A Pair Of Show Biz Losses

For me personally, today was a very memorable day. God flipped a switch and turned on light on in my head and something in my life has become very clear. I planned on sharing this epiphany with you in today's post. But for a couple of reasons I am going to hold off. Look for that post later this week. 

Having decided what not to write about I was stuck for a subject for today's post. I was clueless right up until about 8 o'clock this evening. Then, sadly, I saw a pair of stories on the internet that unfortunately gave me my post for today. 

News of the deaths of 2 men who were in show business. One of them is an entertainment industry icon and the other one of my favorite stand up comics. 

Actor Mickey Rooney died today at the age of 93. Rooney had been in show business since the age of 6. In 1937 he landed the starring role in the Andy Hardy film series. As a teenager, along with actress Judy Garland, he was part of the optimistic on-screen couple that became famous for their "Let's put on a show" Hollywood solution to their problems. 

But for me there are two things I'll always remember about Mickey Rooney. One is a story Jeff Dunham tells about Rooney when he was part of the cast of stage show, Sugar Babies. 

When Dunham started becoming popular with the audiences and was receiving what Rooney considered a little too much applause the veteran actor called him into his dressing room.  

He gave Dunham a dressing down by reportedly telling him, "The only reason you are even on stage is so I have time for a wardrobe change." That may not be the exact quote but it conveys the general point of a story from Dunham's autobiography from a couple of years ago. 

The other, and probably most sustaining, thing I'll remember Mickey Rooney for is being the voice of Kris Kringle in the Rankin Bass stop motion animated Christmas special, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." 

The timeless holiday classic has been watched by kids for the last 43 Christmas seasons and will continue for generations to come. While Fred Astaire is billed as the star, it is Rooney's performance as St. Nick that makes the hour long special an enduring tale. 
RIP Mickey Rooney

The other story I read tonight that really disturbs me announced the sudden death of one of my all-time favorite stand up comedians: John Pinette. The 50 year old comic/actor was found in dead in a Pittsburgh hotel room on Saturday afternoon from "natural causes."

He was known to have heart and liver issues and was in rehab for addiction to prescription pain pills back in August of last year.  

Like me, Pinette had a life long battle with food addiction and being overweight. Ironically, that battle, obsession with food and suppressed anger issues were the main things that made his self-deprecating stand up act hilarious. 

Although he's recognized by most media outlets as the "chubby" actor who played the carjacked driver in the last "Seinfeld" episode, I'm including this picture of Pinette because it shows him at his best, on stage doing stand up. 

  A few weeks ago I wrote a post series that included recollections of my experiences at the Zanies comedy club in Nashville. The first time I ever went there was to see John Pinette. 

I saw him 3 times. The last time was about 3 or 4 years ago. He was a bit off his game that night. We were very close to the stage and could tell by his outward physical condition, something was not right with him. He was also not as funny as he was the other times. 

I never got to meet John Pinette personally but I still enjoyed his comedy. He has given me hours of guffaws. Some of his routines, no matter how many times I hear them just makes me fall over laughing. When we watched his 2011 DVD, "Still Hungry", it made my wife laugh so hard tears came out of her eyes. 

I am not totally surprised about the news of the death of John Pinette because of his lifelong battle with his weight and health. I had no idea of the toll his demons had taken on him.

I will morn his loss for a long time. I am truly sorry that I will never ever again be able go see him at Zanies. Now that he is gone most others will probably soon forget him. But to that I say "nay nay." 

From now on, every time I listen to his albums on my Ipod I will shake my head at the irony of the applause his audiences give him when he utters his trademark catch phrase "Show Me The Buffet." 

Good-bye John Pinette, I am going to miss your  "cherub like demeanor." 

Spring Break Day In Nashville Part 2

Continuing with the report on my solo trip to Nashville on Thursday. I just left the Opry Mills mall with a Styro-foam container full of Panda Express food and a pair of bags from the Lego Store and the Disney Store Outlet.  

Now I'm on Briley parkway heading for the reason I made this trip in the first place. 

One of the things I like about Nashville is that even after 15 years of going there on a regular basis I still continue to find places and things of interest. It has all the benefits of a major city without some of the negative aspects that come with a New York or Chicago. 

Performance Studios is one of those discoveries. Located on West Thompson Lane this business is a costume store that's open all year long. 

The front of this 15,000 square foot store is a supermarket for anyone looking to buy just about any kind costume or accessory. 

In the back is a warehouse filled with racks and racks of costumes for rentals. According to their website there's over 25,000 costume and props available for rental. Here's a picture of just one section.

