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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Life And Times Of Regis Philbin

I tend to work a lot of afternoon and evening shifts at my current 'real job' (also known as the job I do outside of blogging that I actually make money from). My schedule bounces around quite often with my job. Some days, I work from 7am-3pm. Some days, I work 2pm-10pm. There are some days in which I even work...




...yeah...you knew I had to post that, didn't you?

At any rate, my schedule allows me to watch a bit of daytime television, and the only thing I have to say about the world of daytime television is, boy, oh, boy, is it trashy!

Well, okay, maybe not ALL of it is trashy. Certainly, I've briefly talked about how I developed a mild addiction to 'The Young And The Restless' when I was in college, and still watch the occasional episode today. Sure, some people may consider soap operas to be a bit on the trashy side, but a lot of people watched them.

I also like to tune in to the various game shows that air during the daytime slot.  The Price Is Right has been a favourite for many years, even now that Drew Carey has succeeded Bob Barker as host. And while some people have panned the remake of 'Let's Make A Deal', I don't mind Wayne Brady as host. And then there are all the daytime game shows of the past that I used to watch when I was sick from school or home for summer vacation. Shows like Supermarket Sweep, the daytime version of Wheel Of Fortune, and Chain Reaction.

Then there are all of those daytime talk shows. Boy, now those shows are something special, aren't they?

Certainly there are some rather decent ones such as the Ellen DeGeneres show.  And for those who want to cook and redecorate their homes, there's a purpose for shows such as Rachael Ray and the Nate Berkus show.

It hasn't been until the last few years that talk shows have gotten to the point where they just almost seem like parodies of their former selves.

(In fact, stay tuned for next Tuesday's entry, for a bigger discussion on these talk shows...I'm sure that there will be a lot of discussion indeed).

For now, I want to focus on a now former talk show host who many in the industry have declared a real class act. I tend to agree with those people. His career in television spanned several decades, and not only broke records, but smashed right through them! He sang, he hosted talk shows, he hosted game shows, he hosted reality shows. Is there any show he HASN'T been a part of?

At the age of 80, this man definitely started at the bottom and clawed his way to the top, and managed to gain quite a few fans in the process.



The subject for today's blog post is Regis Philbin. And on November 18, 2011, Regis made his final appearance as host of Live With Regis And Kelly. In fact, you can watch his goodbye message below.



Would you believe that Regis' career managed to span a total of SEVEN decades? Working steadily since the late 1950s and retiring in 2011, Regis Philbin's life in front of the camera has been quite dominant to say the least. In fact, in 2004, Regis Philbin surpassed former 20/20 anchor Hugh Downs as logging the most hours in front of a camera in the Guinness Book Of World Records. As of September 2009, Regis Philbin's total hours in front of a television camera was well over sixteen THOUSAND hours...a record that as of 2011 remains unbroken. That's quite an achievement, and I don't think that anybody else could stand a chance of breaking it.

Well, unless American Idol host Ryan Seacrest finds a way to live to be 130.

Whatever the case, part of the reason Regis maintained such longevity in the entertainment industry is because of his personality and warmth on screen, and a lot of people in the entertainment industry have nothing but high praise of the man.

And I think I know the reason why Regis Philbin seems to be held in such high regard by people all over the world...and it kind of ties in to a life lesson for today's blog.

That lesson is: If you want something bad enough, you have to work for it.

It's a lesson that I believe to be true. If someone wants something, they have to earn it. A very fitting lesson given the Occupy Wall Street movements happening all over the world, wouldn't you say?

But seriously here, Regis Philbin's story is one that is quite an interesting read.



Born Regis Francis Xavier Philbin on August 25, 1931 in New York City, Regis's upbringing was not uncommon from anyone else born during the 1930s. He was a member of the Class of '49 from Cardinal Hayes High School, graduated from Notre Dame University in 1953, and immediately enlisted in the United States Navy as a Supply Officer (which made sense, given that Regis' father was in the Marines). After his stint was over, he did a lot of behind-the-scenes work in the radio and television industry during the late 1950s. Which if you look at it is the way that most of us probably started our jobs. I know when I started in my current job, I did all the jobs that nobody else really wanted to do. But that was fine, because there was always the opportunity at moving up, especially if you did the job well.

For Regis, his move up the ladder began right around the time the 1960s began.   

He started off as a page for The Tonight Show, and from there ended up as a writer for then Los Angeles based talk show host Tom Duggan. As it turned out, this gig would inevitably lead to Regis' first on-camera appearance as a host. As it so happened, one night in 1962, Tom Duggan didn't show up for his show (rumour had it that he was a binge drinker, and was too drunk to appear on stage), and since talk shows back in those days were almost always filmed live, the producers needed someone to fill in.

Enter Regis Philbin.

Mind you, when Regis was put on camera to host someone else's show, he was a bundle of nerves, and probably wasn't at his best, but it definitely got people talking.

By 1964, Regis Philbin had taken over hosting the late night Westinghouse Tonight Show from Hollywood, after Steve Allen vacated the host position. Alas, the audience didn't warm up to Regis, and Regis' stint only lasted a few weeks. But this didn't stop Phibin one bit. He had the opportunity to host his own show, based out of San Diego, California, and because the show was so low-budget, he couldn't afford to hire writers. As a result, the first segments of his show were dedicated towards something known as a 'Host Chat', where he would interact with the audience over current events...a trait that ended up being used in some of Regis' future talk show projects. But even Regis had trouble getting an audience for all of his efforts.

