My Tribute-The Works of George Perez & Neal Adams

 When it comes to comic books, some people just transcend the medium. You know there name even if you don't know what he did or why he is famous. And George Perez was like that for me. Since he passed away recently it seems only fair to run down some of my favorite works of his. 

Wonder Woman

This was the first time I really knew the name, even though he had done a crap ton of work before this but we'll get to that. A lot of people forget as amazing an artist as Perez is, he was also a good story teller. And he was tasked with taking charge of the post Crisis Wonder Woman who was totally revamped. And while I did have some issues with it, I hated the fact her entire legacy had been wiped out, these were some damn good stories and of course the artwork was superb. 

My Tribute-Five Favorite Less Known Betty White Roles

 So I guess I have to do this one, never really wanted to. I don't need to explain what an icon Betty White was we all know it. She has done a lot of movie and TV, and so as a tribute due to her passing today here are five of my favorites. We all know about stuff like Mary Tyler Moore, Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland but there were plenty more. 

Carol Butnett Show/Mama's Family

It's not talked about a lot but she made a lot of appearances on Carol Burnet, and it's spin off Mama's Family. On both she played the stuck-up daughter Ellen who was clearly Mama's favorite and was always fighting with Eunice. I think this character would have been one of her iconic one's, if not fot a certain character she created in 1986. 

My Tribute-The Many Works of Alan Oppenheimer

I have been wanting to talk about him for a long time. One of my favorite voice actors who did the voice for some iconic characters. The amazing thing is that unlike a lot of voice actors, he is also a great character actor and has made many appearances on TV shows all the way back to the Andy Griffith Show. Here is a sample:

Movies:

Did I just say TV? Oh yeah he has done his share of voice work for movies too and the classic has to be Falkor in Never-ending Story. He does a great job making Falkor kind and gentle. He also did the voices for the Rock Biter and the narrator. Other movies he did include "The Hindenburg", "Westworld", "Freaky Friday", and "9".

My Tribute-Alex Trebek on Sitcoms

 I've commented before that Jeopardy was never my favorite game show. For reasons I have explained elsewhere. But if there was one thing I loved on that show, it was its host. Alex Trebek was coolness personified. He wasn't the first host of Jeopardy and he hosted other game shows, my favorite being Classic Concentration, but he will always be known as THE host of Jeopardy.

He passed away today and as a tribute I wanted to go over five time's Alex Trebek appeared on sitcoms. Usually as himself, hosting Jeopardy. There are more than these, including an appearance on Blossom that even IMDB has forgotten, but here are a few examples.

Mama's Family

I don't recall the setup, but long story short Mama ends up on Jeopardy. And since she has no real class...hijinks ensue.

My Tribute-Regis (re-post)

Today’s Batman review is being postponed a day so I can post this tribute. I said at the start of the month this has been a hard year for losing cherished celebrities. We lost another yesterday and this one is real tough. I wrote this nine years ago but am resharing, with some tweaks.

My first exposure to Regis Philbin was when he was on Hollywood Squares back in the 80’s. At the time, I had no idea who he was. The show had some fun with him, he had a reputation as the “king” of Los Angeles, and he had a throne on the show. Point is, I thought he was a huge jerk. Of course, I didn’t realize the show was just teasing him. Truth is Philbin was already an institution after starting his carrer on The Joey Bishop Show.

 

My Tribute-Ten Celebrity Death’s in 2020

2020 has been a hard one, and one area we overlook is celerity death’s. We’re at the end of June and I decided this would be a good time to pause and acknowledge some celebrity passing’s we’ve had the last few months. Of course this is usually something you do at the end of a year, but we’ve lost some real talent already this year and I wanted to finally discuss them.

These are ten names that each deserved big tributes. I couldn’t figure out what to do for each of them seperately, you’ll understand why as we go, so we’ll cover them here. These names are in no specific order. And yes there are more out there who sadly passed, for today let’s focus on these ten.

 

 

 

Kenny Rogers

You know what, let’s get this expression out of the way as it applies to all of them. This one hurts. Rogers was impossible not to love with his great songs and warm personality. I still watch one of his Christmas specials from ages ago every single year. Man will that be hard to watch this year. Whether he was singing with Dolly Parton or The Muppets, everyone loves the Gambler.

 

My Tribute-Five Stan Lee Cameo’s Outside the MCU

As you all probably know I am a DC Comics guy. But in spite of that, I still knew who Stan Lee was and respected him for what he accomplished in creating The Marvel Universe. Almost every character that fans love today Lee either created or at least had a hand in. From Spider-Man to The Fantastic Four! He was a legend and will be missed, having passed away today at the age of 95.

