The final pie in the face for Soupy

Today is a day of sadness for me that ranks in my mind with the date six years ago when Bob Hope passed away. Soupy Sales, the clown prince of television during the days of my youth, has joined the ranks of other great comic performers who have gone on to perform on the celestial stage. It's not that the 83-year-old Sales (born Milton Supman in 1926 in North Carolina) was all that funny. In fact, he was probably more juvenile than jovial in his comic patter. He was just plain silly and his creations of "White Fang"("the biggest meanest dog in the United States") and "Black Tooth" ("the biggest sweetest dog in the United States") were among my boyhood TV favorites. I remember the black and white world of early television and the grainy reception we had for the upstart ABC network over which "The Soupy Sales Show" was seen. Somehow that black and white medium seemed perfect for throwing shaving cream pies, Sales's trademark, and his non-stop joke telling ("Did you hear the one about...?"). Even a stellar celebrity like Frank Sinatra was perfectly at home having a pie lobbed at his kisser by Sales. Sales gained his nickname while growing up in North Carolina. His Jewish parents ran a dry-goods store and allegedly sold sheets to local Ku Klux Klan members. His other brothers' nicknames were Ham Bone and Chicken Bone. He was given the moniker "Soup Bone," which he shortened to Soupy. After a stint in the Navy during World War II where he performed for his fellow sailors over the public address system, Sales attended Marshall College, earning a journalism degree. He began his broadcast career in his home of Huntington, North Carolina using the broadcast name of Soupy Hines before journeying to Cincinnati, where he got involved with the television industry. Early in his career he changed his last name to Sales so it wouldn't get confused with Heinz (as in 57 varieties). Oddly enough, he then traveled to my former home of Cleveland, where he established himself as a local celebrity and received his very first pie in the face. Sales claimed he left Cleveland "for health reasons: people got sick of me." It wasn't long before he jumped to Detroit and became a major local TV star there. Eventually his shtick got him noticed by the network brass and he relocated to New York, where he became the darling of ABC and the delight of diminutive devotees such as I. His skits were decidedly puerile in nature, but I loved them, even if many of them went over my head. In truth I may have been exposed to modern jazz for the first time on Soupy's program, where the sweater and oversized bow-tie wearing host employed that brand of music for several of his segments. He was the precursor to the Benny Hill Show, only his show was for kids and the former was definitely for adults. There is no doubt that a part of me never outgrew Soupy Sales, and I think it safe to say that were it not for him, there would never have been a Pee Wee Herman, who was my son's favorite in his formative years. I had not seen or heard of Soupy Sales for at least a decade, but his death at a New York hospice yesterday saddens me and diminishes us all.

École du freak

New Orleans has long been a mysterious and exotic place. The locale has been the backdrop for myriad tales revolving about voodoo and ghosts. Witches, seers and voodoo priestesses like Marie Laveau wielded unlikely power over segments of the population due to their so-called powers. Several highly successful franchises from cult writers like Ann Rice and others have focused on vampires and other fictional creatures that go bump in the night. So, it is not surprising that the production company for "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" set up shop here last spring and started filming at a number of locations all over town for four months. Based on the first three of the twelve-volume "Saga of Darren Shan" by Darren Shan, the film stars John C. Reilly, Willem Dafoe, Jane Krakowski and Salma Hayek among others. While the Shan books don't specifically mention a particular city setting, New Orleans serves nicely as the fictional setting for this first film. Notice I said first film. I fully expect this one will be turned into at least two other sequels. It's just such a natural. The interesting point is that the young stars of "The Vampire's Assistant" are seen early in the film attending high school. The weird aspect here for me has nothing to do with the script. It's just the simple fact that the school depicted is, in fact, my own alma mater, the former Alcee Fortier High School, reorganized and renamed following Hurricane Katrina as Robert Mills Lusher Charter High School. Literally located a scant 15 blocks from my present domicile, Fortier High School was also my dad's school. His brother also attended. My Great Uncle Joseph Smith was the art instructor there for nearly 37 years from the day the school's doors opened. It does give one pause and I may check out the film just to see how many other scenes feature familiar settings.

