Latest news with #Mr.Ed
NBC News
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Syracuse professor shows how bygone pop culture references can bridge generations
SYRACUSE, New York — University professor Bob Thompson has been 'teaching television' for about 40 years, tracing his interest in watching the tube back to reruns of Groucho Marx. 'That to me, is a medium and an art form different from any other art form in its own unique ways,' the Syracuse professor says. On a Tuesday 18 years ago, Thompson hosted an informal get-together to watch unedited TV broadcasts — beginning with the Kennedy assassination news breaks, but later transitioning into lighter content. In the following Tuesdays, Thompson would introduce episodes of 'Howdy Doody' ('ran for president … didn't win'), 'Mr. Ed' ('about a talking horse!'), and 'The Flying Nun' ('about a nun who flies!'). Other days have featured viewings of 'MASH,' 'The Twilight Zone' and the early days of YouTube. His joy in the class comes from the intergenerational sharing of pop culture. In its current form, 'Tuesdays with Bleier,' a reference to Thompson's dedicated university program on TV, sparks conversation among students and faculty of all ages and backgrounds — including janitorial staff. 'To be able to connect with people who are much older than you about stuff that they watched when they were a kid, and see them light up about it. It's really beautiful,' said Yasmin Tiana Goring, a Syracuse graduate student. Goring is also Thompson's teaching assistant. His students have left his classes with new cultural reference points, helping them at times connect with their parents. 'Out of context, I would text my mom and be like, have you seen 'Mork & Mindy' before, or ALF,'' said Sam Turin, a sophomore who brought his parents to the spring semester's final Tuesday showing. Thompson recalls that the 'Howdy Doody' class inspired one student to talk about it with his grandmother, who was in the latter stages of dementia. She began to sing the song from the show. Often, the lectures are less about the shows than the context they were originally made and viewed in. For Thompson, the class serves as a 'Trojan horse,' one where attendees watch TV for fun, but learn something about pop culture — and the world at large — along the way. 'If you want to understand the country we live in, you have to understand its presidencies, the wars that if it's fought, its political parties. But you also have to understand its lawn ornaments, its love songs and its sitcoms,' Thompson says.
Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Of Notoriety: Reader wants voice-over advice for commercial career kids
During the times I interviewed comedian and entertainer Rich Little, I always marveled at his vocal talents. Hailed as one of the great celebrity voice impersonators, Little, who is 86, had a range for recreating a stable of star vocals from Jimmy Stewart and George Burns to Kermit the Frog, John Wayne and history's most noted U.S. presidents of recent decades. Little always said, sometimes he discovered he was too good at his uncanny impressions of others. For example, the late king of Late Night Johnny Carson was not a fan of hearing Little's spot-on vocal version of the host of 'The Tonight Show.' It was so good, it earned Little the chance to be cast as Carson in the 1996 made-for-cable movie 'The Late Shift' about the power struggle between Jay Leno and David Letterman to succeed Carson as the next host of NBC's 'The Tonight Show.' Besides his headliner stage show career in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Lake Tahoe and numerous TV appearances, Little's talent was also a natural fit for voice-over work. Reader Tracie Martin of Munster, mother of two, wrote to me recently asking for advice for her oldest child's interest in voice-over work. 'Hi Phil — I'm really searching for training resources for voice acting for my kiddo,' Martin wrote. 'Where would I even start looking? I'm not in this community at all! I'm mostly looking for advice about classes, college paths and training. Thank you for any guidance.' During my decades of interviewing actors and notables, it's not uncommon for active television and movie actors to transition to voice-over work. Of course, some stars like Morgan Freeman find a perfect career balance of both. While in Los Angeles in 2005, I interviewed actor Alan Young, familiar to many nostalgic TV viewers as the human foil of the talking horse title character on the CBS sitcom 'Mr. Ed.' When needed, Young, who died at age 96 in May 2016, was able to tap into the English/Scottish brogue of his youth in North Shields, England. In his later years, Young found a lucrative second career providing voice-overs for TV cartoon characters, most notably, wealthy but stingy Uncle Scrooge McDuck of Disney fame. His distinct yet differing voice tones allowed him to slip into the identity of many other noted cartoon favorites, including Farmer Smurf of 'The Smurfs' and supporting characters on 'The Ren and Stimpy Show,' 'Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends' and 'The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show.' He also found lucrative work providing voice-overs for video games. The most celebrated of local claim-to-fame voice-over artists for our Midwest roots extending to international attention is a fellow alum of Valparaiso