But then a man named Joey Bishop walked into Regis' life one day in 1967. Joey Bishop had asked Regis to become his sidekick on his own talk show, The Joey Bishop Show, which ran for two years. If one were to have watched the show back when it aired, people may have confused the two with the popular team of Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, as Bishop and Philbin traded barbs with each other all the time. For a while, it was playful banter, and both Bishop and Philbin seemed to enjoy working together.



Unfortunately, ABC executives didn't see the humour. In fact, it was reported that Regis Philbin had learned that they didn't like Philbin's thick New York accent, and felt that his work on the show was substandard. This really had hurt Regis' feelings, and one night in 1968, he actually walked off the set and quit on air! For a while, it seemed as though Regis' career was over, but one person refused to give up on Regis.

Joey Bishop.

After a long talk with Joey, and after Joey convinced Regis that he WAS wanted on the show, and that none of the barbs against him were personal, Regis returned to the show a few days later. Ironically enough, when Joey Bishop got the word that his show was going to be pulled off the air in 1969, Bishop actually walked off the air unannounced himself, leaving Philbin to successfully host the rest of the show.

Definitely one of the strangest experiences that Philbin encountered, but it put his name on the map, and this experience would lead to many future opportunities for Philbin to hone his craft of being a successful talk show host.



During the mid-1970s, Philbin got the opportunity to host a show based out of Los Angeles entitled A.M. Los Angeles. He worked with female co-hosts Sarah Purcell (1975-1978) and Cyndy Garvey (1978-1981). And Regis' presence on the show helped it tremendously. In 1975, the show was at the bottom of the ratings, but it eventually became the number one morning show broadcast in Los Angeles at the time. What makes this even more spectacular was the fact that each weekend, Regis was commuting to St. Louis to host a late night weekend talk show! That's a lot of dedication.

Also in 1981, Regis Philbin teamed up with Mary Hart to host a morning variety series for NBC, but that show only lasted four and a half months. Nevertheless, it was just months after that show aired that Mary Hart would get her big break hosting Entertainment Tonight for some thirty years.

For Philbin, his most remembered contribution to the world of television would also come shortly after the cancellation of his NBC morning show.

In 1982, Regis Philbin relocated to New York City to rejoin his former co-host Cyndy Garvey to host ABC's The Morning Show, after Garvey had moved to New York a year earlier. At the time, the show was undergoing some really stiff competition from game shows and other morning program that was extremely popular in the ratings. Also, the show had to compete against the wildly popular talk show Donahue.

It wasn't until 1985 that the show began to have a fighting chance against those shows. And all it took was the right co-host. After Garvey left the morning show, and was briefly replaced by Ann Abernathy, Regis met his third co-host on the show. A young woman named Kathie Lee Johnson.

Who most of you probably know better by her married name of Kathie Lee Gifford.



Now, I know what you're saying, and I know that some of you have your own feelings about Kathie Lee Gifford, but this note isn't about Kathie Lee, so we'll keep that to ourselves. At any rate, Kathie Lee became Regis' co-host in June of 1985, and the ratings improved significantly when she took on the helm. Why? Because Regis and Kathie Lee had some wicked chemistry with each other. Here's a clip of both of them in action below.



Regis' good fortune would continue in the fall of 1988. That was the time in which Live With Regis and Kathie Lee began to air in syndication, and by 1991, when A.M. Los Angeles was cancelled, the show immediately took over the 9am slot in almost every ABC market in the United States. The show also began to air in Canada on CTV. This was the moment that Regis Philbin officially became a household name, and this was only scratching the surface.



In 1999, Regis took on another role. This time, he served as host of a British import game show entitled 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'. The quiz show debuted during the summer of 1999, and became an instant hit for several years. In fact, I even tried out to be a part of the Canadian version of the show, but alas, I never got a call back. Still though, back in 1999, I remember that Millionaire was one of my favourite shows back around that time, and Regis was a great host. Watch this clip of him in action.



Regis would get another opportunity to host another game show for CBS in the late 00s when he became the host of the show Million Dollar Password.

In 2000, Kathie Lee Gifford made the decision to leave Live With Regis and Kathie Lee, and during the last half of 2000, the show temporarily changed its name to Live With Regis. Initially, the producers and audience were worried that Kathie Lee's departure would negatively affect the ratings, and a search for a new co-host was immediately launched.



By February 2001, Regis had selected soap opera actress Kelly Ripa to serve as his new permanent co-host, and the show's name was changed again to Live With Regis and Kelly. And in this case, lightning proved to strike twice, as viewers warmed up to the fantastic chemistry that Regis seemed to share with his co-star. But, hey, judge for yourself.



And Regis' career didn't just stop there. Regis filled in for Dick Clark for the Rockin' New Years Eve special to ring in the year 2005 after Clark suffered a devastating stroke. He also had a recurring role on Kelly Ripa's sitcom 'Hope & Faith' as a used car salesman named Handsome Hal. He also made guest appearances on The Simpsons, Spin City, How I Met Your Mother, Mad About You, Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show...

...you see how all those hours in front of the camera added up?






And, might I also add that during his career, he fathered four children, and was married twice?  His current wife Joy, occasionally co-hosted with him whenever Kathie Lee or Kelly were away, and you can tell just how much they love each other just by watching them interact with each other.

So, as Regis settles into live after Live, while Kelly Ripa now finds herself in the search for a new co-host, I wanted to write this blog about him because I think having a career as rewarding and exciting as he has is worth writing about, and I think it gives all of us some motivation to go after our dreams the way Regis did himself.