Upstaged by a runaway balloon

Imagine the city of New Orleans rolling out the red carpet for the first presidential visit of Barack Obama'a administration. Governor Bobby Jindal, Senator Mary Landrieu, Mayor Ray Nagin and a host of dignitaries are on hand to welcome the president to New Orleans for the first time since taking the nation's highest office. Cameras are rolling and reporters and correspondents are hurrying from pillar to post to cover this short stay the entire duration of which will be less than four hours in length. The New Orleans population is collectively holding its breath, hoping the coverage will draw interest from outsiders who need to know about the slow progress being made towards recovery in the city. Four years after Hurricane Katrina's landfall this is a public relations opportunity that demands worthy network coverage and insight from commentators and pundits alike. Suddenly, a news flash is broadcast. A runaway helium-filled weather balloon is aloft with a six-year-old aboard. CNN cancels its scheduled broadcast with U.S. Representative Anh Cao to cover the plight of this potential disaster. The ravenous news industry pulls out all of the stops and New Orleans and its plight takes an immediate back seat as this "high priority" news event overshadows any previously planned coverage. After two hours of non-stop network coverage, a sudden downdraft forces the balloon to the surface and inside...gasp!...there is no six-year-old. Meanwhile, the president addresses a town hall meeting and only one person - a college student - asks a question which causes President Obama to have to address the question of what the federal government is actually going to do to help the city make its recovery. Pretty soon, after several 10-second video clips have been shot by the national media to represent the city's plight and his response, the president is winging his way aboard Air Force One back to the White House. Embarrassed city and state officials have their heads spinning trying to figure out what went wrong. By the time the story of the missing six-year-old gets sorted out, it is revealed he has been hiding in a closet in a room in his house while the nation's eyes were fixed on the runaway balloon. Questions are posited about the father who constructed the balloon and whether he was using the story for his own ends or not. New Orleans loses out. So, sorry, CNN says, but they just had to cover the breaking news story. Better luck next time. In the meantime I would like to make a suggestion. The next time President Obama is set to return to New Orleans, let's put all of our city and state leaders into a lighter-than-air ship and have it break free of its mooring. I can just see the headline now:

An Inconvenient Blog

Today is Blog Action Day, a worldwide effort by 5,000 fellow bloggers to spotlight one issue to which we can all add our own spin. The topic for today is climate change. I will be one of the first to admit the topic didn't seem to be of any particular interest to me five years ago. Oh, yes, there was that troublesome hole in the ozone over Antarctica and deforestation in several tropical rain forests seemed to be causing some problems in South America. But it wasn't until the summer of 2005 that the full impact of climate change - specifically that dealing with global warming and the causal effect of creating killer hurricanes - literally came home to roost. The devastation left behind the one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita made me pay close attention. As a result of the impact of the former and the resultant flooding caused by poor civil engineering, climate change became a topic of keen interest to me and my fellow New Orleanians. I freely admit that I have never seen "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's film that explains all of the causes and effects of climate change upon the ecology. Moreover, I have never taken a college level course on the subject. I am just a common-sense, laid-back fellow who reckons that we cannot continue to plunder our planet of riches, befoul and litter the landscape and affect the biosphere in myriad ways without repercussions like depleted ozone levels, acid rain and killer cyclones. It is true that the United States has been one of the leading culprits in defiling and desecrating the earth and its fragile ecosystem, but there are also many among us who recognize the folly in that and are now provocative advocates for change. Being green makes sense, but changing the habits of the American public will take time. Paying huge amounts at the gas pump made many of us rethink using cars and wasting fuel. Now that the price of a barrel of oil has plummeted from its peak a year and a half ago, the pressure seems to have lessened. The fact is the world is in the same shape as it was before; we're just paying a bit less due to man-made factors. We have been responsible for poisoning the atmosphere with thick billows of smoke from coal-burning energy plants and have greedily gorged ourselves on gallons of gasoline. Despite our track record, we are insisting that Third World nations and countries with burgeoning populations like those found in China and India should operate at a level far less than we had done just a few years ago. We need to set the example in order for those people to not think our actions as hypocritical. If we do nothing else than start to think about what we have done, we will have made a good start. Beyond that, though, we should clearly delineate goals and plan for a future that includes considerations that will slow, deter and countermand man's global effect upon climate change. Like it or not, we have the ultimate responsibility to take care of our fragile home and leave it in the same shape, if not better, than we had it handed to us. To do nothing less would be unconscionable. To do nothing would be criminal.