You can look around the whole store by clicking on this link.
Performance Studios Virtual Tour

I saw so much potential in this place. I've been wanting to find a place to get costumes for my ventriloquist act any time I needed them for a long time. But I was there for one specific reason. I needed an outfit for an very special occasion coming up in a couple of weeks. 

I knew from browsing their website that Performance Studios had the type of costume I was looking for but wasn't sure they had one in my size. Luckily they did.  

I've only shared what the costume is and what it looks like with two people, for now. But it's going to be an important element in looking the part I'll be playing. I promise you'll be seeing pictures and reading the whole story later this month. 

My last stop before heading home was to the Green Hills Mall, home of the Nashville location of the Cheesecake Factory. 

I promised Paula that I'd bring her a piece of cheesecake for dessert. I like this mall. It's has high end clothing and department stores, specialty shops, and jewelry  stores. None of those interest me very much. The only place I've ever had need to go into is the Apple store. Still I like the atmosphere of the place and the way it looks. 

I walked through the lower level of the mall to get to the restrooms and noticed a new store. It was call "Absolution." I went in to look around. 

It was a combination book store, candle shop, and novelty accessories shop. I didn't find anything I'd buy but the next time I take Paula to Green Hills I have to take her there. I'm sure there's something that will catch her eye. 

On my way back through the mall I took the escalator back up to the top floor. I stopped in at the Pandora store. This is a store that specializes in Pandora bracelets, beads, and charms. 

I normally don't go into jewelry stores unless there's some kind of special occasion coming up soon. 

With Mother's Day being next month I thought I'd look and see if I could find a nice present for my wife. I found a few things but didn't buy any them. I plan on being in Nashville at least two more times before the 2nd week in May. I can go back if I decide I want something from that store. But don't tell Paula. I want to surprise her. 

Finally, I found myself back at the Cheesecake factory to get what I had promised my wife. I waited about 15 minutes to order and another 10 to get it. 

So about 4 o'clock I took the Cheesecake Factory bag with containers with a slice of raspberry chocolate truffle cheesecake and one of 5-layer chocolate cake (mine) in hand I headed to my car. 

While walking past an outdoor cafe I saw a pair of young college age girls sitting at a wrought iron table doing something I'd never actually seen in public before. 

They had each had a spoon and on the table between them was an open 1/2 gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. You could tell it was right out of a grocery store freezer. They were hovered over it each taking their turn eating their way to the middle. 

My first instinct was to stop and ask who had the broken heart and who was the supportive friend. But I knew how strange that would have seemed to them.  

So as I passed I simply said, "Now that's the way to eat ice cream." They smiled, looked slightly embarrassed and kept eating. I kept walking. 

Back in my car I hit the "home" button on the GPS put one of my favorite podcasts on my Ipod and headed back toward Kentucky. It was a nice relaxing day of shopping in Nashville.  

It was only a few hours in a city I visit at least half a dozen times a year but it was the type of break I needed. Hope you didn't mind my sharing it with you.  

Spring Break Day In Nashville Part 1

The 4th day of my Spring break started off with a sharp metal hook scraping against my incisor. It was not yet 9AM and I was in the examination chair of my dentist, Dr. Tim Whitaker. Shannon, the hygienist was cleaning my teeth. 

It's a very casual experience because I've been going to the Westin Dental Group at least twice a year for the last 13 years. They keep my smile looking good. 

Dr. Whitaker was directly responsible for resurrecting my interest in Walt Disney World back in 2001. I'd tell you that story but its already been written in my 2001 yearbook. 

After my appointment was over, it was still relatively early. Since I was already 25 miles further south than if I had still been at home I decided to continue south for a solo trip to Nashville. 

There were a couple of things I wanted to do there but mostly one important thing for a special occasion that's coming up in a couple of weekends from now. 

My first stop was going to be the Sam Ash music store on Gallitan Pike in Madison, TN just north of Nashville.  

I discovered this store back in 2008 when we had dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant that's next to it after Michael & Heather's wedding. I've been back to it many times since. 

I got to the store around 10:30; a little earlier than I expected. I found out that it didn't open until 11. 

To kill some time I went to the nearby Toys R Us store. I spent half an hour walking round the store and looking at their Lego stock. 

It was kind of cool to spend time in that store because it was set up like the Bowling Green store used to be before it was remodeled a few years ago. Kind of like traveling back in time. 

This was the first time I'd been to Sam Ash since I've been actually playing the ukulele. I wanted to check out their stock and see if there was a uke I'd like to upgrade to. 