After all, we all start at the bottom...well, unless you were born a Trump, that is...

...still, it's worth the ride. I know Regis Philbin enjoyed it while it lasted.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Monday Matinee - Oliver & Company

What is your first impression when I mention the word Disney?

It's funny. Depending on who you speak to on your day-to-day travels, the word Disney can be a word which can polarize people straight down the middle.

Some people hear the word Disney, and they immediately think of Disneyland and Walt Disney World as being fun places to experience a vacation. They equate the word Disney to everything that is good and wholesome in the world, where morals and ethics are doled out in heaping spoonfuls, and where every ending is a happy one. To some people in the world, the word Disney is one to be celebrated, and has a lot of special meaning to them.

Then there are those people who see Disney as nothing more than a cash cow that just keeps mooing. A heartless corporation which brings pain and misery to all those who dare challenge it. A corporation which purposely peppers its animated features with images and symbolism that is completely inappropriate for children. A company that people have blamed for the cancellation of the soap opera 'All My Children'.

(And, no, I'm not kidding about that last one either...since ABC and Disney merged, soap fans have boycotted everything Disney since that soap opera went off the air two months ago.)

Certainly everyone has a right to their own opinion about the company, and my take is as long as one is respectful in presenting their stance about something, and why they may disagree with someone else, they're free to agree or disagree to their heart's content. It's only when they launch into profanity filled rants and posting disgusting insults towards others that it stops being okay.

I've heard lots of arguments from the pro-Disney and anti-Disney camps, and I can probably come up with arguments that I agree with on both sides. I'm certainly not a fan of Disney's meddling in the music industry lately to produce sub-standard cookie-cutter pop tarts that fill up the charts with bad cover versions of popular songs from before they were born. I find a lot of the recent television projects that Disney has produced to be filled with inane jokes that aren't funny and that are so overexposed in the media that you want to throw a boot through your television screen. Think Hannah Montana, Shake It Up, I'm In The Band, etc. In those ways, I can see how Disney has jumped the shark.

But then there's also the part of me that looks at all the movies that Disney has produced over the years, and I end up falling in love with the company all over again. Mostly I loved the Disney cartoons of yesteryear, like Cinderella, The Aristocats, Snow White And The Seven Dwarves, and 101 Dalmatians. But there was also a ton of great films that took place during Disney's Renaissance period which lasted from 1989-1999. The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Lion King being three of my favourites.

Then there was the period that was in between the Golden Age and the Renaissance period. Films that were produced by Disney that were perfectly good films, but somehow have been forgotten within the depths of the Disney vault. Back in those days, Disney seemed to be more focused on developing their Disney Afternoon block with animated shows. Shows like Winnie-The-Pooh, DuckTales, and The Adventures Of The Gummi Bears. Their movies admittedly got pushed to the side, prompting Don Bluth (who ironically enough worked for Disney until 1979) to strike out with his own animated features, such as An American Tail, The Secret of NIMH, and All Dogs Go To Heaven (which likely amped up Disney's effort to make their features shine even brighter).

And a lot of these movies that were released between 1978 and 1989 by Disney were critically panned, and garnered a lot of mixed reviews. And today's blog entry is all about one of these movies.

Yet ironically enough, this Disney movie is probably one of my favourites. It's not at the top of the list, mind you, but it's definitely in my own personal top ten list.



That movie is Oliver & Company.

The movie was released in November 1988, and it is widely regarded as the last Disney film made before the beginning of the 1989 Disney Renaissance. It was the 27th film in the Disney library of animated films, and it made a respectable $74 million at the box office. However, it took eight years for the movie to be officially released on VHS, and another six after that for it to be released on DVD. The reviews were mixed. Siskel and Ebert, for instance, were split in their assessment, with Siskel thumbing it down, while Ebert gave it his thumb of approval. It also didn't seem to have a lot of promotion surrounding it compared to past and future Disney releases. Sure, McDonald's once sold Christmas ornaments that featured characters from Oliver & Company during the 1988 holiday season, but other than that, were there many other promotional gimmicks? I was seven when the film was released, and I can't seem to recall there being a huge rush for Oliver & Company themed toys and games that year.

There's actually a lot of trivia surrounding the development of the film. When the idea was pitched in late 1987, and animated throughout 1988, it was originally designed to be a sequel to the 1977 film The Rescuers (though an eventual sequel, The Rescuers Down Under was released in 1990). It was also the first animated feature to be made since the original braintrust of Disney animators (affectionately known around the Disney company as 'The Nine Old Men' had retired, making way for a group of brand new animators at the helm. It was the first Disney film to fully utilize the art of computer animation, which had been used sparingly in previous films. It was also Disney's first attempt at a musical themed animated film since 1981's The Fox And The Hound. The film was also notable for having logos and real-world advertising from such companies as Ryder Truck Rental, Sony, and Coca-Cola. Disney defended this by stating that they did not do this for product placement. Rather, they did it for realistic purposes.

Which to me makes sense. When you consider that the film takes place in New York City circa 1988, you can't really walk down a street in that city without seeing some sort of billboard or neon sign advertising something, especially in places like Times Square.



And Oliver & Company's first few scenes are set right smack dab in the middle of Manhattan, New York. At the beginning, we meet an orange kitten who goes by the name of Oliver (the name being chosen due to the story's similarity to the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist). Oliver is shown with quite a few other kittens in a box on a New York City street, where one by one, the other kittens are adopted by people walking past.

