Tag: Howard Lapides

Busy Tuesday (As Told Late Wednesday)

LA drive

Busy Tuesday. Part planned. Part surprise.

Up the 5 in traffic. That’s the norm.

We’re 45 miles from Los Angeles. An hour without traffic. Hours with. Plan on an hour and a half, then pray.

I met Gary Brown on the edge of Beverly Hills at a Starbucks. Gary was news director at Channel 3 in Hartford. Friendly competitors.

He and I are both fascinated by the inner workings of television and television news. We had a lot to talk about.

Gary’s an agent. Not mine.

It was a sunny, mild day. We agreed coffee and a window seat at Doheny and West Olympic is great for people watching.

Next stop Sherman Oaks. My friend Howard Lapides… my best man Howard Lapides… manages acts and puts deals together. I can’t explain it. He probably can’t either.

His office sits above Ventura Blvd. with a picture postcard view of the San Fernando Valley and mountains to the north. A little hazy this day.

Hollywood is unusual because so many people work short term jobs. Once production’s done, next. In most case a new employer. A new everything. Howard assembles the deals that put all those non-connected people together… I think.

We’ve been friends over 2/3 of our lives.

He had an appointment at 6:00. I asked if I could tag along. We went to Louise Palanker’s home not far away.

Louise Palanker is a writer, producer and performer in radio, television, stage and stand-up comedy. As Senior VP of Creative and co-founder of Premiere Radio Networks, she wrote, produced and performed in over 20 programs for the network. – Wikipedia

The Showtime documentary, “Family Band: The Cowsills Story,” was “a film by Louise Palanker.”

IMAG0657Today she was sitting in a former bedroom, now an acoustically treated podcast studio. With her, a gaggle of teens.

Louise and crew were about to go live on “Our Place Network,” a website and podcast for teens. In the center of the room, a handful of inexpensive security cameras on tripods.

The equipment is of the “We’ve got a barn, let’s put on a show” variety, but the content was great. Louise was the conductor, but it was the teens who gave advice. Good advice.

It has to have more weight coming from a peer.

The questions I heard all related to the inherent awkwardness of being a teen. They are trying to find their way. They are unsure.

IMAG0659I have no idea how many people watch, but it makes no difference. This is proof-of-concept. What the podcast is isn’t as important as what it can become.

I said goodnight and headed to the 101. Through the valley, past Hollywood and Downtown, then south via the 5 past the mouse and home.

About an hour.

Dinner at In-N-Out. Double double.

Bootleg Top-40 Lives

It wasn’t a conventional LP. It was a recording of airchecks–short snippets of disk jockeys talking over the intros and outros of top-40 hits. The actual songs were inconsequential. Once the disk jockey stopped talking the track cut to the next element.

The photo on the left arrived in my mailbox early this morning. Bill Dillane found it and wanted me to forward it to my friend Howard Lapides, the guy holding the album.

Done.

It’s probable you’ve never heard Bootleg Top-40, the album in Howard’s hands. It wasn’t a conventional LP. It was a recording of airchecks–short snippets of disk jockeys talking over the intros and outros of top-40 hits. The actual songs were inconsequential. Once the disk jockey stopped talking the track cut to the next element.

I was just getting started on-the-air when this album arrived. This was disk jockey porn! It was a collection of impressive jocks to rip off emulate… and I did.

I committed it to memory! I can still recite all the lines from WAKY’s Bill Bailey or KCBQ’s Rich “Brother” Robin along with dozens of others.

Like nearly everything else Bootleg Top-40 has found its way to the Internet. If you enjoyed listening to top-40 radio in the 70s (or want to hear what it was like) it’s worth a click.

Watching A Friend On TV

Howard found my first job for me. He was best man when Helaine and I got married. He is a significant presence in my life.

I just watched my friend Howard Lapides on TV. He was a panelist with Joy Behar on CNN Headline News (or it’s current name which I don’t remember). Yeah, it’s pretty cool to see someone you know on nationally&#185.

