Mel kind of got a bump in the '80s when he started appearing as himself on some sitcoms, most notably "Night Court." Harry Anderson was supposedly a big fan. Unlike Tony Bennett, Mel got the joke - in real-life he was an exceedingly nice guy who acted like a prick for the purposes of the show.
One of the better sketches from the early '80s SNL era (and there were only a few) was about the "real" Ronald Reagan. The sketch starts with him presiding as a real ass-kicker over a cabinet meeting in the Oval Office, and then he suddenly switches gears and goes into his gentle grandfather role when he has to present some sort of award to the Girl Scout who sold the most cookies. As soon as a girl leaves, he barks "These stupid ceremonies are the part of the job I hate," and then gets argumentative with Dana Carvey's Jimmy Stewart and throws him out of the office.

artie_fufkin wrote:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/4174/saturday-night-live-president-reagan-mastermind

I didn't watch SNL at all in that period, but that was a good--if fanstastical--portrayal of the Reagan Whitehouse.

The opening lines reminded me of a Doonesbury from the period that I think best captured the Reagan administration.  In a meeting with his advisors, one of them tells the president, "Sir, our latest polls show that the majority of Americans feel you are out of touch and rely too heavily on your advisors.  Furthermore, they feel that you either knew all about the Iran-Nicaragua deal, and you're the most corrupt president since Nixon, or you knew nothing and you're the most incompetent president ever."  Reagan looks at them and then asks, "Well . . . which is it?"

Last edited by Max (11/30/2010 4:45 pm)

We know why they deify him.  He and Mommy would be horrified by what they created, because, as awful as Reagan, his second wife, and his administration were, none of them were nearly as radical as the Tea Partiers.

artie_fufkin wrote:

There's so much revisionist history about Reagan. People forget that in '82 Mommie didn't want him to try to run for reelection because his economic policies weren't working. Even worse than the Iran/Contra affair, his biggest crime was his non-reaction to the AIDS problem because he believed that "gay plague" nonsense. That Limbaugh refers to him now at "St. Ronaldus" and he's become the GOP's Jesus would be almost laughable if the country hadn't had to suffer through him for eight years.

I'm not sure that it's revisionist history at this stage.  It's more a matter of producers who do programs for PBS and C-Span being freed of the shackles of trying to manipulate outcome of elections.  I voted against him twice (well, actually I can't remember if I made it to the polls in 84 -- but I wanted to) and loved what he was doing with the economy because I thought it would teach a lesson to people who advocated free market capitalism and lower taxes -- as H.L. Mencken would say, "good and hard."  I cringed when people, including some of my friends who were strong Democrats, referred to him as a "Great Communicator," and dismissed that as a media fad.  In looking at his speeches objectively now, I can't see any way of denying him that crown.

Incidentally, I am now better informed and realize that much of the economic recession in the the early 80's was caused by Paul Volker's tight money policies and not just supply side economics.  And I'm not aware of anyone today who doesn't think what Volker did was not only wise but essential.

Also, the most ridiculous of the Anti-Reagan myths that many of us bought into were shot down by contemporary scholars like Ed Morris, author of "Dutch," long before their work could be considered revisionist.  Like many of my co-religionists, I lapped-up any suggestion that Reagan wasn't very bright.  Morris was the first that I'm aware of to point out that Reagan was actually very bright and something of an intellectual recluse whenever he was given the opportunity.  But I'm not aware of anyone today in a position to know who actually disputes that portrait.

I also find it absurd that Reagan is viewed with such uncritical reverence by so many partisan commentators.  In particular, I think he and his advisers made a terrible mistake in attempting to make overtures to Iran at the same time that we were developing reliable intelligence that Iran was sponsoring the murders of hundreds of Marines and CIA personnel in Lebanon.  While he was promising aggressive action against those responsible, it was apparently all just a lot of talk.  In my judgment, you can lay the blame for 9/11 directly at the feet of that inaction -- along with similar non-responses in Somalia during the 1990's.

p.s.  Who was the person responsible for labeling Mel Torme's voice as "The Velvet Fog"?

Last edited by Mags (12/01/2010 10:35 am)

artie_fufkin wrote:

"Who was the person responsible for labeling Mel Torme's voice as "The Velvet Fog"?

I had to look it up, and it's a person I've never heard of.

Damnit.  I wasn't trying to play trivial pursuits with you.  I can't recall and I'd really like to know.  I think it was someone I remember from the days when I was a young and callow yute.

Addendum:  Wrong.  I realized I could do my own research and discovered it was a guy I had never heard of either, except in that context.  But people always made it sound like Robinson was the Red Smith of the airways when they talked Torme's nickname.

Last edited by Mags (12/01/2010 11:51 am)

"I wasn't trying to play trivial pursuits with you."

Sorry. We do that a lot around here at work. Today's question was "Who was the only player to be named MVP of a Super Bowl from a team that lost the game?"

What is "scat singing"?

artie_fufkin wrote:

You're warm. You have the right team in both instances, as long as the second reference is to the defensive back from the Cowboys, and not the running back from the Redskins.

O.K.  I confess.  I meant the latter.  My next guess, thanks to your hint, would have to be Cliff Harris, who went to grade school with my sister and whose Mom remained good friends with my Mom, despite which I always pulled against him.

Actually, it was probably Charles Woodson but that was after I had pretty much quite watching super bowls.

Mags wrote:

What is "scat singing"?

Isn't that what the guy was doing in the Blues Brothers during the scene where they are escaping from the concert hall?  I think the song was Minnie the Moocher.

He should not be confused with Minnie Minoso

Last edited by forsberg_us (12/01/2010 6:32 pm)

forsberg_us wrote:

Mags wrote:

What is "scat singing"?

Isn't that what the guy was doing in the Blues Brothers during the scene where they are escaping from the concert hall?  I think the song was Minnie the Moocher.

He should not be confused with Minnie Minoso

The stuff around 2:30, yes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC6JUA8cjoY

Mags wrote:

Mags wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

You're warm. You have the right team in both instances, as long as the second reference is to the defensive back from the Cowboys, and not the running back from the Redskins.

O.K.  I confess.  I meant the latter.  My next guess, thanks to your hint, would have to be Cliff Harris, who went to grade school with my sister and whose Mom remained good friends with my Mom, despite which I always pulled against him.

Actually, it was probably Charles Woodson but that was after I had pretty much quite watching super bowls.

Well, my instincts were right.  Of the super bowls that I've watched, the 1971 game was easily the most likely game but I would have guessed all day and not come up with Chuck Howley.  Not because he wasn't that caliber of a player but because I have always thought of him as being underrated.

If there was such a thing as an underrated Cowboys' player from that era, Howley was it.