television – Page 3 – Dave's Gone By

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #6 (2/26/2011): Charlie Sheen

Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection #6 (2/26/2011): CHARLIE SHEEN

click above to listen (audio file only)

aired February 26, 2011 on Dave’s Gone By. https://davesgoneby.net/?p=32940 Youtube: Rabbinical Reflection #006 – Charlie Sheen

Shalom Dammit, this is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of February 27th, 2011.

Chaos, turmoil, madness, uncontrolled rebellion – no, I’m not talking about Libya, I’m talking about Charlie Sheen. The handsome but unprincipled actor who makes Lindsey Lohan look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Shtetl.

After yet another stay in rehab – ooh, that must have been a tough three days – Sheen pronounced himself fit as a fiddle and ready for work.

Just what CBS wanted to hear about their hit show, “Two and a Half Men.” Only Charlie Sheen’s idea of being ready for work is vilifying his boss – the show’s creator – on syndicated radio.

He called producer Chuck Lorre an earthworm, a maggot, and a charlatan – which is pretty strong stuff to call anyone who isn’t a lawyer.

But okay, who among us hasn’t said terrible things about their boss? I once called the chief of the Southeast New England Board of Rabbis a douchebag. Because he was. But I didn’t do it in public. I did it quietly, behind his back, the way you’re supposed to insult people.

More upsetting in the latest Charlie Sheen incident is his migration into Mel Gibson mode. In Sheen’s rant, and apropos of nothing, the actor repeatedly calls Chuck Lorre by his birth name, “Chaim Levine.” Sheen claims he did it as a way of calling out the real man, instead of the guy’s phony Hollywood persona. Too bad it sounded like Sheen saying, “Here’s another Jew using his money and power to abuse poor, underpaid actors.”

Yes, Chuck Lorre did change his name from Chaim Levine. Just like Archie Leach switched his name to Cary Grant, and Arthur Rosenberg magically became Tony Randall.

But in this day and age, what kind of pathetic loser would change his name to make it less ethnic and more saleable in Hollywood? Gee, Carlos Estevez – d’ya think there’s a possibility changing your name to Charlie Sheen got you playing boyfriends and lotharios instead of Mexican drug dealers and auto mechanics? Just ask your brother Emilio how much work his name got him.

Now I’m not in agreement with concealing your heritage, but sometimes you do what you have to do, to get a job. For example, when I first started looking for a job as a rabbi, I had to change my real name. What synagogue would hire Fergus O’Malley?

No, I’m kidding, but seriously; it is not surprising to hear anti-Jewish slurs tumble from the mouth of a Sheen. Charlie’s father, Martin, has been a longtime Palestinian sympathizer. He even appeared at a right-of-return rally alongside Ralph Nader and Susan Sarandon back in 2000. Yeah, let’s give Palestinians right of return – as soon as Americans have right of return to the 93rd floor of the World Trade Center.

Anyway, CBS-TV has finally said, “goodbye Charlie” and halted production on “Two and a Half Men,” which should really be called “A-Man-and-a-Half and a Moron.”

Meanwhile, the moron believes that he has successfully completed rehab – no problem with alcohol, no problem with drugs, no problem with beating the crap out of prostitutes. Come to think of it, no wonder Martin Sheen is pro-Arab: his son would make a great Libyan dictator!

Perhaps I’m being cruel. From watching “Celebrity Rehab,” I know addiction is terrible, and the nasty things Charlie Sheen says are just his disease talking. Then again, if diseases could talk, my hernia would have its own blog.

I do not wish ill on Charlie Sheen. I do not wish well on him, either. We can pretty much stop hoping he’ll ever be a “Two-and-a-Half Mensch,” but at least he could grow up and get some real help. Why, he could even go to the Chabad people – a telethon his own father has pitched for.

And if Charlie feels like calling the Chabadnicks by their Jewish names, I’m sure they won’t mind.

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection by Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York.