Every kitten, except Oliver (who was voiced by child actor Joey Lawrence).

Poor Oliver is left to wander the streets of New York City, looking for some place to call his home.



But along the way, Oliver ends up crossing paths with a street-wise dog named Dodger (voiced by singer Billy Joel), who sees Oliver as being 'fresh meat'. Dodger manages to trick Oliver into stealing hot dogs from a hot dog vendor's cart, and in this scene, you'll hear Dodger sing for his supper.



Oh, by the way, Dodger eventually flees the scene with the grub, leaving poor Oliver hungry and alone. But despite the fact that Dodger basically used him to get a free meal, Oliver makes the choice to follow him to his hideout, a barge owned by a petty criminal named Fagin (Dom DeLuise).



It's here that Oliver comes face to face with Dodger's buddies. There's Tito the chihuahua (Cheech Marin), Einstein, the Great Dane (Richard Mulligan), Rita, a Saluki (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and Francis, a bulldog (Roscoe Lee Browne). It takes a while for the gang to accept Oliver, but after a while, they welcome him with open paws.



Of course, Oliver's timing could not be more wrong. Almost immediately after Oliver arrives, Fagin is confronted by an evil and creepy loan shark named Sykes (Robert Loggia). Apparently, Fagin borrowed money from Sykes some time ago, and now Sykes has come to collect what he is owed. For protection, he has brought his two Dobermans, Roscoe and DeSoto (Taurean Blacque and Carl Weintraub), who immediately try to attack poor Oliver. Luckily, Dodger and the rest of his gang fend the vicious dogs off. But Sykes means business with Fagin. If Fagin doesn't pay off the debt that he owes him within the following three days, Sykes would take possession of Fagin's home and destroy it.

Now with their backs and tails against the wall, Fagin and his pets grow determined to save their home. With Oliver on their side, they feel as though they have an extra mind to work with them. The group take to the streets of New York City, hocking counterfeit goods to unsuspecting people, and resorting to stealing from others to pay off the debt. Tito and Oliver break away from the group in an effort to sabotage a nearby limousine. Their plan is to stall the limousine so that they could steal something valuable from its owners. But somehow, Oliver accidentally slips on the ignition key and falls over the dashboard while Tito electrocutes himself. The resulting electrocution causes the wiring in the limo to go haywire, and in the confusion, Oliver ends up getting caught by the passengers of the limo...a young girl named Jenny and her butler.



Oliver is taken to Jenny's home, which could best be described as luxurious, gigantic, and filled with everything money could buy. It makes sense, given that Jenny's parents are rich and loaded, and therefore spend their money by going all over the world visiting country after country. Unfortunately, their frivolous spending has lead Jenny to feel like the 'poor little rich girl' who feels incredibly lonely. All she really has for companionship is her butler, and a French Poodle named Georgette (Bette Midler). Now that Oliver has come into Jenny's life, Jenny is overjoyed to have a new friend to play with, much to the chagrin of the incredibly jealous Georgette, who wants the cat gone.

At some point, Dodger and the rest of his gang manage to track Oliver down, and Georgette is more than happy to assist the group with not only finding Oliver, but getting him out of the home so he can go back with them. To Dodger's surprise though, Oliver proclaims that he didn't want to leave. He was well taken care of there, and he grew to adore Jenny. Dodger at first is hurt by Oliver's revelation, and feels as though Oliver was being very ungrateful towards him and his group, but does allow Oliver the opportunity to leave.

But before Oliver can come to that decision, a depressed Fagin arrives back home, seemingly accepting of the fact that he is about to lose everything. But then he discovers that Oliver was being taken care of by an owner who was extremely rich, and that he could maybe hold Oliver for ranson so he could raise enough money to pay off the debts he owed Sykes. He fills Sykes in on the plan before hand, and leaves the note. Jenny, who by this point is extremely heartsick over Oliver's disappearance, discovers the note, and taking Georgette with her, heads over to Fagin's barge in hopes that she can negotiate the demands that the ransom note stated. Once Fagin locks eyes on Jenny, and hears her story, he immediately has feelings of guilt, and pangs of conscience. The more Jenny tells Fagin how much she loves Oliver, the worse Fagin feels. Fagin is so moved by the little girl's pleas that he decides to renege on the deal he had made with Sykes earlier, and offers to give Oliver back to Jenny, free of charge.

It was supposed to have been a happy ending, but unbeknownst to Fagin and Jenny, Sykes watched the whole transaction unfold, and wasn't too happy. He pops out of the shadows, kidnaps Jenny, and makes off with her, telling Fagin that the debt was cleared provided he not say a word.

So now Fagin is feeling even more terrible about himself, letting Jenny get abducted, and he makes the choice to finally set things right and rescue Jenny from Sykes. Dodger, Oliver, and the rest of the gang follow along in the hopes of saving Jenny, and making Oliver's dream of finding a real home come true in the process.

All I'll say is that the last half hour of the movie is really worth watching, and karmic retribution seems to work in overdrive on both the positive and negative meters.

Now, rewatching this film, I don't quite understand why the film didn't get the recognition and the accolades it deserved. Yeah, the film had some parts in it that didn't make sense (I mean, why the heck would Fagin tell Sykes about the plan before it even happened...yeah, that worked out well). But even so, it was a great movie, with great character development, and had a great message. And really, when you have a movie like that, does it really matter what company produces it?



