Mon - January 30, 2006
IN MEMORY: MICHAEL "HOLLYWOOD" DEVINE
On January 25th, 2006, our friend Michael
Devine passed away. He was 50 years old. Michael was a regular on the Hollywood
cable circuit and one of the stars of Public Access Hollywood.
Devine came to Los Angeles from Lockport NY thirty years ago to persue a film and television career. Cable access TV gave Michael and his motley crew, an outlet for their talents on The Hollywood & Devine Show.
On Saturday afternoon, Michael's friends, including Sheila Sheila of the Jungle and Jim Berry, gathered at Comcast public access studios in Hollywood, to pay tribute to Michael on the air.
If there is public access in heaven, we are sure Michael already has a show in development. His energy and spirit will be missed.
Devine came to Los Angeles from Lockport NY thirty years ago to persue a film and television career. Cable access TV gave Michael and his motley crew, an outlet for their talents on The Hollywood & Devine Show.
On Saturday afternoon, Michael's friends, including Sheila Sheila of the Jungle and Jim Berry, gathered at Comcast public access studios in Hollywood, to pay tribute to Michael on the air.
If there is public access in heaven, we are sure Michael already has a show in development. His energy and spirit will be missed.
Posted at 11:26 PM
Sun - August 21, 2005
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD TO SCREEN AT THE VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL
Scouts Honor Productions is proud to announce that
PUBLIC ACCESS
HOLLYWOOD will screen at the 2005 Valley Film
Festival on Saturday September 10 at 9pm.
The El Portal Theater > 5269 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA
Come meet the stars of PAH at the screening and after-party.
Tickets are available at the box office. $10 adults / $8 students.
For more info go to valleyfilmfest.com or email will@publicaccesshollywood.com
The El Portal Theater > 5269 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA
Come meet the stars of PAH at the screening and after-party.
Tickets are available at the box office. $10 adults / $8 students.
For more info go to valleyfilmfest.com or email will@publicaccesshollywood.com
Posted at 10:25 PM
Tue - July 12, 2005
DANCING WITH THE STARS (OF PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD)
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD star and LET’S PAINT
host John Kilduff (aka Jim Berry) can be seen competing on BALLROOM BOOTCAMP,
airing this fall on the The Learning Channel).
BALLROOM BOOTCAMP takes average people off the street and, with the help of some experienced dance instructors, turns them into competitive ballroom dancers. These new dancers will compete against each other as their 'Boot Camp' course progresses.
John stumbled upon an ad in Craigslist a few months back, looking for amateur dancers with two left feet. He says he usually auditions for most of the reality shows that are casting.
A one-hour special for BALLROOM BOOTCAMP will air on TLC in August and the series will begin airing in October.
Check out this article the LA Weekly wrote about Kilduff. He was also featured on HGTV's CAROL DUVALL SHOW . Also check out his website .
How come Francine Dancer wasn’t asked to be involved in BALLROOM BOOTCAMP?
BALLROOM BOOTCAMP takes average people off the street and, with the help of some experienced dance instructors, turns them into competitive ballroom dancers. These new dancers will compete against each other as their 'Boot Camp' course progresses.
John stumbled upon an ad in Craigslist a few months back, looking for amateur dancers with two left feet. He says he usually auditions for most of the reality shows that are casting.
A one-hour special for BALLROOM BOOTCAMP will air on TLC in August and the series will begin airing in October.
Check out this article the LA Weekly wrote about Kilduff. He was also featured on HGTV's CAROL DUVALL SHOW . Also check out his website .
How come Francine Dancer wasn’t asked to be involved in BALLROOM BOOTCAMP?
Posted at 02:47 AM
Tue - June 21, 2005
ADELPHIA FOUNDER AND SON SENTENCED TO PRISON
By ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press Writer - YAHOO
NEWS
NEW YORK - With frail Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas looking on, his lawyer portrayed him as a selfless giver who cared deeply for tiny Coudersport, Pa., where he built the cable company.
Moments later, the Manhattan federal judge sentenced the 80-year-old Rigas to 15 years in prison for his role in the looting and debt-hiding scandal that plunged Adelphia into bankruptcy three years ago.
Rigas' son Timothy, 49, who like his father was convicted last year of bank fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Sand could have sentenced both men to life.
The sentences are among the harshest handed down in any U.S. court since the fall of Enron in 2001 touched off a rash of corporate scandals that rocked the markets and have cost investors billions of dollars.
Adelphia prosecutors had accused the Rigases of using complicated cash-management systems to spread money around to various family-owned entities and as a cover for stealing about $100 million for themselves.
Both men were ordered to report to prison Sept. 19, but lawyers told the judge they planned to file motions for their clients to stay out of prison pending appeal.