Rehabbing before performing

This picture was one of several taken yesterday at a single ranch style home in Meraux, Louisiana. Located a scant quarter-mile from the sprawling Murphy Oil Company complex, the house was being rehabbed by a number of out-of-town volunteers under the direction of the St. Bernard Project. Among the dedicated volunteers was none other than Neshama Carlebach, the peerless Jewish songstress seen at left, whose passion of bringing New Orleans back towards the road to recovery was never more evident or brilliantly expressed than that which she demonstrated by floating wallboard and applying joint compound (mud) to a room she built all by herself. Carlebach, the daughter of the famous "singing" Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, is in town to headline a special benefit concert tomorrow night (October 15) at Touro Synagogue at 8:00 p.m. Along with 16 members of the Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir led by the Reverend Roger Hambrick, Carlebach will also be joined on stage by legendary New Orleans jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis and other unannounced players in a performance of original songs written by the late Rabbi Carlebach. Carlebach's producer and drummer Marc Amborsino was at her side yesterday, along with his wife Rozan, applying mud to sheetrock and doing what he could to help finish the project. Ambrosino and Carlebach were both in the Crescent City in 2006 for the New Orleans Jewish Music Festival held at Howling Wolf. It is very gratifying to see performers actually roll their sleeves up and get dirty in helping the city's recovery, but the opportunity to raise much-needed funds to battle hunger is even more important. The "Go You Forth" concert will raise money for the St. Bernard Project and the New Orleans Food Bank through Mazon, the Jewish organization that provides food and grants to aid the hungry. Mazon literally means "food" in Hebrew and the concert is Carlebach's dream towards making a significant impact on the recovery here in order to help former residents return to their city. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door. Group sales are $10 each, but must be purchased through the Mazon site. For more information call Touro Synagogue at 504-895-4843. The Go You Forth concert will be a wonderful opportunity for all of the New Orleans area to take part in an interfaith program that embraces the Jewish legacy of Rabbi Carlebach and the collective talents of Neshama Carlebach, the Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir, the legendary Ellis Marsalis and others. It will be a convergence of different worlds – Jewish songs, gospel and jazz – all designed to bring divergent folk together in worship and praise towards God. In a way it's a success already even before the first notes have been heard because of the generous spirit of giving by Carlebach and her band members in making this concert happen. If you are able to attend, fly to the "Go You Forth" concert and be a part of this experience. If you are unable to attend or live out of town, consider making a donation to Mazon or the St. Bernard Project. It will help and will definitely be appreciated.

Neshama Carlebach arrives in New Orleans for benefit concert

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and daughter Neshama (© Joan Roth)

Neshama Carlebach, one of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's two daughters and the most well-known performer who has followed in his illustrious footsteps, has already arrived in New Orleans. Carlebach is working in St. Bernard Parish rehabbing a home today as a precursor to her upcoming "Go You Forth" concert to benefit Mazon, the Jewish group that fights hunger. Thursday evening Carlebach, who has felt an affinity with New Orleans even before Hurricane Katrina, has been mortified with what happened to the city in the wake of the flooding that followed the storm. Her most recent CD release, "Higher and Higher" on Sojourn Records came out today. On it she is joined by the 40-member Green Pastures Baptish Church Choir (led by the Reverend Roger Hambrick) in ten songs penned mostly by her famous rabbi father, known to many the world over as "the singing rabbi." Produced by Mark Ambrosino, this CD is part of Carlebach's vision to help the city of New Orleans recover. The project is called "Soul Journey" and it is her hope that this will be one of many such concerts to help the city and the musical community here recover and prosper once again. Carlebach makes it no secret that she loves the music that has come out of New Orleans, especially that from jazz giants like Ellis Marsalis, who will also perform this Thursday evening at 8:00 p.m. at Touro Synagogue. Sixteen members of the Green Patures Baptist Church Choir (including Rev. Hambrick) will join Carlebach on stage as well. Tickets are only $18 in advance and $20 at the door. Group tickets are $10 each, but must be purcharsed through the Mazon site. For more information call Touro Synagogue at 504-895-4843.

The Lost Weekend?

For most Americans the weekend may have seem like a setup for the federal holiday of Columbus Day, but to the Jewish community, it was more than that. This past Friday evening was not a typical beginning of Sabbath. It was the ending of the Succot holiday and for the Reform community it was the combination of the Shemini Atzerets and Simchat Torah holidays on that one day that began at sundown and continued until Saturday evening. Like the Reform community, the more observant Jewish community observed the Shemini Atzerets holiday on Friday evening, but the holiday of Simchat Torah was not begun until Saturday night. The differences in the ways the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox communities observe these holidays can be startling. Most Reform Shemini Atzerets/Simchat Torah services are very quick and maintain a goodly degree of decorum. By contrast the Conservative and Orthodox services tend to be much longer and, especially with regards to Simchat Torah, tend to become more raucous and rowdy as the gift of the Torah is commemorated with lots of singing and dancing. The children really enjoy this holiday. They parade around the sanctuary with toy Torahs and flags denoting their love of learning. For adults there are opportunities for liquid libation to make the celebrations even more meaningful and, sometimes, hangovers plentiful. The truth of the matter is that in hindsight I celebrated the gift of the Torah a bit more than I should have, but what good is staying sober when a federal holiday looms so close behind? The interesting thing is that after a wild night of carrying the Torah scrolls around the sanctuary amid singing and dancing, it all started anew on the morning. It was like something out of the old Ray Milland film, only instead of the delirium tremens and pink elephants, there were lots of Torah scrolls. Thank goodness for Columbus Day on Monday.