 

For me, I grew to know up by watching Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. He narrated episodes of that and I always knew what a “True believer” was. Though someone please explain to me where Excelsior comes from? I wanted to do a small tribute to him because he truly deserves one. I’d wager there aren’t many who never read a comic book who still don’t have at least some idea who Stan Lee was.That’s why his cameo’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are always so loved. He’s made so many that it’s amazing, and they are all memorable and fun. But others have covered those cameos, and frankly did a great job doing so. A lot better than I anyway. Especially considering how many I never saw. So instead, I thought it might be fun to look at his TV appearances outside the MCU, where he appeared to tell a joke or wink at the audience. Yes I know he played characters too once in awhile.




Muppet Babies
Yeah you read that right. If you’re familiar with the 80’s cartoin you know they were doing dozens of homages and spoofs. Spider-Man was no exception. And when they did Spider-Man, guess who gets the last word?

My Tribute to Tom Hanks – On TV

Tom Hanks is one of those actors no one can possibly not love. Why? Because he excels at everything. Acting in comedy movies? Yup. Acting in dramatic movies? Yup. Acting in Romantic Comedies? Yup! Voice over work in animated movies? Yup. Producing? Yup. Hosting Saturday Night Live? Yup!! Ok not every movie is great, for every “Apollo 13” there’s a “Joe versus the Volcano” (anyone remember that?), “Bonfire of the Vanities” or “Money Pit”. But he’s been in a ton of great movies and need I mention won two Best Actor Oscar’s? I’ve been a fan almost since the start, seeing “Splash” in theaters way back when. It was awesome. Then there was “Big”, which was also awesome. After that we had “A League of Our Own”, “Dragnet”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “Toy Story”, “Castaway”, “Catch Me if You Can”, “Polar Express” and this is just to name a few! I even saw “Punchline”, anyone remember that either? It was awful, but I digress. Tom Hanks is great because you;d never guess how funny and/or good an actor he can be but he really is!

 

One thing that is often overlooked is his TV appearances. Oh yeah, Hanks started out on TV doing sitcoms and TV movies like most people do. The funny thing about these is that with almost all of them you can see that Hanks is a cut above the usual guest actors on these shows. It’s no shock he would soon launch into bigger and better things. Here is a look at them, and I am referring only to episodic TV not talk shows or SNL appearances.



Love Boat
According to IMDB his first appearance, after a horror movie which Cinema Snob reviewed, was an episode of Love Boat. I guess not every episode was top tier celebrirties, as Tom Hanks was not at the time.

My Tribute:My Favorite Comics From Len Wein

On September 10th Len Wein passed away. He was a big name in both DC and Marvel comics. Not only did he co-create Swamp Thing, but he also co-created Wolverine (and several other X-Men) and The Human Target. He’s written pretty much every character I ever liked at once time or another. I decided this was a good time to run down some of my favorite stories of his over the years. When I did my article on favorite comic book writers a couple years ago his name was oddly missing. Let’s rectify that.









Now as per usual this article will be pro DC but I can’t ignore the work Wein did at Marvel working on almost ever major title, reviving the X-Men, and his story “Between Hammer and Anvil” from The Incredible Hulk #182 was later cited in Tony Isabella’s book 1,000 Comics You Must Read.






Batman #307

Wein had a fantastic run on Batman, as you’ll see there are a few of those in here. I wanted to highlight this issue because it features the first appearance of another of his creations. Lucius Fox, a side character who was kind of unknown until being played by Morgan Freeman in Batman Begins. He also wrote in Detective Comics which introduced another creation of Len Wein,  the third Clayface.

My Tribute:The Classic TV Stars we lost in 2016

 

I’m not the first to put this out there but for whatever reason we lost a lot of good people this year. This may have been one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Go through a full list you wont believe it, especially in the world of music. But since my foray is classic TV I wanted to focus o that area. Because we lost a lot of great  talent who kind of got forgotten by the larger names out there.

So I mean no disrespect to the legends like David Bowie, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Anton Yelchin, Natalie Cole, Arnold Palmer, Gene Wilder, Nancy Reagan, Alan Rickman, John Glenn, George Michael, or any of the talented people who passed away this year. But I wanted to focus on this specific genre, and yes many of the names I list also have decent movie careers but I am fousing on their TV work.


