A happier version of making too many demands was when NBC wanted Dean Martin to do a variety show. He asked for a then record high salary, with every perk imaginable, and only agreed to work 1 day a week to tape the show. He figured that they’d pass. When he came home from the meeting, one of his kids asked how it…

When it comes to Frank Sinatra’s concept albums, my favorite is “No One Cares,” which even Sinatra called an album of “suicide songs.”  It also has both Johnny Carson’s and my favorite Sinatra ballad, “Here’s That Rainy Day.”

I remember reading that at Henry II’s wedding, that the Archbishop Of New York, who was one of the guests, was hoping to discuss religion with the elder Ford, in a friendly manner. Henry I cut him off by saying, “You’ve got the best religion in the world.” Also, a few years later, a Detroit newspaper reported that HF…

Unfortunately, students don’t have unlimited first amendment rights in school. Believe me, the first kid that unloaded on her during the school day would be in the principal’s office in seconds, as I’m sure she would go boo-hooing to the principal immediately. Now if a student sees her on the street and rips her a new…

The closer you get to Pittsburgh, the better the Giant Eagles are, as that’s the company’s HQ. And have you been to the Market District Giant Eagle store in Columbus, or just a regular one? The Market District ones are the uber stores, and I’d put the ones in Pittsburgh just a tad below Wegmans.

Ting is available in the Upper Ohio Valley at Kroger and Giant Eagle stores, in the International Foods section.

Henry Ford II was the absolute opposite of his Grandfather. His first wife, Anne McDowell, came from a socially prominent New York family, and were Catholic, which drove Henry nuts, especially when HF II converted. Also, HF II and his wife were introduced to Los Angeles high society by MGM chief, Louis B. Mayer. The…

I enjoyed reading in “The Late Shift” on how minimal Pat’s contribution was to his own talk show. He would literally just show up maybe an hour before, go over the show notes and do it. Going up against Johnny Carson, who sweated over every monologue he ever gave on the Tonight Show may not have been the best career…

It used to be that the goal was to make 100 episodes of a show, so that it could be sold into syndication. With streaming, and network shows doing shorter seasons, I’m not sure if that’s the rule now.  Especially since a lot of programs are using the British television model and making 10-13 episodes per season,…

The cat will be out of the bag when Susie Essman screams, “You fat intergalactic fuck!” at Garlin’s character.

I saw the Pistachio Oreo Thins tonight at Kroger. Oreos were on special for $1.99. I went with the Oreo Latte Thins, Dark Chocolate, Baskin & Robbins Mint Chip, and Fudge Covered Mint Oreos. They were out of the Coconut Oreo Thins, though.

At one point in his career, Johnny Carson was being pushed by his management as, “The new Jack Lemmon.” He was offered the role of Thomas Crown in The Thomas Crown Affair, and passed, as did Sean Connery, who said, “Turning that down was the dumbest thing I ever did.” Carson was also offered the lead role in Martin…

When Macy’s took over Pittsburgh’s Kaufmann’s, the quality of goods sold there took an immediate dive, as did Columbus’s Lazarus when Macy’s took them over as well.

His appearances on both of David Letterman’s shows were always comedy gold, as he would discuss becoming what he called “A thousandaire!” and later, “A ten thousandaire!” with Dave.  

I remember reading that a couple of weeks before baseball season, JFK would practice pitching with either a member of his staff or a secret service agent for about 20 minutes a day after he had lunch, weather permitting. He didn’t want to look like a tool when he would throw out the first pitch on opening day. I…

I remember reading in one of the books about Detroit auto manufacturing in the 70's that there was a wildcat strike at one of the manufacturers, and after it was settled, they offered big incentives, such as double pay and extra time off for those employees who were willing to come in a couple of weekends in a row to…

How the Hell did they manage not to induct Beck? I mean, the man wrote the Becktionary, for cryin’ out loud!

That’s John Voight, the periodontist. He went to dental school with Tim Watley. You know, he was the guy who always chewed on his pencils in class.

I think that was the BET one. I remember Cleghorne’s Amy Fisher ratting out Joey to his wife, saying, “They doin’ it!” The other highlight was in the BBC “House Of Buttofuoco” is when Amy confided to someone at the dinner that Joey had given her venereal disease. Her companion replied in a British accent dripping with…

I preferred SNL’s take on the Amy Fisher movies, from “The House Of Buttofuoco” which was the BBC version of the event, to the BET one, where Ellen Cleghorne played Fisher to Chris Rock’s Mary Buttofuoco.