Not in my book.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sunday Jukebox - You're So Vain by Carly Simon

Have you ever had one of those times where you plan something out over a couple of days, and then you realize that both things have something in common? That's what ended up happening this weekend, as both topics that I had planned to talk about have to do with a similar subject.

Yesterday's entry on the children's show 'Ghostwriter' dealt with a group of kids solving mysteries that kept happening in their Brooklyn neighbourhood. Today's blog subject is also the subject of a mystery that has lasted almost forty years now. A mystery that maybe not even the Ghostwriter kids could solve.

It's one of music's best kept and closely guarded secrets. Only a select few have been let in on what the secret is, and reportedly, they paid a pretty penny to get the information. The singer of the song in question has been incredibly coy about who the subject of the song she sang back in the early 1970s was, and while she has publicly shared clues towards who the mystery person is, the speculation still continues, as she has never revealed the source. It's entirely possible that the few clues she has revealed are 'red herrings', and were dropped as a way to throw everyone off the right track. Still, millions of theories behind the song's creation have been proposed since its release, and the purpose of this blog entry is to examine each of these theories, and possibly come up with some more theories behind who the song is about.

So, why don't we listen to the song first? I mean, it's only fair, right?


ARTIST: Carly Simon
SONG: You're So Vain
ALBUM: No Secrets
DATE RELEASED: December 2, 1972
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 3 weeks



Carly Simon. Born June 25, 1945 in New York City. Although she had wanted a career in music since she was a teenager, she didn't get her first big break until 1971. Over the past forty years, Carly Simon made a name for herself as a solo artist, and has enjoyed success throughout the 1970s and 1980s, charting several top ten hits on the adult contemporary charts, and having made steady appearances on the Billboard Top 100 between 1971 and 1989. She would later make a surprise appearance on the charts in 2001 when she did guest vocals for Janet Jackson on her song “Son Of A Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)”, sampling Carly's signature hit.



That signature hit, of course, is the one you heard earlier in this blog. It is well-known to be Carly's most recognizable hit, and her only song to hit the pole position on the Billboard 100, reaching #1 in early 1973 (though her '77 hit 'Nobody Does It Better' hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts).

It also happens to be a song that has a secret. A secret that Carly Simon has kept from the public for thirty-nine years and counting.

Who exactly is 'You're So Vain' really all about?

The whole chorus kind of pokes fun at whoever the subject is about, almost suggesting that the person is so vain, they think that Carly would write a song especially for them.

In fact, I'm going to do a first for this blog. I'm going to post the lyrics of the song out for all of you to read, and we'll look at them piece by piece, and maybe we'll get some clues out of it all.

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?
You had me several years ago
When I was still quite naive
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?
Well, I hear you went up to Saratoga
And your horse naturally won
Then you flew your Lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well, you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not, you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Okay, so assuming that this song is based off of a personal experience in Carly's life, and assuming that she's telling the truth completely, we can take a few things into consideration from the lines within the song.

First, it seems as though the subject of the song was once a romantic interest for Carly. When she sings about how the subject “had her a few years ago when she was quite naive”, it almost seems to imply that she's known this person for quite a long time. It's entirely possible that he could have been her first love, or a love that was significant to her. We also learn that our song subject apparently kicked her to the curb and broke her heart...which could explain the motive behind why the song was written in the first place.

I'm just speculating that this person who Carly wrote about in the song was someone who was rich, famous, or both. I mean, you'd kind of have to be to fly a Lear jet to Nova Scotia, right? As well, there's a reference to the horse racing events that take place in Saratoga Springs, New York during the summer months, and which are often witnessed by the rich and famous.

The part about the 'total eclipse of the sun' is another little nugget, because it seemed to imply that if this song was based on a real-life instance that a solar eclipse would have been a rather specific detail. So, I did some research on solar eclipses that occurred right around the time 'You're So Vain' was released, and there were in fact two that happened. One was in March of 1970, the other one in July of 1972.

So, we now have a possible time frame that this event happened...right around the time that Carly Simon was kicking off her solo career. Very interesting, no?

So, given that the song was officially released three weeks before Christmas in 1972, we know that the event that spawned this song had to have happened before then. So, let's take a look at some of the likely suspects at the time.



Suspect #1: Singer/songwriter James Taylor (also known as the now ex-husband of Carly Simon). Back in 1972, Carly and James were married (they divorced eleven years after 'You're So Vain' was released), and the most common theory was that James Taylor was the subject of the song. But Carly herself has made the declaration that Taylor was NOT the subject of the song.



Suspect #2: Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. It sort of makes sense in a way, as Mick ended up contributing the backing vocals for the song. And Angela Bowie (the former wife of David Bowie, who was also named as a possible suspect for who the song was about), had said in an interview that Jagger had a bit of an obsession with Carly. In fact, she even came out and said that she was the “wife of a close friend” that Carly referenced in the song. But Carly Simon has said that the song was not about Jagger.

It wasn't about Nick Nolte either, although Simon has stated that he was the man wearing the apricot scarf that she sang about in the first verse of the song.



Then there's Warren Beatty.

Warren Beatty may have settled down with wife Annette Bening these days, but before that, Beatty was quite the playboy. One report stated that he had been with over twelve THOUSAND lovers during his lifetime! He was linked to such famous women as Julie Christie, Joan Collins, Janice Dickinson, Diane Keaton, Natalie Wood, and Madonna.



And Carly Simon, reportedly.