**************************************************************************
"Beware of Those Who are Holier than Thou, For Often They Are Fleecers of their Own Flocks (and Stocks)..." - Susan M. Block, Ph.D.
http://www.drsusanblock.com/editorial/My_Adelphia_Story.htm
NEW YORK - With frail Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas looking on, his lawyer portrayed him as a selfless giver who cared deeply for tiny Coudersport, Pa., where he built the cable company.
Moments later, the Manhattan federal judge sentenced the 80-year-old Rigas to 15 years in prison for his role in the looting and debt-hiding scandal that plunged Adelphia into bankruptcy three years ago.
Rigas' son Timothy, 49, who like his father was convicted last year of bank fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Sand could have sentenced both men to life.
The sentences are among the harshest handed down in any U.S. court since the fall of Enron in 2001 touched off a rash of corporate scandals that rocked the markets and have cost investors billions of dollars.
Adelphia prosecutors had accused the Rigases of using complicated cash-management systems to spread money around to various family-owned entities and as a cover for stealing about $100 million for themselves.
Both men were ordered to report to prison Sept. 19, but lawyers told the judge they planned to file motions for their clients to stay out of prison pending appeal.
**************************************************************************
"Beware of Those Who are Holier than Thou, For Often They Are Fleecers of their Own Flocks (and Stocks)..." - Susan M. Block, Ph.D.
http://www.drsusanblock.com/editorial/My_Adelphia_Story.htm
Posted at 02:03 AM
Mon - May 9, 2005
AMERICAN IDOL SCANDAL: CONSTANTINE MAROULIS, THE DEVIL, & THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY- From Realitytvmagazine.com
One of the more unusual American Idol conspiracy theories actually appeared in this week’s edition of Us Weekly. Us Weekly reported that some fans speculated that religious voters might have conspired against Constantine Maroulis because of his association with Giddle Partridge. Us Weekly points out that Giddle Partridge has a link to the Church of Satan on her website .
Reality TV Magazine visited the official Giddle Partridge website and found the link in question as well as a message that said, “Attention, America Idol Fans: Praise Jesus and vote for Constantine, and no, I’m not a Satanist.” The website’s homepage has since been updated to show a copy of the Us Weekly article along with a picture of Giddle hugging Bo Bice and a statement that says “Attention, American Idol Fans: The Us Weekly is Wrong.”
Reality TV Magazine did some additional online research and found out that Giddle Partridge is actually a high priestess of The Partridge Family Temple . The Partridge Family Temple has nothing to do with Satanism but according to the Public Access Hollywood website is “a religion based on the idea that the Partridge Family characters represent individual Gods.” During one of Constantine Maroulis’ performances on American Idol 4, he sang the Partridge Family hit “I Think I Love You.”
Reality TV Magazine also found a report in LA Weekly that points out Giddle Partridge was there with Constantine’s brother Athan Maroulis. The LA Weekly article also says that Athan Maroulis use to be a member of the band Spahn Ranch and is now head of independent label Sepiatone Records. Spahn Ranch is the name of the place where Charles Manson and his followers use to hang out, which is another factor that ties into the religious voters against Constantine conspiracy.
Interestingly enough, in a recent AOL Television interview , Constantine Maroulis revealed the story behind the name of his band Pray For The Soul of Betty. Betty was a friend of the bands who passed away. At the funeral, the Priest said “let us pray for the soul of Betty.” As a homage to their friend, the band decided to adopt that statement as their name. So if there are any conspiracy theories buried in the names of bands, the name of Constantine’s band actually pays tribute to prayer and religion.
www.realitytvmagazine.com
Posted at 02:16 AM
Sat - April 23, 2005
FRANCINE DANCER PERFORMS WITH PUNK BUNNY
Francine Dancer and her electro-trash band Punk
Bunny will be performing on April 30 @ Club Ultraluxx (901 E. First Los Angeles)
at 11pm. For more information check out www.punkbunnymusic.com
Who had any idea that Francine Dancer likes Christian Rap, Hardcore and Trance Music. If you want to friendster with Francine, go to the her my space profile below.
http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=4808745&Mytoken=20041124111849%3C/font%3E%3C/tt%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Ctt%3E%3Cfont%20face=
There is also a band out of Agoura Hills, CA called Francine Dancer. check out francinedancer.com
Who had any idea that Francine Dancer likes Christian Rap, Hardcore and Trance Music. If you want to friendster with Francine, go to the her my space profile below.
http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=4808745&Mytoken=20041124111849%3C/font%3E%3C/tt%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Ctt%3E%3Cfont%20face=
There is also a band out of Agoura Hills, CA called Francine Dancer. check out francinedancer.com
Posted at 01:36 AM
Fri - April 22, 2005
CHIP THE BLACK BOY IS ONLINE
Everyone's favorite Black Boy, Chip, finally
has his own web page. www.chiptheblackboy.com
Posted at 03:53 AM
Wed - April 20, 2005
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD reviewed by Buck Austin in ALARM MAGAZINE Issue #19
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD - The film Public Access
Hollywood (Scout's Honor Prods, 2004) reaches it's zenith at a very clearly
defineable point. Zuma Dogg, a red bearded hip hop wankster (think Ali G crossed
with Emo Phillips) and host of "THE ZUMA DOGG SHOW" delights in his ability to
piss off a seal basking on a sunny beach. "I can irritate the shit out of any
living creature, y'all," he yelps.