I met Howard as a fellow incoming freshman at Emerson. I won’t say when just in case one of us is lying about his age. We’ve been friends ever since.

He found my first job for me. He was best man when Helaine and I got married. He is a significant presence in my life.

Nowadays Howard is a manager and a TV/film producer. Together with my secretive pal from the San Fernando Valley we have a friendship that’s lasted a very long time.

He was on TV to discuss Mel Gibson.

Here’s what I learned: I’ve already heard enough! The whole thing’s disgusting, but it’s a done deal. He’s, as they say, dead to me. If Howard wasn’t on the show I wouldn’t have stayed ten seconds.

He did a nice job. He had something to say and made Joy laugh three times.

You are judged by the laughs you produce.

&#185 – Knowing the current state of media Joy Behar is probably seen elsewhere around the world too.

Another Busy Day In The Southland

He is the reason I had the opportunity to walk through a TV studio during an all nude show! Does that deserve thanks? These people should have remained clothed!

Another busy day in the Southland. We have only so many days in the warm California sun and so much to do. Helaine and I picked up Stef and headed south to “The OC.” We were meeting my cousins for lunch.

Cousin Melissa picked the spot which meant I was heading to a vegan restaurant for the first time in my life! The menu does list things like cheeseburgers, but without meat or cheese! Everyone working there looked gaunt.

“Is this like when grandma tried to convince me regular coffee and decaf were the same?” I asked Stef.

My burger was actually mostly shitake mushroom and it was pretty good–but it wasn’t a cow derived burger. I’m sure the burger tasted better than I allowed it to taste in my mind.

Cousin Melissa is an attorney currently running for the California Assembly. We were glad she was able to spring the time. I suspect she was glad to.

We are a small family. Cousin Michael and I have been close since birth. We don’t see him or Melissa enough.

As long as we were in Costa Mesa why not hit the mall? OK–that’s not my idea, it’s Stef’s, but I was willing to play along. I had “Clicky” with me and anything new is fodder for photography.

The mall is called “The Lab” and it is marketed as the anti mall. There’s an Urban Outfitters there. That’s not particularly anti.

What is different about The Lab versus everything we have back east is this mall is open air. There’s also some pretty interesting art on display including a fountain made of rusting barrels.

Possibly the most interesting moment of our mall adventure was when I mistakenly began to enter the Ladies Room. No harm, no foul, but I was close.

We drove back to Woodland Hills where I dropped Stef and Helaine then drove to my friend Howard’s office.

Here’s how Hollywood and the real world differ. While I waited for Howard someone at the reception desk showed me his new head shots! He’d gone from young and friendly to dark and brooding. I think the dark and brooding will work–if he has talent. This is a town of head shots!

Howard’s office is on the top floor of a midrise on Ventura Blvd. You go past the receptionist then down a hall full of busy people into an outer office and finally Howard’s corner office. The full length windows give a great view of the San Fernando Valley and even open to allow access to a small patio that hugs the outer wall.

Howard was on the phone as I walked in. He spends most of his day on the phone.

Before long Burt Dubrow joined us. Burt is a pioneer in daytime talk. He produced Sally Jessy Raphael and Jerry Springer among other shows. I’ve known Burt since he moved Sally to New Haven from St. Louis.

He is the reason I had the opportunity to walk through a TV studio during an all nude show! Does that deserve thanks? These people should have remained clothed!

I’ve got one more stop before the night is out. I’m heading to the West Side to meet and have a cup of coffee with Ross Ching. I’ve written about Ross before. He’s a young guy just getting started. I learned about him after seeing his time lapse videos. He’s a working director now. Very talented.

Scarily, tomorrow’s agenda is just as busy!

Dinner With Two Old Friends

“I got the senior citizen special at IHop,” I offered during a lull in the conversation.

“They don’t card,” replied Howard.

Really? Is this what we’ve come to?

Last night was spent with old friends. The three of us have been hanging out for over forty years. Howard Lapides, my secret friend from the Valley, and I had dinner last night at

“I got the senior citizen special at IHop,” I offered during a lull in the conversation.

