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.

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…

Drastic times call for drastic measures…

We didn’t think that now was the time to play it safe.  We are in the business of entertaining people and challenging the imagination of the community.  So during these difficult times we felt that we needed to be bold with our programming.  Last week I sat down and talked with John Aielli about Don Rickles, Diane Keaton, John Waters and many more… click here to listen.

And for more on the new season at the Paramount click here.