It is the first real belly laugh of the documentary on the fantastically daft characters who populate Los Angles cable access channels. It is also the exact point at which we understand why we are so compelled to watch something like this, or a plump, middle aged, handicapped woman dancing in a bikini - not because of their bizarre bahavior, but because we admire the liberation they feel at expressing what defines their personalities and sharing it with thousands of viewers. As one of the cable access stars says of his show, "This thing is totally from the sub-concious, straight to the videotape."
Seemingly all of the public access stars in the film are merely using the cable gig to get "discovered", but what they are doing is so much more genuine and honest you hope they keep going. The films greatest shortcoming is that some of the characters like Zuma Dogg and sexologist Dr. Susan Block, feel underexplored. But that is because the other characters studies are so revealing and awesomely surreal. Haven't you always wondered about the sex life of an out-of-work actor turned televangalist puppeteer?
- Buck Austin
It is the first real belly laugh of the documentary on the fantastically daft characters who populate Los Angles cable access channels. It is also the exact point at which we understand why we are so compelled to watch something like this, or a plump, middle aged, handicapped woman dancing in a bikini - not because of their bizarre bahavior, but because we admire the liberation they feel at expressing what defines their personalities and sharing it with thousands of viewers. As one of the cable access stars says of his show, "This thing is totally from the sub-concious, straight to the videotape."
Seemingly all of the public access stars in the film are merely using the cable gig to get "discovered", but what they are doing is so much more genuine and honest you hope they keep going. The films greatest shortcoming is that some of the characters like Zuma Dogg and sexologist Dr. Susan Block, feel underexplored. But that is because the other characters studies are so revealing and awesomely surreal. Haven't you always wondered about the sex life of an out-of-work actor turned televangalist puppeteer?
- Buck Austin
Posted at 04:08 AM
Sat - April 9, 2005
PAH REVIEWED ON INSIDE PULSE.com
Mondo Culto XIX: The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Column
Posted By Brad Torreano on 04.05.2005
Getting down and dirty with the new documentary Public Access Hollywood!
Luckily I saw a great film recently
that is truly worthy of a full length column, so sit back and chill because this
week Mondo Culto takes a look at the freaky world of
Public Access
Hollywood!
It all started in the mid-70s, when Chicago-born puppeteer David Hart left the chilly Midwest and headed West to take a shot at becoming an actor. Due to bit parts on Chico and the Man and the Richard Pryor vehicle Brewster's Millions, Hart thought he was destined to become the next big star in Los Angeles. Sadly, like many before him, Hart struggled to find any follow up roles and soon he was forced to take a more extreme approach to making his name.
Hart -- who also goes by David Nkrumah Liebe Hart, David King Liebe Hart, and David Unger Hart -- decided to fall back on his puppeteering and started his own Christian Science children's show on a local public access station. Raised as a Christian Scientist from an early age, it was Hart's personal experiences with racism from his fellow worshippers that drove him to succeed as a religious entertainer.
Using Jim Henson as direct inspiration (he often claims that Henson was his Sunday School teacher), Hart built his show around distinct characters and sang his own hymns that fit the message of each show. Starting in 1988 with the assistance of his ex-wife, Hart set his program up like a variety show, offering a talk show format in which various local guests could come in and perform. If David Hart's story was only so simple, he would probably be a respected regional children's entertainer, if not a minor national religious figure. But instead he conceived the most baffling kid's program ever produced, The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show, a weekly dose of outrageous brilliance fueled by Hart's sincere (and almost tragic) will to succeed.
Hart calls upon a menagerie of bizarre puppets to deliver his message, including Chip the Black Boy, Teddie Eddie and Doug the Dog. These aren't so much different characters as they are various sides of Hart's complex personality, offering a cherished peek into the mind of Hollywood's strangest outcast. Hart's religious philosophies have been hopelessly twisted by UFO encounters, a painful divorce, and loneliness, which adds a dimension to his show that no other public access program could ever hope to achieve. Add a heaping helping of monotonous (and lengthy) self-penned hymns and a parade of whacked out local celebrity guests and you've got the most bizarre show
Tape traders flipped out over Hart when he was first discovered, and soon his programs were a hot commodity among the seekers of the bizarre. The late, lamented Melbaworld website offered a fantastic tape with episodes of The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show paired with other religious TV oddities like Captain Hook and Bibleman, while the twisted minds behind the Lost and Found DVD series included Hart on the second edition of their series.