Carly revealed in an interview she did a little over a decade ago that yes, the song may have been about Beatty, but only a smidgen, and certainly not the bulk of the song. So, I guess we can probably call that a no. Although Warren Beatty reportedly called Carly on the telephone and thanked her for the song. He later said in 2007 that he KNEW the song was all about him all along.

Other subjects up for consideration in regards to who “You're So Vain” is about were Kris Kristofferson, David Cassidy, and Cat Stevens...




...or, is he known as Yusef Islam now? I don't even know anymore. There was even the theory that Carly had wrote the song with several men in mind, and that she took traits from each one to form the lyrics of the song.

Regardless of which, this song was at the center of one of the biggest kept secrets in the music industry.

Though over the years, Carly has revealed her secret to some people. And she's given out clues to narrow it down for the public to figure out. In August 2003, Carly Simon participated in a charity auction as one of the prizes. The prize was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Carly would offer up a private performance of the song at her home and following that, she would tell the winner the identity of the song's subject. The winner was the president of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol, who placed the winning bid of $50,000 to learn the secret. And Carly told him everything...on one stipulation. He was allowed to reveal a clue to the public, but nothing else.

So, Ebersol revealed this clue. That the subject of the song had the letter “E” in his name.

Over the years, Carly herself offered up two more letters in the name. An “A”, and an “R” were also present.

So, given the fact that the letters E, A, and R were in the name, we can eliminate Kristofferson, Cassidy and Stevens Islam. We can also cross Nick Nolte off as well. But surprisingly enough, Jagger, Beatty, and Taylor remain on that list, even though Simon has denied that the song is about them.

(Coincidentally, my full name also contains those three letters, but I KNOW the song isn't about me.)

Another name that popped up for discussion was revealed in 2008. That year, author Sheila Weller released a book entitled Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon – and the Journey of a Generation, which detailed the lives of the three women. It's very interesting to note that under Carly Simon's section was a detailed account of a relationship that Carly shared with guitarist Danny Armstrong. It was reported that Armstrong and Simon had a relationship that lasted about two years. They broke up months before “You're So Vain” was released. Though Simon would move on with other affairs and relationships, she never really got over Armstrong, and reportedly tried to reignite the flames of passion between her and Armstrong, but to no avail. She described Armstrong as a gifted guitarist who definitely was not modest about his skills, reportedly bragging that he was the first and only electric guitar specialist in the world at the time.

If one were to write out Danny Armstrong's name in full, it would contain the three letters A, E, and R. Further proof came from another of Carly's ex-husbands, Jim Hart, who stated that the subject of the song was NOT someone famous. If that were the case, Armstrong would meet that criteria for the song's subject for sure. It hasn't really been confirmed though by Carly though.



One final clue as to the song's subject was revealed in a 2010 interview that Carly did with Uncut magazine. She said that if you played a re-recording of the song backwards, the first name of the subject of the song was revealed in a whispered voice. Naturally, people began digging out their copies of the song, and played it backwards, and one name that was clearly made out was “David”.  And many media outlets quickly broadcast that the subject of the song was then Elektra Records executive David Geffen, believing that the song was Carly's response to her jealousy of Joni Mitchell, a singer that Geffen was showing a lot of attention towards. This theory was declared false by Jim Hart, and Carly Simon's publicist later confirmed that the song was definitely not about Geffen. But Carly also stated that right around the time that she wrote the song, she hadn't even met David Geffen yet, instead stating that there was a man named David that had passed through Carly's life at some point, and who was connected to the song in some manner. It was also reported that the name “Warren” and a third unintelligible name could also be heard when the song was played backwards, which could confirm the belief that Carly had written the song with several men in mind, including Warren Beatty.

My question is, who do YOU think the song “You're So Vain” is about? I'd love to hear your opinions and your thoughts.

My take? Well...give me fifty thousand dollars and I'll share.

No dice, huh?

My initial thought was that the song was about Warren Beatty myself, but now I'm not so sure. I guess maybe I'm in the camp that believes that the song is a composite of several men myself. But, again, I'm not entirely sure. As of now, the secret still remains safe, and right now many men who are at least 60 years of age and older probably still think this song is about them.



Right, Warren?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Saturday Morning: Ghostwriter

DISCLAIMER:  I am well aware that this show did NOT air on Saturdays...but there was a remake of the show that DID.  And, besides, it's educational, so go with it.  :)


One question that someone once asked me is how I became interested in writing. I have always wondered how I could answer this question, because the truth is, I don't really have one definitive answer.

I guess the obvious answer that I could give for this question is that I always did well in school subjects that involved some usage of the English language. It could have been language arts. It could have been history. It could have even been spelling, grammar, and punctuation lessons. If it involved writing notes, essays, book reports, and written presentations, I was all over it. This could explain why my average in school was usually in the high 70s or low 80s. I usually ended up in the 90s for English related assignments, but bottomed out around the low 60s for math and science classes.

Darn you, algebraic equations and periodic table of elements! Darn you to heck!

However, I think the meaning behind why I enjoy writing goes a little bit deeper than the fact that I only liked it because I got good grades from teachers in it. It goes much deeper than that.

The real reason? Writing allows me to be myself in the best possible way that I can be.

I'll lay it on the line right here. I am definitely not the best oral communicator. For one, I tend to stumble and stutter somewhat when trying to have spoken word conversations with people. The less I know a person, the worse communicator I am. I suppose part of it could stem from a case of nervousness, as being a bit timid when meeting someone for the first time is part and parcel.  And maybe it's all in my head, and I actually communicate with people a lot better than even I'm aware of. But for some reason, I've always felt more comfortable expressing myself through written methods.