From what I saw I decided that my next one needs to be a bit bigger. I need more space on the fret board. I'd also like to be able to plug it into an amplifier as well. I'm going to look around at other places before deciding on my next instrument.    
I was very disappointed in the choice of ukulele song books at the store. Most of them were learn to play books. Nothing I really need or want at this point. 

After leaving the music store I headed on down I-65 exiting onto Briley Parkway. My destination was my favorite Nashville spot, Opry Mills Mall. 

As has become the norm for me, I parked outside the food court entrance. I usually try to go to see a movie while on my solo trips. The multiplex there is one of my favorites theaters and there's an IMAX. But today there wasn't anything I wanted to see. 

With my left knee bothering me to the point where I decided against my typical walking tour of the entire mall. I only stopped at my two favorite stores: The Lego Store and Disney Outlet Store. 

I got a couple of things at the Lego store but I'll wait to write about those in the next TWIL report. 

At the Disney store I always shop on the right side because that's where the discounted stuff usually is. 

I found some cool collectible figures, a gift of comfort for my wife (with Aria's favorite Disney character on it) and a special present for my granddaughter. Here's a picture of that gift and the rest of the stuff. Don't tell Aria what Papa has for her. It's an Easter present.  

After picking up lunch in a "to-go" box from Panda Express in the food court I left Opry Mills. 

My next stop was the real reason for my trip. I programmed the GPS and headed toward the South East section of Music City. The decision to explore the curiosity I had about this new place turned out to be better than expected. 

I'll tell you about that next time in Part 2 of this blog series. Come back to tomorrow. 

My Most Popular T-Shirt

With the weather getting warmer its time to put away the heavier long sleeved shirts and start going lighter with my wardrobe. That means diving into my huge stash of t-shirts again. 

Now I used to be very obsessive about the t-shirts in my closet. These days not so much. I have lost track of exactly how many I have but I'd say it's close to 100. I mean I have 30 Major League Baseball shirts alone. Then there's those with Disney characters, advertising slogans, and my tourist t-shirts. Those are shirts I've bought in places I've gone on vacation. 

Then there's my novelty t-shirts with characters like Kermit the Frog, the Pillsbury Dough boy, Perry the Platypus, a Twinkie, and the Tootsie Pop owl on them. 

Yesterday I wore a t-shirt I bought when I still worked at the call center in Glasgow. It is a "slogan" t-shirt.  The printing on the front is a parody of a logo for a TV show. I wore it to the call center as a silent protest aimed toward both some of my supervisors, co-workers and the people I had to talk to on the phone all day. 

Every time I wear it the printed shirt never fails to get at least one or two random reactions from people who see it. "Cool shirt" or "I like your shirt" are the usual reactions I get. Yesterday was no exception. 

 Here's the t-shirt that's most popular with the public. 

The short but popular statement on the front seems to be something that a lot of people agree with and wish they could express. 

Of course, everyone has to deal with "idiots" in their lives and its extremely subjective. But as long as people have to deal with other people; you do have to deal with the "stupid people"s of the world. Comic Bill Engvall built his career on pointing them out. 

My t-shirt simply states something that seemingly appeals to a lot of people because it addresses a common feeling about one of the pitfalls of life. Being force to deal with "not so bright" people. 

That what makes my C.S.I t-shirt the one that's a real conversation starter. It's both a declaration and a warning at the same time. It warns everyone that my reaction to their stupidity may not be met with complete understanding. 

I also have another t-shirt that gets almost as much response as a the CSI shirt. It reads: "Just because you can talk doesn't mean you should." Yet another shot at those with less than a functional portion of intelligence and or tact. I like that shirt because in a simple and polite way as possible it tells those warned by the CSI shirt to just "shut up."

My granddaughter may be the only one who reacts when I wear my favorite Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Perhaps no one will say anything when I put on my New York Yankees 2009 World Championship shirt. 

But whenever I wear my CSI t-shirt I can always count on at least one person coming up to me and saying, in their own way, "Yeah, I'm right there with ya, pal".

  

Ain't She Sweet?

Sometimes the sweetest thing about the Easter season doesn't come in a basket...

Aria Nicole Conner
1 Year 11 Months Old

....Need I say more?

In Case You Didn't Know

It's been 11 hours since I published my blog post for today and put up a status on Facebook about it. 

As of the writing of this 2nd post for today, I have gotten no reaction from that first post. Zero, nada, nothing. 

So either you are all extremely compassionate and didn't want to tell me what a bad idea it was or you realized that this was my April Fools day joke for this year. 

That's right, my post about being an "original" was a joke. The video included was intentionally created to be awful. 

While there were elements of truth in it the majority of my announcement of my career changing decision was intentionally flawed and absurd. 