DEATH TO SATELLITE DISHES!
While many a young collector took great joy in showing their Hart tapes to unsuspecting friends, one man took this fascination further: director Will Peragine. Peragine is the director of Public Access Hollywood, a hypnotic look into the strange world of Los Angeles's many public access celebrities. While many Hart fans still take a condescending view of his show, Peragine saw him and his fellow minor TV stars as an unfairly ignored cornerstone of L.A. entertainment, and saw fit to tell their story in a genuinely touching way.
Fittingly, Peragine's camera never feels intrusive when following these Hollyweird types. Almost all are born performers, and their personalities bubble over into their every day life as well. No example is more telling than Dan Kapelovitz and Giddle Partridge, a real life couple whose obsession with both psychedelia and TV has manifested itself into a California-based cult in which members of the Partridge Family are used as deities. Their show, The Threee Geniuses, is an improvised mish mash of music and colorful imagery that takes the limited technology of their public access studio and twists it into a throbbing explosion of visual stimulation.
A lesser filmmaker could have easily made Kapelovitz and Giddle seem like a pathetic joke, but Peragine paints the pair as the Sonic Youth of television, passionate defenders of low tech entertainment that are knowingly on the fringe and loving it. Kapelovitz and Giddle are so entranced by the public access scene that they even make frequent appearances on Hart's show, often as modest Bible verse readers (although Kapelovitz has been known to break out his guitar at hilariously inappropriate moments). In turn, Hart appreciates the help and makes his own appearance on The Threee Geniuses, although he mostly just chastises Giddle and Kapelovitz for their sinful ways.
While Hart may be the most interesting character in Peragine's documentary, the charming Francine Dancer is the film's emotional core. Francine, a former bikini dancer who now finds herself homeless and in a wheelchair, has the number one public access show in Los Angeles. While an unspecified back problem keeps her from walking, every Friday night she dresses up in skimpy outfits and climbs out of her wheelchair for a half hour of live televised go-go dancing. Francine is over the average age and weight of most sultry bikini dancers, and she's well aware of it, but she knows that she fulfills a strange niche and cheerfully obliges without a word of complaint.
As Peragine follows her from the doorway in which she sleeps to the television studio, he finds plenty of Francine fans along the way, most of whom can't believe she's in a wheelchair. In his many conversations with her, Peragine reveals a kind and lovely woman who doesn't pretend to understand her success, even if it doesn't translate into a career. Her fellow public access stars adore her and often let her sleep at their apartments, which transitions nicely into a birthday party scene where everyone from the studio treats Francine to a nice dinner. It becomes obvious that they really are friends outside of the studio, and seeing the way they interact is genuinely touching.
Of course, Public Access Hollywood isn't just about these three shows. Call in shows like Michael Devine's Hollywood and Devine and The Jim Berry Show, which are shot in the same studio, are given plenty of time as well. While Berry and Devine are certainly odd, they don't quite have the zest of the documentary's other subjects, leaving them as somewhat secondary characters. Neither are unlikable, which can't be said for the obnoxious Zuma Dogg Show, a headache inducing Ali G rip off in which a beach bum talking in a fake voice runs around with a camcorder and bothers people.
The only show that feels short changed is the intriguing Dr. Susan Block Show, which is barely featured despite being in the middle of a publicized controversy in which a conservative cable company owner tried to stop the show from being aired. Certainly more time could have been spent on the situation, but Peragine chooses to briefly cover the incident before moving on to other things.
With this minor complaint aside, Public Access Hollywood is still a fun and interesting look into downtown Hollyweird. From David Hart's twisted religious puppet show to the Threee Geniuses' psychotic TV freak out, there's a lot to discover here for cult film enthusiasts. While there isn't necessarily an easy way to get the film right now if you don't live in L.A., Peragine set up a website that offers several ways to get your hands on the film. Hopefully he'll score a national release sometime soon, because maybe that'll be the shot that David Hart needs to set forth his creations on a much larger audience. Trust me, they need it.
Until next week, watch something you've never heard of before!
It all started in the mid-70s, when Chicago-born puppeteer David Hart left the chilly Midwest and headed West to take a shot at becoming an actor. Due to bit parts on Chico and the Man and the Richard Pryor vehicle Brewster's Millions, Hart thought he was destined to become the next big star in Los Angeles. Sadly, like many before him, Hart struggled to find any follow up roles and soon he was forced to take a more extreme approach to making his name.
Hart -- who also goes by David Nkrumah Liebe Hart, David King Liebe Hart, and David Unger Hart -- decided to fall back on his puppeteering and started his own Christian Science children's show on a local public access station. Raised as a Christian Scientist from an early age, it was Hart's personal experiences with racism from his fellow worshippers that drove him to succeed as a religious entertainer.
