Jamie's Blog - Week Five

Jamie Kaler is an accomplished actor, writer and stand-up comic, and has had recurring roles on Will & Grace, The King of Queens, Significant Others and the Seth Green animated show Robot Chicken. His recent film credits include The Family Stone, Underclassmen and Spanglish.

---

Jamie's Blog, Week Five

“Take My Work Wife… Please”. Nia Vardalos is back and showing Andy a little more attention than he is used to. Brendan takes a soul draining job. Kenny is still at the top of the love ladder. Bobby and Elsa make some plans. Stephanie’s book story turns another page. Mike ends up in the “bin of loser-dom”. And as always, PJ is the central hub who helps us navigate life’s obstacles while dealing with her own quest for happiness. That’s a lot of story for a half hour show! Our writers have done a great job of intertwining everyone’s story lines over this nine episode arc. Alright, that’s enough brown nosing. Let’s talk about some other stuff.

I love the title of this week’s show. It’s of course based on a famous joke from Henny Youngman, “take my wife…please”. I feel stupid having to explain that, but I fear that a whole new generation doesn’t know the history of show business. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s the comic in “Goodfellas”. You know, when Henry Hill takes his date to the Copa. He actually does that specific joke and then Bobby Vinton sings. Remember? He holds a violin. It’s at the end of the very long shot where the camera follows the couple as they work their way through the kitchen onto the showroom floor. It’s vintage Scorcese. And if you don’t know Goodfellas, then I can’t help you. My question here is how long will anyone be remembered and what are the characteristics that transcend time? Henny Youngman was one of the best known comics of his time and I don’t think a lot of kids growing up have any idea of who he is. Harold Lloyd? W.C. Fields? Jack Benny? Sid Ceasar? Will Dane Cook be remembered in sixty years? I don’t know, but I think O.J. Simpson will. And I think that’s a sad indictment on society. I think infamy lasts much longer than just normal old fame. Years from now, will we talk about that You-Tube clip where the kid got shot in the nuts with a paintball? Will Heidi and Spencer still be remembered for “The Hills”? Let’s take a test. Think about a century and name the first person that you can think of for that era. 1900s? Albert Einstein. 1800s? Jesse James. 1700? Ben Franklin. 1600s? Pochahantas? I don’t even think that’s right? Who did you choose? So, what is fame? And why does everyone want it so badly. We’ve all watched American Idol and seen the worst singer on the planet sincerely cry because they “just wanted to be famous”(hilarious, by the way). They don’t even want to be good singers. They just NEED to be famous. Since everyone seeks fame and it’s so fleeting, how do we get it. And more importantly, how do we assure that it lasts well beyond our time here? Some people create it over time with an accomplished body of work that takes years and a lot of hard work. Some examples might include Steve Martin, Bill Gates, or Mother Teresa. They are prolific workers with ingenuity. But let’s face it, that takes too much work. There has to be an easier way. But, there is no way we can all have a reality show. But there are definitely some things that will help. If you can’t do something really good, do something bad. Here’s my example: Who found the cure for polio? No idea? Okay, Who shot Lincoln? John Wilkes Boothe (after all, he was an actor). Most people wouldn’t know who beat the Cubs in playoffs that year, but they know that Steve Bartman was the fan who got in the way (of course, no one wants to blame the shortstop who made an error on the next play). Here’s the second way: Do something famous and then make an unexpected exit. James Dean or Van Heflin? Marilyn Monroe or Mamie Van Doren? Unfulfilled promise is much sexier than growing old. As George Costanza taught us, “Leave on a high note”! And the last thing is… to have a great publicist. Paris Hilton has no discernable skills and yet everyone knows who she is. So, there it is. The recipe for fame. And if none of that works, it’s time for the always popular “sex tape”. Good luck.


The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer/speaker and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc.”