Steve Landesberg Has Died

I saw him in one of the most disappointing live shows I’d ever witnessed! He was just awful. I was still a fan.

Steve Landesberg died this weekend. He was a comedian and comedic actor. I saw him in one of the most disappointing live shows I’d ever witnessed! He was just awful. I was still a fan.

Steve Landesberg first came into view for me as a stand-up performing on TV. He did dialects.

His signature bit was about a southern sheriff whom he did in a deep southern drawl. The sheriff was talking about hippies and war protesters and one particular guy who was singing a folk song, “Stomping on the Flag.” Finally at the end the sheriff says,

“Stomping on the flag? Stomping on the flag? It had a catchy beat.”

In the mid-70s Landesberg appeared on a forgotten piece of the CBS killer Saturday lineup (Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore) “Paul Sands in Friends and Lovers.” It was a comedy built around players in a symphony orchestra. Landesberg played an Austrian violinist, Fred Meyerbach.

I loved that show, but was obviously in a small minority. It was gone quickly. There isn’t even a YouTube clip available!

Steve Landesberg’s accent was so good that when Barney Miller was being cast Landesberg was originally turned down without an audition. The producer couldn’t imagine a New York City detective with an Austrian accent!

“He was acting,” his agent finally pleaded. He got the gig playing Detective Dietrich.

It’s been a long time since I saw Steve Landesberg perform. I know he made “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” which I didn’t see (but which many people liked) and a few obscure TV series including one on Starz. Earlier he’d done commercials, always in a deadpan.

Back in the day I just assumed he’d be a bigger star.

Steve Landesberg was 65.

Is Unstoppable One Of “Those” Movies?

When this movie hits cable guys will watch it enough times to memorize the dialog (and I expect there really won’t be much of that anyway).

I seldom fish for comments in the blog. I will today. “Unstoppable,” the new runaway train movie that’s had nearly as many commercials as Linda McMahon (remember her?) is now in theaters.

This is a guy movie, right? Women will have little desire to attend.

Seriously, there are guy movies and there are… oh, hell I can’t think of a good non-sexist euphemism for chick flick.

The opposite sex attends the other’s movie to be social. How many guys saw “Sex And The City II” willingly?

When this movie hits cable guys will watch it enough times to memorize the dialog (and I expect there really won’t be much of that anyway).

I see “Unstoppable” in the “Under Siege,” “Die Hard” genre, no? No matter where the movie is when you tune in it’s perfectly OK to just pick it up. Not much is lost if you’re not there for the opening credits.

Give it a few years. This will be on TNT every twenty minutes.

Jon Stewart: Payback Without Sacrificing Comedy

At some point Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Dennis Miller and Dick Gregory (to name a few) all stopped being funny because they were too involved in making their point.

I watched Jon Stewart last night. I watched again this afternoon with my parents. Last night’s show was a classic.

The brief backstory is Stewart accused Fox News and Bernard Goldberg of hypocricy. Goldberg fired back. Last night’s show was Stewart’s response.

What made it special is Stewart was able to make his points without sacrificing the show’s purpose–comedy.

Over the years there have been many comedians with points of view who lost their comedic way. At some point Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Dennis Miller and Dick Gregory (to name a few) all stopped being funny because they were too involved in making their point. Not so Stewart. The comedy continues to come first.

Last night’s show is a clinic in how to have your satirical cake and eat it too! Be prepared, though bleeped the underlying (and obvious) language is NSFW.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
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