Using Jim Henson as direct inspiration (he often claims that Henson was his Sunday School teacher), Hart built his show around distinct characters and sang his own hymns that fit the message of each show. Starting in 1988 with the assistance of his ex-wife, Hart set his program up like a variety show, offering a talk show format in which various local guests could come in and perform. If David Hart's story was only so simple, he would probably be a respected regional children's entertainer, if not a minor national religious figure. But instead he conceived the most baffling kid's program ever produced, The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show, a weekly dose of outrageous brilliance fueled by Hart's sincere (and almost tragic) will to succeed.
Hart calls upon a menagerie of bizarre puppets to deliver his message, including Chip the Black Boy, Teddie Eddie and Doug the Dog. These aren't so much different characters as they are various sides of Hart's complex personality, offering a cherished peek into the mind of Hollywood's strangest outcast. Hart's religious philosophies have been hopelessly twisted by UFO encounters, a painful divorce, and loneliness, which adds a dimension to his show that no other public access program could ever hope to achieve. Add a heaping helping of monotonous (and lengthy) self-penned hymns and a parade of whacked out local celebrity guests and you've got the most bizarre show
Tape traders flipped out over Hart when he was first discovered, and soon his programs were a hot commodity among the seekers of the bizarre. The late, lamented Melbaworld website offered a fantastic tape with episodes of The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show paired with other religious TV oddities like Captain Hook and Bibleman, while the twisted minds behind the Lost and Found DVD series included Hart on the second edition of their series.
DEATH TO SATELLITE DISHES!
While many a young collector took great joy in showing their Hart tapes to unsuspecting friends, one man took this fascination further: director Will Peragine. Peragine is the director of Public Access Hollywood, a hypnotic look into the strange world of Los Angeles's many public access celebrities. While many Hart fans still take a condescending view of his show, Peragine saw him and his fellow minor TV stars as an unfairly ignored cornerstone of L.A. entertainment, and saw fit to tell their story in a genuinely touching way.
Fittingly, Peragine's camera never feels intrusive when following these Hollyweird types. Almost all are born performers, and their personalities bubble over into their every day life as well. No example is more telling than Dan Kapelovitz and Giddle Partridge, a real life couple whose obsession with both psychedelia and TV has manifested itself into a California-based cult in which members of the Partridge Family are used as deities. Their show, The Threee Geniuses, is an improvised mish mash of music and colorful imagery that takes the limited technology of their public access studio and twists it into a throbbing explosion of visual stimulation.
A lesser filmmaker could have easily made Kapelovitz and Giddle seem like a pathetic joke, but Peragine paints the pair as the Sonic Youth of television, passionate defenders of low tech entertainment that are knowingly on the fringe and loving it. Kapelovitz and Giddle are so entranced by the public access scene that they even make frequent appearances on Hart's show, often as modest Bible verse readers (although Kapelovitz has been known to break out his guitar at hilariously inappropriate moments). In turn, Hart appreciates the help and makes his own appearance on The Threee Geniuses, although he mostly just chastises Giddle and Kapelovitz for their sinful ways.
While Hart may be the most interesting character in Peragine's documentary, the charming Francine Dancer is the film's emotional core. Francine, a former bikini dancer who now finds herself homeless and in a wheelchair, has the number one public access show in Los Angeles. While an unspecified back problem keeps her from walking, every Friday night she dresses up in skimpy outfits and climbs out of her wheelchair for a half hour of live televised go-go dancing. Francine is over the average age and weight of most sultry bikini dancers, and she's well aware of it, but she knows that she fulfills a strange niche and cheerfully obliges without a word of complaint.
As Peragine follows her from the doorway in which she sleeps to the television studio, he finds plenty of Francine fans along the way, most of whom can't believe she's in a wheelchair. In his many conversations with her, Peragine reveals a kind and lovely woman who doesn't pretend to understand her success, even if it doesn't translate into a career. Her fellow public access stars adore her and often let her sleep at their apartments, which transitions nicely into a birthday party scene where everyone from the studio treats Francine to a nice dinner. It becomes obvious that they really are friends outside of the studio, and seeing the way they interact is genuinely touching.
Of course, Public Access Hollywood isn't just about these three shows. Call in shows like Michael Devine's Hollywood and Devine and The Jim Berry Show, which are shot in the same studio, are given plenty of time as well. While Berry and Devine are certainly odd, they don't quite have the zest of the documentary's other subjects, leaving them as somewhat secondary characters. Neither are unlikable, which can't be said for the obnoxious Zuma Dogg Show, a headache inducing Ali G rip off in which a beach bum talking in a fake voice runs around with a camcorder and bothers people.
The only show that feels short changed is the intriguing Dr. Susan Block Show, which is barely featured despite being in the middle of a publicized controversy in which a conservative cable company owner tried to stop the show from being aired. Certainly more time could have been spent on the situation, but Peragine chooses to briefly cover the incident before moving on to other things.