University, JoBe Cerny, who operates his own voice-over talent studio in downtown Chicago on Illinois Street. The 1970 VU grad is still known to millions as 'the Cheer detergent man,' the poker-faced soul who faithfully pushed laundry soap without ever saying a word. Wearing his trademark wire-rimmed glasses and sporting his 'cookie duster' mustache, Cerny starred in a series of commercials in the 1990s, usually shown gripping a soiled shirt in each hand and plunging them into sudsy water to reveal the results based on each detergent brand. But his true 'rise' to fame comes from the decades Cerny has served as the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy. It's his pipes behind that famous giggle, which he's been providing since 1987. Cerny, who originally hails from Cicero, now lives in Highland Park, Illinois, where his neighbor David Rudman is the talent providing the voice and puppetry for 'Sesame Street' icon Cookie Monster, a cookie-crumbling career he has had since 2002. While today's ever-changing challenge from the advent of artificial intelligence has many fearing the fall of human talent needed for voice-over duties, Cerny is confident human talent will always prevail and 'talent remains ageless.' Cerny was quoted in the Chicago Tribune published obituary for voiceover actress Fern Persons, who died at age 101. He had directed Persons in one of her last performances for a commercial voice-over. 'The last time Fern came to my studio, she was 99 years old,' Cerny said. 'We helped her up the stairs, and she was as feisty as ever. Once we got going, she lit up the room. She still had it.' 'It's pretty funny to think that the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy is next-door neighbors with the voice of Cookie Monster,' said Cerny, who returned to the VU campus during the holidays to greet students and autograph copies of a new biblical stories boxed CD set featuring dozens of famous voices. Cerny's last visit to Valparaiso University was in 2012 to promote a set of audio Bible recordings featuring a who's who of famed names lending their vocals to bring to life greats of the scripture. 'Word of Promise New Testament Audio Bible' stars actor Michael York as the narrator while Jim Caviezel, who starred in 'The Passion of the Christ,' reprises the vocals of Jesus. Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss is Moses with fellow Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei as Mary Magdalene and Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach as Paul, Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Lou Gossett Jr. as John, Lou Diamond Phillips as Mark, the late Luke Perry as Judas and John Schneider of TV's 'Dukes of Hazzard' as James. A starting point for learning more about a career in voice-over acting is to read 'How Actors Make Money and Create Careers,' a 208-page paperback guide written by Cerny in 2014 and available online.
Axios
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
15+ things to do for Easter weekend in New Orleans
New Orleans has plenty of things to do for Easter weekend, from parades to crawfish boils to 4/20 mashups. Here are some of your best bets this weekend. Parades 👒 The Historic French Quarter Easter Parade starts at 9:45am at Antoine's and travels to St. Louis Cathedral. It focuses on mule-drawn carriages and convertibles. (Details) 💐 The 40th annual French Quarter Easter Parade rolls at 1pm Sunday. This was previously the Chris Owens parade. (Route) The route for the French Quarter parade was changed this year to avoid Bourbon Street amid enhanced security measures after the terrorist attack, WWL reports. 🎉 The 24th annual Gay Easter Parade rolls at 4:30pm through the Quarter. (Route) 🦞 Crawfish boils Mr. Ed's Oyster Bar in Metairie on Friday. Port Orleans Brewing Co. on Friday and Saturday. Buggin' Out Boils is at Miel Brewery all weekend. Pigeon Caterers has grab-and-go crawfish on Friday. The Basin in Lakeview on Friday. Church pilgrimage and other Easter events ✝ The Nine Church Walk starts at 8am Friday at St. Stephen's Church. Parishioners will walk about 5 miles during the Uptown pilgrimage. (Details) 🐇 The NOLA Bunarchy bar hop starts at 6pm Saturday in the Marigny. (Details) 🪺 Join the grown-up egg hunt Saturday at Port Orleans Brewery. (Details) 🏆 Compete in the annual hat contest at 11am Sunday at the Omni Royal Orleans grand ballroom. (Details) 📸 The Easter bunny is at Lakeside Shopping Center for photos. He's at the Audubon Aquarium too. 🚗 Lakeshore Drive changes The Orleans Levee District is rolling out traffic restrictions and security checkpoints this weekend at the popular Easter weekend destination. The 5-mile stretch from Seabrook Bridge to West End Boulevard will only be open to eastbound traffic, authorities say. They'll also be using boats, helicopters and drones to help patrol. Authorities will be checking for speed, noise, window tint, seatbelt use and license plate violations, according to a statement. 4/20 events 🚬 The Broadside has The Iguanas and a free showing of Cheech and Chong's "Up in Smoke." The fun starts at 4:20pm Sunday, naturally. (Details) Other things to do 🏃🏽♀️ The Crescent City Classic is Saturday and is one of the oldest 10ks in the country. (Details) 🐴 Celebrate Earth Day at Bayou Fest at the Sankofa wetland park and nature trail. It will have free horseback riding, kayaking and fishing. (Details)