Plus I feel as though I have the world's most geekiest, unmanliest voice in the world. But again, that's a matter of perspective, and some may find my voice sexy. I've never HEARD that compliment, but again, perspective.

So I've readily admitted that I sometimes struggle to keep a conversation going through spoken word. Either I forget the point I'm trying to make midway through the conversation, I stumble when I try to think of the right word to say, or I get so tongue-tied that I may end up speaking a completely different nonsensical language altogether.

But when I have the chance to write it out instead of talk it out, I find that I can get ideas out a lot better. I have the chance to read and re-read what I write and can change, add, or erase words at my leisure to ensure that the point I want to make gets out the way I meant. I guess what I'm saying is that when I have the choice between communicating through written means or verbally, I would undoubtedly choose written communication, because it's much easier for me to feel at ease.

Of course, there are some situations where I don't have the luxury to use written communication. Certainly if I'm calling an order in at work where I am using the telephone, I pretty much have to suck it up and speak. And I'm trying to improve my oral communication skills each day, and am trying to gain more confidence in the art of public speaking. But I will also say that I think part of the reasons why I have been turned down for job applications is because I bombed the interview portion of the application, which again stems from my lack of confidence in public speaking.

Sigh...if only I could be more like the subject of today's blog post for today. Of course, in order for me to be more like the subject of the blog, I would have to be dead...and that wouldn't be very much fun.



Those of you who are my age or younger might recognize the above symbol. But, for those of you who don't, I'll introduce you. This little guy is named Ghostwriter. In literary terms, a ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, or stories that are credited to another person, and this Ghostwriter sort of does this as well. He can fly around a room, borrow letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols from various sources and put them together to form a word or a sentence.

Oh, and only people who Ghostwriter has revealed himself to can read the messages that he spells out.



That was the basic premise behind the popular PBS show, Ghostwriter, which premiered in October 1992 and ran until early 1995 (A Saturday morning revival of the show in 1997 on CBS failed miserably). The show focused on a group of middle school students who all ended up meeting Ghostwriter when he happened to fly out of a book that had fallen down while one of the kids was helping clean out the basement of his home. By using letters from posters, books, and magazines, as well as being able to communicate through computer monitors and those really retro looking computer modems, Ghostwriter could help the gang solve mysteries ranging from sabotaging school elections to foiling an illegal chemical dumping operation.

You know, I'm going to actually post an episode for you to watch before I go on.  This one just happens to be one of my favourite episodes, and it'll really get an idea as to how Ghostwriter worked, as well as will provide all of you with some humourous perspective behind how computers looked 20 years ago.

I'll post the first episode to the story arc, “Who Is Max Mouse” now, and during the course of the episode, I will add the other three episodes as we proceed. So, for episode one, follow the links HERE, HERE, and oh, yeah, HERE.

When the show first began, we only got to see the first four members of the team. By the show's conclusion, we would be introduced to at least three more permanent members, plus members in Australia, the UK, and three from the year 1928. (And, yes, as I go on, this will make sense)



Okay, so the first member to meet Ghostwriter is Jamal Jenkins. It was in Jamal's basement that Ghostwriter resided in for presumably years. He lives with his parents, and his grandmother (Marcella Lowery), and while he is a good student with English, his real interest is science, and he has dreams of attending the High School of Science after graduating from Zora Neale Hurston Middle School in Brooklyn, New York. Here's a scene of Jamal first encountering Ghostwriter.



He may be freaked out by him at first, but as the show progresses, we find that Jamal probably had the closest relationship with Ghostwriter, and perhaps with good reason too. Although we never really find out who Ghostwriter is during the show's three year run, it was originally intended for Ghostwriter to be one of Jamal's ancestors, perhaps one that escaped a life of slavery and educated himself and learned the value of reading. Jamal's story arcs seem to confirm this. He is the first one who can see Ghostwriter. Ghostwriter helps Jamal's friends clear his name when he's accused of torching a video store owned by Mr. Brinker. Ghostwriter even ends up going back in time to 1928 to help three children solve a mystery of their own...which turns out to help Jamal out as one of the kids that Ghostwriter helped in 1928 grew up to be the doctor that saved his father's life before Jamal was even born!

Oh, and Ghostwriter also helped Jamal clear his name when a computer hacker named Max Mouse threatened to destroy him. A perfect opportunity to showcase episode two of that story arc HERE, HERE, and HERE.



The second person Ghostwriter showed himself to was Lenni Frazier. Lenni was in the same grade as Jamal, and before Ghostwriter revealed himself to Jamal, was more of an acquaintance to Jamal. Lenni lived in a loft with her widowed father, and thanks to her father's love of music, Lenni also had the dream to become a singer and songwriter. Back in 1992, female rappers were starting to grow in popularity, and Lenni was destined to become the next Salt 'n' Pepa. And Ghostwriter helped Lenni make that dream come true. Lenni's biggest story arc in the series was the one entitled 'Don't Stop The Music', where a record executive hears Lenni's demo tape and wants to make a music video of her song. But when someone on the video crew goes out of their way to sabotage the video, Ghostwriter helps the team put the pieces together to save the shoot. The end result is this video...a video that even Ghostwriter managed to be a part of!



There were other arcs that Lenni ended up being a part of. She comes up with the idea for the team to enter a contest to be drawn into a comic book (with help from Ghostwriter), and she almost ends up losing a friendship with the guy down below after the musical instruments of Lenni's dad were accidentally destroyed in a car accident caused by this boy's dad.