With this minor complaint aside, Public Access Hollywood is still a fun and interesting look into downtown Hollyweird. From David Hart's twisted religious puppet show to the Threee Geniuses' psychotic TV freak out, there's a lot to discover here for cult film enthusiasts. While there isn't necessarily an easy way to get the film right now if you don't live in L.A., Peragine set up a website that offers several ways to get your hands on the film. Hopefully he'll score a national release sometime soon, because maybe that'll be the shot that David Hart needs to set forth his creations on a much larger audience. Trust me, they need it.
Until next week, watch something you've never heard of before!
Posted at 03:13 AM
Sat - January 15, 2005
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD listed on IMDB.com
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD is listed on the Internet
Movie Database. Check out http://imdb.com/title/tt0437443/
Posted at 03:25 AM
Mon - December 20, 2004
The List 2004: Materialistic Fetishism Reconsidered: (A last-minute gift-giving guide) by Doug Harvey
I’ve been spending most of
my spare time recently figuring out how to get rid of crap, and sifting
what’s left into clusters of relative importance — what I can take
if I have to leave the country with 30-minute, 24-hour, or two-week notice.
It’s a constant struggle to avoid giving in to my twin senses of historic
archival responsibility and regular consumer lust. The great thing about the
holiday gift-giving season is that, by permitting me to purchase cool shit for
the less enlightened, it affords me vicarious consumer thrills without actually
messing with the austere feng shui of my live/work space. Here’s a
compendium of this year’s most idiosyncratic must-give
items.
If you must watch TV, please watch cable access. If you don’t get cable access, go to www.publicaccesshollywood.com and order a $12 postage-paid copy of this year’s most underappreciated documentary, Public Access Hollywood, featuring local legend Francine Dancer (performing her should-be hit Pizza Box), Christian Scientific Ventriloquist David Hart, postmodern psychedelic deconstructionists the Three Geniuses and other auteurs of the last frontier of American free expression.
If you must watch TV, please watch cable access. If you don’t get cable access, go to www.publicaccesshollywood.com and order a $12 postage-paid copy of this year’s most underappreciated documentary, Public Access Hollywood, featuring local legend Francine Dancer (performing her should-be hit Pizza Box), Christian Scientific Ventriloquist David Hart, postmodern psychedelic deconstructionists the Three Geniuses and other auteurs of the last frontier of American free expression.
Posted at 04:30 AM
Fri - December 17, 2004
BAD SANTA - BY DAN KAPELOVITZ
DECEMBER 17, 2004
My phone rings at 10:30
A.M. "Where are you?" whines the voice on
the other end. "You were supposed to be here at 8
o’clock."
The voice belongs to David Hart, a.k.a. David Nkrumah Unger Liebe Hart, the infamous producer of the truly bizarre public-access puppet show once known as The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show. (Hart has since removed the word science from the title to appease Christian Scientists.)
I’ve known the deeply religious puppet master for years, and every few months or so, I forget what a pain in the ass it is to get suckered into driving him somewhere. On this morning, I agreed to chauffeur Hart around town so he could earn some cash painting Christmas decorations on store windows.
The disheveled 49-year-old puppeteer throws a toolbox and a ratty suitcase into my car, both filled with paint cans and brushes.
"I haven’t had a girl since 1994," Hart informs me on the way to Little Armenia. I’ve heard this a thousand times. He’s even written a song about his decade of celibacy, appropriately titled "I Haven’t Had a Girl Since 1994." Hart’s abstinence is not for lack of trying; he hands out cards with his phone number to any woman he finds attractive. For a time, he was banned from the La Brea Tar Pits because female passers-by complained he was sexually harassing them. He went to court over the issue: "The judge said that as long as I didn’t touch any of the women or rub up against them, it wasn’t sexual harassment."
Our first stop is an insurance agency, where David asks the receptionist if he may speak to the manager and then offers to draw a portrait of her.
The manager gets off the phone and says, "No paint this year — it ruined our windows last year." David explains that the paints are water-soluble, but to no avail.
Next, he tries a gift shop, a grocery store, a motel, a Chinese restaurant, a pizza joint, a few gas stations and an International House of Pancakes. They all turn him down.
Hart swears that he had all of these jobs lined up. "It’s like The Twilight Zone. Either the managers aren’t in, or they changed their minds. The same thing I go through with women I go through with businesses."
Dejected, Hart calls the Religious Science 24-hour prayer line, the no-cost alternative to the Christian Science church, which charges $20 for spiritual guidance. David explains to me that the Church of Religious Science is a spinoff of the Christian Science church.
"I’m trying to get work doing Christmas decorations, and everyone’s turning me down," Hart tells the spiritual-hot-line operator, who then prays for David for approximately three minutes.
David says he just received a call from a pizzeria near the La Brea Tar Pits that desperately wants Christmas decorations. But when we arrive minutes later, the man doesn’t know what David’s talking about.
