HEADLINES: 2014
JANUARY 20, 2014: On January 12th, Sid Caesar, one of the most legendary comedians of all time passed away at 91. Having made his fame on TV in the early 1950's as the star of Your Show of Shows which, at it's peak drew in 60 million viewers, he'll always be memorable to us as Pink Lady fans from his three stints on Pink Lady & Jeff as the domineering and controlling "Papa-san", complete with a period costume (as in the Edo period), comically lording over his 'daughters' Mie and Kei and their boyfriends/fiancees in skits on the show. For years, I had stated that I didn't like Mr. Caesar's portrayal which I saw as a crass stereotype of Japanese people and their culture and that negatively affected my opinion of the entertainer.
But then, on January 16th, fellow PL fan Mitch Osawa sent me some interesting information on Mr. Caesar from a book about Sid and Marty Krofft that genuinely surprised me. In his 1984 biography, Mr. Caesar, having gone through a tough patch in the 1960's and 70's when he struggled with drugs and alcohol mentioned how he was actually grateful to the Kroffts for the opportunity to perform on PL&J, saying the show had been one of the steps to his personal and professional recovery. In Mr. Caesar's own words: "This show was another of Fred Silverman's big mistakes, but once again it gave me a chance to get back into action and exercise my long unused creativity. It was like going to a gym for my mind." I must say that took me aback, unaware that one of television's all-time disasters had helped the famous comic get back on his feet. What also surprised me is that Mr. Caesar's skits with Mie and Kei where he spoke in Oriental doubletalk were said to have been one of the show's uncontested highlights. Who knew? Well, with that, let me say with all sincerity, rest in peace, Papa-san.
NOVEMBER 14, 2014: Here's a fun bit of news to close out 2014----NEW MUSIC FROM KEI-CHAN! On my Facebook page, fellow Pink Lady fan Matthew Doyle gave me the 411 on Kei's new album, her first since "Now & Then in 2008, called "Aishoka". Here's the album pic below:
Hard to believe from looking at the picture that Kei is FIFTY-SEVEN! Proof positive that she and Mie-chan are either space aliens or Time Lords because they just don't seem to age! But I digress, as for the album itself, the ten tracks all starts with "Ai" which is 'love' in Japanese, and that includes PL standard "Ai Giri Giri". On top of that, a bonus twelfth track is a new version of her first single, "Suzume" (Sparrow). The CD is scheduled to be released in Japan on December 10th. I've already placed my order and hope to do a review in January. Many thanks to Matthew for letting me know about this new release! As always, if anyone reading these words of wit happens to come across any PL related news, drop me a line!
