Was that funny?

  

Here’s the thing about Don Rickles.   No one else can get away with that kind of humor anymore.  He’s the legend.  He’s the guy who made insult comedy an art form.   He’s the only old, white, Jewish guy I know who can get away with making jokes about Blacks, Puerto Ricans, “Polacks”, Jews, Asians… no one is safe.

And no one was safe when he played the Paramount.   I wanted to crawl under my seat when even the guy in the wheelchair made it into the line of fire – Yikes.   Was that funny?  Can he say that?  Evidently yes… even the people being picked on laughed.  And I guess that is what makes him a legend…

Off stage he was every bit the gentleman and even  a bit of a softy.  “Hey Ken.   Did they like me out there tonight?”

Pretty much anyone who waited on him, drove him, opened a door for him, or just looked at him nicely got a tip or a handwritten thank you note.   He brought a little bit of that old Vegas-Rat-Pack showmanship to the Paramount.   If you were at the show and got a little offended then maybe we should just agree that what happens at the Paramount, stays at the Paramount.

In all her glory

   

In the excitement of meeting her and experiencing that voice in our beautiful theatre, I guess I really didn’t realize just how much of her I was really meeting.   Clearly, if I didn’t notice at the time, I was either gay or dead…

She loved the theatre and let me know that it was her favorite type of venue in which to perform.  And before the show, she was kind enough to sit down with local music students to talk about her career and offer advice.  She was generous with her time and her talent and her show at the Paramount will not soon be forgotten…. especially the Ave Maria encore in Latin.

Funny thing about Wynonna - she is lovely in person.    I just don’t understand why she looks so orange in photographs and on television.   I swear to you she looked fantastic and had a normal skin tone in person.   But who cares really.  That voice is the pot of gold at the end of any colorful rainbow.

Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona…

Do you know where Wynonna got her name?  Did you know she used to live in Austin?  Are you excited about her show at the Paramount?  I was, but now I am even more excited after hearing her interview on KVET today.   You can listen to that interview here.

And don’t forget -  rain or shine (snow or not)  the show will go on.

What is Diane Like?

 

What can I say about Diane Keaton?   She signed everything we asked her to  including our wall ( pic above).  She graciously met with major donors after the show patiently posing for pictures and listening to their stories.  Fans followed her everywhere and she politely signed everything they put in front of her.  But I still don’t know what to say about her…

When I interviewed Shirley MacLaine and Lily Tomlin, eventually the glaring lights and the audience faded away.  The list of questions became less of an interview  and more of a conversation between friends.  With Diane, it went from question to answer back to question and answer…  Don’t get me wrong.  It was great.  She was fabulous and gorgeous and funny and… I am still wondering if I met Annie Hall or Diane Keaton or if there is even a difference…

La-dee-da. La-dee-da.

Who has the #55 quote on AFI 100 Movie Quotes list?  Answer:  Diane Keaton from the movie Annie Hall.   Of her four Academy Award nominations, that is the role that won her the statue beating out Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine and Marsha Mason.

I am getting ready for my interview with Diane this Friday and I want to make sure I can ask something better than “Where did you get that hat?”

Last night I watched The Godfather.  Today Annie Hall.  Tonight Marvin’s Room and maybe Reds.  If I have time, I’ll pop in GF II and III.  She has had quite the career…

Long-time Friends

Jaston Williams and Joe Sears were at the theatre most of today running through some of the new material they’ve worked into their current show, Tuna Does Vegas.  They head off to Washington DC next week for a run at the Warner Theatre.  They’ll be back in Austin for an encore performance over the Thanksgiving weekend.  I can’t wait to see what new material they introduce.  It’s hard to believe these Tuna characters have been hanging around the Paramount for nearly 30 years.

I visited with Jaston briefly to discuss a possible event honoring Cactus Pyror that is in the works.   Cactus is a long-time friend of theatre and our youth outreach program (Skinny’s Gallery) is named in honor of his father, Richard “Skinny” Pryor.  Skinny owned a movie  theatre in Austin and was known for his generosity with the children of Austin.

The event planning committee includes KLBJ’s Don Pryor and Mark Ceasar.

Hey. Am I interviewing Diane Keaton?

     

Seriously.  That is the question I asked my staff this morning.  Am I interviewing Diane Keaton?  And the answer was,  “I think so.”   Diane Keaton will be at the Paramount on November 6 and I wasn’t clear on exactly what all would be happening that night.  I know she is giving a talk and evidently then she is going to sit down and chat with me. Does anyone out there have a question they want me to ask?

How exactly I got this job is beyond me…

I remember as a kid watching Lily Tomlin on Laugh In and never in my life did I think I would interview her one day.  One of my favorite movies is Terms of Endearment and now I watch the movie and pinch myself that I got to spend the evening with Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger.  And here we go again.  Diane Keaton.  I’m going to be hanging with Annie Hall.  Kay Corleone.   Wow.

