restored original promotional films for “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” and “A Day In The Life;” plus The Making of Sgt. Pepper, a restored, previously unreleased documentary film (broadcast in 1992), featuring insightful interviews with McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, and in-studio footage introduced by George Martin.