So here are twenty names from classic sitcoms, drama’s and news that we lost this year.


Pat Harrington

There are some characters out there that become so popular that even if you’ve never seen the show, you probably know who they are. I never watched One Day at a Time but I can still tell you who Schneider was. Harrington also did a lot of voice over work.

My Tribute to Garry Marshall

don’t t normally post a blog two days in a row but I decided to make a special exception this week. On Tuesday Gary Marshall passed away at the age of 81, and it seemed fitting that I give a tribute. So here it is.

There aren’t many names of producers and/or directors that I care enough about to want to see a movie just because their name is associated with it. But Gary Marshall was an exception. Yeah he didn’t make the greatest movies ever made, but you knew his movies were going to be sweet family friendly or rom-com movies that you’d love. Behind the camera he was a very good director and producer, and gave us some movies which will always be with us. He also did a lot of TV creating shows in the 70’s which are all time classics, and appearing in other shows over the years in guest spots which were always hilarious. He was always funny when he appeared on camera, having a way to make anything into a laugh.


So let’s go through some of the Gary Marshall appearances and/or productions I have enjoyed. As always these are all films and shows that I have actually seen, so don’t be surprised if an obvious one is missing.



The Odd Couple

I guess it’s fitting his final appearance was on the New Odd Couple, since one his first claim to fame was adapting The Odd Couple into the hit TV series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. I watched it here and there don’t have much to say about it. Amazing casting made this work as Klugmun and Randall were perfectly cast.

My Tribute to Carol Burnett

Sometimes a celebrity comes along and you love them, though you can clearly remember when you didn’t. Then you have those celebrities you may have loved when you young, but they’ve faded over the years.


The special kind are the celebrities that you loved for as long as you can remember, no matter how old you are! Today I wanted to talk about one of those for me anyway. I can’t remember exactly when I was first aware of Carol Burnett, she was also a big name to me. Of course this makes sense since she was around looonng before I was even born. But before I run down a list of projects, you may be wondering what brings this topic up today. Well, let me tell you.

On Sunday as a birthday present for my mother, I got to see literally see Carol Burnett live and in person at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Yep. And I gotta say you’d never know the woman was 83! It was a simple show, she took questions from the audience as she used to in her old show and did a lot of reminiscing. Yeah I could be a jerk nitpicker and note that I have heard these stories a hundred times…but so what, she was live on stage! Here are some highlights….

She did a tribute to Harvey Korman by showing that classic dentist sketch with him and Tim Conway.


Her best line came from the first question. A member of the audience asked “Would you consider running for president in 2016?”. Her response-“No, but I’d consider moving to Vancouver”.

She talked about Her friend Lucy and of course all her other co-stars from the old show Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence. She gave some advice and discussed other work outside of The Carol Burnett Show.

She discussed her first big break in “Once Upon a Mattress” and told other stories, including how she felt that today’s comedy is not as good as it used to be because there is to much emphases on low brow humor.



Of course there were clips and the end of the night was, of course, “I’m So Glad We Had The Time Together”. And yes, she did the tarzan yell!



Burnett is one of the entertainers where you know who she is, I don’t care if your eighty or eighteen you know who she is. And why not with her career? She is a funny lady but she can also sing and is even a decent actress doing lots of drama. Let’s go over some of my favorite things that she has appeared in, these last forty years! Now as always this is just things I have seen, so to say the least this will hardly be a complete list of all her work. Normally I manage to cobble together quite a list, but truth is there isn’t that much I have seen of her episodic work. I never saw her in Magnum, PI, Hawaii Five-O, or All My Children for instance. I guess I know her more from her appearances as herself in various talk shows and other specials including a few Carol Burnett Show Reunions. And she has done a lot for Disney,




The Carol Burnett Show
 

I talked before about how much it kills me I missed out on this when it was broadcast originally. The little fact when the series ended I still hadn’t been born being the reason. But man was this show fantastic. Variets can get boring to be honest, after awhile all of these shows kind of feel he same. Music, sketches, more music, and so forth. What set this show apart then? The chemistry between the five leads, it really like they loved each other. It’s why we loved it when Conway would break up Korman for instance.

My Tribute-Five Years of Nostalgia Critic and AT4W

Before I even start, yes I know that NC and AT4W have been around for more than five years. It’s closer to nine,that isn’t what I am referring to.