I am really looking forward to talking with Diane about her interest in restoring historic buildings.  It will be great to show her our beautiful Paramount and talk to her about the restoration projects currently underway. Speaking of which, if you would like to help ongoing restoration projects, you can “Take Action” by going to our website at www.austintheatre.org .

It will also be fun to talk to Diane about Katharine Hepburn , one of the women who inspired her.  Hepburn played the Paramount in 1941 – 5 years before Diane was born.  Oops.  Did I go too far?

This Old House meets The French Chef

 

OK.  There is a link between my knowing Julia Child and the work being done at the theatre right now.  Here goes…

A few weeks ago our Technical Director let me know that our sound board was once again in need of repair.  It wasn’t a horribly expensive project – maybe a couple of thousand – but we were concerned that it had been “repaired” so many times over the years that it was really on its last leg.  What would happen if it went out during a show?  And while we were on that subject, what about those aging speakers that were beginning to overshadow the otherwise superb acoustics in our theatre?  $50,000 later the scaffling is up and the new sound system is going in.   If you love music at the Paramount, you are in for a real treat.  Please accept my sincere apology for not realizing the issue sooner.

At 93 years old, the Paramount is beginning to show its age.  Peeling paint, failing plaster, broken light fixtures… and it is never a simple trip to the Home Depot to fix the problem.   Like an old house there is always something to do.   And speaking of this old house…

Russell Morash produced This Old House for PBS.  He also produced The French Chef starring Julia Child.   I met Julia back in 1996 when she came to Atlanta for a charity event I was coordinating for Project Open Hand.  I got to spend some quality time with Julia and I can say that Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia is near perfect.

I have a funny story about my time with Julia.  Every Chef in Atlanta begged us to bring her to their restaurant for lunch or dinner  while she was in town.   I am not joking when I say every Chef.  The sky was the limit.  When we picked Julia up from the airport I let her know that we could dine anywhere she wished.   She picked McDonald’s… the drive-thru.  No joke. 

At the event that day she was asked by a reporter where she had lunched.  The room gasped when she responded that she had a hamburger from McDonald’s.  When asked to explain, she laughed with that wonderful laugh of hers and said that it was not only a good little hamburger as far as hamburgers go but even more important to her was the consistency.  She traveled quite a bit and knew that no matter where she was she could count on that good little hamburger being just as good in this city as it was in that city.

I got to spend several hours with Julia and I have fond memories.  Too bad I didn’t think to call this blog Julie Ken & Julia.  And too bad I no longer look as young as I did in that picture…

They eat cedar trees…

 

I just love that picture of me with the camel.  It’s hilarious.  So were the silly animal rights protestors who paid the Roaring Fork valet to park their “Animal Cruelty” van out front… and then they went and had dinner.  Come on.  You call that protesting?  I used to work for Planned Parenthood.  You, my friends, have no idea how to protest.

Honestly, the camels seemed quite happy.  The Belly Dancers, on the other hand, seemed a little perturbed by the whole ordeal.  I guess they thought they would be the main attraction and weren’t expecting the camels.  By the way, they eat cedar trees – the camels I mean.  They eat the bark and branches of cedar trees.   We need more camels in Central Texas.  (Oh and totally kidding about the Belly Dancers.  They were great.  Really.)

Well the Summer Classic Film Series at the Paramount is coming to a close with the traditional screening of Lawrence of Arabia.  Thanks to all our Film Fans who made this series the most successful in the theatre’s history.  And thanks to staffers, Jett and Brooklyn, for all the clever ideas along the way including the “cell phones for soldiers” during the screening of ETand the “mani-pedi treatments” during the screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

And I am not exactly sure what it means, but we got a special “Best Ever” award from the Austin Chronicle.  Wow.

I look forward to seeing everyone during the new season of shows featuring Dianne Keaton, Don Rickles, Tim Conway, Wynton Marsalis, Wynonna, John Waters, Rufus Wainwright, Woody Allen…

That’s My Seat

Recently I received a letter complaining about the section of reserved seats that are set aside in the mezzanine during our Summer Film Series.

You may not know this, but the Summer Film Series at the Paramount was originally started as a way to prevent the theatre from laying off its entire staff during the lean summer months. It has never actually turned a profit for the theatre, losing as much as $100K (or more) each year. That, however, is the nature of being a non-profit – sometimes you continue to do things simply because it is good for the community.

In recent years the cost of offering these films has gotten considerably more expensive primarily due to the high shipping costs associated with sending and receiving the heavy film canisters.  Also, this summer alone, much needed sound system upgrades costs the theatre $50,000.

Members of the Film Fan Club are actually making donations to cover the costs associated with continuing to offer the series for the entire community.  In return, as a benefit, we reserve 102 seats out of 1,283 to thank them for their support.  Since instituting this program, we have actually seen an increase in attendance at our films. This year, in particular, we are experiencing a record box office.

I certainly hope  everyone will continue to take advantage of seeing great, classic films in the wonderfully historic Paramount Theatre. When you see the mezzanine seats reserved (full or not), I hope you will remember that the only reason we are still able to offer films at the Paramount is because of our generous Film Fan Club members.