Dave’s Gone By Interview (1/29/2011): ROSS BROWN

click above to listen (audio only)

Dave Lefkowitz interviews television writer Ross Brown

Topics include: television, scriptwriting

Segment originally aired Jan. 29, 2011 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

Please Note: Interview segments extracted from “Dave’s Gone By” may have music and other elements removed for timing and media re-posting considerations. For the full interview with all elements, please visit the audio of the complete original broadcast: Full Episode

All content (c)2011 TotalTheater Productions.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By Skit: RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #2 (1/23/2011): Regis Philbin

RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #2 (1/23/2011): Regis Philbin

click above to listen (audio file only)

aired January 22, 2011 on Dave’s Gone By. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWUWkjdRhb0

Shalom, Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of January 23, 2011.

On Tuesday, television personality Regis Philbin announced that he would leave his long-running morning talk show, “Regis and Kelly,” at the end of the summer.

Mornings without Regis. Can you imagine it? That’s like breakfast without fiber. You can do it, but the rest of the day, you regret it.

Let’s give the man his props. He started in TV in the 1950s, and got his first national exposure playing second fiddle to Joey Bishop. As television goes, that’s just slightly higher than the guy who cleans coffee filters in the green room.

But Regis stuck with it. He went through show after show, failure after failure, until finally, he found his niche. I know when a proctologist found my niche, it hurt like hell.

In 1985, Philbin was muddling through a New York morning talk show when they paired him with Kathie Lee Gifford. They fit together like blintzes and sour cream, like onions and chopped liver, like mayonnaise and whatever it is goyim put mayonnaise on.

And when Kathie Lee left, everybody worried – “Oh! What will happen to the show? Will Regis be able to find that chemistry with another annoying female? But along came Kelly Ripa, and not only was she hot like pastrami, she was peppery, like cole slaw.

I really need to stop writing these sermons when I’m hungry.

They made a nice team; Kelly’s verve and muscular arms modulating his wry wit and creeping senility.

But all good things come to an end, and 79-year-old Regis Philbin has decided it’s time to wrap up the microphone and drain his morning cup of Metamucil.

Speculation has already begun as to what Ripa will do when Regis goes. Names are being floated for the co-host gig: Neil Patrick Harris, Anderson Cooper, and even some heterosexuals.

If I may be so bold – and if there’s one thing people know about me, it’s that I may be so bold – might I suggest that I, Rabbi Sol Solomon, be the new co-host of the program. “Rebbe and Ripa.” “Sol and the Skank.” “Kelly and the Ki – ” well, anyway.

But think of it. I have so much to offer a morning chat show. I’m lively, quirky.. I have great legs. I can banter with Kelly about sports teams, like, “Ooh, how about those Colorado Broncos. Are there any Jews on that team?”

I can do zany but informative cooking segments. Like bringing in a live cow and slaughtering it to demonstrate kashrut.

And when there are guests, I can ask pointed questions like, “So, Edie Falco. In the fifth chapter of Leviticus, HaShem warns against touching the carcass of an unclean beast. With that in mind, what was it like kissing James Gandolfini?”

I can even do the trivia questions, you know, with the wheel. Like this: “On yesterday’s show, we asked Justin Bieber whether he’s circumcised. Was his answer yes, no, or yes but badly?”

I would be the best thing to happen to morning television since J. Fred Muggs, and I certainly smell better. (sniffs) Well, maybe not, but, hey, we could be “Kelly and Smelly!”

My dear listeners, I belong on network television. Like car crashes and earthshaking tragedies. I would be a breath of fresh air (sniffs) well, if you don’t stand too close.

Please write to your local ABC affiliates and tell them, “You Want the Rabbi! You Want the Rabbi!” Gelman’s Jewish, he’ll understand. And if he doesn’t, there’s got to be one of our people controlling the media who will.

So Kelly, if you’re listening: forget the husband, forget the rotating co-hosts; go for the angry Jew. Your ratings will be like Mel Gibson’s wife: they won’t know what hit them, or why.

This has been a Rabbinical Reflection by Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York. See you on the boob tube!

–> https://davesgoneby.net/?p=38051

Dave’s Gone By #322 (12/9/2009): EINE KLEINE NACHMAN

Click above to listen to the episode (audio only).

