Judge Harry the Hat
Thursday, October 14th, 2010
I was a little bit conflicted on how to refer to Harry Anderson in the title of this posting. On one hand, he was Judge Harry Stone on the often hilarious sitcom Night Court from 1984-1992. But on the other hand, he had a memorable recurring role on one of my all-time favorite sitcoms Cheers as Harry the Hat, the local magician and con man who often frequented the bar, usually swindling the patrons out of some cash. What never entered the mix was the role he played on Dave’s World, a sitcom based on the life of columnist Dave Barry that lasted four years. This was not because it was a bad show, it was just that I had never seen it. Read the rest of this entry »
There were two weeks between my little road trip to Chicago and my little air trip to California. Not a lot exciting there. I finished my 1974 Oscar nominees and continued with Two and Half Men. I had a couple of good lunches at work, one with Brandie at Benihana for teppanyaki on September 29, 2010, one with Tim at Tan Thai Cuisine on October 1 – both delicious. Right smack in the middle of these two weeks was my 39th birthday. Nothing exciting there either. I ended up spending it at home, watching some 1937 Oscar nominees, eating Burger King, and taking a nap. I justified the boring day by notifying everyone that I would be celebrating the following weekend. 
Step back Daniel-san! There be enemies lurking about! For those whom have enjoyed the Karate Kid movies, it is important to note that Daniel and the ever-lovable Mr. Miyagi could not have achieved the level of lovability and niceness that they did had there not been brutal enemies to offset their likeability. While attending the Hollywood Show in Burbank on Saturday, April 24, 2010, I had the opportunity to have run-ins with three of them, starting out with the slimiest of all…sensei John Kreese. 
…and I’ll bet we’ll be together for a million more. Those words, so sweetly sung by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, signalled that the next 22 minutes would be consumed by one of the funniest and most intelligent sitcoms of the 80’s. And the fact that the quintessential parents from Family Ties, otherwise known as Steven and Elyse Keaton, otherwise known as Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney (now just Baxter since the days of becoming a lesbian), were going to be present at the Chicago Celebrity Show on Saturday, September 25, 2010, was enough to tip the scales – if they needed tipping – on whether I was going to attend the show.