We walk over to the Screen Actors Guild. A young woman exits the building who in no way resembles Sally Field. "You’re very beautiful," says David. "You look just like Sally Field." She walks past us.
SAG headquarters is also a no-go.
Undeterred, we head to Culver City. Finally, the owner of a homebrewing company is kind enough to hire David. David negotiates a fee of $125. Our prayer-line prayers have been answered. But, as they say, "Be careful what you pray for; you just might get it."
It takes David more than two hours to paint a few windows. The entire time he bitches about the model-train store across the street where he is no longer welcome. He claims he is banned because he refused to become a born-again Christian. Hart begs me to go over there and confront the guy. When I refuse, he blames Bush’s presidential victory on people like me who won’t fight against conservative Christians.
David’s interminable bickering is briefly interrupted when a female jogger, wearing loose-fitting short-shorts, runs past. David considers approaching her but, in a rare moment of restraint, says, "I can’t mix business with pleasure. She’ll say that some guy on the sidewalk harassed her."
David’s paintings are actually pretty impressive. He depicts a snowman, a Christmas tree, candy canes, snowflakes, and Santa Claus drinking a beer, rendered in glorious splashes of red, white, blue, green, black, orange and yellow.
"My artwork is unique because no one else paints Santa with blond hair, and all of my characters have mittens with three fingers," says the artist. "Also, I’m the only one who does blue snowmen."
I ask David why he placed umlauts over all of the vowels of the words Häppy Hölïdäys.
"Because I’m part German," he responds.
Hart finally finishes his masterpiece, but not before the sun’s gone down. Hart’s patron seems genuinely pleased and even offers an extra 25 bucks.
The voice belongs to David Hart, a.k.a. David Nkrumah Unger Liebe Hart, the infamous producer of the truly bizarre public-access puppet show once known as The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Show. (Hart has since removed the word science from the title to appease Christian Scientists.)
I’ve known the deeply religious puppet master for years, and every few months or so, I forget what a pain in the ass it is to get suckered into driving him somewhere. On this morning, I agreed to chauffeur Hart around town so he could earn some cash painting Christmas decorations on store windows.
The disheveled 49-year-old puppeteer throws a toolbox and a ratty suitcase into my car, both filled with paint cans and brushes.
"I haven’t had a girl since 1994," Hart informs me on the way to Little Armenia. I’ve heard this a thousand times. He’s even written a song about his decade of celibacy, appropriately titled "I Haven’t Had a Girl Since 1994." Hart’s abstinence is not for lack of trying; he hands out cards with his phone number to any woman he finds attractive. For a time, he was banned from the La Brea Tar Pits because female passers-by complained he was sexually harassing them. He went to court over the issue: "The judge said that as long as I didn’t touch any of the women or rub up against them, it wasn’t sexual harassment."
Our first stop is an insurance agency, where David asks the receptionist if he may speak to the manager and then offers to draw a portrait of her.
The manager gets off the phone and says, "No paint this year — it ruined our windows last year." David explains that the paints are water-soluble, but to no avail.
Next, he tries a gift shop, a grocery store, a motel, a Chinese restaurant, a pizza joint, a few gas stations and an International House of Pancakes. They all turn him down.
Hart swears that he had all of these jobs lined up. "It’s like The Twilight Zone. Either the managers aren’t in, or they changed their minds. The same thing I go through with women I go through with businesses."
Dejected, Hart calls the Religious Science 24-hour prayer line, the no-cost alternative to the Christian Science church, which charges $20 for spiritual guidance. David explains to me that the Church of Religious Science is a spinoff of the Christian Science church.
"I’m trying to get work doing Christmas decorations, and everyone’s turning me down," Hart tells the spiritual-hot-line operator, who then prays for David for approximately three minutes.
David says he just received a call from a pizzeria near the La Brea Tar Pits that desperately wants Christmas decorations. But when we arrive minutes later, the man doesn’t know what David’s talking about.
We walk over to the Screen Actors Guild. A young woman exits the building who in no way resembles Sally Field. "You’re very beautiful," says David. "You look just like Sally Field." She walks past us.
SAG headquarters is also a no-go.
Undeterred, we head to Culver City. Finally, the owner of a homebrewing company is kind enough to hire David. David negotiates a fee of $125. Our prayer-line prayers have been answered. But, as they say, "Be careful what you pray for; you just might get it."
It takes David more than two hours to paint a few windows. The entire time he bitches about the model-train store across the street where he is no longer welcome. He claims he is banned because he refused to become a born-again Christian. Hart begs me to go over there and confront the guy. When I refuse, he blames Bush’s presidential victory on people like me who won’t fight against conservative Christians.
David’s interminable bickering is briefly interrupted when a female jogger, wearing loose-fitting short-shorts, runs past. David considers approaching her but, in a rare moment of restraint, says, "I can’t mix business with pleasure. She’ll say that some guy on the sidewalk harassed her."
