Little known fact: MTV and the Lemmings are the same age. We were both born in 1981, so happy 30th birthday to us both.
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| In space, no one can hear you sing. |
We each went on to fulfill our individual destinies. One of us became an influential, game-changing media brand and a touchstone of youth culture around the world. The other is a successful TV network. And on several occasions, our paths have crossed.
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| Lenin, Einstein, Joyce, and Leddy |
In fact, Bruce, Charlie, Fish, and I all worked at MTV for a chunk of our lives. Lyman, Vern and Winthy did freelance stints there. Mark's wife aka Paul's sister Carole secretly runs the place. Wayne was at VH-1. Bill did some writing... etc., etc... and we all have the eBay-able T-shirts to prove it. (Except Lyman, who, always the big thinker, skipped the T-shirts and snagged a wife instead. Hi Daria!)
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| Dahhhhhhrrrrrhhhhhrrr... |
So, in honor of MTV's 30th birthday, which took place just recently on August 1st, I have three Lemmings-meet-MTV moments for you.
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| Get some candles and blow me |
The first is our appearance on the seminal game show Remote Control. Remember that show? Ground-breakingly awesome! So much of today's TV can be traced back to that show. Not to mention it gave us Denis Leary, Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn... and the Remote Control Chorus featuring Wayne, Charlie, Winthy, and our pal Tony Dowdy. Here they put the "music" in Music Television. Or at least the "Mo" in Remote Control.
(I like how they could never quite figure out the chord on the second to last "everything's coming up." I did the arrangement and was arrogant enough back then to insist they work on it until they got it right. Today I would just fix the stupid chord. Sorry, boys.)
Next, our first TV Theme Song thanks to Charlie and West Coast Julie Brown. Somehow, Charlie tricked his bosses into letting his a cappella group do the music for the show. We were probably "budget-friendly." Whatever. Here's one of our proudest moments, our claim to pop culture fame, the answer to a trivia question nobody ever asks... our opening to Just Say Julie. (bah Bah Bahhhhh, yeah...)
That gig was a gateway drug to Joe's Apartment, a subject for a future blog entry. (BTW - If you want to hear the original demo from when JSJ was briefly called Miss Julie Brown's Video Show, click here.)
Finally, a personal favorite. When Bruce was producing The Half Hour Comedy Hour, he would sometimes use us totes as writers and extras. That picture of Lenin, Einstein, and Joyce above is an example. I once played a French mime fighting the Nazis. But my favorite was when he did a spoof of This Old House as hosted by Robert Smith of the Cure. Bruce is a mope-ily perfect Robert, and Vern (Vern!) is his confused carpenter.
So happy birthday, MTV. Thanks for the memories. Doodle doodle dee, wubba wubba wubba. Now back to whatever you were airing that makes me feel ancient.
POLL RESULTS: I've just decided. August is "National No-Poll Month." So that's one less thing you have to click. You're welcome.
Shhhhh.
I miss the poll.
ReplyDeleteLoved this!
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A footnote to the This Old House sketch: first, that was my real hair just teased and sprayed black. Second, i was actually dressed as Robert Smith of the Cure for another sketch which was some kind of Sadness hotline which we'd shot at a studio downtown (it was an episode called The Very Sad Show). Then we had to race to the upper eaat side whr the location was an aprtmnt under construction for a candy bar ad parody called Chunks O Sadness which was to star Vern. I didnt have time to change and literally hailed a cab as Robert Smith (no one noticed; its new york) and barely got there in time to direct the ad. But while we were there, Vern and I just improvised this sketch. If u look closely u can tell im trying not to laugh in spots.
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