Spike de Beauvoir gets the ball rolling:
What are three of your favorite classic Looney Tunes cartoons?
The one with Michigan J. Frog, Duck Dodgers, and the one where Bugs goes into the nightclub and mingles with all the WB movie stars.
I also loved the Road Runner and Foghorn Leghorn.
In general, I lean more to the Chuck Jones era.
Andrew asks:
Have you ever had to write in the bitter cold with a frozen hand, like in Dr. Zhivago? What's that like?
The climate in Hollywood tends not to be subzero. And most of the time when I write it’s indoors.
I did go through army basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri in the Ozarks in the bitter winter, but out on those rifle ranges and obstacle courses we never had creative writing courses.
However, when I broadcast for Syracuse in the International League the temperature for night games never got up to 30 the entire month of April. I did have to buy special gloves that allowed me to hold a pencil. I wanted to set the booth on fire for warmth but my partner wouldn’t let me.
Kyle Burress wonders:
Can you name some examples, if any, of guest stars you liked so much that maybe only appeared once in a series you worked on that you wished had come back to reprise their role?
On CHEERS we wanted John Cleese to come back and he agreed to but at the last minute backed out. We had some great guest stars on CHEERS. Emma Thompson, Alex Trebek, John Mahoney, Glynis Johns. One guest star we did bring back was Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics. He was a natural.
On WINGS: Debbie Reynolds, Tyne Daly.
On MASH: George Wendt, Shelley Long, Rita Wilson — I hope they found work after our show.
On FRASIER: Tea Leoni, JoBeth Williams.
On BECKER: LaVar Burton.
And I’m sure I’m leaving out a whole bunch more.
Finally, from Craig Gustafson :
Have you ever underestimated an actor and then found a performance that upgraded your opinion?
Yes. The one that immediately springs to mind is Tim Daly on WINGS. I thought he was a good-looking charming guy, but I had no idea how funny he was and what great comic timing he had.
Same with David Clennon on ALMOST PERFECT. I knew he was a good dramatic actor, but when he came in to read he said his very first line and we knew “that’s the guy.”
I directed a show called FIRED UP that featured Jonathan Banks. He was okay but nothing special. Then I see him on BREAKING BAD and I’m gobsmacked at how amazing he is.
What’s your Friday Question?
from By Ken Levine
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