Alejandro “Alex” Fernandez was the third person to see Ghostwriter. He's also in the same grade as Jamal and Lenni, and his parents own a bodega (in which the Frazier family live upstairs from). A first generation Salvadorian American, Ghostwriter becomes fluent in both English and Spanish thanks to Alex. His abilities in writing are made evident through the dozens of pen pals he has located all over the world (one of which betrayed Alex by selling his secrets to his opponent in the sixth grade school elections), and while Alex can develop a hot temper at times, he is probably the most headstrong (and in my opinion, the most developed) character of the whole series. One of Alex's story arcs was banned on the children's network “Noggin” because of the subject matter, which was Alex being offered drugs by a friend of his who later gets caught up in a robbery scheme. Alex later ends up falling for a future member of the Ghostwriter team, but we'll get to that later on. Most of Alex's story arcs tend to be shared with this person.



Like most shows, there has to be a brother and sister combo present somewhere. In this case, it's in the form of Alex's younger sister by two years, Gabriela “Gaby” Fernandez...the only character to be recast during the show's run. 



The fourth person to see Ghostwriter, Gaby is talkative, inquisitive, and sensitive. While Ghostwriter seemed to be closest to Jamal, Gaby was probably the one who cared about Ghostwriter the most, and even makes a word bed for him to sleep in during the Who Is Max Mouse story arc (Watch Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of Episode 3 inside this bracket).

Gaby's story arcs are well-defined. She gets sick due to chemical poisoning in a community garden prompting the team to investigate what made her sick. She ends up stealing money from her family's store to buy a Galaxy Girl costume, which ends up being the catalyst for another mystery at the school. Towards the end of the series, she ends up finding a rare cockatoo, which unbeknownst to her was owned by a couple of crooks.



Gaby's best friend in the series is Tina Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American who makes her first appearance in the first story arc. However, it's not until the Who Burned Mr. Brinker's Store arc that she actually sees Ghostwriter for the first time, and is officially the fifth member of the team. An aspiring filmmaker, Tina's video camera has been very effective in assisting the team with cases. Tina's story arcs are not as huge as some of the other members of the team. She does end up working for a legendary film actress who is the subject of a slew of hate mail (in which Ghostwriter helps them find out who sent it), as well as befriending an exchange student from Africa and using Ghostwriter to help find her when she runs away from home. She also develops a mild romance with Alex, and they end up sharing their first kiss while investigating the illegal chemical dumping case.



Rob Baker becomes the next person to see Ghostwriter. Initially he is accused of smearing Alex's election campaign, but when Ghostwriter actually appears to Rob, and the rest of the team realizes this, he becomes a huge help to the team. An aspiring author (hmmm...kind of like me), Rob's gift with words has helped the team out in many ways. When Rob ends up getting trapped in a subway tunnel in an effort to help reunite a homeless Vietnam war veteran with his daughter, Ghostwriter is there to help the team locate and rescue the two. Unfortunately, with Rob being in a military family, he is forced to leave New York after his family is forced to move to Australia. But before he leaves, the gang send him off with a bunch of new writing notebooks, telling him that they'll never forget him.



Taking Rob's place is Hector Carrero (and yes, you are correct in realizing that the actor playing Hector was once in a season of MTV's The Real World). Alex becomes Hector's 'Big Brother' when he signs up to volunteer for the program. When we meet Hector, he's fluent in Spanish, but sometimes has difficulty reading and writing English. Through Alex's help, as well as some help from Ghostwriter, Hector learns to grasp the language better. Hector even ends up standing up against a bully in the fourth and final part of Who Is Max Mouse (which is posted HERE, HERE, HERE).



Another minor character is Jamal's cousin, Casey Austin. A practical joker who first appeared during the story arc for Lenni's music video shoot, the gang initially thought that Casey was responsible for the pranks. But when Casey was feeling sad because she missed her mother (who was in rehab for alcohol addiction), Ghostwriter wrote to her to make her feel better, and by the last season, Casey was a full-fledged member of the team. Casey was also the star of the last story arc, which was an arc about how the team helped her write a short story for a contest.

There were other minor characters who could see Ghostwriter. A kid named Craig (played by Growing Pains star Jeremy Miller) could see Ghostwriter during the Who Burned Mr. Brinker's Store arc, and when Jamal went on vacation in England, his two British friends, Becky and Sam could see him. And, of course, the three kids who Ghostwriter helped back in 1928.

If you're keeping track, that makes fourteen people in total who knew of Ghostwriter's existence.

And how did the team meet up for cases and meetings? All they had to do was write down the word RALLY plus the first letter of the person's name calling the rally. For instance, if Lenni called the rally, it would be RALLY L, or if Tina called it, it would be RALLY T and so on.

It was a really great show, and honestly if it wasn't for the fact that the show ran out of funds to produce the program (it did air on PBS after all), it might have lasted longer than three years. But in a time in which shows seem less and less educational these days, Ghostwriter is sorely missed. I probably was a little too old to watch it when it originally aired, but I just found it fascinating. Maybe because it dealt with words and language and spelling and other things that I was good at. Or maybe because the show was really well written for a children's show. I don't know.

Or maybe it was because I could identify with Ghostwriter because like me, Ghostwriter didn't really need to say a word to get his message out. All he needed was enough letters to form sentences and that was enough. Maybe it took time for the kids to figure it out, but eventually they did.

And maybe it might take me time to get what I want to say out at times, but eventually, I know that day will come for me too.