 

I wish I could remember the exact date, but it was right about this week five years ago. I know the general time because the first new episode I watched was the Airborn review.
I suddenly lost my job and had been very depressed. Things were about a bleak as they had ever been. Then one night I stumbled onto the Nostalgia Critic. Ive mentioned it before, how I couldn’t stop watching and laughing my ass off-to the point where I had to force myself to go to bed because it was after 1 in the morning. I have been a fan ever since.

My Tribute-Top 5 Oddest Bruce Willis Roles

I’ve always been a major Bruce Willis fan. Oh, ok I’m not going to lie and say I’ve seen everything he’s ever been in. But ever since I saw him in Die Hard I was a fan. Anyone here ever hear of that movie? Yes I’m teasing..it’s freaking DIE HARD!! He has a way of coming off as an every guy and being super cool at the same time (even if the movie sucks). Armageddon had tons of problems, but Willis wasn’t one of them! RED has a stupid premise but somehow it worked mostly thanks to Willis. The Disney movie “The Kid” was cliche tripe but Willis managed to make it more than that, he elevated it into a good movie. And The Sixth Sense should have been stupid too but Willis as really good in that (ok I never saw it). I also never saw The Looper though I wanted to.

True not every movie he did was good. Hudson Hawk anyone? How about Bonfire of the Vanities? To this day I will never understand how you can have Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith in one movie and the movie is still awful! How does that happen? Maybe I should see it sometime. And what the hell was he doing in the god awful Ocean Eleven sequel anyway?

The funny thing is that while most people think Willis as a cool action star, he does have a snarky side. And as a result has taken comedic roles in movies and even TV shows that play against his usual type. Most people will instantly think of Moonlighting, that hit show where Willis started to get everyone’s attention. But here are five other odd Willis movie roles where he played against type, and was pretty damn good.


#5.The Story of Us

I am talking about this one because it’s a movie I am betting very few saw, or even heard of. What’s it about? Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfieffer are a married couple having hard times. Yep, that’s about it. And yes this was a movie that played in theaters! I know, I am so happy to say I saw it. What’s odd about it that Willis is so normal here. He’s not an action star or being snarky. He’s just a guy. And yes this movie is cliche and, to be fair, not very good. It feels like a TV movie…but it’s worth a watch. I’m a sucker for these kinds of movies.

Top 6 Favorite Leonard Nimoy Moments (Outside Star Trek)

I was as sad as everyone to hear that Leonard Nimoy passed away. He has been one of my favorite actors/directors for quite awhile. I decided I didn’t want to do a rushed “random thoughts” on it, I needed something more special. So that’s what we have today. I adored his character of Spock in the Star Trek TV series plus all six movies (and the Next Gen episode…and yes the reboot movie too!).





So while I could share posts of Spock’s great moments, the truth is I have done that a lot in other articles. And besides I could do 20 Spock moments and not come close to covering them all.


So I decided the best tribute would be to focus on his other work. His non-Star Trek roles where he showed he really was more than just Mr.Spock. Some he played a character (like in the sitcom Becker) and others he was himself (like when he hosted the Nickelodeon show “Standby:Lights, Camera, Action” which I watched as a kid). Of course he was also a damn good director (Three Men and a Baby) but I am sticking to his on screen/voice work.


Here are my favorite Leonard Nimoy moments outside Star Trek



#6.The Ballad of BilboBaggins


I had to mention this odd project he worked on for some reason, that was a song. Yep, he recorded the Ballad of Bilbo Baggins. It’s…curious as Spock would say. But it’s fun to watch Nimoy in his prime having fun. I think that it really sums up the guy as an actor. Not much else to say.

My Tribute-Joan Rivers

 

Another week, another unexpected celebrity death which leaves us feeling sad. As you no doubt know by now Joan River passed away today. I was one of those people who really liked Rivers, though much like with Robin Williams it wasn’t her stand-up I enjoyed. In fact she was a little to vulgar in her stand up act. No, I enjoyed her in other things which I will quickly list. I first came to be aware of her when she was center in square in the 80′s version of Hollywood Squares. This is probably not the version most think of but I loved that show and Joan Rivers was a huge part of why. Of course my second favorite Joan Rivers role was as the droid Dox Matrix in Spaceballs. She was really funny with almost every line she said. Of course I was way to young to watch her appearances on The Tonight Show or her ill fated late night show of her own. The story of how Carson and she never spoke after she had landed that show is pretty famous. She also appeared on Regis & Kathie Lee quite often not to mention every other talk show ever made, and in fact she had her very own daytime talk show for awhile. And it did very well! I watched it a lot and even have an episode on tape which I may just dig out when I finish this.