I am a little disappointed that I didn't get any reaction at all. At the very least I would have expected at least one or two "you can't fool me today" responses. But I didn't. All I got was "crickets." 

In my experience writing and performing comedy I know that when a joke totally bombs you drop it like a hot potato. So before April Fools day 2014 comes to an end I had come clean with my "reveal." 

I hadn't published a post on April 1st in 3 years since my "Disney dream job" post back in 2011. I thought for sure I'd get somebody. Guess not. 

This was the only April Fools joke I attempted today even though I had a great idea for another one. So I guess I can learn from today's "failure" and start working toward next year. Maybe I'll get you then. 

Becoming My Own "Original"

I have mentioned in the past few weeks here on RHFactors that I am reevaluating and rethinking my perspective and approach to my career as a ventriloquist.  

In doing this I've been consulting examples of some of the world's most successful "vents" and their style. 

The two current performers that come to mind are Jeff Dunham and Terry Fator. Both are excellent ventriloquists with great characters, material, and techniques. They have been extremely successful at their crafts. But they are not, by far the most successful ventriloquist in modern history of the art. That title goes to Edgar Bergen. 

If you are not familiar with Edgar Bergen and his infamous sidekick and puppet, Charlie McCarthy, I encourage you to find out. In consideration for your time, I'll only give a brief synopsis of his place in show business history in this post. 

Bergen was a phenomenon in the entertainment world for 4 decades, starting in vaudeville and ending on TV. Bergen was an A-list star on all fronts of entertainment during his life: stage, radio, film and television. 

The key to his success was not his ability as a ventriloquist but his strong characters and consistently hilarious and cutting edge material. Ironically, he had almost no lip control. You could see his mouth move all the time. But that didn't matter. The public still loved him. 

As a ventriloquist, I have struggled over the last 8 years with the frustration of mastering the skill of lip control. No matter how much I practice the videos of the performances show my lips moving much more than they should. 

A couple of years ago when I performed at a Christian puppet festival in Nashville, all four of the people who evaluated my act "highly recommended" that I work on lip control. 

Needless to say, I have worked on it but still can't seem to get the skill down. It's been very frustrating for a long time. Then I recently had an epiphany. Why should I worry about it? Edgar Bergen didn't. He embraced it. 

So I have made a decision. Going forward I am going to work on character development and material as the centerpiece of my ventriloquism work. Lip and voice control are secondary for me from now on. Good material and a rapport with my characters are going to be the centerpiece of my performance. 

I've given up pursuing the specialty skills of "the distant voice" and "the baby cry" that are the novelty aspects of the most successful ventriloquist's acts. I don't need them. 

Also, I have been reading the biography of Jim Henson. As I take in the personal history and philosophy of this great puppeteer I realize the importance of showing your own creativity in your act. 

Henson created the first incarnation of his most famous character, Kermit the Frog, from an old coat. All his puppets were his creations. 

Therefore from now on I am going to make all my puppets myself so that they're originals and extensions of me. No more pre-made, professional looking puppets that have been made to seem alive through design created by others. If I can't make the character I won't use it. 

I need to become my own original. That will be what makes my new career as a ventriloquist my own. That way when I succeed I will have made it on my own and not on the backs of others. 

To introduce my new style to everyone, I'm going to start here on this blog. Here's my first ever example of my new original style of ventriloquism. 

Now I know it will take some time for my new approach to be accepted. Even my old style was not widely aclaimed. I couldn't have kept myself in breath mints with the minimal amount of money I've made from ventriloquism over the last 8 years. 

But I've got an idea that's going to get me exposure and  opportunities to book all kinds of gigs. I'm going to take my puppet suitcase and set up in Circus Square park this summer. 

I will do my act for those people who come to downtown Bowling Green for baseball games, TPAC performances, concerts, or just to enjoy the park or perhaps run around in the fountain. 

As people come by and stop to watch me and my puppets, I'll give them my card and ask them if they have a party or an event that would be better with a hilarious ventriloquist as the entertainment. 

I'll be my own publicity agent and booker. I may also rent a booth at the local flea market and put on shows for people to come by and enjoy. The reason they are at the flea market is because they have money they want to spend on something they don't need. Why not give it to me? 

So there you have my new resolve to step outside the box and create myself as an "original."  I really feel that this is the right step for me and look forward to making my passion my career. 

I really would like to get some immediate feedback from my blog readers. Please feel free to email me and let me know what you think of the video and my plans for my future in ventriloquism. My email address is RHavens1423@aol.com. I could use any and all suggestions; especially encouragement. 

This is going to be hard work and I could use all the support I can get.