Here is the 322nd episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which debuted Dec. 9, 2009. Info: davesgoneby.com.

host: Dave Lefkowitz
guest: Gerald Nachman (“Right Here on Our Stage Tonight: Ed Sullivan’s America,” “Seriously Funny”)

Featuring: Media critic and former newspaper columnist Gerald Nachman visits to discuss his new book about Ed Sullivan and his previous books about stand-up comedy and old-time radio. Plus: Liam Clancy remembered.

Note: Gerald Nachman passed away April 14, 2018 at age 80.

00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN
00:09:00 GUEST: Gerald Nachman
00:53:00 DAVE SAYS BYE to Liam Clancy
01:11:00 DAVE GOES OUT

Dec. 9, 2009 Playlist: “Ed Sullivan” and spoken excerpts (“The Sullivan Years: Best of Broadway, Vol 1 & 2”), “The Patriot Game,” “The Wild Colonial Boy” & “The Final Trawl” (The Clancy Brothers)

Dave’s Gone By Interview (5/31/2009): ROBERT STERN

click above to listen (audio only)

Dave Lefkowitz interviews former CFO of Fox TV, Robert Stern

This interview originally aired May 31, 2009 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

All content 2009 TotalTheater.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By Interview (6/29/2008): ROBERT THOMPSON

click above to listen (audio only)

Joined by guest co-host Jeff Goodman, Dave Lefkowitz interviews Syracuse University media professor Robert Thompson

Topics include: George Carlin, comedy, media, television

Segment originally aired July 6, 2008 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By Interview (2/10/2008): UNCLE FLOYD VIVINO

click above to listen (audio only)

Dave Lefkowitz interviews TV host and entertainer Uncle Floyd

Topics: TV, comedy, The Uncle Floyd Show.
Segment originally aired Feb. 10, 2008 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

Please Note: Segments extracted from “Dave’s Gone By” may have music and other elements removed for timing and media re-posting considerations. For the full interview with all elements, please visit the audio of the complete original broadcast: Full Episode.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By #259 (2/10/2008): TWINKLE TWINKLE UNCLE FLOYD

Click above to listen to the episode (audio only).

Here is the 259th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, Feb. 10, 2008. Info: davesgoneby.com

Guest co-host: Jeff Goodman
Guest: TV legend Uncle Floyd (Vivino)

Featuring: Dave chats with TV host and musical entertainer Uncle Floyd (Vivino). Plus: Inside Broadway.

00:00:01 Pre- show excerpts – “Karl Ehrhardt” & “Google Race!”
00:07:00 DAVE GOES IN
00:16:00 GUEST: Uncle Floyd
00:56:00 INSIDE BROADWAY – News
01:03:00 DAVE GOES OUT

Feb. 10, 2008 Playlist: “It’s Not My Place” (Ramones), “Slip Away” (David Bowie).

(pictured: Channel 68, Uncle Floyd and crew)

Dave’s Gone By Interview (12/9/2007): RALPH BARUCH

click above to listen (audio only)

Dave Lefkowitz interviews Viacom television mogul Ralph Baruch

Topics: television, Viacom, CBS

Segment originally aired Dec. 9, 2007 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.

Sad Note: Our Friend of the Daverhood, Ralph Baruch, passed March 3, 2016 at age 92.

More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com

Dave’s Gone By #250 (12/9/2007): BARUCH WHO

Click above to listen to the episode (audio only).

Here is the 250th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on NY’s WGBB-AM radio, Dec. 9, 2007. Info: davesgoneby.com.

Host: Dave Lefkowitz

Guest: Viacom founder Ralph Baruch
Call-in Guests: Dave’s dad, Philip Lefkowitz: and Dave’s wife, Joyce

Featuring: Dave interviews Viacom founder Ralph Baruch; call-ins, Inside Broadway.

00:00:01 Pre-show excerpt w/ Philip Lefkowitz
00:11:00 DAVE GOES IN
00:22:00 CALL-IN GUEST: Dave’s wife Joyce
00:30:00 INSIDE BROADWAY – News, Grinch, & Farnsworth
00:41:00 GUEST: Ralph Baruch
01:08:00 DAVE GOES OUT

Dec. 9, 2007 Playlist: “Sleeping with the Television On” (Billy Joel).