David’s paintings are actually pretty impressive. He depicts a snowman, a Christmas tree, candy canes, snowflakes, and Santa Claus drinking a beer, rendered in glorious splashes of red, white, blue, green, black, orange and yellow.
"My artwork is unique because no one else paints Santa with blond hair, and all of my characters have mittens with three fingers," says the artist. "Also, I’m the only one who does blue snowmen."
I ask David why he placed umlauts over all of the vowels of the words Häppy Hölïdäys.
"Because I’m part German," he responds.
Hart finally finishes his masterpiece, but not before the sun’s gone down. Hart’s patron seems genuinely pleased and even offers an extra 25 bucks.
Posted at 10:22 PM
Sat - October 30, 2004
PAH OPENS THE CENTURY CITY FILM FESTIVAL
PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD opens the Century City
Film Festival.
We were the first film to screen in the festival at 11am on a Wednesday.
While others were at work or the unemployed still asleep, The PAH cast assembled at Fairfax Cinemas on Beverly Blvd.
In attendance were David Hart, Mike Devine, Jim Berry, Sheila Sheila, and Jackie Brown.
Jim Berry immortalized the moment in a painting outside the theater.
I still dont understand how this was being called the Century City Film Festival when we were miles from Century City.
We were the first film to screen in the festival at 11am on a Wednesday.
While others were at work or the unemployed still asleep, The PAH cast assembled at Fairfax Cinemas on Beverly Blvd.
In attendance were David Hart, Mike Devine, Jim Berry, Sheila Sheila, and Jackie Brown.
Jim Berry immortalized the moment in a painting outside the theater.
I still dont understand how this was being called the Century City Film Festival when we were miles from Century City.
Posted at 04:19 AM
PUBLIC ACCESS LEGEND BETTY WHITE PASSES AWAY AT AGE 78.
It came to our attention that Betty White, of
the public access duo Elton & Betty White passed away in 2004. (Not to be
confused with Golden Girls Betty White). She was 78 years old.
Elton & Betty were featured in Public Access Hollywood in the Francine Dancer segment. They performed the song "Healthy Bodies."
I will always remember the day we filmed them on Venice Beach on a cold February afternoon and how they tried to get us to pay them $20,000 for an interview and to license clips from their show. Luckily we are able to talk them down to $60.
The couple met in a homeless shelter in Arkansas. They both ran for political office and lost, so they decided to come out to Los Angeles and break into show business. Besides performing on the beach and their very popular cable access show, the two could often be seen on the Sally Jessy Raphael show.
Elton & Betty were featured in Public Access Hollywood in the Francine Dancer segment. They performed the song "Healthy Bodies."
I will always remember the day we filmed them on Venice Beach on a cold February afternoon and how they tried to get us to pay them $20,000 for an interview and to license clips from their show. Luckily we are able to talk them down to $60.
The couple met in a homeless shelter in Arkansas. They both ran for political office and lost, so they decided to come out to Los Angeles and break into show business. Besides performing on the beach and their very popular cable access show, the two could often be seen on the Sally Jessy Raphael show.
Posted at 01:21 AM
Mon - October 25, 2004
DAVID HART ON THE DR. SUSAN BLOCK SHOW
David Hart and his alien puppet accompanied me
to appear on the Dr. Susan Block Show to promote the PUBLIC ACCESS HOLLYWOOD
screening at the Century City Film
Festival.
David treated viewers the SANDRA RUDE SONG and a love song he penned for the waitress at Denny's. David also got the chance to play with Susan's snake and check out a naked woman for the first time since 1994.
Once I am able to get clips from the show, I will post them on here.
************************************
Hi Will,
Just a note to thank you and David for being on the show last nite. Hope you had fun! Sorry I couldn't spend more time with you both, but I did have a lot of other guests.
Last nite's show will play on our site. We will also archive it and edit it into a half hour for cable TV, and they will play for years!
I've attached a few photos from last night.
Suzy
Susan M. Block, Ph.D.
The Dr. Susan Block Show
David treated viewers the SANDRA RUDE SONG and a love song he penned for the waitress at Denny's. David also got the chance to play with Susan's snake and check out a naked woman for the first time since 1994.
Once I am able to get clips from the show, I will post them on here.
************************************
Hi Will,
Just a note to thank you and David for being on the show last nite. Hope you had fun! Sorry I couldn't spend more time with you both, but I did have a lot of other guests.
Last nite's show will play on our site. We will also archive it and edit it into a half hour for cable TV, and they will play for years!
I've attached a few photos from last night.
Suzy
Susan M. Block, Ph.D.
The Dr. Susan Block Show
Posted at 03:22 AM
Archives
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Published On: Jan 30, 2006 11:28 PM
Published On: Jan 30, 2006 11:28 PM