the mehallo blog. beta.

In the 1970s, old Abbot and Costello movies were on channel 44 on Saturday afternoons; followed by The Bowery Boys.

At one point, I actually had the entire ‘Who’s On First’ routine memorized (and this Carson version was a great update).

But I digress.

Bumpers for the afternoon movies were licensed portraits from Al Hirschfeld, with Dr. Don Rose doing the intros. The movies were a different world of in black and white, with complex set ups for the comedy.

In the 1990s, I knew former child star Joe Cobb (1916-2002). Joe was famous as the chubby kid (above, click to view larger) in the original silent Our Gang comedies. Somewhere along the way, I was watching a documentary and saw that because of his girth, Joe was actually the inspiration for a character called Porky Pig.

I never could figure out how to tactfully bring that up in a conversation. So I never did.

dinner with joe
One afternoon, I found myself part of a discussion with Joe about a local steakhouse.

We were looking for a place to eat. And he went into great detail about how incredible this one steakhouse was. The food, the drinks, the garnishes, how the steak was cooked, the decor, ambiance, et cetera.

This of course led to the question, ‘Joe, so we’re going there for dinner?’

And he replied, ‘Oh no. I don’t like steak.’

The entire conversation was a set up for his punchline!

And his timing was perfect.

perfect points
When I think of Joe, I think of Drew. And vice versa.

Before I knew Joe, I fell in love with the work of pointillism master Drew Friedman. Friedman used dots to look at the dark side of the industry. Was one of the first to tackle obscure comedians, filmmakers and the Ed Wood cadre of oddballs. What happens to the talent after their star fades, when they’re only remembered on celluloid.

Not all Hollywood dreams end well.

His Any Similarity to Persons Living or Dead Is Purely Coincidental is one of the best collections of his work – and he was a regular contributor to the old SPY magazine, among others.

He’s great at showing that the famous were really just human beings. Icons, but human icons.

These days, Friedman uses less dots – and more paint. His most recent book is Sideshow Freaks.

Interview here. Website here.

tags: art, illustration // 2 comments  . . .