My Tribute to Robin Williams

We were all saddened at the new we received just about 24 hours ago (as I type this) regarding Robin Williams. Even more shocking than his death was how he died. At first, I wasn’t going to do a tribute article because, well, he was never my favorite comedian. Don’t get me wrong, he was a brilliant comedian and a genius at improve. But he was lower on my list when I grew up. But then I decided there were three things I had to talk about, and that is what we will do today.

Before I begin I am only noting the works I have actually seen. Therefore some his great stuff (like Good Will Hunting or Dead Poet's Society) will be absent. I am sure they were amazing but this is about the stuff I did see.

My Tribute-Top Six Bob Hope Special Appearances

Almost since I started blogging there was one thing I wanted to talk about. My love for the actor/comedian Bob Hope. I was lucky to grow up when he was still doing his variety specials, and loved every one of them. I wanted to do an article on him, but just listing his specials sounded boring even to me. Of course we can also discuss his movies, USO shows, commercials, the way he was master of the monologue, and live shows which I am proud to say I was in the audience of once. This guy was a true legend.


So instead what I will do is discuss six specials appearances by Bob Hope. Those times when he popped up unexpectedly, or as a guest star, and stole the show. Here now are six favorite Bob Hope "special appearances".



#6.The Tonight Show

One night back in the good old days, Don Rickles as guest hosting The Tonight Show when Bob Hope and friends decided to surprise Don. This clip is doubly special for me, because just recently I had the pleasure of seeing Don Rickles live at Foxwoods.

CLICK HERE!




#5.Spies Like Us


How do you spice up a horrible movie? Well ok, horrible may be an overstatement. This Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd vehicle was ok. In the middle of one scene, Bob Hope suddenly appears and delivers a straight line. It's a nice homage to his classic road movies with Bing Crosby.

CLICK HERE!

My Tribute-5 Great Bill Murray Roles Often Forgotten

Bill Murray is one of my favorite comedians/actors. He was great on SNL, but most people think of his movies. Caddyshack, Meatballs, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, Groundhog Day, Rushmore, Lost in Translation. But today I wanted to talk about five roles Murray had that kind of get lost in the shuffle of his bigger stuff. But while they do not get the same attention, they are still funny roles and should be remembered. And no, Garfield will not be on this list. Even he couldn't save that mess!


Ok, before I even start I have to shout out the cameo in Zombieland. It was great! Not on the list because it is not underrated and I have never seen the movie, but I did see the clip and it was a brilliant cameo. Now, let's discuss my five choices. As always, just my opinion :





#5.What About Bob?


I'm putting this high on the list because I think this is more appreciated than the others here. But it does seem like when people talk about Bill Murray thIs movie hardly ever gets mentioned. Heck I forget it sometimes myself. And I think that's unfair, since it's a decent little comedy and Murray is really good playing the annoying patient who straightens his life out while the doctor, played by Richard Dreyfuss, has his life unravel. Worth a watch for a little mindless fun and to be honest, Murray does some great acting in this. His character is likable and you really see the growth he goes through in the movie as he bonds with the family. Yeah Richard Dreyfuss gets a little to much, but it is Richard Dreyfuss after all.

My Tribute-Jay Leno

A few weeks ago I talked about female celebrities who are hated for the horrible crime of being nice. But this affects male celebrities to. So here it is, I admit it. I really like Jay Leno.

Tonight marks the final episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (yes, for the second time but we'll discuss that). I have always been a huge fan of Jay Leno. I am not sure when he got my attention because it wasn't from his early appearances on The Tonight Show (I was to young to watch most of the Johnny Carson era). He was a major pitchman in the 80's, doing ads for Doritos. Also he did do some acting. He appeared in a few sitcoms and with Pat Morita in one of the worst movies ever made, "Collision Course". Seriously, check it out. By the way after he got The Tonight Show he did many cameos in sitcoms and movies including Dave, Home Improvement, Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The Simpsons not to mention voice over work in several animated films like We're Back! A Dinosaur Story.

But I was a fan of his comedy. I enjoyed his stand up. I still have on tape a prime time special he made back in 1988, and his Headlines segment continues to get a laugh from me every time. I even have the books that were published and to this day some of those crazy articles bring a smile to my face. Now to be fair, that doesn't mean I like everything he does. His jokes get a bit repetitive (how many times has he made fun of China, or how overweight the nation is?) and I hate it when he goes out on the street to talk to real people. That is almost never funny. But I still liked him.