A non-Christmas Christmas show

It seems that every sitcom is required to do their annual Christmas episode. For ALMOST PERFECT in the first season, we decided to be different and basically refer to it just in passing.  There is a brief discussion about what everyone will be doing for the holidays, and decorations are up everywhere, but otherwise, it's just business at usual.  So to help you get into (or out of) the holiday

Read More

Ron Santo

How can someone have heart problems, diabetes, several amputations, bladder cancer, and worse, be a lifelong Cubs fan, and still be the cheeriest person you’ve ever met? That was Ron Santo, and that was his gift. Ron passed away on Thursday. He was 70. The man who lived under the darkest cloud provided the most sunshine for everyone else.

Older readers remember Santo as a Hall of

Read More

Directing FRASIER

Aloha from Hawaii, where I never stand down from my “Friday Question” watch. Anything you want to know? Leave your question in the comments section. Mahalo.

Katherine gets us started.

Ken, I was wondering if you could give us a full account of what it was like directing an episode of Frasier. You'd written a lot of episodes for the show, but how was that different (or similar) to directing

Read More

What was in the envelope

For those who read my Patty Hearst kidnapping story and wondered just what was in the damn envelope, I can't say for sure but seem to recall it was a demand for free food distribution in the bay area.   Yes, they were terrorists and kidnappers and bank robbers, but maybe, just maybe, they heard me play "Begger's Banquet" and it melted their hearts. 

Read More

My role in the Patty Hearst kidnapping

Before I became a writer I traveled around the country like a nomad “spinning biscuits” as a Top 40 D.J. Here’s another incident from those heady and ridiculous times.

It was 1974. I was working at KYA, San Francisco. KFRC was the big station then. Throughout my disc jockey career I always worked at the “other” place. There would be a powerhouse number one station like KHJ, KFRC, and CKLW

Read More

You've got to read this Spiderman review

The Spiderman musical opened for previews this week on Broadway after many postponements, several injuries, and millions of dollars up in smoke.

Here's the New York Post's account of opening night.  

I was laughing out loud.  It wasn't schadenfreude because I don't know any of the people involved and harbor no one ill will.   I think the fact that this was real, not a NOISES OFF "created"

Read More

Leslie Nielsen jokes? Already?

A few odds and ends today…

Thank you all for the nice comments on my 5th anniversary post.  Look, I'm blushing. 

Wow. I guess the moratorium on Leslie Nielsen jokes is over. This is how the Connecticut Post announced his passing. Check out the box with Nielson’s picture and read the caption. A little too soon, don’tcha think?

In case you can't read the fine print:  Nielsen died in a

Read More