Being Tim Conway

 photo: marcbrownmedia.com

Sometimes I get to meet an artist/entertainer backstage and am surprised at how very different they are from the “celebrity” on stage.   Sometimes I am disappointed and other times I am not.  Carol Burnett is very kind.  kd lang is so shy.  Cyndi Lauper is hilarious.  Lily Tomlin is so genuine.  Roberta Flack is kind of mean.

Tim Conway is Tim Conway.

Somehow he has managed to become famous just being himself.   He is the class clown… the proverbial jokester.  He just likes making people laugh and laughs at himself when he is successful in his attempts. 

Example:  He called us a few days before his show with a question about the microphone that was going to be used.  We told him that our technical director would call him back to discuss. 

“I’ll tell you what,” said Tim.  “Why don’t you give me her number and I will call her.  That way I can make sure I am available to talk to her.”   And so we did.  Later that day, Tim called our Technical Director, Mary Nelson.  

“Mary.  This is Tim Conway.  How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well Mr. Conway,” Mary replied.

“Well good.  I just called because I couldn’t go another moment without knowing how you were doing.  Goodbye.”  [click]

I have no idea if he was happy with his microphone.  I imagine he was.

Us vs. Them – you decide

 

Last year, Cyndi Lauper played the Paramount and left people literally stunned at her musical talent…. I know, not something you would think about the 80’s Pop Icon.  But it’s ture.  She is extremely talented and her live show at the Paramount is something that people are still talking about.  It was that good.  We tried to get her back this year but her current tour played Houston and Dallas instead.

I loved her concert so much that I made the trip to Dallas to see her again.  Big, BIG mistake.  Cyndi was great but the venue ruined everything.  I couldn’t hear a single word she sang.   At both shows she left the stage and climbed into the seats to sing.  The picture on the left above was taken from a cell phone at the Paramount in a seat that cost $67.  The picture on the right above was taken from my seat in Dallas that cost $72.   I am telling you, the Paramount is just the absolute best venue to see any kind of show.

Acoustically  the Paramount was built before sound systems, so if you are a music lover actually hearing the music at the Paramount is a treat.  Visually the Paramount is stunning and even the last seat in the balcony is closer than most seats in other venues.  The Paramount has spoiled me…. maybe you should let yourself be spoiled as well.  Check out our 2007-08 Season now on sale.

Oh and I checked on tickets to Kathy Griffin’s show at the Paramount in July.  Only obstructed view seats are left.  These can only be purchased at the Paramount Box Office located at 713 Congress Ave.  Even our obstructed view seats are not that bad.

Kathy Griffin

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since Kathy was last here (Jan. 06).  Her July 20 show is selling very well and having watched the first two episodes of the current season of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List I cannot wait.  After her show in Jan. ’06 she made the comment to me “What a great audience. I wish I would have filmed my Bravo special here.” So do we Kathy.

We’ve had lots of great shows filmed here including Bill Engvall: 15° Off Cool – his last Comedy Central special-  as well as Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show.

There are five shows that people still like to talk about: Kathy Griffin,  Cyndi Lauper,  Ira Glass w/ Julia Sweeney,  Jimmy Buffett  and Marvin Hamlisch. (Really people, that kid Marvin had me pull up on stage wasn’t staged. )

Kathy is coming back.  Get Tickets

Cyndi isn’t bringing her current tour to Austin…Houston and Dallas are as close as she gets. I’m catching her in Dallas.

I hear Julia Sweeney is making her play “Letting Go of God” into a film. Maybe we can screen it when it is released.

Based on the nice comment Jimmy Buffett wrote on the Green Room wall, I hope he’ll come back some day.

I’d love to have Marvin back but his show didn’t sell as well as we had hoped. It might have had something to do with his appearing at the Seton Gala only a few months earlier. Who knows. 

More on Kathy as we get closer.

End of the season…

The 2006-2007 Season came to an end on Friday, May 18 with an incredible performance by Mavis Staples for our 91st Anniversary Gala Celebration.  Below are a few treasured moments from the season.

We dedicated this past season to Gov. Ann Richards who had been a long-time patron and donor to the Paramount.  The picture above  is actually from two seasons ago when I took Ann backstage to meet Bob Newhart after his sold-out show.

 Top Ten Moments from the 2006-2007 Season

10.   Turns out Academy Award nominated actress, Anne Archer, is married to Kenny Jastrow’s brother, Terry Jastrow…or something like that.  Anyway it was great to have her at our Paramount Spotlight Award ceremony honoring patron and donor Kenny Jastrow which raised over $150,000 for the theatres.

9. Cyndi Lauper bringing down the house and standing on the chairs in Orchestra Center row C

8.   The Dixie Chicks winning 5 Grammy’s…OK not part of the season but man that was cool…and they did come to see Bill Maher at the Paramount (but his show didn’t make this list due to that really bad joke about Michael Jackson…man that was bad.. but then again I was still trying to get over what Quentin Tarantino was doing with his date two seats over.)

7. Steven Tomlinson announces that his play, American Fiesta, which was commissioned by the State Theatre Company, was on its way to New York.

6. Burt Bacharach reminding us that he has written pretty much every song ever sang… but maybe he should continue to let others sing them.

5. Judith Ivey making a one woman show look like the work of 12 women.

4. The kids from East Austin’s Keys for Life Program meeting legendary jazz artist, Ramsey Lewis, backstage at the Paramount.

3. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham…but especially Mark…oh yeah and Luke.. the Altar Boyz!

2. Dave Barry blowing up a whale. (tied with Roberta Flack not being on the season again this year – I wanted to blow her up last year!)

And the number one moment…

1. David Sedaris explains the real story about Zombies by talking about the Zombies in the movie Grindhouse which, just by chance, premiered at the Paramount.  By the way, I still think the funniest book ever written is David’s Barrel Fever.

Coming Soon – Kathy Griffin at the Paramount on July 20th.