“They don’t card,” replied Howard.

Really? Is this what we’ve come to?

A lot of stuff happens over forty years… like you get older. Getting older is the universal experience. We were just kids when we met. Now we have kids… and even some of them really aren’t kids anymore.

Dinner was at Oliva somewhere in the Valley. Our original plan was to go to a restaurant that turned out to be closed on Monday’s. The food was excellent, but it’s Italian. I can’t ever remember having bad Italian food. It’s genetically tasty.

The careers of both friends have changed over the last few years. Maybe shifted is a better word as they adapt to business changes and move from businesses that aren’t what they once were. Howard still manages talent, but now he’s heavily involved in creating the programs his clients work in.

My secret friend is involved in producing live music acts on video which become TV shows which become DVDs. I can’t say which shows, because that would reveal who he is. Let’s just say you’ve probably tuned through or even watched one of these shows.

I’m not sure these guys understand how much I enjoy these get togethers. I look forward to seeing them every time I think of California.

Ed McMahon

I have one Ed McMahon story and it involves my very secretive friend from the San Fernando Valley and his spectacularly beautiful wife. I asked if he could get me tickets to see The Tonight Show and he asked her.

ed-and-johnny.jpgFor the past few days I’ve been torn as to whether there should be an Ed McMahon entry in the blog. Though a huge presence on television he struck me as a man with little personal integrity. He sold what can politely be called “crap” on the Atlantic City Boardwalk and never really changed. Seemingly he’d shill any product.

His moral code aside, where he was really excellent was as Johnny Carson’s announcer/sidekick. Howard Lapides coined the term we liberally sprinkled Ed’s way. It was “FL” for fake laugh. If Carson intended something to be funny then it was funny to Ed! His laugh was loud and recognizable.

Don’t underestimate this power. The Tonight Show was ‘sweetened’ in real time by Ed. No post-production house could add a laugh track that would help as much.

I have one Ed McMahon story and it involves my very secretive friend from the San Fernando Valley and his spectacularly beautiful wife. I asked if he could get me tickets to see The Tonight Show and he asked her. She had been a page at NBC. She’d even appeared on The Tonight Show giving Johnny the prize envelopes on Stump The Band!

Her specialty was making sure you’d be seated “DIF” or “down-in-front.” That’s where I sat. Thank you Sue.

There are few places I’ve been that immediately seemed so eerily familiar–Mission Control in Houston and the big digital clock at the shuttle launch facility in Florida, CNN’s newsroom, the floor of the NYSE and Carson’s studio on West Alameda in Burbank. I’d seen it a thousand times before I ever set a foot inside.

The crowd entered and politely sat. We were excited. As taping time approached the band played a number and Ed came out to warm everyone up.

“There seems to have been a mistake–a clerical error,” he said.

The audience sighed worrying what was wrong and how it would affect our best laid plans.

“I don’t know how,” he continued, “but Johnny, Doc and I have been scheduled to work on the same night!”

The audience went nuts!

I remember that moment as if it was yesterday–in fact it is the only part of my Tonight Show experience I remember.

Three Friends For Dinner

There have been career and city moves, wives and other wives and then families. There was lots of news and gossip to catch up on.

three-friends.jpgI have two friends from college. One, Howard Lapides, wants me to mention his name in the blog… his full name. I always refer to him in the blog as “my friend Howard.”

“My friend Howard?” he said. “Not Howard Lapides?” And so, henceforth, he gets full billing as Howard Lapides.

My other friend is more secretive. With his wife’s help I have begged and cajoled until he let me post his picture. This is a major concession on his part. I still can’t mention his name. Fine.

We went for sushi tonight. This is part of a long tradition of the three of us going out together. It’s a forty plus year tradition.

We’ve been through a lot together. There have been career and city moves, wives and other wives and then families. There was lots of news and gossip to catch up on.

We were asked to leave before we were finished! OK– I understand the restaurant had to close.

You know the credit card commercial where they describe something as priceless? That’s what tonight was–priceless.