Today I have a question to ask, as well as one to answer. The one to ask concerns Fox's House -- and the one I've been dared to answer involves something that happened to me on press tour some, sigh, 30 years ago. And I've decided, in this instance, it's high time to come clean...
First the House item.
Every week, when I watch House, I smile at the final credits, when the production house vanity logo comes up to reveal the company name as Bad Hat Harry Productions, with the one animated character saying to another, "That's some bad hat, Harry." I smile because it's a line of obscure dialogue from an even more obscure James Coburn movie, 1973's Harry in Your Pocket.
The movie is about a young pickpocket taken in by an old master, and the only reason I remember it is because the supporting actress, young Trish Van Devere, was stunningly beautiful, and worth repeated viewings. What I want to know, but have yet to ask the producers of House, is: Why that movie, and why that line of dialogue?
Now about my personal confession. It comes in response to an email, sent to this website earlier this week, by Ron Alridge, formerly a TV critic for the Chicago Tribune and, before that, the Charlotte Observer. He was responding to a posting I wrote about the TV press tour. I wrote it about a year ago, but Alridge is retired now, so I guess he marches to his own, much slower drummer.
Ron was one of the smartest, nicest and most influential TV critics ever to attend press tour. We both were founding members of the Television Critics Association, but he was one of its central figures, a true founding father. Yet he was young enough, especially at heart, to participate in some memorable escapades, especially where free network hospitality suite liquor was involved.
Hence his letter, quoted in part:
"David,
"Those were great days and you and the other "young turks" like you did a wonderful job of professionalizing the television beat. I formed a kinship with you and the rest of the gang that to this day is very much part of me... I am thrilled beyond words that the TCA still lives and has even become a bit of a force. As you know, that was always a dream back when we all were young and passionate.
"I must say, though, that you have performed a disservice to your blog readers by not sharing with them the story of how you once turned an "ABC Hospitality Suite" sign into something a tad bit off-color. It took a mind that is both creative and demented to have done that so quickly. I remain awed."
Let me pick up that gauntlet, and that story. ABC, in those days, had many of the crankiest network publicists in the business -- and, at the time this incident took place, some of the worst programming. I'm not sure what set me off, other than too much Scotch, but one night, before heading into ABC's penthouse party room at L.A.'s Century Plaza Hotel, I asked Ron to hold my drink for a moment.
There was a sign outside the door -- one of those signs encased in glass, with a black background and magnetic white letters, identifying the room as "ABC HOSPITALITY SUITE." I slipped open the lock on the glass, stared at the words for a few seconds, and rearranged the letters, tossing away the leftovers in a nearby planter. Then I relocked the glass, retrieved my drink from Ron, and we went in.
For the rest of the night, the sign read: "ABC EATS OILY SHIT."
I apologize, 30something years later, for my youthful indiscretion. But it feels good to finally come clean.
As to another former colleague's demand that I tell my Bonnie Hunt story -- that's a press tour classic that still needs a bit more time to pass before it can be told. By me, anyway...